ã€ŠReborn: Revenge of the Concubine&#x27;s Daughterã€‹


 Chapter 1 - Being imprisoned in the Water Dungeon

    Volume 1 Love and hatred in Shui Shang Temple ¡ª Chapter 1 Being imprisoned in the Water Dungeon

    The dark green zed tiles were covered by the hoarfrost produced by north wind that blew overnight, looking very beautiful. Based on the outside appearance, the Mansion was a northern building, but the pavilions, tforms, and chambers inside were built in the southern style.

    ¡°Huo Xiang, has Concubine He got up?¡± A well-dressed woman asked the maid standing in front of the corridor.

    ¡°She has got up for a while. But she hasn¡¯t dressed up yet. Does Sister Xu have some pressing business?¡±

    Xu Siniang paused for a moment and smiled, ¡°Nothing. I juste by to say hello to her.¡±

    Xu Siniang was a maid who apanied Consort Zhou (Zhou Jinn) to marry into the Lord Ning¡¯s family. She also had been in bed with Lord Ning (Zhu Quan) for several times. Therefore, she was also regarded as a mistress. Moreover, Zhou Jinn was in charge of the household affairs now, so Xu Siniang helped her to manage at least a half of the household affairs. Life was full of ups and downs. In the past, Zhou Jinn had suffered a lot in Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion.

    At that time, Zhou Jinn was diagnosed as pulmonary tuberculosis. What was worse, her natal family happened to suffer a bout of misfortune in imperial court. Even Zhu Quan was unable to help her. Zhou Jinn tried tomit suicide by jumping into a well on several asions, but Concubine He saved her.

    Concubine He¡¯s name was He Danggui. She was born into a family that specialized in traditional Chinese medicine, so she knew about medical knowledge. She said that Zhou Jinn just had amonryngeal disease and could recuperate as long as she was taken good care of. Some maids were afraid to be infected and unwilling to give the herbal medicine for Zhou Jinn. It was He Danggui who decocted the herbal medicine for her in person. However, Princess Xie (Xie Qiaofeng) confined Zhou Jinn and He Danggui into the Jiyuan Yard for a few months, with the excuses that it was unlucky and the disease would affect Zhu Quan.

    Xie Qiaofeng had always been unpopr in the Mansion. One day, a person who disliked her informed Madam Nanny of this matter. Madam Nanny was the wet nurse of Zhu Quan and she was powerful in Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion. Since she had a kind heart, she would like to release Zhou Jinn and He Danggui. But Xie Qiaofeng stopped her and wanted to set fire to the Jiyuan Yard on the pretext of sickness. When Zhu Quan knew the quarrel, he immediately ordered to release them because he had always been respectful to Madam Nanny.

    Just after a while, Zhou Jinn and He Danggui were led to the main hall. However, everyone was taken aback since Zhou Jinn was radiant with health. She didn¡¯t look sick. Incredibly, they didn¡¯t look emaciated, wearing clean clothes and delicate make-up, although they were put under house arrest in a desert yard where clothes and food were not enough.

    After asking a few questions, Madam Nanny learned from Zhou Jinn that it was He Danggui who took good care of her. Zhou Jinn said tearfully that He Danggui not only left all her food brought by the maids for her every day, but also painstakingly nted herbs in the yard to cure her. Xie Qiaofeng was embarrassed at once, and then she rebuked those maids for depriving their mistresses of food and daily necessities.

    Madam Nanny praised He Danggui and asked her whether it was a hard work to nt herbs in person. He Danggui replied, ¡°In fact, Consort Zhou recuperated so quickly just because Princess Xie let us live in a quiet ce. What¡¯s more, the maids served us well. So, I have time to nt some herbs.¡±

    Her words not only saved Xie Qiaofeng¡¯s face, but also left a deep impression on Zhu Quan. Among the showy concubines in the Mansion, He Danggui looked like a lotus in the river, who was beautiful and silent, with a faint fragrance of herbs. Since then, He Danggui had been not only appreciated by Madam Nanny, but also deeply favored by Zhu Quan. At that time, the imperial court had rified that the natal family of Zhou Jinn had nothing to do with the rebellion, and the members of Zhou¡¯s family had restored to their original positions.

    Half a year ago, a maidmitted suicide since Xie Qiaofeng took actions against her. Later, someone found that the maid had been pregnant with Zhu Quan¡¯s child. Zhu Quan raged at the news and ordered Xie Qiaofeng to introspect. Naturally, the household keys were transferred to Zhou Jinn. Zhou Jinn was grateful to He Danggui¡¯s help. When she mentioned what happened in the past, she would still cry and thank He Danggui for what she did for her. Since she managed the household affairs, she had usually ordered Xu Siniang to send greetings and necessaries to He Danggui.

    ¡°Is Sister Xu outside? Mydy asked Sister Xu toe in.¡± A maid in the room said loudly. Xu Siniang opened the door and saw a person sitting in front of the argyle mirror under the window. She only saw a sylphlike silhouette because of the backlight. Then she bent her knees to bless and smiled, ¡°Mydy, are you feeling better today?¡±

    The woman in front of the bronze mirror smiled, ¡°Thanks Sister Zhou for her concern. I¡¯m feeling better now. Sit down please, Siniang.¡± The woman was He Danggui, the most favored concubine of Zhu Quan.

    Xu Siniang sat down and noticed that Dong Cao wasbing hair for He Danggui. After wearing the hair in a Fanwuan haircut, Dong Cao smiled and asked, ¡°Mydy, which hair sp do you like to wear today?¡± He Danggui shook her head, ¡°It¡¯s too heavy. Since I don¡¯t go out today, it¡¯s no need to wear it.¡± Xu Siniangughed and suggested, ¡°When I passed the East Garden, I found that the begonia flowers were in blossom. Why not call someone to pick a few flowers and wear them?¡± He Danggui smiled, ¡°Dong Cao, pick some flowers quickly.¡± Dong Cao followed her words and left.

    He Danggui nced at Xu Siniang, ¡°Does Sister Zhou want to tell me something?¡±

    Xu Siniang nodded and replied, ¡°Yeah. A few days ago, Consort Zhou found a mistake when she checked the ounts. Madam Nanny had appropriated a sum of money for Mu Yuan Tang (a charity organization) when she was alive.¡±

    He Danggui frowned and asked, ¡°How much?¡±

    Xu Siniang looked around and spoke in a low voice, ¡°2,000 liang (a unit of money in ancient China).¡±

    He Danggui paused and sighed, ¡°I can probably guess the reason why she did this, but Madam Nanny is so silly. Although the old ounts of 2,000 liang could be straightened out, if Lord Ning knows about it, how embarrassing it will be?¡±

    Xu Siniang quicklyforted her, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Fortunately, Consort Zhou found it early. So, we have straightened out the ounts and don¡¯t afraid of being checked.¡±

    He Danggui nodded, ¡°That¡¯s great.¡±

    Xu Siniang said in a very low voice, ¡°But Consort Zhou heard that Princess Xie had also noticed thisplicated case. We¡¯re afraid that she would tell Lord Ning. Thus, we request you to assume the responsibility and leave Madam Nanny a good reputation.¡± Being afraid that He Danggui would not agree, Xu Siniang added, ¡°Now the ounts have been straightened out and no one would find it out. We speak with one voice that you have appropriated 300 liang for helping the disaster victims.¡±

    He Danggui raised her hand to touch the cool jade hilt on the argyle mirror and said sadly, ¡°I know that Madam Nanny reaped good karma as she was kind all her life. This matter was the only one she did for her own sake. I didn¡¯t understand her before and dissuaded her several times. But since I be a mother, I have known a mother¡¯s feelings towards her child¡­¡± When she talked about this, her voice became choking. Then she stood up and smiled at Xu Siniang, ¡°It¡¯s time to breastfeed Tian. Let¡¯s go to see her.¡± Hearing her words, Xu Siniang felt relieved since she knew He Danggui epted the request.

    Tian was a premature. She was unable to open her eyes until she was two months old. Being weary usually, she seldom cried. Despite the postpartum weakness, He Danggui breastfed her daughter in person and didn¡¯t employee the wet nurses. Also, she would take all the herbal medicine that the doctor prescribed for Tian before she fed her.

    ¡°She¡¯s really an apple of your eye.¡± Xu Siniang sighed, ¡°It¡¯s rare to see a madam breastfeeding her child in person even in the normal rich family, let alone for our Mansion. All of them would ask many wet nurses to serve the child. When I was young, I heard that breast milk was the essence of our blood and vitality, which shouldn¡¯t be lost. You don¡¯t seem to care about this.¡±

    Looking at her daughter who fell asleep, He Danggui smiled, ¡°When I was young, I also heard that a bite of breast milk from the mother will make the baby smarter. So¡­¡± Speaking of this, she dropped her eyes, looking lonely.

    Xu Siniangughed and answered, ¡°That¡¯s why you are so intelligent.¡±

    As they chatted with each other, there was a sudden noise outside. He Danggui put her daughter into the cradle and looked out of the room with a frown on her face. Xu Siniang was also very angry and shouted, ¡°Who is so unruly? How dare you make noise in front of the room of Concubine He?¡±

    Then a man came from a distance. Xu Siniang was so scared that her face turned pale and she knelt down immediately, ¡°Lord Ning, please forgive me for saying those rampant words.¡±

    Zhu Quan wore a crown with gold hairpin and a long clear blue gown. He walked very fast towards the main hall, passing Xu Siniang who knelt on the ground in only a few steps. Xu Siniang didn¡¯t dare to stand up and looked at He Danggui for help. He Danggui smiled and said to rescue Xu Siniang, ¡°Pour a cup of tea for Lord Ning!¡± Then Xu Siniang answered quickly.

    He Danggui also walked into the main hall. Zhu Quan was staring at her with a sullen face and tawny eyes which looked unfathomable. He Danggui was shocked at his gaze. She forced a smile and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Who dares to make you furious?¡±

    Zhu Quan clenched his fists and gazed at her silently. At this time, in addition to Xie Qiaofeng, Zhou Jinn, Senior Concubine Wan and Concubine Gu, some administrators, maids and several men in rough linen came in together.

    He Danggui looked at the crowd and then at Zhu Quan wonderingly, ¡°Who can tell me what happened?¡±

    Wearing a skirt embroidered with a picture of hundreds of birds worshipping the phoenix, Xie Qiaofeng sat next to Zhu Quancently, ¡°He Danggui, now that the witnesses and material evidence are present, plead guilty right now!¡±

    He Danggui saluted Xie Qiaofeng and answered, ¡°How could I confess what I¡¯ve never done before?¡±

    Xie Qiaofeng opened her almond eyes wide, ¡°I wonder how stubborn you would be! How dare you refuse to plead guilty! Administrator Zhou, show the ounts to Lord Ning.¡± Immediately, a man presented the ounts with a blue cover. However, Zhu Quan threw it at the table. Xie Qiaofeng didn¡¯t care about whether Zhu Quan looked at the ounts or not. She just continued, ¡°He Danggui, Madam Nanny liked you most when she was alive, so you founded the Mu Yuan Tang in the name of associating Madam Nanny to help the disaster victims, didn¡¯t you?¡±

    He Danggui frowned, ¡°I did participate in the source of goods and ounts of Mu Yuan Tang. It had donated herbal medicines and saved countless people. What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°Of course, there is nothing wrong with saving people.¡± Zhou Jinn interrupted suddenly and surprisingly, ¡°But having an affair is a felony.¡±

    He Danggui was frightened. She red at Zhou Jinn and asked, ¡°What did you say, Sister Zhou?¡±

    Zhou Jinn suddenly burst into tears. Senior Concubine Wan and Concubine Gu handed handkerchiefs to her andforted, ¡°Don¡¯t be sad. She is unworthy of your tears.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. She failed to live up to your expectation since she was born into an inferior family.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll know what kind of person she is if you know her mother. Well, I¡¯m wrong. Her mother didn¡¯t bring up her. I heard that this bitch was raised on a farm in the countryside. She must have seen so many dirty things, so she did those dirty things naturally.¡±

    Hearing this, He Danggui who was kneeling on the ground stood up, walked towards Concubine Gu and pped her face hard.

    Being stunned, Concubine Gu covered her face and cried, ¡°Princess Xie, she dared to p me in front of Lord Ning and you. What else did she dare not do furtively?¡±

    Xie Qiaofeng was furious and yelled, ¡°You bitch! You had an affair with a man and gave the money of our Mansion to the adulterer. How dare you hit others in public?¡±

    He Danggui stood in the middle of the crowd and said coldly, ¡°I have never betrayed Lord Ning and appropriated any silver. I pped Concubine Gu for Lord Ning to teach her. As a concubine, what she said was a disgrace to Lord Ning.¡±

    Concubine Gu cried and tried to p He Danggui. However, Zhou Jinn stopped her and begged, ¡°Calm down. We¡¯re all sisters. Sister Gu, don¡¯t be angry with her for my sake.¡±

    Seeing the chaos, Zhu Quan couldn¡¯t help shouting, ¡°Shut up!¡± Suddenly, people who was crying, screaming and whispering quieted down and looked at Zhu Quan. Xie Qiaofeng said, ¡°For my lord¡¯s sake, I hoped she could plead guilty. But she was too stubborn to admit what she did! Lord Ning, with so many people present, how to deal with the matter?¡±

    Zhu Quan said angrily, ¡°Do what you should do.¡±

    The answer was exactly what Xie Qiaofeng expected. Then she ordered, ¡°Bring Xu Siniang in.¡± Someone immediately ushered Xu Siniang in. Xu Siniang knelt on the ground and cried, ¡°Lord Ning, forgive me please. Concubine He threatened me with cutting out my tongue and throwing me into the Water Dungeon if I dare to divulge her secret. But I dare not keep the secret, so I told Consort Zhou that Tian was not your daughter!¡±

    Xie Qiaofeng sneered, ¡°Even if you don¡¯t tell me, I would have guessed it. He Danggui¡¯s words that she wanted to breastfeed Tian in person because she was a premature is just an excuse! Tian was a bastard!¡±

    Concubine Gu looked away disgustedly, ¡°Bah! Like mother, like daughter.¡±

    He Danggui cursed hoarsely with a pale face, ¡°Don¡¯t talk nonsense! Tian and I are innocent. There is something above you. Are you not afraid of being struck by the lightning?¡±

    Being furious, Xie Qiaofeng pointed at the servants out of the hall and shouted, ¡°Are you all dead? Come on! p this bitch¡¯s face hard!¡± Immediately, some biddies came to hold He Danggui down. Biddy Wang of sturdy build pped her in session. After a while, He Danggui¡¯s fine cheeks were swollen and blood blew from her mouth and nose. Squinting at Zhu Quan who sat there quietly and indifferently, Xie Qiaofeng showed a triumphant smile.

    He Danggui¡¯s eyes were full of tears. She looked at her husband, the handsome man, and asked, ¡°Zhu Quan, even you don¡¯t believe me? Do you think I¡¯m that kind of woman?¡±

    Zhu Quan dropped his eyes, looked at his jade ring, and replied slowly, ¡°I didn¡¯t believe that you could do such things before, but now I have to believe it.¡±

    Zhou Jinn stepped forward to kneel in front of He Danggui, stopped the bleeding for her with damask sleeves, and cried loudly, ¡°Sister He, since you know the results today, why did you do those things? Looking at your appearance now, I¡¯m distressed. Why are you so silly?¡±

    He Danggui stared at Zhou Jinn as if she knew her at the first time. Zhou Jinn avoided her eyes and turned to cry to Zhu Quan, ¡°My lord, please don¡¯t kill her. I¡¯d like to relieve her guilt by giving up the household keys, being a vegetarian and copying the scriptures every day. I¡¯m grateful to her for helping me before and we have a deep rtionship. So, I don¡¯t believe the matter until Administrator Zhou brought those guys here.¡± She pointed at those men outside the hall and continued, ¡°Hearing what they said, I have to believe this. Rong Si, tell Lord Ning what you told me before.¡±

    Rong Si knelt outside and said, ¡°We are porters and live outside the north city. We make a living by carrying goods. About a year ago, a maid called Lv Ping contacted us to carry the sedan chair for her. She paid us lots of money and let us wait her at Qipi Alley every night. Every now and then, Lv Ping would bring a woman who wore a cloak and a hood to cover her face to our sedan chair. If no onees until one o¡¯clock in the morning, we can leave.¡±

    The hall was crowded with people, but it was terribly quiet. Suddenly, Biddy Lv came in and whispered something in Zhou Jinn¡¯s ear. Then Zhou Jinn frowned and said to Zhu Quan, ¡°My lord, in the morning, I asked Biddy Lv to control Lv Ping. But out of my expectation, Lv Ping tried to avoid the confrontation with us, so she hit the wall with her head and died.¡±

    Zhu Quan kept silent, and Xie Qiaofeng sneered, ¡°Even she died, we still can question other maids! Bring those maids who served the bitch!¡± At this point, Huo Xiang and Dong Cao were brought to the hall. Xie Qiaofeng asked, ¡°Tell me! What do you know about He Danggui¡¯s scandal? Be honest!¡±

    Huo Xiang and Dong Cao knelt on the ground and cried, ¡°Concubine He did go out at night, but we didn¡¯t know why she went out. Mydy, please be merciful to us! Please don¡¯t kill us!¡±

    Zhou Jinn winked at Rong Si. Then Rong Si said immediately, ¡°Last month, I carried the sedan chair into an inn. Because I drunk too much alcohol before, I lost my way when finding the toilet. On my way, I heard a woman¡¯s moan from a room. Being curious, I saw a man and a woman having sex on the flower-stand next to the window. Being so close to them, I not only saw the woman¡¯s face, but also three small red moles on her chest and a flower decoration on her navel¡­¡±

    ¡°Stop!¡± Zhu Quan was furious suddenly. He grabbed the tea cup, threw it on the ground violently and roared, ¡°Go! Get out of here!¡±

    Seeing the situation, all servants left. Later, Zhou Jinn, Consort Wan and others also left. Then only Zhu Quan, He Danggui, Xie Qiaofeng and her two trusted biddies remained in the hall. Staring at He Danggui who looked haggard, Zhu Quan queried seriously, ¡°He Danggui, do you plead guilty?¡±

    He Danggui was despairing andughed helplessly, ¡°What a wicked trick it is! Very good! How interesting it is! Zhu Quan, if you are afraid that I would spill the beans, give me a long silk. I would like tomit suicide for my daughter. But how could you damage your own daughter? You should humiliate us! Do you have any conscience?¡±

    Hearing what He Danggui said, Xie Qiaofeng looked puzzled. However, Zhu Quan¡¯s heart suddenly sank. He went forward to kick He Danggui¡¯s chest hard.

    He Danggui was kicked far away and spat blood out. She managed to get up from the ground, staring at Zhu Quan resentfully, ¡°I don¡¯t hate Zhou Jinn, Xu Siniang, and Xie Qiaofeng. I know why they frame me. Zhu Quan, do you know? What I hate most are men who hit women! The man I hate most is you! I hate and I regret. I have sacrificed more than ten years for you and lost a son and a daughter. In the end, you kicked me ruthlessly.¡±

    Zhu Quan gnashed his teeth, with his eyes red, ¡°Burn her throat with hot charcoal and then throw her into the Water Dungeon!¡±

    Xie Qiaofeng asked, ¡°What about the bastard she gave birth to?¡±

    ¡°Throw her into the Water Dungeon too!¡± Zhu Quan turned away indifferently.

    Xie Qiaofeng immediately winked at the biddies behind her. Then the biddies pulled He Danggui out of the hall.

    However, Zhu Quan looked indifferent. He whispered, ¡°Forgetpletely what you heard just now and don¡¯t remember it until you die.¡±

    Xie Qiaofeng bowed her head in fear, ¡°I¡¯ll keep your words in mind.¡±

 Chapter 2 - A person who cannot reincarnated

    Chapter 2 A person who cannot reincarnated

    Two monthster, Xianyue Towel of the Mansion was on fire. Xie Qiaofeng and a couple of maidservants died in the fire before they could escape. Later, Zhou Jinn began to manage the household affairs again.

    ¡°My Lady, My Lady, something terrible happened!¡± Being panic, Xu Siniang closed the door and said, ¡°I went to the Water Dungeon yesterday and found that woman was still alive!¡±

    Zhou Jinn opened her eyes wide, looking confused, ¡°That¡¯s impossible! She should have starved to death. Did anyone else bring her food?¡±

    Xu Siniang shook her head, ¡°It¡¯s said that she was good at swimming. She floated in the water for a few days, holding her daughter¡¯s swaddling clothes all the time. There was a baby¡¯s crying at first. But the crying died downter¡­ The watchman found that the swaddling clothes was gone. Only He Danggui floated in the water as she was eating raw fish and shrimps¡­¡±

    ¡°Eat raw fish and shrimps?¡± Zhou Jinn couldn¡¯t help eximing and asked irritably, ¡°What should I do? I cannot eat or sleep well as long as she¡¯s still alive! She would definitely revenge herself on me!¡±

    Xu Siniang suggested, ¡°We have Hedinghong Poison and gelsemium elegan. Tonight, we can use them to¡­¡±

    ¡°Absolutely not!¡± Zhou Jinn stood up angrily, ¡°If people find that she was poisoned, I would be the prime suspect!¡±

    Xu Siniang bowed her head and kept silent. Also, Zhou Jinn leaned on the couch with her eyes closed, ying a pair of stones decorated with dove blood. After a while, she sat up suddenly and said, ¡°Go and dig out the jar under the osmanthus tree. Tonight, I¡¯ll meet her in person!¡±

    There was a deep well in the backyard of the Mansion, and the well water was sweet. It was said that the well water led directly to the moat. In the early years, a girlmitted suicide in the well. Since then, the well was closed and only used to detain the wrongdoers asionally. People in the Mansion called it ¡°Water Dungeon¡±. At this moment, a thin woman with long hair leaned against the wall of the dungeon, making people shivered in the howling night wind.

    ¡°Sister, I haven¡¯t seen you for a long time. How have you been?¡± Wearing a red cloak, Zhou Jinn suddenly appeared above the Water Dungeon. She smiled and waved to the figure below.

    The white figure was motionless. She looked more like a ghost than a living thing. Zhou Jinn squatted down and continued to say, ¡°Oh, I forgot that you cannot speak anymore. s! What a pity! Are your ears still working? At least you can listen. A few days ago, there was a letter from Luo¡¯s Mansion in Yangzhou City. The letter said that your mother became increasingly ill when she learnt your misfortune and diedter¡­¡±

    The figure in the Water Dungeon shook slightly. Zhou Jinn smiledcently, ¡°I¡¯m supposed to keep it from you. But on second thoughts, given the mother-daughter rtionship, I think you should mourn your mother¡¯s death.¡±

    The figure continued to tremble. Consort Zhou wiped the corners of her eyes with a silk handkerchief and sighed, ¡°Sister, don¡¯t me me for being cruel. As a woman, you should understand what a husband¡¯s love means to a woman. I¡¯ve married Lord Ning for twenty years. But I¡¯ve never seen him take more interest in a woman than he does in you. The more he likes you, the more I fear¡­¡±

    ¡°My Lady, here you are.¡± Xu Siniang handed a porcin jar to Zhou Jinn.

    After taking the jar, Zhou Jinn opened it with her nails and continued to say, ¡°So, I nned the trick painstakingly to remove both you and your daughter. Actually, I was too carelessst time. There were still many loopholes in the n, and Lord Ning was such a smart person. I thought it would take me much more time and energy to seed. But, unexpectedly, Lord Ning didn¡¯t investigate it deeply and just punished you directly. Obviously, Lord Ning didn¡¯t want to see you alive anymore, and I just fulfilled his wishes.¡±

    After opening the jar, Zhou Jinn wiped her hands with a silk handkerchief, and lowered her voice, ¡°The person on the throne have changed twice. However, Lord Ning is still on his position steadily. I know it was you who helped him silently. But as a woman, you¡¯re so clever that he felt uneasy. He was afraid that one day you¡¯ll spill the beans. Although he really likes you, don¡¯t forget, he¡¯s the First Founder¡¯s son. You haven¡¯t forgotten what the First Founder did after he ascended the throng, have you?¡±

    The figure at the bottom of the well trembled and caused ripples. Zhou Jinn smiled as she poured the stuff from the jar into the well. Suddenly, He Danggui started struggling violently and she was thrashing around in the water.

    ¡°This kind of Xiaoyao Poison will make you ache for an hour at first, and it will make you ache again an hourter. By analogy, the pain wouldst longer and longer. By the third day, you¡¯ll die of pain. It is said that the person who died in this way cannot reincarnated.¡± Zhou Jinn turned around and waved her handkerchief to say goodbye, ¡°Sister, enjoy it.¡±

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù

    The wind blew the trees and themp shadow shook. It was going to rain.

    ¡°Zhen Ming, I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s going to rain hard. Call a few people to close the gate of the temple hurriedly.¡± A Taoist nun walked into the backyard of the hall.

    Zhen Ming was a 15-year-old little Taoist nun. She pouted and pulled the other two little Taoist nuns to close the gate. The gate was made of ebony, pig iron, and treecquer, weighing more than 100 pounds. So, closing the gate was a kind of drudgery in the Taoist nuns¡¯ minds. Zhen Ming was annoyed, ¡°It¡¯ste autumn now. Why is it raining hard? What a nuisance! Why doesn¡¯t she call me when something good happened?¡±

    ¡°Your Master has always biased Zhen Jing. Everyone knows she is delightful and eager-beaver.¡± The Taoist nun beside her continued to say, ¡°I heard that in the mourning hall, there was a table full of fruits and sweets. Melons and mangoes are so big!¡± She gesticted as she said.

    Another girl said enviously, ¡°Howvish the wealthy family is! A dead person who had been thrown out by her family could have so many good stuffs, but none of us alive could eat a bite.¡±

    Zhen Ming rolled her eyes and said, ¡°Well, why not help in keeping vigil beside the coffin tonight? If Master and Uncle Master ask us, we can tell them that Zhen Jing is too timid, so we go there to apany her!¡± Hearing her thought, the other two girls pped their hands in agreement.

    Soon, the sky was overcast with clouds and the wind was howling. A sh of deafening lightning was followed by downpour. The Side Pce of the Taoist Temple was arranged as a mourning hall, and those biddies who were sent by the wealthy family had already left out ofziness. Only an 11-year-old little Taoist nun, Zhen Jing, kept vigil beside the coffin there. ording to the Master¡¯smand, every time the joss stick was burned out, she would recite the Rebirth Scriptures once and then burn a bunch of joss papers.

    It was said that the person lying inside the coffin suffered a lot when she was alive. As ady, she lived like a maidservant. She didn¡¯t live in the wealthy house until she was 10. But she was not blessed and died within half a year. Looking at the coffin, Zhen Jing burnt joss papers nkly. She felt sorry for the girl who was one year younger than herself. From then on, the beautiful girl could only be buried by the loess. What a pity!

    Outside the mourning hall, the chill wind blew. The rain was falling thickly like thousands of strings, making a hurried sound.

    ¡°Crack.¡± A harsh voice suddenly sounded. Zhen Jing was frightened, ¡°Who¡­Who is there? Come out!¡±

    ¡°Ha-ha!¡± Laughter and whisper came from the door, ¡°She¡¯s a coward! I wonder why your Master choose her to keep vigil beside the coffin.¡± ¡°Come on, you¡¯re no better than her.¡± ¡°But this ce¡­ is really horrified.¡±

    Hearing those familiar voices, Zhen Jing was relieved. Sheined, ¡°Zhen Ming, Zhen Shu, and Zhen Gong, don¡¯t scare me in this ce. It¡¯s not appropriate to y here. You might as well leave quickly.¡±

    Three people walked out of the door. Apparently, they didn¡¯t take Zhen Jing¡¯s words seriously.

    Zhen Ming nced at Zhen Jing, ¡°Who are you? You¡¯re not qualified to teach me what to do!¡± Zhen Shu went straight to the joss stick table, picked up a lotus cake to eat andughed, ¡°Thanks to Zhen Ming¡¯s good idea, otherwise, we won¡¯t enjoy the delicious cake like Zhen Jing.¡±

    Seeing this scene, Zhen Jing was very worried. She stopped them, ¡°Sisters, please behave yourselves. Our Master was just worried something like this would happen, so she asked me to keep vigil beside the coffin alone. After the 21th day of the Lady¡¯s death, all of you can enjoy thevish food!¡±

    Sitting at the joss stick table, Zhen Ming, Zhen Shu and Zhen Gong took their favorite sweets and put them into their pockets as they ate. Zhen Gong threatened Zhen Jing sternly as she put honeydew melons into her pouch worn at the girdle, ¡°If you dare to say this out, I won¡¯t let you stay here happily!¡±

    Zhen Jing bit her lips and begged with a crying voice, ¡°Put them down! Put them down quickly! How can you take food from the mourning hall? The wealthy family trusts Shui Shang Temple, so they entrust us with the funeral arrangement. They not only provided ten fruits and ten dishes as offerings, but also donated arge amount of money to the temple. Don¡¯t you humiliate our elder Master if you eat those offerings?¡±

    Zhen Ming sneered, ¡°Oh! You¡¯re talkative! I don¡¯t believe you haven¡¯t eaten a bite. You must have fed yourself full in here since I didn¡¯t see you at suppertime.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve wronged me! Aunt Liu gave me two steamed buns at dinner, and I ate them here.¡± Zhen Jing cried with tears full of her eyes. She continued to shout, ¡°I might as well let otherse to see what you did here! Miss He will be epiphanic and she¡¯ll punish you for disturbing her soul!¡±

    Just then, a sh of lightning split the sky in half, and there was a rumble of thunder.

    ¡°Shut up! You¡¯re talking nonsense!¡± Zhen Gong threw the food of her pouch and shoved Zhen Jing hard, ¡°How dare you call someone in? Believe it or not, I¡¯ll punish you now!¡± Zhen Jing was pushed to the ground. Suddenly, her eyes opened wide as if she had seen something frightening, and her whole body froze.

    Zhen Gong cursed, ¡°How dare you put on an act?¡± Zhen Ming and Zhen Shu looked in the direction of Zhen Jing¡¯s gaze, then both of them sat on the ground in terror suddenly. Being anxious, Zhen Gong asked, ¡°What happened to you two?¡± But neither of them moved, as if someone had bewitched them. So, Zhen Gong also turned around to see what happened.

    ¡°Ah!¡ªAhh!!¡ªAhhh!!!¡± A sad and miserable cry echoed throughout every corner of Shui Shang Temple.

    The biddies who went to sleep earlier were immediately awakened. They ran to the mourning hall but drew back at the sight of Miss He. After a while, Master Tai Xi, Master Tai Shan and Master Tai Chen were drawn to see the situation.

    Master Tai Shan frowned and approached the mourning hall. From a distance, the lights and candles in the room all went out. The bowls on the joss stick table were messy and the fruits were scattered all over the ground. However, Seeing Zhen Ming trembling and sitting on the ground, Master Tai Shan thought the little Taoist nuns were caught because of stealing offerings. So, she cursed angrily, ¡°Poor thing! What did you steal this time?¡± Then, she was stunned immediately when she nced inadvertently above the nuns.

    Among the in white silk brocade, the person in the coffin who was supposed to lie¡­was sitting up now. A gust of wind blew the silk, making the person in the coffin sneeze. Then everyone drew back in fear.

    When Zhen Ming came here to steal desserts, He Danggui had already opened her eyes. She heard the quarrel among Zhen Jing and other nuns clearly, and she also heard Zhen Jing said something about Miss He. She looked around subconsciously and found herself¡­in somewhere like a mourning hall? What happened? Wasn¡¯t she supposed to die in the Water Dungeon?

    Feeling weak, He Danggui sat up with difficulty, trying to see what happened here. After a gust of wind, she shivered and sneezed.

    After seeing those people¡¯s faces clearly, He Danggui stared at them strangely, as if she saw ghosts.

    If she remembered correctly, these people in front of her were the nuns who lived in ¡°Shui Shang Temple¡± during her childhood. How could this happen? Zhou Jinn had killed her. What she said was still haunting in her ears, ¡°People will die of pain. It is said that the person who died in this way cannot reincarnated.¡± However, if it was a long nightmare, why did she see the people she had known 18 years ago?

    Eighteen years ago, He Danggui was 10 years old. She lived in ¡°Shui Shang Temple¡± for half a year and was subjected to all kinds of bullying. She looked forward to being picked up by her family every day;

    When she was 14 years old, she married into Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion gloriously because she saved Madam Nanny;

    At the age of 16, she was favored by Lord Ning. Then she gave birth to a daughter at the age of 28. Butter, her mother, she and her daughter were all framed to death.

    Eighteen years had passed. She couldn¡¯t believe her eyes to see Zhen Jing, Zhen Ming, Tai Shan, Tai Xi and others again. They all looked the same as she first saw them at 10. How could this happen? If she remembered correctly, Tai Shan should have died 13 years ago!

    He Danggui took a subconscious nce at her hands. They were thin and slender, clearly a child¡¯s hands! Her eyes dted out of fear.

    Zhen Jing gathered her thoughts firstly. She knelt on the ground, knocked her head and said, ¡°Miss He, we¡¯re terribly sorry for disturbing your soul in the mourning hall. Also, we know that you¡¯re reluctant to leave the real world at the age of 10. Please show some mercy to forgive all the crimes we havemitted. I¡¯ll burn joss papers and recite the scriptures every day for you. Hope you¡¯ll show mercy to us and go to the ce where you belong¡­¡± Hearing this, Zhen Ming followed her and knocked her head loudly. Although Zhen Shu and Zhen Gong wanted to do the same to send away the ghost, they could not move.

    He Danggui looked at the joss stick table in front of the coffin. The smell of the crunchy sugar, fingered citron, mango and peach made her sober. She finally realized that it was not a dream! It was not a dream! It was definitely not a dream¡­

    She had a strong feeling that she travelled 18-year back to ¡°Shui Shang Temple¡±.

    As for herself, she, was still alive!

 Chapter 3 - Transformation between past and present

    Chapter 3 Transformation between past and present

    He Danggui looked around the mourning hall, and finally focused her gaze on an ebony board. It was knocked down by Zhen Ming and her partners.

    The words painted with goldcquer made her feel shocked ¨C ¡°My Lovely Daughter, He Danggui¡¯s Memorial Tablet¡±. Beside it was a line of seal cutting words, saying ¡°Founded on September 7th, 27th Year of Hongwu Period in Ming Dynasty.¡± The memorial tablet, the mourning hall, the Taoist temple, and even her body¡­ All of these turned out that she had travelled back to 18 years ago.

    She was 10 years old this year.

    He Danggui had no time to figure out all of these. All she knew was to survive!

    ¡°Zhen Jing, could you please offer me a bowl of water?¡± As He Danggui spoke, she was shocked for her hoarse voice.

    Zhen Jing was kowtowing and reciting scriptures at that time. Hearing someone calling her name all of a sudden, she was terrified, wondering if she was targeted by the ghosts. She poured a bowl of water like a marite, then came to the coffin and held the water above her head tremblingly. Zhen Ming and another two girls never had seen such a scene before, so they fainted immediately.

    He Danggui ignored all of their faces and reactions. She took the bowl and sipped. Right now, the cold water and the china bowl in her eyes were much better than the cubilose and chicken soup or golden cups in herst lifetime.

    He Danggui didn¡¯t return the bowl to Zhen Jing until she drank out the water. She smiled gently to thetter, but thetter was already stunned. He Danggui knew that her previous action must have frightened others, so she pulled Zhen Jing¡¯s hand directly on her chest, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid. Touch me and feel my warmth. I¡¯m not dead. I¡¯m still alive.¡±

    Zhen Jing earthed to herself immediately. Her round eyes were full of fear. He Danggui continued to press her hand on her pulse. Staring at the pale but calm face in front of her, Zhen Jing calmed down finally. She took a deep breath and then felt her pulse. Yes, under the warm skin, she could feel He Danggui¡¯s powerful heart beating.

    Fear was reced by surprise. Zhen Jing shouted instantly, ¡°She is warm. Miss He isn¡¯t dead. Master,e here and have a check. Miss He is still alive! Let¡¯s get her a doctor to have a check!¡±

    Master Tai Shan was approaching her fifties. Experienced as she was, she soon epted the truth that a person died for 2 or 3 days had nowe back to life. She thought to herself, ¡°It was said that Miss He was a sickly girl before, now she had put here and suffered two days of cold wind. For a half-dead person like her, there was a big chance that she had got a momentary recovery of consciousness just before death. Once she exhaled herst breath¡­¡±

    Thinking of this, Tai Shan said, ¡°It¡¯s dark and rainy outside. How can we get a doctor here? Besides, Miss He has just regained her consciousness. The only thing matters now is for her to have a quiet rest. Zhen Jing, support her to rest in the East Wing-room. Hurry!¡± Then she took a nce at Master Tai Xi and said, ¡°Tai Xi, what do you think?¡± Master Tai Xi didn¡¯t refute her. Tai Shan smiled satisfactorily.

    Zhen Jing didn¡¯t understand. Beside the doctor who lived in the countryside of the hillside, Master Tai Chen also knew something about medical treatment. Now they witnessed a person who just came back to life, but what her Master said just now indicated that she just left Miss He here on her own¡­ Then it urred to Zhen Jing that the East Wing-room had left unused for a very long time, even the window papers there were not enough to keep the wind and rain out!

    He Danggui nced at Tai Shan without any expression. Then she smiled before she grasped Zhen Jing¡¯s hand and got out of the coffin, ¡°Master Zhen Jing, sorry to bother you to take me to rest in the East Wing-room.¡± Zhen Jing hesitated and nodded.

    After they left, the biddies sent to carry He Danggui¡¯s spirits besieged Tai Shan and asked,

    ¡°Master, you were close to her. Do you think she has reallye back to life? Do we need to inform Second Mistress Luo about this overnight?¡± ¡°It¡¯s quite horrible. Master, is there any chance that you may perform a religious ritual to drive out the evil spirit?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve always suffered intolerance of cold. Am I unable to get close to the cold and gloomy stuffs?¡± ¡°Could you please gift us pieces of amulet papers to keep away the evil spirits? As you have seen, she muste back to life to revenge. She hates her mother¡¯s natal family for treating her bad.¡±

    Tai Shan didn¡¯t speak until they finished. She smiled, ¡°No need to rush. What if Miss He just got enough energy to live one more day? By then, Madam Luo and the Madams would be happy for nothing. If Madam Luo overtaxed her nerves for this, it would be our fault. We can¡¯t do this to the respected guests.¡±

    ¡°Right. Madam Luo is in bad health all these years. Second Mistress Luo invited a physiognomist to check out the reason. ording to him, the one lived in West Lateral court brought bad fortune to her elders. That¡¯s her. See? She has already died indeed. But she came back to life and even drank and spoke normally. That¡¯s exactly what the physiognomist described!¡±

    Another woman followed, ¡°We didn¡¯t get much from her when she was alive. It was expected that we could earn some from her death. But she hoped the opposite. Now the burial fees won¡¯t be handled by us. We even have to pay for the notice. No wonder all the people in the Mansion said she is a loss-leader!¡±

    One of them frowned for what they hadined, ¡°It¡¯s quitete. Let¡¯s leave it to tomorrow. As for the stuffs in the mourning hall, we can deal with them a few dayster.¡±

    All of them were giddy for such a drama at midnight. So, they left one after another.

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù

    The East Wing-room was still the same as He Danggui remembered. Zhen Jing selected one from a dozen of rooms and supported her there. Although it was better than the rest of the rooms, it was still cold like an icehouse. Except the nk bed He Danggui lied, there were only a square table and a square stool inside the room.

    ¡°Miss He, it¡¯s a quiet ce for you to have a good rest.¡± Zhen Jing covered He Danggui with a Taoist priest frock, ¡°Wait here. I¡¯ll get you some clothes, beddings, stove and hot soup from my Master. Then you won¡¯t feel cold.¡± She was about to run out as she finished.

    ¡°Wait!¡± He Danggui said all of a sudden. She remained silent along their way back.

    Zhen Jing looked at the weak girl before her andforted, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid. I¡¯ll be back soon.¡±

    ¡°Tell me? What year and what day is today? And what is my name?¡± She asked.

    ¡°What?¡± Zhen Jing was in a daze.

    ¡°Hurry, tell me!¡±

    Zhen Jing scratched her cheek slightly and answered, ¡°Year and day¡­ It¡¯s September in the 27th Year of Hongwu Period. As for your name, your name is curved in the memorial tablet. But I¡¯m illiterate. I can¡¯t recognize any of them¡­¡±

    He Danggui closed her eyes as she heard this. Right. It was right. She travelled back to 18 years ago. Then she thought of something and found a gold lock from her clothes as she expected. It was a full moon gift made by a craftsman that her mother invited, representing wealth and longevity. She smiled bitterly as she touched the lock. That was the period her mother cared about her the most.

    Her parents divorced when she was 2. That year, her father, Commander He, weed his concubine living outside as his wife, and specially changed her mother¡¯s identity as ¡°Concubine Luo (Divorced)¡±. So, she was then a daughter of a concubine instead of the legitimate daughter. Her mother took her back to her natal family in a rage. In her mother¡¯s opinion, Commander He just divorced her for being seduced by the coquette. Once he missed his daughter, he would beg her and take them home.

    Therefore, her mother bribed a servant in He¡¯s house to get the information of Commander He and his new wife. Out of her mother¡¯s expectation, the new wife had already given birth to a son as she was a concubine, and the boy was only one month younger than He Danggui. Madam He and her son, Commander He, paid all their attention to this eldest legitimate son and forgot He Danggui and her motherpletely. Her mother smashed all the stuffs within reach into pieces. Since then, her mother never held her in her arms to sing for her.

    At the age of 4, her grandmother, Madam Luo, finally made sure that He¡¯s Family had given up to take He Danggui back home. So, Madam Luo came to their yard to me her mother constantly. At that age, He Danggui had already understood ¡°burden¡±, ¡°get rid of¡± and such words. In fear of being abandoned, He Danggui was seriously ill. Madam Luo took the chance and persuaded her mother to send her to grow up in the countryside. Her mother was only 23 years old, hating her husband for his ruthlessness and was unwilling to live the rest of her life with He Danggui. As a result, He Danggui was sent away.

    Three yearster, her mother was convinced that remarrying to another man with the same family name as her ex-husband was epted and her reputation would not be affected. So, she finally married He Fu. Her new husband was three years younger than her and he was a low-life. After two years of pregnancy failure, the doctor said she was unable to deliver a baby again because she had used too much musk in the early years. She didn¡¯t remember her daughter until this time. Thetter was now 9 years old. She took He Danggui back and demanded her to call He Fu ¡°Father¡±. He Danggui was also required to learn ying Guzheng and dancing to amuse He Fu.

    Unfortunately, less than 1 yearter, He Fu was hired as Eighth-Grade Guarding Commander of the Capital after bribe. The day he went to Yingtian Prefecture to go to his post, he left the two of them home and only asked several servants to take his luggage. He didn¡¯t even say goodbye to them. He¡¯s house was her mother¡¯s dowry. Now that He Fu had abandoned them, her mother pawned the house and took He Danggui back to her natal family.

    Madam Luo passed away 2 years ago. Now Second Mistress Luo was in charge. Her mother was ashamed to stay at home, so she lived in Sanqing Temple most of the time to listen to the scriptures. He Danggui lived in her grandparents¡¯ home for half a year gingerly. Then she was lifted to Shui Shang Temple as a dead one in coffin out of no reason. That year, she was 10 years old.

    In her past life, she woke up in the coffin the same way she did this time. Her forehead was bruised and her ankle was seriously sprained. She couldn¡¯t recall neither what happened nor how she slept in the coffin.

    In thest time, He Danggui was asked how she came back to life. She replied that she had a dream. In the dream, three children fought for a jelly bean. As it dropped to the ground, she picked it up and swallowed, then she woke up.

    Later, what she said about the dream was delivered to her grandparents¡¯ family. They invited someone to interpret the dream. No one knew what the exnation was, but He Danggui was abandoned to Shui Shang Temple ever since. Besides, Tai Shan was rewarded 50 liang to teach her Virtue Ethics for Women and Advice for Women.

    She was regarded as a guess in the Temple. The meals were simple but adequate. The only thing she had to do every day was to recite the Repentance ssic in public, which was written by Tai Shan and Tai Chen. The general content was that He Danggui was burn ominous. Her birth in the world brought bad fortune to her parents, grandparents, and even her possible cousins that couldn¡¯te to this world. Given her sin, she should recite the ssic to beg for the forgiveness of various immortal beings. He Danggui was too young to understand the content, which was written in ssic Chinese. She recited it every day as she was asked. And every time she did it, the nuns who could understand the content always covered their mouths andughed at her.

    Two monthster, Tai Chen went to He Danggui¡¯s grandparents¡¯ house personally, expecting to report the results of her teaching so that she could be rewarded. However, she failed to meet Second Mistress Luo. Instead, an administrator¡¯s wife gave her 5 strings of 1,000 qian from the corner gate and treated her like a beggar. Since then, He Danggui became the humblest person in Shui Shang Temple. She was distributed the least amount of meals and the most of the work. If Zhen Jing hadn¡¯t leave her some leftovers asionally, she would have lied in the coffin twice.

    He Danggui was seriously ill after a cold shower in December. When she finally recovered, she dared not to bathe herself again for theck of hot water. When the nuns met her, they always ran away with their mouths and noses covered, like they were chased by ghosts. While faced the stink men who were responsible for delivering firewood, they approached near one by one.

    In herst lifetime, she lived in that way for half a year. Not until her mother heard enough scriptures in Sanqing Temple and didn¡¯t find her at home did she finally pick up from the temple.

    The third time she got in her parents¡¯ house, she couldn¡¯t helpining all her sufferings to Madam Luo (He Danggui¡¯s grandmother¡¯s sister) and her mother, but they neither listened to her nor sought justice for her. What¡¯s worse, Second Mistress Luo heard about this, so she reduced He Danggui¡¯s eating and clothing expenses secretly for revenge.

    Living in this home miserably, He Danggui wished the most to get married. She fantasied that one day there would a handsome man who could take her away from here and prevent her from all the sufferings.

    At the age of 14, she saved an olddy who got injured by ident. Later, someone came to her home and asked if she was willing to marry Lord Ning as his concubine. She didn¡¯t know that she saved Madam Nanny until now.

    The news stirred up thousands of waves. He Danggui never felt the house so hrious even on the festivals. All the madams came to her, wondering if she had anything in need. A number of cousins and nephews surrounded her, expecting that she would assist them in the future. They talked as if they had saved all the words in this life to tell her within one day.

    Her mother had lived awkwardly in the past decade. But on that day, her mother went in front of others confidently and glowingly, epting all their blessings with a smile.

    This Madam Luo was He Danggui¡¯s grandmother¡¯s sister, who married her grandfather as well. She was always taciturn, but she enjoined He Danggui a lot on that day. ording to her, He Danggui should always bear her mother in mind before she made any decisions. She was also convinced that she should not hate this family for the history. Besides, a woman should be obedient to her father at home, obey her husband after she got married, and submit her son when her husband died. Therefore, all the sufferings she encountered in her childhood were not because this family being cruel to her, but because she wasck of her father¡¯s caring and protection.

    Also, holding a string of Buddhistic beads in her hand, Madam Luo guided He Danggui that she should neither keep away from her family for the negligible disputes in the past, nor forget their kindness to her for inappreciable hatred. A blood rtionship was connected by flesh even if the bones were broken. No matter how bad her family treated her in the past, the fact that they raised her for the past years was what really mattered. Therefore, she should bear their kindness in heart. Even if she failed to rise up her family when she was honored, she should protect her family frompromising once she was guilty.

    Finally, holding the dowry her mother prepared for her painstakingly, He Danggui memorized all their words and got on the red bridal sedan. She thought that was the end of her miserable life and she could rise up ever since. Unfortunately, no one could ever expect that she just came out of the frying pan, but got into the tiger¡¯s mouth.

    Since she was just a concubine designated by Madam Nanny, after she got off the sedan, there was no ceremony or bridal chamber for her, no need to mention the bridegroom, Lord Ning.

    The next day, she came to Princess Xie (Xie Qiaofeng) for kowtowing and serving teas. Thetter overturned the teacup ¡°identally¡± and her face scalded for that. Later she met Senior Concubine Zhou (Zhou Jinn), who gave her a cup of medicine andforted her that she had suffered this before and things would get betterter. He Danggui made her best to repay the medicine and the words she gifted to her, but Zhou Jinn brought her the fatal blow.

    A year after He Danggui came to the mansion, she finally met her husband in a family feast. Zhu Quan, also known as Lord Ning, was a man whobined noble, mysterious, wise and elegant characteristics. His slight smile was enough to attract a girl¡¯s soul. Despite the cruelty hidden beside his graceful face, he was exactly the one He Danggui had ever fantasied of her husband. No, he was even better.

    Most people in the world only did three things in their whole life: self-deceiving, deceiving others and being deceived. He Danggui spent the first half of her life being deceived, and the second half deceiving herself. She deceived herself with the words Madam Luo said to her before her marriage. She told herself that mercy was the best weapon, and forced herself not to resent the members of her grandparents¡¯ family, Princess Xie, the ones who framed her before and the ones who were gonna hurt her.

    Heart was the biggest liar. Others could only deceive her for the time being, but heart could blind her for the whole life. In her previous life, she believed that if she tried her best to do everything perfectly, then all her sufferings could turn into happiness in the end. However, life told her a different story. She sacrificed all her love and heart toplete Zhu Quan¡¯s ambition, but he betrayed and abandoned her atst. She bore all the harm her rivals in love did to her, but was repaid with endless nightmares.

    Destiny yed a joke with her, so she lived a ridiculous life in thest lifetime. Now she was finally enlightened that all her life was started with a swindle. Everything she did was just doing others favors.

    He Danggui didn¡¯t dare to close her eyes. She watched every inch of the wall and ground of the broken room greedily, and smelt the cold wind that caused her cough avariciously. She was afraid that she would still struggle under the Water Dungeon once she closed her eyes¡­

    The whole night, He Danggui was tortured by the memories in her past lifetime. Tears burst out heavily as if tonight she was destined to dry out her tears in this lifetime.

 Chapter 4 - True feelings in the world

    Chapter 4 True feelings in the world

    A thin figure who wore a long gray gown ran in the downpour of rain.

    ¡°Stop! Why are you running like a stray dog! Zhen Jing, I¡¯m talking to you!¡± A loud voice sounded in the night.

    Zhen Jing was soaking wet with some locks of hair sticking to her cheeks like applique. She hunched, gasped, and eximed in surprise, ¡°That¡¯s great! I finally found you, Younger Master Tai Chen!¡±

    ¡°Why are you yelling? Are you bewitched at midnight, or have you lost your mind for keeping vigil beside the coffin for too long?¡± Tai Chen cursed with her hands putting on her waist.

    ¡°Younger Master Tai Chen, it was my Master who asked me to take care of Miss He.¡± Zhen Jing muttered, ¡°Miss He is not herself today. She cannot remember her name. Pleasee with me and have a look. I found there was a bruise on her forehead. She must have hit her head. Since you have bone-setting medicated liquor and velvet antler cream¡­¡±

    ¡°Nonsense! Take good care of her now that your Master had ordered you. Do not make trouble for me!¡± Tai Chen was a woman with tall and strong build, which was equivalent to three or even four Zhen Jing. ordingly, she had a loud voice too. ¡°Doctors like me could only treat the average people like you. How can I treat the person who is delicate in the East Wing-room?¡±

    ¡°But Younger Master, I know nothing. I don¡¯t know how to take care of a patient. Everyone said that you are a warmhearted doctor with excellent medical skills.¡± Zhen Jing folded her hands in a gesture of worship and begged, ¡°Pleasee with me and treat her. If Miss He would get better after the treatment, it¡¯s your merit. If not, she won¡¯t me you, either¡­¡±

    Tai Chen interrupted her words, ¡°Go! Go! Go! I¡¯m so sleepy and wooden now. Get back to the ce wherever you belong. If I see you running everywhere again, I¡¯ll punish you. You hear me?¡±

    Feeling upset, Zhen Jing turned around. But as she had just taken two steps, Tai Chen stopped her, ¡°Hold on!¡± Zhen Jing turned around in surprise and looked at Tai Chen¡¯s face eagerly. Tai Chen had very few eyebrows, which almost looked invisible in the dark. However, her eyes were very bright. She stared at Zhen Jing with a tight smile and whispered, ¡°Little nun, how do you know I have velvet antler cream?¡±

    At this point, a chill wind made Zhen Jing sneeze. Then she stammered, ¡°It seems¡­ I forgot¡­ I heard that you¡­¡±

    ¡°Zhen Jing, why are you standing here? Didn¡¯t Master ask you go to the East Wing-room just now?¡± A voice sounded. The speaker was a Taoist woman of about 30 years old. Her face was delicate and pretty and her long hair reached to her ankles.

    The long-haired nun came slowly from a distance, raised her hand to put a gown on Zhen Jing¡¯s head, and reproached bitterly, ¡°Stupid girl! Why don¡¯t you take an umbre when you go out? How many times have I told you that?¡±

    ¡°Sister Zhen Zhu, where did you go? I¡¯ve been looking for you.¡± Zhen Jing pouted sadly, ¡°You have no idea. The East Wing-room is dark and cold. So, I want to go to the warehouse to get some bedclothes and candles. But the nuns worked there refused. They said they can¡¯t give me the materials without Master¡¯s orders. So, I went to the kitchen to get a stove, but the nuns worked there didn¡¯t give it to me because it¡¯s getting colder and colder, so they don¡¯t have enough stoves for themselves. Then I went to¡­¡±

    ¡°Oh, Younger Master Tai Chen! You¡¯re here!¡± The long-haired nun shouted as if she didn¡¯t see her until now. Then she smiled again, ¡°Younger Master Tai Chen, it¡¯s windy and rainy. What are you doing here? Be careful not to catch cold.¡± Master Tai Chen nced at the two of them indifferently and then turned away without saying a word.

    The long-haired nun turned around and continued to me Zhen Jing, ¡°Zhen Jing, what should I say? Don¡¯t you know everyone has been tired all day and now they are resting? Do you want to wake them up with your noise? This is a Taoist temple. So, having Taoist rites and conducting religious rites are our special skills, but we are not good at treating people with their illnesses. If anyone who thought we cold-shoulder her, she should leave and go home early¡­¡± Speaking of this, she suddenly giggled, making Zhen Jing confused for a moment.

    After looking around, the nun put a key into Zhen Jing¡¯s cold hand when no one was around and whispered, ¡°This is the key to open the cer of the East Wing-room. Although the quilt inside is worn, it¡¯s clean. It¡¯s not a good time to find any warm soup. But when you pass the mourning hall, take some sweets and water for Miss He quietly. Miss He has just woken up, so she shouldn¡¯t eat much.¡±

    Zhen Jing¡¯s face crumpled up. She cried with motion, ¡°Oh¡­ Sister Zhen Zhu, I¡­I know that you are the nicest!¡±

    ¡°Come on. You¡¯d better calm down and be quiet. If you keep being pushy like this, others will hate her more. Just go!¡±

    Zhen Jing blinked strangely, ¡°Everyone didn¡¯t know Miss He before. Why do they look like they have a grudge against Miss He?¡±

    Zhen Zhu sighed and whispered, ¡°Most people tter the upper ss and bully the underss. Hearing that Miss He was unpopr in Luo¡¯s Mansion and nobody wanted to hold funeral for her at home, those vile ones despise her for sure. What¡¯s more, it was originally scheduled for holding a graceful funeral after 20 days, and I heard that the people of Luo¡¯s Mansion gave 150 liang to our Taoist temple. Everyone was supposed to get a reward by then¡­¡±

    Zhen Jing widened her eyes in disbelief, ¡°What? Do they just wish Miss He dead for several strings of money as a reward?¡±

    The rain grew heavier and heavier. The raindrops fell on the soil, and the soil began to suck greedily.

    ¡°Human beings die in pursuit of wealth, and birds die in pursuit of food. Don¡¯t make a fuss about it. No matter what they think, they don¡¯t have a heart of gold. So, be prudent these days. Don¡¯t ask for too much. Didn¡¯t you know what Master means? If you still don¡¯t understand her meaning and fight against her, you¡¯ll pay for it. Go and take care of Miss He. I¡¯ll go to see her tomorrow if I have time.¡±

    Zhen Jing nodded and ran towards the Mourning hall immediately.

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù

    The rain had stopped just before the sun rose. The sky was clear and the air was fresh after the rain. The moon and the sun appeared in the sky simultaneously.

    After crying all night, He Danggui had calmed down. She looked at the skyline and smiled. How could she waste this opportunity since she rose from the dead?

    How interesting! Those who ndered me, bullied me, humiliated me, sneered at me, despised me, debased me, hit me and killed me would know the ability I¡¯m capable of in a few years!

    Lying on the bed, He Danggui took a deep breath. Then she found that not only her feet were sprained, but also her arms and back were very sore, and even her lower abdomen was sore when she slightly did some exercise. She felt her pulse with one hand and showed a forced smile, ¡°It really hurts my vitality since I died once.¡±

    Now, she was weak, exhausted and thirsty. She began to drop tears, got tinnitus, had aches in the limbs, experienced night sweats and easily roused from sleep¡­Fortunately, she was alive. Although there was neither medicine nor silver needles at the moment, it was feasible to press acupoints and massage meridians to recuperate, but it would take 6 or even 7 days to recuperate¡­

    Holding a terrine in her arms, Zhen Jing trotted into the room and showed He Danggui the terrine as if it was a gift. Then she smiled, ¡°Look! Here is the boiled water. Come on, eat some desserts while drink the boiled water!¡±

    He Danggui frowned, took the terrine and put it on the bedside. She pulled Zhen Jing¡¯s hands, lifted up her sleeves and found that she scalded herself. Feeling distressed, He Danggui sighed, ¡°Silly girl, remember to protect your hands from the hot water. Use a cloth next time.¡±

    Zhen Jing made a face, unrolled her handkerchief, and showed He Danggui Osmanthus cakes and peach kernel cakes. She smiled and said, ¡°Miss He, you are younger than me, but you talk like an adult!¡±

    He Danggui took a piece of cake, took a bite and said slowly, ¡°Well, these cakes were made just three days ago. Although the peach kernel was made of the best materials, the craft was the second best. Look, the pastry here is burnt. Even the sugar is used wrong. Peach kernel cake should be baked with ck sugar and a few drops of vegetable oil.¡±

    Zhen Jing didn¡¯t close her eyes all night. She was already starving since she had run back and forth many times for He Danggui. She stared at the piece of peach kernel cake, swallowed her saliva, and sighed, ¡°How dainty you people from wealthy and influential families are when you eat the cake!¡±

    He Danggui smiled, pushed the cakes in Zhen Jing¡¯s direction and said, ¡°Come here. Let¡¯s eat together!¡±

    Zhen Jing waved her hands repeatedly and said, ¡°No! No! No! These are your foods for a whole day. I can¡¯t steal food until evening¡­¡± She realized that she said something wrong, then she covered her mouth with her hands instantly.

    He Danggui seemed to have heard nothing. She put a piece of osmanthus cake into Zhen Jing¡¯s hand and said, ¡°This dough of osmanthus cake was not leaven well. It is an osmanthus biscuit rather than an osmanthus cake. Let¡¯s eat together!¡± Then she held Zhen Jing¡¯s hand and put it into her mouth. Zhen Jing had to take a bite, and the sweet and glutinous taste made her forget everything immediately. She ate the cake in two or three bites, and smiled happily.

    ¡°Although the craft is not good, fortunately, the osmanthus flowers scattered above the cake are freshly picked and the smell is refreshing. Also, in traditional Chinese medicine, osmanthus flowers have a warm property, and it can dispel the cold and unchoke the obstructed blood, which is useful for alleviating your dysmenorrhea.¡± He Danggui handed her two more osmanthus cakes, ¡°Hurry up. Let¡¯s finish all these desserts. Next meal would be ater issue for us to worry about.¡±

    Zhen Jing was embarrassed. Her face turned pale and then red. Her eyes widened and her mouth opened big in surprise. Holding tightly the hand of He Danggui, she asked hesitantly, ¡°Miss¡­Miss He, how did you know that I have a period now? No one here knows except Sister Zhen Zhu¡­¡±

    He Danggui smiled, ¡°Don¡¯t make a fuss. I felt your pulse just now, and I found that you look pale. There are also faint green marks under your eyes. However, I found faint flushes in your cheeks. That¡¯s a sign of blood loss and obstruction of the blood cirction. So, I got the answer. You can rest assured that I will never tell anyone.¡±

    ¡°You¡­You are amazing!¡± Zhen Jing was surprised and shy, ¡°You can learn this through a slight feel of my pulse. That¡¯s marvelous!¡±

    Zhen Jing dared not let others know that she had menarchest month. She only told Zhen Zhu, asked her how to handle this problem, and begged her to keep it a secret.

    In Zhen Jing¡¯s memory, when Zhen Gong had her menarche when she was 15, she hid her dirty underwear under the bed. Later, Master Tai Chen found it. She pped Zhen Gong hard and cursed her loudly, ¡°Shame on you, little bitch!¡± After that, Zhen Gong became aughingstock of everyone in Shui Shang Temple, and it was still mentioned asionally until now. However, Zhen Jing had menarche before twelve years old. She was afraid that everyone wouldugh at her if others knew her secret.

    He Danggui knew exactly what she was thinking and softly exined, ¡°Zhen Jing, the time of menarche differs from person to person and it¡¯s not bad toe early. Although you are thin, your constitution is rtively hot. So, it¡¯s not weird for you to have menarche at this age. Don¡¯t treat menstruation carelessly just because of bashfulness. Once you get sick, you will regret it. During your period, the most important thing you need to do is to keep clean and warm. You¡¯d better wash your feet with hot water before sleep to promote blood cirction. Also, I appreciate what you did for me, but remember, don¡¯t run in the cold wind and rain anymore.¡±

    Zhen Jing looked at He Danggui in surprise and asked, ¡°Wow, why do you know everything? Who taught you these? You are more knowledgeable than Sister Zhen Zhu. Are you really just ten years old?¡±

    He Danggui smiled quietly and murmured, ¡°Yes, how strange.¡±

    ¡°Ah, don¡¯t move! Look! Your expression now looks like an adult too!¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    They talked and ate, and before they knew it, they had finished a pot of boiled water and a packet of cakes.

    As soon as Zhen Jing finished, she began to pull a long face and sighed, ¡°Oh! No! I¡¯m so piggish! I can¡¯t believe that I¡¯ve eaten all your food for a whole day! It¡¯s all my fault! I¡¯m so sorry!¡±

    Looking at Zhen Jing, He Danggui leaned on her pillow with a smile.

    In her previous life, she liked this little girl with true disposition. It was Zhen Jing¡¯s aid andfort that carried her through those dark days. In the past, Master Tai Shan and Master Tai Chen both regarded He Danggui as the most low-down maidservant. They often scolded her and beat her with the tools at hand. She had never suffered these as she worked on the farm outside the town before when she was younger.

    Once she carried buckets of water again and again for a whole day. Her legs trembled, and her shoulders were skinned with blood, but she hadn¡¯t eaten any food. In the evening, she was so starving that she covered her head with a quilt and cried secretly. Later, she felt someone poked her, so she wiped away her tears quickly and uncovered the quilt.

    Then she saw Zhen Jing sitting next to her and smiling at her. Her smile was as bright as the stars in the dark.

    Zhen Jing raised her right hand and said, ¡°Here you are! I got two big white buns from the kitchen!¡± Then she smiled mysteriously and suddenly showed her left hand, ¡°And this!¡±

    ¡°¡­Meat!¡± He Danggui wiped away her tears and eximed in a low voice, ¡°Where did you get the meat?¡±

    Zhen Jing smirked, ¡°When I passed the backyard, I saw Master Tai Chen cooking meat secretly. While she was going to the kitchen to fetch some salt, I grabbed a handful of meat and ran away!¡±

    Staring nkly at the uncooked meat in Zhen Jing¡¯s palm, she burst into tears, ¡°You¡¯ve got blisters on your hands¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. It doesn¡¯t hurt. It really doesn¡¯t hurt! Eat it quickly and go to sleep!¡± Zhen Jing wiped He Danggui¡¯s tears andforted her, ¡°Don¡¯t cry. Your mother wille to pick you up. Eat more, and she¡¯ll be happier if you are chubby¡­You just need to wait for a few more days. She¡¯ll be here soon!

    He Danggui nodded, eating while crying. The pieces of meat, which were neither cooked nor delicious, were the best food she had ever eaten.

    Later, her mother really sent Biddy Song to pick her up. She wanted to take Zhen Jing with her, but Master Tai Chen didn¡¯t let her go because Zhen Jing¡¯s parents had owed Shui Shang Temple a lease on the farm. So, Zhen Jing worked for Shui Shang Temple to offset the debt. He Danggui asked how much money her parents owed. Master Tai Chen forced a smile and said, ¡°She owed 30 liang including interest.¡±

    At that time, He Danggui was penniless, and even her most cherished longevity gold lock was stolen in the Taoist temple. Therefore, she had to ask Biddy Song for paying the money first, then she could ask her mother to return the money to her. However, Biddy Song told her coldly that she had no spare money to lend her. In addition, there were so many maidservants in Luo¡¯s Mansion. She had never heard of paying 30 liang for a maidservant. After all, 8 strings of qian (which equals to 8 liang in ancient China) could pay for 3 or 4 maidservants throughout the whole Yangzhou City. So, He Danggui couldn¡¯t take Zhen Jing away.

    Before leaving, she took Zhen Jing¡¯s hand and whispered, ¡°Wait for me, I¡¯ll take you away as soon as I have enough money.¡± Zhen Jing smiled and nodded, ¡°I¡¯m fine here. You don¡¯t have to miss me. Go home and meet your mother!¡±

    When He Danggui got home, she begged her mother again. However, her mother¡¯s statement was exactly the same as that of Biddy Song. Without saying a few words, her mother excused that she was tired and went to the back hall to recite the scriptures.

    After that, she started saving money. Second Madam Luo who was in charge of the household affairs reduced her monthly expense to as much as the first-ss maidservants in Luo¡¯s Mansion. She could only get 1.2 liang silver a month. After over a year, she pawned some clothes and jewelries, got 24 silver ingots lucky money from Madam Luo, and saved money every month. Finally, she saved 30 liang. During this time, He Danggui¡¯s maidservants had expressed and implied that the masters of other rooms were generous and their maidservants often got a variety of rewards. But He Danggui pretended that she didn¡¯t understand the meaning of their words. Later, her maidservants didn¡¯t treat her as their master anymore.

    Taking the opportunity of praying in Shui Shang Temple, He Danggui found Master Tai Shan with her silver happily and rmended to redeem Zhen Jing. Taking the money and feeling the weight of 30 liang, Master Tai Shan told her coldly that 30 liang was the old price. Till now, the money and interest had risen to 42 liang. In addition, Master Wei, who stayed overnight at the Taoist temple had bought Zhen Jing as his concubine half a month ago.

    In the end, Tai Shan took a scornful look at her and left, leaving her alone in a daze. How did this happen? Zhen Jing was only twelve years old¡­

    Since then, she had never seen Zhen Jing anymore.

    Now, looking at the cheerful and amodating young girl in front of her, He Danggui smiled. She was lost in thoughts. This time, she would not leave Zhen Jing here. On the contrary, she would let the people of Luo¡¯s Mansion pick them up with arge sedan chair carried by eight people!

    Squatting at the door, Zhen Jing wanted to light the brazier with hay in it by a fire-stone. After a long time, the glints were still too weak to produce a spark. Suddenly she felt cold and turned around subconsciously, that¡¯s when she saw the strange expression on He Danggui¡¯s face. She screamed, ¡°Wow! Why do you look at me like this? You make me scared.¡±

    He Danggui smiled and said softly, ¡°Zhen Jing, thank you. I appreciate it.¡±

    Zhen Jing made a face, ¡°Miss,e on! Are you grateful to me for lighting a brazier?¡±

    ¡°Get out of here with me, will you?¡±

    ¡°What! Do you want to go for a walk? No, it¡¯s windy outside. It¡¯ll blow you down!¡±

    ¡°¡­My style name is ¡®Qingyi¡¯. You can call me Xiaoyi in the future.¡±

    ¡°Xiaoyi, Xiaoyi, Xiaoyi, ha-ha. It¡¯s a nice name, but it¡¯s like a boy¡¯s name.¡±

    ¡°Then let¡¯s get out of here together, shall we?¡±

    ¡°What! Do you really want to go for a walk? Wait a minute, I¡¯ll get you a thicker clothing.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°Hey, why are your eyes red and swollen? Did you cryst night?¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°Ha-ha. See? I also know the four diagnostic methods of TCM including inspection, listening and smelling, inquiry and palpation. Am I also amazing?¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

 Chapter 5 - The living are more dangerous than the dead

    Chapter 5 The living are more dangerous than the dead

    After the rain, two young girls in silver-gray robes supported each other on the mountain road. He Dangguiined to herself as she walked on the road. As the saying went, ¡°It¡¯s easier to temporize than fight against the current.¡± Originally, she just wanted to step outside for a breath of fresh air and pick a few herbs that would help her recuperate by the way. No one knew that so many unexpected incidents would happen on the road.

    What was worse, He Danggui¡¯s foot injury was getting serious. At the same time, the inner clothes and vest she wore were gone. Being blown by the mountain wind in the evening, she felt so cold like drinking cold water in the cold weather.

    However, Zhen Jing smiled, feeling fulfilling. She sighed as she walked, ¡°Xiaoyi, you are not only capable but also kind. It¡¯s a good fortune for him to meet you there. If he could recuperate from this injury, you would be his savior¡­¡±

    ¡°Remember not to talk about this when we go back to the temple!¡± He Danggui reminded her again.

    Zhen Jing¡¯s eyes narrowed as the crescent moon. She shook her head and replied, ¡°I know! I know! You¡¯ve said it eight times. Why do you call me a chatty girl? You are just the same¡­¡±

    Time went back to the noon.

    He Danggui and Zhen Jing carried small bamboo baskets respectively and snuck out of Shui Shang Temple quietly. He Danggui picked up some useful herbs everywhere, while Zhen Jing picked mountain mushrooms and dug wild vegetables.

    In the past, some Mongolian soldiers had set fires to the top of the mountain where the Taoist Temple was located. Until now, the vegetation here was sparse. They wandered around but gained few. Later, they went down the mountain unknowingly.

    Along their way, Zhen Jing saw a bird¡¯s nest in a crooked tree. Then she climbed up and found there were seven or eight eggs about the size of stones. He Danggui told her to leave two eggs in the nest, and helped her slide down the tree. When they took several steps forward, He Danggui found another bird¡¯s nest, and Zhen Jing did the same as before.

    Since they got a lot of good stuffs in a short time and had tasted the sweetness, so they began to look for bird¡¯s nests around as they chatted.

    ¡°Xiaoyi, I¡¯ve lived in the Taoist Temple for 4 or 5 years, but I don¡¯t know there is a dog hole under the courtyard of the East Wing-room. How do you know that?¡±

    ¡°We discovered it in the previous life.¡± He Danggui thought in her heart but said to Zhen Jing, ¡°Oh, because I just saw a few miceing out from there.¡± She knew that Zhen Jing was afraid of mice the most.

    As expected, Zhen Jing screamed with fear and covered her ears to run away.

    He Danggui couldn¡¯t walk fast because she sustained an injury on her ankle. So, she didn¡¯t go after her but reminded behind her, ¡°Be careful. It¡¯s slippery!¡± No sooner had she finished the words than Zhen Jing fell down. Being anxious, He Danggui limped towards Zhen Jing and found hery on the grasnd. She asked anxiously, ¡°Are you okay?¡±

    Zhen Jing was panicky, and screamed as she got up, ¡°There is¡­There is a dead body in the grass!¡±

    Being confused, He Danggui walked there and saw a small patch of grass covered with something red like blood. When she walked closer, she saw a boy lying in the grass. His body was covered with blood. After a few more careful nces, He Danggui took Zhen Jing and went away.

    ¡°A dead body¡­there is a dead body!¡± Zhen Jing was still in shock.

    ¡°Hush! Stop screaming. I see it.¡± He Danggui knocked on her head and said, ¡°First, no matter how you scream, the dead can¡¯te back to life and jump up to bite you or hurt you. Don¡¯t be afraid. The living, on the contrary, sometimes would harm you for all kinds of reasons. So, the living are much more terrible than the dead. Second, the boy is still alive.¡±

    ¡°What? He¡¯s alive? How did you know that?¡± Zhen Jing¡¯s eyes widened in surprise.

    He Danggui was speechless, ¡°Sis, I saw it with my own eyes. I saw him panting and frowning. His wound was still bleeding. You must have stepped on his wound.¡±

    Zhen Jing flushed with embarrassment and said, ¡°That¡­that¡¯s because I¡¯ve never seen so much blood, I dare not to watch him anymore¡­But Xiaoyi, since he is still alive, why did you take me leave like this? Aren¡¯t we going to save him?¡±

    He Danggui shook her head and said nothing more. She dragged her sleeves to walk.

    Zhen Jing was unwilling to move anymore. Then she said with pleading eyes, ¡°Xiaoyi, let¡¯s save him!¡±

    He Danggui spread her hands out and asked, ¡°How? We are not the Sanqing Immortals of Taoism (includes Yuqing, Shangqing and Taiqing, also known as Yuanshi Tianzun, Lingbao Tianzun and Daode Tianzun respectively) enshrined in the Taoist Temple. We don¡¯t have the ability to sprinkle a few drops of holy water over him or feed him with a kind of elixir to save him.¡±

    ¡°But¡­he¡¯s a man! Why are you so indifferent?¡± Zhen Jing¡¯s eyes were red, ¡°I can¡¯t leave it alone. Anyway, I have to save him! As a Taoist nun, if I do nothing to save people from ruin, I won¡¯t get the blessing from the immortals.¡± Then she got rid of He Danggui¡¯s hands and wanted to return to save him.

    Looking at Zhen Jing¡¯s back for a while, He Danggui sighed and shouted, ¡°Zhen Jing, listen to me, I won¡¯t stop you to save people. The reason why I value you as a friend is that you are very kind. But there is something weird about this, and I don¡¯t want you to do bad things with good intentions!¡±

    Hearing this, Zhen Jing paused and turned to look at her, ¡°Why do you think it¡¯s weird?¡±

    He Danggui trotted towards her, held Zhen Jing¡¯s hand again, and said analytically, ¡°It¡¯s just a few steps from the main road. If he got injured idently, he would ask for help and won¡¯t hide himself in the grass. Also, I found that the drops of blood around were intermittent from the west to the main road. Obviously, he had crossed the main road, but he continued to move and hide himself into the grass in the end.¡±

    Zhen Jing was confused, ¡°So what?¡±

    ¡°That means he didn¡¯t want anyone to find him!¡±

    Zhen Jing eximed and her eyes widened in surprise, ¡°He didn¡¯t want others to find him? Does he¡­want tomit suicide?¡±

    Being helpless, He Danggui was almost choked by her own saliva. She knocked on Zhen Jing¡¯s forehead and asked, ¡°If you want tomit suicide, will you make a dozen gashes on yourself and then try to bleed to death slowly? I guess he might be running away from the enemy.¡±

    Zhen Jing covered her mouth in surprise and frowned, ¡°So¡­what should we do? We just stand by and do nothing?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid so. We are just two little powerless kids.¡± He Danggui shook her head and continued, ¡°If we make a mistake carelessly, we¡¯ll put ourselves in danger, let alone saving his life. Think about it, if we stay here, his enemy may find him easily at the sight of us and the bloodstain. That means we killed him indirectly by then. Moreover, the man is seriously injured. If we drag him rashly, we may exacerbate his wound. I know that you intend to bring him back to the Taoist Temple. But the Temple is a public ce, anyone can find him there. If the enemy of that person asks about his whereabouts in the Taoist Temple, what do you think Master Tai Shan would deal with a dying person who is unknown?¡±

    Zhen Jing¡¯s face grew paler at her analysis. She covered her mouth and said, ¡°It¡¯s dangerous! I¡¯m d you stopped me. I nearly killed a man!¡± Then she pulled He Danggui and run a long way, panting and asking, ¡°Xiaoyi, what should we do now? Can we just go back to the Taoist Temple?¡±

    He Danggui nodded and walked a few steps. Suddenly she stopped, stared at Zhen Jing¡¯s feet and asked, ¡°What¡¯s that on your shoe?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Zhen Jing looked down in confusion and saw a bloodstain on her shoe, ¡°Oh! It must have been stained just now!¡±

    He Danggui frowned for a moment, then picked up a sharp stone from the ground and scratched her palm. Blood poured out immediately.

    ¡°Ah, what are you doing!¡± Zhen Jing was horrified.

    He Danggui motioned for her to be calm. Then she tore a strip of cloth from her robe to bandage the wound as she told Zhen Jing, ¡°If someone asks why there is bloodstain on your shoe, you can exin that my hand got hurt, which stained you shoe.¡±

    Zhen Jing paused for a moment and suddenly cried, ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, Xiaoyi. How could I suspect your moral character and thought you¡¯re indifferent just now? I made a mistake, but you hurt yourself to protect me. Will you get mad at me and never talk to me?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s all right, don¡¯t cry.¡± He Dangguiforted her, ¡°Look, it¡¯s just a small cut and it doesn¡¯t hurt. I¡¯ll be fine in two days. Like I said, the reason why I value you as a friend is that you are very kind-hearted. You have a kind heart that I have lost. I can remember what kind of person I was at the sight of you. How can I be mad at you?¡±

    Zhen Jing wiped her tears and whispered, ¡°Actually, you are the kind one. I was impulsive just now. I shouldn¡¯t have used you of being indifferent. I¡¯m sorry¡­But, what did you just say¡­something about the person you used to be? Why do you sometimes speak like an adult? You¡¯re younger than me¡­¡±

    They chatted with each other on their way back to the Taoist Temple.

    He Danggui knew Zhen Jing was sullen for she wasn¡¯t able to save the boy¡¯s life. So, she kept talking with her along their way to distract her attention.

    ¡°Look!¡± He Danggui pointed to a cluster of small white flowers on the side of the road, ¡°This is rhizoma atractylodes, which tastes bitter and spicy. When it is used with pork liver and semen cassiae, eye diseases can be cured. Together with notopterygium incisum and radix angelicae pubescentis, the anemofrigid-damp arthralgia can be cured with excellent effect. Have you ever heard the beautiful and touching legend about this traditional Chinese medicine¡­¡±

    ¡°Ha-ha!¡±

    Suddenly, there was a burst ofughter behind them. As they looked back simultaneously, they saw about ten tall and burly men walking on the mountain road behind them. They were about 50 meters away, well dressed with neat steps. Among them, the one in blue robe seemed to be honored.

    He Danggui kept her countenance, but she couldn¡¯t help pondering over the identities of these people.

    Walking on the mountain road covered with gravels and fallen leaves, they were very close to He Danggui and Zhen Jing. But until some of themughed, He Danggui and Zhen Jing didn¡¯t notice them. Looking at them again, He Danggui found their clothing were not unified, but they walked at a surprisingly consistent pace, and that kind of tacit understanding couldn¡¯t be developed overnight. What¡¯s more, they all walked with their toes pointing outwards, and even at the same angle! Were they¡­

    Just when He Danggui analyzed in her mind, those people were approaching.

    Zhen Jing had never seen so many tall and strong men on the mountain, and she was involuntarily awed by the momentum of these people. Then she couldn¡¯t help holding He Danggui¡¯s hand, and took two or three steps back.

    ¡°Ha-ha, don¡¯t be afraid. We¡¯re not bad people!¡± A young man in scarlet robe with gold lines, about 23 years old,ughed, ¡°Hearing what this little girl said along the way, I think you are familiar with many kinds of herbs. I couldn¡¯t helpughing. Don¡¯t take it to heart!¡±

    He Danggui¡¯s eyes dropped. She was shocked that they had heard her words all the way. More surprisingly, she said in a soft voice because she was tired and weary, and they were not too close to her¡­With such excellent hearings, they were definitely seniors.

    Thinking of this, she held Zhen Jing who was in a cold sweat, and then stood sideways and smiled, ¡°Excuse me for my nonsense. You first.¡±

    The man at the front of the line dressed in blue robe. He slightly nodded and climbed up the mountain road three steps at a time, and others followed him. He Danggui and Zhen Jing bowed their heads and held their breath subconsciously, waiting for them to pass.

    ¡°Hey! Why is there blood on your shoe? Where have you just been?¡± The man at the end of the team suddenly stopped beside them, staring at Zhen Jing coldly. He Danggui took a nce at the man. He was wearing a ck suit which embroidered with red patterns. The intricate pattern made the ck robe bright and uncanny.

    Hearing this, the ones ahead all looked back simultaneously. Zhen Jing couldn¡¯t help drawing back.

    He Danggui held Zhen Jing with her right hand, and showed the bandaged wound of the palm of her left hand. She replied quietly, ¡°We picked up some herbs just now, and my hand was scraped by the branches. Then my blood soiled my partner¡¯s shoe idently.¡±

    The young man in a scarlet robe smiled again and apologized, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. He¡¯s a rough man. I hope he didn¡¯t scare you.¡±

    He Danggui shook her head and bowed her eyes, ¡°My Childe, don¡¯t mention it.¡±

    The man in scarlet robe asked the head, ¡°Sir, they had picked up herbs on the mountain. Why not ask them?¡± The man in blue robe bowed his head, and the man in scarlet robe looked at them again, ¡°Ladies, may I ask if you have met anyone strange or anything weird along the way?¡±

    He Danggui showed a thoughtful expression, and said, ¡°Strangers¡­you respected guests are strangers. As for the weirdness¡­The first weird thing we encountered today is that we met nine people dressed in fine clothing and with capital ents. They are not merchants, not farmers, not woodsmen, not hunters, not hermits, or the heroes of the forests. But they wandered on the mountain road and spoke hearsay evidence. Do you think that¡¯s a strange thing?¡±

    ¡°Ha-ha!¡± The man in scarlet robeughed, and others smiled too. The man stared at He Danggui with interest, ¡°Interesting! I didn¡¯t expect a little nun in this deep mountain is not only familiar with pharmacology, but also talkative and humorous!¡±

    He Danggui smiled, ¡°Thanks for your appreciation. May I ask is there anything else you want to know?¡±

    The man in scarlet robe folded his hands, tilted his head and smiled, ¡°You don¡¯t need to be so vignt. In fact, we are all officials, chasing an important criminal here. So, we want to ask you if you have met a seriously injured man who looks suspicious.¡±

    He Danggui realized suddenly that they were imperial guards!

 Chapter 6 - The dispute among the imperial guards on the mountain road

    Chapter 6 The dispute among the imperial guards on the mountain road

    After observing those people from their clothing and speech to deportment, they weren¡¯t so much officials as imperial guards¡­

    He Danggui broke out in a cold sweat. Fortunately, they hadn¡¯t talked about that injured man after leaving him. After thinking for a while, He Danggui shook her head and replied, ¡°Your honor, we haven¡¯t seen any injured man in the forest before. I didn¡¯t know your identities just now. If I said something inappropriate, please excuse me and don¡¯t take it to heart.¡± Zhen Jing nodded in agreement.

    ¡°Well¡­¡± The man in scarlet robe smiled, then asked, ¡°I wonder which Taoist Temple you two girls cultivate yourselves in. Can you lead us to have a look?¡±

    Hearing his request, He Danggui suddenly bowed her head, feeling scared, ¡°Your honor, I identally sprained my foot, so I cannot walk fast like an average people. I¡¯m afraid I may dy your journey. The Taoist Temple you are looking for is called Shui Shang Temple, locating at the end of the mountain road. I¡¯m sorry I cannot lead you there in person.¡±

    He Danggui was graceful and gentle, and she had a pleasant voice, making the man in scarlet robe feel friendly. The man asked, ¡°Most ordinary women are embarrassed and bashful when they see the officials. Why aren¡¯t you afraid to see us at such a young age?¡±

    He Danggui smiled and bowed her head slightly, ¡°I¡¯m ttered, your honor. In fact, I also respect and fear you. It took all my courage to keep talking until now.¡±

    ¡°Ha-ha, it¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve seen a funny girl like you.¡± The man in scarlet robe smiled, ¡°You said you¡¯ve sprained your foot, so it must be very hard to walk for you. Since you share the same destination with us, how about I carry you¡­¡± ¡°Ahem.¡± The man in ck suddenly coughed loudly, interrupting him unhesitatingly.

    He Danggui nced at them calmly and rescued him from the topic, ¡°The weather in the mountains is changeable, and the rainstorm woulde at any time. Searching people will be more difficult by then. Why don¡¯t you quick your pace as soon as possible?¡±

    The man in ck said gruffly, ¡°She¡¯s right! Duan, even a little girl understands that. Why don¡¯t you see that?¡± He Danggui found that other imperial guards all left. Then the man in scarlet robe waved to say goodbye, chasing his apanies hurriedly.

    They disappeared into the distance, and Zhen Jing was a little relieved. When she wanted to say something, He Danggui motioned for her to be quiet. So, she covered her mouth and her eyes widened.

    Duan Xiaolou caught up with the others in front of him a few steps, and said angrily to the man in ck robe, ¡°Hey! Gao Jue, don¡¯t make me embarrassed in front of girls!¡±

    Gao Jue pulled a face at him and kept silent. Seeing this, Lu Jiangbei mediated the dispute and smiled, ¡°All right, all right. We¡¯ve been tired after a day¡¯s journey. Don¡¯t get mad at each other!¡± Then, Lu Jiangbei stepped forward and stood between them.

    Liao Zhiyuan sneered, ¡°I think Xiaolou is doing that again! I really cannot imagine why he cares about not only teenage girls, but also women over 40 years old. He is more phnthropic than the Mandkesvara¡­¡±

    ¡°Come on, Dude! Stop saying that!¡± Duan Xiaolou shoved him and said, ¡°The girl is a pure Taoist nun. Why do you gossip her since she has never offended you?¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan smiled, ¡°Major General Duan, have I mentioned her just now? I was talking about Miss Lian and her mother! However, seeing the little nun¡¯s beautiful appearance, you must have had some inordinate ambitions. Why take it out on me?¡±

    The more Duan Xiaolou listened, the angrier he became. He kicked Liao Zhiyuan hard.

    Liao Zhiyuan jumped to hide behind Gao Jue, andughed, ¡°Unfortunately, the nun is too young to be your wife. You can only consider her as your sister if you take her home. But how many sisters have you found in Yangzhou City this time? Could your carriage carry them all?¡±

    Duan Xiaolou flushed with anger, and he excused himself as he took it seriously to the tussle, ¡°I¡¯ve said many times. Miss Xue had suffered a lot. Her husband sent her to Zui Xiang Yard (a brothel) because of gambling. However, Miss Xue was reluctant to sell her body. Then she was beaten ck and blue by some bastards. She was determined to jump into the river tomit suicide. I couldn¡¯t stand by and watch her die, so I saved her. As for Miss Lian, she was even more pitiful. Her uncle upied her family property after her father died. Since then, she and her mother could only earn a living by digging coal from a coal pit. Her uncle intended to sell her to an old man to be his concubine. I couldn¡¯t stand it¡­¡±

    ¡°So, Childe Duan took both her and her mother home!¡± Liao Zhiyuan continued to say and pulled Gao Jue in front of him as a shield at the same time. Fortunately, he dodged Duan Xiaolou¡¯s two moves of martial arts, one called ¡°You Feng Lai Yi¡± and the other called ¡°Wu Long Bai Wei.¡±

    Gao Jue was walking as he bowed his head. Suddenly, his nose was almost beat by Duan Xiaolou¡¯s fist idently. He got mad for being involved. Therefore, he punched him at Liao Zhiyuan¡¯s chin with his left hand and kicked Duan Xiaolou¡¯s head with his right foot. In the meantime, Duan Xiaolou kept calm and was fearless. He avoided his attack as he began to kick and punch Liao Zhiyuan.

    Therefore, Liao Zhiyuan suffered the attack from both sides. He yelled that it was unfair, turning his head to ask otherpanions for help. Those who met his gazeughed and hid aside, refusing to help withoutpassion.

    ¡°Hey, Jiang Pi, I just saved you oncest month! Shouldn¡¯t you repay my kindness to you?¡± Liao Zhiyuan had the nerve to ask for his favor, ¡°Boy, now it¡¯s time for you to return the favor,e here and save me!¡±

    Unexpectedly, Jiang Pi picked his nose leisurely and asked shamelessly, ¡°Don¡¯t you know that you shouldn¡¯t expect rewards when you help others?¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan was furious. He was almost beaten by Gao Jue¡¯s powerful fist since he was distracted by the conversation. He turned aside quickly, avoiding his iron fist narrowly. After dozens of rounds like this, Duan Xiaolou finally punched Liao Zhiyuan¡¯s lower abdomen, and Gao Jue kicked him at the same time. Finally, the battle ended in the victory of Gao Jue.

    Duan Xiaolou was kicked into a big por tree, and he fell to the ground heavily. But he focused his eyes on Liao Zhiyuan indignantly, ¡°Do not mention about this anymore! I just want to save people. Nothing about romance is involved. It¡¯s absolutely not what you think it is!¡±

    However, Liao Zhiyuan covered his lower abdomen, wrinkled his face and said, ¡°Holy cow! I just pulled your leg! Take it easy, okay? Besides, although you don¡¯t want to marry any of them, the girls may think differently. Don¡¯t you know how Miss Lian feels about you? Even the blind could feel her feelings for you. If it goes on like this, I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll never get married¡­Look, you pull a face at me again every time we talk about this. Ouch, it hurts! Forget it! I don¡¯t want to talk about this anymore.¡±

    Although Duan Xiaolou had born into a wealthy family, his mother found it quite difficult to settle an arranged marriage for him. Neither the daughters of concubines nor the daughters of wealthy and influential families would like to marry Duan Xiaolou.

    However, a girl born into a normal family couldn¡¯t match Duan Xiaolou very well. After all, Duan Xiaolou was the only legitimate son in the family, and his wife must be able to support her husband and be in charge of the household affairs. The girls from normal family were inexperienced, uneducated and insufficient to deal withplicated situations. Therefore, Duan Xiaolou was still single at the age of 23, which became a serious worry for Mrs. Duan.

    The tricky part was that Duan Xiaolou always had special feelings for girls. Whenever he saw the girls¡¯ distress, he could not help rescuing them. Now, he had rescued nearly 100 women, and they all were taken into Duan¡¯s Mansion. Some of them worked for Duan¡¯s family in different yards and those who could not be arranged to work at home were sent to the manor of silk fabrics, money shops or restaurants to earn a living.

    Although Duan Xiaolou just felt infinite sympathetic towards these women, many of them sent him embroidered handkerchiefs, insoles, sachets and even waistbands from time to time. What was more exaggerated? A girl fainted ¡°unexpectedly¡± next to him, and another pretended to fall into the lotus pond ¡°idently¡± and yelled for help in panic¡­

    His mother felt powerless to stop such repeated cases. So, rumors began to circte about Duan Xiaolou¡¯s romantic stories through all the wealthy and influential families.

    Since Duan Xiaolou got a bad reputation for this, no one would marry him. After all, women were afraid of dealing with so many rivals in love. Therefore, many girls would rather marry an old man as a Second Wife than Duan Xiaolou.

    However, not only had Childe Duan fixed his image, but also he added more rivals in love for his wife in the future at an average rate of four or even five people a month, which also made it awkward for his mother to settle his marriage.

    In fact, there was no need to me those women for expressing their love to Duan Xiaolou, the one like a hero who saved them from sufferings. Moreover, the man was young, handsome and promising. Who wouldn¡¯t love such a man? They all believed that as long as they were honest and sincere, any difficult problem could be solved. So, they persevere with all kinds of gentleness, trying to melt and get his love.

    ¡°Stop! Stop quarreling. It¡¯s getting dark. We¡¯re here to investigate, not to travel.¡± Gao Jue responded coldly, ¡°Duan Xiaolou, if you put more energy on the case, how can you lose the most important clue of the case?¡±

    Before Duan Xiaolou spoke, Lu Jiangbeiforted quickly as a peacemaker, ¡°It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s not Xiaolou¡¯s fault. The man ran away so fast and none of us could chase him. Everyone is tired of walking, so, we might as well speak less and walk more. Now, the way down the mountain had been blocked by our officials. I say we could stay in the Taoist Temple tonight and search the mountain thoroughly tomorrow.¡± Then he looked at the man in blue robe, ¡°Master Geng, what do you say?¡±

    Master Geng thought for a moment and said quietly, ¡°No. We¡¯ll stay in the Taoist Temple until we leave Yangzhou City.¡±

    ¡°What? Why?¡± Everyone wondered, asking in unison.

    Master Geng stood with his hands sped behind his back, overlooking a cloud in the sky, ¡°Catching the fugitive is not our main task for this trip. In fact, we have another mission in Yangzhou. For now, the less you know, the better. I¡¯ll let you know in the right time.¡±

    Lu Jiangbei and Gao Jue looked at each other questioningly. To be honest, they still couldn¡¯t fathom the temper of this newly appointed imperial guard. Although sometimes he was difficult to get along with, he was amodating and not strict with subordinates. Actually, he was not aloof in reality because his subordinates all felt easy and free.

    Judging from this quarrel between Duan Xiaolou and Liao Zhiyuan, Master Geng didn¡¯t criticize them, and he didn¡¯t even show them an unhappy look. Actually, he neither restrained them as an officer, nor joined them in the fun, as if he didn¡¯t exist. Anyhow, despite their experience in the officialdom, pce, and among the people, those who had seen countless people couldn¡¯t fathom Master Geng¡¯s temper.

    Thinking of this, Lu Jiangbei felt chill and scared suddenly in his heart. Then he shifted the topic quickly, ¡°By the way, the two little nuns walk so slowly.¡± They all looked at the mountain road and said, ¡°We¡¯ve been dyed here for a long time, but they haven¡¯t caught up yet, and there is no trace at all. What a strange thing it is!¡±

    Duan Xiaolou didn¡¯t think it was normal, either. He listened for a while carefully, and frowned, ¡°Indeed, not even their footsteps could be heard. Is it possible that something bad happened to them? Why don¡¯t we go and find them?¡±

    Gao Jue pulled a face and urged, ¡°Let¡¯s get to the temple. I¡¯m hungry.¡±

    Lu Jiangbei patted on Duan Xiaolou¡¯s shoulder and smirked, ¡°Why do you worry about it? Maybe they don¡¯t want to go with us, so they deliberatelygged behind. Have you forgotten that? We followed them and listened to their whisper without permission. Moreover, youughed at her, so she must be annoyed. Let¡¯s leave quickly. Since they both live in that Taoist Temple, you¡¯ll see them again.¡±

    So, Duan Xiaolou shut up quietly and they kept going.

    After a while, Liao Zhiyuan was restless again. He stabbed at Duan Xiaolou with his elbow and squinted his eyes, ¡°Childe Duan, are you really just curious about that little, beautiful and talkative nun? I mean, nothing romantic involved?¡±

    Duan Xiaolou¡¯s ears were hot with embarrassment. He snorted, ¡°Why do you mention her again?¡±

    ¡°Oh! Oh! Oh!¡± Liao Zhiyuan screamed, ¡°Childe Duan, your ears are red! You like her, do you?¡±

    ¡°Nonsense! If you dare to talk nonsense again, I¡¯ll punch you!¡±

    ¡°Dude, I think this little girl is really nice. Hey, turn your head around and don¡¯t ignore me! I think she¡¯s better than those girls you brought home before. Take her to your home, and your mother will like her. In a few years, when she grows up, you can marry her. She would be good enough to be a concubine. If you get her out of the austere Taoist Temple, that would be a release for her. Maybe she would be grateful and might agree to marry you¡­¡±

    ¡°Piss off! It¡¯s ridiculous! I never had other thoughts about her. I just think she¡¯s smart and polite. Why don¡¯t you take her back to see your mother?¡±

    ¡°Ha-ha. Listen, Childe Duan finally admitted it! Someone impressed him in his heart!¡±

    ¡°Boy, do you want to fight against me?¡±

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù

    ¡°Xiaoyi, why are we going back again? Didn¡¯t you say that we can¡¯t go and find the injured person? Those men we met just now are officials. Aren¡¯t the injured person in the woods the bad guy they¡¯re looking for?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t ask so many questions. Look, help me find this kind of grass in this shape nearby.¡± He Danggui showed the grass in her hand.

    ¡°Okay.¡± Zhen Jing obediently bent from the waist to help her find it.

    After a while, they picked five or six grasses. ¡°Okay, that¡¯s enough.¡± He Danggui said quietly with a smile and pulled Zhen Jing, ¡°Let¡¯s go, we can save him now.¡±

    ¡°Saving him? That¡¯s great! But is that okay to save a bad guy¡¯s life?¡± Zhen Jing blinked.

    He Danggui clenched her fists to squeeze the fluid from the grasses. She looked calm and said quietly, ¡°Zhen Jing, not everything in the world can be divided into good and evil. They can be shifted within one second.¡±

 Chapter 7 - Throwing leaves to rescue ants

    Chapter 7 Throwing leaves to rescue ants

    Shui Shang Temple was located in a barren mountain of the suburb of Yangzhou City. In theter Yuan Dynasty, some Taoist priests instead of Taoist nuns lived in the temple. It was said that those Taoist priests found a kind of rare grass growing on the mountain, so they raised silver to build the Taoist temple for refining pills. But after no more than ten years, the war broke out. The barren mountain also became a battle field. After the war, Mongolian soldiers set off a fire when they retreated. The temple was about to be ruined. However, the heavens opened suddenly. The rain extinguished the fire immediately, saving the temple from being burnt.

    Because of this story, the unknown temple attracted many people who came here to pray. In the Ming Dynasty, a woman from a rich family was discarded by her husband because she couldn¡¯t give birth to a boy. She was also refused by her natal family, so she came to the Taoist temple and became the first female master with the religious name Mo Chou.

    Master Mo Chou boughtnds and stores at the foot of the mountain using her dowry, which became the stable financial resources of the temple. Many helpless females were attracted here to be a Taoist nun. If poor families nearby couldn¡¯t feed their daughters, they also sent them here to be Taoist nuns.

    The third master of Shui Shang Temple, Tai Xi, didn¡¯t care about trifles. Now, Tai Shan and Tai Chen managed the temple together. However, they treated each other respectfully only on the surface.

    Tai Shan once was not a Taoist nun. She studied before she came to the temple and knew how to manage farnd well. She took the farm rent for lending and thus collected much silver. Tai Chen traveled around with her uncle, an elder master, when she was young. They were involved in awsuit when they passed Yangzhou City. Tai Chen¡¯s uncle died in prison, after which, she went to the Shui Shang Temple. Tai Chen was influenced by her uncle who was fond of refining pills and making mercury. So, she also knew some knowledge about that. Now, she was in charge of the Pill Room and Medicine Room.

    ¡°Shit! I really raise a crowd of rubbish. I should turn all of you out of the temple!¡± Tai Chen grabbed a big pear with one hand and pointed at several Taoist nuns with the other hand. She cursed, ¡°Damn it! I told you to clean the cabs in the Medicine Room the day before yesterday. All of you promised. But now, they are still covered with dust. You are really forgetful. You don¡¯t have my words in your heart¡­¡±

    ¡°Hey, look! There are a lot of men!¡± A Taoist nun shouted suddenly. Tai Chen was famous for her bad temper and nobody dared to interrupt her when she was speaking. It was the first time that Tai Chen had been interrupted by others, so many Taoist nuns looked at the speaker surprisedly.

    Tai Chen was so angry that her eyes widened. She was about to continue cursing. At this moment, several Taoist nuns shouted, ¡°There are really so many men! Look!¡± Tai Chen also looked away. Then she became excited suddenly.

    All the Taoist nuns crowded at the entrance in a blink of an eye and struggled to look outside. A group of men came from distance.

    ¡°One, two, three, four... eight, nine. There are nine men. Hey, look at that man. He nced at me just now!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t talk rot! He looked at me!¡±

    ¡°You overestimate yourselves. They are looking at us!¡±

    ¡°They really look at me!¡±

    ¡°Be quiet. Look at that man in scarlet robe. He is so handsome¡­¡±

    ¡°Yes! Look! He is smiling.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s quite strange. He smiles as soon as you finish your words. It seems that he can hear our words.¡±

    ¡°And look at that man in purple robe¡­¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Most of these young Taoist nuns in Shui Shang Temple were sent here because of poverty. Few could endure the loneliness and cultivate themselves with concentration. They couldn¡¯t help talking even with the man who delivered firewood or the bearers who carried the sedan for a nobledy. This time, they all couldn¡¯t help shouting and screaming for seeing so many men.

    These men who walked quickly were in their twenties and thirties. Wearing luxurious clothes, they were quite handsome, strong and vigorous. It seemed that these men were born as ¡°superior men¡±. Compared with the men that those Taoist nuns saw before, these men were like the cloud in the sky. Now the Taoist nuns thought the man who delivered firewood and those bearers were just like the mud under the stinky shoes.

    Young Taoist nuns became more and more excited. They thought it must be the supernatural beings¡¯ favor, so they could see so many excellent men now. They all dreamt of marrying one of the men, or even being a concubine or a maid. Then they could leave the lifeless temple, a tomb always constraining them, and went to the outside world to enjoy the beautiful life.

    Before Duan Xiaolou, Liao Zhiyuan and others arrived at the top of the mountain, they heard the remarks of those Taoist nuns. They were quite surprised and thought it was really funny. While Gao Jue, who was a little angry because of hunger, was angrier after hearing those Taoist nuns¡¯ words.

    Tai Chen threw the pear core hurriedly and wiped the juice on the mouth with her hands. She ran towards those men with a ttering smile and said, ¡°Wee all of you! Honored guests. Come in please. I am the administrator of this temple!¡±

    Geng Bingxiu nodded slightly and replied, ¡°Let¡¯s go inside first.¡±

    Tai Chen nodded strongly, ¡°Of course! Come in please!¡±

    Then all men went to the main hall of the Front Pce, sat down and were served with tea. Tai Shan who was in the meditation room also got the news and came towards here hurriedly.

    Geng Bingxiu put 20 liang silver on the table and said, ¡°My surname is Geng. I rank the fourth in my family. We are idlers traveling around. We want to stay here for a few days. Please arrange several quiet wing-rooms for us.¡±

    Tai Shan was quite happy and replied with a smile, ¡°Okay! Fourth Lord Geng, you and other distinguished guests can be relieved. I will arrange the best rooms and the authentic gourmet food of Yangzhou City for you. You will live herefortably!¡±

    Lu Jiangbei put down his cup and nced at Tai Shan. He asked, ¡°Our reading attendant was hurt and lost his way in the mountain. Have you ever seen him?¡±

    Hearing that, Tai Shan replied quickly, ¡°Oh! Someone lost his way? How should we do? Don¡¯t worry! I will arrange the Taoist nuns in the temple to look for him!¡±

    Geng Bingxiu shook his head and said, ¡°No, we will look for him personally tomorrow. Please tell the people of your temple that if a hurt boyes here, don¡¯t let him leave. In that case, please inform us immediately.¡±

    Tai Shan smiled and replied, ¡°Trust me! You can be relieved! Please go to the wing-rooms to have a rest. I will arrange people to send hot water and meals for you!¡±

    Then, Tai Shan led them to the west wing-rooms personally. When they passed the Side Pce, Gao Jue nced at a mourning hall. He was surprised, ¡°There should be a mourning hall!¡± Tai Shan was afraid that they might have some taboos, so she promised quickly, ¡°I will let them remove it tomorrow. Don¡¯t worry, all honored guests. Our temple is clean andfortable. There aren¡¯t strange things!¡±

    Lu Jiangbei also looked at the mourning hall and frowned. He asked, ¡°It is quite strange. You set up a mourning hall. But why don¡¯t you light the joss sticks?¡±

    Tai Shan smiled embarrassedly and exined, ¡°It is really strange. Three days ago, Luo¡¯s Mansion in Yangzhou City carried a coffin of a dead girl to our temple. It was said that although she was ady of Luo¡¯s Mansion, her surname was not Luo and she died strangely. So, it is inconvenient for Luo¡¯s Mansion to hold a funeral procession. They asked our temple to set up a mourning hall and hold a Taoist rite for her. I arranged my apprentices to change shroud, brush hair and do make-up for her. Everyone saw that she was really dead. Butst night, This Miss He creeped off the coffin suddenly and asked for water. Oops! Bless you! My three apprentices were feared to unconscious immediately. They are still kneeling at the foot of Sanqing Immortals and chanting scriptures¡­¡±

    Duan Xiaolou raised his eyebrows and asked, ¡°There should be such a strange thing! So, that deaddy is alive now!¡±

    ¡°Luo¡¯s Mansion in Yangzhou City¡­¡± Lu Jiangbei murmured and then asked. ¡°Is it the Luo¡¯s Family that provides official herbal medicines?¡±

    Tai Shan nodded and answered, ¡°Yes, that¡¯s it. Everyone in Yangzhou City knows the Luo¡¯s Family. It is one of the Four Families of Yangzhou City which are rich and noble, including the Wu¡¯s Family, the Luo¡¯s Family, the Guan¡¯s Family and the Sun¡¯s Family. After Miss Hees alive, I feel pity for her sufferings. I also heard that she is often sick and is fond of quietness, so I arrange her in the East Wing-room to have a good rest.¡±

    Duan Xiaolou hugged his arms around the chest and smiled, ¡°Now that she returned to life after death, she must be fortunate. I happen to take two bottles of tonic pills. I don¡¯t need them. Maybe they are useful for her. Master, where is the East Wing-room? Is it convenient to see her now?¡±

    Tai Shan thought of the dpidated East Wing-room immediately and was afraid that others knew she maltreated He Danggui. So, she smiled embarrassedly and replied, ¡°Bless you! You are really kind. Thank you on behalf of the miserable Miss He! But she took the herbal medicine just now and was asleep. It¡¯s not suitable to wake her up now. You can go to the wing-rooms to have the meal. After that, I will lead her to see you. What do you think of that?¡±

    Duan Xiaolou still wanted to say something. But Lu Jiangbei grabbed him and whispered, ¡°My dear brother, don¡¯t say anymore. Don¡¯t you see that Gao Jue is very angry now? Don¡¯t you remember that your mother entrusted him to pay close attention to you and prevent you from taking women home? But you don¡¯t cooperate with him. You have tried best to help every woman. When you return home, he will be med because of you¡­¡±

    It turned out that Gao Jue and Duan Xiaolou were cousins. Duan Xiaolou¡¯s mother was Gao Jue¡¯s aunt. Although Gao Jue was only four years older than Duan Xiaolou, he already had one son and one daughter. But Duan Xiaolou didn¡¯t engage yet. His mother was quite worried. So, she ordered Gao Jue to control Duan Xiaolou and didn¡¯t let him do ridiculous things outside.

    Tai Shan, cap in hand, led them to the West Wing-room and arranged people to prepare hot water and meals for them. Then she returned to the Front Pce and found her first apprentice, Zhen Zhu. She ordered, ¡°Go to see if the girl in the East Wing-room is still alive. If she has died, carry her into the coffin again. If she can walk, give her a decent suit of clothes and let her dress herself up. Then take her to the West Wing-room to kowtow for the guests!¡±

    Zhen Zhu was quite puzzled and asked, ¡°They are just passers-by. Why are you so serious? In addition, the girl in the East Wing-room is ady who hasn¡¯t married. The Luo¡¯s Family will pick her up sooner orter. How can we let her see strange men?¡± Then she pointed at the yard and smiled bitterly, ¡°Taoist nuns rushed to serve them over there. If I didn¡¯t prevent them just now, they would peep at these guests by the window. As they don¡¯t want to stay here, we shouldn¡¯t prevent them from getting a good future.¡±

    Tai Shan waved her hands and said, ¡°I think that those men are not ordinaries. They are at least lords and childes. s! It¡¯s my fault. I told them just now that the girl came to life after death. I just regard this as a joke, but one Childe thinks that it is novel and wants to see her immediately. I stopped him hurriedly. The East Wing-room is in a mess. They are too noble to go inside that kind of ce. Additionally, if others know that I maltreat a sick child, I will lose my face!¡±

    Zhen Zhu nodded and went away. But she went back after a short while and said anxiously, ¡°Master, something is wrong! Miss He and Zhen Jing aren¡¯t in the room! I couldn¡¯t find them anywhere!¡±

    Tai Shan was so shocked that she jumped from the armchair and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Where are they? It is impossible for them to disappear suddenly. Go to ask whether someone saw them!¡± Zhen Zhu nodded and was about to leave. Tai Shan shouted again, ¡°Wait. Go to the back yard first and find several young and beautiful Taoist nuns. Let them go to the West Wing-room to serve the guests!¡±

    So, Zhen Zhu went to the back yard again. As soon as she walked into the yard, twenty to thirty young Taoist nuns rushed to surround her. The eldest nun was less than thirty years old and the youngest nun was only fourteen or fifteen years old. All of them stared at Zhen Zhu with eagerness.

    Zhen Zhu looked at them speechlessly. They all changed into silver-white gloss robes with bluece, and all wore heavy make-up with penciled eyebrows and rouged lips. Several Taoist nuns even wore arge chrysanthemum on their hair. They were more amused than clowns on the stage.

    Taoist nuns in Shui Shang Temple had three suits of Taoist robes. The best was the silver-white gloss robe they wore now, which was usually worn in important asions and each nun had only one suit. For example, after twenty days, there should be a Taoist rite originally nned for He Danggui to release her soul from purgatory. In that case, the Taoist nuns must wear this robe. In addition, each nun had three suits of silver-gray cotton Taoist robes, which were worn when the Taoist nuns met with people outside the temple, for example, when they served people who came here to pray and went downhill to purchase suppliers. And the mostmon robes were the gray bup gown. Each nun had five to six suits. They would wear the gown when they did dirty and tiring work because these gowns were wear-resistant and stain-resistant.

    As the saying went, one was willing to hit and the other was willing to suffer from the hit. Zhen Zhu didn¡¯t need to say more. She picked up several talkative and quick-witted elder Taoist nuns. A few young Taoist nuns of 16-17 years old were unsatisfied and entangled Zhen Zhu at the entrance. Theyined that Zhen Zhu was ¡°unfair¡±. Zhen Zhu had no choice but selected four to five younger Taoist nuns. She wasn¡¯t relieved, so she enjoined them to be calm. Then she let them pick off the flowers on their hair.

    Then a dozen young Taoist nuns walked away happily. Seeing that those young Taoist nuns wore the flowers again, Zhen Zhu shook her head helplessly. Those young Taoist nuns were quite innocent and could just y petty tricks. Theyined that Shui Shang Temple was a prison, but they didn¡¯t know that the outside world was really dangerous. How could the mindless women live long?

    However, none of them believed Zhen Zhu. Theyughed at Zhen Zhu that she was too timid and careful. Zhen Zhu didn¡¯t want to think of that. Everyone had her own way and fate. They chose that way, so they must experience it personally. Nobody could help them.

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù

    He Danggui and Zhen Jing found the way based on their memories. It took them great efforts to find the bush where the escaped prisoner hid. They parted the bush and found that the boy was still in aa. And he even stayed in the same posture as before.

    He Danggui looked at the boy and found that he was about ten years old. His dark tousled hair flopped on his shoulder. The boy who looked weak and pale had delicate features. Although he was hurt, he still attracted them with his appearance. He Danggui and Zhen Jing looked at each other and saw the surprise in their eyes.

    Why did the imperial guards want to kill a boy who was so handsome? He Danggui turned his waist and felt that his hand was extremely cold. She felt his pulse for a moment and then took off his clothes without any hesitation.

    Zhen Jing screamed in a low voice, ¡°Xiaoyi, what are you doing?¡±

    He Danggui raised her head and looked at Zhen Jing innocently. She said, ¡°I will cure him. How can I topically apply herbal medicine for him without taking off his clothes?¡±

    Zhen Jing blushed and said embarrassedly, ¡°But it is improper for you and him to touch¡­¡±

    He Danggui gave her a stare and replied, ¡°I am a doctor. In my eyes, he is just my patient. In addition, he is just a child.¡± Zhen Jing showed a disapproval expression and refuted, ¡°You are also a child.¡±

    He Danggui took off the boy¡¯s upper outer garment and untied his trousers. The boy¡¯s white chest, shoulders and thighs showed in front of them. Zhen Jing was so embarrassed that she looked aside.

    He Danggui leaned over to check closely and found that there were eleven stab wounds in his whole body. The wounds on shoulders and shanks were the deepest, which were still bleeding. Fortunately, no viscera were injured. From the bright-red blood, He Danggui could judge that the boy wasn¡¯t poisoned. She tore the clean part of his clothes into strips and dipped in the stream water found in the mountain stream before to wash the blood stains on his wounds. Then she crushed the clean herbs found in the mountain and put them on the wounds. Atst, she bound up his wounds with those clean clothes.

    Zhen Jing was so shocked since He Danggui bound up skillfully as if she had done this countless times. Zhen Jing thought she wasn¡¯t timid, but she still trembled standing in front of such a seriously injured boy. He Danggui was ady from a rich and influential family, but she was so calm now. Why did she know how to bind up wounds? What on earth did she experience before?

    Thinking of the rough experiences of He Danggui that other sisters talked privately, Zhen Jing took pity for her. She held He Danggui¡¯s slim arms and said softly, ¡°One good turn deserves another. You save a life today and you will get good results.¡±

    He Danggui smiled and said simply, ¡°It isn¡¯t me who want to save him. He has a good luck. Look! This kind of grass is called agrimony which often grows by the river. This is called pollen typhae which usually grows in the wend. These two kinds of grass can stop bleeding and cure wounds, which are even applied in the best adhesive surgical ster. I didn¡¯t want to save him before, but I saw these two kinds of grass by the road on our way back. Don¡¯t you think he is extremely lucky?¡±

    Zhen Jing shook her head and replied seriously, ¡°No, I can feel that you tried your best to save him. Xiaoyi, you are really kind. You are more kindhearted than all of us.¡±

    He Danggui piled up several grass and stuffed into the boy¡¯s mouth. Then she said calmly, ¡°If an ant falls into the river and throwing a leaf can save it, I will throw the leaf to it. But if a man falls into the river and I have to jump into the river to save him, I will save him before. But now¡­ No matter how good my swimming skill is, I will weigh the advantages and disadvantages and then decide whether to save him or not.¡± He Danggui¡¯s eyes were misled with tears. She sneered and continued, ¡°If my ¡®kindness¡¯ only reaches a low level of a leaf, do you still think I am a kind person?¡±

    As she was saying, she stood up and began to take off her clothes slowly. She took off her gown, her middle clothes, her inner clothes and vest. Atst, she only wore a little bellyband¡­

    Zhen Jing was startled. She bounced from the ground and opened her hands and legs to shadow He Danggui with her body. Zhen Jing stared at He Danggui in horror because she thought that He Danggui must be crazy. She screamed, ¡°Obey order presto! What¡­ what do you want to do?¡±

    Seeing Zhen Jing¡¯s astonished expression, He Danggui smiled and said, ¡°I want to give my clothes to him. Otherwise, although he won¡¯t die from bleeding, he will freeze to death tonight. But I can¡¯t give my gown to him because if officials find him, they will know that people in the Taoist temple saved him. We meet officials before and also have the time to save him, so they will suspect us at first. The inner clothes and vest I wear are made of ivory silk. Ordinary Taoist nuns can¡¯t afford it. Even if the officials find him, they won¡¯t suspect us.¡±

    Zhen Jing thought that He Danggui was really careful. She was deeply moved and said, ¡°What you said is right, but inner clothes are so important for girls. You should give them to a strange man. Xiaoyi, you are really kind. Are these inner clothes and vest the ¡®humble leaf¡¯ to save the ¡®ant¡¯?¡±

    He Danggui smiled quietly and didn¡¯t exin anymore. She took off her inner clothes and only wore a gown. She covered the boy with her clothes and then sheltered him with several big leaves. The boy was still in aa.

    He Danggui asked Zhen Jing to leave the bird eggs to him. Zhen Jing put all the eggs on the ground and bantered, ¡°You don¡¯t recover yet and even don¡¯t have something to eat. These eggs are your only tonic. Are these eggs the ¡®humble leaf¡¯ you said? Ha-ha, can you give me some ¡®leaves¡¯ someday?¡±

    He Danggui didn¡¯t know how to say. She thought Zhen Jing was really chatty. She was so young but was quite talkative. It was a pity for her to be a Taoist nun. She should be a woman matchmaker.

    They cleaned up the scene and left. But they didn¡¯t know that the boy opened his eyes suddenly when they turned around.

    The boy¡¯s eyes were quite beautiful and clear, like the light in the snowy night. He gazed at their figures through the crack between leaves. When they went away, he began to chew the grass in his mouth. The wounds were so hurting that he almost had no strength. Only the fragrance from the clothes covering on his body brought him some warmth.

    Her name was Xiaoyi...

 Chapter 8 - The first confrontation with Tai Shan

    Chapter 8 The first confrontation with Tai Shan

    The sky was getting dark, with a stretch of red clouds. The tired birds returned to their nests, while Zhen Jing supported He Danggui in returning to Shui Shang Temple. Because they walked on the mountain for a long time, He Danggui¡¯s foot injury was more serious than that in the morning, and she could only move forward relying on the support of Zhen Jing.

    Zhen Jing sighed, ¡°Xiaoyi, you are not only capable but also kind. It¡¯s a good fortune for him to meet you there. If he could recuperate from this injury, you would be his savior¡­¡±

    ¡°Remember not to talk about this when we go back to the temple!¡± He Danggui seriously reminded her again. She was afraid that those masters of imperial guards who had excellent hearings could hear their words and know what they did. It was extremely easy for those people to kill Zhen Jing and her.

    Zhen Jing¡¯s eyes narrowed. She shook her head and replied, ¡°I know! I know! You¡¯ve said it eight times. Why do you call me a chatty girl? You are just the same. We are both chatty girls¡­¡±

    They struggled up the top of the mountain. When they just went to the gate of the temple, Tai Shan rushed out like a wind.

    Tai Shan didn¡¯t look at He Danggui who looked pale and staggered. She just red at Zhen Jing fiercely, as if she would be still furious even if she ate Zhen Jing. She scolded, ¡°Well, you a shameless stupid. I thought you were sensible. I never expected that I was cheated! How stupid and greedy you are! After only a half day, you should pick a new backer and learn how to cheat your masters!¡±

    Zhen Jing was confused. She didn¡¯t know what she had done wrong and why Master Tai Shan scolded her. Although it was improper to go out with He Danggui privately, all people in the temple, ranging from masters and younger masters to sisters, obviously deceived themselves and held a morbid attitude toward the revival of He Danggui. They thought that as long as they ignored her, not providing food, water and herbal medicines, after a few days, He Danggui would return to the dead just as when she was sent to the temple. She should obediently lie back to her coffin, and wait the mourning and chanting prepared by the temple.

    ¡°Since you were determined to be indifferent to He Danggui, why not be always indifferent? She could survive even if you ignored her. Besides, He Danggui is also a guest of the temple, and we have no right to restrict her. I just went out with the guest to rx, why did you scold me furiously?¡± Thinking of this, instead of kneeling down to admit her mistake as usual, Zhen Jing raised her chin obstinately, ncing at Master Tai Shan.

    Tai Shan never expected that even the most docile bunny could show thatplex expression, containing stubbornness, resistance, resentment, contempt, etc.

    ¡°Humph! you are so rude!¡± Tai Shan pointed at Zhen Jing tremblingly. She raged, ¡°I thought I had a faithful dog, but today I found out it was a cruel wolf cub! I¡¯m fortunate in finding this early, and it was not toote to punish you!¡± Then Tai Shan was going to hit Zhen Jing¡¯s head with the hossu.

    Zhen Jing panicked to squat down and protect her head with hands. She knew that Master Tai Shan would hit her badly. If she had been hit on the head by that copper handle, her head would be instantly broken. She had seen several sisters who had been hurt badly by Master Tai Shan with only a hit because they offended her.

    ¡°Stop!¡± He Danggui calmly took a step forward and stopped the action of Tai Shan. The handle of this hossu was made of brass and weighed 4.68 jin (a unit of weight in China). He Danggui knew clearly the consequence of being hit on the head with the hossu since she had experienced many times in her previous life.

    Looking at the emaciated girl who was only ten years old, Tai Shan sneered, ¡°Humph! I¡¯m wondering who is talking? It¡¯s you, Miss ¡®He¡¯ of Luo¡¯s Family! I¡¯m teaching my dog in my temple. Does it have anything to do with you?¡±

    He Danggui pulled up Zhen Jing calmly, and said slowly, ¡°Master just talked on the key point. As the saying goes, shut the dogs up to beat them. Master was angry to dizzy now, so you prepared to hit Zhen Jing at the entrance where many people walk by. I¡¯m just a drop in the bucket and do not dare to stop you. The only thing I can do is hiding away and keeping this secret for you. But not all the people are like me. Those bad guys might hide aside and peep at you. If they gossip about what you do and exaggerate the fact purposely, your reputation would be ruined. You know, not only you are the masters of the temple today.¡±

    Tai Shan was very dismissive of He Danggui at first and thought that she must plead for Zhen Jing. But after a few words, Tai Shan became gradually paler. Atst, she broke out in a cold sweat unexpectedly. She had to draw back the hossu that she held high.

    ¡°Tai Chen that bitch does have a few henchwomen in the Taoist temple. Those nasty henchwomen often appeared and peeped at me. If they know that I hit Zhen Jing, Tai Chen must im that I harm others and take this opportunity to take my financial power away. Moreover, there are still a group of important guests who are rich or noble in the Taoist temple¡­¡±

    Thinking of this, Tai Shan suddenly changed her attitude andughed, ¡°Hey, you really misunderstand me¡­ I was so worried about your safety that I just forgot the way of talking to you! Miss He, you should know that there are many things in this mountain which can kill you, such as cliffs, slopes, slides, vipers and beasts¡­ You have juste back to your life. How can I be at ease if you have an ident?¡±

    He Danggui smiled and drooped her head, ¡°Master, I will remember your kindness in my deep heart, and I would pay you back if there¡¯s any chance. Fortunately, I returned safely this time. If I fail to live up to your great hospitality, I would never live peacefully even if I be a ghost.¡±

    Tai Shan listened to He Danggui with smiling and nodding. But her smile gradually became stiff. Although what He Danggui said were good words, she still felt a little ufortable.

    But it was not the proper time for Tai Shan to think a lot, because she just saw that He Danggui and Zhen Jing carried a basket respectively, which were filled with wild vegetables and weeds. She guessed that He Danggui was too hungry and ran out to dig wild vegetables. She couldn¡¯t helpughing at He Danggui, ¡°She is really a tomboy raised on a farm. Nobledies usually learn noble skills such as picking and arranging flowers and embroidery. Only she dug wild vegetables. It¡¯s really miserable and disgraced! But I¡¯d better coax her first, since those noble guests wanted to meet her¡­¡±

    So, Tai Shan took a big step forward, held He Danggui¡¯s right hand with her hands, and said in a tone of me, ¡°You are really naughty. You got better just one day. You didn¡¯t take a rest at room but ran out to dig those weeds! Last night, I asked someone to braise a fat old hen with big ck dates, cinnamon and wolfberries to make a pot of chicken soup. The soup has been simmered on the fire until now! It¡¯s very delicious! I asked an apprentice to deliver it to you, but she came back and reported that you were not in the room. You made me so worried!¡± Most of people in Shui Shang Temple were half-way Taoist nuns and unable to be a vegetarian forever. So, the temple allowed those Taoist nuns to eat eggs, and there were a dozen of old hens that couldy eggs in the backyard.

    He Danggui knew that Tai Shan was telling a lie. She and Zhen Jing went out at noon. They hadn¡¯t seen even a chicken feather, not to mention the chicken soup. But she was very weak at the moment, and might fall down at any time. Obviously, it was not the proper time to fall out with Tai Shan, and she even did not know the reason why Tai Shan suddenly cozy up to her.

    Drawing back her right hand gently, He Danggui smiled gratefully and said, ¡°I often hear that the illness was caused by shutting ourselves indoors, so I went out to have a breath of fresh air. But I didn¡¯t expect to disturb you, Master. I¡¯m really sorry about that. While we were out, I heard from Zhen Jing that Master always had a backache. So, we picked some rhizoma atractylodes and radix angelicae pubescentis. We n to dry them and make a cushion for you, which can alleviate the pain of anemofrigid-damp arthralgia, thus repaying you for your kindness.¡±

    Since the autumn, Tai Shan had been distressed by the anemofrigid-damp arthralgia and backache although she had taken a lot of herbal medicines. When Tai Shan heard He Danggui¡¯s words, she was very happy. Thinking that she had misunderstood Zhen Jing before, sheforted Zhen Jing immediately. Zhen Jing felt extremely ttered and bowed her head.

    He Danggui said that she was tired and didn¡¯t dare to waste Master Tai Shan¡¯s time. Seeing that He Danggui was very dirty after climbing the mountain, Tai Shan thought it was shameful to bring such a dirty girl to visit those noble guests. Anyway, Zhen Zhu said that more than a dozen of Taoist nuns had served there, so it would be better to let He Danggui see the guests two dayster. Thereupon, Tai Shanforted He Danggui to take good care of herself and then left in a hurry with an excuse that she had something to do at the Front Pce.

    He Danggui and Zhen Jing looked at each other silently, and then supported each other to the East Wing-room.

    ¡°Master¡¯s backache¡­¡± After they returned to the room, Zhen Jing finally couldn¡¯t help asking He Danggui who was lying on the bed, ¡°How do you know that?¡±

    He Danggui yawned and smiled, ¡°Are you increasingly appreciating me?¡±

    Zhen Jing suddenly remembered that she was almost smashed by her Master just now. However, He Danggui just said a few words gently, not only easing the anger of Master Tai Shan immediately, but also making her apologize to them¡­

    Thinking about it carefully, Zhen Jing realized that Master Tai Shan had never been soft to anyone. It was a miracle that hearing an apology from the Master! In Shui Shang Temple, no one could escape from her punishment as long as she wanted to punish them. Even Sister Zhen Zhu who was the most capable couldn¡¯t stop the Master!

    Thinking of this, Zhen Jing stared at He Danggui with admiration, and said, ¡°You have the medical skills and are always calm, and you can retreat the enemy by words. Oh, you just like the ¡®female schr¡¯ in the drama! No, you should be the heroine Ji Wushuang who is most excellent. West wind blows the sky for me, and I would take clouds as the sails to travel around¡­¡± Zhen Jing talked for a long time, but He Danggui never replied. So, she walked towards He Danggui and pushed her, ¡°Hey! Don¡¯t you think you are like Ji Wushuang?¡±

    After pushing, Zhen Jing found that He Danggui had a redplexion andy on the bed immobile. Then Zhen Jing touched her face, which was very hot. She was panic, ¡°Xiaoyi must catch a cold due to the wind!¡±

    ¡°She just woke up yesterday and should stay in bed today. It was all my fault. I not only didn¡¯t dissuade her, but also climbed mountain with her excitedly. However, she unexpectedly saved a life today, which was a great merit. As the saying goes, ¡®the good things happen to good people¡¯, cmities can be turned into blessings!¡±

    Zhen Jing wandered around the room anxiously. She frowned and continued thinking, ¡°If I ask Younger Master Tai Chen for medicines now, she must refuse me with excuses. And then everybody would know that He Danggui has a fever. They hope that He Danggui now is only the temporary revival, and they are staring at the 150 liang silver used for the Taoist rite. So, they must be very happy if He Danggui dies of illness. At that time, if those evildoers hurt her, I couldn¡¯t protect her.¡±

    ¡°Well, I could go back to the mourning hall and find some pastries and crunchy candies. When I was sick in the past, as long as I ate delicious leek paste cakes and fried spicy gluten, I would immediately get well!¡± Thinking of this, Zhen Jing ran away like a wind.

    He Danggui felt that she was passing a long paved path, both sides of which were high red walls. She thought the path seemed to be endless.

    After several steps, a woman wearing a bright red dress with pearls and jade on the head came toward He Danggui. The woman suddenly sprang at her and said, ¡°Dear litter sister, you are gaining grace now. Please help me! Just because I can¡¯t give birth to a son for my family, my husband looked down on me. He went to Concubine Liu¡¯s room every night¡­ There is a position of Transmission Officer of Fourth-Grade. If you can help him get the position, he will look up to me again. Dear little sister, please give me a hand¡­¡±

    He Danggui looked at the woman. It was her cousin Luo Baiqiong. So, she pulled the woman and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go together and go out of here first.¡± But when they walked only a few steps, He Danggui felt a sudden pain in her belly. There was a short sword in her belly, which was held¡­ by her cousin!

    ¡°You¡­¡± When He Danggui was about to say something, she felt a heavy hit on her back, which hurt her viscera badly.

    He Danggui turned her head hardly and saw Zhu Quan and Zhou Jinn standing a little behind her. They were waving a meteor hammer andughing, ¡°Let¡¯s have a game! Who hits the limbs of He Danggui would get three points; hit the chest or back, five points; and hit her head or face, eight points!¡±

    Luo Baiqiong beside He Danggui pulled out the short sword and screamed sharply, ¡°You are the shameless enchantress! Tell me! What seductive tricks did you use, making Liang Yizhou always miss you and ask about you all day? You should go to the hell! Go to the hell!¡± Then she stabbed He Danggui again, and cursed, ¡°Go to the hell! Go to the hell! How dare you seduce your brother-inw, you enchantress! I want to set you down, and let you never be reborn forever!¡±

    He Danggui spat out blood and fell on the ground heavily. Before closing her eyes, she saw Zhou Jinn¡¯s meteor hammer flying to her face. Zhou Jinn cheered, ¡°Ha-ha, I get eight points! You lose your pretty face now, and nobody would be willing to see you!¡±

    He Danggui felt her whole body was painful, and her vision was cloaked, but she still felt that someone was pressing on her body¡­ No, it was not one person, but a group of people.

    She could hear the voices of those people faintly:

    ¡°...Good girl, Elder Uncle is your biological uncle! Although Luo Chuan¡¯gu and Luo Chuanpu are your mother¡¯s brothers, they are not siblings of your mother and me. There is an estrangement between us! The position of the Magistrate of Central Secretariat cannot be given to others¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­Don¡¯t listen to him! Yiyi, do you really fell that Second Uncle have ever treated you badly? Your mother and you had been expelled back to Luo¡¯s Family two times. Had your Second Aunt ever thrown you away? You should be a person of conscience¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­Qingyi, Third Uncle is talented and has aspirations, but I have no way to serve our country. I feel so depressed! Fortunately, I have you, a good niece who married the Lord Ning and won the recognition from the minister of the Ministry of Construction. Just a casual rmendation from you is more useful than the efforts of us made in the whole life. Please help me, for your mother¡¯s sake¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­Hey, don¡¯t sleep! Don¡¯t sleep! Yi, I, your Elder Aunt, has an important matter to discuss with you. General Chang¡¯s second son, the grandson of the dead national pir Chang Yuchun, is adept with both the pen and sword. He is sessful and handsome. Your niece adored him at the first sight and can¡¯t sleep and eat well. She is much thinner than before. I felt restless because of this. I¡¯m annoying you to rmend your niece to the second Childe. If your niece marries him, she will be the wife of the General in the future. That will also benefit you¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­Yi, I knew that you feel resentful towards Luo¡¯s Family because we hadn¡¯t treated you well, but you have still grown up to 14 years old in peace, haven¡¯t you? He Jingxian, this damn man was exactly the culprit! How heartless he was! That bastard should take a whore back home as a wife, and haven¡¯t find your mother and you ever! He Fu, that ungrateful man was much worse. Your mother¡¯s dowry, including the possessions, farnd and houses, was upied by him¡­ I know you are a poor girl. I¡¯m also distressed for you, so I can¡¯t request you to do much things. But all rtives of Luo¡¯s Family are your very close rtives. You should keep in mind that ¡®honor one and you honor them all¡¯. If Luo¡¯s Family is powerful, you will get more support in Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion, will you? How do you know that you won¡¯t depend on Luo¡¯s Family?¡±

    ¡°¡­Just listen to the advice of your Third Aunt! Yi, your mother still lives in Luo¡¯s Family. You are a filial child. So, before you do anything, you should think about your mother¡­ She has suffered a lot for all her life. Whom else can she depend on except you? To support our Luo¡¯s Family is to show your filial piety to your mother¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­Yi, your mother held the two-year-old you, and went back to Luo¡¯s Family tearfully with hair disheveled that year. We have broken up with He¡¯s Familypletely from then on. Don¡¯tin about my unpleasant words. You are the daughter of He¡¯s Family, and we have no obligation to raise the daughter for He Jingxian. We could have thrown you out of the house, but we didn¡¯t. Although your grandmother sent you to the farm, she also sent 50 liang silver to you each year and bought you a nanny and maid. She never forgot to leave a good piece of cloth for you on every Spring Festival or other festivals, which was said to be a part of the dowry for you when you grow up. We, the daughters-inw were jealous of you¡­ Without the support of Luo¡¯s Family for more than ten years, you would have starved to death on the street! All of us are your benefactors!¡±

    ¡°Xiaoyi, Xiaoyi! Wake up, Xiaoyi! Wake up!¡±

    He Danggui heard that all people talked with her who was moribund, and they pressed one after the other on her chest. She was about to die. At this moment, a clear voice suddenly came in and covered those noises instantly, pulling her out of the nightmare.

    He Danggui opened her eyes difficultly and saw Zhen Jing¡¯s round face. She smiled and said, ¡°Oh, it was a dream.¡±

 Chapter 9 - Endless emotions and desires

    Chapter 9 Endless emotions and desires

    Zhen Jing cried and said, ¡°You shed tears while you were sleeping, so I woke you up. Xiaoyi, I¡¯m sorry, but I only found this. Just take a bite. You will be fine.¡± Then, she held up a khaki steamed corn bread.

    Zhen Jing was very upset when she thought of what happened just now.

    Although Zhen Jing was always bullied by her elder nuns, she did not take it seriously, and felt that it was natural for the elder Taoist nuns to ¡°discipline¡± the younger ones. Today, however, she discovered that the elder nuns she had always respected were so bitter, insidious and vicious. They had no sympathy toward the poor ones.

    Just now, Zhen Jing ran to the mourning hall, but she found that Zhen Wei, Zhen Ping, Zhen Gong and Zhen Ming were taking all the fruits and desserts away. She stopped them hastily and said that those were the sacrifices sent by Miss He¡¯s family and should be left for Miss He. But Zhen Wei and other nuns sneered. ording to them, the sacrifices were offered to the dead. Miss He could only eat them if sheid back in the coffin! Zhen Jing refuted them for a while, but they scolded her immediately, ¡°Shame on you! How could you act as a filial one after burning two days of joss papers for her? When ites to the experience in the Taoist Temple, how dare you y kind in front of us?¡±

    Zhen Jing thought of Sister Zhen Zhu, so she ran to her room for help. But Zhen Zhu wasn¡¯t in the room. ording to the elder servant in her yard, she was sent down by her master to buy fish and meat for the honored guests, and she wouldn¡¯t be back until the next noon.

    After that, Zhen Jing sneaked into the kitchen to find some food, but the supper time had already passed. She uncovered all the pot lids, only found a cold steamed corn bread in the food steamer. Then Zhen Jing clutched the bread and cried to run back to the East Wing-room. When she entered the door, she saw He Danggui holding the quilt with her brows frowning, her eyes closed and tears poured down. Zhen Jing felt it was strange, so she woke her up hastily.

    He Danggui struggled to sit up and took the steamed corn bread. She divided it into two parts and said, ¡°Come here, let¡¯s eat together.¡± Seeing Zhen Jing shrinking back, He Danggui stopped her and held half of the bread to her hand and said gently, ¡°In the future, as long as I have food to eat, you won¡¯t starve. Eat it, quickly.¡±

    The two swallowed the hard-steamed corn bread in silence. Zhen Jing touched He Danggui¡¯s forehead again, and then said anxiously, ¡°It¡¯s still too hot. Your fever didn¡¯t abate.¡±

    He Danggui frowned and asked, ¡°Do you have any embroidery needles? I need the fine ones.¡±

    Zhen Jing nodded in a daze, ¡°Are you going to embroider in such a dark night? You must lose your mind. What if I beg the master to get her a doctor...¡±

    He Danggui interrupted her and continued to say, ¡°Listen, bring me the finest embroidery needles. Go to the corner of the north wall in the backyard, push the fourth brick from the left away. You will see a sk. Bring it to me. Okay, girl, don¡¯t be dazed, are you clear? The fourth brick from the left of the north wall corner, you should go quietly and don¡¯t let others see you.¡±

    Then, He Dangguiughed hysterically. Her eyes zed as beautiful as the well water under the moonlight. She also said, ¡°There are so many benefactors, and now I haven¡¯t seen none. How am I willing to die?¡±

    Zhen Jing went out with various doubts. Before leaving, she worried to look back three times or more, wondering whether He Danggui was sober. Whether should she listen to her and find the embroidery needles and sk or beg her master to find a doctor for her?

    After a moment¡¯s hesitation, she thought of the moment that He Danggui protected her when her master intended to kick her...

    ¡°In the future, as long as I have food to eat, you won¡¯t starve. Eat it, quickly.¡±

    ¡°If someone asks why there is bloodstain on your shoe, you can exin that my hand got hurt, which stained you shoe.¡±

    ¡°I appreciate what you did for me, but remember, don¡¯t run in the cold wind and rain anymore.¡± He Danggui¡¯s words urred to her.

    Despite the short time she spent with the girl who was one year younger than her, she felt safer and inexplicable familiarity with her, as if He Danggui had some magic power. She felt like they had known each other in the previous life. Thinking of this, Zhen Jing ran straight to the ¡°supposed¡± ce without hesitation where the wine was kept in the backyard.

    He Danggui was thinking how to get out of the troubles while she was resting her eyes.

    In the previous life, she was also abandoned in the East Wing-room after rebirth. She was hungry and cold, poor and sick. She was humiliated by a group of Taoist nuns like a puppet. At that time, she was too young to understand why the nuns always had a kind of natural hatred against her, as if they could get psychological pleasure by torturing her.

    It was ridiculous how ignorant and fearless she was at that time. She even wanted to make friends with them. She regarded them as the life-saving straw when she could figure out a little bit of goodwill in their eyes or words. She thought they would be moved by her endurance one day.

    ording to He Danggui¡¯s memory, her illnesssted for more than half a month. Not until a letter came from Luo¡¯s Family, asking her to cultivate herself in the Taoist Temple and offering 50 liang silver as the tuition, did Tai Shan and Tai Chen epted her as a ¡°criminal¡± who had ¡°lost her virtue¡±. Anyway, He Danggui finally took the medicine thanks to the ¡°medicine fee¡±. However, the medicines were inappropriately used and it was toote for her to get treated. He Danggui got an ipletely cured illness in the end. From then on, she had a deficiency cold syndrome that made it difficult to be pregnant. She finally managed to get a daughter at the age of 28, but her daughter was incriminated by herself for the deficiency from the centa...

    Now, He Danggui faced the dilemma again. Fortunately, it was no longer a problem topletely cure her cold illness with her skill of ¡°Jin Zhen Da Xue¡±, a traditional Chinese therapy which used golden needles to punch acupuncture points to cure illness.

    However, when she yed chess with the Taoist sage Bai Yangbai, Zhu Quan¡¯s Master, in the previous life, she learnt a truth. If one only thought about his next move when he yed chess, he could only live as a mediocre one; If one thought about the next ten moves, he might be able to seek his fortune in the political or business field; if one thought about more than 80 steps, he could be in a high position if he was ambitious, and he could also leave decently if he wanted to quit; if one could thought about more than 200 steps, he could do whatever he wanted and y the one opposite him as a chess.

    Now that He Danggui wanted to ponder a n for her future, she had to force herself to face the difficult problem in front of her¡ªhow to return to Luo¡¯s Mansion.

    Those lived in Luo¡¯s Mansion were the ones she despised the most. Theses evil persons, including Luo Chuangu, Sun Meiniang, Zhao Qi, Luo Baiqiong and other people, seemed like the scars carved in her soul and haunted her to death. They gained benefit from her in the name of family rtionship and then ditched her. They privately made dirty deals in collusion with Zhou Jinn and deceived her and her weak mother thoroughly.

    For a bit of imaginary tenderness, He Danggui turned a blind eye to what had happened without listening or thinking, even if she knew how evil they were in her heart long time ago.

    It was true that Zhu Quan¡¯s cruel decisions seemed like a steel knife pierced into her chest, which hurt her totally. However, the cheat and betrayal of Luo¡¯s Family were like a fierce fire burning through her soul, leaving miserable pain. It was more family rtions than love that totally hurt her.

    Now, she strongly resented those old acquaintances who were enjoying the fine clothes, delicious food and splendid carriage in Yangzhou City. She wished she could fly at them and dragged them to hell together!

    He Danggui¡¯s eyes zed. Since she was given the second chance to resurrect, she would neither make a fool of herself nor regard her enemies as the loved ones! She would fight for those who owed her and her mother. No one could escape in this live-or-die life chess game.

    Thinking of her nk memory when she was 10 years old, as well as Luo Family¡¯s abnormal attitude towards her rebirth, He Danggui could affirm that something must have happened at Luo¡¯s Family before her coffin was sent to Shui Shang Temple. That was to say, the person who killed her once at her age of 10 now lived in Luo¡¯s Mansion.

    And now, hearing the news that she was resurrected, the person who had killed her would do everything to prevent her from returning to Luo¡¯s Mansion because of guilt. The murderer would try desperately to stop her out of Luo¡¯s door even if she told others that she didn¡¯t remember what had happened or she had amnesia. Because the murderer might fear that she could get her memory back and recognized the murderer.

    At the moment, in order to return to Luo¡¯s Mansion, she would fight a battle of wits with the unknown opponent. However, she was no longer the little girl who was like a rabbit in front of a snake. Just wait and see what would happen.

    ¡°Xiaoyi, are you a fairyhood? I did find the sk you said!¡± Zhen Jing bounced in from the door with astonishment and said, ¡°Look, the wine is in it! Here is the needles you required! Are you going to y some magic power, Fairyhood Yi?¡±

    He Danggui smiled as she took the sk and embroidery needles. She couldn¡¯t be an immortal one and she had inseparable emotions and desires. However, with the acupuncture therapy to bring people back from the dead, being called as a ¡°Master of Medical Treatment¡± was reasonable. Although these three embroidery needles were rough, it might contemporarily rece the technique called ¡°Jin Zhen Da Xue¡±¡­

    ¡°Zhen Jing, please guard at the gate of the courtyard and don¡¯t let anyone approach here.¡± He Danggui said.

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù

    Right after noon, the sun absorbed its light, as if it was afraid of coldness, and hid in the thick cloud.

    A long-haired nun stood in the corner with a submissive manner.

    ¡°Four hot dishes, Stewed Pork Ball in Brown Sauce, Stewed Silver Carp Head, Twist Sliced Crab with Coconut, Squirrel-shaped Fried Bass; eight cold dishes, Spicy Jellyfish, Spiced Mackerel, Salted Pork in Jelly...¡± Tai Shan squinted her eyes slowly, observing the menu given by Zuixianlou Restaurant. She pointed at the menu and said, ¡°In the four desserts, delete Steamed Glutinous Rice with Eight Treasures and Shrimp Pie with Pumpkin, and add Crab Roe Bun and Suzhou Dessert. Those Masters and Childes had enjoyed all kinds of delicate foods. Theye to Yangzhou for the local cuisines. That¡¯s for sure¡­¡±

    ¡°As you wish, Master.¡± Zhen Zhu replied.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect them to be senior officials... Well, what do they want to do in such a remote ce? Fortunately, when Zhen Xi packed their luggage, she saw their Guandie (an official certificate). Otherwise we would regard them as ordinary people and serve them ordinary dishes. Hope they won¡¯t me us¡­¡± Tai Shan frowned, ¡°Mushroom Soup? You should go to the kitchen and ask them to be careful about washing the mushrooms. No sand should be left. Here, I will sent another five servants to help in the kitchen, and no mistake is allowed...¡±

    ¡°Sure, Master.¡± Zhen Zhu noted that as well.

    Tai Shan nodded with satisfaction, ¡°Okay, ten dishes are settled. Tell Liu Laojiu, the new hired cook, change the menu everyday within ten days. From today on, the cost of lunch should be standardized as 3 liang silver, while breakfast and supper cost 1 liang silver in total. Remember that the dishes should be served in this standard no matter how long they n to live. The temple will make up the insufficient money if necessary.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll tell them instantly.¡± Zhen Zhu looked up, ¡°One more thing, it was said that Childe Duan asked something about Miss He. The disciples made excuses to his questions for the time being.¡±

    Tai Shan showed a disgusting expression, and said, ¡°She just makes things worse no matter she is alive or dead. Such a disastrous human being. No wonder Luo¡¯s Family kicked her out.¡± Tai Shan seemed topletely forget that it was she herself who told the rising-from-the-dead story to these guests, which attracted Duan Xiaolou¡¯s attention. He Danggui was thest one to me.

    Zhen Zhu paused a while and continued, ¡°When I came back in the morning, I met Zhen Jing. I asked Miss He¡¯s physical condition. Zhen Jing said that although Miss He was a little weak, she was not ill and seemed asmon as the ordinary people. Originally, you meant to keep it a secret and see if she was really blessed before you make a decision. Now, it seems that Miss He is really blessed. It might be inappropriate to keep it a secret to Luo¡¯s Family¡­¡±

    Tai Shan pulled a face and didn¡¯t say anything.

    Zhen Zhu nced at her quickly and continued to say, ¡°Although we cannot earn the money in the Taoist rites, Luo¡¯s Family had given 32 liang silver to the Temple as a donation. We did not lose money, and it is enough for the daily needs of the temple for a whole year. Moreover, if we send the good news to Luo¡¯s Family, maybe they will give more donations to the temple due to our caring to Miss He these days¡­¡±

    ¡°Hum. Do you want to make a fool of me?¡± Tai Shan sneered, ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear the private discussion of these women who sent the coffin? Second Mistress Luo of Luo Family¡¯s in the East Yard, hated the girl very much. If we tell her that He Danggui is still alive, I¡¯m afraid we have to take care of the carriage andbor expenses. Actually, I didn¡¯t take 20 or 30 liang silver very seriously, but now Ma Tai needs the money for emergency¡­¡±

    Zhen Zhu said nothing with her eyes dropping. She thought to herself that Tai Shan should intend to calcte the funeral expenses of someone else¡¯s daughter in order to get an errand for her son. It was quite disappointing to realize that she was such a calcting and vicious woman.

    In the southwest of the Taoist Temple, there was a small vige called Ershi Lipu, which was next to manor on the mountainside. There were more than a dozen households, most of whom were permanent workers of the manor. Tai Shan¡¯s elder brother, Ma Ping¡¯an lived here. He was responsible for the purchasing for the kitchen of the manor. He also visited Tai Shan asionally, excusing sending oil or eggs.

    Ma Ping¡¯an had an adopted son named Ma Tai. Tai Shan once introduced Ma Tai as her nephew in the temple, but Zhen Zhu once overheard that Ma Tai called Tai Shan ¡°mother¡±. It wasn¡¯t a dishonorable thing for a nun to have a son before she became a nun, but what really mattered was that Ma Tai was less than 20 years old this year, and Tai Shan came to Shui Shang Temple 25 years ago...

    ¡°Well, getting problem with a little girl is not my style.¡± Tai Shan remembered that the guests wanted to meet He Danggui. If He Danggui said something bad in front of them, it would be a shame. Thinking of the ¡°chicken soup¡± she mentioned to He Danggui yesterday, Tai Shan shouted out of the window, ¡°Biddy Huang!¡±

    An old woman who was washing clothes in the courtyard replied. Tai Shan thought for a while and said, ¡°Go and tell the one in the kitchen. If there was any soup made for the noble guests left, they could send a bowl of soup to the East Wing-room.¡± Biddy Huang replied and went out.

    ¡°Master, what a bad thing! What a bad thing!¡± A 17 or 18-year-old nun rushed into the door in a panic with her front hair in a mess. She looked embarrassed.

    Tai Shan yelled, ¡°Are you rushing to die? What a nonsense, stupid!¡± The nun was so anxious that she unexpectedly said something bad to curse her master. When she recognized Tai Shan¡¯s rage, she was frightened to approach the door.

    Zhen Zhu frowned and asked, ¡°Huai Wen, aren¡¯t you supposed to serve the guests for dinner in the West Wing-room? What happened there?¡±

    When Tai Shan heard this, she opened her eyes immediately. She couldn¡¯t take ount of the previous fault and asked hurriedly, ¡°Come on, what¡¯s going on? Are they unsatisfied with the meal?¡±

    Huai Wen¡¯s tears ruined her blusher. She choked, ¡°Originally, everything was fine... but the man in ck... he, he suddenly pulled out a knife... inserted it in the middle of the dining table... Everyone was scared away...¡± ¡°Sniff¡­¡±

    ¡°What are you crying for? No one is dead!¡± Tai Shan was anxious and furious, ¡°What the hell was going on? Tell me the details. Why did these guests draw their swords? What did they say?¡± However, no matter how Tai Shan asked, Huai Wen couldn¡¯t say aplete word out of fear. Tai Shan was too anxious to p her thigh.

    ¡°Master, don¡¯t worry. Since we have offended those guests, we¡¯d better go there to apologize.¡± Zhen Zhu advised, ¡°Besides, they were well-behaved yesterday ording to their behavior. Maybe it¡¯s just a misunderstanding.¡±

    Zhen Zhu¡¯s slow voice calmed Tai Shan¡¯s panic. Tai Shan nodded, ¡°You are right. They wouldn¡¯t make trouble in the temple. Let¡¯s go!¡± She walked a few steps and stopped, then she ordered Zhen Zhu, ¡°You should go and see He Danggui in the East Wing-room. Make sure to let her know the situation. Tell her if she meets the guestster, don¡¯t say anything to embarrass any of us.¡±

 Chapter 10 - Lawsuit with her husband

    Chapter 10 Lawsuit with her husband

    At noon, the weather cleared up. He Danggui fiddled with the grass they picked yesterday, while Zhen Jing held a flower porcin bowl and smiled joyfully, ¡°Xiaoyi, this is the chicken soup from Biddy Pang. She works in the kitchen. The Master specially ordered this for nourishing your body.¡±

    Pigs might fly. Was it true that Tai Shan sent the chicken soup? He Danggui grinned with a banter and said, ¡°Amitabha Buddha! Bless you! Master Tai Shan is so kind.¡± Then she removed the lid of the bowl,ughing again, ¡°She really thought highly of me for putting ginseng in the soup.¡± Indeed, the ingredients used in the ginseng chicken soup were excellent, only the real good soup was not delivered to her.

    The soup sent to her wasposed of little original soup and a lot of water. There were several eye-catching ginseng tails on the soup, which showed that this was a bowl of ¡°Ginseng Chicken Soup¡±. He Danggui stirred it with a spoon. This time sheughed out loud. Head, neck, butt, rib and skin of the chicken¡­ There was no trace of a piece of good chicken in the soup. Whoever served such a bowl of soup could be considered as a talented person. He would definitely be diligent and thrifty in running the household if he were a cashier.

    Seeing He Danggui staring the soup thoughtfully without drinking, Zhen Jing couldn¡¯t help wondering, ¡°You only ate a few in the past two days. The chicken soup is quite nutritive and unique. Why don¡¯t you drink it quickly?¡±

    He Danggui beckoned to Zhen Jing and pushed the chicken soup towards her smilingly, ¡°My dear Zhen Jing, drink the soup for me.¡± Zhen Jing was shocked. She moved backward as she waved her hands. He Danggui caught her and pressed her on the stool, ¡°Drink it while it is still hot! Although I can¡¯t drink the chicken soup, you can drink it.¡±

    Zhen Jing was surprised, ¡°Why? This is a superior tonic.¡±

    He Danggui smiled slightly, ¡°With a few traumas, I¡¯m too weak to bear such nutrition. Now not to mention the chicken soup, even a drop of oil is too tonic for me. This soup is appropriate and suitable for you to drink on an empty stomach.¡± Seeing Zhen Jing gazing at the hot chicken soup nkly, she patted on her back and continued, ¡°Didn¡¯t you also suffer from hanger for two days? Here is the soup. What are you waiting for now? Anyway, you will not be a Taoist nun for life. I will take you with me when I leave here. Just consider it as your breaking the precept in advance.¡±

    ¡°Hum, Miss He, you not only instigate Zhen Jing to break the precept, but also n to cajole her into leaving with you!¡±

    A voice came from outside at this moment. Zhen Jing was so shocked that she coughed immediately by her violent saliva.

    He Danggui turned around and saw a thirty-year-old long-haired Taoist nun standing at the door. The nun, with a white and round face like the full moon and natural dignity, was looking at her fixedly. He Danggui also looked back at the arrival calmly, guessing in her mind that she should be Sister Zhen Zhu who was always mentioned by Zhen Jing whenever in previous life and this life. Regarding Zhen Zhu, He Danggui knew part of her story.

    Zhen Zhu, former name as Qiu Ping, was originally the daughter of a rice merchant. In the early years, there was a gue in the south. Qiu Ping¡¯s parents, elder brother and sister-inw, and sisters were all infected and died. Since Qiu Ping was the only one survived, she pawned the rice shops and a few acres of farnd, nning to bring the memorial tablets of her family to the north to live in her hometown. Since it was not safe for her to go alone, she entrusted an armed escort from Peaceful Escort.

    The armed escort gradually developed a certain affection for her on their way to the north, and finally revealed his feelings and proposed a marriage to her when they arrived. Qiu Ping was touched by his carefulness and thoughtfulness along the way. Also, she was already an orphan girl and her parents got no chance to arrange her marriage, so she promised to marry him.

    Since the armed escort was the eldest son in his poor family and he had many siblings. Qiu Ping not only didn¡¯t ask for a penny as the bride-price, but also brought her own dowry of 300 liang silver. They made a vow that they would spend their life together as husband and wife. The armed escort would not take any concubine no matter if he was rich or poor in the future. The armed escort agreed.

    After their marriage, Qiu Ping rented a restaurant with her dowry. At the same time, she took care of her husband¡¯s parents and siblings. She made a good bnce between business and home affairs. Not only her parents-inw praised her highly, but also her sister-inw liked her. Her sister-inw often chased after her to learn needlework and cooking skills. With their life getting better and better, the family was filled withughter all day long and members were more intimate with each other.

    7 yearster, the restaurant expanded from 1 to 4, and the whole family also moved into a single-family mansion. However, her mother-inw started to be deliberately ambiguous. She often either showed unpleasant expressions to Qiu Ping or med her for nothing. After several times of this condition, Qiu Ping guessed that her mother-inw might want to have a grandson.

    In fact, Qiu Ping had applied a folk prescription for contraception in the past few years after marriage. She intended to get pregnant when their economic condition got better and the business improved. Now all her wishes were fulfilled. They had enough farnd, mansion and wealth to livefortably. Qiu Ping even stooped using the prescription, looking forward to having a child soon. In this way, the elders could enjoy a peaceful and happy life with no cares. She went to famous doctors who specialize in gynecology, took a few months of invigorator for assisted pregnancy, and worshipped Songzi Guanyin (also known as Goddess of Mercy, who was worshiped to help women be pregnant in China). But it took two to make a quarrel. Qiu Ping told her husband several times about having a child, but he wasn¡¯t very enthusiastic. Only she was anxious about this.

    After a period of time, when the whole family had dinner together, her husband suddenly said that he had an announcement to make. Therefore, the whole family looked at him, but he made it clear after mincing matters.

    Half a year ago, he rescued a vige girl when he was on duty. To save the girl from the brigand, he not only saw her body, but also shared the ride with her for two days. After being rescued, the girl called Kong Hongli was very grateful to him and wanted to follow him wholeheartedly. He refused resolutely, indicating that he had made an agreement with his wife for taking no concubine for life. Hongli replied that she didn¡¯t ask for status or marrying him. All she needed was a small courtyard for her to see him asionally. If he refused to ept her, she would immediately hit and kill herself on the steps. He had to promise her requirements.

    Qiu Ping¡¯s husband paused and then continued. When he went to visit Hongli a few days ago, Hongli wept and wailed endlessly as she locked herself in the room. After several conversations, he learned that she was pregnant. He thought that if Hongli had an unmarried child, the child would be illegitimate and not be respected by others for a lifetime. He couldn¡¯t bear it, so he wanted to bring Hongli home, giving her status and being a father.

    After Qiu Ping listened to his speech expressionlessly, she said slowly that husband and wife were integrated. The child of her husband was hers, too. She was willing to raise the child after the child was born, and would treat it as her own blood. However, when she married him that year, it was clearly written in ck and white on the marriage contract that her husband could not take any concubine. Therefore, Hongli could not be their family member.

    Her husband nced at his mother immediately, so thetter echoed. First, Hongli was a kind and righteous woman ording to the description. Second, she¡¯s going to deliver a child for the family. How could they leave her destitute? What¡¯s more, mother should be with the child. If her child was carried off, wouldn¡¯t that mean a death curse to her? Their family was of kindness, and they couldn¡¯t bear separating Hongli and her child like this. After all, every man in the world was allowed to have concubines. Although her son was nowpelled to ept a concubine, it was unfair to use him of breaking his promise. Moreover, Qiu Ping was always busy with the restaurant business every day. If she epted Hongli, thetter, as an intimate younger sister, would be able to help her with household chores, filial piety to the inws, care for the husband and fertility. Qiu Ping should be happy for that. And it would be unwise for Qiu Ping to learn from others to threaten her husband with the marriage contract.

    Qiu Ping suddenly realized that her husband had already formed a line with her mother-inw, and now showed their hand to her.

    Looking at the expressions of other people at the dinner table, she could tell that she was the only audience. Suddenly she felt as if her heart fell into an ice cave. These were her parents-inw who used to love her dearly, and her siblings who used to highly respect her. They pretended to be close to her before. But once it came to divergences, they would be on the same side with her husband immediately without any forethought.

    Qiu Ping was a strong-willed woman. She insisted on reiterating the terms of her marriage contract, and entirely refused their proposal. The stalematested for half a month. Finally, the whole family of her husband lost their patience. When they saw her at home every day, they always turned a blind eye to her like she didn¡¯t even exist.

    One day, she was busy in the restaurant for a whole day. When she came back, she saw a woman with a big belly sitting next to her parents-inw in the living room.

    Her mother-inw told Qiu Ping routinely that the marriage contract only stated that her son would not take a concubine, but not mentioned that he could not marry two wives. She thought Hongli was a filial and sensible woman with nice personality. Hence, she decided to ask her son to marry Hongli as his junior wife, and the uing son would be the legitimate son. Now as Hongli was pregnant, it was inconvenient for her to live outside. So, she took her home to live with the family, and the wedding and celebration would be held after her delivery.

    ording to the reprimand of Qiu Ping¡¯s mother-inw, women should obey their husbands¡¯ orders and be home-based. Qiu Ping should not go to the restaurant to make a public appearance from now on. She also required Qiu Ping to hand over the business to the two younger brothers-inw and pay more attention on Hongli for miscarriage preventionter. Qiu Ping was speechless for the me. Why didn¡¯t she censure her when the family was too poor to have enough food to eat?

    Then, the woman who sat with her mother-inw stood up, gracefully prostrated herself in front of Qiu Ping, and said with two lines of tears, begging Qiu Ping to ept her. Before Qiu Ping spoke, her mother-inw scolded her for not supporting Hongli in time.

    3 monthster, Hongli miscarried. She cried and said it was because she drank the sweet soup sent by Qiu Ping. The husband was furious and beat Qiu Ping badly. He even wrote a divorce letter and threw it on Qiu Ping¡¯s face. The divorce letter stated that Qiu Ping hadmitted ¡°Disobedient to parents, Childlessness, and Jealousy¡± in the ¡°Seven Reasons for Divorcing the Wife¡±. He asked her to leave without taking anything away, and imed that since then, they would bepletely isted from each other all their lives.

    Holding the letter well, Qiu Ping neither cried nor made any troubles. She walked out the door directly without looking back. The whole family, the inws who used to treat her as their own daughter and the three siblings raised by her, did not say a word to keep her stay. Instead, they looked at her limping away with loose long hair coldly.

    The next day, Qiu Ping did something surprising. She used her husband to the County Yamun in Zhenjiang Prefecture with the marriage contract signed seven years ago, the newly received divorce letter, and an indictment. It was said that the case made a great flutter that year.

    ording to the convention of the current dynasty, if a woman was abandoned by her husband due to her faults of the ¡°Seven Reasons for Divorcing the Wife¡±, the woman¡¯s dowry would be handled by her husband. He could give it to the abandoned woman in whole or in part as appropriate. If the abandoned womanmitted more than two of the ¡°Seven Reasons for Divorcing the Wife¡±, her husband had the right to detain all of her dowry. However, if the husband and wife were in an inharmonious rtionship and one party proposed to divorce after mutual agreement, the woman¡¯s dowry and the profit from the dowry were all owned by the woman.

    5 dayster, the court opened. The county magistrate Master Lu, who was also the Second ce at Pce Examinations, personally heard the trial. Qiu Ping¡¯s husband spent a lot of money in calling in Zhenjiang¡¯s bestwyer, while Qiu Ping defended by herself.

    During trial, thewyer spoke with fervor and assurance that Qiu Ping not only hadmitted disobedient to parents, childlessness, and jealousy in the ¡°Seven Reasons for Divorcing the Wife¡±, but also was a suspect of murdering her husband¡¯s unborn child. It was reasonable for her husband to divorce her and also legal to detain her dowry.

    When it was Qiu Ping¡¯s turn, she knelt straight on the ground and narrated calmly. There were ¡°Seven Reasons for Divorcing the Wife¡± since ancient times, but also ¡°Three Reasons for not Divorcing the Wife¡±. That meant homeless women could not be divorced; women who were in filial piety with her husband for three-year mourning period could not be divorced; if the family of a woman¡¯s husband was poor before their marriage but rich ever since, the woman could not be divorced. Now she met two of the of them, which meant she could not be divorced.

    Regardless of other changes, when she married her husband, his family only had two cottages. The whole family of 6, ranging from her father-inw of 60 years old to her younger sister-inw of 9 years old, relied on her husband to live. Working as an armed escort, her husband only earned 5 or 6 strings of 1,000 qian per month. Half of the time, they only had gruel and bran cake to eat. They pawned winter clothes in summer and summer clothes in winter. Without any food to store, the whole family was so poor that her parents-inw and younger sister-inw needed to dress up as beggars when there were about to starve to death.

    But now, her husband¡¯s family had be a wealthy and influential family, well-respected by the people in Zhenjiang Prefecture. With its members enjoying delicacies of every kind, wearing clothes made by silks and brocades and dressing up with treasures and agates, the family was extremely rich for holding more than 2,000 liang silver. These narrations werepletely in line with ¡°Poor before the woman married but rich after marriage¡±, so they could not abandon her.

    7 years ago, she brought the inheritance of 300 liang silver left by her parents and brothers to her husband as her dowry. She agreed with him that ¡°Loyalty to each other for the whole life¡±, and stated in the marriage contract that ¡°The husband could not take any concubine for life¡±. After marriage, she was dutiful and industrious to serve her parents-inw and raise her siblings at home while running restaurants outside. It was ridiculous to say that she disobeyed her parents-inw.

    Over the past 7 years, her parents-inw were in good health and ate abundantly. Both of her younger brothers-inw had been sent to school for 5 years. Now they were both skilled atposing and performing martial arts. Each of them managed 2 restaurants and had a settled marriage. Being in 16, her younger sister-inw was proficient in needlework, cooking skills, Chinese zither and Weiqi. People who wanted to engage with her were in an endless stream. When it came to the residence, the two cottages of her husband were changed into a quadrangle courtyard 5 years ago and then arger courtyard with 5 entrances and 3 exits (referred to a courtyard with 5 lines of houses and 8 doors) 3 years ago. A single-family mansion which upied an entire alley was their residence this year. Unlike the old times, even the threshold was changed from a flooded loess ditch into a redcquer-painted pearwood, which was almost 11-centimeter high.

    As for ¡°Disobedient to her parents-inw¡±, it would be better to summon all the neighbors living along the whole street to confront them. Although there were a lot of ungrateful and unfaithful people in the world, the public always had a sense of natural justice. She didn¡¯t believe that no one in the neighborhood was unwilling to be fair.

    Furthermore, ¡°Childlessness¡± in the regtion of the ¡°Seven Reasons for Divorcing the Wife¡± referred to the fact that the wife had no children after the age of 50. She was only 24 years old this year, so this one could be excluded. When they were poor and lowly, Qiu Ping and her husband, her siblings slept in one room; when rich, her husband ran to sleep with another woman. Why was it her fault for ¡°Childlessness¡±?

    Finally, when it came to ¡°Jealousy¡±-

    3 months ago, her husband seized a w in the text of their marriage contract and married a junior wife instead of epting a concubine. The new wife moved into the mansion with pregnancy of 4 months. Qiu Ping¡¯s mother-inw asked her to help the new wife to prevent miscarriage, and she obeyed the instructions. She handed over the restaurant business to the younger brothers-inw, and inquired after the new wife¡¯s health to deliver food, tonic and cubilose every day.

    The weird thing was the new wife¡¯s belly looked pointed in the morning but round at noon, big as a watermelon yesterday but much smaller the next day.

    Qiu Ping was worried about the new wife¡¯s health, so she asked Dr. Zhang to feel the pulse for her. But the new wife closed her door and didn¡¯t ept anyone¡¯s visit, saying that she only trusted Dr. Li for diagnosing. The next day, Qiu Ping invited Dr. Li, Dr. Zhang, and Dr. Ma to have a diagnosis for the new wife, but thetter temporarily went to a temple to pray with pregnancy of 7 months. A few dayster, it was said that the new wife was miscarried.

    Qiu Ping sneered, since it was said that she had ¡°murdered her husband¡¯s unborn child¡±, wasn¡¯t that a felony of murder? Was it too simple and easy to divorce her? If so, maybe she deserved to be beheaded for that?

    However, before the decapitation, could she take a look at the dead body of the unborn baby boy who had been ¡°murdered¡± by her? Could the magistrate summon Dr. Li, who was dedicated to preventing miscarriage of the new wife, to ask the reason why she miscarried? Could the magistrate call in the midwife to touch the t and smooth lower abdomen of the new wife after her miscarriage?

    Hearing this, the onlookers were in an uproar. The expressions of her husband¡¯s family changed a lot at this time.

    Master Lu enjoined to summon Kong Hongli, Dr. Li and the midwife instantly. Soon after, the yamen runner came to report that Kong Hongli disappeared, and he only found Dr. Li and the midwife. Dr. Li knelt down with a shiver. After a while of interrogation by Master Lu, Dr. Li confessed that he received 60 liang silver from Kong Hongli as a bribe and helped her cheating with a false pregnancy.

    The onlookers were in an uproar again. When Master Lu banged the gavel, he pronounced on the court that given that the woman Qiu Ping did notmit any of the ¡°Seven Reasons for Divorcing the Wife¡±, it was unnecessary for her to ept the divorce letter from her husband. However, Qiu Ping¡¯s husband was ungrateful and vited his marriage contract. Not only did he marry another woman, he tortured his wife. He was sentenced to hit 50 times with the nk (specially made for punishment). Dr. Li was fined 60 liang silver and should be hit 20 times for helping others to deceive and viting medical ethics. He was not allowed to practice medicine ever since.

    After Qiu Ping knelt and thanked Master Lu, she chillily required to divorce her husband.

    Therefore, Master Lu also sentenced Qiu Ping and her husband to divorce. Their assets, 4 restaurants, 1 mansion, and 100 acres of farnd were all purchased with the profits of Qiu Ping¡¯s dowry. Therefore, they were all owned by Qiu Ping. All the members of her husband¡¯s family should leave the mansion immediately, and they were not allowed to take away anything in the mansion. The case was carried out by the supervision of yamen runners in the county. Since then, Qiu Ping and her husband were irrelevant, and her husband was forbidden to harass or abuse Qiu Ping, etc.

    After the case, Qiu Ping pawned all the restaurants and the mansion, nning to be a nun. She originally yearned for Buddha, but she couldn¡¯t abandon her long hair. Hence, she changed her appearance and named herself Xiang Ye, then she went to Shui Shang Temple to be a Taoist nun with a religious name Zhen Zhu.

    In the previous life, since He Danggui heard Zhen Zhu¡¯s story from Zhen Jing, she had admired her decisiveness and resolution and decided to treat her as an idol. But it was deeply regrettable that she didn¡¯t get the chance to see Zhen Zhu herself. Zhen Zhu left the temple before He Danggui came in the previous life.

    It was said that Master Lu fell in love with Zhen Zhu after the case. Following Zhen Zhu all the way to the Temple and trying to persuade her to resume secr life, he was willing to marry her as his wife through official marriage procedures (Sanmei Liupin: also known as Sanshu Liuli, a traditional marriage custom etiquette in China).

    Other Taoist nuns overheard their conversation, so Zhen Zhu¡¯s secr identity was revealed. The news spread like wind in the temple. It was like within a blink that everyone knew Zhen Zhu was the well-known Qiu Ping who had awsuit with her husband and also the one who boasted 100 acres of farnd and 1,000 liang silver.

    Since the quiet ce was no longer quiet, Zhen Zhu who suffered a lot left a letter to Master Lu, saying, ¡°People I had met were not the right person, and I was so regretful I was not single when I met you. If I had known these affairs haunting me, it would be better for us to miss each other. Now that my past means nothing but a dream for me, everything would be faded with the passage of time.¡± Then she left Shui Shang Temple overnight for the practice in a Buddhism temple called Pu Ti Nunnery. She cut her long hair, showing her determination not to reenter secr life. In the end, Master Lu was desperate for the result and left.

    In this life, for some reason, theter story did not happen at all. Master Lu never visited the temple, and Zhen Zhu did not cut her hair to be a Buddhist nun.

    Yesterday when He Danggui heard that this ¡°Legendary figure¡± Zhen Zhu was also in the temple, she asked Zhen Jing a few questions. But she found that Zhen Jing knew nothing about the true identity of Zhen Zhu. Zhen Jing also introduced to her that Sister Zhen Zhu¡¯s real name was Xiang Ye. She came from Jinan, Shandong. She was abandoned due to the ungratefulness of her husband and intolerance of her parents-inw. Then she came here to be a Taoist nun.

    At present, the ¡°Idol¡± Sister Zhen Zhu was standing outside the door, staring at her unpleasantly. Zhen Zhu questioned He Danggui directly, ¡°Miss He, why are you leading my sister to begin a meat diet? You are bringing harm to her.¡±

    A myriad of thoughts crowded into He Danggui¡¯s mind fleetly. Sheughed, ¡°The wind outside is strong. Master Zhen Zhu, pleasee in. Let¡¯s have a talk inside.¡±

 Chapter 11 - Congee is more precious than chicken soup

    <strong>Chapter 11 Congee is more precious than chicken soup</strong>

    Zhen Zhu looked stern, but a hint of surprise shed in her eyes. She did not expect that Miss He who was only 10 was not afraid in the face of her me. She looked Miss He up and down and found that although the girl was pale because she had just escaped with bare life. She had a different kind of temperament and charm.

    In fact, even Zhen Zhu felt shocked. She couldn¡¯t help but use ¡°charm¡± to describe a little girl, but this was the first impression that she had about Miss He ¡ª ¡°beauty¡± was not enough to describe the little girl. Her mental aura had surpassed her appearance! Zhen Zhu pondered inwardly. Such an extraordinary little girl, if after some time...

    He Danggui smiled coldly all at once and said, ¡°Sister Zhen Zhu, are you here to denounce me publicly for my crimes?¡±

    Zhen Zhu said with a smile, ¡°I¡¯m very concerned about Zhen Jing as my younger sister. But I just heard what you said. You not only let Zhen Jing break her religious precept to eat meat, but also want to cajole her into leaving the Taoist Temple with you. So, I was supposed to make a special trip to visit Miss He for your physical condition, but now I have to denounce you by the way.¡±

    He Danggui blinked and said, ¡°Sister Zhen Zhu, you are taking this too seriously. There are manymandments in the world. Taoistmandments are not as strict as Buddhism. In your Taoist Temple, the rich can eat anything they want every day, such as dried fish, sour cream, eggs, dried small shrimps.¡± Then she continued with a smile, ¡°When I went out yesterday, I found a lot of traps for catching prey near the Taoist Temple. Don¡¯t tell me that people in your Taoist Temple catch the pheasant and wild rabbit to free them instead of eating them. Besides, Zhen Jing isn¡¯t a pious nun. The reason why she was sent here as an unskilledborer is that her parents owed a few acres of rent. Sister Zhen Zhu, I¡¯m also keen on Zhen Jing and I regard her as my younger sister. So, I want to take her out of Taoist Temple, the pit of fire, and live a better life.¡±

    Seeing the delicious chicken soup before, Zhen Jing coughed by her violent saliva. Now hearing He Danggui¡¯s words, she couldn¡¯t help but cough and said grievingly, ¡°Hey, Xiaoyi, I¡¯m older than you. I should be your elder sister...¡±

    He Danggui was a good talker and said in a mild and indirect way. Zhen Zhu was very surprised inwardly and then smiled with a hint of profound meaning. Unconsciously, she no longer meant to ¡°denounce¡± He Danggui. After all, even she herself often boiled eggs and cooked hot milk, sometimes serving extra meal for Zhen Jing, who was thin and weak. In fact, He Danggui¡¯s behavior was no different from hers.

    However, Zhen Zhu meant to sound out Miss He. So, she managed to keep a strict face and said, ¡°The eggs and dried small shrimps are not meat after all, but chicken is real meat. One bite is enough to break a religious precept. How can I indulge her to get involved into the secr world but give up staying in the temple that stands aloof from worldly sess? Miss He, you said that you would bring Zhen Jing out of this pit of fire, but I think those outside the Taoist Temple are the sea of fire!¡±

    He Danggui crooked her head and shrugged, saying, ¡°That sounds strange indeed! Are the eggs you eat unable to hatch chicks in a few days, and the small shrimps can¡¯t grow into prawns in a few days? Can a gate of the monastery divide your world of quietness and filth? Is a person¡¯s character determined by the food she eats at ordinary times, frequency that she visits the statue of Yuanshi Tianzun in a day, or the rules she could recite from The Exnation of Tao Te Ching (also known as Dao De Jing, which implied the essential, unnamable process of the universe)?

    What an intelligent girl! Zhen Zhu could no longer pretend to be stern, so she just said frankly, ¡°Zhen Jing is so naive and childlike. If she walks out of this gate of the monastery, it is possible that she might be bullied or even abducted.¡±

    Zhen Jing waved her hands again and again and said, ¡°Hah?! I¡¯m not a fool, I won¡¯t...¡± But she waspletely ignored again.

    He Danggui smiled and stared at Zhen Zhu¡¯s eyes calmly, then said, ¡°I will protect her until she can protect herself, until a man who is willing to protect her appears.¡± Hearing He Danggui¡¯s words, Zhen Jing blushed. She looked around and was very uneasy. The topic brought from a bowl of chicken soup was finally discussed to such a degree...

    ¡ª¡ªActually, He Danggui asked Zhen Jingst night, wondering if she was willing to go back to Luo¡¯s Family with her. She also promised that Zhen Jing didn¡¯t have to sign the Indenture of Sale with Luo¡¯s family, but worked as a close-fitting maid, just like her sister in private.

    As for Zhen Jing, she had loved and admired He Danggui for a long time. The closeness she felt to He Danggui was even stronger than that to her own parents. When she heard that she could leave the Taoist Temple and follow He Danggui to see the outside world, she was very excited. However, she immediately thought that she was ¡°detained¡± because of arrears of rent, and her Master would be the first one to forbid her from leaving. So, she became very unhappy at once.

    However, when she exined her unhappiness, He Danggui did not show her sadness, butforted her gently. She just asked Zhen Jing if she was willing to leave. As for the method of taking Zhen Jing away, although she hadn¡¯t figured it out yet and she had no money to redeem Zhen Jing by now, things would eventually sort themselves out. She would definitely think of a good n to get Zhen Jing out of the Taoist Temple fair and square in due course.

    Zhen Jing was dubious. Although He Danggui was really smart, she didn¡¯t think a kid coulde up with ¡°a good n¡±. So, she persuaded He Danggui to take care of herself first and not worry about her affairs. After that, He Danggui made a pinkie promise with Zhen Jing, then said with a smile, ¡°So, that¡¯s a deal. I¡¯ll cover you for the rest of your life.¡±

    ¡ª¡ªAt this moment, Zhen Zhu had a feeling at once that she was looking in the mirror.

    For a moment, even Zhen Zhu was shocked by He Danggui¡¯s words. He Danggui said ¡°I will protect her¡± confidently. Zhen Zhu thought that He Danggui¡¯s confident attitude was the same as hers when she beat the drum in the County Yamun and presented her view in court! A 10 years old girl, how was that possible?

    ¡°Oh, the chicken soup would be cold after a while. Why are we still discussing whether we can drink it or not?¡± He Danggui held out her hands and said, ¡°Sister Zhen Zhu, you love Zhen Jing the most, but she hasn¡¯t eaten for three days.¡±

    Zhen Zhu nced at Zhen Jing and lowered her voice, saying, ¡°Drink it while it¡¯s hot.¡± Zhen Jing was in a daze. She looked at the bowl of chicken soup and drooled, then asked timidly, ¡°Well... I¡¯m going to drink it for real. Sister Zhen Zhu, you will keep it a secret for me, won¡¯t you?¡± Zhen Zhu patted Zhen Jing on the head and reminded her, ¡°Drink slowly. Don¡¯t choke.¡±

    Zhen Jing cheered. Then she took up the soup bowl and took a big sip. She was so happy that her face looked like a white and tender bun filled with filling. Wow! Chicken soup... She drank it once when she was a little girl. At that time, her mother took her to her uncle¡¯s wedding. She got arge bowl of tasty chicken soup. Getting a drumstick, her mother even tore off the chicken for her to eat with soy sauce.

    Zhen Zhu and He Danggui looked at her with a smirk, and then looked at each other tacitly. They smiled and thenughed aloud at the same time in the end. Zhen Jing¡¯s little mouth stuck with the soup bowl and she opened her eyes, looking around curiously.

    Zhen Zhu couldn¡¯t helping forward, holding He Danggui¡¯s hand. She looked at her carefully and frowned, saying with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s lucky for me to meet such an intelligent and beautiful woman in the world. As the opera goes, ¡®There are many beautiful women on the waterfront of Huai¡¯an. The new moon is like a beauty, and the beauty is unsophisticated; the new moon is like a beautiful woman, and the woman finally grows up and her charm and talent are hard to hide.¡¯ I thought it was just a writer¡¯s imagination. Today I finally learn that they had personally seen such a beautiful woman as you. Men of letters only wrote those poems byparison.¡±

    He Danggui also looked at Zhen Zhu and said with a grin, ¡°Sister, I often heard Zhen Jing talk about you and always wanted to find an opportunity to meet you. Lucky for me to see you in the end and know that you are not an ordinary person. You can be described as ¡®the beauty¡¯ who makes the emperor obsessed.¡±

    Zhen Zhuughed her head off and said, ¡°No one dares to say they are beautiful in front of you. Well, you and I feel like old friends at the first meeting. There is no need to say holiday words. Let¡¯s move the stuffs inside.¡± Then Zhen Zhu walked out with He Danggui and said with a smile, ¡°Although the bowl of chicken soup was mixed with a lot of in boiled water, it is too thick and greasy for your cold habitus and not suitable for you to drink. But you are not a y figure and need to eat something, too.¡±

    When He Danggui walked outside the courtyard, she found there were so many stuffs piled like a hill, including fruits, rice bags, dry woods, charcoal, charcoal stove, small stove, and some utensils like pots, pans, spoons, oilmps and candles. She said unfeignedly, ¡°Sister, to tell you the truth, you are providing timely help. I¡¯m almost starving to death. I nned to eat some wild vegetables just now.¡±

    Zhen Zhu took the charcoal stove as she walked into the room, saying, ¡°I was afraid to disturb your rest, so I asked them to unload the stuffs outside the courtyard. Now we have to carry these into the room by ourselves. The rice is about 25 jin. The firewood and charcoal have more than 200 jin. Anyway, the weather is fine. So, we can leave the firewood and charcoal into the room here for a few days. You can take the small charcoal stove into room first and put it on the bedside. Your room is as cold as ice cer.¡±

    He Danggui took the small charcoal stove into the room obediently, while Zhen Zhu had carried three times. Now she held a red earthen jar wrapped in a thick cloth and said with a smile, ¡°We have a saying in Shandong, ¡®Congee and the water in which noodles have been boiled are the ginseng soup for the poor¡¯. This jar of congee suits you best. I heard from Zhen Jing before that you have a goodmand of the principles of medical science, knowing that you won¡¯t take the congee as something tacky. So, I go to the kitchen and cook a pot of it. Come on, drink it while it¡¯s hot. It will make you sweat and help you dispel your algidity.¡±

    He Danggui was very moved by Zhen Zhu¡¯s words at once. She felt much happier to get this instead of that bowl of chicken soup. She thanked Zhen Zhu immediately and took over the earthen jar, lifting the lid. The aroma of rice water and sugar juice melted together, steaming like a mist. The steam warmed her cold cheeks and her face turned red. He Danggui poured out a full bowl and drank several swallows of the congee. Then she raised her head and said to Zhen Jing with a smile, ¡°Hey, when you finish drinking your soup, you can try this, too. It¡¯s as tasty as yours.¡±

    Zhen Jing squinted and nodded, saying, ¡°Of course, Sister Zhen Zhu¡¯s cooking skill is excellent! She often makes leek pancakes, fried gluten and small milk cakes as well as braised bird eggs in the kitchen of the Master¡¯s courtyard¡­Well, by the way, she once made spicy pumpkin vines and fried tofu, and then put them in an earthen jar. Sometimes, she wrapped them with oiled papers and brought them for me to eat as a snack in the morning ss. I could still remember that smell after 5 or 6 days! Guess what? My mother is the most skillful wife in our vige, but her cooking skill is far inferior to Zhen Zhu!¡±

    Zhen Zhu moved the stuffs back and forth a few times, and said with a smile, ¡°You greedy-guts. You are not only greedy, but also gossipy. When you marry someone in the future, you can change your profession to be a matchmaker. You can make a fool of those people who propose a marriage. I¡¯ve made less than 10 snacks for you in all. How can you say ¡®often¡¯?¡± Zhen Jing stuck out her tongue, then lowered her head to drink the soup.

    Zhen Zhu was now tidying up the stuffs on the bed. She frowned and sighed, ¡°Everything has taken into the room except firewood and charcoal. But there is only one thing¡ª I forgot that your windows here are ventted on all sides. I can¡¯t bring the window paper and paste until I find them tomorrow. Tonight, you¡¯d better use a few benches and a few robes to set up a small folding screen temporarily. Make do with the rest of the night. Take it seriously. Being blown by the night wind while sleeping can cause serious consequences.¡±

    Then she pointed to a bunch of red fruits and green pears and said with a smile, ¡°This morning, before I walked into the gate to a monastery. Zhen Jing came to me in a hurry to in¡¯, saying that those mangoes and melons on the mourning hall were all taken away by Zhen Wei and others. I think those things are easy on the eyes while cing the mourning hall anyway. They have been transported from the south for many days and may not be delicious. So, please don¡¯t me them. I bought these fruitsst night when I went to Tu¡¯er Town. It¡¯s sweet and juicy. It can stimte your appetite. You can have a taste after drinking the soup.¡±

    He Danggui squinted her eyes and said with a smile, ¡°You are so considerate and thoughtful. No wonder Zhen Jing always says you are like her mother. Well, now I can¡¯t help thinking the same.¡±

    Zhen Zhuughed, ¡°You have a glib tongue? By the way, Zhen Jing and I are both round faces. We are a bit simr to be serious. But you have a little face and a pointy chin. You must look like your mother.¡±

    He Danggui lowered her head and took a big mouthful of congee, saying vaguely, ¡°Now we are talking. My mother is also a round face, just like yours.¡± Zhen Zhu wanted to say that ¡°You are like your father¡±. Then she thought of the fact at once that He Danggui¡¯s ¡°father¡± was a taboo word. So, she changed the topic immediately and talked about the guests who came to the capital.

    They talked for a while. An older Taoist nun came from outside and urged in gasps, ¡°... Sister Zhen Zhu, the Master is with the guests in the West Wing-room. The guests want to see Miss He, so the Master asks you to take Miss He there!¡±

    The guests? Those imperial guards wanted to see her? He Danggui was puzzled and thought for a moment with her head tilted. She and the imperial guards only spoke a few words yesterday. They should not even know her and Zhen Jing¡¯s names. How could they name her name for seeing? To say the least, even if the imperial guards found the person who was treated and cured by them, they would not think of her at once.

    He Danggui turned her gaze to Zhen Jing and found she was nervously bulging her eyes and opening her mouth, just like a frog who was hunting for its prey. She could not help but say with a smile, ¡°What are you thinking of? Don¡¯t worry. Since they want to see me, I¡¯ll see them. They will just ask a few questions. Now that they didn¡¯t ask you to go, you can stay here to drink the soup and watch our home at the same time.¡±

 Chapter 12 - Solidified elixir of life from Nanji Xianweng

    <strong>Chapter 12 Solidified elixir of life from Nanji Xianweng</strong>

    Zhen Zhu smiled, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid. The guests heard about your adventure. Therefore, they want you to share your story with them. Just a little talk and then you cane back.¡± She said that as she tidied He Danggui¡¯s hair carefully, and then led her to the West Wing-room.

    After entering the West Wing-room, they heard Tai Shan apologizing endlessly in her high voice, ¡°I¡¯m guilty and I¡¯ll discipline my disciples strictly. Sorry that they offended you, distinguished guests, and it¡¯s really...¡±

    Then she was interrupted by a low voice, ¡°It¡¯s just a misunderstanding. Therefore, Master, never mind it.¡±

    It turned out that since the imperial guards lived in the Taoist Temple yesterday, Tai Shan had sent a dozen Taoist nuns to serve their daily life. Most of the imperial guards were the childes of the aristocracies in the capital. They were used to being served before, so they took the service for granted.

    However, those Taoist nuns all pursed to ¡°fly up to be a pretty woman as phoenix¡±. They were all discontented with their lot. Therefore, they took care of the guests so thoughtfully that it had gone too far. They put foods on the guests¡¯ tes, urged them to drink as they promoted themselves. One of them even sang a ditty which made some of the imperial guards feel awkward.

    However, Duan Xiaolou, Lu Jiangbei, Liao Zhiyuan and others were very refined, especially the natural escort of beauty, Duan Xiaolou, who thought that girls were like the delicate flowers and no one should say harsh words to them. Therefore, although they were extremely ufortable yesterday, they still ate the meal reluctantly with the apanying of the Taoist nuns.

    The next day, at lunch, the Taoist nuns came to serve them as before. Gao Jue changed his face immediately. After seating the table and beginning to eat, all of the imperial guards felt more and more awkward, because the enthusiasm of these nuns continued to increase, and some of the nuns even kept their bodies next to them. Gao Jue couldn¡¯t bare it anymore and his anger umted in thest two days exploded. ¡°Bang!¡± He took out a wide knife with three-finger width from his waist, and inserted it in the middle of the dining table forcibly. All the nuns were scared away.

    Except Duan Xiaolou med Gao Jue, others all couldn¡¯t help smiling. After the nuns were gone, they had lunch calmly.

    Master Geng rinsed his mouth and sighed, ¡°Fried Silver Crucian, Shark Fins of Anchovy... It seems that people here have known something about our identity. That¡¯s not good news. After all, we live here to hide our whereabouts.¡±

    Lu Jiangbei frowned his dashing eyebrows, ¡°You¡¯re right. There is no such good meal in such a small temple. Chicken and fish are sumptuous enough even for distinguished guests. But they prepared the best meal for us. I¡¯m afraid that they treat us so well because they have known we are officials.¡±

    Jiang Pi nced at Duan Xiaolou and said, ¡°Duan Xiaolou, you told the two little nuns that we were officials yesterday. Did they leak it out?¡±

    Duan Xiaolou raised his eyebrows, ¡°But you also mentionedst night that your baggage was rummaged and a hair in the Guandie (an official certificate) fell out.¡±

    Geng Bingxiu shook his head, ¡°Now it doesn¡¯t matter who spoke it out. The only thing that matters is to find out how many people know our identity now. We need to keep their mouths shut.¡±

    As he was saying, Tai Shan came from the outside. Her voice came first, ¡°Ah! Please forgive us for neglecting you!¡±

    After her apology, Lu Jiangbei asked her directly how she figured out their identity. Tai Shan knew that she couldn¡¯t hide the truth, so she said that one of her disciples happened to see their Guandie. Although her disciple wasn¡¯t literate, she was well aware that all of them were officials.

    Therefore, Master Geng pretended to be angry. He said that the reason why they came to this remote Taoist Temple was to prevent others from knowing their whereabouts, and those who knew their identity must keep it a secret, or they would be jailed for ¡°interference with public function.¡± Tai Shan was so scared that she nodded repeatedly and made a promise, saying that only she and Zhen Xi knew their identity and they would never speak it out. She even decided to imprison Zhen Xi after she went back.

    Lu Jiangbei continued to inquire her about the two Taoist nuns they met yesterday when they went up the mountain. He mentioned that one of the two nuns was beautiful and her words were very impressive. However, Tai Shan couldn¡¯t recall such a nun among her disciples. Duan Xiaolou mentioned again that he wanted to visit Miss He who had returned to life after death. Then Tai Shan sent someone to ask He Danggui and Zhen Zhu toe over.

    Zhen Zhu was waiting outside the yard. He Danggui wore a green cotton dress and tied her hair in a Suiyun haircut. After entering the house, she saluted the guests by the door, ¡°Respectable guests, may good fortune be with you.¡±

    The people sitting in the hall looked at each other and found out that the little nun whom they met yesterday turned out to be Miss He. Lu Jiangbeiughed first, ¡°Ha-ha, that¡¯s it! Miss He, here is the thing. We don¡¯t want others to know we are officials. Yesterday, Duan Xiaolou let slip the message to you. Therefore, I¡¯d like to ask you and another girl we met yesterday not to speak it out.¡±

    He Danggui bowed her head and answered, ¡°Sure.¡± Thinking that the officials talked to a little girl kindly while threatened her, a master of the temple, to ¡°be jailed¡±, Tai Shan was indignant.

    Duan Xiaolou stood up, took his cup of tea that hadn¡¯t been drunk at all and put it on thest seat, saying gantly, ¡°It turns out that you are not a nun, but ady of an aristocratic family. Sorry for our rudeness to stop you for inquiring yesterday. I heard that you just recovered from a seriously ill. You must be tired for standing. Pleasee and sit.¡± Liao Zhiyuan smiled strangely, but Duan Xiaolou red at him immediately.

    He Danggui sat down. Then Duan Xiaolou asked if her sprained feet were better, where else she felt unwell, what medicine she was taking, and when her family would pick her up.

    Tai Shan felt nervous at once. She was afraid that her harsh treatment to He Danggui would be revealed. From Duan Xiaolou¡¯s words, it seemed that he cared about the little girl very much. s, Tai Shan thought that she should have treated He Danggui better if she could know it before. Moreover, they just met on the mountain road yesterday, but she lied to these officials that He Danggui had just taken herbal medicine and fell asleep. Tai Shan was worried that if the officials would call her to bear this ¡°crime of deception¡±.

    He Danggui was calm. Although she was cared by the handsome and young gentleman, Duan Xiaolou, there were no ecstatic, ttered, or grateful expressions on her face and she just answered his questions one by one obediently. Her answers were beyond Tai Shan¡¯s hope, so she felt relieved.

    Liao Zhiyuan smiled, ¡°I heard that Miss He had traveled to heaven for two days before back to our world. Was there anything new on the way?¡±

    He Danggui kept silent for a while. Then she said hesitantly, ¡°I can¡¯t remember anything except... I met an old man with a benign face, white hair and ruddyplexion. I also experienced some adventures... But after waking up, when I thought about it carefully, I felt it might be a strange dream instead of adventures.¡±

    ¡°Oh?!¡± Several people asked together, ¡°What kind of adventure?¡±

    When He Danggui saw they were so interested about her story, she felt stunned, ¡°I can¡¯t recall it clearly... It seems like... I got a pill from the old man. After eating it, I had strength suddenly. Later, I opened my eyes and saw myself lying in the mourning hall.¡±

    Lu Jiangbei tapped the table with his forefinger and eximed, ¡°It¡¯s really an adventure! Miss He¡¯s encounter is really rare. What do you think, Master Geng?¡±

    Master Geng? He Danggui looked at the man in blue robe who was nodding slightly. When she met them on the mountain yesterday, she had a feeling that he was the head of the 9 imperial guards.

    At this time, the man in blue robe sat diagonally opposite to her. She looked up and nced at him. The man was about 40 with a lean figure, cold look, and high and t cheekbones. He was not very handsome but his appearance with his deep and sunken eyes made others frightened.

    He Danggui stayed calm, but she was worried inwardly. In her previous life, when she worked for Zhu Quan secretly, she had seen all sorts of officials. However, few of them had such aura like that. And she felt instinctively that the awful feeling was more aggressive than domineering.

    Master Geng... Was that him? Geng Bingxiu!

    Geng Bingxiu was the younger brother of Geng Bingwen, Founding General and Changxing Marquis. He was the Fourth-Grade Deputy Commander of the imperial guards and was known as ¡°the cruelest official in the world.¡±

    It was said that he was always calm, respectful, cautious and restrained himself as others. However, once he found out the enemy¡¯s weakness, he would be cruel as Ashura in hell when heunched an attack to his enemy. The coldness of his heart and the cruelty of his methods were extremely dreadful. Even Zhu Quan who was keeping a low profile and concealing his ability was also afraid of him. In the next decade, there would be more than 1,000 enemies kneeling in front of his Whip of Death for mercy.

    Now it was in Hongwu Period, Geng Bingxiu should be newly appointed. He was now a little-known small potato, and his title of ¡°the cruelest official¡± hadn¡¯t been spread. Lowering her eyes and thinking, He Danggui¡¯s palms sweated slightly. Why did these peoplee to Yangzhou City? Why did they still keep staying in the Taoist Temple?

    Geng Bingxiu asked her suddenly, ¡°What was the character of this old man in your dream? Had he ever said anything?¡±

    He Danggui frowned, pretended she was recalling her memory hard, and then said slowly, ¡°The old man was far away from me, so I only remember vaguely that he held a peach wood stick... By the way, his forehead was more protruding than others. It seemed that he had said that I shouldn¡¯t have died in this age and he would give me a pill for prolonging my life. After all, meeting him was my fate. I bowed to thank him... Umm, he also mentioned that the pill was not special and good, but only made of the leftover g of the alchemy of Taishang Laojun (the Daoist Ancestor, also known as Daode Tianzun). Only my fate would tell if it would work for me. After hearing his words, an orange pill appeared in my hand.¡±

    Everyone present was fascinated by her story. Even Tai Shan didn¡¯t despise He Danggui anymore. After a while, Duan Xiaolouughed, ¡°That was so fortunate! Miss He had eaten the solidified elixir of life, and returned to life after death. Then she could definitely live a long life!¡±

    He Danggui rolled her eyes, and shook her head hurriedly to exin, ¡°How could that happen! The old man never said that he was an immortal. Moreover, the whole thing was just my dream.¡±

    Lu Jiangbei stared at her face and sighed, ¡°You had a great adventure. The old man you met must be the immortal of longevity, one of the three Peni Immortals, Nanji Xianweng (the Daoist deification of Canopus)! Although his stories had been praised for thousands of years, how many people have actually met him? However, Miss He, you received the solidified elixir of life from him, which should be congratted!¡±

    He Danggui lowered her eyes timidly and kept silent. However, she thought to herself that all those words were spread by them and she said nothing. Everyone sighed with a few words. Then Geng Bingxiu said that they still had some things to do. Therefore, Tai Shan and He Danggui stood up, said farewell to them and left.

    After leaving the yard, they saw Zhen Zhu still waiting by the wall. Tai Shan looked at He Danggui and smiled kindly, ¡°Miss He, I have something to say to Zhen Zhu. You shall go back first to rest. I will send someone to buy some herbal medicine for you to nurse your body.¡± He Danggui expressed her thanks and left.

    As soon as He Danggui left, Tai Shan grasped Zhen Zhu¡¯s hand and whispered. Then Zhen Zhu nodded slightly and left quickly.

    Zhen Zhu went straight to the side house of the north yard. She saw a few women sitting inside. They were warming themselves by a fire and saying words like ¡°monster¡± and ¡°jinx¡±. The wooden door was open. Zhen Zhu stood at the door and knocked on it. Looking up and seeing her, these women stood up to greet her with smile.

    Zhen Zhu pretended not to hear their words and congratted to them, ¡°Congrattions, congrattions! Do you know there is a happy event in Luo¡¯s Mansion today?¡±

    The wife of Li Jiuguang waspletely at a loss, so she asked, ¡°Master Zhen Zhu, what happy event in Luo¡¯s Mansion?¡±

    Zhen Zhu retold them the description of He Danggui just now and the analysis of the guests vividly. Atst she said, ¡°At first, my Master concerned that Miss He was weak, so she kept you here to look after Miss He. Now, Miss He is healthy and her face is ruddy. She is really blessed. Since it¡¯s still early now, why don¡¯t you set off quickly to report this news to Madam Luo and other mistresses in Luo¡¯s Mansion to make them happy?¡±

    These women became more and more surprised when they heard her words. After listening, they looked at each other. The wife of Liu Gui sighed first, ¡°I never thought that the most blesseddy of Luo¡¯s Mansion was Miss He! She received the solidified elixir of life from the immortal in such a young age, which is really enviable.¡±

    The wife of Gao Dashan was so envious that her eyes turned red, ¡°s, Amitabha Buddha. I also worship immortals and Buddhas all my life. When can I meet an immortal or a bodhisattva so that I can beg them to give me the solidified elixir of life or holy water to make me live a long life?¡± Other women who were sent by Luo¡¯s Family to escort the coffin all echoed, saying that they used to burn incense and worship Buddhas, too.

    Zhen Zhu smiled, ¡°There are immortals above you and they can see your kindness and piety clearly. Maybe there will be some return in the future. However, now you shall report this to Miss He¡¯s family to share the happiness with them.¡± Then Zhen Zhu took out a 4 liang silver ingot from her armhole and ced it on the hand of the wife of Liu Gui. She said, ¡°It¡¯s just a little something for your travel expense. Please take it.¡±

    The wife of Huang Han was overjoyed. Judging from the size, the silver ingot was over 4 liang. Even if they travelled by horse cart 10 times back and forth, they couldn¡¯t run it out. 1 or 2 strings of 1,000 qian from Second Mistress Luo would be a lot of money for tip. It was strange that a Taoist nun in this Taoist Temple should be so generous. Anyway, this was unreasonable. They had no rtionship with Zhen Zhu and they could ask anybody for money but her.

    Other women next to her also thought the same, and they looked reluctant. The employer sent them here to hire the Taoist nuns to hold the funeral service. However, the funeral was over before its start. If they took the money from Zhen Zhu, a Taoist nun, that would be unreasonable. However, they did want the money... They were all indignant about their self-paid travel expenses in these days, so everyone was silent.

    Zhen Zhu seemed to see through their worries and smiled, ¡°It¡¯s okay for you to take the money. Actually, it was Miss He who gave you the money to buy you a tea on your way. She was worried that you were unwilling to ept a child¡¯s money, so she made me keep the secret. Anyway, she is also your master. Therefore, she should give you the tip for your escort.¡±

    These women beamed with smiles and praised He Danggui thoroughly. Then they felt free to take the money and set off down the hill.

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù

    When He Danggui returned to the East Wing-room, she saw the door was utched. Then she pushed it open and went in. However, she found that Zhen Jing was not here and half bowl of brown sugar congee left in her porcin bowl on the table.

    Leaning on the bed, He Danggui closed her eyes and rested. Last night, although she activated her channels with the embroidery needles and eliminated the heat-toxicity from her heart, her body was still weak. As the saying went, illness went away on foot. Unless she could take some good herbal medicine, she wouldn¡¯t recover until a couple of dayster.

    He Danggui touched the congee pot and felt it was still hot. So, she poured out a bowl of congee, drinking while thinking. She knew that what she needed the most now was money. Except for the ¡°gold lock¡± that must be kept well, she had nothing at all. A man without money was no man at all. She needed money to treat her disease, buy herbal medicine, take Zhen Jing away, and run her own business. Where could she get the money?

    She thought for a while as she drank the congee, then she gradually thought out some practical ns, which made her smile.

    Suddenly, Zhen Jing ran into the door hurriedly. When she saw He Danggui was back, she forced a smile immediately and said incoherently, ¡°You¡¯re back. No one sees through our secret, right? Would you like to have a nap? This congee is so delicious, ha-ha!¡±

    When He Danggui saw her speak incoherently, she raised her eyebrows in confusion and looked at her carefully. Then He Danggui threw away the bowl, grabbed her, pulled out her hands hidden under her wide sleeves, and asked her coldly, ¡°Who hit you?¡±

 Chapter 13 - Master Prophet Qi Xuanyu

    <strong>Chapter 13 Master Prophet Qi Xuanyu</strong>

    Zhen Jing waved her hands and replied in an indifferent but aggrieved tone, ¡°Hey, we are Taoist nuns. Our skins are rough. It ismon for us to be beaten! Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m not painful at all.¡± Hearing her words, He Danggui slowly lifted her sleeves. There were twenty to thirty stretches of extravasated blood on her wrist, forearm and the back of hands.

    He Danggui knew that in the atrium of the Front Pce, there was a quiet bamboo forest. When the wind blew the leaves, it was like the scene in a poem. However, some Taoist nuns in the temple liked to break off those bamboo canes and cut them into bamboo slices to whip others.

    After a person was whipped by these slices with saline water dozens of times, she would feel extremely painful and her body would be full ofthy stretches of extravasated blood without bleeding. What was more, she didn¡¯t need to bind up the wound and could still work. In the previous life, little He Danggui was whipped by the slices with saline water at least once a day. She was impressed by the pain.

    ¡°Tai Chen. It¡¯s Tai Chen.¡± He Danggui held Zhen Jing¡¯s hands and said firmly.

    Zhen Jing couldn¡¯t help crying without a word.

    He Danggui looked serious and angry. It seemed that there were two bright silver needles in her eyes. She asked, ¡°Tell me. Why did she beat you? Was it because of me?¡±

    Zhen Jing shook her head and said with sobs, ¡°No. It¡¯s none of your business. It was me who identally said that she had velvet antler cream the night before yesterday¡­ She asked Huai Xin to take me there and forced me to tell her why did I know it. I didn¡¯t dare to tell her that I heard it from my Master¡­ Otherwise, even if she didn¡¯t punish me, my Master would punish me more seriously¡­¡±

    He Danggui sighed and took her to sit on the bed. She took out an embroidery needle under the pillow and said, ¡°Come here. Close your eyes. Be obedient. It will be ready soon. It won¡¯t hurt at all.¡±

    Zhen Jing stared at the needle in He Danggui¡¯s hands and cried more intensely. She shouted, ¡°That hurts! That hurts! I don¡¯t want to be pricked. That hurts!¡±

    He Danggui frowned and threatened her, ¡°Shut up. If you shout again, I will prick your mute acupoint. Then, you will be a mute.¡± Zhen Jing was startled and stopped talking immediately. He Danggui asked her to close her eyes again. Then Zhen Jing closed her eyes tightly and shrank her neck. It seemed that she was about to die right now.

    The glittering needle rotated around He Danggui¡¯s white fingers quickly. It flew up and down¡­

    He Danggui sneered, ¡°Tai Chen, you are good! You are really good! I didn¡¯t have time to deal with you, but you court death in a hurry. You really think your life was long and want to die.¡±

    He Danggui had died before. In her eyes, Tai Chen even didn¡¯t qualify as an obstacle for her. She was just a grain of sand in her shoes; while the powerful people who lived in the West Wing-rooms could help her clear the sand in her shoes¡­ Then, He Danggui decided to fight against Tai Chen secretly.

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù

    In the prosperous Yangzhou City, there were eight rivers and numerous businessmen.

    Two waterways passing through the affluent Yangzhou City, together with four roads which concatenated the east, west, south and north, had divided Yangzhou City into 48 areas. The Wu¡¯s Family in the south, the Luo¡¯s Family in the north, the Guan¡¯s Family in the east and the Sun¡¯s Family in the west were called ¡°Four Families in Yangzhou City¡±. All people in Yangzhou City knew that the four families were rich and noble.

    In the morning, it started to drizzle. In a courtyard of a magnificent mansion which was not far from the Hongpei Avenue, a group of women walked quickly. They passed through the big courtyard and walked toward a side door of the front courtyard quickly.

    A well-dressed young woman was walking out of the side door. When she saw these women, she asked in surprise, ¡°Mrs. Liu, why are you back? It¡¯s not the date to carry the coffin to the cemetery!¡±

    Liu Gui¡¯s wife didn¡¯t answer her question but asked happily, ¡°Miss Ji, I mean to find you. Where is the Madam Luo?¡±

    Miss Ji frowned and said, ¡°Madam Luo was so sad yesterday that she didn¡¯t eat anything. Today she is a little better but just ate a little Zimi Yanggeng (a kind of soup with honey and ewe¡¯s milk) in the morning. She was listening to First Younger Mistress Luo¡¯s jokes in the wing-room. Why do youe back from the temple? Don¡¯t talk with Madam Luo about trifles and the matters about Third Miss.¡±

    Liu Gui¡¯s wife said with a smile, ¡°Lead me to find Madam Luo. I am sure that after I have a chat with her, she will eat three bowls of rice!¡±

    Miss Ji said with puzzlement, ¡°What good things you will tell her since you came back from that ce?¡± Liu Gui¡¯s wife smiled mysteriously. Other women who came back together also smiled without a word.

    Originally, these women were not interested in this task. On the one hand, it was not a secret that Second Mistress Luo disliked her niece He Danggui. On the other hand, they took charge of 180 liang silver at least in He Danggui¡¯s funeral. Even though Second Mistress Luo was shrewd, they could still take seven or eight liang silver secretly.

    However, when they returned to Luo¡¯s Mansionst night, they heard that the eighth young master of the natal family of Second Mistress Luo died. Second Mistress Luo cried hysterically and asked for leave to Madam Luo. She went to her natal home in a hurry. In Luo¡¯s Family, First Mistress Luo didn¡¯t know about the ounts and Third Mistress Luo was pregnant. Therefore, Madam Luo managed the family matters.

    Madam Luo always took care of Third Miss He Danggui and her mother Luo Chuanxiong. If she knew Third Miss not only didn¡¯t die but also had a wonderful experience, she would be extremely happy. It was honorable to do this task and everyone wanted to do it. What was more, Third Miss had given them some money. Therefore, they had to say something nice for Third Miss.

    After Miss Ji led these women to the door of the wing-room, she entered to notify Madam Luo and then asked them toe in. When they entered the room, they saw Madam Luo lying on the bed weakly. She narrowed her eyes and didn¡¯t see anyone. Three little maids were sitting on the footrest and kneading her legs. First Mistress Luo and First Younger Mistress Luo were sitting on the chairs with brocade and seeing them simultaneously.

    Huang Han¡¯s wife stepped forward and said with a smile, ¡°Madam Luo, there is a happy event! Our Luo¡¯s Family encountered a great happy event rted to the immortals!¡±

    Her words drew attention from all people in the room. She told them that Third Miss came back to life with embellishment. Then, she said that several honoured guests from the capital lived in the temple now. These guests heard from Third Miss about her dream of ¡°an elder giving her solidified elixir of life¡±. ording to their analysis, the elder was Nanji Xianweng. And the solidified elixir of life he gave Third Miss was the dregs in Taishang Laojun¡¯s pill furnace. For humans, it was a treasure that could bring people back to life. After taking the solidified elixir, Third Miss immediately became healthy and energetic!

    Madam Luo was so excited that she slid down from the bed and asked, ¡°Did you coax me? Where is Yi? Why didn¡¯t you bring her back?¡±

    Liu Gui¡¯s wife replied, ¡°Although Third Miss took the solidified elixir, she lost her breath for two days. It was toilsome for her toe back now. She is resting in the temple. Third Miss misses you very much and wants to see you. How about picking up her by our sedan now?¡±

    Madam Luo nodded and was ready to arrange it. At this moment, First Mistress Luo, the Ms. Zhao who was silent before suddenly said, ¡°Wait a moment. It is weird. We can¡¯t take an action with undue haste!¡±

    Madam Luo frowned and looked at her. She said, ¡°Zhao, what are you talking about? If you offend the immortals and Bodhisattva, what should we do?¡±

    Ms. Zhao said, ¡°I didn¡¯t talk nonsense. Madam Luo, do you heard that what you dream is opposite to the reality? Although Yi¡¯s dream is sweet, the reality might be bad. Second Mistress Luo once invited a geomancer to observe our housest year. The geomancer pointed at the west and said ¡®peach blossoms drive the water away, which means that it offends Kuimng Constetion and it is harmful to the elders in the family¡¯. At that time, Yi lived in the West Lateral court. Now she returned to life after death. How indomitable she is! Does it prove that what geomancer said was true?¡±

    Madam Luo¡¯s attitude changed, but she just scolded slightly, ¡°As her aunt, how could you say that about her!¡±

    Seeing Madam Luo¡¯s change, First Younger Mistress Luo, the Ms. Dong added, ¡°Madam Luo, we all hope that Yi is fine. After all, she is the only daughter of the aunt. But this matter is weird. My son Zhu has got a low fever and eaten less since the day before yesterday. Eighth young master of the natal family of Second Mistress Luo died also in the day before yesterday. At the same time, we heard the news that Yi returned to life after death. Why were these matters so coincident? I have a guess, but I don¡¯t know whether I can speak out¡­¡± She stopped and hesitated, showing an embarrassed expression.

    Madam Luo said nervously, ¡°Speak out quickly. There are no outsiders!¡±

    Ms. Dong stammered, ¡°Was¡­ was she possessed by a monster? Did she want to kill us? Therefore, the children in our family couldn¡¯t fight with it. They were sick or died first before shees back¡­ When my son Wei was one mouth old, he had a low fever and didn¡¯t eat and drink. All the doctors were at a loss. Feng Rui¡¯s wife was experienced and knowledgeable. She said that Wei was scared by a monster. I didn¡¯t believe her at first. Later, I didn¡¯t have any method. Seeing Wei suffering, I was extremely sad. Then, I invited some old monks to resort to magic arts. Wei was better after that. Now Zhu¡¯s symptom is the same as Wei!¡±

    Ms. Zhao covered her mouth and said with surprise, ¡°Madam Luo, you love your great-grandsons most. You should protect them! Once the monster enters our house, we all will die!¡±

    Madam Luo frowned and her expression kept changing.

    Ms. Zhao said with an expression of regret on her round face, as if she suddenly thought of something, ¡°In fact, we are also afraid that we are wrong and treated Yi unjustly. Qi Xuanyu lived in the guest room of the South Yard. Usually, nobody could invite him. Why not take this opportunity to let him divine for Yi?¡±

    Madam Luo was superstitious. When she heard Third Miss was saved by an immortal, she was very happy. But after hearing what Ms. Zhao and Ms. Dong said, she was sad. What was more, she thought what they said were credible. So, she somewhat believed them. Then, she nodded and said, ¡°Well, I also want to see this younger generation of the Qi¡¯s Family. Why does our Grandpa Luo like him so much?¡± Then, she said to Miss Ji, ¡°Go to the South Yard to invite Mr. Qi.¡±

    First Mistress Luo was secretly pleased and said to those women who came back from the temple, ¡°Don¡¯t stand here. Drink some tea and have a rest.¡± Then all the women got out.

    Ms. Dong hesitated and then said, ¡°I have to go back to look after Zhu, so I am leaving.¡± Madam Luo nodded to agree with her. Then Ms. Dong stood up and went out with jingle. Then, only Madam Luo, First Mistress Luo and three maids stayed in the room.

    Qi Xuanyu was the only son of the Royal Prophet Qi Jing. He was taught by his father since he was a child. He was an able man with the Taoist name ¡°Master Prophet¡±. Now he was the Fifth-Grade Imperial Astronomer of Qintianjian Celestial Prefecture. It was said that he was no more than 24 years old and was handsome. But he was a friend of Grandpa Luo who was 81 years old. So, when he came to Yangzhou City, he didn¡¯t live in the house prepared by the government but lived in Luo¡¯s Mansion.

    Although Ms. Dong had got married, she was young and the guest was handsome. It was inconvenient for her to meet him. Madam Luo and First Mistress Luo also thought of this matter. So, they let her go.

    After a while, Miss Ji and a young man came in. The man approached and made a bow with hands folded in front. He asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Madam Luo?¡± Madam Luo and Ms. Zhao looked at each other and felt puzzled. Was he the Imperial Astronomer of Qintianjian Celestial Prefecture? He seemed¡­

    The man was a handsome boy who wore a little green shirt and a little hat. There was a green bristle grass in his mouth.

    Madam Luo smiled and said, ¡°Lord Qi and my husband are friend. Even me is a generation younger than you. I don¡¯t dare to ask you to do anything. But now I really need your help.¡± Then, she asked a maid to give the man a piece of paper. Madam Luo continued, ¡°I heard that you know physiognomy and divination. What you said were urate. What¡¯s more, I also heard that some rich businessmen invited you to divine for them with lots of silver and gold. But you didn¡¯t spare a nce for them and just said ¡®although I¡¯m good at divination but I don¡¯t abuse it¡¯. Now, there is a weird thing in our Luo¡¯s Family. I am at a loss. Relying on the friendship of you and my husband, I can only invite you to divine for a person with the date of birth and the eight characters of a horoscope in this paper.¡±

    With beautiful eyes, Qi Xuanyu smiled, ¡°You are so polite, Madam Luo. I lived and ate in your family for free for half a mouth. I should practice divination for you.¡± Then, he took the paper and nced at it. He said while thinking, ¡°The year of Guihai, the moon of Jiwei, and the day of Dinghai... This person offends the west and the constetion is Bi (Thest constetion among seven northern constetions). This person¡¯s five elements belong to the ¡®Wu Shang Tu (soil on the house)¡¯. He or she must be noble. What do you want to know about that person?¡±

    Madam Luo sighed and said, ¡°My granddaughter died unexpectedly ten days ago. It was inconvenient to hold the funeral for her in our house. So, we sent her to the Shui Shang Temple outside the city. But today, the women who sent her to the temple said that she came back to life. She clearly remembered that an old celestial being gave her a pill. After she took it, she woke up. At the same time, another child in my family was sick and has not recovered. It is weird. So, I invite you to divine¡­ Do the granddaughter¡¯s date of birth and her eight characters of a horoscope have the ominous meaning?¡±

    Qi Xuanyu couldn¡¯t helpughing, ¡°Ominous meaning? You¡¯re wrong. All is at peace. Even if there is a monster, it can¡¯t enter your house. Since this miss lived in the house before, she is a normal person not a monster. As for the sick child¡­ what¡¯s the rtionship between the child and the miss? Are they born from the same mother?¡±

    Madam Luo shook her head and replied, ¡°Zhu is the son of Yi¡¯s elder brother. He is her nephew.¡±

    ¡°Are the miss¡¯s parents and brothers healthy now?¡±

    ¡°Her mother is in good health. She is faithful to Taoism.¡±

    Qi Xuanyu squinted his eyes and curled up his lips. He said with an irreverent smile, ¡°If she is a monster, she only brings bad luck to her parents. I never heard that an aunty could bring bad luck to her nephews. Since the miss¡¯s mother is fine, she will not bring bad luck to her nephew. Ha-ha, who dide up with this ridiculous idea?¡±

    Ms. Zhao was embarrassed. She scolded, ¡°It was said by Zhu¡¯s mother. She is green and inexperienced. What¡¯s more, she loved Zhu very much. Therefore, she doubted Yi.¡±

    Qi Xuanyu didn¡¯t say anything but smiled. Madam Luo asked, ¡°Can you see anything else from Yi¡¯s date of birth and eight characters of a horoscope? How is her fate? Will she encounter some misfortune in the future?¡±

    ¡°Well, the Land of Peach Blossoms is only in the mirrorke, and the shadows of red peach blossoms reflect in the water of ten miles.¡± Then, Qi Xuanyu looked at the paper in his hand again and said with a smile, ¡°If what you asked is her marriage, don¡¯t worry. Her marriage is wonderful. Her husband must be someone. They are a good match for each other.¡±

 Chapter 14 - Tai Chen took the bait

    <strong>Chapter 14 Tai Chen took the bait</strong>

    Ms. Zhao was not satisfied with Qi Xuanyu¡¯s answer and asked another question, ¡°How about her family and rtives?¡±

    Qi Xuanyu threw the grass in his mouth away and took out three coins from his sleeves. He became more serious. After a short pause, he threw the coins on the table and repeated his action for several times. Madam Luo and Ms. Zhao hold their breath for the result.

    After throwing the coins for thest time, Qi Xuanyu suddenly became solemn. He asked slowly, ¡°Did you say that the miss remembered she had taken the solidified elixir of life before waking up, Madam Luo?¡± Madam Luo nodded nervously. Qi Xuanyu looked worried and said, ¡°With all due respect, may I have a look at the portrayal of the miss?¡±

    ¡°A portrayal?¡± Madam Luo wanted to call someone to bring it here. Then she remembered that among all her grandchildren in the family, only Qingyi didn¡¯t have a portrayal. Ms. Zhao also felt embarrassed. The maid Gan Cao next to them smiled and said, ¡°Madam Luo and First Mistress Luo, do you remember? The Third Miss is a clever and deft girl. She often makes paper-cuts of flowers and birds as gifts to others. She had made a paper cut in her appearance. We can use it.¡±

    Madam Luo urged, ¡°Hurry up, bring it soon!¡± Gan Cao said again, ¡°Madam Luo, it may take a while to find it.¡± Madam Luo urged Gan Cao to find it, and then she let the other maids bring tea, fruits and desserts. The three people were waiting while eating.

    After they finished the third cup of tea. Gan Cao came in from outside. She gave Qi Xuanyu a paper-cut in an inch. When Qi Xuanyu took the paper-cut from Gan Cao¡¯s hands, he stared at Gan Cao¡¯s face. Then he smiled and said, ¡°Thanks for your help, youngdy¡±. Gan Cao instantly blushed.

    Madam Luo and Ms. Zhao looked at each other again. Qi Xuanyu was a Fifth-Grade official in the imperial court, and it was said that the Emperor thought highly of him. But this man looked not serious.

    Qi Xuanyu looked at the paper-cut in his hands for a moment. He was happy and nodded again and again, ¡°It seems that I am right. This miss has an extremely good destiny. I believe this kind of destiny should only be possessed by elegant people who had umted merits for ten generations. Now she had the solidified elixir of life as a gift from the immortal. I can confirm that she has an extremely good destiny, but ...¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Madam Luo and Ms. Zhao asked with one voice.

    Qi Xuanyu didn¡¯t reply. He put his chin on the back of his hand, and then nodded and shook his head from time to time. Finally, he put the paper-cut into his clothes. He smiled and said, ¡°This little paper-cut is really impressive. My younger sister loves delicate things very much. How about giving it to my younger sister, and I will not charge for the divination.¡± Then he stood up from the seat and said in pain, ¡°I have a stomachache. Maybe I have eaten something wrong. Don¡¯t worry about me, and I just need to go to the toilet.¡± Then he immediately raised his feet and flew away.

    Ms. Zhao doubted, ¡°Qi¡¯s Family has only one child for five generations, and he is the only child of Royal Prophet Qi. How can he have a younger sister?¡± Madam Luo and Ms. Zhao sat silently for a while. Then Ms. Zhao shouted, ¡°Shi Liu, go to check whether Mr. Qies back from the toilet?¡±

    A maid leaned out her head from the door and answered, ¡°First Mistress Luo, I saw that Mr. Qi jumped between a dozen big locust trees, and then jumped over the wall in an instant. I don¡¯t know where he is.¡± Madam Luo and Ms. Zhao were speechless. The maid put out her tongue and stood out of the door.

    After a while, Ms. Zhao said, ¡°Madam Luo, it is obvious that Qi Xuanyu must figure out some bad things. So, he was scared away!¡±

    Madam Luoy on the soft couch and closed her eyes, ¡°Let me think about it. You may leave early.¡±

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù

    At noon, the weather was good. Zhen Zhu began to mend the windows and doorttices with Zhen Jing using paste and thick paper. At the beginning, He Danggui also helped to mend for a while. But she found that the windows mended by Zhen Zhu and Zhen Jing were so beautiful, while the two windows she mended were crumpled, looking like two patches on a new gown.

    Zhen Jing was happy and said, ¡°Look at here. The big wrinkle will be blown off by the wind easily. I thought you were omnipotent, but it seems that you also have shorings. What a disappointment!¡± He Danggui rolled her eyes and thought, ¡°I can nt rice and rob. Can you do that?¡±

    Zhen Zhu smiled and said, ¡°Miss He, our Taoist temple is far away from the town. Even if we pay a high price, it is still hard for us to employ a craftsman because they are unwilling to climb the mountain. Therefore, we should not only mend the windows, but do some carpentry, masonry and iron work. We are all used to it. Maybe you are a clever and deft girl, but without experience, it is still hard for you to do that. You can¡¯t render any assistance here. You can enjoy the sunshine and take a walk.¡±

    He Danggui also acknowledged her shorings and replied with a smile, ¡°The people in Front Pce are reciting scriptures. I want to have a look. Take your time.¡± Then she went out.

    Zhen Jing scratched her cheek and asked, ¡°How does she know the time to recite the scriptures?¡±

    Zhen Zhu stirred the paste and rolled her eyes, ¡°I also don¡¯t know.¡± Then she looked at the back of Zhen Jing¡¯s hands, finding that there were only some faint red marks. Zhen Zhu said admiringly, ¡°I never thought Miss He has such good medical skills. It often takes more than a month by applying medicines. But she heals up it in a short time. What is this therapy called?¡±

    Zhen Jing shook her hands with a smile, ¡°Xiaoyi called it ¡®Jin Zhen Da Xue¡¯, a type of acupuncture. It has the most immediate effect on external injuries. On the contrary, it is not so effective to cure Xiaoyi¡¯s cold illness. I thought it must be painful, but in fact, it is a little cool and not painful at all.¡±

    Zhen Zhu frowned and said, ¡°She had such abilities at a young age. Her abilities will inevitably be coveted by some people. Zhen Jing, you should never spread it out.¡±

    ¡°I know, you two had said for seventeen times in total! I can even remember it in my dreams! If someone asked about my injuries, I will tell them that it was cured by a traditional remedy of Xiaoyi¡¯s family.¡±

    Under the warm sunshine, He Danggui slowly walked into the Qingxin Pce. She heard the ¡°murmur¡± of reciting scriptures from the Lidao Pce. Then she sat in a corner and listened to the abstract sentences in the scriptures. She waited with patience.

    Every day after midday recitation, Tai Chen muste to Qingxin Pce because there was arge bag of dried meat behind one of the statues of Sanqing Immortals.

    Every day after night recitation, Tai Chen muste to the backyard because there was a pot of Shaoxing Aged Wine in the courtyard wall. Zhen Jing had taken the wine away at the night before yesterday. Even though the wine was lost, Tai Chen couldn¡¯t live without meat. Gluttony was her biggest shoring.

    Although she wanted to persecute Tai Chen by the hand of imperial guards, she was only a ten-year-old girl, and it was unwise to contact with the imperial guards.

    However, if she intentionally encountered Master Tai Chen and had a short conversation with her, nobody would notice her. He Danggui smiled slightly. Since she couldn¡¯t egg the imperial guards on making trouble for Tai Chen, she had to egg Tai Chen on finding the imperial guards. It would be more wonderful if Tai Chen could ¡°misunderstand¡± something.

    As long as she pretended to be a naive and ignorant child, Tai Chen will not doubt a child even if she encountered some unfortunate incidents in the future. Tai Chen could only sigh and admit that she was deserved or unfortunate.

    The sunlight in the afternoon shone through the windowttices, reflecting the bright face of the girl in the corner of the pce. The beautiful girl looked like a porcin doll.

    At this moment, the girl half bowed her head, as if she was thinking about something intently. People were unwilling to break the peaceful atmosphere around her. She only wore a cyan coat skirt and a water paint wooden hairpin on her head. Her attire was even worse than the clothes of rich Taoist nuns. However, whether men or women, monks orymen, couldn¡¯t look away when they nced at her.

    ¡°What a delicate beauty¡±, Duan Xiaolou thought.

    ¡°What a pretty girl. The fate is really unfair. Why was she given such good appearance?¡± Tai Chen thought with jealousy.

    Duan Xiaolou and Tai Chen walked into Qingxin Pce one after the other. They looked at He Danggui in the corner for a while, and then recovered from shock. Tai Chen smiled in surprise, ¡°Bless you, Mr. Duan. How is it going? Have you got ustomed to living in the temple?¡±

    Duan Xiaolou nodded and replied, ¡°Thank you very much for your hospitality. I feltfortable to live here.¡± Tai Chen still wanted to chat with Duan Xiaolou, but Duan Xiaolou stepped forward and approached He Danggui. Duan Xiaolou bowed with a smile and said, ¡°When I looked at your expression just now, I thought you almost became an immortal and your mind was beyond the earth. I want to know what are you thinking about, Miss. He? Would you mind sharing it with me?¡±

    He Danggui nced at Tai Chen behind Duan Xiaolou and smiled, ¡°I was just in a daze here. I¡¯m not as busy as you, Childe Duan. I have a lot of free time.¡±

    Duan Xiaolou took out two exquisitely painted white porcin vials from his sleeves and gave them to He Danggui. He said tenderly, ¡°I only enjoyed the conversation with you yesterday, but I forgot to give you these. You just recovered from serious illness, and you need to take good care of yourself. However, the temple is far from the town, and it¡¯s hard to find herbs and doctors. These two vials were filled with pills made by Yao Shi Tang of Yingtian Prefecture. I don¡¯t need them, so you can keep them.¡±

    ¡°Yao Shi Tang?¡± He Danggui thought and frowned. She took the two porcin vials and opened them one by one. Then she corked them again and handed them back to Duan Xiaolou. She said, ¡°I can¡¯t ept such a valuable thing. I didn¡¯t do anything to deserve this.¡±

    Duan Xiaolou didn¡¯t believe that she could understand the value of these pills at a nce. He thought she was just unwilling to ept gifts from a strange man. So, he smiled and exined, ¡°I have no special purpose. It is just a small gift. These two vials of pills are not worth than 1 liang sliver. Please ept it.¡±

    He Danggui stared at the two porcin vials and sneered in her mind. She not only knew the ingredients of the pills in the vial, but also heard about Yao Shi Tang. In all fairness, these two bottles of pills were very beneficial to her. The efficacy of only one pill could even overpass ten days¡¯ rest. He Danggui turned her head firmly and closed her eyes gently, ¡°Thank you for your kindness, but please keep it by yourself. I didn¡¯t do anything to deserve this.¡±

    Duan Xiaolou was shocked. He thought his gift made He Danggui feel offended because her tone of voice was suddenly changed. He regretted in his mind.

    Duan Xiaolou had metdies of humble families, and he usually gave gifts to them. Under normal circumstances, thedies must refuse the gifts first, and then ept them with gratitude and even tears in their eyes. But no one got angry. He suddenly realized that it might be forbidden to give gifts todies of rich families. Was there any special meaning for giving gifts? Duan Xiaolou thought he was innocent because he didn¡¯t have any special meaning.

    Tai Chen came up from the side and said with a smile, ¡°Never mind, Mr. Duan. Youngdies are often mischievous and angry. I¡¯m in charge of the Medicine Room. I¡¯ll give Miss He some good herbal medicines to calm her down. So, she can talk to you in a good mood.¡±

    As soon as Duan Xiaolou was about to speak, there was augh from the entrance of the pce. The three people turned around at the same time. They saw Liao Zhiyuan who wore a neat blue coat leaning against the door. Liao Zhiyuan stared at He Danggui with ease and said, ¡°Childe Duan, when we went out together, you suddenly said you saw a beautiful bird and wanted to catch it. So, the others stood there and waited for you. We could hardly stand but you still didn¡¯te back. Master Geng let me find you. May I ask you some questions, Childe Duan? Where is the bird and what are you doing here?¡±

    He Danggui didn¡¯t change her expression, but Duan Xiaolou was a little embarrassed. He replied, ¡°Shut up, Liao Zhiyuan. I saw Miss He in the pce, and I just want to greet her.¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan ignored him and looked at He Danggui with a smile. He said warmly, ¡°Please ept my apology, Miss He. Our Childe Duan was a little stubborn, and he was not good at getting along with girls. So, he is still a bachelor although he is not young. If he does something silly, please don¡¯t take it serious and forgive him.¡±

    He Danggui just nodded slightly and didn¡¯t say anything.

    Liao Zhiyuan and Duan Xiaolou found He Danggui was not as talkative as they met for the first time. They thought she was still annoyed because their flippant words. Since Tai Chen was here, they couldn¡¯t say more but only leave together. Before leaving, Duan Xiaolou nced at the silhouette of He Danggui under the window, and then he stepped out of the threshold unhappily. Even now he couldn¡¯t understand why He Danggui suddenly changed her attitude.

    Tai Chen thought that Duan Xiaolou must take a fancy to He Danggui, so he visited her. It was strange that after these noble guests lived in the temple, they often went out for several times every day. Besides, they often went out in a hurry and didn¡¯t look like travelers who wanted to enjoy thendscapes. Moreover, the temple was in remote ce with only a few peopleing every year. Tai Chen was puzzled, ¡°Who are these noble guests? What is the purpose for their staying here?¡±

 Chapter 15 - Prelude to the banquet

    <h4>Chapter 15 Prelude to the banquet</h4>

    ncing at He Danggui who was calm, Tai Chen thought He Danggui seemed to get along well with those guests. Maybe she could learn something from He Danggui. Thinking of this, Tai Chen couldn¡¯t help smiling, and asked in a softer voice, ¡°Miss He, what kinds of herbal medicines do you usually take at home? I can prepare for you.¡±

    Hearing her words, He Danggui looked at her and smiled, ¡°Master Tai Chen, you don¡¯t have to do that for me. I¡¯ll get my herbal medicines tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.¡±

    Although Tai Chen didn¡¯t understand He Danggui¡¯s meaning, she didn¡¯t think about it more because she just wanted to be polite to He Danggui. If He Danggui really asked her for herbal medicines, she wouldn¡¯t give her easily. So, Tai Chen asked tentatively, ¡°They left in a hurry. What are they going to do?¡±

    He Danggui showed a thoughtful look and said intermittently, ¡°They seemed to say something like ¡®patrolling the mountain¡¯, but maybe I misheard. There are many good herbal medicines in the capital. Why did they find herbs at the remote ce?¡± He Danggui covered her mouth quickly and smiled nervously, ¡°I was just talking to myself. Master Tai Chen, please forget what I said just now.¡±

    Though Tai Chen tried to restrain herself, she showed a frisson of excitement. She hesitated for a second and asked, ¡°The guests chatted with you yesterday. So, did they mention what they do for a living?¡±

    He Danggui shook her head, ¡°They were just curious about my experience and asked me a few questions. They said nothing about themselves. But¡­¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Tai Chen asked eagerly.

    He Danggui bowed her head and frowned, with her dewy eyes shining. Then she murmured, ¡°I only heard a few words, so I don¡¯t dare to spread a rumor casually. But as I left the door with Master Tai Shan, I did hear that one of them mentioned ¡®knockout drugs¡¯. Therefore, I don¡¯t dare to ept the pills of Childe Duan today¡­¡±

    Tai Chen¡¯s eyes became amazingly bright. She paced back and forth for a while and said with a smile, ¡°Miss He, I have some business to do in the backyard, so I have to go. I¡¯ll dispense a prescription for you another day.¡±

    He Danggui looked at her and said sincerely, ¡°Take care of yourself, Master Tai Chen.¡±

    Watching Tai Chen¡¯s figure, He Danggui sneered. The old saying that cleverness might overreach itself was a perfect description of Tai Chen.

    Looking thoughtfully at the Sanqing Immortals, He Danggui smiled again. Tai Chen left in a hurry because of excitement and forgot to take her snack. After tonight, she wouldn¡¯t want to fetch this snack. He Danggui thought it was better to take it back to treat Zhen Jing.

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù

    In autumn, the weather was gradually zing after the noon, greedily steaming away the moisture from the ground.

    ¡°Zhen Wei,e here!¡± Tai Chen beckoned to Zhen Wei in the courtyard. A tall and thin Taoist nun about 20 years old ran over and asked politely, ¡°Master, Biddy Lei hade here. Had we asked her to bring wine and meat?¡±

    Tai Chen waved her hand impatiently, ¡°Okay, don¡¯t ask me about such a trifle thing. Don¡¯t you see how keen-witted and capable Tai Shan¡¯s first disciple is? Learn from her!¡±

    Zhen Wei held back her anger. Tai Chen took a silver ingot, and then took one string of 1000 qian after thinking. She stared at Zhen Wei and said seriously, ¡°Now I assign an important task to you. If you can handle it smoothly, I¡¯ll admit that you are more capable than Zhen Zhu, and I¡¯ll let you gain advantages in the future.¡±

    Zhen Wei nced at the silver ingot in Tai Chen¡¯s hand excitedly and nodded vigorously, ¡°Master, just tell me what to do. I¡¯ve already wanted to show my ability.¡±

    Tai Chen looked around, and then whispered, ¡°Listen, go to find a few nuns who were collecting firewood and ask them whether they saw the guests in the mountain. If the nuns say they¡¯ve met them in the mountain before, go to the kitchen, give the silver ingot to the new chef, and tell him to make a sumptuous meal. The standard of the meal should be higher than that of Tai Shan. Do you understand?¡±

    Zhen Wei nodded hesitantly. Although she didn¡¯t remember all the words, she didn¡¯t dare to ask questions. Seeing her puzzled look, Tai Chen cursed her angrily and retold the words. Until Zhen Wei could repeat it, Tai Chen nodded and let her leave.

    ¡°It was said that fancy finding by sheer luck what one has searched for far and wide.¡± Tai Chen stood alone in the yard and burst intoughter. She was extremely excited. He Danggui, who was separated from Tai Chen by a wall, smiled too, holding a package of snack.

    He Danggui walked back to the East Wing-room and didn¡¯t meet others on her way back. Before she entered into the gate of the yard, she heard a man¡¯s voice. It sounded like Duan Xiaolou and other guests. He Danggui frowned slightly, and walked towards them slowly. Then she saw Zhen Zhu, Zhen Jing, Duan Xiaolou, and Liao Zhiyuan standing at the porch andughed, as if they were talking about something happy.

    Liao Zhiyuan wore a blue robe and Duan Xiaolou wore a scarlet robe. Both of them had excellent hearings, so they could hear He Danggui¡¯s steps when she walked into the yard quietly, although they turned their back to the gate. Then they looked back together.

    Liao Zhiyuan greeted with a smile, ¡°Miss He, how are you doing? Why do you walk so slowly? Duan Xiaolou and I can go back and forth for twenty times.¡± Duan Xiaolou smiled beside him.

    He Danggui smiled, ¡°I saw you at noon, and even in the afternoon. We meet a lot today.¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan put his hand on Duan Xiaolou¡¯s shoulder and sighed, ¡°My silly friend had offended you unwittingly. So, when we were busy with our tasks, he had been in a daze. As the saying goes, it¡¯s better for the doer to undo what he has done. So, I bring him here to apologize to you.¡± Duan Xiaolou punched Liao Zhiyuan angrily, ¡°What are you talking about? It was you who said that you wanted to find clues here, and you needed me to apany you.¡±

    Zhen Zhu burst intoughter and said to He Danggui, ¡°Sister, I have an urgent thing but I didn¡¯t find appropriate people to do that. I¡¯m d that the two childes are willing to help me. I just mentioned it casually, but they said that they¡¯d be happy to help us. That¡¯s great!¡± Seeing He Danggui¡¯s confused look, Zhen Zhu exined, ¡°When you are in good condition, your mother must be very happy. Although someone of Luo¡¯s Family would inform her, I think we¡¯d better inform her in advance by delivering her a letter from you.¡±

    He Danggui felt sad at the mention of her mother. She hoped to see her mother soon. Since she came back to life that night, the person she missed most was her mother. However, if she couldn¡¯t gain a foothold in Luo¡¯s Family, even if she picked her mother up from the Sanqing Temple, both her mother and she would be excluded. So, if she could write to her mother andfort her, she could make an appointment with her about¡­Thinking of this, He Danggui¡¯s eyes were moist. She looked at Duan Xiaolou and Liao Zhiyuan, asking urgently, ¡°It¡¯s 600 miles from here to the Mount Yurong. Are you really willing to help me?¡±

    Looking at the pitiful face in front of them, both Duan Xiaolou and Liao Zhiyuan nodded and promised, ¡°You can rest assured. We have sunstreakers for sending letters at the foot of the mountain. They can deliver your letter tonight at thetest.¡± The sunstreaker was the name of a person and a horse. A horse could travel 800 miles a day and a person could travel 200 miles a day. The speed of a sunstreaker was only slower than that of runners of the imperial court. Regardless of waterways, mountain roads, high cliffs or deep valleys, the sunstreaker could deliver the letter to the destination.

    He Danggui felt excited and said, ¡°Please wait a moment, I¡¯ll write a letter right now!¡± Then she rushed into the room, even forgetting to thank them.

    Compared with the girl in the reserved look, she, with the true disposition, seemed to be lovelier in others¡¯ eyes. So, Duan Xiaolou and Liao Zhiyuan didn¡¯t think she was impolite, but smiled in unison.

    Seeing this, Zhen Zhu also smiled and brought a basket of red berries and green pears, ¡°We don¡¯t have good tea, but the fruits here are fresh. Why not eating fruits while waiting?¡± Duan Xiaolou and Liao Zhiyuan didn¡¯t refuse. They sat down on the stone steps in front of the door, took the fruits and then began to eat.

    Zhen Jing ran into the room with He Danggui andughed, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that they are so nice! They are totally different from the officials I¡¯ve seen before. That day¡­¡± Zhen Jing couldn¡¯t help mentioning the first time she met them in the mountain. Worrying that she might say something about ¡®fugitive¡¯, He Danggui quickly covered her mouth. Both Duan Xiaolou and Liao Zhiyuan were seniors who were very observant. So, eavesdropping on people was a piece of cake for them. Zhen Jing suddenly realized that she had nearly made a mistake, so she bent over the table to watch He Danggui writing.

    Zhen Zhu brought the writing brushes, ink, paper, ink stones and an envelope this morning. He Danggui was thankful for Zhen Zhu. She thought, ¡°Zhen Zhu was considerate towards me. It was a pity for such a good woman to stay in the Taoist temple all her life. Even if she didn¡¯t want to remarry, in fact, she could also live a better life.¡±

    Thinking of this, He Danggui had written a two-page letter. Finally, she put a mark at the end of the letter.

    ¡°Is that¡­a pig?¡± Zhen Jing tilted her head and thought, ¡°Although I don¡¯t recognize the words, I can understand the picture. Why do you draw a pig for your mother? Although it¡¯s cute¡­¡±

    He Danggui made a face, ¡°This is my zodiac sign.¡± Zhen Jing understood it all at once.

    After carefully drying the ink and packing the letter, He Danggui went to the door and handed it to Duan Xiaolou. She said sincerely, ¡°Thanks for your help. I really appreciate it.¡± The sunstreaker was a kind of messenger that ordinary people couldn¡¯t hire even by money. Except the government, only the wealthy and influential families could hire the sunstreaker. Originally, He Danggui had nned to earn money first after going down the mountain, and then hire someone to deliver a letter to Mount Yurong. She was really pleased that now she sent the letter at least ten days earlier than she expected.

    Duan Xiaolou put the letter into his sleeves andughed, ¡°Never mind. I¡¯ll go down the mountain and give the letter to the sunstreaker. Goodbye!¡± Then he rose into the air and flew away by stepping on the roofs.

    He Danggui and others were stunned. Liao Zhiyuan was choked by the pear core, ¡°Ahem! Ahem! Wait for me!¡± Liao Zhiyuan beat his chest and finally swallowed the pear core. He looked at He Danggui and smiled helplessly, ¡°I¡¯ve worked with him for many years, but I haven¡¯t seen him do anything like this. Miss He, you open my eyes now.¡±

    He Danggui smiled, ¡°This time I owe you two a big favor. I¡¯ll keep that in my mind and requite this.¡± Liao Zhiyuan waved his hand to say goodbye. After a sh of silver shot out from the sleeve, he leaped up the wall with the silver light and disappeared. Since it all happened in an instant, it seemed that he disappeared suddenly.

    Seeing the confusion of Zhen Jing and Zhen Zhu, He Danggui exined, ¡°He may wind a thin steel cable around his wrist, with the other end of the steel cable attaching to a flying w. When he used the tool, he made the flying w fixed on the other side of the wall and then flew away with the force of the steel cable.¡±

    Zhen Jing and Zhen Zhu tumbled to it and nodded suddenly. Zhen Zhu was very surprised, ¡°How can you have such a wide range of knowledge at a young age? It¡¯s the first time for me to see such a senior at my age.¡±

    He Dangguiughed, ¡°Sister Zhen Zhu, you¡¯re just 28 years old. Why do you say in a tone like Madam Luo of my family? But in fact, they could go down the mountain faster by walking through the main entrance of the Taoist temple. It¡¯s strange. Why did they leap onto the roofs?¡±

    Zhen Jing rolled her eyes, ¡°To show you how cool they are. Even a fool can understand it.¡±

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù

    Zhen Wei went to the Fu Mian Yard, and found Tai Chen in the courtyard. She was panting and said, ¡°Master, ording to your instructions, I asked Huai Tu and other nuns who collect firewood on the mountain every day¡­They said that they had seen the guests walking around the mountain many times as if they were looking for something. So, I went to find the new chef called Liu Laojiu. I gave him five liang silver and asked him to make a sumptuous meal for us. However, he said that he could only make a sumptuous meal including six delicious dishes with the best ingredients. So, three liang was totally enough. He wondered whether it was okay.¡±

    Tai Chen stared at Zhen Wei and asked nervously, ¡°What did Huai Tu say? Think about it. Don¡¯t miss a word!¡±

    Zhen Wei replied carefully, ¡°They said that they had seen the guests walking around the mountain many times as if they were looking for something. They also asked the guests if they were lost and whether they needed their help in leading the way. But the guests said they just wandered around.¡±

    Tai Chen was excited as she thought. Then she took a silver about the size of a broad bean from her sleeve, and said, ¡°Go to the kitchen again. Give this to Liu Laojiu, and tell him to make two tables of sumptuous meal. The extra one liang sliver is his wage. Let him cook the meals carefully.¡± Zhen Wei took the money and left.

    Tai Chen shouted in the courtyard again, ¡°Zhen Gong,e here!¡±

    Hearing Tai Chen¡¯s voice, Zhen Gong put down the herbs that she was about to dry in the yard, rushed towards her Master and asked happily, ¡°Master, can I help you?¡± Seeing Zhen Wei running errands for Master Tai Chen and doing something important, she was very jealous.

    Tai Chen looked at Zhen Gong and said, ¡°Put on clean clothes and stand in front of the mountain gate. When those guestse back, tell them that I¡¯m going to invite them to dinner in the Fu Mian Yard tonight and pleasee to the dinner.¡± Looking at Zhen Gong who was excited, Tai Chen frowned, ¡°Be calm and polite¡­If you didn¡¯t invite them here, beware of being skinned!¡± Zhen Gong answered and then went to put on clean clothes.

    On reflection, Tai Chen summoned Zhen Ping, Zhen Jue and some other nuns, asking them to clean the rooms and the courtyard. Then she asked them to burn the most expensive agwood in the censer, take out all precious decorations in the box and put them in conspicuous ces.

    After a flurry, all people of the Taoist temple knew the dinner thing within two hours.

    Tai Chen was a famous skinflint in the Taoist temple. At ordinary times, if the low-ranking Taoist nuns asked her for herbal medicines as they got sick, Tai Chen would request them to offer 9 cashes to the immortals. What was more, one could only take the medicine for three days at a time. If you couldn¡¯t recuperate within three days, you had to offer another 9 cashes to the immortals to get another three days¡¯ medicines. Therefore, Tai Chen used the public Medicine Room as a mean of collecting money.

    So, all people were stunned by Tai Chen¡¯s act tonight. She should entertain those strangers with sumptuous meals and paid out of her own pocket. Then, it was widely rumored that the banquet Tai Chen prepared and paid was much better than Tai Shan¡¯s banquet paid with the money of the temple. All Taoist nuns praised Tai Chen for being generous. However, Tai Shan was furious at this and wasforted by Zhen Zhu who just came back from the East Wing-room.

 Chapter 16 - Tai Chen was tied up by the officials

    <h4>Chapter 16 Tai Chen was tied up by the officials</h4>

    When it was getting dark, Zhen Jing came back after fetching the water. She said with a smile, ¡°Xiaoyi, I heard that the two ¡®chivalrous men¡¯ and other guests came back together. But as soon as they were about to step in the gate, they were respectfully invited by Zhen Gong to Fu Mian Yard of Younger Master Tai Chen.¡±

    He Danggui smiled and opened the oil-paper bag on the table, saying to Zhen Jing, ¡°Come here, dear. I have some delicious food!¡±

    Zhen Jing turned her head and suddenly widened her big eyes in surprise, ¡°This¡­Where did you get this?¡±

    He Danggui blinked mysteriously. She pulled Zhen Jing closer, pressed her on the stool,ughed and said, ¡°The ¡®Dream Goddess¡¯ gave us this by the same way as that pot of wine. You can eat it. Don¡¯t worry.¡± He Danggui picked up a dried meat slice and put it into Zhen Jing¡¯s hands, ¡°This is a famous snack of Fengyang City, ¡®Crispy Dried Meat Slice with Sesames¡¯. Have a taste. I have to eat the congee for some days before I can eat meat. You enjoy it first. Remember to eat slowly.¡±

    Zhen Jing stood up quickly and said, ¡°Let me make congee for you first.¡± He Danggui pushed her back to the stool. She rolled up her sleeves and said, ¡°We just have some red berries, brown sugar and wolfberries. Let me make a bowl of ¡®Three Red Soup¡¯ that can tonify vital energy and blood. It will cure your sickness and help you keep healthy!¡±

    Zhen Jing grinned, ¡°These words were most popr among quack doctors.¡±

    Then, Zhen Jing was surprised by He Danggui who was very skilled in making a fire. She was more sophisticated than Zhen Jing. When the water was boiling, He Danggui turned the fire down. Then she slowly melted the brown sugar in the water and poured the hand-made rice puree into the pot. When the ¡°Three Red Soup¡± was just finished, with the whole room pervaded by its fragrance, He Danggui and Zhen Jing suddenly heard a noise from Fu Mian Yard in the north.

    He Danggui bent over to stir the soup. After hearing that noise, she smiled, ¡°it¡¯s done.¡±

    Zhen Jing¡¯s little mouth was stuffed with the dried pork slices and beef jerky. She asked vaguely, ¡°What happened in Fu Mian Yard? It¡¯s so noisy.¡±

    He Danggui filled two bowls with ¡°Three Red Soup¡± and put two snow-white spoons beside the bowls. She replied with a smile, ¡°Maybe someone was roaring drunk. Leave them alone and taste our soup.¡±

    Zhen Jing grabbed the spoon and scooped a spoon of soup up. After blowing on the soup, she couldn¡¯t help tasting it casually. She murmured, ¡°Ha-ha! I have never drunk such delicious soup¡­¡±

    He Dangguiughed at her, ¡°Come on, be careful. Don¡¯t burn your mouth.¡± She thought, ¡°The show has just begun. It¡¯ll be a pity if we don¡¯t have a look.¡±

    A tall and thin Taoist nun stumbled out of Fu Mian Yard. She ran a few steps and paused, and then ran straightly toward Ku Qiao Yard, where the Master Tai Xi lived. A lot of cooking liquor was on her Taoist robe and cloth shoes.

    Zhen Wei recalled Master Tai Chen¡¯s words, ¡°Be quick! Go and ask Master Tai Xi to intercede for me! Don¡¯t call the despicable Tai Shan. She would only add insult to my injury!¡± Then, Zhen Wei quickened her pace. However, when she arrived at Ku Qiao Yard, she found that it was bright inside and almost all Taoist nuns were there, including Master Tai Shan.

    Master Tai Xi wore a dark ck Taoist robe with a tight chignon. She grabbed Zhen Wei hurriedly as soon as Zhen Wei came in, and asked anxiously, ¡°Speak quickly! What happened over there?¡± Tai Shan also gloated and said, ¡°Yes, all of us were suddenly awakened. What happened there? Tell us quickly!¡±

    Zhen Wei wept and said to Tai Xi, ¡°Bad News! those guests¡­ My Master ran out of the room, and somebody threw a wine ss at her. Then she suddenly couldn¡¯t move a little¡­ Another guest tied my Master up¡­¡±

    ¡°Tied her up?¡± Tai Xi and Tai Shan questioned at the same time. Both of them were incredulous.

    Tai Xi didn¡¯t know about the guests. Although Tai Shan knew that those guests were officials, she didn¡¯t understand why they tied Tai Chen up. Tai Shan thought that the noise might be made from the guests who used their broadswords to cut the table because the Taoist nuns led by Tai Chen made mistakes and annoyed them during the dinner. But now, Tai Chen was actually tied up by the officials. This could be a serious or minor matter, which meant that it could be either Tai Chen¡¯s fault or the whole Taoist temple¡¯s fault.

    Tai Shan was panic too. She had lent out more than 200 liang sliver in the name of Shui Shang Temple as usury, which was originally prepared to ensure her life when she was old! What could she do if the borrowers ran away without paying her money back after the temple was closed? Thinking of this, Tai Shan began to beat her brains out to find a way to protect the Taoist temple. ¡°Protect the Taoist temple¡­ Yes, there is!¡± Tai Shan quickly instructed the little Taoist nun Zhen Ming beside her, ¡°Go to the East Wing-room as fast as you can! Told Miss He¡­ Oh no, invite her toe over!¡± Seeing the confusion of Tai Xi, Tai Shan said, ¡°I don¡¯t know why Miss He gets along well with the guests, and they are very kind to her.¡±

    Tai Xi was like grasping a life-saving straw, repeatedly saying ¡°Bless you¡±. She was idealess and not good at speaking, especially when talking to men. So, she asked Tai Shan to exin on her behalf when they arrived there after a while. Tai Shan nced at Tai Xi contemptuously and agreed.

    Tai Shan let Zhen Wei talk about the causes and effects of the incident, but Zhen Wei perplexedly said that she was not serving inside, so she didn¡¯t know what happened. She only saw Master Tai Chen suddenly ran out and screamed for help.

    Tai Shan frowned and thought that she could only go there and see what happened. She turned her head and saw that many Taoist nuns had picked up tools like hoes, hatchets, brooms, hossu, spoons and shovels in their hands. Tai Shan was extremely angered, ¡°Did you want to use these bad tools to fight with the officials?¡± Then she scolded them all to put the tools down immediately.

    Thereafter, Tai Xi, Tai Shan and all Taoist nuns went to Fu Mian Yard together. When they arrived, they saw two of the guests standing outside the door, as if they were waiting for them.

    With a big smile on the face, Tai Shan ran forward in small steps and said tteringly, ¡°All right, all right, please calm down! How did the mad woman Tai Chen offend you? If you want to catch her, then just catch her only. This had nothing to do with us!¡±

    The two officials did not speak, and only made a gesture to invite them in. But when Tai Shan and other followers entered the yard, the two officials quickly followed them and then closed and locked the door.

    All the Taoist nuns were terrified for a time. Some of them cried, some of them screamed, some of them begged for mercy and the rests pounded on the door¡­

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù

    Zhen Ming ran into the East Wing-room in a flurry. She could only see darkness since there wasn¡¯t any light. There were over 20 rooms. She didn¡¯t know which room Miss He lived in.

    ¡°Miss He, Miss He!¡± Zhen Ming took two steps forward tremblingly.

    Zhen Ming had nyctalopia. As long as there was no light at night, she could not even see her fingers. ¡°Miss He, Miss He, Miss He¡­¡± Zhen Ming called continuously.

    After taking more steps, Zhen Ming didn¡¯t dare to go inside further. Since she went to steal the sacrifices that night and saw the scene that He Danggui sat up from the coffin, she had a specific fear of her. Zhen Ming would steer by the East Wing-room when she passed it, not to mention the midnight. She shouted again in the yard, but no one answered. Then, Zhen Ming left after hesitating a while.

    A momentter, a room was suddenly bright, and two slender shadows were reflected on the new window paper.

    ¡°Xiaoyi, why did Zhen Minge to you? Why didn¡¯t we answer her?¡± Zhen Jing looked at He Danggui curiously. She always felt that He Danggui knew lots of stratagems like the ¡°female schr¡± in the drama.

    He Danggui raised the bowl with a smile and said, ¡°Give me another bowl of soup. Then I might tell you.¡±

    Zhen Ming walked out of the East Wing-room, hesitated for a while and then ran to the Fu Mian Yard where everyone was. As she passed the bamboo grove, a dark shadow jumped out and hit her. Zhen Ming was so frightened that she backed a few steps and fell to the side of the road. Zhen Ming found that the shadow was Huai Wen, so she cursed angrily, ¡°Are you rushing to reincarnate!¡±

    Huai Wen was crying out of breath. She shook her head and said, ¡°It¡¯s over. It¡¯s over¡­ Our Taoist temple was about to be closed!¡±

    Zhen Ming was scared and angry. She asked Huai Wen, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Are you crazy?¡±

    Huai Wen shook her head and wailed, ¡°Those guests said that they came from the imperial pce¡­ They are the imperial guards! They have found ¡®bribes¡¯, ¡®banned medicine¡¯ or something else in Master Tai Chen¡¯s yard. I didn¡¯t listen it clearly. Their general meaning is that our Shui Shang Temple is now a nest of bribes. The Masters and all Taoist nuns were detained in Fu Mian Yard¡­ Shui Shang Temple will be closed!¡±

    Zhen Ming was so scared with her lips trembling. She asked repeatedly, ¡°The imperial guards? Are they that kind of officials who are working for the Emperor? Are they going to kill all of us? Hide! We must hide somewhere safe. But where is safe for us?¡±

    Huai Wen twitched and said, ¡°Since Sister Zhen Zhu held me behind the crowd, we didn¡¯t enter Fu Mian Yard. As soon as everyone entered the yard, the two imperial guards locked the door. Thereafter, we hid behind the rockery to eavesdrop. Sister Zhen Zhu felt the situation was bad, so she let me find Miss He. She said that Miss He can save the Taoist temple. Sister Zhen Zhu is still observing the situation behind the rockery. Oh! She also said that I should lead Miss He to the Medicine Room. She heard that imperial guards were going to the Medicine Room to search for bribes.¡±

    Zhen Ming said perplexedly, ¡°I¡¯ve been to the East Wing-room just now. It was horrible and cold, and there¡¯s no light and no one answered me, no matter how many times I shouted. It was really frightening¡­¡±

    Huai Wen wiped away her tears and said, ¡°Sister Zhen Zhu won¡¯t be wrong. She asked me to find Miss He and said that Miss He can save us. So, we must find Miss He! Let¡¯s go!¡± Then Huai Wen ran towards the East Wing-room. Zhen Ming caught up in a harry.

    After only a few steps, they saw He Danggui and Zhen Jing walking slowly towards them. Huai Wen ran forward and was surprised, ¡°Miss He, I finally find you! Sister Zhen Zhu asked me to find you and she said that you can save the Taoist temple!¡±

    He Danggui nodded and replied, ¡°I have just fallen asleep, but I heard that the northern yard was very mant. So, I¡¯m going to have a look. Where should I go?¡±

    ¡°The Medicine Room! You don¡¯t know that the guests in Fu Mian Yard were suddenly¡­¡± Huai Wen cried again when she mentioned the incident.

    He Danggui took the lead towards the Medicine Room and said calmly, ¡°Tell me while walking.¡±

    Zhen Jing and Huai Wen both kept up with He Danggui, while Zhen Ming followed far behind them after a short hesitation. Zhen Ming felt a little insecure. She heard that the entire Taoist temple had treated He Danggui harshly since she came back to life. They refused to give her food or drink for several days. All of them still cursed her for dying early and med her for blocking their being rich. Was He Danggui really willing to save the Taoist temple? And most importantly, did she have the ability to save the Taoist temple?

    On the way, Huai Wen told the whole incident to He Danggui while crying. He Danggui walked slowly and bowed her head while thinking. Zhen Jing was scared after hearing the whole incident, so she poked at He Danggui and whispered, ¡°Hey, what can we do after arriving there? Those people are imperial guards! Investigation is their specialty, we¡­¡± As Zhen Jing was saying, they had seen the Medicine Room far away. It was bright, and the men¡¯s voice could be heard faintly.

    He Danggui smiled at Zhen Jing and said softly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. First, I¡¯m not the Taoist nun, and I came here soon. This incident was none of my business. Second, the evidences were prerequisites for the imperial guards in investigating the case. They would never arrest anyone without the evidence. All of you, wait for me in that boscage. Don¡¯t run around. I¡¯ll go inside and ask about the case, and find out something more from them.¡±

    Seeing that they had gone, He Danggui turned around and walked to the Medicine Room. She stood by the door and knocked. The sound inside the room stopped immediately, and then the door was opened. A strong and tall body stood at the door, almost blocking the entire door and looking absolutely oppressive against the lights.

    Gao Jue frowned and stared at the little girl in front of him. He asked coldly, ¡°Why are you here? It is not where you can be! Get away!¡±

    When He Danggui was about to say something, she saw that the tall man in front of her shook violently, and suddenly flew sideways, hitting on the left wall. Duan Xiaolou appeared at the door. He made a posture to let her in and said, ¡°The frost and dew are heavy at night. You are weak now! Come in and warm yourself.¡± Liao Zhiyuan wasughing inside, ¡°Miss He, Come in please. Only half a day haven¡¯t seen you, but I feel that I have passed one and a half years¡­¡±

    He Danggui felt they were funny. The imperial guards were the synonyms of coldness and ruthlessness, but why the words and deeds of Duan Xiaolou and Liao Zhiyuan were so different from other imperial guards she had seen before. He Danggui didn¡¯t refuse them and walked in. She saw that the room was in a mess, as if it was robbed. She couldn¡¯t help raising her eyebrows gently, thinking about what happened.

 Chapter 17 - Duan Xiaolou fought with Gao Jue

    <h4>Chapter 17 Duan Xiaolou fought with Gao Jue</h4>

    In the evening, Tai Chen invited nine guests including Duan Xiaolou to the banquet. After three rounds of drinking, a bottle of banned medicine emerged in the banquet. Geng Bingxiu immediately ordered to tie Tai Chen up, and detained all the Taoist nuns who came to see what happened in Fu Mian Yard. Now, Duan Xiaolou, Liao Zhiyuan, Gao Jue and Lu Jiangbei were ordered toe to the Medicine Room and find more evidences. After entering the room, Gao Jue used his broadsword to hit all the medicine cabs to the ground quickly. The medicinal materials were piled up like a hill, but they couldn¡¯t find the banned medicine they were looking for. When He Danggui knocked on the door, the four people were quarreling. Duan Xiaolou med Gao Jue for disturbing the medicines, which was not conducive to searching for evidences.

    Duan Xiaolou quickly took out a chair from the medicinal materials, and brought it to He Danggui. Then he asked, ¡°Come and sit. Why is your face so pale? Did we disturb you when we caught Tai Chen? Or did that cool-faced man scare you just now?¡± Gao Jue, the cool-faced man, just suffered a palm in his back and a hit in his waist. Now he stood upright against the wall with his face darker.

    He Danggui smiled slightly, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. Maybe it¡¯s due to the wind.¡±

    Hearing that, Duan Xiaolou wanted to take off his cloak, but he found that he had walked so fast that the cloak was left in Fu Mian Yard. Now he only had a scarlet robe. So, he immediately turned to look at the others, and found that only Gao Jue was wearing a ck cloak. He wanted to beg for it, but he gave up when looking at Gao Jue¡¯s angry face.

    Duan Xiaolou pulled off his waistband and took off his robe, which surprised and shocked He Danggui. Then, he presented the robe to He Danggui with his hands and said, ¡°Put on the robe. You can¡¯t be careless since you just recover from the illness. I change this coat today and wear it less than one day...¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan looked at Duan Xiaolou who was only wearing a white middle clothes. He bantered and gave a loud whistle, which made He Danggui embarrassed. She didn¡¯t know whether she should take the coat or not. Lu Jiangbei couldn¡¯t help smiling and walked to Gao Jue. He said a few words in a whisper, and finally got Gao Jue¡¯s ck cloak.

    Lu Jiangbei took the cloak to He Danggui and smiled, ¡°Never mind, Miss He. Duan Xiaolou has always been so enthusiastic about girls.¡± Then he turned back and stared at Duan Xiaolou, ¡°Get dressed quickly, or you will scare the little girl.¡±

    He Danggui had to take the cloak and put it casually. At this moment, Gao Jue suddenly asked loudly, ¡°Hey, what are you doing here? Do you want to plead for those Taoist nuns? This is absolutely impossible!¡±

    He Danggui blinked and said quietly, ¡°Well... I am here to help you solve the case. I will appreciate your guidance.¡±

    Lu Jiangbei looked at the upright girl in front of him, and couldn¡¯t helpughing, ¡°Do you want to help us solve the case? What is your opinion?¡±

    Gao Jue hummed, ¡°Hey! Little girl, don¡¯t you know who we are? In front of imperial guards, you dare to boast. We will give you a crime of cheating officials! Leave here quickly if you don¡¯t want to be put in jail, or you will be tied up too!¡±

    Lu Jiangbei was afraid that Gao Jue would scare the little girl into tears, and just wanted to stop Gao Jue from talking. However, he saw Gao Jue suddenly flying out and hitting on the left wall again with a thump. It turned out to be a raid by Duan Xiaolou, who hit Gao Jue on the back with a move named ¡°Xian He Shu Ling¡±.

    Duan Xiaolou fixed his waistband while saying indignantly: ¡°Gao Jue, shut up if you don¡¯t say something good! If you talk rudely to Miss He again, this isn¡¯t the end!¡±

    Gao Jue was kicked off by Duan Xiaolou twice, so his poor patience was finally exhausted. He bounced from the ground and hacked Duan Xiaolou using his sword. Seeing Gao Jue¡¯s sword, Duan Xiaolou kicked out a table to stop Gao Jue¡¯s attack for a while. At the same time, he took out a pair of silver gloves and put them on quickly. Gao Jue split the table and tangled with Duan Xiaolou again. Duan Xiaolou¡¯smonly used weapon was a halberd named ¡°Fang Tian Hua Ji¡±. It was too heavy to be taken to Shui Shang Temple. However, the Tian Jue Si Gloves was also the world¡¯s most precious treasure that nothing could damage.

    ¡°Boom!¡± The sword fought with the palms. In a while, Gao Jue split seven swords, and Duan Xiaolou returned seven palms. The air in the room seemed to tremble violently with the medicinal materials on the ground flying into the air and scattering here and there. He Danggui also felt that the strong wind made her hair in a mess, showing the excellence of Duan Xiaolou and Gao Jue¡¯s kung fu.

    Lu Jiangbei stepped obliquely to He Danggui, covering her little face with his sleeve, andforted her with a smile, ¡°Don¡¯t mind. They often resolve disagreements by fighting with each other. It is not your fault.¡± The girl who was close at hand suddenlyughed. Wearing a light cyan coat skirt, she was more beautifulbining with her delicate face. Lu Jiangbei looked at her, and found that she had gorgeous eyes which showed an aura of intelligence. In particr, when he was troubled by the case, the little girl¡¯s temperament made him soft and tempted.

    After a moment of inattentiveness, Lu Jiangbei turned his head and looked at the air in front of him. Then he asked, ¡°You said you wanted to help us solve the case. What do you n to do to solve the case?¡± Although he thought that He Danggui couldn¡¯t offer any help, it didn¡¯t matter to hear what she said because the clues were often found in details and then affected the overall situation.

    He Danggui replied indifferently, ¡°When you employ others, you should trust them without doubt. You neither believe my sincerity and ability at all, nor tell me the ins and outs of the matter. Even though I have a wealth of pharmacological knowledge, I know nothing about the case. In this case, finding evidence seems like to guess an object behind the block. Your honor, who does take the responsibility?¡± Her voice was soft and quiet, which seemed like a furry w of a little beast passing through his heart. Lu Jiangbei was persuaded by He Danggui immediately.

    Lu Jiangbei smiled, ¡°In fact, it doesn¡¯t matter to tell you. But please don¡¯t leak out the case. Just then, Tai Chen invited us to a banquet. During the banquet, we didn¡¯t know why she regarded us as a big customer for medicine and wanted to talk about the business of medicine. Master Geng decided to go with her and wanted to see what medicines she sold. After Tai Chen took out the medicine, we all saw the medicine and found that the medicine in the bottle was Wushi Powder, which was banned for refining and purchasing by the Emperor 19 years ago!¡±

    ¡°Wushi Powder?¡± Even He Danggui was astonished. In the previous life, she just identally discovered that Tai Chen refined Xingyang Powder, but she didn¡¯t expect to pull out something else. The severity of refining Xingyang Powder was nothingpared with refining Wushi Powder.

    Wushi Powder was a traditional Chinese medicine powder originally invented by Zhang Zhongjing, the medical genius of the Han Dynasty. It was used by patients who had typhoid fever and for those who were not sick, it could enhance their physical strength. It prevailed among schrs and officials in Wei and Jin dynasties until the Tang Dynasty, which was ¡°a good one for entertainment¡± with enduring power. After eating Wushi Powder, people would be manic, dry and hot, and their body would be extremely sensitive. They needed to drink and took off their coat or exercise to sweat, so as to weaken the effect of Wushi Powder. Many people became irritable due to this medicine. Gradually, they couldn¡¯t live without Wushi Powder.

    Therefore, at the beginning of Hongwu Period, the Emperor promulgated three imperial edicts in session, absolutely prohibiting the private refining and selling Wushi Powder. Unexpectedly, Tai Chen did this kind of business furtively...

    He Danggui frowned slightly. If she could not find any strong evidences to excuse others in the Taoist temple, it would be difficult to protect them from being implicated by Tai Chen. Her original intention was to make Tai Chen suffer a bit, but she never thought that things would be out of control. In addition, there was something unexinable in this case. That was the attitude of these imperial guards. It was really strange that the imperial guards were so crazy about catching people and searching for bribes. They could detain Tai Chen secretly and then transfer the case to the yamen runners of the county.

    The imperial guards were the Emperor¡¯s hands and eyes, and always did tasks on the order of the Emperor. Now the seniors among them ran into the mountain and lived for a few days. Were they just for a drug seller Tai Chen? Wouldn¡¯t it make a mountain out of a molehill?

    Lu Jiangbei nodded, ¡°Oh, do you also know Wushi Powder? Later, we tied Tai Chen up. Not until we extorted a confession, Tai Chen confessed that except for Wushi Powder, she also refined Xingyang Powder, and with that, uh... Jinfeng Yulu Powder.¡± Lu Jiangbei was a little embarrassed when he talked about this. He didn¡¯t know why he talked this idently, especially to an innocent young girl. Uh, she couldn¡¯t understand it anyway.

    Then, Lu Jiangbei sighed, ¡°After that, Gao Jue questioned her where the medicines were hidden, who she had sold the medicines to, and what did any aplices besides her. She stammered about it. Gao Jue was so furious that he cut her chignon with his sword. Unexpectedly, Gao Jue used a bit of power, which knocked her out. Jiang Yi used the Jin Mai Nail to stab into her thirteen pain acupoints, but she did not wake up. So, we had toe to the Medicine Room to find some clues.¡±

    He Danggui thought for a moment and looked up the roof. She suddenly shouted at the two people fighting in the middle of the house: ¡°Masters, please stop first. It is important to handle the case and you can y at any time!¡±

    Duan Xiaolou heard her words and stopped fighting first. He retreated to He Danggui by the force of a sword, as if his eyes were born on the back of his head. Gao Jue put his sword into the scabbard and stared at He Danggui. Then he asked with a cold face, ¡°Are we ying? You dare to be disrespectful to imperial guards, and you should have a crime for...¡± Lu Jiangbei was afraid that Gao Jue¡¯s words would cause a new round of battle, thus putting his hands over Gao Jue¡¯s mouth in time.

    Seeing Gao Jue¡¯s resentment, He Danggui chuckled and said, ¡°Just now, your auricr acupoint was widely open. If Master Duan gently pokes there, the battle between you wouldn¡¯t be so fierce. Obviously, there are weaknesses between you and Master Duan. However, you two don¡¯t hit each other¡¯s weaknesses but hit casually, beating the tables, chairs, and benches all over the sky. Isn¡¯t it ying?¡±

    As soon as she finished her words, the four men was shocked.

    They looked at each other for a moment, and then turned to stare at He Danggui, with a little fear in their eyes. They knew that even the most excellent seniors in Jianghu couldn¡¯t find the weakness of Gao Jue if they didn¡¯t know about his kung fu. However, this little girl in front of them easily found Gao Jue¡¯s weakness. Who was she?

    Gao Jue seemed to be cruel, and continuously asked: ¡°How do you know what my weakness is? You know kung fu? Who are you? Are you a warrior in Jianghu?¡±

    He Danggui was surrounded by the four men. She seemed petite and fragile, and Gao Jue¡¯s sharp words made her dwindled. With tears on her eyshes, she replied softly, ¡°In front of several imperial guards, what a little girl could cover? How could I understand thoseplicated kung fu? I saw Master Duan waved his palms twice to the auricr acupoint of Master Cool Face just now, but he abruptly withdrew his palms and attacked insignificant points. I once heard that the acupoint beside the ear is one of the main acupoints of the human body. Hitting it could cause faint. Now that Master Duan doesn¡¯t want to hurt Master Cool Face, I guess it is a y not a real fight. I really don¡¯t know about the weakness or Jianghu.¡±

    He Danggui¡¯s words seemed reasonable, and the four people immediately believed her. Because they not only studied with the same master, but also joined the army and served in imperial guards together, they were clear about each other¡¯s weaknesses and kung fu. Even if they did not intentionally cause others to death during thepetition, their ruthless developed over the years would make them attack each other¡¯s weaknesses. But they would change their direction at the vital point.

    Lu Jiangbei couldn¡¯t find out any loopholes in He Danggui¡¯s words. He could only sigh, ¡°Even if Miss He doesn¡¯t know about kung fu, your outlook and courage are really amazing. You know, themon girls might hide themselves from the flying sand and stones when they encountered fighting between seniors. But you could actually observe such details in a short time. I really admire you.¡±

    Duan Xiaolou came to his sense and rebuked Gao Jue, ¡°Gao Jue, I just said that if you don¡¯t talk something good, shut up. Look, you scare the girl into crying.¡±

    Suddenly, Liao Zhiyuan burst intoughter as if he remembered something interesting. Everyone looked at him and was puzzled. He pointed at Gao Jue andughed, ¡°Haha, the cool face... Master Cool Face, Master Cool Face! The nickname is really suitable. Let us call you the Master Cool Faceter.¡±

    Gao Jue scowled and nced at He Danggui with his brutal intention disappearing. If this girl was a warrior in Wulin and knew his weakness, she must be killed. But in his eyes, He Danggui was just a fragile little girl who was as weak as an ant. Knowing his weakness was not a big deal. It seemed that He Danggui couldn¡¯t hold anything except for the embroidery needle.

    He Danggui raised her head and nced at the four men, saying in a tone of grievance, ¡°Masters, instead of appreciating me for helping you to keep the evidence, you harshly me me. Please look at there.¡± She pointed at the back side of the beam, ¡°If I don¡¯t stop the fight, the most important evidence would be torn apart.¡±

    The four men looked up in surprise, and saw a brocade box lying quietly on the beam above their heads.

 Chapter 18 - Tai Shan was in power in the temple

    <strong>Chapter 18 Tai Shan was in power in the temple</strong>

    Liao Zhiyuan raised his wrist and a dazzling silver light flied from his sleeves. Then the brocade box overhead appeared in his hand suddenly. He opened the box. 7 to 8 fist-sized medicine bottles appeared in front of them. He Danggui sniffed these bottles one by one. Seeing that, Duan Xiaolou couldn¡¯t help enjoining, ¡°They are inedible.¡± All the people here were speechless for him.

    He Danggui nodded and said, ¡°Yes, medicines in these 3 bottles are Wushi Powder. It can be divided into the upper level, middle level and low level ording to the content of red halloysite. In addition, Hehuan Pill and Yiqing Potion are also the same kind of banned drugs except those 3 kinds of powders that Tai Chen said.¡±

    Duan Xiaolou stared at her delicate face curiously as if he wanted to know whom He Danggui really was. He asked, ¡°How do you know these medicines? Even if members of Luo¡¯s Family teach you to recognize medical materials, they shouldn¡¯t let you know this kind of medicine¡­ Oh! How do you know that there are medicines on the roof beam of the house? We look for them for a long time but find nothing.¡± Liao Zhiyuan also nodded. He was also curious. At the same time, he grabbed a bottle of the Jinfeng Yulu Powder and studied carefully. He never studied aphrodisiac before, so he couldn¡¯t recognize it. But why should a girl know that?

    He Danggui replied slowly, ¡°It¡¯s too dark, so you may not see that there are two wells outside the Medicine Room. And they are the rare sweet springs. The daily water consumption of the Taoist Temple is from there. Only when the water isn¡¯t enough do we go to the mountain steam to carry water. So, the environment around the Medicine Room is so wet that it isn¡¯t suitable to store medicines. The quartz and gedanite are the most delicate ingredients of Wushi Powder and Xingyang Powder. They must keep from moisture and must be stored in a dry and ventted ce.¡±

    Gao Jue refuted, ¡°Now that the Medicine Room is damp, those medicines can be hidden in other ces. Why are you so sure that they are hidden here?¡±

    He Danggui smiled and replied, ¡°Leaves should be hidden in the forest and dewdrop should be hidden in theke. The Medicine Room is the safest ce to hide medicines. Even if those medicines are found by people who know little about medicines, they won¡¯t be exposed. In addition, the Medicine Room is managed by Tai Chen. Others can¡¯t even approach it. This is the safest ce to hide those medicines for her.¡±

    Gao Jue berated coldly, ¡°Others can¡¯t approach it? Are you interceding for them? You are daydreaming!¡±

    ¡°Interceding for them?¡± He Danggui showed an innocent expression and said, ¡°Firstly, I am too ordinary a girl for the general of imperial guards to do me a favor. Besides¡­ You don¡¯t know the fact. Taoist nuns here are really tart and mean. They treat me bad since Ie to myself. They not only don¡¯t provide me enough food and clothes but curse me behind. Now they are in trouble. I couldn¡¯t helpughing and cheering. Why do I intercede for them?¡±

    Hearing that, Lu Jiangbei and Duan Xiaolou were stunned. They thought that He Danggui was really straightforward. Other girls would intercede for the enemies with tears even if they hate their enemies deep in heart. Although they can¡¯t change the result, but their enemies would thank them. They could also get a good fame¡­

    He Danggui switched the conversation and said, ¡°If I were the official, I would arrest those nuns without any reason! But I¡¯m not¡ª Each of you is fair and intelligent in the aspect of dealing with cases. You won¡¯t arrest people without evidences. Master Lu, do you agree with me?¡±

    Lu Jiangbei was ¡°specially stared¡± by He Danggui. He felt as if an invisible hand was scratching his chest. He nodded involuntarily and replied, ¡°Of course.¡±

    He Danggui stood up, took off the cloak and give it back to Gao Jue. She said, ¡°Recognizing medicines is all I know. As for the case, there is only one thing I know that might be helpful. Tai Chen is mean and unkind. She likes keeping ounts. She records everything in detail. If you can find her ount, maybe you can find her partners. In that way, you won¡¯t kill innocent people and also won¡¯t let those evil people go¡ªAchoo! It is cold andte. I will go first.¡±

    Duan Xiaolou grabbed the cloak from Gao Jue¡¯s hands quickly and put it around He Danggui¡¯s shoulders once again. Heined, ¡°Be careful! You get a cold right after you take it off. Since you know you are weak, you should be careful! Don¡¯t stand on ceremony. How about I send you back?¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan couldn¡¯t helpughing. The air flow blew some powders from the bottle in his hand. The powders were blown into Gao Jue¡¯s mouth. Gao Jue didn¡¯t notice that and swallowed while he was yawning.

    Everything happened within a blink. There was no time for Lu Jiangbei to stop him. He looked at Gao Jue helplessly and reminded, ¡°Oh, Gao, Gao Jue, you swallow the powder...¡± Gao Jue also felt there was something wrong. His face turned red and purple. Liao Zhiyuan, the culprit,ughed again. Lu Jiangbei was so frightened that he closed his mouth quickly and held his breath.

    Duan Xiaolou eventually turned his eyes to those men. Seeing that their expressions were quite strange, he asked innocently, ¡°Hey, what¡¯s wrong with you? Are you sleepy? Why don¡¯t we go back to sleep first?¡±

    Gao Jue elbowed others aside suddenly and held He Danggui¡¯s wrist. He asked impolitely, ¡°What medicine is in that bottle?¡±

    He Danggui blinked her eyes and answered in whisper, ¡°Perhaps it is¡­Jinfeng Yulu Powder.¡± Then she added kindly, ¡°No antidote can detoxify the property of the medicine. There are only solutions.¡±

    Lu Jiangbei also ran over them and approached He Danggui. He asked in a ttering expression, ¡°I was so surprised just now that I opened my mouth. At that moment, Liao Zhiyuan blew suddenly¡­ I felt that I also swallowed some! Miss He, I only swallowed a little. Can you detoxify the property of it?¡±

    Duan Xiaolou didn¡¯t know what happened until now. He fell aboutughing, ¡°Ha-ha! It¡¯s quite funny! You and he¡­ Ha-ha¡­¡± Liao Zhiyuan, the troublemaker, was also tittering.

    Gao Jue was too anxious to me them. He eximed, ¡°What are the solutions? Do tell me!¡±

    He Danggui touched a plum blossom on her cuff and replied straightly, ¡°In the Northern Song Dynasty, Qin Shaoyou had a poem, saying, ¡®Clouds float like works of art. Stars shoot with grief at heart. Across the Milky Way, the Cowherd meets the Maid. When Autumn¡¯s Golden wind embraces Dew of Jades. All the love scenes on earth, however many, fade.¡¯ Master Gao is the Cowherd. You only need to find a Maid and the property of medicine in your body will be detoxified¡­ Oh! Both you and Master Lu swallowed the powders. You can also do each other a favor.¡±

    Duan Xiaolou and Liao Zhiyuan stoppedughing. They looked at each other in surprise. How did He Danggui, a 10 years old girl, know so much about that? How did she speak it out in sad earnest?!

    The expression of Gao Jue could only be described as plexed.¡± Originally, he investigated the case. But he should swallow the aphrodisiac mistakenly. And now, he relied on a child to tell him how to ¡°detoxify¡± the powder. Gao Jue thought that all the bad things in his life happened within tonight. Things happened tonight were worse than the failure after fighting 300 rounds on the battlefield. Thinking of that Liao Zhiyuan was the culprit, Gao Jue turned around angrily and red at him. But his eyes met Lu Jiangbei¡¯s. He and Lu Jiangbei were inseparable at ordinary times. But at this moment, they felt extremely embarrassed for what He Danggui had said.

    He Danggui tried her best to restrain her impulsion tough. She pretended to be calm and said, ¡°Don¡¯t be so sad. Maybe I can help you.¡±

    ¡°You?! You...¡± Hearing that, Duan Xiaolou and Liao Zhiyuan were more stunned.

    He Danggui nodded and continued saying, ¡°But I have never tried this method before. I don¡¯t know whether it would work or not. If anything, you should restrain your grief¨C Do you still want me to detoxify it for you?¡±

    Lu Jiangbei strained his eyes and asked, ¡°You can treat illnesses and detoxify drugs!¡± Gao Jue also looked at He Danggui with hope.

    He Danggui nodded again and replied, ¡°But I have two provisos. First, my medical skills are superficial. Now I¡¯m just fighting for a losing battle. I won¡¯t ask for rewards if you are cured. But don¡¯t me me if I fail. Second, when I treat you, only the patients can be present. All of you can¡¯t tell others that I know a little about medical skills.¡±

    Seeing He Danggui¡¯s serious expression, Duan Xiaolou was quite puzzled. He asked, ¡°Can you really help them detoxify with ¡®other¡¯ ways?¡±

    ¡°I need to have a try and then you will find the answer by yourself. Master Duan and the Master who is the culprit, please go out to keep guard. Remember, don¡¯te in until you get my approval. If there is something wrong because of others¡¯ disturbance, I won¡¯t take the responsibility.¡±

    Duan Xiaolou and Liao Zhiyuan walked out of the Medicine Room reluctantly. They weren¡¯t relieved. Although theyughed just now, they were really concerned now. After all, Gao Jue and Lu Jiangbei were two men who swallowed that kind of powders. They might be controlled by the drastic medicine and¡­ Was it dangerous for Miss He to stay with them alone?

    They listened carefully for a while beside the door but heard nothing. Did Gao Jue poke her acupoints? Liao Zhiyuan was really regret. He med himself that he shouldn¡¯t y with the medicine bottle. Now, Miss He should be in danger because of him. Time passed slowly as if it stopped. Duan Xiaolou couldn¡¯t bear and wanted to rush into the room.

    ¡°Squeak¡ª¡± The door opened suddenly. Gao Jue and Lu Jiangbei rushed out one after the other. They ran away without turning around. Duan Xiaolou rushed into the Medicine Room hurriedly and looked around. Atst, he saw He Danggui near a pile of medicinal materials. Seeing that she was okay and well-groomed, he was relieved.

    ¡°How did it go? Did they offend you? Did you detoxify the property of the power?¡± Duan Xiaolou asked. He wanted to know if she was okay.

    He Danggui pped her hands and stood up. Sheughed and answered, ¡°I can only control the property of the medicine for a half day. I give them a prescription which I am not sure whether it will work or not. There aren¡¯t enough medical materials in the Medical Room. Now, they go downhill to fill the prescription. Don¡¯t worry. Even if my prescription doesn¡¯t work, the property of the medicine will be relieved slightly after running a half day. If all the efforts are in vain, there are still 4 to 5 brothels in Tu¡¯er Town¡­ Anyway, they can find a way to save themselves. It¡¯s sote. I have to go.¡±

    Seeing He Danggui was about to take off the cloak again, Duan Xiaolou stopped her quickly and said, ¡°Wait! Don¡¯t take off the cloak! You even sneeze in the room. It is colder outside. Although the cloak is Gao Jue¡¯s and isn¡¯t suitable for you, it can keep the chill at bay. Just put it on. Let me send you back.¡± Seeing He Danggui¡¯s delicate and pale face, Duan Xiaolou couldn¡¯t help asking, ¡°Hey, how do you know those medicines? Luo¡¯s Family is really good at medical skills, but they wouldn¡¯t let you learn that kind of medicine.¡±

    He Danggui smiled. Her smile covered her tired expression as if the moon shined on theke. Duan Xiaolou was attracted by her.

    ¡°Childe Duan, there is no distinction between superior and inferior ways when it came to saving people. As a doctor, I should know what disease and poison the patients get no matter how embarrassing they are. If I know nothing about that, I can¡¯t save people. In addition, I didn¡¯t learn medical skills from Luo¡¯s Family. The person who taught me the skills didn¡¯t want me to tell others about his identity. So, I hope you can keep the secret for me. I will be very grateful.¡±

 Chapter 19 - Fairy came to the world

    <strong>Chapter 19 Fairy came to the world</strong>

    After waking up from a nightmare, Tai Chen felt severe pain and screamed immediately. Jiang Pi threw an apple to gag her mouth urately.

    She looked at everyone in the room in horror, such as Fourth Lord Geng and several of hispanions, and... Tai Shan and Tai Xi! Tai Chen looked at Tai Xi like seizing the life-saving straw. She hoped that Tai Xi could save her. She didn¡¯t want to go to jail or die! 26 years ago, she and her uncle passed by Yangzhou. Her uncle was jailed for reselling the philter and then died in jail¡ªshe didn¡¯t want to go to jail!

    Tai Xi read a chant and ignored Tai Chen¡¯s gaze for help. Then she looked at Master Geng.

    Master Geng nodded and said, ¡°Since the ount book is found in the Medicine Room, the suspicions of the rest of you will be eliminated.¡± Tai Shan and Tai Xi felt relieved, but Master Geng continued, ¡°But there is such bigoted woman in your Taoist Temple. You not only don¡¯t know it, but also provide her with a ce refining pills. Tai Chen, as an ascetic, was worshipped by local people, but did a dirty and harmful work behind her back. Are you aware of your sin?¡± Tai Shan and Tai Xi kowtowed to apologize for their guilt with fear.

    Jiang Yi leafed through the ount book and said, ¡°Master Geng, the two nuns named Zhen Wei and Zhen Ping got 1.5 liang silver and 1.2 liang respectively besides Tai Chen...¡± Liao Zhiyuan sneered. Jiang Yi shook his head and continued, ¡°Although they imed that they were totally unaware of what Tai Chen did, they just helped Tai Chen deliver letters. However, the quantity of banned drugs is staggering. In addition to dozens of nearby brothels, buyers also involved in the Fourth-Grade high-ranking officials in the imperial court. Therefore, all people rted to this case must be arrested on the spot. As for whether they are innocent or not, we¡¯ll see after the joint hearing of 3 departments.¡±

    Jiang Pi said with a smile, ¡°Those Taoist nuns are really timid. I went out and called Zhen Wei and Zhen Ping¡¯s names just now and just asked them toe forward to be bound. Then more than 7 Taoist nuns fell in a faint in the courtyard!¡±

    Master Geng pondered for a moment and said, ¡°Jiang Yi and Jiang Pi, detain Tai Chen and another two Taoist nuns who are involved in the case in the wood house of the West Wing-room. You will be in charge of guarding in turn. They can neither escape nor die. We won¡¯t punish them until we leave the Taoist Temple.¡±

    Hearing Master Geng¡¯s order, Jiang Yi and Jiang Pi took Tai Chen and others who were tied up out of the room. Tai Chen stared at Tai Xi in despair, hoping that Tai Xi could plead for her. Tai Chen knew that ascetics had many privileges. Even the current emperor worshipped Taoism. As long as she could earn a bare living, she would rather hand over all the banned drugs and silvers!

    However, Tai Xi just read a chant and stopped talking. Tai Cheny on the ground with her hair disheveled. She looked sad and was dragged away by Jiang Yi rudely. Seeing this scene, some of the Taoist nuns who were locked in Fu Mian Yard were too timid to fall into aa.

    Master Geng nced at Tai Xi and others, then said in a low voice, ¡°Although you have exonerated the charges of making the banned drugs, you have sheltered the wicked for more than 20 years. So, you must be punished. Shui Shang Temple brings shame on Taoism. I order you to shut yourself up and reflect on your misdeeds. You can¡¯t do business with the outside world in the next 6 months, or you will be severely punished!¡± Tai Shan and Tai Xi kneeled to thank him hastily.

    Duan Xiaolou said coldly, ¡°Do you know? If Miss He didn¡¯te to plead for you in spite of the cold night wind and helped with the evidence, you would all spend the rest of your life in Yangzhou Prison.¡± Tai Shan and Tai Xi were so scared that they kowtowed repeatedly, chanting ¡°Bless you¡± and so on.

    In the courtyard of the East Wing, Zhen Jing served a bowl of ginger tea with sugar for He Danggui and advised, ¡°Since you have a cold, you should sleep more in the room. Why do you sit in a daze in the courtyard? Our courtyard is bare and there is no grass at all. What are you looking at? Let¡¯s go back to the room!¡±

    He Danggui closed her eyes and took a deep breath, saying, ¡°What a cool autumn.¡± Then she walked into the room. Zhen Jing stood in the courtyard in confusion.

    The next day, Tai Chen was in custody and Tai Xi was sick. So, Tai Shan grasped at the authority by herself in the Taoist Temple. After she took office, the first thing she did was to order the nuns to stun with stick and tie up the 7 disciples of Tai Chen, including Zhen Shu, Zhen Gong, Zhen Jue and others. Then she ordered Biddy Cheng and Biddy Wu to take and sell them down the hill with the cart.

    Zhen Zhu stopped Biddy Cheng and persuaded Tai Shan, saying that the Medicine Room was in a mess. All the medicinal materials were scattered on the ground and the medical books were out of order. In the whole Taoist Temple, only the disciples of Tai Chen could recognize a few herbal medicines. They might as well let them do some chores in the Medicine Room and Pill Room, and then punish themter.

    A hint of maliciousness shed in Tai Shan¡¯s eyes. She bit her teeth and said nefariously, ¡°The disciples of Tai Chen turned a blind eye to me like their master and often monitored my actions. Now the evils Tai Chen brought on herself were the hardest to bear. Her disciples should also suffer the same! Be sure to sell them into the lowest brothel so that they would never get out of the fire pit until their death! This is the end of opposing me!¡±

    Zhen Zhu sighed inwardly and found an excuse to leave. She didn¡¯t leave until she walked around the Temple. After waiting for a while on the hillside, she saw Biddy Cheng and Biddy Wu, who were tall and sturdy, pushing a two-wheeled cart and heading for the hillside of the mountain.

    Zhen Zhu stopped their cart at once and said with a smile, ¡°Biddy Cheng and Biddy Wu, have a rest in here. No need to rush. I passed by the mountain stream and took some just now. You might as well take a sip of it before you keep walking.¡±

    Putting the cart aside, Biddy Cheng wiped her sweat and nced at Zhen Zhu, saying with a sneer, ¡°Hum, your master said that you didn¡¯t look right when you went out. You shoulde to disturb what we want to do. As expected, you are here! You¡¯ve been waiting here for quite a while, haven¡¯t you?¡±

    Zhen Zhu became stern.

    Biddy Wu looked at her impatiently and said rudely, ¡°Zhen Zhu, we have to hurry on with our journey before dark. Get out of the way! You are a visionary and promising person. In the future, you may be the new Master of Shui Shang Temple. These silly girls always have a bone to pick up with you. Why do you care about them?¡±

    Zhen Zhu managed to smile and persuaded patiently, ¡°We are all acquainted with each other in Shui Shang Temple. All beings grieve for their fellow beings. Please show your mercy to leave them a way for living! Don¡¯t sell them to the brothel. Sell them to the rich as maids!¡±

    Biddy Cheng smiled disdainfully and said, ¡°Zhen Zhu, you are really a kind-hearted person. Will we all be unscrupulous? But if we sell them as maids, we can only get 15 strings of 1,000 qian in total. If we sell them to the brothel, everyone can be sold at least 7 liang silver. So, 7 of them means more than 50 liang silver! Who¡¯s going to make up the difference for us? We are just here to go on a message, and then will take the money back to your master to report on our mission! I¡¯m not the one who came up the idea of selling them to the brothel. So, I have no choice!¡±

    Zhen Zhu felt happy and nodded at once, then said, ¡°That¡¯s good to hear. I¡¯ll make up the difference! I still have more than 50 liang silver, which can be withdrawn in the money shop in Tu¡¯er Town. But I sneak out of the Taoist Temple just now and should run back to hand over the affairs and call the roll in the morning immediately. Why don¡¯t you send them to the rich first and then live in Yui Inn to wait for me? I will give you the money noter than tomorrow morning!¡±

    Biddy Cheng said with a smile, ¡°You think we are so gullible! If you don¡¯t show up in due course, we won¡¯t dare to go back to the Taoist Temple to report and have to get a new job in another ce. In this way, you can achieve what you wish. We will also be charged with ¡®absconding with the money¡¯ by your master, then you will notify the local yamen to arrest us! What a good n!¡±

    Biddy Wu looked at Zhen Zhu¡¯s old robes disdainfully and asked, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you were driven out by your husband and parents-inw and begged all the way to Shui Shang Temple? Why do you have 50 liang of saving?¡±

    Zhen Zhu had nothing to say in reply, so she had to stretch out her hands to bar the mountain road, and insisted, ¡°I will act up to my promise and won¡¯t repudiate a debt. 50 liang silver is not a lot of money for me. I can definitely afford it! Please believe me this time. In this way, you will assemble yourself a good fortune and umte a good virtue. Biddy Cheng, you have a granddaughter. Just think of her as you look at them. Please, show your mercy to them!¡±

    Biddy Cheng spit before Zhen Zhu and med her angrily, ¡°Bah! These bitches are born to be bitchy. They aren¡¯t qualified to take the shoes for my granddaughter! You dare topare them with my granddaughter. Don¡¯t you want to live?¡± Biddy Cheng¡¯s daughter worked as a maid for a rich and influential family in the early years and became the waiting-maid (maid in name, concubine in reality)ter because she was pregnant with the Young Master¡¯s child. Afterwards, she gave birth to a daughter, who was smart and beautiful. This girl was favored as the pride in Biddy Cheng¡¯s family. They hoped that the girl could marry a good family in the future so that the whole family could live a prosperous life.

    Biddy Wu pushed Zhen Zhu and said coldly, ¡°If you have money, give it to us now. Otherwise, give way then, or we¡¯ll bring you to light in front of your master. You will be severely punished by then!¡± Zhen Zhu bit her lips and refused to give way.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll give you the money.¡± A colder voice came suddenly behind them.

    Biddy Cheng and Biddy Wu turned around simultaneously and saw a girl. She wore a light apricot skirt with small-sleeved narrow style, covering with a pale pinkish purple-colored cloak, standing behind them. The girl didn¡¯t make up and had red lips and white teeth. She looked at here quietly. The strong wind of the mountains and forests constantly blew her clothes and blew her hair off, seeming like she was going to fly with the wind. Biddy Cheng was already an olddy over 50 years old. She couldn¡¯t help being shocked when she saw such a beautiful girl. If her granddaughter was a beauty, the girl in front of her was almost a fairy she had never seen before!

    Since Biddy Cheng felt that the girl in front of her was more beautiful than her granddaughter, she said unkindly, ¡°Oh, you must be Miss He. Aren¡¯t you a Miss of an eminent family? How can you be so impolite? You have no right to meddle the housework of the Taoist Temple!¡± When being detained in Fu Mian Yard yesterday, she heard Tai Shan say that He Danggui might be able to help them plead for mercy. So, Biddy Cheng regarded He Danggui as a bodhisattva, and talked about her half of the night.

    Now the problem was solved, Biddy Cheng¡¯s attitude to Miss He was very different from before. She looked at He Danggui disdainfully, thinking that she was just a bastard who was abandoned by her parents and then had to live in their Taoist Temple. Even if she was beautiful, she was destinated to be a concubine in the future!

    He Danggui was despised, but she was not angry. She stared at Biddy Cheng with a faint smile, saying, ¡°Here is 50 liang silver. I wonder if you can make an exception in my favor and sell those in the cart to a decent family?¡±

    Biddy Cheng took the bag dubiously and was shocked to see the inside. There were 5 of 10 liang silver, 50 liang silver in total in the bag! Biddy Cheng became ecstatic at once. Then she nodded and said, ¡°Okay, okay! Well, you prove yourself of Luo¡¯s Family. You are really generous! Miss He is not only beautiful, but good-hearted. You¡¯re sure to marry a good husband in the future!¡±

    He Danggui said with a smile, ¡°It depends on your support. Be careful on the road.

 Chapter 20 - Clothes from Duan Xiaolou

    <strong>Chapter 20 Clothes from Duan Xiaolou</strong>

    Zhen Zhu stared at He Danggui as if she was sent by the immortals to help her, then she stunned for a moment and got out of the mountain road.

    She walked towards He Danggui and held her hands, appreciating her for what she had done for the nuns. Although Zhen Shu and another 6 nuns usually behaved badly and always quarreled with Zhen Zhu. The oldest people among them was only 19 years old. They were brought up by Master Tai Chen, and it was easy for them to learn her bad temper. If they could be maids in a decent family for several years, they would develop a tempered personality. Then there might be a bright future for them.

    Biddy Cheng and Biddy Wu put the silvers in ce, and then they left away with smile. Zhen Zhu held He Danggui¡¯s hands firmly. She wanted to thank her but didn¡¯t know how to speak.

    Last night, Shui Shang Temple was in great trouble. Everyone inside was nearly wiped out. At that time, Zhen Zhu remembered that Childe Duan was a member of the imperial guards. If He Danggui pleaded for him to forgive those of the temple, Childe Duan might show a little mercy because he had special feelings for He Danggui. Therefore, Zhen Zhu sent Huai Wen to find He Danggui, but she had not much hope of stopping the imperial guard. To her surprise, He Danggui had seeded in convincing them. The imperial guards only arrested Tai Chen and 2 of her disciples, leaving other innocent people survived. He Danggui had influenced the working style of the imperial guard. Today, He Danggui was willing to speak up for several unknown Taoist nuns, and even paid 50 liang sliver for them.

    He Danggui blinked her eyes and said with a smile, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be grateful to me. First, I am not as kind as you, and I only want to help you. Second, the sliver was given by Childe Duan. I¡¯m just being generous in his name. Childe Duan, pleasee out!¡±

    As soon as she finished, Duan Xiaolou jumped down from the tree on the right. He looked at He Danggui with a smile and asked, ¡°Are you getting better now, Miss He? Do you think this cloak fits well?¡±

    He Danggui looked down and answered, ¡°It fits me quite well. Thank you for your concern.¡±

    When the sky was still dark in the morning. He Danggui woke up from dream. As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw Duan Xiaolou standing with a bulging baggage in the middle of the courtyard from the slit of window.

    After making-up in a hurry, He Danggui went out and asked Duan Xiaolou what he wanted to do. Duan Xiaolou opened his baggage and took out some cloaks, wool capes and dresses with same color. He wanted to redeem the ck cape of Gao Jue with these stuffs. He Danggui found that the clothes were fit well with her and the color was also appropriate.

    Although she didn¡¯t want to ept these without reason, she couldn¡¯t bear to give him a refusal when she saw his imploring eyes and frozen nose. So, she epted the baggage without saying anything. In her opinion, they shared different worlds. Probably Duan Xiaolou gave her these clothes out of sympathy.

    After Duan Xiaolou left. He Danggui put on a dress and a cloak, heading for Ku Qiao Yard to discuss something with Tai Xi. But she saw Zhen Zhu sneaking down the mountain right after she went out, and then she saw Biddy Cheng trying to extort money from Zhen Zhu. When she tried to figure out a method to help Zhen Zhu, she felt someone patting her from behind. Turning around, she found it was Duan Xiaolou. He followed her here when he saw her following behind Zhen Zhu.

    Zhen Zhu was grateful for his help, ¡°Childe Duan, thank you very much for your kindness, but I dare not let you pay the money. Consider it the money I borrowed from you and I will return itter. Please don¡¯t refuse my suggestion.¡±

    Before Duan Xiaolou could say a word, He Dangguiughed and said, ¡°Wait a second, no one has to waste money on this.¡±

    Zhen Zhu and Duan Xiaolou looked at He Danggui with curiousness. Thetter looked at Duan Xiaolou with gleam in her eyes and said, ¡°Childe Duan, we need you to do us a favor.¡±

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù

    As soon as He Danggui and Zhen Zhu entered the temple, Huai Wen came to them and said anxiously, ¡°Sister Zhen Zhu, please do something. Master Tai Shan is chasing Zhen Ming and beating her with the horsetail whisk.¡±

    Zhen Zhu frowned, ¡°What is going on? Tell me in detail!¡±

    ¡°Master Tai Shan asked Zhen Ming to clean up the Medicine Room. But Zhen Ming disobeyed because the master sent Zhen Gong away. They used to be good friends. She refuted Master Tai Shan directly, ¡®I don¡¯t have the ability to do that. Go and find someone else who¡¯s capable of doing that.¡¯ Master Tai Shan was very furious and she said she would kill those who would betray her!¡±

    He Danggui counseled, ¡°Take it easy. The imperial guards lived in her backyard. She didn¡¯t dare to kill people but only attempt to scare them. Let¡¯s go to check out the situation first.¡±

    Zhen Zhu nodded. Then she said to He Danggui after thinking, ¡°Miss He, you may go back to the East Wing-room first, and I am going to persuade Master Tai Shan.¡± Master Tai Shan was too reckless and impulsive. Once she was angry, she didn¡¯t care about anyone and beat people randomly without hesitation. Zhen Zhu was afraid that He Danggui would be scared, so she asked her to go back first.

    He Danggui smiled, ¡°Be careful, Sister Zhen Zhu. I am leaving now.¡± He Danggui didn¡¯t go back to the East Wing-room, but walked outside the temple.

    Zhen Zhu felt curious, but she didn¡¯t think much of it and rushed to the front yard. As soon as she entered, she heard crying and saw Zhen Ming sitting on the ground with her hands protecting her head. Her palms were bloody hit by the horsetail whisk with copper-made handle.

    Zhen Zhu grabbed Tai Shan¡¯s sleeve firmly and tried to persuade her, ¡°Master, please don¡¯t argue with a child. Take care of your body. I heard you had a back pain again. Why bother yourself with such a heavy horsetail whisk? If there is something wrong with Zhen Ming, let me punish her for you!¡±

    Tai Shan put her hands on the waist, then sneered, ¡°Guess you hate me inside as well. Because you thought I¡¯m too cruel to treat Zhen Gong and others like that.¡±

    Zhen Zhu faked a smile and said, ¡°Master, don¡¯t get me wrong. Today is your first day in charge of the temple. I think if you are kind to the disciples, they will be obedient to you and more careful to finish their work.¡±

    Tai Shan became more furious to hear this, ¡°Do you mean nobody is obedient to me at present?¡±

    Zhen Zhu was very nervous and wanted to justify herself. Suddenly they heard amotion from outside, and many Taoist nuns hurried into the house from the courtyard. Tai Shan asked them, ¡°What happened this time?¡± Tai Shan was wondering if the imperial guards found something and came here to arrest someone again.

    A nun answered in shock, ¡°A group of crows came just now and pecked our clothes!¡±

    ¡°Crows?¡± Tai Shan frowned, ¡°Crows always look for food in the wild forest. Why do they attack people for no reason?¡±

    The Taoist nuns couldn¡¯t answer, so they showed the stains, burrs, and threads on their clothes. After the disturbance, Master Tai Shan was not angry anymore. Moreover, their noise might attract the notice of the imperial guards, and she might be arrested directly by then.

    Zhen Zhu found that Tai Shan wanted to calm the crowd, so she rushed to the corner and shouted to Zhen Ming, ¡°The master is generous and doesn¡¯t want to dispute with you. You may leave and do your own business. Behave yourself next time!¡±

    Zhen Ming nced at Tai Shan. Seeing that Tai Shan didn¡¯t intend to refute Zhen Zhu, she got up and left quickly. Zhen Zhu let the Taoist nuns wait in the side room, then she turned around and served Tai Shan a bowl of grape juice.

    Tai Shan finished the juice in one gulp. Then she put down the bowl and red at Zhen Zhu, saying grumpily, ¡°I am in charge of the Medicine Room and the Pill Room now. To prevent the scandals from happening again, I decided to reorganize the Medicine Room. But when I got there just now, the ce was messy and many herbs were mixed up together. I wanted some nuns to find the broken medical book and then ssify the herbs into the medicine cab based on it. But the imperial guards torn the book up when they were finding the ount book. And now we need more than 10 days to put the book together, but we have no time. What do we do now?¡±

    Zhen Zhu thought for a moment and said, ¡°We can find some apprentices who were familiar with herbs from some Medicine Pavilions down the mountain. Then we can hire them for half a month to help us in the Medicine Room.¡±

    Tai Shan stared at Zhen Zhu and said, ¡°Who would pay for it? You? Our temple was fined for stopping doing business for half a year, and we can¡¯t ept the donating money at the same time. We can¡¯t even continue the usury business, and all the nuns will suffer rough days in the next 6 months. How can we have spare money to hire some apprentices? Damn, Tai Chen is really a bitch. Besides, since you hired the chef Liu Laojiu, he always screws with some Taoist nuns in the kitchen. Does he think I am blind? If Liu Laojiu stayed here a few months longer, half of the nuns would be pregnant. As I said before, everyone in Shui Shang Temple is a female, so a male inside would definitely be a disaster!¡±

    Zhen Zhu lowered her head and didn¡¯t dare to say a word. After thinking for a while, she suggested, ¡°In fact, there is one who might help us with this. But I am not sure...¡±

    ¡°Be frank. Just tell me.¡± Tai Shan urged her anxiously.

    Zhen Zhu said, ¡°Miss He in East Wing-room. She was born in a medical family. I talked with her a few days ago and found that she knows medicine well, especially herbs. It would be better for us to ask her to give a hand. There is nothing we can do without her help. After all, the medicines are not as safe as food. If someone eat the medicine with the wrong ingredients, they may die.¡±

    Tai Shan was immediately convinced, but she thought for a while and shook her head again, ¡°We can¡¯t except her to do these chores. She is a great benefactor to our Taoist Temple now. Besides, the handsome imperial guard has a crush on her, and he always apanies with her all day. If I asked Miss He to do these chores, the imperial guard would feel unpleasant and thought I was bullying Miss He. I will have to bear all the consequences by then.¡±

    ¡°Do not worry too much, Master. Miss He is very enthusiastic, and she would definitely be willing to help us.¡± Zhen Zhu suggested, ¡°Also, Tai Chen didn¡¯t fill the prescription for her in time and she was not fully recuperating till now. How about we tell others that we allow Miss He to use the herbs in the Medicine Room, and then ask her to ssify the herbs for us?¡±

    Finally, Tai Shan smiled with satisfaction and nodded, ¡°That¡¯s great, she can also get benefit from us! You should tell her the advantages in person. Then she can work for us with gratitude.¡± Zhen Zhu nodded and left the room, then she saw He Danggui standing in the yard.

    ¡°The crows in winter know nothing about human being¡¯s sadness, but learn from the prodigals to y with beauties.¡± He Danggui raised her eyebrows, ¡°Did your master release her anger?¡±

    Zhen Zhu smiled and said, ¡°The crows came coincidentally. Turns out you are the one who helped me in time. But I am very curious. How were the crows willing to help? They can¡¯t understand ournguage after all!¡±

    He Danggui said slightly, ¡°I gave them some food to buy them off, so they helped me. Where are you going, sister?¡± Zhen Zhu told her the n of Tai Shan. He Dangguiughed and epted, ¡°Now that Master Tai Shan have already ordered, how can I be against her? It¡¯s not difficult for me to ssify the herbs. Besides, I really need some medicine now. Thank you for giving me such a good opportunity.¡±

    Zhen Zhu patted her head and signed, ¡°You are a very clever girl, and everybody loves your kind. Instead, I should thank you for helping me. By the way, has Childe Duane back?¡±

    ¡°Not yet.¡± He Danggui answered and consoled her, ¡°It¡¯s just a piece of cake for him. You don¡¯t need to worry. He would be absolutely safe.¡±

    Zhen Zhuughed at her, ¡°So, you are quite familiar with each other by now?¡±

    He Danggui didn¡¯t answer the question directly and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go to the Medicine Room and take a look¡­ Let¡¯s do it this way. I only need Zhen Jing to ssify the herbs with me in the first 2 days. Because too many people would only make things worse. Then you can send several nuns to clean the Medicine Room with us on the third day. After the Medicine Room is restored to its origin, I¡¯ll leave the room to the temple. I have works to do as well.¡±

    Zhen Zhu felt a little weird and asked, ¡°What is wrong? Is there anything I can help?¡±

    He Danggui raised her forefinger and said mysteriously, ¡°That¡¯s for sure that I will need your help, sister. But you don¡¯t need to worry about it. All you need to do is to cooperate with me by then.¡± Zhen Zhu wanted to ask again, but He Danggui refused to say anything more.

 Chapter 21 - Shui Shang Temple was on fire

    <strong>Chapter 21 Shui Shang Temple was on fire</strong>

    Duan Xiaolou went back to the Taoist Temple. He heard He Danggui was in the Medicine Room to put the medicines in order, so he leaped on the roof and jumped in front of the Medicine Room within seconds.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry about the mess here, otherwise you wouldn¡¯t have to clean here.¡± Duan Xiaolou said apologetically, ¡°I know some herbal medicines. Let me help you.¡±

    He Danggui shook her head, ¡°Childe Duan, you don¡¯t have to apologize. I should thank you instead. If you hadn¡¯t messed here, I couldn¡¯t have had the chance toe here easily to take the medicine. And what¡¯s the result about the previous incident?¡±

    Duan Xiaolou looked at her softly, ¡°As you expected, the two vicious women took my money from you but took the nuns to the brothel simultaneously. I called a few yamen runners to sue for their ¡®seek for two buyers with only one goods¡¯ crime. Then, they searched them and found the 50 liang silver I told them before. Therefore, they sent them to prison.¡±

    Although human trafficking wasn¡¯t forbidden in the dynasty, human traders would be strictly punished if they sought for two buyers with only one goods to ensure the buyers¡¯ right. Male human traders would be banished for penal servitude, while female ones would be descended to be ves. Biddy Cheng and Biddy Wu got what they deserved.

    He Danggui asked, ¡°What about Zhen Gong and other nuns? Zhen Zhu cares about them very much.¡±

    Duan Xiaolou¡¯s handsome face became light red, ¡°I¡¯ll¡­ figure out a method to settle them down. Please tell Master Zhen Zhu, they could live better in the days toe.¡±

    He was hesitated to tell her the truth. After he dealt with Biddy Cheng¡¯s matter, the 7 Taoist nuns woke up and pulled his sleeves to cry. He promised them out of sympathy to bring them home as maids. He counted all the people he was about to bring to his home in capital. That would be 10 people in total if he counted Miss Xue, Miss Lian and her mother who were saved by him in Yangzhou City. He couldn¡¯t imagine his mother¡¯s expression when he got home¡­

    He Danggui was silent for an instant and then smiled, ¡°Thank you then.¡±

    They rearranged the medicines till the night. He Danggui brought 2 packs of herbal medicines. And Duan Xiaolou saw her off politely to the East Wing-room. He was about to say something to her, but didn¡¯t know where to start. He was confused that she smiled happily to him in the morning, but now she suddenly turned cold and aloof as if they just met each other for the first time.

    As Duan Xiaolou was thinking about this, a Taoist nun ran toward them with fear.

    Zhen Jing felt a pain in her chest for running too fast, so she covered her stomach, ¡°Bad news. I was asked to clean Zhen Gong and others¡¯ rooms in the daytime. But I found the East Wing-room was in a mess when I came back just now.¡±

    He Danggui frowned, ¡°Did we lose anything?¡±

    Zhen Jing shook her head, ¡°I checked. Nothing was lost. We have nothing to lose, so I guess that thief just searched the ce and left.¡±

    He Danggui suddenly remembered that she forgot to bring her gold lock.

    In the previous life, she became the lowest worker in her second month in the Taoist Temple because Luo¡¯s Family refused to pick her up.

    She had to do the most tiring and dirty job everyday including cleaning chamber pots and toilets, so she hid the gold lock under her bed. She was so afraid of smudging or damaging her gold lock that was given by her mother.

    Every night before bed, she lied on the ground to make sure the gold lock was safe and said her safety to it as well. Until one night, she put out her hand but didn¡¯t find the gold lock anymore. She burst into tears at that time. Huai Dong, the administrator of the backyard,ined she was too noisy, then she was tied up and hung on the beam all night.

    Every child, who grew up with his mother, could get different gifts at every birthday and festival. But He Danggui only had a gold lock when she was one month old. She took it all the time for 10 years and cherished it more than her life. At that night, she couldn¡¯t stop crying. Her tears flowed through her eyes, her long hair, and then dropped on the ground. Who on earth took her gold lock away? Gave it back to her! She was willing to exchange with anything!

    When she was reborn in this life, the gold lock was still in her hand, just like it had never left her.

    After regaining the gold lock, He Danggui cherished it extremely and stitched it in the embroidered pocket of her clothes so that she could carry it all the time. However, she changed new clothes and skirt which Duan Xiaolou sent to her this morning. She was supposed to borrow a pair of scissors from Zhen Jing to take down the embroidered pocket from that old clothes. But then she just trailed Zhen Zhu to go down the mountain, and forgot to take her gold lock!

    Duan Xiaolou had never seen her like this. It never urred to him that she would be panic, helpless and weak like now. Even when Gao Jue wanted to kill herst night, she didn¡¯t have this expression, like the end of the world wasing.

    ¡°Sister He, don¡¯t worry. Whatever you lost, even if I had to break the Taoist Temple down, I¡¯ll find it for you!¡± Duan Xiaolou put his arms around her andforted her with a gentle voice, ¡°Let¡¯s see what happened, maybe it¡¯s still there.¡± Then they hugged each other and jumped through the air. After several ups and downs, they disappeared.

    Zhen Jing opened her mouth wide and looked at the ce of their disappearing for a while. Then she ran back crookedly with her hand on her belly of a pain.

    When they arrived, He Danggui rushed into the room immediately and grabbed the light green skirt on the ground, then started checking.

    It was gone indeed.

    He Danggui sat on the ground vacantly, as if it was the same as her previous life. In the morning, she still held the gold lock in her hand, and felt the patterns on it with her fingers; in the evening, she lost it forever. She lost the gift of her first month, which was made specially by the craftsman her mother invited.

    Was her mother all right? Normally she should have already received her letter, but why didn¡¯t she write back yet?

    In the previous life, He Danggui extremely desired toe back to the time before her mother was cheated. She wanted to chase away all those sharpies, viins and duplicitous ones to give her mother and her afortable life. But now she really had achieved it. Travelled back to 18 years ago in the present life, she thought she got enough time to stop the tragedies since nothing had happened yet. But why did she still lose her gold lock?

    Was the fate irreversible? No matter how she struggled, would she have to experience and suffer the same path that she had walked in her previous life again?

    Looking at her pale face, Duan Xiaolou was so anxious. He constantly patted her arm and asked, ¡°Tell me what exactly you lost? Just tell me! As long as you say the name of that thing, I¡¯ll tie all the people of Shui Shang Temple and get it back for you!¡±

    He Danggui came to herself because of his patting... Got the gold lock back?

    Right! If she could find the gold lock, the so-called ¡°predestined destiny¡± and ¡°destined by fate¡± would be broken, and she could also live a different life! She was full of wishes. Things in life were unpredictable, while human effect was the decisive factor! There was nothing in the world that could not be changed. Since she had reborn, she wanted to change all and refused to ept the arrangement of fate!

    Thinking of this, He Danggui looked at Duan Xiaolou and felt grateful, ¡°Thank you, I was so emotional that I lost my mind just now. I wouldn¡¯t be sober if you didn¡¯t wake me up!¡±

    Duan Xiaolou looked at her painfully and said gently, ¡°Don¡¯t be sad. Even if I have to go through water and fire, I¡¯ll find it for you. If you want, I will always...¡± He was interrupted because Zhen Jing was out of breath and lurched into the room.

    He Danggui looked down and grabbed a piece of charcoal. She said to herself, ¡°Go through water and fire. Fire...¡±

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù

    Rub-a-dub¨C ¡°Fire Caution Under the Dry Weather and mmable Things!¡±

    Rub-a-dub¨C ¡°Fire Caution Under the Dry Weather and mmable Things! Fire Caution!¡±

    Shui Shang Temple was different from ordinary families. There were many ces in need of fire. The three halls dedicated to the immortals were regrly served with candles lightened and censers burned. At night, the meditation rooms were always aze with lights, and the Taoist nuns who were unfamiliar with the scriptures would be punished to copy scriptures many times. Because once someone recited wrong scriptures during the performance of chanting or the Taoist rites, it would be embarrassed in front of the pilgrims and affect Shui Shang Temple¡¯s reputation.

    Every night, the kitchen would extinguish the fire and lock up, but there was a temporary cooking bench in the aisle behind the kitchen. In general, women liked to eat snacks, so were the Taoist nuns. This humble cooking bench was built by them secretly, and whoever was hungry could bake a sweet potato or pancake and cook a bowl of noodles for herself.

    There were many ces in the Taoist Temple using fire at night, and it was especially dangerous in the dry autumn. Therefore, Tai Shan paid special attention to fire prevention. 4 groups of people were arranged to take turns to patrol at night, and they carefully guarded the use status of fire everywhere.

    ¡°Help! Help! It¡¯s on fire! ¡ª The kitchen is on fire!¡±

    A sharp female¡¯s voice suddenly sounded in the silent night, and everyone in the temple was awakened within a few minutes. The nuns were sleeping deeply, then each of them draped a robe and rushed out of the room while holding a washbasin. When they came out, they saw the thick smoke billowing from the back alley of the kitchen, and was burning with ¡°crack¡±, spreading to 4 or 5 surrounding utility rooms gradually.

    Tai Shan scolded with her messy gray hair, ¡°Idiots! What are you doing? Fight the fire! Fight the fire NOW!¡±

    The Taoist nuns didn¡¯t dare to dy. Someone with water in their washbasin ran directly to the fire, while others who had no water looked for a water tank to get water. But many people hadn¡¯tpletely awakened. They were stepping on other¡¯s shoes and hitting someone¡¯s washbasin. The scene was messy. Seeing this, Tai Shan scolded angrily.

    After a while, the fire was getting bigger and bigger. Tai Shan gritted her teeth and raised the horsetail whisk to pound on the nuns who were hesitating. The copper handle, which weighed more than 4.6 jin, hurt a lot of people at once, and scared everyone to run to the fire hurriedly. They even threw away the washbasins.

    After running to the alley behind the kitchen, facing the congration, about 80 Taoist nuns had only 4 pots of water, which couldn¡¯t even put off a ray of me. Then, everyone looked at each other, and they were helpless to fight against the fire.

    At this moment, 4 people appeared in the sky like immortals, waving their arms at the big fire below. A momentter, the fire was put off nearly half.

    The Taoist nuns were stunned to see the scene. Tai Shan just ran to the entrance ofne, and scolded in gasps, ¡°Damn it! Why don¡¯t you hurry to put out the fire? Silly pigs... I¡¯d rather raise some real pigs!¡±

    Some Taoist nuns hurriedly broke the front door of the kitchen, finding utensils and scooping water from the water tank to put out the fire.

    But most Taoist nuns still stared nkly at the sky, looking at the figures.

    Their faces became clear because of the light of the fire. They were Duan Xiaolou, Liao Zhiyuan, Lu Jiangbei and Gao Jue. They formed a special formation above the fire and took turns ording to a certain order, waving their hands to the bottom out of a st of amazing palm energies. Unlike normal natural winds that could only make bigger fire, their palm energies could put out the fire!

    In this way, strong energies blew above, and cool water was poured below. Soon the fire became a small fire, a small fire became a me, a me became ck smoke, and the ck smoke became scorched earth.

    After the fire was extinguished, the four dropped from the sky. Tai Shan pushed the crowd away and trotted to greet them. Then she kowtowed several times and kept saying thanks.

    The four looked at each other. Then Gao Jue asked seriously, ¡°How did the fire happen?¡±

    Lu Jiangbei crossed his arms in front of his chest and walked around the cooking bench, which had already burned into ck charcoal. He said, ¡°It seems that someone forgot to put off the fire after night snacks.¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan nodded, ¡°Yes, you see, there is a burnt sweet potato.¡±

    Duan Xiaolou was furious, ¡°How ridiculous! You were aware that multiple imperial court officials were staying here. But you still used the fire so causally! If any imperial guard was hurt by fire, your whole Taoist Temple would not be enough to bear the responsibility!¡±

    Lu Jiangbei looked at Tai Shan who kneeled on the ground, and hummed coldly, ¡°You are the master in charge, and the fire was set because of your dereliction of duty! If you can¡¯t find the culprit, I will take your life as a warning to others!¡±

 Chapter 22 - Who was the arsonist?

    <h4>Chapter 22 Who was the arsonist?</h4>

    Tai Shan was eased that the fire was put out, but what Lu Jiangbei said really made her sacred. Hisst words almost scared the hell out of her. Tai Shan stood up trembling and turned around to face all the Taoist nuns. She stared at them like a predator and said very loudly, ¡°Who did this? Tell me who cooked here and set the fire!¡±

    But no one replied. All the 77 nuns kept silent.

    Tai Shan was so pissed off that her body shook badly. She yelled again, ¡°No matter who did this, if you could step up right now, you will live. Otherwise, if you get exposedter, I will kill you for sure!¡±

    Still everyone looked at each other. No one came out to confess.

    Tai Shan was determined and yelled out loud, ¡°Anyone who exposes the arsonist, I will give her 20, no, 30 liang silver as a reward now!¡±

    Whispers in the crowd were like buzzes. After a while, a tall and fat middle-aged Taoist nun pointed at a nun on her right, who was lowing her head, ¡°At 21:45, I saw Huai Xin brought some food to her room!¡±

    All eyes turned to the Taoist nun who kept lowing her head and started talking,

    ¡°21:45? The kitchen was always closed between 19:00-21:00. Where did she get the food? She must have cooked them herself furtively!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, Huai Xin is famous for her greed for food and I have seen several times that she carried food to her room at midnight!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve seen that several times too! It definitely was her who made midnight snack here and caused the fire!¡±

    ¡°Hey, have you forgot that she once finished copying scriptures and just left with the oilmp on. The next day, the oil was run out and the desk became ck as well!¡±

    ¡°How can I forget? That truly scared me! A fire almost got set up!¡±

    ¡°She has the worst memory in the world!¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Actually, 9 out of 10 nuns in the temple had cooked midnight snacks here. Merely tonight, more than a dozen Taoist nuns cooked potatoes and corns here, and discussed the handsome imperial guards lived in the West Wing-room. After that, they left withughter and no one paid attention if the fire was put out. Was there any chance¡­

    There was a saying went that thew did not punish numerous offenders. These Taoist nuns were on the same side, so no one dared to expose another. At this moment, Huai Xin¡¯s name was mentioned, which made them so excited. They immediately said bad things about Huai Xin and wanted her to be the scapegoat.

    Huai Xin was originally the disciple of Tai Xi, but she went and lived as a dependent of Tai Chen because she thought there was too little money for her to earn as a tailor. She often assisted Tai Chen with some business that attracted hatred, such as collecting the ¡°serving god money¡± of sick Taoist nuns, reporting every mistakes of other nuns to Tai Chen, and exposing discontentment those nuns said behind Tai Chen¡¯s back. A few days ago, she tricked Zhen Jing into being punished by Tai Chen. So, in the Taoist Temple, she was isted and quite many people had problems with her.

    Yesterday Tai Chen lost her force, and Huai Xin went back to Tai Xi immediately as a cleaner to sweep the yard. So, Tai Shan didn¡¯t sell her.

    Tonight, Huai Xin had indeed cooked here. But she remembered clearly that when she left, not even a single spark existed! Now everyone exposed her like this and mentioned what she did several years ago. They were pushing her to the cliff¡¯s edge!

    Huai Xin rushed to Tai Shan¡¯s feet andined tearfully, ¡°I was wronged! Younger Master, don¡¯t believe their nonsense. They used to have issue with me, so now they all said I am the arsonist!¡±

    Tai Shan sneered, ¡°If only a few people said you are an arsonist, I might still think you were wronged. Will all the 80 people in Shui Shang Temple wrong you? You have lived here for about 11 years. Didn¡¯t you make a good friend?¡± And then she shouted, ¡°Anyone who can prove her innocence, I will reward you with 5 strings of 1,000 qian.¡±

    The Taoist nuns all denied it unanimously and talked at once, ¡°She talked rubbish!¡± ¡°We had never wronged her!¡± ¡°She definitely set the fire!¡± ¡°She¡¯s going to get Tai Chen out of the mess!¡± ¡°She was a henchman of Tai Chen and she used to say that Tai Chen should be the Master in charge in the temple!¡±

    Huai Xin fell to the ground in grief. She finally understood the saying that everyone gave a shove to a falling wall. And she suddenly became indignant and desperate. After all, she only used to extort their money, but now they extorted her life! They all came to this poor Taoist Temple for a living, but none of them valued their friendship at all!

    Tai Shan nodded contentedly, then turned to Lu Jiangbei and said, ¡°Master, I¡¯ve made it clear that the arsonist is the viin, Huai Xin. She intended to rescue the extremely evil one, Tai Chen!¡±

    Lu Jiangbei did not look at the arsonist on the ground. Instead, he stared at the distance with a smile and said slowly, ¡°Tie her up and put her to death by fire at tomorrow noon.¡±

    What he said frightened everyone. Those who had used the cooking bench tonight were scared. So close! It was almost like they were about to lie there. There must be a brave one because of the rich reward. Just now some of them were really tempted by the 30 liang silver under the promise of Tai Shan, but only a momentter, someone exposed it first. If they didn¡¯t charge Huai Xin with the fire, was there any chance for them to be alive?

    There were also many young Taoist nuns. They were obsessed with those fantastic moves of these four people, and they even fanaticized a lot. But now they saw that Lu Jiangbei could understate the horrible ¡°execution by fire¡± slightly, as if killing someone was moremon to him than eating, drinking and walking. So, the love stories in their heads disappeared immediately. Of course, these people were not chivalrous and tender soldiers of fortune in Jianghu, but imperial guards in the name of ¡°ruthlessness¡±. It was said that they would suddenly draw a sword to cut down the table or people when they were eating¡­

    ¡°It¡¯s not me! It¡¯s not me at all! I know who set the fire. It is the girl who lives in the East Wing-room. Her surname is He!¡± Huai Xin burst into a shout.

    All the Taoist nuns were shocked. Who was she talking about? The surname of that girl was He? Many people couldn¡¯t help looking at Duan Xiaolou, because this morning, someone saw him standing in the East Wing yard and doing nothing. Therefore, it was said that General Duan of the imperial guards was interested in Miss He, who was 10 years old. And he nned to take her to his home as a child bride.

    As expected, Duan Xiaolou¡¯s handsome appearance was cold and frightening. He red at Huai Xin and questioned, ¡°It¡¯s already a deadly crime for you to set fire to the official, but now you dare to use Miss He who has always been at peace with the world. There¡¯s even more disrespect in your words. You should be sentenced to...¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not talking nonsense, I have evidence.¡± She didn¡¯t care about anything and interrupted Duan Xiaolou without thinking of his identity, ¡°Come and see this!¡± She pointed to a semicircle ck mark on the wall and cried hysterically, ¡°I was wronged. She is the arsonist! This is the evidence she left behind!¡±

    Everyone gathered and stared at the ck mark carefully. It seemed like it was printed after being covered with charcoal ashes, and they could vaguely see that was a pattern of fortunate clouds and blessed pig.

    Duan Xiaolou frowned and said unhappily, ¡°It¡¯s barely the evidence. Huh? For one thing, it may note from Miss He. For another, we¡¯re not sure when it was left. Maybe it¡¯s printed here a long time ago. How can we frame someone for just one mark?¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan said gloatingly, ¡°Prison Law in the Hong Wu Period stipted that ¡®Witnesses surpass physical evidences.¡¯ You only have a vague evidence, but there are 80 witnesses. They all clung to one view that you¡¯re the arsonist. Based on this, you can¡¯t win.¡±

    Gao Jue looked at the sky ruthlessly and said, ¡°In order to warn others against following a bad example, tomorrow noon in front of the gate. First, her body will be dismembered, then she will suffer the me. We will make a statement!¡±

    Huai Xin cried and said loudly, ¡°This ck mark was from Miss He¨CAt that time, she was dead and Zhen Jing was changing shroud for her. I saw Zhen Jing take a gold lock out of the box, and put it on her! The pattern on that gold lock is a round little pig with its 4 hoofs walking on the clouds. No one else would have such a gold lock!¡± She finished in one breath and continued, ¡°Also, I was not the only one. Huai Dong also saw it! At that time, we were looking out of the window, and I bet that it¡¯s worth 50 or 60 liang. But Huai Dong said that workmanship was worth at least 80 liang!¡±

    After hearing this, the crowds became noisy. Hearing Huan Xin said that with vivid details, they began to wonder if Miss He really set the fire. They wondered why the pattern on her gold lock had appeared on the wall here? The East Wing-room she lived was far away from the kitchen. She was just ady convalescing here, but why did she bother to cross a dozen yards to the kitchen?

    Tai Shan narrowed her eyes and thought about this for a moment, then she turned to ask Huai Dong, ¡°Do you know what happened? Does the pattern on the gold lock of Miss He match the pattern on the wall?¡±

    Everyone looked at that Taoist nun as if they could see the answer straight through her head.

    The Taoist nun seemed to be very introverted and not used to so much attention. She clutched at her sleeve and lowered her head to speak in a low voice, ¡°It was a small thing that happened a few days ago, so I can¡¯t remember... That day, I just took a quick look through the gauze window. How could I see clearly what Miss He was wearing in the coffin¡­?¡±

    Tai Shan stopped for a moment and looked round at other Taoist nuns, then asked them severely, ¡°Did any of you ever see Miss He has a lock like this? You all said Huai Xin was the arsonist, but did you see her light it?¡±

    Some Taoist nuns were puzzled by her questions, but a lot of smart Taoist nuns suddenly realized that she wanted Miss He to be charged with arson!

    Duan Xiaolou frowned, ¡°Tai Shan, what do you mean? The fire is clearly set for the failure management of your Taoist Temple. Miss He has nothing to do with it. You can¡¯t involve her in this casually.¡±

    Tai Shan¡¯s head began to sweat and she smiled, ¡°General Duan, don¡¯t worry, we are all reasonable people, so we will not nder people without reason. Miss He is the most likely suspect right now because she lives here and Huai Xin is testifying against her. If you want to back her up, at least let her confront herself. Otherwise people would think she was too guilty toe... Poor as she is, and I sympathize with her, but we won¡¯t take the me for ¡®setting fire to officials¡¯ for her.¡± It was obvious that she had treated He Danggui as the arsonist.

    Tai Shan was thinking that if the nun in the Taoist Temple had set the fire, that Taoist nun would not be spared, but the Taoist Temple would also be implicated. At that point, the temple would be punished and her usury business would also be affected. But if an outsider set the fire, the temple went from a suspect to a victim, then the officials may even grant them the permission to reopen the door to pilgrims. She didn¡¯t care what the imperial guards would do to He Danggui. If she was in bad luck, she would be killed. If those officials who were not afraid of being used of bending thew for selfishness, she would be released.

    Duan Xiaolou was very angry. He wanted to say something, but was stopped by Lu Jiangbei. Thetter patted his shoulder and persuaded him, ¡°Childe Duan, why don¡¯t you let Miss Hee over and exin? Nothing you say can help her.

    Tai Shan nodded with a smile, ¡°Yes, yes, that¡¯s it. We are all reasonable people. We¡¯re just going to ask her some questions, and we will not do anything to her.¡± Then she turned to Zhen Ming, ¡°Go to the East Wing-room and ask Miss He toe over. Hurry up! And remind her of taking her gold lock!¡± Zhen Ming answered and ran away.

 Chapter 23 - Fail to find a scapegoat

    <strong>Chapter 23 Fail to find a scapegoat</strong>

    As time went by, the Taoist nuns gathered to whisper and took quick nces at those 4 tall and handsome men from time to time.

    Most people were pleased inwardly. In this way, He Danggui would get in trouble. How could she, just a little girl, capture the fancy of officials and be protected by them! Bah! And she even wanted topete with them for men! Naive! Although they got internal conflict with Huai Xin, without Tai Chen¡¯s protection, they could easily deal with herter. But He Danggui was known as ¡°the daughter of the official¡±. Bullshit! She was no nobler than them from head to toe. They couldn¡¯t bully her at ordinary times, but this time, they wouldn¡¯t let the chance escape easily.

    Duan Xiaolou and Liao Zhiyuan stood under a por in the alley while Lu Jiangbei and Gao Jue closed their eyes for a rest.

    Liao Zhiyuan rolled his cat-like eyes with his arm rounded Gao Jue, ¡°Hey, Master Cool Face, are you still in that philter¡¯s effect? How does the philter feel like? Do your legs still feel weak?¡±

    Gao Jue opened his eyes in anger and gritted his teeth, ¡°Get out of my face.¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan touched his nose boringly and turned his back to Gao Jue, ¡°I¡¯m not asking this on purpose. You can¡¯t even afford a joke.¡±

    Lu Jiangbei smile slightly, ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for Miss He¡¯s superb medical skill, Gao Jue had to go to the brothel to recover. If his wife knew this, their marriage would be affected terribly.¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan rounded Lu Jiangbei¡¯s shoulder, ¡°If you hadn¡¯t got her prescription, what would you do then?¡±

    Lu Jiangbei punched him on his underbelly and scolded him with a smile, ¡°Why don¡¯t you drop dead? It¡¯s all your fault to let us stay in the medicated bath all night and lose 3 out of 10 of Zhenqi. After we fully recover in a few days, I¡¯ll ask you to pay for this!¡±

    Duan Xiaolou looked at Lu Jiangbei angrily, ¡°Your savior is in trouble now, yet you¡¯re still in the mood for ying.¡±

    Lu Jiangbei and Liao Zhiyuanughed at him together, ¡°Don¡¯t pretend to be serious. She is definitely not the one who will take a beating, but¨C¡±

    ¡°Master, Miss He is here!¡± Zhen Ming came running, out of breath, and pointed at her back, ¡°But she lost her gold lock. You don¡¯t know. When I got to the East Wing-room¡­¡±

    All the people turned round simultaneously, looking at the girl whose hairstyle looked like ck cicada¡¯s wingsing here slowly with elegant steps.

    When she came closer, Tai Shan smirked, ¡°Miss He, I heard from Zhen Ming you didn¡¯t bring your gold lock. It is involved in a big case now. Why don¡¯t you bring it to show us? Do you have any secret?¡± Tai Shan decided to ask her overwhelming questions first, then let her be the scapegoat.

    He Danggui¡¯s face was pale. Her tearful eyes were full of confusion. She kept silent for a moment, then frowned and said slightly, ¡°I heard the Taoist Temple was on fire, and I feel so sympathetic. But I haven¡¯t gone to the kitchen since I lived here. I¡¯m confused about how the pattern on my gold lock appeared here.¡±

    Tai Shan smiled coldly, ¡°That¡¯s so weird. You mean that gold lock came here and brought some charcoal ashes to the wall by itself, huh?¡±

    He Danggui seemed to want to say something but didn¡¯t know where to start. She just lowered her head and sighed in the end, ¡°I was going to ask you for help about this tomorrow. But now the temple has been burned and the loss is serious, so I don¡¯t want to bother you with my own affairs. Maybe it¡¯s my destiny.¡± Everyone was confused about what she said. He Danggui looked around and soon found the ck mark on the wall. She was surprised, ¡°It does look like the pattern on my gold lock, but are you sure this pattern was printed tonight? And Master, why are you so sure that this is left by the arsonist?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s sure that the pattern appeared tonight!¡± Huai Xin cried, and her sharp voice echoed through the alley, ¡°I remember clearly that the wall was clean when I finished cooking and left!¡±

    ¡°Yes, she is right.¡± A young Taoist nun of 15 or 16 came out to testify for her, ¡°I didn¡¯t see that ck mark when I passed by tonight, either.¡±

    A tall and thin Taoist nun stepped forward and said, ¡°Neither did I! Everyone knows I have the best memory here, and I am always the fastest person to memorize scriptures. I¡¯m pretty sure this ck mark was formed tonight. It was probably left by the arsonist identally!¡±

    ¡°Looks like it was printed with charcoal ashes. Did the arsonist identally hit the wall while carrying the charcoal?¡±

    ¡°Ah, you remind me that the yard in East Wing-room piled up a lot of charcoal several days ago. Those charcoal were enough to light a fire so many times. Maybe next time It will be our living ce that is on fire.¡±

    ¡°No, don¡¯t frighten me! We have no enmity with her. Why would she burn our Taoist Temple?¡±

    ¡°Ask her. How do I know that? As an exalteddy who used to live an extravagant life, she probably set the fire in the kitchen because she was disgusted with our food!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Duan Xiaolou was so angry at this that he wanted to smash a hole in the wall. While Liao Zhiyuan and Lu Jiangbei felt angry and amused.

    They used to think it was an exaggeration to say that a house full of women was a battlefield without smoke. They thought those delicate girls just bicker with each other and were jealous of each other, but they would never cause big troubles.

    However, what they saw and heard tonight totally changed their minds. These monastic women were just like other ordinary women. More than 70 of them spoke at the same time were noisier than tens of thousands of ducks. They kept talking and every word they said was aiming at He Danggui. They branded her as an ¡°arsonist¡± without even giving her a chance to argue.

    If Duan, Liao, Lu and Gao hadn¡¯t used Huo Zhe Zi (a tight roll of rough paper keeping in an airtight tube box, which could be carried around and was easy to rekindle once it was exposed into the air again) to light the fire in person, they might have believed what these Taoist nuns had said. So, the ¡°arsonist¡± was not the one in front of these Taoist nuns, but Duan Xiaolou and his partners.

    Gao Jue suddenly pulled out his broadsword and raised his arm to split the ckened cooking bench into four pieces. Word after word, his voice was likeing from hell.

    ¡°You are really noisy, shut up.¡±

    The Taoist nuns had only seen those minstrels who faked the show called ¡°smashing stones on one¡¯s chest¡±. All of them including Tai Shan squatted down in fear for seeing this scene.

    He Danggui¡¯s timid voice broke the artificial silence, ¡°Master Tai Shan, and every master in here, I can understand your anxiety because of the fire. But my gold lock has been lost before the fire, so the person who set the fire is not me for sure. Hope you can have a further investigation.¡±

    Tai Shan crouched with her head in her arms and pretended to say aggressively, ¡°It is quite strange. We just found out that your stuff is the same as that left by the arsonist, and then you lost yours.¡± No matter what the little girl exined, everyone had thought that she was the arsonist. She was born to bear all this for the Taoist Temple!

    ¡°Master, you are wrong,¡± He Danggui said gently and her voice was like a feather, scratching everyone¡¯s heart slightly, ¡°The fire set in the temple happened tonight, but I lost my gold lock in the daytime. Because this gold lock is my favorite thing and I was very anxious after I lost it, so I also had submitted a report to the official. The 3 shift of yamen runners in Tu¡¯er Town is searching in the Taoist Temple openly and secretly. So, there¡¯s evidence to prove that I lost my gold lock.¡±

    Zhen Ming confirmed in a low voice, ¡°I just said it, Master, but¡­ you didn¡¯t hear me. When I went to the East Wing-room, I saw Miss He¡¯s room was turned upside down. It seemed that it was stolen indeed!¡±

    Tai Shan felt embarrassed and other Taoist nuns also felt disappointed. After all, He Danggui could not be charged with the arson under such a situation.

    He Danggui went on unhurriedly, ¡°Please, everyone. First, I have a stove in my room and I could boil water and make soup in there. Second, I have called several yamen runners to help me find my gold lock. How could I deliberately set the fire in front of them? Therefore, even if someone is really dissatisfied and intends to set the fire to burn the imperial guard and rescue the prisoner Tai Chen, that person is definitely not me. Oh, it¡¯s said that Tai Chen had lived in the Taoist Temple for nearly 30 years. She has made many friends and is deeply respected and loved by others. While I only lived in here less than 7 days. I only met her once and barely talked to her. Every Master¡¯s connection with Tai Chen must be deeper than mine.¡±

    Tai Shan became nervous. She was regret for neglecting their rtionship. If Huai Xin had just been charged with ¡°kindling the fire negligently¡±, this matter could have been solved. Even if the imperial guard did not let it go, the punishment would not be serious. They would be asked to shut the door and reflect on their misdeeds, and stop receiving pilgrims. However, Tai Shan wanted to take this opportunity to kill Huai Xin, so she casually gave Huai Xin an usation of ¡°rescuing Tai Chen¡±. Later, she found a better scapegoat, He Danggui, and gave the usation of ¡°setting fire to hurt the officials¡± for her.

    Now, He Danggui got rid of her own suspicion easily, but returned the two usations to them. Tai Shan never expected that the girl who looked weak was not only smart, but also had a silver tongue! This time she shot herself in the foot!

    Tai Shan looked at He Danggui resentfully, but she saw He Danggui staring at her as well. He Danggui¡¯s eyes were cold and faint, as seen from the ancient well in the cold winter with a chilly air. Although Tai Shan was sophisticate, she still felt sacred. Tai Shan lowered her head in self-defense, wondering why she was so afraid of the eyes of a 10-year-old girl. She wanted to look up and confirm it again, but she couldn¡¯t exin the strong voice in her heart, advising her not to look up, not to look up!

    Duan Xiaolou frowned, looked at He Danggui and med, ¡°It¡¯s so cold. Why don¡¯t you put on one more cloak? What if you catch a cold?¡± He Danggui looked down and smiled. While Liao Zhiyuan looked up and rolled his eyes at the moon.

    Lu Jiangbei looked at those squatting on the ground, stepped forward and said ruthlessly, ¡°Taoist Temples are the ces of cultivation, but there¡¯s been burry here. How can guests feel safe to stay here? This case must be thoroughly investigated, and what the girl lost must be found!¡± Tai Shan kowtowed twice again.

    Gao Jue yawned and said, ¡°I¡¯m tired. Look for it by yourselves. If you got the arsonist, call me before the fire execution!¡± After he finished, the tall ck figure suddenly disappeared. Tai Shan and others all opened their eyes unbelievably. Pieces of shingles fell from the roofs of 2 or 3 burned-out houses. A man just disappeared. Tai Shan and others were thrilled. Was he a man or a ghost?

    How uncanny his arts of lightness was! He Danggui¡¯s eyebrows also beat. She knew that kongfu. It was...

    He Danggui suddenly chilled, and Duan Xiaolou wanted to give her another piece of clothing. However, because of the action tonight, they all wore tight-fitting clothes. Even if he wanted to take off his clothes, he couldn¡¯t do it in front of so many Taoist nuns. Duan Xiaolou touched his forehead and said, ¡°I¡¯ll be right back.¡± Then he skyrocketed, stepping on the head of Liao Zhiyuan.

    Liao Zhiyuan screamed with pain. He Danggui looked at him and asked tentatively, ¡°That evening, I saw Childe Duan fought against Childe Gao. Their moves were simr, like they were taught by the same master. But why do they share totally different arts of lightness?¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan touched his chin unconcernedly, and exined to her, ¡°Gao Jue used to stay in Nihon for 3 years. After he came back, his arts of lightness made a great progress, almost ranking the best among the 8 of us. Because his kongfu stems from Dun Shu (a kind of kongfu that is unique and popr in Nihon, specializing on escaping or attacking others with the fully use of the surroundings materials) ...¡±

    Lu Jiangbei pushed Liao Zhiyuan away. He got closed to He Danggui and said with a smile, ¡°Hey, why do you ask about these kinds of violent things? You¡¯re just a little girl.¡±

    He Danggui winked wittily and sighed, ¡°When I see your arts aplishments, of course I envy you. And I say to myself that if I can learn from a master, I will be able to protect myself, also I wish I have a skill in the future so that I won¡¯t lose my mother¡¯s gift when I was one-month old.¡±

    Tai Shan exined hastily, ¡°Miss He, although you im that you lost it at our temple, it doesn¡¯t mean the thief is among the nuns here! Maybe you don¡¯t know that Shui Shang Temple has attracted numerous pilgrims. There are also countless peopleing in and out. What¡¯s more, the mountain gate of temple opens from morning till night. Those who send rice, firewood and charcoal had gone some ces or rooms. We couldn¡¯t watch every one of them even if we want to! Miss He lost it by ident, now where shall we find it for her?¡±

    He Danggui snickered. As she was going to answer, Duan Xiaolou appeared from high in the air in front of her all of a sudden.

 Chapter 24 - The so-called personality stain

    <strong>Chapter 24 The so-called personality stain</strong>

    Duan Xiaolou was holding a pink wool cloak. His chest moved up and down. There were full of stars deep inside his dark eyes. He didn¡¯t say a word, but opened the cloak directly and wrapped it around He Danggui. Then he tied the mixed satin ribbon into a bowknot carefully.

    He Danggui frowned. She was struggling in her mind, ¡°I can¡¯t do this anymore. No matter he has other thoughts or he¡¯s just like what Lu Jiangbei said¡ªso enthusiastic to girls. He had done too much.¡±

    She couldn¡¯t ept this kind of care, and he offered his gentleness to the wrong person.

    Lu Jiangbei noticed He Danggui¡¯s inconspicuous expression. And he thought she was not ustomed to showing her intimacy in front of others, so he changed the topic hastily, ¡°What should we do now? How about¡­ letting the yamen runners search through the Taoist Temple?¡±

    This scared the hell out of Tai Shan.

    All the IOUs she got from usury were locked in the closet beside her bed. Those couldn¡¯t be found out?! Some Taoist nuns who also hid some secret stuffs in secret became anxious as well. They yelled despite the imperial guards standing opposite them,

    ¡°It¡¯s absurd! They have no evidence to prove that we stole it! We want evidence!¡±

    ¡°The steamed buns in the kitchen were constantly missing. 1 or 2 now and then. I thought we have thieves here!¡±

    ¡°Bah! I thought it was something precious. Just a few coins worthy stuff, excuse me? The statues of immortals were brushed with gold in our Taoist Temple. Why did no one scrape the gold on them?¡±

    ¡°How dare you call yourself a Lady? Losing an old and cheap lock and youe here to search our ce? Stingy!¡±

    ¡°Since she cherishes that lock so much, she should hide it and protect it well. It would be better if she hid herself, too. Then nothing would happen¡­¡± A Taoist nun Jin Xun, who was called ¡°The fastest Scriptures Reciter¡±, stood out and said.

    The first afternoon Duan Xiaolou came here, Jin Xun had a crush on this handsome and elegant man in a red long gown. That day, he walked from the end of the road and lifted his head up, looking at her with an attracting smile, then he just took her heart and soul away in an instant. In the same evening, she got a ce to serve the diner, and she almost became crazy for extreme happiness. She kept fawning on him at diner and she also sang a tune from her home town. But to her disappointment, she failed to earn Duan Xiaolou¡¯s heart.

    So, the next day, she dressed her up well again and even prepared a dancing. However, before she danced, a guest with a surname of Gao was annoyed by the harass of Zhen Shu, Huai Wen and some other nuns. Then the guest cut the table in half with his broadsword and chased away everyone. From then on, Jin Xun never had her second chance to get close to Duan Xiaolou.

    Now, looking at Duan Xiaolou¡¯s gentle action towards He Danggui and their intimacy, Jin Xun was filled with hatred. If possible, she could rush toward and chock that girl to death. She believed herself to be the most beautiful woman in the Taoist Temple. She was 20 and she could sing and dance. All she wanted was to marry Duan Xiaolou as a concubine, but that damn girl just ruined everything.

    Hearing their nasty words all at once, Lu Jiangbei and Duan Xiaolou couldn¡¯t help frowning. Miss He suffered great pain for losing her precious lock in the Taoist Temple and everyone could feel her sadness. How could these Taoist nuns be so mean?

    Jin Xun was full of jealousy. He Danggui looked at her with a smile and said slowly, ¡°You must be Master Jin Xun. I just heard you said that you had the best memory in the Taoist Temple, but how can you forget what you said so quickly? ording to you, you were sure that the ck mark on the wall appeared tonight, so they must have been left by the arsonist by ident. Yes, it¡¯s not necessary to search the whole temple for finding a thief. But in order to find out the arsonist who had an evil mind, intended to set fire to the officials and rescued Tai Chen, Master Jin Xun, should we follow the only clue to find out more?¡±

    Jin Xun was speechless. Atst she stammered, ¡°How do you know my religious name?¡±

    He Danggui lied calmly, ¡°Because I heard someone call you once the other day. Although my memory is not very good, I remember it unconsciously.¡± Liao Zhiyuan hissed, then Jin Xun felt more embarrassed. She retreated to the wall and said no more.

    Lu Jiangbei looked at Tai Shan, pretending to be furious, ¡°You unruly people, if someone dared to buy time again, you crime would not be regarded as covering the arsonist, but aplice! Let me ask you onest time, will you allow to search?¡±

    Tai Shan nodded anxiously, then shook her head. Suddenly she knelt at the feet of Lu Jiangbei and Duan Xiaolou. She raised up her head, pped her face 5 or 6 times and begged with cries and tears, ¡°Please listen to me, please listen to me! This is our fault. We were frightened by the fire and distracted to misunderstand Miss He! Now Ie to think of it, the ck mark on the wall must have had nothing to do with the fire. In fact, I just found out it is Huai Xin¡¯s fault! How foolish she was! She forgot to put out the fire after cooking. And then it caused this big fire. It was just an ident!¡±

    Duan Xiaolou sneered, ¡°It¡¯s hard to believe that you always keep changing your statement. Besides, you should apologize to Miss He. Why do you kneel to us?¡±

    Tai Shan hesitated. She gritted her teeth and turned around with her knees to face He Danggui. Then she put up a kind smile and said, ¡°Miss He,dies fromrge families like you are well-educated. Please forgive us if any of us was careless and misunderstood you. Just ignore those rural girls. They don¡¯t deserve your attention. As for the gold lock you lost, I¡¯ll look it up for you tomorrow. There¡¯s no need for a fanfare search now, don¡¯t you think? If this news went out, Miss He would be described as someone who forced us to this circumstance for small ything. It is a disgrace to your reputation, and a blot on your future marriage...¡±

    He Danggui couldn¡¯t stopughing without a sound and almost doubled up withughter. Her expression was like she had heard the most ridiculous thing in the world. Looking at Tai Shan, He Danggui corrected her kindly, ¡°Thank you for your considerate concern, and I¡¯m so grateful to you. But Master, you said 3 things wrong again. So, in order to prevent you from being humiliated by your disciples for making the same mistakes, I¡¯ll help you correct it.¡±

    Tai Shan¡¯s face wasplicated, as if she ate a bucket of shit just now.

    ¡°First, I¡¯ve just said that the gold lock was a gift my mother gave me when I was one-month old. Master, you have always been living in the mountain, so maybe you don¡¯t know those who live in rich families all have this kind of gift, representing the token between child and mother. I cherish it more than my life. If I lost it, that means I¡¯m unfilial, and ¡®unfilial¡¯ will be a big stain for my future marriage, so I must find it. Second, ascetics do not lie. All of you just firmly said that the arsonist left the mark, but you suddenly correct yourself in front of the officials. I don¡¯t want you to be embarrassed deliberately. I just worry about your moral integrity and lives. A sensemon ¡ª the imperial guards like the crucifixions of flogging, burning, exenteration and cutting to extort a confession. What¡¯s more, they refuse two-sides confession. If you¡¯re not sure the authenticity of confession, or you have a poor memory, that¡¯s so pity. There¡¯s nothing I can do to help. Third, Master Tai Shan and every master here didn¡¯t ¡®misunderstand¡¯ me. The thing was there for all to see, all of you ¡®wronged¡¯ me.¡±

    Tai Shan and other Taoist nuns were stunned. Crucifixion? Extorted a Confession? Many people were so scared that they had to hold the wall to support themselves. Even Lu Jiangbei and others were also looking at He Danggui withplexity on their faces. They couldn¡¯t believe those words came from a 10-year old girl.

    Tai Shan was intending to threaten He Danggui through her apology. In Tai Shan¡¯s eyes, if this thing was exposed, the Taoist Temple would have to announce He Danggui as a girl who was not only out of upbringing but also greedy, selfish and malicious. In this way, she couldn¡¯t be able to marry a nice one. After hearing this, Duan Xiaolou was so angry that he almost wanted to kill Tai Shan. However, He Danggui¡¯s response was beyond his expectation greatly. She was so eloquent and even exposed them instead. Besides, where did she hear about the crucifixions of flogging and burning?

    Duan Xiaolou put his thumb and forefinger on his mouth and whistled. Suddenly there were crowds of men in ck surrounded the alley. He looked at the person in front and said low, ¡°10 stay here to guard these Taoist nuns. If anyone dares to escape, just kill her! The rest research the Taoist Temple thoroughly. Be sure to find the important evidence of the arson¨Cthe gold lock!¡±

    After copying it, these trained started on it. 10 left here and silently surrounded the crowds, while those who were responsible for the researching of the evidence were far away within a nk. Their footsteps were so orderly like only one person¡¯s footstep at the clear night.

    Liao Zhiyuan found some of the Taoist nuns still wanted to justify themselves, so he made a gesture of stop, ¡°Stop, shut up! Just find the evidence first. If you still want to say something, just waiting for the hearing. Hum, at that time, I¡¯m afraid you won¡¯t say enough.¡±

    Tai Shan was very scared. Suddenly, she saw Huai Xin standing next to her and scolded angrily, ¡°Bitch, it¡¯s you who caused the big trouble. I¡¯m gonna hit you to death!¡± As she was speaking, she raised the horsetail whisk with copper-made handle to hit Huai Xin¡¯s head.

    Huai Xin covered her head in horror and yelled, ¡°Spare my life! Spare my life, please! I know Huai Dong is the arsonist, and she stole the gold lock! She did all the things!¡±

    Huai Dong? It attracted everyone¡¯s attention. Tai Shan also put the whisk down out of suspicion.

    In fact, Huai Xin was also spective secretly, and even imagined out of this. But after seeing everyone staring at her, she only had to continue, ¡°I¡¯m sure that Huai Dong stole the gold lock... At that time, we saw Zhen Jing dressing Miss He with shroud through the window. Huai Dong stared at the gold lock all the time! But when the Younger Master asked her just now, she said she couldn¡¯t remember. She¡¯s definitely guilty for her crimes!¡±

    So, everyone looked at the Taoist nun who named Huai Dong.

    Instead of being prim and conservative like before, Huai Dong ran to Huai Xin and pped her, then she scolded angrily, ¡°You are such a bitch without conscience. You are arrested for arson but you are talking nonsense here to force others to take the me! Bitch, do you want me to expose those scandals that you had done?¡±

    Huai Xin scratched Huai Dong¡¯s face with her long nails and was not convinced, ¡°Well, you are not afraid of your scandals, are you? Do you have less scandals than me? Would you like me to tell everyone?¡±

    For a while, the two of them fought with each other. Other Taoist nuns looked at them ironically, but none of them walked over to stop the fight. Only after a second, Huai Xin and Huai Dong had scratched each other¡¯s face. Huai Dong was torn off arge amount of hair, screaming with the pain. As for Huai Xin, half of her face was swollen.

    Huai Dong held Tai Shan¡¯s leg and cried loudly, ¡°Younger Master, please help me! Huai Xin framed me! If everyone doesn¡¯t believe me, I¡¯ll be willing to let the official search my room to prove my innocence!¡±

    Tai Shan hesitated, then turned to look at Liao Zhiyuan who was watching this scene and begged, ¡°Master, please. My disciple Huai Dong has always been clever and sensible, and she even doesn¡¯t pocket the money that she had picked up, so she wouldn¡¯t steal the gold lock! Or please just search her room ording to what she said. If there is no gold lock, it will prove that Huai Xin framed her, and Huai Xin had done all the crimes! Master, I only beg you to stop searching the Taoist Temple in order to avoid rming the immortals in the hall!¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan raised his eyebrows, ¡°What about the gold lock that Miss He lost? She had rescued all of you in the Taoist Temple the day before yesterday. Is this the way you repay her kindness?¡±

    Tai Shan gritted her teeth and said boldly, ¡°I will question my disciples one by one tomorrow, and I will certainly help Miss He get her gold lock back! If I can¡¯t find it, I¡¯ll take out all my savings, 20 liang of silver. If it¡¯s not enough, I will let all the Taoist nuns in the Taoist Temple hand out a few strings of 1,000 qian each, then I¡¯ll go to Tu¡¯er Town to make an identical gold lock for Miss He!¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan turned to look at He Danggui, ¡°Miss He, what do you think?¡±

 Chapter 25 - The best gold lock

    <h4>Chapter 25 The best gold lock</h4>

    He Danggui spoke nothing, and looked at Huai Dong whose hair was disheveled. She clearly remembered Huai Dong¡¯s face with a mole on the nose.

    In the previous life, He Danggui lived in the wood house of the backyard, which was administrated by Huai Dong. At the beginning, there was no bed in the wood house. In the twelfth month of the lunar year, she slept on the damp and moldy straw, which caused eczema on her back.

    After a period of time, Huai Dong suddenly became friendly to He Danggui. She formed a makeshift bed in the wood house, and prepared a used quilt for her. He Danggui was very grateful to Huai Dong. Gradually, she regarded the wood house as her home. She was afraid that her gold lock would be broken when she did menial work, so she hid it under the bed.

    More than ten dayster, the gold lock was lost. He Danggui was so regretful and worried, so she cried loudly. However, Huai Dong suddenly rushed in without the friendly face in the past and said, ¡°It¡¯s midnight. What are you crying about? Are you crazy?¡± She roped He Danggui, hung her upside down on the beam of the house and put moldy cotton in her mouth. Then she locked the door of the wood house, and went away without looking back.

    ¡°Now that Master Huai Dong offered to invite us to search her room, she is certainly not afraid that we search her room, so it¡¯s not necessary to search it.¡± Then He Danggui added, ¡°Actually, I¡¯m interested in searching her.¡±

    Everyone, including Huai Xin who used Huai Dong, looked at He Danggui in surprise. Then, they turned to look at Huai Dong.

    Huai Dong¡¯s countenance was changed greatly. She knelt down towards Tai Shan and cried, ¡°Younger Master, please help me! I haven¡¯t seen that gold lock. Now, it is an insult to search me in front of these officials! She is dishonoring me! How can I survive in Shui Shang Temple in the future?¡± Huai Dong wailed, which seemed very piteous and pitiful.

    Tai Shan had an illegitimate son named Ma Tai who was born after Tai Shan became a Taoist nun. Ma Tai was 19 years old and lived in Ershi Lipu Vige at the hillside. He went to the Taoist temple several times a month, and took charge of hooping the bucket and basin with iron. Tai Shan specially arranged this job to him, and the pay was more than four times higher than other coopers. Tai Shan introduced Ma Tai to others in the Taoist temple as her nephew, her brother¡¯s adopted son. Therefore, although Ma Tai was idiotic and dull, many Taoist nuns curried favor with him.

    Ma Tai didn¡¯t like talking to women. However, he liked talking to Huai Dong who was only averagely attractive. He often picked a handful of wild flowers from the mountain to her. No matter what the other Taoist nuns said, he would ignore them without looking up, but he would do as Huai Dong ordered. Other Taoist nuns were so envious. They satirized Huai Dong that she must use dirty tricks, so Ma Tai was willing to obey her.

    Tai Shan had been worrying about her son¡¯s marriage. Now she was very happy to see that her son finally liked a girl. Huai Dong was the fifth disciple of Tai Xi. She had been a maid in a rich family, so she was a sophisticated girl and knew how to serve a person. Tai Shan thought Huai Dong barely matched her son Ma Tai. And in fact, it was difficult to find a better wife for her son considering his conditions. Good girls also would be disgusted with him after marriage... So, if her son could find someone who was suitable for him and could wash clothes and cook for him, she would be very happy.

    So Tai Shan broke the rule and assigned Huai Dong who was only 24 years old as the backyard administrator. She also let Huai Dong manage the ount book and keys of the warehouse so that Huai Dong could save some money as her dowries.

    Other elder Taoist nuns were so angry with Huai Dong because they couldn¡¯t touch the key of the warehouse after more than 10 years of hard work. It was only less than three years since Huai Dong came to the temple, but she should get this good job from which she could earn a lot of money. They didn¡¯t think she deserved it. Why did this mean maid with a young agee to the mountain and be a Taoist nun instead of a maid? She must do something wrong so she was kicked out of the rich family. As a result, many Taoist nuns pushed her aside all the time. But Tai Shan always defended Huai Dong and abused those Taoist nuns because she had taken Huai Dong as her daughter-inw. Therefore, Huai Dong had a ce in Shui Shang Temple because no one dared to oppose her openly.

    Tai Shan frowned and stooped down to pick Huai Dong up. She squinted at He Danggui and sneered, ¡°Miss He, I¡¯ve already said I¡¯m willing to pay you an identical gold lock. Can¡¯t you stop all this? The lives of our ascetics are not as valuable as yours, but we are blessed! The Emperor has granted our ascetics who believe in Taoism three privileges, one of which is that thew is permissive to us. It means that if there is no evidence, all charges against our ascetics should be lenient and suspended! You may despise us, but do you also despise the Emperor?¡±

    Duan Xiaolou and Lu Jiangbei both looked at He Danggui with worry. What Tai Shan said was right. Now that she had taken out the Emperor as a shield, He Danggui couldn¡¯t insist on searching Huai Dong, because there were nearly fifty people looking at them. Even if the gold lock could be found on Huai Dong, no one could guarantee that these Taoist nuns would not take this matter to against He Danggui in the future.

    But what Duan Xiaolou thought deeply was that if they got married in the future, she would be an imperial mandate countess. If his political enemies told the Emperor what she did today... Well, he thought too much now. But it was always good to nip in the bud.

    Even if He Danggui was not an imperial mandate countess but amon person, when she was regarded as ¡°disrespectful to the Emperor¡±, there would always be a knife hanging over her head. The Emperor was known for his moodiness. When he was in a good mood, he was diligent and thought about people¡¯s sufferings, and he even ploughed the fields for his people. When he was in a bad mood, he would chop a person with a knife and even implicate the whole n. When he lost his mind, he would tear people with his hands, make the skulls of dead people into ornaments and then give them to his officials.

    All people stared at He Danggui. Some worried about her, some were nervous inwardly, some were gloating, and some were indifferent.

    With invible pride on her face, He Danggui closed her eyes slightly and suddenly began to sing, ¡°It uses bamboo to make shelves, and the shell made of paper can prevent the wind. It has a me like stigma crocin in the middle. It resembles the shape of a prepared rehmannia root or something in the shape of a pinellia. It is necessary to walk or ride in a carriage. Next, ites out green. Its color after using is yellow. It goes through hundreds of knots to make two pairs. Those who go on a long journey must leave each other. It can be reced frequently. When I was a child, mammy sang to ves. The girl¡¯s fate was as bitter as the taste of coptis. Don¡¯t marry into arge family, or your life will be dark...¡±

    Duan Xiaolou became immersed in her soft melodies, fresh lyrics and sweet voice. After a while, he wondered why she did that? Was she going to hypnotize everyone with her song? Or, to give up the search...and to make the conclusion?

    Suddenly, Huai Dong screamed, ¡°Oh! Oh! Genie!¡± Then she took something out of her clothes and threw it away.

    ¡°Catch it!¡±

    He Danggui stopped singing, opened her eyes and shouted.

    The nearest one, Liao Zhiyuan, leaped up and held it in his palm before it dropped on the ground. He held it up in his hand. It was a silk pouch embroidered with three white plum flowers, from which the cold fragrance could be smelled continuously.

    Liao Zhiyuan raised his head to see He Danggui who smiled and nodded to him. So, he pulled the silk thread of the silk pouch and poured out the article in it.

    A golden semicircle objecty in Liao Zhiyuan¡¯s palm, stinging many people¡¯s eyes. More people looked at He Danggui in fright. They wondered how did she force Huai Dong to hand over the gold lock by herself? In addition, Huai Dong just shouted ¡°Genie¡±. What was the meaning?

    He Danggui turned to look at Tai Shan and asked coldly, ¡°What else do you want to say? In front of the imperial envoys, you openly covered up the criminal. It¡¯s not me who disrespected the Emperor but you! You are an ascetic. You both have the immortals and the three privileges to protect you. So, are you not afraid of going to the court and being interrogated many times?¡±

    All Taoist nuns put aside their original contempt, looking at Miss He who was only 10 years old. She wore a in dress and a pink cloak. Her hair was tied up in a loose chignon, which was tied with green strips without any other special decorations. But her simple dress set her natural beauty off and made her picturesque.

    Hearing that He Danggui was going to take her to the officials, Tai Shan angrily stared at He Danggui. He Danggui also looked back at Tai Shan with her ck but bright eyes, which was as cold as the water. Others couldn¡¯t differentiate between the joy and sorrow from her expression. Tai Shan only felt cold. What did her expression look like? It was like a chill from a ghost!

    Duan Xiaolou also looked at He Danggui confusedly and asked, ¡°What just happened?¡±

    He Danggui smiled and exined, ¡°Ten years ago, the first skillful craftsman of Persia, Da Jieli, came to the Central in. He nned to stay for only three days. My mother spent a lot of money to find out where Da Jieli lived. She went to his home with thirty bolts of brocade and asked him to forge a gold lock. After some twists and turns, he finally agreed. In order to forge the lock, he lived in the Central in more than two months. Moreover, although the gold lock only used 1.9 liang gold, it looked exquisite. After the lock was forged, at my one-year old banquet, a female guest also took a fancy to it. She had told my mother that she wanted to buy the lock for 800 liang silver, but my mother refused. Since then, I have been carrying it with me every moment, in order to thank my mother for the hardships she bore in bringing me up.¡±

    Lu Jiangbei was surprised, ¡°Da Jieli? But I heard that Princess Lin¡¯an once gave him 300 liang pure gold to invite him, but he didn¡¯t ept. Why did your mother buy his two-month working with only thirty bolts of brocade?¡±

    Duan Xiaolou also felt incredible, ¡°It is said that Persia is rich in silk and wool. What kind of brocade can attract his attention?¡±

    He Danggui said calmly, ¡°Then¡­ it¡¯s another story, and it seems that it¡¯s not the time to change the topic leisurely since so many Masters are staring at us. Master Liao, please give me the gold lock.¡± Liao Zhiyuan gave it to He Danggui with a smile. She turned the gold lock with her left hand, and then a sharp embroidery needle appeared between the fingers of her right hand. When she inserted the needle at the bottom of the lock, the gold lock was opened and divided into four parts.

    He Danggui held one of the small gold caskets and smiled, ¡°The song I just sang was my mother¡¯s favorite when she was young. At that time, she asked Da Jieli to make a wonderful ¡°resonator¡± and put it into the gold lock. As soon as she sang the bad, the gold lock would vibrate, beat and even rotate, which could make the baby in the cradleugh. Originally, only the voice of my mother could trigger this mechanism. Fortunately, my voice is simr to my mother¡¯s voice, and I deliberately imitated it, so the gold lock could vibrate. However, the amplitude is very slight, and only people close to it can feel it. Master Huai Dong is that person. Just now, she might think that there was something alive in the lock, so she was afraid and threw it out.¡±

    Huai Dong fell onto the ground, biting her lips and saying nothing. The Taoist nuns around her were far away from her actively, making arge empty space around her.

    Lu Jiangbei and others were amazed after listening. All the Taoist nuns had already stunned. There should be such ingenious thing in the world! Lu Jiangbei still had a question, ¡°How did you know that the lock was on her, but not in the ce where she lives, or somewhere else?¡±

    In the previous life, Huai Dong endured for more than two months before she stole the lock. How could she put this treasure in other ces?

    However, He Danggui couldn¡¯t tell them in this way, so she just smiled, ¡°Master, maybe you don¡¯t believe it. I have been wearing the gold lock for ten years, and I had a special feeling for it. Besides, please look at this.¡± She picked up another small gold casket. ¡°I used to put perfume in it. Although there is no perfume in it now, it still smells good. How many women hate perfume? Taoist nuns are also women, so I guess the person who stole the lock would use it as a sachet.¡±

    Duan Xiaolou couldn¡¯t help wondering, ¡°Why don¡¯t you put the perfume in such a delicate box?¡±

    He Danggui looked calm and only whispered to him, ¡°I don¡¯t have money. A casket of good perfume needs three or four liang silver. I can¡¯t afford it, so I don¡¯t use it.¡±

    After hearing this, Duan Xiaolou felt very regretful. ¡°Damn it! Why did I ask her this question? I had heard a few days ago that even the herbal medicine she needed was just the herbs of bad quality in Medicine Room of the temple. I should stupidly ask why she didn¡¯t use perfume!¡±

    He Danggui couldn¡¯t help smiling when she saw his regretful expression, ¡°Master Duan, never mind. Actually, there is another reason that I was toozy to do it by myself. Whether I am at home or on the mountain, it¡¯s easy to find scented petals or pollen. I can dry them in the sun and fill the gold lock with them. I don¡¯t use perfume only because I am toozy. Moreover, since I am a little girl without a job, it¡¯s quitemon that I have no money.¡±

    After seeing her smile, Duan Xiaolou liked her more. This girl was different from the girls he had seen before... Liao Zhiyuan poked at Duan Xiaolou¡¯s waist and said in a low voice, ¡°Childe Duan, I¡¯m sorry to interrupt you, but please look at there¡­¡±

    Then Duan Xiaolou noticed that Tai Shan had knelt down with all the Taoist nuns across the alley, waiting for the imperial guards to sentence them. Maybe they wanted to get the sympathy from the imperial guards, so many of them groveled and sobbed. But in fact, they were just wailing without shedding tears.

 Chapter 26 - Unmarried Taoist nun had a child

    <h4>Chapter 26 Unmarried Taoist nun had a child</h4>

    With a paleplexion, Huai Dong crawled towards Duan Xiaolou and He Danggui, kowtowed to them three times and cried, ¡°Spare me. Spare me, please! Although I had stolen the gold lock, I really did not set the fire! Master, with your prating judgement, I kept the gold lock in my clothes and never took it out. How could it be stained with charcoal ashes and printed on the wall?¡±

    He Danggui sneered and thought, ¡°Of course, you hadn¡¯t printed it, because I engraved the pattern with a turnip and let Duan Xiaolou print it on the wall. Huai Dong, I was framed by you in the previous life, and you yed tricks with me again in this life. It must be fate.¡±

    Duan Xiaolou frowned at Huai Dong with disheveled hair and pale face. He couldn¡¯t bear to see this and said in a serious voice, ¡°The case of arson can be investigated slowly, but there are irrefutable proofs for your theft. ording to thew of the imperial court, the heaviest punishment for theft is exiled in 300 miles. You are a woman and a Taoist nun. If... Miss He would be willing to forgive you, maybe it is possible to reduce the punishment based on your attitude toward confession.¡±

    Huai Dong¡¯s eyes brightened, as if she grasped a life-saving straw in the sea. She knelt and crawled forward a few steps, clutched He Danggui¡¯s shank, and grabbed her hand, shaking it back and forth, ¡°Miss He, please spare me! I was not intentional. I had difficulties, and I needed a lot of money, so I stole your gold lock... I amcking in knowledge and experience, so I thought that gold lock weighing 2 liang was worth at most 20 to 30 liang silver. I didn¡¯t know it was so valuable. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t dare to steal it!¡±

    Suddenly, He Danggui changed her expression and grabbed Huai Dong¡¯s wrist, touching for a moment. Huai Dong was at a loss and let He Danggui feel the pulse. With tears covering her face, she looked at He Danggui hopefully.

    He Danggui loosened Huai Dong¡¯s hand, looked down for a while, and then stared at Huai Dong, asking in a very low voice, ¡°Have you conceived for two months? Will you... give birth to the child? Can you guarantee that you will bring up this child whether it is a boy or a girl?¡±

    Huai Dong was shocked. She didn¡¯t expect that He Danggui could speak out her secret just after touching her wrist.

    ¡°Answer my question!¡± He Danggui urged Huai Dong who was prevaricated.

    Taoist nuns who knelt on the ground in the distance were looking at them strangely. What were they talking about? Duan Xiaolou and Lu Jiangbei stood nearest them. They heard clearly what He Danggui said and guessed her meaning.

    He Danggui persisted in saying in a low voice, ¡°Answer my question!¡±

    Huai Dong held He Danggui¡¯s hand tightly in tears and begged humbly, ¡°Miss He, please don¡¯t tell others. Otherwise I¡¯ll die. If I had been not hopeless, I wouldn¡¯t have stolen from your room. Because of my child¡¯s disappointing father, I did such a shameful thing...¡±

    He Danggui interrupted her and asked in a low voice, ¡°Tell me. Whether this child is a boy or a girl, and whether it has a father or not, can you swear you¡¯ll bring it up?¡±

    Huai Dong was stunned for a moment since she didn¡¯t understand why He Danggui repeated this question. She just nodded and replied in an undertone, ¡°Of course I will. All mothers want to raise their children. Actually, the reason why I stole your gold lock was just to save some money for my child. Miss He, please forgive me, please...¡±

    He Danggui slightly breathed a sigh of relief and freed her left hand which was tightly held by Huai Dong.

    She turned to look at Duan Xiaolou and said with an expressionless face, ¡°Master Duan, I¡¯ve found my gold lock, so I won¡¯t report to the officials anymore. As for the arson, maybe it was just an ident. Since no one was injured, please get a lighter sentence. I felt a little tired, so I¡¯ll leave first.¡± Then He Danggui put her gold lock away, went through the charred kitchen and walked towards the East Wing-room.

    Duan Xiaolou looked at her slender and pink figure withplexity in his heart. That girl seemed to have a lot of masks. But every mask attracted him to approach her and know her more. He guessed what was she really like under her masks again and again.

    Looking at the charred kitchen, Lu Jiangbei took a deep breath.

    This morning, Gao Jue and he finally got rid of the medicine effect using the medicated bath made ording to He Danggui¡¯s prescription. They went to the mountain until evening because of their weak legs. As soon as they walked into the gate, Childe Duan and Childe Liao took them aside and told them that something happened in the afternoon. A thief stole Miss He¡¯s gold lock given by her mother from her room. She was so worried. Childe Duan and Childe Liao decided to help Miss He find her gold lock, so they asked Lu Jiangbei and Gao Jue if they wanted to help her together. Of course, Lu Jiangbei was willing to do that. But to his surprise, Gao Jue, who was never interfering normally, also agreed coolly.

    Childe Duan and Childe Liao were also so surprised. They just asked Gao Jue by the way, because they knew that he wouldn¡¯t do that without any reason. In addition, the ¡°Lock Search Action¡± was about to be started tonight, and Gao Jue loved sleeping so much. But now he could sacrifice his sleep to help Miss He find the lock. Childe Duan asked Gao Jue the reason nervously and wondered whether Go Jue had improper intentions to Miss He. But he was hit by a left hook from Gao Jue.

    Lu Jiangbei looked up at the night sky. He couldn¡¯t imagine that the mastermind of the ¡°Lock Search Action¡± was an underage girl (The legal age of girls in ancient China was 15).

    Lu Jiangbei suddenly felt that all the things were designed by her, and she had also taken all details into consideration. Everyone, including Childe Duan, Childe Liao, every Taoist nun in Shui Shang Temple, even himself took actions as she expected. However, when the gold lock was finally found, she said a word to plead for the thief just because the thief was pregnant.

    What a mysterious girl¡­

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù

    He Danggui had a good sleep that was deserved to be the most peaceful one in this life.

    After getting up and refreshing herself, He Danggui suddenly wanted tob her hair into a Feiyan haircut. But obviously, she couldn¡¯t do it on her own. So, she woke Zhen Jing up. Zhen Jing yawned with teary eyes. Then holding two kinds ofbs and a wooden hairpin, Zhen Jing imed confidently that she was the master of hairdressing and this morning was her show time.

    After a while, He Danggui regretted. She felt that some hair was pulled out by Zhen Jing, although Zhen Jing nervouslyforted that it was just her illusion.

    Then after a while, He Danggui gave up and decided to keep it loose and not tob her hair all the day. Zhen Jing took several hairs that she pulled out and the brokenbs away. Then she touched the nose and mumbled guiltily, ¡°It¡¯s my first time to do this. Every time I tried to touch you, you just screamed. You were scaring me, so I pulled them out¡­¡±

    He Danggui made a silent vow to find a maid specialized in hairdressing when she went back to Luo¡¯s Family. She must let Zhen Jing do other things and never be close to the dresser.

    Later, Huai Wen secretly sent He Danggui a note from Zhen Zhu. Then she covered her face with her sleeves and ran away.

    He Danggui read it. Zhen Zhu told her that Tai Shan came back furiouslyst night, and first she cursed He Danggui, then Huai Xin and Huai Dong, using various dirty words in the whole night. Zhen Zhu persuaded He Danggui that it was unnecessary to neaten the Medicine Room since she had already fallen out with Tai Shan. Zhen Zhu said that if He Danggui needed any medicine, just let Zhen Jing send her the prescription. Then she would bring the medicine to He Danggui in a few days.

    He Danggui smiled. Well, she had brought some useful herb medicines from Medicine Room yesterday. It was unnecessary for her to continue to work there. And she didn¡¯t want to go out today because of her loose hair. Thinking of this, she moved her table to the window and divided her medicines into two piles at leisure.

    Zhen Jing felt He Danggui was no longer mad at her, so she tried to ingratiate with her, ¡°Xiaoyi, you know so many herbs. How learned you are.¡± Seeing that He Danggui didn¡¯t respond, she asked a question, ¡°Why do you divide them into two piles?¡±

    ¡°This pile is used to keep me in good health and the other has arger function.¡± He Danggui gave Zhen Jing a mysterious wink and added, ¡°It is a secret.¡± Zhen Jing pouted and then went out to fetch water with a bucket.

    Lu Jiangbei arrived at the doorway, seeing that a little girl in white seated by the window and lowered her head to neaten herbs.

    The morning sun shone through the window and touched her side face gently, making every inch of her skin so clear. Her eyes were bright as an ocean without motes. Her small nose and pointed chin made her more lovely. Her fair skin became whiter as jade against her ck hair which fell above her shoulder. Lu Jiangbei was breathless by the scene because he had never thought that a girl could be so beautiful before making up.

    He Danggui was dealing with the herbs when she had a strange feeling. She lifted her head, founding that a man standing at the door was staring at her. Seeing that it was Lu Jiangbei, she was slightly shocked, so she didn¡¯t stand up and greet at once.

    Lu Jiangbei suddenly noticed that Miss He wore in clothes rather than the coat she would wear when she went out normally. Then he realized it was impolite to stare at her like this, so he turned around and apologized hurriedly, ¡°Sorry, I was waiting out of the East Wing-room but no one reported for me. So, I just went in by myself.¡±

    He Danggui put on a light blue sleeved over-dress (a kind of traditional clothes in ancient China) made of silk slowly. She buttoned her clothes and asked, ¡°Master Lu, how did you have time toe here?¡±

    Lu Jiangbei looked at the cloud in the sky and replied with hands in his back, ¡°Miss He, I have a great news for you.¡±

    He Danggui buttoned her clothes up and sat by the window again. Then she used a blue string to tie her hair, ¡°What good news?¡±

    Lu Jiangbei knew she had dressed up based on the sound, so he faced to He Danggui and said, ¡°Well, I was not supposed to tell you this directly, not to mention I¡¯m a man. However, we are in the top of a mountain with just a few person and simple etiquette. So, special rules should be under special circumstances.¡±

    He Danggui was confused by the mysterious words of Lu Jiangbei in a blue robe, ¡°Why are you so serious? How important the matter is on earth?¡±

    Lu Jiangbei sat opposite her, pushed a palm-sized red box to her and smiled, ¡°Please open it.¡±

    He Danggui took it over and the papers inside confused her more. Lu Jiangbei gave a hint to her with his eyes. So, she took a paper out which really surprised her.

    It was a title deed for the silk store called ¡°Yu Bao Qing¡± in the capital.

    Then she found a title deed for ¡°Boyuan Yard¡± in the capital and the title deed for its surrounding farms.

    Atst, she took out a thick pile of cheques including five cheques of 500 liang each and three cheques of 25 liang each.

    He Danggui looked through everything calmly, folded and put them in the box, and then put the lid on. Lu Jiangbei kept staring at her, wondering what kind of girl would react calmly to the things in the box?

    He Danggui wanted to return the box but Lu Jiangbei didn¡¯t reach out his hands, so she had to put it on the table and smiled, ¡°Master Lu, you won¡¯te here in the early morning with about 6000 liang sliver just to show off to me, right? Please just tell me why you came here.¡±

    Lu Jiangbei was amused by the phrase ¡°show off¡± but his joy was soon overwhelmed by the sadness. He beamed at He Danggui again, ¡°You are so frank. Well, I will not waste time then. I came here today as a matchmaker between you and Childe Duan. He fell in love with you and wanted to marry you.¡±

 Chapter 27 - Duan Xiaolouâ€™s first expression of his love

    <h4>Chapter 27 Duan Xiaolou¡¯s first expression of his love</h4>

    Although He Danggui was a little astonished, she hid her shock with calm expression. Lu Jiangbei stopped for a moment and looked at her, so as to get some information from her eyes. But he only felt that the girl¡¯s eyes were very different from those of others. Her eyes were as clear and deep as the water in the well under the moonlight. However, there were some cold things in her eyes, so he couldn¡¯t see that clearly.

    Lu Jiangbei had to continue, ¡°My name is Lu Jiangbei, and I work as an imperial guard. In September, 27th year of Hongwu Period, I was entrusted by Duan Xiaolou to seek a marriage alliance to Miss He. Childe Duan is the Childe of Earl Anning Ruting Mansion, and his military rank is the Deputy Fifth-Grade Military General. He also works as an imperial guard now... He was born in January, Gengxu year (4th year of Hongwu Period), and is 23 years old. His Chinese zodiac is dog. He... is young and promising, adept with both the pen and the sword, handsome and strong, and he has no bad habits (except for taking in strange women to his home). His age ranks seventh among the nine of us, but his official grade ranks third... Duan¡¯s Family is a hereditary Earl, and he is the only son of Mr. and Mrs. Duan. He only has a few cousins who live together in the Earl Mansion. His mother also has a good personality, which can be seen from Childe Duan because he follows his mother¡¯s personality. He is also warmhearted, enthusiastic and righteous (taking in strange women to his home). The most important thing is that among the nine of us, he is the only one who doesn¡¯t have a wife. If you marry him, you will be the hostess of Duan¡¯s Family. What do you think of it?¡±

    Lu Jiangbei had always tortured the criminals for confessions, but never acted as a matchmaker. He didn¡¯t know if it was appropriate to say this, so he became more and more unconfident, and his voice became lower and lower. Moreover, since Childe Duan asked him to be a matchmakerst night, he was depressed as if his chest was stuffed with cotton. He vaguely understood what it meant, but he was afraid of thinking about this. There were thousands of beautiful women in the world, so he didn¡¯t have to love her, and he shouldn¡¯t love her.

    After listening his words, He Danggui paused for a while. Suddenly, she covered her mouth and tittered.

    Lu Jiangbei looked at He Danggui confusedly, while He Danggui also looked at him. Then she apologized with a smile, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I thought of something else just now andughed absently.¡± Lu Jiangbei¡¯s truthful words reminded her of that she had acted as a matchmaker in her previous life. She also spoke hurriedly and incoherently for fear of screwing the marriage up. In the end, she found that the family of being proposed was actually very satisfied with this marriage. But she had not given others a chance to speak, so both sides were nervous for half a day.

    Lu Jiangbei was more confused. As a girl, when she suddenly knew that someone proposed to her directly, she should be not shy or embarrassed, but even absentminded while listening to it. And she wasughing when she came to her sense. Why was there such a strange thing in the world? Or had she already found her love? In this case, she didn¡¯t care about others proposing to her?

    Thinking of this, Lu Jiangbei felt more depressed and said sadly, ¡°Miss He, you...¡±

    He Danggui also looked up at the same time and said, ¡°Master Lu, I...¡±

    They looked at each other and smiled. Then Lu Jiangbei looked away and said, ¡°Please go ahead. I will tell Childe Duan truthfully.¡±

    He Danggui shook her head and said, ¡°Sorry, I can¡¯t ept the bride-price and I¡¯m also opposed to the marriage.¡±

    Lu Jiangbei first sighed with a relief, then he held a breath and asked quickly, ¡°Why? Do you already have an engagement? Or you¡¯ve fallen in love with someone?¡±

    He Danggui shook her hands to stop his supposition. She lightly looked at the withered locust tree over the window with her clear eyes, and said, ¡°Please tell Childe Duan. First, I¡¯m not equal to him in social status; second, a marriage should follow the parents¡¯ order and matchmaker¡¯s word, so I¡¯m not the proper person he should ask; third, I¡¯m so grateful to him, but it¡¯s just gratitude... I¡¯m unwilling to marry him.¡±

    Hearing that she refused straightforwardly, Lu Jiangbei was very astonished in his heart. He always thought He Danggui had a little affection for Childe Duan. In addition, with Childe Duan¡¯s extraction and moral quality, as long as she didn¡¯t know the 100 ¡°women in trouble¡± in his house, it was certain that she would not refuse him.

    Besides, Childe Duan, Childe Liao and Lu Jiangbei had already known that Miss He had a sad life ording to the spy¡¯s information a few days ago. They also knew her parents had divorced when she was a baby. Her mother took her to Luo¡¯s Family, but she was abandoned on the farm for a few years by them. Then, she came back to Luo¡¯s Family again but died for no clear reason within half a year. In Lu Jiangbei¡¯s opinion, Miss He should be willing to get out of that family. Duan¡¯s Family was a good harbor for her. Even she didn¡¯t like Childe Duan, she should not refuse it directly. She could consider this marriage, and leave a way open for the future. Why didn¡¯t she do that?

    Anyway, Lu Jiangbei always thought he knew a little about girls¡¯ characters. In general, a girl who was liked and proposed by a handsome Childe would be happy at least. But looking at He Danggui¡¯s exquisite and m face, Lu Jiangbei doubted in his heart, ¡°Is she hiding too deep or is she really heartless?¡±

    He sighed in his heart but said gently, ¡°Miss He, please consider it clearly before replying to Childe Duan. He is really serious, and he doesn¡¯t ask your mother first because he respects you. He wants to obtain your agreement, and then he will seek the marriage alliance to Luo¡¯s Family with Sanmei Liupin, for fear that you¡¯re overwhelmed or don¡¯t know how to do. In addition, although Childe Duan wants to make an engagement with you these days, he is willing to wait for you two or three years until you ept him and grow up. As for these cheques and title deeds¡­¡±

    Lu Jiangbei continued to handle his responsibility as a matchmaker, pushing the box on the table to He Danggui with his fair and powerful hands, ¡°Childe Duan went down the mountain yesterday, and urged people to prepare these things. Of course, they can¡¯t be called as the formal bride-price. But please take them, Miss He. In the future, Duan¡¯s Family will seek the marriage alliance to Luo¡¯s Family. Whatever the result is, they belong to you.¡±

    He Danggui chuckled. She experienced two lives, but she never knew a person could get unearned silver.

    Lu Jiangbei was in confusion, looking at her and waiting for a clearer answer. What kind of girl could decisively refuse Childe Duan¡¯s proposal and then his silver?

    They looked at each other. He Danggui suddenly stopped smiling and looked cold, ¡°You mean I can take the presents worth about 6,000 liang silver no matter how the proposal goes? Oh, how extravagant! Whatever Childe Duan¡¯s meaning is, I can¡¯t ept his affection. Master Lu, please take care of those things and get back. And I don¡¯t see you off.¡± Then she stood up and went out quickly.

    Lu Jiangbei was a little anxious. He stopped her quickly and asked, ¡°What are you doing? Did I say something wrong and make you unhappy? How do I exin to Xiaolou if you drive me away like this?¡±

    ¡°I made it very clear that I wasn¡¯t a good match for Childe Duan. Duan¡¯s Family is out of the league of both my father¡¯s and mother¡¯s family, not to mention I was abandoned by these two families. And I¡¯ve obviously refused the proposal, but you still insisted on giving me the silver and said that I can take the silver even if I refuse the proposal. Master Lu, you really treat me as a kid.¡± He Danggui sneered, with pressing fierceness in her eyes, ¡°May I ask you if I take them, how can I marry the other person? How can I exin those silver to my future husband? When I meet Childe Duan in the future, how should I treat a person who saved me, loved me and gave me the silver?¡±

    Lu Jiangbei was silent for a while and sighed, ¡°So, Miss He really don¡¯t have any affection to Xiaolou¡­¡±

    He Danggui said coldly, ¡°Although I am an inferior girl, I¡¯m still grateful for other people¡¯s kindness. Childe Duan helped me deliver the letter to my mother. Andst night, he and all you generals made the Taoist temple a hell to help me find my gold lock that I cherished as my life. I will remember all the things in my mind. I can¡¯t return these in two or three years; but in four or five year, maybe I can be useful to you. Then, I will not decline your requirements when all you generals need me.¡±

    Lu Jiangbei was speechless. At this moment, he firmly believed her without any reason. He looked at her and her calm and clear eyes, feeling that his heart seemed to be pressed by something heavy.

    ¡°Tell me, what kind of man will you fall in love with?¡± Lu Jiangbei asked slightly.

    He Danggui answered softly, ¡°I am heartless.¡±

    They looked at each other silently. As the clouds became thicker and thicker, a sh of lightning split the sky and it was pouring with freezing rain. He Danggui had notpletely recovered. Now her head and shoulders had been drenched in freezing rain. Her lips immediately became bloodless, and her body shivered spontaneously.

    Lu Jiangbei hastily drew her into the room and asked solicitously, ¡°Miss He, what¡¯s the matter with you? You look so pale these days.¡±

    He Danggui shook her head and sat on the head of the bed beside the stove. She gave an irrelevant answer, ¡°Sorry, I don¡¯t have an umbre. Do you want to stay to take shelter from the rain or go now?¡± It was raining hard but Lu Jiangbei could fly back to the West Wing-room quickly.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have an umbre. Then... could you lend me your hands?¡±

    His voice was low but she felt close at hand.

    He Danggui looked back in surprise and found that Lu Jiangbei was close to her. He sat beside the bed too. They were so close that they could hear breaths and heartbeats of each other.

    She raised her eyebrows gently, wondering his meaning. Several minutes earlier, he was a matchmaker for Duan Xiaolou. Thinking of his gentle and polite image, she didn¡¯t know how to face Lu Jiangbei who was slightly ¡°flirtatious¡± now.

    Lu Jiangbei also thought that he might not be able to ¡°borrow¡± her hands so he ¡°grabbed¡± her cold and small hands and held them firmly. When He Danggui frowned and was about to say something, she felt a trickle like warm andfortable hot spring from her hands grabbed by Lu Jiangbei to her body. Then her cold body warmed up gradually.

    He Danggui was surprised, ¡°Is this... Zhenqi?¡±

 Chapter 28 - A second-rate martial master

    <strong>Chapter 28 A second-rate martial master</strong>

    In the previous life, He Danggui used to practice some martial arts. By that time, she had entered Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion and gained the favor of Zhu Quan (Lord Ning), then she learned some martial arts from Zhu Quan¡¯s followers. In order to help Zhu Quan better manage the affairs of ¡°Wuying Tower¡±, she began with the most basic steps called Mabu (a basic standing position of martial arts in China) at 19, a very ¡°old¡± age to practice kongfu.

    Since the Masters were all the subordinates of Zhu Quan and He Danggui was Zhu Quan¡¯s concubine, it was inappropriate for them to teach her many martial arts which required to be taught intimately. Therefore, they only told her to hold a pile of books to study by herself. If she couldn¡¯t do it, it would prove that she was not good enough to practice martial arts.

    She studied dazzled like this for several years. Fortunately, the five Masters who taught her the longest were all first-rate seniors, and they taught her a wide range of martial arts which were all excellent skills. Besides, she insisted on using gold needles to promote her blood cirction every day. As a result, she finally became ¡°a second-rate martial master¡± in 5 years, and she could also say to others that she was a martial master.

    As a second-rate martial master, she wasn¡¯t good at fighting, not to mention lifting and using any weapon weighting more than 20 jin. Only some swords and spears that weighed 7 or 8 jin were suited for her. But she had some internal force at this time, so she could jump over walls and run on rooftops like a senior. Also, her horsing and shooting skills had improved a lot. She often walked day and night in the state highway between Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion and Yingtian Prefecture, doing her duty as a shadow of the owner of Wuying Tower.

    In this life, she wanted to recollect her martial skills. Even as a second-rate martial master was good enough for her for self-protection. However, she hadn¡¯t begun to practice yet because of her sick and weak body condition.

    The big hand around her kept passing Zhenqi into her body, making her feel warm and cozy. Someone did this to her in the previous life, too, but she never felt asfortable as today.

    He Danggui was aware that if Zhenqi was passed into a person who had no idea of martial arts, it would flow into his limbs and viscera and finally disappear as air. On the contrary, if a person who knew how to utilize the Zhenqi that he received, then the person could lead the Zhenqi into his own body channel and eventually into Dantian.

    The precious Zhenqi was streaming in her body from her hand. ¡°Now is the time!¡±

    He Danggui held her breath and concentrated on her Dantian, leading the Zhenqi inside her limbs into every channel and gathering it into her Dantian in the end. With these Zhenqi in her body, she wouldn¡¯t have to start with Mabu in the future and it would be much easier for her to restudy martial arts. Qi created spirit, spirit made energy. One was the child of the divinew. After one came two, after two came three, and after three came all things. Yi had Taiqi, which gave birth to two states. Two states were then developed into four images; the four images gave rise to eight hexagrams; and the eight hexagrams finally turned into everything in the world.

    With this internal force seed, she could create more internal force through sitting in meditation for her own use. When that time came, it would be much easier for her to wave swords or sticks, climb walls or fly on roofs than her previous life.

    After a while, He Danggui couldn¡¯t help bing greedy for more seeds¡ªwho would say no to this? So, she just let the big hand hold hers and enjoyed the benefits.

    Lu Jiangbei sat against the bed with the lovely girl leaning on him. He felt he was in a beautiful dream and it was so unrealistic like he just drank a huge ss of high-quality wine.

    Peeping the girl within his reach, he noticed her eyes were slightly closed. Her slight breath with nice scent came out like it was about to enter his bones. He finally acknowledged that Duan Xiaolou wasn¡¯t the only one who fell in love with this girl.

    He couldn¡¯t remember when this girl walked slowly into his heart, and stole his love forever. And since when the girl¡¯s appearance became more and more clear in his mind, making it impossible for him to lie to himself anymore?

    A poem said, ¡°What a pity that we didn¡¯t meet before you and I were both married¡±. When he read this before, he didn¡¯t take it into his heart. How could a moment of crush guarantee a lifetime¡¯s loyalty? Even if they met when they were both single, so what? But now he just wanted to write ¡°What a pity that we didn¡¯t meet before I married my wife.¡±

    Duan Xiaolou could go downhill to prepare the bride-price, and simile happily as he begged Master Geng and him to act as his matchmakers. He could fly over the walls to get the girl a clock to keep out the coldness, and dress and tie her up personally... What Duan Xiaolou did were exactly what he wanted to do for her. But he¡¯d already had a wife.

    Since He Danggui epted his Zhenqi, there was a natural powdery color on her delicate skin. Her ck hair were entangled on the side of her pink face. And there were still a few glistening drops in the ends of her hair, making people want to dry it. A drop of rain slowly crept down her pale blue cor, fell and disappeared. Lu Jiangbei noticed that her blue Beizi (a traditional cloth in Han Dynasty) was half wet, which outlined her slender figure. She was like a begonia in the autumn wind, which would easily break up in the wind.

    Lu Jiangbei wished he could take her in his arms. But he had a wife. Who could bear to marry such a girl as a concubine?

    Although Lu Jiangbei knew his internal force wasn¡¯t overbearing like that of Gao Jue and Jiang Yi, he was still afraid that the Zhenqi would travel too fast to burn the girl who was like a begonia. So, he slowed the transmission speed to the slowest.

    However, he didn¡¯t know that He Danggui was not afraid of that, and she even hoped it coulde more.

    For a low level like her, every drop of Zhenqi was as precious as blood. However, for a senior like Lu Jiangbei, the consumed Zhenqi would be regained easily and even be stronger through eating a few meals, sleeping for a few days, and adjusting the breath at most two times. Alright, although it was a little bit shameless for her to ept his Zhenqi after she refused the marriage proposal and silver and showed that she would draw a clear distinction... No one forced him to do this after all.

    In this way, they silently leaned against each other with totally different ideas. One hour, two hours, three hours... Five hourster, the rain stopped, and the midday sun came out. He Danggui finally realized she had robbed too much Zhenqi. So, she pulled back her hands. Lu Jiangbei did the same in silence. Then he sat beside the bed and began to adjust his breath.

    He Danggui went outside the door, and started to feel a little awkward and ufortable. Because she was too focused on adjusting her Zhenqi to think about time. Before she realized, it was already noon... Why hadn¡¯t Zhen Jinge back from fetching water? Or had shee back, but seen them together with hand in hand, so she naturally scared her away?

    Seeing Lu Jiangbei was about to finish his practice, He Danggui wanted to find out if he knew that she had collected Zhenqi for her own use just now. She remembered vaguely that a master once said some top master-hands could release their six consciousness to spirit, and they could feel the flow and change of any subtle breath.

    It happened that Lu Jiangbei also looked up at her. His eyes were very gentle and he smiled brightly. Then she felt that she could not ask any questions.

    He Danggui sent Lu Jiangbei to the gate of the yard, and apologized, ¡°Please tell Childe Duan, I¡¯m so sorry that I let him down. I¡¯m not his good match.¡±

    Lu Jiangbei shook his head and said, ¡°You have to tell him this in person. And with all due respect, he will be more than just disappointed¡­ It¡¯s obvious that it is not a whim for him to propose marriage to you. He¡¯s determined to have you. I¡¯ve known him for years, but never seen him fall in love with any woman like you.¡±

    He Danggui was silent.

    ¡°Miss He, I have a word for you.¡± Lu Jiangbei said gently, ¡°No matter how clever and independent a woman is, she will eventually have to get herself a spouse. Now you don¡¯t like Xiaolou, only because you don¡¯t know him well. When you are cold and tired, he is worth to rely on. No woman would refuse such a man. If you marry him, you will live a different life and he will protect you from everything.¡±

    He Danggui lowered her head and replied sullenly, ¡°I won¡¯t go anywhere. I will go back to Luo¡¯s Family.¡± She stared at the ground, thinking that she must revenge.

    Lu Jiangbei¡¯s eyes were a little distracted, and he unconsciously made an action of raising his hand to hold her in his arms. Just when he was about to touch her, he regained his attention, clenching his hand into fist slowly and pulling back into his sleeve.

    After seeing Lu Jiangbei off, He Danggui stood silently in front of the withered locust tree in the yard for a while, and then turned back to the room to cook. Before this, seeing the box which was full of cheques and the title deeds, she suddenly realized that she didn¡¯t have any money now. Once she returned to Luo¡¯s Family, the range of ces she could go would be very narrow, things she could do would be limited and it would be more difficult for her to go out to earn money.

    Therefore, she must make some money before her returning. He Danggui fell into contemtion.

    When the meal was almost prepared, Zhen Jing came in from the outside and grinned from ear to ear.

    He Danggui turned a white eye at her, ¡°Silly girl, what are youughing at? Where had you been all morning, and where is the water I asked you to fetch?¡±

    ¡°Leave the water alone, Xiaoyi, Luo¡¯s Family sent someone to pick you up!¡± Zhen Jing waved her hand and smiled.

    He Danggui shuddered slightly, and the spoon in her hand ttered into the pot.

    Zhen Jing looked at her strangely, ¡°You can go home now. Why do you look unhappy?¡± As soon as He Danggui was about to speak, she saw Zhen Zhu walking into the room with a small bag in her hand.

    Zhen Zhu smiled and asked, ¡°Congrattion! Have you packed your bags yet? Is there anything else I can do for you?¡±

    He Danggui hesitated for a moment and said, ¡°Sister, you are here just in time. I would like you to meet the people sent by Luo¡¯s Family and tell them that I will not leave. Let them go.¡±

    Zhen Zhu felt slightly surprised, but Zhen Jing began to shout. Zhen Zhu appeased Zhen Jing a few words, and then sent her to cook. He Danggui took Zhen Zhu¡¯s hand to whisper, finally Zhen Zhu nodded and left.

    Zhen Jing was still doubtful and raised a series of questions to He Danggui, ¡°Xiaoyi, if you miss your mother very much, why don¡¯t you go back home to see her? Were your family members mean to you so you don¡¯t want to go back?¡±

    He Danggui smiled, ¡°I really want to go back and I miss them all. But before that, I need to do some preparations and still have two unfinished things to do in the Taoist Temple.¡±

    Zhen Jing wanted to continue her questions, but He Danggui just let her wait and see. So, they began to eat lunch.

    Since their pots and ingredients were very simple, they only had brown rice congee and mixed rice with splendid achnatherum as lunch. Zhen Jing felt so sorry for He Danggui. As a rich youngdy, not only did she have to cook herself, but also eat such coarse food. Moreover, these pots, spoons and grains were not provided by the Taoist Temple, but were bought by Sister Zhen Zhu. Because of this, some people even said bad words to Sister Zhen Zhu.

    Since Zhen Jing moved to the East Wing-room and lived with He Danggui, they had never got lunch from the kitchen. The other day, Zhen Jing carried a basket to get some food in the kitchen for two or three times, but she got none in the end. Later, He Danggui forbade Zhen Jing from neither the kitchen nor getting her big pot rice dishes. So, Zhen Jing was hungry and couldn¡¯t save her own food like she did in the previous life to help He Danggui.

    He Danggui also felt a little strange. ording to her memory, in her previous life, many Taoist nuns resented her because her rebirth prevented the temple from earning another 150 liang, but they had never gone so far. At least she got two meals of breakfast and lunch to live. What He Danggui didn¡¯t know was that because of her being familiar with the imperial guards, a lot of Taoist nuns who secretly admired them felt obstructed. She should think of them as kind ones for they didn¡¯t send any poison mixed rice to her.

    However, He Danggui just experienced life and death. She didn¡¯t think that eating potherbs were unbearable. The mixed rice with splendid achnatherum was good enough for her, and she even praised her cooking skills.

    He Danggui said with a smile to Zhen Jing that she would invite her to eat Stewed Pork Ball in Brown Sauce and Roast Suzhou Duck tomorrow in Qunxianlou Restaurant.

 Chapter 29 - Tai Shan fainted twice

    <h4>Chapter 29 Tai Shan fainted twice</h4>

    Zhen Jing didn¡¯t take it seriously. She only thought that He Danggui was joking with her. But she suddenly thought of a drama happened in the Taoist Temple this morning. She didn¡¯t care about what she was eating, but immediately began to tell it to He Danggui vividly.

    In the morning, on her way to fetch water, she passed the main hall and saw other nuns around the gate happily. So, Zhen Jing stood on tiptoe to see what happened. It turned out that Huai Dong and Huai Xin were quarreling in front of Tai Shan, much fiercer thanst night.

    ¡ªLast night, Tai Shan went back to her room and thought for a while. As long as the case of stealing lock didn¡¯t spread out and affect the reputation of the Taoist Temple, it would be a trivial matter. But now the fire had affected the imperial guards. Therefore, no matter how they defined the fire case, she must find out a scapegoat for the imperial guards, so that the Taoist Temple would not be implicated. Tai Shan chose Huai Xin rather than Huai Dong immediately. Huai Xin used to serve Tai Chen for a long time, so Tai Shan had deep hatred toward her. Although Huai Dong was ashamed for stealing the lock, her son liked Huai Dong. Given that stealing was not a big problem, she would like to give Huai Dong a second chance.

    Therefore, this morning, Tai Shan ordered someone to detain Huai Xin and asked her to exin the ¡°fact¡± that she forgot to put out the fire after cooking. But Huai Xin was not easy to get rid of. She put the guilt of fire on Huai Dong immediately, and called Huai Dong to confront her. When Huai Dong came, she pulled Huai Xin aside to talk stealthily. They murmured something in front of Tai Shan¡¯s eyes, which made Tai Shan feel suspicious. She didn¡¯t know what they were plotting.

    Atst, Huai Dong and Huai Xin suddenly talked into an impasse, and they began to fight and scold each other.

    Huai Dong revealed that Huai Xin was seeing the cook Liu Laojiu. Every night, she sneaked into Liu Laojiu¡¯s room shamelessly and came back at dawn. However, what Huai Xin disclosed was more surprising. ording to her, Huai Dong¡¯s period stopped 2 months ago. She also had herbal medicine secretly for miscarriage prevention. She must have had a rtionship with a man outside and got herself pregnant.

    Everyone looked at Tai Shan. After all, there was a hot topic a year ago, saying that Huai Dong and Tai Shan¡¯s nephew Ma Tai were seeing each other. Now that they had been together for so long, it was no surprise to have a child. However, Tai Shan¡¯s face changed a lot. She came forward to spat on Huai Dong¡¯s face and began to beat her. It was strange to all. Even if Huai Dong was unmarried and pregnant, it was also the flesh and blood of Tai Shan¡¯s nephew. At most she could just secrize and get married. Was it necessary to be cruel like this? Or it was¡­

    At that time, Huai Dong cried and shouted the most shocking news of today, which tickled everyone¡¯s ears.

    She said, ¡°Everyone, Ma Tai is not Tai Shan¡¯s nephew, but her son!¡± Tai Shan was so angry that she shivered all over. She pushed Huai Dong down and stepped on her face. Huai Dong scolded her for doing too much immoral things in the past, and all the retribution came to her son, who was not only a retarded person, but also not a real man.

    Then everyone understood why Tai Shan was so angry when she heard that Huai Dong was pregnant. It turned out Ma Tai... was a born eunuch.

    Tai Shan looked around and saw everyone in the Taoist Temple looking at her with ridicule, pointing to her and gossiping something. Tai Shan was so angry that she fainted within a second. Then Huai Dong wiped the bloody mud on her face and ran away from the side door of the main hall, while others were carrying Tai Shan away hurriedly. She ran out of the Taoist Temple with a big baggage.

    On the other side, Huai Xin went to the kitchen to find Liu Laojiu quietly. She wanted him to take her away, but he was no longer in the kitchen. Then she went to his room but found that Liu Laojiu and his luggage were gone. Huai Xin cried, knowing that she could no longer stay in the Taoist Temple. So, she packed her stuffs and went down the mountain as well.

    When Tai Shan woke up, she heard that Huai Dong had ran away with her own baggage. Tai Shan ran outside the warehouse hurriedly and asked Zhen Zhu to find someone to break the door lock with an axe. All the ount books and bills of goods were thoroughly checked. In the middle of the inventory-checking, they found that it had lost more than 40 liang silver and 15 jin of candles and joss sticks. Learning the news, a group of elder Taoist nuns who used to envy and hate Huai Dong for her advantageous position came out. They were all cynical and their words were not as respectful as they used to be. Tai Shan fainted again after hearing this.

    Zhen Zhu asked someone to bring Tai Shan back to her room and find a new lock. She locked the warehouse firstly and waited for Tai Shan to wake up before continuing the check. When she had her hands full, Huai Wen rushed in from outside and whispered to Zhen Zhu that Luo¡¯s Family had sent someone to pick Miss He up.

    Zhen Zhu wiped the sweat on her forehead. It urred to her that He Danggui had said she would take Zhen Jing with her when she left, but Zhen Jing was an unskilledborer who was pledged in the temple for owing the farm rent. If Tai Shan woke up and knew about this, even if she wouldn¡¯t dare to find Zhen Jing in Luo¡¯s Mansion, she would go down the mountain to make it hard for Zhen Jing¡¯s parents. Thinking of this, Zhen Zhu left other nuns who were in a mess and ran back to her room alone.

    Zhen Zhu remembered clearly the first time Zhen Jing came to the Taoist Temple. Her family had owed 2 years of farm rent to the Taoist Temple for 5 acres of fields, i.e., 3.2 liang silver in total. It had been 5 years now. If it was calcted by the interest of the money shop, the principal and interest would add up to 4.9 liang silver; if it was calcted by the private lending, which was higher, it would be about 8 liang silver; but if it was calcted by the interest of Tai Shan, without 30 or 40 liang silver, Zhen Jing couldn¡¯t get out of the Taoist Temple. Even if Zhen Jing went to Luo¡¯s Family with Miss He, Tai Shan would get her entangled in the future.

    Zhen Zhu sighed. After she sued her ex-husband and his family, she got the title deed for a farm and a cheque of 1,000 liang. She stored them in arge Money Shop in Yangzhou, wishing that could be enough to support herter life. Now, there was only 40 liang silver in the Money Shop of Tu¡¯er Town, which was at the foot of the mountain, and she spent half of it in the past 4 years. While the money in Yangzhou was too distant for her to solve the current problem. How could Zhen Jing leave here sessfully? Zhen Zhu had no idea but packed the valuables in her room in a small bag. Since she didn¡¯t like to dress up, the whole bag of valuable ornaments, like hair sps, bracelets and copper cash were worth less than 10 liang silver.

    Then Zhen Zhu thought of the assured look on He Danggui¡¯s face when she first met her. She couldn¡¯t help wondering if He Danggui would have any good idea. Carrying a small bag of her valuables, Zhen Zhu ran to the East Wing-room to see if there was anything she could do to help or offer some money.

    Hearing that Luo¡¯s Family came to pick her up, He Danggui¡¯s first thought was that she couldn¡¯t take Zhen Jing away with her right now!

    He Danggui had fallen out with Tai Shanst night. Each of them had taken off the mask of hypocrisy, and each saw a clear hatred in the other¡¯s eyes. Tai Shan hated He Danggui because she was so clever that she refused to be the scapegoat. But He Danggui had started to hate Tai Shan since her previous life. Without the abuse Tai Shan had inflicted on her in her childhood, only the thinking of the continuous ckmailing Tai Shan had done to her in Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion was enough for He Danggui to figure out various ways for Tai Shan¡¯s death.

    Zhen Jing had been divided into He Danggui¡¯spanion a long time ago. He Danggui could imagine what would happen to Zhen Jing if she left her alone. She decided to give up the chance to go back home when she saw Zhen Jing¡¯s innocent face. Current lurking was for a better chance to go back.

    He Danggui and Zhen Jing both ate a full bowl of mixed rice with splendid achnatherum. Then she changed into an apricot dress and decided to go to Ku Qiao Yard. Either the money she wanted or Zhen Jing was depended on Master Tai Xi.

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù

    Zhen Zhu went to the warehouse first. The new lock had been installed and the crowd of spectators had dispersed.

    So, she walked unhurriedly towards the gate, and saw 2 old women standing in front of a small gray sedan in the distance. One of them seemed impatient for the waiting, shaking her legs and feet continuously.

    Zhen Zhu was surprised when she saw the little gray sedan. It didn¡¯t look like one from Luo¡¯s Family, but more like one provided by a porter at the foot of the mountain, which only cost 1 string of 1,000 qian for 2 hours.

    As expected, the moment she approached, she saw 3 shirtless men squatting in the doorway and smoking tobo. Seeing a young long-haired Taoist nun with a slender figure and a pretty face, they looked her up and down immediately with undisguised audacity, and finally fixed their eyes on one spot of her.

    Gao Dashan¡¯s wife dressed as a servant. She had been frowning and picking her teeth with a toothpick. When she saw Zhen Zhu, she put on a smile instantly.

    Zhen Zhu couldn¡¯t help asking her, ¡°Didn¡¯t Lou¡¯s Family send their own sedan to fetch Miss He? Are you going to send her down the mountain with this? Is that Madam Luo¡¯s order?¡± Atst, there was a cold reproach in her voice.

    Zhen Zhu used to run a household in her rich family, so she knew all the rules of arge family.

    For example, the rule about an unmarrieddy who needed to ride a sedan. The sedan must be carried by some strong elderly women servants. Even when the number of servants were not enough and the sedan had to be carried by some litter carriers, they had to stay away until thedy was inside the sedan. The same rule was applied when thedy needed to get off. They were supposed to go away first, and then let thedye out. That was to say, they could never meet thedy.

    Not to mention an aristocratic family who lived an extravagant life like Luo¡¯s Family, even the upstarts, like Zhen Zhu¡¯s husband¡¯s family who ran a restaurant, followed this rule strictly.

    Zhen Zhu remembered clearly. There was once her ¡°former¡± sister-inw was in a hurry to get out of a sedan. As soon as the sedan stopped, she came out before the bearers left. Then she tripped and was supported by a bearer. Later, her ¡°former¡± mother-inw heard about this matter and felt very angry. Because of this, Zhen Zhu was scolded by her ex-husband.

    In a wealthy and influential family, only the madam or concubine who had married and delivered children could be rtively freed to avoid constant rules of bearers and carters. But the reputation of an unmarrieddy would be damaged if she was found breaking these rules. Also, she would have a stigma when it came to her future marriage.

    Gao Dashan¡¯s wife smiled awkwardly, ¡°Master Zhen Zhu, it¡¯s not my problem. I¡¯m just doing my errands. Of course, anyone would sit on a sedan, only if there were one!¡± Then she got close to Zhen Zhu¡¯s face and whispered, ¡°That woman...is Second Mistress¡¯s maid that apanied her to Luo¡¯s Family¡ªDing Rong¡¯s wife. She said that Second Mistress Luo is busy and has a headache. Therefore, it is not necessary to bother her with this trivia and we¡¯ll just pick Miss He up in person. The funny thing is that I am the one who paid for the sedan. I wonder if the ountant would reimburse the money...¡±

    Zhen Zhu felt angry but funny. That was quite ridiculous!

    There were more than 300 or 400 sedans in Luo¡¯s Family, but they couldn¡¯t find one to pick a richdy up. Also, Luo¡¯s Family had at least 1,000 servants, so it was impossible that they couldn¡¯t gather 3 people to carry a sedan. Even if someone deliberately treated ady who had another family name harshly, it was still a family issue. But now, this? Did Luo¡¯s Family still want a decent impression to the public or not?

    Zhen Zhu didn¡¯t know there was another reason. Second Mistress Luo didn¡¯t like her niece He Danggui for many years, which was not a secret in Luo¡¯s Family. Besides, the next evening after He Danggui was reborn, Eighth Childe, Second Madam¡¯s biological brother suddenly died.

    Second Mistress Luo (Ms. Sun) was a concubine¡¯s daughter in Sun¡¯s Family. Her mother was never a favorite to her father as she was getting old. Surprisingly, her mother gave birth to a son at the age of 43. Lord Sun got a son at a very old age, so he loved this child very much and also paid more attention to Eighth Childe¡¯s mother and sister. But now the Childe had dead. Ms. Sun¡¯s mother wept bitterly all day, while Lord Sun closed the door of his study and refused to see anyone.

    When the funeral was over, Ms. Sun returned to Luo¡¯s Family. But the first thing she heard as she entered the mansion was that the Third Miss was reborn. Also, many courtyards were decorated with candles, and it really pissed her off.

    Later, Madam Luo sent someone to order Ms. Sun to deal with home affairs. At the same time, Ms. Sun was asked to send people to pick He Danggui up from Shui Shang Temple, and then donate more money to the Temple as their appreciation to the Immortal¡¯s bless for Luo¡¯s Family. When that messenger left, Ms. Sun flipped over the table immediately. Her brother died all of a sudden, but that should-been-dead jinx came alive! That¡¯s unfair?!

 Chapter 30 - Love fell like leaves and rain

    <strong>Chapter 30 Love fell like leaves and rain</strong>

    ¡°Master Zhen Zhu, when will the Third Misse out? It¡¯s already been an hour since Ding Rong¡¯s wife and I informed you. And our sedan costs 1 string of 1,000 qian every 2 hours. Could you¡­¡± Gao Dashan¡¯s wife pouted her chin towards Ding Rong¡¯s wife who was not far away, and told Zhen Zhu in a very low voice, ¡°She¡¯s the eyes and ears of Second Mistress Luo, and she would tell her everything she knew.¡±

    Under her guidance, Zhen Zhu saw a woman about 50 years old, thin and white in decent clothes.

    Ding Rong¡¯s wife looked at the gate of Shui Shang Temple with full attention. Seeing someoneing out, she asked, ¡°Has Miss He prepared yet? When can we set out? You know I¡¯m a busy person.¡±

    Zhen Zhu turned around to see Gao Dashan¡¯s wife, ¡°Biddy Gao, forgive me. That day you left in such a hurry and I was clumsy to retell Miss He¡¯s original words. It¡¯s all my faults! Miss He said she nned to stay here until the 17th this month. However, today is the 13th, so she can¡¯t leave now. I apologize for the time you wasted.¡±

    Gao Dashan¡¯s wife stood there in amazement and turned to look at Ding Rong¡¯s wife.

    Ding Rong¡¯s wife sneered, ¡°She can¡¯t leave? Well, that¡¯s weird. Who does she think she is? Madam Luo mentioned her every day, saying that Miss He is polite and dutiful and she¡¯s waiting for her return with all her heart. However, knowing the arrival of our sedan, you told us she¡¯s going to stay a couple of more days? How dutiful is that? I think she¡¯s not even half better than our Second Miss.¡±

    Zhen Zhu just smiled and ignored her. She dragged Gao Dashan¡¯s wife inside the gate and whispered a few words. Then she gave 2 strings of 1,000 qian to her.

    Gao Dashan¡¯s wife nodded and received the money with chortle. Zhen Zhu greeted and left.

    Gao Dashan¡¯s wife walked out of the temple, telling those 3 porters who were smoking, ¡°You¡¯re no longer needed here, just go down the mountain. As for the 1 string of 1,000 qian I gave you before, just buy some drinks with that.¡± Seeing Ding Rong¡¯s wife confused, she derided her, ¡°It won¡¯t help for you to stare at me. The Third Miss is not willing to leave. Don¡¯t tell me we can just tie her up. Besides, she wanted to listen to more Scriptures, which is beneficial to cultivating. It¡¯s early now. Let¡¯s hit the road then.¡±

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù

    Inside Ku Qiao Yard, He Danggui came out, followed by Tai Xi.

    He Danggui stopped at the gate and smiled, ¡°Master, here is fine.¡±

    ¡°Bless you.¡± Tai Xi waved her hossu to her back, and bowed deeply, ¡°Miss He, you¡¯re kind and blessed. The thing depends on you then. Thanks a lot.¡±

    He Danggui smiled, ¡°Master, you¡¯ve been very helpful. How can you thank me back? Please rest assured that I will do my best in this. And don¡¯t bother to see me out.¡± He Danggui said as she walked out of Ku Qiao Yard. Tai Xi watched He Danggui¡¯s back until she turned to a corner and disappeared from her sight.

    He Danggui was very happy, and her steps became much lighter.

    She didn¡¯t anticipate that things would go so well and she even aplished two things at once. Now she just needed to find a few porters, because she couldn¡¯t give orders to the nuns in the Taoist Temple. In this way, tomorrow she could fulfill her promises, inviting Zhen Jing to eat Stewed Pork Ball in Brown Sauce and roast duck, and buying some clothes and essories...

    He Danggui turned to a courtyard next. When she was crossing the bamboo forest, she saw a scarlet figure and stopped immediately. A strange feeling urred to her.

    Not far away beside a green bamboo, a person leaned against the bamboo, and turned sideways to face the way she came, but was in her way as well. He was as gentle and handsome as always. But his usual bright smile was now reced by a gloomy and cold expression.

    The moment He Danggui hesitated, Duan Xiaolou suddenly turned his head and fixed his eyes on her.

    They were speechless.

    The autumn wind blew, and the leaves fell like rain, blowing their cheeks, shoulders, clothing, and long hair, with an almost timeless gesture to stop at the side of the world.

    Within a second, Duan Xiaolou disappeared and then showed up in front of He Danggui. She was slightly surprised, and involuntarily backed a half step. But he caught her left shoulder and came a half step, stooping slowly and drooping his head.

    She was so short that she only came up to his chest;

    She was so delicate that she seemed unable to bear the autumn wind;

    She was so clever that she let people pity and cherish her;

    She was so tough and stubborn that she let people love and hate her;

    She was so young that she was born 13 yearster than him.

    Duan Xiaolou lowered his head and picked a few bamboo leaves for her. He gazed tenderly at the wary girl and spoke bitterly, ¡°Leaves, caught by your chignon.¡±

    At this moment, she didn¡¯t move her head. Because she saw her dark eyes in his eyes.

    Duan Xiaolou backed a half step imperceptibly with a hidden smile. While He Danggui drooped her head and whispered thanks. Duan Xiaolou said nothing. There was a long silence.

    ¡°You¡ª¡± ¡°I¡ª¡±

    They both wanted to say something but didn¡¯t continue at the same time. Their eyes met, and Duan Xiaolou made a sign that she could speak first. Her lips opened twice and she found her voice eventually, ¡°Can you put an end to the fire case that broke outst night? And can you forget it had happened? Master Tai Xi sent me to ask you about this.¡±

    Duan Xiaolou looked at her thoughtfully, and then answered slowly, ¡°I can¡¯t say no to anything you said.¡±

    He Danggui felt relieved. She noticed Duan Xiaolou was ying a jade folding fan with dark green color. His slender fingers matched the jade in a graceful sheen perfectly. He Danggui looked away and gazed a bamboo shoot on the ground, then bid farewell to him, ¡°It iste now. I have to get back to my room.¡±

    Duan Xiaolou nodded, ¡°I¡¯ll send you there.¡± He didn¡¯t give her time to react but walked first. His shoes were ¡°crunching¡± on the fallen leaves. He Danggui hesitated for an instant and followed him.

    ¡°Oh, your mother wrote back.¡± Duan Xiaolou took a letter from his clothes to pass her while he said, ¡°The sunstreaker arrived this morning. He said your mother meditated in seclusion in Sanqing Temple all the time. Whatever he said, the Taoist nuns there refused to send the message in. He couldn¡¯t do anything but lived in Sanqing Temple for a few days until your mother ended her meditation, then he delivered your letter to her.¡±

    He Danggui looked d. She held the letter with both hands and expressed her thanks again and again. She didn¡¯t notice that Duan Xiaolou was overhead, staring at her face in a daze. She kept thinking about the letter those days and couldn¡¯t wait to open it. So, she stopped and tore the niveous envelope open.

    There were a painting and a small embroidery bag with a strand of hair in it. On the washing painting, there was a big house with a yard and a mulberry, where the autumn breeze drove the fallen leaves away.

    There was a poetry in the painting, ¡°Before the mulberry sheds its leaves; how green and fresh they are! Ah, turtle-dove; do not eat the mulberries!¡±

    He Danggui read it carefully for a few times, and she felt disappointed. She thought to herself, ¡°Mother, why are you continually always on the rack to those unworthy? Even if other people are not sincere to you, you still have me, your daughter! Mother, your daughter came back hurriedly to see you from the other world, why don¡¯t you write any concerned words to me? Do you know your daughter misses you very much? When I finally got rid of the hell and misery that happened 18 yearster, the first thing urred to me was to better your life!¡±

    Seeing He Danggui was upset and almost cried, Duan Xiaolou felt something must be wrong. He looked down at the painting, but was still confused. Then he turned to her and asked with concern, ¡°Are you okay? Is there only a painting inside? Did your mother handwrite to you? Don¡¯t worry. If you still want to write to her, I¡¯ll send people to deliver.¡±

    He Danggui shook her head, ¡°No, thanks.¡± Duan Xiaolou sighed silently.

    They walked a stretch of road in silence, and He Danggui put the painting and the small bag back into the envelope. She gradually held back her sadness. When they were passing the gate, a huge crowd gathered in hustle and bustle. He Danggui concentrated on the scene, and found most of them were the Taoist nuns in grey and a few officials in blue. They were in a continuous wrangle.

    He Danggui was astonished, ¡°What are they doing?¡±

    Duan Xiaolou was about to answer her, but Tai Shan threw herself in messy clothes to kneel He Danggui, not Duan Xiaolou. Tai Shan held He Danggui¡¯s shank and cried, ¡°Miss He, please help us! Don¡¯t burn my ¡®IOUs¡¯! Help!¡±

    He Danggui was about to ask more when she turned and saw Gao Jue standing among the crowds. He was holding a torch. Beside him were books and papers of 5 or 6 feet high. Some people dressed like yamen runners also stood around there, separating books and the crowds. Suddenly, Gao Jue shoot a nce at the direction they were standing. He Danggui thought Gao Jue was looking at her, and she felt very puzzled. At the same time, Gao Jue put down the torch in his hand slowly...

    Tai Shan¡¯s crying was so shrill. She couldn¡¯t help tightly grasping He Danggui¡¯s leg and made her feel hurt. He Danggui frowned slightly and looked up to ask Duan Xiaolou, ¡°What does Master Gao want to burn?¡±

    Duan Xiaolou raised his mouth slightly and said implicitly, ¡°These are things should not be found in a Taoist Temple. They were searched outst night.¡±

    He Danggui lifted her eyebrows and wanted to say something, but Tai Shan started to shake her body heavily again. If Duan Xiaolou didn¡¯t catch He Danggui, she would fall on the ground. Tai Shan shouted uncontrobly, ¡°Please help me! Say something! Miss He, please help me! Beg for mercy, don¡¯t burn them!¡±

    He Danggui gave a look on Tai Shan¡¯s ferocious face and looked at Duan Xiaolou with a poker face. She said calmly and directly, ¡°Master Duan, I want to plead for Master Tai Shan. Could you please not burn those things for my sake?¡± Tai Shan stared at Duan Xiaolou¡¯s mouth with nervousness in her face, as if Duan Xiaolou could say something like ¡°Yes¡±, ¡°Okay¡± or ¡°Stop¡±.

    Duan Xiaolou slightly opened his mouth and had a faint smile on his face, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Miss He. I¡¯m afraid I couldn¡¯t help you. I share the same status as Gao Jue, so I have no right to give orders to him.¡±

    Gao Jue, who was not far away, also heard their conversation and snorted.

    He Danggui sighed heavily and told Tai Shan regrettably, ¡°Both Master Duan and Master Gao don¡¯t want to help me. I¡¯m afraid there¡¯s nothing I can do for you.¡±

    Just as she finished speaking, there was a noise in the crowds and Gao Jue put the torch on a stack of paper which was filled with fluid. Then the big fire shot up immediately, and the crowds started to spread outward because they were afraid of the sparks.

    Tai Shan almost went crazy when she looked around and saw the scene. She jumped up from the ground instantly and pulled He Danggui¡¯s arm to rush into the big fire. Duan Xiaolou, who was standing there with his hands behind his back, had never imagined such a thing could happen. All he could do was watching paper-like He Danggui be dragged away.

    He Danggui was dragged off guard. Tai Shan¡¯s hand locked her forearm like a pincer. He Danggui suddenly understood that Tai Shan was plotted to let her lunge into the fire so that Duan Xiaolou could put out the fire with his palm energy. He Danggui sneered in her heart, ¡°You¡¯re seeking for your own death, Tai Shan! How do you know his palm energy is aiming at the big fire, but not you?¡±

    He Danggui was already close to the big fire when she got here, now she was closer to it after Tai Shan pulled her. More dangerously, the north wild from the gate made the me blow towards her direction. There was a moment that her ears had already felt the heat of the me, but it was so strange that she had no feeling of fear.

 Chapter 31 - Frightening scene in the fire

    <h4>Chapter 31 Frightening scene in the fire</h4>

    ¡°Whooshing¡ª¡ª¡± ¡°Whooshing¡ª¡ª¡±

    He Danggui¡¯s skirt was swayed left and right by their palm energies. It was so cold that she shivered, lost her bnce and fell on the ground. That¡¯s when she saw the strange scene from her split vision that the big fire was suddenly put out.

    Two big hands helped her up. The left one was Duan Xiaolou¡¯s and the right one was¡­ Gao Jue¡¯s. He Danggui escaped from death, but what she was thinking at this moment was¡ªno wonder Duan Xiaolou said yesterday that they all had the ability to extinguish the fire. It turned out that their palm energies involved strong cold air. There were two schools in the world known as ¡°Cold Palm¡±. Were they from Wujianmen School of De¡¯an or Hongmen School of Dali?

    ¡°Are you okay, girl? Where did you get hurt?¡± Duan Xiaolou asked anxiously, shaking her back and forth.

    ¡°What?¡± He Danggui regained her consciousness and smiled apologetically at the handsome face close to her, ¡°Sorry to interrupt your work. I¡¯m leaving now.¡± There was a trace of fear in her heart. If the me burnt her skin, would it be painful?

    ¡°Are you okay? Anywhere painful?¡± Duan Xiaolou shook her twice again, as if he wanted to see if she was sturdy or she could be shaken apart.

    He Danggui tried to get rid of his hands and smiled bitterly, ¡°I¡¯m dizzy because of your shaking.¡±

    Gao Jue released his hand as soon as He Danggui got up. He stood beside her with a serious face silently. Hearing He Danggui said she was dizzy, he knocked out Duan Xiaolou¡¯s hands immediately. Duan Xiaolou red at him in anger, ¡°That¡¯s all your fault, why don¡¯t you light the fire after we get out of here? Don¡¯t you know the wind is quite strong today?¡±

    Gao Jue looked up and suddenly shouted, ¡°Tie them up. Nobody is gonna leave!¡±

    He Danggui stood beside him and her eardrum was buzzed by his voice. She raised her hands to protect her ears and looked sideways¡ªsome Taoist nuns leaded by Tai Shan were huddling together, looking for something in a pile of paper at random when the fire was extinguished.

    A dozen or so officials in blue came forward after receiving the order, and a group of Taoist nuns scattered and fled. However, the officials in blue were obviously skillful. They stepped with strange steps. Every time they gave a push, a Taoist nun would fall down. After a litter while, 6 Taoist nuns who had just been grabbing the paper were arrested and tied with the ropes one by one. Other nuns who watched this scene happily just now were frightened and ran away, afraid of being implicated.

    Duan Xiaolou nced at He Danggui from head to foot, checking her body. He pointed at her knees and asked, ¡°Your clothes here is dirty. Did you fall and get hurt inside?¡± Then he pointed to the edge of her sleeve, ¡°It¡¯s burnt here. Is your arm okay?¡± Finally, he pointed at her chest, ¡°It¡¯s worn out here. Is the inside...¡±

    He Danggui interrupted him, ¡°Thank you, I will take a closer look after I get back.¡±

    Duan Xiaolou was very dissatisfied with her perfunctory attitude, so he stared at the worn-out ce on her apricot dress directly, as if he wanted to see through a hole in the fabric, wondering whether her body was abraded or not.

    Tai Shan and 5 Taoist nunsy on the ground, howling and crying. One of them saw He Danggui, as if she had seen the great savior and cried sadly, ¡°Miss He, help, help! Only you can save us!¡± Others followed her and asked for help from He Danggui. Even Tai Shan was no exception. She was very forgetful to ignore the fact that she had pushed He Danggui into the fire a moment ago.

    He Danggui felt ridiculous about it. She wondered when she had be a savior. If anything, they just called for help from her instead of the immortals. When she was on fire, she couldn¡¯t even save herself. How could she save others now!

    This time, Duan Xiaolou didn¡¯t even give her a chance to act courteously. He flew away with her in his arms.

    Zhen Jing squatted in the yard to wash her clothes. Looking up casually, she was surprised to see that He Danggui was held by Duan Xiaolou, and theynded from the roof. Zhen Jing threw theundry stick, ran towards them and then asked anxiously, ¡°Xiaoyi, what¡¯s wrong with you? Are you ill again?¡± Why did she walk out of the door in person at noon, but now she was held back?

    He Danggui broke away from the chest with the faint aroma of pear blossoms. Facing the broad chest, sheined for the fifth time, ¡°Childe Duan, I¡¯m sure I can walk. Please put me down.¡± Then Duan Xiaolou¡¯s hands released. He Danggui stood on the ground and exined to Zhen Jing with a smile, ¡°I¡¯m fine. I fell down identally just now. But I¡¯m fine. Zhen Jing, go get us 2 small bamboo slips with lids for carrying water. We will need them tomorrow.¡±

    Bamboo slips for carrying water? Zhen Jing blinked, mistakenly thought that He Danggui wanted her to leave so that she could get along with Childe Duan alone. So, Zhen Jing said, ¡°Looking for the bamboo slip? Ah, that¡¯s quite hard to find. It may take 4 or 6 hours for me to find it! I won¡¯te back so soon. You can have a chat inside. I¡¯ll keep looking until it¡¯s dark!¡± She wiped her wet hands with the apron and ran away. He Danggui was speechless for a while. As the Immortals could testify, she really needed bamboo slips.

    Duan Xiaolou had a good memory, so he still remembered what happened before. He stared at her t chest and asked, ¡°He, your clothes here have been worn, inside...¡±

    He Danggui rolled her eyes and replied stiffly, ¡°It¡¯s fine inside.¡±

    But Duan Xiaolou was extremely uneasy, ¡°How can you know that without checking? I think it¡¯s better to have a check!¡±

    He Danggui told him firmly, ¡°I¡¯m sure. I don¡¯t think it needs to be checked.¡±

    After a ¡°frightening fire¡±, the embarrassment between the two had been weakened a lot. They both had tacitly chosen to forget the past that Duan Xiaolou proposed marriage and was rejected by He Danggui. Then they began to chat andugh naturally, seeming like their rtionship was even closer than the proposing.

    ¡°By the way, Childe Duan, you haven¡¯t made it clear what Master Gao burned. You know, the books and papers. Tai Shan just gave up her life and took my life for them!¡± Seeing the words stopping on Duan Xiaolou¡¯s lips, He Danggui became more curious, ¡°Hum, are there any amazing secrets in this small Shui Shang Temple that can¡¯t even be told?¡±

    Duan Xiaolou coughed and finally exined, ¡°All she wants back are the receipts of the loan she made. Although we found those during the searchst night, we didn¡¯t know what they were used for, so we took one of them and put the rest back. When Tai Shan returned to her room, she did not notice that she had lost something, thinking she had avoided the search luckily. Today, Lu Jiangbei looked at the receipt and found it was a usury IOU, and the interest on it was astonishingly high. You may don¡¯t know that although thew of our dynasty allowed the existence of private lending, the interest is limited to four and a half times of ordinary money shop at most. But the interest of Tai Shan¡¯s usury was much higher than that. It¡¯s called ¡®snowballing usury¡¯ in folk, and it is a rolling of interest.¡±

    He Danggui nodded. She didn¡¯t know Tai Shan was a loan shark before. But now she remembered that in her previous life, Tai Shan ranked the back rent of Zhen Jing¡¯s family for so high. It must be a usury. He Danggui said after Duan Xiaolou, ¡°So, you went to Tai Shan today to settle the score with the intention of confiscating all her receipts and burning them up as a punishment. Maybe those Taoist nuns were promised some benefits by Tai Shan, so they helped her to seize the receipts. But they failed and got caught.¡± He Danggui sneered at the scene of ¡°officers caught Taoist nuns bravely¡± and felt quite funny.

    Duan Xiaolou smiled, ¡°You are really smart. When I confiscated the receipts before, Tai Shan was so worried that her eyes turned red. She suddenly shouted to her disciples, ¡®Listen, I will award each one of you 10 liang silver for taking back a receipt and promote her as the Internal Administrator.¡¯ Then those Taoist nuns took their gender as an advantage and snatched a few receipts from us crazily. I didn¡¯t want to hurt them because they were just used by Tai Shan. But Gao Jue is really a bastard. In order to get back the receipts, he hurt a lot of people and used me of doing nothing. He is really heartless even to women...¡±

    He Danggui smiled, ¡°Most Taoist nuns in here are from wild viges. They haven¡¯t seen martial seniors before, so they think they could win you since they are outnumbered. They don¡¯t know that they¡¯re as light as a speck in the seniors¡¯ eyes and can be brushed away with a lifting of their hands.¡± He Danggui thought for a moment and then said, ¡°Although they have obstructed the case, they are just some stupid people. Besides, they have learned many lessons, so I think you will not punish them severely, right?¡±

    Duan Xiaolou looked at her gently and chuckled, ¡°Is this a plea for them?¡± Hisughter shook his chest, and the air was filled with the faint aroma of pear blossoms from his clothes.

    He Danggui didn¡¯t deny it. Then a strange thing urred to her, ¡°But I saw a lot of books were burned besides the receipts in there. Are those all ck ount books of Tai Shan? If so... that¡¯s too strange¡­isn¡¯t that too many?¡±

    Duan Xiaolou hesitated for a moment and then told the truth, ¡°Those books were found in the Taoist nuns¡¯ meditation rooms. Books with obscene pictures of men and women.¡±

    ¡°Ah...¡± He Danggui felt a little bit embarrassed. She wouldn¡¯t ask in detail if she knew that.

    Looking at her with an expression like shyness, he smiled with pleasure, ¡°In fact, it¡¯s quite normal to find such books in ordinary people¡¯s houses, but here is a Taoist Temple, and the collection of such books is a ruining of the temple¡¯s reputation. Wei Wenzhou who led the searchst night was a very serious man. He had confiscated all the books rted to it, so there were 200 in all.¡±

    He Danggui blinked, ¡°Well, even if the nuns don¡¯t follow the rules, the Taoist rules can do with it. Why don¡¯t you ask Master Tai Xi to supervise the implementation personally? Besides, you are not going to pursue the me anymore, are you?¡±

    Now, He Danggui finally understood the reason why Tai Xi was so polite to her before, because Tai Xi wanted her to intercede the scandal. If the secret that Shui Shang Temple had the collection of 200 books which printed pornographic pictures were spread, there would be no pilgrims here in the future and the temple would turn into a brothel. Nevertheless, Tai Xi and He Danggui had needed each other. Now that He Danggui had achieved her goal, she decided to help these Taoist nuns this time.

    Duan Xiaolou wrinkled up his good-looking dashing eyebrows and a fierce expression appeared in his eyes, ¡°I don¡¯t care about others. Tai Shan is really wicked and I will make sure she gets her lesson!¡±

    He Danggui shrugged her shoulders and analyzed objectively and calmly, ¡°Tai Shan lent money at usury. The highest legal penalty is ¡®destroying the receipts. And you have done that; Tai Shan pulled me to put out the fire, but I didn¡¯t get hurt. At most, her crime would be regarded as ¡®attempted assault¡¯. She can also argue that she was too focused to put out the fire and had forgotten to let go of my hand. Then she would use the ¡®Dy of probation¡¯, 1 of the ¡®3 privileges of ascetics¡¯. Hum, she doesn¡¯t even have to go to jail and at most, she just gets some money fines. Besides, you burned her usury of receipt for a loan, which caused her to lose a lot of money, then she will focus on those tenants who are nting the Taoist farms, and then further extract money from them. This is called the big fish eats the small fish, and the small fish eats the shrimps.¡±

    Duan Xiaolou looked at this cheerful and eloquent girl and could not help rubbing her hair,forting her, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about this. Even without any charges against Tai Shan, I can make her suffer terribly.¡±

    ¡°No, no, no! Please don¡¯t do that!¡± He Danggui grabbed his sleeve and stopped him with a sharp voice, ¡°Childe Duan, listen, I don¡¯t want you to use the power of imperial guards to do these things or to help me tackle Tai Shan!¡± Whatever Tai Shan owed her; she would get it back in her own way. She didn¡¯t want others to either do her the favor or owe Duan Xiaolou anymore. After all, she understood that money debt was easy to pay, but love debt was not.

 Chapter 32 - A hole in the chest

    <strong>Chapter 32 A hole in the chest</strong>

    Duan Xiaolou got her mind keenly, and there was a trace of bitterness in his voice, ¡°What, do we have to keep our distance so clearly?¡±

    He Danggui still clutched Duan Xiaolou¡¯s sleeve and exhorted him, ¡°As the old saying goes, it is better to offend a gentleman than a viin. Tai Shan is aplete viin. You kill her, or you never offend her. Otherwise, you will make her a hidden trouble for you in the future.¡± He Danggui had learned this lesson in her previous life. She was so vulnerable that she wanted to hang herself after Tai Shan ckmailed her for many times.

    31th year of Hongwu Period, Tai Shan knew that He Danggui had married into Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion as a concubine, so she wrote a letter to meet He Danggui secretly. She held He Danggui¡¯s old story of being a ve in the Taoist Temple as a leverage, threatening that if He Danggui refused to pay her, she would tell Lord Ning that He Danggui had stolen, misbehaved and hurt people in the Taoist Temple, and she could also gather many Taoist nuns to testify it.

    At that time, He Danggui had only married Lord Ning for a year. She cautiously made a living under Princess Xie¡¯s control and only saw her noble husband, Lord Ning Zhu Quan, once at the banquet of Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion. When she was only 15 years old that year, she fell in love with Zhu Quan immediately for his mysterious and elegant appearance. The love burst in her heart at a young age and she hoped to be noticed by him, so she couldn¡¯t let Tai Shan discredit her.

    Therefore, she gave Tai Shan 100 liang from her dowry immediately and thought she could get rid of Tai Shan through this. But Tai Shan was too greedy to ask more from He Danggui continuously, which made her feel exhausted. She couldn¡¯t eat or sleep anymore and became rmed every day. Day by day, she even wanted to suicide because she was not willing to damage her image in her husband¡¯s heart. She thought if she died, Tai Shan would stop the ckmail and she could also keep a spotless reputation... Thanks to a nice person¡¯s help in the end, she finally fought back and thoroughly got rid of Tai Shan.

    Duan Xiaolou still didn¡¯t believe it and said with a cold sneer, ¡°How so? You think highly of Tai Shan so much. I¡¯m gonna let her have it. What could she do to me?¡±

    He Danggui breathed cool wind carelessly and coughed constantly as she was about to speak.

    Duan Xiaolou held her into the room in a hurry,id her along on the bed and tucked her in. He felt regret and med himself for talking with her in the wind for so long when he was aware that He Danggui was weak! Besides, the cloth on He Danggui¡¯s chest was worn out in the fire... Did she cough because of that? She should check if she was hurt.

    At the same time, He Danggui was still thinking about Tai Shan, and she still coughed when she began to speak. Duan Xiaolou couldn¡¯t find any water on the table and the bed. He was so anxious that he wanted to practice arts of lightness and fly to somewhere else to get water.

    He Danggui also noticed Duan Xiaolou¡¯s purpose, so she shook her hand to stop him. She uncovered the quilt and jumped out from bed, then walked to the corner with her skirt swayed. She bent down and poured a bowl of water from a red earthen jar and then sipped. Then, she took a breath and smiled, ¡°Knight Duan, although your kongfu is brilliant, you don¡¯t have to use it for such things. If you are using your art of lightness for dressing or drinking, what about us who could just use our two legs? Will we be able to live?¡±

    Duan Xiaolou said without hesitation, ¡°It is perfectly natural to find water for the woman I love. Even if I can¡¯t practice the art of lightness, I will also run at full speed to find it.¡±

    He Danggui looked down her eyes and still didn¡¯tment what Duan Xiaolou said. She just turned back to thest topic and continued to exhort him, ¡°Childe Duan, please listen to my suggestion, one shares a high status like you doesn¡¯t have to deal with the cheap ones like Tai Shan. I believe you understand that I¡¯m not a coward. I also have my way to deal with something or somebody that are unfair to me. If you promise that you won¡¯t interfere, I¡¯ll appreciate you.¡±

    ¡°But... Why? Why are you so stubborn?¡± Duan Xiaolou sadly sighed. His right hand slightly raised but then put down, ¡°Why did you refuse my bride-price without giving us a chance? You know you don¡¯t have to deal with all of these by yourself. Why don¡¯t you let me protect you?¡±

    He Danggui shook her head firmly, ¡°You deserve a girl who is worth of your protection rather than me. I don¡¯t deserve your goodness.¡±

    Duan Xiaolou stared at her and finally spoke out the words hidden inwardly, ¡°I know you didn¡¯t mean it! Tell me the truth! Just tell me, what did I do wrong? Did you feel sick of me because I was so rude to propose to you? Or was it because you thought¡­ that I¡¯m too old?¡±

    ¡°O¡­old?¡± He Danggui was chocked by this word. With 28 years memory of her previous life and the experience of marrying and delivery, she thought Duan Xiaolou, who was now first awakened of love, was too young for her to take age so seriously.

    At the beginning, her impression toward the imperial guards was bad. In her eyes, they were the coldest butchers in the world. So, she initially treated them as useful strangers and tools. Although she didn¡¯t confront them face to face in her previous life, ¡°Wuying Tower¡± led by Zhu Quan and ¡°Changye Tower¡± led by the imperial guards were rivals for many years. During the years she worked in Wuying Tower, she had heard so much about the evil crimes that the imperial guards did. It was said that most citizens got scared even if they just heard the words of ¡°imperial guards¡±. They even thought those from Jianghu were not even half terrifying as them. After all, thetter cared about morals, while the former were heartless killing machines owned by the Emperor.

    However, unlike these merciless officials, Duan Xiaolou was more kind than she was. And his cares and helps made her no longer fool him as tools. Now that she had refused his proposal, she¡¯d better take the chance and tell him her true feelings to make him give up?

    Thinking of this, He Danggui put down the bowl in which the cold water had been drunk out, sat beside the stove and stared at the white plum blossom on her sleeve, ¡°Childe Duan, you¡¯ve been sincere to me, so I will spare the polite greetings. You know, there was a hole in my chest, and you will never fill in that hole. Seeing you always with a heart of fire, this heartless girl would be so jealous.¡±

    In her previous life, the struggles in her grandparents¡¯ family brought her desire to marry someone quickly. She fantasized that one day, a manly, handsome and attractive man would show up and take her away from that family, protecting her from getting hurt. Butter she married Zhu Quan as a concubine. Namely, they were rted, but the truth was that she was so distant from him. ¡°Husband¡± was still a word existing in her imagination.

    In Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion, she was still struggling to live and sometimes even close to death. There were over 30 concubines and each came from a better family than hers. Every concubine, including Princess Xie, Senior Concubine Zhou, Senior Concubine Wan, and even Concubine Gu, Concubine Jiang and Concubine Du, they all dressed up nicely and hoped Zhu Quan couldy his eyes on them for even a moment. How strange it was. A moment before, those women were so close that they could go to hot springs and public bath together and exchange their personal belongings. A momentter, they began to envy each other and scheme evil ns.

    At that time, she believed Zhu Quan was quite right for her. Therefore, although her life condition was worse than she was at her grandparents¡¯, she still felt happy. Because she loved Zhu Quan then, she could pursue her happiness. Deep in heart, she thoroughly became one of his concubines. All she wanted was to have Zhu Quan¡¯s attention even just for a moment, and ¡°a moment¡± was really ¡°a moment¡± because he was so busy.

    He was the talented Lord Ning who reached his achievement at a young age and controlled all the picked troops. That was her husband who could wield his writing brush elegantly and brandish his sword with shininess as a banished immortal. Every single time he looked in her direction, she would feel happy for a few days with joy, even if what he looked exactly was only a tree behind her.

    She remembered there was a saying in Records of the Grand Historian of China, Volume 85¡ªBiography of Lv Buwei that ¡°Love that depends on beauty won¡¯tst¡±. So, she told herself not to learn from other concubines who only cared about their appearances. She needed to stretch her mind and enrich her experience to be useful for Zhu Quan. Therefore, she refined her medical skills and studied Jin Zhen Da Xue carefully. She also learned six ssical arts (propriety, music, archery, riding, writing, arithmetic), martial arts, military strategies, the art of war and the officialdomnguage. When she finally learned these and was taken a surprising notice of Zhu Quan, she was entitled to more authority. Then she also studied to help him manage Wuying Tower, make intelligence transaction and assassination deals¡­

    Atst, she gradually became very helpful for Zhu Quan, Also, he conferred her as Concubine He, who was the only one on an equal footing with Princess Xie at Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion.

    However, after all, she was abandoned by Zhu Quan when she lost her value in use.

    Her throat was broken by burning charcoal, and she had soaked in the Water Dungeon for 2 months. During that period, she recalled there was also a saying in Records of the Grand Historian of China, Volume 41¡ªBiography of King Goujian of Yue that ¡°After the birds are all flied away, the slingshot is hidden; after the cunning hare is killed, the hound is boiled¡±. Sheughed at herself, obviously she should have understood to take history as experience and as a mirror¡­ She had made such a mess of her life. She deserved it. Yeah, it was impossible for her to acquire a happy end, and she was willing to take it. But getting her innocent mother and daughter into trouble was her most painful remorse. To make a final judgment, her life was just a joke.

    Therefore, in this life, since the moment she came around, she had sworn to herself that she wouldn¡¯t let herself down and never made the same mistake as her previous life.

    She wanted to y chess, instead of being the pieces on the chess board yed by others in this life. She wouldn¡¯t consider marriage until she became mighty enough that she could stand shoulder to shoulder with her future husband. She wouldn¡¯t either look humbly up at her future husband or wait for being one of his pets. She despised that feeling so much. She must feel equal with him and be his only wife. If he could love her a lifetime, then their marriage would be evesting; but if he loved someone else, she would go away decisively. After then they would forget each other while they were on their own ways. If he were really careless of her, she would give up her feeling definitely.

    In her previous life, Duan Xiaolou was totally a ¡°prefect husband¡± in her mind. He was not only extremely handsome and charming but also showed consideration for her with deep love.

    When He Danggui saw her stepfather, He Fu, p her mother during the previous childhood, she hated all the men who beat women¡ªbut even when Duan Xiaolou exercised a pubic function, he never hurt any Taoist nuns. He also med Gao Jue as a ¡°heartless bastard¡± for beating the Taoist nuns. That¡¯s exactly how she thought about this behavior.

    During the previous childhood, He Danggui desired so much that someone could protect her. She wanted to get away from Luo¡¯s Family, live a new life and be a person of dignity¡ªbut Lu Jiangbei, who was the matchmaker, had told her that if she married Duan Xiaolou, she would be the wife in charge of the family. When she was cold and tired, Duan Xiaolou would let her rely on him. As long as she married into Duan¡¯s Family, she would have a good life and Duan Xiaolou would be her shelter. What a fascinating picture. Many women must pursue it throughout their lives.

    Listening to Lu Jiangbei¡¯s description, He Danggui almost could see a golden door of Duan¡¯s Mansion opening, smiling and waving at her. Duan Xiaolou was as perfect as the Immortals¡¯pensation for her previous life.

    He was the legitimate son of the Earl Mansion and the General of imperial guards; while she was the menial daughter of the concubine who lived a bumpy life and revived in a new guise. They existed originally in different worlds, but they met neither early orte, and idently in a Taoist Temple in the deep mountain. He was the young talent in dragon robes and jade belt; while she was a little and na?ve girl in cloth clothes, cloth shoes and wooden hairpin. They wouldn¡¯t have any intersection. He also wouldn¡¯t stop for her, but he suddenly stopped and said to her that she was his ¡°loved one¡±.

    Although she was only 10 years old, too young to show him either her beauty as a mature woman or her best prime of youth and brightest side, he still said he was willing to marry her and wait for her to grow up.

    It was fate that arranged her to meet Duan Xiaolou, wasn¡¯t it? It sent Duan Xiaolou to her, wondering if she had lost her heart and abandoned her love. It wanted to see whether she could resist temptation and stand up by herself; to see whether she learned the painful lessons from previous life and no longer pinned her life on a man.

    Only with such thoughts in her mind could she turn away from Duan Xiaolou¡¯s loving eyes.

    ¡°Childe Duan. All in all, I can only tell you that I¡¯m not as good as you think I am. You are just blind to like me, and when your eyes are cured, you will be d that today¡¯s marriage is not agreed.¡± He Danggui traced the white plum of her cuff with her fingertips, round and round. She was a devil who had climbed up from the hell, and she was here to send her enemies to the bottom of hell. But a devil wouldn¡¯t love anybody and wouldn¡¯t need to be loved.

 Chapter 33 - A ghost without living entity

    <strong>Chapter 33 A ghost without living entity</strong>

    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Duan Xiaolou was shocked at her words. He got extremely angry but smiled, ¡°What do you mean your chest got a hole? Who did this? I¡¯ll punch out that guy! And what do you mean you are jealous of me as soon as you see me? As long as you ept me, I and all I have are yours. It¡¯s totally unnecessary for your jealousy. Also, what do you mean I love you because I got briefly blind? s, your words are super cute. Haw-haw!¡± His embarrassingughter sounded in the room, even made a piece of wall finish peel off.

    He Danggui wanted to exin more but she couldn¡¯t. People in this world couldn¡¯t understand her words. She said in her heart, ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, Duan Xiaolou. You are not my Mr. Right. Of course you¡¯re a good person, but we meet at the wrong time. If I met you in my previous life, I might be grateful to fate, yet I would be quite different from now.¡±

    Staring at her little fair face with a deste look, Duan Xiaolou felt a twinge and suddenly held her in his arms,forting her sadness of experiencing two lives and aloof indifference.

    It was not the first time he held her in his arms, but it was the first time he had the cold and thin feeling. He even thought there was no reality. He felt like she was a ghost without living entity, sneeringly looking atmon people¡¯s love in the distance, and the next second she would suddenly disappear in the world of mortals.

    Duan Xiaolou said sadly, ¡°Why are you so aloof? I said I¡¯m willing to share your burden. Why don¡¯t you trust me? You¡¯re the first girl who makes me fall in love. I don¡¯t want to say how good you are or how sincere I am. But could you please give me a chance to prove myself? Even if you can¡¯t trust me right now, time can prove how much I love you. And you¡¯ll know that my true love for you will never change.¡±

    He Danggui¡¯s nose pressed against his chest. She asked with a little depression, ¡°Childe Duan, are the imperial guards about to leave the Taoist Temple?¡±

    Duan Xiaolou felt a little bit stiff and made her loose from his embrace, looking down in her eyes, ¡°How do you know that? Yes, we n to leave tomorrow morning, but we just made this decision yesterday.¡±

    She took her eyes off him to see a yellow leaf rolled by autumn breeze in the yard, and said slightly, ¡°Just my guess.¡± Duan Xiaolou prepared the bride-price in such a hurry and also entrusted Lu Jiangbei, a bad matchmaker, to propose for him. He even wanted to trick her into taking the bride-price, probably he intended to get the marriage nned before he left. But she couldn¡¯t figure out what her personality attracted him that could make him propose marriage to a person he just met?

    ¡°Actually, Ie here to say goodbye to you, but...I didn¡¯t know how to say when I saw you. Master Geng told us that Jiang Yi had got the location of Wushi Powder¡¯s materials after he questioned Tai Chen and sent people to seal up. So, he let us pack up our bags and set off for the capital about 5 o¡¯clock tomorrow.¡± Duan Xiaolou thought He Danggui was angry for his dishonesty, so he exined for her in detail, ¡°You know what? We had another mission in the journey of Yangzhou City. Catching the medicinal peddler, Tai Chen, was just a windfall. The most surprising thing is that we got the evidence of a three-ss official buying Wushi Powder. The Emperor had already wanted to handle him, but there was always no evidence...¡±

    ¡°Childe Duan!¡± He Danggui interrupted him. She sided her head and said, ¡°Stop saying! You should not tell me the secrets of you imperial guards.¡±

    Duan Xiaolou smiled, ¡°I like telling you these things, and I prefer you to listen to me.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°A storyteller of Tu¡¯er Town said that Shui Shang Temple was built in theter period of Yuan Dynasty. Some Taoist priests found a rare grass growing in the mountain, so they built the Taoist Temple for making pills. We were interested in this temple at that time, so we nned to have a look. But now Tai Chen had told us clearly that those Taoist priests were interested in the materials of Wushi Powder instead of the so-called ¡®rare grass¡¯.¡± Duan Xiaolou paused for a moment, then he suddenly touched He Danggui¡¯s face with his thumb. He said in a low and kind voice, ¡°Will you please marry me? I¡¯ll tell you everything I know in the future, okay?¡±

    He Danggui looked down and her mind had an instant change. Sometimes refusing a person¡¯s love was more difficult than loving a wrong person. What a pity. When she followed love, it fled away; while when she tried to avoid love, it followed her instead.

    When she looked up again, her eyes were calm and clear. She smiled and raised her forefinger, ¡°Childe Duan, why don¡¯t we make a bet?¡±

    ...

    ...

    ¡°Wish you peace. Take care then.¡± He Danggui saw Duan Xiaolou out the yard and said goodbye to him sincerely with a smile.

    Duan Xiaolou looked at her deeply and pretended to sigh, ¡°Why do you smile happily to me before our separation?¡± He was so happy to make a bet with his loved one. Because he firmly believed he would win and get her as a prize.

    He Danggui said to him in the end, ¡°Childe Duan, remember what you promised me¡ªclose the fire case of the Taoist Temple, and don¡¯t hold its responsibility anymore; don¡¯t spread the news that there are books which printed pornographic pictures in the Taoist Temple, because Tai Xi will punish them with themandments of the temple then; besides, never provoke Tai Shan, I¡¯ll handle her.¡±

    Duan Xiaolou couldn¡¯t helpughing, ¡°What does Tai Xi give you to let you be her persuader? I¡¯ll give you the same as she gives. If so, will you also care for me?¡±

    He Danggui smiled slightly, ¡°I have a fair deal with her. It¡¯s just a reciprocity for mutual benefits.¡±

    Duan Xiaolou thought for a while and smiled, ¡°Well, why don¡¯t we make a deal as well? As long as you ept this, I will do everything you mentioned just now.¡± Then he took out two small snow porcin bottles, ¡°I sent this medicine abruptly the other day, but you refused to ept it. Now let¡¯s have a ¡®fair deal for mutual benefits¡¯. I help you with the issues you mentioned, and you help me take my medicine. How do you like it?¡±

    Staring at the two exquisite medicine bottles engraved with the words ¡°Yao Shi Tang¡±, He Danggui¡¯s smile was suddenly faded. She shook her head and said, ¡°No. Thanks for your kindness, but they are too valuable. I can¡¯t ept them.¡±

    Duan Xiaolou lied without hesitation, ¡°How valuable it can be? And it¡¯s not worth several liang silver in total. Listen to me, you have always been cold and weak, which made this very suitable for you.¡± Since she would belong to him after all, it was necessary to take care of her body from now on. It was veryborious to be the hostess of Duan¡¯s Mansion, as it could be known from his mother.

    He Danggui exposed him and said, ¡°If I haven¡¯t misread it that day, one of the two bottles is Lifesaving Pill, and the other is Zhiming Sticking ster. The price of both medicines is equal to 10 times of the gold. Both bottles are full, I say they should add up to 400 liang silver. Moreover, if they can be bought only with money, they will not be called ¡°life extending medicine¡± by many doctors. As far as I know, the two are always too valuable to be bought in the herbal medicine shops. Whoever wants the medicine should find the four most hard-to-find medicines in the prescription in person, and send them to the herbal medicine shop, then the pharmacist would make the pill freshly. Among these pharmacists, the best ones are from Yao Shi Tang in Yingtian Prefecture, and the price is more expensive than that of ordinary herbal medicine shops.¡±

    Duan Xiaolou became more and more surprised, ¡°Why? Why do you know more than I do? These are all secrets in the pharmaceutical industry. I only know these because I heard from Wang Xi, the shopkeeper of Yao Shi Tang. The two medicines are rare even in the capital. How could you recognize them within a casual nce! Where did you learn that from?¡±

    He Danggui sneered and didn¡¯t want to exin.

    ¡°Well, forget it.¡± Duan Xiaolou pulled up her wrist. ¡°Anyway, take this. Don¡¯t regard me as an outsider. Or¡ªI will pluck out Tai Shan¡¯s hair and let her be a Buddhist nun.¡±

    She opened her palm and let him put the bottles in her hand. The slight cool of snow porcin bottles also brought her a little temperature of his palm.

    Duan Xiaolou let her go contentedly and smiled, ¡°This medicine is warm and pungent. It¡¯s better to take it before bed at night. If you feel flustered after eating it, don¡¯t drink cold water. It can be relieved by pushing 100 times from your heart to your abdomen. It¡¯s a pity that I will go down the mountain tomorrow. Otherwise, I¡¯ll use my Zhenqi to guide it for you. The effect will be different. Well, let me do it tonight¡­¡±

    ¡°No, I can do it. Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t waste any drop of such precious medicine,¡± He Danggui stared at the small bottles in her hand and said in a low voice, ¡°Since Childe Duan is so generous, I will take it. To be honest, the medicines are a timely help to me and they could save me a lot of time. I am really¡­happy.¡± However, her expression and tone said the opposite, and there was a sense of gnashing at the end.

    Duan Xiaolou paused, held her little face in his palm and asked anxiously, ¡°Did I make you angry? Why are you unhappy again?¡± Suddenly, he remembered thest time when he sent her the medicine, she did the same! He tilted his head doubtfully and gazed at her eyes, ¡°Is there anything wrong with the medicines? That is impossible. Yao Shi Tang of He¡¯s Family is one of the 3 major medicine pharmacies that supplies official medicine for the imperial court. Moreover, Yao Shi Tang¡ªwell, Yao Shi Tang is owned by He¡¯ Family, and your family name is He¡ªare you...¡±

    He Danggui was calm and she answered indifferently, ¡°Nice guess. Because my mother remarried another man who used He as his family name. Luo¡¯s Family did a good job to hide the fact. Therefore, few people knew the rtionship between the two Families that both supplied official medicines. They have no contact with each other now, but 10 years ago, they shared friendship of generations and had been rtives by marriage.¡±

    Duan Xiaolou frowned and gripped her slender shoulders. Heforted her in an apologetic voice, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, sorry. I didn¡¯t know your father owned Yao Shi Tang. Otherwise I won¡¯t have hurt you with this. Don¡¯t do that, okay? Don¡¯t show me that look. We have made an appointment that we are going to...¡±

    He Danggui raised her lips, ¡°That¡¯s not an appointment, please call it a ¡®bet¡¯.¡± It was a bet to let Duan Xiaolou give up on her.

    Looking at Duan Xiaolou¡¯s loving eyes, after a while, she smiled gently, ¡°Sorry, I should apologize. You are just being kind to me. Well, let¡¯s not talk about it anymore. I¡¯ll take the medicine because this is a pair of hard-earned body. I¡¯ll cherish it. Since you are going down the mountain tomorrow morning, I need you to do me a favor again.¡±

 Chapter 34 - Jiang was my dog

    <h4>Chapter 34 Jiang was my dog</h4>

    He Danggui awoke at daybreak.

    Before she fell asleepst night, she picked out some Zhiming Sticking ster with a new chopstick. Then she took them in a bowl of warm water and patted her acupoint in a certain order, channeling the heat from the pill into her limbs. The pesticide effect of Zhiming Sticking ster was quite good. When she woke up, she felt her breath grew longer, her pulse grew stronger and her cold hands and feet were warm, too.

    Since there was only a useless little stove in the room, He Danggui and Zhen Jing were covered with one quilt in these days. But Zhen Jing didn¡¯t sleep quietly and always had the tendency to kick the quilt and people, which made He Danggui suffer a lot. At this moment, Zhen Jing was asleep. He Danggui got out of bed silently, pulling the quilt for Zhen Jing. Zhen Jing whispered and kicked the quilt again, so He Danggui covered for her again reluctantly.

    After a simple wash, He Danggui coiled up a small chignon, put on a coat and went into the yard. Now she had a new affliction but had no solution.

    Sincest evening, the Zhenqi which was obtained from Lu Jiangbei had been running in her body disorderly. She kept reciting the superb Cultivation Method for Internal Energy and tried to adjust her breath, but the effect was not significant. Throughout the night, these Zhenqi ran around her channels like a naughty child. Although there was not much difort, she didn¡¯t know when this situation would get better and when these Zhenqi could adapt to its ¡°new home¡±.

    He Danggui had a faint memory that she had known this phenomenon from one of the martial arts books that she had read before, which was called ¡°Qizhou¡±. ording to the book, Qizhou was very rare. It only happened when ordinary people rose to a higher level by practicing superb internal energy. At that time, if they failed to control the Zhenqi that were generated in the new level, Qizhou would appear.

    He Danggui was the most special one from other special cases. She didn¡¯t have any internal force, but she was well aware of many superb Cultivation Methods for Internal Energy. Yesterday she obtained Zhenqi from Lu Jiangbei. It now turned out that she had a significant suspicion of greed and didn¡¯t care whether she could bear it or not before she collected them into her Dantian in whole. She knew that Lu Jiangbei¡¯s original intention was to help her warm her body. But she kept putting her hands on his, probably making him misunderstand that she feltfortable and warm, so she wanted to stay warm for a while. Therefore, he didn¡¯t withdraw his hands, and conveyed Zhenqi to her for nearly 6 hours consecutively.

    What He Danggui didn¡¯t know was that although Lu Jiangbei¡¯s Zhenqi was excellent and pure, it was from a man of masculinity. It was thick and heavy, and was ipatible with women like her. Normally, only those with good boxing and external energy dared to take in a small amount of others¡¯ Zhenqi. Otherwise, wouldn¡¯t many of the martial arts schools in the world be able to cultivate arge number of ¡°artificial seniors¡±?

    At this time, it would be dangerous if she insisted to control the Zhenqi that was not hers, like a beginner riding an untamed horse. Once the Zhenqi went astray, she might have to be reborn as a human again.

    He Danggui was troubled, kicking a withered locust tree beside the wall. Letting the Zhenqi ran in her body freely was now the only solution for her.

    Even if she tried to guide the Zhenqi through Jin Zhen Da Xue, at least she should use 3-inches silver needles. But now she only had a few embroidery needles which belonged to Zhen Jing. They were rough, hard and breakable. Thest few times she used them were for temporary emergency. Because iron needles not only couldn¡¯t exert the power of gold needles to insert the acupoints, but also had potential risks. Once the needle was broken in one¡¯s body when it was used for treatment, it would be very troublesome to handle. He Danggui sighed. Now she could only make the best needles in the silver shop after she got enough money.

    After thinking for a while, she went to the middle of the yard and made two simple preparations, then she shifted her posture to do ¡°Five Mimic-animal Boxing of Hua¡±, which was invented by Hua Tuo, a famous doctor in the Eastern Han Dynasty. And it was a way to get fit by mimicking the movements of tiger, deer, bear, ape, and crane. It was very popr in their days, because all the nobles andmon people shared the same habit of doing the boxing in their spare time. And it was said that regr practice of Five Mimic-animal Boxing could strengthen their bodies and prolong their lives.

    After finishing the Tiger y and Crane y, He Danggui began to gasp and sweat. When she just began to do one of movements in Deer y called ¡°Deer Butting¡±, she saw a ck shadow on her right, motionlessly standing in the corner, which startled her.

    ¡°Who?! Who is there?¡± She turned to the right suddenly, but forgot she was keeping her weight on her left shoulder when she was doing ¡°Deer Butting¡±. A sudden turning was too short for her to keep her bnce. As a result, she fell out askew.

    She covered her head with her forearm in a hurry, closed her eyes and was ready for the pain. But it didn¡¯t happen, she felt herself fall into the arms with a thinyer of dew, and the fragrance of grass suddenly caught her nose.

    ¡°What you did was worse than Jiang.¡± Gao Jue said coldly and lifted her back to the ground like he was lifting a chicken.

    He Danggui was still shocked and felt ashamed to hear what he said. She said angrily as she tidied up her messy clothes, ¡°Master Gao, you scared me! Who is Jiang? Why are youparing me with him?¡± She had no foundation in this field. And it was her first time to practice ¡°Five Mimic-animal Boxing¡± with her new body. How could shepare with those who had practiced martial arts! She thought it was rude of him toe into her yard early in the morning and watch her exercise without a word!

    ¡°Jiang is my dog.¡± Gao Jue answered emotionlessly.

    He Danggui¡¯s face turned red. She retorted forcibly in embarrassment, ¡°You must be kidding, how could a dog do Five Mimic-animal Boxing?¡±

    Gao Jue was silent for a while with his lips pressed together, then he took her right hand suddenly and pressed on her fair wrist with his rough fingers, feeling her pulse. A momentter, he frowned and asked, ¡°Why is your breath so messy? No... Tell me why there is Zhenqi in your body?¡±

    He Danggui felt a little flurried and tried to pull her hand back, but Gao Jue controlled her channel. With only one gentle tug, her whole arm went numb, like millions of insects and ants had trodden on it.

    ¡°It is so hurt. Let me go!¡± He Danggui was worrying about the disordered Zhenqi in her body, and now she was in a worse mood because he discovered her secret. Atst, she couldn¡¯t help shouting at his cold face, ¡°Let me go! Let me go! It¡¯s none of your business. Dose the Zhenqi in my body break thew? Why are you in my yard? Didn¡¯t all of you imperial guards leave?¡±

    Gao Jue said calmly after a pause, ¡°Close your eyes. You can scream if you feel hurt, but don¡¯t try to resist, or you will only feel worse.¡± Before He Danggui had the time to respond, Gao Jue held her on his shoulder.

    When He Danggui realized what happened, she was already hung on Gao Jue¡¯s shoulder, and all she could see was his broad back. ¡°What are you doing? Put me ¡ªah!¡± Feeling her hip was against something hot tightly, she couldn¡¯t help screaming out loud.

    Gao Jue controlled He Danggui¡¯s kicking legs with his left hand, while used his right hand pointing against the cyx acupoint on her butt, filling into waves of strong Zhenqi forcibly.

    Endless energies traveled like lighting in her channels, along with the messy qi in her body. Within only one breath, the waves of qi had circled her whole body more than 10 times and it caused extremely painful feelings to her. Although she was aware that he was helping her control the Zhenqi, howe he assisted her with such embarrassing gesture and the pain?!

    Because of the huge pain, she put out the sharpening wooden hairpin and stuck it into Gao Jue¡¯s back.

    But the hairpin didn¡¯t cause any wound! Was it because of his Zhenqi?

    She refused to believe it and continued to stick him again and again.

    Gao Jue¡¯s tiger-like back seemed to feel nothing, as if it wasughing at He Danggui¡¯s over-confidence. Inside her body, the pain was still making her suffer and finally she couldn¡¯t stand it. The hairpin dropped on the ground and her head fell against Gao Jue¡¯s back, spreading her ck hair all over his ck clothing.

    She passed out because of the pain.

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù

    He Danggui opened her eyes and saw Zhen Jing¡¯s apple-like face approaching, with her eyes blinking. Zhen Jingined, ¡°Xiaoyi, you naughty girl! Please don¡¯t do this ever again!¡±

    ¡°Water¡­¡± He Danggui felt there was fire burning inside her throat. She realized her throat suffered some damage after speaking, ¡°Give me some water¡­¡±

    Zhen Jing served a big bowl of warm water quickly. He Danggui held the bowl with both hands and drank out the water with small sips. Then she returned the bowl and smiled gratefully, ¡°Thanks, another one please.¡±

    Zhen Jing received the empty bowl with her left hand and served a new one with the right hand. Then a long speech began, ¡°My mother once said, ¡®If you have a big bowl, you eat a big bowl of food; if you have great strength, you carry heavy rice bags.¡¯ Xiaoyi, you overestimated yourself so much. You know nothing about martial arts, yet you still chose to do some boxing in the yard. You fell down and passed out for that! Look at me! I don¡¯t know anything about martial arts, and I never tried to do it, so I have never tumbled before! If Master Gao didn¡¯t save you when he passed by, you would have be ill because of faint on the ground¡­¡±

    ¡°...Master Gao?!¡± He Danggui caught the key words. And her eyes drifted over the edge of the bowl, looking straight at Zhen Jing¡¯s face.

    ¡°Well, yeah,¡± Zhen Jing blinked, ¡°Master Gao is sitting in the yard. The water you drink was prepared by him. He said you would ask for it when you woke up. Xiaoyi, I heard Master Gao said your butt hurt because of a fall. Are you still in pain...?¡±

    ¡°...My butt?!¡± He Danggui narrowed her eyes angrily, ¡°Is he still in the yard?¡±

    Zhen Jing was confused and nodded, then she saw He Danggui put down the bowl angrily. She tried to get out of bed, but failed to stand up and fell down. Zhen Jing supported her instantly and asked in worries, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you? Don¡¯t get up in such a condition. If you want to thank Master Gao, I¡¯ll just call him in! Lie down first!¡±

    He Danggui shouted hoarsely to the door, ¡°Gao,e in!¡±

    A dark shadow floated noiselessly by the door.

    He Danggui stared at him ruthlessly and asked coldly, ¡°Mind if I ask when I have ever provoked and offended Your Excellency, so you offered me your helping hands to give me a lesson?¡±

    Gao Jue nced at her slightly and said, ¡°My time is precious. You wasted it again today. Tomorrow you must get up early. If you can¡¯t walk, I can take you there. But if you can¡¯t go tomorrow, I will not help you anymore.¡±

    He Danggui frowned, ¡°...Doing what?¡±

    Gao Jue stared, ¡°How do I know?¡±

    Zhen Jing couldn¡¯t helpughing and this caught their attention. She waved her hands hurriedly, ¡°Don¡¯t look at me. I, I don¡¯t know, either!¡±

    He Danggui took two deep breaths and finally cleared her head a bit. She stared at Gao Jue¡¯s ice-cold face and asked, ¡°Did Master Duan send you here?¡± Gao Jue nodded and remembered something. There was a slight look of indignation in his face, revealing his reluctance.

    He Danggui asked again, ¡°Have Master Duan and others left?¡± Gao Jue nodded again.

    He Danggui also nodded, ¡°Well, then Your Excellency can leave, too. I don¡¯t need your help anymore. Master Gao, I won¡¯t see you off. Have a nice trip.¡±

    Gao Jue repeated, ¡°Tomorrow you get up early, and I will carry you if you can¡¯t walk.¡± Then he disappeared from the doorway.

    Zhen Jing looked at He Danggui with an innocent face, ¡°Xiaoyi, what are you going to do tomorrow?¡±

    He Danggui stared at the door severely for a moment and theny back on the bed. The pain on her butt and legs made her feel angry unceasingly. After a difficult turn, she finallyy against the wall. She stared at the mottled wall and said, ¡°Sell the coffin.¡±

 Chapter 35 - A super sharp-tongued man

    <h4>Chapter 35 A super sharp-tongued man</h4>

    He Danggui dreamed of her mother. Her mother wore amon silk coat embroidered with flowers, wearing her hair in a Zhuiyue haircut. Mom talked her with a sad face, ¡°Yi, I owe you so much and I am ashamed to see you... My own misfortune has brought the same trouble to you. I really owe you so much...¡±

    When she woke up, her pillow was wet. And it was still dark outside.

    He Danggui turned over and felt cold, then she found that Zhen Jing kicked the quilt out of the bed. She slept against the wall, and Zhen Jing on the outside. Since she wanted to get the quilt back without waking Zhen Jing, she knelt on the bed with her ear next to Zhen Jing¡¯s stomach. After three times of trying, it was still beyond her reach. After she found it didn¡¯t work, she gave up the method and jumped out of bed to pick up the quilt.

    He Danggui was surprised that she could jump over about a meter with a little effort. Plus the height of the bed...

    ¡°Bang!¡± Her head struck the low roof.

    He Danggui covered her head and wept a drop of tear, half squatting on the ground. Zhen Jing was awaked by the loud noise. She raised her head and asked sleepily, ¡°Xiaoyi, does your butt still hurt? Are you hungry? There is another piece of rice crust in the pot. What time is it now?¡± Then Zhen Jing fell asleep again before He Danggui could answer.

    He Danggui kneaded the back of her head, picked up the quilt and covered Zhen Jing. Then she put on a coat, closed the door and went out. She wondered what happened just now, and why had she struck the roof?

    Standing in the middle of the yard, He Danggui bent her knees and tried to jump again. This time she used half of her forces, and there was a noticeable pause as she rose to the highest point in the air. She could even see the water vat outside of the courtyard wall. She was lucky not to be hurt, though her hands and feet touched the ground at the same time for poor preparation.

    This time, she finally convinced herself that she had internal force, so she jumped higher than before!

    Sitting cross-legged, He Danggui could sense her channels and Dantian, and found that the disordered Zhenqi in her body yesterday had disappeared. There was no messy breath in her channels, but the breath in Dantian was steady and thick, as if the strength of her whole body was from here. She felt as if she had infinite strength and could easily run around the Taoist Temple 3 times.

    With this thought, He Danggui began to run. She ran out of the courtyard and the Taoist Temple, and ran quickly around the temple. 1p, 2ps, 3ps... 15ps, 16ps, she stopped. Not because she was tired, but because the man with a cold face had reappeared.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you go to bed in the midnight? Will you go there tomorrow or not? My time is very valuable. If you don¡¯t intend to set off tomorrow, I won¡¯t take care of you anymore.¡± Gao Jue frowned and red at her.

    He Danggui bent down and rested with her hands on her knees, feeling her breath long and regr, unlike the jumbled and rapid breathing that she used to feel after strenuous exercise. She had some internal force in her previous life but very few. No matter in previous life or in this life, she had no practical experience of internal energy. Therefore, although she could clearly feel that her internal force was stronger than the previous life, she didn¡¯t know how powerful it would be.

    ¡°Hey, you, go to sleep now!¡± Gao Jue shouted at her rigorously.

    She remembered that there was a recording in a book, saying that people who had just acquired internal force could make the other person numb and unable to move within an hour if they tried their best to poke other person¡¯s Jianjing acupoint. She could do this in her previous life and she certainly could do it now. But she gave up when she looked at his tall figure. Gao Jue was so tall, and he was even taller than Duan Xiaolou. Just like hisst name Gao (Gao meant tall in Chinese), he was very tall. If she wanted to poke his Jianjing acupoint, she had to jump. Although she jumped higher than her previous life, she hadn¡¯t mastered the skill ofnding.

    ¡°Hey. If you still don¡¯t go to sleep, I¡¯ll throw you to feed the wolf!¡± Gao Jue threatened.

    Looking at his cold face, she gave up the attractive idea of using him to do the acupoint experiment. But Gao Jue really had a strong sense of existence. When he stood with Duan Xiaolou, Lu Jiangbei and Liao Zhiyuan, his sense of existence was not as strong as it was now. To be honest, besides Duan Xiaolou, it was fair to say that Gao Jue had the most handsome and sharp face, and he had deep eyes, but he was the least popr one among the four by girls. Hadn¡¯t he been married? Did he also show the same expression to his wife at home? How miserable his wife felt!

    ¡°On my three. One, two...¡± Gao Jue gritted his teeth.

    His character was different from the elegance of Duan Xiaolou, the gentleness of Lu Jiangbei, and the cynicism of Liao Zhiyuan. He was dangerous and cold, a standard image of imperial guards who liked to extort confessions by torture with a broadsword in his right hand and a whip in his left hand. Looking at him gritting his teeth with a cold face, she seemed to see the scene that he wore his ferocious face, brandishing a whip to torture the prisoners, and marking the prisoners with a burning iron...

    ¡°Three.¡± Gao Jue moved, approaching her step by step.

    He Danggui tidied her skirt and saluted, then she said, ¡°Master Gao, please stop. I¡¯ve made it clear that I don¡¯t need your help whether it is tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. You can leave the Taoist Temple and return to the capital now.¡±

    He remained silent for a moment and told her without expression, ¡°I have to stay in Yangzhou for several days, so Duan Xiaolou asked me to take care of you before he returned to the capital to report his work. Stupid woman, although you asked him to go down the mountain and find 4 porters for you, he didn¡¯t trust them. You think I¡¯m willing to help you? I hate the kind of self-righteous women. If you still don¡¯t go to sleep, I¡¯ll throw you to feed the wolf.¡±

    What? ¡°Feed the wolf¡± again? Did he have any more intimidating words? As an imperial guard, he only had such limited intimidating words. Didn¡¯t he regret that he didn¡¯t have a rich vocabry when he extorted the prisoners for confessions? As an official, how ipetent he was. Was it because of his cold face? It was intimidating by nature, so he needn¡¯t to study hard after his birth.

    There was another thing that He Danggui felt confused, so she asked, ¡°Although I¡¯m very grateful for your help in guiding my Zhenqi, couldn¡¯t you use a better posture? I¡¯ve seen the pictures in some books, all of which are conveying from head or back!¡±

    Gao Jue continued to keep silent with a cold face.

    He Danggui continued, ¡°In addition, although I know your time is valuable, you can either leave me alone or take your time when you were helping me. You conveyed your Zhenqi to me like you wanted to kill me. I almost died of pain! Do you really want to save me?¡±

    He only replied, ¡°Idiot.¡±

    ¡°...¡± He Danggui was very angry.

    ¡°If I conveyed it from your head, you would be an idiot now, and you can¡¯t stand here to me me.¡± He said coldly, ¡°I haven¡¯t inquired you why there was Zhenqi in your body, how dare you ask me? You are an ungrateful woman. If I didn¡¯t save your life, once the Zhenqi ran in your body for half a month, you would be dead or disabled.¡±

    He Danggui was surprised at first, but then she recalled that if it wasn¡¯t for his atrocity, she would have had money today. If she had money, she could buy silver needles. If she had silver needles, she could try to guide the Zhenqi by herself. The situation wasn¡¯t as bad as he said. However, after listening to his exnation, He Danggui was not as angry with him as before. After a second thought, he ¡°gifted¡± so much Zhenqi to her today, maybe more than what Lu Jiangbei conveyed slowly to her before. Now she had some internal force because of him, so she forgave him for his previous atrocity.

    ¡°Hey, woman.¡± Gao Jue asked her, ¡°There are 57 moves in the whole set of Five Mimic-animal Boxing, 12 moves for Tiger y, ranking 1st among all the 5 sections. Why did you perform 19 moves in the Crane y when you practiced this morning?¡±

    He Danggui smiled, ¡°I have read the original, the Catalogue of Five Mimic-animal Boxing, handed down by Hua Tuo, so it is moreplete than the moves spread in marketce. Since Master Gao is also interested, I will y it for you from the beginning.¡±

    Gao Jue looked at the stars in the sky and said nothing.

    He Danggui didn¡¯t care about this. Anyway, she could y alone. It was better for her to get instructions from this top senior. As the saying went, ¡°Purity begets purity¡±. If one day she also became a senior who could fly with a cool face everywhere, by then when she recalled the experience of practicing martial arts, Master Gao and Master Lu Jiangbei would also be her guides.

    So, she began to y from the beginning, stretching and jumping, spreading and falling, and acting like the floating clouds and flowing water. Tiger y imitated the tiger¡¯s bright eyes, wagging head and tail and stepping with softness in the hardness. It showed the tiger king¡¯s mighty manner. Crane y imitated the crane¡¯s haughtiness, leisurely and self-satisfied, showing the crane spread its wings, the wild geesended, and the independent manner of the crane¡¯s step posture¡­

    Like Tai Chi, Five Mimic-animal Boxing was a kind of civilian martial art, but it was easy to learn but difficult to master. Moreover, Five Mimic-animal Boxing had two extremes. The seniors with internal force would be very good-looking when they yed it. They would act skillfully and decisively, like the floating clouds and flowing water, which were extremely natural and unrestrained. Ordinary people who didn¡¯t know martial arts, however, would y like the old cattle ploughing the fields. Their strength did not match their own ambitions. When they yed less than half, they would be breathless. Their movements and imitation of the five animals were hrious, which made peopleugh. Anyway, what ordinary people pursue was to strengthen their bodies. As long as they moved their joints and rxed their muscles and bones, they would achieve their goals. Everyone¡¯s movements were ugly, so no one wouldugh at others.

    He Danggui also had internal force now. Although she didn¡¯t know how deep it was, even though her Dantian continuously transported power to her limbs and viscera like this, she had been immersed in the happiness that she had new realm of internal force. With no distractions, she focused on performing every movement perfectly and finally finished slowly.

    It was amazing. She was exhausted when she finished ying two sections this morning. Now she was strong enough to y the whole set of Five Mimic-animal Boxing, and her breath was still very steady!

    ¡°Master Gao, please give me some suggestions!¡± He Danggui chuckled and wondered if her Five Mimic-animal Boxing was good enough for Gao Jue.

    Her eyes were unforgettable!

    Gao Jue couldn¡¯t help thinking that if he told others that he was fascinated by a pair of eyes, would anyoneugh at him? He put his hands behind him and looked at the girl, who was smiling and charming. It was hard to describe how he felt for a moment. After a long time, he nodded, ¡°Well, it¡¯s a great performance.¡± The girlughed more happily.

    ¡°The senior ones y this to extend life; the secondary ones y it to avoid the attacks; and the junior ones y it to ensure their safety.¡± Gao Jue said sincerely, ¡°Congrattions, your martial arts have reached the level of a junior one, and you will not die on the street due to the sudden illness in the future.¡± The girl¡¯s smile grew stiff.

    He Danggui was angry. She finally understood that he was not ack of learning and vocabry, but a satirist.

    Gao Jue took a look at the white sky in the east and said, ¡°It¡¯s almost 5 o¡¯clock. Since you don¡¯t want to go to bed, let¡¯s start off early. Don¡¯t waste my time.¡±

    He Danggui said angrily, ¡°Now that your excellency said I won¡¯t die in the street, I dare not dy your time, let alone letting the General of imperial guard be my porter. So, Master, suit yourself if you want to leave. The next time I meet Master Duan, I will tell him the truth. It wouldn¡¯t be you breaking the promise.¡±

    Gao Jue nced at He Danggui condescendingly andmanded her, ¡°Listen, you only have an hour to dress. No matter what you look like an hourter, we¡¯re leaving.¡± After that, Gao Jue disappeared from where he stood. The cypress branches above their heads shook slightly.

    He Danggui had a second thought. If she could use Gao Jue as a servantter, why should she refuse his service? So, she dismissed Gao Jue¡¯s arrogance. Then she turned to run back into the East Wing-room and pushed the door. Seeing Zhen Jing falling asleep, she reached out and patted Zhen Jing¡¯s face, ¡°Get up! We are heading to eat the Stewed Pork Ball in Brown Sauce!¡± Zhen Jing opened her sleepy eyes, yawned and asked, ¡°What time is it? Does your butt still hurt, Xiaoyi?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t mention my butt anymore! Get up, ascetics are forbidden from morningziness!¡±

    He Danggui picked out a light yellow clothes and went tob her hair, but she couldn¡¯t find the only wooden hairpin of hers. Then she remembered that she had dropped it in the yard after she tried to attack Gao Jue with it in the morning. So, she went out to look for it. After walking around the yard twice, she found the hairpin, only it had broken into two parts and there was a vague big footprint on it.

    ¡°Barbarian.¡± He Danggui pursed her lips. Then she went back to her room, found a red print chopstick in the kitchenware and fold off the thick end to make a chignon like Zhen Jing¡¯s.

    Under Gao Jue¡¯s instruction, after an hour, He Danggui and Zhen Jing went out the yard and waited, but they didn¡¯t see Gao Jue. He Danggui had to go to the West Wing-room to look for him. However, when she got there, she found that all the rooms were empty. There was no trace of people or luggage. She wondered if Gao Jue had already gone. Well, that¡¯s okay if he left. She only needed to go to Ershi Lipu Vige in the halfway up the mountain to find 2 strong porters, and they would be easier to bemanded than Gao Jue! So, He Danggui turned back to look for Zhen Jing.

    It had been so dark and silent that He Danggui thought it was her own delusion earlier. Now she finally noticed that her eyesight and hearing were significantly better than before. Looking at the distance, she could even see the lines of Zhen Jing¡¯s eye pupil in a hundred paces away! What¡¯s more, she could hear people¡¯s breathing from the trees above her when she tried to listen!

 Chapter 36 - Your â€œfatherâ€ was waiting for you

    <h4>Chapter 36 Your ¡°father¡± was waiting for you</h4>

    People¡¯s breathing? He Danggui looked up doubtfully and saw a man sleeping on the tree. Who else could it be expect for Gao Jue?

    He Danggui suddenly realized why she could meet Gao Jue when she practiced Five Mimic-animal Boxing yesterday morning, and why she could also meet him when she went out to run at dawn today. This was because he had been sleeping in the tree outside the East Wing-room! Peeping? He was such a rude man! He Danggui picked up a scree from the ground and threw it up, hitting Gao Jue¡¯s nose as she expected. His face was now saying that ¡°I want to kill you¡±. Looking at that expression, He Danggui waved to him and said with a smile, ¡°Master Gao, let¡¯s go.¡±

    The three of them went to the meditation room of the northern yard. He Danggui took out the set of keys which Tai Xi had given her and tried to open the door of the meditation room. But Gao Jue came up with an unhappy face for hiscking of sleep, reached out and pulled the brass lock, together with the lock catch. Zhen Jing was scared and hid behind He Danggui. He Danggui red at the rude guy and then pushed the door open. They saw a little coffin which wasid in the middle of the room.

    He Danggui turned around and looked at the wide-backed sword in Gao Jue¡¯s waist. She asked, ¡°Barbari¡­ Master Gao, may I borrow your sword?¡±

    Gao Jue put out a small delicate dagger with a poker face and held it to the height as equal as He Danggui¡¯s nose. She thanked him before she pushed away the coffin lid, then pried the wood sleeper that was adhered by gum away. The dagger¡¯s hilt was made of dark steel, decorated with red and bright flower patterns, just like those on Gao Jue¡¯s ck long gown that he wore the first time they met. It had a sense of uncanny beauty. The tip of the dagger gave off a very strong sense of coldness, suggesting it was a not a toy, but a real bloodthirsty weapon.

    With Gao Jue¡¯s witness, He Danggui used his handy dagger expertly to pry the wood sleeper in the coffin away within seconds and then wrapped it up carefully with a square handkerchief. She gave it to the young Taoist nun behind her and smiled coolly, ¡°Take this. It¡¯s our treasure!¡± Then, Gao Jue just witnessed again that He Danggui used his killing dagger ground the traces she just pried.

    It was said that a good weapon was connected to its owner. The dagger seemed to sense He Danggui¡¯s anger, and it became more powerful to cut the gum¡­

    After a while, the work finished. He Danggui blew away the gum and bits of wood on the dagger. Then she put the dagger in the scabbard and returned it to Gao Jue. Sheughed out loud, ¡°Perfect! What a nice dagger! Well, since Master Gao being so kind, I¡¯m gonna give an order then. Master Gao, please carry up the coffin and follow us!¡±

    ¡°What?! You want me to carry the coffin?!¡± Gao Jue squeezed his dagger tightly, emerging a blue vein, as if he would lose control in any second and cut the girl who asked him to carry the coffin into pieces.

    Zhen Jing regretted to be given birth to this world. She tried her best to hide herself and prayed Gao Jue wouldn¡¯t notice her existence¡­

    He Danggui sighed and pitied herself with an extremely beautiful expression, ¡°I¡¯ve said before, how could a normal girl give orders to an imperial guard? I was supposed to find some porters who were easy tomand. However, Master Gao had offered to rece the porters yet refused to do their job¡­ It¡¯s going to be noon soon, and it¡¯s toote for me to find other porters. Fine, Zhen Jing.¡± Hearing Zhen Jing¡¯s voice declined a little bit, He Danggui held the front part of the coffin and said to Zhen Jing, ¡°One person a side, let¡¯s go downhill!¡±

    Gao Jue closed his eyes slightly and put away his dagger slowly. His muscles on his shoulders humped, spreading a dangerous feeling. Suddenly, Gao Jue raised his palm against He Danggui and a harsh screaming came out from Zhen Jing in the corner ¡ª ¡°Whoosh¡±. The coffin weighed over 100 jin flew upon Gao Jue¡¯s shoulder in an instant.

    Gao Jue carried it and walked out of the meditation room, then he squeezed out two words like he was calling the murderer who killed his father, ¡°Go downhill!¡±

    It was still early, so they didn¡¯t meet anyone on their way out of the Taoist Temple. Gao Jue walked so fast, leaving He Danggui and Zhen Jing far behind. He Danggui didn¡¯t feel relieved, so she yelled at the figure carrying the coffin, ¡°Be careful! That coffin is worth of fortune, and it can¡¯t be damaged a single bit! Or you¡¯ll have to pay for it!

    Hearing this, Gao Jue stopped for a second, jumped on the top of a tree and flew away with the coffin.

    Zhen Jing finally relieved, curled her lips and turned to look at He Danggui. She asked as if she was going to cry, ¡°Xiaoyi, why do we have to go with him? He is so horrible!¡±

    He Danggui threw up her hands, ¡°You think I want him here? He insisted on staying here and helping us!¡±

    Zhen Jing opened her mouth wide and imagined an astonishing picture of ¡°Master Gao insisted on staying here and helping them¡±, then she shook her head and asked again, ¡°You said the coffin was quite valuable? But as far as I know, a coffin is normally worth about 8 liang sliver, not to mention your coffin is very little!¡±

    He Danggui grinned, ¡°Lucky for me that all the people in the Taoist Temple, including Tai Shan and Tai Xi, didn¡¯t know the coffin¡¯s value. Otherwise how could I take my coffin away sessfully? I¡¯ve inquired Zhen Zhu before. Tai Shan thought this coffin was exquisite and maybe it was worth 20 to 30 liang sliver, so it was kept in the meditation room of the northern yard. She nned to exchange it with some silver in a few days. Luckily, Tai Xi agreed me to take my coffin and redeem you with 5 liang sliver! Come on, Zhen Jing. Let¡¯s go downhill! After getting the silver, we¡¯ll eat Stewed Pork Ball in Brown Sauce ande back to the Taoist Temple to redeem you after that!¡±

    It was beyond Zhen Jing¡¯s expectation that He Danggui bear her debt in her mind all this time. She was so moved and nodded, running down the mountain with He Danggui hand in hand, with a feeling of an elopement. But after a while, she could not go on... What, what speed was that? It was the deadly speed! Zhen Jing held He Danggui who was running, and gasped to wave her hands, giving a sign that she needed rest.

    How was this possible? When they went to the mountain to dig potherbs the next day when He Danggui was reborn from the death, Zhen Jingined that He Danggui walked so slowly and said, ¡°Youdies walk so elegantly, but it¡¯s not the time to visit gardens. We can¡¯t be back before dark if you walk like that.¡± Just a few dayster, why were their roles reversed?

    He Danggui thought for a moment and said, ¡°Let me carry you.¡± She put Zhen Jing on her back after speaking, and asked her to circle her neck. Zhen Jing absolutely didn¡¯t buy her words, so she said, ¡°Spare me, my Lady! I don¡¯t want to fall to death. I have a mother of 40 years old to support...¡±

    He Danggui was a little bit nervous for what Zhen Jing said. She never thought Zhen Jing was not as thin and little as she looked. Holding Zhen Jing a little higher on her back, she took a deep breath, then ran at the mountain road and the speed was not inferior to the running speed when she ran alone, which made Zhen Jing scared and scream the whole time. But He Danggui didn¡¯t even feel tired. So, she ran faster and faster, and felt her sadness and anger could be thrown away...

    At first, Zhen Jing felt scared. But she gradually became worried and asked He Danggui many times, ¡°Are you tired, Xiaoyi?¡± ¡°Are you okay, Xiaoyi?¡± ¡°Talk to me, Xiaoyi!¡± However, the slim girl looked possessed, opening her eyes and speaking nothing. She just kept running. Zhen Jing could feel the trees beside them backed tree by tree at first, and gradually block by block. Finally, there were only the hazy gray shadows left of the trees, and all Zhen Jing could see clearly was He Danggui¡¯s ck chignon.

    Approaching to the foot of the hill, He Danggui began to slow down. She finally stopped right after she arrived at thest path.

    Zhen Jing got off from her back and asked her constantly, ¡°What on earth had happened? Why did you run so fast? You scared me to death. And why didn¡¯t you answer me just now?¡± Zhen Jing began to scrutinize He Danggui¡¯s face now, finding she was breathing as usual and even with no sweat. The only change was the hair at her temples were against her light pink cheek.

    He Danggui cast a side-nce at her, ¡°A whole breath is the essential ingredient of internal energy. I would break the breath once I open my mouth, and the worst is to make you fall.¡±

    He Danggui was also amazed at the strength of her legs. When she was running, she didn¡¯t feel tired at all. So, she tried to speed up a little, but she still got the same feeling, so she quickened more. She was in that state for a long period of time, and finally she reached the highest speed as if the wind blew just beside her ears. Carrying Zhen Jing through the mountain road, she didn¡¯t even suffer from fatigue, just like she was not the one who was running but was being carried. Amazing! Even in her previous life, she never knew internal force was such a good thing. Had her present internal force outdistanced that of her 5 years¡¯ efforts in the previous life?

    He Danggui and Zhen Jing both took their own bamboo slip out and raised their heads to glug the water. When theyid the bamboo slips down, they saw Gao Jue with a face of ¡°strangers away¡± and the coffin on his shoulder.

    He Danggui looked around him immediately, and asked with concern, ¡°Is my coffin still okay? Did it get struck?¡±

    A strong chill was spread from him.

    After confirming her coffin was undamaged, He Danggui held Zhen Jing who was trembling with fear to move forward while urged Gao Jue who stood still like a stump, ¡°Hurry up. Let¡¯s go to the morning market together. I¡¯ll treat you with soy milk and deep-fried dough sticks after we sell the coffin!¡±

    Gao Jue¡¯s face looked a little better, but he still didn¡¯t move. He Danggui wondered what she did ruffled him, so she looked carefully at his eyes, finding he was staring at her hands. She moved her hands and his eyes followed? So, He Danggui looked at her hands¡­holding a bamboo slip with water.

    ¡°Do you want to drink water?¡± He Danggui asked out of curiosity, seeing he nodded superciliously, then she delivered it to him as she rebuked, ¡°If you want to drink water, just say it out. If you don¡¯t tell me that, how could I know your needs? Why didn¡¯t you tell me?¡±

    Gao Jue took the bamboo slip without words and raised his head to drink out all the water. Then he threw the empty bamboo slip at the mountain. Seeing it ¡°thumping¡± into the forest and making lots of birds flutter, He Danggui turned her eyes from the scattered birds to Gao Jue¡¯s face, and found it was much better. She felt puzzled. Was he just angry for a half bamboo slip of water? What a weirdo.

    The three of them walked into Tu¡¯er Town after dawn. He Danggui went into a roadside grocery, asking a fe behind the counter, ¡°Hey, man, may I ask how many coffin shops Tu¡¯er Town has?¡±

    The fe was eating Spicy Oil Noodles. Hearing the question, he looked up with a half of a pickled cucumber in his mouth. Seeing a little and younger beautiful girl, he was about to answer, but felt a quick heartbeat for the girl¡¯s clean, smiling and pretty eyes. The cucumber fell into the noodle soup with a st and a few drops of spicy oil sshed in his face.

    The beautiful girl remained smiling and apologized, ¡°Sorry to interrupt your breakfast.¡±

    The fe waved his hands hurriedly and ran out of the counter, telling this young beauty enthusiastically about what the four coffin shops in the town were called, where their addresses were, which was the biggest and which had the poor quality. He Danggui listened carefully, nodded all the time and thanked him atst.

    The fe rubbed his hands nervously because no one had ever listened to him carefully. Most importantly, the listener was a beautiful and politedy. In the past, he always thought that the more beautiful a woman was, the fiercer she was. Because hisndy¡¯s niece looked beautiful, but was as fierce as a wolf. Also, the most popr courtesan, Zhen Liuniang, who was an unlicensed prostitute in the next street, looked better, but was as fierce as a tiger. This beauty, however, was much more beautiful than Zhen Liuniang, but not fierce at all... Thinking of this, the fe concernedly inquired whether the beauty¡¯s family member died, what she wanted to do in a coffin shop, if she had enough money for a coffin and what price she was gonna pay for the coffin.

    He Danggui smiled to remind the fe that his noodles were getting cool. She also noticed that his noodles were floating with not only ayer of chili oil on the cover, but also a few red peppers. Therefore, she told him that she could tell from his look that he might have a strong stomach fire. Also, she advised that his breakfast was too spicy for him, which caused him hungry frequently in the evening. But if he ate food at that time, he would soon suffer abdominal distension. Therefore, if he was desperate to eat spicy food, then he should eat a boiled egg or stirred tofu before that.

    The fe was so moved that he did not expect this beauty who met him for the first time was so concerned about him. Moreover, recently he often felt hungry and bloated at night, just like she said. After this conversation, he heard that this beauty spoke Yangzhou dialect just like him, but she had a bit of the capital¡¯s tone. So, he asked where she came from because she didn¡¯t sound like a native.

    He Danggui told him that although she was from Yangzhou, the wet nurse who taught her how to speak was from the capital. Naturally, she followed to learn some of the capital¡¯s dialect.

    A wet nurse? She turned out to be ady from a rich family. But how approachable she was! The fe asked why she came to Tu¡¯er Town, if she found a ce to live, if she had any other people toe with, if she was not adapted to the environment here, so... She prepared for her funeral affair.

    Hearing this, He Danggui was speechless. She never thought people in Tu¡¯er Town were so hospitable, and their imagination were also so unrestrained. As she was about to answer his question, she saw him stepping two steps back all of a sudden. He was startled slightly to wave his hands and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t know your father is still waiting for you. Well, I will not disturb you. Tare care, Miss. My condolences.¡±

    He Danggui followed the fe¡¯s eyes, saw her ¡°father¡± carrying a coffin and blocking in the front of the grocery sullenly. Then she held back her smile, went out and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go to the Coffin Shop of Li, which is 5 streets away.¡±

    Zhen Jing was waiting for He Danggui at the door, and also heard the fe¡¯s introduction. He mentioned clearly that Coffin Shop of Jing, which was 2 streets away, was the biggest shop in Tu¡¯er Town. Zhen Jing asked, ¡°Why don¡¯t we go to the Coffin Shop of Jing to ask around? Will bigger coffin shops bid more?¡±

    He Danggui smiled and said, ¡°We don¡¯t have to. Let¡¯s go to the Coffin Shop of Li, 5 streets away. But we¡¯ll also ¡®pass¡¯ Coffin Shop of Jing on the way, and we can slow down and have a rest.¡± Zhen Jing was still in a daze, while Gao Jue got her instantly, but he still continued to maintain his cold and gloomy expression without giving any response.

 Chapter 37 - Selling her coffin

    <strong>Chapter 37 Selling her coffin</strong>

    Along the way, they grabbed almost all the pedestrians and street vendors¡¯ attention. Those people firstly looked at the coffin on Gao Jue¡¯s shoulder, then Gao Jue, and finally focused on He Danggui from head to foot.

    Although Tu¡¯er Town was small, it was not unusual to see one or two coffins carrying dead people on the street every day. But a strange thing that attracted people¡¯s attention appeared. Even very poor family would hire at least two or three men to carry it as long as they could afford it. Why was that man carrying the coffin alone? Who was he? How could he have such a strange power? Therefore, the attention of the pedestrians was distracted from the coffin to the person carrying it. They could tell from his physique and expression that he looked like a stubborn man, so they frustratedly turned their gaze to the person behind him instantly.

    With a closer look, many people were deeply attracted. At a nce, they found a young girl in yellow. Her skin was fair and her eyebrows were very beautiful. She even looked better than those women in the paintings.

    They saw that she wore a yellow cloth shirt with small sleeves and narrow waist, and a pair of small linen shoes. Her ck hair was simply coiled on her head with a redcquered chopstick. A few strands of hair on her temples were scattered but not disordered. Such a bad dress on her was like putting a legendary luminous pearl in a beggar¡¯s bowl. She was so dazzling. For the most vigers who hadn¡¯t seen any beauties, this girl was as beautiful as a fairy in their eyes.

    Suddenly, the girl smiled slightly. A moving and thoughtful expression appeared on her fair oval face. Then she turned around and said something to a young Taoist nun who shared a simr age beside her. People nearby couldn¡¯t help listening to what she said, so she raised her head to see what happened. Her eyes looked like clear water. She nced around and might not have looked at anyone deliberately, but those who had been nced had the feeling that ¡°she was looking at me¡±.

    Jing Renxing, the shopkeeper of Coffin Shop of Jing, kowtowed three times to the God of Wealth¡¯s joss in the inner hall, burning joss sticks and praying, ¡°God bless me, many people have died for disasters this year, which allowed me to earn a lot of money. I wish more people will die next year, and then I can make more money!¡± After praying, he asked the shop assistants to open the door and start the business of a new day.

    When the shop assistants removed the third door panel, a small and beautiful face shed in front of Jing Renxing. He ran out of the shop unconsciously, only saw the backs of three people and the tall man walking in front carrying a coffin on his shoulder. Jing Renxing¡¯s eyes were very narrow. It looked simr in others¡¯ eyes whether his eyes opened or squinted. He looked at them for a moment, and his eyes suddenly lighted. It seemed to be a coffin made of fragrant wood! How could people in Tu¡¯er Town use a fragrant wooden coffin to carry the dead!

    After their figures disappeared in Jing Renxing¡¯s vision, he licked his lips unhappily and walked back to the coffin shop.

    Under themand of He Danggui, Gao Jue carried the coffin through two streets and walked around in front of the Coffin Shop of Jing. Then he walked through three streets and put the coffin at the door of Coffin Shop of Li. The shopkeeper and the assistants followed the sound to see it.

    Gao Jue held his arms around his chest and looked at the sky. Zhen Jing followed He Danggui into Coffin Shop of Li.

    Not until Gao Jue changed his gesture to cross his hands behind his back and started to check his shoes did He Danggui walk out of the coffin shop with Zhen Jing, telling Gao Jue to carry the coffin and go on walking. Gao Jue didn¡¯t refuse.

    Zhen Jing covered her mouth in shock, shaking her head constantly and mumbling, ¡°140 liang silver for a coffin?! A year¡¯s harvest of the crops in my family is only worth 2 liang sliver. That means this coffin would cost 70 years of crops of my family! No, no, no, we also need to pay for food and clothes¡­ Xiaoyi, why are we leaving? Aren¡¯t we going to sell it to them? It¡¯s 140 liang silver!¡±

    He Danggui smiled, ¡°This shop is small and merely has customers, and they definitely don¡¯t have enough working fund at hand, so I wasn¡¯t nning to sell my coffin to this shop at first. This coffin would be my first pot of gold. I would like to try my best to earn more. By doing so, I would have more choices with more money in my future business dealings.¡±

    Zhen Jing was so curious, ¡°But why is your coffin worth such amount of money? How much did you pay for it?¡±

    He Danggui signed Gao Jue to walk towards Coffin Shop of Jing and talked slowly, ¡°In ancient times, a general of Country Shu named Guan Yu was killed by Lv Meng, a subordinate of Sun Quan from Country Wu, and his head was cut off and sent to Cao Cao of Country Wei as a present. Cao Cao thought this was Sun Quan¡¯s tricks of letting him be the scapegoat. So, he used fragrant wood to make a body for Guan Yu and buried it well. Three dayster, the ghost of Guan Yu returned and killed his enemy, Lv Meng, fulfilling his revenge. Since then, a story had been told among the public that if a person who died wrongly was kept inside a fragrant wooden coffin, this person would bless his families and punish the guilty ones. However, the fragrant wood is too expensive. In ordinary times, even a wealthy family would only cost a few liang of fragrant wood on burning joss sticks. Seldom had people used fragrant wood to make coffins.¡±

    Zhen Jing blinked her eyes, ¡°Well, you¡¯ve been treated nicely by your family then, preparing a fragrant wooden coffin for you.

    He Danggui nodded, ¡°I¡¯m the only child of my mother. She was listening to Scriptures when she heard about my death, and then she said something about ¡®The immortals want me dead¡¯. The Taoist nuns in Sanqing Templeforted her and advised her to make a high-ss fragrant wooden coffin for me, saying that children died in their preteen was carrying a strong grievance and it¡¯s bad for the elders¡¯ health, but fragrant wood would help defuse the dead¡¯s anger. So, my mother took 500 liang silver from her dowry¡­¡±

    ¡°500?!¡± Zhen Jing¡¯s voice were like a duck being stepped on its neck.

    ¡°Let me finish,¡± He Danggui tapped on Zhen Jing¡¯s shoulder tofort her a little bit, ¡°500 liang silver were only used to buy the fragrant wood. Another 30 liang silver for the craftsmen were paid by Luo¡¯s Family. Fragrant wood¡¯s texture is soft and it would only take a half day¡¯s work to make an elegant fragrant wooden coffin. My coffin was made from 5 different fragrant woods. The sleeper for the dead ones to pillow¡ªthe one I pried away and gave to you¡ªis a high-ss lignaloes and it is worth over 300 liang silver¡­¡±

    Zhen Jing reached inside her clothes hurriedly. He Dangguiforted her again with patting. She smiled, ¡°Things like lignaloes would not get a fair price in Tu¡¯er Town. That¡¯s why I pried it away so that I can sell it in Yangzhou City in the future. In this way, the cost of the coffin is 230 liang silver, which means, we need to sell it at least at a price of 230, so we could earn some money. You know, no matter buying the materials or paying the craftsmen, they all depend on Luo¡¯s Family. That is to say, if a normal rich person wants to buy this, it will be much more expensive, 270 at least.¡±

    After listening with her mouth open, Zhen Jing asked a reasonable question, ¡°So, these things all happened after your ¡®death¡¯ and you didn¡¯t go back to Luo¡¯s Family yet. Why do you know it so clearly?¡±

    He Danggui winked and lied, ¡°Well, did you forget? I wrote to my mother before and she told me these things in her reply.¡±

    In fact, she heard about these things after she went back to Luo¡¯s Family in the previous life. At that time, her mother was abandoned by her stepfather, so she became sad and cared about nothing. But when she heard her daughter was reborn, she was very excited and thought it was because of her prayer and worship. So, she had been living in Sanqing Temple to listen to the Scriptures intently, and forgot about the expensive fragrant wooden coffin. Later, when she finally remembered and sent people to ask for it, the coffin had already been sold by Tai Shan at a low price. It was said that Coffin Shop of Jing, which purchased coffins in Tu¡¯er Town, had made a killing, sold the coffin and bought a rural housing. Therefore, Jing¡¯s Family became the richest family in Tu¡¯er Town.

    A few days ago, He Danggui recalled this ¡°history¡± in her past, and she made a decision. She wanted to make money through her coffin and decided that she must sell the fragrant wooden coffin in Tu¡¯er Town. If she took it back to Luo¡¯s Family, Second Mistress Luo would definitely give a pretext to confiscate it and hide it in her small warehouse.

    Jing Renxing, the shopkeeper of Coffin Shop of Jing, was still concerned about the fragrant wooden coffin. Then he saw three people¡ªa tall man carried the coffin, a beautiful girl in yellow and a Taoist nun with a round facee back.

    ¡°Well, well, well, where are you going? The coffin is heavy. If you want coffins and heavers, juste to my shop!¡± Shopkeeper Jing stopped them hurriedly when they passed by. It seemed he was soliciting business, but actually he just wanted to confirm if he was wrong about the coffin.

    General coffins were always painted with two coasts of ck paint. The fragrant wooden coffin was only painted by basswood glue to prevent it from insects and stink, keeping the fragrance at the same time. He only saw the appearance of the coffin in distance just now, but now he approached to smell and touch it. He finally confirmed that the coffin the man in ck carried was a fragrant wooden coffin, and it was definitely ssy!

    Shopkeeper Jing found the man in ck was staring at him when he recalled himself. Then he noticed that he stepped on the man¡¯s feet while he threw himself to touch the coffin!

    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to, young man, don¡¯t be too testy. Well, how abouting to my shop, and I will offer you some tea to make amends.¡± Shopkeeper Jing stooped with a posture of inviting them in. The man in ck looked at the girl in yellow behind him. The girl chuckled and her clear voice was like small ws scratching to Shopkeeper Jing¡¯s mind, ¡°I¡¯m also thirsty, and it¡¯s not appropriate to get in a teahouse with a coffin. Let¡¯s stay here for a cup of tea from the shopkeeper.¡±

    Shopkeeper Jing weed. Then they walked into Coffin Shop of Jing.

    ¡°I wonder where you are going. Why do you carry an empty coffin and walk in the street in the early morning?¡± Shopkeeper Jing politely served a pot of oolong tea and wanted to pour for them in person.

    He Danggui smiled slightly and thanked him, ¡°I¡¯m ttered. I can do it by myself.¡±

    Then she took the boiling pot and warmed the tea-cup one by one. She extended these cups in an arc shape and took the spout of purple y teapot with one hand, using her fingers to hold the lid and showed a gap between the spout and the lid. After a movement called Guangong Xuncheng, she poured the tea into the cups. When the tea was about to pour out, she slightly shook her wrist and dropped the rest tea into these cups, making the color of tea perfectly even and appropriate. The dark purple pot was so delectable in her pure white hands. The whole movements were done at one go naturally and smoothly.

    ¡°Please enjoy it.¡± He Danggui got a cup of tea first and smelled, then she said with a smile, ¡°Nice tea¡ªDongding oolong tea.¡± Although it was inferior Dongding oolong tea, the scent of it was still memorable.

    When Shopkeeper Jing served the tea just now, Gao Jue¡¯s eyelids drooped with his charming face like a stone, obviously showing his dislike of the tea. However, seeing He Danggui¡¯s tea art seem to change the waste into the valuable, he also got himself a cup of tea and smelled the refreshing scent as expected.

    If Liao Zhiyuan and Duan Xiaolou had been here, they would have cried out. Gao Jue still looked expressionless, but there was a smile in his dark eyes. Everyone familiar with Gao Jue knew that the look was his most ¡°friendly¡± expression. Thest time he had this kind of expression was at the feast for celebrating his daughter¡¯s first month of life.

    Shopkeeper Jing also picked up a cup of tea and sipped, then said with surprise, ¡°Oh my! That¡¯s quite enjoyable! Youngdy, you are excellent! I usually drink this tea, but never know it can taste so great! And I made the tea first, but you just made such a wonderful aroma through several operations. I can¡¯t imagine how great the taste would be if you performed the whole process.¡±

    He Danggui took a sip of tea with a smile and continued to the topic which Shopkeeper Jing mentioned, ¡°One could be a master in his own special field. I can just make tea. That¡¯s not a big deal. But it¡¯s admiring for you to know it¡¯s an empty coffin within a simple nce.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Shopkeeper Jing squinted his small eyes with pride, ¡°I have taken up funeral industry for more than 30 years, and I know things about coffins and the dead very well. I know clearly the material, weight and value of a coffin and whether there is a dead person or not, even the number of dead people in it within a nce.¡±

    ¡°Oh? That¡¯s magical.¡± He Danggui asked with a lively interest, ¡°The coffin is sealed. How could you know the coffin is empty or not, shopkeeper?¡±

    Shopkeeper Jing came near her and whispered mysteriously, ¡°This is a secret of the funeral industry and I¡¯m not supposed to tell you, but you and I are congenial. So, I¡¯m willing to tell you¡­ The dead person¡­is the heaviest. When people walk through with a dead person carrying in the coffin, the footprints on the ground would be deep and evident, and the middle of these prints would be ck¡­Also, while carrying those empty coffins, not only are the footprints shallow but people who carry the coffins have to stand straight!¡±

    Hearing his tone was spooky, Zhen Jing shivered. But He Danggui chuckled. She thought he was weird. What kind of foundation was that? Gao Jue could stand straight and leave shallow footprints even if he was asked to carry a stone lion.

    Seeing that He Danggui didn¡¯t buy his exnation, Shopkeeper Jing emphasized, ¡°I¡¯m serious. The coffins rte to something ominous and evil! Eh? By the way, where were you intend to go? Why are you walking on the street with an empty coffin?¡± Meanwhile, he nced at the fragrant wooden coffin which was in the room center and sounded out, ¡°I think your coffin is not bad.¡±

    Zhen Jing asked at once, ¡°How much do you think it is worth?¡± The shopkeeper of Coffin Shop of Li was willing to buy the coffin with all his money¡ª140 liang silver. And this shop was three to four times as big as Li¡¯s and their decorations were better, too, so he might offer a higher price.

    Shopkeeper Jing¡¯s eyes moved quickly, and he said authoritatively, ¡°In my opinion, this coffin should be worth between 80 and 100 liang silver.¡±

    Zhen Jing felt disappointed to hear such an answer.

 Chapter 38 - A little maid of Luoâ€™s Mansion

    <strong>Chapter 38 A little maid of Luo¡¯s Mansion</strong>

    He Danggui yed with the tea-cup and nodded, ¡°Since you offer the same price, I guess Shopkeeper Li was right about its value¡­ s, now I have to go back and persuade the Madam to let me take it back and then sell it in Yangzhou.¡±

    ¡°Sell it?!¡± Shopkeeper Jing asked excitedly, ¡°You want to sell this coffin? Can I have a look?¡±

    He Danggui nodded, ¡°Of course, please.¡±

    Shopkeeper Jing turned to open the mahogany tool box on his counter, which contained several soft rulers and tools for testing the hardness of woods. As he stretched out the soft ruler and measured the coffin board, he looked up to find out the secrets of He Danggui, ¡°Miss, you don¡¯t sound like a native, do you? Where did you get the coffin?¡±

    He Danggui took a sip of tea to moisten her throat and said, ¡°The truth is, I¡¯m a little maid of Luo¡¯s Mansion in Yangzhou City, and the Miss I served is a cousin of the family. Early this month, the Miss died identally. The Madam was so depressed that she spent a lot of money to buy four kinds of superior fragrant woods, and then invited a craftsman of ¡®Yu Hua Ji¡¯ in Yangzhou City to make this fragrant wooden coffin. After that, she sent it to Shui Shang Temple to expiate the sins of my Miss. In the past, I only heard that the fragrant wooden coffin could make the soul rest in peace. Unexpectedly, it was more magical that my Miss was ced in the coffin for two days, and then she woke up again, as alive as before¡­¡±

    ¡°What?! Dead for two days and then resurrected?¡± Shopkeeper Jing felt so shocked.

    He Danggui indicated him to keep calm and continued, ¡°The Madam was very happy to learn this news. So, she went to Shui Shang Temple to pick up my Miss in person. A servant advised that although this coffin was noticeable for the Miss¡¯s rebirth, it was not an auspicious object after all. We carried the coffin out of Yangzhou City before, and now we have a wonderful and happy event. We really shouldn¡¯t take it back to Yangzhou City¡­¡±

    ¡°Right! That¡¯s right!¡± Shopkeeper Jing nodded with might and main.

    ¡°So, the Madam epted the servant¡¯s proposal and asked us to take it here, expecting someone to offer a reasonable price. Even if the price only equals to 60% or 70% of the material, we can sell it for luck.¡±

    Shopkeeper Jing was very happy, fondling the coffin and thinking, ¡°I worship the God of Wealth in the early morning, and he doese to me! Half-year ie of selling nanmu coffins is no match for such a piece of the fragrant wood! Well, I must buy it at the lowest price!¡±

    He Danggui put down the empty tea-cup and took another full cup. She smiled at her reflection in the tea and said sadly, ¡°Well, the Madam thought I¡¯m clever, so she values me. If I do this job well, she will promote me to be a first-ss maid when I¡¯m back¡­ s, guess I¡¯ll miss the chance this time. Knight Gao, Zhen Jing, let¡¯s take the coffin and go back to Shui Shang Temple!¡±

    Gao Jue and Zhen Jing stood up immediately. Shopkeeper Jing opened his arms and stopped them at the corridor hurriedly, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? We haven¡¯t finished our conversation yet. Didn¡¯t you say you wanted to sell the coffin? I¡¯ll buy it! Miss, do you think the price I offered is too low? How much do you think is appropriate?¡±

    He Danggui said she would be going to leave, but she was sitting there all the time, still holding a small tea-cup and said, ¡°I had inquired from a fe in town this morning, and I learned that your shop is thergest coffin shop in Tu¡¯er Town. I wanted to ask you first, but your shop was not starting business, so I went to ask Shopkeeper Li, who was three blocks away. Although he was willing to give 140 liang of silver, it was still far from the price that the Madam expected. Before I left, I asked him if there were other coffin shops nearby. He told me that Tu¡¯er Town was a small town with few wealthy and influential families. The nanmu coffins were bought or sold by the coffin shops for only 5 or 6 liang. Such coffin of fragrant wood could only be sold at a good price in Yangzhou City, so he advised me not to look for buyers in Tu¡¯er Town anymore.¡±

    Shopkeeper Jing¡¯s little eyes swelled and said angrily, ¡°Li Laosan is a poor man who talks nonsense. He is too poor to buy your coffin, but I have more money than he does. I could afford it! Miss, just now I was dazzled and didn¡¯t see it clearly, therefore, the price I offered you was low. Just let me look carefully again, and I¡¯ll definitely offer you a good price.¡±

    ¡°Take your time.¡± He Danggui raised the tea-cup to her lips and drank the tea down, ¡°Nice tea.¡±

    Shopkeeper Jing looked carefully at the outside of the coffin and pushed it open to look inside. He asked with a frown, ¡°Miss, why isn¡¯t there a sleeper in the coffin? Didn¡¯t little coffins like this have a carved sleeper?¡±

    He Danggui nodded, ¡°Yes, there was one in it, but the Madam asked me to take it off specially.¡±

    ¡°Why? Is this sleeper very valuable?¡±

    He Danggui shook her head, ¡°No, the Madam said that our Miss was an unmarried little girl and she had used this sleeper, so the next upant of the coffin could not expect to use it. After all, sharing a pillow means a lot to everyone in the world, not to mention my Miss is still a preteen¡­¡±

    ¡°Ho ho, your Madam was so thoughtful. I haven¡¯t thought of that in all my years of selling coffins.¡± Shopkeeper Jing felt his chin as he was convinced. He fixed his gaze at He Danggui¡¯s face shrewdly, ¡°Miss, how much did your Madam want to sell it?¡±

    ¡°300 liang silver.¡± He Danggui held out three delicate fingers.

    Even if Shopkeeper Jing opened his eyes to the max, they still looked very small. He eximed aloud, ¡°300 liang sliver? Really? How expensive it is!¡±

    Gao Jue and Zhen Jing were both standing behind He Danggui. Gao Jue held his arms around his chest and watched a spider spinning its web on the beam above him. Zhen Jing clutched her hands under her sleeves guiltily because Xiaoyi said the cost of the coffin¡¯s material was 230 liang silver...

    He Danggui spread out her hands and said in disappointment, ¡°You are a man of sense, but how can you talk like ayman? We spent more than that price to buy these fragrant woods. Not to mention this is a masterpiece designed by Master Zhang in Yu Hua Ji of Yangzhou City. Refute me if any ordinary family have this honor to invite him. I cannot tell you clearly how much this coffin costs and how effective it is in bringing people back to life. Because I¡¯m just a little maid. I just follow my madam¡¯s order.¡± Then she stood up and turned to Gao Jue, ¡°Knight Gao, we already had the tea. Let¡¯s go. Looks like we¡¯ll have to sell the coffin in Yangzhou City.¡±

    Gao Jue snatched the coffin from Shopkeeper Jing¡¯s hands directly, held it on his shoulder and walked out of the coffin shop. He Danggui walked out after him and turned to wave goodbye to Shopkeeper Jing with a smile, ¡°Thank you for your tea. Wish you brisk business, flouring source of wealth, bye!¡±

    Shopkeeper Jing wanted to snatch the coffin with Gao Jue, but Gao Jue was so strong that it was easier for him to carry the coffin than carry a small wooden box. Shopkeeper Jing almost fell over and trotted hurriedly after He Danggui as soon as he found his bnce.

    He Danggui shook her hands with a surprising look, ¡°Please stop, Shopkeeper Jing. I¡¯m just a little maid. Don¡¯t bother to see me off!¡±

    Shopkeeper Jing stopped her and said hurriedly, ¡°My shop also purchases ssy coffins! We can negotiate the price, and I can afford a high price!¡±

    He Danggui blinked her big innocent eyes but said nothing.

    Shopkeeper Jing gnashed his teeth and said ostentatiously with one hand to two and the other hand to five, ¡°250 liang!¡±

    Zhen Jing was standing behind. Hearing this, she couldn¡¯t helpughing out. Seeing Shopkeeper Jing and He Danggui looking back at her together, she felt frightened and covered her mouth hurriedly to say, ¡°Sorry, I don¡¯t know anything. Go ahead!¡±

    He Danggui said to Shopkeeper Jing regrettably, ¡°I¡¯m really sorry. See, I¡¯m just doing orders. I do not dare to decide the price the Madam had settled. If I change the price, I cannot afford the cost. You know, if I failed to sell this coffin, that only makes me ipetent at most; but if the coffin is sold at a fire-sale price, the Madam maybe get angry, and I...¡±

    Shopkeeper Jing was quite helpless for this situation. He shook his head, sighed and said, ¡°Ouch, why are you so stubborn? It¡¯s clear that price is stationary, but people are alive. Also, I have been doing this business for decades and have not heard of any price which cannot be negotiated properly! Besides, your Madam is also an expert on the market and there is a depreciation on the coffin because it has been used once; Secondly, you took the sleeper away. So, I have to reselect the wood, redesign the pattern, redo the carving and make a new sleeper to match the coffin. These things should be calcted in the 300 liang sliver you imed. Even if your Madam is here, you have to give us some space to negotiate the price!¡±

    He Danggui bit her lower lip hesitantly, and her expression seemed to say she had changed her mind.

    Shopkeeper Jing felt a sense of sess and continued, ¡°Now that this Taoist nunughed at me that the price was not good. So, I¡¯ll add 10 liang, i.e. 260 liang. It means everything goes smoothly! How about that?¡±

    He Danggui paused and hesitated. ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know... Well, what about this. I will let Knight Gao live in the inn with the coffin until I get the answer from my Madam. If she agrees, I¡¯lle to you tomorrow...¡± Then she went out again.

    Shopkeeper Jing hurried to stop and was so angry that he stamped his foot twice, ¡°Wait, wait, wait, ouch, My Lady! Why are you in such a hurry in the early morning? If the price is too low for you, there is still some space for negotiation. Also, you don¡¯t have the ability to negotiate. I wonder why your Madam send you here? Even a fe who sweep in my shop is better at business than you! Think about it! Is it possible that the inn you live in doesn¡¯t cost money? Is it possible that the knight you hired doesn¡¯t cost money for another day? The inns in Tu¡¯er Town are crowded and misceneous. I am not frightening you because there are all kinds of people! Such valuable stuff allows nothing dangerous to happen. Even a very tiny damage would cause loss!¡±

    He Danggui blinked her big watery eyes, tilted her head and said, ¡°You are so kind and considerate. Um... Since living in the inns here has a big risk, I hope you could offer me another fair price. Any price not too far from our quotation would be good enough for me to report the result. Otherwise, we dare not go to the inn. Then we will have to rent a carriage and find another buyer in Yangzhou City before dawn.¡±

    Shopkeeper Jing¡¯s left hand clenched as a fist and pounded heavily on the palm of his right hand, showing a determined expression, ¡°No more bargain, 275 liang! It couldn¡¯t be higher!¡±

    ¡°Deal.¡±

    He Danggui epted the price with pleasure. She turned around, looked at the door and saw Gao Jue carrying the coffin. His dark eyes were staring at her with a thoughtful look on his face. She waved her hands with a smile and said, ¡°Well, don¡¯t stand there, just bring it back. When I sell the coffin, we¡¯ll go for breakfast! I¡¯ll treat you with soybean milk and deep-fried dough sticks!¡±

    Gao Jue stared at the girl whose expression was flexible and lively, whose eyes and eyebrows were filled with joy, and who ordered him, ¡°the General of Killing Lord¡±, to do things. He had a strange feeling which included query, bewilderment, appreciation, regretting they didn¡¯t meet earlier, and... a crush on her.

    What kind of person was she? Why was her brain and courage sopletely out of step with her age? How many hidden talents did she have? What kind of life did she like? What kind of man she would love?

    She was only 10 years old now, but it could tell that she would definitely be a beauty. After 3 or 5 years, what kind of extraordinary beauty she would be?

    Gao Jue was the Emperor¡¯s favorite general, and worked for the Emperor all year round. He had seen various beautiful women in the Imperial Harem, but no one could make him so concerned that he could not look away. Those women had different figures. And they were beautiful, fascinating, effeminate or dissocial. But none of them were like the girl in front of him, just like... just like a new moon in the mist.

    With He Danggui¡¯s urge, Gao Jue put the coffin back to the coffin shop. And Shopkeeper Jing went into the counting-house for a moment, took several cheques and 5 liang sliver, handed them to He Danggui with great joy and said, ¡°Little girl, count it. It¡¯s 275 liang!¡±

    He Danggui counted the money, put it in an apricot bag and said with a smile, ¡°Well, we¡¯ll leave then. Shopkeeper Jing, please stay.¡± She turned to talk to Gao Jue and Zhen Jing, ¡°It¡¯s all done. Let¡¯s go to the market. There are many snack stands.¡± Seeing Gao Jue still staring at her, she asked with a smile, ¡°Master Gao, is my face blossoming? Why are you staring at me like this?¡±

    Gao Jue turned and strode out of the coffin shop, put his hands behind his back, looked at a sparrow pecking at the roadside and then asked with his back to He Danggui, ¡°About Duan Xiaolou, why did you refuse him?¡±

 Chapter 39 - Passersby

    <strong>Chapter 39 Passersby</strong>

    He Danggui didn¡¯t understand what Gao Jue was saying after a few seconds, and thought he also liked gossips. After a while, she told him, ¡°Because our maic fields are not the same, and we¡¯ll get hurt if we stay together for too long.¡±

    ¡°Maic field?¡± Gao Jue turned around, wrinkled his bushy eyebrows and asked, ¡°What does that mean?¡±

    ¡°It means... Childe Duan is a good man, but I am a wicked girl who can¡¯t give him what he wants. Also, he can¡¯t give me what I want.¡± He Danggui also went to see the sparrow pecking at the side of the road and smiled gently, ¡°There is a kind of man that women want to be his matchmaker when they see him instead of keeping him for themselves. Master Gao, what do you think the reason is?¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Gao Jue asked in perfect coordination.

    He Danggui waved her hands to Zhen Jing who was behind her and smiled at Gao Jue, ¡°Please forgive me, Master. We are both hungry because we did not eat enough food for several days. So, I¡¯ll tell you the answer when we¡¯re full. Let¡¯s go!¡±

    As soon as Gao Jue was about to speak, suddenly his face turned cold and his left ear turned back. He looked over the sky in the southeast. He Danggui followed his eyes and saw the thick crown of a banyan tree at the end of the street swaying back and forth, but other trees around remained motionless. This was¡ª

    He Danggui was about to ask what Gao Jue was looking, and then saw a person falling from the shaking tree crown. It turned to be a petite woman.

    Gao Jue frowned his eyebrows, took a few steps forward and reproached loudly, ¡°What are you doing here? Any subordinates? When did you arrive?¡±

    The woman seemed to have fallen hard, and it took her 2 or 3 times to crawl up. Then she staggered this way, wiped away her tears as she ran and said, ¡°You always scold me. Didn¡¯t you see me fall down? You just scold me as soon as you met me. I¡¯ll tell my sister about that after I get back...¡±

    He Danggui squinted at Gao Jue and saw his tight lip and impatientplexion, as if it was going to rain. At this time, the woman was running closer and she was actually a young girl, looking like 14 or 15 years old in appearance. She was half a head higher than He Danggui and wore arge red shirt with a flying swallow silver bow on her back.

    He Danggui and the girl were observing each other at the same time. The girl¡¯s eyes were like hidden knives, sharp enough to make people feel ufortable.

    ¡°Hey, who are you?¡± The girl in red asked, and a dimple appeared on her cheek.

    ¡°An irrelevant person.¡± He Danggui thought and answered.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± The girl in red frowned with her curved eyebrows and her innocent eyes. The tip of her nose was slightly cocked up. She owned a beautiful appearance, but could not cover the childishness hidden inside.

    He Danggui tilted her head and said, ¡°You and I, we are passersby who meet by chance on a street. Is it necessary to exchange names?¡±

    The girl in red looked at her again with disapproval and asked, ¡°Brother-inw, who is she? A new maid you bought?¡±

    Gao Jue repeated the question coldly, ¡°Tell me! When and why did youe here? Are the guardsing with you?¡±

    The girl in red pouted and refuted in injured tone, ¡°Ie here for Xiaolou. Why are you so angry?! Are you being mad because I saw you buy a beautiful maid? Don¡¯t worry, brother-inw, I sneaked out alone. You don¡¯t expose me and I won¡¯t either...¡±

    Gao Jue interrupted her angrily, ¡°Don¡¯t talk nonsense, just answer my question! Speak now, why do you know we¡¯re in Tu¡¯er Town? We imperial guards came here secretly. How did you know that?¡±

    The girl in red said with her twinkling eyes, ¡°I eavesdropped from my sister.¡±

    Gao Jue denied sternly, ¡°That¡¯s impossible. She didn¡¯t know that I came to Yangzhou City. Don¡¯t me others, tell me the truth! Otherwise I¡¯ll bind you home and inquire you!¡± The girl in red looked down and sniffed, then she suddenly burst into tears. But she didn¡¯tpletely gain Gao Jue¡¯s sympathy because she was just pretending.

    He Danggui watched them from the sidelines, and saw Gao Jue really take out a coiled rope. She couldn¡¯t help sighing that the poker face¡ªGao Jue was worthy of being a ruthless imperial guard. Not only did he take the rope to tie people all the time, but also treated his sister-inw with unkind ways. He Danggui¡¯s eyes settled on the girl in red opposite her. The girl¡¯s back, that¡¯s...

    Gao Jue held up the rope and approached the girl in red. When the girl saw Gao Jue be about to tie her up, she was scared and turned to escape.

    ¡°Stop!¡± He Danggui suddenly shouted and went forward to stand between them, which made them look at her together. He Danggui titled her head and said to the girl in red with a low voice, ¡°Watch the back of your dress.¡±

    The girl¡¯s face turned white. She backed her hand to touch and suddenly her face turned red. Looking at He Danggui, she stammered out, ¡°What, what to do now? My... Help me!¡±

    He Danggui thought for a moment and said, ¡°What about borrowing the cloak from Master Gao and then buying new clothes to wear? I remember there is a tailor shop in the next street. Maybe there are ready-to-wear clothes.¡± He Danggui pointed at the small alley behind her, ¡°Turn from here, then you can find it.¡±

    After hearing this, the girl in red looked at Gao Jue immediately, longingly staring at his cloak, ¡°Brother-inw...¡±

    Gao Jue looked at the girl in red and didn¡¯t see the situation of her back. But hearing the conversation between them and seeing her red face, he thought her dress was broken for the falling just now. So, Gao Jue gave her the cloak and hummed, ¡°This isn¡¯t over. If you dare to run, hum, you can try how far you can run! Get back soon!¡±

    The girl in red received the clock like she got some treasure and took a nce at He Danggui, then said to Gao Jue, ¡°I want her to lead the way.¡± It was clear that she mistook He Danggui as a servant Gao Jue just bought, because He Danggui¡¯s clothes was worse than that of a maid in a wealthy family.

    Leading the way was no big deal. He Danggui was going to see if the tailor shop had clothes for sale anyway. So, before Gao Jue said anything, she took out a silver out of a bulging bag filled with silver and gave it to Zhen Jing, ¡°I just saw a breakfast shop selling delicious spring rolls and fried glutinous rice balls with sesame. Why don¡¯t you try some of those with Master Gao? Besides, order me a bowl of spicy soup with bean vermicelli so that I can enjoy it after Ie back. Go on!¡±

    Zhen Jing received the silver and nced at Gao Jue fearfully, then ran towards the breakfast shop hurriedly. Gao Jue was not satisfied with the bossing-around attitude his sister-inw had toward He Danggui. The girl was his wife¡¯s sister, the most beloved one in his wife¡¯s family, but also a spoiled and naughty liar. Since He Danggui was willing to lead the way, he got nothing to say then. After a deep stare at He Danggui¡¯s white face, he went toward the breakfast shop as well.

    The girl in red looked at Gao Jue¡¯s back in slight shock, and then turned to look at He Danggui because she couldn¡¯t believe what happened, ¡°Hey, who are you and why did he just do as you asked so submissively? What¡¯s the rtionship between you two?¡±

    He Danggui was confused why she reacted like this. It was just a meal of breakfast. Even if she didn¡¯t treat them herself, Gao Jue got to eat food. It was not like he was a sculpture in the temple.

    He Danggui answered her, ¡°We are just passersby.¡± Then she walked straight ahead the tailor shop. She happened to need some menswear and clothes suited for night walks. Even if she didn¡¯t get any internal force now, she would practice from the basic step: Mabu.

    In her previous life, she didn¡¯t start to learn martial arts until 19 and it was way beyond the proper age. In spite of this, she still managed to master some real martial arts, with the cost of blood blister and callus on both hands. Now with a body of 10 years old, if she wasted the following years not to practice basic training, she would be sorry for the one she used to be in the previous life. The one who could suffer the pain to hold a broadsword weighing 60 jin. Besides, the internal force she possessed in this life had exceeded the most powerful period in her previous life. And thanked to that poker face, she could spend less effort on practicing martial arts¡­

    The girl in red followed her and asked again, ¡°Are you the new servant my brother-inw bought? What¡¯s your name?¡± Seeing He Danggui was wandering her thoughts and didn¡¯t pay attention to her, she took a fast step and jumped in front of He Danggui, saying with a scaring expression, ¡°This is called arts of lightness. Impressed? My sister is more powerful than me. She had even killed people! Tell me honestly, what¡¯s your rank in my brother-inw¡¯s concubines?¡±

    He Danggui yawned, then asked with concern, ¡°Girl, the back of your outermost dress has already gotten dirty. It really doesn¡¯t matter if you get your brother-inw¡¯s cloak stained?¡±

    The girl in red was transfixed first, then red at He Danggui, ¡°I¡¯ll get even with youter!¡± Then she ran quickly to the tailor shop far from here.

    He Danggui focused attention on her ears, founding she could hear clear footsteps, conversations and sounds of cooking and eating. And she noticed the girl in red¡¯s footsteps were much lighter than others, maybe she had learned martial arts. He Danggui thought to herself, ¡°Her footsteps are louder than mine, so that means my internal force is stronger than hers?¡±

    He Danggui thought about this while walked into the tailor shop, but didn¡¯t see the girl in red who came in first. Maybe she went to change her clothes in the back house. So, He Danggui started to pick some clothes she needed and asked the shopkeeper to take some menswear that suited her. But those robes with round cors and long robes were not the style she wanted. She wanted some short and narrow garments that were easy to move.

    ¡°If you tailor and customize for me right now, how many days do I have to wait for the finished clothes?¡± He Danggui asked.

    The shopkeeper of the tailor shop was confused for the pretty girl was buying menswear, so he smiled, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. The fellows in the shop went back to country sides for autumn harvest, so we don¡¯t have enough workers until half a monthter. You¡¯re beautiful, and women¡¯s wear match you better. Menswear are too loose for you. How about these floral dresses we just made?¡±

    He Danggui shook her head and asked, ¡°Do you have any ck thick silks without patterns?¡±

    As the shopkeeper was about to answer, the left portiere was raised, and the girl in red ran out with a new red gauzy dress. She was in good mood for not worrying about her dress, so she condescended to He Danggui, ¡°How dare you challenge me so many times just now! Now my brother-inw is not here, I¡¯ll see who got your back!¡±

    He Danggui turned to the shopkeeper, ¡°I¡¯ll be right back. Please find some ck and simple silks for me. If you can¡¯t find any, the blue ones are okay.¡±

    The girl in red took a silver ingot from her pocket and threw it on the counter, ¡°Keep the change!¡± The shopkeeper was rejoicing with the words of thanks, ¡°Thank you very much. Good luck to you. Please take care!¡± The girl in red rolled her eyes and took another silver ingot, throwing it to He Danggui, ¡°Here, the award to you for leading the way!¡±

    He Danggui caught it and found it was a plum blossom silver ingot, weighing 25 grams, just like the money given by Grandma Luo during lunar New Year in her previous life.

 Chapter 40 - Low-level of lightness

    <strong>Chapter 40 Low-level of lightness</strong>

    He Danggui epted the money with a smile and repeated the shopkeeper¡¯s words, ¡°Thank you very much. Good luck to you. Please take care!¡± She even copied the tone perfectly.

    The girl in red snorted, shook her sleeves and went out of the tailor¡¯s shop to the north. After her, He Danggui went out to the south. The girl in red walked a few steps, could not help looking back and only saw a yellow figure growing further and further.

    ¡°Hey, stop, stop, stop! You stop there!¡± The girl in red shouted petntly.

    All the people stopped to look at the girl in red, but the yellow figure became smaller and smaller. The girl in red was angry and ran so fast at once. When she approached He Danggui, she sped the scap of her left shoulder, then turned her right arm backwards, pushed her toward a small corner of the roadside and pressed her against the wall, although the target was smaller than her.

    ¡°Hey, why don¡¯t you follow my steps?¡± The girl in red asked in surprise and anger.

    He Danggui was sped to the wall, her face was pressed against the cold wall and she was more surprised than the girl in red, ¡°Why should I go with you?¡±

    The girl in red hummed, ¡°What are you going to tell my brother-inw if you don¡¯t take me back? Girl, you will be in trouble by then. My brother-inw will divorce you and then kill you.¡±

    In fact, just now, He Danggui had heard the footsteps of the girl in red before she approached, and even felt her aggressive breath. But she didn¡¯t want to fight without reason. Besides, it was not her turn to teach the rude girl a lesson, because the girl¡¯s brother-inw was here to do his job. Therefore, He Danggui was like a weak little sheep, bullied by a slightly stronger collie. She would not even bother to struggle, thinking to herself, ¡°Let me see if you got anything new.¡±

    The girl in red thought He Danggui was silent because she was afraid, so she further threatened, ¡°If you tell anyone, especially my brother-inw, about my period and the mess on the dress, I¡¯ll scratch your face!¡± The girl in red took a short sword from her chest, pressed the cold de upon He Danggui¡¯s face, maliciously rubbed it twice and whispered, ¡°As long as my hand gently moves, your beauty is gone...¡±

    He Danggui said nothing but looked at the sky.

    The girl in red sneered, ¡°From now on, I will ask you questions. If you tell a lie, I will scratch a line across your face until I make your face look like a painted one on the stage. We¡¯ll see how you can seduce my brother-inw with such a face.¡±

    He Danggui was very puzzled. Her appearance was just a 10-year-old child. Today, when she went out, she had the idea of pretending to be ugly deliberately, so she made her clothes and hair very rough. Early this morning, a fe in the grocery store thought that Gao Jue and she were father and daughter. How could this girl in red be hostile to her when they first met? And this girl insisted that she was Gao Jue¡¯s concubine. Oh, heavens! How abnormal Gao Jue was to ept a 10-year-old concubine!

    The girl in red asked again, ¡°When and where did you know each other?¡±

    He Danggui replied, ¡°Almost half a month ago, on the mountain road outside the town.¡±

    The girl in red continued, ¡°How is he going to do with you? Did he mention that he will take you home or give you a status?¡±

    He Danggui replied, ¡°No, not yet.¡±

    The girl in red asked, ¡°Really? I found you had known his habit of only wearing ck clothes. Are you buying cloth to make clothes for him? Have you ever made clothes for him? Have you two exchanged the token of love?¡±

    He Danggui replied, ¡°That is for me. If you don¡¯t believe me, go back and ask the shopkeeper of the tailor shop. What I asked just now is my own size. As for your brother-inw likes to wear ck clothes, anyone who have eyes could tell his love toward ck clothes. Anyway, I haven¡¯t seen him wear different colors before.¡±

    The girl in red caught the information in her words acutely and asked, ¡°So, you often stay with him? Have you ever seen him with other men, such as people with the surnames of Duan and Liao¡­?¡±

    He Danggui replied, ¡°Noment. They had said that anyone revealed their whereabouts would go to the jail.¡±

    The girl in red narrowed her eyes, ¡°Don¡¯t you want your pretty face?¡±

    He Danggui replied, ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right. But your sword doesn¡¯t seem sharp. Is there any better sword?¡±

    The girl in red was nervous and stammered out, ¡°What, what are you talking about¡­¡±

    He Danggui was still pressed on the wall like a weak sheep, but revealed unhurriedly, ¡°Your sword is taken directly out of your chest, and you don¡¯t even have a scabbard. If this sword has a de, your chest may have suffered damage a long time ago.¡±

    ¡°You, what are you¡­¡± The girl in red couldn¡¯t say aplete sentence for a long time and her cheeks got red. Suddenly, she took out a coil of hemp rope and began to tie He Danggui¡¯s hands. She smiled smugly and said, ¡°How dare you look down on me? Now I¡¯ll let you see what I can do!¡±

    He Danggui thought in her mind, ¡°It¡¯s true that people live in the same house have the same characteristics. Gao Jue carries rope with him all the time. His sister-inw also carries the rope with her. Can the habit of tying people with rope be inherited?¡±

    ¡°Hey, I¡¯ll show you something good!¡± The girl in red took out a porcin bottle from her pouch worn at the girdle and lifted it to He Danggui¡¯s nose with her hands shaking. He Danggui squinted with one eye curiously at the things in the bottle. After a long time, she looked up and asked with wonder, ¡°What? Those are just cockroaches. They are everywhere in the garbage. It¡¯s worthless.¡±

    The girl in red didn¡¯t believe that, ¡°There are 3 cockroaches. Aren¡¯t you afraid? Hum, you must be faking. I¡¯m going to pour them into your clothes!¡±

    He Danggui reminded her kindly, ¡°They don¡¯t like being bottled up and... they can fly.¡± No sooner had she finished, a cockroach climbed to the top of the bottle, soared into the air, and had a close contact with its owner who had caught it with dessert and cage, and finally stepped into the cor of the girl identally.

    The girl in red stunned for a moment and began beating her chest and arms crazily. Atst, she escaped by performing lightness. In He Danggui¡¯s previous life, she always looked like ¡°a big monkey climbing a wall¡± when she was performing lightness, but this girl¡¯s skill was even worse than hers. And the girl could not hold this position for long. As soon as she flew over the crown of a tree, she would fall from the air like a deted balloon. Finally, she narrowly grabbed a branch and swung back and forth.

    He Danggui now understood why the girl had fallen out from a crown when they first met. It was not because she had failed to climb the tree but because the level of her lightness was too low.

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù

    ¡°Masters, show me mercy please! Give me something to eat.¡± A little beggar shook his broken bowl with two gaps and begged, ¡°I haven¡¯t eaten for two days. Please give me something to eat!¡±

    An old man who sold sweat potatoes looked at the little beggar, hesitated, picked the smallest sweet potato from his oven, and put it shakily into the little beggar¡¯s bowl. The little beggar repeated his thanks and ate up the sweet potato with skin before it got cold.

    The old man squinted at him and asked, ¡°Your ent sounds like a northerner for me. Why did youe to Yangzhou City to beg at such a young age?¡±

    The little beggar licked his fingers as if he wanted to eat more, then he answered, ¡°I came from Zouxian County, Shan Dong. There was a drought in my hometown, and the crops in the field could not grow, so I came here to escape the drought. But the beggars here are all ganged up to divide their territory, and no single beggar is allowed to beg. They didn¡¯t want me to join them, and they would beat me if I went begging by myself. They also took my food away, so I didn¡¯t eat for two days!¡±

    The old man liked the frank way this little beggar talked, so he couldn¡¯t help guiding him, ¡°Young man, you¡¯re new here and there are something you don¡¯t know. Although the beggars in here are tough, there are few ces they didn¡¯t dare to control and you can beg at those ces!¡±

    ¡°Really? You¡¯re not lying to me?¡± The little beggar¡¯s eyes widened.

    The old man paused for a while, ¡°Why would an old man like me lie to you? I will tell you where the ces are, but you¡¯re so young and you have strength. Why don¡¯t you get a job after you are full?¡±

    The little beggar nodded, ¡°Of course, I will. Actually, I tried to find a job in many ces during the past few days, but they all refused to hire me because I look dirty or too young. After I¡¯m full, I will jump into the Grand Canal to take a bath and then try to find a job again!¡±

    The old man nodded and pointed to the north. ¡°There are Four Families of Yangzhou City. Among them, Wu¡¯s Family and Luo¡¯s Family are the most prosperous ones. They have more steamed buns than they could eat every day. You can go around the Hongpei Avenue and squat in Saqiao Alley, where a family pulls half a cart of the steamed buns away from the back door every morning.¡±

    The little beggar asked curiously, ¡°Where do they take them?¡±

    The old man shook his head, ¡°I don¡¯t know. But as long as you ask them for steamed buns, they will give you!¡±

    The little beggar was very happy. He knelt down and kowtowed to the old man, then stood up and ran away. The old man looked at his back with a smile, then he picked up the fork and turned over his sweet potatoes and yelled, ¡°Sweet potatoes. Delicious...¡±

    When the little beggar ran to Hongpei Avenue, he saw that the street was nearly 10 times wider than the ordinary streets, and there were few people early in the morning. The whole street was quiet, and he began to feel timid involuntarily. He walked along the street for an hour and his legs were getting tired. Finally, there was a stone lion in the distance. He went closer to look, suddenly his legs were weak with fear. He thought in his mind, ¡°Did the old man who was selling sweet potatoes point me a wrong way? It is not a ce for the beggars like me to stay. Will the people inside think that I soil their ground and release the dog to bite me?¡±

    The vermilion gate with the rivets in front of him could only be described as ¡°huge¡±. Even if he was 8 times taller than himself now, he could not touch the top. Above the gate hung a royal blue que. He could just recognize three of the seven or eight words: Luo, West, and Mansion. When he was looking up to read the que, a sudden sound came from the huge vermilion gate, and then a crack appeared.

    The little beggar turned around and ran hurriedly. After hundreds of steps, he looked up again and saw another vermilion gate unexpectedly. He felt this one was even higher than the gate he had just seen. There were still two words ¡°Luo and Mansion¡± on the que, but the word ¡°West¡± became ¡°East¡±.

    When he was going to go further to find the alley where the steamed buns were distributed, his shank had cramps because he ran too fast just now. Therefore, he had to sit on the ground with pain. Whether he rubbed it or not, he felt painful. At this time, a double-horse cart decorated with green curtain and yellow oiled paper ran on the avenue in the distance. The coachman drove very fast. How could he notice the little beggar behind the stone lion? ¡ª¡ª

    With a scream, the little beggar was hit and flew far away. After climbing forward two steps, hey on the ground without moving.

    ¡°Master, what should we do?¡± The coachman was terrified. A fair slender hand lifted the curtain, and a young man came out from the cart immediately.

    The dark green gown he wore was embroidered with two circles of ¡°…e¡± patterns with silver thread. An exquisite belt iid jade on his waist, and his ck boots were green-edged with gold thread. His ck hair was bound by a ck jade crown. Under his slightly raised eyebrows, his eyes were shining with the corners of the eyes up. With high nose and thin lips, he was even more beautiful than countless women.

    ¡°Take him into the Mansion.¡±

 Chapter 41 - The sister-in-law was very rich

    <h4>Chapter 41 The sister-inw was very rich</h4>

    ¡°But Master, he is just a dirty little beggar.¡± The coachman said hesitantly, ¡°I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s inappropriate to take him into the mansion.¡±

    ¡°Stupid! It¡¯s all your fault!¡± Master Luo Baiqian shouted, ¡°It¡¯s not proper to take him in. So, we just leave him here, in front of the gate? Someone in the porter will check the record to see who has been in and out at this time. You think I can escape that easy?¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes, Master, you are right!¡± The coachman nodded and said, ¡°I¡¯ll get him in right now!¡±

    Master Luo Baiqian thought for a moment, and then ordered, ¡°Listen, get him in from the side door and put him in the servant¡¯s room of the northern courtyard. If he could survive, you can ask someone to fill a prescription for him; if he died because of this, you should take him away from the side door and throw him on the mass grave.¡±

    The coachman nodded repeatedly. But the Master stopped him right after he got started, ¡°Do you know how to exin this when the madams ask?¡±

    The coachman replied nimbly, ¡°Master stayedte at school yesterday, and he was afraid to wake Master Zhu and other children up, so he rested in the house outside the mansion. When we went back this morning, we met a little beggar who was hurt by a cart. Master was sympathetic and saved him.¡±

    Master Luo Baiqian nodded contentedly and warned him in a low voice, ¡°You¡¯re the only one who knows I went to Qing Ya Yard. If it is revealed, that would be you who released to message! You are the only one to be med!¡± The coachman was so scared that he wiped his sweat. As soon as the Master lifted his lower hem of the outermost robe and walked upon the steps, he finally snorted and said, ¡°Go find a tight-lipped coachman this afternoon to rece your role. You can keep watch for me. You useless thing! Can¡¯t even drive a cart. Fortunately, this time you just run into a beggar. Next time if you fall me down, you will die!¡±

    Staying up all night and working hard, Master Luo Baiqian was very tired now. He took a shortcut to Qi Lu Yard, hoping to catch up some sleep. When he rounded the rockery, he came face to face with a person. He walked very fast. If he hadn¡¯t stopped his steps in time, they would knock into each other.

    Luo Baiqian raised his eyes. A middle-aged woman was in front of him with delicate skin, beautiful face with a smile on it. She was about 30 years old. Her dress was decorated with silver threads, embroidering hundreds of butterflies and flowers. Outside, she covered a shirt embroidered with sprinkled flowers. Her askew Furong Guiyun haircut was decorated with a white jade and gems.

    Luo Baiqian stepped back and said with a smile, ¡°Second Mistress Luo is really busy. Deal with the household affairs in the early morning day after day.¡±

    Second Mistress Luo looked at Luo Baiqian, and her face was covered with a smile. She said, ¡°We women are busy in trivial things. Unlike you men, you are working all day to do big deals!¡±

    Luo Baiqian smiled again, ¡°Second Aunt, how can you say that? A family has a management and everyone in this family is charged with specific responsibilities. Why do we need to distinguish which one is the more important? My father often praises your ability of managing ounts. We males are ashamed.¡±

    Second Mistress Luo covered her smile with a silk handkerchief. She was very beautiful. When she blinked, she noticed that hispel was slightly askew. Just when she wanted to remind him to be upright, she focused on the left side of his dark green cor iid with gold edge. It was¡­

    Luo Baiqian was so sleepy that he didn¡¯t pay attention to her eyes. He said, ¡°I¡¯m required to learn economic numeration in school. You set up an example for me. When I¡¯m stuck in school, I always encourage myself to work hard. Yesterday, I studied till midnight in the academy. It was already 11:00 at midnight. I was afraid that I woulde backte and disturb everyone, so I rested in the house of the front street.¡± He yawned and quickly confessed, ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m so rude. You are the busiest person in the family. I dare not take up more of your time. I wille to ask for your advice about numeration some other day!¡± Then he made a bow. He didn¡¯t leave until Second Mistress Luo nodded.

    Looking at his back with a smile, Second Mistress Luo shouted suddenly, ¡°Master Qian, wait!¡±

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù

    He Danggui looked up, asking, ¡°Miss, do you need me to ask someone to help you?¡±

    The girl in red took a nce at her from the branches, and then sheined bitterly, ¡°Missy, you cheeky devil! To seduce a man at such an early age. A woman who seduces another woman¡¯s husband is called a whore, and she would definitely go to hell after she died. Don¡¯t you know that? Don¡¯t get smug with me! I¡¯ll be back!¡±

    He Danggui changed her face, and she asked again, ¡°Hey, don¡¯t you really need help?¡±

    The girl in red was about to continue cursing, while the loyal cockroach was crawling away from her cor, which inspired her fighting will. So, her arts of lightness became powerful. And then she stepped on the wall like a pigeon and left.

    He Danggui¡¯s hands were tied tightly behind her back with rope. She tried to get rid of it but failed. Then she ignored that and got out of the alley to a breakfast shop. She just wanted to have a big breakfast. Why was it so hard?

    Except a blind beggar, along her way to the breakfast shop, each person kept their eyes upon the beautiful girl. The pedestrians stopped and the eaters forgot to swallow when they saw her. Oh, oh, whose daughter was this? What a charming girl! She had never been seen before. Why was she tied to parade in front of the crowd? Oh, oh, how cruel her parents were!

    ¡°Xiaoyi, what¡¯s wrong? Who tied you up?¡±

    Looking at Gao Jue¡¯s cold face, Zhen Jing ate several spring rolls tastelessly. Suddenly, she saw He Danggui walking in with her hands tied.

    He Danggui acted quite naturally, and she said hastily, ¡°Never mind. Just go on eating.¡± Seeing the prepared soup with bean vermicelli on the table, she rushed into the kitchen and shouted to a chef, ¡°Hey, buddy, please fry four crisp fried pieces made of flour for me. I want them well-done!¡±

    Zhen Jing put the chopsticks down and tried to untie He Danggui immediately. But she failed because the rope was tied in a special way. Then He Danggui looked back over her shoulder to Zhen Jing, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me. Just go on eating. And we also have something to do after the meal.¡± Then she walked toward Gao Jue who was eating deep-fried dough sticks, turning her back to him for help, ¡°Hey, Master Gao. Many thanks.¡±

    Gao Jue squinted at her white wrists which were tied by the rope, but he was in no rush to untie for her. After putting thest bite deep-fried dough sticks in his mouth, he asked solemnly, ¡°Where is she? Why didn¡¯t you take her back? I don¡¯t believe you can¡¯t control her.¡± He med her like she was his servant and had the duty to keep an eye on his sister-inw.

    He Danggui turned her head, and blinked innocently, saying, ¡°I¡¯m really hungry right now. Can I have some soup and then answer your questions, Master?¡±

    Gao Jue was unhappy to hear that. He wiped the oil stain off his hands, and finally reached out to untie the knot¡­ While a magical scene appeared, Zhen Jing¡¯s eyes widened in shock. Ah! Was it witchcraft? That¡¯s just amazing! That thick and tough rope loosened the moment Gao Jue touched it slightly. It was like burnt ashes, falling on the ground.

    After that, He Danggui couldn¡¯t wait to eat the soup with bean vermicelli. However, she felt it was in. Taking a nce at the vorings upon the wall, she grabbed all of them and watched carefully one by one. And then she seasoned lightly with salt, vinegar, powder of Chinese prickly ash and chopped spring onions.

    ¡°Hey, guest, here are your crisp fried pieces!¡± The fe served four crisp fried pieces which were fried golden. He Danggui expressed her thanks to that fe. Regardless of the heat, she tore one into four pieces and threw them into the soup within seconds. Then she pressed them and then picked them up with the chopsticks. Finally, her mouth approached one of them to eat.

    It took her a long time to eat the first piece. After all, her mouth was small. Then she was ready to pick up the second one. Suddenly, she looked up, but found that Gao Jue and Zhen Jing put down their chopsticks to look at her.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Are you full? You eat like a bird!¡± He Danggui used her left hand to push the three crisp fried pieces left to their side. And she said generously, ¡°This is on me! Suit yourselves! You are wee!¡± Then she took a sip of the soup. Seeing they still had no intention to eat the food, she frowned, ¡°Morning hours is the best time of the day. Come on! Eat warm. It won¡¯t taste good if it is cold. That would a punishment to your stomach.¡±

    ¡°Xiaoyi, how about reporting that girl¡¯s situation to Master Gao before you eat?¡± Zhen Jing reminded her in a low voice.

    He Danggui picked up a spring roll and took a bite. Chewing the food and scrutinizing Gao Jue¡¯s jadeite thumb ring, she yelled suddenly, ¡°Oops! That¡¯s bad!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?!¡± Zhen Jing and Gao Jue asked at the same time.

    He Danggui looked at Gao Jue regrettably, ¡°Your cloak seems have been left in the backroom of the tailor¡¯s shop. Do you want to go find the shopkeeper to take it back?¡±

    Gao Jue took her spring roll away and asked furiously, ¡°What¡¯s going on between you two? Where is she?¡±

    ¡°Eat the spring roll since you took it from me! It¡¯s a shame to waste food!¡± He Danggui looked that twisted spring roll regretfully. And she scratched her face unconcernedly, ¡°Speaking of that girl, she can fly! It¡¯s awesome! She flew away. She might go back to Dahong Inn to take a shower. I guess.¡±

    ¡°Dahong Inn? She said she lived there? What else did she say?¡± Gao Jue stared at her eyes.

    ¡°No, she didn¡¯t tell me that. I guessed it. She mentioned Childe Duan twice. It seems that she came to Yangzhou City to find him specially. However, although she found Tu¡¯er Town, she didn¡¯t know where you are concretely. And also, she didn¡¯t know Childe Duan had already left. Then I found that she was familiar with that tailor¡¯s shop. She didn¡¯t need me to give her a lead! She just needed me for the answer that she couldn¡¯t get from you. Most importantly, I found that the patterns of the worn shoes on her feet were exactly the same from the ones I saw in the tailor¡¯s shop. She might buy these from that shop as well. And she had worn those shoes several days. It proved that she had been here for several days. So, I guess that she lives in Dahong Inn.¡±

    He Danggui finished in one shot and picked up a spring roll with a smile, ¡°You are the General of the Imperial Guard in criminal investigation. So, you definitely would not ask me stupid questions like ¡®Why is she in Dahong Inn¡¯. When we arrived in this town, there are so many Dahong properties: Dahong Pawnshop, Dahong Rice Shop, Dahong Chateau, Dahong Inn, etc. Also, the fe from that grocery said that Dahong Inn was the biggest inn in this town. So, I specte it. Since your sister-inw is generous and rich enough to tip me and the shopkeeper of the tailor¡¯s shop a silver ingot for each of us, she must live in the best inn. Probably she saw you shouldered a coffin with a girl and a nun. So, she followed behind you to figure it out.¡±

    Gao Jue listened to her silently. He frowned tightly. It was definitely not a pleasant time for him. Then he walked away silently.

    ¡°Hey, Xiaoyi. Is Master Gao angry? Who is he mad at?¡± Seeing Gao Jue was gone, Zhen Jing asked.

    He Danggui looked at the spring roll which Gao Jue pinched and threw on the table. Then she shrugged, ¡°Leave him alone. Hurry up! Let¡¯s finish our breakfast. We are going to save money in the money shop after the meal.¡±

 Chapter 42 - A hickey on his neck

    <h4>Chapter 42 A hickey on his neck</h4>

    ¡°Meow- ¨C meow!¡± There was a big tabby cat in the rockery, which frightened Second Mistress Luo a lot. She almost slipped for stepping backward at a moss-covered cobblestone pavement.

    Luo Baiqian stepped forward swiftly to support her.

    Second Mistress Luo ced her hands upon her heart, looking very pale. She was now full of feminine delicacy. Luo Baiqian let go of her and asked, ¡°Second Aunt, are you hurt? Did the brute cat stretch you?¡± Second Mistress Luo shook her head softly, looking frightened.

    Luo Baiqian was so close to Second Mistress Luo that he saw the dark circles under her eyes and tiredness on her beautiful face, even though she covered it with thick foundation. Looking down, there was ayer of white silk cor peering out from the cor of the skirt, which was decorated with various flowers and silver threads. It urred to Luo Baiqian that maybe Second Mistress Luo got upset for her brother¡¯s death. However, she had already married into Luo¡¯s Family, so she couldn¡¯t be in mourning openly but dress in mourning dress under the skirt to honor her brother.

    Luo Baiqianforted her, ¡°Second Aunt, not only everybody in Sun¡¯s Mansion is sorrowful to hear about your brother¡¯s death, but everybody in Luo¡¯s Mansion. We should haveforted you, but we are afraid of making you feel sadder. You are in charge of all the household affairs now. Luo¡¯s Mansion couldn¡¯t go on without you. Please don¡¯t indulge yourself in your sorrow and take care.¡±

    Second Mistress Luo shook her head with sadness and said incoherently, ¡°I couldn¡¯t help thinking about this. Jing was so clever. I just don¡¯t know why he was gone suddenly¡­ Last time, he asked me for my gold hairpin, but I refused. Now, he passed away when I heard him again¡­ Jing was only 9 years old. He was my father¡¯s favorite son with a bright future¡­My father used to say that Jing would inherit all the merchant ships of Sun¡¯s Family on the Great Canal after he grows up. And my mother regarded him as her life¡­¡±

    Luo Baiqian didn¡¯t know how tofort her but sighed.

    After a long time, Second Mistress Luo heaved a sigh of relief, ¡°Sorry I couldn¡¯t control my feelings. It seems that you are in a hurry, I¡¯m sorry for talking too much with you and troubling you.¡±

    With handsome face and gentleness, Luo Baiqian said, ¡°We feel and reason the same way about this. It¡¯s my great pleasure to listen to your heartfelt words.¡±

    Second Mistress Luo was moved, ¡°Even your uncle is unwilling to listen to my grievance. Qian, it¡¯s very sweet of you.¡± Second Mistress Luo paused for a moment and asked unwittingly, ¡°I heard Zhu have been ill these days, and your wife is also upset about it. Did the doctor have any idea what the cause is?¡±

    Luo Baiqian always went outside of the mansion those days. He just heard his son¡¯s illness from other people. How could he know the cause? Therefore, he said vaguely, ¡°My son is not really ill. He got ill mainly because of a lot of other external causes. He will be healed if those causes disappear.¡±

    Hearing hisst sentence, Second Mistress Luo asked excitedly, ¡°You mean you also think those ¡°external factors¡± caused his illness?¡±

    Luo Baiqian was a little confused about Second Mistress Luo¡¯s excitement. So, he nodded and prepared to leave, ¡°I have to see my father for the issues of school, so I¡¯m leaving.¡± Actually, he was afraid that talking too much would expose the truth that he knew nothing about the illness of his son.

    ¡°Wait a minute!¡± Beaming, Second Mistress Luo looked at his eyes and asked, ¡°Qian, you said you are going to¡­see your father?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right! Second Aunt!¡± Luo Baiqian was ufortable for her look, so he just said, ¡°I will share what I learnedst night with my father for his correction.¡±

    Second Mistress Luo just smiled, holding a silk handkerchief, and shook her head, ¡°You¡¯d better not go see your father, even your wife.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Luo Baiqian asked guiltily.

    Second Mistress Luo puckered her lips, and took off a jade brocade agate sachet from her waist. She took out a ss mirror as big as a pigeon egg and handed it to Luo Baiqian. She said smilingly, ¡°There¡¯s something on your neck that they shouldn¡¯t see.¡±

    Luo Baiqian¡¯s eyelids twitched, and he took the mirror in a panic. He said awkwardly, ¡°Oh.¡± He took out a handkerchief to wipe it, but the red mark on his neck was the bruise sucked by Qi Sanniangst night. It couldn¡¯t be wiped out. Luo Baiqian rubbed and rubbed, and he rubbed the neck all reddened, but that hickeys still stayed there conspicuously. So, he had to pull up his cor to cover it.

    He returned the mirror to Second Mistress Luo. Seeing she was still smiling, Luo Baiqian got nervous. Therefore, he grabbed her sleeve and shook it, begging in a low voice, ¡°Aunt, please help me this time. Don¡¯t tell this to my father, or he will beat me to death. I beg of you!¡±

    She struggled her sleeve, and then said angrily, ¡°Qian, you are a 22-year-old adult. You shouldn¡¯t do something excessively. Fortunately, it¡¯s me you encounter today. No one else would hide it for you. What¡¯s wrong with your wife? The year beforest, she gave birth to the twins, and this year she gave birth to a lovely daughter. We all envy you. You, instead, don¡¯t want to live a good life with her, but go out to find other women and have no idea how to deal with it properly afterwards.¡±

    He listened to her words. Although her tone was reproachful, he still could tell from her eyes that she was joking. He felt relieved and asked immediately, ¡°Aunt, are you willing to hide this for me?¡±

    ¡°We are a family meeting with each other frequently. If I want your father to punish you, I wouldn¡¯t have reminded you just now.¡± Second Mistress Luo nced at him, ¡°Men like you would never be satisfied¡­OK, I¡¯m still in a hurry to discuss something with Madam Luo. I won¡¯t tell you more about those universal truth. Get yourself an empty room to deal with it.¡±

    Luo Baiqian thanked her again and again, then took a path hurriedly and ran into Qi Lu Yard. He got into an empty room and grabbed a copper mirror from the dressing table.

    ¡°Fortunately, I met her. Otherwise, I would rather say I went to the brothel than expose my rtionship with Qi Sanniang...¡± He rxed eventually. Then it urred to him that he had talked with Xiong Huang this morning for a long time, but Xiong Huang didn¡¯t find such obvious red mark and didn¡¯t say anything to remind him. He was very angry.

    Luo Baiqian took up the White powder and Xiangyu Cream from the dresser, then put them on his neck for a long time. He couldn¡¯t cover the trace naturally, but rubbed the whole skin red.

    ¡°Fine, forgot it!¡± Luo Baiqiany on the bed and said angrily, ¡°It¡¯s not a big deal. I just need to stay here today. I am very sleepy, and it¡¯s better to sleep all day.¡± So, he didn¡¯t even take off his outermost robe, only loosened the waistband (decorated with gem circles) in his waist and took off his boots. Then he pulled the quilt and began to sleep. This room was behind the small warehouse of Qi Lu Yard. Usually, no one would get close to it. Knowing that his confidant Xiong Huang was the only one who knew he often slept here, he slept more steadily.

    ¡°Master, master¡­master!¡± There was a voice in his dream, ¡°Please wake up. Madam Luo has sent someone to find you! She needs you there now!¡±

    Luo Baiqian woke up and saw Xiong Huang calling him anxiously. Luo Baiqian was in a hurry and choked by his saliva, coughing out of breath. Xiong Huang was so scared that he patted him on the chest to make him feel better. But Luo Baiqian pped the clumsy hand away and shouted angrily, ¡°I¡¯m sleeping soundly. What are you shouting for! When Madam Luo asked for me, why didn¡¯t you tell her that I¡¯m not in the mansion? Has your brain been kicked by a donkey?¡±

    ¡°Oh, my goodness!¡± Xiong Huang knew that the Master always got up on the wrong side of the bed and he would get angry with no reason. It would be terrible when he was angry, so he exined cautiously, ¡°Have you met Second Mistress Luo this morning? She is at Madam Luo¡¯s ce now. It was she who told Madam Luo that you are in the mansion.¡±

    At this time, Luo Baiqian soberedpletely. He sat up and asked, ¡°Who did Grandma send here? Have you figured out what she revealed? What did she say to Madam Luo?¡± Did shein to Madam Luo about him? Or the rtionship between him and Qi Sanniang was exposed?

    Xiong Huang said with a doleful face, ¡°Madam Luo sent Shi Liu here. She is just a 14-year-old girl and doesn¡¯t know anything. Whatever I asked, she only nodded or shook her head. But she said Madam Luo not only called you there, but also asked Gan Cao to call Concubine Mei of the Third Branch. Second Mistress Luo said there was a whole family business. You will discuss it after all the branches get together.¡±

    Cold sweats appeared on Luo Baiqian¡¯s forehead when he heard this. Xiong Huang stared at his face fascinatedly. He thought that if a man born with this appearance, maybe women would feel diffident. No wonder Qi Sanniang chose Luo Baiqian instead of the First Lord of West Yard of Luo¡¯s Family, and do the nasty things with him at the risk of death.

    Xiong Huang persuaded him, ¡°Master, as the old saying goes, what must be must be. You should go there and have a look anyway. We are always careful and didn¡¯t leave any evidence. It¡¯s not a big deal. You can say that you¡¯ve been studying too muchtely, and your friends urged you to the brothel for fun. You can¡¯t resist it, so you went with them. You are the eldest grandson of Luo¡¯s Mansion. Madam Luo always prefers you, and I think she won¡¯t me you.¡±

    Hearing this, Luo Baiqian relieved. His face was not as pale as before. Xiong Huang continued, ¡°In any case, even if the affair between you and Concubine Qi was exposed, Luo¡¯s Family would conceal this no matter what. They won¡¯t let it well-known to all. At that time, you only need to eat humble pie and you will still be the eldest grandson of Luo¡¯s Mansion. And things will go as usual. Concubine Qi is willing to share a bed with you. She surely knows what the result will be after things are exposed. It¡¯s her own bad luck.¡±

    Luo Baiqian signed, ¡°I¡¯m not so heartless to her. If I see her die¡­I hope things won¡¯te that bad...¡±

    Xiong Huang took a clean silver green robe out and put it on for Luo Baiqian, then served him washing andbing. Then he thought of another thing. He hesitated a while and then said, ¡°Master, the beggar that we hit in front of the gate has woken up. He said he can¡¯t remember anything, not even his name. How do you think we should deal with this silly beggar?¡±

    Luo Baiqian yelled to Xiong Huang, ¡°Are you serious? How could you mention this stuff at this time? Handle it yourself! Shit! You are such a fool! You put my socks inside out!¡±

    After a long time, he dressed up and became the charming and pretty master of Luo¡¯s Mansion again. Shi Liu guided him to Fu Shou Yard of Madam Luo. He felt uneasy and didn¡¯t know what Second Mistress Luo wanted to do.

    She once reminded him kindly that there was a hickey on his neck, and cared about the condition of his son. It seemed that she wanted to draw him to her side. She never was warmhearted to him either in public or in person. After all, he was just a concubine¡¯s son. And his wife Ms. Dong was jealous that Second Mistress Luo ruled the roost and didn¡¯t give her a chance to show her talent. But he had no conflict of interest with Second Mistress Luo, and he always respected her. She had no reason to frame him!

    Thinking of this, Luo Baiqian had arrived at Fu Shou Yard. A maid came out and told him that Madam Luo was waiting for him at the main hall. He took a deep breath and came in. After a nce around, he found that in addition to Madam Luo and Second Mistress Luo, there was also his Third Uncle¡¯s concubine, Concubine Mei.

 Chapter 43 - A siren who brought a curse to the family

    <strong>Chapter 43 A siren who brought a curse to the family</strong>

    Luo Baiqian went up to Madam Luo to give a salute and said with a smile, ¡°Grandma, it¡¯s a shame that I forgot to visit you because I helped my father to check the ounts these days. You are in a hurry to get me here. Did I make any mistakes?¡±

    Madam Luo cheerfully asked Gan Cao to bring him a chair with brocade to sit on and said, ¡°You are wanted here by your Second Aunt. Hearing your mother had a headache and your wife was busy, she asked you here since she met you by chance and knew you are free today. You are here to represent the First Branch of our family. Your aunt mysteriously said she would make an announcement. But I don¡¯t know what it is. Anyway, I haven¡¯t seen you for days and I really miss you¡ªOuch, Qian! Come here and let me see. There is a ster on your neck. What¡¯s wrong with you?¡±

    Luo Baiqian exined in detail, ¡°I stayed upte to study yesterday and fell asleep in the yard outside the mansion. I didn¡¯t expect there were mosquitoes in autumn. And I¡¯m not used to the smell of insect-killing incense, so I went to sleep without using any incense. This morning, I found that I had bitten by mosquitoes. Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ve already taken the Baiyu Qingdu Powder. It will be fine in a day or two.¡± After a few words, he nced at Second Mistress Luo two or three times, and found that there was always a smile on her face with no abnormality, so he relieved gradually.

    Madam Luo asked him a few more questions about his diet and living conditions. Then she looked back at Second Mistress Luo and said slowly, ¡°Mei, ording to your request, the representatives of the three branches have already gathered here. Qian represents the First Branch and Mei Qiao represents the Third Branch. If you have anything to say, please let me know! You have been mysterious and hesitant since just now, which makes us worried!¡±

    Second Mistress Luo took back her smile, stood up and walked to the center of the room. Suddenly, she knelt down and kowtowed to Madam Luo. Then she kneeled there still.

    ¡°Mei, what are you doing?¡± Madam Luo was shocked. She pushed Deng Cao who was massaging her legs, and said, ¡°Get her up! Hurry!¡±

    Second Mistress Luo shook her head and pushed Deng Cao away. She said firmly, ¡°For the sake of the safety of everyone in Luo¡¯s Family, I have to say one thing!¡±

    ¡°What is so serious? Get up and say it!¡± Madam Luo was so anxious that she beat the soft couch with an enamel silver Ruyi, ¡°I can¡¯t stand the fright. No matter what it is, you should stand up and say it. If you have any grievances, I will support you!¡±

    Second Mistress Luo wiped away her tears with a silk handkerchief, stood up with the help of Deng Cao, and calmed down after a while. She said, ¡°Madam, the daughter of Chuanxiong is a born siren, and she can¡¯t be allowed toe back!¡±

    Madam Luo¡¯s face changed a lot. She scratched the texture of the silver Ruyi with her fingernails and shouted in a low voice, ¡°You are talking nonsense. You are Yi¡¯s Second Aunt. How can you say her like that?¡±

    Second Mistress Luo shook her head, ¡°I¡¯m not talking nonsense. I heard that my elder sister-inw also mentioned this to you, but it didn¡¯t attract your attention. Yesterday, a rockery had copsed in the north yard, and the falling rock killed a passing crane. After I heard that, I went to the north yard immediately to check and found that the scene was in a mess. The crane was smashed to the ground and then eaten by the vultures! Madam Luo, the crane is the symbol of auspiciousness. There are only 8 in our garden. Now one died for no reason. This is a signal¡ªHe Danggui is a siren. We can¡¯t get her back in our mansion!¡±

    Madam Luo frowned, tidied her clothes, and then sat up straight and said, ¡°Mei, I know there were some conflicts between you and Yi¡¯s mother in the past. But Yi is only a 10-year-old kid. She is so pitiful that there are no family members protecting her when she is in such a young age. Now, Chuanxiong stands aloof from worldly sess. She only has this only daughter. How can you drive Yi out of the mansion again? How much space does she upy? How much food does she eat? You¡¯d better put up with it, and give some of your love on Miss Qiong to others. Don¡¯t forget that you are the wife in charge of the family.¡±

    ¡°Madam, you really misunderstand me!¡± Second Mistress Luo wept over her grievance, ¡°Because of your trust, I have been in charge of the family for more than a decade, so how can I have conflicts with her, a junior? As for her mother Chuanxiong, she and I went to school and got married in the same year. We have been best friends for many years, so there are no hatreds between us. I do this for the sake of the whole family. Chuanxiong¡¯s daughter is an unlucky girl!¡±

    ¡°Second Aunt, what do you mean my third sister is an unlucky girl?¡± Realizing what Second Mistress Luo said had nothing to do with his secret, Luo Baiqian breathed a sigh of relief. He just stood by, watching Madam Luo and Second Mistress Luo talk about Third Miss like a y. However, he was wondering why Second Mistress Luo said He Danggui was an unlucky ¡°siren¡±?

    ¡°Madam, I am not the kind of person who cannot tolerate others. As the saying goes ¡®Even the royal family has some poor rtions¡¯, so even if Yies from a poor family, we can amodate her. Over the years, there are many poor rtives who came to us referring Lord Luo¡¯s name, and I never let them go home empty-handed. When you asked me to arrange someone to bring Yi back, I had just returned from my brother¡¯s funeral, and things were piling up at our home. I put everything else aside and arranged Ding Rong¡¯s wife to bring Yi home from Shui Shang Temple, but she refused to go home!¡± Second Mistress Luo shouted to the outside, ¡°Ding Rong¡¯s wife,e in and exin this for me!¡±

    The curtain was lifted and a thin fair woman of about 50 entered. She saluted to Madam Luo, ¡°Good morning Madam, Second Mistress Luo, and First Master.¡±

    Madam Luo nodded, ¡°Ding Rong¡¯s wife, your son is an official now. You will be an imperial mandate countess someday, and you don¡¯t need to salute us anymore.¡±

    Ding Rong¡¯s wife said with the right attitude, ¡°My husband and I are the servants of Luo¡¯s Family. It is proper to salute the masters. I will never forget my origin.¡±

    Madam Luo nodded again and asked, ¡°Mistress Luo asked you to take Third Miss home and you failed, right?¡±

    Ding Rong¡¯s wife sighed, ¡°Second Mistress Luo asked me to take Third Miss home. Gao Dashan¡¯s wife and I walked all night, thinking ¡®Because of the death of Third Miss, Madam Luo cannot eat for a few days. When she heard Third Miss was alive again, Madam Luo talked about how clever and sensible she is all day long, looking forward that she can go back. We want to bring Third Miss home quickly, so Madam Luo will be happy soon.¡¯ When we arrived at Shui Shang Temple, we let a Taoist nun go in to inform Third Miss that we came to bring her home. However, we stood outside for 4 hours without seeing Third Miss or anyone going out to answer. Finally, an arrogant Taoist nun came out and told us that Third Miss won¡¯te back until the 17th of this month. Now she cannot go with us because it was too early!¡±

    Concubine Mei smiled, ¡°Really? Can¡¯t imagine there is such a strange thing in this world! I heard that Shui Shang Temple is located in the deep mountains, and the living condition is extremely poor. If I stay at such a ce, I¡¯ll dream of being taken by my family. Did Third Miss break her head so she refused toe back?¡±

    Second Mistress Luo nced around the people in the house slowly, then she finally looked towards Madam Luo¡¯s face and said seriously, ¡°Now, there is one thing I can¡¯t hide anymore!¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Several people asked in unison.

    Second Mistress Luo sighed, ¡°Last year, I found a geomancer to make a divination for our home. At that time, he pointed at the ce where Yi lived and said that the person who lived there would bring disaster to the elders. Yesterday, Ding Rong¡¯s wife told me that Yi was hiding in the Taoist temple and didn¡¯t dare to meet anyone. After hearing this, I was afraid, so I asked someone to go to the West Avenue to invite Fortune-teller Li to make a divination for our family. Before he started the divination, I didn¡¯t tell him anything about Yi, not even her date of birth and eight characters of a horoscope. Do you know what the result of Fortune-teller Li¡¯s divination was?¡±

    Madam Luo frowned, ¡°Mei, tell us directly. Don¡¯t keep us guessing.¡±

    ¡°He said that ording to the divination, there was a siren in our family, who was born different from other girls. She brought curses to the elders and the whole family, and the same to her husband¡¯s family after marriage! I asked him what her name was. He replied that the divination only showed that she was not from Luo¡¯s Family, and she was a daughter of a concubine! Madam, there are only 5dies in our family. In addition to the new born daughter of First Master, Miss Ying is the daughter of my elder sister-inw, while Qiong and Shao are my daughters. These 4 girls are all from our Luo¡¯s Family, and they are all the legitimate daughters. Although Yi was the legitimate daughter before her parents divorced, her father married a new wife with Sanmei Liupin, and then they had a son and a daughter who were the legitimate son and daughter. ording to thew, Chuanxiong is not even a concubine, which means her daughter is the daughter of the concubine. Besides, she is the only one of the 5dies who doesn¡¯t have a surname of Luo...¡±

    After hearing what Second Mistress Luo said, the silver Ruyi in Madam Luo¡¯s hand fell on the soft couch. Concubine Mei heard this and covered her vermilion lips with her handkerchief. Luo Baiqian listened with interest and banter. He thought the whole family knew that there were conflicts between Second Mistress Luo and his youngest aunt Chuanxiong. These words sounded grandiosely, and it was for the sake of the whole family. But the truth was Second Mistress Luo wanted to drive his youngest aunt and cousin out of Luo¡¯s Family.

    ¡°First Master,e and tell us about Zhu¡¯s illness! Let Madam Luo make it right for him!¡± Second Mistress Luo stared at Luo Baiqian.

    ¡°Me?¡± Luo Baiqian turned the Chicken-blood Stone Ring on his thumb in surprise. He didn¡¯t understand why he was involved. He asked nervously, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with Zhu¡¯s illness? Anything¡­unusual?¡±

    Second Mistress Luo also looked at him with surprise, ¡°How can you be so forgetful, First Master? This morning you said Zhu¡¯s illness was caused by ¡®external causes¡¯. If the external causes disappeared, Zhu would get well naturally without any herbal medicine. Don¡¯t you mean that Yi has resurrected and she attracted the ¡®external causes¡¯ of evil spirits to our family, which scared Zhu to get a strange illness?¡±

    Luo Baiqian was so nervous that he began to sweat. He thought to himself, ¡°I was talking nonsense. Even the resurrection of the third sister was the story I heard yesterday.¡±

    Seeing Luo Baiqian giving no response, Madam Luo thought he did not say anything about ¡°external cause or internal cause¡±, but she didn¡¯t want to offend Second Mistress Luo as well. Therefore, she said angrily, ¡°Enough. Mei, don¡¯t lure Qian into this! All that you said just reflects the fact that you still can¡¯t treat Yi with tolerance. What if a fortune-teller said Qiong and Shao were hard-fated and destined to be alone, are you willing to give them away?¡±

    Second Mistress Luo was stunned for a moment. Suddenly, she burst into tears and said, ¡°Madam, Qiong and Shao are your legitimate granddaughters who are so clever and filial. How can you describe them like this? We are now sharing no rtionship with He¡¯s Family. Even if He Danggui has half-blood of He¡¯s Family, I never speak sarcastically to her! Over these years, when she was in the farm, I didn¡¯t owe her anything and sent her the same food my daughter ate every month. What¡¯s more, your sister (Madam Luo¡¯s sister) sent He Danggui to the farm and urged Chuanxiong to remarriage because your sister was afraid that Yi might influence Chuanxiong¡¯s future. So, she sent her away. Why does this end up with me mistreating my niece? Why should I do this?¡±

    Madam Luo heard Second Mistress Luo mentioned ¡°her sister¡± again, she became more serious and said coldly, ¡°A few days ago, when I heard Yi had revived, I invited Qi Xuanyu, the Imperial Astronomer of Qintianjian Celestial Prefecture, to divine for her. He said Yi¡¯s date of birth and eight characters of a horoscope is very good, and she is born to be a noble. Also, she isn¡¯t destined to be a siren with a curse. Qi Xuanyu is an able man, and he wouldn¡¯t talk nonsense. Don¡¯t ever talk about anything of Yi¡¯s hard fate or family curse anymore!¡±

    Second Mistress Luo refused to give up, wiped her tears with a silk handkerchief and said, ¡°As a wife in charge of the family, I need to ask you for a leave if I want to go back to my natal family to attend the funeral, and I only got 3 days. Yi is quite different. Even the sedan which was sent to take her home had been at the door, she remained noting back. I don¡¯t think she behaved as a nobledy. Are there any rules in our family? Or is she an exception to these rules?¡±

    Madam Luo sighed and said, ¡°Mei, I¡¯m not supposed to me you anything because I know you have lost your brother recently. But it¡¯s inappropriate to handle this matter in this way. Yesterday, Gao Dashan¡¯s wife came back from the Taoist temple and informed us that Yi did note home for several reasons. Firstly, she did not repeat Yi¡¯s words clearlyst time. Yi said before that she would live until the 17th of this month and then go home. So, she did not go to the sedan because she asked for leave in advance. Secondly, Yi is a young girl and hasn¡¯t forgotten that Law of the Ladies included a rule, saying: when riding a sedan or riding a horse, remember it is improper for men and women to get close to each other. So, she sent a nun to see the sedan first, but she only learned that it was not the general sedan in Luo¡¯s Family, and there were several rude men who stood aside. In order to avoid suspicion, she did not dare go out of the Taoist temple and had to ask someone to deliver her message. That¡¯s why Ding Rong¡¯s wife waited for a while.¡±

 Chapter 44 - Miss He thanked the Immortals for fulfilling her wish

    <strong>Chapter 44 Miss He thanked the Immortals for fulfilling her wish</strong>

    Second Mistress Luo lost her words. She didn¡¯t expect that Gao Dashan¡¯s wife woulde here specially to report this to Madam Luo. After all, He Danggui didn¡¯t share the same surname with them. She was always living cowardly and miserably, even the servants despised her. Why would anyone suddenly speak for her?

    Theplexion of Ding Rong¡¯s wife changed. She actively knelt down and kowtowed to apologize to Madam Luo, ¡°Madam, Second Mistress Luo didn¡¯t know that we didn¡¯t send the sedan of our mansion. It¡¯s all my fault. I was too self-assertive and wanted to pick Third Miss up as soon as possible, so I asked Gao Dashan¡¯s wife to walk all night with me. It was the dinner time before our departure, so I dared not bother you and Second Mistress Luo¡¯s meal. Therefore, I couldn¡¯t get the pass to use the house¡¯s sedan. I was inconsiderate of this matter, so I wronged Third Miss. But if Third Miss thought the sedan was not good, she could bring it up at that time, and I would definitely get it paid with my own money to hire another sedan which matched her status. But the situation was that she didn¡¯t even show herself up but asked us to get back!¡±

    Second Mistress Luo supported her and said, ¡°Ding Rong¡¯s wife is a woman with position too. Could she wrong a child? Even if we ignored Fortune-teller Li¡¯s advice, but now Yi is obviously not willing toe back to Luo¡¯s Family. Maybe she still resents that we didn¡¯t arrange any funeral service for her at home but took her to a remote Taoist temple instead.¡±

    Seeing Madam Luo sip her lips and say nothing, Second Mistress Luo thought she had convinced her, so she continued, ¡°Madam, I mean, now that Yi wants to stay there longer, what about dying a year or a half to pick her up so that she can exercise her feral temper which was cultivated from the farm? In this way, she would have a gentle temple and it¡¯s nice for her future marriage. Unlike Chuanxiong, in every marriage, she shared unpleasant rtionship with her husband. First Master, you stand for the First Branch; Mei Qiao, you stand for the Third Branch; Since Madam Luo said I¡¯m prejudiced against Yi, I won¡¯t say anymore. You twoe up with a suggestion to persuade her.¡±

    After Second Mistress Luo finished this, she wascent in her heart. Because it was her who chose the representatives of the First Branch and the Third Branch, and they definitely would agree with her. Although Ms. Zhao and Ms. Dong from the First Branch disagreed with her, Qian respected her very much. Every time he always smiled to her when they met. Concubine Mei of the Third Branch wasn¡¯t loved by Third Lord. Because Third Lord started the business of pilose antlers and tiger-bones in the north 2 years ago, and he took his wife and 2 concubines except Concubine Mei. Concubine Mei didn¡¯t have any backup in the family, so she definitely dared not offend her, the woman in charge in this family!

    As expected, Concubine Mei felt Second Mistress Luo¡¯s eye settled on her face, so she hurriedly took her stand, ¡°Second Mistress Luo is right and I fully agree with her. In addition, it¡¯s not that we are not going to pick Third Miss up, we just want the nuns in the Taoist temple to lecture her for her feral temper. I heard those Taoist nuns have their own ways, and those who were controlled by them all became well-behaved as cats. Although Third Miss doesn¡¯t know our good intentions, she will understand it¡¯s all for her own good when she gets married. Maybe she will appreciate us by then.¡±

    ¡°How glib!¡± Second Mistress Luo couldn¡¯t help apuding in her heart, and she thought, ¡°Her perfect excuse is better than mine. Since Concubine Mei can understand the situation clearly, why not award He Danggui¡¯s monthly allowance to her?¡± She cast a disgruntled eye at Luo Baiqian and thought, ¡°Your behaviors are not good enough just now, but you must know how to express your opinion now.¡±

    Luo Baiqian wanted to follow Second Mistress Luo¡¯s words and did her a favor, but he had his own difficulty. He had to offend her this time and managed to remedy herter. Bearing this in his mind, he forced himself and said, ¡°Third sister is the youngest aunt¡¯s only daughter, so I can¡¯t be hardhearted to see her not be able toe back home. Most of our biddies have the experience to teach those women who prepared to be the concubines of the Emperor before. It¡¯s easy for them to teach the third sister, let alone third sister is already well-behaved like a cat in my eyes. If we educate her more, she will act like a mouse.¡±

    Madam Luo turned her anger into delight andughed, ¡°Qian reads my mind. Yi is more well-behaved than her mother. It¡¯s no need for her to be taught by the Taoist nuns!¡±

    Second Mistress Luo hid her grudge and tried to redeem, ¡°I¡¯m not saying Yi was not good. I just pointed out the thing that she wasn¡¯t willing toe home was not right. She should be punished for this, and her cousin sisters could take this as a warning as well. But since the First Branch can¡¯t ord with the Third Branch, it¡¯s not suitable for me to say more. How about we pick her up 1 or 2 monthster? And let her know Luo¡¯s Family is her savior. Any help we offer her is our kindness, and she should be grateful but not disobedient.¡±

    Madam Luo shook her head and sighed. Finally, she waved her hand, ¡°I don¡¯t want to me you this time for your hard work and contributions to this family. Also, it¡¯s pitiful that you lost your brother recently. Ah, everything troubles me. Yi is a poor child. Why don¡¯t you love her more as her uncle¡¯s wife? By the way, Yi has already told Gao Dashan¡¯s wife to deliver the reason why she would live in the Taoist temple till the 17th of this month. I conceal her reason all the time for saving your faces. Since you always me her for this, let me tell you why.¡±

    Luo Baiqian was puzzled, ¡°Why?¡±

    Madam Luo looked at Second Mistress Luo, Concubine Mei and Ding Rong¡¯s wife, and then asked slowly, ¡°Do you remember anything special about September 17th of the lunar calendar?¡± Seeing the three of them looking at one another, she turned to Luo Baiqian, ¡°Qian, what about you? Got any idea?¡± He also shook his head and thought, ¡°Every year, September 17th is amon day. It¡¯s nobody¡¯s birthday, either. What¡¯s special about this year?¡±

    Madam Luo shook her head and told them, ¡°Yi got an Immortal¡¯s instruction in her dream. This year, the September 17th of the lunar calendar is the year of Jia-xu, the month of Jia-xu and the day of Jia-yin. And she needs to have a bath, burn incense, and bow to Heaven and Earth and Sanqing Immortals for the elderships¡¯ health. The day is also memorable to Luo¡¯s Family. Ding Rong¡¯s wife, you just said that one should never forget the origin. Why don¡¯t you go back to think about what¡¯s special about September 17th for your Madam, Second Mistress Luo? Of course, all of you can think about it. I will offer a reward to whoever got the answer.¡±

    Those people were all confused. What on earth was Madam Luo¡¯s exact idea?

    Madam Luo got out of the soft couch. Shi Liu hurriedly ran to support her. When they walked to the gate of the wing-room. Madam Luo said with her back facing towards them, ¡°Mei Qiao also said that the living condition in the Taoist temple is miserable. If anyone had a chance to live a better life, no one would choose to be a vegetarian and recite scriptures in a Taoist temple which is located in a mountain. However, Yi is a filial child. She is willing to suffer more to ask the immortals to fulfill her wish¡ªpeace and safety for Luo¡¯s Family. I¡¯m not Chuanxiong¡¯s biological mother, nor Yi¡¯s real grandmother. You all me me for favoring her and her mother too much. But isn¡¯t it true that all I get from you were tons of trouble and problems? And yes, I do like a filial and sensible child. Second Mistress Luo, I want someone to bring Yi back to Luo¡¯s Family very ceremoniously, a gorgeous sedan I mean. And she can stay in the West Lateral court she used to live before.¡±

    Second Mistress Luo nodded with a yes. Shi Liu supported Madam Luo and entered the wing-room, followed by Gan Cao and Deng Cao. They put down the bead curtain behind them and the rest bowed and left in order.

    Luo Baiqian walked out in confusion, thinking about what had Luo¡¯s Family to do with September 17th.

    Second Mistress Luo passed by him but she didn¡¯t stop, leaving a whisper of a cold sneer, ¡°Oh, I happen to forget. Your father and Yi¡¯s mother both have the blood from the same mother, which made Yi and you cousins. And you two are much closer than others. How jealous I am!¡±

    Passing by a lotus garden, Second Mistress Luo picked some and crushed them into pieces in her palm, ¡°A house on ice water is quite unreliable! No men can be relied on!¡±

    Ding Rong¡¯s wife agreed, ¡°If there are any men that women can depend on, a pig could climb up on a tree! I wonder why Madam Luo got angry with us for those irrelevant people. Everyone in Luo¡¯s Family relies on you. It won¡¯t change anything if shees back. Madam, I¡¯m sure you have ways to make her suffer and take all the pain alone.¡±

    Second Mistress Luo grinded her teeth, ¡°I hate seeing her face. I can see He Jingxian through that face.¡±

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù

    ¡°Xiaoyi, you will go back to Luo¡¯s Family very soon. Why do you pack up so much luggage? I mean you can dress anything you want when you go back. Why bother buying cloth and making clothes yourself outside?¡± Zhen Jing carried 2 bolts of ck cloth andined out of exhaustion.

    ¡°Zhen Jing, there is something you¡¯re not aware of. When I go back to Luo¡¯s Family, I would be restricted on my clothing and food expenses very hard. Although it doesn¡¯t mean I will have nothing to eat like the life in Taoist temple, I would encounter a different kind of danger. So, we must be prepared.¡± He Danggui had a big bottle of wine in her left hand and a bulging bag of medicinal material in the other hand, which were several times weigh as Zhen Jing¡¯s cloth, but she still walked on a very fast speed.

    The internal force was quite a wonderful thing that people who possessed it couldn¡¯t get exhausted while running or working. He Danggui couldn¡¯t help bing curious about what extend of internal force she really had now, and what kind of martial movement her limit was. Suddenly a thought urred to her mind, ¡°Why don¡¯t I do what Xiang Yu did, like carrying arge bronze tripod that weighs a lot?¡±

    Zhen Jing tilted her head, ¡°Who would limit your clothing and food expenses? How could you be dangerous in your family?¡±

    He Danggui stared at a salted duck egg selling in front of a grocery, and exined to Zhen Jing slowly, ¡°It¡¯s hard to exin. Anyway, just remember this: the moment we step into that house, everyone there is our enemy. In Luo¡¯s Family, don¡¯t talk to anyone you don¡¯t know and don¡¯t believe anything they tell you. All in all, I¡¯m the only one you can trust and take anything they say as nonsense. Don¡¯t eat any unidentified food they send you. Don¡¯t leave with anyone before you report that to me. If anyone touches you physically, you yell out loud to scare him or her away¡­¡±

    When Zhen Jing heard this, she was so surprised that she could put an egg in her mouth. She said, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that your family is such a dangerous ce. If so, I need to prepare ahead too.¡±

    He Danggui smiled and asked with surprise, ¡°What do you have in mind to prepare, little girl?¡±

    Zhen Jing shook her headcently, ¡°Don¡¯t let the cat out of the bag.¡± She hoped that He Danggui could also constantly ask her out of curiosity.

    ¡°Ah, here it is.¡± He Danggui pointed at the front, ¡°Look, the money shop is just ahead. We can rent temporary containers and deposit our luggage there. Later, we could hire a carriage to take us to the gate of the Taoist temple, which could save our time and energy. At the same time, we can deposit these cheques, so we don¡¯t need to carry it around and get someone¡¯s attention. There are several people who have followed us for a while. They neither hanged out nor went shopping.¡±

    ¡°Seriously?! Where?¡± Zhen Jing looked around in rm, pressed He Danggui with her elbow and guessed, ¡°Xiaoyi, is it possible that the shopkeeper of Coffin Shop of Jing sent them here? He med us for earning his silver and seeing our bodyguard leaving. So, he wanted to take the sliver back!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the transaction between Shopkeeper Jing and me is reasonable. Also, the final price is on the basis of the market price. Although I did a little trick to get a little more from him, in this transaction, I can assure you that he has not lost anything. As long as he fixes up the fragrant wooden coffin and then goes to Yangzhou City to find a suitable buyer, he could earn 300 or 400 liang.¡± As Zhen Jing raised the cloth and prepared to fight, He Danggui could not helpughing and extorting her, ¡°I think the 3 people behind us are just ordinary thieves. They saw we made our deal without hesitation, so they chose to follow up. They don¡¯t look like the local viins here. Besides, thew of the Ming Dynasty is so strict that no one dares to rob on the street. Silly girl, put away your cloth first. Listen to me, you can¡¯t hurt anyone with cloth. If the bad guyse, you should kick them like this!¡±

    He Danggui kicked up a small stone with her tiptoes casually and it flew straight to a big tree more than 10 zhang (a unit of length in ancient China) away.

    ¡°Rub-a-dub!¡± After a muffled sound, the stone broke through the wood and disappeared into the trunk, leaving only a small dark hole in the tree. Since the stone was flying low, and the sound of breaking wood was not loud, few passers-by noticed the scene.

 Chapter 45 - Fell in love with a pair of eyes

    <strong>Chapter 45 Fell in love with a pair of eyes</strong>

    Zhen Jing stared at He Danggui from head to toe as if she knew her for the first time. After a long time, she said, ¡°It turns out that you are a heroine!¡±

    He Danggui was also surprised and looked at the small hole in the trunk. Only she knew that she just kicked it casually!

    Zhen Jing snatched the wine jar and medicine package from He Danggui¡¯s hands and said excitedly, ¡°Heroine, I¡¯m responsible for depositing things, and you¡¯re responsible for protecting me! Drive all the bad guys away!¡±

    He Danggui shook her wrists and chuckled, ¡°It¡¯s unnecessary to hit them. I guess they have seen what happened just now. Now the three men have run away with great speed.¡± One of them seemed to knock over a fruit stand at the roadside. He Danggui listened to the sound attentively. She could faintly hear a woman¡¯s voice shouting, ¡°You got my pears dirty! Pay for my pears. You can¡¯t leave! Pay for my pears!¡±

    Zhen Jing went around in circles for four or five times. There were only a few people on this street, and no one was running. She asked confusedly, ¡°Where are the three people that you said? Why can¡¯t I see them?¡±

    He Danggui pointed at the alley on the corner of the street and exined, ¡°They stared at us in that alley just now. Now they have run far away. Well, don¡¯t mind them. Let¡¯s deposit things first and then deposit the money.¡± Then she bypassed Dahong Money Shop and walked into Qibao Money Shop.

    Zhen Jing was puzzled and asked in a low voice, ¡°I see Dahong Money Shop is bigger. Don¡¯t we deposit money in it?¡±

    He Danggui exined, ¡°Although Dahong Money Shop is big, it¡¯s just a local money shop in Tu¡¯er Town. Anyway, I haven¡¯t seen the chain shop of Dahong Money Shop in Yangzhou City. It¡¯s very troublesome toe back to Tu¡¯er Town when I withdraw the money. However, even if the branch of Qibao Money Shop here is small, its main shop in Yangzhou City is quiterge and has good reputation. In addition, the most important thing is that all the money we deposit is Fei Qian (a bill used for remittance in ancient China). We can withdraw the money in Yangzhou City and even the capital with an identity document.¡±

    Zhen Jing was shocked and asked, ¡°Why do you know so much? You are more outstanding than ¡®Zhuang Yan, the Female Prince Consort¡¯ in the y! I can¡¯t know so much even when I¡¯m 50 years old.¡±

    He Danggui shook her head and chuckled, ¡°It¡¯s not a big deal. People who deposit money in the money shop all know that. Well, you deposit things, and I deposit the money. Then we meet at the willow in the doorway.¡± Then she went to the counter and handled the depositing business. But because she was too young, it took a lot of time to check her identity document.

    Finally, she deposited 240 liang silver in her ount, and changed the rest of the cheques and silver ingots into small change. Then she changed 2 liang silver into 4 strings of 1,000 qian copper cash. With this money as the capital, she could n to do business slowly after she returned Yangzhou. Money could never sleep. She knew that greed was not a good word, but it was useful to her. As the saying goes, ¡°No matter where you are, if you can¡¯t be a real yer, you will only be a nobody.¡±

    When He Danggui got out of the money shop, there was no one under the willow tree. Zhen Jing should have arrived there earlier than her. She was a little anxious since Zhen Jing was always obedient and would wait for her.

    She went to the ce where Zhen Jing deposited things and saw her 2 bolts of ck cloth put in the distance. Then she nced at the money shop, but Zhen Jing was not there too. When she tried to run around to look for Zhen Jing, she suddenly seemed to hear Zhen Jing¡¯sugh and voice, ¡°She is so powerful, just like the Female Prince Consort Zhuang Yan... She kicked a little stone just now. You guess what happened to the little stone...¡±

    He Danggui focused on the direction that the sound wasing from and ran toward the northeast. After running through two blocks, she saw Zhen Jing¡¯s thin and little figure standing next to a middle-aged woman.

    When Zhen Jing was talking with great joy, she saw He Danggui at a distance and then raised her arms to wave at He Danggui. She called, ¡°Xiaoyi, this is my mom!¡± When He Danggui came near, Zhen Jing said apologetically, ¡°I¡¯m sorry for not waiting for you outside of the money shop. I just saw a figure that looked like my mother, so I caught up with her and found that she was really my mother!¡±

    He Danggui looked at this middle-aged woman whom Zhen Jing looked like. Then she smiled, ¡°Hi, Auntie, I¡¯m Xiaoyi, Zhen Jing¡¯s good friend. I live in the Taoist temple too. My family wille to pick me up in a couple of days. I want to bring Zhen Jing to my house to live with me and let her be a maid with a revocable title deed. Master Tai Xi of Shui Shang Temple also has agreed. What do you think of this, Auntie?¡±

    The woman had heard this from Zhen Jing. She replied hurriedly, ¡°My family owed Shui Shang Temple farnd rent with high interest, and it is 30 liang now. How could I let you buy her freedom back! I will go home and ask my friends and rtives to borrow some money. Then I buy her freedom back, and send her to your home...¡±

    He Danggui interrupted, ¡°Auntie, don¡¯t worry. Master Tai Xi is very kind and agreed that the rent owed by your family would only be calcted ording to themon loan interest. And Tai Shan¡¯s usury receipts were burned. Now it only needs 5 liang silver to buy Zhen Jing¡¯s freedom back, and I will pay the money up front and take it from her sryter. My family has the rule that a new maid will be paid one year¡¯s sries in advance.¡± She told a lie and took out about 10 liang silver from her purse, then thrusting it into the woman¡¯s rough hand. She smiled, ¡°Zhen Jing doesn¡¯t need to spend money in my family. Keep the money for her. We were going to see you in Micu Vige but now we meet you in the town. So, we don¡¯t need to make another trip.¡±

    The woman hastened to return the money to He Danggui and shook her head, ¡°Miss He, you helped us pay the usury money, so we can¡¯t get any more of your money! We cannot earn 2 liang sliver when doing the farm work even for a whole year. How can a maid like my daughter Niu earn 10 liang sliver a year! I know that you want to help us, but when you redeem Niu from the temple, you are our benefactor. If I take your money, her father will me me!¡±

    He Danggui took a blue cloth from her sleeve, rolled up the money, tied a knot, and thrust it back to the woman. She smiled, ¡°Auntie, there¡¯s something you don¡¯t know about Yangzhou City. The prices in Yangzhou are very high, so workers¡¯ sries are also higher. 10 liang silver a year is the standard wage of a third-ss maid in my family, so I don¡¯t give you too much money. If Zhen Jing does her job well in the future, her sry can raise more. Besides, if I take her to Yangzhou City, you can only see her just a few times a year. If you refuse to ept the money, how can she go with me at ease? You should take it even for reassuring her. And we are pushing money around in the open street. It¡¯s easy to attract the attention from the thieves. Auntie, take this money please!¡±

    The woman took it vacitingly and looked at Zhen Jing worriedly, ¡°Miss He, Niu was sent to the Taoist temple at the age of six and a half to pay our debts. I have no chance to teach her embroidery and cooking that a girl should learn, so please do not dislike her. She used to wet her bed every night before she went to the temple and I don¡¯t know now she...¡±

    Zhen Jing was so embarrassed that she tiptoed to cover her mother¡¯s mouth. Then He Danggui persuaded Zhen Jing¡¯s mother and told her to be at ease since she would treat Zhen Jing well. He Danggui sweat on her forehead and suddenly realized her words made her feel that Zhen Jing would marry her.

    Zhen Jing¡¯s mother hade to the morning market to sell the melon vines. Now the melon vines had been sold and she got ¡°a stupendous sum of money¡±. So, she parted from Zhen Jing and He Danggui, and hurriedly went home to tell her family members the good news.

    He Danggui and Zhen Jing continued to hang out in the market and bought some useful things. Passing the sliver shop, He Danggui paused for a moment but did not enter. Originally, she intended to buy some sliver needles to channel the Zhenqi. But thanks to Gao Jue, her Zhenqi had been collected into the Dantian and condensed into her own internal force. Therefore, she didn¡¯t need the sliver needles now and could go to Qian Chui Ren Jia to order the most delicate Yuhua Needles after they arrived in Yangzhou.

    After passing through a half of the street, Zhen Jing nced at He Danggui and noticed that He Danggui was calm. So, she was relieved since He Danggui had not cared about the embarrassment of bed-wetting. Zhen Jing was very grateful because He Danggui not only paid off the debt for her family but insisted on giving her mother 10 liang silver. She thought, ¡°Although Xiaoyi was an exalted miss, she was very poor before and could only eat wild vegetables and rice to satisfy her hunger. Now she had earned more than 200 liang sliver with her hard work, but she had spent a lot on me.¡±

    ¡°Why was she so good to me? Why did I always feel familiar with her? Why was she so confident as if everything was under her control?¡± Zhen Jing thought.

    Looking at He Danggui¡¯s beautiful face, Zhen Jing thanked her sincerely and said, ¡°Xiaoyi, thanks for your meticulous care. I will learn tob and help youb your hair every day to repay you...¡±

    ¡°No!¡± He Danggui refused firmly. She thought for a moment and said, ¡°Zhen Jing is your religious name. Although this name is good, in order to show that you have resumed secr life, the former religious name can no longer be used. When I heard that your mother called you Niu, it urred to me that the Luo¡¯s Family also had a few maids called Hong Niu, Lan Niu and so on. If you are also called Niu, your names are the same. So, I give you a new name. How about ¡®Chan Yi¡¯?¡±

    ¡°Chan Yi, Chan Yi, Chan Yi,¡± Zhen Jing said with a smile, ¡°This name is really nice. What¡¯s the meaning of Chan Yi?¡±

    ¡°Chan Yi is the name of an herb,¡± He Danggui exined, ¡°You have probably heard that Luo¡¯s Family is the first medical family of the Ming Dynasty. San Qing Tang is a medicine pharmacy opened by Luo¡¯s Family, which has a history of 80 years. The practice of medicine of Luo¡¯s Family dated back to the Southern Song Dynasty. The ancestors of Luo¡¯s Family decided to make the knowledge transmit from father to son, and hoped that future generations could inherit medical skills. So, they started a tradition of letting the generations of Luo¡¯s Family take the name of herb medicines as their name. Until now, most people in Luo¡¯s Family still follow the custom of naming their kids and their close maids and servants with names of herb medicines.¡±

    Zhen Jing asked amazedly, ¡°If so, are your family members all named by those names of herb medicines?¡±

    He Danggui nodded, ¡°The six branches of the East Yard and West Yard of Luo¡¯s Family mostly follow this tradition. Luo¡¯s Family in the capital has more than ten branches and they haven¡¯t followed this tradition. In my grandfather¡¯s generation, their names are Duzhong, Dusong, Duheng, etc.; my mother¡¯s generation, their names are Chuanbai, Chuan¡¯gu, Chuanpu, Chuanxiong, Chuanwu, Chuanjiao, etc.; and the next generation, their names are Baiqian, Baiji, Baikou, Baizhi, etc. Because the Second Miss didn¡¯t like her previous name, the Second Mistress Luo managed to persuade the Second Lord to change her name to Baiqiong.¡±

    Zhen Jing suddenly understood, ¡°Well, yourst name ¡®Danggui¡¯ is also the name of an herb medicine!¡±

    He Danggui was in a daze for a while and thought it was clear that angelica (Danggui) was the name of an herb medicine, but it was said that there was another meaning when her mother named her this¡­

    Zhen Jing asked again, ¡°What effect does Chan Yi have?¡±

    He Danggui rolled her eyes and answered, ¡°The periostracum cicada (Chan Yi) can clean the channels in lung and kidney. It can also ease the heart fire and reduce the dampness-heat. Additionally, it has a significant effect on children enuresis.¡±

    Zhen Jing screamed and asked He Danggui to change her name. Then theyughed out loudly, attracting the attention from passers-by frequently.

    When passing the store, He Danggui let Zhen Jing wait outside. She went in for a while and came out with a paper bag. Zhen Jing asked curiously, ¡°What did you buy?¡±

    He Danggui smiled, ¡°You¡¯ll know when we get back. Look, there is a tailor¡¯s shop over there. Let¡¯s go in and look for two suits of men¡¯s clothes to change. After a while, we will go to Qunxianlou Restaurant to eat Stewed Pork Ball in Brown Sauce. Your Taoist robe is too conspicuous and people will gossip.¡±

    So, they went in and changed into men¡¯s wear. When they got to the tailor¡¯s shop, they saw all kinds of facial masks hanging on the inside door, which were very beautiful and colorful. Then they came forward to watch andment on the masks.

    Seeing that He Danggui wanted to buy four or five facial masks, Zhen Jing dissuaded, ¡°They look nice but they are useless. How cumbersome they are. Don¡¯t buy them. They cannot be contained in our cart.¡±

    He Danggui put one of facial masks on her face and said wittily, ¡°I buy these as a gift because someone shows a serious face all day and he would have a better life with a facial mask. What do you think, Mater Gao?¡± Then Zhen Jing saw a tall and ck shadow with a serious face appearing at the door. She was scared and hid behind He Danggui.

    Gao Jue thought He Danggui was really different from other people...

    When he first saw He Danggui on the mountain road, she pointed to the roadside grass one by one with her clever and lively eyes and told which one could be used as medicine or cure diseases. Gao Jue and other eight people listened to her carefully.

    Then when they came forward to greet her, her eyelids drooped. Even after hearing Duan Xiaolou said that they were officials, she did not lift her eyelids or trembled. At that time, he suspected that she was not an ordinary girl.

    The next time he met her was when he cut a table in pieces and Tai Shan came to apologize. Duan Xiaolou wanted to see the Miss He who was reborn. Later, they just knew that the little Taoist nun who was familiar with the herbs was Miss He. This time, she still replied respectfully and distantly. Her fan-like eyshes sealed her watery eyes.

    Then, they caught Tai Chen who refined and sold banned drugs. They went to the Medicine Room for evidence, but they got nothing. Suddenly, a series of knocks appeared. When he opened the door, he saw her cold eyes again. In that cold night, her eyes looked silent as he expected, with thousands of secrets hidden in them.

    When she spoke out his body weakness; when she spoke with fervor and assurance after she found out the ce where Tai Shan hid medicines; when she took out two embroidery needles to suppress the medicine¡¯s effect for him and Lu Jiangbei; when she leisurely exercised the Five Mimic-animal Boxing in the morning; when she got upzily and asked him to leave; and when she lied to the shopkeeper, her eyes often glistened with shining lights.

    Gradually, he couldn¡¯t help falling in love with that pair of eyes.

 Chapter 46 - Permanent workers who lost their fingers

    <strong>Chapter 46 Permanent workers who lost their fingers</strong>

    The owner of that pair of beautiful eyes suddenly smiled. A light green men¡¯s robe embroidered with white lotus made the girl¡¯s appearance extraordinarily appealing, just like an exquisite jade. Though people could easily identify that she was a girl, she still had a natural and unrestrained quality that matched with her men¡¯s outfit.

    Seeing that Gao Jue didn¡¯t wear his cloak, He Danggui asked, ¡°Master Gao, did you find your cloak? Why did youe back? Didn¡¯t you find your sister-inw?¡±

    Gao Jue said nothing with his hands cross behind his back.

    He Danggui quickly found that he was holding something in his hands, so she asked curiously, ¡°What is it in your hands? You¡¯re so weird.¡±

    Gao Jue paused for a moment and passed the thing in his hands to He Danggui with a low voice, ¡°It¡¯s mypensation to you. But now that you¡¯ve changed into a men¡¯s outfit, it is useless.¡±

    ¡°Apensation?¡± He Danggui asked in surprise. She noticed that there was a blue hairpin lying in Gao Jue¡¯s hands. It was delicate and sparkling with subtle colors flowing. Though she was knowledgeable, she couldn¡¯t identify what it was made from. It took her a while to figure out the meaning of Gao Jue¡¯s words. When he unchoked the Zhenqi for her, her wooden hairpin fell on the ground and was trampled by him. So, he wanted to give her another one as apensation.

    But He Danggui refused, ¡°I can¡¯t take this. The wooden hairpin was just made by myself. It worth nothing. So, you don¡¯t have topensate me. Master Gao had helped me a lot. How can I take such a small thing seriously?¡±

    Gao Jue lifted the hairpin to He Danggui¡¯s face and said in a very awful tone, ¡°I give it to you, so you must take it. I never owe anything to others. I broke your hairpin, so Ipensate you.¡±

    Zhen Jing who stood beside was scared by Gao Jue. However, He Danggui was so calm and replied, ¡°Well, if you insist, you can buy me this. One facial mask is 3 copper cash and five masks are 15 copper cash. Come on!¡± He Danggui waved the colorful facial masks and reached her hand out to Gao Jue, asking for money.

    Gao Jue threw his money bag to her with a poker face. She found 15 copper cash from the bag and gave them to the shop assistant in the clothes shop. Then she kept a yellow facial mask to herself and gave the other four masks and the money bag to Gao Jue. She smiled, ¡°Take these four facial masks. They are gifts to express my appreciation to you for carrying the coffin. Please don¡¯t refuse me. I chose them specially for you and they do match you very much!¡± Actually, she thought, ¡°You can wear this facial mask while questioning a prisoner since it was scarier than your original poker face.¡±

    Gao Jue took them silently and said, ¡°I came to say goodbye to you. I have somethings to do in Yangzhou City. So, I won¡¯t send you back to the Taoist temple.¡±

    He Dangguiughed, ¡°We will hang out in the town for a while longer, and will hire a carriage to go back. Thank you for your kindness. Wait, there¡¯s something I wanted to discuss with Master Duan but I had forgotten. But I can talk to you.¡± Seeing Gao Jue was in confusion, she pointed a cyan rock in front of the shop and said, ¡°Come on, this way.¡± Then she stepped forward first and Gao Jue followed. Since Zhen Jing witnessed the scene that Gao Jue got angry, she became scared of him and decided to stay in the shop to look after their clothes.

    ¡°I would like to ask about Master Geng¡­ Is his real name Geng Bingxiu?¡± He Danggui turned around, staring at Gao Jue.

    Gao Jue never expected that she would talk about Master Geng. Actually, Master Geng used the fake name ¡°Geng Xin¡± when he was in Jianghu and only a few subordinates knew about this. How did she know this?

    Seeing that he was ring at her silently, He Danggui knew she guessed it correctly. The leader of the nine people was Geng Bingxiu, ¡°the cruelest official in the world¡±. He Danggui remembered clearly that Geng Bingxiu was the good helper of three Emperors in previous life. Although Emperor Jianwen removed the Department of Imperial Guard after he ascended the throne, he still couldn¡¯t weaken the authority of Geng Bingxiu.

    Geng Bingxiu was not only merciless and cruel, but also was famous for disowning his family members and friends. He could even take his biological brother as his stepping stone when it was necessary. Most importantly, He Danggui remembered that when a case of gross injustice that shocked the government and people was exposed, Emperor Jianwen asked Geng Bingxiu to find the culprits to mollify public anger. In the end, the culprits who were put into jail by Geng Bingxiu were his subordinate generals who worked with him and went through fire and water for him for many years.

    In other words, if Duan Xiaolou, Gao Jue and others worked under Geng Bingxiu, one day they would be victims of that event!

    During these days in the Taoist temple, He Danggui had owed Duan Xiaolou and others so much kindness. She just wanted to use them before. As a saying goes, ¡°Human, rather than the nts, have thoughts and feelings.¡± When she got along with them more than 10 days, she had already treated them as her friends and never wanted them to head toward the death.

    However, she was in a low position and her words were of little effect. She couldn¡¯t not only persuade them to leave their positions of imperial guards, but also tell them as a prophet that Geng Bingxiu would be a merciless viin in the future and they would be persecuted by him. So, how to tell Gao Jue her ideas and let him tell it to Duan Xiaolou and others? Even if they did nothing now, they should keep alert to Geng Bingxiu.

    Thinking of this, He Danggui looked up to Gao Jue and asked, ¡°Master Gao, you must feel strange why I could know the name of Master Geng, right? I also know he has a sister named Xiangniang. So, Master Gao, how much do you know about Geng Bingxiu?¡±

    Gao Jue frowned and stared at her face. Then he said with a deep voice, ¡°What exactly do you want to say? I warn you. It¡¯s a great sin if your words are disrespectful to an appointed official. You will be flogged 30 times.¡±

    He Danggui smiled and suddenly wore the yellow facial mask which was in her hand, ¡°Master Gao, you¡¯re outspoken. What¡¯s on your mind could be found in your face. But if a person always takes an ¡®ordinary¡¯ facial mask, and hides his true nature and thoughts closely. Do you think this person is so strange?¡±

    Gao Jue became serious and asked, ¡°Is the person you said Master Geng? Do you know him before? You must make it clear!¡±

    He Danggui said under the facial mask, ¡°I want to tell you a story and please convey it to other people who need to know it.¡± She began to tell the story before Gao Jue replied, ¡°I grew up on the farm, and I worked in the farnd every day to plow, nt rice seedlings, weed and water crops. During the summer when I was eight, permanent workers of the farm all worked hard in the farnd. My foot was hit by the plow so I had to do some easy work. At this time, a young woman rode on a red-brown horse running on the official road from the distance. But that horse suddenly ran out of the road and rushed into the farnd. It trampled the area which had been already loosened, and ate the young leaves in the seedlings. The woman who rode the horse not only didn¡¯t stop it, but also felt happy and giggled.¡±

    Gao Jue stared at the eyes from the mask and was entranced for a moment, listening to the catchy female voice.

    ¡°The farnd was farmers¡¯ lifeblood. So, the woman was surrounded by four or five permanent workers. They pointed at her and cursed her. And the woman used the horsewhip to whip their hands while yelling at a running horse cart on the official road, ¡®Bingxiu, help me!¡¯ The horse cart arrived immediately and a thin man about 40 years old with high cheekbones jumped down from the cart. His eyes were deep and his behaviors showed his arrogance. He rushed to the woman and asked, ¡®Xiangniang, have you offended them?¡¯ That woman stopped calling his name but called him ¡®Second Brother¡¯. She said that she just let her horse eat some rotten grass, but those rude men pointed at her with their dirty hands. Hearing this, the middle-aged man scolded the woman and took a silver ingot of 10 liang topensate the permanent workers. The workers were d and in turn apologized to him. Then the two people rode away.¡±

    Gao Jue thought ording to the described appearance of that middle-aged man, he must be Master Geng. But he didn¡¯t bully the weak. His sister broke others¡¯ farnd, and then hepensated them. It was very fair.

    He Danggui sneered, ¡°That incident was over with a happy ending. The five permanent workers got 2 liang silver each. Some bought food, some took as payment for gambling debt, and the others married a wife¡­They were grateful to the God of Wealth for bringing that two people here.¡±

    She took off the facial mask and showed her elegant and pretty face. Then she stared at the cyan stone and recalled, ¡°One morning after half a year, the horrible thing happened. All fingers of that five permanent workers were cut at one night. And the way of cutting was deft. When each finger was cut, it was pressed by a cotton with Powder for Anesthesia. Therefore, those permanent workers who lost their all fingers didn¡¯t realize it until they woke up, or in other words, until their sleepy acupoints were released. When they saw their hands, their cry was so cruel that I¡¯ll never forget.¡±

    Gao Jue looked cold, ¡°You mean¡­he did this?¡±

    He Danggui blinked innocently and asked amazedly, ¡°Who is ¡®he¡¯ in Master Gao¡¯s words? I just said an interesting story that I saw in my childhood. That can be a topic for you to discuss in case others think you are dull and boring. Please don¡¯t force to interpret. ording to ourws, one nders an official who works for the imperial court would be whipped 50 times.¡±

    Gao Jue sniffed and also looked at the cyan stone. No one knew about his thoughts.

    He Danggui continued, ¡°At that time, no one connected this tragedy with what happened half a year ago. Lots of people thought the five permanent workers owed much money so they were crippled by the underworld. But as a bystander, I found another strange thing.¡±

    Gao Jue asked at once, ¡°What?¡±

    He Danggui¡¯s mouth was taut and others couldn¡¯t tell whether she was smiling or gritting her teeth, ¡°I got a little knowledge of medical skills when I was nine. ording to the symptoms, that five people seemed to be poisoned by ¡®Jiaochang Powder¡¯ or something simr from Sichuan Prefecture. But no one believed me when I told them this. They mocked me and thought I was arrogant foring from a medical family. A monthter, the five permanent workers recovered. Although they lost fingers, they still needed to work and the life had to go on. At noon, I pushed a barrow to send pumpkin soup for the workers. The five permanent workers came to me first. I handed them five bowls of soup. And they swallowed in front of me¡­ Suddenly, the soup leaked from their bellies to the ground drop by drop.¡±

    Gao Jue also shuddered. What was Jiaochang Powder? This poison should melt the flesh and blood of a person without any sign and feeling!

    ¡°Of course, those five people died. However, they died after they drank the pumpkin soup that I brought, so I became a murder suspect. At that time, I was sent to the County Government of Duoye County with the ¡®poisonous pumpkin soup¡¯. My voice was not as big as theirs, and I was shorter than them. It was really like ¡®A schr is always wrong when he is in front of a solider¡¯. The magistrate looked as he didn¡¯t fully wake up from a nap. He was about to charge me with ¡®poisoning and murdering people for money¡¯. In a hurry, I got rid of everyone and run towards the cart, filled a bowl of warm pumpkin soup, and drank it all at once.¡±

    With fierce eyes, Gao Jue said with a deep voice, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that there is still such a muddleheaded official in the Ming Dynasty. During his term of office, there must be many false and unjust cases in Duoye County. We must investigate him thoroughly!¡±

    He Danggui smiled and said, ¡°Ah, this is not the key point I want to talk about. Master Gao, you hate evil, which is really admirable. But that magistrate of Duoye County had left his office and gone home because his father passed away half a year ago. What I want to say is that after I drunk three bowls of soup in a row, I was still alive. Then people finally believed that there was no poison in the soup. Just at that time, the coroner who camete examined the five corpses, confirming that the five people were poisoned to death. ording to the poisoning situation, it was impossible to cause their deaths overnight. Someone continuously poisoned them and fed them with anesthetics. So, their viscera were gradually eroded for more than half, but they didn¡¯t know. In my knowledge, only Jiaochang Powder of Tangmen, Sichuan Prefecture can be so vicious.¡±

    ¡°Was there any result of this case?¡±

    He Danggui opened her hands, ¡°Yes! The magistrate said that ording to his analysis, the five people were not ordinary farmers, but hidden people from Wulin. Because they offended their enemies, all of them were killed in their battle in Jianghu. So, this case was solved.¡±

    In the past dynasties, the government also had the so-called ¡°Three Unhandled Cases¡±. The first one was life and death in the arena. The government didn¡¯t handle it. The second was in the civil strife when both sides had autographed consent forms and witnesses. In this case, if someone was injured or died, the government didn¡¯t handle it. The fight between Jianghu sects or murder in Jianghu was the third case that the government didn¡¯t handle since they were beyond the management scope of the imperial court, and there was no chance for the imperial court to handle.

    Gao Jue gritted his teeth with anger, ¡°That bastard! With the sry and food of the imperial court, how dare he handle cases in that way!¡± Zhu Yuanzhang, the Emperor, hated corrupt officials the most. He had vowed to kill all corrupt officials in the world. As the Emperor¡¯s favorite general, Gao Jue had the same opinion with that of the Emperor.

    He Danggui suddenly said, ¡°That day I was called by Tai Shan to see you. Master Geng also talked to me. It seemed that he has an ent in Sichuan area.¡±

    Gao Jue looked at He Danggui and asked, ¡°He is the middle-aged man at the beginning of your story, right? Tell me, don¡¯t y charades!¡±

 Chapter 47 - The boys in Qunxianlou Restaurant

    <h4>Chapter 47 The boys in Qunxianlou Restaurant</h4>

    He Danggui sighed, ¡°At that time, I was only eight years old. How can I remember a person I met only once? However, when I recalled that event, I feel that the middle-aged man would be terrible if the five permanent workers were really killed by him. Even if I had three lives, I couldn¡¯t have that endurance. He clearly couldn¡¯t tolerate the five permanent workers who were rude to his sister, but he scolded his sister and paid money to those workers to show his gentility. After that, he could turn back to seek revenge immediately, but he waited for half a year. Please think about it, Master Gao. Who can remember a quarrel with passers-by half a year ago, and always want to revenge? But the middle-aged man remembered such a small thing and tortured the others for a whole month before he let them die miserably. He is really cruel and merciless.¡±

    Gao Jue nodded, ¡°If what you said is true, this guy is really narrow-minded and has a vicious heart which is really rare in the world!¡±

    He Danggui said with a smile, ¡°Since you are here to say goodbye, I won¡¯t upy your too much time. Master Gao, go and do your work. Zhen Jing and I will continue shopping.¡±

    Gao Jue looked at the bright and intoxicating eyes. It seemed that he saw through the vast night and fell into an unknown void. His voice was so bitter, ¡°Shall we meet again?¡±

    He Danggui looked at him calmly and said, ¡°We will meet again in the near future. As long as we are alive, we will have the chance to meet each other. Master Gao and Childe Duan helped me find the precious gold lock. And you help me unchoke the channels and change the Zhenqi into my internal force. I will pay back your great kindness in the future.¡±

    Then Gao Jue handed her the hairpin and said, ¡°It¡¯s unpredictable in the future, but now you can take it as a reward. It¡¯s the first time that I have given a gift to a girl... It¡¯ll be embarrassing if I am rejected.¡±

    He Danggui hesitated for a moment, took over with two hands, and replied briskly and yfully, ¡°So, I have to thank you for the gift, my Master! Master, please ept my worship!¡± Then she bowed down.

    Gao Jue turned away and said angrily, ¡°Who is your Master?¡±

    He Danggui said, ¡°A teacher for a day is a teacher for a lifetime. I have bowed to you. How can you be so mean? Master, I have benefited a lot from the Zhenqi you gave me. I hope that when I meet you again, you can teach me something to embolden me!¡±

    Gao Jue said coldly, ¡°I don¡¯t ept the disciple, let alone a female disciple. So, give it up.¡± Then he disappeared.

    He Danggui turned her head and looked at the clothes shop. She found Zhen Jing was picking a raised nail on the table. Then she shouted, ¡°Chan Yi, don¡¯t be dazed. I¡¯m hungry again. Let¡¯s go for lunch!¡±

    He Danggui walked into Qunxianlou Restaurant with Zhen Jing and found a clean seat. Looking at the menu on the wall, she called the waiter and ordered, ¡°First, brew a pot of scented tea and take two dishes of dessert. The main dishes are Stewed Pork Ball in Brown Sauce, Roast Suzhou Duck, Stewed Sliced Meat with Bamboo Shoots and Stewed Chicken ws with Green Vegetables. Then give us four seasonal dishes. Well, the soup is the Bean-curd Soup with Sow Thistle and Duck Heart. Atst, give us ten steamed buns.¡±

    Hearing her words, the waiter was stunned. Even if two men might not eat so many dishes, let alone they were just two little girls who dressed as men.

    ¡°Oh, by the way,¡± He Danggui added, ¡°Pack 5 jin of newly baked dessert, and we¡¯ll take them away after eating.¡± Then she gave the waiter 500 qian as a tip and ordered, ¡°Tell the chef that the Stewed Pork Ball in Brown Sauce should not be too greasy, and the Chicken ws should be less spicy.¡±

    The waiter took the money with a smile. Soon, a pot of scented tea and two tes of dessert were served. He Danggui and Zhen Jing had been walking all morning. So, they were hungry and began to eat and drink at once. They became bold after wearing men¡¯s clothes, so they eat in an unconstrained way. Many people on the nearby tables couldn¡¯t help taking a peek.

    When the dessert was half eaten, the Stewed Pork Ball in Brown Sauce, the Roast Suzhou Duck, and a te of ten steamed buns were served. He Danggui and Zhen Jing smiled at each other. Just the day before yesterday when they ate rice mixed with splendid achnatherum, He Danggui promised to bring Zhen Jing to eat Stewed Pork Ball in Brown Sauce and Roast Suzhou Duck in Qunxianlou Restaurant. At that time, Zhen Jing thought it was just a joke, but now the glittering Stewed Pork Ball in Brown Sauce and the delicious Roast Suzhou Duck were in front of them. What He Danggui said became a reality.

    Zhen Jing was extremely excited. She nced with gratitude at He Danggui who was drinking tea. Suddenly, she felt that there was nothing that He Danggui couldn¡¯t do in the world.

    Zhen Jing picked up the chopsticks with her trembling hands, and didn¡¯t know what to eat. At this time, a voice like the drake sounded from the table next to them, ¡°Little girls, you ordered so many dishes. Can you finish?¡± Zhen Jing was so scared that she took back her chopsticks immediately because of the words full of ridicule. After all, now she was still an ascetic, but she came to the restaurant to eat such extravagant dishes without scruple. So, she felt guilty in her heart.

    He Danggui raised her eyebrows and nced at the next table. She felt ridiculous when she found that the person who called them little girls was a little boy of eleven to twelve. He was rather handsome, but unfortunately, he was a kibitzer since he put his finger in others¡¯ pie, even caring about the eating or drinking of other people.

    Wearing a soft Tang-style silk hat, the kibitzer was dressed in light blue robe with gauze, a plum-colored sash of five-finger wide in the waist, a pair of white boots, as well as bluish and white cloth wrapping on his legs. He was really a gorgeous boy with spindly eyebrows, ck shining eyes, a Roman nose, and a pointed chin. Now, he raised his thin lips arrogantly.

    There was another boy sitting beside the kibitzer. He looked a little older than that kibitzer, but he concentrated on eating. It seemed that they had simr appearance but different temperament.

    The cool boy dressed alike with the kibitzer. Wearing a vermilion kerchief, he was dressed in parrot-green robe with gauze, a long-ited girdle in the waist, and kneepad on his legs, and took ck high boots. He raised his amorous eyes slightly. The eyes were as ck as ink, with an arrogant and cold light.

    If the cool boy was like a mini-sized Gao Jue, the kibitzer was like a mini-sized Liao Zhiyuan who was a gossip to inquire about others.

    As expected, the kibitzer curled up his thin lips and asked, ¡°Hey, it seems that you are very hungry! Don¡¯t you have any food at home? You are girls, but why are you wearing men¡¯s clothes? Is there nothing to wear at home?¡± The kibitzer asked in a voice like the drake and with a tone of ridicule. Looking at He Danggui up and down with his eyes simr to wild cats, he asked again, ¡°Do you n to have a dine and dash? Qunxianlou Restaurant won¡¯t invite you to dinner just because you are women! Maybe you will be caught and sold!¡±

    Hearing his words, Zhen Jing got sweaty. She felt guilty even if they had so much silver in the pockets. Was the food very expensive here? Then she pulled He Danggui¡¯s sleeve and whispered, ¡°Xiaoyi, how much will this meal cost? Can we afford it?¡±

    He Danggui replied in amon voice, ¡°I told you that it¡¯s my treat. So, don¡¯t worry about it.¡± She picked up a reeky Stewed Pork Ball in Brown Sauce in Zhen Jing¡¯s bowl, and then poured soup with spoon on it. She gave Zhen Jing an angry stare andined, ¡°He put his finger in our pie. You should learn from him and worry about trifles. Do you want to make me angry?¡± Then He Danggui tore a steamed bun into pieces, threw into Zhen Jing¡¯s bowl, and urged Zhen Jing to eat.

    Zhen Jing was excited again and picked up a piece of steamed bun from the soup with her chopsticks. She put it into her mouth with trembling. Her mouth was full of aroma immediately.

    But the kibitzer said again, ¡°I said it just for your sake! If women get fat, no man wants to marry them. Crying is no use when no one wants to marry you! Although you are both slim, you will be fat soon if you eat in this way. The Stewed Pork Ball in Brown Sauce and the Roast Duck you ordered are really tasteless, because only a nouveau riche eats that. You can see what we ordered.¡± The kibitzer pointed to their dishes, but he felt embarrassed at seeing their empty tes. Then he said, ¡°We guys can eat anything, but you girls can¡¯t. Because you will be fat easily¡­¡±

    Then He Danggui couldn¡¯t helpughing. He was really a kibitzer. But she was indeed a nouveau riche!

    At this time, her smile was as beautiful as the halo of the pearl and the jade. No one couldpare with her. The kibitzer was shocked. He thought, ¡°The mother of Sister Su was the first beauty of the capital. So, Sister Su was so lovely. But now, this vige girl was much more beautiful than her.¡±

    He Danggui picked up both legs of the roast duck into Zhen Jing¡¯s bowl with a smile and persuaded, ¡°Calm down and eat more. We are human-beings, so the main function of our mouth is eating. Only the mouth of a kibitzer is used for gossip.¡±

    The kibitzer was very angry. What a glib girl! He was going to argue with He Danggui again, but the cool boy patted his back suddenly and whispered, ¡°Look over there!¡± The cool boy cast a nce at the window.

    The kibitzer turned to look unpleasantly. Then he said in surprise, ¡°Isn¡¯t that Ling Miaoyi? What is she doing here? That nuisance!¡±

    He Danggui nced out of the window. Her eyes fixed. That girl was Gao Jue¡¯s sister-inw. It seemed that she hurried to look for someone. She asked to every passerby about a guy who was about two feet taller than her. But all people shook their heads or waved hands and then left.

    Zhen Jing also saw it when she was busy eating. She got close to He Danggui, asking with her oily mouth in a low voice, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with her? Is she looking for Master Gao?¡±

    He Danggui shook her head and whispered, ¡°I heard that she is looking for ¡®a man in red¡¯. And ording to her description, that man may be Childe Duan.¡±

    Zhen Jing blinked her eyes, ¡°Does she also like Childe Duan? Then she is your rival!¡±

    He Danggui dabbed Zhen Jing¡¯s forehead and cursed, ¡°You wicked girl, don¡¯t speak when you are eating.¡±

    Zhen Jing took a bite of the duck leg and whispered, ¡°Shall we greet her? She is so anxious. Did anything go wrong?¡±

    He Danggui took a bite of steamed buns, and then picked up the dishes. She replied slowly, ¡°The Stewed Sliced Meat with Bamboo Shoots should have done better, but the heat control was bad at the moment when the dish was finished. The color of this dish dimmed suddenly. That¡¯s too bad. The most important element of this dish is its color. Taste it.¡±

    Zhen Jing was confused. She didn¡¯t know why He Danggui changed the topic of their conversation from Master Gao¡¯s sister-inw to the dish. But she still picked up a slice of meat into her mouth and praised, ¡°Delicious!¡±

    He Danggui smiled and ate silently. But when she finished, she found that Ling Miaoyi was not at the gate of the restaurant, and the two boys also disappeared. The two boys wore leg guards as if they were from Wulin. But the kibitzer had a strong ent of the capital. And the pearl on his frontlet was the finest one. In addition, he was familiar with Gao Jue¡¯s sister-inw. So, he must be from a noble family.

    The little Tu¡¯er Town now became a bustling town. First, a group of generals of the imperial guard came and left. Then the nobles came one after another. Duan Xiaolou had told her before he left that the imperial guard had ¡°another mission¡± in Yangzhou City. The situation became interesting. What kind of mission could let all elites of the imperial guard came over here?

    He Danggui remembered clearly that when Duan Xiaolou helped her to search the Taoist temple and find the gold lock, his subordinates were well-trained and uniformed. A team of them was unique. They had white face and thin brows but no prominentiaryngea. So, they were the Armed Escorts. The Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang was 65 years old and one monthter, it was his 66th birthday. What did he want to do? Why did he send his henchmen to Yangzhou? Even He Danggui had the memory of previous life and knew about the big events in the next ten years, but she still couldn¡¯t figure it out.

    At this time, there were a few flies flying through the window andnding on the tes of the next table to enjoy the remains. He Danggui frowned and shouted, ¡°Waiter, clean that table! Hurry up!¡±

    The waiter answered and drove away the flies with his towel. After cleaning the table, the waiter smiled apologetically to He Danggui, ¡°We¡¯re so sorry. You can enjoy your food right now. Don¡¯t worry about it. Our Qunxianlou Restaurant is famous for the elegant and quiet environment. You generally can¡¯t see even a little bug in our restaurant, but this morning, somebody sshed pig blood on the ground. What a bad luck! The pig blood seduced too many... Oh! Sorry. Just enjoy your food!¡±

    ¡°People generally can¡¯t see even a little bug, but today there are so many big flies.¡± He Danggui thought and got an instant inspiration. Was there a treasure in Tu¡¯er Town? So, a lot of officials and nobles from the capital came here. It was a thing or a person? He Danggui shook her head. ¡°No. The Emperor is the richest man in the world. What¡¯s the treasure that can attract so many people?¡±

    ¡°Hey, girl. Your eyes are shing and you have a good physique. There are auspicious clouds on your head which will bring the good luck to you and others surrounding you. You are not a mortal.¡±

 Chapter 48 - An old friend in previous life

    <h4>Chapter 48 An old friend in previous life</h4>

    Holding a shabby horsetail whisk, an old man dressed in Taoist robe came from outside and stepped towards He Danggui, yelling at her excitedly, ¡°So, I guess you are a begonia fairy attending the Queen of Fairnd. You visit the earth to have a reincarnation and get through difficulties! Girl, I¡¯m willing to help you get back to the fairnd and be a fairy again at the cost of losing a decade of life and being struck by lightning for revealing the secrets. You just need to give me a free lunch. After all, you couldn¡¯t finish your meals.¡± The old man said in an oily and weird tone, making peopleugh.

    He Danggui looked up at the old man suddenly and stared at him in surprise, with her chopsticks falling on the table.

    With an ordinary feature, this old Taoist priest had grey hair sparser than his horsetail whisk and was totally different from Taoist priests whose behaviors like immortals. However, his eyes were flexible, with which he looked He Danggui up and down.

    He Danggui also looked at him. He dressed like a phony with a signboard writing ¡°Face To Fate¡±. On the lower part of the signboard, there was a price list for divination at small seal script: 3000 qian for geomantic structure of household; 5000 qian for geomantic tomb; 6000 qian for good fortune in making money; 8000 qian for good luck in dating (negotiable price for curing impotence with traditional secret recipe); negotiable price for changing your fate with Ziwei Star¡­

    Zhen Jing looked at the old Taoist priest with concern and advised, ¡°Grand old man, Xiaoyi wille back to the fairnd one day since she is powerful. Don¡¯t reveal secrets! We will feel guilty if you lose your life.¡±

    Waving his towel, the waiter of the restaurant came and yelled just as he was driving out those flies, ¡°Get out of here right now! Monk, Taoist priest and beggar are not allowed here. You are both a Taoist priest and a beggar. How dare youe in? There are 20 skilled housekeepers in our Qunxianlou Restaurant! Do you want to y with them?¡±

    Touching his nose sadly, the Taoist priest nced at the meals and then left with reluctance.

    ¡°Please hold on, Priest!¡± He Danggui stood up quickly and grinned, ¡°Your behaviors like that of immortals. And I admire your good personality. So, I wonder if you want to have a drink with me?¡±

    Both the Taoist priest and the waiter were amazed. The waiter thought, ¡°What¡¯s the hell! Is he like an immortal? Even I will be more fit than him if I put the Taoist robe on.¡±

    Although the Taoist priest was shocked at her invitation, he didn¡¯t feel happy but a little hesitating. On the one hand, he doubted about this beauty whose bright eyes were gazing at his face, which let him be unsure of his disguise skill. On the other hand, he was an alcoholic. And he didn¡¯t want to leave after hearing her invitation.

    It seemed that He Danggui could know the minds of the Taoist priest since she said, ¡°Waiter, two jars of aged Zhuyeqing Wine and some appetizers. And I heard that the Liquor-Soaked Crabs are the specialty of your restaurant. Give us several fat crabs.¡±

    The waiter took the order with astonishment. These days just kept getting weirder. Why was this lovely beauty attracted by a poor old Taoist priest? It was amazing!

    However, the rich people were masters. The waiter ran back with two jars of aged wine in his arms immediately. Full of warm smile on face, he poured a bowl of wine for the Taoist priest, as if it wasn¡¯t him who just drove the Taoist priest away.

    The Taoist priest drunk it up, and the waiter filled up. He drunk it up again, and the waiter filled up again. After ten times of these actions, a wine jar was empty. The waiter and Zhen Jing looked at the Taoist priest in surprise. They didn¡¯t expect that he was such a good drinker.

    He Danggui said with a smile, ¡°Priest, you are good at drinking, and I admire you! Waiter, give us more jars of wine and see whether the Liquor-Soaked Crabs are ready.¡± The waiter responded and left.

    The Taoist priest was ufortable at He Danggui¡¯s enthusiastic eyes. He coughed twice and pulled the Roast Duck beside Zhen Jing. Then he devoured it in the rudest way deliberately, wanting to make the two girls hate him and drive him away. As he expected¡­

    ¡°Waiter!¡± He Danggui turned her head and shouted. The Taoist priestughed and thought, ¡°Do you want to ask the waiter to drive me away?¡± However, He Danggui put up two fingers and said to the waiter smilingly, ¡°Please give me another te of Roast Duck. Looking at the sweet taste of the Taoist priest, I have an appetite.¡± The Taoist priest¡¯s movements were frozen. He was shocked, ¡°What? Is my universal method useless to her?¡±

    Seeing that the Taoist priest stopped eating, He Danggui asked smilingly, ¡°Priest, why don¡¯t you eat more? Isn¡¯t the dish fit for your taste? Just say what you want. You don¡¯t need to be polite.¡±

    The Taoist priest replied embarrassedly, ¡°Girl, you are so kind to me, so I can¡¯t cheat you anymore. In fact, I am a chatan! I have no ability. I just said that you are a fairy. That¡¯s a lie. I¡¯m sorry for you. Let the waiter beat me out. I¡¯m an old chatan!¡±

    Zhen Jing was very surprised, but He Danggui still smiled, ¡°We are the same. In fact, thepliments just for you were against my will. However, there are so many meals on our table and we can¡¯t finish them. I just want to ask someone to help me eat them. Priest, you are here. Isn¡¯t that fate? Since you and me are predestined to meet, don¡¯t bother with these trifles. Priest, please rx. Eat and drink well.¡±

    Was cheating a trifle? The Taoist priest touched his nose and said, ¡°In fact, I saw that you are ady of a rich family, so I wanted to cheat you to achieve my filthy purposes finally. Now that I know I¡¯m wrong, I beg you to let me go. Don¡¯t send me to the official. Let me go, please!¡±

    He Danggui¡¯s hand was held by Zhen Jing under the table. However, she still smiled and said with tolerance, ¡°Everyone may have faults. It¡¯s good to correct your faults. It¡¯s precious that you can realize your errors and mend your way. You should drink arge bowl of wine. I¡¯ll do it first. Priest, please!¡±

    The Taoist priest waved his hands and said bitterly, ¡°Girl, I¡¯m drunk and full. I really want to go. Please let me go!¡±

    ¡°Then we won¡¯t hold you back. You can go if you want!¡± Zhen Jing nodded and said.

    The Taoist priest looked at He Danggui with a sad face and asked, ¡°Girl, do you know kung fu? Just after I sat down, I felt that something hit my Zusanli acupoint on the leg. Then when I wanted to get up, I found that my lower half body couldn¡¯t move. Excuse me, girl. Are you going to send me to the official? I beg you! Although I have bad intentions, I don¡¯t cause any actual damage to you!¡±

    He Danggui bent over the desk surprisingly. She took a nce at legs of the Taoist priest and stared at his face, ¡°Really? You can¡¯t move now?¡±

    The Taoist priest was so scared. He looked at He Danggui¡¯s innocent face in horror. He Danggui said, ¡°This is the first time that I have poked the acupoint. Please forgive me if I do something wrong, because I¡¯m a green hand. As for relieving the acupoint, I haven¡¯t learned. But I once heard that without considering the level of finger technique, the more internal force you have, the better effect will be. To be honest, I always want to find a person who knows about internal energy or Qigong and have the ability to get rid of the poking but is weaker than me to test whether my kung fu of poking the acupoint is effectual. Unexpectedly, I did it sessfully at the first time. That¡¯s wonderful!¡±

    The Taoist priest cried out on his real face under the mask. Was the girl an evil?

    He Danggui suggested heartily, ¡°Priest, it¡¯s too boring that we just eat. How about ying an interesting game? We can not only enliven the atmosphere, but alsomemorate our first meeting. What do you think?¡± Before the Taoist priest could say anything, she continued, ¡°Don¡¯t be shy. If you don¡¯t say anything, I will regard your silence as the agreement.¡±

    The Taoist priest¡¯s heart was trembling. Then the girl started to exin the rules of the game using her elegant sound.

    ¡°In fact, I am very interested in you, from your head to toe and inner to outer. I have thought to keep you here and observe you. But you are a person, how can I limit your freedom? That¡¯s too bad for you! Now, you have some ways to get free. You can choose one way to go out from the door through which you just walked in. First, take your mask off and yell ¡®I am the killer¡¯. Second, take off your coat and let the customers and me have a look. Third, I obtained a new medicine recently, and I wanted someone to have a try. You look like a perfect person and I want you to help me. Certainly, I am easy to be persuaded. So, if you can¡¯t ept these three ways, just get down on your knees and kowtow three times in front of me, taking me as your Master. If you choose this way, I will also let you go.¡±

    The Taoist priest kept silent angrily. He was sure that this girl not only knew his identity, but probably knew his secret! But it was impossible since except his departed Master, no one could know his secret in the world!

    He Danggui scratched her eyelids casually and said kindly, ¡°Don¡¯t be anxious, Priest. I will give you 30 minutes to consider. During this period of time, if you can relieve the acupoint by yourself, you can go. But if you can¡¯t relieve the acupoint and don¡¯t make a choice finally, I will help you.¡±

    When she was talking, the waiter served Roast Suzhou Duck and Liquor-Soaked Crabs affably, ¡°You both have such a good conversation. Your dishes are here. Please enjoy your meal.¡±

    He Danggui smiled and nodded, ¡°Yes, the Taoist priest is an able man and also a wise man. I admire him very much.¡±

    In fact, the Taoist priest in front of her was an acquaintance of her in previous life, Taoist Sage Bai Yangbai, Lord Ning Zhu Quan¡¯s Master. Both Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang and lots of powerful officials wanted to invite him. All people said that he had great power and could know the past, the present and the future. He also could change people¡¯s fates and assist the country in keeping good fortune.

 Chapter 49 - The secret of agerasia

    <h4>Chapter 49 The secret of agerasia</h4>

    Through the contact with Bai Yangbai in the previous life, He Danggui confirmed that the so-called prediction of future and ability to help people change their fates were all his tricks. Bai Yangbai was not an immortal, but a human.

    However, he was the human most like an immortal in the world. He was one of the smartest people in the world. Every official trained by him could be promoted step by step; every strategy proposed by him could seed naturally; every business he was engaged in could be profitable.

    Bai Yangbai could really be called a master consultant. At least He Danggui never saw he lost.

    The most peculiar thing was that Bai Yangbai was neither an official nor a businessman. When he was penniless, he went to show off in the imperial court or shops to get some money. When he didn¡¯tck money, he would like to act as a beggar in the streets, doing something that other beggars dare not do, such as going into a restaurant to beg for eating with others, and then being thrown out by safeguards of the restaurant. He once told He Danggui that he would be thrown out more than 50 times a year.

    Of course, he used another face when he begged for food. In his words, he should experience all kinds of things in the world. Not only should he enjoy wealth and honor, but also experience the life of beggars.

    Bai Yangbai had a lot of skills, including the disguise skill that many people knew. But people didn¡¯t know that the face of Bai Yangbai they saw was not his real face. In order to hide his secrets, Bai Yangbai changed his appearance in front of others all the year round. No one had seen his real face.

    Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang believed in Taoism and liked to make friends with Taoist priests to refine pills and make mercury. Therefore, he wanted to recruit Bai Yangbai as a Royal Prophet in the imperial pce. However, Bai Yangbai took the Emperor¡¯s recruitment as the gue. To avoid this recruitment, he didn¡¯t live in his luxurious house but begged in the street all the year round. The Emperor was so angry that he sent all the elite imperial guards to catch Bai Yangbai alive, but they always failed.

    Countless princes, nobles and merchants wanted him to work for them, but no one could seed. Bai Yangbai resisted the temptation of high rank and wealth, but took the initiative to assist Zhu Quan, the Emperor¡¯s 17th son, as his teacher and consultant.

    At that time, Zhu Quan was just a little boy of 11 to 12 years old. He was also a son of the concubine and not outstanding among over 40 sons and daughters of the Emperor. Before he was granted the title of Lord and took office in Daning Prefecture, he had no protection from his mother¡¯s n. He had always been an ant without real power but with the risk of death in the political storm in the capital.

    Under the guidance of Bai Yangbai, Zhu Quan grew up rapidly. At the age of 15, he was granted the title of Lord Ning by the Emperor, and was transferred to take office in Daning Prefecture, a northern military town, to guard the frontier with Inner Mongolia. Two yearster, Lord Ning¡¯s strength gradually grew. He led 80,000 soldiers and horses as well as nearly 10,000 leather chariots, including the most elite Mongolian cavalry ¡°Duo Yan San Wei¡±. Even the Lord Yan who was very influential among the lords controlled only 100,000 soldiers in the north at that time.

    However, the above skills were not the reason why He Danggui was interested in Bai Yangbai. Her strong interest in Bai Yangbai stemmed from his secret that she discovered by ident in the previous life.

    When He Danggui was 22, she and Bai Yangbai went to work in Yingtian Prefecture and were hunted down by a group of well-trained killers. Bai Yangbai¡¯s kung fu was as weak as hers in the previous life. So, Bai Yangbai soon suffered several injuries and was in danger. He threw out his usually used smoke shell for escape and stunned all the killers along with He Danggui. Only he was still awake because he had taken the antidote.

    He Danggui woke up and found that she was in a ruined temple and Bai Yangbai who was lying beside her was blood-soaked, so she hastened to cure him. Untying his shirt, she was shocked by his translucent and fair skin which was even better than the skin of many girls. The skin on his body was absolutely different from that on his face.

    Then, she found an obvious boundary in his shoulder. Above the boundary, the dull yellow skin was covered with wrinkles, while under the boundary, the skin was wless and fair. So, she guessed that Bai Yangbai used the disguise skill to hide his real face. Then she wanted to find out who he really was and why he lived with that mask.

    After taking the lifelike mask off, He Danggui was shocked by his face which was pale because of the loss of blood.

    In the early years of Hongwu Period, Bai Yangbai had already been active in the northwest frontier. Regarded as a saint by the local people, he also was called the Dragon King because of his skill in making clouds and rain. If he was a teenager at that time, after 30 years, now he must be over 40 years old. But there was a face of a boy who was about 16 to 17 years old in front of her. It was fantastic!

    Then, Bai Yangbai woke up and found his secret had been discovered. However, he just begged her not to tell his secret to others but had no intention of killing her. She promised him, and then she pestered him for the secret prescription for agerasia.

    The eternal youth was a big temptation and a dream of countless girls. At that time, He Danggui thought that Zhu Quan would love her all the time if she had the eternal youth and beauty.

    Unexpectedly, Bai Yangbai agreed immediately. But he declined to tell He Danggui the prescription for agerasia and just let her find him every 10 days. He prepared the medicated bath for her. He Danggui took a bottle of medicated water away secretly, and tried to figure out the form. Unfortunately, there were many medicinal materials in the medicated bath she had never seen, and theposition and temperature of the medicated bath were changed slightly every time.

    When Bai Yangbai found she took away a bottle of medicated water every time to study the form, he was quite angry. Then he told her that he would not help her if she continued to figure out. So, she had to give up.

    Because of Bai Yangbai¡¯s magic medicated bath, her appearance had no change after 4 to 5 years. Gradually, she became younger and more beautiful. When she was 27 years old, her skin was still delicate and smooth, and as white as snow. She looked like a blooming girl of 16 to 17 years old, which was envied by all concubines in the Mansion. Many concubines bribed her maids to enquire about her diet. But finally, they failed.

    As a saying goes, ¡°You can wear out iron shoes in fruitless searching, and yet by a lucky chance you may find the lost thing without even looking for it.¡± He Danggui just went to a restaurant to have a meal, but she happened to meet Bai Yangbai. It was the fate. So, she decided to continue to figure out the secret prescription of agerasia.

    Seeing He Danggui¡¯s greedy and longing look, Bai Yangbai was scared with his fine hairs prickling. Obey order presto! Who was thisdy? He felt that she could know his inner thought from his mask! For the first time in his life, he was in a state of panic in her aura. But he didn¡¯t panic even when he faced the imperial guard.

    Her first request was letting him take off his mask. He was not very afraid because he knew that the girl identified him. This situation had happened many times. Some people let him get his mask off after recognizing him by his voice, his style, or his tricks. So, they wanted to make friends with him, the Taoist Sage who had the disguise skill. In this situation, if he admitted his identity, others wouldn¡¯t really uncover his mask but would be more enthusiastic to entertain him.

    The girl let him shout that ¡°I¡¯m the killer!¡± just because she wanted him to be caught by officials and then sent him to the Emperor. In this situation, he also didn¡¯t fear at all because the Emperor respected him so much and gave him gold, beauties, horses and big houses every time.

    While her second request was letting him take off his coat. This request made him scared. Did she know his secret that the skin on his body was different from his face? Even, did she know he looked like a boy of 17 years old?

    Actually, his disguise skill included the bigger suit and the smaller suit. The bigger suit needed him to soak himself in a medicated bath in order to dye his skin tawny and then change his face into an elder¡¯s face; while the smaller suit just changed his face, hands and hair into an elder directly. But his body was still fair and delicate as a young man. And today, he used the smaller suit. If he took off his coat in public, everyone in the restaurant would see his aged face and young body. Then his secret would be leaked out!

    Bai Yangbai gathered his Zhenqi constantly to hit the acupoint on his legs, but it was useless. He signed subconsciously, ¡°Why didn¡¯t I practice in usual?¡±

    He looked the devil up and down again. She was plucking out the crab meat idly using her fine fingers. Then she poured the ginger vinegar on the crab roe and the crab meat and pushed the te in front of the girl next to her, watching the girl eating with a pleasure.

    ¡°Priest, help yourself. Come on! Eat the crab!¡± He Danggui said to him with hospitality. Then she pushed the te to him.

    Bai Yangbai was wordless, and then he asked, ¡°Miss, do you already know who I am?¡± His voice became low and attractive, which was totally different from the ttering and high voice before. No one could image that it was from the same person.

    Observing the lines on the crab¡¯s shell, He Danggui made puzzling remarks idly, ¡°To admit that you know what you know, and admit what you don¡¯t know. Whether I know or don¡¯t know, just the immortal knows, you know and I know.¡±

    Fuck! Bai Yangbai was annoyed, ¡°Do you have a bone to pick with me? Why do you frame me?¡±

    He Danggui raised her eyebrows and replied, ¡°You have lived such a long life, but why are you dumb this time? The saying goes, ¡®A man was innocent, but he is guilty now because he has a jade¡¯. You are a jade and you have so many jades in your pocket. You can¡¯t me others who covet you.¡± And she thought, ¡°Yes, I want to set you up.¡±

    Bai Yangbai frowned and asked coldly, ¡°Who send you? I want to speak with your boss straightly! What do you expect from me?¡±

    ¡°Ha-ha.¡± He Dangguiughed. She took a sip of tea and said, ¡°You do muddle. You came to me when we were eating here. I can¡¯t divine like you. How can I predict the meeting and conversation between us? If I want to frame you, I can stun you and take what I want from you slowly.¡± Hearing her words, Zhen Jing was shocked. But He Danggui drank her tea again, ¡°But I don¡¯t do that because I don¡¯t want too much and can get what I want without killing you. Hey, do I treat you well?¡±

    Looking at her pretty and cunning face, Bai Yangbai asked again, ¡°What do you want? Bring it up now. I might say yes.¡±

    He Danggui grinned, ¡°I want to take you as my disciple because you are gifted. So, you should call me Master.¡± If she asked for the secret prescription of agerasia, Bai Yangbai wouldn¡¯t give her. Even he did, the secret prescription must be fake. In the precious life, he didn¡¯t give it to her although they knew each other for many years. So, she should y with him this time to get the secret prescription someday.

 Chapter 50 - â€œMaster, please accept Qianjunâ€™s worship!â€

    <strong>Chapter 50 ¡°Master, please ept Qianjun¡¯s worship!¡±</strong>

    Bai Yangbai looked at He Danggui scornfully and sneered, ¡°You want to be my Master? Stop dreaming. Do you have any skills? How dare you let me kowtow to you? You are so young. Don¡¯t you afraid of shortening your life?¡±

    He Danggui didn¡¯t get angry and replied frankly, ¡°Generally speaking, I¡¯m not as capable as you. Otherwise, I will not make a deal with you. But Han Yu, one of the Eight Great Prose Masters of Tang and Song Dynasties, said that teachers do not need to be superior to their students, and we share different advantages and disadvantages. Maybe I¡¯m not more capable than you in many aspects. But at least, I¡¯m more capable in one aspect. After all, you are controlled by me right now, right?¡±

    Bai Yangbai hummed coldly, ¡°Just some small tricks.¡±

    He Danggui signed, ¡°Everyone has his own ambition. Since you are reluctant, I will not force you. How time flies! I just talk with you in a few words, but the time is up. It¡¯s time for me to make a choice for you.¡± Then she took a white porcin bottle from the new pocket-bag. After smelling it, she smiled, ¡°A friend gave me this good medicine. Since you¡¯re so poor, I want to help you. How about taking one pill of it?¡±

    Bai Yangbai stared at that bottle warily. He asked, ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±

    He Danggui used her forefinger to shield the words ¡°Yao Shi Tang¡±. She petted the bottle and answered, ¡°Good medicine.¡± In fact, she didn¡¯t lie. This tonic was from Duan Xiaolou for building up her body health.

    Bai Yangbai shook his head firmly, ¡°No, I will not take this even if you kill me. If you force me to eat, I will scream for your harassment.¡±

    He Danggui was stunned, with regret on her face. She said softly, ¡°You don¡¯t want to eat? Fine, that¡¯s okay. I¡¯m easygoing.¡± Then she suddenly stood up, held Bai Yangbai¡¯s Jianjing acupoint with her left hand, and caught his cor to tear it. Bai Yangbai was scared to beg, ¡°Good girl, my queen, everything can be settled by discussion!¡±

    He Danggui replied, ¡°So, call me Master and kowtow to me!¡±

    Bai Yangbai shook his head continually, ¡°You¡¯re 20 years younger than me, so you should call me Master! How about calling me Master? Then I can teach you two skills: how to make the medicine to seduce men and how to have a good sex life. I promise that your future husband will only love you!¡±

    He Danggui exerted herself to tear his old coat. Then Bai Yangbai yelled in a low voice with his face pale, ¡°My Master, please ept my worship. But please relieve my acupoint so that I can kowtow to you!¡±

    He Danggui patted his Huantiao acupoint with her left hand, and still held his cor with the right hand.

    Bai Yangbai felt his legs returned to normal. Then his eyes turned around and he burst intoughter, ¡°Ha-ha! Miss, I¡¯m an ascetic. How can you tug with me in public? it¡¯s bad for your reputation! I¡¯m devoted to Taoist and I have no intention of women, so please let me go!¡± Suddenly, many people were attracted by his yelling, including the waiter.

    He Danggui knew that this foxy man wouldn¡¯t give up easily, so she just pretended to be rmed and yelled in a higher voice, ¡°Oh, oh! Oh my. Priest, I see a big poisonous spider worming in your cor. Take off your coat and shake it quickly! If you are poisoned to death, people will say that you are poisoned by the dishes of the restaurant! Or you are raving here just because you have been poisoned now?¡±

    After hearing this, the waiter was so scared that he hid behind a table and shouted, ¡°Oh, then take off your clothes and throw them out of the window! Priest, you are an ascetic. Don¡¯t bother our restaurant about being sued! Please take off your clothes quickly, or I¡¯ll call the safeguard!¡±

    Bai Yangbai didn¡¯t expect that He Danggui should be so smart, so he conceded defeat judiciously. He knelt down, and kowtowed three times and said, ¡°Master, please ept Qianjun¡¯s worship!¡±

    He Danggui knew that ¡°Qianjun¡± was Bai Yangbai¡¯s literary name. Since he had already kowtowed to her and called her Master, her goal was achieved. So, she didn¡¯t want to embarrass him. She nodded and said, ¡°My disciple, please get up.¡± She had heard from Zhu Quan in her previous life that Bai Yangbai was a descendant of the Daguomen Sect of Wuyi Mountain. The first rule of the Daguomen Sect was honouring teachers and esteeming truth. Although Zhu Quan was the Lord, he would bow when he saw Bai Yangbai. Now that Bai Yangbai had kowtowed to her, she wasn¡¯t afraid that he would be irresponsible for his behavior. Besides, she still knew lots of his weaknesses.

    When Bai Yangbai got up from the ground, he was sad like a frosted eggnt. He asked, ¡°Master, what else do you want to say?¡±

    He Danggui thought for a while and said, ¡°I have nothing to say for the moment. You can leave.¡±

    Bai Yangbai asked incredulously, ¡°let me go? So, I am really going? You... Master, you won¡¯te after me, will you?¡± He thought, ¡°This female devil had made great efforts to make me be her disciple. Doesn¡¯t she want to make use of her identity to make a demand on me? Now she let me go easily. If I hide from her forever and don¡¯t meet her, I won¡¯t deceive teachers and destroy ancestors when I don¡¯t listen to her. In this way, didn¡¯t she waste her time?¡±

    He Danggui sat back at the table. She took chopsticks with her right hand and waved her left hand as if he was a fly, saying impatiently, ¡°Go. I will find you when I need you.¡±

    Bai Yangbai bowed angrily, and thought that she was just a ten-year-old girl. Even the Emperor wouldn¡¯t talk to him in such a tone! However, he was afraid that she would change her mind again, so he didn¡¯t dare to stay more. He grabbed his signboard of ¡°Face To Fate¡± and ran out of the restaurant.

    Zhen Jing rxed and finally had the chance to ask, ¡°Xiaoyi, why do you want to be the Master of an old Taoist priest? He said that he was a chatan!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s hard to exin.¡± He Danggui shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s hard to exin to you, a little fool.¡± She thought.

    The waiter got out from a table in the distance and asked, ¡°Guest, where is the poisonous spider? Where is the Taoist priest?¡±

    He Danggui pointed at the window and told him sinctly, ¡°They all run away. Waiter, we check out. Pack all our dishes and the 5 jin dessert I ordered.¡±

    He Danggui and Zhen Jing went out of the restaurant with arge bag of food. They hired a carriage, and then went to the money shop to pick up the things they deposited. They drove back to the Taoist temple. In the evening of that day, He Danggui went to Ku Qiao Yard and took 5 liang of silver to exchange for the IOU of Zhen Jing¡¯s family. When she returned to the East Wing-room, Zhen Jing had already fetched a pail of cool and sweet spring water from Medicine Room ording to her orders.

    He Danggui handed Zhen Jing the IOU and said with a smile, ¡°Here you are. Tear this up. From now on, you are free and resume secr life.¡±

    Zhen Jing took the IOU. Although she couldn¡¯t read, she still held it, turned it around and looked at it many times. Atst, she tore it to pieces carefully. Turning around, she saw that He Danggui gathered the medicinal materials she bought today and those brought from the Medicine Room together. He Danggui put them into the spring water to soak, fished them out and roasted them on the stove.

    Zhen Jing asked curiously, ¡°Xiaoyi, what do you want to do? Haven¡¯t you recovered? Do you need to take herb medicines?¡±

    He Danggui roasted the medicinal materials and said mystically, ¡°These medicinal materials are not for me. They will have bigger effects. I¡¯m counting on it. I will exin to you at the right time.¡±

    Zhen Jing asked again, ¡°Why do you wash and roast them? Are you afraid that the medicinal materials are dirty?¡±

    He Danggui shook her head and exined patiently, ¡°I¡¯ve observed them one by one, finding that the quality of those medicinal materials is not good enough. And the efficacy of them hasn¡¯t worked out yet. I need to wash and roast them three times, so they will take effect.¡± Then she ordered Zhen Jing, ¡°Please help me. Pour some wines for me. Then wash those jujubes that I bought from dry nuts store and dip them in the wine jar.¡±

    ¡°You run into the dry nuts store this morning just for buying the jujubes? Do you want to make medicated wine?¡± After opening the bag, Zhen Jing saw the big jujubes, eximing, ¡°The jujubes are so big! What kind is it?¡±

    He Danggui soaked those dried medicinal materials in water again and introduced, ¡°These ck jujubes are called Shayu Jujube, a variety from the Western Regions. The nine jujubes cost me nearly 2 liang silver. By the way, I didn¡¯t let you go into the dry nuts store with me just because I was afraid that you think this is too expensive and don¡¯t allow me to buy, but I couldn¡¯t exin it to you in a short time.¡±

    ¡°Those cost you 2 liang?¡± Zhen Jing was surprised and screamed, ¡°You coat 2 liang just for nine jujubes? 2 liang silver! We didn¡¯t spend 1 liang even we ate and took so much during the lunch! You can buy more than 100 jin rice by 2 liang! And you can buy 10 hens too!¡±

    He Danggui was ready to soothe her emotion. Suddenly, she heard footstepsing from the outside of East Wing-room. It seemed that someone was running fast toward them. So, she went out to have a look.

    When Zhen Ming ran into the East Wing-room, she saw that He Danggui was standing at the door and looking at her. She felt panicked. With no reason, every time she saw He Danggui, she would get frightened and have an indefinable fear.

    Once she lived in the countryside, she could see a white shadow hanging on the big willow tree at the gate of the vige every day, until she was six or seven years old. When she pointed to it and said to others, they couldn¡¯t see and evenugh at her. She was too afraid and cried out. Then an old woman with the surname Zhang told her that her situation was called ¡°Yin-yang eyes¡±, which would show up in some kids. After they grew up, it would disappear. Later, she went to Shui Shang Temple and became a Taoist nun. Then she could not see those strange shadows gradually. But why every time she saw He Danggui, she would have the familiar fear that she had when she saw those strange shadows?

    He Danggui smiled, ¡°Master Zhen Ming, you are here. It¡¯s cold outside. Come in and sit down.¡±

    Zhen Ming waved her hands and refused, ¡°No, thanks. I need to go back to prepare tisane for my Master¡­ It¡¯s my Master who let mee here. I¡­ I think I¡¯d better not go in and bother you¡­¡±

    He Danggui raised her eyebrows, ¡°Oh? Is Master Tai Shan ill?¡±

    Zhen Ming nodded, ¡°Yesterday morning, Master had a backache again. She remembered thatst time you said you picked rhizoma atractylodes and nned to make a cushion for her to cure her backache. So, she let mee here and ask you when¡­¡±

    He Danggui smiled, ¡°Cushion? OK, I will send it to her tomorrow morning. It¡¯s my faux pas! I remembered it before, but then I was too busy and forget it.¡±

    Zhen Ming felt relieved. She was ready to leave, ¡°So, I will return to respond to my Master. Miss He, please go back and have a rest.¡±

    He Danggui smiled, ¡°See youter.¡± She stared at Zhen Ming¡¯s back, and her smile became brighter. ¡°Tai Shan wanted to get a cushion from me to cure her backache? So, I should make it quickly.¡±

 Chapter 51 - A tiny and delicate girl

    <h4>Volume 2 Danggui refusing to go back Chapter 51 A tiny and delicate girl</h4>

    It was a cold and bright day in autumn. The streets were crowded. It was September 18th, the day for Luo¡¯s Family to pick He Danggui up.

    Yesterday evening, Mammy Tang came to the Taoist temple to deliver the message. She said to a Taoist nun who was a doorkeeper that Luo¡¯s Family would send a sedan to carry Third Miss back to Luo¡¯s Mansion next morning. She went here to deliver the message and saw whether should she help arrange the luggage. Then the Taoist nun guided the way. When they walked to East Wing-room, He Danggui was talking with Zhen Zhu in the room. Zhen Zhu looked depressed, and He Danggui wore a thick veil on her face.

    Mammy Tang looked at He Danggui and immediately asked in surprise, ¡°Third Miss, why are you covering your face with a veil? What¡¯s wrong with your face? Do you need a doctor?¡± Mammy Tang was trusted by Madam Luo and was influential in Luo¡¯s Family. Sometimes, she was the spokesperson of Madam Luo. Therefore, it was an honor to gain her solicitude.

    He Danggui immediately stood up to wee Mammy Tang. She carried a stool to let Mammy Tang sit and replied in a calm tone, ¡°My face is fine. I wear the veil because I have a stuffy nose today and I¡¯m afraid of catching a cold. So, I wear it to protect myself from the wind. After all, I live in the hill now. It¡¯s troublesome to ask a doctor, so it¡¯s not necessary to do this for me.¡±

    Mammy Tang said hurriedly, ¡°It¡¯s not a big problem. When I passed by the hillside, I saw a farm. There is certainly a doctor. We may as well let the doctor give you some herb medicines to eliminate the coldness and help you sweat. Most importantly, Madam Luo always mentioned you. If she knows that you have a cold when you bless for our Luo¡¯s Family, she must be sad.¡± Before Mammy Tang left, Madam Luo specially said to her that Madam Luo knew she was reliable. So, she was assigned to lead the sedan to pick Third Miss up. Madam Luo also told her that she should wait until Third Miss got better before leaving, stop the sedan often and check if Third Miss could stand the turbulence.

    He Danggui shook her head, ¡°As an old saying goes, ¡®Inviting a quack is worse than no doctor¡¯. Their medicines are mostly useless and may aggravate the disease. Mammy Tang, you are tired from your journey. How can I ask you to do anything? When I get home, there are my Grandma, uncles and cousins. Everyone in Luo¡¯s Family is a good doctor. Even a young servant for sweeping in Luo¡¯s Mansion can sing the Song of Prescriptions. As long as I breathe the air of Luo¡¯s Mansion, I will breathe very smoothly.¡±

    Mammy Tang thought it was reasonable. She smiled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Third Miss. Madam Luo asked me to take you home. The West Lateral court was also cleaned up and took on a new look, just waiting for you to live in.¡±

    Hearing the good news from Mammy Tang, He Danggui did not rejoice and still said lightly, ¡°So, we will set out at about 7:00 to 9:00 tomorrow.¡± Then she turned to Zhen Zhu and said, ¡°Mammy Tang just had a long journey. Please arrange amodation and the vegetarian food for her. Thank you, Sister Zhen Zhu.¡±

    Zhen Zhu nodded, ¡°Let Mammy Tang live in the side room of the northern yard. Ms. Liu and others also lived there before, and everything can be used directly. I will go to the kitchen to prepare the food.¡± Then she got up and left.

    He Danggui looked at that figure who had the long hair reaching to the ground and signed in her mind, ¡°Qiu Ping, you¡¯re a nice woman. This gloomy Taoist temple is not your destination. Even if you don¡¯t get married again, you can have a better life. I was hurt more deeply and painfully than you, should I hide all my life?¡±

    Seeing Third Miss was not very excited when she heard that Luo¡¯s Family came to pick her up, Mammy Tang felt confused. She put a package of clothes, jewelry and rouge on the table and said with a smile, ¡°Madam Luo knew that Third Miss lived in a remote Taoist temple and couldn¡¯t buy suitable clothes. The clothes we sent to the Taoist templest time were in shrouds. Now you are so lucky that you can¡¯t wear them anymore. As there was not enough time to prepare the new clothes, Madam Luo thought Second Miss and you have the simr size. So, she asked for the dress from Second Miss. These clothes were madest month and Second Miss didn¡¯t wear them many times. The middle clothes, inner clothes and embroidered shoes are taken directly from the warehouse. Will you try these clothes on, Third Miss?¡±

    He Danggui opened the package, seeing a Qianshui dress with ancient pattern, two butterflies and cloud line, a gauze coat with magnolia flowers, the middle clothes made of cold silk, the inner clothes made of ivory silk and a pair of embroidered shoes in pale pinkish purple color with Ruyi design.

    She looked at these clothes carefully and then smiled, ¡°Ah, Second Sister¡¯s taste is still so good. And the color is elegant, the style is simple, and the hollowed-out embroidered hem is ingenious. I really like them. When I go back home, I must make more sachets to thank her and my Second Aunt. How about my Second Aunt these days? She must be troubled by the trifles at home.¡±

    Mammy Tang looked at He Danggui with surprise. In her mind, Third Miss looked like a gourd with few words. Why did she change her temper today? Mammy Tang had not noticed the quickness of Third Miss¡¯s speech when they talked. It was strange that Third Miss now should take initiative to start a conversation with her and inquire the situation about Second Mistress Luo!

    Half a year ago, Third Miss moved in Luo¡¯s Family. This tiny and delicate girl was absolutely more beautiful than First Miss and Fourth Miss. Even Second Miss who was called ¡°beautiful flower¡± in the East Yard and West Yard of Luo¡¯s Family was also inferior. Madam Luo was tender to Third Miss who looked like a porcin doll, and asked Third Miss to have breakfast and lunch in her room. In the afternoon, people of the East Yard and guests from Wu¡¯s Mansion often visited Madam Luo, and sometimes Madam Luo would keep them for supper. It was inconvenient for Third Miss to apany, so Third Miss ate dinner in her room and the food was from the kitchen.

    At that time, it was the busiest time in spring in the mansion. Second Mistress Luo who was in charge of family affairs neglected Third Miss, so the kitchen kept bringing dinner to West Lateral court every day ording to a maid¡¯s standard instead of a Miss¡¯s. Third Miss thought Second Mistress Luo was deliberately skimping on her food, so she ate a dish and a soup half a mouth in a maid¡¯s standard.

    When Misses of Luo¡¯s Family were about to make spring dresses, Third Miss heard that and waited in her room for the tailor to take measurements. However, she waited until evening but no one came. So, she sent a maid to inquire about it.

    The maid was a narrow-minded person. After hearing some hearsay, she returned to report to Third Miss and said that the tailor had gone back in the morning after he had measured for other Misses, and the person sent the cloth at noon. The other Misses had picked up all the bright-colored cloth, just leaving a few bolts of cloth with mandarin duck in a dark red background, which Second Mistress Luo had ordered to make pillowcases.

    Third Miss was very angry after hearing this, so sheined to Madam Luo about her situation in the half a month. Hearing her words, Madam Luo called Second Mistress Luo over for questioning.

    Second Mistress Luo was also very angry when she came in. She said, ¡°The kitchen has always been managed by Wang Qi¡¯s wife. Being in charge of the family, I only manage the kitchen when we entertain friends and rtives in the Spring Festival and other festivals. Even so, I¡¯m already busy enough. How could I know the food or soup of everyone in the mansion? Since they sent you the wrong food, why didn¡¯t you send it back and ask them to send the right food again? You came here toin about it after eating half a month. Do you want others tough at the mess of our family affairs and my ipetence?¡± She was even angrier when she talked about making dresses today. ¡°Early in the morning, every Miss went to Xin Xin Tang to ask Mr. Mai for measurements, but only Yi didn¡¯te. Mr. Mai was an old master of clothing workshop in the imperial pce. And he had stopped making clothes long time ago, but changed his mind to make clothes for Misses because he had a good rtionship with our family. He waited a long time and left because Yi didn¡¯te. Should I be responsible for all mistakes because I am in charge of the family?¡±

    Madam Luo saw that Second Mistress Luo was angry, so she let a servant send a cup of jasmine tea and asked Third Miss to pacify Second Mistress Luo. The misunderstanding would be cleared up by this way. In a family, some misunderstandings were inevitable.

    Third Miss picked up the tea reluctantly and used just one hand to give it to Second Mistress Luo, making Second Mistress Luo unhappy. She said, ¡°Qiong and Shao knew that they should serve tea to the elders with both hands from the age of 3. I know that you did not grow up in Luo¡¯s Family, but even the girls who sing songs in a teahouse would know this small ceremony. Yi, you really didn¡¯t know?¡±

    Then Third Miss twitched her mouth and suddenly burst into tears. Madam Luo hurriedly asked people to wipe her tears and lead her to another room to coax her. Then Madam Luoined that Second Mistress Luo was too strict to a 9-year-old kid. After all, aunt was just like a mother. If she loved Third Miss in the same way as she loves Qiong, the atmosphere in the family would be harmonious. Second Mistress Luo pressed her finger on the area between her eyebrows, and cried for a headache. Madam Luo also knew that Second Mistress Luo was hard in managing the family affairs and couldn¡¯t bear to say anything more, so she assigned a maid to send Second Mistress Luo back.

    Everyone in Luo¡¯s Family knew that Second Mistress Luo was a straightforward person. This misunderstanding made her dissatisfied and she would not like the Third Miss.

    Second Mistress Luo often held a tea, poetry or flower appreciation party on the first day and the 15th day of the lunar calendar at Bao Qin Ge. In addition to the Misses and Childes of East Yard, she would also invite the younger generation of West Yard of Luo¡¯s Family, Wu¡¯s Family and Sun¡¯s Family. These Misses and Childes got together to deepen the rtionship among rtives. The spring tea party would be held in a few dayster, and Second Mistress Luo had prepared an invitation for Third Miss. Because of this misunderstanding, she was not willing to invite Third Miss.

    Second Mistress Luo said, ¡°All the Misses and Childes that I invite to the tea party grow up together, and they often joke with each other. Even if there is a contradiction, they would make peace on the dinner table. Now if Third Miss who is not familiar with them join the party, everyone will feel uneasy and can¡¯t enjoy it. If she cries while the guests are talking, it would be a shame for all people in the East Yard of Luo¡¯s Family. If she feels wronged at the party, she only keeps silent at that time and then runs to Madam Luo toin about it, I would be involved and also wronged.¡±

    Mammy Tang had witnessed all things. So, she guessed that although Third Miss didn¡¯t say anything, she must have resented Second Mistress Luo. But now why was Third Miss still willing to inquire about the health of Second Mistress Luo and whether she was busy?

    Mammy Tang thought for a moment and replied, ¡°You are right. Second Mistress Luo is not very good these days, but she still insists on managing all the affairs at home. She is also very concerned to wee you home. These clothes for you are chosen by her ording to your size. Even Madam Luo had forgotten it.¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡±

    He Danggui suddenly screamed. Mammy Tang was startled and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter with you, Third Miss?¡±

    He Danggui¡¯s face was covered by a thick veil, so Mammy Tang couldn¡¯t see her expression. Only a pair of big eyes full of tears were exposed outside, which was very pitiful. She seemed to hesitate again and again and finally opened her hand to show the palm. Mammy Tang looked at her hand and then was startled. She saw several sharp white thorns on He Danggui¡¯s delicate fingers, and several wounds were bleeding.

 Chapter 52 - Diaoshanyao Powder and brothels

    <strong>Chapter 52 Diaoshanyao Powder and brothels</strong>

    Mammy Tang held the little bloody hand and shouted, ¡°How did you hurt? Where are the sharp thorns from?¡±

    He Danggui wiped the teardrop at the corner of her eyes with her another hand and shook her head without speaking.

    Mammy Tang was so anxious. Suddenly, she remembered that Third Miss was very fond of the gauze coat with magnolia flowers. Could it be that... Thinking of this, Mammy Tang suddenly grabbed the gauze coat on the table and shook it. Then, dozens of fine thorns were shaken on the table. Mammy Tang¡¯s face turned pale. She said in a low voice, ¡°What kind of thorns are these? Why are there many thorns in the coat?¡±

    He Danggui raised her injured hand to her eyes and checked. Then she said, ¡°These thorns are tough and have fine white hair on the tip. If I am not mistaken, they should be thorns of the Xifan cactus.¡±

    ¡°The Xifan cactus?¡± Mammy Tang remembered that she had seen this kind of nt with thorns in Second Miss¡¯s yard, but why the clothes sent by Second Miss were covered with thorns in her yard? Mammy Tang¡¯s expression kept changing, and then she apologized to He Danggui, ¡°Damn it! Damn it! I remember that when the maid named Cui Gen passed the garden with the clothes in her hands, she fell down and the clothes were dropped on the ground. The clothes must be stained with thorns at that time! I didn¡¯t find them out in time and let them hurt Third Miss¡¯s hand. Damn it! Please punish me!¡±

    Mammy Tang had a high status in Luo¡¯s Mansion. She seemed to be a lower-level master. Even the Misses in the mansion were usually very respectful to her. Only in front of Madam Luo did she would regard herself as a servant. Now she apologized to He Danggui and treated her as a true Miss. Besides, she asked He Danggui to punish her. Thus, He Danggui certainly would not do as Mammy Tang said. After all, she knew that it had nothing to do with Mammy Tang.

    He Danggui took off a handkerchief from her button, pinched the sharp thorns out of her hand, bandaged the wounds and said, ¡°How can I me you? Cui Gen was too careless. Did she hurt?¡±

    Mammy Tang shook her head and replied, ¡°No, she was fine. When I get back, I will discipline her strictly and let her get rid of the habit of being careless.¡±

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m just a little pricked, so please don¡¯t punish Cui Gen. I feel guilty when thinking that Grandma, Second Aunt and Second Sister have spent so much time in preparing for me toe back...¡± He Danggui said. But she suddenly looked strange and threw away her handkerchief. She scratched her right hand with her left hand and then scratched her left hand with her right hand. It seemed that she was very itchy.

    Mammy Tang sweat on her forehead. She asked hurriedly, ¡°What¡¯s the matter with you?¡±

    ¡°I, I don¡¯t know. My hands are itchy suddenly. Maybe there are mosquitoes in the room... Well, Mammy, you don¡¯t know that there are various flowers and trees in the Taoist temple. So, it¡¯s not strange to have a few mosquitoes inte autumn. Please forgive me for being rude.¡± He Danggui replied embarrassedly, but she scratched harder and harder. Finally, the backs of her white and slender hands were scratched and turned red. But she still felt itchy, so she used her hands to rub each other, making her fingers which were pricked bleed again. It looked terrible when the backs of her hands, her wrists and arms were smeared with blood. Then she scratched her shoulders. It seemed that the itch spread upward.

    Mammy Tang couldn¡¯t bear this and said, ¡°Stop! Stop scratching! You will hurt yourself and leave scars!¡± Then she tried to hold He Danggui¡¯s arm to stop her.

    But this scared He Danggui. She took a few steps back and waved her hands, ¡°Alright, I will stop! Mammy, just don¡¯t touch me. Otherwise, you could be infected!¡± Then she stopped scratching but patting, using her little hands to pat her body.

    ¡°Infected?¡± Mammy Tang frowned, ¡°Is it contagious? Third Miss, you just said you were bit by mosquitoes, but in my opinion, it definitely doesn¡¯t look like mosquitoes. What really happened?¡±

    Hearing this, He Danggui kept silence for a while. She opened her mouth but said nothing with her head lowering down and a blurry expression hiding behind her veil.

    Mammy Tang considered some possibilities in her mind but signed finally, ¡°Third Miss, Madam Luo and I know that you¡¯ve suffered a lot this time. So, we want to help you more. But how can we help you if you keep everything to yourself? Tell me that did you¡­catch a strange disease? And that¡¯s why you cover your face with a veil and feel itchy all over your body?¡±

    ¡°A disease?¡± He Danggui said in astonishment, ¡°I don¡¯t have any diseases. My nose doesn¡¯t feel well.¡±

    ¡°But now you¡­¡± Mammy Tang stared at He Danggui¡¯s watery eyes which could speak and reveal a mixed feeling of shock, hesitation and grievance.

    He Danggui frowned and said nothing. Then she pointed at the inner clothes made of ivory silk and said with sobs, ¡°I just touched that clothes and underwear, and then I began to feel itchy. It seemed that the itches directly out of my bones. The symptom is most likely the¡­¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Mammy Tang kept her eyes closely on He Danggui. Her dull eyes showed that she experienced the hardship of life, but also showed the sophistication and stateliness that a young woman didn¡¯t have.

    ¡°An itching powder called Diaoshanyao Powder.¡± He Danggui was frightened by Mammy Tang¡¯s eyes and said in a very low voice, ¡°A few months ago, Fourth Sister identally scattered this powder on my cor and then apologized to me sadly. She told me that this itching powder is called Diaoshanyao Powder. Anyone who gets it has to suffer the itch a whole day and there¡¯s no method to cure it¡­ I was exactly as itchy as today. The extreme itch made me scratch my whole body very hard and therefore I left a lot of scars¡­ Because my chest was the most painful part, so I was afraid of seeing the doctor. The itchsted for nearly three days, so I always remember this feeling¡­¡±

    ¡°Oh my!¡± Mammy Tang¡¯s face turned pale and she asked in doubt, ¡°You mean that Fourth Miss put this powder on your clothes?¡± She heard about this itching powder before. It was said that this powder was frequently used in the third-ss brothels in Yangzhou City!

    Yangzhou City was a good ce to visit in early spring. Lots of rich merchants gathered here. There were numbers of brothels, decorated pleasure boats, whores and beauties. But the brothels also had different levels. The inferior one also could be graded as third, fourth and fifth-ss brothels and illicit prostitution. One of their ways to gain money was to buy good women in low price and taught them to be whores. Then the women were sold into first-ss or second-ss brothels with a high price and became the most popr courtesans whose prices rose many times.

    One of the ways used by those procuresses in brothels to deal with the good women who tried to resist was Diaoshanyao Powder. Evil procuresses tied the good women up tightly with pieces of cloths in case they couldn¡¯t bear the itch and scratched their soft skins ormitted suicide by biting off their tongues. Then the procuresses just needed to scatter a half spoon of Diaoshaoyao Powder over them and locked them for a whole day. No matter how firm the women were, they would be obedient after such a torture.

    Mammy Tang was 55 years old now, and helped Madam Luo to manage Luo¡¯s Family in her early years. Therefore, she knew the inside information of brothels and heard about Diaoshanyao Powder, but she never saw it.

    Fourth Miss was an unmarried girl. How could she get Diaoshanyao Powder and use it on her sister? That was weird. If Third Miss didn¡¯t lie, Mammy Tang must report this to Madam Luo. She supposed that there must be at least one tricky servant around the innocent Fourth Miss to teach her bad things.

    Mammy Tang became nervous. Once the thing was spread, the reputation of both Fourth Miss and Luo¡¯s Family would be damaged! Anyway, she must let Third Miss keep this secret!

    But He Danggui¡¯s behavior surprised her. He Danggui saluted her in good manner and said, ¡°Mammy, please don¡¯t tell others!¡±

    Mammy Tang immediately came to hold her elbows and said in surprise, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Third Miss, I can¡¯t afford your salute!¡±

    He Danggui stood up with tears while continued scratching herself, ¡°The Fourth Sister is one year younger than me and innocent, so how could she scatter the itching powder over me on purpose? I think she must sprinkle the itching powder on me by identst time. And the thing happened months ago. Except for Fourth Sister, only the Second Sister and I knew this. Please don¡¯t spread it out or tell Grandma! If Grandma misunderstands that Fourth Sister deliberately did this to me, she could punish her with copying Analects for Women 100 times! Then the Fourth Sister and the Second Aunt must think it is me who reports this to Grandma. And the Second Aunt will hate me more!¡±

    ¡°What? Second Miss was at there? Did she know the thing about Diaoshanyao Powder?¡± Mammy Tang was more shocked. In her impression, Second Miss was the most kind and elegantdy in the whole Luo¡¯s Family. How could she be involved in this?

    He Danggui nodded tearfully, ¡°Listen to me, Mammy. The Fourth Sister didn¡¯t sprinkle the itching powder deliberately. At that time, we all practiced calligraphy in the small study, and the Fourth Sister used a piece of paper to hold the powder and wanted to throw it out. Unfortunately, Second Miss also stood up and wanted to go out. When she passed the Fourth Sister, she carelessly stepped on the Fourth Sister¡¯s dress, so the Fourth Sister sprinkled the powder out. I was just looking down and writing, so I didn¡¯t avoid in time and was stained with the itching powder. In addition, it has been a long time and I really don¡¯t want Grandma and others to know it. They would misunderstand that I¡¯m so mean and I like raking up the past. They may even misunderstand that I don¡¯t get along well with the Fourth Sister. That¡¯s impossible! Although my Second Aunt doesn¡¯t like me, the Fourth Sister is kind to me. Since this matter, the Fourth Sister made midnight snack using her kitchte and sent for me almost every day. I really appreciate her very much.¡±

    Mammy Tang was confused and asked, ¡°Did Fourth Miss make midnight snack for you every day? Why I haven¡¯t heard of it?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s true. I dare not lie to you!¡± He Danggui was afraid that Mammy Tang didn¡¯t trust her, so she described in detail, ¡°The Fourth Sister told me that her mother was angry with me because of the matters of dinner and tailoring the clothes. She was afraid that her mother would me her after knowing that we had a good rtionship, so she didn¡¯t dare to use her kitchte to cook for me in daytime. Her maid Dao He could only send the food for me until others sleep after midnight.¡±

    Mammy Tang frowned, ¡°Now that it has been midnight, you should not eat anything. The food will be umted in your belly and you can¡¯t digest. Besides, you¡¯re a Miss who doesn¡¯t exercise and work. Therefore, it¡¯s important for you to n diet reasonably and keep fit.¡±

    Third Miss was the daughter of the concubine and was abandoned by her father¡¯s family. Since she didn¡¯t gain her father¡¯s protection but had a shameful origin, Madam Luo couldn¡¯t help her so much although Madam Luo really loved her. When she needed to propose marriage in the future, what she could show was her beauty and figure. Once she ate food at midnight throughout the year and got out of shape, she would not marry in a good family.

 Chapter 53 - Endless reproduction of rats

    <h4>Chapter 53 Endless reproduction of rats</h4>

    ¡°Mammy, I see. I will refrain from eating the midnight snacks.¡± He Danggui lowered her head in shame and whispered, ¡°Actually I didn¡¯t eat supper. When I saw the savory food at that time, I couldn¡¯t help eating more. What¡¯s more, the Fourth Sister is very kind to me. The food she sent to me was always a full-course meal, including chicken, duck, fish and meat. In addition, Dao He specially prepared the sweet soup for me. How hearty the meal was! I can¡¯t be too grateful to the Fourth Sister!¡±

    ¡°A full-course meal? The sweet soup?¡± Mammy Tang beat her legs angrily, ¡°Third Miss, you were silly to eat these things in the midnight! You ate breakfast and lunch in Madam Luo¡¯s room every day. They are the best food in our mansion. Why are you still so greedy? Why didn¡¯t you have dinner?¡±

    Rebuked by Mammy Tang, He Danggui blinked her watery eyes frightenedly and exined while scratching herself, ¡°You know my Grandma always preferred spicy food. Every dish on the table has a lot of peppers. She is so considerate that she lets me have a meal with her. And I am ashamed to refuse her and tell her that I could not eat spicy food and it will hurt my stomach. So, I dare not eat too much at breakfast and lunch. When ites to dinner, I offended not only my Second Aunt, but also the manager of kitchen Aunt Wang when Iined to Grandmast time. Later, the kitchen didn¡¯t send me dinner.¡±

    ¡°No dinner for you?¡± Mammy Tang asked incredulously, ¡°It¡¯s impossible! All the youngdies in our mansion have food expenses of 1.8 liang silver a day. Since the breakfast and lunch in your room have been canceled, you should have expenses of 1.8 liang silver for dinner. Even if you can¡¯t eat much alone, you can also exchange some fresh milk treme cubilose. Our mansion always follows this rule. How dare Wang Qi¡¯s wife deduct your daily food expenses without authorization?¡±

    He Danggui shook her head and defended Wang Qi¡¯s wife kindly, ¡°Aunt Wang didn¡¯t do it without permission. In fact, it¡¯s my fault. Last time, the Second Aunt was angry at Grandma¡¯s room, and the next day, Aunt Wang sent me a hearty meal, making me surprised and uneasy. However, after eating, I found that it did not suit my appetite, so I asked the maid to take the meal back to the kitchen and reprocess it. Unexpectedly, my behavior offended Aunt Wang. She sent a person to tell me that if I couldn¡¯t get used to the food from the kitchen, I could eat the food from the kitchte in West Lateral court. The kitchen would discount food expenses of 62 liang silver which belonged to people in West Lateral court at the end of each month.¡±

    Mammy Tang frowned and sighed, ¡°Third Miss, did all the dishes be redone? No wonder Wang Qi¡¯s wife would be angry. Her families have been cooking for generations and her two brothers are the chefs in the imperial kitchen of the imperial pce. Even if you don¡¯t like those dishes, you should show respect to her. You have a kitchte in West Lateral court. Why didn¡¯t you re-cook them in your own kitchte?¡±

    He Danggui replied shamefacedly, ¡°Mammy, there are somethings you don¡¯t know. Shortly after I moved into West Lateral court, my kitchte had a gue of rats, so it had not been used. It¡¯s all my fault that I¡¯m too stingy. I grew up in a farm and always thought that the production of food was difficult. So, I didn¡¯t want to waste the dishes on the table. That¡¯s why I let the maid get them cooked thoroughly before eating them again.¡±

    ¡°Cooked thoroughly before eating?!¡± Mammy Tang eximed, ¡°Was the fish from the kitchen not cooked thoroughly?¡±

    He Danggui nodded and recalled, ¡°I found that all the fishes were raw after I took the seat. Aunt Liu, who came to deliver the dishes, said that eating some raw fish in spring could cure my illnesses. So, I ate a piece of fish, but I couldn¡¯t stand the fishy smell and I vomited. Then I took a piece of fat hoof meat and bit it hard. I found that it was still raw and had bloody meat in it. I was so scared and cried out. So, I asked the maid to take it away and cook it thoroughly for me.¡±

    Mammy Tang was shocked. Then she was very angry and scolded, ¡°Wang Qi¡¯s wife is really outrageous. Just because her husband runs a restaurant in Ming Shu Fang of Yangzhou City. She thinks her life is better than others¡¯ and should bully the masters in Luo¡¯s Mansion! However, since she had been willing to convert the regr meal cost into money for you, why didn¡¯t you redecorate the kitchte in West Lateral court and cook in it? What¡¯s more, just now you said that there was a gue of rats in your kitchte. It¡¯s also strange. I have lived in the East Yard of Luo¡¯s Family for nearly 40 years, but I haven¡¯t heard of any gue. As far as I know, the servants in the mansion sprinkle the lime once every 3 days and spray the medicine once every 7 days. There are no insects or ants even in the servant¡¯s kitchen, let alone the rats!¡±

    He Danggui lowered her head and said intively, ¡°My mother came to see me before she went to Sanqing Temple and wanted to give me a cheque of 200 liang, but I refused. At that time, I said to my mother that although I only came to Luo¡¯s Mansion for few days, from Grandma to several uncles and aunts, they are very considerate to me. Where can I use so much money? Besides, I am young and have never learned how to keep my belongings. If I lose them, it would be troublesome! When my mother saw that I was determined not to ept it, she didn¡¯t force me. Later, I offended Aunt Wang. For the first month, I couldn¡¯t eat dinner, and the maids and mammies in my yard were also famished. Originally, I wanted to reuse the kitchte, so I sent my maid to ask for some lime powder and insect killing medicine from Uncle Qiao, who was in charge of killing insects, and I wanted to sprinkle them in the kitchte. But Uncle Qiao said that medicine was the public property. My Second Aunt in charge of the family is a careful person. She must ask about everything in person, so it was infeasible to ask for the medicine in private. Uncle Qiao asked me to go to Second Aunt to report the needed medicine and quantity. As long as Second Aunt agreed, he would send it to West Lateral court immediately. s! In this case¡­I didn¡¯t clean up the kitchte at the end.¡±

    Mammy Tang frowned and asked, ¡°How did that happen? Didn¡¯t Second Mistress Luo even approve to give you these items?¡±

    ¡°Second Aunt promised at first,¡± He Danggui¡¯s eyes were full of resentful tears. She lowered her head gently and said, ¡°But when I went to Bao Qin Ge to find my Second Aunt, Nephew Wei also yed there. When he heard that I wanted to clean up my kitchte with lime and rat poison, he was immediately unhappy and cried to stop me. Finally, Second Aunt didn¡¯t want to distress her grand-nephew, so she did not let Uncle Qiao give me the medicine.¡±

    Mammy Tang had been stunned by so many anecdotes. Then she asked amazingly, ¡°What did this have to do with Wei? What did he have to do with you cleaning out the kitchte in your own yard? Why did he stop you?¡±

    He Danggui raised a handkerchief to wipe the tears from the corner of her eyes and sneered in her heart, ¡°In the previous life, everyone in Luo¡¯s Family said that I was the most vengeful person and liked to inform secretly to Madam Luo. In fact, at that time, I was the clumsiest person in Luo¡¯s Family, so I suffered a lot. Obviously, I had many reasons on my side, but I stammered and said nothing. Those who did not have reasons at all talked about the matters and argued unreasonably. In the end, the members of Luo¡¯s Familymented on me uniformly that I was craven and mean. So, I must have followed the temper of my mother.¡±

    Now because of Luo¡¯s Family, He Danggui finally learned how to ¡°inform secretly¡± and how to sue behind the scenes. In fact, the highest level of theint was ¡°stringing sugar gourd¡± and pulling out the radish while bringing out the mud. When she finished this case, no one in Luo¡¯s Mansion would be clean and not implicated.

    He Danggui put down her handkerchief and sighed, ¡°Nephew Wei wailed and said the gray rats in the kitchte of West Lateral court were his toys. The Elder Sister-inw refused him to feed them in Liu Li Tang since she was afraid that they would cause illnesses. Therefore, Nephew Wei wanted to choose a good ce for them, and he chose the kitchte of West Lateral court. However, He was just a 3 or 4-year-old child. He didn¡¯t understand the most terrible thing about rats. It¡¯s neither stealing rice nor infecting diseases... s, I¡¯m really worried about the people in East Yard of Luo¡¯s Family.¡±

    Mammy Tang asked hurriedly, ¡°What is Third Miss worrying about? What is the scariest thing about rats?¡±

    He Danggui sneered sarcastically under the veil and replied quietly, ¡°There are two most terrible things. One is reproduction, and the other is burrowing. My kitchte was originally piled with a lot of rice and flour, and then they were contaminated by the rats and became dirty. So, I left them to the rats and locked the door. Thus, the kitchte became the rats¡¯ paradise. These rats have children and grandchildren and make many new holes. Then their grandchildren have children, and each child has several new holes... s, the consequences are unthinkable.¡±

    Though Mammy Tang was an old mammy who had experienced many hardships, she still shuddered at the picture that He Danggui described.

    He Danggui¡¯s gentle voice was like a soft poison caressing a bone joint and echoed in the empty room, ¡°Rats are natural thieves and carry diseases all over their bodies. Mammy Tang, you can imagine that a horde of horrible animals run through the yards of the mansion, steal Grandma¡¯s lunch today, gnaw through the Second Sister¡¯s dressing case the next day, bite Nephew Wei¡¯s fingers then, and spread the diseases to food, water, even Second Aunt¡¯s sweet well water in Bao Qin Ge after a few days...¡±

    Mammy Tang¡¯s eyes were wide open involuntarily, and a few drops of sweat appeared on her forehead even in this cold room which was like an icehouse.

    He Danggui was so worried, ¡°Mammy Tang, you know my Second Aunt is a very hospitable host. She often invites Misses and Childes of other mansions to join tea parties and poetry parties, and lets those Misses and Childes who like fresh and interesting things fetch water from the well by themselves to boil tea. Can you imagine what would happen if those Misses and Childes with high status eat something unclean or experience some bad things? s... If that¡¯s the case, then Second Aunt really means well but does bad things. In addition, maybe the East Yard of Luo¡¯s Family she represents will turn against the other big families.¡±

    Mammy Tang said loudly, ¡°Feuding with other families? That would not happen!¡±

 Chapter 54 - A child without a mother was like the grass

    <h4>Chapter 54 A child without a mother was like the grass</h4>

    He Danggui exined to her patiently, ¡°Once they eat something bad, even if they just have diarrhea for one or two days, it will be very difficult for our family to exin to other big families. After all, those Misses and Childes are treasures of their own families. Even when they sneeze or lose some hairs, their elders would be sad for they couldn¡¯t rece them to suffer the pain. If they catch any disease in East Yard, even though everyone knows that it is an ident, no one will forgive us! Mammy Tang, do you remember that half a year ago, the Second Sister came back to her grandpa¡¯s family, Sun¡¯s Family, for a few days but got a headache after catching a cold because she fell into the water while boating on theke. Although Sun¡¯s Family is Second Aunt¡¯s natal family, and Second Aunt has a good rtion with them, she still got mad about this and aggressively came to Ms. Wang who is in charge of Sun¡¯s Family to ask for an exnation.¡±

    Mammy Tang nodded and said, ¡°Yes, I have an impression of it. Ms. Wang is Second Mistress Luo¡¯s sister-inw. She is also apetitive person. At that time, she had conflicts with Second Mistress Luo and said that Second Miss fell into the water when she went for a row alone and no one pushed her. How could Second Mistress Luo me the Sun¡¯s family? Later, it took a month for the incident to subside. Because of this ident, Second Mistress Luo paid a lot of money to hire a female bodyguard who had been trained. I heard that she used to be a heroine in Jianghu.¡±

    He Danggui sighed, ¡°Mammy Tang, there is something you don¡¯t know. I often heard squeaks of rats in the East Wing-room these days. Every time I heard this voice, I would think of the West Lateral court where I used to live... Nephew Wei¡¯s 4 or 5 little pets are likely to increase to 400 or 500 now. Although I have been used to seeing rats in the farm and I can live with them in the same ce. I¡¯m really afraid that they will go out of the West Lateral court and run to other yards. If they hurt people, others would say that I keep poisonous insects and rats, and I intend to use them to harm people. Mammy, give me an idea. What should I do?¡±

    Mammy Tang shook her head and sighed. She couldn¡¯t help ming He Danggui, ¡°Third Miss, even if you are thrifty, it¡¯s not good to save money in such a way. Didn¡¯t Wang Qi¡¯s wife give you the monthly food expenses of 62 liang silver at the end of each month? If you have saved it for half a year, you should have nearly 400 liang silver. Even if Second Mistress Luo was too busy to take care of you and didn¡¯t send lime powder and rat poisons to you, you could give some silver to a servant and ask him to go to the herbal medicine shop to buy some arsenic! You tell me that matter until the situation is so bad now. Even if your experience is pitiful, you can¡¯t me Wei or Second Mistress Luo for the gue. You can only me yourself!¡±

    He Danggui covered her mouth and the tears came out of her eyes. She said with a low voice, ¡°How could this happen! I cannot bear it, Mammy!¡±

    Mammy Tang felt pity for her, but she could only tell her the truth, ¡°Firstly, Wei is only 3.5 years old now. It¡¯smon for a child to be naughty. Madam Luo can¡¯t bear to scold him, so do you! Secondly, half a year ago, Wei¡¯s mother was pregnant for five months. She stayed in the room to prevent abortion. So, she was not responsible for this thing. Now, she gave birth to a lovely daughter for the First Master Baiqian and became the number one meritorious person of Luo¡¯s Family. She can¡¯t be med for anything. Thirdly, Second Mistress Luo didn¡¯t give you lime powder at that time just because she cared for Wei. After that, it is very possible that she was too busy to forget it. Third Miss, you are the master of the West Lateral court. No matter what the cause was at first, the result is that the gue urred in your ce. How can you not be med?¡±

    He Danggui wiped her tears and nodded, ¡°Mammy, you are right. I admit it¡¯s my fault. But what kind of punishment will I deserve?¡±

    ¡°Now we have toe back to the mansion and report to Madam Luo. Just wait for her decisions.¡± Mammy Tang looked at the teary girl with pity andforted, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I must intercede with Madam Luo for you. You know how much she loves you.¡±

    ¡°Thank you so much. If so, I would appreciate it a lot.¡± He Danggui sobbed and said disjointedly, ¡°If I had money to buy the rat poisons, I couldn¡¯t let the maids and mammies starve with me but didn¡¯t use the kitchte¡­ Actually, I had visited my Second Aunt a few times but couldn¡¯t get the rat poisons. Although Aunt Wang said she would send the food expenses to me, I didn¡¯t get any. My monthly allowance is 1.2 liang silver and I had given all my allowance to 10 maids as the dinner subsidy. Even so, I still felt sorry for them¡­ Then I intently waited for my mother who wille back from the Taoist temple so that I can ask her for money to buy rat poisons. In this way, the matter is dyed¡­¡±

    Mammy Tang said in amazement with her eyes wide open, ¡°What? Wang Qi¡¯s wife gave you no money? It¡¯s impossible! Food expense is public money and should be sent to kitchen to buy ingredients at the first or second day of every month. Wang Qi¡¯s wife is a decent person. How could she embezzle public money openly? In addition, it is a rule that every Miss¡¯s monthly allowance is 14 liang silver, and 1.2 liang silver is the monthly allowance for a first-ss maid. Third Miss, since your money wasn¡¯t right, why didn¡¯t you tell Madam Luo?¡±

    He Danggui was about to answer, but she subconsciously shivered her shoulders. Her hands started to scratch hard, so she apologized with embarrassment, ¡°Pardon me for getting a bad itch. Mammy Tang, you must be exhausted for the long travel, but I talked to you for long time. Forgive my impoliteness. I even didn¡¯t have tea to serve you. I¡¯m just so nervous¡­ Chan Yi!¡±

    ¡°Mydy, what¡¯s your order?¡±

    Mammy Tang saw that a girl in blue, at Third Miss¡¯s age and with a round face ran to the doorway and replied.

    He Danggui smiled, ¡°Mammy Tang is our honored guest, but we have nothing good to treat her. I just remember that we have some haws which were dried in the sun on the sill. Heat up a kettle of water to make one cup of Hawthorn tea for Mammy Tang.¡± The round-faced girl answered and left. He Danggui smiled at Mammy Tang, ¡°The Hawthorn tea is sour, sweet and appetizing. You take a rest and drink a cup of tea first, and then I will let Chan Yi to lead you to have meal.¡±

    Seeing that round-faced girl was so lively, Mammy Tang liked her very much and asked, ¡°Is that your maid? I haven¡¯t seen her before. Was she sent to you in your funeral procession?¡±

    He Danggui rubbed the back of her hands while looking at the blue figure outside and smiled, ¡°She was a little Taoist nun with the religious name of ¡®Zhen Jing¡¯ in the Taoist temple. We get along well with each other, so I decided to take her home with me aspany.¡± Noticing that Mammy Tang was in confusion, He Danggui added, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Mammy. Chan Yi is a lovely and obedient girl. She will not bring any trouble. And she can be counted as my closest maid who doesn¡¯t get monthly allowance as other maids. She also eats with me and doesn¡¯t need the public food. Mammy, please, just take her in.¡±

    Mammy Tang thought that girl was cute indeed. Why not just helped Third Miss? It was an easy favor. But her words came out differently, ¡°Well, it¡¯s not difficult for me to help you with that. But you should tell me first. Why didn¡¯t you get your monthly allowance? Was it true that Wang Qi¡¯s wife kept your money to herself?¡±

    He Danggui signed, ¡°I¡¯ve experienced death. What else could bother me? Aunt Wang was a master in cooking and she has contributed a lot. When my Elder Sister-inw got pregnant, it was Aunt Wang who took care of her daily diet all and Aunt Wang even cooked cubilose for her. Their rtionship is touching. If my Elder Sister-inw is the person who contributed most to Luo¡¯s Family, Aunt Wang is number two. How could I say something against her?¡±

    Mammy Tang thought for a moment and said while shaking her head, ¡°No, these two things arepletely different. Not to mention you need money very much. Even if you don¡¯t need the money, Wang Qi¡¯s wife should deliver the silver to you and then you can reward her in turn.¡±

    He Danggui rose her eyebrows, ¡°What¡¯s the difference? Mammy, let¡¯s not talk about this anymore. I knew I was responsible for the gue. Please say something good about me in front of my Grandma!¡±

    Mammy Tang nodded seriously, ¡°There¡¯s a huge difference! Third Miss, the mansion has given you enough monthly allowance, but you didn¡¯t get your food or your money. You¡¯re too kind and don¡¯t want to me others. But it¡¯s my responsibility to report this to Madam Luo. 400 liang silver is not much, but it¡¯s a big problem that someone should take the public money to herself. And Luo¡¯s Family will never tolerate a ve who climbed on the head of her master!¡±

    He Danggui said nothing and showed hesitation in her eyes, but she remained silent.

    Mammy Tang saw He Danggui was hesitant, so she continued to persuade her, ¡°I said Third Miss was responsible for the gue of rats because I thought you should have the ability to solve the problem of gue by yourself. But now it seems that there is a tricky servant deducting your money so that you are in hunger and poverty and still troubled deeply by the gue. If it can be proved that Wang Qi¡¯s wife stole the public money, you will be a victim and won¡¯t be punished by Madam Luo. Also, you¡¯ll not need me to help you plead anymore.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± There was a sh of light in He Danggui¡¯s clear eyes, ¡°As long as I tell the truth, I won¡¯t be punished, right?¡±

    Seeing the back of He Danggui¡¯s snow-white hands which were scratched to red, Mammy Tang was so sad. A child with a mother was the treasure and a child without a mother was like the grass. Even Luo¡¯s Family which was a literary family should obey this truth. Now it seemed that Third Miss suffered a lot for half a year in Luo¡¯s Family without her mother¡¯spany. When her mother took her and left He¡¯s Family, she was doomed to face her embarrassing identity. She was an endearing and good kid, but was isted in the East Yard of Luo¡¯s Family. How pitiful she was.

    Thinking of this, Mammy Tangforted He Danggui gently, ¡°You will not be punished. In addition, because 400 liang silver is yours, when finding out the ount, Madam Luo will make the decision and pay you the money back.¡±

    ¡°Now that Mammy has said that, I will not hide anymore.¡± He Danggui looked at the distance, showing an expression of recalling, ¡°The first month when the kitchen didn¡¯t send the supper, a total of 16 maids and mammies of West Lateral court allined so much. I felt sorry but didn¡¯t know how topensate them. Since there were so many people, my monthly allowance of just 1.2 liang silver couldn¡¯t solve the problem. At the end of the month, the money which Aunt Wang promised us wasn¡¯t sent here. Although I was unwilling, I felt sorry when more than thirty eyes were looking at me, so I just went to the kitchen to see Aunt Wang in person.¡±

    Mammy Tang frowned and asked, ¡°You didn¡¯t get the money even when you went in person?¡±

    He Danggui lowered her head and said sadly, ¡°I don¡¯t know why. I didn¡¯t see Aunt Wang though I went there for 7 or 8 times. I heard that Aunt Wang always cooked some dishes of every day¡¯s dinner by herself in the mansion, so I waited outside the kitchen at the time for dinner. But those days that I went there were not the days when Aunt Wang cooked. And I asked many people who usually walked in and out of the kitchen, but they all ignored me without any reason. I didn¡¯t know how to do but could only wait there. When I went there again in the seventh day, people working in the kitchen not only didn¡¯t light amp, but also closed the door. It was dark outside. When I walked to the ce which I usually stood and waited, I slipped carelessly and my palms were cut by stones. Then I found that ce was flooded with tung oil.

 Chapter 55 - Ashamed to see two sisters

    <h4>Chapter 55 Ashamed to see two sisters</h4>

    Mammy Tang was blue in the face, ¡°How absurd! Those servants even dare to bully the Master! Third Miss, they only bullied you since you are a child. But didn¡¯t they scruple Madam Luo when they did that to you? Third Miss, why didn¡¯t you tell Madam Luo about these situations? She would side with you!¡±

    He Danggui bowed her head and sighed, ¡°I fell down and was full of grievances at that time, so I wanted to go to Grandma toin. But Second Sister and Fourth Sister were on their way to see Grandma as well. And I idently annoyed Second Sister. Knowing I could not get away with my guilt, I did not dare to see Grandma.¡±

    Mammy Tang shook her head and sighed, ¡°Second Miss is a very good-tempered person. How did you provoke her?¡±

    He Danggui said bitterly, ¡°I saw from a distance that they were led by maids withnterns, and they were also heading for Fu Shou Yard. Their new clothes were dazzling under the light of thenterns. I looked up and down myself. After the fall, my clothes were full of spots. There were oil and mud. I was too ashamed to see my sisters. So, I hid behind a bunch of corn poppy, nning to go back to the West Lateral court to get myself healed after they passed by. I intended to see Grandma another day for my grievance. Unexpectedly, my sisters came to the front of the flowers and stopped suddenly, saying that there was a butterfly on the flower, and they wanted to catch it. I was supporting my body with my hands on the ground at that time. Before I realized what happened, a sharp pain came from the back of my hand. I retracted my hand quickly, and then I heard Second Sister¡¯s scream. Along her eyesight, I immediately understood that she identally stepped on my hand when she caught the butterfly. I should go to hell. When I took my hand back, I even rubbed the blood in the palm on the upper her shoes.¡±

    Mammy Tang was silent for a moment, and then said, ¡°It was just an ident. Both of you did not expect it. The Second Miss was always friendly with other Misses and generous to the servants. It¡¯s estimated that she was angry with you because her beloved new shoes were stained. In the next few months, didn¡¯t Wang Qi¡¯s wife send you the silver?¡±

    He Danggui shook her head and said, ¡°There was this one time. I was hot-tempered and imed that I would invite Grandma to judge this, then Aunt Wang changed her attitude. ording to her, silver was useless in my hand. I would run out of it. But it would be useful in her hand, and it would bring me profit in a few days.¡±

    Mammy Tang changed her face, and she asked in a deep voice, ¡°Did you ask her where the silver was used? Did you receive any profitter?¡±

    ¡°Profit? Later, I went to see her two or three times, but there was no result.¡± He Danggui nced out of the door and said with a smile, ¡°Herees the Hawthorn tea. Mammy, drink some to moisten your throat. Let¡¯s drop these unhappy things. Mammy, you must be hungry?¡±

    Mammy Tang also wanted to ask for some details. Looking up, she saw the round face girl carrying a cup of steaming tea into the door. Unexpectedly, there was a figure in the back, knocking the round face girl¡¯s arm, and the tea was about to be poured out. While Mammy Tang was subconsciously avoiding the sshing of tea, she only felt that there was a sh of shadow in front of her eyes. When she looked at it, the tea was not spilled out, but was held steadily in Third Miss¡¯s hands.

    When He Danggui offered the tea to Mammy Tang, she scolded at the door and said, ¡°Why are you so flustered when you walk? If you scald a distinguished guest, I will give you 20 caning on your hands!¡± Then she turned around and apologized to Mammy Tang, ¡°I¡¯m sorry she startled you. Fortunately, I¡¯m standing up to offer tea to Mammy, so I got enough time to hold her and prevent the tea from spilling out. Please have a drink!¡±

    Mammy Tang nodded and said, ¡°Thank you, Third Miss. I¡¯m really thirsty.¡± Her nose was full of smell, so she bowed her head and took a sip to test the temperature of the tea, and then she took several big sips. After that, she looked up and said with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s quite drinkable, sweeter than the home-made fresh fruit soup! Well, it¡¯s tasty. I feel more refreshing after I drink it. How is this tea made?¡±

    He Danggui replied with a smile, ¡°Nothing special! Sousing haw into brown sugar, and then drying them at the fire repeatedly. But the tea sees dull because ofcking many materials in the mountain. Mammy felt thirsty, so you think it¡¯s tasty. I¡¯ll make more for you with the good materials after we get back.¡± Then she turned to the window and med, ¡°Huai Hua, I won¡¯t punish you this time, but you must be calmter. Don¡¯t be so brash. Is Mammy Tang¡¯s vegetarian food ready?¡±

    Mammy Tang raised her eyes to look. That was a girl in grey of 17 to 18 years old. Her eyes seemed like that of a frightened cub, and her clear-cut case of ck and white eyes were like two ck pills on a white porcin te.

    The girl in grey rubbed her clothing nervously, and she replied, ¡°Sister Zhen Zhu said the meal is ready. Please follow me to the northern yard. Moreover, I met Zhen Ming just now, and she asked me to leave a message to you, Miss. She said that the Master felt better after using the medicinal packs you made, and the Master wanted two more to treat her legs.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± He Danggui said with a smile, ¡°Does Master Tai Shan really like that herbal cushion? How about her waist?¡±

    The girl in grey nodded, ¡°I heard from Zhen Ming that Master felt better after she used it for two days, and she is so energetic now. So, the Master let Zhen Ming give a message to you. You are free to use any of the medicinal materials in the Medicine Room by yourself. Also, please make two more medicinal packs to treat her legs.¡±

    He Danggui smiled under the veil, ¡°Really? So effective? Master Tai Shan¡¯s order, I dare not oppose. Tell Zhen Ming immediately, I must get it done even if I don¡¯t sleep tonight. Please tell Master Tai Shan to rest assured.¡± The girl in grey nodded and left.

    Mammy Tang raised her eyebrows and asked, ¡°What medicinal packs so useful? Does Third Miss specialize in traditional Chinese medicine? When did Third Miss learn it? Why don¡¯t I know that?¡±

    He Dangguiughed, ¡°Mammy, you know that I don¡¯t know the words. All doctors will make fun of me if I say that I specialize in traditional Chinese medicine and the pharmacology. Several months ago, I felt bored, so I wanted to learn some words. I read two medical books and learnt a prescription for waist. Then I made an herbal cushion to Master Tai Shan of the Taoist temple. I still can¡¯t believe it worked on her, so that¡¯s quite an achievement! I must make more herbal medicine cushions to express my gratitude.¡±

    ¡°Third Miss is so kind.¡± Mammy Tang nodded and asked, ¡°Why did that girl call you Miss? I can tell from her tone that she a Taoist nun of this temple?¡±

    He Danggui smiled, ¡°Yes, she is. Her religious name is Huai Wen. She gets along well with Chan Yi. Knowing Chan Yi is my maid, she also begged me to be my maid and take her to Luo¡¯s Mansion as well. Then I agreed and gave her a local name as Huai Hua. But I told her that I can¡¯t take a second maid back home unless my Mammy agreed.¡±

    After a pause, Mammy Tang said slowly, ¡°Third Miss, there are so many maids in the mansion. Second Mistress Luo will arrange the best maids in West Lateral court after you get back. Moreover, besides the servants¡¯ daughters who would serve us, many maids are purchased from the Qingcaoniu market. And they are trained to be methodical. Their good services would also make you feel satisfied andfortable. Don¡¯t you think so?¡±

    He Danggui chuckled and nodded, ¡°Mammy, you¡¯re right. Let¡¯s just forget it. We are going to head for home tomorrow. Mammy, you¡¯ve had a rough day today, please drink another cup of tea to refresh. Then Chan Yi will take you to have a meal in the side room of the northern yard.¡±

    Mammy Tang said with a smile, ¡°Third Miss, you made great tea by yourself. I won¡¯t bother if I take ten more.¡±

    ¡°Oops! That¡¯s bad!¡± He Danggui covered her mouth under the veil. Looking at the Chinese teacup in Mammy Tang¡¯s hands, she shouted, ¡°Mammy, drop the teacup!¡±

    Mammy Tang set the teacup on the table and asked confusedly, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    He Danggui looked at her own hands, and then she checked Mammy Tang¡¯s hands and apologized, ¡°Sorry, Mammy. I forget that my hands attached the itching powder when I served you the tea... Your hands may attach it, too. Are you alright?¡±

    Mammy Tang didn¡¯t feel anything before He Danggui brought it up. Now she felt her palms were itching. And the itchy feeling got more and more intensely just like the Third Miss said. The feeling was born from the bone. It was a kind of strange itching that drilled into the bone. Mammy Tang scratched and twisted her hands like He Danggui did. She felt like living in hell.

    He Danggui thought for a while, and then she shouted to the window, ¡°Chan Yi, bring some cold spring water to wash Mammy¡¯s hands! Hurry up!¡±

    Hearing the cold water, Mammy Tang couldn¡¯t wait. She rushed to find water herself. Seeing the round-face girl was bringing the water, she took and ced it on the ground. Afterwards, she put her hands into the water and washed hard. When the feeling was relieved, she called He Danggui, ¡°Third Miss, you shoulde, too. Wash your hands to relieve the itch!¡±

    He Danggui shook her head, ¡°Mammy, you don¡¯t know this. There is no way to relieve the itch of Diaoshanyao Powder. You can¡¯t wash it out or rub it away. It willst 2 to 3 days. And the itch would be on and off. The new round will be much itchier than before. Last time I attached it. I was afraid that itchy feeling. Therefore, I checked many books about it in the study of Luo¡¯s Mansion. But I didn¡¯t find the antidote. I¡¯m so sorry, Mammy. It¡¯s my fault to get you into this.¡±

    As expected, Mammy Tang felt the itch came back again, and the feeling was stronger than before. So, she scratched hard again.

    ¡°Don¡¯t scratch too hard,¡± He Danggui extorted, ¡°If you made your skin broken and let the wind attack your body, you will feel much more miserable than now. Not to mention the fact that you still have 2 to 3 days to suffer. If you broke you skin now, what would you do in the next days?

    Hearing this, Mammy Tang stopped. But the itch drilled into the bone. So, she rubbed her hands together like He Danggui did, but it was not helpful.

    He Danggui sighed andforted her, ¡°Mammy, don¡¯t be scared. I rubbed my hands for a long time. The itch powder on my skin was gone basically, and the itch powder attached your skin through the teacup indirectly. Thus, I think maybe your symptom is not as serious as mine. This reminds me thatst time I attached 2 qian of the itching powder. What we got this time is much less thanst time. Maybe we can get healed in one day.¡±

    Mammy Tang gritted her teeth as if she suppressed a huge anger. He Danggui looked at her concernedly, ¡°Mammy, are you hungry? I can send Chan Yi to take you to have a meal. If you couldn¡¯t use the chopsticks, Chan Yi would feed you. She is a sweet girl. Let her serve you in the northern yard tonight.¡±

    Mammy Tang spoke finally, ¡°I¡¯m unwilling to grudge the masters. But Fourth Miss goes too far! She is only 9 years old but used the itch powder on her cousin. It¡¯s over the line! If Madam Luo doesn¡¯t discipline her seriously, it will be possible that she may use the arsenic and Hedinghong Poison someday!¡±

 Chapter 56 - Master Tai Shan was considerate

    <h4>Chapter 56 Master Tai Shan was considerate</h4>

    Mammy Tang had been the closest maid of Madam Luo since she was 12 years old. When she was 19 years old, she came into Luo¡¯s Family together with Madam Luo who was at the age of 15. She never married in her life and was loyal to Luo¡¯s Family. The rule that servants should keep distance with masters was very essential for her. She hated the servants who betrayed their masters, so she never bitched about people of Luo¡¯s Family.

    Fourth Miss, Luo Baishao, was the biological granddaughter of Madam Luo. Mammy Tang wouldn¡¯t bitch about her in general. Although He Danggui said that Fourth Miss sprinkled itching powder on her chest ¡°negligently¡±, Mammy Tang wouldn¡¯t judge whether it was right or wrong. Mammy Tang recognized that Fourth Miss had made a mistake since that was a handful of poison but not soil. It was impossible for a person to walk on the road with poisons, and then sprinkled the poison on others by mistake. However, to protect Fourth Miss¡¯s reputation from being damaged, the first thing Mammy Tang wanted to do after hearing He Danggui¡¯s words was to hold He Danggui¡¯s jaw but not to punish Fourth Miss.

    In Mammy Tang¡¯s view, everydy of Luo¡¯s Family was pure, innocent, lovable and intelligent. They just liked the dewdrop on the Lotus petals in spring. Even if they made mistakes, they must be led astray by unruly maids. But now, Mammy Tang experienced the terrible effects of the itching powder. It seemed that your bones were suffered an unrelieved itch. People with poor self-control must scratch their skins bloodily.

    This moment, Mammy Tang understood why this itching powder became the favorite of procuresses and why it couldpel the good women to engage in prostitution. Because you would not want to suffer it anymore after the first time. She thought, ¡°I¡¯m so painful even though I only touched the tea that Third Miss brought. But Third Miss must feel more painful because she touched the clothes with this itching powder directly. She said that at the first time she had touched more itching powder, so she had an itchsting almost two to three days. She is just a child right now. Poor girl. Third Miss was the only daughter of Ms. Luo Chuanqiong. I must seek justice for her. Who knows what the Fourth Miss would do next time!¡±

    Mammy Tang broke out into cold sweat. It didn¡¯t matter that the thorns of cactus were put on the gauzy dress since it didn¡¯t cause serious injury to Third Miss, but just a little flesh wound.

    However, there were a lot of itching powers on the ivory silk inner clothes and underwear. If Third Miss put them on before getting on the sedan, she would be itchy and had to take it off on the way back¡­Mammy Tang was chilled. There were eight safeguards of Luo¡¯s Family following the sedan. If they heard calls of Third Miss and checked the situation, the virginity of Third Miss would be ruined! And it was her fault if she didn¡¯t send Third Miss to Luo¡¯s Mansion safely. She would feel ashamed even if Madam Luo didn¡¯t drive her out.

    Mammy Tang pushed the cold water away and stood up quickly, saying in a low voice, ¡°Third Miss, you are suffering the itching powder. It¡¯s not suitable for you to have a journey. Please stay here just for one or two days. I must go back to Luo¡¯s Family first! I will pick you up the day after tomorrow at thetest! If nothing else happens, I will also take Fourth Miss together to apologize to you. And she needs to listen to some scriptures in the Taoist temple and cultivate her temperament!¡±

    Even if He Danggui wore a veil, others could easily feel her surprise and reluctance.

    He Danggui eximed, ¡°Mammy, now that you¡¯re ufortable, why don¡¯t you leave after having a good rest in the Taoist temple? It¡¯s toote now. Why do you want to leave overnight and let Fourth Sister apologize to me? Fourth Sister never hurts me and shouldn¡¯te to this simple Taoist temple!¡±

    Mammy Tang said firmly, ¡°Fourth Miss must be punished. It¡¯s good for her. Actually, I have to criticize Fourth Miss and report to Madam Luo as ast resort. Second Mistress Luo was too busy to teach her, so she learned those cheap tricks from unruly maids. Fortunately, she is just 9 years old, so there is still enough time to let her go back to the right way.¡±

    He Danggui asked surprisingly, ¡°What did Fourth Sister do? Do you think the itching powder on the clothes was sprinkled by her?¡±

    Mammy Tang stared at He Danggui, ¡°If it¡¯s not she, then who did that? And I¡¯m not ¡®guessing¡¯, I¡¯m ¡®sure¡¯ about that. Second Miss picked clothes up, and Second Mistress Luo told maids to pick inner clothes and the underwear. Finally, the clothes were put in Bao Qin Ge where outsiders couldn¡¯t get in. And Fourth Miss has the itching powder, so it must be she!¡±

    He Danggui shook her hands repeatedly and rified, ¡°Mammy, I think you must have misunderstood. It¡¯s just a coincidence. You have said that when Cui Gen passed the garden with clothes, she fell down and scattered the clothes on her hands. I guess the clothes were stained with both the cactus thorns and itching powder at that time. Fourth Sister is yful. I often see her ying with all kinds of colored medicinal powders in her study. So, I guess that she must have spilled the powder in the garden carelessly, which then got on those clothes.¡±

    Seeing Mammy Tang¡¯s cold face, He Danggui waved her hands and changed her words immediately, ¡°No, no, maybe the powder in the garden was not sprinkled by Fourth Sister. The East Yard is so big, and there are nearly 3,000 people. Others may also have that kind of powder, right? Maybe someone stole the medicines of Fourth Sister and framed her deliberately. Maybe...¡±

    ¡°Third Miss, don¡¯t plead for her anymore.¡± Mammy Tang snapped and interrupted her, ¡°Although the itching powder is a kind of dirty thing, it¡¯s very expensive. Its price is almostparable to that of Hedinghong Poison. Ordinary ves can¡¯t afford to buy a bottle of it after two- or three-years¡¯ work. How can they buy and sprinkle it? I don¡¯t expect that Fourth Miss also collects medicinal powders of various colors. She might have more dangerous forbidden drugs. Oh, I must advise Madam Luo to search Fourth Miss¡¯s Tao Yao Yard! I know that you are kind-hearted and love your cousins. But if you protect her like this, it will be harmful to her in the future!¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± He Danggui eximed through the veil, and tears came out of her eyes again.

    Mammy Tang rubbed her palms to relieve the itch. She frowned and said, ¡°Fourth Miss has been spoiled since childhood. Except for Second Miss, everyone loves her most in the East Yard of Luo¡¯s Family. Therefore, she has developed a malicious personality. Now at the age of nine, she has learned to use such a poison to hurt her cousin. When she grows up and gets married, the disputes between she and her mother-inw, sisters-inw, and concubines will be moreplicated and changeable. It will no longer be under her control! Luo¡¯s Family loves her because of her identity, but it can¡¯t be taken to her husband¡¯s family. Even the Emperor¡¯s daughter will have bad times when shees to her husband¡¯s family.¡±

    He Danggui wiped her tears with a handkerchief and asked, ¡°Must you send Fourth Sister here to teach her? There are also educated mammies at home. Can¡¯t you teach her at home?¡±

    ¡°If it¡¯s not necessary, I don¡¯t want to persuade Madam Luo to make such a decision. Now it¡¯s time to take special measures. I must persuade Madam Luo to send Shao to the Taoist temple and let those nuns who have no emotions and desires discipline her thoroughly.¡±

    Mammy Tang was not exaggerating. She was loyal to Madam Luo, and Madam Luo trusted and relied on her very must. Therefore, her opinions influenced Madam Luo¡¯s judgmentrgely.

    When she was young, Mammy Tang was a powerful woman with insight and ideas. Over the past few decades, she had assisted Madam Luo to manage the family affairs. Now they were tired and rested their lives. But during these years, if Mammy Tang found any problems in Luo¡¯s Mansion every time, as long as she put forward reasonable risk analysis and specific rectification measures, Madam Luo would take her words into consideration seriously. After tasting the sweetness of many sesses, Mammy Tang not only deepened Madam Luo¡¯s trust to her, but also produced her subconscious arrogance.

    To say the best, aggressiveness and arrogance were vigorous and resolute. But to say the worst, they were headstrong and willful. In addition, the itch of her hands made her impetuous and affected her judgment, which facilitated a better result than what He Danggui expected.

    In fact, even if it was not Mammy Tang who came to send messages today, but any other members of Luo¡¯s Family, He Danggui could also y the acting skills and change the themes on the spot. However, Mammy Tang was the closest person to Madam Luo. Her role was equal to thirty ordinary maids and mammies. Even though she still supported the Second Mistress Luo and the Second Miss, as long as she buried a seed of doubt in her heart, she would help He Danggui pull a bow string, knock on the side drum, and let He Danggui perform a big y in Luo¡¯s Family.

    Mammy Tang shook her head and sighed, ¡°Third Miss, you have nothing to do with Fourth Miss. Just because you look so good, she felt unhappy and then framed you. When she gets married in the future, she will certainly be the wife due to her identity. Her husband will have many young and beautiful concubines. Will she kill all of them? At that time, if she fits into the Seven Reasons for Divorcing the Wife, not only she will be abandoned by her husband¡¯s family, but also Luo¡¯s Family will be ashamed!¡±

    He Danggui blinked her eyes and suggested innocently, ¡°How about finding a good husband who doesn¡¯t marry concubines for Fourth Sister? My Second Aunt has a lot of personal connections, so she can find a good marriage for Fourth Sister.¡±

    Mammy Tang shook her head and signed, ¡°It¡¯s difficult! Most men are fickle in love. Even if some men don¡¯t want to marry concubines, there are still some situations that they can¡¯t refuse. Men usually have only one or two women that they real love among their wife and concubines, but they are forced to get married with other women. To be impolite, when your deceased grandfather, grandmother and our Madam Luo were young, their rtionships were alsoplicated. Only because the madam of Chai¡¯s Family made a wrong decision, the three people couldn¡¯t release for decades¡­¡±

    Looking at He Danggui¡¯s innocent eyes, Mammy Tang realized that she even didn¡¯t know what love was. Mammy Tang shook her head, ¡°Forget about it. You are just a kid. No matter how much I say, you won¡¯t understand. In a word, instead of putting your hope on finding a good husband, we¡¯d better make a decision and discipline Fourth Miss carefully. If Madam Luo can be persuaded, even if the Second Mistress Luo and Second Lord object, the Fourth Miss also has to penance two or three mouths in the Shui Shang Temple. Then Madam Luo will decide whether Fourth Miss needs to continue staying here and cultivating her mind ording to her performance.¡±

    He Danggui tried her best to persuade, ¡°Fourth Sister gets along well with me. How could she frame me? You shouldn¡¯t me her without evidences. Even you have the evidences, you must persuade my Grandma to give Fourth Sister a chance to exin. During those months when I was hungry, it was Fourth Sister who prepared midnight snacks for me. So, I could eat well before I went to bed!¡±

    Mammy Tang was so angry that she beat her leg, and said angrily, ¡°Could you be smarter, Third Miss? The intention of Fourth Miss sending you delicious supper for four months is obvious! Only you are still cheated and think she is kind!¡± Looking at He Danggui¡¯s confused face, Mammy Tang shook her head, ¡°No matter how bad Fourth Miss is, she is still a member of Luo¡¯s Family. I shouldn¡¯t speak ill of her anymore. Third Miss, take your time to think it. By the way, how about the ability of the Taoist nuns in Shui Shang Temple? Do they have a lot of methods to discipline people? If they are not strict enough, we need to find another Taoist temple to guide Fourth Miss.¡±

    He Danggui waved her hands and said, ¡°Don¡¯t look for others. This one is great. People in the Taoist temple, from Master Tai Shan to her disciples, are both very considerate and smart. As long as you tell them your ideas and requests, they must try their best to gratify you. But one thing is important. They don¡¯t like gold or silver. If you give them too much money, they will use all money to make delicious food for guests living in the Taoist temple. In that way, you can¡¯t achieve your expectation.¡±

    Mammy Tang nodded, ¡°OK, I get it. The aim is mortifying and exercising Fourth Miss, so I won¡¯t leave too much money to her. Even though I want to donate, I will donate after taking her home. And I will remind Madam Luo to check the package of Fourth Miss carefully. I won¡¯t let her exploit an advantage and escape from the good chance of molding herself.¡±

    ¡°I hope Fourth Sister can get rid of her bad habits of ying and be the person like Second Sister.¡± He Danggui signed and raised her handkerchief to wipe her nonexistent tears.

    Mammy Tang was worried about these kids of Luo¡¯s Family. She also signed and said sincerely, ¡°If the other Misses living in Luo¡¯s Mansion can have good morality and beautiful looks like you, I¡¯m sure that Luo¡¯s Family will return to the glory when your Grandpa was alive.¡±

    He Danggui tried to be modest, ¡°I¡¯m not as obedient as First Sister, not as quiet as Second Sister, not as clever as Fourth Sister, and not as lovely as Niece Yan. I am not as good as you described.¡± Suddenly, she looked around mysteriously, and changed a low voice to ask, ¡°Mammy Tang, does someone get ill in Luo¡¯s Mansion? If the one is¡­one of the twins of Nephew Wei and Nephew Zhu? Is the symptom some red rash on his chest?¡±

    Mammy Tang was surprised. The cunning emotion shed in her eyes. She asked seriously, ¡°Third Miss, who told you about that? There were only a few people knowing it, and I was the only one among them toe to the Taoist temple and see you. How do you know this?¡±

 Chapter 57 - Not on the list

    <strong>Chapter 57 Not on the list</strong>

    He Danggui was shocked. She rubbed her handkerchief and bit her lower lip for a long time. Then she hesitated and said, ¡°No one of Luo¡¯s Family tells me about this. I dare not deceive you, Mammy Tang. I saw that in my dream. But I wish it was just a dream!¡±

    ¡°In a dream? It¡¯s impossible!¡± Mammy Tang wondered.

    He Danggui nodded and said, ¡°I can¡¯t believe it even when I¡¯m dreaming. I feel that I¡¯m confused and can¡¯t take it seriously. So, I didn¡¯t dare to mention my nightmare ofst night to you at first. But I couldn¡¯t help asking about my nephews to prove that the immortal in my dream was wrong...¡±

    ¡°Nightmare?¡± Mammy Tang gained the key words. She asked, squinting at He Danggui, ¡°What kind of nightmare?¡±

    He Danggui paused and said, ¡°Danggui isn¡¯t timid, but I dare not say these words, for fear of offending my Elder Cousin and his wife. Please don¡¯t tell others that it¡¯s me who tells you the words. Otherwise, others may think that I curse my nephews to death.¡±

    ¡°Death... death?! You said Zhu will die?¡± Mammy Tang screamed.

    He Danggui shrank back, covered her mouth with her hands on the veil, shook her head, and refused to say any word. Mammy Tang was so angry that she pulled He Danggui¡¯s arms. She forced down her anxiety and said softly, ¡°Here are just you and me. You¡¯re a child. You¡¯re innocent. Even if you say something wrong, I won¡¯t me you or go to Younger Mistress Luo to speak ill of you. What you said worries me. Do you want me to guess in the bad direction?¡±

    As soon as He Danggui was in a hurry, she felt itchy on her hands again. She scratched and recalled, ¡°In my dream, I have returned to the East Yard of Luo¡¯s Family. At night, the noises of mice and Aunt Wang¡¯s gambling house really annoyed me, so I put on a dress...¡±

    ¡°You say gambling house?!¡± Mammy Tang interrupted her and asked, ¡°What kind of gambling house is it?¡±

    He Danggui¡¯s eyes widened in surprise with remorse in them. Atst, she looked down at Mammy Tang¡¯s bright eyes and replied, ¡°A few months ago, I overheard the conversation between Aunt Wang and her nephew, Wang Xiaoda. I didn¡¯t mean to do it, but I couldn¡¯t help listening to them when they mentioned my 400 liang sliver. It turned out that they opened an underground gambling house in the mansion. In addition to my meal allowance, they seemed to embezzle the board wages of many servants, all of which were used as gambling money to invest in the underground gambling house.¡±

    After thinking about it, Mammy Tang didn¡¯t believe He Danggui. She asked, ¡°How could it be? If that¡¯s the case, why didn¡¯t someone report it?¡±

    He Danggui exined unhurriedly, ¡°They called nearly all the servants and maids in the mansion to gamble. Even if the other loses money and can¡¯t pay, they are not afraid that the person would repudiate the debt. As long as they remove the name of that person from the list of servants, the board wages of that person will be theirs. However, people whose money have been deducted don¡¯t dare to argue with them because they have the evidence of their gambling money. After a few months¡¯ savings, those people can¡¯t resist the temptation to gamble and want to earn back their own board wages. Then they are cheated by the banker... I heard all these words at that time.¡±

    After hearing the description of He Danggui, Mammy Tang suddenly asked seriously, ¡°But since Third Miss has learned about such a serious crime of Wang Qi¡¯s wife, why don¡¯t you report it to Madam Luo a few months ago? Do you know how harmful the underground gambling house is? When you were not born in early years, there was a big trouble in East Yard because of the gambling by servants. Therefore, any gambling behavior is forbidden in our family! Third Miss, you are also a member of Luo¡¯s Family. Since you know this situation, you should report it in time! Now they have opened the underground gambling house for several months before you tell me. Are you also suspected of shielding?¡±

    ¡°Mammy Tang, I¡¯m wronged!¡± He Danggui cried with her hands over her face, ¡°How undeserved! I¡¯m not protecting Aunt Wang. There is no benefit to me at all! Aunt Wang set the gambling house in the waste cer behind the West Lateral court, so I couldn¡¯t fall asleep at night because of the noisy. What was worse, I had no food because she was in charge of the kitchen, and I had no money to supply my own kitchte. Finally, all of my maids and mammies were upset, and over 10 of them went to serve other masters. Then the remainderined all day and didn¡¯t regard me as their master. So, it¡¯s too difficult to order them do somethings for me. Then I have no choice but to do everything by myself, such as fetching water, cleaning, sewing¡­¡±

    ¡°What!?¡± Hearing her words, Mammy Tang got so angry, ¡°Oh damn! They were sold to Luo¡¯s Mansion and got the monthly allowance, and even their lives were given by their masters. How dare they deceive you against their consciences? Third Miss, why don¡¯t you ask Madam Luo for help?¡±

    He Danggui lowered down her head, and replied in tears, ¡°I intended to ask her for some maids and wanted to beg her for recalling the previous maids and mammies to my yard. But I heard from the remained maids that those who have left go to serve Concubine Mei of Third Uncle or Second Sister in Su Mei Yard, a new yard of her¡­¡±

    ¡°Su Mei Yard?¡± Mammy Tang frowned, ¡°When does Second Miss own the Su Mei Yard? Why don¡¯t I know?¡±

    As time went by, the Second Miss was more and more beautiful with pretty face and grace behavior. Moreover, she was the eldest legitimate daughter of Second Mistress Luo. So, everyone thought she was the most promisingdy, and the indulgent Second Mistress Luo was willing to let her do anything she wanted. A few years passed, sheined that her yard was too small to put somethings. So, Second Mistress Luo gave many empty yards to her as the bath room, study, Guqin room, dance room and so on.

    When the Second Miss had 8 yards, Madam Luo couldn¡¯t help ming Second Mistress Luo that she couldn¡¯t coddle her child madly. After Second Miss got married, there were a few rooms in a yard in her husband¡¯s house. If so, she must feel wronged because of a great drop.

    Then Second Mistress Luo asked the Second Miss to serve the tea and pound the legs for Madam Luo immediately. She said, ¡°As the saying goes, ¡®Raising a son economically and raising a girl generously.¡¯ The daughter should have been spoiled. My daughter, Qiong will go to the imperial pce to serve the Emperor. Now, she was twelve, and she got the menophania. So, there was a short time for her to stay in our Luo¡¯s Mansion. Madam Luo, you should be better to her than to an ¡®outsider¡¯. You should remember it!¡±

    The ¡°outsider¡± must be He Danggui. On the one hand, He Danggui was the granddaughter of Madam Luo. On the other hand, there were two wives who were in charge of Luo¡¯s Family in the past. Grandpa Luo Duzhong married the sisters of Chai¡¯s Family in Chengdu, and both of them were his wives. One was First Miss of Chai¡¯s Family, He Danggui¡¯s biological grandmother who had passed away. She gave birth to Luo Chuanbai of the First Branch and He Danggui¡¯s mother, Luo Chuanqiong. Another was Second Miss of Chai¡¯s Family, current Madam Luo who gave birth to Luo Chuangu of the Second Branch and Luo Chuanpu of the Third Branch.

    Chai¡¯s sisters were born by the same mother, but they turned against each other because of the favor of their husband. Then they hated each other like enemies. They didn¡¯t make peace until Luo Duzhong died of a heart attack. But they never got along well with each other because of the fundamental misunderstandings. Three years ago, the First Madam Luo also passed away. So, Madam Luo became the only elder in East Yard of Luo¡¯s Family. She had a high status only inferior to the Senior Lord Luo Maitong who outmatched the East Yard and West Yard of Luo¡¯s Family and Luo¡¯s Family in the capital.

    It was surprised that He Danggui¡¯s biological grandmother didn¡¯t love her daughter Luo Chuanqiong. What was worse, she took her granddaughter He Danggui as an encumbrance and sent her to a farm. While Madam Luo loved Luo Chuanqiong and He Danggui more. Although Madam Luo couldn¡¯t treat them in the way as her own children, she still protected them. They could not only subsist on the cold Luo¡¯s Mansion in the case that they beloved parents or grandparents had passed away, but also get a yard and monthly allowance. In addition, they didn¡¯t lose contact with the upper-ss social circle.

    In the previous life, every time Luo¡¯s Family distributed money or goods, they always forgot Luo Chuanqiong and He Danggui ¡°carelessly¡±. Then Madam Luo asked specially to make them ¡°remind¡± it. Every time Madam Luo attended celebrity banquets, she always left a seat for He Danggui who was unmarried. She hoped that some madams or childes could like this beautiful girl and ask for her family background or date of birth and eight characters of a horoscope.

    Although there were a lot of people liking He Danggui¡¯s face, no one wanted to marry her when considering her identity as the daughter of the concubine and abandoned girl, as well as her growth environment. In addition, Madam Luo joked excessively, ¡°We are old family friends, so how about letting Yi be Feng¡¯s wife?¡±

    Figuring out He Danggui¡¯s background, the madam who wanted to retreat was tongue-tied. She thought, ¡°Are you kidding me? If Feng marries her as a senior concubine, I still need to think about her farm life. My son Feng will inherit his father¡¯s title in the future. Lumme! I wouldn¡¯t agree this marriage, even if I were a fool, a lunatic or a psycho!

    Therefore, in the previous life, even if Madam Luo tried to let He Danggui integrate into the upper-ss social circle and marry a Childe as a wife, she couldn¡¯t help He Danggui even using the glorious background of Luo¡¯s Family and her noble identity.

    Over ten years, He Danggui was still not on the list and couldn¡¯t be a member of nobledies until she was killed. She still got cursed by Concubine Gu in Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion as ¡°ill-bred¡±, ¡°growing up in the countryside¡±, or ¡°seeing a lot of dirty things¡±. But all people didn¡¯t know that the farmers were much cleaner than these extravagant noble people. If her daughter could grow up, her daughter would still be cursed by others. When her daughter wanted to find a marriage, she was still lower than Zhu Quan¡¯s other daughters.

    Now He Danggui was reborn. She made up her mind that no matter who she chose to marry, she would not marry with the title of ¡°the daughter of the concubine¡± and ¡°abandoned girl¡±. She would scour off the stain on her identity, and show up in a glorious way. He¡¯s Family in the capital didn¡¯t give her a status. Someday, she would gain the status from a family much more distinguished than He¡¯s Family.

 Chapter 58 - Unromantic Gao Jue

    <strong>Chapter 58 Unromantic Gao Jue</strong>

    He Danggui wiped tears and shook her head, ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know. I just heard Su Mei Yard belonged to the first wife of Third Uncle. After she passed away, Third Uncle nned to lock it. Because it would be Second Brother¡¯s study when he grows up. However, the whole family of Third Uncle went to the north for business, so Su Mei Yard was empty. I don¡¯t know when Second Sister settled into Su Mei Yard. I just heard from my maids that almost 10 maids and mammiesing from West Lateral court went to Su Mei Yard to work. And they also said Second Sister is fond of the flowers in Su Mei Yard, so she begged Second Aunt for the key of the Yard.¡±

    Mammy Tang said nothing but signed, ¡°s, Second Miss is doted on by her mother! But I believe Second Mistress Luo can distinctly keep separate between public and private. She knows it fairly well that what she can touch and what she can¡¯t. It¡¯s impossible for her to settle into Su Mei Yard without saying a word to the Third Brunch. I think they may have discussed it, so she can live here for several months. And after Second Miss enjoys the flowers, Third Lord woulde back from the north. It¡¯s not a big deal.¡±

    He Danggui nodded convincingly and said, ¡°Mammy, you¡¯re right. Second Aunt is always professional and loves our family.¡±

    Mammy Tangforted her, ¡°Third Miss, take it easy. Second Miss is spoiled, but she is kind. I guess she didn¡¯t know these maids are from your yard, so she kept them. I will talk to herter and she will give them back to you. Also, I¡¯ll request Madam Luo to clean up the whole West Lateral court so that you can have the same yard. OK?¡±

    He Danggui¡¯s eyes outside the veil were full of fear. She waved her hands to refuse, ¡°No, please don¡¯t talk to my Second Sister about this, Mammy!¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Mammy Tang frowned, ¡°Second Miss is easy-going, so don¡¯t worry about it, Third Miss.¡±

    He Danggui lowered her head and said desultory, ¡°My maids said, there are hearty male at Su Mei Yard and their master eats less than me. I can eat up two bowls of dishes and one bowl of rice every time they sent me at midnight. At Su Mei Yard, there are tables of delicacies, and the master eats a bit before she rewarded the meal to them¡­ In addition, the maids can have a lot of reward. Dozens of brocades will be sent in their house monthly. And they will have new clothes if their master doesn¡¯t like the color or design of brocades¡­ Besides, their pouches will be filled with silver and cash within days, jingling on their waists, which sounds great¡­ And they also said the differences between the stingy peasant girl like me and their new master are so huge¡­¡±

    Mammy Tang¡¯s hands itched again. She got mad as she scratched, ¡°Those bitches gossip too much, but not serving their master. How terrible! I will teach them a lesson afterwards. They won¡¯t dare to disrespect you ever again!¡±

    He Danggui stopped her again, ¡°Don¡¯t stoop to their level and let them go. They had served me before. And they have suffered a lot before I came to the Taoist temple. Certainly, after I was ¡®dead¡¯, they went to other yards to serve new masters. But I don¡¯t want to call them back for serving and separating them with their masters when Ie back home.¡±

    Mammy Tang thought for a moment and promised, ¡°I don¡¯t want those ingrates to serve you, either. I¡¯ll send someone to Qingcaoniu market, picking out some new ones for you, Third Miss, and finding some good ones to serve you in your daily life.¡±

    He Danggui refused, ¡°The new maids who are purchased outside also don¡¯t know each other. It will take more energy to get along with them. I¡¯m sure I¡¯m passionate and sincere to people, but even if I give more than 1 liang silver ingot monthly allowance to people, I can¡¯t get a true heart. In the end, I¡¯m reduced to theughingstock of others, and I will feel very sad. Therefore, I would like to ask Mammy to make a decision, and don¡¯t send any new maids to the West Lateral court. I like to be quiet and don¡¯t need to be served. Chan Yi is good enough for me.¡±

    Mammy Tang thought she was pitiful, so sheforted her instantly, ¡°Third Miss, don¡¯t be sad. Some time ago, Madam Luo asked the Master Prophet, Qi Xuanyu, to tell your fortune. The master said that you would have a good future and marry a good family. The good days are still ahead! Don¡¯t take those snobbish people¡¯s words to heart. It¡¯s better to slow down the selection of maids. We can talk about this after Madam Luo recovers the 400 liang silver ingot for you. And you said just now a Taoist nun in the temple also wants to be your maid? Is she called Gui Zhi or Gui Hua?¡±

    ¡°Her name is Huai Hua. She¡¯s 17 years old.¡± He Danggui said slowly, ¡°Although I¡¯m not familiar with her, she¡¯s quite respectful to me and obedient. Every time Imand anything, she runs to do it immediately. It¡¯s very different from my former maids. They don¡¯t always hear what I said. Besides, I didn¡¯t promise to take her away. But she doesn¡¯t care about it very much. She just asked if I would ask around for her. If I can¡¯t, she will make another n.¡±

    Mammy Tang nodded, and pped her hands, ¡°It seems that the nuns here are still simple and unsophisticated. Unlike some little girls in the mansion, they only know how to prick up themselves all day. They are full of bad ideas. In this case, I will make a decision without authorization. As long as you like the nuns in the Taoist temple, Third Miss, you can take her home and she will be your maid after she resumes secr life.¡±

    He Danggui was grateful sincerely, ¡°Thank you very much, Mammy. The more considerate people around me are, the more troubles I could save.¡±.

    ¡°I often say to the servants that the masters of Luo¡¯s Family are the best. We are very lucky to meet such good masters. The first thing to be a servant is loyalty. People can be stupid,zy, greedy, and the masters won¡¯t me them for that. But if a servant doesn¡¯t take the master seriously and has two faces, he will break his job and have no face to eat the meal that the master rewards.¡± Mammy Tang¡¯s words turned sharp, staring at He Danggui¡¯s eyes, and said sternly, ¡°I n to go back to Luo¡¯s Mansion immediately. I will report to Madam Luo what happened to you, and then bring Fourth Miss to the Taoist temple to make amends for you. But Third Miss, you scared me really. You said you saw in your dream that Master Zhu would die. You can¡¯t talk about it again when you go home!¡±

    He Danggui nodded hesitantly and promised, ¡°I will keep it in my mind, Mammy.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll take this cloth back as it is, and I won¡¯t leave the make-up for you, either, Third Miss. I¡¯ll take it back and ask Jiu Gu to have a test and see what they are.¡± Speaking of this, Mammy Tang felt heartache. When did the innocent and lively Fourth Miss learn to use poison? She used to be a na?ve and lively girl.

    He Danggui said apologetically, ¡°It¡¯s all my faults. Now Mammy Tang suffers itch and has to go home hastily in the evening. I will get upset for letting you run back and forth four times.¡± Then she took out a small wooden box and opened it, ¡°I found a prescription in a book identally, and made 4 pills for avoiding motion sickness and aying tiredness ording to that prescription. I was going to use it with Mammy on the way back. Since I will stay at the Taoist temple for two more days, I will make more pills for us. Please don¡¯t abandon it. You can eat some on your way home.¡±

    Mammy Tang epted it with both hands and smiled, ¡°You are so considerate, Third Miss. Thanks a lot.¡± Though she thanked Third Miss, she didn¡¯t take it to heart and thought a pill made by a child, like Third Miss, wouldn¡¯t be that effective. She would eat these pills as candies.

    He Danggui thought for a while and enjoined, ¡°I remember it is said on the book that this pill should be sucked. You don¡¯t need to take it with water or chew. They will melt after a while.¡±

    ¡°OK, I get it.¡± Mammy Tang enjoined her, too, ¡°Third Miss, take a good rest. If you feel itchy, try not to scratch your hands. It will be worse if you break the skin. I will go back home and ask Jiu Gu if there are any method to relieve itching. By the morning of the day after tomorrow at thetest, I¡¯lle back and pick you home. Please wait patiently, Third Miss.¡± After finishing, she left.

    He Danggui followed her to the door of the yard. She waved her hanky gracefully and said friendly, ¡°Take your time and bon voyage, Mammy!¡±

    Seeing Mammy Tang¡¯s figure disappeared around the corner, she removed the veil and ordered, ¡°Chan Yi, we will leave here tomorrow. I need to chat with Sister Zhen Zhu. You and Huai Hua pack up our luggage quickly and bring some snacks and Hawthorn tea on the way home. Don¡¯t forget to bring the cotton-padded mattress. We can put it on the gharry. Or you will feel ufortable during our journey for several hours.¡±

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù

    In the morning, Gao Jue got off the boat. There were reflections of sceneries of Qin Huai River on the water, such as the roofs, ornamental perforated windows and barges, apanied by the waves. Though it was cold at this season, verdant willow branches still danced with the wind and formed a highly characteristic countryndscape. Across the bridge, you could see a red house through bushy willow branches. This was the only one red building in Yinma Town.

    Gao Jue went into this manor at ease and went straight to the main hall.

    This manor was built leaning the mountains. It was not big but very imposing and unique. While this was not its most attractive feature. The most attractive feature was that there were a lot of white sands on the manor¡¯s road, which only could be seen on the beach. It was very unique and suited the flowers and trees on the manor.

    Gao Jue went across the main hall, the curved corridor, and then got to another yard. The yard was silent and its windows and doors of the north side were closed. But you could smell wine aromas wafted up from this yard. The wind rolled up the fallen leaves.

    ¡°Gao, catch the wine!¡±

    After the voice, the yard¡¯s window was opened. A ck stuff flied toward Gao Jue¡¯s head. He didn¡¯t look up but avoided it. Then that stuff shed a graceful arc and fell on the ground. ¡°Bang!¡± It broke into fragments. And the mellow wine aromas wafted through the atrium.

    Liao Zhiyuan was so angry when he saw the 9-year aged Jiaxing wine spilling on the ground. He caught the window frame and yelled, ¡°Why don¡¯t you catch it? You are sock of romance!¡±

    Gao Jue went into the yard, poker-faced. He sat by the table and caught up the half-left wine. Then he poured the wine into his mouth. Using the word ¡°pour¡± was because he was too hurried that a lot of liquid wasn¡¯t being drunk but poured at his ck-beard chin. He only drank a little, while the rest was spilled on his long robe. The robe made by ck brocade was with a round cor.

    After drinking, he threw the empty wine jar from the window and theny on the bed. He faced the wall and started to catnap.

 Chapter 59 - Donâ€™t bother me with your â€œgirlâ€

    <h4>Chapter 59 Don¡¯t bother me with your ¡°girl¡±</h4>

    Liao Zhiyuan was leaning against the window frame with astonishment, looking at Gao Jue, who was ¡°more annoying than usual¡±. He didn¡¯t understand his grumpy look of ¡°someone owes me 10,000 liang silver¡±. But, but, it seemed that he really owed him 100 liang silver for winest time... Liao Zhiyuan rolled his lynx-like eyes and nced at Gao Jue guiltily. ¡°Oh, no. Is he here to ask for money? Gao, we are friends that could almost be sworn to live or die together. We don¡¯t have to make the ount so clear, do we?¡± He thought.

    Before Liao Zhiyuan coulde up with any result, the empty wine jar in Gao Jue¡¯s hand flied past and grazed Liao Zhiyuan¡¯s auricle closely, finallynding on the top of thest pile of debris in the yard.

    Liao Zhiyuan rubbed his painful auricle and shouted angrily, ¡°Fuck! Did the donkey kick your head? Does it take that much effort to throw a wine jar? Do you have so much Zhenqi that you got nowhere to use it?¡± Then he thought, ¡°Even if he wants to ask for the wine ount of 100 liang silver, he has to sit down and have a good talk. How could he be so rude? However, I am a little short of money this month and need to ask him for help now...¡±

    Thinking of this, Liao Zhiyuan cleared his throat and said gently to the back side of Gao Jue¡¯s head, while Gao Jue was facing the wall, ¡°Gao, I have received a letter from Gezhu yesterday, saying that your mission to Yangzhou City was over fulfilled. He was very satisfied and gave you a goodpliment! By the way, there is also a name list of people whom you are going to kill next month in the letter. Since you¡¯re in a bad mood now, let me read it for you to work off your anger!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Jin Dachong is a jeweler, 54 years old, from Fengyang County. He has a mole on his nose. And there is his portrait... Xu Sandiao is the head of Da Diao Escort, 49 years old, from Huai¡¯an City. He has no index finger on his left hand. And there is his portrait... Ma Yaozu, from Huzhou City...¡± Liao Zhiyuan read the ¡°killing list¡± with a cadence, which made people think that he was reading the ¡°introduction list¡± of some popr novels.

    ¡°...¡±

    After a long time, Liao Zhiyuan finally finished reading the list, and the room fell into a short silence. After a while, Liao Zhiyuan said in a friendly way, ¡°Gao, I heard that you have a 12-day-long holiday this month. Do you have any traveling n?¡±

    ¡°...¡± The figure facing the wall was motionless, as if he had fallen asleep.

    Liao Zhiyuan kept on saying, ¡°It¡¯s really cold today! I¡¯ve heard that the first snow has fallen in the north. It looks like... Well, it¡¯s like a beauty! Yes, that¡¯s right. When you see that beautiful scene, you will immediately think of the most beautiful woman you have ever seen! As you know, Yingtian Prefecture belongs to the south. It only snows a little in the midwinter, and the snow always melt before falling to the ground. When you go out, mud spots are all over your boots and the hem of clothes. It¡¯s really annoying snow. But the snow in the north is totally different...¡±

    Gao Jue suddenly sat up from the bed and growled, ¡°If you have something to say, finish quickly, then go away!¡±

    Shouted by Gao Jue, Liao Zhiyuan froze for a moment. But he did not care about Gao Jue¡¯s bad attitude. When Liao Zhiyuan hurriedly went to the bed, his handsome face became anxious and he requested Gao Jue with a soft voice, ¡°I have something personal that I would like you to help me with, because I trust you. So, Gao, my brother, please help me!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Gao Jue said coldly, ¡°I¡¯m tired of meddlesome matters.¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan pretended to smile, tried to ignore Gao Jue¡¯s bad attitude and said, ¡°This matter is rted to my sister. She is in danger.¡±

    ¡°Come on, women issue again? No way!¡± Gao Jue immediately refused, ¡°Well, if you have finished, you can get out of here!¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan resisted his impulse to beat him. Although he had known Gao Jue had tough and arbitrary personality, he did not expect that Gao Jue was not even willing to offer a chance to discuss! He thought their brotherhood was strong, eternal and durable. Then Liao Zhiyuan thought for a while and awkwardly said, ¡°Gao Jue, don¡¯t you remember? When we went to Fengyang City for a case, we had a fight with a group of masked men, and I was stabbed to protect you. Don¡¯t you know what gratitude is? Gao Jue, think carefully, is this your attitude to talk to your savior?¡±

    Gao Jue let out a sneer from his chest, ¡°But I saved you more in the past few years. You won¡¯t be here if I didn¡¯t save you one less time. When ites to gratitude, we can calcte it well.¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan rushed towards Gao Jue and grabbed his cor, looked at his impassive face and gnashed his teeth, ¡°Gao Jue, Are we friends? Should you offer your help if your friend is in trouble?¡±

    ¡°A friend¡¯s girl, never.¡± Gao Jue turned his face away.

    Liao Zhiyuan felt very embarrassed, beat his chest and said, ¡°Please, she is my sib sister, not my girl.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s a woman, too.¡±

    ¡°Gao Jue, are you serious to sit by while my sister is in danger?¡± Liao Zhiyuan issued an ultimatum.

    There was a long silence. Gao Jue fell back to lie on the bed again and made intermittent snore. Obviously, he was indicating that Liao Zhiyuan should leave. To him, the phrase ¡°sitting by while others in danger¡± applied to him was nothing but a praise.

    Liao Zhiyuan had no idea to start it. Then he took a deep breath and put a smile back on his face. He slowly took out a small gourd from his chest, slowly uncorked the stopper and said, ¡°That smells so good...¡± As Gao Jue¡¯s good friend for many years, he knew exactly Gao Jue¡¯s weakness.

    It was clear that the snoring in the room disappeared.

    Liao Zhiyuan felt happy, but dared not show his feelings on his face. Then he sniffed at the gourd and looked intoxicated. ¡°It smells so good! One could only have a taste of it in the paradise! No matter how it smells, it¡¯s ¡ª wine aromas...¡±

    Gao Jue stood up and took an oblique nce at that small gourd. From his perspective, there was not enough wine in the gourd for him to drink. But that smelt quite good! What wine was that? He couldn¡¯t smell it! Was it because of the distance? Gao Jue stared at Liao Zhiyuan with anger and began to bargain, ¡°Far from enough! You are stingier than I thought. Well, let me examine it first.¡±

    He took the bait! Liao Zhiyuan was so pleased, but looked expressionless still, ¡°This is my treasure and I never said I would give it to you! I only smell it when I am unhappy.¡± He told the truth. Everything he did was for his troublesome sister, or he would never let anyone touch the gourd.

    He refused him! Gao Jue did not hesitate and without warning he appeared in front of Liao Zhiyuan instantly. He used his index and middle fingers of his left hand to prick on Liao Zhiyuan¡¯s eyes while grabbed that small gourd with his right hand. Everything happened so fast that Liao Zhiyuan receded to avoid hurriedly. Liao Zhiyuan didn¡¯t expect Gao Jue to be so shameless. Gao Jue¡¯s right hand that came to grab the gourd seemed to have a suction force, and the gourd couldn¡¯t be shaken off after touching the gourd. Liao Zhiyuan held off for a moment, then let Gao Jue take it away because he was afraid of spilling his precious wine.

    Gao Jue sat back on the bed, put the gourd to his nose and sniffed, lifted his head and drained the wine out. The little golden gourd finished its mission and was thrown into the flowers outside of the window. He yawned, fell back to the bed with a thud sound, and soon began to snore again.

    Liao Zhiyuan looked at this looter surprisingly. How, how could Gao Jue drink all his precious wine in one gulp? He had gone through great trouble to steal... No, it was the result of his hard work! Although he was not a simple man, he dared to cooperate with Gao Jue because he knew him well.

    ¡°It must be delicious! Although I didn¡¯t taste a drop, only the smell of the wine was enough for me to be intoxicated.¡± Liao Zhiyuan heaved a sigh and began to talk to himself gloomily, ¡°What am I going to do without the gourd? I won¡¯t be able to smell that again ever since, will I?¡±

    Gao Jue was lying on the bed but he was not asleep. ¡°Why is that wine so delicious?¡± Gao Jue seemed to be infected with the mncholy that came from Liao Zhiyuan, ¡°Will I be able to drink that again? Will I...be able to see her bright eyes again?¡±

    ¡°But, that¡¯s okay!¡± Liao Zhiyuan suddenly changed into a lilting tone and said, ¡°There are two more jars hidden in my house! I must had done a lot of good things in my previous life, so I can have such an ingenious sister this life.¡±

    ¡°Two jars!¡± Gao Jue sprang from the bed and seized Liao Zhiyuan¡¯s cor with such force that Liao Zhiyuan almost choked, ¡°In your house?¡±

    ¡°Yep.¡± Liao Zhiyuan winked gravely.

    Gao Jue became clever this time and asked discreetly, ¡°How big the jar is?¡± Actually, he wanted to know if there were two more small wine jars.

    Liao Zhiyuan drew the outline of a mango with his hands and smiled before Gao Jue¡¯s eyes, ¡°It was this size.¡±

    ¡°I want them both.¡± Gao Jue pulled Liao Zhiyuan¡¯s sleeve and shook it. He asked reluctantly, ¡°Give them to me.¡± It was very rare for Gao Jue to say this kind pleading words because he always robbed whatever he wanted.

    Liao Zhiyuan spread out his hands innocently, ¡°But the wine is not mine. The gourd is all I have and you robbed it. My sister has all the wines. Tell you what, hiding things is her hobby. She likes to hide gold, silver, jewels, woks, bowls, wine and meat. No one, not even dogs, can find the staffs she has hidden! I want the wine as well but I cannot find it!¡±

    ¡°Are you lying to me?¡± Gao Jue narrowed his eyes in suspicion and looked at Liao Zhiyuan who had a face of kind, harmless and innocent.

    ¡°What? Can¡¯t you trust me? I won¡¯t hide it from you. In fact, my sister made these wines by herself and only she could make them in the world!¡± Liao Zhiyuan pped his chest with pride and promised, ¡°As long as you find my sister and bring her to me in an unscathed and lively manner, I will let her make another 10 jars for you!¡±

    ¡°Are you saying that woman can make wines?¡±

    ¡°All I said is true and I guarantee with my credibility!¡±

    ¡°You have no credibility at all.¡±

    ¡°You poker-face...¡± Liao Zhiyuan gritted his teeth and pressed his anger to exin the truth to Gao Jue, ¡°Although my family is not as rich and glorious as yours, it is also a wealthy and influential family in Ming Zhao Fang of the capital and I have family there. I can run, but I can¡¯t hide all the time. Are you still afraid that I won¡¯t give you the wines?¡±

    Gao Jue was silent for a while, considering how likely Liao Zhiyuan was to abscond with the wine. Finally, he said, ¡°Just tell me, what¡¯s wrong with that stupid woman? Even you can¡¯t solve it?¡±

    Bingo! Gao Jue was willing to help him, which meant that his sister¡¯s life could be saved and his heart could be put down. Although Gao Jue was cruel, defiant, abominable, taciturn, arrogant, unsociable, annoying and aggressive, in Liao Zhiyuan¡¯s eyes, no one could be more reliable than him in this world. Liao Zhiyuan took out a geographic map from his arms and pointed at the northeast direction, ¡°My sister is missing here.¡±

    ¡°Changbai Mount? Why don¡¯t you find her by yourself?¡±

    ¡°I really want to go, but Gezhu just gave me a very urgent task. Sure, no matter what task is, it¡¯s less important than my sister. But the main reason is that as long as my sister sees me, she will run away.¡±

    ¡°Run away?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, because she¡¯s running away from home now.¡±

    ¡°Let her go. Why are you bothering finding her?¡±

    ¡°s, I know the girls are not staying when they grow up,¡± Liao Zhiyuan sighed heavily, ¡°But I only have this one sister. And what ce is Changbai Mount? My beautiful sister is going to be a meal of ck bears, tigers and elephants soon! Ah, my pitiful sister...¡± After saying, Liao Zhiyuan cried and covered his face.

    Gao Jue didn¡¯t buy his tears. He interrupted the loud crying sound, and imed seriously, ¡°10 jars of wines, packed in this size.¡± Then, Gao Jue gesticted a watermelon-sized circle with his hands.

    ¡°Deal.¡±

 Chapter 60 - Marry her sister

    <h4>Chapter 60 Marry her sister</h4>

    Liao Zhiyuan thought it over and enjoined uneasily, ¡°Gao, my sister is clever and lively. Although she doesn¡¯t know Kungfu, she has a lot of spooky ideas, speaks strangely and behaves very differently from all women. I can¡¯t tell you her situation clearly in a few words. But after you find her, you must seal her Daxue acupoint and mute acupoint first. She won¡¯t be able to escape in this way! Sometimes she will talk nonsense. Don¡¯t believe a word of hers; sometimes she will say that she is not my sister. Don¡¯t buy that, either. I saw her born with my own eyes, and she is my sib sister indeed!¡±

    Gao Jue frowned and reluctantly nodded. He thought, ¡°What a troublesome woman. Given this situation, I¡¯ll bring a bup, and then knock her out and put her in it when I find her.¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan continued, ¡°My sister is 16-year-old. So, when you¡­hold her into the carriage, you must be careful¡­ The only way you can hold her to the carriage is on her arms, like this.¡± Liao Zhiyuan stood with Gao Jue face to face and cautiously hold Gao Jue¡¯s elbows with absorption, like his sister was now standing opposite him. Liao Zhiyuan emphasized, ¡°Be careful! She is unmarried! It is improper for men and women to touch each other!¡±

    Gao Jue was annoyed at Liao Zhiyuan¡¯s intimate behavior and red at the tip of his nose with a long face.

    Liao Zhiyuan took two steps back with embarrassment and touched his nose, ¡°And, my sister, unlike any other women, doesn¡¯t like embroidery, cosmetics, calligraphy or martial arts, but she likes doing retail business. And she doesn¡¯t care about her identity as the Miss of Liao¡¯s Family but to be a peddler. She always takes tea-cups, tes and bowls from my house to hawk at night fair in the capital, iming all those staffs were ¡®precious antiques¡¯, or such weird words.¡±

    Hearing this, Gao Jue thought with deep frown, ¡°A silly woman? Could she really make wine? Is he cheating me?¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan gave him hints again, ¡°A few days before she left home, she always said, ¡®so the ginseng in ancient time are at bottom price¡¯ ¡®two jins of ginseng are only worth 200 RMB¡¯. I waspletely confused. Tell you what, my sister fell down to the ground when she climbed a tree at the age of 8. Unfortunately, her head got hurt in here. After that when she came to her senses, she started to say strange words.¡± Liao Zhiyuan pointed a finger at his temple.

    Gao Jue suddenly realized that she was indeed a silly woman, so he asked, ¡°My wine¡­¡±

    ¡°Fuck! Just hear me out!¡± Liao Zhiyuan interrupted him in a sulk and continued, ¡°My sister brought a maid, a manservant and a great amount of money when she left home. 3 years ago, my family¡¯s financial authority was held by her, so I don¡¯t know how much money she brought exactly, but I¡¯m sure it was more than 1,000 liang silver. My dear friend. Think about that, a pretty woman with lots of money, knowing nothing about martial arts. What a perfect prey in robbers¡¯ eyes! Also, my sister is a material woman. She once said she would marry the richest man in the dynasty. So, keep your mind off her.¡±

    Seeing Gao Jue¡¯s face being cold, Liao Zhiyuan changed the topic and continued to say the clues, ¡°After leaving home, she hired a carriage to drive north. She ended up in Donggua Town at the foot of Changbai Mount without rest. She walked around all the retail shops and wholesale ginseng stores there. ording to the manservant she brought, she was doing a ¡®market survey¡¯. Then she heard that buying ginseng from the peasants would be much cheaper. Those living in Changbai Mount worked on digging ginseng as their living, and she could make deals with them at the lowest price. So, she went to Changbai Mount with the maid and the manservant.¡±

    ¡°How did that manservante back alone? Did that woman drop herself down the cliff?¡± Gao Jue asked with no expression.

    ¡°Hey! Don¡¯t say that!¡± Liao Zhiyuan said angrily, ¡°How could you say something like that? There was a heavy snow on the half-way through, and that manservant was actually my trusted subordinate. He thought it was dangerous to go up Changbai Mount under such snow, so he kept dissuading my sister from doing it. However, my sister was tired of his constant talking, so she managed to knock him out and tie him up, and then she went into the mountain with a teenage maid. After the manservant waked up, he loosed himself and went up the mountain to find them, but he failed. Therefore, he had toe home to report his dereliction of duty. Gao, the manservant has some martial arts bases, so I felt my sister was safer with hispany. But now she and her maid were both weak girls who wouldin about their feet hurting after mere steps. How could I not be worried about them?¡±

    ¡°I heard you. I will rest half a day and ride a post-horse to Donggua Town.¡± Gao Jue added, ¡°10 big earthen jars of wines, my goods for your sister, or I will pull out all her hair on the spot.¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan got scared and waved his hands quickly, ¡°No, no, no, I only have two of them in my house and they were hidden by my sister! Don¡¯t worry, Gao, you will get your wine for sure. Once my sister gets home, I will lock her up and make her brew me 10 jars of wine! If you couldn¡¯t get your wine within 2 months¡­ I will send her to you as a concubine and let her make mine for you every day!¡±

    Gao Jue wasn¡¯t satisfied and said, ¡°I only ask for wine. If you dy me for half a month, you pay me an extra jar of wine. And you have 2 months at most.¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan thought his demands weren¡¯t gone too far, so he said, ¡°If you say so. But, when my sisteres back, I need her to be safe, clean and unharmed. Also¡­her reputation and purity should not be offended.¡±

    Gao Jue nodded coolly, ¡°Deal.¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan released a sigh of breath but suddenly showed an expression of banter,ying his hand on Gao Jue¡¯s shoulder, ¡°Gao, since Gezhu (here refers to the head of Changye Tower) had said you did a good job, why were you acting angry just now? You know my memory is better than yours. I recall you just said ¡®Come on, women issue again? No way!¡¯ I wonderst time which woman¡¯s business made you angry like this?¡±

    The way Gao Jue looked at Liao Zhiyuan was scarily cold, and then he stared at the hand on his shoulder and said indifferently, ¡°Get your hand off me.¡±

    But Liao Zhiyuan wasn¡¯t frightened of Gao Jue¡¯s killing eyes because he was in a good mood. He smiled, ¡°That day when we left the Taoist temple, did Master Duan pull you over and tell you something? I didn¡¯t get some achievements in some other fields, but when ites to my hearing, due to my hard practicing, I can hear some details that others can¡¯t.¡±

    Gao Jue once again looked at Liao Zhiyuan and said coldly, ¡°Who cares what you heard? I¡¯m tired. If you want to talk, go to somewhere else.¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan¡¯s lynx-like eyes stared back at Gao Jue. There was a dimple in his left cheek because of smiling. He continued, ¡°The third thing I¡¯m good at is my discernment and it¡¯s the best among all the imperial guards. When we were in that mountain path before, I found that Master Duan was interested in Miss He even when she dressed as a Taoist nun. So, I advised him to take her home, and after few years, just marry her as a concubine. But you all thought I was talking nonsense. However, only a few days passed, Master Duan fell in love with Miss He. He didn¡¯t even ask his mother¡¯s opinion before he proposed properly to her. Gao, how do you judge my insight, eh? Am I kind of a fortune-teller? But this time, I¡¯m a little bit confused¡­ Did that girl really have such charm that Master Duan wasn¡¯t the only one falling in love?¡±

    Gao Jue¡¯s thick eyebrows were frowned into two peaks. He squinted and asked, ¡°What exactly do you want to say?¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan stoppedughing in jest and squinted at Gao Jue¡¯s poker face, then he said coolly, ¡°Gao, actually your thought is easier to guess than Master Duan¡¯s, because you only have one expression when there¡¯s nothing in your mind. But if not, your face will show various subtle expressions. Just when I said the two words ¡®Miss He¡¯, your eye pupils suddenly shrunk with unnoticeable changes, and your eyelids also twitched slightly. Besides, do you remember thatst time when we talked about Miss He in the Taoist temple, you showed an impatient expression, and said ¡®I¡¯m not interested in knowing others¡¯ businesses. Two days ago, I heard something about Miss He. Are you still not interested in others¡¯ business?¡±

    Gao Jue said nothing with his poker face, but Liao Zhiyuan who was close enough to him could still feel Gao Jue¡¯s muscle was tight, unconsciously revealing the answer which Gao Jue didn¡¯t speak out. Liao Zhiyuan sighed and suddenly asked, ¡°I heard that when Gao¡¯s Family and Ling¡¯s Family proposed marriage, your fianc¨¦e was not Ling Miaoqi, your present wife, right?¡±

    Gao Jue coldly nced at Liao Zhiyuan, and didn¡¯t understand why he suddenly turned the topic to Gao Jue¡¯s family issue rather than He Danggui.

    Liao Zhiyuan continued, ¡°I heard your father-inw, Lord Ling, married two wives before. They were equal to call each other ¡®sister¡¯. One is Ms. Li, the other is Ms. He. Ms. Li gave birth to Second Miss, Ling Miaoqi, and Ms. He gave birth to First Miss, Ling Miaochun, and Third Miss, Ling Miaoyi.¡±

    Gao Jue¡¯s face darkened and he said coldly, ¡°Who told you these things? Why did you ask these? Deputy General Liao, just mind your own business!¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan didn¡¯t answer Gao Jue¡¯s question, just raised a wine jar with a force of his tiptoe, tore the sealing paper and drank it. Then he threw it to Gao Jue andughed boldly, ¡°The only way to solve your grief is to drink. Come on, let¡¯s drink our fill!¡±

    Gao Jue held the wine jar but didn¡¯t drink, just silently looking at the white beach outside the window. It seemed that something came to his mind.

    Liao Zhiyuan said slowly, ¡°I heard when you offered the bride-price, the one you wanted to marry was First Miss Ling Miaochun. I also heard that you two grew up together so you have profound feelings. You could have married First Miss of Ling¡¯s Family as long as you got things done in Yunnan Prefecture and returned to the capital. As the Emperor had promised, you would have be the General of Strategy, Deputy Fifth-Grade, and have got the honor of granting the marriage through imperial edict. But I also heard that... Before you returned to the capital, First Miss of Ling¡¯s Family and her mother, Ms. He, died of an idental fire. The marriage of Gao¡¯s Family and Ling¡¯s Family should be canceled, but Lord Ling still wanted you to be his handsome son-inw, so he discussed with Lord Gao that changing your fianc¨¦e Ling Miaochun into Second Miss Ling Miaoqi.¡±

    Hearing this, Gao Jue¡¯s expression was so dark like a cloudy day before raining. He held a wine jar and drank half while poured another half on his head, face and cor. He was also choked to cough while drinking, making him nonplussed.

    Liao Zhiyuan shook his head and sighed, ¡°A couple loved each other dearly but suddenly got separated because of death, without saying goodbye, which was not the most pitiful thing. The most pitiful thing was that Ling¡¯s Family and Gao¡¯s Family had reached a tacit agreement to hide the news of Ling Miaochun¡¯s death from the outside world. After you returned to the capital from Yunnan Prefecture, you had no idea about Ling Miaochun¡¯s death.¡±

    Gao Jue threw the empty jar out of the window by convention and lied on the couch, panting and coughing.

    ¡°Every time when you went to Ling¡¯s Mansion to find your sweetheart, Lord Ling would receive you personally. He then told you that because the marriage was around the corner, ording to the old custom, the bridegroom and the bride could not meet. Otherwise, it was not good for the bride¡¯s reputation. In fact, there were loopholes in his words. A smart guy like you was not supposed to be easily persuaded. But you had already regarded Lord Ling as your father-inw, and there was no reason not to believe what he said.¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan also lied beside Gao Jue and stared at a cobweb with a spider on the beam for a long time. Suddenly, he took a breath and blew the cobweb and spider to the ground together. Many seniors in Jianghu could send out Zhenqi from their bodies, and even form a substantial sword qi or a wall of qi at both ends of the attack and defense during the fight.

    Liao Zhiyuan¡¯s skill was not shocking, but a real shocking scene appeared. The cobweb and spider that fell on the ground were both hung with ayer of ice frost. First, they broke into a circle of ice dregs, eliminated a thick white fog, and then there was nothing on the bluestone floor after the fog disappeared. Among all the Eight-Grade Generals of Armed Escort or above, Liao Zhiyuan¡¯s martial arts was not on the top 10 list. The strength of the world-famous Armed Escort could be seen from this.

    Looking at Gao Jue¡¯s rare embarrassment, Liao Zhiyuan sneered and said, ¡°Gao, you had endured for more than a month and finally reached the wedding date. You must be impatient with all the red tape on the wedding ceremony. When you finally got rid of all the toasting and congratting guests and thought of your long-awaited lover in red, sitting beside the bed, shy and timid, Gao, you must be very happy.¡±

    Gao Jue¡¯s face turned gloomy. Unexpectedly, his deepest secret was revealed like this¡ª

    ¡°But all the tenderness and sweetness froze when the red cover was lifted. Although the delicate face under the red cover was also shy, from the eyes and eyebrows, she was not First Miss Ling Miaochun, but her half-sister, Second Miss Ling Miaoqi. On the day you got your title, you not only heard the news of your lover¡¯s death, but also married her sister.¡±

 Chapter 61 - Help! Miss He

    <h4>Chapter 61 Help! Miss He</h4>

    Gao Juey there. His eyes were half closed, but there were constant snores under his nose. Liao Zhiyuan didn¡¯t know whether he was asleep or awake.

    ¡°So what? People who lied to you were your father and father-inw, so you couldn¡¯t hack them. The woman who married you was passionately devoted to you over the years, and you watched her growing up like a sister. You couldn¡¯t hit or scold her. Moreover, Lord Ling said clearly that everything was his arrangement, and his second daughter just obeyed him. He wanted you to be kind to her.¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan stretched on the wide couch, and his whole body spread-eagled. He squeezed Gao Jue to the end of the couch, and theughter came from deep inside his chest, ¡°And Lord Ling also said what he did is for your own good, because you were a man of love and loyalty. If you had known the death of your fianc¨¦e before marriage, you wouldn¡¯t have married any other women, perhaps you would have stubbornly mourned for his eldest daughter Ling Miaochun for 3 years. Then Lord Gao continued to say that you would be 26-year-old by then. If you had not married a wife, it would not have been easy for concubines to marry in, then your offspring would be more impossible. There are three forms of unfilial conducts, and the worst is to have no descendants. He ordered you to think about who was more important, a dead woman or the parents who hoped to have grandchildren.¡±

    Gao Jue opened his eyes suddenly, and asked coldly, ¡°Who told you all of these? Even Lu Jiangbei and Duan Xiaolou don¡¯t know the story as much as you do.¡±

    Lu Jiangbei and Gao Jue joined the Imperial Guards in the same year, and Lu Jiangbei¡¯s rank grade was still above Gao Jue¡¯s. It could be said that he was Gao Jue¡¯s superior and the best friend. Gao Jue was difficult to get along with because his unsociable personality made him an isted character. Lu Jiangbei was the only one who could get along well with him in the whole Department of Imperial Guard.

    Although Duan Xiaolou was Gao Jue¡¯s cousin, their tempers were extremely different. They didn¡¯t like each other, and their verbalmunication was almost reced by nonverbalmunication. If they felt a little bit displeased, they would punch each other immediately. And when Gao Jue was married, Duan Xiaolou and Liao Zhiyuan were still practicing Hanqing Cold Palm in De¡¯an¡¯s Wujianmen School, Duan Xiaolou just heard a little about Gao Jue¡¯s ¡°marriage secrets¡± from Duan¡¯s mother, but Liao Zhiyuan knew it clearly as if he had seen it on the scene, which made Gao Jue suspicious.

    ¡°Sometimes people are not out of pain, they just learn to live with the pain.¡± Liao Zhiyuan was not affected by Gao Jue¡¯s questions. Instead, he chuckled and turned to look at Gao Jue¡¯s cold eyes, ¡°Gao, I heard that after you got married, you changed your non-womanizing temper, and took 8 concubines continuously in a separate courtyard outside the mansion. Also, you allowed two of them to give birth to a son and a girl for you. You really have boundless fortune in love affairs.¡±

    Seeing that Gao Jue didn¡¯t respond, Liao Zhiyuan continued, ¡°Although Lord Gao and Madam Gao achieved their wishes that they got their lovely grandchildren happily, your new wife was so jealous that she went to the separate courtyard and gouged out the four eyes of the two concubines. But presumably the two concubines were not your loved one. You didn¡¯t even uphold justice for them after the incident, just directly sent them to the nunnery outside the city, and arranged a few senior subordinates to protect the six frightened concubines left. I never thought that a woman growing up in a literary family like Ling¡¯s Family would be so heartless and cruel. Since Third Miss Ling Miaoyi has such a sister, which man dares to marry her?¡±

    Gao Jue frowned and exined, ¡°She was just temporarily angry and also very regretful afterwards, so she cared for the son and daughter of the two concubines to express her guilt for them.¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan looked at him in surprise, as if he had just met him, then he shouted in a low voice, ¡°Are you crazy? You let that woman touch your children! How could a shrewd and prudent man like you be so stupid on this?¡± Seeing Gao Jue¡¯s face was still calm, Liao Zhiyuan shook his head and sighed, ¡°I don¡¯t know if you¡¯re infatuated or ruthless! You have never forgotten your dead old lover, so you found 8 concubines whose eyebrows looked like hers and showed special favors to them. Many people often said that you were an infatuated man after knowing it. But you abandoned the two concubines who had given birth to children for you. And now when you mention them, you just call them ¡®the two¡¯. Do you still remember their names?¡±

    Gao Jue pinched his lip and spoke nothing. His statue-like and cold face seemed to concede Liao Zhiyuan¡¯sint against him.

    Liao Zhiyuan also said, ¡°Didn¡¯t you just ask me how I knew these things? All these things were said by a maid named Liu Sui who was rescued by my subordinates. She was a personal maid of Third Miss Ling Miaoyi. Ling Miaoyi ran away from home secretly, and followed us to Yangzhou City. The Madam in charge of Ling¡¯s Family, your mother-inw, was furious when she heard it. She couldn¡¯t catch Ling Miaoyi, so she vented her anger on Ling Miaoyi¡¯s maids.¡± Speaking of this, Liao Zhiyuan sneered suddenly, ¡°Your mother-inw and your wife have the simr interests. Your wife likes to gouge people¡¯s eyes, and your mother-inw likes to cut one¡¯s nose very much. Liu Sui who had lost her nose escaped from Ling¡¯s Family and nned to go to Yangzhou City to find herdy. However, she met several bandits on the official road. Fortunately, she was rescued by my subordinates. Otherwise, she would be so unlucky to lose her wealth and chastity.¡±

    Gao Jue was silent for a moment and asked, ¡°Since you saved Miaoyi¡¯s maid, just be a good person toplete the whole thing. You can send Miaoyi back to Ling¡¯s Family as well. A few days ago, I met her in Yangzhou City. I lied to her that I would take her to find Duan Xiaolou, and now she is waiting for him at a courier station outside Yinma Town.¡±

    Hearing this, Liao Zhiyuan¡¯s face changed suddenly and lifted his leg to kick Gao Jue, then he scolded, ¡°Dead Face, don¡¯t throw your burden on me! I don¡¯t want to provoke that liar!¡± After thinking for a moment, he added, ¡°Don¡¯t forget our deal that ¡®you would go to Changbai Mount to save my sister and bring her back safely¡¯. We have already negotiated the issue of remuneration and will never give away other services! The delicious wine in my family cannot be bought with money (not really), you¡¯ve made a killing!¡±

    Gao Jue said with a poker face, ¡°Well. Just let Miaoyi wait there slowly. She will remember the way home naturally when she spent all the money.¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan¡¯s lynx-like eyes turned suddenly. He nced at Gao Jue¡¯s profile slightly and said, ¡°Dude, did you remember the topic about Miss He? Just two days ago, I also got some information about her from my tip-off...¡± Seeing there were some subtle changes on Gao Jue¡¯s face, Liao Zhiyuan¡¯s heart shocked and he smiled bitterly, ¡°Oh, actually I am not sure, but now it seems that you really care about her. Whenever I mention her name, your ears move unconsciously, and your facial lines are also softer than before...¡±

    Gao Jue turned his head angrily and stared at Liao Zhiyuan, then he scolded coldly, ¡°Enough, just shut up! I¡¯ve heard enough of your nonsense, get out! I haven¡¯t slept for three days and I¡¯m off to bed right now.¡±

    ¡°Hum, you don¡¯t like a true man while you hide your true feelings like that. Love can¡¯t be hidden. Even if you close your mouth, your eyes will say it out.¡± Liao Zhiyuan pointed out sharply, ¡°Whenever I mention the words ¡®Miss He¡¯, your eyes be the same as Master Duan¡¯s, even be darker and brighter than that looked when you infer cases. Look! Your eyes are now a little bit staring, like you are trapped in the memory and indulged in the endless aftertaste ... Oh, look at your face, there are a little trace of redness on your cheeks, and now your posture¡ª¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan nced at Gao Jue¡¯s hands which ovepped on the lower abdomen, then he sneered, ¡°I really can¡¯t imagine that grim General Gao has such a tender side¡ªhuh, like a girl who yearns for love!¡±

    Gao Jue¡¯s response was to split out his palm to the left, and used seventy percent of his internal force indeed. Liao Zhiyuan made a strange cry, and fled at top speed with hands and feet. Gao Jue still wouldn¡¯t let him go. He leaped into the air from the disunited couch and stepped towards Liao Zhiyuan.

    The huge power enveloped towards Liao Zhiyuan. He could just bite the bullet and beat it back with his palms. Gao Jue was his senior fellow apprentice and predecessor, so his force and skill were far above himself. Besides, Gao Jue was very angry at this time. His boiling blood made zhenqi revolve smoother. He was simply aggressive and overbearing like a reincarnation of the devil! Liao Zhiyuan retreated and used his palms to take the strong breeze which Gao Jue kicked him from above.

    Actually, if he surrendered and confessed his mistakes, Gao Jue might stop it, but Liao Zhiyuan was born with a bad mouth. At such a critical moment, he still sneered with his mouth tilted, ¡°Haw-haw, do you know the meaning of your present behaviors? You¡¯re ashamed into anger, trying to cover it up and being in a state of desire! Good boy, just get all the emotions out, keep this momentum, and run to Changbai Mount to find my sister in one breath!¡±

    A group of phantoms appeared in front of Liao Zhiyuan. Gao Jue kicked 17 feet in an instant, and broke Liao Zhiyuan¡¯s zhenqi that was supposed to protect him. Liao Zhiyuan made a strange cry again and went into the yard, running and yelling with his head raised, ¡°Is anyone alive in the manor? Come and save me! There¡¯s an assassin here!¡±

    Gao Jue followed closely behind him like a gangrene attaching to the bone. He snapped coldly, ¡°Lynx, I will make you remember this in this one time. This time I¡¯ll break one of your arms, next time if you still dare talk nonsense, I will break your two arms and poison you to be dumb!¡±

    When Liao Zhiyuan turned back to face the battle again, he had a barbed silver whip in his hand. So, he swung the silver whip into the air by turning around. The silver whip surrounded Gao Jue¡¯s soap-soled boots like a spirit snake, which could stop him for a moment. During this precious respite, Liao Zhiyuan eximed once again, ¡°Gao Jue is flipping out! He wants to kill me! He also likes Master Duan¡¯s sweetheart. That girl named He Danggui! He wants to kill me! He wants to kill me!¡±

    Gao Jue paid no attention to the silver whip on his feet, just walked in the air and followed the direction of the whip. Finally, he stepped on Liao Zhiyuan¡¯s right shoulder, and forced him to lift up the whip tip to block him.

    ¡°Boom!¡± ¡°Boom!¡± There were two waves of air rolling in the courtyard, making the white sand on the ground stir into the air and swirl to fall from the air. Liao Zhiyuan was defeated entirely this time and was kicked out to fly upside down. His right shoulder was really dislocated and drooped weakly. Liao Zhiyuan screamed in pain, ¡°Miss He, help! Miss He, help!¡±

    Gao Jue was livid. Step by step, he approached the source of that annoying voice in the heavy sand rain, lifted up his palm and aimed at Liao Zhiyuan¡¯s left shoulder...

    ¡°Boom!¡± ¡°Boom!¡± There were another two loud sounds in the air. Lu Jiangbei worn the bright green official uniform and stood in front of Gao Jue, then he asked in surprise, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Brothers just have a drink while chatting. How could such a shockingmotion have happened! My arm was numb just now. How could Lynx bear it?¡±

    As soon as Liao Zhiyuan saw the reinforcement arrive, his somewhat listless expression became flexible again. His lynx-like eyes rolled, then he smiled, ¡°Oh, you two are the love rivals to fight against each other, so I¡¯m not going to get involved. Ouch, the pain is killing me!¡± He said that as he held his right shoulder with his left hand. Walking out of the yard staggeringly, he muttered angrily, ¡°Shit, he can¡¯t afford the teasing than Master Duan. No wonder he never pleased women. He must be rebuffed by Miss He, so he came to vent his anger on me...¡±

    Lu Jiangbei frowned and listened, trying to guess what Liao Zhiyuan was indicating. Then he turned to observe Gao Jue¡¯s expression, and asked hesitantly, ¡°Gao Jue, is what Master Liao said true? Do you fall in love with Miss He? What do you like about her?¡±

    Gao Jue nced at a copy of Tangwen in his friend¡¯s hand instead of answering the question. He asked, ¡°Have all the people in Yangzhou City withdrawn? When My Majesty knew that Bai Yangbai had run away again, how did he react?¡±

    ¡°You can read itter. Just answer my question first.¡± Lu Jiangbei stepped forward to put the Tangwen into Gao Jue¡¯s hands, and asked urgently, ¡°What are you doing? Just because of Master Liao¡¯s a few drunk words, you gave him the dead hand. It¡¯s not like you. Could he have spoken your mind, or you really have the special thought of Miss He?¡±

    ¡°Why do you all look like ghosts to give me a grave threat ande to take care of my business?¡± Gao Jue said coldly, ¡°Neither did I lead her captive, nor I said that I would rob her from Duan Xiaolou. It¡¯s my freedom to like anyone. Don¡¯t tell me that I can¡¯t even think about her in my heart.¡±

    Lu Jiangbei said hurriedly, ¡°I¡¯m not ming you for robbing Master Duan¡¯s girl. I¡¯m just afraid that you like the wrong person. The day before yesterday, Master Liao and I learned the news. It turned out that Miss He is also your sister-inw! You already have gotten Ling Miaoqi, who is the half-sister of Ling Miaochun. Such a good woman became possessed and racked her brains in scheming for you, hurting others all the time. Gao Jue, I don¡¯t want you to indulge in temporary imagination, first having rtionship with He Danggui, who is Ling Miaochun¡¯s cousin, while in the end, realizing that you still miss Ling Miaochun. By then, Miss He is just another substitute!¡±

    Hearing this, Gao Jue was frowned deeper and deeper. Finally, he couldn¡¯t help pulling at Lu Jiangbei¡¯s official uniform cor, stared at his eyes and refuted, ¡°Nonsense! She is Miaochun¡¯s cousin? I don¡¯t believe it. How could there be such a coincidence in the world!¡±

 Chapter 62 - Deepest love for nothing

    <h4>Chapter 62 Deepest love for nothing</h4>

    Lu Jiangbei also looked back at Gao Jue, telling him firmly, ¡°I went back to Yingtian Prefecture of the capital yesterday, and went to Changye Tower to find the informant who provided information. It had been confirmed that the news is true. Gao Jue, do you remember what we have learned from the subordinates who pried into information in the Taoist temple? He said He Danggui¡¯s mother, Luo Chuanxiong, was the legitimate daughter of Luo¡¯s Mansion in Yangzhou City, but Ms. He¡¯s father, He Fu, was just a man of a depressed family in Yangzhou City. This year he just made an Eighth-Grade Guarding Commander of the Capital. The year they got married, everyone thought it was inconceivable, even suspected some possibilities like that ¡®The two elope first and then get married¡¯, ¡®the man board first and then buy the ticket¡¯ or ¡®the woman looks ugly or has unmentionable disease¡¯, and these made Master Duan very angry.¡±

    Gao Jue loosened Lu Jiangbei¡¯s in brocade cor and recalled that there was such a thing. At that time, he did not want to get involved in this boring topic, so he jumped to the roof to sleep, but still caught the words of discussion unconsciously.

    Lu Jiangbei smoothed the wrinkles on his cor and continued, ¡°It turned out that everyone was wrong at that time. Luo Chuanxiong, He Danggui¡¯s mother, married He Fu 3 years ago. So, He Fu is just his stepfather with the same surname as He Danggui. ording to the informant, He Danggui¡¯s biological father is not anyone else, but He Jingxian, the one of He¡¯s Mansion in the capital, who is also your beloved Ling Miaochun¡¯s biological uncle.¡±

    Gao Jue was silent for a moment, then suddenly questioned, ¡°But I heard that He¡¯s Family which specializes in providing official medicine has no contact with the other two. The prescriptions of San Qing Tang of Luo¡¯s Family and Ren Shu Tang of Guan¡¯s Family are universal. Many of them have been printed into books and spread to ordinary people. However, there are many secret recipes developed by Yao Shi Tang of He¡¯s Family in their prescriptions, which have excellent curative effect and are iparable by the other two. 5 years ago, San Qing Tang and Ren Shu Tang were interested in the prescription of a kind of pill that made by Yao Shi Tang. They went to visit and asked He¡¯s Family for advice, but they were refused. After that, the rtionship between He¡¯s Family and the other two families were more ipatible. How can He¡¯s family get married with Luo¡¯s family?¡±

    Lu Jiangbei turned the jadeite ring on his thumb and analyzed various possibilities, ¡°Perhaps 10 years ago, the two families have had a good rtionship in private for a while. For some reason they did not open to the public, and then He¡¯s Family drove Luo Chuanxiong and her daughter away, which made the two families changed from rtives by marriage to enemies. Or perhaps the two families have always had a feud. The elders arranged such a marriage in order to resolve the feud. Later, they found that still could not be resolved, so they got back to be enemies. Anyway, after 10 years, it is unverifiable. Our informant had infiltrated He¡¯s Mansion several times to inquire about the news. No one knows this old anecdote, but all said the present Madam He is He Jingxian¡¯s first wife. Obviously, when the new Madam He was weed in He¡¯s Mansion, a batch of servants were also reced to cover this family scandal.¡±

    After hearing this, Gao Jue frowned again,

    ¡°Even if she is Miaochun¡¯s younger cousin, so what? What do you mean by saying all this?¡±

    Lu Jiangbei sighed, looked at the dark eyes of Gao Jue and said with a low voice, ¡°Gao Jue, I just don¡¯t want to see you continue to suffer. You¡¯ve been looking for a face that is simr to Ling Miaochun¡¯s for 3 years. When you embrace them into your arms first, then you find those people are totally different from Ling Miaochun. We have worked together for many years, and I havee to a conclusion that you are always in two extremes when dealing with women of the world. Before Ling Miaochun died, women in your eyes were divided into 2 parts: Ling Miaochun and other women. To the former you were deeply sorrowed, while to thetter youpletely ignored.¡±

    Gao Jue was immersed in meditation and thought of his youth with Miaochun. All sorts of the past came into his mind. He had to admit that Lu Jiangbei described very closely. At that time, Miaochun was the only woman in his world. The love of resonance between them became the motivation for him to do everything. His eyes and heart couldn¡¯t see other women.

    Lu Jiangbei went on leisurely, ¡°After Ling Miaochun died, women in your eyes are divided into the women who are not like Ling Miaochun and women who are very simr to Ling Miaochun. You are still indifferent to the former. For thetter, you fell in love with each other firstly, and took them home to find out that you had read them wrong before. The more you looked at them, the less they looked like Ling Miaochun. Finally, they were ressified as the former.¡±

    Gao Jue frowned his thick eyebrows and wanted to open his mouth to argue a few words subconsciously, but there was no argument. Because Lu Jiangbei was still right. After Miaochun had passed away, a lot of times he walked on Dize Street, which was full of their memories, his eyes were always searching for her figure. Some people had her back, some people had her hair, some people had her eyebrows and eyes, some people had her nose and mouth, and some people had her voice. But he couldn¡¯t piece up aplete her, so he took them back to his yard, arranged them to live in one ce all day so that he could piece them together gradually.

    Later, he took the son and daughter of the concubines back to Gao¡¯s Mansion. Ling Miaoqi was quiet at that time. Half a monthter, she followed him to the secret separate yard. The next day, she went to gouge out the eyes of the two among the 8 concubines. So coincidentally, those two pairs of eyes were the most simr to Miaochun¡¯s. The two who lost ¡°Miaochun¡¯s eyes¡± became very strange. He could find no trace of Miaochun from them, so he asked people to send them away immediately. Lu Jiangbei described him as a ¡°Cold-blooded and cold-hearted¡± person, which was appropriate.

    Lu Jiangbei hesitated for a moment and said, ¡°Gao Jue, I¡¯ve never seen Ling Miaochun¡¯s appearance before, but since the day before yesterday, I heard that He Danggui is Ling Miaochun¡¯s cousin, and Master Liao analyzed that your attitude towards He Danggui is different from that of other women. I wonder if they are simr in appearance. There is a folk saying that ¡®most of the girls look very simr to their aunts...¡±

    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t want to talk about it. I won¡¯t see that woman again anyway.¡± Gao Jue interrupted him abruptly, and asked in a rather harsh tone, ¡°You must have found out the identity of the master of Wuying Tower. Otherwise, you wouldn¡¯t have such leisurely and carefree mood to inquire into other people¡¯s family affairs. Is there any selfish intention of you to care so much about others who look like their aunt or grandmother?¡±

    Lu Jiangbei chocked for a short while, then reopened his mouth after a long time and said with an official tone, ¡°Our Changye Tower is an intelligence agency, which the Emperor secretly installed in the people. Since Wuying Tower dares to target us everywhere and still be very powerful all the time, the power of Wuying Tower¡¯s master canpete with the power that My Majesty empowered among the public. It¡¯s hard to imagine which civilian force could stand up to the imperial court. So, for, we¡¯re still looking at high-ranking officials in the court, and the possibility of military officers are still higher than civilian officers.¡±

    ¡°Well, you didn¡¯t find any substantive clues if you say so. The work efficiency of Changye Tower is really disappointing. It turns out that you spend too much time on investigating other people¡¯s aunt and cousin.¡± Gao Jue left after saying that.

    Lu Jiangbei grabbed his right arm and asked, ¡°Hey, where are you going?¡±

    Gao Jue asked again, ¡°Where do you think I¡¯m going? I have already said that I will never see that woman again. Even if I meet her identally, I will turn around and leave. Aren¡¯t you satisfied?¡±

    Lu Jiangbei patted him on his shoulder tofort, ¡°Well, this topic is over between us. Whether Miss He is with Master Duan or not is their own business. Afterwards we won¡¯t mention her again, OK?¡± When Lu Jiangbei felt Gao Jue¡¯s anger disappeared slightly, he exined in a soft voice, ¡°Gao Jue, don¡¯t you have a 12-day-long holiday this month? I want to know where you are going because the Department of Imperial Guard has raid actions recently, so I want you to report your vacation ce to me. And I can contact you to support the raid when necessary.¡±

    Gao Jue said without hesitation, ¡°Go ask lynx and then tell him that the price has been increased to 15 jars. If he gives me one jar less, I will twist that woman¡¯s head off and take it as a stool to sit.¡± Then Gao Jue stepped on the courtyard wall and left Lu Jiangbei confused there.

    At 11:00 of that night, Mingyue Alley, Xiaodong Street, Hongpei Avenue, Yangzhou City.

    Mammy Tang knocked on side door of the East Yard of Luo¡¯s Mansion. She was going to see Madam Luo in Fu Shou Yard to report what she had seen and heard in Shui Shang Temple. However, when she saw that all thenterns in the mansion were changed into white pcemps, she couldn¡¯t help feeling her heart tightened, and asked the manservant who opened the door for her, ¡°What happened? Is there anything wrong with our mansion? Is everything OK with Madam Luo?¡±

    The manservant covered his mouth and whispered to Mammy Tang, ¡°Mammy, I heard it¡¯s... Master Zhu of the First Branch is dying, so Second Mistress Luo asked Administrator Liu to prepare what should be prepared first, so as to avoid not knowing what to do at that time.¡±

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù

    Madam Luo was so sorry about Master Zhu that she only drank some jade fish soup for dinner, then squinted on the soft couch in the wing-room. Gan Cao asked her several times, but she still did not want to move to bed.

    Everyone of Luo¡¯s Family was considered to know some pharmacology. And they also knew the truth of ¡°Foods are for Nourishment while medicines are the opposite¡± more than ordinary rich families. Every time people at home had a slight headache, the doctors invited were the best doctors in Yangzhou City, and the medicine was also the most refined medicinal materials in San Qing Tang. However, they didn¡¯t expect that the medicine could only cure the disease, but not save his life. This evening, Madam Luo got the news and also went to see Master Zhu. His dying look was able to tell that he could not live. His mother¡¯s eyes were like swollen walnuts after crying, but Master Zhu could hardly keep his eyes open.

    Doctor Ma and Doctor Wu were the best doctors in San Qing Tang and they were also helpless. Madam Luo sighed and thought if Grandpa Luo was still at home, maybe he could use San Qing Acupuncture to have a try. But he suddenly disappeared a few days ago. The manservant of back alley reported that he had seen Grandpa Luo once. On that day, he was in a new grey cloth blouse, which was cut in rags by scissors, white linen leggings wrapped around his calves, and a pair of muddy old cloth shoes that he got from somewhere. Carrying a big medicine basket, he went out of the gate and walked towards the west. Grandpa Luo usually came back after half a year at least, and three years at most so far. It seemed that Master Zhu¡¯s illness couldn¡¯t count on him.

    This month, Luo¡¯s Family was really in bad moments, and there were many disasters.

    The first thing was that Miss Yi was found behind the rockery in the garden. She was badly beaten. It was suspected that maybe she climbed the rockery and fell down to be dead. After hearing the news of Yi¡¯ death, Madam Luo really did not know how to tell this to Chuanxiong. Chuanxiong married twice and got this only daughter. What a poor little girl! Suffered such an ident at such a young age¡­ Later, hearing that Yi came back to life in the Taoist temple, Madam Luo was so happy. She was thinking about who should be invited in the big feast among their rtives and friends. However, something bad happened to Master Zhu.

    Madam Luo tossed and turned, and couldn¡¯t sleep. Then she heard Gan Cao whisper to her and asked if she was still awake.

    Gan Cao came to call her at suchte night. Was it meant that Zhu had dead?! Madam Luo felt sudden chill in her heart. The lovely twin grandchild just lost within a sh. A few days ago, she went to see Zhu¡¯s situation. He was just a little sick and would get better after taking two doses of medicine. How could he suddenly be skinny and bony without human shape? s, his mother must be very sad now.

    Although Chuanbai of the First Branch wasn¡¯t her own blood, the East Yard of Luo¡¯s Family had always been a thin male. In addition to the legitimate son of Chuanpu in the Third Branch, i.e. Master Ji, there was only one son of the concubine in the First Branch, Master Qian. 4 years ago, there was a n marriage in the First Branch. Master Qian got married with Lan, the eldest legitimate daughter of Dong¡¯s Family, and also the niece of his legal mother (Ms. Zhao). The young couple was talented and beautiful. The next year, they gave birth to two lovely twins, which added a lot of vitality to the family. Madam Luo had been holding these two great grandchildren in her hands for fear of falling out and being afraid that they would melt if she contained in her mouth. But recently, because of Yi, she had no time to take care of the First Branch...

    Madam Luo felt her energy had been much shorter since her 50th birthday heldst year. She was too indolent to manage many things, and turned a blind eye to many things peacefully. Even when Yi was at home before, she also pretended not to see how her second daughter-inw treated Yi, and gradually she seemed to really ignore it. It also made Yi feel wronged at home.

    Since she really did not want to see the scene of the first granddaughter-inw crying, she pretended to have slept very well and snored two times. Gan Cao called Madam Luo twice again in a low voice. Seeing that she was sleeping heavily, she closed her mouth and walked out.

    Madam Luo stopped snoring at once and listened to the noise outside. The first sound was the rustle of lifting the curtain, then the creak of closing the door. Through the door, Madam Luo heard a faint voice of Gan Cao, ¡°Mammy Tang, I called several times, but Madam Luo didn¡¯t wake up. Why don¡¯t youe back tomorrow morning...? Guess you don¡¯t know that Madam Luo is sad because of what happened to Master Zhu. She turned over and sighed just now. We are so anxious that we don¡¯t know what to do. It¡¯s rare that she fell asleep now...¡±

    Then, Mammy Tang said vaguely, ¡°I had a lot of trouble at Shui Shang Temple, and Ie here overnight... If it is just about Third Miss, there¡¯s no harm to wake up Madam Luo tomorrow. But now it had connection with Master Zhu... I don¡¯t know how to exin this to you. Anyway, go and wake Madam Luo up first!¡±

    Madam Luo sat up straightly from the soft couch, wondering, ¡°What is the matter with Yi? Why does Hong Jiange back from Shui Shang Temple in the middle of the night?¡± Madam Luo casually stepped on the soft shoes, lifted the curtain and went out of the wing-room. She opened the door heavily and asked, ¡°What happened? Tell me clearly!¡±

 Chapter 63 - An aunt was half a mother

    <strong>Chapter 63 An aunt was half a mother</strong>

    Gan Cao was arguing with Mammy Tang, advising that even if she had something urgent to tell, she¡¯d better wait until Madam Luo woke up the next morning. But she was scared when the door bounced open all of a sudden.

    Mammy Tang¡¯s expression changed from anxiety tofort, and she hastened to help Madam Luo into the room. Although Mammy Tang was 4 years older than Madam Luo, she could not change the habit over the years. Once she saw Madam Luo standing alone, she could not help rushing forward to support her.

    ¡°Madam, don¡¯t worry, the Taoist temple is very good, and Third Miss lives there well. Ie back by myself to tell you something.¡± Mammy Tang helped Madam Luo into the room and turned to enjoin the maid, ¡°Gan Cao, light themps quickly, half open the window of the outside room, and serve Madam Luo a bowl of fresh coix seed congee with two teaspoons of honey.¡± Gan Cao agreed.

    Madam Luo¡¯s heart still hung in the air. She asked anxiously, ¡°Hong Jiang, you are not kidding me, are you? If everything is fine there, why don¡¯t you pick her up ande back tomorrow morning? Or something bad happened!¡±

    Mammy Tang helped Madam Luo back to the soft couch, and pulled over her legs before she said softly, ¡°Just rest assured. I have gone to the Taoist temple to see the Third Miss. She lives there very well now and the Taoist nuns are kind to her there. After this big disaster, she is much cleverer than before, speaks clearly, and looks like a little adult. I¡¯d say she is more pleasant than before.¡±

    Just then, Miss Ji came in from outside with a red te in her hands. She served a bowl of warm honey coix seed soup to Madam Luo first, and then put a cup of red jujube tea on the small table by the head of bed. She whispered to Mammy Tang, ¡°Mammy, the cup is very hot. Please drink it after a while. I told Gan Cao to light a moxibustion box to Madam Luo to warm her feet. As for the staff you just gave me, I have given it to Jiu Gu and exined the reason.¡±

    Mammy Tang nodded, ¡°Now I¡¯m in no mood to deal with that staff. Just let Jiu Gu check it. Ji, sit outside for a while, and take over the moxibustion box when Gan Cao gets here. Tell her to go to sleep.¡± Miss Ji answered and left.

    Miss Ji was the first-ss maid and the small storehouse steward in Madam Luo¡¯s room. She was also the adopted daughter of Mammy Tang. Several decades ago, when Mammy Tang was still young, Madam Luo and Lord Luo always wanted to find a good match for her. There were several men with good conditions, but Mammy Tang didn¡¯t agree to marry. Madam Luo privately advised her and told her that men were the same. They were all unfaithful, and they all shared the same characteristics like sleeping, snoring, eating and scratching itches. As women, marrying anyone was marrying beneath themselves. The most important thing for them was to have a son or a daughter in the future to rely on.

    Mammy Tang kept Madam Luo¡¯s words in her mind. After a while, she adopted two little boys and a baby girl. She set up an incense table and burned yellow papers to recognize them as adopted sons and daughter. She swore not to marry in her whole life and raise them until they became adults, hoping that god would bless the three children to be dutiful and sensible when they grew up and could support her in her old age. Seeing her so determined, Madam Luo stopped forcing her, just raised her monthly allowance to 10 liang silver.

    Miss Ji was that adopted baby girl, and now she had turned 26 years old. Like her foster mother, she was also not married at such an old age. She was smart, careful, and tactical. She started from a four-ss maid to the small storehouse steward of Madam Luo¡¯s yard step by step. Mammy Tang asked her to call her Mammy in front of people, and call her mother at home. Their rtionship was more than mother and daughter, and they both felt grateful to Madam Luo for taking care of them for many years. Therefore, now they were Madam¡¯s reliable assistants.

    Madam Luo held the bowl but didn¡¯t want to drink. She asked insistently, ¡°No. It must be something wrong about Yi! I know you. I told you to take care of Yi before you left. You cannote back alone if everything went well there! My right eye has twitched since dinner tonight. Tell me, what happened?¡±

    Mammy Tang also insisted, ¡°You take a drink first and I will start talking, otherwise after we talk a while, the soup will get cold.¡±

    Madam Luo swallowed a little, and then stared at Mammy Tang. Thetter finally started talking, ¡°When I arrived at Shui Shang Temple in the evening, Third Miss was sitting in the room quiet well. She got nasal obstruction, so she wore a veil. I asked Third Miss if she needed a doctor, but she said it would be better if you treat her at home than get a doctor outside. I saw that after Nanji Xianweng¡¯s guidance, she is not only safe and sound, but also cleverer, brighter and even more decent than before!¡±

    ¡°And then? Why did youe back alone?¡± Madam Luo still refused to believe that things were going well in the Taoist temple.

    Mammy Tang sighed, opened her swollen palms, and said in a deep voice, ¡°Madam, I heard that there is a kind of itching powder called ¡®Diaoshanyao Powder¡¯, which was used in the brothels. The procuress would use it on the disobedient prostitutes. However, when I followed your order and gave Third Miss the clothes, hairpins and cosmetics, the most unexpected thing happened. Those clothes were stained with Diaoshanyao Powder! However, Third Miss and I were not aware of this at first, so we both touched the Diaoshanyao Powder on the clothes, and our hands felt extremely itchy immediately!¡±

    Madam Luo also heard a little about the powder before, so she asked Mammy Tang angrily, ¡°How could these clothes get stained with it? Where did ite from?¡± Seeing Mammy Tang¡¯s hands, which had always been kept well, now became red and swollen, Madam Luo lost her voice, ¡°Yi also touched the powder! Is that serious? Hong Jiang, what are other reactions of this medicine besides itch? Is it poisonous?¡±

    Mammy Tang first shook her head, and then nodded and sighed, ¡°You are right. It is said that this medicine is harmless. However, the itching wouldst for two or three days. If you cannot bear the itch from the bones, you would grasp it hard with your hands. You will soon scratch the flesh, but it is still itchy. By then, you can¡¯t either scratch it or rub it. You¡¯ll have to endure it for two or three days. I¡¯m afraid even a healthy person would lose a great sapping of vitality!¡±

    Madam Luo grasped the middle finger of her right hand with her left hand. She was shocked.

    ¡°Speaking of the Third Miss, she is even more pitiful. She was so happy to know that the clothes were given by you, so she put a few clothes on the table dly to touch around. Suddenly, her hand was pricked!¡± Mammy Tang gestured the bleeding spot of He Danggui¡¯s hand, and said sadly, ¡°I shook off the cloth that she touched, and a bunch of sharp and thin white thorns fell out, seeming like a cactus called the prickly nt! After a while, Third Miss began to scratch the back of her hands hard, and then scratch from her arms to her shoulders. If I had not stopped her, she would have injured her two tiny hands at that time!¡±

    Madam Luo was so angry that she thumped the bed again and again. She said sharply, ¡°Who did this on my clothes for Yi? Who was she provoked?! I am not dead yet, but this person has already bullied her in front of me. No need to mention how he or she cursed me secretly! No wonder I am always notfortable recently. There is such a dark-minded ghost in this house!¡±

    Mammy Tang patted on Madam Luo¡¯s back hastily to smooth her breath, and served the coix seed soup on the small table to her, advising, ¡°Miss, please calm down, take care of your body! Everyone in this family respects you, and even if there are one or two servants making some troubles secretly, it doesn¡¯t matter. Miss, take care of yourself. Don¡¯t bother yourself being angry with those viins. Otherwise who would this family depend on?¡±

    Although Madam Luo was not close to the word ¡°Miss¡± now, Mammy Tang still called Madam Luo ¡°Miss¡± asionally when they were alone. Also, at this time, she usually started to say something of heart.

    ¡°Servants? Who?¡± Madam Luo caught the word in Mammy Tang¡¯s words, and her eyes focused on Mammy Tang¡¯s face. ¡°Do you know who did this?¡± She asked.

    Mammy Tang sighed, ¡°Although the culprits are some servants, Madam, think carefully. Second Miss sent a set of outmost clothes to Second Mistress¡¯s ce, while the middle clothes and inner clothes were directly taken from the warehouse to Second Mistress. I went to Bao Qin Ge to take all these staffs personally. Everything had been wrapped in the hall, and then I gave it to Third Miss when I arrived at the Taoist temple. I didn¡¯t give these to anyone else in the middle. The only period that someone could put the poison on the clothes was in Bao Qin Ge. I remember clearly that in the whole mansion, there are only several pots of prickly pear cactus in Second Miss¡¯s courtyard, and they are Second Miss¡¯s beloved thing. Who dares to pluck its thorns? That Diaoshanyao is the secret medicine in the brothel. One can¡¯t even buy it in the medicine shops. I think that one can only get it in the ck market in the north of the city, and the price of this power is not as cheap as Hedinghong Poison, Kongquedan Poison and so on. How could an ordinary servant afford it?¡±

    Madam Luo frowned, saying, ¡°You think one of the Luo¡¯s Family did this? You suspect that second daughter-inw did this?¡±

    Mammy Tang waved her hands, ¡°Impossible! Second Mistress Luo takes charge of Luo¡¯s Family day and night. How could she be in the mood to buy the itch powder and spread it on others¡¯ clothes? Even if she doesn¡¯t like Third Miss, she could remonstrate as much as she wants as her elder. Why bother to do this? Miss Chuanxiong is not at home all the year round, so Third Miss does not have her mother by her side. Therefore, First Mistress and Second Mistress may be regarded as her half mothers. Besides, everything was taken from Bao Qin Ge. If there was any problem, Second Mistress would be the first one to be med. How could she set a trap for herself? It can¡¯t be her!¡±

    ¡°So, who did this? Bao Qin Ge belongs to my second daughter-inw, and the inner hall is her bedroom. How could any outsider get in? If it¡¯s not her, it can¡¯t be Chuangu. He is Yi¡¯s uncle!¡± Madam Luo suddenly understood, looked at Mammy Tang with wide eyes, and asked urgently, ¡°Hong Jiang, do you suspect Miss Qiong and Miss Shao?¡±

    Mammy Tang sighed and nodded, ¡°I dare not to deceive you, Madam Luo. I am quite sure that Fourth Miss did this! Second Miss is demure and kind-hearted. It should have nothing to do with her.¡±

    Madam Luo liked her granddaughter Luo Baishao very much. Although She knew Mammy Tang never had lied to her or gossiped about Luo¡¯s Family, and she must have evidence to support her assumption, Madam Luo still found it very hard to contact ¡°special medicine of the procuress¡± with ¡°her 9-year-old lovely granddaughter¡±.

 Chapter 64 - Letâ€™s change the position

    <h4>Chapter 64 Let¡¯s change the position</h4>

    Mammy Tang understood how Madam Luo felt, so she said sadly, ¡°I know that among all thedies in the family, in addition to First Miss, Fourth Miss is closest with you. Now not her parents but you feel sorry for her the most. In my opinion, Fourth Miss is only 9 years old. How could she distinguish between good and bad? It must be some of the servants around her who urged her to do so! Madam, you know, Second Mistress Luo is the busiest person in our family. Even in her spare time, she cares about Second Miss¡¯s things first. With time goes by, she neglected her instructions for Fourth Miss and let those servants around Fourth Miss exploit the loopholes. Fourth Miss is now like a piece of noun-shaped nephrite, i.e. she would be the kind of person that people around her say what she should be.¡±

    Seeing that Madam Luo couldn¡¯t ept the fact, Mammy Tang thought for a moment and said, ¡°Just now when I went back to the mansion, the first thing I did was to ask someone to secretly lure a maid of Fourth Miss. I immediately detained her and let her know the severity, ordering her to say anything abnormal about Fourth Miss¡¯s recent daily life and hobbies. The maid refused to tell the truth at the beginning and lied a lot, only telling trivial issues. So, I cheated her that another maid of Fourth Miss had reported to me that recently Fourth Miss often fiddled with some dangerous bottles and containers. And the maid was upgraded to the first-ss maid for reporting this. If other maids in Fourth Miss¡¯s room still continue to hide the truth for their master, they will be sent to the outside canal to drudge. With this in mind, the maid feared, and exposed all the recent misconducts of Fourth Miss.¡±

    Madam Luo asked, frowning, ¡°What did she say?¡±

    Mammy Tang hesitated, and then replied, ¡°In addition to ying a trick in Third Miss¡¯s clothes this time, Fourth Miss scattered a half bottle of Diaoshanyao Powder on Third Miss¡¯s bodyst time. Besides, ording to the maid, Fourth Miss¡¯s room is a collection of various herbal medicines. Many of them like aphrodisiac, dumb medicine and poisons, are used by those filthy people who make a living in Jianghu. There were also many other staffs. Now I don¡¯t have time to tell you in detail. Ji has already written that maid¡¯s confession and put them away. That maid is now tied and gagged at the backyard woodshed for your enquiry in the future.¡±

    Hearing this, Madam Luo suddenly hit her leg hard resentfully and said, ¡°Does the Immortal stop blessing Luo¡¯s Family and allow the bad things to happen one after another?! Zhu looks like dying, and Shao had another issue. She, as an unmarried Miss, collected filthy aphrodisiac and poisons for pleasure. This is the Miss taught by Luo¡¯s Family! I can¡¯t express how I hate this! When Luo Duzhong was alive, he didn¡¯t even care about either the family issues or his three sons. Now the three of them in their thirties can do nothing, only living by causal dealing with medicinal material business. They are now much weaker inparison with those of the West Yard in Luo¡¯s Family of the capital! 7 years ago, my cruel husband closed his eyes, throwing all troubles to me! He has been worshipping by burned joss sticks at the ancestral temple since then. Why didn¡¯t he know how to protect his descendants?!¡± Her face wet in the end.

    Silently listening to Madam Luo¡¯sints aboutte Grandpa Luo, Mammy Tang was also sad and felt like crying. As she was about to mollify Madam Luo, what Madam Luo said about ¡°Zhu looks like dying¡± reminded her of something. She grasped Madam Luo¡¯s arm immediately and shook, ¡°Don¡¯t be sad, Madam. I learnt something strange from the Taoist temple, and there is something I want to tell you!¡±

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù

    ¡°Liao, are your hands OK?¡± Lu Jiangbei opened the door and smiled.

    In the room, Liao Zhiyuan was lying in the bed with his upper body exposed, and there was a strange girl standing beside him. She was applying medicine for him. At first nce, they were close together, Lu Jiangbei said, ¡°Sorry, I have to go now.¡± Then he was ready to leave.

    Liao Zhiyuan struggled to sit up, grimaced in pain and yelled, ¡°Stop! Shit for your sorry. Chief, hurry up and help me with your internal force. It hurts a lot. Gao is such a son of bitch! I had some sympathy for him originally, but he wanted to kill me just because I read his mind! It¡¯s so cruel! Shit, no wonder Chick He didn¡¯t ept him! He deserved it!¡±

    Lu Jiangbei asked, frowning his dashing eyebrows, ¡°What¡¯s all this nonsense? Where did you hear it? Did Gao Jue say this? Miss He didn¡¯t like him?¡±

    ¡°Please! Help me with your internal force. Give me a break!¡± Liao Zhiyuan excitedly waved his right arm, which was just connected, and looked at Lu Jiangbei pettishly, snorting, ¡°Help me, Brother Jiang. I know your martial arts is better than Gao¡¯s and you are much better than him! Just treat me and massage me, please!¡±

    Lu Jiangbei couldn¡¯t help but walk over to sit behind Liao Zhiyuan. As his right hand was about to lift on Liao Zhiyuan¡¯s shoulder, and his corner of vision casually skimmed the face of the woman beside them, he cried in amazement, ¡°What, you! How could ...¡±

    The woman¡¯s face changed, and then covered her face and sipped. Lu Jiangbei hurriedly turned to look at Liao Zhiyuan¡¯s head and apologized, ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t mean anything, just ...¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan impatiently interrupted him, ¡°Hey, chief, can you chatter? My hands are very painful, and they might not be cured within a few days! As for this shoulder injury, can I report it as an ¡®injury suffered on the job¡¯? In that way, I can get some subsidized silver, or vacation, or something like that? Brother Lu, you have no idea. My family got a catastrophe! My sister grabbed my whole year¡¯s sry, and now absconded with the money. I don¡¯t even have any silver to meet the Peony Lady!¡±

    Before Master Geng was appointed to the imperial guard, Lu Jiangbei was the most powerful man among more than 20 imperial guard generals, so everyone called him the chief. Even now there were many people who couldn¡¯t change the appetion. Maybe because Lu Jiangbei was another strange man among the imperial guards besides Duan Xiaolou. It was said that he never cussed when he interrogated criminals. Others privately discussed that the chief being close and kind to his own people was a good thing. But he was polite to the enemies, which almost damaged their murderous images that had been deeply rooted in people¡¯s hearts. It was more uneptable than Master Duan saving women on the way to the cases.

    ¡°me your mouth for that. You not only offended Gao Jue, but also got me affected.¡± Lu Jiangbei, while he was umting internal energy, said like he was educating a little boy, ¡°Since you are engaged, it¡¯s time not to y like before. Don¡¯t go to the brothels too often, and let your fianc¨¦e get some peace of mind before she gets married. Otherwise, she would have negative thought that ¡®you are not reliable¡¯.¡±

    The palm on Liao Zhiyuan¡¯s shoulder kept conveying a warm flow to his main and coteral channels, repairing the damaged bones and muscles. Liao Zhiyuanfortably whispered, ¡°Ah, ah, uh... a little lower, yes, right there! Harder, ah, great, just do it like this...¡±

    ¡°Well, do you want me to make it harder? Can you stand it?¡± Lu Jiangbei raised his eyebrow and asked, ¡°Let¡¯s change a position. I think it would be better if you lie on the head of the bed. Otherwise, after a while, your kidney channel can¡¯t pass below, and then you will feel the lower limbs weak and your waist and legs painful. I remember that¡¯s how Master Duan feltst time.¡±

    The woman stood beside them grasped the corner of her clothes hard, like she could squeeze out some water directly. And she rolled her eyes to observe the two men in the bed.

    Feeling that strange vision frequently focusing on his profile, Liao Zhiyuan waved his hand like he was driving a mosquito away, and then ordered, ¡°Go away. Get me some wine from the front yard! Find two pots of Nv¡¯erhong Wine, heat up, and then take them back!¡± The bystander who still wanted to observe them finally walked off.

    Waiting for the woman¡¯s figure disappeared at the door, Lu Jiangbei finally couldn¡¯t help asking in a whisper, ¡°Lynx, who¡¯s that woman? Her... Why doesn¡¯t she have the tip of her nose?¡± Lu Jiangbei had seen people losing noses or eyes, and had even made many people that way. However, suddenly seeing that such a beautiful young woman who lost her nose and the wound got scabbed recently, Lu Jiangbei still felt shocked.

    Liao Zhiyuan groanedfortably while hezily replied, ¡°Obviously it was cut away. She is Liu Sui, the maid of the skunk, Ling Miaoyi. Half a month ago, Ling Miaoyi bought over the iron guards we managed, learned our whereabouts, and finally tracked us all the way to Yangzhou City. First Madam Ling was very angry without reason after she learned this, so she caught Ling Miaoyi¡¯s maids to vent her anger. Liu Sui is the cleverest one among those people. When she heard that First Madam Ling wanted to cut their noses, she found the fake nose that Ling Miaoyi used in disguise. She luckily deceived them in the execution and just lost the tip of her nose. She was even positive and thankfully said that she was very luckypared to other maids.¡±

    Lu Jiangbei frowned to hear this. He asked coldly, ¡°I once heard that Ling¡¯s Family is an aristocratic family. Why are the women from it more vicious than another?¡±

    ¡°No, no, no. In fact, there are only several women in Ling¡¯s Family, and the most well-known malicious women are Gao Jue¡¯s wife, Ling Miaoqi, and her mother. Although Ling Miaoyi has the potential to be a malicious woman, she is notparable with those two.¡± Liao Zhiyuan stretched himself, then lied prone, and turned his head with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s a rare chance. Chief, please continue to massage my back. I heard from Master Duan that since thest time you helped with his injury, his internal force improved a lot. And his control about Hanqing Cold Palm strengthened more than 20% directly. Shit, at that time, I was so envious that even wines could not please me! My chief, please give me a chance to share the benefits. I, Lynx, make a pledge to the Immortals: from now on, I definitely won¡¯t bezy in my work, won¡¯t tell jokes at dinner time, and won¡¯t snore when all of us guards sleep together, OK?¡±

    Actually, all the imperial guards who were transferred by the Emperor to Changye Tower had their own code names. For example, Lu Jiangbei was called ¡°Sika deer¡±; Gao Jue, ¡°Hai Dongqing¡±; and Jiang Yi, ¡°Hawk¡±. But none of them were as vivid as Liao Zhiyuan¡¯s ¡°Lynx¡±. He was just like a ¡°Lynx¡±, clever and a little slippery, uninhibited and showed a bit wildness. asionally, he would be coquetry. Everyone called it as a habit, and even Liao Zhiyuan himself also gradually took ¡°Lynx¡± as his name.

    Lu Jiangbeiughed, ¡°You are good at seizing the opportunity. Last time Master Duan¡¯s tendons were broken by a mysterious senior, so I helped him. Now your spirit is even better than mine, but you want me to massage you instead! No way! If this precedent is set, tomorrow Jiang Pi would alsoe to me, and the next day would be Du Yao. Should I help them? If you all want to take shortcuts and refuse to practice hard, it would be my fault if the strength of the imperial guards declines!¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan made his eyes protrude and curled his lips, ¡°You are too stingy. All you said is just your excuse! Jiang Pi has a senior brother Jiang Yi, so he definitely could seek his brother for help first. Du Yao isn¡¯t taught by the same master with us and his martial arts is far different from us. If you help him, it might work the other way around. Chief, help me massage my back, please! Fine! I¡¯m ready to risk everything. I¡¯ll tell you another secret about Chick He!¡±

 Chapter 65 - Childe Duan married Miss He

    <h4>Chapter 65 Childe Duan married Miss He</h4>

    ¡°Oh, my god, you are back! I have been waiting here all day. Where have you been, master? Why didn¡¯t you take me with you?¡±

    The manservant Xiong Huang came out from the stone lion in the East Yard of Luo¡¯s Mansion, raised his head to lift up the window of the carriage, and said in a low voice, ¡°Come inside the mansion quickly, Master! Something big happened in our family. First Younger Mistress is going crazy looking for you! I¡¯ve tried everywhere as well. But there was no trace of you in the Academy, the medicine shop, the other homes, or Master Ding¡¯s Mansion. Everywhere! First Younger Mistress was so worried and determined that she would go to the government tomorrow morning to report your missing!¡±

    Luo Baiqian seemed to have drunk a lot of wine before. When he lifted the curtain, there was a strong smell of wine surrounding the carriage. He refused to let the coachman help him. Instead, he pushed the coachman¡¯s arm impatiently, and jumped out of the carriage alone. Seeing Xiong Huanging towards him, he raised his arm and gave a hard pping on him, cursing loudly, ¡°What the hell are you yelling in the middle of the night? You want to tell everyone that I¡¯ve juste back drinking from the brothel? And you want to promote it for me?¡±

    Luo Baiqian was a man with some kongfu background. He was drunk and didn¡¯t know how hard he hit Xiong Huang. Xiong Huang¡¯s mouth was full of blood instantly. He took three or four steps back and finally held the wheel of the carriage to stand still. He covered his swollen face as his lips trembled. Then he cried, ¡°Master, Zhu is dying. Go to see him for thest time! He¡¯s been unconscious since this morning!¡±

    Luo Baiqian was dully at this time. He tried to digest these words, and finally extracted the main meaning of ¡°my son was dying¡±. The intoxication was gone, and he had no time to knock on the gate of the East Yard of Luo¡¯s Mansion. He ran askew and turned into the back alley, kicking the half-covered side door open.

    ¡°It¡¯s the middle of the night. Who are you? Stop and register yourself over there!¡± The manservant Ma Douling who just sent away Mammy Tang yawned to stop the intruder. In the dark, he couldn¡¯t even recognize Luo Baiqian. Because his sweet dream was disturbed by him, his tone was very unfriendly. Anyway, most of the people who went around the side door were sneaky servants. The masters would certainly enter from the front door.

    Luo Baiqian kicked away the manservant blocking the road and rushed into the yard without a word.

    Ma Douling still couldn¡¯t see the face of the man. He was attacked all of a sudden, so he thought there was a robber intruded. He shouted at the top of his voice, ¡°There is a thief here! Come on, catch the thief! Herees the bandit¡ª¡± Before he finished, his mouth was tightly covered from behind. He thought it was the robber¡¯s aplice who came to kill him. He was so shocked that he broke away with all his strength. When he turned around and looked at the person, he found that the man was the servant of Master Baiqian.

    ¡°Hey, Xiong Huang, why did you cover my mouth? A strong man rushed in our house. I¡¯m calling for help!¡± Ma Douling Cried.

    ¡°What nonsense are you talking about? You are blind or something!¡± Xiong Huang punched in the belly of Ma Douling, as if he was venting all the anger he just received from his master, and scolded fiercely, ¡°Seeing clearly. It¡¯s the Master who has just passed! How dare you scold the Master as a bandit! You are looking for beat!¡±

    Xiong Huang trotted to catch up with Luo Baiqian and screamed, ¡°Master, you should be careful about the road under your feet! At night, the dew is heavy, and the ground can be slippery!¡±

    Luo Baiqian walked faster and faster, and then what Xiong Huang had just said really happened. He slipped and fell on all fours. Xiong Huang ran up to help Luo Baiqian in panic and said in a trembling voice, ¡°Master, you haven¡¯t broken anything, have you? Doctor Wu is waiting at the Liu Li Tang now. Do you want him to see if you¡¯re okay?¡± After that, he went forward and carefully looked at the injury Luo Baiqian got.

    Luo Baiqian ignored him, just stared at the grass in front of him, and suddenly screamed, ¡°Ah¡ªah¡ªwhat are those things?!¡±

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù

    Lu Jiangbei looked at Liao Zhiyuan who was with a cynical face doubtfully and scolded him, ¡°When did she ever offend you that you have to give her a nickname? Either you call her by her name, or you call her ¡°Miss He¡± ¡­ Well, you just said you know the secret about her? What¡¯s the secret?¡±

    ¡°Damn,¡± Liao Zhiyuan said, digging his nostrils, ¡°Didn¡¯t she offend me? It was because of her that Master Duan, Gao Jue and you have be abnormal. Just now, I almost get myself killed by Gao Jue! Of course I would me her!¡±

    Lu Jiangbei punched him, ¡°You are beaten because of your bad mouth. Alright, tell me now, what¡¯s the secret of Miss He? Is there anything else I don¡¯t know?¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan squinted at him from the corner of his eyes, and dug his nostrils a few more times before he stopped. Then he stretched his arm to search inside a robe on the small table. After a while, he reached for a small dagger with a scabbard and threw it to Lu Jiangbei. He said in an ostentatious tone, ¡°Tut, tut, tut¡­ Have a look, how¡¯s my dagger? When I get back to the capital, I¡¯m going to use it to exchange at least 100 liang silver with Master Duan!¡±

    Lu Jiangbei weighed the dagger back and forth doubtfully, and then pulled a little scabbard and tested the de. Although it¡¯s a good dagger, it¡¯s not worth 10 liang silver.

    Even if Master Duan was a little silly, he wouldn¡¯t buy this dagger which was ten times higher than the average price. Besides, Duan¡¯s foolishness was only manifested on matters rted to women. For example, when they went back to the capital to report their work, they all lived in Baisha Mountain Vi in Yinma Town, thest stop, and wanted to spend a few days without restriction before they got back to their homes in the capital. Only Master Duan didn¡¯t even have a cup of tea to drink in the vi. He drove up the official road to Yingtian Prefecture in a horse cart with red headlining.

    Liao used his arts of lightness to catch up with him, clinging on the surface of the horse cart and followed him for half a mile before he came back happily. ording to him, Duan had ¡°over fulfilled his task¡± and picked up 10 women within half a month! No one believe it, so Liao counted for them with his fingers. In addition to Miss Xue, Lian and her mother, there were another 7 young women wearing yellow skirts all in one color. Most of them looked familiar. He had seen them vaguely in Shui Shang Temple. In the end, Master Liao chuckled and said that Duan¡¯s trip to Yangzhou was really fruitful. He had not only pledged to marry with a ¡°little lover¡± in the Taoist temple whose family background didn¡¯t match his, but also taken 7 nuns of the Taoist temple away without letting anyone know. Duan¡¯s mother must be very angry to see these girls.

    ¡°In my opinion, you can only sell this dagger for 6 liang silver. Besides, Duan has a dozen daggers. He may not buy this from you.¡± Lu Jiangbei handed the dagger back to Liao Zhiyuan and said with a smile, ¡°You are the only son of Liao¡¯s Family. Even if the annual sry of more than 700 liang is not enough for you, isn¡¯t the ie of the family¡¯s field rental shop enough for you to spend alone?¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan put up his hands sadly and began to share his life experience sadly, ¡°Lu, there¡¯s something you don¡¯t know. Although there is no brother in my family to share the family property with me, my parents got me a younger sister when I was 7 years old. Chief, I¡¯m telling you. This one sister alone is worse than ten brothers! Every time my heavy purse passed through her hands, there was no silver residue left in it! And her nose is better than a dog. She can find my purse out no matter where I hide it!¡±

    Lu Jiangbei heard that and wondered, ¡°What kind of person Liao¡¯s parents were that they would cultivate their son and daughter into such ¡®extraordinary talents¡¯.¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan threw the dagger to Lu Jiangbei again, and said with a smile, ¡°You can pull out the scabbard to see if it¡¯s worth 100 liang silver. Chief, I didn¡¯t ask for 1,000 liang silver for the sake of the rtionship of colleagues and brotherhood for many years!¡±

    Lu Jiangbei pulled out the scabbard ording to Liao¡¯s words, thinking that there would be something strange about the de inside. But it seemed to be amon ck iron de at first nce, so he shook his head lightly and turned over the de. The moment he could see the pattern on the back clearly, he couldn¡¯t help but be stun. There was a simple portrait carved in the center of the clean de. The eyes were clearly belonging to¡ª¡ª

    ¡°It¡¯s her,¡± Lu Jiangbei lost his voice. ¡°Miss He!¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan smilingly introduced his dagger, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s the real ¡°He Danggui character knife strokes¡±. Although its style is simple and its lines are countable. But almost no one can leave even a scratch on the de of ck iron all over the world. However, I have painstakinglypleted a knife stroke on the hard and sharp de! In the process of carving the painting, although I am proficient in seal cutting and concentrated a lot of Zhenqi on the nicking tool, the surface of ck iron is smoother than the mirror surface. The nicking tool flew out obliquely on the spot and cut my finger!¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan showed the bandaged index finger of his left hand and continued with a sigh, ¡°Of course, these are not the biggest selling points of this dagger. The most precious thing about this painting is that the original painting is made by herself! Chief, how about that? Is this dagger worth 100 liang for Master Duan who was ¡°full of lovesickness but had no ce to rest?¡±

    Lu Jiangbei rubbed the delicate figure with his fingertips and asked gently, ¡°Where did you get her self-portrait? Is it stolen?¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan proudly shook his forefinger and said with a smile, ¡°The original picture of this painting is a delicate paper cut in He Danggui¡¯s appearance. It was created by her. Later, the people of Luo¡¯s Mansion gave it to Qi for fun. Qi found a great mystery from it, so he took down this figurine. After returning to the capital, Qi ran to Changye Tower and sent people to inquire everything about He Danggui. Before he received the report from the scout, he heard that we were also asking Changye Tower to investigate her, so he came to me. I thought the small image is lifelike, so I wanted to get it for Duan. But despite of my efforts, Qi only agreed to let me have only one copy, and resolutely refused to give me the original! Hum, he is so stingy. When Duan marries Miss He, I can have 10 baskets of paper-cuts like this!¡±

 Chapter 66 - People cared more about equal distribution than limited materials

    <h4>Chapter 66 People cared more about equal distribution than limited materials</h4>

    ¡°Miss, didn¡¯t Mammy Tang ask you to wait for her to pick you up in the mountain?¡± Zhen Jing, whose name was Chan Yi now, ran after He Danggui, and panted heavily as she shouted, ¡°It¡¯s about 5:00, only the second morning now. Even if Mammy Tang can fly, she cannote back overnight! My legs are breaking. Let¡¯s have a rest!¡±

    ¡°I agree, Miss. Let¡¯s have a rest at the edge of the mountain road, and my hands hurt!¡± Huai Wen, whose name was Huai Hua now, stopped, and putted the baggage on the road, shaking her hand, ¡°I can¡¯t make it! I really can¡¯t walk any further!¡±

    He Danggui walked in the front, stopped andined, ¡°You need to rest again?¡± Excuse me, are you maids? As your Miss, I¡¯m not tired of carrying such a heavy load about 100 jin, and you¡¯re still panting with almost empty hands. Howe you im yourselves as people who often walked on mountain roads?¡± In spite ofining, she put the carrying pole down, sitting on the luggage to have a rest.

    Chan Yi sat on the stone steps of the road angrily, ¡°We are walking but you are running, Miss. Even if we have more legs, we can¡¯t catch up with you!¡±

    ¡°Fine, don¡¯t pout!¡± He Dangguiforted her, ¡°As soon as I walk in this kind of straight-down mountain road, I can¡¯t help quickening my pace, so I start to run. How about this? Later, you two sit on both sides of the carrying pole, and I will try to pick you down the mountain, so your hands and legs won¡¯t hurt, and we can save time.¡±

    Huai Hua eximed, ¡°You are kidding, Miss! The two of us together weighs more than the loads of that carrying pole, and plus the weight of the carrying pole itself. It must be more than 300 jin! Even if you are a female Overlord of the West Chu, or a rebirth of Hua Mn. It¡¯s impossible for you to take both of us on the mountain road!¡±

    He Danggui scratched her chin carelessly and smiled immediately, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. Let¡¯s try it. If I can¡¯t, I will get down the mountain first to put everything in somece, then I will pick you up.¡±

    Huai Hua said incredibly, ¡°Miss, you can not only walk fast but also have good physical strength. You are even stronger than the strongest man in my vige!¡±

    ¡°I told you she is a heroine! Yesterday you did not believe it, and you understand it now!¡± Chan Yi looked at He Danggui with a worship and asked, ¡°Miss, where shall we go after getting off the mountain? If Mammy Tang can¡¯te back today, will we be homeless? Are we going to live in the inn of Tu¡¯er Town tonight?¡±

    He Danggui raised her finger, and a mysterious smile appeared on her face, ¡°Let¡¯s make a bet. After we get off the mountain, we¡¯ll just wait at the intersection. If Mammy Tang doesn¡¯te to us within an hour, you will be able to punish me any way you want, but if shees, I will punish you at my will. What do you think?¡±

    Huai Hua turned to see Chan Yi, perplexed. Because it was the first time for her to see He Danggui act in such a lively manner. She usually acted like a little grown-up after all. Chan Yi thought for a moment and responded in an emtive way, ¡°I ept. Although you are very clever, I heard very clearly at that time. Mammy Tang said that she will pick you up tomorrow and hopes you can stay at the Taoist temple to recuperate your hands... By the way, how about your hands? Still itchy now?¡±

    He Danggui looked at her hands carefully, ¡°ording to the color of the skin, it should be fine. After getting off the mountain, I will untie the numb acupoint of my elbows, and let the blood flow in my arms.¡±

    Chan Yi mentioned this and sighed, ¡°What are the Misses in therge families thinking about? If it were my cousin who came back from the dead, I would be madly happy. But she just sent clothes with hidden thorns and itching powder to hurt you. If you didn¡¯t find those things in front of Mammy Tang, I think she may not admit it as her plot and might even me you for wronging her by then. From another aspect, if you go back to Luo¡¯s Family, she will have another ymate. Why does she want to trick you?¡±

    He Danggui drew circles on her fingernail leisurely and analyzed thoughtfully, ¡°Maybe she was too happy to be crazy, so she yed a trick on me on purpose. In fact, that was quite good, and I should thank her because I finally convinced Mammy Tang. By the way, I haven¡¯t told you that I used to live in the West Lateral court, which was an old yard that has been abandoned for many years. It was humid and gray, and many of the rooms were in disrepair. Living in there was already inconvenient. Later, the court gradually became a mice nest, and the ce was uninhabitable...¡±

    Hearing this, Chan Yi shivered for fearing of mice. He Danggui smiled and reassured her, ¡°Take it easy. Before we return to Luo¡¯s Family, the most annoying West Lateral court will disappear from Luo¡¯s Mansion. Thanks to the fourth sister¡¯s blessing, the whole mansion¡¯s mice can be thoroughly eliminated. I think we can have a better yard to live in the future.¡±

    Chan Yi stared at her eyes and shouted with a low voice, ¡°Seriously, Miss? You want to thank her, and expect her to help us to change a good yard to live? This time you aren¡¯t smarter than me. ording to my analysis, Fourth Miss putting the itching powder on your clothes was not only to simply make you itchy. If you really put on that clothes to take the sedan, you might get undressed and run off the sedan because it is too itchy! She is so bad. How can she help us?¡±

    He Danggui picked up a wild chrysanthemum from the side of the road, and smelled, then started to read a poem, ¡°When the double ninth festivales, chrysanthemums will bloom again. Good flowers smelled so good!¡±

    She was sincere to say ¡°we can move out from the West Lateral court and have a better ce to live thanks to Luo Baishao¡±. This time, without Luo Baiqiong¡¯s itching powder, she could not have convinced Mammy Tang if she only got several thin thorns on that beautiful clothes sent by Luo Baishao. And Mammy Tang would not either have had such a strong sympathy for her, or have believed that elegant Second Miss would hide thorns in the clothes. Not to mention she would less likely to help her to seek Madam Luo for justice.

    Hearing that the skirt with water ripples and the gauze dress embroidered with white magnolias were sent by Luo Baiqiong, He Danggui immediately checked them carefully. Based on the experience of her previous life, when Luo Baiqiong was unmarried, her pranks had always been childish and monotonous, and just had a few little tricks. There was nothing new.

    In her pervious life, when she arrived at Luo¡¯s Family, she was just 9 years old. Although her shape of a beautiful youngdy was not appeared yet, her delicate facial features and fair skin immediately drew numerous meaning eyes. She was always like a frightened deer, and her eyes shed the light of innocence, timidity, and curiosity. So, when she went to kowtow to Madam Luo, thetter took her up with great joy, and embraced her all the time after giving a nce at her. In the end, Madam Luo joked with the first and the second branches of the family, ¡°Come! Look at her. This is Chuanxiong¡¯s daughter, Yi, and she must be the most beautiful Miss of our mansion.¡±

    After listening this, Luo Baiqiong¡¯s gentle appearance immediately changed and looked at this ¡°cousin¡± who was raised on the farm trenchantly.

    Last year, there was once that Luo Baiqiong heard secretly from Ding Rong¡¯s wife. Thetter said that half a month ago, when she was passing the farm outside of the city, she saw that the Fourth Mistress¡¯s daughter bent to pull weeds in the field, and then threw the grass into the basket on her back. Within a short time, she was sweeting all over out of tiredness, and she used a ck towel to brush her ck face. Ding Rong¡¯s wife sneered, ¡°She haspletely be a vige girl, and she doesn¡¯t even look like a Miss of Luo¡¯s Family. Even the maids who were responsible for washing feet for their masters in the mansion are better than her.¡±

    Luo Baiqiong remembered clearly that after hearing those words, the hate in her mother¡¯s eyes was clear, but her mother smiled pleasantly. At that time, she felt a little strange, because the girl had been kicked out from Luo¡¯s Family for many years, and had no rtionship with Noble Ladies like them. Why did her mother pay so much attention to that girl?

    Luo Baiqiong looked at the wild girl in Madam Luo¡¯s arms repeatedly and wanted to find out any ws on her face. Didn¡¯t Ding Rong¡¯s wife say that the girl did farm works in dirty mud? How could her face be so fair, and her eyes be so bright? She didn¡¯t deserve to sit on the arms of Madam Luo! Why did her grandmother treat a stranger so well?

    After a few days, the Administrator of the Third Branch, Wang Minshan, came back from the north to visit his family. He also brought with him some crops and 4 bolts of silk with patterns of morning clouds, which were bought by the Third Lord, saying those things were from Northern Zhili. Since Madam Luo thought Yi was new here and she was kind of a small guest, Madam Luo decided to give her 2 bolts of silk with light color, and give the 2 dark bolts of silk to be evenly distributed to First Miss and Younger First Mistress Luo of the First Branch, as well as Second Miss and Fourth Miss of the Second Branch of the family.

    Actually, there were different types of fabric to be distributed all the seasons in the mansion. No one liked those rustic silks before, but people cared more about equal distribution than limited materials. These 4 honorable Ladies of Luo¡¯s Mansion were very angry because they should divide things that a wild girl left. In the end, no one wanted the rest 2 bolts of silk. Therefore, Gan Cao and Deng Cao sent it back to Madam Luo. Madam Luo thought the children were so self-effacing, smiled cheerfully and asked Deng Cao to send those to Third Miss as well.

    Fourth Miss, Luo Baishao, had old unpleasant story with He Danggui when she was a little kid.

    Luo Baishao was the third Miss in the family. When she was less than a year old and was about to be recorded as the ¡°Third Miss¡± in the family tree, everyone in the family called her ¡°Third Miss¡±. She was about to turn a year old to be recorded as the ¡°Third Miss¡± into the family tree. But one day in the midnight, something changed. Luo Chuanxiong, the fourth daughter of Madam Luo, suddenly held her two-year-old child, He Danggui, and returned home. She said with tears that this time she had made a clean break with He¡¯s Family, and she would live with her daughter alone in the future. At that time, Lord Luo Duzhong was still alive, but knew himself was about to leave the world because of cardiac disease. In order to let his favorite daughter Chuanxiong live at ease in Luo¡¯s Mansion, he also recorded his granddaughter¡¯s name into the family tree, and arranged her name between Luo Baiqiong and Luo Baishao by the order of age. In this way, He Danggui became the ¡°Third Miss¡± among the young generation, while Luo Baishao was turned to be ¡°Fourth Miss¡±.

    Lord Luo Duzhong died in his sleep after 3 months. 2 yearster, He Danggui was sent to the farm on the outside of the city. 3 more years passed, Luo Chuanxiong married He Fu, who was 3 years younger than her, and she purchased a big house with 5 yards with her dowry, then moved in with He Fu, He Fu¡¯s mother, his sister and his brother-inw. ¡°Third Miss¡± and her mother went out from Luo¡¯s Mansion temporarily.

    In the second year, Fourth Miss of Luo¡¯s Family, Luo Baishao, was 7 years old. One day, Lou¡¯s Family sat up a stage for the opera show, and many females of the East and West Yard of Luo¡¯s Mansion sat under the stage. On the stage, the yers first performed Zhuang Yuan Hong, then Qian Hun Ji and Yunniang Seeks for a Husband. Suddenly, someone said, ¡°Why are all the bad guys rank the fourth in every y?¡± Then a lot of people covered their mouths and said with smile, ¡°Sounds right. Is it possible that the opera writers all prefer to describe people who ranked the fourth to be bad guys?¡±

    Luo Baishao remembered this in her heart immediately. After the show, she got back to her mother and said that her sib elder sister ranked the second, so she should be the third. She wanted to be ¡°Third Miss¡±.

    Second Mistress Luo peeled a green grape with her long red nails, and told slowly to Luo Baishao, ¡°Everyone¡¯s name and rank are recorded in the family tree, and only the patriarch has the right to modify. Now the lord of the East Yard has died, so only the lord of the West Yard, Luo Duheng, could do this for you. Shortly before, Qiong felt her quondam name was too countrified and wanted to change a good name. She didn¡¯t seed until she had looked for him for many times. If now you look for him again to change your rank, he must be impatient! This is destined. We were supposed to write your name in the family tree in a couple of dayster, and you would have ranked the Third. But an outsider whose surname is He came in front of you shamelessly and was written in the family tree. While she is sent away now, but as long as the family tree is in there, she has always upied the ce. You can only be Fourth Miss, and it is doomed, so you have to ept your fate!¡±

    Because of this, Luo Baishao hated He Danggui whom she had never met secretly. It was He Danggui who made her ¡°the bad guy¡± in every y. Her sister ranked the second, and the others had always put her sister in their hands, so when she wanted to change her name, she got what she wanted. But she, as the Fourth Miss, became a natural ¡°bad guy¡±. She not only couldn¡¯t get the same love as her sister in this life, but the things she got were not as good as her sister¡¯s. All of these were caused by He Danggui who upied her position!

 Chapter 67 - The fairy in his heart

    <strong>Chapter 67 The fairy in his heart</strong>

    Two yearster, Luo Chuanxiong brought Third Miss He Danggui back to Luo¡¯s Mansion again. At that time, her mother First Madam Luo had passed away. Being disheartened by her two failed marriages, Luo Chuanxiong avoided meeting acquaintances whose expressions made her feel like being pricked by tiny needles on her heart. So, after she made her daughter He Danggui settled, she ran to Sanqing Temple overnight to start her meditation.

    He Danggui just came to Luo¡¯s Family a few days but had already upied four bolts of silk patterned by ¡°Rosy Clouds of Dawn Raising from Mountains¡± that the Third Lord gave to three Misses and a Younger Mistress of the first and second branches. The silk wasn¡¯t precious, but Luo Baiqiong who was always regarded as a core thought that someone was more important than her this time. She locked herself in the room to think about that again and again with a feeling of resentment. If she didn¡¯t vent her anger, the pretty face and the eyes full of pretending tenderness of that ¡°wild woman¡± would appear in her mind repeatedly, making her unable to eat or sleep well.

    Just then, her sister Luo Baishao came to her and was outraged at the injustice. So, they murmured to each other to think it over. Then their first plot came out.

    Despite their clumsy plot, bad acting skills, and lots of ws in their words, He Danggui who yearned for good sisterhoodpletely didn¡¯t realize that it was a trap. That time, they also yed a trick on her clothes by putting some splinters of western mirrors into the embroidered Chinese roses. At that time, He Danggui was so stupid that she had worn the clothes for a month and didn¡¯t find anything abnormal. She was just confused about the fresh wounds all over her soft skins every day.

    The plot came to light because a maid¡¯s hands were hurt by splinters when she was washing the clothes. He Danggui tossed and turned to think all night and became convinced that the plotters were cousins in the Second Branch. But she still couldn¡¯t figure out the reasons. She had learned that she depended on Luo¡¯s Family for living and must keep a low profile, so she dared not spread this but suffered it by herself. From then, she became more cautious at Luo¡¯s Mansion.

    This life, Luo Baiqiong sent the clothes again, still with some sharp splinters. When He Danggui touched those thorns, she couldn¡¯t help smiling in her heart, and thought, ¡°Second Sister, you always stay at home leisurely. Why can¡¯t you use your head to think more different tricks to widen my vision? You should know ¡®sailing a boat upstream will go back if you don¡¯t advance.¡¯ You are the same person in the past, but I¡¯m not the same as that in my previous life.¡±

    In front of Mammy Tang, He Danggui held the thorns in her palm. Then she screamed out with tears in her eyes and pretended that she was painful but she didn¡¯t dare to cry. She said nothing but exposed the evil intention on the clothes.

    However, Mammy Tang didn¡¯t want to think anything bad about Second Miss Luo Baiqiong, because Second Miss was the proudest daughter of Luo¡¯s Family. In terms of appearance, character, family background, or the skill and talent of poetry and calligraphy, she was a unique and outstanding figure in the East and West Yard of Luo¡¯s Family and she would have a promising future. So, Mammy Tang even did not want to think about it since she thought it was a kind of sphemy to Second Miss and a kind of betrayal to Luo¡¯s Family.

    It was hard to change one¡¯s fixed thought. In this case, if He Danggui insisted on getting Luo Baiqiong into trouble, exposing her true face which was arrogant and narrow-minded and telling that she liked collecting cactus thorns and using them to punish the maids who made mistakes, Mammy Tang would not only insist on defending Luo Baiqiong, but also doubt He Danggui and all her words. At that time, it would be very difficult for He Danggui toin.

    When He Danggui was thinking about what she should do next, she suddenly smelled a strange chrysanthemum fragrance, which immediately aroused her mind. She would never forget this fragrance, because it could remind her of painful things.

    When He Danggui was at Luo¡¯s Family in her previous life, Luo Baishao once used the itching powder with this chrysanthemum fragrance on He Danggui¡¯s body for many times. Sometimes Luo Baishao knocked over the powder ¡°inadvertently¡± and then the powder fell on her body ¡°identally¡±. Sometimes Luo Baishao smeared the powder on the utensils that He Danggui often touched. Sometimes Luo Baishao came to talk with He Danggui with smile, saying that there were many leftovers in her kitchte every day. As long as He Danggui held the handkerchief stained with the powder, she would provide her with the free midnight snack for a month...

    Now, Mammy Tang was standing beside He Danggui and the chrysanthemum fragrance of Diaoshanyao Powder came from clothes on the table. The evidences were all there. It was a good opportunity for He Danggui toin. So, He Danggui instantly calmed down and focused all her attention on her nose. Atst, she realized that the Diaoshanyao Powder was on that set of ivory silk inner clothes.

    In fact, in order to avoid being found, Luo Baishao hid only a small amount of itching powder. Only the person wearing the inner clothes could feel it, and then would be attacked by the strange itch. The person needed to scratch the body for a long time or even finally got naked because of the itch. After the trick seeded, even if others checked the inner clothes, the powder had been smeared away by the person who had put on the inner clothes. How could the upper-ss people living in the big mansions associate it with such a strange and inferior thing like Diaoshanyao Powder?

    If this went well, He Danggui¡¯s skin under her inner clothes would be seen by the men outside the sedan, and her reputation would be ruinedpletely. At that time, in order to maintain the family reputation, Luo¡¯s Family might delete her name from the family tree. If ¡°Third Miss¡± disappeared, ¡°Forth Miss¡± would be in the upper position.

    He Danggui had to admit that although Luo Baishao was young, regarding ways of tricking and harming people, she was more deliberate than her sister and braver than her mother. Actually, Second Mistress Luo hated He Danggui the most in Luo¡¯s Family. He Danggui guessed that this time Madam Luo asked Luo¡¯s Family to pick her up decently, and Second Mistress Luo must be the one who was most annoyed. However, though Second Mistress Luo had the authority of managing the family affairs and so many tricks and counsellors, she wasn¡¯t going to be against He Danggui to spoil Madam Luo¡¯s mood to make up for the granddaughter. In Luo¡¯s family, Madam Luo¡¯s authority was overwhelming. The people who made Madam Luo ufortable would suffer in the future.

    Therefore,pared with Second Mistress Luo who waited and rested until she came up with a n, Luo Baiqiong and Luo Baishao were too young and na?ve, just like two ¡°little cabbages¡±. He Danggui sneered and thought, ¡°Now that I temporarily couldn¡¯t deal with Luo Baiqiong, I decided to deal with Luo Baishao first, as a gift to three of them.¡±

    Following the chrysanthemums fragrance, He Danggui sessfully found the itching powder hidden in the clothes¡¯ hem. She dug some powder with her fingernail and hid it in the table¡¯s hole. Then she pretended to be stained with the itching powder and showed a terrible pain as if she suddenly felt itchy. Her performance was so real because she had a lot of experiences of the itching powder. Gradually, she followed this line and exposed the true features of Fourth Miss Luo Baishao, kitchen¡¯s administrator Aunt Wang and others one by one.

    Mammy Tang promised that she wouldin to Madam Luo about Aunt Wang¡¯s behaviors. However, Aunt Wang was supported by Younger Mistress Luo, the ¡°number one meritorious person of Luo¡¯s Family¡± who gave birth to three kids for First Master Baiqian. Mammy Tang couldn¡¯t overwhelm Aunt Wang¡¯s status in Luo¡¯s Mansion unless having the hard evidence. Therefore, He Danggui nned to deal with this matter after she went back to Luo¡¯s Family.

    Seeing Mammy Tang didn¡¯t want to point out Luo Baishao¡¯s mistakes, He Danggui employed her final ability. Although it was not the best way, it was the most efficient way. She didn¡¯t originally n these stratagems, because she not only didn¡¯t know the clothes sent here were dangerous, but also Madam¡¯s henchman Mammy Tang woulde to the Taoist temple to pick her up. The West Lateral court of Luo¡¯s Mansion once was the ce where her nightmare began in the previous life. When she came back to Luo¡¯s Mansion, she wanted it to disappear and chose another yard to live. So, she had already ned the plot. She immersed in it while ying a role of a dutiful actress, and disclosed slowly what she wanted Madam Luo to know to Mammy Tang who was the eyes and ears of Madam Luo.

    Now that Mammy Tang ignored the matter that Luo Baishao put the itching powder to He Danggui, He Danggui could only employ her final way. So, she put Diaoshanyao Powder which was hidden in the table¡¯s hole on her palm, and then gave Mammy Tang a water bowl with this hand so that Mammy Tang could be stained with the itching powder when she caught the bowl.

    Reliving the horrible itch in previous life, He Danggui felt satisfied this time. Now that someone thought a pain which one could speak out was not unbearable, the only way to mark that painful memory in head was to experience it. And only by trying the burning pain of me, one would never want to touch that orange-red gas jumping like the silk again. Diaoshanyao Powder was the same thing as that gas.

    However, the reason why He Danggui would like to experience that extremely painful feeling again was that she knew she would not be the next one to suffer most in this storm.

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù

    The lynx-like eyes of Liao Zhiyuan rolled around and around. He analyzed Lu Jiangbei¡¯s expression very carefully and said with his hand holding his chin, ¡°Childe Duan takes He Danggui as the fairy in his heart, while Gao Jue regards her as the shadow of his dead wife. This is because they both live an uplete life. Childe Duan lives a quite smooth life and what hecks is frustration, which he first experienced from He Danggui. So, he had a crush on it since then. As for Gao Jue, his life is too miserable. His most beloved woman left him, and his family members tricked him to marry a vicious woman. There is nothing for him to lose except for the affair of losing.¡±

    Although Lu Jiangbei was calm on his face, his fingers holding the dagger were shaking unconsciously, and his palms began to sweat. He thought, ¡°Has He Danggui gone back to Luo¡¯s Family? Are her hands still cold?¡±

    ¡°The strangest thing to me is that Gao Jue and He Danggui sometimes give me a simr feeling. I feel that they¡¯re heartless and callous, and they only care about the fact and interest instead of following their hearts. It seems that they¡¯re dead people without hearts or feelings. Gao Jue has a cold face. He Danggui shows different masks in front of different people. The first thing I¡¯m confused about is that judging from her age and life experience, she couldn¡¯t act like that. Where does her sophisticatione from?¡± Liao Zhiyuan shook his head and sighed towards the sky, ¡°I just couldn¡¯t figure it out after thinking for even a hundred times. She was like a delicate and fragile flower when I first met her. But when I came closer, I see a fearful poisonous vine that would never be ripped apart.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, she is a mystery. I wonder who can solve this mystery.¡± Lu Jiangbei agreed and added, ¡°What else are you confused about?¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan stared at Lu Jiangbei and said coldly, ¡°I just told you. Childe Duan and Gao Jue fall in love with He Danggui who is abnormal just because they are also abnormal. The other thing I find confusing is that, you¡¯re such a normal person, how could you fall in love with her too? You two don¡¯t match! So, please listen to me. Stop this crush on her before you get yourself into trouble!¡±

 Chapter 68 - Royal Prophet Qi was abstinent

    <h4>Chapter 68 Royal Prophet Qi was abstinent</h4>

    Lu Jiangbei frowned. He wasn¡¯t offended by this question but was so confused, ¡°I¡¯m half a year younger than Gao Jue. Why did you say that ¡®we two don¡¯t match¡¯? Everyone loves the beauty. Miss He is a rare beauty. I admire her, but I don¡¯t offend her. Isn¡¯t that okay?¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan did not answer the question but asked, ¡°Do you want this dagger?¡±

    Lu Jiangbei put the dagger in his palm and observed it for a while. Then he put the dagger into the scabbard, gave it to Liao Zhiyuan and said with a smile, ¡°You just said you would sell it to Childe Duan. How can I take it? Next time you make another one, maybe I¡¯ll buy it for 50 liang silver.¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan shook his fingers and said shrewdly, ¡°Ask the white finch for white feathers and ask the colorful finch for colorful feathers. I ask Childe Duan for 100 liang silver because he has a lot of money. But you have a lot of Zhenqi... I have an idea. I make another one and sell it to Childe Duan. I will give this dagger to you as a souvenir, but you may need to massage or unchoke the channel for me...¡±

    Lu Jiangbei could not helpughing, ¡°No matter how much you said, this is what you want! You are really azy lynx, greedy lynx, drunk lynx, and avaricious lynx!¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan was unconvinced and said, ¡°You have nothing to lose. Look at this natural craftsmanship and smooth knife work. And think about the hard work I made to get the paper cut in He Danggui¡¯s appearance from Qi Xuanyu. I have paid a price to make it¡­¡± He showed his broken finger again and continued, ¡°Now, you only need to give me a little help to get it. It¡¯s ¡®a crash price¡¯ that my sister used to say!¡±

    ¡°Well,¡± Lu Jiangbei suddenly became serious and said in a deep voice, ¡°You said that Qi Xuanyu discovered a shocking secret when he saw the paper cut in Miss He¡¯s appearance. What¡¯s the secret?¡±

    ¡°Oh, about that,¡± Liao Zhiyuan recalled with a yawn, ¡°Qi Xuanyu seemed to say that Miss He is very simr to a person he had met, very much alike. Qi Xuanyu also said it seemed that this paper cut had been made ording to that person.¡±

    Lu Jiangbei was surprised and held his breath to ask, ¡°Is it Gao Jue¡¯s dead wife Ling Miaochun? So, he treats her...¡±

    ¡°No, I have looked at the dagger several times since Childe Liao finished carving it yesterday,¡± Liu Sui came in with two pots of hot Nv¡¯erhong Wine and exined in a crisp voice, ¡°Although the woman carved on the dagger is very beautiful, I have never seen a real person who looks the same as her. And I am not familiar with her. She totally doesn¡¯t resemble mydy Ling Miaochun!¡±

    When Liu Sui just finished, not only Lu Jiangbei was extremely surprised, but also Liao Zhiyuan stopped his yawn.

    After knowing that He Danggui was Ling Miaochun¡¯s younger cousin, they had preconceived that Gao Jue had an unusual attitude to He Danggui just because she looked simr to Gao Jue¡¯s beloved. Because this idea was really firm and persuasive, they did not seek confirmation from Gao Jue if He Danggui looked like Ling Miaochun.

    Although Liao Zhiyuan was with Liu Sui who knew Ling Miaochun, his interest in He Danggui was limited. He carved her portrait just for making money, so he never asked Liu Sui whether the portrait looked like Ling Miaochun.

    Lu Jiangbei and Liao Zhiyuan looked at each other. Was Gao Jue interested in a woman who didn¡¯t look like Ling Miaochun? Did he really like her instead of looking for a substitute for Ling Miaochun? They were Gao Jue¡¯s good friends, but they criticized his ruthlessness without forethought and said that he always regarded other women as Ling Miaochun. Finally, they forced Gao Jue to say that he would not meet He Danggui again in this life. Did they do Gao Jue a disservice? Just because they didn¡¯t want Gao Jue, Childe Duan and He Danggui to get involved in the three people¡¯s entanglement, they killed Gao Jue¡¯s little love seedling cruelly?

    Lu Jiangbei thought more that since there was no resemnce between He Danggui and Ling Miaochun in appearance, who was the person that was almost the same as He Danggui in Master Prophet Qi Xuanyu¡¯s words? Even if there were two people who didn¡¯t know each other but looked the same, it was just strange and interesting for others. It was not a shocking secret. How could it make Qi Xuanyu, such a lofty and handsome person, care so much and go to Changye Tower to investigate He Danggui¡¯s life experience?

    ¡°Lynx, what did Qi Xuanyu say originally? You repeat that again.¡± Lu Jiangbei stared at Liao Zhiyuan. ¡°Didn¡¯t he mention the person who looked like He Danggui?¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan scratched his eyelids with distress, shrugged and said, ¡°He didn¡¯t mention this, and I didn¡¯t ask him too. Because we have known that He Danggui was a cousin of Ling Miaochun at that time, I thought the person he said was Ling Miaochun. And you know that he likes being deliberately mystifying, so only a fool would take his words seriously! Besides, as soon as I saw the paper cut that he took out, I was thinking about how to get it and then exchange some money with Childe Duan¡­¡±

    Lu Jiangbei thought for a moment and discussed with Liao Zhiyuan, ¡°Lynx, I think there must be a lot of matters behind this. Could you go back to the capital tomorrow and ask Qi Xuanyu about that again? As you know, he looks cynical and doesn¡¯t pay attention to anything. In fact, he has a deep mind and it¡¯s difficult to make friends with him. We are both officials working for the Emperor and we are of the same rank but have different sries. In the past, I wanted to make friends with him many times, but he yed a trick on me. You are the only one in the Department of Imperial Guard who has the same temper with him and can speak with him in private. But I even don¡¯t have any opportunities tomunicate with him for public affairs. So, if I go to find him specially for private affairs, it will cause his misunderstanding.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m also curious about this matter, but he has always been a mysterious person. He can take the initiative to find someone else, but others can¡¯t find him!¡± Liao Zhiyuan took the Nv¡¯erhong Wine heated by Liu Sui and drank two mouthfuls. Then he said, ¡°Even if I go to Qi¡¯s Mansion to wait for him, I think it may be impossible to find him. Besides, his father is a disgusting old goat. I can¡¯t eat or drink after seeing his father. So, I won¡¯t go anyway!¡±

    Lu Jiangbei moved quickly like electricity, held Liao Zhiyuan¡¯s cheeks heavily and rebuked him, ¡°Shut up! Even My Majesty respects the Royal Prophet. You don¡¯t talk nonsense. Disaster emanates from careless talk! You should take care and shall not say it again. Moreover, as far as I know, the Royal Prophet, Qi Jing, is abstinent and has no desire of being close to a woman for many years. He is not the old goat in your words. Why do you always nickname others?¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan broke free from the control of Lu Jiangbei and muttered angrily, ¡°I haven¡¯t wronged him and I think Qi Jing is a hypocrite. If he kept himself from the women, Qi Xuanyu wouldn¡¯t be born in the world. You don¡¯t know. Once I went to the temple fair with my sister, Qing, and we were having a good time strolling. Then I suddenly felt that my back and neck were cold, as if someone was peeping at us. So, I pulled Qing by the roadside stall and squatted down. I pretended to look at the jade in front of the sun, but I secretly searched for the peepers. Finally, I found it was Qi Jing, that hypocrite!¡±

    Lu Jiangbei raised his eyebrows, ¡°Do you mean that the Royal Prophet followed you and peeped at your shopping? It¡¯s impossible. I think it was probably a misunderstanding. He originally intended to greet you. But after seeing that you were having fun, he didn¡¯t bother you. Then you saw him coincidentally, causing a misunderstanding.¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan was so angry that he mmed Lu Jiangbei¡¯s shoulders and hurriedly said, ¡°I didn¡¯t misunderstand him. He was staring at Qing intently at that time!¡±

    Lu Jiangbei took a half step back, and then his face became pale. When he was about to say something, he suddenly coughed fiercely and continuously. After a while, he gradually calmed down. But the bright red blood overflowed from the corner of his tight lips, slipped across his beautiful jaw and finally dripped on his bright green official uniform.

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù

    ¡°What?¡± Madam Luo was shocked, making the bowl in her hands tilted and the snow-white soup spilled on her sleeved over-dress with peacock feathers. She frowned, ¡°I don¡¯t understand your words. Yi had dreamed that Zhu would die? She has been away from home for more than half a month, and she didn¡¯t know what happened to Zhu. How could she dream about it!¡±

    Mammy Tang quickly grabbed a handkerchief from the table to clean the soup for Madam Luo and corrected her words, ¡°Don¡¯t be so excited, Madam Luo. I just said so quickly, so I make a mistake. The original words of Third Miss were not like this. And the sentence that ¡®Zhu would die¡¯ is also guessed by me based on what she said.¡±

    Madam Luo pushed Mammy Tang¡¯s hands away and said fretfully, ¡°Stop! Stop cleaning. I can¡¯t understand what you¡¯re talking about. You repeat to me exactly what Yi said! There must be an evil in our house. Many strange things happened one by one. Yi lived in the mountain outside the city. How can she have anything to do with Zhu!¡± Thinking that her first and second daughters-inw, Ms. Zhao and Ms. Sun, and elder grandson¡¯s wife, Ms. Dong all had said that ¡°He Danggui was an evil¡±, Madam Luo clutched the purple silk quilt with swastika and Ruyi patterns.

    Mammy Tang sat down on the footrest beside the bed. She took a deep breath and stared at the leaping candle fire. Then she recalled, ¡°At first, Third Miss just asked me hesitantly. ¡®Does someone get ill in Luo¡¯s Mansion? If he one of the twins of Nephew Wei and Nephew Zhu?¡¯ I felt very surprised and asked her why she knew that. She replied that she had dreamed about it. Of course, I didn¡¯t believe it, so I asked her about the details. Third Miss looked very frightened. She only mentioned that it was a nightmare and everything she knew was told by an old immortal. I thought her words were hinting that ¡®Zhu is going to die soon¡¯. But when I left Luo¡¯s Mansion, everything was all right to Zhu and he could eat and sleep normally. So, I stopped her and told her never to mention this to anyone else, so as to avoid offending Younger Mistress Luo. Third Miss followed my words and we never talked about it again.¡±

    Madam Luo listened to Mammy Tang seriously. Her expression wavered on her face which was weathered but still ¡°beautiful¡±.

    ¡°Later, I came back home. As soon as I entered the door, I saw that all the rednterns had been reced by white ones. So, I quickly asked a manservant. Then I knew that Zhu is in serious illness.¡± Mammy Tang rubbed her swollen hands and sighed, ¡°Zhu is a sweet and sensible child whom we all adore. When I heard the sad news, I was both distressed and shocked. I didn¡¯t expect that Third Miss¡¯s dream shoulde true. I thought what Third Miss had said at that time over and over again. But I still couldn¡¯t figure out the mystery. So, I came here to wake you up at midnight to tell you this strange thing.¡±

    Madam Luo¡¯s five fingernails of her left hand sank deep into her right wrist. Her tremulous voice echoed in the empty room, ¡°The Fortune-teller Li who was invited by Meiniang¡­ said that there was an evil girl in our family¡­ Were his words true?

    Were his words true?

    Were true?

    True?

 Chapter 69 - A cute wolf cub begged food

    <h4>Chapter 69 A cute wolf cub begged food</h4>

    Mammy Tang was stunned and shook her head quickly after a moment. ¡°I don¡¯t mean that, and I haven¡¯t thought about that!¡± Seeing the suspicious look on Madam Luo¡¯s face, she burst intoughter and said, ¡°Mydy, are you still groggy due to the sleep? Do you forget that we heard an interesting story that day? The Fortune-teller Li¡¯s family had a mishap. He was shocked to know that the son of his concubine was not his biological son. Then he locked up this concubine and tortured her for inquiring who was the adulterer. But the concubine ran away with the property of 200 liang in the midnight. Since he can¡¯t predict his own life, how can he divine for others? Qi Xuanyu, the real master of fortelling, has divined the life of Third Miss, saying that she is a blessed girl!¡±

    Madam Luo rxed and said with a sigh of relief, ¡°Well, I have a hard time in concentrating because of Zhu¡¯s illness.¡± After a pause, she helplessly looked at Mammy Tang whom she trusted the most and asked, ¡°In your opinion, Yi dreamed of Zhu¡¯s death in advance. Is it auspicious or not? What should we do?¡±

    Mammy Tang replied, ¡°When Third Miss said that, I didn¡¯t believe her at all, so I didn¡¯t ask her about the details. Now, I think Third Miss has been saved once by the immortal. So, she is blessed. Will an immortal protect our family this time, and save our children again through Third Miss?¡±

    ¡°Is it true, Hong Jiang?¡± Madam Luo asked with her eyes shining.

    Mammy Tang couldn¡¯t think of more words tofort Madam Luo when she thought about her conversation with He Danggui before. She was self-condemned, ¡°It¡¯s my fault that I did not let the Third Miss finish speaking. Now Zhu¡¯s life is uncertain. If there is an immortal who wants to help us but I dy the time, then I will be a sinner! What if I go back to the Shui Shang Temple this night and ask Third Miss about her dream before making ns...¡±

    Miss Ji stood at the door and knocked on the pearwood door. She said sadly, ¡°Madam Luo, a person from the First Branches to announce Zhu¡¯s death.¡±

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù

    Before dawn, He Danggui took a rest at the intersection at the foot of the mountain with Chan Yi and Huai Hua. They put the prepared food on the luggage and talked about the ¡°unwanted guest¡± who followed them all the way down the mountain.

    ¡°Beautiful! Its eyes are light green, and the fur is white and pure.¡± Chan Yi swallowed a mouthful of lotus cake and asked He Danggui, ¡°It¡¯s following us. Does it want our desserts?¡±

    He Danggui shook her head and said, ¡°I¡¯ve heard that dogs eat pasta. How can wolves eat this? It must want meat.¡±

    Huai Hua looked at the fluffy ball in the size of a palm, and the infinite maternal love came to her heart. She begged He Danggui, ¡°Mydy, shall we adopt it? It¡¯s too small to find food by itself. If it starves to death, it¡¯s pathetic! You see it¡¯s staring at your face. It¡¯s with human mind!¡±

    He Danggui hurriedly put a pumpkin cake into mouth, pped the powder on her hands and said, ¡°Yeah, if you don¡¯t remind me, I almost forget it!¡± Then she took out a small box with painted flowers on the maic cover from her waist, looked around and smiled, ¡°I was afraid that the sweat would wash it away, so I thought of applying it to my face at the foot of the mountain. I remember a stream in the north. I will use it as the mirror. Eat slowly and wait for me. Besides, don¡¯t get close to that little beast. Be careful about it. It may bite you!¡± Then she walked away quickly.

    Huai Hua asked Chan Yi curiously, ¡°What is she going to do? Powder her face with the mirror?¡±

    Chan Yi just nodded, ¡°Maybe. You¡¯ll know it after shees back. Hey, Huai Hua, we can y with that snow-white wolf before shees back. Look! It is wagging its tail!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, yeah. I¡¯ve lived in the countryside for over 10 years, but I¡¯ve never seen a snow-white wolf. It followed us all the way, so it must be unable to find its mother and want to eat!¡±

    With a dreamy smile on the face, two girls blinked and walked to the little white wolf that was not far away. Holding a few pieces of pastries in their hands, they approached it step by step. Originally, that little white wolf sat on the ground, watching the girls. But after seeing them moving toward, it stood up immediately, and then tilted its head and opened its mouth, as if it was smiling.

    The moment they approached, the wolf, like a fluffy ball, leaped from the ground suddenly. As it leaped to the highest point, opened its mouth and bit Huai Hua¡¯s finger.

    ¡°Ow!¡± Huai Hua swung her arms and backed up. ¡°Help! Mydy! Help!¡± Chan Yi screamed out in terror.

    A green shadow shed with the smell of grass, stretching out a hand to catch the wolf. At the same time, an elegant and gentle female voice came from far to near, but it appeared slower than that green shadow. ¡°Girls, you¡¯re very naughty. Didn¡¯t I tell you not to approach it?¡± He Danggui held the wolf which was kicking, and said to Huai Hua, ¡°Fortunately, it still has no teeth, or you will need its blood to remove the poison.¡±

    Huai Hua was so scared that she started crying wildly. A seventeen-year-old talldy was still like a child in front of He Danggui. She sobbed, ¡°It bit me¡­ It bit me even without teeth¡­¡±

    He Danggui shook her head and med, ¡°What can you expect from a wolf? Drinking blood and eating meat are its nature.¡± Then she threw the wolf, put a pheasant whose neck was broken in front of it, and shouted, ¡°Get out of here. Don¡¯t follow me again!¡±

    Even the untamable animals would fear the strong. That wolf felt the powerful force from He Danggui, the slimmest girl among the three. With fear in its light green eyes, it bent its front legs and ced its head on the ground, as if it kowtowed to He Danggui. When Chan Yi looked at it unbelievably, the wolf pawed to stand up, carried that pheasant bigger than it and ran away.

    He Danggui turned to look at the girls with a smile and said, ¡°I happened to see a pheasant with colorful feathers in the grass, so I wanted to test my knack for hunting. Huh! It had a bad luck. I just caught it as I collect the grass¡­¡±

    ¡°Your¡­ your face!¡± Huai Hua gazed at He Danggui¡¯s face. Then she stopped crying, and asked in surprise, ¡°What happened to your face?¡±

    Chan Yi patted her shoulder to calm her, ¡°Don¡¯t worry! She just powdered her face. It is a kind of powder for holding beauty, which also was used by the consorts of Emperor Wu in Han Dynasty!¡±

    A powder for holding beauty? Huai Hua was shocked by that sallow face. Originally, the Miss had a very delicate face, but now it became sallow. Huai Hua didn¡¯t know whether what she saw was true or not. The Miss¡¯s eyes looked smaller but the nose and the mouth looked bigger, and there were also a few freckles on the bridge of her nose... In a word, the Miss really became ugly!

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Chief! I, I didn¡¯t mean it!¡± Liao Zhiyuan held Lu Jiangbei up in a hurry. His face was full of regret as if he wanted to kill himself right now to apologize.

    Lu Jiangbei waved his hands and said nothing. He just sat beside the rosewood table with Liao Zhiyuan¡¯s help. He meditated to adjust his breath for a while. Then the natural color in his face revived, but he still looked tired. Lu Jiangbei talked to Liu Sui, ¡°Miss, I want to eat lotus-nuts sweet soup. Could you make it for me please?¡± Liu Sui nodded and went to the kitchen.

    Watching that Liu Sui walked away, Lu Jiangbei turned to talk to Liao Zhiyuan seriously, ¡°Lynx, I have some issues to tell you. And you should tell Gao Jue and Childe Duan when you meet them.¡± Seeing Liao Zhiyuan¡¯s serious face, Lu Jiangbei was gratified, ¡°The first thing I will tell you is a top secret. Last time, Gao Jue asked me about it, but I didn¡¯t tell him. But now I be... You are the most reliable man to me. Listen carefully and tell it to them. But you shouldn¡¯t tell others from the imperial guard. Got it?¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan hugged Lu Jiangbei hastily and said almost in tears, ¡°Chief, I just punched you once. Indeed, it¡¯s a little hard. But you don¡¯t have to say yourst words! Go! Lie down on the bed, and I¡¯ll give you a treatment!¡±

    Lu Jiangbei got rid of this man immediately and rebuked him weakly, ¡°Stupid lynx! How could you curse me? I¡¯m just going to meditate in the icehouse under the Baisha Mountain Vi. And I need you to do my unfinished tasks. You should say these are myst words? How dare you! Stupid lynx! When I end my meditation next month, I wille for... Eh-hem, you.¡± Lu Jiangbei coughed out blood.

    ¡°Don¡¯t say anything. I treat you with my internal force!¡± Liao Zhiyuan was shocked and wanted to help Lu Jiangbei get into the bed to receive treatment.

    Lu Jiangbei still rejected, ¡°No, thanks. Your internal force is not helpful to me. Even if I do it by myself, it will take half month to recover 60 to 70 percent. I can recover until the end of next month. So, I sent you to do my job.¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan persuaded in tears, ¡°I won¡¯t charge you, so please allow me to treat you! Now that I can hurt you, I can heal you too!¡±

    ¡°My injury has nothing to do with you! Your fists are softer than cotton, so how could you hurt me? In fact, I was hurt by someone else yesterday. Just now my injury recurred, so it¡¯s not your fault.¡± Lu Jiangbei exined in a weak tone, ¡°Yesterday, from 19:00 to 21:00, on the official road to the Yingtian Prefecture, I met a masked man who was called by a killer of Wuying Tower as ¡®Gezhu¡¯. So, I decided to follow him. But he was very alert and found me hiding in the wormwood. After a few words, we began to fight. His kung fu was even as superior as mine. However, I was alone, and he had eight powerful men to help him. The situation was bad for me. Finally, I used my kill shot unawares to defeat him, but I suffered serious internal injury too. I escaped under the toxic fume.¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan was captivated by his story and stammered, ¡°Do you know who he is?¡¯

    Lu Jiangbei nodded, ¡°There are four people in my mind. But the most possible one is Lord Ning, Zhu Quan.¡±

 Chapter 70 - They made great contributions to the country

    <h4>Chapter 70 They made great contributions to the country</h4>

    ¡°That guy? How could he hurt you? He even can¡¯t beat me. He is just a kid of 15 or 16 years old.¡± Liao Zhiyuan shook his head and refuted.

    Lu Jiangbei said in a deep voice, ¡°Whether who hurt me yesterday, I¡¯m pretty sure that Zhu Quan has a gift for learning kung fu, and he always keeps his strength under wraps. You said he can¡¯t beat you, but I want to tell you that maybe he could beat you two or three years ago.¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan still didn¡¯t believe it. Just as the saying went, seeing was believing. He could beat Zhu Quan every time when they practiced kung fu at Northwest Drill Ground. After thepetition, Zhu Quan admired his skillful kung fu and bought him a drink!

    Refraining from spitting blood, Lu Jiangbei said, ¡°Now I only know that the Gezhu of Wuying Tower who fought with me is a boy under the age of 18 with bizarre kung fu skills that are different from the schools in the Central in. To protect his identity, he used a salix-leaf shaped sword which he is unfamiliar with, or he will not be easily beaten by me in a hundred moves. His moves are simple and fluent, cid but murderous. Lynx, don¡¯t talk with him if you meet him. Just run away as soon as possible.¡±

    Certainly, Liao Zhiyuan was unconvinced. But when he looked at Lu Jiangbei who was half-dead, he just couldn¡¯t speak out some good words to appreciate themselves but depreciate others.

    Lu Jiangbei was just like a weak young schr from his appearance to his style of conversation, and people who met him for the first time always regarded him as a wuss. However, they would know that they were wrong after fighting with him just within one move. This young schr was not a ¡°wuss¡±, but a ¡°tough man¡±. Even the most skillful man would be hurt by him if they have a battle! He was the most skillful man in the Armed Escort, except the old men who took a back seat 10 years ago. So, he could be called ¡°The first among young men in the imperial guard¡±. When Gao Jue who was strong battled with Lu Jiangbei at daily life, he had 7 losses in 10 battles, while Lu Jiangbei always won easily.

    ¡°Gao Jue asked me about the clues of the Gezhu of Wuying Tower earlier, but I concealed this matter. Do you know the reason, Lynx?¡± Lu Jiangbei¡¯s eyes were deep.

    After consideration, Lian Zhiyuan nodded, ¡°You guys be rivals in love, and you don¡¯t want him to see your awkwardness, so you just y cool.¡±

    It seemed that Lu Jiangbei didn¡¯t dispute with Lian Zhiyuan so as to save energy, but he put him in the cklist in mind.

    Looking at the white sand in the yard, Lu Jiangbei recalled, ¡°We had three direct ps with each other that time, which were neck and neck. Therefore, his internal energy isn¡¯t weaker than mine. However, to my surprise, his arts of lightness are simr to Gao Jue, which can make you confused in a very short time. And he can change his arts continually in short distance with slow movement but in a speed faster than lightning indeed. Thus, you will be overwhelmed by him. Fortunately, I y with Gao Jue for many years and now I¡¯m familiar with this kind of arts. Otherwise, maybe I¡¯d have been overwhelmed by his quick attack.¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan said surprisedly, ¡°Gao Jue¡¯s kung fu is Dun Shu. He practiced in secret methods in Nihon. Even if we intend to learn from him, we are justymen. Since you said that the Gezhu of Wuying Tower used the arts of lightness simr to Dun Shu, would he be a person from Nihon?¡±

    Lu Jiangbei shook his head, ¡°If he is a foreigner, why should he use an unfamiliar sword to hide his identity? After several contacts, I¡¯m sure that the young man is our acquaintance, and I¡¯ve dealt with him more than once before. The reason why I don¡¯t talk to Gao Jue is that I suspect that the person is Zhu Quan, Lord Ning. He is a favored son of the Emperor. You can¡¯t go to find him without sufficient evidence. Neither can¡¯t you investigate his kung fu. You should give special instructions especially to Gao Jue.¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan touched his chin with his knuckles, frowned and questioned, ¡°But Zhu Quan was granted the title of Lord Ning by the Emperor in March this year, and he was also entrusted with an important task by the Emperor. He was sent to Daning Prefecture to guard the frontier with Mongolia. Even if he was a hidden expert, why would he build the Wuying Tower to fight against the Changye Tower of the Emperor without any reason?¡±

    Lu Jiangbei wanted to say something but stopped. He just said finally, ¡°We can put aside the motivation. I only know that there are no more than five people whose kung fu areparable to mine and who are 10 years younger than me. Zhu Quan is one of them. Aftering backst night, I have sent sunstreaker to Daning Prefecture at full speed to see if Lord Ning is in office. The injury of the Gezhu of Wuying Tower is more serious than mine. He can¡¯t stand the long journey. The 22nd in this month is the maneuver of Daning Drill Ground. At that time, if Lord Ning appears, he will have no suspicion. On the contrary, if he doesn¡¯t appear, you can report to the Emperor secretly and suggest calling Lord Ning back from his fief to observe for a period of time.¡±

    ¡°Well, I get it.¡± Liao Zhiyuan nodded, then asked curiously, ¡°Chief, when did you find that Zhu Quan has peerless kung fu? I haven¡¯t heard of it before! He pretended to be a wuss in front of me. How can he expose himself in front of you?¡±

    ¡°When Consort Yang died two years ago, Childe Duan and I witnessed it.¡±

    ¡°Consort Yang? Zhu Quan¡¯s mother?¡±

    ¡°Yes, you and Gao Jue were in Guangxi Prefecture, so you didn¡¯t know.¡± Lu Jiangbei said with a sigh, ¡°Childe Duan and I went back to the capital to report our work. As soon as we arrived in the capital, we heard some news from the Imperial Pce that the Emperor was furious again. Consort Yang had been beheaded and her heart was gouged out. The Emperor buried her head in the east side of the pce gate, her heart in the west side of the pce gate, and hung her body on the gpole outside the Taiping Gate. He ordered the guards to watch her body, and said to them that when the vultures in the sky pecked all her flesh with only bones left, they should put the bones down and throw to the mass grave.¡±

    Hearing that, Liao Zhiyuan felt numb. In recent years, the Emperor¡¯s temper grew with his age, and he became more and more moody. The concubines and consorts in the Imperial Harem were his favorite for abreaction, even the mothers of every princes.

    At the 23rd year of Hongwu Period in Qianwu Pce, Consort Xian, the mother of Lord Tang, Consort Ning, the mother of Lord Lu and Consort Hu, the mother of Lord Yi, somehow angered the Emperor. Consort Xian¡¯s head was smashed by the Emperor with a jade Paperweight on his desk. Consort Ning and Consort Hu were frightened immediately. They hid around the pce. The Emperor locked the door of the pce and picked up a golden spittoon to y hide-and-seek with them. After a while, the imperial bodyguards outside the pce heard only two screams from the pce. Then the door opened suddenly. The Emperor came out and ordered the bodyguards to take argest bamboo basket. Then he went back to the pce and closed the door.

    Then a eunuch ran to the Imperial Kitchen and found arge bamboo basket. With the Emperor¡¯s permission, he opened a crack of the door and put it into the pce. After one hour, the Emperor came out, yawning and ordering the people that he wanted to eat sashimi and roast mutton. He let the servants ask the Imperial Kitchen to cook quickly. And he pointed at the center of Qianwu Pce and let the bodyguards carry the bamboo basket and bury it outside the Taiping Gate. The bodyguards did as he said, and they carried away the bamboo basket covered with ck cloth and buried it. Then Consort Xian, Consort Ning and Consort Hu disappeared from the Imperial Harem.

    Half a monthter, the good news came from the frontier frequently. And the Emperor¡¯s mood got better. He sighed and said that those consorts both apanied him many years and brought up three princes. They really made great contributions to the country. So, he awarded them posthumous names and let the eunuchs dig out the bamboo basket outside the Taiping Gate. They dug out the bamboo basket, and uncovered the ck cloth. The three corpses were too rotten to recognize. So, they just recognized their identity at random by their costumes, and finished this work carelessly.

    Things like this often happened in the Imperial Pce. Liao Zhiyuan couldn¡¯t figure out why a lot of officers still wanted to send their daughters into the pce although they had heard such things. What were they thinking about?

    With his narrow eyebrows frowned, Lu Jiangbei shook his head, ¡°The Imperial Court and Imperial Harem have so many connections. On the surface, the Emperor just got angry and killed a consort. But the situation is moreplex indeed. Different powers struggle with each other. Consort Yang is only an innocent pawn to draw forth the dispute. However, she had no family to help her when she was alive and still had no one to bury her body after she died.¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan agreed, ¡°Expect those concubines who have no kids, Consort Yang indeed is the one who has the least support from others. I heard that she was brought by the Emperor from the public.¡±

    ¡°At that time, Consort Yang¡¯s son Zhu Quan was just 13 years old. He lived in the Prince Yard with other princes behind the Eastern Pce. At the very beginning, the Emperor didn¡¯t like him. He said that as a boy, Zhu Quan was more delicate than girls and he didn¡¯t think Zhu Quan would establish his own career. Over the next few years, he became more outstanding than other princes in literary talent and kung fu. Then he was valued and favored by the Emperor. But as he wasn¡¯t taken under his mother¡¯s wing, he was left out by other princes.¡± Lu Jiangbei signed, ¡°Under that circumstance, he couldn¡¯t even protect himself but still had the courage to bury his mother¡¯s corpse. It was very hard for him.¡±

    ¡°Really? He defied the Imperial Edict, but didn¡¯t the Emperor get angry with him?¡± Liao Zhiyuan didn¡¯t expect that such a big thing happened in the Imperial ce. He always called himself as ¡°the jack of all trades of the capital¡±, but he knew nothing about this thing.

    A faint smile appeared on Lu Jiangbei¡¯s face. He said suddenly, ¡°I don¡¯t know how he came up with such a devious scheme. And no one connected him with the missing of Yang Consort¡¯s corpse. I happened to pass through Taiping Gate and witness the scene with Childe Duan. Though I felt strange, I didn¡¯t mind it. After ten days, the guards who once guarded Yang Consort¡¯s corpse died suspiciously, and their heads disappeared. Childe Duan and me thought about that situation, and then we suspected that the shepherd boy was disguised by Zhu Quan¡­ I pitied him for losing his mother at a young age, so I discussed with Childe Duan and decided to conceal for him.¡±

 Chapter 71 - The exceedingly beautiful woman

    <h4>Chapter 71 The exceedingly beautiful woman</h4>

    ording to the records of the History of Han Dynasty, Li Yannian, the courtier of Emperor Wu of Han, once sang a song in the banquet of the Emperor. The melody was very touching. The lyrics were ¡°There¡¯s a beauty in the north, who is iparable and unworldly. With first nce, she overthrows the cities. With another nce, she overthrows the countries. Even so, no one wants to lose the chance to get the beauty!¡±

    After hearing this, Emperor Wu of Han sighed, ¡°Good song! Good lyrics! But is there such a beauty in the world?¡± Then Princess Pingyang, the elder sister of Emperor Wu of Han, smiled and said, ¡°My Majesty, you don¡¯t have to be sad. The beauty is right here. As far as I know, Li Yannian¡¯s younger sister is such a beauty!¡±

    So, Emperor Wu of Han summoned Li Yannian¡¯s younger sister immediately. After a few moments, a young woman who had been carefully dressed up by Princess Pingyang and Li Yannian came from the end of the hall. She wore white satin clothes with long ck hair, bared her fair feet and prostrated before the Emperor. Emperor Wu of Han was drunk and only thought that the woman floated here like a fairy, so he asked her to raise her head.

    The woman raised her head slowly, and drew the attention of all people in the hall. The men with the dish dropped his food on the table. The men who drank the wine poured it on the cor. The men who were using their fingers to pick their nose secretly with their sleeve over his face stopped. The musicians on both sides of the hall also stopped their actions. There was just the ending sound of music left in the suddenly quiet hall.

    There were many voluptuous beauties with delicate faces and features in Emperor Wu of Han¡¯s Imperial Harem. But there was not such a beauty like her, whose bone was like the jade, skin was as fair as snow and eyes were as limpid as the water in autumn. Her appearance was excellent, but it didn¡¯t immediately exceed that of beauties of the whole Imperial Harem. The most amazing thing was that her skin was softer and fairer than the bright moon in the sky. She was really shinning and beautiful. When Emperor Wu of Han saw her, he thought she was a fairy and immediately conferred the title of Madam Li on her. Then Madam Li was favored by the Emperor. For 16 years, her appearance remained the same, and the Emperor was always in favor of her.

    It was said that as long as she didn¡¯t serve the Emperor, she always used a kind of fulvous powder on her face to remain the youth. Therefore, her face had no blemish for many years, and it was fairer than the young girls¡¯ skin. Later, when she was critically ill, she called Li Xiangguo, her favorite niece, to her bed and told her the prescription, saying that this kind of powder was called ¡°Yingying Powder¡±, which was recorded on a piece of silk dropped from the ancient books that she asionally read when she was young. She also said that applying this kind of powder all the year round could beautify and moisturize the skin, and remove the dullness and spots on the skin.

    Xiangguo went home and took the medicines ording to the prescription. After grinding them into the powder, she put the powder on her face, took a look into the mirror and screamed. She thought, ¡°Who is the yellow-faced woman in the mirror? Can this powder really make me beautiful? Does my aunt lie to me?¡± Xiangguo reluctantly applied it for half a month. Even when she was eating, sleeping and embroidering, she applied it. Other unmarried girls who didn¡¯t know the reasonughed that she was prematurely senile and she had be a yellow-faced woman before she got married. Xiangguo was so angry that she went back to wash her face. Then she took a look into the mirror but found that her skin had not changed at all and still had spots. She immediately felt that her aunt must be muddle-headed before she died and talked nonsense! Therefore, Xiangguo put the prescription aside and didn¡¯t use it anymore.

    A few yearster, one of Madam Li¡¯s brother raped the women who were in the Imperial Harem and was severely reprimanded by Emperor Wu of Han. Another brother of her was bolder. He colluded with Prime Minister Liu Qumao and Huns to plot to im Madam Li¡¯s son Liu Bo as crown prince. After the incident, all the rtives of Madam Li were punished. The Li¡¯s Mansion where Xiangguo lived was also confiscated and sealed. The prescription recorded on the handkerchief was originally sandwiched in Xiangguo¡¯s casket, but it was blown to the ground by the wind during the transportation. The eunuch who was carrying things didn¡¯t care about the handkerchief. He stepped on it and kept up with the carrying team in front. The other eunuchs who were behind him also stepped on it and went after the people in front.

    When the crowd dispersed, a shabby old Taoist priest stooped forward to pick it up, tapped the dust on it and put it into his arms. Heughed, ¡°Yingying Powder, Yingying Powder. Since people don¡¯t know you are a treasure, and make the pearl covered with dust and the jade fallen into the mud, I¡¯ll treasure you!¡±

    He Danggui was told this story by Bai Yangbai in the previous life. ording to Bai Yangbai, the old Taoist priest was the grand-grand-grand master of his grand-master, and the prescription of ¡°Yingying Powder¡± had been passed on to him.

    Bai Yangbai was more than 20 years older than He Danggui, but he looked like her younger brother. He went to the table with a smile, wrote down a prescription and handed it generously to He Danggui. Then Bai Yangbai grinned and told her that although the prescription of the medicated bath for agerasia was his top secret which could only be passed on to his wife and daughters, he could make an exception to tell He Danggui, an outsider, the prescription of Yingying Powder. Then he added that if she wanted more prescriptions, she had to follow his family name.

    He Danggui perplexedly frowned and answered that it was not difficult to regard him as an adoptive father, but her family name and given name were recorded in the family tree of Luo¡¯s Family. It was uneasy to change. In addition, the name ¡°Bai Danggui¡± sounded really strange.

    Bai Yangbai shook his fingers wisely and told her that she didn¡¯t need to change the name on the family tree. She could just go to the second house on the left side of the Household Registration Department of the government, and then add a word ¡°Bai¡± before her original name, changing her name to ¡°Bai Hedanggui¡±, which could be understood as ¡°Baihe and Danggui¡± (lily and angelica) and also as a harmonious marriagesting a hundred years. It sounded very nice! Bai Yangbai persuaded, ¡°Don¡¯t hesitate any longer. I would keep my promise. If you don¡¯t believe me, we can exchange the register and the prescription of the medicated bath at the same time. Besides, I would also give you a bottle of perfume, a hairpin to poke the acupoints and a massage, all of which are used for agerasia.¡±

    He Danggui listened to him in shock andter remembered the job duties of ¡°the second house on the left side of the Household Registration Department¡±. Then she suddenly felt angry and refused. Now her name was ¡°Zhu Hedanggui¡±. If she added another word in it, it would be ¡°Zhu Baihedanggui¡±!

    She picked up the prescription and studied it carefully. Most of the medicinal materials were regr medicinal materials to take care of skin and keep white, such as Baiji (rhizoma bletie), Baizhu (bighead atractylodes rhizome), Baizhi (radix angelica) and so on. Looking up in a few medical books causally, someone could find arge pile of simr prescriptions. Therefore, He Danggui didn¡¯t find any rarity or particrity in it.

    Looking further, He Danggui became more confused. ¡°Duzhong (emia ulmoides)? Isn¡¯t it for nourishing the liver and kidney, strengthening the muscles and bones and stabilizing the fetus? It is the first time that I have heard it could be applied externally!¡±

    ¡°Shiwei (pyrrosia lingua)? Shizhu (dianthus chinensis)? These are used to cure pneumonia and for diuresis, and Shizhu also could cure dysmenorrhea...¡±

    ¡°Chuanbai (phellodendri)? Chuangu (jobstears seed)? Chuanxiong (ligusticum wallichii)?¡±

    He Danggui was so angry that she trembled and threw the prescription on the disgusting and smiling face. Then she shouted, ¡°You y tricks on me! Isn¡¯t this the family tree of Luo¡¯s Family? Baiji, Baizhu and Baizhi are the names of my cousins; Duzhong is my grandfather; Shiwei and Shizhu are my nephews; Chuanbai and Chuangu are my uncles; Chuanxiong is my mother! Bah! Madam Li¡¯s Yingying Powder? Bai Yangbai, you are a liar!¡±

    ¡°I am wronged! How can I know the names of your family members?¡± Bai Yangbai covered his face and pretended to cry, ¡°Luo¡¯s Family is powerful in Yangzhou City, but I haven¡¯t heard of it in our Daning Prefecture! Your families name themselves at will, grab a handful of medicinal materials at random and pick up the names with medicinal materials which they catch. And your families even write them into the family tree! If you use my Yingying Powder, it¡¯s easy to know whether it is true or not. I¡¯m the descendant of Daguomen Sect of Wuyi Mountain. It is well known that the Daguomen Sect has a long history of thousands of years. This prescription is really passed on by my grand-grand¡­ master of my grand-master! Why would I lie to a girl?¡± After that, he handed back the prescription to He Danggui.

    He Danggui pouted her mouth and pointed, ¡°Uncle Bai, you just said the ¡®grand¡¯ four times more than before.¡±

    Bai Yangbai stared at her, ¡°Girl, you are too rigorous to an old man, and I also heard it from my master. Didn¡¯t I tell you? My master was a stutterer.¡±

    Therefore, He Danggui began to use the ¡°Yingying Powder¡± with a skeptical attitude and an exploration spirit of seeking knowledge and evidence,bining with the secret medicated bath for agerasia prepared by Bai Yangbai every 10 days. As a result, her skin became better day by day.

    At the very start, she still thought the prescription of Yingying Powder was fake while the medicated bath for agerasia was really good. She used Yingying Powder on her face before bed every day. But when she got up in the morning, washed face and looked in the mirror, she couldn¡¯t see any obvious improvement on her facial skin. However, when she finished the medicated bath at Bai Yangbai¡¯s home every time, her skin was fair beyond snow and extremely soft as if people could squeeze out water from it. The effects were better and better. Therefore, she still insisted on using Yingying Powder, but her main purpose was to prove that Bai Yangbai was an old liar. Then she could cheat his real prescriptions by threatening him.

    But Bai Yangbai was a cunning man. In the previous life, He Danggui was so naivepared to him. She begged a prescription for more than 4 years and failed, but only was amused by him many times.

    The fifth year, He Danggui was pregnant with Zhu Quan¡¯s child. Bai Yangbai told her that the pregnant women couldn¡¯t take the medicated bath, so she didn¡¯t need toe to him from then on. He Danggui asked him whether the pregnant women could use Yingying Powder. Bai Yangbai said Yingying Powder was okay for her. Therefore, she stopped taking the medicated bath and only use Yingying Powder for nearly a year. This time, she could see the real effects that her facial skin was more delicate and the stretch marks on her lower abdomen also disappeared.

    Yingying Powder couldn¡¯t show its effect before because it was surpassed by the medicated bath and He Danggui didn¡¯t trust Bai Yangbai, so she thought Yingying Powder was fake. In all fairness, Yingying Powder was better than other expensive secrets for beauty in the Imperial Pce. The people who used it over the years would really maintain the youth like Madam Li who had maintained youth for 16 years.

    Most women were greedy. No matter how beautiful they were, they weren¡¯t satisfied. He Danggui kept thinking about the medicated bath for agerasia after she gave birth to her daughter, so she came to Bai Yangbai¡¯s home. Knocking on the door for a long time, He Danggui didn¡¯t get response, so she pushed the door open, looked around the big yard but found no one here. ording to the thickness of dust on the table and the density of spider webs on the roof beam, she guessed that no one lived here for about a year. She thought, ¡°Oddly enough! When the old liar roamed around before, there were maids and servants living here. Did he move house but didn¡¯t tell me?¡±

    He Danggui searched the pharmacy, study room and bathroom but didn¡¯t find any prescription or medicinal material, so she left with disappointment. Later, she tried to contact Bai Yangbai by special ways many times, but just received one letter from him. She couldn¡¯t wait to open it, but only found a piece of nk paper and an air-dried mulberry leaf in it. She couldn¡¯t figure out what he meant. Was it a secret letter with mystery? Was he afraid that the precious prescription for agerasia was exposed to other people?

    After roasting that piece of paper and dipping it in the medicinal liquid, He Danggui finally believed that it was really nk. At once, she went to Bai Yangbai¡¯s house and smashed things with anger, which made herself dusty in the end. As she was ready to go, she suddenly felt someone peeping at her through the crack on the corner gate. She immediately turned around and had an eye contact with a pair of bright eyes, but they disappeared in an instant. He Danggui was shocked and bewildered, so she gave a loud shout and kicked the door open, only finding that it was an empty abandoned room with nobody.

    Then until Consort Zhou and Luo¡¯s Family jointly ended her life, He Danggui hadn¡¯t seen Bai Yangbai anymore.

 Chapter 72 - Danger of the taller tree in the woods

    <strong>Chapter 72 Danger of the taller tree in the woods</strong>

    At the beginning, He Danggui never nned to use Yingying Powder to maintain her beauty. After all, there was no need for a ten-year-old girl with a pink and soft skin to maintain youth. But she met Gao Jue¡¯s sister-inw at Tu¡¯er Townst time, a totally strange girl who looked at her face with sharpness like a knife and firmly believed she was a coquette to seduce her brother-inw. It was really an undeserved catastrophe!

    Back then, Gao Jue, Chan Yi and her were walking on the street separately with a distance of more than 2 zhang, and never showed any intimacy. However, Gao Jue¡¯s sister-inw immediately regarded her as the enemy and treated Chan Yi as the transparent air. What did this stand for?

    When she was having a meal at Qunxianlou Restaurant, it urred to her that in the previous life, there were many unnecessary hostilities that she could have avoided. The reason why they hated her so much was that they were jealous of her because she had the extraordinarily beautiful appearance. The hatred towards her under the first impression grew stronger and stronger. Simrly, it seemed that Luo Baiqiong was the first one who hated her because of envy and then became hostile against her forever.

    Then she married into Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion. The first day, she was sshed the hot tea by Princess Xie; Concubine Gu beat her at the alley on the following day; on the third day, a swarm of bees of Lady Wintersweet flew into her room¡­ She couldn¡¯t figure out the cause of these events. They all were women, but why did they do such vicious things to her? Though she shared the same husband with them, she couldn¡¯t choose whether to marry someone or not. What¡¯s more, since she got married into Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion, she was kept as a secret and the so-called husband even didn¡¯t know her. When did her steal the love and care from their husband?

    Later, when she had experienced a lot, she finally understood that they were taking preventive measures. They wanted not only to stop her from stealing their husband¡¯s love, but also to let her not be a threat to them forever. This was why ¡°an outstanding person must be envied¡±. If she were in or ugly, they wouldn¡¯t even look at her for one time, not to mention hurting her all out. s, a lot of enemies going against her was out of respect. When they raised the dagger with their noble hands and stabbed it into her chest, maybe she should feel honored.

    Immersing in her thought, He Danggui noticed a familiar funny voice. She lifted her head up and immediately recognized the owner of those bright eyes. He was Bai Yangbai! It was so strange that no matter how Bai Yangbai disguised himself with his exquisite disguise skill, He Danggui could always identify him. Zhu Quan also learned some disguise skills from Bai Yangbai, but he only learned a small part of that. However, when Zhu Quan disguised himself, He Danggui was unable to identify him as her husband who slept beside herst night.

    In the previous life, she hated this old crook who lied to her all the time and tricked her to amuse himself. Since he often used the same tricks many times, she began to feel numb, but he still enjoyed it. And the second strange thing was that when she ran into him at the restaurant, she felt a weird excitement, which made her mind nk for an instance.

    Then, she found an excuse for this excitement. That old liar opened her mind! Disguise skill! Yingying Powder!

    Yes! She was happy and excited just because she thought of Yingying Powder due to his disguise skills! As for that old crook, she still despised him.

    Although she didn¡¯t acknowledge him as her master, she learned some disguise skills during the process of working for Wuying Tower. Even she didn¡¯t learn more than Zhu Quan, her natural make-up skills as women hadpensated the gap on her skills, so her disguise skills were gradually better than that of Zhu Quan, the old liar¡¯s student.

    If she had a in face or ugly appearance, her enemies would not focus more on her face. Of course, she couldn¡¯t disguise herself too much in case everyone in Luo¡¯s Family wouldn¡¯t recognize her and kick her out of the door. Then Yingying Powder popped in her mind. The color of this cosmetic powder looked like the skin of a person who had a weak body, so she could use this powder to change her facial color. Ordinary face powder, lead powder or the Qise Powder invented by the old crook had no effects on beautifying one¡¯s face, and the skin would be worse and finally some spots would appear because the skin couldn¡¯t breathe after long-term use.

    Through 5 years¡¯ firsthand experience in the previous life, she was certainly sure that Yingying Powder had a light texture and would never cause those troubles. It would be more effective when she used it throughout the day than only at night. Therefore, bing ¡°ugly¡± now was to be more beautiful in the future. When she had her own family, when she didn¡¯t rely on anyone and when she killed everyone who had ever killed her, she would show her true face.

    The wind from the east blew He Danggui¡¯s cyan shirt with white gauze and her ck hair. She felt that she was a fairy now and could not help smiling.

    Her eyes looked smaller and her nose and mouth looked bigger after the special embellishment. This was just because the color of Yingying Powder changed due to the slightly different amount used in different areas, which caused the visual illusion. Her nose and mouth didn¡¯t really be bigger or smaller. However, the biggest change was herplexion which changed from the attractive color of white and pink to tawny, showing that she was weak. This color really matched her image of ¡°a doormat depending on others for a living¡±.

    Of course, she was still a beauty because her features had no change and also didn¡¯t have important and ugly elements like big moles, hairy nevus, scars, pockmarks and birthmarks. The so-called ugliness was just because she was a fabulous beauty like a china doll in the past. If otherspared her with Luo Baiqiong who was ¡°a beauty in Luo¡¯s Mansion¡±, most people would think the girl with sallow face was still more beautiful.

    However, the Second Mistress Luo and Second Miss would be very happy when they saw He Danggui became ugly... Thinking of this, He Danggui smiled again. Her eyes under the longshes were like a stream of water in the ancient well, glowing with a cold and jeering light. No matter how much the appearance was dissembled, the eyes were difficult to change and thus became the only w for a master of disguise.

    Huai Hua was obsessed with that pair of eyes. After a long time, she remembered her question, ¡°Mydy, why are you not as beautiful as before?¡± She was afraid that He Danggui was unhappy, so she added, ¡°I mean, you still look beautiful now. Compared with the past, you¡¯re not very beautiful now...¡±

    ¡°Third Miss! Third Miss!¡± Mammy Tang¡¯s voice came in the distance, ¡°Why are you standing here? I¡¯m about to go up the hill to pick you up!¡±

    He Danggui turned to look at the carriage with red roof and purple curtains from a distance. Seeing Mammy Tang excitedly leaned out and waved toward her, He Danggui smiled and waved too. After a moment, the carriage pulled up and the carter first jumped out to avoid. Then Mammy Tang came out. She was so anxious that she was nearly stumbled over the rail. Chan Yi hurried to help her. Then a young woman and a dowager who was about Mammy Tang¡¯s age came out when curtains were lifted.

    Chan Yi also helped them down one by one. That young woman with a blue, slinky and floral skirt of thin silk jumped out the carriage and helped the dowager down with Chan Yi.

    Chan Yi stared at the dowager who didn¡¯t dress with jewels indeed. Although she just wore the straight and Han-style clothes under a sleeved over-dress with gray cors, with a cloak of the same color, people would think that she was a dowager at the first sight. She had an oval face, long eyebrows and sentimental eyes, with the dignity showing in her each action. It seemed that she was a fascinating woman when she was young, despite the trace of age on her face.

    Chan Yi was confused and turned to He Danggui. Then He Danggui walked two steps forward and seriously prostrated herself before the dowager, saying in a clear voice, ¡°Grandma, Danggui worships you. May good fortune be with you!¡±

 Chapter 73 - Bromance of two childes

    <h4>Chapter 73 Bromance of two childes</h4>

    ¡°Chief, what did you and Childe Duan help Zhu Quan conceal? How did he get his mother¡¯s corpse?¡± Liao Zhiyuan asked curiously.

    Lu Jiangbei recalled, ¡°Now I think Zhu Quan is so scheming that he cheated Childe Duan and me at the same time. If he didn¡¯t cut off the heads of those guards who were disrespectful to the corpse of Consort Yang, we would continue to be kept in the dark. It¡¯s hard to imagine that such a n came from a 13-year-old teenager at that time, so I doubt that there was a consultant behind him.¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan became more and more curious. Then he pushed and urged Lu Jiangbei, ¡°Tell me! Just tell me immediately!¡±

    Lu Jiangbei looked pale, with the abnormal sweat on his forehead, and then he coughed violently again. Liao Zhiyuan hurriedly helped him smooth his breath, crying and confessing, ¡°It¡¯s all my fault, Chief! You have been seriously injured, but you blocked Gao Jue¡¯s hand for me. Your injury must be worse at that time! Oh, I¡¯m wrong. It¡¯s Gao Jue¡¯s fault. He should be angry at Chick He. How could he fight his friend!¡±

    ¡°Lynx, do you know where Gao Jue go for his holiday?¡± Lu Jiangbei raised his eyes weakly and asked, ¡°Before he left, he let me ask you. And he said that ¡®the price has been increased to 15 jars. If he gives me one jar less, I will twist that woman¡¯s head off and take it as a stool to sit¡¯. What kind of woman is he said? I remember that there was no woman in the targets of his assassination.¡±

    ¡°What?! 15 jars?!¡± Liao Zhiyuan was furious, ¡°How dare he renege on his words and raise the price! I¡¯m only willing to smell the wine, but he should add 5 jars!¡±

    Lu Jiangbei looked at Liao Zhiyuan in puzzlement. Before he asked about it, Liao Zhiyuan¡¯s flexible eyes turned and his expression suddenly changed from anger to delight, ¡°Eh? How silly I am! Since he also likes Chick He, why don¡¯t I give him the dagger engraved with Chick He¡¯s appearance? He may not want a jar of wine once he is happy! Don¡¯t me me, Chief. Now that you are injured, I can¡¯t expect you to help me improve my kung fu and break through the bottleneck, tut-tut.¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan held Lu Jiangbei closely and sighed, ¡°Chief, it¡¯s not because I don¡¯t care about you. Actually, I¡¯m also thinking about you. As the old saying goes, indulging on your lust is equivalent to hanging a knife upon your head. You are going to start your meditation for healing. In that dark underground icehouse, if you are lonely, you may do something with the dagger. The dagger is so sharp that it may hurt you. Even if it doesn¡¯t hurt you, it will affect your recuperation and healing. At that time, in case you are in Qi Deviation, you would have no chance to see Chick He!¡±

    Darn! Lu Jiangbei was so angry that the blue veins on his forehead twitched. He slowly made a fist and punched it on Liao Zhiyuan¡¯s chin. Suddenly, he regretted saving this lynx from Gao Jue. It turned out that it was not Gao Jue¡¯s fault when he wanted to kill Liao Zhiyuan. Gao Jue was so kind to Liao Zhiyuan by just unloading his one arm!

    Liao Zhiyuan¡¯s left hand made an intuitive response to the external attack in a speed faster than his mind. Then he immediatelyunched a palm to block Lu Jiangbei. However, he forgot that Lu Jiangbei was in a state of falling down as soon as he was touched. How could he stand Liao Zhiyuan¡¯s push? Lu Jiangbei spat out half a mouthful of blood and fell down on the ground, finally took a look at the world, and then closed his eyes reluctantly. Liao Zhiyuan rushed to him and shouted, ¡°Chief! Unexpectedly, you are always calm but you die gloomily just because you couldn¡¯t get the dagger engraved with Chick He¡¯s appearance!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t die, Chief. What can I do if you die?¡± Liao Zhiyuan took the dagger and put it into Lu Jiangbei¡¯s arms. He knelt beside Lu Jiangbei and cried, ¡°Here¡¯s the dagger. I¡¯ll carve a new one for Gao Jue! Don¡¯t die, Chief. If you survive, I¡¯ll let Gezhu depict the image of Chick He and draw a lot of pictures of beauty bathing and beauty in bed! I don¡¯t lie to you. I saw him ce the drawing under the memorial to the throne presented to the Emperor. When he wrote several words on the memorial, he drew out the drawing and depicted two or three strokes of erotic pictures!¡±

    Seeing that the most valuable titbit couldn¡¯t make Lu Jiangbei open his eyes, Liao Zhiyuan embraced Lu Jiangbei and rested Lu Jiangbei¡¯s head on his shoulder. Then he put his left hand on Lu Jiangbei¡¯s chest and right hand on the middle of his back. He put all his attention on his palms and channeled Zhenqi to Lu Jiangbei¡¯s pericardium channel and lung channel. After a while, he stopped to feel Lu Jiangbei¡¯s breath. Lu Jiangbei stopped breathing!

    Liao Zhiyuan felt panic and didn¡¯t know what to do. His Zhenqi couldn¡¯t save his Chief! He regretted that he scratched or told jokes when everyone was sitting in meditation to adjust the breath before... Now Chief was almost dying in front of him, but he didn¡¯t have enough Zhenqi to save him! The Chief just stopped breathing! He didn¡¯t know what to do.

    It urred to Liao Zhiyuan that he could give Lu Jiangbei artificial respiration. Heid Lu Jiangbei down on the ground, and learned the actions of his sister Qing when she saved a drowning maid. He used his left hand to cover Lu Jiangbei¡¯s nostrils, and his right hand to rudely gouge his mouth open. Then he took a breath and moved slowly... ¡°Bang! tter!¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan turned around after hearing the sounds and saw that Liu Sui, at the corner of the door, busily gathered up the fragments of the soup bowl. After picking up only two or three of the biggest pieces and throwing them into the tray, she ran away and cried, ¡°I understand you, and please don¡¯t kill me. I will keep it a secret! I really understand you!¡±

    ¡°What the fuck! What was she thinking about?¡± The corner of Liao Zhiyuan¡¯s left eye and mouth twitched at the same time.

    When he looked at Lu Jiangbei, he surprisedly found that Lu Jiangbei woke up and asked with puzzlement, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with Liu Sui? Who wants to kill her? Did people of Ling¡¯s Family find her?¡±

    The corner of Liao Zhiyuan¡¯s left eye and mouth twitched again spontaneously. He implicitly promised to Lu Jiangbei, ¡°I will specially take care of her.¡± Then he carried Lu Jiangbei in his arms and said, ¡°Nothing is more important than your injury right now. I will send you to the icehouse to cure your internal injury! Please hold on. I cannot live if you die!¡±

    The underground icehouse of Baisha Mountain Vi had a naturally formed ice bed. It was a great ce to heal the internal injury because the ice bed could appease the disordered Zhenqi and blood of heavily injured people. In addition, their cultivation methods and palm methods originated from Hanqingmen Sect, so they could get twice the result with half the effort when curing the injury in Ice Pool. It was said that Lu Jiangbei got his powerful internal force by practicing here. Liao Zhiyuan and Jiang Pi also wanted to follow the example of Lu Jiangbei to start their meditation, but they couldn¡¯t stand to stay here after only three days. Maybe only a man like Lu Jiangbei could bear this kind of ce which was as quiet and cold as a tomb.

    ¡°What are you talking about? Put me down. I¡¯m fine...¡± Lu Jiangbei gave Liao Zhiyuan a weak push on his chest to let him put him down, and he wanted to walk by himself. This scene was not good to be seen.

    Liao Zhiyuan didn¡¯t let him go and stopped him, ¡°Don¡¯t move. We are almost there. I¡¯m not responsible if you fall!¡± They went ahead with pulling and pushing. After turning a corner at the porch, they found Liu Sui crouched behind the flowerbeds with her ck eyes shining.

    She saw both of the two men, one was being embraced by the other, turn around to look at her. She exined immediately, ¡°I know and I don¡¯t discriminate against you. Do what you want to do. I don¡¯t see or hear anything!¡±

    Lu Jiangbei finally understood what she meant. He was so angry that he hit Liao Zhiyuan¡¯s chest again, ¡°Put me down, now!¡±

    Looking at Lu Jiangbei who was about to start vomiting blood again, Liao Zhiyuan began to fly to the entrance of the icehouse without saying anything. The master would have the maid with simr character. He could know what kind of person Ling Miaoyi was by seeing Liu Sui¡¯s behaviors. Ling Miaoyi seduced other men after she said that she liked Childe Duan. She was such a skittish liar. Fortunately, Childe Duan was not interested in her, or his future would be very unfortunate if his mother made Ling Miaoyi his fianc¨¦e.

    Liao Zhiyuan held Lu Jiangbei and flew on the roof for a while. Then they came to the Jing Yue Lake at the center of the vi. Liao Zhiyuan whispered to remind Lu Jiangbei, ¡°Hold your breath, and we have to go down!¡± Immediately, he took Lu Jiangbei to jump into theke.

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù

    ¡°Grandma, Danggui worships you. May good fortune be with you!¡±

    ¡°Stand up! Stand up and let me see you. Yi, why is your face... so sallow!¡± Madam Luo lifted He Danggui from the ground and touched her face anxiously. But Chan Yi was worried that the ¡°paint to hide beauty¡± carefully prepared by He Danggui would be rubbed off by Madam Luo. And then He Danggui would expose herself before she returned to Luo¡¯s Mansion!

    But He Danggui folded her sallow hands in her waist and slightly lowed her sallow and thin neck. She stood there calmly and was touched casually by Madam Luo. Chan Yi felt so nervous until she saw that Madam Luo finally stopped touching and took her hands away. Noticing that the paint on He Danggui¡¯s face wasn¡¯t rubbed away and Madam Luo¡¯s palm didn¡¯t be yellow, Chan Yi quietly rxed down. It turned out that the paint wouldn¡¯t be rubbed off. ¡°The Miss should give me a false rm.¡± She thought.

    Hearing that Chan Yi breathed steadily, then became short of breath, and finally breathed steadily again, He Danggui lowered her eyshes to hide her smile. The Yingying Powder had light texture and was indelible on the skin. The stability of Yingying Powder was one of the factors when she chose it as the disguising material. If she didn¡¯t repair her makeup, the Yingying Powder couldst 3 days. Even if she ran out of the powder, she still had enough time to prepare new powder.

    Its color also couldn¡¯t be washed off by ordinary cold water, and the cleaning effect with hot water was a little better, but there would still be a thinyer of khaki skin. This khaki skin could only be got rid of thoroughly by washing face with the water boiled with thest four herbs in Yingying Powder¡¯s prescription. He Danggui developed this method by herself, which Bai Yangbai didn¡¯t even know. Bai Yangbai said that the color would slowly fade only after Yingying Powder waspletely absorbed. Depending on the skin of each person, it might take 3 to 8 days.

    After putting down her hands from He Danggui¡¯s face, Madam Luo turned to hold He Danggui¡¯s hands for a moment. She finally took her thin right wrist and began to feel her pulse. After a while, Madam Luo shook her head and frowned, ¡°ording to the pulse, you should have recovered. Why do you look so bad? What¡¯s the matter?¡± Then Madam Luo carefully examined He Danggui¡¯s face again.

    With a smile, He Danggui said softly, ¡°It surprised me that youe to see me in person. I am so ttered, Grandma. But you needn¡¯t worry about me because I feel better than before. Besides, I see you now, so even if there were anything wrong, I would be good now.¡±

    Madam Luo was happy first but sighed, ¡°Luo¡¯s Family is in trouble this month. Firstly, you had an ident at the beginning of this month, and Zhu diedst night. I¡¯ve heard from Hong Jiang that after you got some directions from an immortal, you looked quite energetic. It is a fact that your spirit is better than before. You don¡¯t look well now, but it¡¯s not a big problem. Go home and take care of your body.¡± Looking at He Danggui¡¯s clear and ck watery eyes, Madam Luo asked slowly, ¡°Yi, Hong Jiang also told me that you knew what happened to Zhu, which immediately confused me. But he died just before I left the house... How did you know his death?¡±

    He Danggui suddenly winked and said clearly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Grandma. Luo¡¯s Family has been famous for treating patients for hundreds of years. Generations of descendants from Luo¡¯s Family are admirable because of benevolence, and the immortal will naturally bless Luo¡¯s Family. As for Nephew Zhu, I had told Mammy Tang that I heard it from an old immortal in my dream. And you don¡¯t need to grieve for Nephew Zhu, perhaps I can save him.¡±

 Chapter 74 - Friends who slept in the same quilt

    <strong>Chapter 74 Friends who slept in the same quilt</strong>

    ¡°What are you talking about?! Revive Zhu?!¡± Madam Luo tightly grasped the tiny left shoulder of the little girl in front of her. Her fingernails were deeply embedded in the green cloth. She asked in a hoarse voice, ¡°How can this be possible? You are lying to me. There is no such a good thing in the world that the dead can be brought back to life!¡± After saying that, she was immediately stunned for a while, because she stultified herself. There was a person who hade back to life standing in front of her!

    He Danggui nodded and said softly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Madam. I dreamed this before the day Mammy Tang came. In my dream, I was very scared. After that, I found that from head to foot, my skin was the same as that in my dream, and now it is dark yellow. I was shocked at that time. I didn¡¯t feel sad for my appearance that became ugly but worried about my nephew¡¯s safety, because the old immortal in my dream said that one of the twins would die in three days¡­ Since my appearance did be as ugly as that in my dream, the prophecy for my nephew would also possiblye true. Later, Mammy Tang came, and I heard from her that Nephew Zhu was really ill, so I doubted that what the old immortal said was true.¡±

    After listening to that, Madam Luo was terrified. She held and shook He Danggui¡¯s shoulders, asking in a tight voice, ¡°What kind of dream is it? What did the old immortal say? Tell me more about it!¡±

    Miss Ji, who was standing behind Mammy Tang, helped Madam Luo up and said, ¡°Madam, don¡¯t worry about that too much. Third Miss said there¡¯s a way to save Young Master Zhu. Why don¡¯t you ask her to talk about how to save him?¡±

    ¡°Yes, tell me!¡± Madam Luo straightened her granddaughter who was swayed askew like a puppet. ¡°How to save Zhu?¡±

    Everyone was curious about the way to save the dead. Therefore, not only Madam Luo, Mammy Tang and Miss Ji stared at her, but Chan Yi and Huai Hua also opened their eyes with curiosity.

    He Danggui took out a letter from the sleeve and said, ¡°What Miss Ji said is exactly what I want to say. Saving people is like fighting the fire. Although I don¡¯t know if this method works, I will try my best! The reason why I am waiting for Mammy Tang at the foot of the mountain is that I don¡¯t want to waste time. I have written the way of saving Zhu taught by the old immortal on this letter. At first, I intended to ask the guards who escort carriage to take it to Luo¡¯s Family by riding a swift horse and give it to my Elder Cousin. But since you are here, I think Uncle Nie is protecting you by your side, so I want to ask him to go.¡±

    Madam Luo took the envelope doubtfully and immediately opened and read it. After reading, she handed it to Mammy Tang and Miss Ji. They were all puzzled. Mammy Tang asked, ¡°Let¡¯s put the first, second, fourth and fifth items aside. The third item says, ¡®make a fire and burn the West Lateral court down¡¯. What does this have to do with saving Zhu? Isn¡¯t there where you live?¡±

    ¡°Em, I don¡¯t know either!¡± He Danggui blinked her eyes innocently and said, ¡°Although I¡¯m unwilling to burn the residence full of memories, whether to burn it or not is up to my Grandma. I just wrote down the immortal¡¯s words in my dream without missing a word. I couldn¡¯t write many of the words. Later, I consulted Master Zhen Zhu. As for the meaning of the contents and whether it can save Nephew Zhu, I really don¡¯t know. Mammy, think about it. After all, there is always something unique about what the immortals do. How can a human like I guess that?¡± Bai Yangbai often said thest sentence. When he deceived others, he always praised the immortal who lived in nowhere and it was always efficacious.

    Mammy Tang thought what He Danggui said was reasonable, so she persuaded Madam Luo, ¡°Third Miss is the master of the West Lateral court. Since she is willing to offer the immortal¡¯s method and burn the West Lateral court to summon the soul of Zhu, let¡¯s try it! We all will be happy if it is able to save Zhu. If not, Third Miss has also done her best, and we have tried our best...¡±

    Miss Ji also strongly proposed, ¡°Madam, as it¡¯s not difficult anyway, why don¡¯t we try it? It¡¯s worth ten West Lateral courts if it can really save the Young Master! Moreover, when we are discussing whether it will work or not, the Young Master¡¯s body is getting colder and colder. If we dy another day or a half, I¡¯m afraid that the immortal will not be able to save Zhu!¡±

    ¡°Yes, we have to try anyway!¡± Madam Luo immediately made up her mind, and then called to the wheat field in the distance, ¡°Nie Chun,e here!¡±

    The golden wheat field, which had not been reaped yet, was suddenly separated, creating a path in the middle. Then a bright red figure appeared at the end of the path. The figure disappeared from the original ce for a moment at every two steps, and then appeared a dozen feet in front. After four or five times, he stood in front of Madam Luo and He Danggui and asked, ¡°What is your will?¡±

    Madam Luo folded the paper, put it back into the envelope, and handed to Nie Chun, ¡°This is the way to save Zhu that the immortal said in Yi¡¯s dream. Don¡¯t riding. You should rush back to Luo¡¯s Mansion as soon as possible. Give this to Qian and let him do all tasks listed on the paper. All tasks!¡±

    He Danggui added carefully, ¡°Uncle Nie, please give the letter to my Elder Cousin. Don¡¯t let other people pass it on to him.¡± Then she turned to Madam Luo and smiled, ¡°Ha-ha, this is also what the immortal ordered.¡±

    Nie Chun was a tall and thin man who was about 28. He had a handsome face and his appearance showed that he was a clear and upright man. But he didn¡¯t look at anyone. In fact, from the perspective of He Danggui, he seemed to be looking at her with a pair of nostrils. Hearing Madam Luo and He Danggui¡¯s words, Nie Chun nodded, took the envelope, turned around and left. However, after turning around, he hummed and said a word, which was so clear that it was hard for others to pretend not to hear, ¡°Idiot.¡±

    He Danggui just raised her eyebrows. Mammy Tang kindlyforted her, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. He may notment on you.¡±

    He Danggui scratched her cheek and changed the topic, ¡°Didn¡¯t Grandma want to know the details of that dream? Anyway, even if we don¡¯t take the sedan but take the carriage, we won¡¯t be able to catch up with Uncle Nie. We may as well postpone the trip so that I can tell the details of my dream to Grandma to relieve her anxiety.¡±

    Mammy Tang nodded and said, ¡°Yeah. Anyway, we can¡¯t help even if we hurry back home. Master Baiqian is clever andpetent. Let him do it!¡±

    ¡°Well, I¡¯d like to hear the dream of Yi.¡± Madam Luo looked tired and sighed with relief, ¡°After driving for a night, I¡¯m thirsty. Our entourage are resting in the tea-booth at the intersection ahead. Ji, bring me some green tea to drink.¡±

    Mammy Tang hurriedly stopped and said, ¡°Nope, the tea-booth is not a good ce. The water in it is not as clean as the dishwater in our house. It will cause stomachache after you drink it! Madam, I remember that there are some clear streams on the mountain. I¡¯ll go and fetch some water quickly for you. s, I didn¡¯t bring anything before I went out, making you so thirsty. It¡¯s really all my fault!¡±

    He Danggui immediately turned around to find 4 or 5 bamboo slips in the luggage, held them to Madam Luo, and smiled, ¡°I made the Hawthorn tea. Last time, Mammy Tang said it tastes delicious, so I made a big pot again this morning. I also took some Schisandra chinensis from the Medicine Room of the Taoist temple and added them in the tea to quench Mammy Tang¡¯s thirst and fatigue on the way. Grandma, please try it.¡±

    Mammy Tang was delighted to hear that. She went up and took them all in her hands, saying, ¡°Madam, this tea is really delicious and can quench thirst. You will like it. Third Miss is very filial!¡±

    Miss Ji came up directly to hold Madam Luo¡¯s arm and persuaded with smile, ¡°It¡¯s windy and dusty at the intersection. You¡¯d better talk with Third Miss on the carriage, Madam. There is a small tea stove in our carriage, which is still on fire. We also have the clean blue and white porcin tea set in the drawer. Now there is only ack of the Hawthorn tea from the Third Miss.¡±

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s good.¡± He Danggui climbed on the carriage first, and then turned back to pull Madam Luo. She turned her eyes yfully and said crisply, ¡°I haven¡¯t cooked tea with proper tea set for a long time. It¡¯s my turn to show my skill. Please give me guidance, Grandma.¡±

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù

    ¡°Chief, do you know that there are many kinds of friends? Some people are really lifelong friends, but some are fair-weather. And of course, there are some friends who sleep in the same quilt...¡± Liao Zhiyuan trod the quilt jokingly and said with a smile, ¡°But few people can be the above three kinds of friends like us. Isn¡¯t it very interesting?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lu Jiangbei turned and didn¡¯t say anything.

    ¡°Chief, don¡¯t you think it¡¯s weird? Our Gezhu is a lord who is deeply loved by the Emperor. When the Emperor is happy, he often gives all kinds of beautiful women to his sons. My dad has never been so kind to me. However, our Gezhu refuses every time as he can. He epts reluctantly and say thanks only when he can¡¯t disobey the Imperial Edict. It¡¯s said that he never takes those beauties back to his fief either. Instead, he left them in separate courtyards in the capital to serve his wet nurse. What a gentleman! s, he just appreciates the beauties, and he can control himself. After enjoying, he paints them into erotic pictures ording to his imagination! Is he very gentlemanly?¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Chief, when did Childe Duan get those seven little Taoist nuns? In the past, we said that he has terrible taste in women. However, Miss Xue, Miss Lian and the other two nuns he brought back this time are all beautiful! At that time, I caught up with the carriage and looked through the gap. I saw 4 sitting on the left and 4 on the right, and then 2 in the middle. Although there are also some in women, such as Miss Lian¡¯s mom and a Taoist nun who looked ck, the overall quality is high and they were beautiful at a nce! Ha-ha, I hope that this time Childe Duan can open up his mind and choose two beautiful girls for his own. Although he never admits it, I always think that Childe Duan is still a virgin!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Seeing that Lu Jiangbei got something against him because Liu Sui misunderstood them, Liao Zhiyuan narrowed his eyes and said, ¡°Ah, before I know that He Jingxian is her father, I didn¡¯t think she had any simrity with him, but now I think that their noses and mouths are almost identical! No wonder He Jingxian used to be known as ¡®the most handsome man in the capital¡¯. He looks like his daughter!¡±

    This topic sessfully intrigued Lu Jiangbei. Although he was backfired by the cold poison of Hanqing Cold Palm, and now every time he spoke, he would feel pain, he still looked at the white snow cave ceiling above his head and took part in the topic, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that Commander He is so cold. I saw Commander He often go to ss Street with his family to y. No matter what kind of rare toy his children wanted, he bought it immediately without hesitation. I¡¯ve seen his eyes with fatherly concern to his children. At that time, I also admired their intimacy. Commander He is the only son of a medical family and is a senior official. For many years, he didn¡¯t have a concubine. He is so affectionate to his wife. But I never expect that he is so cruel to his eldest daughter He Danggui!¡±

    Seeing that Lu Jiangbei finally was interested in a topic and said so many words at once, Liao Zhiyuan drew the pillow closer with excitement and put forward his different opinions, ¡°You can¡¯t say in that way. How do you know whether He Jingxian wants this daughter or not? Maybe it was Chick He¡¯s mother who ran away with her!¡±

    Lu Jiangbei coughed, and replied in a deep voice, ¡°ording to the informer of Changye Tower, Luo¡¯s Family had sent a person to inform He¡¯s Family before they sent He Danggui to the farm. Commander He and Madam He knew about it. But Commander He allowed Luo¡¯s Family to bully He Danggui so much and treat her so cruelly, and didn¡¯t want to find her back. Is there a father crueler than him in the world?¡±

 Chapter 75 - Being a eunuch before practicing this kung fu

    <h4>Chapter 75 Being a eunuch before practicing this kung fu</h4>

    Liao Zhiyuan didn¡¯t agree with him, so he made an assumption bitingly, ¡°Chief, I heard that your marriage was arranged by your parents and matchmakers. Both you and your wife had never met each other before your marriage, and you respect each other as if the other one was a guest in the past 5 years. So, you don¡¯t look like husband and wife but guests. Then one day, Chick He, your sweetheart, suddenly came to tell you that she wanted to marry you. If we don¡¯t take Childe Duan into consideration, will you break up with your indifferent wife? Will you send matchmakers to make her be your wife? And will you spoil her like He Jingxian spoiled his wife?¡±

    Lu Jiangbei frowned, and he just felt that he couldn¡¯t answer these questions. Would he? Would she?

    ¡°You see, in this assumption, Chick He ys the role of her stepmother, and you y the role of He Jingxian, while Chick He¡¯s mother is your present wife.¡± Liao Zhiyuan was immersed in his imagination and sighed, ¡°Look, look, even you, a person who values family and friends more than anything, are moved after you heard these. How can you me He Jingxian for being cruel? He is cruel to Chick He and her mother, but he just shows his special love for his second wife, doesn¡¯t he? So, Qing is totally right!¡± Then Liao Zhiyuan sighed, ¡°Arranged marriage works out for the worst. So, no matter howzy we are, if we want to marry someone, we must choose our spouses by ourselves!¡±

    Lu Jiangbei shook his head and retorted immediately, ¡°It is difficult for honest and upright officials to deal with their family trifles, let alone others. We outsiders don¡¯t know about it but can only guess without foundation. Your assumption has no basis. You, Lynx, I just wanted to uphold justice for Miss He, but you take it as a start, talk nonsense and frame her in secret! Lynx, listen carefully! Just like what I told Gao Jue before. Since Gao Jue promised to quit, ¡®Whether Miss He is with Master Duan or not is their own business¡¯, because I have never been in her heart.¡± In the end, his voice was tight like a string.

    ¡°Chief, please calm down, let¡¯s change a topic.¡± Liao Zhiyuan drew the pillow closer, putting his face close to Lu Jiangbei, and said with a smile, ¡°Chief, I heard that Qingxin Form was enlightened in the bed of the ice pool. Now it¡¯s our destiny to lie here together. Since you can¡¯t help me improve my kung fu, why don¡¯t you teach me Qingxin Form?¡±

    ¡°Ahem, I know you must have a purpose to stay here. Turns out you want this!¡± Lu Jiangbei kept his distance from Liao Zhiyuan and refused tly, ¡°I can teach you everything else, but this is an exception. Don¡¯t even think about it!¡±

    ¡°Why? You¡¯re so stingy! Hum, I guess you will teach Chick He immediately if she asks you to teach her this!¡± Liao Zhiyuan said jealously.

    Lu Jiangbei narrowed his eyes and thought for a moment, and then he nodded with a smile, ¡°Although she looks very vulnerable, it is obvious that she has good body condition and perception. So, I think she has a talent for practicing kung fu, and she is in a suitable age for learning it. I will go to Luo¡¯s Mansion to teach her Qingxin Form at night if I don¡¯t want to sleep someday.¡±

    ¡°Hos before bros, be careful which choice you pick!¡± Liao Zhiyuan was so angry that he kicked off the quilt and sat up, but he only dared to deal with Lu Jiangbei with his eyes but not fists. Because he worried that he would spit blood and pass away immediately. At this time, Lu Jiangbei was in an inferior position. He used to be a strong bully, but now he was so vulnerable and others sympathized with him!

    Lu Jiangbei smiled slightly and exined, ¡°I refused to teach you just for your own good. Ordinary person can¡¯t learn it. Lynx, if you really want to learn it, first you should be a person like Cao Hongrui, the head of Dongchang Organization. However, your parents won¡¯t agree first.¡±

    ¡°Cao Hongrui? Whypare me with that eunuch?!¡±

    Firstly, Liao Zhiyuan beat the bed angrily, and then he was greatly frantic. His eyes were strangely staring at Lu Jiangbei¡¯s crotch. His voice was like a duck trampled on his neck, ¡°Ah, did you mean that only eunuch can learn the Qingxin Form? Does it mean you have¡­?¡± After that, Liao Zhiyuan couldn¡¯t wait to confirm his judgment by himself before Lu Jiangbei answered.

    ¡°Hoo! Okay, okay, it¡¯s still there. But Chief, what on earth is going on?¡±

    Lu Jiangbei pushed his hand and said angrily, ¡°There are poles apart of Qingxin Form. Different from women¡¯s practice, ordinary men tend to be pretty manly, and then they can¡¯t control their lust. In the past few years, I have also taught some basic forms of Qingxin Form to other Generals among my subordinates, hoping to improve their overall strength and do something better for His Majesty. Butter, I found it was wrong, so I forbade them from practicing it. As for the way to correct this situation, I havee up with new ideas. That is to say, people can practice Qingxin Form at the cost of his male feature. Also, the form can only be practiced by eunuchs. Of course, I¡¯ve been immersed in this form for ten years, and I am familiar with it. Therefore,pared with those who want to take a shortcut or get great achievements within a short time, it¡¯s different for me to practice it. So, I¡¯m the only exception.¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan scratched his hair worriedly. Couldn¡¯t it be learnt quickly?

    ¡°However, the disagreements between imperial guards and Dongchang Organization had be bigger and bigger in recent years, and we even share totally opposite standpoints. I can¡¯t find a good heir among them, so I¡¯m a little sad about this. Lynx, do you want to be the first heir to pass on my Qingxin Form?¡± After that, Lu Jiangbei looked at him and continued in a bantering tone, ¡°I¡¯m fine with this, but you¡­¡±

    Hearing that, Liao Zhiyuan slid off the bed, waving his hand, and cried, ¡°I¡¯m the 101st straight generation of Liao¡¯s Family. Chief, is there anyone like you who wants to harm his brothers? Since you said that girls can practice so casually, it¡¯s better for you to find a group of chicks to practice with you! Now that you are going to seclude yourself from the outside world for healing, I won¡¯t disturb you. And I¡¯ll order the kitchen to add dishes for you. That¡¯s all. Goodbye!¡±

    At the same time, He looked towards Lu Jiangbei and stepped back toward the ice door. As he retreated step by step, he was still very nervous, staring at Lu Jiangbei, because he worried that Lu Jiangbei would catch him as his ¡°heir¡±. Lu Jiangbei had serious injuries, but he was still a dangerous person even if he couldn¡¯t get out of bed. After all, he had been known as the ¡°fantastic magic¡± in Jianghu, a man in white with his Excalibur!

    ¡°Goodbye? Lynx, that¡¯s absurd, what are you talking about? Stop right there! I have something important to tell you.¡± Lu Jiangbei sat up weakly, waving his hand, and then he said, ¡°Come back, I¡¯m just kidding. Your fianc¨¦e is my cousin of Lu¡¯s Family, so I can¡¯t trick her even if I trick you! In addition, your temper is the pr opposite of my Qingxin Form.¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan thought for a while and agreed with him. He was far from ¡°a man with pure heart and few desires¡±. Even if Lu Jiangbei was a blind, he wouldn¡¯t choose him to be his heir. Liao Zhiyuan thought to himself, ¡°It¡¯s all my fault to be greedy. Originally, my cultivation methods has practiced to the sixth level, but I coveted Lu Jiangbei¡¯s cultivation methods after I realized that Lu Jiangbei¡¯s internal energy was getting stronger and stronger. Yeah, well, it turned out the ¡°Qingxin Form¡±, which many imperial guards pursued, only can be practiced by eunuchs and women. Such big news! I must tell it to Gezhu and others. Probably, I could learn more amazing news from them!¡±

    Lu Jiangbei took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled. Though Lynx was always a troublemaker, he was calmer than Gao Jue and more sagacious than Childe Duan. At present, he was the most suitable person to take his ce temporarily.

    Therefore, Lu Jiangbei put the clues about Wuying Tower back together, ¡°At present, all we know about the identity of the Gezhu of Wuying Tower is just an assumption. Although I suspect Zhu Quan the most, there is a person whose kung fu is as good as Zhu Quan¡¯s. That is, Chang Nuo, the grandson of General Chang Yuchun. I have met him several times. He is about 17 to 18 years old, but his kung fu can be described as appalling. His body shape is simr to that Gezhu of Wuying Tower I saw yesterday.¡±

    ¡°Well, Chief, I remember you said there were 4 suspects in your mind, right?¡± Liao Zhiyuan asked, picking his nose carefully.

    Lu Jiangbei nodded and replied, ¡°Well, besides Zhu Quan and Chang Nuo, there are Feng Yang, the younger leader of Yangzhou Caobang Organization, and Meng Yan, ¡®the master of Baijian Mountain Vi¡¯, who has be popr in Jianghu in recent years. They are both capable to fight with me in a draw within 100 moves. The former is 17 or 18 years old, and his height and weight are in line with Chang Nuo¡¯s; thetter is about 20 years old, taller than the rest. Last night, I fought with the Gezhu of Wuying Tower on the state path. He covered his face with a white kerchief, and he might have disguised his physique as well. Therefore, Zhu Quan, Chang Nuo, Feng Yang and Meng Yan are all suspected.¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan opened his mouth and said, ¡°I can¡¯t believe there are so many young seniors in Jianghu in recent years. It¡¯s a shame for me, ¡®the encyclopedia of Dijing City¡¯, not knowing anything about it! It doesn¡¯t matter I don¡¯t know any of the other three, but Zhu Quan and I once worked in the army together. He always acted arrogant when he was supported but cowardly when he was helpless. And he always yed me like a fool. Since you said that he is at the top of the list, let¡¯s check for him first!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I thought,¡± Lu Jiangbei nodded and said, ¡°If Zhu Quan is the Gezhu of Wuying Tower, he must be looking for a ce to heal like me now. On the 22nd of this month, there will be a military parade in Daning Drill Ground. Daning Prefecture is over 1200 miles away from here, he won¡¯t be able to attend the military parade if he¡¯s seriously injured. The sunstreakers I sent there would keep track of Zhu Quan. If he absents from the military parade, you will be able to sue him for ¡®Absence without official leave; dying the fulfilment of military ns¡¯ to His Majesty. Whether he has anything with Wuying Tower or not, it will attract His Majesty¡¯s attention.¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan also thought it was a feasible idea, so he agreed, ¡°That¡¯s a good idea. His Majesty is paranoid. Even if he doesn¡¯t intend to punish Zhu Quan for his mistakes, he will ask a spy of Dongchang Organization to keep track of Zhu Quan secretly. Then it will be more difficult for Zhu Quan to leave Daning to participate in the action of Wuying Tower! Well! That¡¯s the deal! Chief, you can recuperate yourself here, and I¡¯ll go back to the Mountain Vi to eat and drink. Then I¡¯ll fight against Zhu Quan after I store up my energy!¡± After that, he made a bow with his hands folded in front, and then lifted the front of his robe generously. He turned around and was ready to leave.

    ¡°Wait a second!¡± Lu Jiangbei called him immediately, ¡°Lynx, there is another thing...¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan turned around, and his face was full of the emotion, ¡°I¡¯m surprised! I¡¯m so surprised¡±. Then he stared at Lu Jiangbei and asked, ¡°What? Chief, what else do I need to do? Don¡¯t forget we don¡¯t have enough people here! Gao Jue is on the vacation, and Duan drove his gharry home. Others went to the East Street to drink tea and watch the opera. With limited time and ability, I can only do one thing once! In my opinion, we¡¯d better deal with this case first. What else can be more important than this one?¡± Chief, my chief, every dog had its bad day. Came and begged of me!

    Lu Jiangbei kept his head down sadly for a while. He frowned as his straight eyebrows raised and pulled together. And his ck hair was a little rough over his shoulders, with a strand of hair in the cor. And his hair end happened to be close to his delicate corbone.

    After a long time, he looked at Liao Zhiyuan and said in a soft voice, ¡°Lynx, I know it¡¯s not easy for you, but no one can do it except you, so I have to ask you to do me the favor. You said that Qi Xuanyu found a ¡°super-secret¡± from the portrait of He Danggui, and he found she looked like a person, which is really weird. You know, even if two unrted people look like the same, it can¡¯t be called a ¡®super-secret¡¯!¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan tilted his head and scratched his chin, ¡°Well, in fact, it¡­ When that guy came to me, we drank far too much. Maybe I was drunk and misheard, or he was drunk and said wrong. It just sounded like this: ¡®Sur~per~Se~cret¡¯, ¡®Sur~per~S~uit¡¯, ¡®Su~per~Beauty¡¯. Well, maybe he was just praising the beauty of Chick He, which made him get lovesickness.¡±

    ¡°Dude! If you keep talking nonsense like this, you¡¯ll suffer for it although I can¡¯t move now.¡± Lu Jiangbei was infuriated again and he said in a tight voice, ¡°We both know what kind of person Qi Xuanyu is. He has never seen He Danggui in person, but went to Changye Tower to check her background just because of a portrait of her. That¡¯s weird for him to do so. There must be something behind this!¡±

    ¡°Whether it¡¯s really weird or not, does it have anything to do with me?¡± Liao Zhiyuan asked, and then he turned and went outside the door because Lu Jiangbei didn¡¯t answer. Within a short time, Chick He took the hearts of his three buddies and made them be more and more attentive to her. Chief was now half-dead, but still remembered to care about her. How could Lynx not to be jealous?

    ¡°Stop!¡± A blue light suddenly shed by Liao Zhiyuan with this voice, and then directly reflected across his ear, blocking in the Ice Gateway. The next moment, that dazzling blue light disappeared, while the ice door, which was as substantial as the Cold Iron, suddenly broke down.

    On the other side of the icehouse, Lu Jiangbei sat on the bed and shouted coldly, ¡°Lynx, do you also want to have a try?¡±

 Chapter 76 - Giving ladies rouges as gifts

    <h4>Chapter 76 Givingdies rouges as gifts</h4>

    Liao Zhiyuan forced a smile which looked worse than his cry. He surrendered, ¡°Chief, simmer down. I will do as you bid me. This kind of Leihuojian exploder could kill a bunch of people within once. Don¡¯t you think it is too wasteful if you use it on me twice?¡±

    ¡°Listen to me carefully. I know you are close to Qi Xuanyu. You must have a way to know the real reason why he is interested in He Danggui. I only care about the result instead of the process and reason!¡± Lu Jiangbeiy back on the pillow slowly. Staring at the crystal ceiling of the snow cave, he said, ¡°Once you get the report from Daning, you should meet Qi Xuanyu to figure it out. And this thing is...as I ask you personally. I will repay you for this. You can ask me to do whatever you want. I promise.¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan had been awaiting this result originally, but now he only got it after he provoked Lu Jiangbei that much, which made him feel bad. He waved his hand and said with humility, ¡°Chief, don¡¯t say that. Our friendship is much deeper than reward! Don¡¯t worry about it. No matter how hard it will be, I will get the information you want!¡± Meanwhile, he had nned and prepared the methods in his mind about how he would catch and torture Qi Xuanyu.

    Settling this matter, Lu Jiangbei turned over with eyes shut. He felt something was pressing his chest, so he touched and found it was the dagger with He Danggui¡¯s portrait on it. He raised it up, waved it to Liao Zhiyuan and inquired tly, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you¡¯ll give it to Gao Jue? Why do you give it to me?¡± His tone didn¡¯t tell his moods.

    Liao Zhiyuan smiled fawningly, ¡°As the saying goes, ¡®Give heroes swords as weapons, and givedies rouges as gifts.¡¯ The dagger is sharp, besides there was a beauty on it. You are a hero, a peerless kung fu master, a handsome young childe, and it¡¯s too... Oops, sorry, I lose my words to describe it. Just keep it, I will never tell Childe Duan that you collect his fianc¨¦e¡¯s portrait and love her secretly (not if I¡¯m drunk)!¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan got an idea suddenly, after seeing Lu Jiangbei drew the dagger from its scabbard and stared at the portrait of the de in a daze. Then he gesticted and suggested, ¡°Chief, I have an idea. When you use this dagger to fight with the enemy, you should show them this portrait to captivate them and make them be obsessed by Chick He¡¯s beauty at that moment. While the moment is very important for the fight of masters. When they are in a daze, you can defeat them with one move! Aha, this is a very excellent method. I will get a simr dagger for me, and I can make another two daggers for Childe Duan and Gao Jue. Then we, ¡®The Four Chides of the Imperial Guard¡¯, can be invincible and unbeatable!¡±

    Lu Jiangbei stuffed the dagger under his pillow and closed his eyes, ¡°Oh, right. Lynx, there is a red-covered Tangwen report on my executive desk. It was sent from Yangzhou today. ording to this report, the trap has been set up in Yangzhou. Now we are waiting for Bai Yangbai to show up and take the bait. If you have read it and didn¡¯t find any ws, present to His Majesty when you go to the capital. He is very concerned about this matter.¡±

    ¡°Oh, fine. I will try my best to remember this, but you know I¡¯m very forgetful. You recuperate properly here and take care. I will go back to the Mountain Vi to crave the portrait!¡± Liao Zhiyuan waved farewell to him. Stepping those brash ices which had been shattered by Lu Jiangbei¡¯s Leihuojian exploder, he advised kindly before leaving, ¡°Chief, I have to warn you... This dagger is really sharp. If you hold the portrait to sleep, it¡¯s hard to avoid distractions and fantasies, and the Qingxin Form will be failed. That is not the most important point. The most important thing is... Chief, don¡¯t use it to attach, touch, and poke some improper body parts... Remember, you can only heal some wounds, while others you can¡¯t!¡±

    Saying that, he peeked Lu Jiangbei¡¯s crotch with his flexible eyes and said with a sinister smile, ¡°Chief, I thought you never go to the brothel because you have erectile problems. But when I touched it identally, I found you are gifted. Hoho, it¡¯s a big news! I think you are okay with that... I publicize it?¡± Seeing that Lu Jiangbei opened his eyes suddenly and stared at him, Liao Zhiyuan said innocently, ¡°Chief, why are you staring at me? It was Jiang Pi and Du Yao who said you have ¡®problems¡¯. You can punish them after healing! And I¡¯m going to rify it for you. Don¡¯t misunderstand me!¡±

    After saying that, he thrust against the ground to leap away before Lu Jiangbei released the second powerful exploder.

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù

    The sky was serene and clear in autumn morning, and a few cirrus clouds could be seen asionally. The clouds flew with the wind, making the sky more blue and boundless. While in thepound of the East Yard in Yangzhou City, there arose a loud weeping that echoed the sky.

    ¡°I¡¯m innocent! Luo Baiqian, you were out roaming day and night. I didn¡¯t know what you¡¯ve been doing, not to mention to find you. Now, you¡¯re suspecting me! How dare you! When our son was sick, you were not around. When our son was at hisst gasp, I sought you all over the world! But where were you? (Whining...) Now Zhu was dead. You rushed into Liu Li Tang with the smell of liquor and said you twisted your waist because you fell, then you went into the wing-room to sleep! Luo Baiqian, look at him! Your son¡¯s bodyid into the coffin. He hasn¡¯t even aged four. His eyes haven¡¯t closed. How could you even sleep?! (Whining...)¡±

    Sitting at the threshold of Liu Li Tang, First Younger Mistress Luo, Ms. Dong, was weeping herself out, looking totally different from her usual demure image. Her chignon was loose. A lot of hair hanging disorderly over her face and mixed with her tears. She was in her worst look right now. The pain of losing her son, plus the panic that her husband was distant to her in the recent days, made her lose control finally. She took the chance of her son¡¯s funeral and yelled out her grievances during those days.

    Luo Baiqian also felt very angry, and he yelled back at her, ¡°Dong Xin, what is wrong with you? How could I feel good about my son¡¯s death? Yesterday, after hearing this news at the gate, I ran there instantly. Indeed I fell and hurt my waist when I turned off, and I saw a herd of mice running in front of me. I was freaking out! When I hobbled here, Zhu had already died. Even if I were Hua Tuo (a legendary surgeon in Chinese history) or I had all the knowledge that Grandpa had, I also couldn¡¯t save him! I was so sad and mournful that my waist was hurtful badly. What¡¯s wrong I took a nap? You are a shameless, crazy slut. Just because I find the evidence that you were cheating on me, you want to make an unreasonable scene to bluff it out?¡±

    After saying that, he threw a man¡¯s belt on the ground and said coldly, ¡°This is an old belt. I don¡¯t remember that I had worn this kind of belt before. This belongs to another man obviously! And it was hiding under your porcin pillow! Humph, Dong Xin, if I didn¡¯t knock the pillow aside, I couldn¡¯t see this thing under the mat! Just say it! Who gave this dirty thing to you?¡±

    Ms. Dong wailed, ¡°I¡¯m innocent! I have been stayed at home all day long. I have been taken care of my son Zhu all the time. I fed him, helped him take medicine, and nursed him. All the servants could testify for me. How could I know the thing was under the pillow?!¡±

    Luo Baiqian didn¡¯t believe her at all. His handsome but ruthless face showed a resentful look. Seeing that Ms. Dong covered her face and wept, Luo Baiqian ground his teeth and sneered, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that the eldest legitimate daughter from the aristocratic family could be shameless like this! Whether you speak out your intrigant¡¯s name or not today, the physical evidence is here. You have to admit it even if you want to deny it! Dong Xin, after I tell this to Madam Luo and my father, I will divorce you. Then you¡¯ll go back to Dong¡¯s Mansion. Let your parents discipline you once again!¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± Ms. Dong stood up to make at Luo Baiqian insanely, and she hit him regardless of anything. She squealed, ¡°Ah, Luo Baiqian! I was so blind to marry you. How could I live in Luo¡¯s Family like a hell all these years? I was so wrong! Third Auntie, Third Auntie, you framed me. I¡¯m living in hell! My life is miserable!¡±

    ¡°Third Auntie¡± that Ms. Dong mentioned was First Mistress Luo, Luo Baiqian¡¯s legitimate mother, Ms. Zhao. After Ms. Zhao gave birth to First Miss Luo Baiying 23 years ago, she had infertility. So, the First Lord took a noble concubine half a yearter. Luo Baiqian was born at that time. A few yearster, the concubine died unnaturally when she went to Hanqian Temple for pilgrimaging. As his legitimate mother, Ms. Zhao raised him naturally when he was 5 years old.

    Luo Baiqian was kind of obedient when he was a child. Ms. Zhao treated him as equal as her own daughter. But he was not her biological son after all. When he got older, he was more distant with his legitimate mother.

    4 years ago, Ms. Zhao got an idea. She wanted her illegitimate to marry the daughter of her second elder sister, Lan, as his wife. Thus, not only she could get closer with him, but his children had blood rtionship with her. After her grandchildren grew up, they must have a closer rtionship with her than the illegitimate. Thinking of that, Ms. Zhao rushed at both Madam Luo and her second elder sister¡¯s mansion, Dong¡¯s Family of Fuzhou City. She spent a lot of efforts to settle down this marriage. Because, at that time, Ms. Dong as a youngdy was supposed to marry another childe. And Dong¡¯s Family wanted to take his betrothal presents, but Ms. Zhao stopped it.

    In the pavilion of Dong¡¯s Mansion¡¯s garden, Mrs. Dong and First Miss Dong were entertaining Ms. Zhao with Yinzhen tea and the special snacks of Fuzhou City.

    Ms. Zhao put her teacup on the table, and persuaded her second elder sister and her niece, ¡°As ady, it¡¯s more important to choose a good mother-inw than a good husband. After all, you couldn¡¯t see your husband all the time, but you should serve your mother-inw who was your eldership. If Lan was unlucky to meet a mean mother-inw, she would live roughly. I heard that some mothers-inws like to find some concubines for their sons to distract their son¡¯s attention on their daughters-inw, especially when their daughters-inw couldn¡¯t deliver a boy. In my opinion, this marriage is not promising. Because the young couple couldn¡¯t give birth babies immediately, let alone having a boy. At that time, if her mother-inw couldn¡¯t wait for having a grandson and take some coquettes for her husband, do you still think Lan would hold her status steadily at that time?¡±

    Seeing that her second elder sister and her niece were touched, Ms. Zhao began to talk about their blood rtionship to get them moved. She held her second elder sister¡¯s hands and said, ¡°But I would be a different mother-inw. I¡¯m her aunt, and I witnessed her growth. My daughter Ying is not intimate with me. So, I like Lan more than my own daughter. If she married Qian, she would be the most important person on the First Branch of Luo¡¯s Mansion, included Ying and Qian! In the first or second year of their marriage, it¡¯s a much joyful thing if they have kids. If not, there are many eminent doctors in our family. Madam Luo and Lan¡¯s future husband are both good at it. They can heal any diseases. Besides, as long as Lan is willing to marry Qian, I will never take any concubine for Qian. If they can always love each other, Qian would not find another concubine. So, Lan could have aplete husband in her whole life!¡±

    After hearing that, Mrs. Dong and First Miss Dong were both convinced by her. So, they turned down thest marriage proposal.

 Chapter 77 - Dad, stop beating my mom

    <h4>Chapter 77 Dad, stop beating my mom</h4>

    Dong¡¯s Family was a schrly family in Fuzhou City, and there were several men in the family who were officials in the Imperial Court. But generally speaking, Dong¡¯s Family was still not as noble as Luo¡¯s Family in Yangzhou City. So, even if the legitimate daughter of Dong¡¯s Family married the son of a concubine of Luo¡¯s Family, it was still an honor for Dong¡¯s Family. The Lord of Dong¡¯s Family was a pedantic schr. He didn¡¯t want others to feel that he attached to dignitaries, so he refused the marriage proposal of Luo¡¯s Family, iming that he couldn¡¯t bear to let his daughter marry far to Yangzhou City. He even scolded Mrs. Dong afterwards.

    Ms. Zhao thought that it was over. So, she went back to Luo¡¯s Mansion in Yangzhou City in dejection. The next day, she began to find the manuscript of her family tree again, wishing to find a girl among the younger generation who was close to her blood rtionship as a candidate of her daughter-inw.

    However, after a long time of searching, her eyes were dazzled, but she could not find a more suitable person than her niece, First Miss of Dong¡¯s Family. Some girls were estranged from her, some girls were not suitable because she had old disagreements with their elder generations, and some girls were too young to married in 2 or 3 years. Even if they got married, they were just child brides. However, Luo Baiqian had turned into an 18-year-old adult, and she had been procrastinating to arrange a waiting-maid in his room. Nowadays, if she didn¡¯t get him a wife to take care of him, maybe he would go out and find girls secretly. Atst, Ms. Zhao was so worried that she lost a few hairs. But she still couldn¡¯t find a suitable daughter-inw on her family tree.

    Half a monthter, during the Double Ninth Festival, Mrs. Dong and First Miss Dong went back to Zhao¡¯s Mansion in Zhenjiang City to visit their rtives. They detoured to Luo¡¯s Mansion in Yangzhou City because the 2 ces were not far away. Although Lord Dong did not agree with this marriage, Mrs. Dong and First Miss Dong were both very enthusiastic about what Ms. Zhao said. But they couldn¡¯t stand up to that stubborn old man, so they wanted to stay in Luo¡¯s Mansion for a few days, having a blind date in the name of visiting rtives.

    Ms. Zhao heard that her second sister and niece were waiting for her on the gharry outside Luo¡¯s Mansion. She rejoiced immediately like rain fell after a long drought and greeted the two in person. After their talking, Ms. Zhao agreed with Mrs. Dong, and they managed to let Luo Baiqian and First Miss Dong meet in the next day. But First Miss Dong was a bashfuldy. Although she really wanted to see what kind of talent her cousin Luo Baiqian was, she didn¡¯t want him to see her.

    So, the next day, Ms. Zhao asked Luo Baiqian to drink tea and chat with her, then she arranged Mrs. Dong with her daughter in a nearby wing-room where they could peep. When First Miss Dong nced him once at the small hole, she became shy because she had never seen such a good-looking man whose dashing eyebrows grew towards temples and eyes were shining like the stars and the moon. Under the nose, his thin lips rose up and down from time to time¡­ When she thought she could marry such a husband, she was so excited that she gave up her restraint. After Luo Baiqian left, she pulled up her mother, begging her third aunt to find a way to make the marriage work.

    It was clear that Ms. Zhao was willing to do this. So, she made a n with Mrs. Dong at the moment. Under their schedule, Luo Baiqian happened to see a scene of First Miss Dong changing clothes. So, they took this ¡°ident¡± to Lord Dong as a reason to propose a marriage and sessfully let Lord Dong agree with this marriage. In this way, one monthter, under the hasty arrangement of the 2 elders, Luo Baiqian married First Miss Dong as his wife.

    From the perspective of others, First Miss Dong was a beauty of a schrly family. As the legitimate daughter of her family, she was talented and well-mannered. There was no doubt that they were really a good match after the marriage.

    But from the perspective of Luo Baiqian, he was led to a guest room by his legitimate mother and inexplicably saw a woman wearing only an inner clothes, naked arms and thighs. He only nced vaguely and was scared away by the scream of the woman. After 2 or 3 days, his legitimate mother said to him suddenly that she had made a marriage for him and he would get married within that month. After his legitimate mother left, he asked his confidant manservant to ask about that woman¡¯s information and learnt that he was going to marry the woman who had ruined her reputation on that day by himself. And this woman was not someone else, but his legitimate mother¡¯s niece.

    Suddenly, Luo Baiqian had a feeling of being fooled and framed, so he didn¡¯t like the cousin Dong Xin who was one year younger than him. In his opinion, if a woman had used such a shameless means to marry someone, and even had ruined her own reputation, the most likely reason was that the woman¡¯s original boudoir reputation was not good, and her reputation had been damaged a long time ago. It was very likely that she could not marry someone in Fuzhou City before, so she came to Yangzhou City, begging her aunt to find a husband for her. So, his legitimate mother arranged this marriage, and made himself a sucker.

    With such misunderstanding, after marriage, Luo Baiqian often suspected that Dong Xin was misbehaved. So, he secretly let his confidant manservant notice whether Dong Xin had close contact with other men in the mansion. If Dong Xin had talked a few words with a manservant, a butler, or a coachman, Luo Baiqian¡¯s closest manservant would immediately run to Luo Baiqian to sue Dong Xin, then Luo Baiqian would me her.

    Over time, Dong Xin didn¡¯t dare to talk to other men anymore, so she was full of grievances. Even before she was engaged, her old-fashioned father did not restrain her that much! Therefore, when they quarreled, Dong Xin often said that East Yard of Luo¡¯s Mansion was a ¡°dark and horrible ce¡± and oftenined that Ms. Zhao, the main matchmaker, had deceived her.

    Generally, after the childes of wealthy and influential families got married, they could take concubines formally. The custom in Yangzhou City was that 3 or 4 months after the first marriage, the elders should be responsible for taking some maids or mid-ss young girls for the childes, just like a teapot pairing with several tea bowls. But Luo Baiqian never got any. He saw that Dong Xin and his legitimate mother were inseparable, so he med this on Dong Xin, thinking of her as a jealous woman who stopped his legitimate mother from taking concubines for him secretly, then he hated her even more.

    Later, Dong Xin delivered twins for him, and the rtionship between the unhappy couple eased. However, after Luo Baiqian had two sons, he found that his legitimate mother still didn¡¯t mention anything about taking concubines for him. Then he had a clever idea and ran toin with Madam Luo several times. The main idea was that his wife was very busy all day, and the 2 baby sons either cried or urinated. Especially at night, they made so much noise that he couldn¡¯t sleep, which directly affected his study efficiency the next day, and he had made mistakes in bookkeeping several times.

    Madam Luo felt pitiful for him when she heard it. Ordinary workers worked hard to earn money, and they could buy a concubine or a maid after earning more money, then they would have 1more or 2 more children. No need to mention the children and grandchildren of East Yard of Luo¡¯s Mansion had always been scarce. In the generation of Luo Baiqian, only he and his brother Ji were males. Ji was still very young, so he should wait a few more years to get married and have children. How could Qian who bore the heavy responsibility of the procreation not even have a concubine?

    Thinking that during the 10 months of Dong Xin¡¯s pregnancy, Luo Baiqian had been ¡°idle¡± all the time, Madam Luo immediately felt his energy was ¡°wasted¡±. So, she gave her maids Zi Zhi and Zi Cao to Luo Baiqian as concubines. And she scolded Ms. Zhao severely and ordered her to take concubines for Qian.

    After Ms. Zhao was reprimanded, she went back to discuss with Dong Xin, and finally took 4 mid-ss young girls for Luo Baiqian as concubines.

    Luo Baiqian felt very angry after meeting these 4 people. The first woman had a big eye and a small eye. The second woman¡¯s nose was crooked. The third woman had arge mole on the side of her lips. Although the fourth had regr features, her figure was short and thick, and she was not even taller than his chest! The appearance of the 4 people together did not look like the half of Zi Zhi that Madam Luo gifted him. It was clear that the ugly girls were selected by his legitimate mother under the egging of the jealous woman, Dong Xin! What¡¯s even more irritating was that his only beautiful concubine, Zi Zhi, provoked Dong Xin after a few days, and then Ms. Zhao gave Zi Zhi a bowl of sterilization soup, so that she would not have a baby in the future.

    As a result, Luo Baiqian hated Dong Xin and his legitimate mother even more. Since then, he had no hope for his family to take concubines for him. So, he quietly bought a big manor beside the academy. Usually, he would ask his manservant to get him some beautiful women from the Qingcaoniu market, and those women would be sent to the manor as concubines living outside. Until now, the number had gradually reached 30, among which 4 people had been pregnant in the second half of this year. Therefore, although Luo Baiqian was depressed for the loss of his son Zhu, the thought that he would have 4 more children after a few months easily eased his pain. Even if one of the uing babies was regarded as a substitute of Zhu, he still had 3 more children. Now he was not so sad.

    Now that Luo Baiqian had the evidence of Dong Xin¡¯s adultery, he was almost exhrating. And he felt that as long as he divorced the jealous woman, he could marry another good and generous wife. Then he would take back more than 30 concubines living outside to Luo¡¯s Mansion, and his 4 unborn children would not be illegitimate. By then, Madam Luo would get so many great-grandchildren at once, and she would certainly not me him for doing these privately. Maybe she would praise him for his great ability to have 4 children in session and then give him more beautiful maids.

    With this idea in his mind, Luo Baiqian was intent on convicting Dong Xin and said various unpleasant words to her. He wished she could take the initiative to divorce him and return to Fuzhou City with her luggage!

    Dong Xin didn¡¯t know the source of the belt, but just cried loudly. Later, hearing that Luo Baiqian was going to divorce her, she thought a lot. She had suffered so many grievances after marriage: the maid Zi Zhi had been unable to have children, but Luo Baiqian still often went to Zi Zhi¡¯s room to spend the night; Dong Xin herself had married Luo Baiqian for 4 years and gave birth to 2 sons and one daughter to Luo¡¯s Family. Now, because of a belt, he decided to divorce without considering her great achievements in the past. In order to marry Luo Baiqian, she sacrificed a dozen years of her reputation as a woman, which provoked her father. In the past 4 years, every time she returned to her natal family, her father refused to meet her. Now if she divorced Luo Baiqian with the reputation as a ¡°prostitute¡±, her father would beat her out of Dong¡¯s Mansion with a stick. Then she would be homeless!

    Dong Xin couldn¡¯t eat and sleep well for his son¡¯s affairs recently, and her emotions were in a state of impending copse. Now the idea of ¡°homelessness¡± had inspired the potential of a vixen. She flung into Luo Baiqian¡¯s body for an unreasonable mess andpletely gave up on the etiquette of ady.

    When Luo Baiqian was 16 years old, he went to Madam Luo¡¯s hometown, Sichuan Prefecture, and learnt martial arts for 2 years. Although he was not a senior, how could he be defeated by a woman in a fight? He had firmly believed that Dong Xin was guilty aftermitting adultery, and that¡¯s why she made such a fuss. Therefore, when he saw Dong Xin¡¯s face covering with hair, he hated her more and showed no mercy to her. He hit her hard. She was pushed to the ground and howled like a pig was being killed. Luo Baiqian was also furious at the moment. Coldness appeared in his beautiful eyes. He caught Dong Xin and kept hitting and kicking her, as if he couldn¡¯t control himself.

    It was all this bitch¡¯s fault! Because of her, he didn¡¯t want to return home. Even if he wanted to take a concubine and have a child, he had to do it secretly like a thief! This bitch not onlyined about his constant failure in his official career, but grumbled that Second Mistress Luo held the power of the house and did not give a little to the First Branch. Even if Second Mistress Luo¡¯s brother had died, she would not have given up... He was extremely irritated and increasingly felt that Dong Xin could never bepared with Qi Sanniang.

    He and Qi Sanniang, the concubine of his uncle who lived in the West Yard, were truly in love with each other. Most of the time, they could only miss each other. Even if his uncle went out for business, they could only stay together secretly. Every moment they spent together, they were on tenterhooks. For this reason, they cherished the time more, and every time they met each other, they could not bear to fall apart like that was thest time for them to meet.

    On the contrary, he and his wife, Dong Xin, were bored with each other. He loathed Dong Xin for her intolerance, her disloyalty, her meanness and everything about her; while Dong Xin loathed hisck of sess on his career and his inability to help her get the right to take charge of the family, which involved a lot of money to get. Such two mutually loathing people had to be together day and night. As a result, they gradually loathed each other more and more. Fate was so good at ying tricks on people!

    Thinking about this, Luo Baiqian was so angry that he kicked Dong Xin in her stomach with all his strength. He even thought of killing her.

    In the Ming Dynasty, adultery was a felony for a married woman who would be punished by hanging. Even if he had killed Dong Xin in a fit of rage, he would not have to be responsible for her death. He only needed to go to the government afterwards and reported the fact that his wife was so angry after her fornication had been exposed, so she suddenly attacked him, with the intention of murdering her own husband. Then he could get rid of Dong Xin once and for all. As for Dong¡¯s Family, they had raised such an unscrupulous daughter that they would not only have no face to stand up for her, but expel her from the family.

    After a while, Dong Xin¡¯s face was covered with blood for the hits, and her breathing, screams and cries grew fainter.

    ¡°Mom! Dad, stop beating mom, please!¡± A little boy in a green cotton vest ran in Liu Li Tang from outside, and he hugged Dong Xin¡¯s head and cried loudly, ¡°Stop beating my mom! Stop beating my mom! Boohoo...¡±

 Chapter 78 - Hiding a manâ€™s belt

    <h4>Chapter 78 Hiding a man¡¯s belt</h4>

    Luo Baiqian who had already been very angry stopped atst and looked at the only twin left. His heart suddenly softened. The furious and violent man who wanted to kill people a moment ago disappeared in an instant and then took out his handkerchief to wipe the tears of his son, Wei. Although he would have 4 kids, the twins were his elder sons who shared same faces and identical ck eyes. Although the annoying woman gave birth to them, he still loved the 2 sons. Now there was only one left. How could he not be more pitiful for him?

    ¡°Where is the wet nurse? Where are the others in Liu Li Tang? Are you all dead?¡± Luo Baiqian shouted towards the inner hall, ¡°Come on. Take Wei into the house!¡±

    Just now, when the servants of Liu Li Tang saw that Dong Xin and Luo Baiqian were quarreling more and more fiercely, most of them escaped to hide outside the courtyard. Seeing Luo Baiqian win the fight, the only 4 or 5 people who stayed in the back hall of the yard finally ran out with a sigh of relief. They wiped Wei¡¯s tears and hands, touched his head and pped his bottom.

    No one dared interrupt the fight between Dong Xin and Luo Baiqian in Liu Li Tang. Because everyone remembered clearly what happened to Qin, Dong Xin¡¯s maid that apanied her to her husband¡¯s house when she got married. Qin had once gone up to persuade Dong Xin not to fight, but finally ended up miserably.

    At that time, only because of Qin¡¯s articte and soft voice, Luo Baiqian stopped arguing with Dong Xin, turned his eyes on Qin¡¯s beautiful face for a while and immediately held back his anger. Then he went to Qi Lu Yard to read. At first, everyone thought that things had been solved sessfully, and they praised Qin for her ability. However, after Luo Baiqian left, Dong Xin suddenly jumped up from the bed, raised thetch to close the door and locked Qin in the room with her. People outside listened for a long time, but didn¡¯t hear any sound inside. After a while, Qin came out of the room with her head down and her eyes were red like a rabbit. Then she walked out of Liu Li Tang without saying anything. The next morning, someone found Qin¡¯s dead body in the Lotus Pond behind the rockery.

    Since then, the servants of Liu Li Tang had great respect for Younger Mistress Luo who spoke quietly and drank tea with beautiful orchid fingers, and no one dared bezy under her eyes. But there were quarrels between her and Master Baiqian from time to time. Every time it happened, people who could find a reason to run out of Liu Li Tang for refuge would run out at the first time; if the quarreling ce just blocked their way out, as the case run today, those skilled servants would climb the wall to escape, and those ipetent servants would slip into the tearoom in the back hall, pretending to prepare tea for the masters and they would stay there for a long time.

    It was a pity that Qin lost her life for this. She was the maid that grew at Younger Mistress Luo¡¯s home and apanied Younger Mistress Luo to her husband¡¯s house. She must have been her confidant for many years. Even so, she lost her life atst, just because Master Baiqian looked at her a few times. Given this history, was there any other maid in Liu Li Tang dare follow Qin¡¯s step? Even if there were some people who had used to have fantasies about the handsome master, when they realized Younger Mistress Luo was such an intolerant person, they would not dare think about it anymore at present. They even mused that it was better to marry an honest and young manservant. At least, they wouldn¡¯t die so tragically! It was said that when Qin was rescued, her head was swollen like a pig¡¯s and her identity could only be roughly distinguished ording to her clothes and a beauty spot on her face...

    ¡°Why is Wei here? Wasn¡¯t he sent to First Mistress Luo (Ms. Zhao) yesterday?¡± Luo Baiqian asked angrily, ¡°Where is his wet nurse?¡± There was no such a rule! Even a 3-year-old kid couldn¡¯t be taken good care of. He could almost have killed Dong Xin, the vicious woman. But now, not only was Dong Xin still breathing, but also his precious son was scared. What a bad luck to have these servants!

    A maid with a little courage exined to Luo Baiqian who was furious, ¡°First Mistress Luo¡¯s headache hasn¡¯t been cured yet, so she locked herself in her room to avoid seeing anyone; Madam Luo and Mammy Tang went out to meet Third Miss in the Taoist templest night; when the wet nurse saw Wei making a lot of noise in First Mistress Luo¡¯s Mu Jin Ge, she could not send him to Madam Luo, so she had to take him back to Liu Li Tang.¡± Then, when the wet nurse saw Younger Mistress Luo and Master Baiqian fighting hard at the gate, she was so scared that she wanted to take Wei and ran away. But because of Wei¡¯s refusal, the wet nurse escaped alone.

    ¡°You take Wei in quickly. Don¡¯t stand here like a nerd!¡± Luo Baiqian bitterly stared at Dong Xin who was half-dead on the ground and said with a sneer, ¡°Dong Xin, it¡¯s not over. This man¡¯s belt is the iron evidence of your affair. When Madam Luoes back, I¡¯ll take this to her and ask her to kick you out of this family. However, given that you have delivered 3 kids for my family, we will not deduct any of your dowry. Just pack your luggage and go wherever you want!¡±

    Hearing this, Wei was in a great hurry. And he bit the hands of the maid who came up to hold him, ran to hold one of Luo Baiqian¡¯s shoes and shook it twice, ¡°Dad, mom didn¡¯t betray you. It¡¯s me! I hid that belt under the pillow!¡±

    Luo Baiqian lifted his son from the ground, raised his eyebrows and shouted, ¡°Don¡¯t talk nonsense. This is a man¡¯s belt. How can you have this thing?!¡± Then before Wei said anything more, he snorted at Dong Xin with the sarcastic voiceing out of his chest, ¡°Dong Xin, you really taught your son well. He even imed your paramour¡¯s belongings as his. If you have any sense of shame, you should pack up and leave Luo¡¯s Family immediately! I will not publicize your scandal and let you leave with dignity. Then, you and I would divorce with agreement. It¡¯s over!¡±

    Dong Xin¡¯s face was covered with blood, and blood came out of her mouth when she spoke, ¡°Poof, I am wronged, poof... Okay, Luo Baiqian, I got this! That belt is clearly brought by yourself. You meant to nder, nt it on me and want to drive me away from Luo¡¯s Family! Luo Baiqian, you¡¯re a bastard. Have you got a lover outside? Just waiting for me to give her my position, right? Poof, you have no conscience. You will suffer great pain in your death!¡±

    Wei bit Luo Baiqian heavily, which made himself go because of pain. The servants looked at Wei in surprise, for he did not run to his mother, but ran to the stone steps to pick up that belt. And then he turned around and ran back to the feet of Luo Baiqian. He rubbed his little fingers inside the belt for a moment, then he took out a snow-white gauze and raised it, ¡°Dad, mom, stop arguing. It¡¯s really me who hid this belt under the pillow, because it¡¯s warmer on the bed than on the ground. In there, my baby can grow up faster!¡± Luo Baiqian leaned over, so that Wei could hold the gauze up to Luo Baiqian¡¯s nose.

    Luo Baiqian frowned to see what his son¡¯s ¡°baby¡± was. When he looked at it carefully, he found that there were a lot of small ck spots and gray spots on the bright white gauze. When he looked more carefully, these small spots were slowly creeping...

    ¡°Ah!¡± Luo Baiqian retreated in terror and asked in a shrill voice, ¡°What¡¯s that? It¡¯s still moving, alive? Where did you get them?¡±

    Wei cried and said, ¡°These are my silkworms. When they grow up, they will look better. Dad, listen to me. I hide them in my mom¡¯s room. This belt was found in my elder aunt¡¯s house. I saw that she tossed it on the ground, so I picked it up!¡±

    ¡°Elder sister?!¡± Luo Baiqian frowned and thought about the astonishing news he just heard, ¡°Did she throw a man¡¯s belt?¡±

    His legitimate sister, Luo Baiying, could be called ¡°the first weirdo of Luo¡¯s Family¡±. Because she was frigid and was not anxious to marry. Although she had turned 23 years old, she didn¡¯t get married unlike other noble women of the whole Southern Families.

    In the Ming Dynasty, in order to solve the problem that many overage men could not marry, there were strict legal restrictions on the marriage age of women, so as to urge them to marry early. ording to thew, when a woman reached the age of 9, she could marry under official Sanmei Liupin, and her name could be written into the marriage contracts of both parties. Moreover, if the woman didn¡¯t marry at the age of 26, she had to pay 3 times the head tax and also had to go to the Household Registration Office of the government every year to make a report, exining the reason why she didn¡¯t get married.

    If that reason couldn¡¯t be epted by the government, it was necessary for the official matchmaker to intervene and separate the overage women and men ording to their family statuses, and then force these men and women to make a match. Of course, if one of 2 sides disagreed with the other, it couldn¡¯t be done reluctantly. But by then, it was so well known that thements of outsiders could be a public opinion pressure for overage women to decide to marry.

    For example, after meals, Zhang San would pick his teeth, point to the door of the opposite house and say, ¡°Burp, Li Si¡¯s younger sister is almost 30 years old, but she still refuses to marry. Does she have any hidden disease? Or is their family an unlicensed brothel? That woman actually is a prostitute and she would like to make more money before getting older, so she refuses to marry? Fuck, what kind of world is this? Every woman would rather be a prostitute than marry someone. Burp, it¡¯s so bad that I can¡¯t get a wife even though I¡¯m over 40 years old!¡± Such words were said every day, every month, and every year. When everyone talked about it after meals, atst, if Li Si¡¯s sister still didn¡¯t marry, she couldn¡¯t live in this street at all.

    Mammy Tang, who had not been married in her whole life, had also suffered from this pressure of public opinion. At that time, she didn¡¯t have such a high position and she was just a good maid of the then Second Mistress Luo, Ms. Chai (now Madam Luo). Usually, if the maids were not married when they were over the proper age to get married, they must have served the master of the family with his sleep, and the maids would stay as half concubines to serve. Otherwise, as soon as they reached the suitable age of marriage, they would be allotted by their master to manservants in the house. If they were valued by their masters, they would be allotted to Administrators and butlers.

    Many years ago, Mammy Tang was almost 30 years old, but didn¡¯t marry. After listening to others¡¯ments after meals, Ms. Chai found a good marriage for Mammy Tang, which was as the Second Wife to an official of eight grades. If it was another maid, she would have gone mad with joy, but Mammy Tang refused to this marriage directly. After this, people in East Yard looked at her strangely, as if she was not a person but a monster. Untilter, when Ms. Chai finally became the only directly respected Madam Luo in East Yard, Mammy Tang was promoted, and she became a figure of power whom everyone pleased. At this time, Mammy Tang had be a real old woman. Those who gossiped just threw away the old topic and focused on fresher and more interesting gossips.

    In a word, under such social environment, if a woman wanted to be independent, she might have to go to a temple to be a Taoist nun. But the First Miss in Luo¡¯s Family, Luo Baiying, was the most special case.

    Usually, no matter whether the Lady was in a hurry or not, her elders would be in a hurry as soon as she was suitable for marriage. Luo Baiying was a 23-year-old exalted First Miss. She was not ugly, stupid or disabled, and had learned a lot of skills like other exalteddies. The elders of Luo¡¯s Family, however, from Ms. Zhao, First Lord to Madam Luo, who liked to help other people with matchmaking, never mentioned the marriage of Luo Baiying. As if it was amon thing for a girl not to marry at Luo Baiying¡¯s age. Since all the masters held the same strange attitude, the servants dared not talk about it openly or privately. They were afraid of being exposed to the masters, so that they would be in danger.

    It was necessary to know that Luo Baiying¡¯s identify was different from He Danggui¡¯s, because He Danggui had the awkward status as a foster girl who shared a different surname in the family. Until the time when He Danggui was married in the previous life, Luo¡¯s Family only gave her the treatment of being half Miss and half maid. So, it was also purely normal if her marriage was ignored. However, even if Luo Baiying, as the eldest legitimate daughter of First Branch in Luo¡¯s Family, was not loved by her parents as much as Luo Baiqiong, and her rtionship with her mother (Ms. Zhao) was not good, Luo Baiying¡¯s food and clothing consumption was at least sufficient as Luo Baiqiong¡¯s, and her position in the mansion was almost as equal as that of the ¡°rare man¡±, Luo Baiqian.

    As for the reason, it sounded strange. The First Miss, Luo Baiying, had been intimate with Madam Luo since she was a kid. And she was the most favored one among the young generation around Madam Luo. 1 word of hers was more effective than 10 words from others. For this reason, Second Mistress Luo hadined to Madam Luo several times, ming Madam Luo for not being close to her sib granddaughter, but praised Luo Baiying who was not her blood. However, seeing Luo Baiying bing an old woman day by day, Second Mistress Luo secretly gloated. She felt that Luo Baiying had no advantage topare with her 12-year-old daughter, Qiong, who was as delicate as a lotus, so she no longer cared too much about Madam Luo¡¯s partiality.

    This was Luo Baiying, who was secretly named ¡°the first weirdo of Luo¡¯s Family¡± ... Did she throw an old belt that a man had used? Luo Baiqian frowned and asked his son doubtfully, ¡°Wei, when did you see your elder aunt throw this belt? Don¡¯t talk nonsense. I can check it at any time!¡±

    Wei sobbed and shook his head, ¡°Dad, I am not talking nonsense! On that day, the eldest aunt and a man came into the room together. After a while, they began to throw clothes on the ground and this belt flew as far as at the door. I guessed they didn¡¯t think their clothes were good-looking, so they didn¡¯t want them. Therefore, I picked it up and made it the house for my silkworms! Dad, don¡¯t be angry. I¡¯ll give the belt back to my aunt!¡±

    Luo Baiqian¡¯s face immediately became colorful, as if any colors could be found on his face... The unmarried elder sister, she... had illicit intercourse with a man?

    ¡°Boohoo¨C!¡± Dong Xin, who was lying on the ground and unable to move because of her wounds, suddenly began to cry, ¡°My god, my grievance is deeper than Dou E¡¯s! Now the truthes out. The Immortals are watching, and justice naturally inhabits everyone¡¯s heart. Now everyone knows who the real dissolute woman is. I stay at home all the time, and the Immortals know I¡¯m innocent! Boohoo¨C¡±

    Luo Baiqian¡¯s expression became cold. Instead of apologizing for having misunderstood her, he shouted at her, ¡°You look more like a vulgar bitch than ady! How can you take a child¡¯s nonsense seriously? Shut up or I¡¯ll let you know what hell is!¡±

    Dong Xin had just been wronged and badly beaten by her husband. Now the truth came out, but Luo Baiqian had no intention to admit his mistake. Dong Xin didn¡¯t get the result she wanted, so she decided to abandon her dignity and insisted to let Luo Baiqian give her a promise to make up for her in the future. Under the guidance of that thought, she cried hoarsely, counting her contributions to Luo¡¯s Family and telling her endless grievances. Then she thought of her child, Zhu, who had just died, and cried more and more bitterly.

    Luo Baiqian tried to stop her but failed, so he wanted again to solve the problem by force. He grabbed Dong Xin¡¯s long, tangled hair and tried to drag her into the inner hall to beat her, but Wei came to save his mom again. Luo Baiqian called the servants to take Wei away, so a crowd of servants came up from all sides and made the situation more chaotic.

    ¡°Hello, excuse me.¡± A man in red came into Liu Li Tang, ¡°I¡¯m looking for Luo Baiqian. Someone wrote him a letter.¡±

 Chapter 79 - Nie Chun popped up from above

    <h4>Chapter 79 Nie Chun popped up from above</h4>

    In the previous life, He Danggui, who had lived in Shui Shang Temple for half a year before returning to Luo¡¯s Family, had heard such an anecdote.

    Her nephew Zhu had ¡°died¡± once. At that time, the whole family was very sad, and the whole East Yard put on in-coloryout. Senior Lord Luo didn¡¯t travel afar. To be precise, Senior Lord Luo set up a stall to sell quack medicines at the door of Luo¡¯s Mansion. When he realized something happened at home, he took the stall back home. It was said that Zhu, the son of his grandson Luo Baiqian, died and his thin body was scary. Then Senior Lord Luo said that he wanted take a look at Zhu¡¯s body.

    At that time, Zhu had been dead for 3 days. After touching, Senior Lord Luo said Zhu¡¯s heart was not cold. Zhu just ran out of energy, but he could be saved. So, Senior Lord Luo soaked Zhu¡¯s body in warm sesame oil for several hours, and then poured several precious medicinal materials into the sesame oil, transferring its medicinal properties to Zhu through the sesame oil. 6 hourster, Zhu miraculously resurrected, and even his eyes opened. It was said that he was still very thin and needed to be carefully nursed for 6 months to recover.

    Everyone was ecstatic and wondered what happened to Zhu? How did a good kid lose so much flesh in a blink of an eye?!

    Luo Baiqian, who had always been adored his great-grandfather¡¯s medical treatment, made a bow with his hands folded in front, and asked Senior Lord Luo about it. At that time, Senior Lord Luo was sitting in Zhu¡¯s bedroom, drinking tea. After drinking half a cup of chestnut tea, he suddenly wrinkled his nose and said that there was a smell of urine in the room. Everyone felt dumbfounded, but it was true when they smelt it carefully. Dong Xin embarrassingly exined to all that it was normal to smell baby burps in a little kid¡¯s room.

    Second Mistress Luo shook her head and said with a sharp voice, ¡°It doesn¡¯t smell like that. It¡¯s quite irritant. It smells like ites from under Zhu¡¯s bed.¡± Then Fourth Miss wrung her handkerchief with a smile and said that she was disappointed to hear her nephew peed under the bed even at the age of 3! Impertinent for him!

    Dong Xin rushed forward Zhu¡¯s bed with a humming sound. She lifted the mattress, knelt down on the ground, pierced her head under the bed and wanted to smell it in person to prove her son¡¯s innocence. But everyone only heard Dong Xin screaming before they saw her passing out.

    Holding the spirit of ¡°who would risk his life to do that if I don¡¯t¡±, Luo Baiqian also probed under the bed, and wanted to see what cute things scared his wicked wife. And then everyone heard Luo Baiqian¡¯s scream. He ran behind Madam Luo in great fear and shouted bluntly, ¡°Mice! A lot of mice! A nest of mice! Mice!¡±

    Most of these noble characters in the family were afraid of mice. When they heard that, they rushed out of the room and just left Dong Xin fainted there. Madam Luo panicked and shouted ¡°Nie Chun¡±. Then Nie Chun popped up from above. Under themand of Madam Luo, he destroyed the mouse nest under the bed with his wizardly power.

    The crowd, led by Madam Luo, were frightened. They hurriedly ran to the next room to find Zhu, who was still very weak, asking him why there were so many mice under his bed. Zhu was so thin that his eyes looked very big. He told everyone weakly, ¡°They are... the babies of my brother, Wei... Wei said that mother was very disgusted with his babies, but he didn¡¯t feelfortable giving them to others¡­ So, Wei had to leave them under my bed... Wei said he was willing to eat the vegetable leaves that I left in the bowl. So, I agreed...¡±

    Hearing this, everyone looked around again and finally found Wei hiding behind the door. Wei was staring at the invincible one, Nie Chun, with an almost hateful gaze,ining fiercely that Nie Chun killed his babies! Nie Chun was a killer! Big devil! Nie Chun snorted ¡°stupid boy¡± and disappeared.

    Luo Baiqian scolded Wei, ¡°How could you put such dangerous and dirty thing under your brother¡¯s bed?¡±

    Wei told everyone innocently that because his mother had said that sleeping with them would make him sick. He was afraid of getting sick, so he had to let his brother sleep with them. Then Wei continued to say that these mice were not dangerous at all, because these mice were everywhere in his aunt¡¯s yard, but his aunt lived very well.

    Everyone was stunned for a moment. Then Fourth Miss reacted first, and screamed, ¡°Ah¡ª Why were there mice in He Danggui¡¯s yard? Ah¡ªI often y in the West Lateral court, ah¡ª¡±

    As a result, they went to West Lateral court. On their way there, Madam Luo realized Senior Lord Luo disappeared, so she whispered to Mammy Tang about Senior Lord Luo¡¯s trace. Mammy Tang said in a low voice, ¡°The manservant called Ma Douling was guarding the door just now. He came to report again that Senior Lord Luo put on a beggar outfit out of nowhere, shaved his beard and got out of the mansion through the side door. Although Senior Lord Luo had no white beard at that time, his behavior was so vivid that Ma Douling recognized him at a nce.¡±

    Madam Luo sighed because something had happened at home, but Senior Lord Luo was still in the mood to disguise as a beggar to travel. She decided not to think about that now. Then she asked Mammy Tang again, ¡°Hong Jiang, why is there a few of us while walking? Where is Chuanbai? Where is my first daughter-inw? Where is First Miss? Where are Second Miss and Fourth Miss? Where is Concubine Mei of the Third Branch?¡±

    Mammy Tang answered with a smile, ¡°Senior Lord Luo and First Mistress Luo were over-stunned just now, so they had a sudden headache and now went back to rest. Besides, thedies can¡¯t bear to see the dirty things, so they go back to study. Don¡¯t you remember, Madam Luo? Today Mammy Shangguan from the pce wille to our mansion, and give ourdies etiquette lesson and needlework lesson.¡±

    Madam Luo touched her head and said she felt so sad for Zhu these days, so she forgot about it and almost neglected Mammy Shangguan. Then she said to Hong Jiang, ¡°Hurry up, go to wee and greet her for me!¡±

    Mammy Tang nodded and left.

    On this side, the originalrge group of masters and maids had only left Madam Luo, Second Mistress Luo, Luo Baiqian, and a group of fully armed servants. Madam Luo felt a little shuddering to think of what Wei said about ¡°everywhere in the yard¡±, so she called Nie Chun to help her. Luo Baiqian was afraid of mice the most. In fact, he wanted to run away desperately, but the incident was originally caused by the First Branch. If there was no one from First Branch went to West Lateral court, it would be too unreasonable. After all, Second Mistress Luo was frightened by mice just now, but she still came with Madam Luo without hesitation. He felt that both his father and legitimate mother slipped too fast, and now he had to step up.

    Luo Baiqian suddenly thought of what happened 2 days ago. When he heard Zhu was critically ill, he ran to Liu Li Tang but fell down on the way. Then he saw arge group of mice in the garden. So, he reported this to Madam Luo instantly, but Madam Luo decided to go to West Lateral court to see the situation first.

    After arriving at West Lateral court, they found it upied and derelict. In the previous life, He Danggui was still left in the Taoist temple for self-cultivation at this time. Thest couple of maids in the courtyard couldn¡¯t wait to find a new master. Therefore, with no one living there for a month, the West Lateral court was like a deserted house for many years. Under the guidance of Nie Chun¡¯s amazing hearing, everyone sessfully found mice in the kitchte, warehouse, front hall and side hall. Madam Luo, Second Mistress Luo and Luo Baiqian immediately left there because of fear.

    Madam Luo pinched her fingers, whispered, and enjoined the servants to kill every mouse in West Lateral court first; then search every corner of East Yard and kill every mouse there. After that, they were ordered to buy some strong and fierce big cats so that these mice would be kept in the garden. Be sure to kill every mousepletely!

    It urred to Luo Baiqian that Wei got these dirty things from this ce, then put it under Zhu¡¯s bed and got thetter killed once. If Senior Lord Luo in the family hadn¡¯t had high medical skills to save Zhu, he would have lost a dear son! Wei was a 3-year-old kid, so it didn¡¯t matter if he didn¡¯t understand the situation. But He Danggui was already a 10-year-old teenager. There were so many such things in her yard. Why didn¡¯t she tell everyone early? If she had eliminated the scourge quickly, the First Branch wouldn¡¯t have got so near to almost lose a beloved boy!

    Thinking of this, Luo Baiqian felt very furious and immediately make aint against He Danggui. He told Madam Luo that depending on the situation of the yard, these mice had caused troubles for more than one or two months! But his Third Sister didn¡¯t tell anyone about this, so Wei came to her yard and took these things back to Liu Li Tang, and he almost killed Zhu! Third Sister had gone too far!

    Madam Luo was terrified to see mice crawling around, so she joined Luo Baiqian to me Yi for having no sense of priorities! If she had gone to tell her Second Aunt about this and had got these things cleaned up earlier, the situation would not have turned out like this. Wei was always a good boy, but he liked these mice in her yard and put them under Zhu¡¯s bed. He must have got some terrible disease because of these mice and then got Zhu killed. Look how thin Zhu had be!

    In fact, when Wei said there were mice in He Danggui¡¯s yard, Ms. Sun (Second Mistress Luo) had already remembered that He Danggui had told her half a year ago that there were mice in her kitchte, so she asked for some rat poisons. And Wei was there with them at the time. He cried and stopped He Danggui, saying that these mice were all his baby pets. His mother forbade him from keeping them in Liu Li Tang. Later, when his mother saw him crying all the time, she had topromise that he could keep them elsewhere. Therefore, he carefully selected He Danggui¡¯s kitchte in West Lateral court as the home of these mice.

    At that time, He Danggui was angry and astonished, but she didn¡¯t dare to question them. Seeing her expression, Ms. Sun felt pleased, so sheforted Wei and said, ¡°Don¡¯t cry, we won¡¯t give her poison to kill your babies. On the contrary, we¡¯ll go to the kitchte and give them some delicious food!¡± Then with the excuse that ¡°I am too busy to deal with your stuff. Yi, don¡¯t mess things up¡±, she drove He Danggui away.

    Later, He Danggui came to ask for rat poisons now and then. Ms. Sun was happy to see her anxiety and fear. Although she also knew that mouse infection was disastrous, West Lateral court was in the most remote corner of Luo¡¯s Mansion, which was far away from the ce she lived. These mice could not fly to her! She also thought of He Jingxian, ¡°He Jingxian, you could never see this scene, could you? Your daughter is living with mice all day, and maybe she would be beaten to death by these mice in a few days! What you owed me is now repaying by your daughter bit by bit!¡±

    Looking at Madam Luo and Luo Baiqian who were dull and angry, Ms. Sun sneered that they mixed up the perpetrators and victims. Because in fact, it wasn¡¯t Wei who took the thing from He Danggui¡¯s yard, but he put that thing in her yard. Not only did she know the truth, but also Wei¡¯s mother knew. However, the matter had now gone too far that they certainly did not dare to admit it. Wei¡¯s mother would definitely tell Wei to say nothing about the truth, so...

    Ms. Sun pretended to feel scared, saying she had no ideas how these terrible dirty things came home! And she med that Yi was so excessive that she had a yard of mice! Was she going to kill them all? Zhu was killed today. Who¡¯s going to be the next? He Danggui¡¯s heart was so stingy, and she was an unlucky person who killed people everywhere!

    Hearing Ms. Sun describing the incident so seriously, Luo Baiqian was a little bit apologetic to me Yi that much. So, he said that maybe Yi had wanted to report the incident, but she hadn¡¯t reported it yet because she had an ident and was sent to the Taoist temple. He continued to exin that Yi talked the least at home, maybe she thought slower than others, so she reported itte ...

    Madam Luo interrupted him indignantly. In any case, someone must take responsibility for the matter! Since it happened in Yi¡¯s yard, she must undertake it. Anyway, a few days ago, Ms. Zhao invited Fortune-teller Huang to interpret Yi¡¯s dream of ¡°picking up the jelly beans dropped by 3 young kids, and eating before she came back to life¡±. The exnation was very unpleasant, and Madam Luo was a little worried. What¡¯s more, Yi had made such a big mistake now. So, Madam Luo punished Yi for staying longer in Shui Shang Temple because Taoist temples were the best ces for self-cultivation!

    Given the above, He Danggui in her previous life was ced in the Taoist temple for more than half a year. ording to Madam Luo, Ms. Sun should send someone to see Yi twice a month to see if Yi needed anything. Besides, she should devote 8 or 10 liang silver to the Taoist temple, asking them to be more attentive.

    However, Ms. Sun took the money from public ounts on a monthly basis in the name of ¡°caring fee¡±, but she never sent the money to the Taoist temple, not even once. So, ¡°dull¡± He Danggui was bullied thoroughly by others, such as Tai Shan and Tai Chen in the Taoist temple.

 Chapter 80 - Group blind dating

    <h4>Chapter 80 Group blind dating</h4>

    Later, on the Tomb-Sweeping Day of the next year, Luo Chuanxiong went back to Luo¡¯s Family to burn papers money for her dead father. She went to the West Lateral court to see her daughter who rose from the dead, which she was told six months ago. However, she saw that the West Lateral court was chaotic as if it had been robbed by bandits several times, and the ground was covered with lime dust. But she couldn¡¯t see her ten-year-old daughter. Then she realized that Luo¡¯s Family had never brought her daughter back from Shui Shang Temple. Although she was a little annoyed, she couldn¡¯tin about anyone. After thinking about it, she went to see Madam Luo and got thetter¡¯s consent, sending Mammy Song to pick He Danggui up to Luo¡¯s Family, and she would still live in the West Lateral court when she got back.

    He Danggui came back with a bellyful of grievances. And she ran to Madam Luo and her mother toin as soon as she came back.

    On the one hand, Madam Luo was still angry at the little girl for keeping a group of mice in her yard, which eventually caused the rodent problem at Luo¡¯s Family six months ago. On the other hand, she felt that He Danggui was exaggerating too much. The life in the Taoist temple was a little poor and simple. But with greens and tofu all day, she was not hungry, right? Besides, the Taoist nuns letting her do a bit of physical works, like cleaning the table and sweeping the floor, were supposed to toughen her disposition and enlighten her spirits. The reason why she said so was because she was too weak to bear even a little hardship. Therefore, Madam Luo didn¡¯t care much about what He Danggui hadined. Seeing Madam Luo¡¯s indifferent attitude, Luo Chuanxiong had no reason to speak. So, she told Madam Luo that she was exhausted and then went to the back hall to read Scriptures.

    Later, the servants of Madam Luo came to report Second Mistress Luo, saying that the Third Miss ran to tell Madam Luo that Taoist nuns had been abusing her, and no one of her family went to visit her for half a year. Second Mistress Luo thought that the fact she had withheld the ¡°caring fee¡± had been uncovered, but Madam Luo didn¡¯t me her only for the sake of her honor as the master of the family. Therefore, Second Mistress Luo was furious and med that on He Danggui again, doubling down on her food and clothing expense publicly or secretly. Anyway, everyone knew He Danggui was awkward with people. For a poor speaker like her, she couldn¡¯t even get any advantage even if she snitched others.

    Luo Chuanxiong went back to Sanqing Temple again after Tomb-Sweeping Day. Therefore, He Danggui couldin to nobody afterwards. And she could only wipe her tears all day liked a little woman who was wrongly treated. In this way, He Danggui lived in the dpidated West Lateral court, which had once been full of rats, until she was married at the age of 14. Therefore, this West Lateral court became the ce where most of her memorable nightmares began.

    If this court couldn¡¯t be burned to the ground, she would never forget the cold and helpless memories of the past life, and there would be no real sense of a fresh start. So, this time, she must burn the West Lateral court before stepping into the gate of Luo¡¯s Family.

    ¡°Wow, the Hawthorn tea tastes so good! It¡¯s so much better than the fruit tea I used to drink!¡± With the annoyance caused by thirst disappeared, Madam Luo smiled at Mammy Tang and said, ¡°It tastes so good, even better than the fruit tea made by Gan Cao. Maybe I will miss this favor when I drink Gan Cao¡¯s plum tea next time!¡±

    Mammy Tang also held a cup of the Hawthorn tea up to her nose and smelled. She didn¡¯t start drinking until Madam Luo had finished drinking. Although He Danggui had prepared 5rge bamboo slips of tea, which was enough for two cows, not to mention two people. But Mammy Tang had been used to satisfy the masters¡¯ needs first for many years.

    After having a cup of the Hawthorn tea, Madam Luo couldn¡¯t help having another one cup and bottomed up. She acted totally different from the way she acted at home. In the mansion, there were always several little maids who had to take turns persuading her to eat. And finally, she just took a little grudgingly.

    Seeing Madam Luo was fond of the Hawthorn tea so much, Mammy Tang also felt honored because she had rmended that to Madam Luo before, so she said delightedly, ¡°Like I said, it tastes much better than fresh fruit soup. If you drink a cup of it, you will feel refreshed and want more. Hence, I asked Third Miss for her secret recipe. Third Miss not only told me the secret, but also said she would send me some if she gets good materials, ha ha. Now that you like it so much, all we need to do is to find some more fruits and honey, so that Third Miss will make the Hawthorn tea for you to drink every day.¡± After she finished, she sipped a bit and was surprised, ¡°This is much better than thest one. I can¡¯t imagine a little bit of Schisandra chinensis could change the vor so much! You¡¯re enjoying not only the tea with its original sweet and sour, but also an unforgettable aftertaste!¡±

    He Danggui fiddled with the tea set on the small tea table, which sounded as clear as a pearl falling on a jade te, ¡°This is a tea-making method that I learnt from a book. Schisandra chinensis was involved originally. But I only need some tea to quench my thirst, so I didn¡¯t bother myself to look for it specially. Master Tai Shan happened to ask me to go to the Medicine Pavilion and get her some medicine for her leg pain. So, I brought more than 1 liang Schisandra chinensis for making tea. I didn¡¯t expect that Grandma also likes it. Please take this as a gift. Just remember, it¡¯s a good appetizer in autumn and winter, but it¡¯s a bit dry in spring and summer. I will make other kinds of teas for you by then.¡±

    Madam Luo was so happy that she touched He Danggui¡¯s head and said, ¡°After the guidance of Xianweng, you really changed. You had never said so much in one month totally before. However, now you¡¯re enlightened! Because of clumsy tongue, Chuanxiong had never reasoned for herself even if she suffered a lot of losses. I always thought that Yi would follow her mother.¡± Hearing the pharmacology knowledge from He Danggui¡¯s words and she had found medicines to deal with the Taoist nun¡¯s illness, Madam Luo could not help wondering, ¡°Sweat kid. Where did you get this ability to recognize medicine? You didn¡¯t know anything about it before, huh? You just said you have read books? When did you be literate, Yi?¡±

    He Danggui was indeed illiterate in her previous life at this age, so the letter sent by Nie Chun just now was wrote with her left hand. She tried her best to write and pretend to be a beginner who wrote four or five shapes of the same word as well as plenty of misspelled words. The whole letter was barely ¡°recognizable.¡± So, just now, Madam Luo did not have doubts about the fact that He Danggui wrote a letter without any educational background.

    ¡°Grandma, here¡¯s something you don¡¯t know. Although I don¡¯t know much, I just happened to know the words on the recipe for this kind of fruit tea. But I don¡¯t know many other words. For example, I couldn¡¯t even recognize the title of the book containing the recipe.¡± He Danggui poured hot Hawthorn tea into two bamboo slips, exining to Madam Luo, ¡°As for medicine recognition, I just saw, heard and learnt it in Luo¡¯s Mansion in the past six months. However, my knowledge is probably not as good as any boy sweeping the floor of Medicine Pavilion in Nanyuan Yard. It would only be a joke if I told anyone about that, so I never mentioned it to you.¡± Later, she opened the curtain of the carriage and handed the two bamboo slips to Chan Yi, who was resting on the carriage, and asked her to share it with Miss Ji and Huai Hua. After all, she had a lot to say to Madam Luo, and it was not good for three persons to wait in thirst. This action also won some favors from Mammy Tang, because she knew that her adopted daughter, Ji, had been hurried to get here all night without drinking a drop of water. Although she wanted to give her daughter a cup of tea to quench her thirst, she had to serve her master first.

    After listening to He Danggui¡¯s exnation, Madam Luo suddenly recognized that her words were very reasonable. She also didn¡¯t know a little bit of medical pharmacology when she married into Luo¡¯s Family.

    But her husband Luo Duzhong was the Sixth-Grade Commissioner of the Imperial Hospital. What¡¯s more, they owned San Qing Tang, the first medicine pharmacy with 80-year-old long history in Ming Dynasty. In this way, she had to deal with medicine all day long. And gradually, she learnt more. Among the three sons of Senior Lord Luo Maitong, Luo Duzhong was the eldest, so since Senior Lord began to wander around 15 years ago, San Qing Tang was taken over by East Yard of Luo¡¯s Family. At that time, Madam Luo was the master of East Yard. Therefore, she gradually learnt some skills of pulse diagnosis and prescriptions from her husband. And her skill was even more excellent than the eldest son Luo Chuanbai and the second son Luo Chuangu.

    Later, her granddaughters gradually grew up and learnt to read. In Madam Luo¡¯s opinion, she only took ce of her elder sister and took charge of the family because of her knowledge of economy, ounting and medicines. So, she just hoped that those granddaughters could set her as an example to acquire some skills. In this way, they would not suffer after they got married. Consequently, Madam Luo invited some renowned female tutors to give those youngdies lessons at home, and sometimes she invited a lot of aged mammies who had retired from the imperial pce to give them etiquette lessons and tell them the anecdotes of Yingtian Prefecture for expanding their horizons.

    Chengxu Academy, located in Yangzhou City, was ssified into all-male and all-female schools, which was a general advantage for all thedies from aristocratic families. It meant women could study in school and learn about economics, which would be useful in the future when they took charge of housework and checked ount books. Although many youngdies were not interested in learning and they usually would like to sit at home and listen to dramas and embroider Mandarin Ducks (representing a loving couple in China), the annual ¡°Feast of Qushui Liushang¡± held at Chengxu Academy 3 times yearly was the welfare of all youngdies and gentlemen, which also attracted many idle youngdies to apply to the academy.

    The ¡°Feast of Qushui Liushang¡± was a kind of ancient poetry reception. Beside a stream with a wooden wine cup ced on its surface, people would sit around the ground. If this wine cup stopped in front of anyone, the one would need to drink it up and write and recite a poetry. At most, they would organize some poetrypetitions, i.e., the chosen one was required to obey the rhyme and verse of the former person. Or, they would be asked to write a poetry with a given topic.

    However, the benefit of attending ¡°Feast of Qushui Liushang¡± was that male and female students could participate together. And there was no need to drink for the female students, but they had to give a talent show. For males, in addition to write poems, they also had topete in martial artspetition. Although it couldn¡¯tpare with the real sword fighting in the martial arts world, it was so interesting to see those handsome gentlemen brandishing sword. All in all, this sodality held 3 times a year was just like a group blind dating in a sense.

 Chapter 81 - Time flied for girls

    <strong>Chapter 81 Time flied for girls</strong>

    In Chengxu Academy, male students and female students couldn¡¯t meet each other at ordinary times. A tall red wall separated them, so they could only listen to theughter during their spare time, which came from the other side, and they could imagine the appearance of the voice owner ording to theughter.

    Separated by the wall, their longing for love also had been prohibited. Most cruelly, someone set different hours of the male and female¡¯s timetables. Female students left school an hour earlier than male students. And their sedans had waited outside for a long time. After a while, these female students who were as lively as birds were all taken back home.

    When it was time for male students to leave academy, the air outside had no rouge fragrance at all. There were only their gharries and servants waiting outside. Standing up straight with a serious face, the servants were there to pick them up from school.

    At the academy, if someone wrote an excellent article at the Poetry ss, the article would definitely be passed and read round in both academies. So, they were familiar with a lot of talented members¡¯ names. In this way, male students and female students could hear each other, know each other, and long for each other, but they couldn¡¯t meet. Inadvertently, they remembered one or two person¡¯s name in their heart. So, they hoped to know if the name and voice belonged to the same person through ¡°Feast of Qushui Liushang¡±, and wanted to see what the person looked like.

    As for the reason why ¡°Feast of Qushui Liushang¡± was more attractive to women than men, that¡¯s because men had many opportunities to go outside and meet beautiful women. Even if their wives that their parents chose for them were not pretty, they could marry other women as concubines. While for women, they would normally be faithful to their husbands unto death. Therefore, though women didn¡¯t talk about marriage, they always put it first in their mind of all the things. For protecting their reputations, they couldn¡¯t go out and get acquainted with the childes, and the suitable childes in their rtives were limited. It was not bad to marry a familiar man, while it made people feelck of reverie, because they couldn¡¯t derive the feeling of love.

    So, the activity of ¡°Feast of Qushui Liushang blind date event¡± in Chengxu Academy had realized a lot of maidens¡¯ dreams. Under normal circumstances, even if thedies¡¯ parents allowed them to choose their husbands by themselves, they couldn¡¯t meet them at all, but only could choose from a group of portraits of men with zed eyes and single expressions. But in the ¡°Feast of Qushui Liushang blind date event¡±, they could meet more than 100 childes whose family backgrounds were simr with them. And they could examine those childes¡¯ literary grace and kung fu skill by themselves. As long as they were interested in each other, they could write letters to know each other. When they got familiar, they could ask their parents to propose a marriage for them or agree their marriage.

    Besides, the activity was carried out in the name of learning. Thedies would not besmirch their reputations if they joined it. And Chengxu Academy was one of the top academies among dozens of academies in the Ming Dynasty, and also one of the two academies that opening a women¡¯s academy. Thus, its fame and influence were enormous. If you had studied in Chengxu Academy for one or two years, it meant you were excellent, and you would be considered superior when you nned to get married.

    A lot of wealthy and influential families didn¡¯t want their daughters-inw to be those who liked topose poems, paint pictures, and sing songs. They preferred those who were good at ounting and could take charge of the house issues. Because women like these could manage household chores well, and then their sons did not need to worry about those things and could focus on developing their own business to make money.

    Chengxu Academy was so famous, and there were many benefits to study there. Not only the Misses in Yangzhou wanted to study there, but even the nearby residents of Huaian, Suzhou, Songjiang, Changzhou, and Zhenjiang, including the Yingtian Prefecture, Southern Zhili of the capital, also wanted to send their youngdies to study there for a few years, so that they could find a husband while studying.

    More than a decade ago, He Danggui¡¯s mother Luo Chuanxiong and Sun Meiniang, who was now Second Mistress Luo, both had studied at Chengxu Academy for 2 years. And they were ssmates. Sun Meiniang met Luo Chuangu, Second Lord of Luo¡¯s Mansion, at ¡°Feast of Qushui Liushang blind date event¡±. He was one year older than her.

    Luo¡¯s Family and Sun¡¯s Family were both famous Family aristocrats in Yangzhou, and they were matched for marriage. Sun Meiniang was a daughter of a concubine, but she was a famous talented woman at Chengxu Academy. And she was good at abacus arithmetic. Her ability of adjustment ount and financial management was even better than that of men.

    After Madam Luo heard this from Luo Chuanxiong, she felt Sun Meiniang was like a younger herself, so she had a soft spot for her. Then she found that her son Luo Chuangu had correspondence with Sun Meiniang. After asking her son, she knew they had been exchanging love letters for more than half a year. So, she sent a matchmaker to propose marriage to Sun¡¯s Family. At first, Sun¡¯s Family didn¡¯t agree. The matchmaker said that Miss Sun didn¡¯t agree. Madam Luo thought it was because Miss Sun was too shy, so she pretended to find a better matchmaker to propose marriage after a while.

    Luo¡¯s Family needed a young and capable daughter-inw to take charge of the household. Besides, in the First Branch, Luo Chuanbai¡¯s wife Zhao Qi was a standard elegantdy guided from Zhao¡¯s Family, a famous Family in Zhenjiang City. In Zhao¡¯s Family,dies without talent were considered virtuous. Zhao Qi had not read any books and she didn¡¯t even know how to use abacus, not to mention reading the ount books. Even if you wanted to let her learn and perform immediately, she needed some basic knowledge of arithmetic. In a word, Madam Luo itched for the talented Miss Sun to be her son¡¯s wife. In this way, even if she wasn¡¯t in charge of the family in the future, the Second Branch could bepetent. And it was easier for her to direct when necessary.

    More than a monthter, He¡¯s Mansion of the capital proposed a marriage for East Yard of Luo¡¯s Family. They wanted to help their only child He Jingxian marry Fourth Miss Luo Chuanxiong. Lord Luo Duzhong and He Jinpeng of He¡¯s Mansion made this appointment early. The two unmarried did not object the marriage after they met several times in private. So, Madam Luo and Luo Chuanxiong¡¯s mother, First Madam Luo, agreed this match in chorus at the first time. A monthter, Madam Luo employed Guang Xiazhi, who was called ¡°the first matchmaker in Yangzhou¡±, went to Sun¡¯s Mansion to propose marriage for her son Luo Chuangu again. This time, they agreed immediately.

    In this way, Luo¡¯s Mansion made two marriages at once sessfully. The wedding days were very close. At one time there were two marriages. It was very bustling.

    4 yearster, the young master of Luo¡¯s Family, Luo Baiqian, was also sent to Chengxu Academy. He had studied there for more than 3 years, and then he was sent to learn kung fu for 2 years at Ziqimen School in Sichuan, which was Madam Luo¡¯s birthce.

    After he finished his course and came back, he attended the civil and military imperial examinations, but he failed. Madam Luoforted him that he was just 18 years old, and everything was just getting started at this age. It was normal he failed once or twice. He could take it as experience. Moreover, his father was 40, but he didn¡¯t pass the exams as well.

    After that, Luo Baiqian was sent back to Chengxu Academy for further study. Until now he had studied for 4 more years, and he was not hurry to take the imperial examinations again. At free time, he always helped First Lord deal with San Qing Tang¡¯s business.

    In the 9th year of Hongwu Period, the Emperor appointed San Qing Tang as the first medicine pharmacy to supply medicine for the pce. Though Ren Shu Tang of Guan¡¯s Family and Yao Shi Tang of He¡¯s Family were appointedter, they were not as good as San Qing Tang, which had 80-year history. So, the two medicine pharmacies just supplied normal medicines for the pce, while San Qing Tang was appointed by the Emperor to supply medicine for the Royal Pharmacy. Thus, even if the males of Luo¡¯s Family failed at imperial examinations and couldn¡¯t be officials, they could manage San Qing Tang. It was also an official position, and could bring them status and fames.

    But Madam Luo still wanted Luo Baiqian to try his best to pass the imperial examinations and became a Juren or Jinshi (both were sessful candidates in the imperial examinations at the provincial level) while spreading his offspring. If so, he could bring honor for the East Yard, and the East Yard wouldn¡¯t be interior to the West Yard or Luo¡¯s Family in the capital in every aspect. That was why he continued to study at Chengxu Academy. And he liked the activity which was held three times a year: ¡°Feast of Qushui Liushang¡±. Every time he went up and showed his talent, numerous Misses blushed and acimed for him.

    In the past two years, Second Miss Luo Baiqiong and Fourth Miss Luo Baishao had grown up. Madam Luo wanted to send them into Chengxu Academy to study, too. But ording to the information they got, the academy had raised the admission standards, Misses needed to register for examinations first, and they would only enter the Academy if they got good scores in the exams.

    Chengxu Academy made such admission standards for a reason. A lot of Misses couldn¡¯t recognize a word when they were sent to the Academy by their family. And they only went there to choose a good husband, not to study well.

    They didn¡¯t listen to the teacher at all, but be immersed in embroidering or nailing their dyes. When the ss ended, they ran to the red wall that separated male and female academy to sing songs. Because of that, many male studentsughed, heckled and whistled. The learning environment in the Academy became a mess. Besides, after those messes, those male students were often unable to take their minds back from those Misses. A lot of them whispered at the ss, which affected the effectiveness of teaching. It also affected the quality of academy teaching and the number of students who passed the imperial examination, which was a very serious problem. After all, women studied just for fun, but men¡¯s studying was often connected with the kinfolks or even the whole family¡¯s expectation.

    Madam Luo found several sets of the entrance examination papers of the female academy, and then she asked Luo Baiqiong and Luo Baishao to do it. After that, Madam Luo invited the woman teacher to correct the examination papers. But the results showed that they both failed in almost all the subjects, not to mention get good scores. So, Madam Luo employed more rigorous women teachers for them, taking turns to teach them various subjects that would be tested for admission. She hoped they could meet the admission standards as soon as possible.

    However, the two Misses were used to indolence. It took them a lot of time to get their hair done, work on their jewelry, and pick out what to wear every morning. In the afternoon, they would go to the drama stage, and take more than 2 hours to see a drama that called ¡°series¡±, which was spread from Yingtian Prefecture. At night, there were always rtives of Sun¡¯s Mansion or West Yard to visit Madam Luo at her room, so they were also busy asking their cousins if their hair, jewelry and clothes were suitable¡­ That was why after a year¡¯s studying, they were still below the standard.

    For example, Luo Baiqiong couldn¡¯t recite multiplication tables. Sometimes she would mix one or two numbers; Luo Baishao¡¯s arithmetic was better than her sister, but she was too young to be calm, so her calligraphy was still at the beginner stage. Luo Baiqiong onceughed at her that the word she wrote was just like screwy handwriting, and it was more vivid than Taoist priest¡¯s screwy handwriting.

    A lot of subjects were written exams, but Luo Baishao¡¯s handwriting was not good, so it was no use even if she could write poems and articles. The most authoritative woman teacher told Madam Luo that Second Miss could take the entrance examination, and it would be better if they had connections, or it was in vain. As for Fourth Miss, there was no need to send her to the exam at present.

    Though Madam Luo felt disappointed, she couldn¡¯t bear to me her granddaughters. If they really didn¡¯t like studying academic staffs, they could stay at home and learn from their women teachers about how to do the housework, how to knit needlework and how to y the Qin, chess, calligraphy and painting. Considering their powerful family background and beautiful appearances, they could also hold her husband¡¯s heart, conform to parents-inw¡¯s intention and impeach maids and the concubines.

    Madam Luo sighed, the two delicate little granddaughters were both about 10 years old, and they would grow up quickly and marry someone as their wives. How long could she continue to spoil them? Once they married to someone else¡¯s Family, they wouldn¡¯t have such a carefree time like now to enjoy.

 Chapter 82 - Master of Medical Treatment

    <h4>Chapter 82 Master of Medical Treatment</h4>

    To be honest, the propriety, music, archery, riding, writing, and arithmetic taught in the academy were all the things that men needed to learn. As women, it was not very useful to learn more, master more, or be top female schrs. Thedies were sent to the academy to be more outstanding when negotiating a marriage and finding a good husband. Even if the legitimate daughters of Luo¡¯s Family didn¡¯t learn these things, they would be valuable enough. Their study experience in Chengxu Academy would be ice on the cake. And if they didn¡¯t have this experience, they wouldn¡¯t lose their advantages. Among all the families in Yangzhou, the twodies were noble enough to marry anyone. Therefore, they could pick any good man in Yangzhou on their will.

    And Mei, the second daughter-inw of Madam Luo, liked to hold tea parties or poetry parties at home. There were almost one or two parties every month, and a dozen of childes from the rtives would be invited. If they were not enough to pick for the twodies, Madam Luo just needed to send posts to every aristocrat family under her name of ¡°Madam Luo in the East Yard of Luo¡¯s Mansion¡± in Yangzhou, saying ¡°Inviting the unmarried childes of the younger generation toe to East Yard of Luo¡¯s Mansion for enjoying teas and flowers¡±, and so on. Everyone would understand what it meant. Many families would send one or two smart and handsome among the younger generations to visit. Even if the marriage couldn¡¯t be settled, many people were willing to attend.

    In other words, if people in Luo¡¯s Mansion wanted to get their daughters perfect husbands, they would hold several tea parties. As for some aristocratic families, they wanted to choose their daughters-inw simrly, and they also liked to hold several wine banquets or poetry parties. Sometimes, several families would jointly hold arge-scale noble banquet, and then they would send posts among the families. Even the Southern Zhili of Yingtian Prefecture and Northern Zhili of Shuntian Prefecture were likely to send invitation letters to Luo¡¯s Family. As long as thedies liked to travel, they could attend several simr blind dates every month.

    Although Luo¡¯s Family was almost the least powerful in the social circle of the nobility in the capital, anyone of Luo¡¯s Family could say proudly, ¡°We have the Senior Lord!¡± At present, the most powerful man in Luo¡¯s Family in the capital, Luo Dusong, was just an imperial physician in the Imperial Hospital, Deputy Seventh-Grade. He yed a tinny role with no future in the officialdom, not to mention others of the East Yard of Luo¡¯s Mansion who couldn¡¯t even pass the imperial examination and be a Juren.

    The Senior Lord Luo Maitong was 81 years old this year. He was still hale and healthy. He was the old minister of the Emperor. They umted deep friendship when they fought for the state power together.

    In the army, the Senior Lord was the Emperor¡¯s military physician. He bandaged every wound and prepared every bowl of medicine for the Emperor. At that time, the Emperor called Senior Lord ¡°Elder Brother Luo¡± because the Senior Lord was more than 10 years older than him. After the war ended, Senior Lord was appointed to the Imperial Hospital as an imperial physician for treating the Emperor and the Empress only. Later, he was appointed as Senator of the Imperial Hospital, Fifth-Grade. Then he was promoted to President of the Imperial Academy, Deputy Fourth-Grade, and finally transferred as the Director-General of the Provincial Administration Commission until he resigned and went back home 15 years ago.

    Everyone said that the Emperor preferred to kill the meritorious officials, but he didn¡¯t kill the Senior Lord the whole time. Of course, there were reasons. The reasonable exnation was the Senior Lord knew his situation, the Emperor¡¯s mind and when to keep his nose clean. But it was also because the Emperor still thought highly of the Senior Lord. During the 15 years of resting, the Senior Lord had only lived at home for 2 or 3 years. And whenever he got home, the eunuch from the Pce woulde and announce the imperial edict, asking the Senior Lord toe into the pce to treat the Emperor. In fact, the Emperor¡¯s body was healthy. He just wanted to talk to the old friend because he missed the Senior Lord. Everyone knew the Emperor was a king with unpredictable happiness and anger. How many people in the world could be summoned into the pce for a long distance just for chatting?

    At that time, speaking of why Chai¡¯s Family in Chengdu sent two daughters to marry afar in Yangzhou, they did that for the reputation and fame of the Senior Lord. As for why Chai¡¯s Family sent two daughters at a time, it was another old story.

    Although the three sons of the Senior Lord didn¡¯t make to the top of their political career, the son of his cousin (Senior Lord¡¯s nephew), Luo Shuisheng, was very sessful in the official business. Many years ago, Luo Shuisheng thrived in the official business, and was promoted to Tongzhi, Head of the Salt Production and Marketing Department, Deputy Fourth-Grade. 11 years ago, he retired in the name of observing mourning of his mother. At present, his son-inw, Nian Guangsi, served as the Assistant Director of the Ministry of Official Personnel Affairs, Deputy Fifth-Grade. And his youngest son, Luo Qiabo, was the Curator of the Department of Justice in Hunan and Hubei, which was under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Punishments, Sixth-Grade. All of them were powerful officials in the imperial court. Although Luo Shaoji, the eldest son of Luo Shuisheng, didn¡¯t enter the imperial court, and only concentrated on managing the 30-year-old ¡°Ji Zhi Tang¡± owned by his family, he had once be Juren when he was young, and had the chance to be an official.

    Moreover, Luo Shuisheng¡¯s family had a close rtionship with the Senior Lord¡¯s offspring. In the early years, Luo Duheng, the master of West Yard of Luo¡¯s Mansion, was not in good body condition and only had a daughter of the concubine, Luo Chuanjiao, before he became infertile. Therefore, he adopted the illegitimate of his nephew Luo Shaoji, Luo Chuanwu, who was now the First Lord of the West Yard. Luo Chuanwu was now the Deputy-Commissioner of the Imperial Hospital, often being busy running between Yingtian Prefecture and Yangzhou. He was the best son of this generation in the East Yard and West Yard of Yangzhou.

    In general, the descendants of Luo¡¯s Family were still powerful in the official court. The hundred-year old Luo¡¯s Family was still full of vitality. It was possible that one day, there would be an extraordinary person, just like the Senior Lord, who would lead the whole family to be more prosperous.

    Actually, they were descendants of Luo Tianyi, a famous doctor in the Yuan Dynasty. Then they practiced medicine for a living because of their family background.

    Luo Bi, the son of Luo Tianyi, not only promoted his father¡¯s medical skills, but also learned from Dou Mo, who was known as the ¡°Master of Jin Zhen¡± in the Yuan Dynasty at that time. He learned the lifetime unique skill ¡°San Qing Acupuncture¡± of Dou Mo. At that time, Luo Bi knelt for three days and nights in front of Dou Mo¡¯s door before he became thest apprentice of Dou Mo. Therefore, in order tomemorate the day he was apprenticed sessfully and remember his teacher¡¯s kindness, Luo Bi designated September 17th as ¡°Thanksgiving Day to His Master¡±. Every year, he used 3 animals and 10 fruits to worship, and asked his sons to do the same. So, ¡°Thanksgiving Day to His Master¡± passed down from generation to generation.

    Everyone said that the medical skill of the Senior Lord was ¡°the top among all the doctors in the world¡±. Not only was it apliment to his medical skills and ethics, but also because he was the only one in the world who was proficient in ¡°San Qing Acupuncture¡±. Luo Duzhong, the Lord of the East Yard, was the only one who had learned 30-40% of the Senior Lord¡¯s acupuncture therapy, but he had died many years ago. However, Luo Dusong in Luo¡¯s Family in the capital wasn¡¯t talented enough to learn only less than 10% of the acupuncture therapy.

    After a long time, this ¡°Thanksgiving Day to His Master¡± was no longer regarded as an important fiesta for all the descendants of Luo¡¯s Family. Many of the young people in Luo¡¯s Family and their daughters-inw hadn¡¯t even heard of this old story. However, as the only descendant of the ¡°San Qing Acupuncture¡± of Dou Mo, the Senior Lord attached great importance to this day. As long as conditions permitted, he would return to Yangzhou at this time of every year, and then start his meditation for two days in a secret small yard in the West of Yangzhou City. He always attended the mysterious fiesta alone. No one knew what he was doing when he locked himself in it without eating and drinking.

    The Senior Lord had his own big yard in both East Yard and West Yard of Luo¡¯s Mansion. People in both yards tried their best to make their yards fresh and elegant, exuberant and magnificent. Although the Senior Lord might not stay there once a year, they both sent specially-assigned servants to clean the yard every day. If he wanted to go home someday, he could see the lively nts and the bright and clean house as soon as he entered his yard.

    Since the Senior Lord would return to his secret courtyard for two days every year when it came to the fiesta, he might also go to the East and West Yard for a few days at this time every year. In recent years, Luo Baiqian of the First Branch had got three children in session. And the Senior Lord also liked to see more, so he stayed in the East Yard most of the time. Because of this, he was able to appear in time in thest life, and save Zhu¡¯s life. Because of that, He Danggui wasn¡¯t charged of ¡°using rats to murder people¡± instead of an ¡°attempted murder¡±.

    But in this life, He Danggui didn¡¯t give him the chance to appear.

    The Senior Lord saved Zhu after thetter had dead for 3 days. Now Zhu had been dead less than a day, but He Danggui had asked Nie Chun, who was possessed of Phantom Footwork, to send the letter with the method of saving Zhu¡¯s life to Luo Baiqian. He Danggui also thought that the Senior Lord was too cautious about the prescription. She changed three most important medicinal materials in his prescription and added twoxative and blood activating medicinal materials to clean up toxins and parasites in Zhu¡¯s body. Unless something unexpected happened, if Luo Baiqian followed the method mentioned in the letter, he could save Zhu¡¯s life.

    Of course, there was no safe prescription in the world. What¡¯s more, in the previous life, the Senior Lord didn¡¯t make the prescription until he checked Zhu¡¯s ¡°body¡± for a long time and performed the four diagnostic methods including inspection, listening and smelling, inquiry and palpation. He Danggui, however, never had seen the situation of dead Zhu. She heard all the symptoms of him only from the gossip of the servants after she returned to Luo¡¯s Family.

    In spite of this, He Danggui still wanted to test her improved prescription. But the cost was that if it failed, it would not save Zhu¡¯s life, but block the pores all over his body. Even if the Senior Lord used his prescription to save him by then, it would be useless. In a sense, He Danggui would really be a ¡°murderer¡±. If the matter really developed in that way, and the Senior Lord revealed it, then even if she held ¡°the aged Immortal in the dream¡± as a shield, she might not be able to stay in the East Yard of Luo¡¯s Mansion, and her mother would be hated by all the people in the First Branch. In the end, she and her mother would be the ones who couldn¡¯t get back home.

    He Danggui was not a fanatical medical experimenter who wanted to experiment with other people¡¯s lives in a desperate way, especially when she was well aware of the cure but changed the prescription without authorization. In fact, as a doctor, she always wanted to use the best method and try her best to make the patients suffer the least pain.

    It was said that illness came with overwhelming force, but left inch by inch. In the previous life, it took 6 hours for Zhu to wake up, and most of the umted poison in his body was not discharged. So, he wasn¡¯t able to walk or talk normally until half a year in recuperation. However, he got an ipletely cured illness ever since. He was skinny and rickety. Later, it was said that he didn¡¯t get married because he couldn¡¯t have sex life. Since then, people would never mistakenly recognize Wei and Zhu. Seeing his twin brother was harmed like that because of himself, Wei must also be very ufortable. So, he didn¡¯t get married in thest life, either. Instead, he kept some toy-boys at home for fun, and the offspring of the First Branch stopped at the generation of Luo Baiqian.

    It was not clear if Ms. Zhao and Ms. Dong of the First Branch were really confused or pretended to be confused. They had always nted all the trouble with rats on He Danggui. And they had always regarded her as the culprit who had destroyed Zhu and Wei¡¯s lives. So, in the previous life, whenever He Danggui faced the people of the First Branch, she was always carrying an endless debt.

    Every time the First Branch asked He Danggui to do something, they would mention the ¡°fact¡± how He Danggui had destroyed Wei and Zhu¡¯s lives. Under their demands, He Danggui had to get an official position for the First Lord and seek a job for the Young Master. Besides, she was asked to propose marriage to the champion in the Martial arts examination, Chang Nuo, for Ms. Dong¡¯s daughter, Yan. She failed once, but they asked her to do that repeatedly. Also, she was asked to help San Qing Tang deal with Yao Shi Tang, doing something bad in the medicine of Yao Shi Tang. If she refused Ms. Zhao, saying that her medical skills couldn¡¯t be used to harm people, Ms. Zhao would recall the tragic past of Zhu immediately¡­ Every time Ms. Zhao and Ms. Dong came to her, they asked her to do something deservedly, because in their hearts and words, she hurt Zhu first and Wei second, so she owed a lot of debt to their family.

    Although He Danggui admitted to herself that she was very disagreeable with Ms. Zhao and Ms. Dong, she had no hatred toward those two cousins. She couldn¡¯t bear to see that Zhu was weak like that in her previous life, so she wanted to treat him with the best way she could think of.

    If her prescription was correct, she could expel the toxin and the bugs in Zhu¡¯s stomach before his body recovered, and then he would wake up within two hours. In this way, he could recover only after a month or two, and he could marry and have children normally when he grew up. She believed that if Zhu could choose by himself, he would be willing to try this new prescription at the risk of not being able to return to the world.

    As for herself, she took a risk because of changing the prescription. She was doing this to repay her grandfather Luo Duzhong¡¯s kindness for leaving a book to teach her ¡°San Qing Acupuncture¡± in the previous life. In return, she gave his descendants a life and a healthy body. She had lived twice. If there was revenge, there was grace. Although Luo¡¯s Family¡¯s meant more hatred than grace to her, the kindness couldn¡¯t be offset. The innocent should be saved.

    This was also a medical skill contest between He Danggui and the Senior Lord Luo Maitong. Who was the ¡°Master of Medical Treatment¡±? The answer could be told from Zhu soon.

 Chapter 83 - She had enmity toward her father

    <h4>Chapter 83 She had enmity toward her father</h4>

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, Yi. There are plenty of good teachers at home, and they will teach you how to read! As long as you can study hard, after 2 or 3 years, even if Qiong is still outsmarting you, you would at least be as good as Shao!¡± Madam Luoforted He Danggui, ¡°Here¡¯s something new. Shao is interested in the new drama ¡®series¡¯ of the capital, and you¡¯re not at home. She often said it was boring to stay in the study, so she hasn¡¯t listened to the teachers for months. It¡¯s the best opportunity for you to catch up with her and then surpass her!¡±

    He Danggui asked worriedly, ¡°Is it okay for the fourth sister not to go to ss? I heard from her that you always wanted her and the second sister to study for a few years in Chengxu Academy.¡±

    Thinking of this, Madam Luo sighed and said, ¡°s, I¡¯m a born worrier. Their parents don¡¯t care about their study, but I do. Although given our family background, Qiong and Shao definitely won¡¯t need to worry about finding husbands in the future, I just want them to learn more and have genuine talents. It¡¯s good to learn all the skills a little bit, for one day those skills wille in handy. Actually, we have connections to get them to the academy. When the Senior Lord was the President of the Imperial Academy, he had a subordinator, Director Wei, who is now the Vice-President of the Academy, but¡­at least Qiong was able to write¡­as for Shao¡¯s writing, I¡¯m so embarrassed to speak out to Vice-President Wei!¡±

    ¡°Grandma, don¡¯t worry. Actually, the fourth sister is cleverer than me. She is just young and naughty and doesn¡¯t like sitting in front of desk to study.¡± He Dangguiforted Madam Luo with her soft voice, ¡°Maybe she will be a female schr once she falls in love with reading and writing!¡±

    Madam Luo could not conceal a snort ofughter. She touched He Danggui¡¯s head and said, ¡°Girl, you¡¯re really good atforting people! But there is no ¡®male Juren¡¯ in the East Yard of Luo¡¯s Family, not to mention a ¡®female schr¡¯!¡± Thinking of that letter written by He Danggui, Madam Luo hurriedly asked, ¡°Yi, I find your handwriting makes a great progress after you had the ident. How did you get such a great progress just within a month?¡±

    He Danggui lowered her head with humility and smiled, ¡°Not as good as you said, Grandma. Actually, my handwriting is so illegible. I would be ashamed to show my words but for the urgency of this matter. As for the method of practicing words, I need to appreciate the masters in the Taoist temple. I was bored in the mountain. Seeing most of them copying the scriptures, I copied them, too. And then I became familiar with some words. Although it¡¯s still illegible, I could write some words without looking them up on the books!¡±

    Madam Luo felt both delighted and worried. She was delighted because Yi¡¯s writing was good, but she worried that this method could not be suitable for Shao. So, she shook her head and said, ¡°But Shao isn¡¯t patient like you. Even if there are 10 maids writing in front of her every day, she will not learn from them. s, one day she¡¯ll get married and be the wife in charge of the family, then she has to write and draw in her daily life...¡±

    Hearing Madam Luo keeping talking about Fourth Miss¡¯s bad handwriting, but ignoring her big mistake, Mammy Tang abruptly interrupted to ask He Danggui, ¡°Third Miss, are your hands still itchy? I have Qingdu Baihuo Powder given by Jiu Gu. Although it¡¯s not very useful, your hands will only feel itchy every 2 hours and you¡¯ll not feel ufortable like now!¡± She gave a small porcin medicine bottle in blue to He Danggui.

    ¡°Mammy, it was because you only got a little of the poison, the symptom had subsided slowly, and it has nothing to do with Qingdu Baihuo Powder.¡± He Danggui said silently in her heart, then she lowered her head and smiled with appreciation, ¡°Thanks for Mammy¡¯s kindness. I¡¯ll receive it then.¡± She opened the bottle plug and applied some on her hands, then she gave it back to Mammy Tang.

    Madam Luo touched He Danggui¡¯s tiny shoulder and extorted her in a low voice, ¡°Yi, I¡¯ve heard this incident from Hong Jiang. She persuaded me to tie Shao down with restrictions on the way to the Taoist temple just now. She also said Shao should be sent to the Taoist temple for 2 months to change her temper. But Shao is young after all, even one year younger than you. It must be the cunning maids who egged her on buying these bad medicines. I¡¯ve been watching her growing up since her childhood. She is straightforward and easy to spill her mind, also she is kind-hearted, which is the same quality of her mother...¡±

    He Danggui slightly lowered her head and listened to what Madam Luo said in a soft voice. In the previous life, Madam Luo was quiet and didn¡¯t always share her thoughts with He Danggui. Every time when Madam Luo suddenly spoke a lot to her, she had something to persuade He Danggui, and most of these matters had something to do with the Second Branch. He Danggui lowered her head deeply while listening, then she faintly smiled. After all, Shao was Madam Luo¡¯s sib granddaughter, so she could not bear to criticize her. This was just human nature.

    6 months ago, the legendary Third Miss, He Danggui, came to Luo¡¯s Family, Madam Luo also treated her as equal as Luo Baiqiong and Luo Baishao, so she was asked to join the two to be taught by the same female teacher.

    Since He Danggui was a ¡°transfer student¡±, the female teacher needed to test her literary skill, so she was asked to write a thousand words essay titled by ¡°fallen flowers¡±. He Danggui awkwardly told the female teacher that she couldn¡¯t write. Luo Baishao tittered while Luo Baiqiong appreciated her nails and coughed consciously or unconsciously.

    The female teacher frowned because she didn¡¯t expect that He Danggui had such poor skills. After a while, the female teacher asked her to write an ancient-style essay in a hundred words titled by ¡°spring water¡±. He Danggui grabbed her sleeves and lowered her head to tell the female teacher that she hadn¡¯t learned any ancient-style essays, and only understood a little about ¡°literary jargon¡±. Anything beyond these was beyond her ability. Luo Baishao rolled her eyes and turned her head to whisper with Luo Baiqiong, then she looked up and kindly told the female teacher, ¡°She grew up in the countryside, so you should ask her questions about that!¡± In Luo Baishao¡¯s eyes, the female teacher was just a high-grade servant, so she always talked to the female teacher with arrogance.

    The female teacher felt ufortable with Luo Baishao¡¯s authoritative tone, so she didn¡¯t do what Luo Baishao said. Instead, she asked He Danggui to write a Five-character-quatrain titled by ¡°father¡¯s love¡±. He Danggui was confounded, then whispered to the female teacher that she could only write about 20 words in total, including her name, not to mention writing a poem. Actually, He Danggui was telling the truth about what she was capable of, but Luo Baishao suddenly shouted, ¡°Teacher, she is lying! She thought your topic is bad, so she didn¡¯t want to write it! She had enmity toward her father and she is not her father¡¯s sib daughter!¡±

    Hearing that, the female teacher was bewildered. No matter what the background of this new Third Miss was, now He Danggui and Luo Baishao disturbed the ss, so she followed Madam Luo¡¯s instruction about ¡°be strict to them and ignore their identities¡±. She punished them to face the wall while introspecting their mistakes and hand in a thousand words essay titled by ¡°father¡¯s love¡± tomorrow.

    In the previous life, He Danggui didn¡¯t leave the countryside until she was 9-year-old. She worked in the fields during the day and ground tofu at night. She never studied before, and she couldn¡¯t even write her name.

    Later, Luo Chuanxiong was diagnosed with infertility, so she picked He Danggui, who was her first husband¡¯s daughter, to live together with her second husband¡ªHe Fu. Although He Danggui followed her mother¡¯s instruction and called those people ¡°dad¡±, ¡°grandma¡±, ¡°aunt¡± and ¡°uncle¡± without hesitation, all of them didn¡¯t response her and showed unhappiness on their faces.

    What exactly did Luo Chuanxiong mean? Normally, if a wife was barren, she should take a concubine for her husband at once. Why did she take a ¡°drag¡± here? Did she want He Fu to raise other¡¯s daughter? He Fu had no son right now. Did she want to cut off their offspring by doing so?

    In fact, Luo Chuanxiong was 3 years older than He Fu, also divorced and had a child, so she felt very self-abased. Now she was diagnosed that she had taken arge amount of musk early and couldn¡¯t give birth to kids for He Fu. She became more worried and definitely didn¡¯t want other women to marry her husband. She thought in private, ¡°Now that He Fu likes kids, what about picking my daughter up and living with us? Therefore, my daughter could cheer him up every day. When their feelings deepened, I could choose 1 or 2 obedient concubines for him to have a son. By then, with a son and a daughter, my family would be perfect.¡±

    Bearing this good wish in mind, although people in He Fu¡¯s Family showed their obvious unhappiness, Luo Chuanxiong still invited the best music master and dance master of Yangzhou City to teach He Danggui. Thetter was asked to y the instrument, sing and dance day and night. Every time when Luo Chuanxiong heard the masters saying that her daughter learned new songs and dance steps, she would push He Danggui to He Fu¡¯s study, and force her to sing, dance and y the instrument in front of him. She wanted to impress him and get his love back in this way.

    At first, He Danggui was obedient to do these. Although learning those about music and dance was harder than working in the fields, it was interesting. Gradually, she was fascinated. However, when He Danggui sang and danced in He Fu¡¯s study until the tenth month, she unconsciously grew higher and didn¡¯t want to dance for her ¡°father¡±. Because she was afraid of his deep and gloomy eyes when she came to the study every time.

    He Danggui didn¡¯t know how to exin to her mother, so she lied that she was tired of learning to dance and y the instruments, and she didn¡¯t want to learn anymore. Her mother disagreed. He Danggui felt aggrieved and confronted with her mother. Her mother was so angry that she pped He Danggui, demanding her to continue learning more pleasant songs and dances.

    More than a monthter, taking advantage of Luo Chuanxiong¡¯s dowry, He Fu interceded the connections and got a position of Guarding Commander of the Capital, Eighth-Grade. He also purchased a house in the capital with the money. Before taking the office, He Fu bought 3 tickets and sent his mother, his sister and brother-inw to the passenger boat heading to Yingtian Prefecture. Then he exined to his wife that they wanted to have a tour in the capital because they hadn¡¯t been there before.

    One night after a few days, He Fu in purple secretly went to He Danggui¡¯s boudoir. First, he waked her up, then covered her mouth and nose to prevent her from making any sound. He told He Danggui that as her ¡°father¡±, he would take her to an interesting ce and asked her not to resist but follow him.

 Chapter 84 - The female teacher lost her moral integrity

    <h4>Chapter 84 The female teacher lost her moral integrity</h4>

    He Danggui was sleeping in a daze but was suddenly woken up by He Fu, whose eyes were so bright as if two mes in them. That was so weird and made her suffocating.

    Ever since He Danggui had moved into this new mansion, even if she had her own mother by her side, she never felt peaceful in mind like she did in the countryside. She still remembered that when she lived in the countryside, everyone had to work themselves to make a living no matter they were at the age of 4 or 70. If a family had an able-bodied man to farm, the old people and children of the family could do some less tired work such as husking and drying grain; if not, even a 4-year old kid needed to farm. Unfortunately, Qian Laowu¡¯s home where He Danggui had lived was thetter.

    Actually, the whole countryside belonged to Luo¡¯s Family. When He Danggui was sent here that year, her identity was hidden. So, no one knew that girl who scratched mud in the farm was theirndlord¡¯s youngdy. At that time, although He Danggui worked all day sweating like rain, she knew no grief and could eat chaff and vegetables happily for all of these were gained from herbor.

    Living in this ¡°He¡¯s Mansion¡± owned by her mother, He Danggui lived in a standarddy¡¯s chamber. Pearls and jade, rouge and face powder were ced on her dresser. And her room was full of colorful artifacts and decorations. They were so beautiful. And she could drink scented tea every day and smell fragrant wood burning in the bronze censer. This kind of life was so luxury that she couldn¡¯t feel at home. Besides, about those ¡°dad¡±, ¡°grandma¡±, ¡°aunt¡±, and ¡°uncle¡±, every gaze in their eyes made her anxious.

    So, when she suddenly saw her ¡°dad¡± whose eyes were so bright at midnight, her first response was screaming.

    He Fu was startled by her screaming. When he was about to take some actions, the lights in a room opposite the yard were on and a sh of light reflected on the beautiful paper-cut, which was He Danggui¡¯s window decoration. He Fu hesitated in an instant, finally he nced at He Danggui, and then jumped over the side window that he came from and ran away. After a while, a maid came to ask He Danggui what had happened, He Danggui was in confusion, so she only forced herself to say something barely reasonable to drive the maid away.

    Suffering a sleepless night, when He Danggui got up in the early morning, she heard her mother was angrily rebuking servants in the main hall. She went closer and listened for a while, and then learnt that when her mother got up early, He Fu had gone away with his luggage that he had packed these days. And she asked dozens of servants, but no one saw him leaving. So, she just abreacted her anger on those servants by using a ruler to hit them on their backs one by one. After a short while, her fingers like white jade got hurt, so she threw that ruler and sat on the threshold to daze, then she started to cry.

    Seeing her mother was so sad, He Danggui felt angry, so she went forward and persuaded her that she was not supposed to be sad about him because he didn¡¯t worth this. She wanted to say this a long time ago that all the people in his family were disgusting.

    Hearing this, her mother was in a rage again. She turned the pain of losing her husband on He Danggui, pointing her nose to rebuke, ¡°You don¡¯t look like ady from an influential family at all. You bear no rules in your mind. You got little etiquette you should know. And you know nothing about respecting your elders!¡±, and something like these. The servants at the main hall were brought here from Luo¡¯s Family when her mother got married, so the content of the rebuke was spread when they were back to Luo¡¯s Family. And Luo Baishao got the message, too, so she told the female teacher that He Danggui had enmity toward her father and she was not her father¡¯s sib daughter.

    Her mother didn¡¯t believe that her husband left without saying anything. After all, she treated him with softness and did everything he wanted her to do. She was just like a model of a good wife. Although she couldn¡¯t deliver a baby for him, she had promised that he could marry concubinester. Also, he liked her daughter Yi, didn¡¯t he?

    So, her mother waited for her husband at the mansion for 2 months, but she didn¡¯t even receive a letter from the capital. The servants gave her advice all the time. The first one said she should send a person to the capital to inquire the situation. Then the second one added that if he did marry someone else in the capital, he would be used of bigamy, and then she could get the 1,000 liang silver he had defrauded from her. The third one said that Lord Luo Shuisheng, Senior Lord Luo¡¯s nephew, was serving in Shuntian Prefecture of Northern Zhili. And his son-inw, Master Nian was a high official in the capital, so they could ask Master Nian for help. In this way, He Fu would be punished easily¡­

    Her mother read lots of books about theories of changing and fortune-telling during these 2 months. Gradually, she thought all of these were her fate. Maybe she was doomed to have no husband spending a lifetime with her, and she should ept it. So, she mortgaged the mansion and went back to Luo¡¯s Family.

    When she came home, the first thing she did was to ask Madam Luo, a faithful follower of Taoism, which Taoist temple nearby was blessed by the Immortals and which allowed pilgrims to live in. Madam Luo rmended to her Sanqing Temple that Luo¡¯s Family supported to build long ago, saying that although the temple was far away from home, it was a good ce to divert oneself from depression with an enchanting and secluded environment andfortable condition. Madam Luo also said she had lived there for half a year. If Luo Chuanxiong couldn¡¯t get used to vegetarian meal, she could bring two cooks to make meals at the kitchte. Then He Danggui¡¯s mother settled He Danggui at West Lateral court and rushed to Sanqing Temple to pursue peace of mind.

    During the year He Danggui lived with her mother, she practiced the instrument hard and her skills could almostpare to thosedies who learned it since their childhoods. Even her dance and singing could also show in public to amuse the audience. If the female teacher tested her about these, she could show her study efforts in that year. But now the female teacher asked her and Luo Baishao to face the wall and introspect their faults for 2 hours. Also, they should hand in aposition about ¡°father¡¯s love¡± with no less than 1,000 characters.

    When they were facing the wall, He Danggui was worried about the essay, while Luo Baishao wasn¡¯t bothered at all. So, she asked her about that female teacher¡¯s personality and what the consequence would be if she couldn¡¯t hand in the homework. Luo Baishao nced at her, suddenly took out a ck pill from her waist with grinning, ¡°That female teacher is ferocious. If one can¡¯t finish homework, she will scratch one¡¯s face. But if you eat the sugar, I will help you do your homework. I¡¯m not lying. We can hook up fingers and make a pull in token of evidence.¡±

    He Danggui swallowed the ¡°sugar¡± that tasted bitter confusedly, hooked up fingers and made a pull with Luo Baishao. After she went back to West Lateral court after school, she didn¡¯t feel free from anxiety, but she couldn¡¯t work that homework out indeed. So, she had no choice but not to think about it.

    When she got up the next morning, a maid asked her which clothes she wanted to wear to school. But when she was about to answer, her voice was like a broken gong that fizzed. She tried several times but couldn¡¯t say aplete sentence at all, which made her feel quite suspicious.

    When she arrived at the study in muddle, the female teacher ran out with tears, throwing pieces of papers at her feet, and then she questioned He Danggui, ¡°I haven¡¯t offended you. Why do you write me like this? Didn¡¯t your family teach you to respect your teacher? I¡¯m not capable of teaching a student like you! I don¡¯t want your greeting gift like this! I¡¯m leaving now!¡± Then she left with anger, leaving He Danggui there confusedly. He Danggui looked down to the daylily papers with neat handwriting next to her feet, but she couldn¡¯t recognize even one word to figure out the situation.

    In the study, Luo Baishao held Luo Baiqiong¡¯s arm with a smile, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect it to be true that the female teacher gave birth to a baby before marriage. Hum! I have hated her for a long time. It¡¯s so good that she could leave.¡± Luo Baiqiong cast a contemptuous eye at her, and spoke in a sweet voice, ¡°Don¡¯t pull my cloud veil-made shawl. It¡¯s a Suzhou Embroidery. It took me a long time to look in the mirror and finally made it this way. And I want to show it in front of our elder male cousin tonight.¡±

    As half a day passed, the event about Third Miss pissed a female teacher off to leave after two days¡¯ sses was spread all over the East Yard. Madam Luo also got angry because the female teacher was a famous teacher she had been choosing for a long time. Within several months, the teacher had already improved Qiong and Shao¡¯s poem ss scores a lot, but Yi made her mad and leave! Mammy Tang immediately asked Gan Cao to serve plum tea andforted Madam Luo for a long time to mollify her anger. Thinking of Luo Chuanxiong leaving Yi to her, Madam Luo sighed, ¡°After all, she is not brought up in our family. Although she has a wild temper, she has a good-looking face. Let¡¯s teach her graduallyter.¡±

    He Danggui could speak after 7 or 8 days. Originally, she wanted to tell on the fourth sister before Madam Luo. She wanted to say it was the fourth sister¡¯s mischief by writing an essay on her name to piss the female teacher off and leave. But on second thought, only the fourth sister, the second sister and she knew about the homework assigned by the female teacher. If they didn¡¯t admit it, Madam Luo would definitely trust her granddaughters by blood rather than her. Then she would get no justice but offend the fourth sister¡­ So, she spared it in silence.

    After that, something like this kind of mischief would happen 2 or 3 times every month. He Danggui who was ¡°stupid¡± in Luo Baiqian¡¯s description became cleverer than before thanks to Luo Baishao¡¯s ¡°training¡±, and she could avoid falling into the sister¡¯s traps for many times. But Luo Baishao, the active girl, had treated her new third sister as a new toy. If her tricks worked sessfully, she would definitely dance for joy; but if her cunning third sister avoided the tricks, she wouldn¡¯t be upset but showed more interest in her third sister, trying to design more weird tricks to make her suffer.

    In a word, if He Danggui fell into her traps, she would be so happy to eat another bowl of meal; but if He Danggui didn¡¯t fall into her traps, she would be happier to enjoy a table of dishes, and then design tricks with energy to make He Danggui suffer. And she never felt tired and bored. Besides, ording to Madam Luo, since He Danggui, an interesting toy, had left, Luo Baishao alwaysined that staying at the study was too boring, so she didn¡¯t go there for months.

    ¡°Shao is a cute and active girl. She likes you so much that she scattered those things on your clothes. But she never meant to hurt you.¡± Madam Luo looked so kind as if an idol at a hall and persuaded He Danggui, ¡°Maybe your fourth sister didn¡¯t know what Diaoshanyao Powder was, and it must be given by the bad servants around her! You¡¯re a good girl. Don¡¯t take it to your heart. I will change all the servants in her yard. And when we get home, I will let your fourth sister pour tea to apologize to you. Is it okay?¡±

    He Danggui beamed with joy and waved her hands, ¡°It¡¯s unnecessary. I know the fourth sister just yed games with me. It¡¯s too formal for her to apologize. She is very kind to me. She used to deliver some delicious food to me, so I am so grateful to her¡­¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not true!¡± Seeing He Danggui¡¯s ¡°stupid¡± behavior, Mammy Tang couldn¡¯t help interrupting her and said in fairness, ¡°Madam Luo, this time I can¡¯t pretend not to know and hide the truth for Fourth Miss! In my opinion, Four Miss tried to harm Third Miss and ruin her good reputation on purpose! Madam Luo, Fourth Miss is adept at plotting at such a young age. It¡¯s not a good sign. So, I earnestly request you to be determined to punish her this time!¡±

 Chapter 85 - Shao was adept at plotting

    <h4>Chapter 85 Shao was adept at plotting</h4>

    Madam Luo had her eyes wide open and stared at Mammy Tang surprisingly. Because in her memory, Mammy Tang seldom talked something bad about the masters, and she had never said something so determined and solid like now.

    ¡°Hong Jiang, what are you taking about? What do you mean ¡®ruin Yi¡¯s reputation¡¯ and ¡®Shao was adept at plotting¡¯? How could you say such things?¡± Madam Luo tightened her eyebrows angrily and added, ¡°I know that you had suffered this time, but it¡¯s not appropriate to describe Shao like this. You see, Yi herself had already let it go.¡± Madam Luo¡¯s words suggested that Mammy Tang was too petty.

    But Mammy Tang shook her head firmly, ¡°Madam, forgive me if I am being beyond my duty. But there¡¯s something I must say. As for Third Miss, she¡¯s too young to understand. So, we can¡¯t count on her judgment on this.¡± Hearing this, He Danggui lowered her head in shame. Mammy Tang added, ¡°Besides, I was not saying this for being angry about Fourth Miss. On the contrary, the reason why I expressed my true feelings is for Fourth Miss¡¯s own good! Madam, you¡¯re doing no good for her to protect her like that. Sooner orter, she¡¯s going to marry someone. And then she will have no elders like you to protect her. So, if you continue helping her like now, she would have no ability to keep herself safe in the future!¡±

    Madam Luo kept silent for a while and nodded, ¡°Well, tell me what exactly she did wrong and how she plotted Yi.¡±

    Mammy Tang sighed and said with a low voice, ¡°Among the clothes I sent to Third Miss, the gauze coat with magnolia flowers was with some cactus¡¯s spikes on it. Fourth Miss did that. However, even if Third Miss was hurt by those spikes, the pain wouldn¡¯tst long. There would be no real damage and she would still be the valuabledy. But there¡¯s another thing I must tell you. Those itching power named ¡°Diaoshanyao¡± were put on Third Miss¡¯s underwear! Please think about this. If we didn¡¯t notice those power on her clothes yesterday, and Third Miss changed that new suit before she got on that sedan. Then ¡­ It was clear that she would feel extreme itches inside the sedan!¡±

    Speaking of this, Mammy Tang saw the astonishment in Madam Luo¡¯s eyes, so she spread her hands which were still red and swollen because of the itching feeling, and said, ¡°As for how suffering this Diaoshanyao Powder is and how painful this itching feeling is, I can¡¯t be describe these with words! And my rough hands became like this only because of getting so little of this power. If Third Miss¡¯s soft and delicate skin got this powder all over her body through her clothes, she would even remove her underwear despite her strong will! Madam, this time, Third Miss has 8 guards from our mansion to protect her. Once they heard Third Miss¡¯s crying from the sedan, they would go check Third Miss and then see Third Miss¡¯s body, which would ruin her reputation!¡±

    Madam Luo¡¯s heart was trembling on these words. She shivered her lips but nothing came out. He Danggui¡¯s face became so pale and she covered her mouth tightly with her right hand. Her whole body shook unconsciously. So, Madam Luoforted her with patting.

    ¡°Madam, I have been followed you since we were kids. I was determined to serve you forever, but if something unimaginable like this happened to Third Miss, I should be responsible and feel shameful to stay in Luo¡¯s Family afterwards.¡± Mammy Tang said to Madam Luo sadly, ¡°Madam, I know you love Fourth Miss more than Second Miss, but this time you should really open your eyes and be fair! Even if you are not doing this for getting justice for Third Miss, it is important to think about the reputation of the East Yard of Luo¡¯s Mansion!¡±

    ¡°How so?¡± Madam Luo held very tightly of the cushion on her chair, frowned seriously and thought, ¡°Hong Jiang is right. If this really happened to Yi, what should I tell Chuanxiong? Yi is her only child. If her reputation was influenced badly, I would rather not send someone to pick her up home!¡±

    ¡°In my opinion, as the female decider of the family, Second Mistress Luo must have been upied for the house issues, so she might neglect the education of Fourth Miss. And that¡¯s why Fourth Miss learnt these malicious tricks under the guidance of some stroppy servants. What¡¯s worse, it has been a while since Fourth Miss became like this. ording to Fourth Miss¡¯s maid who is under our custody, there was a time, when Third Miss just moved here half a year ago, Fourth Miss got herself a leading biddy who can write. And then under Fourth Miss¡¯smand, that biddy wrote an article to insult the female teacher Wang Xianli. As for the content, it suggested the teacher didn¡¯t obey women¡¯s duties and morals and doesn¡¯t deserve to be a teacher. The next day, Fourth Miss gave this article to Wang Xianli, however, in Third Miss¡¯s name! And then Wang Xianli just left angrily.¡±

    Madam Luo couldn¡¯t help being shocked, ¡°I thought¡­ Didn¡¯t she leave because of Yi?¡± She turned to He Danggui and asked, ¡°Yi, is that true? At that time, they all said it was you who made your teacher leave. Why didn¡¯t you tell us you¡¯re innocent?¡±

    ¡°That is exactly what I¡¯m about to say next,¡± Seeing He Danggui was in total astonishment and confusion, Mammy Tang decided to answer the question for her, ¡°This is why I said Fourth Miss is adept at plotting. Before the day she gave the article to Wang Xianli, she poisoned Third Miss so that Third Miss wouldn¡¯t be able to talk! Third Miss couldn¡¯t write a few words and her throat got hurt by the poison. Of course, she couldn¡¯t prove her innocence!¡±

    Madam Luo shook He Danggui excitedly. She opened her eyes wide out of astonishment and asked, ¡°Is Hong Jiang telling the truth? Did Shao really poison you?¡±

    He Danggui seemed to remember some miserable memories. A sense of terror shed in her big beautiful eyes. After a long time, she shook her head and murmured slowly, ¡°I¡­I don¡¯t know¡­ But after my first day at school, there were ten more days I couldn¡¯t make a sound. I thought I was just catching a cold¡­ Actually, that was nothing. I was not much of a talker, so being unable to talk was not a big deal for me¡­¡±

    ¡°Silly girl, listen what you¡¯ve said!¡± Madam Luo held He Danggui to her arms and felt self-med, ¡°It was my fault. I didn¡¯t send someone to ask Wang Xianli about why she really left. Otherwise, we would have known it was not you. She left because of an article, but you couldn¡¯t even write!¡±

    Mammy Tang immediately added, ¡°Besides this time putting itching powder on Third Miss¡¯s clothes, writing an article in Third Miss¡¯s name and chasing away many female teachers, Fourth Miss had also put the Diaoshanyao Powder on Third Miss¡¯sbs, hairpins, desks, books and so many other things to hurt her. What¡¯s worse, she often added crotons and uncooked green soya beans and soybeans into Third Miss¡¯s food, which made Third Miss suffer from diarrhea and sickness. So, Third Miss¡¯s body became weaker every day!¡± Speaking of this, she pointed at He Danggui¡¯s small yellow face.

    ¡°Yi, is what Hong Jiang just said true?¡± Madam Luo stared at He Danggui and questioned with a pale face, ¡°Yi, did Shao really hurt you like this before?¡±

    He Danggui blinked her eyes, swallowed a mouth of stress and answered with fear, ¡°Actually¡­ It was not that bad like Mammy Tang described. I only had diarrhea 2 or 3 times. Since then, I always picked crotons, green soya beans and soybeans out every time before I ate, so that I would not have a stomachache again! I knew my sister. She was just naughty. It was all small tricks!¡± He Danggui¡¯s naive face made Mammy Tang extremely angry, but she continued, ¡°Grandma, please don¡¯t me her. She has a kind heart. She always asks about my feelings and cares about me a lot. When I had nothing to eat, all the food I got were from her!¡±

    ¡°Have nothing to eat?¡± Madam Luo¡¯s eyes almost popped out, ¡°What was all that about?¡±

    Immediately, Mammy Tang stood out and said, ¡°Oh, Zhu suddenly died before, so Ipletely forgot to take care of the food problem! Madam, the Administrator of the kitchen, Wang Qi¡¯s wife, hadn¡¯t been sending food to the West Lateral court where Third Miss stayed in the mansion for half a year! During this period, she grafted 400 liang silver in total of the monthly allowance, which was given by our mansion to Third Miss. And she set up an underground gambling house with that money! In addition to that, they even grafted a huge amount of money from all the servants¡¯ monthly allowance!¡±

    Madam Luo screamed out loudly, ¡°Wang Qi¡¯s wife? You¡¯re telling me that she has grafted for half a year? How could no one tell me anything about it? And an underground gambling house? We have banned gambling years ago, and that was even included in our family¡¯s rules. How dare they do this grantly?¡±

    Mammy Tang sighed, ¡°I did some research. Wang Qi¡¯s wife and her niece Wang Xiaoda set up the gambling house under a waste cer behind the West Lateral court. They called almost all the servants in the mansion to gamble there. Even if those gamblers lost and refused to give money, they would just cross over their names on the list, then their monthly allowance would belong to Wang Qi¡¯s wife and her niece.¡±

    Without enough time, Mammy Tang didn¡¯t investigate this thoroughly, and the so-called ¡®¡®I did some research¡¯¡¯ actually came from Third Miss. Mammy Tang didn¡¯t want to steal Third Miss¡¯s efforts. The reason she said so was because Third Miss was always not in the mood at crucial times, which was very disappointing. So, she had to rely on herself to tell Madam Luo the truth. Mammy Tang took a nce at He Danggui and saw she was ying the edge of her clothes, seemingly to annoy with herself being disappointing. s, kids were not reliable to deal with such important events.

    And then Mammy Tang said, ¡°Most of the servants were bored at nights, so they all gambled once or twice. So, since the first time they got aboard the gambling boat and got off with nothing left, they dared not to report the gambling house. First time they lost everything, and 2 monthster, they would be seduced to gamble again with their new monthly allowance, wishing to win the money back, but how could they? That gambling house was built on the basis of cheating! If things went on like this, those servants would soon have no money to either support their families or feed themselves. So, they had to turn to their masters. It¡¯s fine if theye to the masters to borrow some money. As for those who schemed secretly, do they think the masters are stupid to be fooled by them¡­?¡±

    Madam Luo patted heavily on the sedan and said, ¡°Well, well, well. It was just a couple of years since I gave up my power in charge. Howe things like this get to me half a yearter?!¡±

    Seeing Madam Luo was pissed off so badly, Mammy Tangforted her and said, ¡°We can deal with these evil servants when we get back home. If you say the word, none of them would be able to escape. Those who dared to bully the masters would suffer what they deserved. But now I think our priority should be Fourth Miss. For her own good, I suggest she should be punished. Madam, you know me, if there is a better way, I would not expose her behaviors to you. Fourth Miss was spoiled since she was a kid. Besides Second Miss, everyone loved her the most, and this helped build her obstinate characteristic. It¡¯s fortunate that she is only 9 years old now. She can still be a nice girl as long as we correct her minds in time.¡±

    Madam Luo took a deep breath and managed to calm herself. With all these years¡¯ enjoyment and leisure, she hadn¡¯t heard so many horrifying events in one time, and each of them happened underneath her nose, which shocked her the most. She remained silent for a while and looked at Mammy Tang, ¡°Hong Jiang, what do you suggest me to do with Shao then?¡±

 Chapter 86 - A hero loved to wash his feet

    <h4>Chapter 86 A hero loved to wash his feet</h4>

    Mammy Tang proposed, ¡°As I told you on the way before, this time we have to discipline Fourth Miss strictly in secret. Don¡¯t let Second Mistress and Second Lord know about this, or it will be useless!¡±

    Madam Luo frowned and asked hesitantly, ¡°Do you want to cheat Shao away and then send her to a Taoist temple for discipline? Is ... Is there any better way?¡±

    ¡°Madam, please think about it. Third Miss had only been in the mansion for a few days, but Fourth Miss drugged her and wanted her dumb. What¡¯s the feud between her and Third Miss who just met her for the first time? Or just for fun? We must know that some dumb drugs are temporary, but some are permanent! If she had used the drug wrongly, Third Miss would have be a mute girl for good!¡± Seeing that Madam Luo didn¡¯t have the heart to me Fourth Miss, Mammy Tang did her best to convince her, ¡°Now she is only 9 years old, but she has already used this kind of trick to frame her cousin. When she gets married in the future, there are many disputes among her mother-inw, sisters-inw and concubines. Even if she doesn¡¯t look for trouble, she will have troubles. Besides, she always stirs up troubles.¡±

    Madam Luo couldn¡¯t deny that, ¡°Yeah, our daughters are treasures in our family, but when she married someone else, she would mean nothing! Although she has a strong temper, I¡¯m afraid Shao would grow up to be an outwardly strong, inwardly weak, and stupid daughter-inw, who only knows how to y some tricks. Once she is pressed by a more capable concubine, she will be in danger of losing the favor of her husband.¡±

    Mammy Tang lowered her voice, ¡°I heard that the nuns, who did not have emotions and desires, have a special way to manage people. Look at the Third Miss, Madam Luo,¡± She pointed at He Danggui. ¡°She¡¯s able to write after she came to the Taoist temple for half a month. It¡¯s obvious that the Taoist temple is really a good ce to teach children, much more effective than the female teachers at home. Moreover, there is no temptation from the outside world, and there is no chaotic and strange ¡®series¡¯. Fourth Miss would be able to concentrate on more serious things and practice her calligraphy for several months.¡±

    Madam Luo was a little moved. She touched the nail cover of her right hand with the tip of left finger slowly, and said, ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to do this. I just...¡±

    ¡°All in all, Grandma is loath to part with Fourth Sister.¡± He Danggui gave Madam Luo another cup of Hawthorn tea and smiled, ¡°It¡¯s easy to understand. There are few young people in the family. Cousin Baiji from the Third Branch went to the north with Third Uncle, and Nephew Zhu from the First Branch passed away. Now Mammy suddenly suggested that Grandma should send Fourth Sister of the Second Branch away, even if it is beneficial for Fourth Sister in the future, Grandma still couldn¡¯t bear it!¡±

    ¡°By the way!¡± Madam Luo just took a half mouthful of tea. When she heard that He Danggui mentioned Zhu again, she put down the cup and asked, ¡°Yi, what dream did you have? How do you know the way to save Zhu?¡±

    ¡°Oh, here¡¯s the thing.¡± He Danggui smoothed her hair with her little finger and said, ¡°I dreamed these in the night before Mammy Tang came to the Taoist temple. In the dream, I had already returned to the West Lateral court of the East Yard of Luo¡¯s Mansion. At the midnight, the mice in the kitchte and Aunt Wang¡¯s gambling house were too noisy, so I put on my clothes to the garden...¡±

    ¡°Mice in the kitchte? Gambling house too noisy?¡± Madam Luo repeated in surprise, ¡°Where are the mice from?¡±

    Mammy Tang exined, ¡°Wei kept them in Third Miss¡¯s kitchte as pets, and then they reproduced and now be a disaster. I¡¯ll talk more about itter. Anyway, Wang Qi¡¯s wife is the one to be med.¡± Then she turned to He Danggui and said, ¡°Third Miss, go on with your dream.¡±

    He Danggui nodded and continued, ¡°So, I put on a dress and went for a walk in the garden. I met an old Taoist priest who called himself a celestial. He said that Luo¡¯s Family has twin sons. Within three days, one of them would have a red rash on his chest. His body would be in a low fever, and he would be increasingly gaunt and emaciated. Atst, he would lose his energy and die. Out of shock, I asked the old celestial if there was a way to save him. He replied that there was one way, but it was not for free. I had to pay the price. When I asked him what the price was, the old celestial pointed to my face and said that he was going to attend the birthday party of the Queen of Fairnd. But he had gathered herbs in Peni Ind a few days ago and his skin got suntanned there. So, he wanted to exchange his skin with mine so that other celestials wouldn¡¯tugh at him.¡±

    ¡°Exchange... Exchange skin?!¡± Madam Luo and Mammy Tang cried out together, then they got closer to He Danggui. After a close look, each of them held one of He Danggui¡¯s hands and rubbed it carefully. They wondered if it was the skin of the celestial.

    He Danggui nodded, stretched out her arms for them to stroke, and said in a naive voice, ¡°Although I was not fully conscious in my dream at that time, I didn¡¯t know whether what the old celestial said was true or not, nor what the so-called ¡®exchange skin¡¯ thing meant. I was muddleheaded and only worried about the two nephews, so I agreed with his request. Then I just felt the bright light shining on the whole garden like daytime, and then I felt my whole body as warm as being immersed in hot water. When I looked down again, I found my white hands, which used to be that way even when I did farm work all year round, had turned into the dark wheat color.¡±

    Madam Luo held He Danggui¡¯s hand and sighed, ¡°I can¡¯t imagine it was the celestial who turned you ck. Will your skin color recoverter?¡±

    Mammy Tangforted Madam Luo and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Madam Luo. Third Miss is still a standard little beauty. When she grows up in the future, her appearance will be more beautiful than now. Even if her skin color turns a little yellow, it won¡¯t hurt. What happenedter, Third Miss?¡±

    He Danggui looked up at the sky and recalled, ¡°When I looked up to see the old celestial again, he had be a handsome boy. His skin was extremely crystal white, and his eyes were bright as water, as if we had known each other... Then, he told me how to cure Nephew Zhu. I have written down all the steps on the paper and handed it to Uncle Nie. I believe he has sent them to Luo¡¯s Mansion now. I hope he can save Nephew Zhu and make hime back to life like me.¡±

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù

    ¡°Damn it, Nie Chun, what are you doing in Liu Li Tang?¡±

    Among the rustle and bustle, Luo Baiqian¡¯s ears were very sensitive to notice a sarcastic voice of a man. Turning around suddenly, as expected, he saw the most annoying face in his mind. Luo Baiqian immediately pointed to Nie Chun¡¯s nose and scolded angrily, ¡°What are you doing in my yard, you wicked man?! Did you hear that my son died ande to enjoy how I suffer in this?¡±

    Nie Chun replied coldly, ¡°Master, I¡¯m not as bored as you are. I don¡¯t like watching other people¡¯s sons mourning. I¡¯m here to send a letter. Don¡¯t ever think I want toe to you. Taking two more steps would pollute my feet. It¡¯s the writer who emphasized on giving the letter to you in person. Hum, I¡¯ll have to wash my boots and feet immediately after sending the letter.¡±

    Ms. Dong who was ck and blue got up from the ground and ran to it. She looked at Nie Chun with great vignce and asked in a sharp voice, ¡°Who wrote to him, a man or a woman?¡±

    Although Ms. Dong and a dozen servants were in the middle of them, Nie Chun still threw the letter into the forepart of Luo Baiqian from the top of their heads with great precision. ¡°A woman whose surname is He¡±. After he said that, he turned around and walked out of the gate. Then he went far away in a moment, leaving others with a back beyond reach.

    ¡°What letter? Who wrote to you? Luo Baiqian, where did you meet a woman with a surname of He?¡± After Nie Chun left, Ms. Dong pushed the crowd aside at the first time and cried out discontentedly, ¡°Luo Baiqian, I worked hard at home to take care of our sons and daughter, but you go out and associate with other women! What does she do? What do you have to do with her?¡±

    Without paying attention to Ms. Dong, Luo Baiqian opened the letter and nced at it in a hurry. He was full of doubts after a nce. Thinking for a while, he immediately ran to catch up with Nie Chun who had gone far away. After walking around the path a few times outside Liu Li Tang, he finally found the bright red figure beside a lotus pond near the rockery in the distance, so he went forward frowning.

    This lotus pond used to be a very popr scenic spot in the Mansion. People fed carps in spring, gathered lotuses in summer, scooped up water chestnuts in autumn and fished for carps in winter. 2 years ago, a girl named Qin fell into the water. Her body was found and salvaged to be swollen the next day. Since then, this beautiful lotus pond had always sent a sense of cool feeling. The timid ones even dared note near here, not to mention anyone wanted to eat the seedpods of the lotuses, water chestnuts and carps they got here. What they used to eat was fresh and wild. Now, no matter how sweet the taste was, they couldn¡¯t help but think of the old story of salvaging the female corpse. Immediately, these were hard to swallow.

    Luo Baiqian looked closer, and then he found that Nie Chun was actually ¡°performing the promise he made before¡±. He had gone beside the lotus pond and was washing his feet. Beside him was a pair ofrge fast boots that had been cleaned.

    Luo Baiqian was filled with anger. He strode over and kicked off the pair of boots that werezily basking under the sun. He pointed to Nie Chun¡¯s side face and shouted, ¡°Just go if you can! Don¡¯t stay in Luo¡¯s Family if you can, then you won¡¯t have to step on the floor of Luo¡¯s Family!¡±

    Nie Chun heard that the boots behind him were kicked away by the man, but he neither looked back nor worried. He said coldly, ¡°Living in Luo¡¯s Family is just a side product of a trade between me and Lord Luo. As his grandchild, it¡¯s not your turn to interrupt. Besides, there are only a few ces in Luo¡¯s Mansion that are particrly dirty, and I have to wash my feet every time I step on these ces. The rest of the ces can still be stepped on.¡±

    Luo Baiqian raised the letter to Nie Chun¡¯s cheek and shook it as he ground his teeth. He asked sharply, ¡°What the hell was the letter? At the beginning, it said, ¡®after doing the following steps one by one, your son, Luo Shizhu cane back to life¡¯? Bah! Bah! Nie Chun, aren¡¯t you always the safeguard of Grandma? When did you change your job to be a mystical conman?¡±

    Nie Chun pulled his big feet out of the pond, took a handkerchief out of the armhole and wiped his feet carefully. He answered unhurriedly, ¡°Madam Luo asked me toe back as soon as possible. She said something like it would be useless if I sent itte, but it seems like it¡¯s still useless even if I sent it early. Anyway, the useless letter written by a little girl is no different from the waste paper.¡± After that, he suddenly supported the edge of the lotus pond with his hands, turned back two somersaults, flew to the nearest boot, put on his left foot, and then jumped to the right boot under the rockery.

    After hearing this, Luo Baiqian was surprised. He took the letter and read it again, then asked Nie Chun, who was jumping on one foot, ¡°Do you mean the letter was sent by Grandma? Didn¡¯t she go to the Taoist temple to pick Third Sister up? And the woman whose surname is He... Is the woman Third Sister? Did she write the letter?¡± The clumsy handwriting could tell that she wrote it, but what did these messy sentences mean?

    ¡°After doing the following steps one by one, your son, Luo Shizhu cane back to life.¡±

    It was like the words from the mouth of a mystical conman no matter what!

 Chapter 87 - 7 Gratitude from his mother

    <strong>Chapter 87 Gratitude from his mother</strong>

    ¡°A handsome boy? And you have met him before? Which celestial is he?¡± Madam Luo was confused, and then she narrowed her eyes, thinking for a while. Under the celestial of Sanqing Immortals and 6 Great Emperors, there were 5 Emperors (Qingdi Emperor, Chidi Emperor, Huangdi Emperor, Baidi Emperor, and Heidi Emperor), 3 Inds and 10 States, Emperors of Heaven, Hell and Water (Heaven Emperor for blessing, Hell Emperor for forgiving, and Water Emperor for disaster-solving), 4 Heavenly Kings¡­ Was there such a celestial like this? She couldn¡¯t think of anyone, so she turned to Mammy Tang, who also shook her head, showing that she knew nothing about any old celestial who could change from an ¡°old celestial¡± to a ¡°young celestial¡±.

    Ah, had Yi met a fox immortal? Or a fox demon? Madam Luo was nervous and she squeezed He Danggui¡¯s hand again and again, as if she wanted to figure out whether the girl in front of her was her granddaughter or not. What a meek girl with same eyebrows and eyes! Madam Luoughed softly that she was confused because of losing sleep. The old celestial was so warmhearted because he came to tell Yi how to save Zhu. There were so many gods and buddhas in the sky. How could a small mortal like her know his identity?

    ¡°Yi, what was the character of that ¡®old celestial¡¯ when you first met him?¡± Madam Luo thought that the celestial must have used some kind of disguise skill to hide his real face when he met mortals, so she added, ¡°You can tell us every word he said to you. If we can find out which celestial helped us and made Zhu back life, we will build a temple in Luo¡¯s Mansion to worship the old celestial and glorify his virtue.¡±

    ¡°Well, let me see¡­¡± He Danggui crooked her head and recalled, ¡°I can¡¯t remember clearly, because it was in my dream. That old celestial was far away from me, so I only remember vaguely that he dressed in an old Taoist robe, holding a sparse horsetail whisk in his hand. When I looked at him again, I saw him with grey hair, and he was a hollow-cheeked, square-nosed, wide-mouthed man. His eyes were bright as if they could speak.¡±

    Sitting outside the gharry, Chan Yi was drinking the Hawthorn tea. At the same time, she believed the old celestial He Danggui described was the Taoist priest they met in Qunxianlou Restaurant. Her Miss wanted to take off his clothes at that time.

    In their whole lives, it was the first time that Madam Luo and Mammy Tang had heard someone describing the image of ¡°an old celestial¡± in such a detailed way, which was more vivid and specific than a storyteller in the teahouse. They couldn¡¯t stop wondering the result, so they asked with one voice, ¡°What happenedter?¡±

    ¡°Later? Well, let me see¡­¡± He Danggui blinked and said, ¡°The old celestial told me that he happened to pass by here, feeling a different breath below, so he was curious toe down and have a look. Then he said to me that my eyes sh brightness and I have a good physique. ording to him, the fortunate clouds over my head bring good luck to me and others around me. I¡¯m more than a mortal. Then he figured out that I had taken the leftover dregs of the pill furnace of Taishang Laojun! Then he thought I¡¯m lucky and nned to make a divination for me at the risk of revealing the secrets. So, I asked him to tell the fortune of Grandma and my mother. He reckoned that although both of you were safe, one of the youngest generation in Luo¡¯s Mansion would suffer a lot, so there was the ¡®changing skin¡¯ thing in theter.¡±

    Chan Yi was sitting outside the gharry. As she heard this, the Hawthorn tea almost came out of her mouth. The words ¡°Your eyes sh brightness and you have a good physique¡­¡± were said by the Taoist priest whom her Miss wanted to take off his clothes¡­

    ¡°Bless you!¡± Madam Luo said and then sighed, ¡°This is also the Immortals blessing Luo¡¯s Family! Just, what a pity! You¡¯ve lost your delicate and white skin from now on, Yi. s¡­ But it¡¯s still worthwhile to save Zhu¡­ I hope that the methods of this immortal will make him return to life after death. Bless you, bless Luo¡¯s Family!¡±

    He Danggui added, ¡°When I woke up, I found that my skin from head to foot was the same as that I saw in my dream. I turned into the pale-yellow wheat skin. Then I held up the mirror and looked at it carefully. I found that my eyes were smaller than before, and my nose and mouth looked slightly bigger. Anyway, I am getting uglier. Aho¨C¡±

    He Danggui covered her face to cry, so Madam Luo patted her head to coax her. After a while, He Danggui raised her head to wipe her tears and continued, ¡°When I was sad and doubtful about it, Huai Hua told me that Mammy Tang came to the Taoist temple to visit me. At that time, I didn¡¯t know whether the ¡°one of my nephews is in danger¡± mentioned by the immortal is true or false. I dare not tell my weird dream to Mammy first, or face Mammy with my ugly face. So, I put white powder on my face, neck and hands, but I am still worried about exposing it. Then I took a veil to cover my face, and I lied that I had a cold. Mammy, please don¡¯t me me for this!¡±

    Mammy Tang waved her hands and said, ¡°How can I me you? It¡¯s a blessing for mortals like us to encounter things rted to the celestials, which are all merits and virtues of the previous lives. Third Miss, you must have umted countless virtues in the previous lives. So, in this life, you have got the help twice from the Immortals. If Zhu can really wake up this time, you are the biggest hero in Luo¡¯s Mansion. You will get great honor over First younger Mistress Luo. Madam Luo, do you think so?¡±

    Madam Luo nodded, ¡°Of course. Yi is not only the biggest hero. If Zhu can really return to life, then as his mother, she must certainly be grateful to you!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t dare to hope that.¡± He Danggui was ttered, and she shrunk her shoulders and frowned, saying, ¡°But then I¡¯m really worried about Nephew Zhu. Grandma, let¡¯s go home now and see how Elder Cousin has done those things. The immortal once said that Nephew Zhu would only return to life afterpleting the five steps. But it was no use doing less.¡±

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù

    ¡°Firstly, bring a group of hungry big tabby cats and put them in a cage for future use?

    Secondly, sprinkle sesame oil, stir-fry dried fruit and crispy dessert in the garden at the foot of West Hill? When the time is right, let out the cats and set on fire?

    Thirdly, set fire to burn the West Lateral court down?

    Fourthly, sprinkle boiling whitewash and Deutzia Crenata Water in Liu Li Tang, especially in the room of Luo Shizhu, and then do the same in the whole East Yard of Luo¡¯s Mansion?

    Fifthly, put the dead body of Luo Shizhu in the warm sesame oil, and mix the following medicinal materials in the warm oil. After mixing, pat the dead body repeatedly from top to bottom with the warm oil?

    Warning: the above steps must not be missed or reversed; otherwise, you would regret it. Bear this in mind?¡±

    Every time Luo Baiqian read one step, his tone would rise for a while. After he finished reading it, his voice was as sharp as a woman. He stared at Nie Chun and questioned, ¡°Is this letter really written by the Third Sister? Why did she write this? How could Grandma ask you to send this? Hey, did you write this by yourself to trick me?¡±

    Nie Chun opened his mouth slightly, and he said, ¡°Idiot.¡± After that, those big feet with boots stood on tiptoe in ce¨C

    Luo Baiqian knew that this was the first step for Nie Chun to perform the Phantom Footwork, so he immediately grabbed his bright red sleeve and said, ¡°Nie Chun, please make it clear. Can the method on this paper really save my son? This is rted to the life of Zhu. Can¡¯t you think more before you speak?¡±

    Nie Chun turned around and his eyelids drooped. He prised Luo Baiqian¡¯s five fingers and smoothed the wrinkled cloth carefully, and then he stood on tiptoe¨C

    Luo Baiqian¡¯s anger broke out again, ¡°Nie Chun, are you rush to start a new soul? Where are you going? Let¡¯s make it clear first!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to find a group of tabby cats¡­ But don¡¯t get me wrong. Madam Luo asked me to find them.¡± After taking 2 or 3 steps forward with the big feet, the bright red figure disappeared within a moment from the same ce, and then suddenly appeared 10 zhang away from Luo Baiqian. As repeatedly 7 or 8 times, finally the bright red figure disappeared from his sight.

    Luo Baiqian didn¡¯t get any answer he wanted. He sighed and read the contents of the letter with his head bowed, ¡°After doing the following steps one by one, your son, Luo Shizhu cane back to life¡±? Bah! What a weird method? But since Madam Luo ordered, then make every effort to do it. Even if it¡¯s only a farce, it¡¯s afort to Madam Luo who was extremely superstitious¡­ Eh? ¡°Fourthly, sprinkle boiling whitewash and Deutzia Crenata Water in Liu Li Tang, especially in the room of Luo Shizhu¡±?

    ¡°Whitewash¡± had many uses, and Luo Baiqian couldn¡¯t figure out the original intention of this action. However, he clearly remembered that ¡°Deutzia Crenata Water¡± was used for killing rats and eliminating rodent pathogen!

    So, immediately he thought of a group of rats that he had met in the gardenst night and the rashes on his son¡¯s thin skin¡­ Was his son¡¯s death rted to those things? Although he had neither been to the gue epidemic area nor seen the symptoms of the patients infected with rodent pathogen. Previously, he had treated some patients with worms in their belly because of unhealthy diets. Zhu¡¯s symptoms were simr to theirs before his death!

    ¡°Ah, Luo Baiqian!¡± Ms. Dong¡¯s hairy upon her shoulders, as if she was a female ghost. She jumped up from behind, and then demanded, ¡°How did you know this woman whose surname is He? What does she do? What do you have to do with her?¡± At the same time, she reached for the letter in Luo Baiqian¡¯s hand.

    ¡°Crazy woman, what are you doing?¡± Luo Baiqian quickly put this thin letter away and pushed Ms. Dong away. Then he said angrily, ¡°This letter was sent by Nie Chun from Madam Luo, and it was written by the Third Sister!¡±

    ¡°Did He Danggui write to you?¡± Hearing that, Ms. Dong became angrier, and she said furiously, ¡°Why did she write to you? Luo Baiqian, our son died, but you exchanged letters with your cousin? What¡¯s in the letter? Why don¡¯t you show it to me? Humph.¡± Ms. Dong made a snort through her nose and put her hands on her waist, saying, ¡°Humph, hum, I found that you had something to do with her for a long time. 2 days ago, Sun Meiniang sent someone to tell me that you persuaded Madam Luo to take her back! At that time, Second Branch and Third Branch didn¡¯t agree, while only you agreed! Luo Baiqian, what do you think of it? Are you going to let her be your Junior Wife? Or are you going to kill me and then remarry her?¡±

    Hearing that, Luo Baiqian shouted, ¡°Nonsense! Dong Xin, look at you, you are a woman whoes from a literary family, while now you are ruder than any other shrew in the street! Didn¡¯t I exin it to you? It was Qi Xuanyu who asked me to help the Third Sister and let Madam Luo pick her up as early as possible!¡±

    ¡°Nobody believes you!¡± Ms. Dong gnashed her teeth and reached for the letter again. And she sneered, ¡°Is Qi Xuanyu your father and you do whatever he said! Why don¡¯t you listen to me and the Third Aunt? Show me what¡¯s written on the letter! Why are you hiding? What¡¯s secret in it?¡±

 Chapter 88 - The remarkable memory of He Danggui

    <h4>Chapter 88 The remarkable memory of He Danggui</h4>

    ¡°Ho¨C¡±

    ¡°Ho! Ho! Ho¨C¡±

    ¡°Ah! Miss, look at that! There is something wrong with Madam Luo¡¯s gharry!¡± Chan Yi retracted her head from the window and said fretfully, ¡°That gharry is very fast! It¡¯s a block far away from us!¡±

    ¡°Wow! Miss, see. A lot of stalls on the two sides of the street were crashed by Madam Luo¡¯s gharry!¡± Huai Hua retracted her head from the window on the other side of the gharry and added in excitement, ¡°Her gharry not only runs fast, but also runs in this way¡­¡± She gesticted, ¡°The gharry runs diagonally over there. There is a fork ahead. What should we do if Madam Luo¡¯s gharry crashes other¡¯s gharry?¡±

    He Danggui took out a veil to put on from her dyeing cloth-wrapper, and then shouted at the driver Ren Dongteng, ¡°Mr. Ren, stop the gharry quickly!¡±

    Madam Luo¡¯s gharry dashed around the street. Were the horses out of control? It was so strange. The gharry of Madam Luo matched the well-trained fine horses. Even if someone threw the lighted firecracker on their hoofs, they wouldn¡¯t be scared and dashed around. Besides, the street was normal just now. She didn¡¯t remember that the horses were disturbed. Now, Nie Chun was not with Madam Luo, so she had to stop the gharry by herself... If she exposed her kung fu, she had to make up another immortal, ¡°Immortal C¡±, to cover it up.

    ¡°Ho¨C¡± Her gharry stopped. Ren Dongteng turned his head and asked, ¡°Third Miss, are you going to see what happened to Madam Luo¡¯s gharry? It¡¯s so dangerous. It seems that the three horses of the gharry are out of control!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s OK. You just pull over and wait for me. Don¡¯t move! I¡¯ll be back soon!¡± He Danggui said.

    With the door curtain opened, He Danggui leapt out of the gharry airily and rushed toward that messy street. She saw Madam Luo¡¯s gharry turning left and disappearing from her view. Even if she ran like a deer, she couldn¡¯t catch up it, because there were so many people and objects in the street to block her way. Therefore, she had to ¡°fly¡±. In the previous life, although her internal force was poor, she could use her arts of lightness to leap on the roofs. Now, her internal force was better than that in the previous life, but she had not tried the arts of lightness. Did she need to do the ¡°test flight¡± right now?

    At this time, the gharry of Madam Luo almost hit a passer-by. Luckily, that person got out of the way in time.

    He Danggui took two deep breaths in restlessness, and she recited the form of the first-ss arts of lightness, ¡°Listening to the inside voice of your heat, holding your breath, closing your mouth, fixing your limbs, then meditating, thinking your way of your heart first, severing all your desires second, developing harmony of the body and the mind gradually, which is called ¡®Keeping¡¯... Damn it! What was the next?¡± She continued, ¡°If you have lots of distracting thoughts, and keep thinking the trifles, the pneuma won¡¯t gather...¡±

    At this time, the gharry of Madam Luo knocked over a stall of tea eggs. The boiled soup, red-brown eggs, and burning charcoal sshed all over the ground.

    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m wrong! I¡¯m wrong! The next should be ¡®Relieving the fatigue of your body, making your mind focus...¡¯ But, these segments of the form seemed to be not special for the arts of the lightness. Although the form had some effects on the arts of lightness, it¡¯s not specialized. Who knows whether I could make it or not!¡± Then He Danggui decided to choose a regr form to recite. Then ording to the description in the form, she could remind that specific rhythm before she flew...

    At this time, the gharry of Madam Luo had already turned left, and confronted another rushing gharry. It seemed that there would be a great crash next moment.

    He Danggui scratched her neck fretfully. Oh, she remembered it. The form of the first-ss arts of lightness should be the contents in the part two of the third volume of Xiao Yao Wei Dang. Well, who could remind her? She had a remarkable memory. As long as someone told her the first sentence, she could recite the whole form...

    ¡°Ho¨C¡±

    ¡°Ho¨C¡±

    The noise on the front stopped because Madam Luo¡¯s gharry stopped and so did the confronting gharry. The squeals on the street were also weakening.

    ¡°Hey, what¡¯s wrong with you? You drive so fast. Are you trying to kill others?¡± A teenager dressed like a manservant jumped from the gharry on the opposite, pointed at Madam Luo¡¯s gharry and cursed, ¡°Fuck your mother! You almost killed my Young Lord! Are you mad?¡±

    On the other side, Gui Banjiao, who drove for Madam Luo, also pointed at the manservant and cursed, ¡°The son of tortoise! You just throw your master¡¯s weight around. How dare you be rude to my master? I will whip you to the hell!¡±

    ¡°Hey, you are so ingrate. My Young Lord helped you halt the gharry. You are not grateful but curse us!¡± Another manservant jumped from the gharry on the opposite and spoke for the first manservant, ¡°The son of tortoise is cursing whom?¡±

    Gui Banjiao faced two enemies, but he had a great momentum, ¡°The son of tortoise is cursing you!¡±

    The two menservants looked at each other, and suddenlyughed, ¡°Ha-ha. Ha-ha... He is the son of tortoise! Ha-ha!¡±

    Gui Banjiao was so angry that he dashed to them to hit them. Unexpectedly, these teenagers were well-trained. The first manservant walked sideways easily to avoid Gui Banjiao¡¯s attack. The second just lifted his feet to trip Gui Banjiao up.

    Though Gui Banjiao fell down, he rose again. Getting up off the ground quickly, he grabbed his horsewhip and attacked them again. The two menservants were so excited. The first manservant rolled his sleeves, pinched his fists, and turned his neck. The second manservant made his hands circle. His motion seemed like the first gesture of Tai Chi. They were ready to have a big fight.

    ¡°Stop!¡± He Danggui stepped forward and shouted down Gui Banjiao, ¡°Mr. Gui, do you want to let Madam Luo and Mammy Tang sit in the gharry and listen to your curse? Go and ask Madam Luo if she is good. Does she need to find a tea house to settle down?¡± She was speechless with Gui Banjiao since he could fight with others for no reason. If she wasn¡¯t wrong, Gui Banjiao was already 49 years old now.

    ¡°Stop!¡± A cold male voice almost sounded at the same time with He Danggui to stop those two active menservants, ¡°Feng Yan and Feng Yu! You two just go back into the gharry to take care of Childe Ning. We don¡¯t have too much time. Why do you have time to have fun?¡±

    The cold voice had a good effect on ceasing this fight, and the two menservants were about to go back to their gharry. But He Danggui¡¯s words ¡°Mr. Gui¡± was more attractive than their Young Lord. They looked at each other andughed again, ¡°Ha-ha. Ha-ha... Hisst name is ¡®Gui¡¯! Ha-ha!¡± (¡®Gui¡¯ was the Chinese character for tortoise.)

    Gui Banjiao was infuriated again. ¡°Shit! It was a great honor for a servant to gain a name from the master. I had this name for 30 years. No one in Luo¡¯s Family dared to make fun of me. How dare you two brats make fun with my name!¡±

    This time, before He Danggui said something to stop Gui Banjiao, the curtain of Madam Luo¡¯s gharry was opened suddenly. Miss Ji leaned out and said anxiously, ¡°Help! Madam Luo feels her chest pain, and Mammy Tang twists her ankle!¡± Then she immediately saw He Danggui in a veil standing at a short distance, so she asked her for help, ¡°Third Miss,e and check for Madam Luo. She feels dizzy and chest pain. She has a terrible time!¡± Then He Danggui went into the gharry and checked for Madam Luo.

    Gui Banjiao also gave up his fight quickly, and went back the gharry, waiting for the order from masters. However, on the opposite, two menservants were stillughing. Their Young Lord stomped angrily. Then he pulled out a folding fan to knock their heads, and wanted to rebuke them. At this time, the curtain of their gharry opened too. Aely teenager dressed like a manservant leaned out and said anxiously, ¡°Childe Feng, something bad happened. My master feels extremely bad! We should find an inn nearby and check in quickly!¡±

    Thereupon, they went back to their gharry and check what had happened. The dispute between the servants then ceased.

    After getting on the gharry and checking Madam Luo¡¯s body, He Danggui found that Madam Luo just got motion sickness and was frightened, so she had a rpse. Now, she was too dizzy and feeble to have strength, so she leaned on Mammy Tang¡¯s shoulder with her eyes closed. Mammy Tang punched her legs and med herself, ¡°It is all my fault. Seeing that Madam Luo has motion sickness, I let the guards who ride fast horses go back first. Now there are only two gharries left, we can¡¯t depend on anyone!¡±

    Thinking for a moment, He Danggui looked up and asked Mammy Tang, ¡°Mammy, I gave you four pills for motion sickness yesterday. Do you have any left?¡±

    Mammy Tang who looked pale nodded, ¡°There are still four pills. I haven¡¯t eaten yet.¡± Then she took off a wooden box from the pouch worn at the girdle and said worriedly, ¡°It seems that Madam Luo has a rpse. Third Miss, are you sure that your pill could work?¡± Even if the Third Miss had deft fingers, she could just make tea. After all, she was an illiterate child. Were the pills she made safe? ¡°I hope that her pills won¡¯t make Madam Luo¡¯s condition worse.¡± Mammy Tang thought.

    Instead of waking up Madam Luo to take the pill, He Danggui took a pill directly and stuffed it into Madam Luo¡¯s mouth. Seeing this, Mammy Tang was so nervous. ¡°How was Third Miss so bold? Third Miss, please don¡¯t poison Madam Luo by your pills. Bah! Bah! Bah! What a jinx...¡±

    Next, Mammy Tang felt her shoulder relieved. Madam Luo who had leaned on Mammy Tang¡¯s shoulder now sat up straight, with her eyes lighting up. She looked at He Danggui and asked, ¡°Yi, what kind of pill is this? Where is it from?¡±

    He Danggui blinked and asked, ¡°Grandma, is there something wrong with you after taking the pill? If you feel bad, it is all my fault since the pill is made by me!¡± Mammy Tang thought angrily, ¡°It was all your fault to feed Madam Luo on your pill. I persuaded you. People couldn¡¯t take pill carelessly.¡±

    Madam Luo shook her head, ¡°No, I feel good. The first-ss pill is light and silky, and it¡¯s easy to dissolve; the second-ss pill is dry and caky, so you need to chew; and the third-ss pill is heavy and astringent, and you need to swallow. Your pill is the top-ss pill, and it almost melts in the mouth. It gets the effect instantly. In our San Qing Tang, we could just make a pill like this by using the best skill and best tools. You said that you made it. It¡¯s impossible. Who taught you to make pills?¡± Madam Luo was so surprised that her voice became loud and crisp, with a tone of interrogation.

 Chapter 89 - A ghost blocked the way in the daytime

    <h4>Chapter 89 A ghost blocked the way in the daytime</h4>

    He Danggui retracted back a little and persuaded Madam Luo in a low voice, ¡°You are sick, Grandma. This pill is just a temporary emergency medicine for refreshing, and it¡¯s just a palliative. Therefore, you should take care of yourself!¡±

    ¡°Top-ss pills?!¡± Before Madam Luo replied, Mammy Tang also shrieked, ¡°Jeez!¡± He Danggui¡¯s shoulder shook because of the super high volume. ¡°Third Miss, you¡­ you have made the top-ss pills, right?¡± Mammy Tang asked. So far as she knew, to make the top-ss pills, people should filter out of the crude dregs of a decoction with a precise perction pot, just leaving the best part, and thenbine it with the special honey which was most suitable for this medicine to melt into pills. San Qing Tang gathered pharmaceutical seniors of the whole Yangzhou City and even the whole southern area together, but there were no more than 10 people who could make first-ss pills! Third Miss was illiterate and had no precise pharmaceutical tools. How could she make the top-ss pills?

    ¡°No, no, Grandma and Mammy Tang, you all misunderstood.¡± He Danggui exined hurriedly, shaking her small hands, ¡°I mean that more than a dozen of raw materials for the pills are prepared by me ording to the prescription in the book. Uh, to be honest, it¡¯s just to fill the prescription and weigh the medicine. But these four pills are not made by me. How can I have such abilities? These pills are actually from a Master in the Taoist temple. A few days ago, she said that she was making pills and if I didn¡¯t mind, she would help me to make them. Therefore, I gave the prepared medicinal materials to her and got these four pills after half a day.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Madam Luo became excited, and she felt not dizzy and chest pain anymore. She asked dly, ¡°Which Master has such a magic skill? How old is she? How long has she been a Taoist nun?¡± Madam Luo thought excitedly, ¡°There was such a pharmaceutical master hiding in Yangzhou City. I must invite her to San Qing Tang, or buy a nearby house for her to practice. While making pills, she could also teach other people in San Qing Tang to make pills.¡±

    He Danggui recalled in confusion and said, ¡°Age? She may be 40 or 50 years old. Her face is a little bloated, so it¡¯s hard for me to recognize... As for how long she has been a Taoist nun, it may be a long time. As far as I know, Master Tai Chen is very good at making pills. It seems that her skills are because of paternal teaching and influence. Someone of the elder generation of her family was a Taoist priest and liked making pills very much... What a pity.¡±

    ¡°For what?¡± Madam Luo and Mammy Tang asked at the same time.

    ¡°Oh, I think it¡¯s a pity for Master Tai Chen.¡± He Danggui tilted her head, ¡°What a nice person she is! What a superb pharmaceutical skill she has! It¡¯s a pity that she has been taken away by the government. Those people said that she made Xingyang Powder and Jinfeng Yulu Powder secretly. Grandma, what kind of medicines are those?¡± He Danggui asked curiously.

    The faces of Madam Luo and Mammy Tang changed from the pink of excitement to dull ck, then to light green. Atst, both of them hurriedly pushed away the small wooden box which still contained three pills, and they shook their hands in disgust, as if they were stained with something dirty. ¡°Throw it away! Quickly!¡± Madam Luo cried. However, she didn¡¯t realize that with the stimtion of drug efficacy, verbalmunication, and mood gap, she was much better now. But a few minutes ago, she was still sick and leaned against Mammy Tang.

    As He Danggui was about to speak, Miss Ji, who got off to check the situation, hurriedly came back and said, ¡°There is no herbal medicine shop in this street, but only a small Li¡¯s Inn. In addition, because our horses were out of control just now, many passers-by and vendors in the street were frightened and suffered losses. In my opinion, since Madam Luo and Mammy Tang feel very ufortable, let¡¯s stay at the inn first, and then I¡¯llpensate for losses of the vendors one by one...¡±

    ¡°No, Madam is fine now.¡± Mammy Tang interrupted her, ¡°Ji, you stay here to deal with thepensation. Later, you can take the gharry of Third Miss behind us to leave. We¡¯ll go home for treatment first.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Miss Ji gazed at Madam Luo and found that Madam Luo had recovered the vitality. She stared at a wooden box on the small desk straightly. And then Miss Ji nodded and said, ¡°Oh.¡± She was very puzzled, but the vendors on the other side of the street were making noise. At present, she had no time to ask. Then she took the money bag from Mammy Tang and got off.

    Mammy Tang instructed loudly, ¡°Gui Banjiao, let¡¯s set off. We must hurry home.¡±

    Gui Banjiao stared at the horses bitterly and cried, ¡°Madam, there is something wrong! There is something wrong! The hooves of our horses won¡¯t move. What should we do, Mammy Tang?¡±

    ¡°Bah! Bah! Bah!¡± Mammy Tang said angrily, ¡°Madam is just fine. How dare you say that there is something wrong with her! It¡¯s your profession to train horses and drive them. It¡¯s no use talking to us!¡± Then she took out a string of 1,000 qian from her pouch and threw it to Gui Banjiao. ¡°Go and see if they want to eat something on the side of the road. Buy it for them quickly. We¡¯ll continue on our way!¡±

    Gui Banjiao took the copper cash, but he still looked bitter. He pointed to the three horses in front of the gharry and said, ¡°You didn¡¯t understand my words, Mammy Tang. It¡¯s not that our horses ¡®don¡¯t want¡¯ to leave, but they ¡®can¡¯t¡¯. They are fixed on the ground just like stone stakes!¡±

    Mammy Tang was about to scold him for talking nonsense, but she found that the three horses stood motionlessly as he said. More urately, their lower bodies were motionless, but their upper bodies were frantically struggling back and forth, as if their four hooves had been grasped by the invisible hands which stretched out from the ground. When Mammy Tang saw this scene, she could only describe it with the word ¡°strange¡±. She was shocked, ¡°Is there a ghost blocking us?¡±

    He Danggui could not conceal a snort ofughter, and her veil was blown, ¡°How could it be?¡±

    A snort ofughter sounded out of the gharry at the same time, ¡°How could it be?¡± Not only were the words exactly the same as that of He Danggui, but also they spoke at exactly the same time, so the two voices ovepped coincidentally.

    He Danggui frowned and looked at the person whoughed. He was the man who had just shouted the menservants down. They didn¡¯te face to face just now, so when she heard his mature voice, she thought he was a middle-aged man. Now she found that he had bright eyes and a smile on his face. Actually, he was a youth about 17 years old. Then she took a closer look at his dress. He wore a blue Tang-style cap and a bright blue robe embroidered with silver threads. Thepel in the front of the robe was erect like a cape cor. And he wore the double silver-gray tassels around his waist and a pair of boots embroidered with a flying phoenix with silver threads. From his ent, He Danggui guessed that he might be a Childe of a noble family in Yangzhou City.

    When she looked at him, he also looked at her from top to toe, with a sh of interest in his eyes. Then he immediately turned to Madam Luo and said with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s my fault to frighten you, Madam Luo. I didn¡¯t know that you were sitting in the gharry just now. I¡¯m so sorry that my menservants said unkind words to you. As for these three horses, I controlled them by a little means because I feel that their behavior was abnormal.¡±

    Madam Luo was a little familiar with the handsome boy in front of her. After listening to his words and from his tone, she recognized that he knew her clearly. She thought for a moment and then asked, ¡°Are you Yang, the Childe of Feng¡¯s Family in the South of Yangzhou City? Are you the nephew of Jiu Gu (whose full name was Feng Jiugu)?¡± At first, she was only a little familiar with him. But when she recognized him, she found that he had exactly the same eyebrows as the boy that Feng Jiugu had showed to her, and he also had two deep dimples when he smiled.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that you should remember me, Madam Luo.¡± The Childe smiled and bowed, ¡°Feng Yang salutes to you, Madam Luo. May good fortune be with you.¡±

    Madam Luo was surprised to see the Childe in front of her. She narrowed her eyes and said with a smile, ¡°You are really Yang. Your aunt often mentions you. She said that this year, people of Feng¡¯s Family told her that you havee back from the north, and you have grown up and bepetent. You¡¯re really a big boy now!¡±

    Although Feng¡¯s Family was also a big and influential family in Yangzhou City, it was different from the aristocratic families such as Luo¡¯s Family, Guan¡¯s Family and Sun¡¯s Family. Feng¡¯s Family and Luo¡¯s Family didn¡¯t have much interaction with each other. If Feng Jiugu didn¡¯t live in Luo¡¯s Family, Madam Luo would never meet Feng Yang, a boy of the younger generation.

    No one in Feng¡¯s Family was the official in Imperial Court. They started by shipping three generations ago. Their ancestors had about 4 small freighters to do cargo business on the Grand Canal. In the early years, they killed several Mongolian soldiers and joined the rebel army to escape the arrest of the government. However, they joined the Han Army of Chen Youliang. After a few years, they left after finding that the situation was bad. Then they went back to the Grand Canal to develop shipping business. Now Feng¡¯s Family was a new aristocrat in the south with great wealth, which had two branches, Feng¡¯s Family in the capital and that in Yangzhou City.

    Feng¡¯s Family in the capital no longer only focused on shipping. As early as 20 years ago, they opened a ¡°Lu Feng Escort¡± with Lu¡¯s Family in the capital. The reputation of Lu Feng Escort was good. There had not been a case of missing or destroying the goods more than a decade. Now it had developed to nearly 100 branches, bing the first escort in the Ming Dynasty. Feng¡¯s Family in Yangzhou City was still doing business on waterways. But Feng Yilian, the leader of Feng¡¯s Family in Yangzhou City, liked to make friends with the people who brandished spears and sticks in Jianghu. Later, he gradually gathered a group of such people and established a sect called ¡°Caobang Organization¡± in Jianghu. In recent years, Caobang Organization had grown rapidly and was implicitly stronger than the Beggars¡¯ Organization which was spread all over the country.

    In the Ming Dynasty, the sects in Jianghu were divided into ck and white sects. The ck sects could do anything to make money, for example, robbing, opening casinos, smuggling salt and iron, trafficking in human beings, even special intelligence trading and espionage assassination trading. As long as the employer could know the specific situation of that sect, he could talk to them if he wanted to do any secret things. The life of many famous people had been marked prices clearly, which was especially convenient for officials who were rich and eager to let their political enemies disappear.

    The white sects were operated in two forms. One was that people of the sect retired from the world and the other was that the people worked in the society. The former focused on self-cultivation. They often built schools in famous mountains and rivers and had little contact with the outside world, such as Shaolin Temple of Mount Song, Wudang Sect of Mount Taihe, Daguomen Sect of Wuyi Mountain, Hongmen Sect of Dali, etc. Thetter had no big differences from themonmercial firms or escort agencies except for opening martial arts schools to teach apprentices and organizingpetitions. Because many sects had a certain poprity, when they started a business, they could scare off the gangsters.

    Caobang Organization was one of the most poprmercial firms in recent years. With the strong support of unimpeded waterway transportation, Feng¡¯s Family had achieved great sess in business all over the country, covering all aspects of themon people¡¯s food, clothing, shelter and transportation. Although Feng¡¯s Family was not like Luo¡¯s Family and Guan¡¯s Family which did business with the royals, it could not be denied that the financial resources and power of the new aristocrat, Feng¡¯s Family, was over 10 timesrger than Luo¡¯s Family, the ¡°old aristocrat¡±.

    Although they all lived in Yangzhou City, Luo¡¯s Family only dealt in the trade of medicinal materials of the Imperial Pce, so it did not interfere with Feng¡¯s Family. They just had a friendly and alienated rtionship. Even if the masters of Luo¡¯s Family in the sedan met those of Feng¡¯s Family on the street, they would just nod, smile and then pass by. They had nothing to do with each other for a decade in Yangzhou City.

 Chapter 90 - Feng Jiugu was a white tiger spirit

    <h4>Chapter 90 Feng Jiugu was a white tiger spirit</h4>

    Feng Jiugu was 41 years old now. She was the sister of Feng Yilian, Bangzhu (the leader) of Caobang Organization, and the aunt of Feng Yang, the Young Bangzhu of Caobang Organization. She was a Hmong girl adopted by Grandpa Feng from the southwest area in his early years. It was said that she was an orphan girl of Grandpa Feng¡¯s best friend. Her parents entrusted her to Grandpa Feng before they died. Because of her beauty, Grandpa Feng had nned to let her be the wife of his son when she grew up, but a fortune-teller said that she was a white tiger spirit in the previous life and would capture her husband¡¯s life. Therefore, Grandpa Feng finally adopted Feng Jiugu as his foster daughter.

    When Feng Jiugu was 18 years old, Grandpa Feng gave an open challenge to fight, so as to choose a strong husband for her. But a yearter, the strong man died of tuberculosis. Grandpa Feng was surprised, so he found a Tangzhu (the leader of a sector in an organization) of Caobang Organization to be her husband. Half a yearter, that Tangzhu sailed to the North Zhili Area (areas directly administered by the capital) to do a business. When he came back, he was drowned in a big storm but everyone on the same ship was fine.

    Since then, not only were outsiders convinced that the white tiger spirit was fated to mourn her husband¡¯s death, but also Feng Jiugu began to believe it. That Tangzhu was good at kung fu and swimming. After putting on a diving suit, he could swim across a big river. How could he be drowned? He died must because the white tiger spirit sucked out of his energy, and then the ghost caught him to the hell!

    After Grandpa Feng died, Madam Feng became the wife in charge of Feng¡¯s Family. She had a bad rtionship with Feng Jiugu and often made trouble for her. Later, Feng Jiugu moved to a separate courtyard of Feng¡¯s Family. Feng Yilian tried to get her home many times, but Madam Feng was displeased, so she didn¡¯te back to Feng¡¯s Family in the end.

    Madam Feng always made trouble for her with no reason, so Feng Jiugu didn¡¯t live well in the separate courtyard, and she refused to take the money of Feng Yilian. Later, she met Madam Luo who had been ¡°assigned¡± to Sanqing Temple to meditate half a year and had helped Madam Luo a lot. It was said that the friends someone made when she was in a low position and poverty were very precious, so when Madam Luo went back to Luo¡¯s Mansion, she invited Feng Jiugu to live with her.

    Feng Jiugu¡¯s mother, the ¡°Poison Lady¡±, once was a chivalrous woman in Jianghu. When Feng Jiugu was young, she also got some books about poison, venomous insects and medicine. She didn¡¯t have those terrifying skills like her mother, but she had inherited her mother¡¯s interest of working with medical bottles and jars. Therefore, Madam Luo appointed her as the administrator of Pharmacy at Luo¡¯s Mansion. The standard for her eating and dressing was the same as that of Luo Baiqian and Luo Baiying. But in order to avoid gossip, Madam Luo didn¡¯t use the money of Luo¡¯s Family. Instead, she drew money directly from the profit of her dowry to support Feng Jiugu, as if she was supporting a sister from her natal family by using her natal family¡¯s money.

    Feng Yang, Feng Jiugu¡¯s nephew, was not the biological son of Madam Feng. However, other children of Feng Yilian were all girls, and Feng Yang was the only son of him, so Madam Feng made Feng Yang her legitimate son and brought Feng Yang up by herself. About 10 years ago, Feng Yang ran away from home for no reason and the whole family searched him everywhere with vexation. All people of Caobang Organization were sent to look for their little master, and the government also sent many people to help, but no one could find Feng Yang, an 8-year-old boy.

    A few dayster, at dust, Feng Jiugu came back after going out to burn incense. She saw a little beggar squatting on the side door of the backne of Luo¡¯s Mansion with a uniform paste of mud on his face. Almost every morning, a carriage loading the steamed buns would be pushed out at this side door, so Feng Jiugu thought that beggar came to beg for steamed buns. Then she went forward and gave him a string of 1,000 qian, and told him that the steamed buns were only avable in the morning, so he coulde again at dawn of tomorrow. However, the little beggar didn¡¯t ept the money. He jumped up suddenly and hugged Feng Jiugu, rubbed the mud on her clothes and cried and called her ¡°mom¡±, which really scared her.

    When Feng Jiugu saw his face, she realized that he was Feng Yang, the only son of her elder brother, whose family was looking for him worriedly.

    Actually, when Feng Jiugu heard about the disappearance of her nephew Yang, who was very close to her, she was also very worried for her elder brother¡¯s family. Today, she went to the temple to burn incense for the safety of Feng Yang. Now she was very d to see Feng Yang standing in front of her safely. But what he did really scared her. Not only did he pretend to be a little beggar and hide in this ce, but he called her ¡°mom¡±! Although she had married twice in her youth, her two husbands died before she had a child.

    After talking with Feng Yang, Feng Jiugu learned that although he was brought up by Madam Feng, he had a bad time in Feng¡¯s Family. Madam Feng was very strict with him. If he couldn¡¯t recite the book, he would be punished to kneel all night in the haunted ancestral hall.

    He had overheard a privatemunication between two whimsical maids that he might be the son of Feng Jiugu and Feng Yilian. They said that Feng Jiugu was not Grandpa Feng¡¯s biological daughter. Therefore, Madam Feng didn¡¯t like Jiugu and often went to the separate courtyard to make trouble for her. Little Feng Yang took these words to his heart. Remembering that his aunt had been so kind to him, he was even more convinced that Feng Jiugu was his mom, so he tried every means to escape from Feng¡¯s Family. After making up (smearing mud all over his face) and hiding, he first went to the separate courtyard to find Feng Jiugu, and a few dayster, he came here to find her.

    After knowing the reason, Feng Jiugu told Feng Yang seriously that although she didn¡¯t know which confidante of her elder brother gave birth to him, she had no romantic rtionship with her elder brother and never had a child, so she was not his mother, but his aunt.

    She was afraid of Feng Yang running away, so she took him to Madam Luo. Given the thoughts of Madam Feng, she worried that Madam Feng would take her anger out on Feng Yang. Therefore, Feng Jiugu hurried to wash him up and changed his beggar¡¯s clothes, while asking Madam Luo to inform Feng¡¯s Family in the name of Luo¡¯s Family to get Feng Yang back, saying that Luo¡¯s Family identally found him. Later, Feng Yilian personally came to take Feng Yang away. He no longer let Madam Feng bring up Feng Yang, but sent Feng Yang to Wudang Sect at Mount Taihe to be aity, hoping that Feng Yang could learn some good skills to take over his business in the future.

    More than half a year ago, Feng Yang came back to Feng¡¯s Family after his studies and began to take over all businesses of Caobang Organization from Feng Yilian.

    Feng Yang was no longer the snotty kid a decade ago. Except for his face, his temper and daily habits were so different from those in his childhood. He even couldn¡¯t speak the simplest Yangzhou dialect. But Feng Yang was very clever and he spoke Yangzhou dialect when he was a child, so a few monthster, he could spoke the same dialect as the locals.

    Although Madam Luo had only seen Feng Yang once when he was a child, but she liked the boy with the ck eyes that seemed to be able to speak. Now she saw him again, and his features were almost unchanged. Only the outline of his face was more masculine. Feng Jiugu missed her nephew so much, but she had no rtionship with Feng¡¯s Family for many years and could not find out any information about Feng Yang. Madam Luo thought that now that she happened to meet Feng Yang on the road, she must take him home to see Jiugu!

    Thinking about this, Madam Luo jumped out of the gharry, walked to Feng Yang and warmly invited him, ¡°Yang, if you have nothing urgent to do today, pleasee to Luo¡¯s Mansion. Your aunt misses you very much. She heard that you went to the north to study. Every year, she made some winter clothes for you ording to the size of the boy of your age. She wanted to ask someone to bring the clothes to you when you came home to visit your family. But you never came back, so she has several wardrobes of your clothes now!¡±

    Feng Yang turned the folding fan in his hand, and looked a little bit worried. He exined in a low voice, ¡°Madam Luo, you don¡¯t know that when I learned skills in my childhood, I hit my head by ident. I forget many things and many people. Although I still remember that I have an aunt living in Luo¡¯s Mansion, I cannot remember more details. For fear of upsetting my aunt, I dare not visit her. As for you, Madam Luo... I saw you in the garden of Guan¡¯s Mansion two months ago and was introduced that you were the respectable Madam Luo.¡±

    ¡°Ah...! I remember you. You are the boy who hit the monkey away!¡± It dawned on Madam Luo that she was familiar with Feng Yang not because she remembered the little boy of ten years ago, but because she had seen him in Guan¡¯s Mansion a few days ago!

 Chapter 91 - Kidnapped her savior back home

    <h4>Chapter 91 Kidnapped her savior back home</h4>

    Guan¡¯s Family was influential in the Ming Dynasty, with famous members including Guan Jingze, the officer tutoring the Crown Prince, Guan Qingtang, the Deputy Chief of Taipu Administration (a department in charge of affairs rted to horses), Guan Rangru, the Grand Schr of Wen Hua Pce, and Guan Lin, the Zhaoyong General. Since people of Guan¡¯s Family rarely participated in the factionalism, the Emperor always thought highly of them. Therefore, the Guan¡¯s Family could be one of the seven great ns of the Ming Dynasty in every sense.

    ¡°Wu¡¯s Family, Luo¡¯s Family, Guan¡¯s Family and Sun¡¯s Family are rich and noble¡± was quite popr in Yangzhou City, but the Guan¡¯s Family in Yangzhou City was only a coteral rtive of the Guan¡¯s n. In the past, sons of the Guan¡¯s Family in Yangzhou City were almost officials. However, now most of them ran the family business like Luo¡¯s Family in Yangzhou City. In addition to the well-known ¡°Long Tao Weaving Factory¡± that they opened with the Wu¡¯s Family, there was also a ¡°Ren Shu Tang¡± especially for official medicine, which monopolized the market of medicinal material supply for officials in North Zhili Area and its northern area. In recent years, the Guan¡¯s Family cooperated with Feng¡¯s Family on the channels of Grand Canal and the Yangtze River. It not only found a good source of low-cost medicines from the Miao Territory, but also expanded the market of medicinal materials.

    Covering a vast area, Guan¡¯s Mansion stood at the foot of a mountain with the magnificent house, which encircled almost the entire mountain forest in their mansion where a variety of exotic animals were kept.

    Two months ago, Madam Luo, First Mistress Luo (Ms. Zhao), and First Miss Luo Baiying were on their way to a banquet at the Guan¡¯s Mansion. As they passed the garden of Qin Quan Yard, a fierce female monkey suddenly jumped from a rockery, scaring away several dozen servants and mammies. However, Madam Luo, Ms. Zhao and Luo Baiying were noble women with foot binding. They even seldom walked. How could they run in such a ¡°dangerous¡± situation?

    Fortunately, Shi Liu was a dutiful girl who dragged Madam Luo when she escaped. And Luo Baiying was a young miss, so she could also run very fast with small feet under this circumstance.

    Whereas Ms. Zhao was unlucky. She had no loyal maids and was in an ¡°old age¡± of 41 with no explosive power. Even worse, she was tall and plump when she was young. And now in her old age, she didn¡¯t care about her figure anymore. Anyway, she had buxom body which was the symbol of the inner beauty in the Tang Dynasty¡­ In short, somehow Ms. Zhao, who didn¡¯t (couldn¡¯t) take sedan but only (had to) take the gharry many years ago, attracted the attention of the female monkey. The agile female monkey jumped on Ms. Zhao¡¯s shoulder, and then brushed away pearls and jades on her head with cheerful sound.

    The cries and screams for help of Ms. Zhao in the garden were loud. However, the frightened people just wanted to get out of there. And even Luo Baiying was too busy escaping to look back and see her mother¡¯s misery situation. Just when Ms. Zhao thought that ¡°today my life is over¡±, a figure fell from the sky. Then the female monkey riding on Ms. Zhao¡¯s neck was thrown out in a curve and flew away.

    In the chaotic situation at that time, Madam Luo was surrounded by First Madam, Fourth Madam and Fifth Madam of Guan¡¯s Family who rushed to apologize to andfort her, she only saw the side face of the young man who had saved everyone from the trouble and the back of him with First Master of Guan¡¯s Family, Guan Bai, and Second Master, Guan Mo.

    Later at the banquet, Madam Luo didn¡¯t see the young man too. Therefore, there was no way for her to find out his name to express her thanks. Because madams of Guan¡¯s Family went there just toote, no one could see who had thrown the monkey high and far. First Madam Guan alsoforted Madam Luo that this was the fault of Guan¡¯s Family, so it was their duty to solve the matter. There was no need for Madam Luo to appreciate. Instead, Guan¡¯s Family should apologize to her.

    Looking at this ¡°savior¡± and ¡°old acquaintance¡± in front of her, Madam Luo said pleasantly, ¡°I want to say thanks to you that day, but I don¡¯t know your name. And afterwards, You, Guan Bai and Guan Mo didn¡¯t show up at the banquet. My daughter-inw was in shock, so we all left in the middle of the banquet... Yang, you have already saved me twice, counting this time. What¡¯s more, your aunt is missing you very much. Therefore, whatever you say today, you must go back with me to Luo¡¯s Mansion for a dinner!¡± Then she clutched Feng Yang¡¯s sleeve tightly, being afraid of his leaving.

    ¡°But, Madam Luo, I said I once hit my head, so I can¡¯t remember my aunt. Eh, I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll let her down, so...¡± Feng Yang looked down at his sleeve held by Madam Luo. He smiled apologetically, ¡°Moreover, I really have something urgent to do today. I will certainly visit you as soon as I¡¯m free.¡±

    Madam Luo still said: ¡°What are you worrying about? In Yangzhou City, our Luo¡¯s Mansion has the best doctors who can cure all kinds of amnesias. It doesn¡¯t matter if you don¡¯t know your aunt. She knows you. Besides, how could you such a little boy have big issues? It¡¯s inappropriate for us to go to Feng¡¯s Mansion to invite you directly! And we just meet by chance. It¡¯s the fate because Jiugu has been missing you for more than a decade! Just go with me quickly!¡± With both hands, Madam Luo dragged Feng Yang who was a head taller than her towards her gharry.

    Feng Yang showed a little bit of anxiety on his face. It was embarrassed to shake off an overzealous old madam¡¯s arm. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn¡¯t move half an inch even if 40 strong men dragged him together. Now, however, Madam Luo tried her best to pull him. He was afraid of hurting her waist, so he had to move forward one step and then back two steps with her in a stalemate. ¡°Are you kidding me? Although I promised to help Feng Yang revenge, I didn¡¯t want to cry with a strange ¡®aunt¡¯!¡± He thought.

    He Danggui could see clearly from the side. The action of Madam Luo to hijack this Childe Feng could be only described as ¡°an ant was trying to shake a giant tree¡±. They just kept in that stalemate with moving from Madam Luo¡¯s gharry to Feng Yang¡¯s gradually. And Madam Luo kept dragging unknowingly, even with a smile of triumph on her lips, as if she was thinking, ¡°Jiugu, wait for me at home, and you will see what I get for you!¡±

    In her previous and present lives, He Danggui had never dealt with Feng Yang, the young master of Caobang Organization. However, she was fascinated by Caobang Organization, the so-called mercial octopus¡±.

    Caobang Organization was same as the Wuying Tower she ran in her previous life. They all belonged to Jianghu, who raised thousands of warriors in Jianghu. However, as far as she knew, the Caobang Organization was the ¡°winner takes all¡±. They cooperated with both the ck and white sects and made a lot of money. Moreover, they almost had never failed in business. No matter which way they went, they would finally make a lot of money. By the time she died in her previous life, Caobang Organization had be the most powerful sect in Jianghu.

    However, Wuying Tower took a shortcut. Zhu Quan created Wuying Tower to support the huge expenses for expanding the army. He Danggui came up with a lot of constructive business ideas at that time. Zhu Quan knew that if he put them into practice, it would probably be a huge profit and he didn¡¯t have to worry about military spending. However, the minions of Dongchang Organization and Xichang Organization all hid behind with their eyes fixed upon the Wuying Tower. As a result, He Danggui¡¯s proposals were shelved finally since Zhu Quan was wary of the Changye Tower and the prying eyes of the Armed Escort. He just let her focus on intelligence and assassination deals.

    ¡°Ah! Young Lord!¡± A loud voice interrupted He Danggui¡¯s thoughts. She saw a boy who had just quarreled with Gui Banjiao jumped out of the gharry, shouting, ¡°Oh, Childe Ning fainted!¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s find an inn to have a rest!¡± Another boy, who had just quarreled with Gui Banjiao, stuck his head out of the gharry, ¡°Before he passed out, he said, ¡®Don¡¯t... don¡¯t... don¡¯t call a doctor.¡¯ Are we going to call a doctor for him or not? If he died, it will be hisst words!¡±

    Madam Luo who gasped raised her head in surprise, ¡°I¡¯m a doctor. My family members are all doctors! Luo¡¯s Mansion is not far from here, and it¡¯s inappropriate for you to live in this dirty inn! Come with me to Luo¡¯s Mansion, and I will let you go when you are cured!¡±

    Hearing that his best friend had fainted, Feng Yang wanted to get into the gharry immediately to heal his friend. However, he could not throw away Madam Luo who was glued to his arm in the way he threw away that female monkey. He had to persuade, ¡°I¡¯m fine, Madam Luo. Actually, my amnesia is much better. I just happened to forget my aunt, and there was nothing I could do about it (since the real Feng Yang was killed). And just as you see, my friend is waiting for me, so please let me go. I want to have a look at him. I will pay a visit next time...¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t wait for the next time. Today, I must bring you back!¡± Madam Luo interrupted him firmly, ¡°You¡¯re a grown-up now, and your father won¡¯t ask any question if you sleep out for a few days. My grandson Qian also doesn¡¯te home every day! Since the patient on the gharry is your friend, Luo¡¯s Mansion will house him with medical treatment, and you can go when he bes better!¡±

    ¡°But...¡± Feng Yang was also worried about the doctor because he had received a tip that the spies of the Armed Escort had moved into Yangzhou City. Although they mighte here not for Ning Yuan, Yinma Town was not far from Yangzhou City. It was possible that those people received a message of tracking down a seriously injured juvenile from Lu Jiangbei of the Changye Tower. Besides, the rtionship between him and Ning Yuan was the top secret. He couldn¡¯t cover up Ning Yuan through Caobang Organization, and it was inappropriate to bring him back to Feng¡¯s Family for curing injury. Now, Madam Luo said that she was willing to house Ning Yuan¡­

    Feng Yang couldn¡¯t help considering seriously that whether healing at Luo¡¯s Mansion was the most correct way, and what mistakes would have.

    Seeing the expression on Feng Yang¡¯s face, Madam Luo thought he was impressed by the superior medical skills of Luo¡¯s Family and wanted a good doctor who could not be invited easily. Therefore, she immediately added with a smile, ¡°Everyone in our family can cure illness. Even my 10-year-old granddaughter can make pills. Look.¡± Holding on Feng Yang¡¯s sleeve with her right hand, Madam Luo pointed with her left hand to He Danggui who was sitting in the opposite gharry and in a trance. She said, ¡°I just passed out and almost couldn¡¯t go back home. But after taking the pills made by Yi, I woke up right away. I just felt that I¡¯m more vigorous than before. Yi!¡±

    Madam Luo waved her left hand towards her gharry, interrupting He Danggui¡¯s consideration about ¡°how to deal with the 240 liang silver she had deposited in Tu¡¯er Town.¡±

    Seeing that He Danggui had already turned her head to their side, Madam Luo smiled and shouted: ¡°Yi, take the three pills that you made to me quickly! Someone passed out here!¡± And then she turned her head to Feng Yang and rmended, ¡°This kind of pill is for all kinds of headaches, fever, heart attacks, fainting from injuries and motion sickness. It will work quickly once you take it.¡±

 Chapter 92 - Would he spit blood?

    <h4>Chapter 92 Would he spit blood?</h4>

    Mammy Tang felt it was improper to ask Third Miss to deliver the medicine. Although Third Miss was young and veiled, she should not do the errand work of delivering things to men. Then Mammy Tang forced herself to her feet and said, ¡°I¡¯ll deliver the medicine, and you should wait in the gharry, Third Miss.¡±

    ¡°Since Mammy Tang¡¯s ankle is sprained, I¡¯ll do it!¡± He Danggui picked up the small wooden box, stood up and said, ¡°But the three dray horses of our gharry look sick. You see, they are heavy breathing, and their eyes are a bit red. Mammy Tang, you get off and wait. I¡¯ll ask Gui Banjiao to bring my gharry here. You and Grandma should also go home by Ren Dongteng¡¯s gharry!¡± After she said that and jumped off the gharry firstly, she also enjoined Gui Banjiao the same thing.

    On this side, Madam Luo was still lobbying hard, ¡°... Well, my good boy,e home with me?¡± It sounded like a trafficker trying to kidnap a child.

    Feng Yang thought for a moment, then nodded andughed, ¡°If so, I will trouble you. But my friend is sick and the doctor said that his illness calls for rest. And he can¡¯t meet strangers. So, I wonder if there is any secluded ce in your mansion?¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes. What kind of ce can¡¯t be found in Luo¡¯s Mansion?¡± Seeing that he finally nodded and was willing to follow her back to Luo¡¯s Mansion, Madam Luo finally loosened Feng Yang¡¯s sleeve, squinting and smiling, ¡°Let¡¯s hurry up!¡± As if she was afraid that the next moment he would suddenly hold back his word. After all, Jiugu was looking forward to meeting him at home.

    ¡°Here¡¯s your medicine, Grandma.¡± A t voice alerted Madam Luo to her presence. Madam Luo turned around to take over the wooden box, and then handed it to Feng Yang, saying with a smile, ¡°Take this medicine directly. It¡¯s cool and refreshing. As soon as he eats it, he would wake up. You will see the effect immediately. It won¡¯t fail you even after one hundred times¡¯ tests!¡±

    He Danggui lowered her head and secretly curled her mouth. She thought to herself, ¡°Hey, even as the maker of this medicine, I dare not make such a promise. How can you be so sure, Grandma? Didn¡¯t you just say you were going to throw this away? Besides, your great grandson Zhu¡¯s life is hard to tell now, but you are here, pulling the sleeve of another teenager now. Is it proper for you to do so? After all, now Luo¡¯s Mansion must be in a mess for the mice-killing thing. Perhaps it is livelier than the vegetable market. Where can you find any ¡®secluded ce¡¯ now?¡±

    The look of curling mouth to the ground was caught by Feng Yang. Although the girl was wearing a thick veil, there was a sneer in her eyes that Feng Yang happened to feel. Feng Yang leaned his head out, shook the medicine box in his hand to He Danggui, who was behind Madam Luo, and thanked her with a smile, ¡°Thank you for the medicine, little girl!¡±

    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re wee.¡±

    He Danggui thought, ¡°This Puxi Pill is gentle. Compared with treating vertigo, it¡¯s more appropriate to say it is good for supplementing Qi and blood. If people with stomach and heart problems eat it, they will vomit blood... Grandma also has knowledge of medicine. How could she make this so-called ¡°one medicine for all diseases¡± mistake? Perhaps because of Feng Yang, the nephew of Jiugu, she felt so happy that her brain was confused. I, as the maker of the medicine, was supposed to tell the nature of the medicine and the symptoms of its application to them. But once I did so, would Grandma think I know too much and keep asking questions?¡±

    After a quick thought, He Danggui decided to keep quiet. Well, vomiting blood wouldn¡¯t hurt, either. In fact, once people got inmed, vomiting blood was one of the special methods of neutralizing Qi and blood. If there was any ident, she could just put the me of this ¡°pharmaceutical mistake¡± to Master Tai Chen who had been sent to the capital city for trial, and then others would me Tai Chen instead...

    Then, He Danggui looked up and said to Madam Luo, ¡°Grandma, I think the horses of your gharry are not acting normally, and it is not safe to ride that, so I have asked Mr. Gui to call my gharry at the back. Let¡¯s get in the gharry and go home. Most of your retinues were went back earlier. If you keep them waiting for you for a long time, the family will be worriedter.¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± Madam Luo finally realized the situation and repented. She remembered that she had just lost a great grandson yesterday. The smile on her face suddenly disappeared, ¡°I¡¯m going back to see Zhu.¡±

    On the other side, Feng Yang turned and handed the medicine box to the manservant in the gharry. He remembered how the three horses had gone mad and galloped, so he was about to ask what they had eaten before. However, at this time, from the other side of the street, there came a great red-maned horse, running crazier than the other three. The man on the horse rode much better than the stableman in the ident, and did not let his horse break the barrier on either side of the road. But it was too dangerous to run so fast in such a busy street!

    ¡°Madam Luo, you take shelter by the wayside, and I¡¯ll stop that horse... Hey, you!¡±

    Feng Yang watched in surprise as the little thin person standing behind Madam Luo suddenly ran away. He froze for a moment, then saw that she was running toward a young child in the middle of the road not far away. He understood roughly what she was about to do. It was really reckless. How could a little girl with small feet and short legs pretend to be a hero to save people?

    While Feng Yang was considering whether he should stop the crazy horse first or ask the people in the middle of the road to separate and clear a road¡ª

    ¡°Oh, my god!¡± Madam Luo shouted since she had also seen this. She stamped her foot anxiously, ¡°My Yi! She¡¯s going to die!¡± The shrill voice made the face of Feng Yang turn green. Wow, Madam Luo was full of energy.

    After a dy like this, Feng Yang had no time to make a choice. For though Madam Luo¡¯s ¡°Yi¡± had seeded in holding the kid in her arms, she was only a few steps away from the galloping red-maned horse, and was at the edge of death.

    Just now, having heard the sound of hooves closer and closer, He Danggui was about to pull Madam Luo to take refuge. When she turned her head, she found a little child with thin and yellow hair, crawling on his hands and knees in the middle of the road and ying with a ¡°yo-yo¡±. But none of the adults standing around noticed him. The thin yellow hair of her daughter Tian suddenly shed in her mind. The next moment, her legs won her brain, and she ran quickly to hold the child. At that moment, there came the closing clop of hooves behind her ears and the yell of the gharry rider...

    At that moment, though she still couldn¡¯t remember what the hell was the first sentence of the form of the first-ss arts of lightness in the part two of the third volume of Xiao Yao Wei Dang, she suddenly felt that she could fly!

    As He Danggui thought of that, she actually tapped her toes on the floor, finding the exact rhythm of her body leaving the ground like she did in her previous life. Getting off the ground on her toes ¡ª Even if doing so would make others find that she knew kung fu, there was no other choice. Now the only thing mattered was to save her life, and then her body flew up.

    ¡°Wham!¡±

    ¡°Clop-clop!¡±

    ¡°Clop-clop!¡±

    ¡°My god! Yi is dead!¡± Madam Luo watched her granddaughter falling backward on the ground, then suddenly rolling over to protect the little boy. And then the horse¡¯s hooves trampled over her delicate back, leaving a fist-sized gray hoof mark on her white gauze dress.

    ¡°Oh, my god, help! The horse has trampled Yi to death! Hong Jiang and Ji, go get a doctor! Oh, I¡¯m a doctor, too!¡± ¡°Yi,¡± Madam Luo stood on tiptoe, running totteringly to the motionless granddaughter and cried, ¡°you died so tragically. How can I exin to your mother?¡±

    ¡°Hey, are you okay?¡± Feng Yang was very worried. He snatched up the weak girl who was lying on the ground, and shook her back and forth several times, ¡°Sorry! I didn¡¯t mean to get you to death. I, I didn¡¯t know you were going to jump to this side. Actually, I wasing to save...Guan Bai? It¡¯s you!¡±

    A young man, with many blood drops sshing on his hands and white clothes, strode over, lifted the front of his robe, and then half crouched down, asking anxiously, ¡°Is she all right? Is she still alive?¡± He looked at Feng Yang and his tone was apologetic, ¡°Feng Yang... What is her rtionship with you? Is she your sister?¡± It was said that Feng Yang¡¯s father sessively got 18 daughters in order to get a son... Did it mean one of these 18 people was trampled to death by his own horse just now?! That was not good. With such a thing happened, how could Feng¡¯s Family make it easy for him? The cooperation between Guan¡¯s Family and Feng¡¯s Family was about to end, wasn¡¯t it? Oh, what an ident! His own horse suddenly went mad!

    Although it was no use to exin too much, Guan Bai still said sincerely, ¡°Bro Feng, I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯ll go home with you now and apologize to your father. I can ept any punishment! What happened today also has something to do with bad luck. My horse Wu Ti has always been docile. I don¡¯t know why it went mad after we got on this street. Look, now its legs has been broken, but it¡¯s still struggling on the ground!¡± Guan Bai was angry and sad. The horse was a gentle one and had followed him for 5 or 6 years. How could it suddenly turn like this?

    Feng Yang frowned and looked into the distance. In the street not far off, the fat and red-maned horsey on its back, whining miserably. The part above one of its front hooves was bent unnaturally. Blood was dripping from the bend part, and the ground around it was red. In order to stop the horse, Guan Bai broke one of its front legs directly!

    Indeed, as Guan Bai said, the red-maned horse with the broken leg was still red in the eyes, and it kept kicking on the other three uninjured legs, as if it wanted to get up and continue running. It was a strange thing that a normal horse suddenly went mad, which worked for both Madam Luo¡¯s horses and Guan Bai¡¯s horse.

    Madam Luo came to He Danggui, crying, ¡°My child, you died so miserably. If I had foreseen this, I would not have gone to pick you up. And this would not have happened! Oh, my god, you were trampled to death by a horse, right on the street! You are only 10 years old. What a short life you have!¡±

    Guan Bai turned his head surprisingly, then found Madam Luo of Luo¡¯s Mansion was also here. Listening to her words again, Guan Bai was suddenly surprised, and he stammered, ¡°Madam...Luo! This dead one is your ... child?¡±

    Then a woman in grey rushed up from the other side and cried, ¡°My child, mother lost sight of you in a little while, and then you died. Within such a blink, you were run over by a horse! What a naughty and disobedient child you are! My poor boy, you died miserably, leaving mother in this world alone! Hey, who killed my baby? How cruel you are! He¡¯s only 2 years old!¡± A heart-rending cry made Guan Bai more puzzled. There was a thinyer of sweat on his forehead. He couldn¡¯t figure out how many people he had killed along the way. Why didn¡¯t he notice?

    In this bad and disorderly environment, He Danggui who was held and shook in Feng Yang¡¯s hands suddenly opened her eyes, and nced at the woman in gray with bad attitude. She sarcastically said, ¡°Children are born naughty. However, you, as his mother, are not careful to take care of him but let him run on the street. You are not cruel?¡± As she said that, she picked up the kid who was kicked to the other side by the two men¡¯s four big feet, and gave the kid back to the woman. Then, she seriously enjoined her, ¡°You must take good care of him and follow him closely in the future!¡±

    ¡°Yi?!¡±

    Madam Luo, with tears in her eyes, grabbed her hands and asked, ¡°Yi, are you still alive? What happened? How do you feel now?¡±

    He Danggui slowly stood up with the help of Madam Luo¡¯s arm. She was about to exin that she had not been kicked very hard, but she suddenly felt something fishy and sweet in her throat. She quickly turned her head away from Madam Luo, the one standing in front of her, but spat the blood to Guan Bai, who was still in a daze in the wayside, half squatting on the ground. Combined with her blood, a red flower appeared in the white robe that had been stained with a lot of blood before, which looked particrly shocking.

    The burning pain on her back became stabbing pain as she breathed. Being tortured, she produced a forced smile from her heart and thought, ¡°Just now I malevolently cursed the man who would take the pills I made will spit blood. But I did not expect that I vomited blood immediately. The retributiones so quick!¡±

 Chapter 93 - Gao Jue and Lu Jiangbei made trouble

    <h4>Chapter 93 Gao Jue and Lu Jiangbei made trouble</h4>

    The moment before the horse¡¯s hoof was going to fall on He Danggui¡¯s head, she eventually found the feeling of flying in her previous life. When she wanted to jump up for a test flight, her tip of nose knocked into a high and hard ¡°wall¡± within a blink.

    A folding fan hung on the ¡°wall¡± lifted her veil first. Then the ¡°wall¡± rushed forward again and rebounded her back to the ground. When she opened her eyes, she saw the ck shadow of the horse¡¯s hoof falling slowly. She only got enough time to turn over and protect the little kid under her body, then she was suddenly hit by a weight in the middle of her back. And then she fainted and was unconscious immediately.

    How did she survive?

    Speaking of that, she had to thank Gao Jue and Lu Jiangbei for conveying their Zhenqi to her. She hadn¡¯t mastered the method of guiding Zhenqi, but could only sigh with emotion when running and lifting heavy loads, ¡°It¡¯s good to have internal force!¡± Because her internal force was weak in the previous life, she didn¡¯t know that the ¡°Zhenqi for protecting the body¡±, which sounded very recondite, was actually an automatic air wall. And she had never been practiced before!

    Just like one¡¯s fingers would immediately retract when touching a me, when she was attacked by the outside world suddenly and her reaction speed and kung fu were not enough to protect her life, the continuous Zhenqi in her Dantian would burst out suddenly in her back-heart as a wall of Zhenqi, which protected her as the red-maned horse stepped her in its madness.

    Up till today, He Danggui eventually understood the description of Zhenqi in a martial arts secret script that she had read in the previous life, ¡°There are numerous people practicing Zhenqi while very few people get real Zhenqi. If one was born as a smart one, he surely understands the rules of nature. Though brilliant schemes are born talents, if one learns and understands the essence of nature, he is able to perform it skillfully and naturally, like he is supported by Immortals and ghosts. That¡¯s how the one gets his ¡®second life¡¯.¡± To have Zhenqi was to have a ¡°second life¡±. These Zhenqi existing in the body were as alive as pulse, blood and breath. It was her shield when she was attacked, and her sword when she was attacking So, in the morning, she just pinched the neck of a pheasant, and she didn¡¯t even feel that she had used much force. However, the short-lived pheasant in her hand kicked on both legs, and then died...

    Looking at a blue stone step not far, which was stepped into pieces by the red-maned horse, He Danggui was finally in fear. If she hadn¡¯t had internal force, she would not have suffered from severe back sharp pain now, but have been stepped to death after the horse passed by with that hoof stepping through her chest. Just because her internal force was ¡°borrowed¡± from others a few days ago, and she couldn¡¯t control it by herself, the strength of her Zhenqi was much weaker than that of Gao Jue, who had practiced martial arts for many years. That was to say, her Zhenqi for protecting the body was far from enough to fend against swords and spears. Moreover, Gao Jue might not be able to be that impressive, either. Anyhow, based on her experience, his Zhenqi was at least able to fend against her wooden hairpin.

    At that crucial moment of life and death, her high mental tension had magnified her hearing more than ten times. She could hear the surrounding wind clearly. She also heard the horse¡¯s hoof that stepped on her, which smashed the thin air wall that she had made. Then the strength of the horse¡¯s hooves was weakened infinitely before stepping on her back. And that was why she got lucky only to suffer some trauma instead of viscera.

    Madam Luo calmed down atst. Seeing He Danggui vomit a mouthful of blood, she didn¡¯t cry out any useless words, but caught He Danggui on the spot and began to feel the pulse. The longer she felt her pulse, the weirder her face changed. Her eyes were more bulging.

    ¡°How is she? Is it serious?¡± Feng Yang looked at Madam Luo¡¯s expression, and his heart hung. He did not intend to kill her, but she died because of him. In fact, if he didn¡¯t intervene, He Danggui was likely to have been out of danger. He just didn¡¯t expect that the little girl who was only as tall as his chest had such great potential. At the critical moment, she could jump four or five feet high with a kid. So, he couldn¡¯t stop moving at high speed. Unexpectedly, he bounced back Madam Luo¡¯s granddaughter who barely jumped out of the danger zone, and caused her trampled to spit blood.

    Madam Luo shook her head doubtfully, frowned to see He Danggui¡¯s face, and analyzed slowly, ¡°Although your Qi and blood are surging, your viscera and meridians are not damaged at all... Although you vomited a mouthful of blood, your face looks normal, and you don¡¯t look like one who just loses blood... How do you feel, Yi? Do you have any difort or severe back pain?¡±

    Although Madam Luo was very skilled in medicine, she was not a martial artist after all. She didn¡¯t know the slippery and astringent pulse as if someone had drunk deer antler wine with tiger whip was actually a symptom of retrograde Zhenqi in people with deep internal energy.

    Though He Danggui¡¯s Zhenqi saved herself, just now the Zhenqi in her Dantian was like busting its ass to run to the injured part of the incident. Now that it hadpleted its glorious mission, most Zhenqi couldn¡¯t find a way back to Dantian, so they could only run without direction in the major channels. Although it was not as serious as the ¡°Qizhou¡± situation that He Danggui encountered when she suddenly had internal force, the Zhenqi was retrograde fiercely this time. That¡¯s why the Qi and blood in its way were pushed out, and He Danggui spew out a mouthful of blood because of that. All in all, He Danggui didn¡¯t spit blood for being trampled by a horse¡¯s hoof, but because she couldn¡¯t control the deep internal force, so she could only spit blood when she was backfired by her own internal force.

    As for her ¡°normal¡±plexion, it was only a surface phenomenon. In fact, her face under the Yingying Powder was quite likely to be pale. The spot trampled by the horse¡¯s hoof was just a trauma, which was easy to be treated even if it was serious. However, there was no expert like Gao Jue to help her guide the Zhenqi back to Dantian. The longer she dyed to guide this, the more dangerous it would be. Becausest time, only Lu Jiangbei¡¯s Zhenqi was making trouble. But this time, Gao Jue and Lu Jiangbei¡¯s Zhenqi both made trouble at the same time. What should she do? He Danggui never dreamed that one day she would be upset because her internal force was too deep.

    ¡°Grandma, don¡¯t worry. Fortunately, that horse¡¯s hoof just stepped on lightly, so I could escape from death. I only suffered a little trauma on my back. But now I feel that I¡¯m over frightened, and I want to go home and have a rest soon.¡± Then He Danggui thought to herself, ¡°Fortunately, I could recite all kinds of excellent Cultivation Methods for Internal Energy. There was not much Zhenqi in the previous life, so I could only guide Zhenqi through expiration and inspiration, and sitting in meditation. As a result, all the methods for me were just empty talks. But it was better than nothing. After I return to Luo¡¯s Mansion, I¡¯ll look for a secluded site and try these methods one by one. Among all the cultivation methods I know, there must be at least one method that could work.¡±

    Guan Bai was the eldest legitimate son of Guan¡¯s Family. Naturally, he also knew some medical knowledge. He came up and studied He Danggui¡¯s face, seeing nothing wrong with her. So, he proposed, ¡°Madam Luo, Ren Shu Tang is not far away. Can I send this sister there to treat her trauma?¡± Even though his body was stained with blood at the moment, he was still decent. At this moment, he realized that his horse had neither trampled on the daughter of Feng¡¯s Family nor trampled on Madam Luo¡¯s ¡°child¡±. It made him feel very rxed. In the conversation with others, he restored his consistent elegance and calm that matched the identity of the noble childe of the family.

    ¡°But Madam Luo, is her face¡­ normal?¡± Feng Yang, who didn¡¯t know medicine, also bent down to look at He Danggui¡¯s face for a moment. He could not help interrupting, ¡°Come and have a look. Isn¡¯t it because the injury is so serious that her face turns yellow with pain?¡±

    ¡°No, it isn¡¯t.¡± Madam Luo who knew medicine answered, ¡°The reason of her yellowplexion is due to deficiency of Qi and blood, and congenital deficiency. These symptoms are not rted to her injury.¡±

    ¡°No, Bro Feng.¡± Guan Bai, who knew medicine, also added, ¡°People with severe injuries usually look pale and bleeding. Their symptoms also apanied with sweating on the forehead, trembling hands and feet, upper eyelid twitches and other symptoms. The little sister¡¯s face is light yellow. It is a normalplexion. And there is no sweat on her forehead. The present situation shows that she doesn¡¯t feel any pain now, In my point of view...¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m hungry.¡± He Danggui interrupted him angrily, ¡°Grandma, Let¡¯s get going!¡±

    ¡°Feng Yang, I¡¯m hungry, too.¡± There was a quiet voice behind He Danggui, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you would go to Luo¡¯s Mansion? Let¡¯s get going.¡±

    Feng Yang turned his head surprisingly. He red angrily at the man in the dark red cloak and thick bamboo hat. At the same time, he frowned and whispered, ¡°Yuan, how could you get off the gharry? You can¡¯t be exposed to the wind! Didn¡¯t you pass out? Why are you waking up again...You can walk normally now!¡±

    The man in the thick bamboo hat pointed to the back head of He Danggui. He replied, ¡°I feel all right after I take her pill. But I still want to find a quiet ce to rest. Can we go to Luo¡¯s Mansion now?¡±

    Feng Yang turned to look at Madam Luo immediately. He repeated to her the question of his friend, ¡°Madam Luo, can we go to Luo¡¯s Mansion now?¡± Madam Luo immediately nodded and replied, ¡°Of course, let¡¯s go back home!¡±

    He Danggui could not help turning her head at once to see the man standing behind her. Feng Yang just said that man ¡°You can walk normally now.¡± Overtones... was it because the man was disabled and couldn¡¯t walk? And the man replied, ¡°I feel all right after I take her pill¡±, which made her shocked. Her Puxi Pill was a gentle pill for nourishing one¡¯s body, invigorating the heart energy, and strengthening the spleen and stomach. It also had some effects on the internal injuries of martial artists, but...how could it make ame man walk again?

    She turned her head to look at the man. What appeared in her field of vision was a pair of flying phoenix boots sewn with gold thread under the blue long gown. He Danggui titled her head in doubt. That was quite weird. The man¡¯s legs and feet were symmetrical in shape, and the force was even when his soles touched the ground. He didn¡¯t look like disabled people with leg and foot problem.

    So, her looked at him from foot to head. The flying phoenix boots, the blue and silver embroidered long gown, the silver and white waistband with double rings and jade buckles, the double earce hanging aside the dark red cloak, and the neck with a slightly raised Adam¡¯s apple. Atst, her eyes stopped... at the grey top green edge thick covered with severalyers of thick veils.

    Until the end, she felt disappointed for not seeing the man¡¯s face. She looked at the figure of the man and his Adam¡¯s apple. He should be a young man about 16. He Danggui raised her eyebrows. Was it necessary for a man to cover himself so tightly? She only wore a veil when she went out as a woman. He Danggui didn¡¯t know what happened to her. All in all, an unexpected thing happened, and she just wanted to see what the man looked like very much.

    Hence, when she looked more closely, she found this man not only had a bamboo hat covered withyers of thick veils. With the help of her eyesight which had been increased several times by internal force, she saw it clearly that under the thick veils was a mask on his face!

    A silk mask covered the top half of the man¡¯s face. Therefore, she focused all her attention on her eyes and looked intently to see more. But she could only see a pair of half-opened eyes under the mask, tight thin lips and blood stains on his lips. Afterwards, under her curious eyes, the thin lips pursed a downward arc. It seemed to show its master¡¯s deep dissatisfaction with He Danggui¡¯s gaze.

    ¡°Ha ha ha, sister of Luo¡¯s Family.¡± Feng Yang pushed Guan Bai away and hustled to stand in front of He Danggui. His body just blocked the man under the bamboo hat. A piece of white veil sewn with double fish buckles were handed by Feng Yang. He said with a smile, ¡°Here¡¯s your veil. It hung on me just now.¡± Then he pointed at the folding fan on his chest, and began to chat casually, ¡°Oh, this veil is exquisite. Did you make it yourself? The buckle on it is really unique, Aha! My sisters don¡¯t have such a clever mind as yours. And they don¡¯t like wearing veils, ha-ha! But you are more beautiful than them. You should put on the veil to protect yourself, ha-ha!¡±

    When He Danggui took over her veil, she walked slowly to the left for two steps. She slightly bypassed Feng Yang to look behind him. The man under the bamboo hat was already climbing into their gharry. His crimson clothes brushed the shaft of the gharry. Then the bamboo curtain on the gharry was lowered with a ¡°swoosh¡± sound.

    He Danggui half-lowered her head. She suddenly recalled the residuary blood on the man¡¯s lips...Ha?! He had Puxi Pill before... and he really vomited blood afterwards! If so, how could he praise the pill ¡°I feel all right after I take her pill?¡±

 Chapter 94 - Hello, copper cash

    <h4>Chapter 94 Hello, copper cash</h4>

    At this time, Mammy Tang, who was waiting for the gharry at the roadside,mely ran and caught Madam Luo for condolences. Just now, Mammy Tang was blocked by the crowd and didn¡¯t see the details of the ident. She only saw Madam Luo throwing herself on Third Miss¡¯s ¡°corpse¡± with crying, so Madam Luo vividly described the most dangerous scene for her.

    At the other side, Feng Yang couldn¡¯t get an answer from He Danggui, so he changed a topic and grinned, ¡°I¡¯m so sorry that I almost killed you today, but you are really lucky. Sis, maybe you don¡¯t know that once a horse is running fleetingly, its four hooves will alternate between ¡®up¡¯ and ¡®down¡¯.¡± He took down the fan from his chest, and gesticted with it. He said, ¡°When the horse is up, it is like flying in mid-air. When it reaches the highest point, its hooves have no strength in the air. Even if it is stepping on a swallow, the swallow will not be damaged after the stepping, but could fly away with its wings open! Ha, sounds interesting?¡±

    He Danggui put on the veil dumbly. The pain on the back was still scorching. She was suffering a lot physical injury and uncontroble inner Zhenqi were both consuming her energy. She didn¡¯t know how long she could hold on. She only felt so tired that she wanted to sleep.

    However, Feng Yang still said excitedly and waved his fan to circte air. He used the fan to point at a piece of blue stone steps, which was broken by the horseshoe in the near distance, andughed, ¡°Look at there. When a horse was falling down the hooves, the hooves were like the most murderous weapon. A delicate girl like you would definitely die in this case. I am not frightening you. When the horse steps down, you will die instantly. That is to say, you will have no strength to leave yourst words.¡±

    He Danggui lowered her head and walked behind Madam Luo, and gently pulled Madam Luo¡¯s sleeves, trying to arouse her attention and urging her to get on the gharry quickly to go on their trip. However, Madam Luo said to Mammy Tang how frightened she was and how lucky Yi was. She didn¡¯t even look back. Mammy Tang also heard with astonishment and felt deeply moved.

    He Danggui bemoaned in her mind, ¡°Grandma, in fact, I have no luck at all, I was trampled exactly by that horse.¡±

    The only good thing was that the injury on the back was throbbing rather than pricking, which should be bruise caused by blood stasis. There was no scuffing or bleeding, otherwise the blood would have seeped through her clothes. If so, Madam Luo would have asked to see the wound by herself, and then her white skin on her back would betray her disguise... Although there was no particrly precious medicinal material in Yingying powder form, it was also very cumbersome to make. So, in order to save it for more using, she only smeared it on her face, neck, hands, and forearms. Once her clothes were taken off, the yellow and white skin contrast at each junction would be very obvious, and anyone who saw it would find it strange. At this moment, she suddenly understood the feeling when she threatened to strip Bai Yangbai in public...

    Feng Yang wasn¡¯t finished, so he followed He Danggui¡¯s steps and walked behind Madam Luo, then continued to praise the good luck of He Danggui, ¡°Sis, now that you only spat a little blood and feel fine, it proves that when the horse trampled you, its hooves were still ¡®up¡¯. There was no harm at that time. But then again, you can jump much higher than my 18 sisters. Maybe you are very suitable to learn martial arts and your age is also suitable...¡±

    He Danggui yawned behind the veil and dragged Madam Luo¡¯s sleeves again. This time, she finally got the special treatment that Madam Luo touched her head.

    Feng Yang closed the fan andughed again, ¡°Sister, you are a girl, so it¡¯s useless for you to learn kung fu. What about I show you a Form of Arts of Lightness and you can practice it ordingly? I believe that with your aptitude, it would be easy for you to climb trees, walls, roofs and beams within a year. Well, considering it an apology for that I almost killed you just now, how do you think? Don¡¯t despise this form. You have no idea how many people want it. Hey, sister, why don¡¯t you talk to me? Is it...?¡±

    ¡°Benefactor, benefactor, my benefactor!¡±

    The woman, who was the mother of the little yellow-haired baby, ran over suddenly and pushed Feng Yang aside. She held He Danggui¡¯s hands with tears in her eyes, shaking her hands up and down, ¡°I have heard from the passers-by that you saved my child! Benefactor! You saved my child, which means you saved my family. You are very kind-hearted. Let me kowtow to you!¡± After that, she dropped to her knees. ¡°Thud, thud, thud!¡± She banged her head on the ground several times.

    He Danggui¡¯s back sorer for the shaking, so she had no strength to pull the woman up. Therefore, she turned her head and said to Feng Yang, ¡°Childe Feng, please help this aunt up.¡±

    Feng Yang smiled, ¡°Ha, ha, you finally talk to me. I thought you were angry with me for what happened just now.¡± Then he helped the woman up in gray with the handle of the fan. Seeing the woman¡¯s head still kowtowing, but she already stood up involuntary, Feng Yang then suddenly approached He Danggui and whispered, ¡°My friend¡­ He doesn¡¯t like women, so don¡¯t stare at him like thatter.¡±

    The woman bent over and pulled the bamboo basket next to her feet. She opened the lid and took out her son, crying to He Danggui, ¡°My boy is a posthumous child. His father died when I was pregnant with him. How could I face my parents-inw if he died here today! You are the benefactor of our family!¡± She cried as she took out a small white bag from her sleeve, then she handed it to He Danggui, ¡°It was my greed that almost killed my son. I¡¯m giving these silvers back! I¡¯m so sorry that I conned out of your money!¡±

    Here was the story. This woman took her son to the market for grocery shopping, and happened to meet Madam Luo¡¯s gharry colliding in the market on the street. Although she and her son were not injured, they were frightened.

    Later, the gharry stopped. The hawkers who had suffered loss for their goods shouted loudly. So, Miss Ji ran to apologize to them and told them her master wouldterpensate them for loss ording to the price. As soon as the hawkers heard that the wrecker was willing to paypensation and saw the gharry in front of them was very grand, they knew that gharry must belong to the rich, so they all calmed down.

    Miss Ji went back to the mansion and brought the purse. She began topensate them ording to the extent of damage of their goods one by one. Many of them had already set their ownpensation price. Miss Ji also directly gave them money without demur. On the one hand, she knew that it was the masters¡¯ fault for crashing the hawkers¡¯ stalls, so she was willing to pay them more for easing their anger. On the other hand, she worried about the injuries of Mammy Tang and Madam Luo, so she was in no mood to bargain with them. Anyway, Luo¡¯s Mansion didn¡¯t care about the money.

    Some passers-by were covetous to see that some hawkers gotpensation for 3 or 4 strings of qian even if their vegetables only dropped on the ground and could still be picked up and sold without any damage. So,ter, a passer-by came and told Miss Ji that just now he twisted his feet when eluding the gharry and asked for 3 strings of qian. Miss Ji immediately gave him money. Also, she said she would send a few big bottles of bone-setting medicated liquor and ce them on the counter of Li¡¯s Inn on this street, so that he could go there and treat his wounds.

    Then, Miss Ji repeated her words to the passers-by who were watching, and her original intention was to calm the fear of everyone to show she was sorry. Luo¡¯s Family was a big n in Yangzhou City, which attracted much attention in every word and deed. It would be terrible if there were any bad rumors about ¡°leaping the horse in the street to mess with the public¡±. Money couldn¡¯t buy reputation. She believed Mammy would make the same decision if she disposed this.

    However, many people felt this family was really rich and thought they encountered a sucker! So, they surrounded and said that they hit their heads, sprained their necks, and twisted their waists... Miss Ji told everyone loudly not to crowd and line up one by one, then she continued to take money out of the purse to give ¡°wounded¡± passers-by. Soon after the copper cash in the purse were used up, she started to pay the 2 qian small silver ingot. When the 2 qian small silver ingot ran out, she started to pay 5 qian big silver ingot...

    When it was the woman¡¯s turn, the big silver ingot was used up, so Miss Ji gave her a small change. The woman took the bamboo basket with her son inside and sat down on the steps by the roadside. She took the weight of the small change and assumed it was more than 1 liang!

    Now their family¡¯s living only counted on fishing and selling fish by her father-inw and brother-inw. They could only earn 1 liang silver through work from dawn to dusk for 3 or 4 months, and cut off the daily expense for the family. She and her mother-inw would like to set up a tofu workshop to subsidize their family. However, although they saved money for a long time, they still couldn¡¯t afford it because it would cost at least 2 liang silver to found the workshop.

    The woman looked down to see her son who was squatting in the basket and ying yo-yo happily. He would soon grow up. And when he turned 5 or 6 years old, he would talk and walk. Then if she didn¡¯t send him to a traditional private school to learn to read books and recognize words, he would surely follow his grandfather and uncle to sell stinky fishes...

    As long as she had 2 liang silver, she could set up a tofu workshop and her son could go to the traditional private school. When he grew up, he could go to the North Street to ghostwrite letters. He could earn 2 liang of silver per month by then...

    Thought of here, she stood up excitedly, turning her eyes to look at the long line that was waiting for thepensation. She was afraid that the silver would be given out if she went therete, so she didn¡¯t even put the lid on the bamboo basket back, but left her son in the basket and joined the queue without turning round.

    Soon it was her turn again. Miss Ji remembered her, so she asked why she came here again? Then the woman pointed to the bamboo basket in the distance, and said loudly, ¡°I brought my son to the market. My arm was injured, so I came forpensation before. But I just opened the bamboo basket and found that my two-year-old son had broken his head. He was bleeding. I don¡¯t even know whether he is still alive!¡±. Miss Ji was scared, so she immediately took out a big silver, handed it to her, and asked her to send her child to San Qing Tang quickly. She also promised that they would let the best doctor treat the child!

    The woman took over and hefted the silver. She thought this time there were 4 or 5 liang. She was happy and timid. After hesitating for a while, she pushed her way through the crowd, but then found that her son was not in the bamboo basket. And a person in the distance was shouting, ¡°The horse trampled a child! The child is dead! Child dead!¡±

    The woman stumbled to the scene of the ident and saw her son¡¯s yo-yo at a nce. So, she jumped on and cried desperately with regret in her heart. She felt regret for her greed caused her son¡¯s death! When the woman was regretting and crying sadly, there was a thin girl sat up from the ground and handed over a yellow-hair baby to her. The girl told her to take good care of her son in the future.

    The woman picked up her lost-and-found baby, squatted on the roadside and cried beside the baby who was smiling. When she finished crying, she heard from the passer-by that the little girl had just been covering the baby¡¯s body and blocked the damage for him. The woman recognized that they were the family whose gharry crashed the market and then paid thepensation to everyone. The family saved her son but she cheated them out of their money! At this moment, the 5 liang silver became heavier than stones and hotter than irons. She was too embarrassed to take it. So, she jumped up to thank them, made an apology and gave back the silver.

    Many passers-by and hawkers who cheated the silver before were deeply moved by seeing this scene. Compared with the shining personality of the little girl who ¡°gave her life to save the young child¡±, their personality had been mapped to infinite dark and they became shamed. So, before He Danggui, who was weakened for her back injury, could understand the situation of the woman in gray, the passers-by on both sides of the road strived to give the money back to her with noisy sound.

    Some were a handful of copper cash, some were silver ingot, and some were big silver ingot... Her little hands were soon full of money.

    In the eyes of the passers-by, these well-dressed people were standing chatting together. They seemed to be very familiar with each other, maybe they were rtives. So, from Madam Luo and Mammy Tang, to Feng Yang and Guan Bai, their hands, sleeves, robes and even folding fans were stuffed with strings of copper cash.

 Chapter 95 - The mischief of an evil fox

    <h4>Chapter 95 The mischief of an evil fox</h4>

    ¡°Ta-da, ta-da, ta-da...¡±

    Ren Dongteng and Gui Banjiao came here in a gharry, which was smaller than that of Madam Luo. Chan Yi and Huai Hua jumped out of the gharry first to help Madam Luo and others to get over this rough situation. Because they could tell from the situation that He Danggui was in a daze, Childe Feng was wearing a bitter smile with his folding fan hanging with strings of copper cash, and Madam Luo and others were not surprised, but frightened for so many passers-by giving them so much money just now.

    Miss Ji handed out all the money, then jogged back from the street with her empty purse. When she saw this, she quickly took down several strings of 1,000 qian, which were hanging upon Madam Luo¡¯s body. The strings of money were too much and too messy, so Miss Ji put them into the empty purse. Then, she took down the money from He Danggui, Mammy Tang, Feng Yang and Guan Bai in order, and put them into her purse, too. Therefore, the purse was full of money again.

    Until now, Miss Ji was still confused about this situation and didn¡¯t know that the money was thepensation she handed out before. But she had no time to ask at that moment. She turned her head and called on Chan Yi, then they helped Madam Luo, Third Miss and Mammy Tang getting into the gharry. What a messy street it was! Nobody knew whether the three could bear it or not, given their weak body conditions.

    So, in the new gharry, Miss Ji and Mammy Tang quickly exchanged the information to each other. Miss Ji said she handed out money and hoped money could ease the anger. And Mammy Tang said Third Miss saved a boy and got money from his mother and passers-by. Finally, they drew a conclusion that many people who had not been injured got the medical fee andpensation. Now they were touched by Third Miss¡¯s behavior and didn¡¯t want to take this money, so they gave it back. When they praised this, they also sighed Third Miss was lucky not to be hurt after she was trampled by the horse!

    Madam Luo was shocked in that ident, so she felt a little dizzy now. However, all the pills that were made by the ¡®criminal Taoist nun¡¯ were given to others although they were very useful. So, at this moment, she could onlyy down on the soft cushion to take a rest.

    At the same time, He Danggui was leaning against the gharry wall. She thought back to the horses flipping out in the two idents. Apart from the red eyes, there were some little white spots on their tongues when they gasped heavily. She remembered a book recorded the reason that caused this symptom was¡­

    ¡°Hiss-¡± He Danggui took a deep breath slightly and poked many acupoints to reduce her pain temporarily.

    Just now, Miss Ji, who had no idea about what happened just now, helped her into the gharry. Seeing the dirt on her back, Miss Ji was very ¡°kindly¡± to help her brush the dust off. As a result, He Danggui felt dizzy. Huai Hua, who knew nothing about this, either, saw her cloth was still dirty; therefore, she was also ¡°kindly¡± to brush the spot heavily. The Zhenqi in He Danggui¡¯s body was so disordered that she almost spat blood. She meditated hundreds of Heart Sutra quickly to control the dangerous situation. When Miss Ji and Huai Hua saw that Third Miss¡¯s cloth was finally clean, they looked at each other and smiled. After all, the Third Miss was too beautiful to wear dirty clothes.

    This gharry was not asfortable and capacious as Madam Luo¡¯s. It was a little crowded with 4 people inside it now. Chan Yi and Huai Hua couldn¡¯t get in, so they stood near the gharry window, waiting for the Miss to solve the problem. In a word, their Miss was very clever, so there was no problem that she couldn¡¯t solve.

    Outside the gharry, Gui Banjiao and Ren Dongteng were on their seats to drive. They observed the feelings of the two horses in front of the gharry while they discussed the real reason why the three horses had flipped out.

    ording to the knowledge of Ren Dongteng in his hometown Fengyang City when he was a child, they drew a conclusion that there was an evil fox in this street. It ate the souls of passing horses and selected the good horses with enough Yangqi. Madam Luo and the First Master Guan¡¯s horses were the best. Especially First Master Guan¡¯s horse, with red mane and white nose. It seemed that it could run 1,000 miles in the daytime and 800 miles at night. It was very pitiful that the horse ended up in this way. That only because the souls of the horses were eaten by the fox, so they flipped out immediately. Compared with the above horses, Third Miss¡¯s were inferior. Since the fox was full, so it let them go.

    ¡°Master Gui.¡± He Danggui whispered through the curtain, ¡°I remember your gharry stopped for a while at thest intersection. What did you stop to do?¡±

    ¡°Oh, at that time¡­¡± Gui Banjiao interrupted the discussion with Ren Dongteng and turned to answer, ¡°Because Mammy said that Madam Luo wanted to eat Zongzi sugar and spicy orhiette snack, so she let me stop. After Mammy went down, she didn¡¯t buy anything when she came back, and then she persuaded Madam Luo that she felt the food outside was insanitary. She told Madam Luo to wait for a while to go back and eat. Madam Luo always listened to Mammy, so we went on.¡±

    He Danggui frowned and thought for a while, then asked, ¡°In the roadside¡­ Were there any wild flowers or weeds? Was there a kind of white flower that smelt fragrant?¡±

    Gui Banjiao recalled, touched his head, then shook his head, ¡°I didn¡¯t notice that. At that time, there were two goats fighting with red eyes. The match was so wonderful that the goats sshed the dust and dug a big hole on the ground. Not only I but also the passers-by stopped to watch.¡±

    On the other side, Feng Yang also returned to his gharry. Then he pulled Ning Yuan¡¯s left hand over instantly and felt his pulse carefully.

    Before the ident, because of the serious injury and blood surge caused by bumps, Ning Yuan had already spitted blood repeatedly. In addition to cutting down his channels and suppressing the spread of internal injuries temporarily, Feng Yang had no better way at this moment. Even if he wanted to convey his Zhenqi to Ning Yuan for treatment, he also needed to find a quiet ce. If he did that in the gharry as they crossed the street, once the gharry shook violently or some unexpected things happened, both of them would be in danger for being attacked by Zhenqi¡­

    As he thought of this, he heard Feng Yan and Feng Yu shouted, ¡°Bad news! 3 crazy horses are dashing against our gharry. All of us should settle our debt today. Let¡¯s join the trip together on our way to theherworld, and we¡¯ll still be heroes 18 yearster!¡±

    So, Feng Yang rushed out of the gharry. He trod on the roof of the other gharry and got to the rear-wheel. Then he pulled the left and right wheels with his hands. With a Qianjinzhui Movement, he bent his knees and dragged the wheels back in his own way. After a while, he was pulled 2 or 3 zhang away to stop the next movement of the gharry, and the loess ground was dragged out of two terrible deep traces by his feet. After that, when Feng Yan and Feng Yu arguing with the coachman, he noticed immediately that the 3 horses looked unusual, so he used blind nailing to seal the main acupoints on their 4 hoofs and let them calm down in the spot.

    ¡°Yuan, your injury¡­ seemed to be suppressed temporarily?¡± Feng Yang whispered incredibly, ¡°What is going on? Your pulse is even smoother than before, but we hurry on the road all day! How are you feeling now? Isn¡¯t this a momentary recovery of consciousness just before death?¡±

    At this moment, Ning Yuan had taken down the bamboo hat, but still wearing the mask with silk engraving above. His eyes were half-closed with tiredness. He then sighed, ¡°I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s toote after so much time dyed.¡±

    Feng Yang couldn¡¯t get a reply, so he pawed Ning Yuan¡¯s eyelids insistently, listened to his heartbeat on his chest, and then sighed, ¡°A people who recovers consciousness before death¡­ Are they just like normal people? Yuan, do you have any unfulfilled wishes now? You name it! I will try my best to make ite true for you!¡±

    Ning Yuan beat the hand that touched his eyelids and med weakly, ¡°Don¡¯t be kidding. Didn¡¯t I tell you that I felt better after taking that woman¡¯s medicine... Ah, Luo¡¯s Family is known as medicine, and it really deserves its reputation. I can get treated in Luo¡¯s Mansion as ¡®Feng Yang¡¯s friend¡¯. In this way, I can also escape detection. That¡¯s great¡­ And my injury isn¡¯t getting better now; it is only suppressed by medicine temporarily. The longer I suppress it, the more pain I will suffer. So... Chang Nuo, I can only ask you to disguise yourself as me and go back to Daning this time. I can¡¯t find anyone better except you.¡±

    ¡¸Feng Yang¡¹ scratched his head as he heard this, and then he said, ¡°I can¡¯t get away from either side. Although I don¡¯t need to deal with things in Caobang Organization every day, I need to go home for a few days asionally. Yuan, you don¡¯t know that Madam Feng is more disagreeable than you heard about her in the rumor. If I disappear for dozens of days¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve got it into consideration, and maybe Ming Yue can disguise as Feng Yang.¡± Ning Yuan interrupted him, pointed at the handsome boy beside him who dressed up like a manservant, then continued weakly, ¡°Then you can disguise yourself as me to preside over the maneuver on the Drill Ground the day after tomorrow in Daning.¡±

    ¡°What?! You want Ming Yue to disguise as Feng Yang?¡± ¡¸Feng Yang¡¹ stared at him.

    Under the mask, Ning Yuan frowned and nodded, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t make such a bad n if I have another choice. After all, our action at Caobang Organization in Yangzhou City is the most priority thing. Chang Nuo, I know it¡¯s very dangerous for you to leave Yangzhou City, but at this moment, I can¡¯te up with any better ways. Because I suspect that Lu Jiangbei probably has recognized me as the Gezhu of Wuying Tower. Maybe his scouts have already on their way to Daning.¡±

    ¡°Recognize you? How could it be possible? Lu Jiangbei doesn¡¯t see your face! You overestimated him and his fellows.¡± Chang Nuo shook his head and refuted, ¡°I don¡¯t think he is as smart as you say. Chang¡¯s Family and Lu¡¯s Family jointlymanded Escort in Dijing City, while Feng¡¯s Family and Lu¡¯s Family managed the Lu Feng Escort. So, in thest two years, I have used two identities, Chang Nuo and Feng Yang, to establish contact andpare kung fu with him several times. He wasn¡¯t aware of it. Beside that, Lu Jiangbei had once said happily to Feng Yang I yed that he would introduce another senior Chang Nuo whose nickname is ¡®little overlord¡¯¡­ Ha-ha-ha.¡± Chang Nuo circled the folding fan in his hand and grinned, ¡°I was introduced to myself. Do you think there is anything more interesting than this in the world, Yuan?¡±

    ¡°Chang Xiaonuo, are you a fat head?¡± Ning Yuan coughed constantly to get enough breath and continued to me him angrily, ¡°I¡¯ve said it many times. Don¡¯t show your kung fu in front of people, but you¡¯ve never listened to me. Do you think there are many young seniors like you and me in the world? Compared with you, the Feng Yang that you yed is simr to you in age, body, voice, and both of you have great kung fu. Maybe Lu Jiangbei has already suspected you, so he said that to you!¡±

 Chapter 96 - Dragon King on the earth had horns

    <h4>Chapter 96 Dragon King on the earth had horns</h4>

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± Chang Nuo patted Ning Yuan¡¯s shoulder, and said with a smile, ¡°How could I make such mistakes? I used two types of kung fu when I fought with him, even the weapons are different. When I used a sword, I can prevail over him slightly. He admired me very much at that time, and also advised me to take the Martial Arts Test of the Imperial Examination. Later, I dressed up as Feng Yang, fighting with him again with the External Boxing Arts of Wudang Sect, and the weapon I used this time were double hammers. Also, I didn¡¯t go all out. I cannot defend his long sword after 100 martial moves, then I was defeated, so it is impossible for him to catch me when I fought with him. And also, listen¨C¡±

    Chang Nuo cleared his throat and suddenly changed apletely different voice, ¡°My name is Feng Yang, I styled myself Jun You. I have admired Senior Lu¡¯s fame, ¡®a man in white with his Excalibur¡¯, for a long time. You are even more outstanding when I see you today. It¡¯s a great honor to meet you! When I spoke to Senior Lu, I used Feng Yang¡¯s voice. How could he recognize me as Chang Nuo?¡± After saying this, his voice became much deeper than usual, and there were also some husky feelings of young people in the period of voice changing. It was a totally different person when he used that voice.

    Ning Yuan still wanted to find some faults about Chang Nuo for letting him correct his trouble of self-conceit, so he tricked him, ¡°Master Bai once said, your ventriloquism still needs to be improved. Although it sounds like okay if you speak a few words, your voice changes several times in the middle. If you speak a long paragraph, it would soundical.¡±

    ¡°Really? Why don¡¯t I feel that?¡± Chang Nuo said confusedly, ¡°I paid a formal visit to the Taoist Sagest time. He praised me as ¡®a talented boy¡¯, and also said that I have ¡®a promising future¡¯. s, who would have thought he evaluated me like this behind my back... When did this happen?¡±

    Ning Yuan stared at his boots and lied, ¡°It is a day after yourst meeting. Master Bai once criticized your fickle temperament when he mentioned you, and also said that you¡¯re just scratching the surface when learning something. It is really a waste of your great talent.¡±

    Chang Nuo felt so sad and disappointed when he heard these words. His conceited expression also faded away. Turned out... what he had left in Taoist Sage¡¯s heart was such a bad impression.

    In his childhood, he heard that the Taoist Sage Bai Yangbai had the skills of controlling the forces of nature. So, he yearned for those skills and wanted to see that ¡°Dragon King on the earth¡±. He wondered what his magic appearance was and how many horns he had. Later, Chang Nuo made friends with the 17th Prince Zhu Quan, who used an assumed name Ning Yuan, and then he knew that the Master Taoist Sage, whom even the Emperor could not recruit, unexpectedly became the Master of the 17th Prince, and also imparted a lot of his skills to the 17th Prince.

    Chang Nuo admired Ning Yuan after hearing that, and then he pestered Ning Yuan to perform some skills he had learned. Although Ning Yuan thought that he was not a street performer, and he didn¡¯t have to show anything, Chang Nuo was the first friend he ever made in the capital. They sharedmon feelings appreciating each other, and he also wanted to have a deeper rtionship with Chang Nuo. That¡¯s why he shared his secret of being Bai Yangbai¡¯s disciple with him. Hence, in Chang Nuo¡¯s apuse, he performed disguise skill reluctantly. Within a while, he had changed another new face, and also had changed another voice to match his new face. This performance obtained praise of Chang Nuo, so he pestered Ning Yuan to teach him these two skills.

    Bai Yangbai was proficient in hundreds of skills, among which disguise skill and ventriloquism were his insignificant skills. And Chang Nuo was an important friend and talent for Ning Yuan. Chang Nuo would be helpful if he was imparted these two skills of disguise. Taking this idea, Ning Yuan imparted ¡°disguise skill¡± and ¡°ventriloquism¡± to Chang Nuo without permission¡ª-It was not that he didn¡¯t respect the opinions and authority of his Master, but no one knew where Bai Yangbai was. So, there was no one to ask.

    2 monthster, Chang Nuo had improved in his ventriloquism, but his disguise skill was still poor. Ning Yuan had taught him everything he knew, but Chang Nuo was too stupid to learn the skills, and he couldn¡¯t help him with that.

    One morning, the pair of close friends were studying the frontier defense issues and the three strategies for managing Nihon in the Central Secretariat. Bai Yangbai suddenly came from nowhere with servant clothes, pulled a long face and whispered he had lost his money unluckily in the past two days. So, he needed a little exigent silver to win back his lost wagers. Given that he had no children in his whole life, he had to ask for money from his only disciple. Bai Yangbai rubbed his hands and said to Ning Yuan, ¡°If you have enough money, give me 200 or 300 liang sliver; if not, go and borrow 200 or 300 liang from your siblings.¡± Anyway, if Ning Yuan didn¡¯t give him 200 or 300 liang, he would not leave. If Ning Yuan gave him less than 200 liang, Ning Yuan wouldn¡¯t be his disciple anymore!

    Knowing that the old man with a wretched and vulgar expression was the famous Master Taoist Sage, Chang Nuo was speechless in shock. While Ning Yuan was ustomed to his teacher¡¯s words and dressing. But he usually didn¡¯t need to use money in usual, how could he carry a cheque of 200 liang? The essories on him were all royal stuff. Even if his Master took it to a pawnshop, the shopkeeper who knew the goods would never dare to ept these things. So, Ning Yuan exined the reason and told the Master toe here again in the afternoon, because he had to get cheques when he returned to the separate courtyard for the Princes at noon.

    At this moment, Chang Nuo, who had regained his mind, suddenly gave a big bow to Bai Yangbai with a sullen face, saying that he had heard his name for a long time and worshiped him so much, so he hoped Bai Yangbai could ept himself as his disciple, too.

    Bai Yangbai nced at him and immediately refused. ording to him, there was a rule in article 71 of Daguomen Sect, saying that they wouldn¡¯t ept disciples who had protruding ears and womanish voice. Chang Nuo didn¡¯t agree, and then spoke in a thick male voice immediately, showing off that he had clearly surpassed the ventriloquism of Ning Yuan, the ¡°genuine student¡±.

    After hearing this, Bai Yangbai was furious, held Ning Yuan¡¯s cor and asked him fiercely, ¡°How could you leak the secret skills of mine to an outsider?¡± Ning Yuan was about to admit his error to Bai Yangbai and exin the reason. However, Bai Yangbai let go of him suddenly, but took hold of Chang Nuo¡¯s cor and asked if he had a wallet, and could he show it to himself? Chang Nuo showed his wallet to Master Taoist Sage in confusion.

    Bai Yangbai opened the wallet, nced at the denomination of the cheque, and weighed the weight of the silver ingots. After repacking the wallet, he smiled, put the wallet into his sleeve, and then said, ¡°These are the tuition fees for the skills you have learnt. Here is the thing. There is a rule in article 123 of Daguomen Sect: ¡®If the skill of the Master is identally learned by outsiders, one must ask the other party for the corresponding fee.¡¯¡± The ventriloquism of Daguomen Sect was totally different from the rough ventriloquism of Jianghu, and long-term use of this skill wouldn¡¯t cause the adverse symptoms of dizziness, dry and sore throat. This skill had been lost for hundreds of years. As the one and the only sessor who could use this skill in this world, Bai Yangbai wouldn¡¯t be regarded as greedy even if he charged him 150 liang.

    Chang Nuo was d to hear that he could pay for learning skills, so he delightedly made a bow to the Master Taoist Sage and said, ¡°In fact, I also learned some disguise skills from 17th Prince, but he didn¡¯t teach me well. So, may I ask you for tutoring? And I wouldn¡¯t learn them for free. Master Taoist Sage, please take this little gift.¡± As he said that, he took out a delicate gold abacus about the size of half a palm, and presented it respectfully with both hands.

    Although this pocket gold abacus had a small amount of gold, the production process consumed countlessbor. It had a rare and ingenious value that was more than 500 liang. This was a gift that Chang Nuo received from his uncle when he was celebrating his birthday some time ago. The beads on it were quite special and could be taken down as weapons. Chang Nuo thought it was very interesting, so he kept it with him.

    Bai Yangbai was grinning from ear to ear, and put the golden abacus in his sleeve. He praised Chang Nuo and said that at first sight, he knew that Chang Nuo was a very talented young man. He was much better than his stupid disciple who went out without taking any money!

    Chang Nuo touched his head shyly, couldn¡¯t stop smiling. Then he asked Master Taoist Sage when it was convenient for him to teach him the knack of the disguise skills.

    Bai Yangbaiughed twice and patted Chang Nuo¡¯s head heavily, saying, ¡°You are a good boy with a promising future. Therefore, when you learn something, you must digest it, understand it, and have to do it step by step. But I¡¯m kind of busy recently, so I couldn¡¯t personally guide you for your studies for the time being. But don¡¯t worry, Quan (Zhu Quan) is my only disciple. He is free to teach you. You can detain and use him until you learn enough for your 500 liang silver. If his teaching is still unsatisfactory in the end, you can also find Quan to refund the money.¡± After speaking, Bai Yangbai pushed the thirteen-year-old Zhu Quan into the sixteen-year-old Chang Nuo¡¯s arms. Covering his face with his sleeves, Bai Yangbai flinched out of the Council Pce and fled from the powerful Central Secretariat through the side door quickly.

    Every time Chang Nuo thought of this two-year-ago issue, he couldn¡¯t calm down for a long time. He didn¡¯t expect to be lucky enough to meet Taoist Sage Bai Yangbai in person, and also got his praise as ¡°a good boy with a promising future¡±! Now, Ning Yuan said that the Taoist Sage had criticized himself for being too impetuous and disappointing his talents. How could this not discourage him?

    Ning Yuan patted Chang Nuo, called his attention back, and then lowered his voice to warn him, ¡°Actually, I chose toe to Yangzhou City after being hurt by Lu Jiangbei, not only because you are in Yangzhou City. Earlier this month, I received a letter from Master Bai, saying that he would spend a few days at Taibai Restaurant in Yangzhou City. If I need his help, I can go there to find him...¡±

    ¡°Has hee to Yangzhou City, too?¡± Chang Nuo¡¯s eyes brightened, ¡°Can I meet him with you, Yuan?¡±

    Ning Yuan waved his hand and hinted Chang Nuo to be patient, then kept talking about his arrangements, ¡°In my previous n, Ming Yue would disguise as me and rush back to Daning to review the troops for me. But with my disguise skill, even the most special face I make could only be 60 percent simr with the original, and the fake face could only be kept for 3 days. It¡¯s hard to say if the spies sent by Lu Jiangbei would see through the trick. So, I thought of Master Bai, whose disguise skill is iparable. He can make fake faces more than 90 percent simr to original faces, and it could also maintain a long time. So, I designedly went to Yangzhou City to find him for his help. But I was hurt too much on the way, it took a lot of time... I didn¡¯t know Lu Jiangbei has been hiding his strength. He is more powerful than I thought. Chang Nuo, you must remember not to fight with him if you meet him when you are running business in Wuying Tower, but flee immediately.¡±

    Chang Nuo¡¯s eyes mmed, ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding me. I¡¯ve never run away in the middle of a fight, but always chased after my opponent! Not to mention Lu Jiangbei, even if three Lu Jiangbei together are here to fight with me, I will be fearless!¡±

    ¡°What nonsense! Can¡¯t you see I have be like this? Why don¡¯t you take it seriously? Although Lu Jiangbei is a strong enemy, he has no major conflict of interest with us. It¡¯s not a wise choice to weaken both sides. So, if you see him in the future, you¡¯d better avoid him.¡± Ning Yuan nced at Chang Nuo bitterly, sighed and said, ¡°Can¡¯t you be cautious in business to ease my mind? By the way, does Feng¡¯s Family suspect that you are a fake childe? I¡¯m worry about your disguise skill.¡±

    Chang Nuo flipped his fan open and shook it, sayingughingly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. Feng Yang died at the age of 12 at Wudang Mountain. No one knew that he was died at the time or saw how he looked like after growing up. I was also at Wudang Mountain at that time to learn skills. Four-year eating and sleeping together makes it easy for me to dress up like him in a young age. Even if Feng Yang was lucky not to be dead and got 18 years old smoothly, most of the people in Feng¡¯s Family would recognize me as their First Master rather than him. Ha! When shall we meet the Taoist Sage?¡±

    Ning Yuan shook his head and replied, ¡°I will go to Luo¡¯s Mansion immediately to find a ce to heal my wound. Tell Madam Luo that you have some urgent things to do, and let her take me, the patient in your gharry, back to Luo¡¯s Mansion. Then you go to Tabai Restaurant to find Master Bai with Ming Yue, letting him turn you into me, and turn Ming Yue into Feng Yang. After that, Ming Yue returns to Luo¡¯s Mansion to admit Feng Yang¡¯s kindred rtionship with Jiugu, and then lives there until I am fully cured. Lord Feng wouldn¡¯t feel suspicious if he learns that his son is gonna spend some days with his closest aunt. There is a maneuver in the Drill Ground the day after tomorrow. It takes 4 to 5 days to drive the gharry from here to Daning. Only you have the skills of Mysterious Footwork, and no one in the world can arrive at Daning in two days except you, so I have to resign this to you.¡±

 Chapter 97 - Got a head start

    <h4>Chapter 97 Got a head start</h4>

    ¡°Ha ha ha.¡± Chang Nuo smoothed his face and smiled silly, ¡°Although what you said is true, you don¡¯t have to say it all the time. Since you trust me so much, it¡¯s my duty to go to Daning Prefecture for you.¡±

    Ning Yuan thought and said, ¡°You can fight with the generals andmanders on the field if necessary. And do not use umon kung fu, just only use leg-kicking movement, Arhat movement, water distribution movement, palms-rubbing movement, or other secr kung fu of Shaolin. And remember to take a proper way to get upper hand slightly when the six team up to against you, which can not only deter and subdue the crowd in the field, but also can fool the spies of Lu Jiangbei. Also, go to find Ming Ri in the branch Tower of Wuying when you arrive at Daning Prefecture. He will prepare everything for you so that you won¡¯t have to house in the Mansion in case Wan Ling and Zhou Jinn find any w.¡±

    ¡°That would be perfect. The bunch of women in Feng¡¯s Family are over my head all day. I am afraid of talking with women now. You see my head is aching when ites to the words of ¡®women¡¯.¡± Chang Nuo raised his forehead and sighed, leaning right on Ming Yue¡¯s shoulder. However, Ming Yue didn¡¯t feel sorry for him. Instead, he held his shoulder back, opened the bamboo curtain and jumped out of the gharry.

    Chang Nuo sat up moodily and said his farewell to his good friend, ¡°I¡¯ll leave Feng Yan and Feng Yu to you in Yangzhou. They will be your servants. They are my clever confidants who have bitchy mouths. If you need, just assign them. Yuan, since you are going to recuperate at Luo¡¯s Mansion, why don¡¯t you make up a disguise on the way? It looks so strange if you visit others with a bamboo mask. Maybe they will regard you as a leper and lock you up. Also, you should make your face a bit ugly and don¡¯t go around in Luo¡¯s Mansion to attract women, causing a house of beautiful women missing you so much¡­¡±

    ¡°Ming Yue will rece you to dress up as Feng Yang temporally. I guess you must have a lot of things to enjoin him.¡± Ning Yuan couldn¡¯t bear Chang Nuo¡¯s nonsense. He frowned for a moment and said, ¡°I have no idea what else to tell you now¡­ Anyway, you¡¯d better y it by ear with Ming Ri by your side. And you can ask him for help if you have any questions. After everything settles down, you can pretend to be bedridden, and then you will be able to change Ming Ri into my appearance and let him stay in bed. By doing so, you will be able to return to Yangzhou City.¡±

    ¡°Come on, Yuan. Just rx, there will be no trouble.¡± Chang Nuo held Ning Yuan in his arms and took a pat, ¡°s, you are three years younger than me, but you talk and act like a little old man, worrying about everything all day long. Don¡¯t you feel tired? You should rx your mind during this healing time. When you are free, you can read poems, y the flute and dally with women in Luo¡¯s Mansion¡­¡±

    ¡°Young Lord, First Master Guanes to say farewell¡­¡± With this sound, the curtain was suddenly lifted, and Feng Yan¡¯s head came in. Seeing the Young Lord and Childe Ning embracing each other, Feng Yan was frightened to ¡°the sound of the curtain¡± and put down the curtain. He turned his head andughed to Guan Bai, ¡°Please hold on a minute, First Master Guan. Our Young Lord will see you soon, ha!¡±

    At the same time, Guan Bai also saw the scene inside the gharry through the half-raised curtain. Also, every expression and action of Feng Yang¡¯s intimate manservant had already exposed the story.

    At once, Guan Bai lowered his head in some distresses and thoughts. He didn¡¯t know whether Feng Yang was a bisexual or a gay. It was fine if he was the former, because Guai Bai¡¯s Fourth Younger Sister and Fifth Younger Sister both were interested in Feng Yang. His parents were also intended to settle the marriage with Feng¡¯s Family, so he was asked to talk about it with Feng Yang at the right time¡­ Anyway, his sisters would have to share their husband with other women, and there was no difference between sharing with men or women¡­ But if he were thetter, it would be bad. Because if Feng Yang couldn¡¯t marry his Fourth and Fifth sisters, Guai Bai or his Second Younger Brother would have to marry a daughter of Feng¡¯s Family. However, it was said that the daughters of Feng¡¯s Family weren¡¯tdylike. They looked just like old women bosses in gangster inns in Jianghu¡­¡±

    With worries, Guan Bai saw the curtain of the gharry was opened, and then Feng Yang came out. After simply arranging the clothes that were messed up when he blocked Madam Luo¡¯s gharry, Feng Yang smiled uneasily, ¡°Guan, how about your horse? What did you give it to eat before? Ha ha!¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± Guai Bai answered in a muffled voice when it came to his lovely foal, ¡°It¡¯s a real disaster. Wu Ti has always been clever, sensible, and he knows man¡¯s thinking. It was beyond my expectation that he caused such a big mess this time. I have to break one of its front feet. I¡¯m afraid he can¡¯t run any more¡­ s, his feed has always been taken care of by specially assigned persons. Is there a problem with the feed? It¡¯s not like poisoning from the symptoms. His eyes are red and tongue is white. Did he drink too much yesterday? s, poor Wu Ti!¡±

    Feng Yang put his hand on Guan Bai¡¯s shoulder andforted him, ¡°Don¡¯t be sad. Maybe it can be cured if you nurse it carefully. I¡¯ll go with you to Xi Mu Horse Ranch to pick a new one if I¡¯m free next month...¡± Unexpectedly, Guan Bai, whose back suddenly stiffened, suddenly changed his standing position unnaturally as his face turned embarrassed. By doing so, he just ¡°happened¡± to shake off Feng Yang¡¯s arm upon his shoulder.

    Being afraid of Feng Yang¡¯s displeasure, Guan Bai quickly smiled and changed a topic, ¡°Feng, why are you together with Madam Luo? I rememberst time when you met people of Luo¡¯s Mansion in my garden, you didn¡¯t even recognize Madam Luo.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a long story. I have something urgent to do. I¡¯ll tell you next time when we have a drink.¡± Feng Yang turned around to summon Ming Yue and then turned to ask Guan Bai, ¡°I¡¯m going to say goodbye to Madam Luo. Guan, do you want to go with me?¡±

    Guan Bai nodded, ¡°Of course, I was about to apologize to Madam Luo for what happened just now. Although it¡¯s a false rm, it scared the girl to vomit blood. Do you happen to know who she is? I often walk around the East Yard and West Yard of Luo¡¯s Mansion, but I don¡¯t remember such a person among thedies.¡±

    Feng Yang scratched his chin and recalled, ¡°Maybe she is the daughter of First Madam Luo¡¯s daughter, because she was called ¡®Yi¡¯ all the time¡­¡±

    Hearing that the three men, Feng Yang, Ming Yue and Guan Bai, had gone to the opposite side, Ning Yuan, who was preparing the ingredients of disguise in the gharry, immediately raised his head and summoned Feng Yan and Feng Yu who were outside the gharry, ¡°Listen, you two go along this street and look for the wild flowers and weeds beside the road. If you see a kind of fragrant white flower, take all the petals of the flowers back to me. All of them should be picked, but not the stems and leaves. Also, you need to buy a bag of salt to sprinkle on the stems. Well, don¡¯t be dazed. Go back quickly!¡±

    On the other side of the gharry, Mammy Tang asked Madam Luo, ¡°Most of thepensation we sent out hase back. Do you think we should stop right here or let Ji send them again?¡±

    Madam Luo turned to see He Danggui and said kindly, ¡°Yi, thosemon people only gave these silvers back because of your kindness. You can decide how to deal with them.¡± In fact, Madam Luo wanted to send the money out again. Because at this moment, scattering money was much better than delivering rice and money in a shed specially.

    He Danggui naturallyplied with Madam Luo and said, ¡°In my opinion, it¡¯s better to ask Miss Ji to send them again. We can do this in the name of making amends for interrupting the hawkers¡¯ business and dying trips of the passers-by. After all, it¡¯s our fault. What do you think, Grandma?¡±

    Madam Luo nodded, ¡°Sounds great. That¡¯s settled.¡± So, she turned to Miss Ji and said, ¡°The rest of us are going back home first, and then we will let another gharry send some medicines to the public and pick you up afterwards.¡±

    He Danggui also seized the opportunity, ¡°Miss Ji, I¡¯ll ask Chan Yi and Huai Hua to help you. Anyway, this gharry is not enough to take them as well. I¡¯ll let them go back to the mansion with the next gharryter.¡± So, Miss Ji agreed as she got off the gharry. Feng Yang and Guan Bai also got there and heard the conversation. Guan Bai took the opportunity to hand over an ingot of 10 liang silver to Miss Ji with a smile, ¡°Please give those silvers to the mother and son who were just frightened. It¡¯s my fault for almost causing a disaster.¡±

    Miss Ji left after taking the silvers. And Guan Bai then apologized to He Danggui, ¡°Sister, I¡¯m so sorry to frighten you today. I will make amends with you some day.¡±

    He Danggui shook her head and said, ¡°Childe Guan, it doesn¡¯t matter. I wasn¡¯t frightened. And I¡¯m sorry for soiling your cloth.¡± Anyway, it was the Huolie Flower on the street corner that caused the disaster, which made two parties suffer losses. Madam Luo was stunned, Guan Bai broke the leg of his lovely foal, and the man with the bamboo mask vomited blood. What was worse? She was the unluckiest one who had to face the bad situation of the trudge with Zhenqi again. She remembered thatst time Gao Jue had said that if this situation didn¡¯t be dealt with well, she would be paralyzed even if she didn¡¯t die? She might have to guide the Zhenqi in her body through Yunqi Acupuncture. She should have bought some silver needles in Tu¡¯er Town if she had ever foreseen this. She wondered if she could sneak into Senior Lord Luo¡¯s room tonight and take some good acupuncture needles¡­

    ¡°Not at all, my sister. My cloth doesn¡¯t matter. I should apologize to you.¡± Guan Bai made a little bow again, being polite with her. But this time, he didn¡¯t get her answer. When he looked up, he only saw the little face under the veil. She was stupefied. He guessed she must be over-shocked, so he turned to Madam Luo again and apologized quite sincerely. Then he went back to deal with the delivery of Wu Ti.

    Feng Yang came up again. He gave Madam Luo an excuse that he had something urgent to deal with. Besides, he had to prepare some gifts to see his aunt, so he had to leave for a moment.

    At first, Madam Luo said that the gift was totally unnecessary, and she didn¡¯t want to let Feng Yang go easily after all the efforts she made. Later, she heard that Feng Yang hoped to send the patient in his gharry to Luo¡¯s Mansion first for rest and treatment. She thought that there was a hostage in her hand, so she was not afraid if Feng Yang didn¡¯teter. Therefore, she agreed.

    After thismunication, Feng Yang left with Ming Yue. And the gharries that Madam Luo and Ning Yuan took also departed one after another and went straight to Xiaodong Street, Hongpei Avenue.

    He Danggui thought that at this moment, the mansion was absolutely in a mess for eliminating rats, and the West Lateral court was burn down. She had better find another good ce in Luo¡¯s Mansion to have a rest. So, she advised Madam Luo, ¡°Grandma, the immortal in my dream had said that there were some troubles on our way home today. I didn¡¯t believe it at first, but he was totally right about it. He also said that if we want to go home safely today, we can¡¯t go back to the East Yard of Luo¡¯s Mansion through the main gate, but turn into the side door of Mingyue Alley, and then go to Senior Lord Luo¡¯s Ting Zhu Yard for two or three days. During this period, we can¡¯t let anyone of Luo¡¯s Families in. Otherwise there will be bloodshed disasters.¡± For example, she would spit blood from time to time, and have the risk of paralysis.

    ¡°What! I can¡¯t believe this!¡± Madam Luo sat up straightly in surprise, and immediatelyined about He Danggui, ¡°Yi, why didn¡¯t you tell us earlier? No wonder my head is always dizzy, my eyelids are always twitching, and my heart is still pounding! Hong Jiang, hurry up!¡± Under Madam Luo¡¯s urging, Mammy Tangmanded Ren Dongteng and Gui Banjiao to leave the avenue and go straight to the Mingyue Alley.

    Soon, the two gharries stopped at the side door on the north side of Luo¡¯s Mansion. After Mammy Tang¡¯s enjoining, Ren Dongteng went up and knocked on the door gently. He pulled Ma Douling on the door and whispered something. Thetter was immediately ordered to hoot other manservants and the passers-by. After that, Madam Luo, He Danggui and Mammy Tang quickly got out of the gharry and looked around stealthily. Then they trotted straight to Senior Lord Luo¡¯s Ting Zhu Yard, leaving the patient in the back gharry behind.

    Ning Yuan opened the curtain of the gharry, but Feng Yan and Feng Yu did note back from their mission. The front gharry was also empty. When Ning Yuan was frowning and thinking, Feng Yan covered his chest and gasped for breath. He ran up and said, ¡°Childe Ning, we found the flower you¡­ you mentioned, but someone¡­ got the head start. I have asked Feng Yu to stay with that the stems there. I juste back to ask you if you want the stems¡­ without the petals you wanted?¡±

    ¡°Someone got the head start?¡± Ning Yuan raised his eyebrow as the eyebrow on his new face also raised.

    ¡°Yep...¡± Feng Yan said as his left hand gesticted, ¡°That Miss of Luo¡¯s Family, as tall as this¡­ who almost died. She asked her maid to take the flowers¡­ all with nothing¡­ left!¡±

 Chapter 98 - Haunted Bitter Bamboo Grove

    <h4>Chapter 98 Haunted Bitter Bamboo Grove</h4>

    ¡°You should breathe slowly before you give me the details.¡± Ning Yuan frowned, stared at Feng Yan and asked in a deep voice, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Do you mean the girl of Luo¡¯s Family who saved someone in the street just now? What does she pick the flowers for?¡±

    After getting the order, Feng Yan nodded and took more than 20 deep breaths.

    Seeing Childe Ning¡¯s impatient face, Feng Yan stopped, and said slowly, ¡°Here is the thing. Feng Yu and I searched the street carefully and found a bunch of fragrant small white flowers, which were more fragrant than Chinese roses, begonias, osmanthus, chrysanthemum and plum blossoms. When we got closer, we saw a girl who was about 12 years old squatting there and picking flowers into her sachet one by one pleasantly. I recognized her as the maid who jumped from the second gharry of Luo¡¯s Family. Then we persuaded her to give up the flowers because Childe Ning had nned to pick them up. However, out of surprise, she said that herdy had ordered her a while ago to pick the flowers. Also, given the order of arrival, since herdy ordered first and she got there earlier than us, these small white flowers belonged to herdy. Then sheughed it was shameful for us to grab flowers from girls.¡±

    After listening to Feng Yan¡¯s words, Ning Yuan¡¯s eyebrows still frowned. After a moment¡¯s meditation, Ning Yuan asked again, ¡°Did you ask her what to do with those flowers? How did herdy order her?¡±

    ¡°No, you didn¡¯t let us to do so.¡± Feng Yan said, ¡°The reason why girls collect flowers is that they want to make sachets and sweet dumplings. By the way, why do you ask us to collect those small white flowers, Childe? Anyway, we haven¡¯t passed by that street before. How did you know that there are small white flowers?¡± Feng Yan peeped at Ning Yuan who changed another face. In fact, he knew that Childe Ning was Zhu Quan, the 17th Prince. 3 years ago, Zhu Quan had a good rtionship with his childe, Chang Nuo. Then they gradually became as good as sticking together and did everything together except going to the toilet.

    Until more than a year ago, Chang Nuo finally stopped following the 17th Prince closely, but left home in the name of study tours. He only took Feng Yan and Chang Yu, and then went straight to Yangzhou City. After a few days of investigation through various methods, Chang Nuo disguised as Feng Yang, the Young Lord of Feng¡¯s Family who had been studying kung fu in Wudang Mountain for 10 years and had returned after finishing school. Then he lived in Feng¡¯s Family with a swagger. Also, he changed their names, ¡°Chang Yan Chang Yu¡± into ¡°Feng Yan Feng Yu¡± (which meant nderous gossip in Chinese)¡ª¡ª Next time, if Chang Nuo could pretend to be a childe who was from Zi¡¯s Family, then their names might be ¡°Zi Yan Zi Yu¡± (which meant talking to oneself in Chinese)¡ª¡ª In this way, they had lived in Yangzhou City for more than a year. Feng Yan really missed the little chick named Huang Huang at home and didn¡¯t know whether it lived well now. For more than a year, the 17th Prince frequently met with Chang Nuo at night. Then they often dispersed all people and closed the door without turning off the lights all night.

    Half a year ago, the 17th Prince was granted as Lord Ning by the Emperor. His fiefdom was Daning, an important military town in the northwest. Lord Ning went to the fiefdom to take office in name. Actually, he spent most of the time in the capital and Yangzhou City. It was said that the seigniors were not allowed to leave their fiefdoms without the Emperor¡¯s will. So, Lord Ning was probably afraid of being found. Every time he came to meet with Chang Nuo privately, he would change a new face. Therefore, Feng Yu and Feng Yan were used to recognize Lord Ning through his clothes instead of his face¡­ In a word, Feng Yan thought Lord Ning was really a very unfathomable and unpredictable person. With such a temper, how did Lord Ning develop his rtionship with Chang Nuo as two who could close the door all night without turning off the lights?

    At this time, the coachman of Luo¡¯s Mansion, Ren Dongteng, drove the gharry into the side door, then he noticed that the sick guest in the gharry had not entered the door. So, he hurriedly called the doorkeeper Ma Douling, telling him to lead the guest to the outer hall of Ting Zhu Yard first, and then ask Madam Luo how to arrange the guest.

    Ning Yuan looked up at the sun at noon, then stopped worrying about Huolie Flowers which were picked by others, and ordered Feng Yan, ¡°When you go back, tell Feng Yu to pick up ¡®your childe¡¯ from Tai Bai Restaurant. Then you go back to the headquarter of Caobang Organization and tell Lord Feng that your Young Lord is picked up by Madam Luo of Luo¡¯s Mansion. Also, Madam Luo and his aunt will keep him in Luo¡¯s Mansion for a few days.¡± Then Ning Yuan turned and entered Luo¡¯s Mansion from the side door.

    ¡°Oh.¡± Feng Yan said. Watching Ning Yuan leaving, he suddenly thought of the matter on the street corner and shouted again, ¡°By the way, Childe Ning. A tall maid went thereter with a bag of salt in her hands. She sprinkled the salt on all the stems and leaves of the flowers there, just as you ordered before!¡± The figure in the dark red cloak stopped abruptly, but he did not turn around to ask more. Instead, he continued to follow manservant of Luo¡¯s Mansion. Feng Yan touched his nose with an uninteresting look, then left and thought Ning Yuan was really a weird man whom he never got his mind.

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù

    In the side room of the back hall of Ting Zhu Yard, Mommy Tang helped Madam Luo to sit on the soft couch and asked anxiously, ¡°How do you feel, Madam? Is your head still dizzy?¡±

    Madam Luo waved her hands and turned to ask He Danggui, ¡°Yi, I don¡¯t know if the Immortal¡¯s prescription works. Does Zhue back from theher world like you¡­? Do we have to live in Ting Zhu Yard these 2 days and can¡¯t meet with our families?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Grandma.¡± He Danggui took off the veil on her face and said softly, ¡°Whether those methods can sessfully rescue Nephew Zhu or not, it is bound toe out before sunset today. If Nephew Zhu is really lucky to reborn, there will be a grand celebration in the mansion. It is necessary to y gongs and firecrackers. Although this remote yard separates us from them with several heavy waters and several rockeries, we can definitely hear the sound if someone sets off firecrackers.¡±

    Mammy Tang also exhorted, ¡°Since the Immortal predicted the death of Zhu and the difficulties on our way back precisely, it¡¯s possible that there is some magic power that can save him. Worrying doesn¡¯t help. So, we might as well rest in private for 2 days in ordance with the instructions of the Immortal. What¡¯s your feeling now, Madam Luo? What would you like for lunch? I¡¯ll let the kitchte of Ting Zhu Yard prepare for you.¡±

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s already noon. And I¡¯m really hungry.¡± Madam Luo squinted to think for a moment and said, ¡°I still want to eat the spicy orhiette snack I saw on the road. I haven¡¯t smelt it for many years. Let the kitchte make it spicy. What would you like to eat, Yi? Didn¡¯t you say you were hungry in the street just now?¡±

    He Danggui waved her hands and said, ¡°Suddenly I don¡¯t feel hungry. I¡¯m sleepy now, so I want to go to the East Flower Hall to find a room to sleep. Well, I¡¯ll go first. Please enjoy it slowly and eat more, Grandma.¡± Before Madam Luo answered, He Danggui stood up and ran through the wing-room to the corridor. Then she turned a corner and disappeared.

    Madam Luo strangely looked at Mammy Tang. So, Mammy Tang analyzed after thinking, ¡°Third Miss went down to the mountain early in the morning to wait for us. Maybe she¡¯s too sleepy to open her eyes now.¡± And then she continued to care about Madam Luo¡¯s diet, ¡°Although the orhiette snack is delicious, it¡¯s just pasta. How can you eat such a spicy thing with an empty stomach? I think I should still order some serious dishes from the card for you...¡±

    ¡°Madam Luo, I have sent you all the things you need in the following 2 days!¡± A 13 or 14-year-old maid with drooping hair ran in and said with a smile, ¡°Just now, Uncle Gui (Gui Banjiao) told us that you would stay in Ting Zhu Yard for 2 days. So, we¡¯ve been busy arranging two and a half carts of food since then. Now Sister Gan Cao and Deng Cao are unloading outside. Oh, by the way, when I passed the outer hall, I saw Ma Douling leading a young childe who was in blue. He let me ask you how to arrange that young childe, Madam.¡±

    ¡°Ah, I forgot him,¡± Madam Luo pped her legs and said, ¡°Shi Liu, you should first lead him to the West Flower hall. He should be arranged to rest in the side room with a gracious and generous reception. Later, you can lead Dr. Ma and Dr. Wu to see him for treatment.¡±

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù

    When He Danggui ran out of the corridor, she only felt the flow of Qi and blood was not smooth at all. It was clear that there might be another spit of blood at any time. Then she rushed to the East Flower Hall, hid in a side room and wanted to meditate there. When she tried to bolt the door, she found that there was no bolt at all behind the door. Feeling strange about that, she went out and checked another 2 or 3 rooms. As a result, neither the double-entrance main room with wing-room nor the pantry room in the corner was equipped with atch.

    Senior Lord Luo carefully treated everything in his Ting Zhu Yard. It was hard to imagine that the craftsmen who built the house didn¡¯t bolt the door. It seemed that it was the personal characteristics of Senior Lord Luo¡¯s residence, just like Senior Lord Luo did not like to use bed curtains and mosquitos.

    He Danggui felt immediately distressed because her cultivation methods had not been used for a long time. And she could not be sure whether it was useful or not. Moreover, there was a certain danger in concentrating one¡¯s energy and regting respiration. If she was disturbed in a critical moment, it would be worse than being stepped on a horse¡¯s hoof. Her prone lying,teral lying and handstand postures were strange in the eyes of the outsiders. What if someone saw her from the window? Madam Luo was having lunch now. It was hard to say if Madam Luo would walk around after she was full. What if Madam Luo walked into this room?

    When listening carefully, He Danggui vaguely heard the shouting sound from the outer hall¡ª ¡°Gan Cao, Madam Luo uses small dishes for meals. Put the medium-sized ones back first, and then clean them upter in the afternoon!¡± ¡°First, send this batch of clothes to be washed to the East Flower Hall, and then put the essories in that box atst. Be careful not to knock anything down!¡± ¡°Aunt Li, sent the closestool from the side door, the side door! I said the side door! That¡¯s the main gate!¡± He Danggui stroked her forehead with annoyance. She thought the yard was the best ce to rest since nobody had lived in Senior Lord Luo¡¯s yard throughout the year, but she didn¡¯t expect that Madam Luo brought the boisterous scene wherever she went. If she had foreseen this, she should have said the Immortal wanted her to stay here alone for several days.

    A secluded ce. A secluded ce. She urgently needed a secluded ce... Bitter Bamboo Grove?

    Yes, when she lived in the East Yard of Luo¡¯s Mansion in the previous life, she heard that there were often some haunts in Bitter Bamboo Grove behind Ting Zhu Yard. So, no one would go there.

    He Danggui immediately decided to go to Bitter Bamboo Grove to find a secluded corner and have a rest till night. After dark, she would sneak into Senior Lord Luo¡¯s room to find out if there were needles for acupuncture. If not, she would have to go to find 2 thinnest embroidery needles in thread winnowing basket of the mammies. She believed that with the help of her magic Yunqi Acupuncture, the terrible situation of Zhenqi could gradually be eased.

    So, she made the pillow into a human shape, and carefully covered it. Then she closed the door tightly and ran straight to the back porch of Ting Zhu Yard.

    When she came to the Bitter Bamboo Grove that she had never been to before, she smiled with satisfaction. The darkness and mist in the grove indicated ¡°living people forbidden¡±. What an ideal and holy ce for breathing and resting. Such a ghostly ce. Not only were humans unwilling to approach, but crows among all the birds were the only species willing toe¡­

    The sound of crows was everywhere in the bamboo grove.

    A huge crow went straight from the inside of the bamboo grove to the sky andnded on a stationary dark red figure at the entrance of Bitter Bamboo Grove. After lowering its head and pecking lightly, it was raised by the figure¡¯s arm and issued a scream. Then it pped a huge pair of ck feather wings and flew into a wild grove in the east.

    In the Bitter Bamboo Grove¡­ Were there humans? He Danggui¡¯splexion changed. She frowned at the young man who was wearing a dark red gold embroidered cloak and a blue gown that had just touched the ground. Wasn¡¯t he the patient on Feng Yang¡¯s gharry? What was he doing here?

 Chapter 99 - You knew Lu Jiangbei

    <h4>Chapter 99 You knew Lu Jiangbei</h4>

    Ning Yuan stared at the girl in front of him unhappily. Wasn¡¯t she the one who got a head start and picked Huolie Flowers up before him?

    ¡°Huolie Flower is shaped like burning fire. The flower is small and white. It smells fragrant and tastes spicy and bitter, which can be used as medicine, low toxicity. Horses, cattle, pigs and sheep go crazy right after eating it, and then their eyes would turn red and white spots would appear on their tongues. There¡¯s no cure for this. After half a day, the symptoms begin to ease. Its stem is not poisonous at first. However, after it blooms for 3 days every 3 years, the flower itself would wither, while the stem became highly toxic,monly known as Jiaochang Grass (a kind of grass that could cause intestinal strangtion). This flower reproduces fast in the presence of water, explodes in the presence of fire, and withers in the presence of salt.¡±

    This text was detailed in the ssic of Rare Herbs in the study of Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion.

    Ning Yuan frowned and thought, as far as he knew, the ssic of Rare Herbs was a unique copy which had kept in the imperial pce for hundreds of years. Because most of the royal families in the Yuan Dynasty could not understand Chinese characters, many misceneous books in the imperial pce were deeply sealed. Last year, he went to the Depositary of Buddhist Texts once. When he found the ssic of Rare Herbs in an old iron box, the lock of the box was rusty and could not be opened. After reading it, he felt it was novel, so he went to the official in charge of historical records to report that he took this book away. Now he kept it in his small study, and never circted it to others.

    Huolie Flower was a rare medicinal material, which could be added to hundreds of prescriptions to double their efficacies. There were only several words of description about the flower in the ssic of Rare Herbs. As for the magical effect of Huolie Flower, actually, it was Ning Yuan who identally discovered this feature a year ago, so he wrote a two-linement in the nk space of the book, praising it as ¡°the salt for ten thousand medicines¡±.

    Counting this time in, Ning Yuan had seen Huolie Flower for three times. He thought that there would not be a second person in the world who could recognize it, not to mention knowing the magical use of it. But if the girl in front of him hadn¡¯t known what Huolie Flower was, why did she send someone to pick the flowers up? Why did she know how to deal with toxic stems? Ning Yuan looked at her up and down. When he was in the gharry before, he happened to hear that Madam Luo said she was... the daughter of First Madam Luo¡¯s daughter? It looked like she¡¯s about 10 years old... Did she make the healing pill which worked so well and took effect instantly?

    ¡°Well, Eh-hem...¡± Suddenly, Ning Yuan¡¯s injury broke out again. He painfully held his chest and used his palm to convey Zhenqi to suppress the pain for a while, but still couldn¡¯t suppress the cold poison of Lu Jiangbei¡¯s palm strength.

    He held a bitter bamboo with his left hand and barely stood upright, but a burst of blood was squirting to the ground. Darkness came over his eyes, and he was almost about to faint. He needed to find a quiet corner to heal right away, but those maids of Luo¡¯s Mansion were noisier than a few thousand of ducks. Theyughed and moved in and out of his room, so he went out and found this uninhabited Bitter Bamboo Grove. But unexpectedly, He Danggui came to this horrible ce¡­ What was she doing here?

    He Danggui was startled by this sick boy who spit out so much blood... Could he be... in a 10-level phthisis... The doctor¡¯s instinct made her want to go over and help him with his condition. But when she walked 2 steps forward, she stopped suddenly.

    ¡°Lu... Master Lu?!¡±

    She stared in amazement at the sick boy¡¯s face who looked like Lu Jiangbei¡¯s in front of her, and felt confused. When she looked at him again, her confusion gradually faded away¡ªLu Jiangbei was mild and kind, and had nothing inmon with the cold temperament of this sick boy. Moreover, she thought that Lu Jiangbei was at least 26 years old. Not only did this sick boy look 10 years younger than Lu Jiangbei, but his appearance was only about 50% simr to Lu Jiangbei¡¯s. His cold eyes and thin lips sped into a line were very different from Lu Jiangbei¡¯s. There were many simr people in the world, and she just met this by chance.

    She was relieved inside, andughed at herself for misjudging this person out of weakness. But... had she offended the sick boy? Why did he stare at her with such cold eyes?

    Ning Yuan held the bitter bamboo and stood up straight. He stared in amazement and asked, ¡°You... know Lu Jiangbei?¡±

    He Danggui was even more surprised with her eyes wide open and said, ¡°You¡­ you know Lu Jiangbei, too?¡± Their looks were simr, and he also knew Lu Jiangbei. Were they rtives?

    Ning Yuan took a deep breath, calmed down, and then replied word by word after he thought for a while, ¡°No, I don¡¯t know him. I just once heard Feng Yang mentioned this person. He said we are somewhat simr in appearance. As for Lu Jiangbei, I have never seen him before.¡±

    ¡°Oh. In fact, I have only seen Master Lu once.¡± He Danggui nodded. The world was so big that nothing was impossible. It was not strange that two people had simr appearances. But she still signed sincerely, ¡°But, little dude, to be honest, you two don¡¯t look like a little simr to each other, but share 50% to 60% simrities! Your eyebrows, nose, and chin are like being taken directly from his face! If you tell anyone who knows Master Lu that you are his brother, no one will doubt it.¡±

    Ning Yuan felt annoyed for a while. Lu Jiangbei was the present council member of Northern Zhili¡¯s office. He thought that no one would recognize Lu Jiangbei in Yangzhou City, so he disguised as him for avoiding any trouble. But unexpectedly, when he went out with his disguised face for the first time, he immediately ran into someone who knew Lu Jiangbei! Although the little girl didn¡¯t doubt that his face was fake, he still felt there was something wrong... By the time this little girl encountered Lu Jiangbei again, she would tell Lu Jiangbei about this, and Lu Jiangbei would definitely run to ask Feng Yang why he didn¡¯t hear this from Feng Yang. Ning Yuan thought next time when he met Feng Yang, he needed to make a good excuse with him for this... Eh?!

    Ning Yuan raised his eyebrow and said, ¡°Hey, who is the little ¡®dude¡¯? How old are you?¡± The girl who was only as tall as his chest actually dared call him ¡°little dude¡±?

    He Danggui realized that she said the wrong thing, so she waved her hands, ¡°You must have misheard. In fact, when we speak with Yangzhou dialect, our tongues often go the opposite of straightening, so strangers often hear it wrong. I just said ¡®little dude¡¯, which means ¡®elder brother¡¯ in the dialect.¡± She was nervous and identally dropped a nger. She always felt that the sick boy gave her a sense of familiarity because his face was simr to Lu Jiangbei¡¯s... But it was not important now. He Danggui looked at him with her eyes squinting, and asked unhappily, ¡°Now that you have been sick while vomiting blood constantly, why do you wander in the grove rather than go back and lie down in your room?¡± Then she thought, ¡°Don¡¯t you know you¡¯re getting in my way? The Bitter Bamboo Grove is what I had nned for use earlier!¡±

    Ning Yuan nced at her and said, ¡°I¡¯ming for a walk.¡± Then he turned and set foot on the path which was covered with leaves, and walked into the bamboo grove. In Ning Yuan¡¯s mind, the little girl surely didn¡¯t dare to walk into such gloomy and horrified ce. Once he got to the deep of this bamboo grove, he would own it and no one would disturb him, so he could securely¡­ What?!

    Ning Yuan suddenly turned around and asked indignantly, ¡°Hey, why are you following me? Who allows you toe into this bamboo grove?!¡±

    He Danggui pointed at the path on the ground and told him very seriously, ¡°Guest, you are seriously ill, huh? I am not following the same path with you. How can I follow you? You see, it departs from here. You may go for a walk over there, right? And I¡¯m going over there,¡± She used her 2 slender fingers to point out 2 directions: one was the east, and the other was the west. Then she told the teenager seriously, ¡°And if you finished walking, go back quickly then. Don¡¯t go anywhere except the grove on the east side. To tell the truth, there are some people once died on the grove of the west, the south and the north side... and they were all menservants who shared the same age as yours. I heard when they died¡­ their bodies were notplete.¡±

    Ning Yuan felt both angry and funny after listening to what He Danggui said. What was this little girl talking about? She actually came to say these words to frighten him. Did she know what he had experienced? However, Ning Yuan had lost his energy, so every word he said would hurt the abdomen that was hit by Lu Jiangbei¡¯s Hanqing Cold Palm. At this moment, he had no time to talk with her, so he just said, ¡°If so, you should not go to other ces except the west side. It¡¯s said that there are ghosts¡­ in this kind of misty Bitter Bamboo Grove.¡±

    As a result, the two diverged from each other on the path at the entrance of Bitter Bamboo Grove, looking for the ideal haven in their minds.

    He Danggui went west for an hour and still did not reach the end of the bamboo grove. But when she went deeper, the gravel and stones on the ground gradually turned intorge stones. When she walked further, the clusters of bitter bamboos gradually became giant rocks which were as high as her body. So, she found a huge rock protruding from the upper half of the strange rock pile, took off her cloak and shook it under the huge rock. Then she sat cross-legged and began to adjust her breath by using a cultivation method called ¡°nine methods for circting channels¡±.

    After an hour, she felt that this method had a little effect. The Zhenqi in her channels still sshed like cold water were thrown into a hot oil pan. So, she changed another posture. Kneeling on her left knee, lifting her right knee backwards and propping up her right foot against the rocks behind her, she silently recited the instant cultivation method of ¡°perseverance to sess¡± to promote Zhenqi.

    In this way, she meditated from noon to dark and switched 5 or 6 kinds of cultivation methods. Since she had never encountered such special experiences like ¡°too much money to count¡± or ¡°too much strong internal force that she almost wanted to abandon it¡± in the previous life, she just had the methods but never got the chance to practice any of them. Now she was just like ayman. After trying 5 or 6 methods of transporting Zhenqi and more than a dozen of postures which were supposed to save her some effort, she still found them bringing her few benefits. The only benefit was that she sealed several major acupoints above her chest. So, even if the sudden intermittent Zhenqi caused blood upwelling, the blood would not be ejected from her throat.

    As for how those Zhenqi woulde out from her lower body after this ¡°dead end¡± ¡­ Since it was the first time she had encountered this situation, she had no experience. However, she consoled herself that in general, it should note out like the time when girls were on their period. After all, men didn¡¯t have this exit when they encountered this situation. Maybe there was a better way for both men and women.

    ¡°Cooing¡ª¡± He Danggui felt her stomach was empty and she remembered that it¡¯s been 14 or 16 hours since herst meal.

    Madam Luo had probably used dinner. They saw He Danggui locking herself in the room for getting more sleep, maybe they had already pushed the door open to check on her. If they saw that there was no one under the quilt, there would be another mess. In this way, she would only excuse for being homesick that she came out and went for a walk. Chan Yi and others should have been to Luo¡¯s Mansion early in the morning, and they also had her luggage. Madam Luo and Mammy Tang were on the gharry before, so she had to get her staffs delivered from the next gharry.

    She hoped those things were safe and sound, especially the big bottle of strong wine-soaked jujube, and a dozen pounds of wine jars. Because those were picked down the hill by her step by step. She believed Madam Luo would beforted to see the 9 jujubes...

    If He Danggui wanted to stand firm in Luo¡¯s Mansion, the only person she could rely on was Madam Luo. Although Madam Luo had a sincere concern for her, she meant nothing when it came to Luo Baishao and Luo Baiqiong in all cases. He Danggui only wanted to have a tiny space in Luo¡¯s Mansion and didn¡¯t want to provoke Luo Baiqiong or Luo Baishao, but they were destined to be enemies like ¡°two tigers and one rabbit¡±. If they didn¡¯t provoke her actively, He Danggui would write her name backwards.

    With her 9 magical Shayu Jujube, everyone in Luo¡¯s Mansion could see who was the winner and who was the loser... If Madam Luo¡¯s sib granddaughter was sent into Shui Shang Temple, how many people would lose their sleep at night for this arrangement?

    After such thinking, He Danggui had already walked on the path along with the marks she made on the bitter bamboo before. Once she crossed Mottled Bamboo Grove, which seemed newly nted, she would be able to get out of this gloomy ce which made people scared in the dark. Being deeply influenced by the mystical conman, Bai Yangbai, He Danggui hadn¡¯t always believed the ghosts, but people¡¯s mind would vary from the environment. At this moment, somehow, He Danggui felt there was a chill behind her, just like a king of the beasts would suddenly appear within miles and make other little beasts scared.

    By the way, He Danggui didn¡¯t know the situation of that sick boy¡¯s hematemesis, which made her have a weird feeling¡­ She was in a hurry to find a ce to adjust her breath before and didn¡¯t think about carefully her suspicions upon the sick boy. After recalling, she thought hisplexion was the strangest part. Hisplexion was unexpectedly white with red after he kept vomiting blood from the street to Luo¡¯s Mansion. How could that happen? Even if he was a full-blooded man and he wouldn¡¯t be bothered after losing that amount of blood, at least his Cuanzhu acupoint should be ck¡­

    He Danggui shook her head. She really couldn¡¯t figure it out but leave him behind. Now that it was Madam Luo who took him to Luo¡¯s Mansion for treatment, his phthisis should be the concern of those famous doctors in San Qing Tang. Running with her feet, she walked through a cluster of newly-developed mottled bamboo and returned to the edge of Bitter Bamboo Grove.

    Suddenly, she was relieved, as if she had returned to the human world from another world. No wonder this ce was called a ¡°hauntednd¡±. Now it seemed like it wasn¡¯t because those who had spread this story were too timid, but this ce was a little strange. She didn¡¯t know if it was because her eyesight became weaker in the dark¡­ Why were there so many big ck feathers on the edge of Bitter Bamboo Grove? She didn¡¯t recall seeing these things when she passed here at noon... He Danggui walked forward in doubt.

    She did recognize the feathers wrongly.

    Those were not ¡°big ck feathers¡± but ¡°big crows¡¯ skeleton feathers¡±! There were not 1 piece or 2 pieces, not 10 or 20 pieces, but a field of feathers on the ground¡ª

    The ground was covered with broken feathers, corpses and dry dark blood!

 Chapter 100 - Full of crows on the ground

    <h4>Chapter 100 Full of crows on the ground</h4>

    He Danggui wrapped herself in a thick velvet cloak and went forward to figure out what kind of ferocious beasts killed hundreds of crows.

    After all, the beasts on the ground couldn¡¯t attack the crows in the sky. Even if a dozen beasts attacked together, it was impossible to cause such a tragedy. Not to mention there were no ferocious beasts like lions, leopards, tigers or wolves in the garden of Luo¡¯s Family. And those overlords in the sky like goshawk and Hai Dongqing could only catch at most 4 crows to eat at a time. Besides, this Bitter Bamboo Grove was an inexhaustible natural hunting treasury for therge birds, so why did they sacrifice long-term benefits for immediate benefits and eat so ¡°wastefully¡±, throwing the flesh and blood on the ground in vain... Eh?

    He Danggui bent down suddenly and stared at them. She found that most of the skulls and brains of these crows had been crushed. But even the strongest eagle was incapable of doing such a thing!

    If it hadn¡¯t done by animals and birds, could it have been done by people? She frowned, bent down with her hands on her knees, and scrutinized the remains of a crow which had been divided into 6 parts. The joints were iplete and horrible. These were not the neat cuts made by a sword or an axe. If it was true that people did this¡­ It was obvious that these crows were torn into pieces by hands!

    He Danggui took a deep breath. Even if ordinary people had such a cruel idea, it was difficult to put it into practice. Because there were so many muscles and bones in crow¡¯s skin, it was even very hard to cut it with a sword or an axe. Anyone who was able to tear a crow apart must have practiced kung fu, while anyone who could tear a group of crows must be a senior!

    The best kung fu senior in the East Yard of Luo¡¯s Family was Nie Chun, and next were the Four Guards, or there might be a hidden senior who was a nameless female bodyguard of Second Miss, Luo Baiqiong, who had once fallen into the water identally when she paid a visit in Sun¡¯s Family. Therefore, in order to protect her outing safety, with the request of Second Mistress Luo, the female bodyguard was rmended by Hong Xibai, the presbyter of the Beggars¡¯ Organization. And the female bodyguard left an unfathomable impression on He Danggui in the previous life. In addition, Ms. Liang, the Second Wife of Third Lord, also had learnt kung fu. But He Danggui didn¡¯t know how she was good at it. She only vaguely remembered that Ms. Liang was quite skilled in horsemanship, which could be inferred that she had internal energy base. However, Ms. Liang had followed Third Lord to do business in the north, so it was obviously not her.

    As for Nie Chun, the Four Guards or the mysterious female bodyguard of Luo Baiqiong, they all seemed to be calm and normal, rational and alert. She couldn¡¯t imagine that they might do such a crazy thing. Although these crows were annoying, they never flied to the halls of Luo¡¯s Mansion. How could they incur anyone to kill them in such a terrible way? Even when she worked for Wuying Tower in the previous life, she saw all kinds of bloody scenes of fights in Jianghu and family extermination cases. But there were few such heinous unteral massacres.

    He Danggui shook her head. No matter how she thought of the scene, it would be a mystery. Since there was such a fierce character living in Luo¡¯s Mansion, it seemed that she should be more careful on her trips in the future. After all, her internal force and Zhenqi were both in a state of semi-paralysis. Although she had practiced external energy in the previous life, her biological age was 10. She had never used this small body to practice boxing or swordy. It was better for her to run away in any dangerous cases.

    Searching as she walked all the way, He Danggui finally went away from the bloody and disgusting Bitter Bamboo Grove. Then she quietly opened the utched back door, went into Ting Zhu Yard which was under bright lights, and carefully rubbed the dirt off her shoes in the corner of the yard. Seeing no one around, she quickly took a shortcut and ran into the bedroom of the East Flower Hall.

    After she ran down the long corridor, there was a dark red figure appearing in the shadow of the back door. The one looked towards the slender figure at the end of the corridor for a long time and stood there like a ghost.

    Ning Yuan frowned deeply and thought about these two doubts.

    It could be consideredter about who did such a terrible thing for what reason. What surprised him the most was the little girl¡¯s unusual reaction.

    Even when he saw the bloody and broken corpses covering the ground, he felt chill with a shudder. In his list, there were several men who were interested in doing such a disgusting thing. Apart from Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Gang, Cao Hongrui, and Geng Bingxiu, he didn¡¯t expect that there was another fierce person. Then he thought of what happened to his mother, suddenly he hated the things on the ground. So, he walked a long way to avoid them. When he was about to enter through the back door of Ting Zhu Yard, he was keenly aware of the ¡°rustling¡± footsteps that came from a few feet away. However, he saw a cyan slender figure right after he turned around.

    His first act was to leave the back door at once and turned around to the front door to the West Flower Hall!

    Although his wound was only treated for an afternoon and it didn¡¯t work well, he could use Dun Shu (a kind of kung fu that was unique and popr in Nihon, specializing on escaping or attacking others with the fully use of the surroundings materials) to move to the front door. Once the little girl¡¯s scream attracted all the people and they were crowded in this ce, he could not go back to his room silently. He disliked those women who were as noisy as ducks¡¯ quacking in Luo¡¯s Mansion.

    Just a moment before he left, he turned his head and looked at the little girl who had once threatened him with words. In his mind, he didn¡¯t see her panic even when the horse¡¯s hooves stepped on her. Ning Yuan¡¯s lips slightly raised. He sneered and thought that if she saw the pieces of those corpses, her expression and crying would be so funny¡­

    Ning Yuan looked at her with schadenfreude. The little girl in cyan clothes and velvet cloak with a hood came out of the mottled bamboos slowly. She nced back at the dark bamboo grove from time to time. And she looked uneasy. Ning Yuan sneered as he thought, ¡°Now you know what fear is! Why did you bother toe to this ce at the beginning? Hum, the fiercer scene is waiting for you!¡±

    As expected, the little girl began to notice the objects in front of her¡­ and then, out of curiosity and doubt, she ran forward.

    When she approached, Ning Yuan immediately hid himself in the shadow of the wall and observed her expression change. Ning Yuan was worrying about the things of Daning all the time, and now he suddenly found this interesting. He saw the emotions in the little girl¡¯s bright watery eyes. There were surprise, shock and¡­ interest she failed to hide.

    She carefully retracted the hem of the cyan velvet cloak with her left hand, slowly gathered her shredded hair near her ears with the right hand, and then gracefully bent down¡­ Looking around the broken corpses, firstly she got close with them, and then looked up with a thoughtful expression. Next, she looked down. As she walked on the bloody corpses all the way, she looked at them carefully with interest. Finally, she came to the back door of Ting Zhu Yard, looked back for thest time and reluctantly turned into Ting Zhu Yard.

    After she went far, Ning Yuan came out of the shadow slowly and looked at the back silently.

    Who was that little girl?

    She recognized Huolie Flower, which was rare in the world¡­ The healing medicines she made were more effective than those made by the Royal Pharmacy¡­ In the downtown, she almost sacrificed her life for saving someone she had nothing to do with. Ning Yuan had never seen any noble girls in the boudoir like her do such a thing for the people of humble origin.

    For example, his eldest sister, Princess Lin¡¯an, always showed mercy to people. She went to Da Liang Temple outside the capital each month and personally handed out money and rice to the poor people. He thought that his eldest sister was very sympathetic to people. Until one time when he went to the temple with her to distribute winter clothes for the poor, a 70-year-old woman came up to thank her and shook her skirt. At that moment, he saw clearly that there was conspicuous disgust in her eyes. Later, she went to the inner hall on the excuse of being sleepy. When she came out again, her dress was different from the previous one. Then, Ning Yuan avoided the crowd and sneaked into the back hall. In the fire basin behind the screen, he found a mass of burnt ck carbon cloth.

    That little girl was interesting... He remembered that Madam Luo called her ¡°Yi¡±. Was there a ¡°Yi¡± in her name? What was herst name? She was the granddaughter of Luo¡¯s Family... Ning Yuan didn¡¯t know which faction of the imperial court her father belonged to¡­ Her father let her meet outsider guests like Lu Jiangbei, which could be inferred that her father was likely to be closely rted to Changye Tower. If so, her father might support his fourth elder brother, Lord Yan...

    An excellently erudite, calm and beautiful girl of 10 years old who was still unmarried... Although her family background didn¡¯t make her deserve to be his wife or Senior Concubine, he could take her as a concubine. After all, he only had a Senior Concubine, Wan Ling and a concubine, Zhou Jinn in Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion now. When he went back asionally, he always felt lonely. If there was such an interesting girl in the mansion, it would be very funny.... Moreover, if he did this, Lord Yan¡¯s power would be weakened and he could take He Danggui¡¯s father for his own use. It was a good deal.

    He Danggui didn¡¯t know she had already attracted a demon¡¯s concern. She looked around, and then held her breath to hide herself, running into the East Flower Hall all the way to avoid others and quickly jumping into her bedroom. After she found that the room was dark and the quilt was still the same way she left, she breathed a sigh of relief and nned to quench her thirst with tea. After that, she would change her clothes to greet Madam Luo.

    However, the quilt on the bed suddenly wriggled at that time. Then a pair of round chignons of maid appeared from above, followed by a pair of round almond eyes. He Danggui was startled at first. When she recognized the face on the bed, she immediatelyughed, ¡°What are you doing, Chan Yi? Why are you covering yourself with a quilt?¡±

    Chan Yi¡¯s eyes were round. She pushed the quilt away, jumped up from the bed under He Danggui¡¯s surprised eyesight and came straight to her. Chan Yi held He Danggui¡¯s shoulders tightly and shook them twice. Then she cried to He Danggui with a sharp and harsh voice, ¡°How can you do this, Miss? Where did you go? You asked me and Huai Hua to pick flowers, so we did. After we helped Ji send money and medicine for a few hours, we took a gharry and entered Luo¡¯s Mansion! The Madam asked us to serve you to sleep. But when we entered the room, we found you were not here! Why didn¡¯t you sleep in the room? Do you know how we felt when we found you didn¡¯t sleep in the room?¡±

    He Danggui stared at Chan Yi¡¯s mouth opening and closing at the top of her nose. After Chan Yi finished, He Danggui was about to exin. But Chan Yi didn¡¯t give her a chance to talk at all.

    ¡°When we found that you were not sleeping, we racked our brains to hide this for you. Finally, we had a solution. Huai Hua was responsible to go outside to keep watch and I pretended to be you! Madam Luo sent Pu Gongying, Xiang Chunya, and many maids to ask you over a dozen times. But they were all sent away by Huai Hua.¡± Chan Yi finally finished in one breath and caught her breath, then she shouted in a lower voice, ¡°Miss! Miss! Do you know how I felt when I was lying in bed and pretending to sleep? I felt things getting weirder as Iy there. I thought you were kidnapped by your terrible cousin. So, I was about to join Huai Hua and plead with Madam for your justice together!¡±

    When He Danggui got close with Chan Yi to talk, she took off her cloak and clothes covered with autumn dew, poured a cup of herbal tea and drank it up. There was a te of fragrant mooncakes made of cow¡¯s milk on the table, which were tempting. As if the cakes were saying ¡°eat me¡±. He Danggui looked at her muddy hands in depress, then turned her head and saw the water on the basin shelf beside the dresser, so she couldn¡¯t wait to wash her hands.

    Seeing He Danggui¡¯s attitude, Chan Yi angrily beat her thigh and yelled, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter you were not here if it was just the Madam who asked you to have dinner. Miss, do you know? Something important happened at home! Xiang Chunya came again just now. And she said that when First Younger Mistress learnt that Madam Luo and you had gone back to the mansion, but you hid and refused to see anyone, she led a lot of people to pound on the door!¡±

    On this side, He Danggui took out the Yingying powder she carried with and put a little on her face. After spreading it evenly, she trotted to the acid pear wood table and grasped the mooncakes with her clean little hands.

    ¡°She said that she would get even with you. I heard it from the East Flower Hall even when she shouted this at the gate of the yard. She said that she wanted to see ¡®He Danggui¡¯ in a thin voice with a cannibalistic posture!¡± Chan Yi knocked on the table to remind someone who was too hungry to remember her surname. ¡°Stop eating, Miss. You¡¯re the He Danggui she mentioned!¡±

    After swallowing 2 or 3 mooncakes, He Danggui looked around the room and found that all the boxes and baskets were there. Then she enjoined, ¡°Find out the pink coat which Duan Xiaolou gave to mest time.¡± After that, she poured a cup of tea to drink and sighed, ¡°Drinking cold water in the cold night, everythinges to my mind.¡±

    Chan Yi rushed to open the boxes and baskets and rummaged through it. She still continued, ¡°Madam Luo asked First Younger Mistress and Fourth Miss to have a talk in the hall. At the same time, she asked Xiang Chunya to call you. But you didn¡¯t sleep in the room at all. Do you know how I felt at that time...?¡±

    ¡°Have you heard the sound of firecrackers just now?¡± He Danggui interrupted her with half a mouthful of tea in her mouth and looked up to ask, ¡°Did you hear the crackling of firecrackers in the distance when you were sleeping in the room?¡±

    Chan Yi nodded nkly, ¡°Oh... yes, I heard it crackling for a long time.¡±

    He Danggui pped the crumbs on her hands, stood up and said with a smile, ¡°I haven¡¯t seen my Elder Sister-inw and fourth younger sister for a long time. I miss them so much and we have to make up for the time we lost. Chan Yi,e with me. There are some old friends I want you to meet.¡±

 Chapter 101 - A virtuous womanâ€”Dong Xinlan

    <h4>Chapter 101 A virtuous woman¡ªDong Xin</h4>

    At the hall of Ting Zhu Yard, Dong Xin cried to Madam Luo and said, ¡°Grandma, Zhu is so pitiful, and he is quite skinny now. After waking up, Zhu was treated by my husband and Dr. Wu in turn. They both said that his disease came from the things under his bed. Zhu is only 3 years old and has no reason to suffer such a big pain. I don¡¯t know how long it would take for him to recover. It¡¯s really painful for me. Please punish the one who raised those things severely for the justice of Zhu and me...¡±

    Madam Luo nodded but spoke nothing. She turned to Luo Baishao and frowned, ¡°What are you doing here in the midnight? Did you finish facsimileing Ms. Wang¡¯s regr script copybook (in small characters, as used in Chinese calligraphy exercises) which your Third Uncle brought to you the other day?¡±

    ¡°Grandma,¡± Luo Baishao went up to shake Madam Luo¡¯s arms and said with a smile, ¡°it¡¯s too small, which makes me feel dizzy, so I don¡¯t want to facsimile it. Besides, I haven¡¯t seen my third sister for a month and I miss her very much. Is she okay on her way back? Did you have a safe trip¡­ when you went to pick up third sister this time?¡±

    Mammy Tang came up to Madam Luo, put a thin nket on her knees and then continued the topic timely, ¡°Thanks for your concern, Fourth Miss. We have had a good trip and have brought back the great heroine of our family.¡±

    ¡°Great heroine?¡± Dong Xin and Luo Baishao asked in unison, ¡°Who?¡±

    ¡°Best wishes, Grandma. Elder Sister-inw, forth sister, long time no see.¡± Before arriving, a girl¡¯s voice, as crisp as a silver bell with a smile, came from behind the screen, ¡°I miss you the most in the Taoist temple. And I¡¯m happy to see you again.¡±

    Dong Xin and Luo Baishao looked together, and saw a smiling peach-faced girl who came in from behind the screen. It was clear that the girl was He Danggui, but... Luo Baishao shouted in surprise, ¡°Hey, why does your face be like this? Are you tanned? Or you took the wrong medicine?¡± However, Dong Xin stared at that girl, turned to look at Madam Luo and said, ¡°He Danggui is here. Grandma, you must give justice for Zhu!¡±

    He Danggui said with a smile, ¡°Earlier I heard firecrackers were set off in the mansion, seeming like people were celebrating something. Did Nephew Zhu wake up? That¡¯s very gratifying, and I¡¯m also very happy!¡±

    Dong Xin snorted and turned her face aside. Luo Baishao smiled in a good mood as she looked at the yellow face of He Danggui. Miss Ji brought a cup of tea (which could strengthen people¡¯s body) to Third Miss, and then stood behind Third Miss as Mammy Tang instructed to support her silently.

    As a spectator, Miss Ji saw the situation in the East Yard clearly. In the East Yard, Dong Xin and Second Mistress Luo had always been at odds. Most of the servants naturally supported Second Mistress Luo who was now in charge. 10 days ago, Second Mistress Luo¡¯s brother of her natal family died and she went back to attend his funeral. At the same time, the Taoist temple delivered the message about the rebirth of Third Miss. After Second Mistress Luo failed to stop Madam Luo picking Third Miss up, her attitude changed a lot. She made all the courtyards decorated with colorful lights to celebrate Third Miss¡¯s rebirth.

    Second Mistress Luo came back from her natal family with pale cheeks and red eyelids. When she entered the door, she almost hung on the beams for seeing rednterns everywhere. Later, hearing that it was all for Third Miss, Second Mistress Luo was uneasy. So, she went to find Madam Luo and said some bad things about Third Miss, asking Madam Luo to keep the girl with different family name away. Madam Luo usually was not particrly good to Third Miss. This time, for some reason, Madam Luo was determined to reject Second Mistress Luo, although her words were always taken well in front of her.

    In thest few days, Zhu¡¯s disease was getting worse. So, Second Mistress Luo had suddenly realized that Ms. Dong used herst time to speak bad words of Third Miss. It was clear that Ms. Dong took her as a tool. Therefore, she revenged Ms. Dong the same way. While Zhu had the chance to be saved, Second Mistress Luo had already prepared his funeral in the mansion in full swing. Although many servants felt it was too early, they still wanted to tter and gain fair of Second Mistress Luo by putting on the whole set of mourning dresses and filial piety hats. Ms. Dong was still feeding her son medicine and food, burning joss sticks to every Bodhisattvas and praying that her son¡¯s strange disease would be cured soon. She was very angry when she heard that those snobbish people were running around in the mansion. Later, Zhu really died, so she thought that those people had cursed her son and hated them very much.

    Today, in the daytime, Master Baiqian made quite a mess in the mansion, and even soaked Zhu¡¯s body with hot oil. At first, everyone thought that he was crazy because his son died. No one had expected that such a strange thing happened, and Zhu came back from death! Although Zhu was still very weak now, his face was getting pink and his eyes were bing brighter. Hearing the news, those servants took off their mourning dresses on the spot, took out all the firecrackers used to celebrate festivals from the warehouse and lit them, hoping to get Ms. Dong¡¯s forgiveness in this way.

    Not long after Madam Luo had lunch, everyone in Ting Zhu Yard heard the sound of firecrackers. Madam Luo was happy to think of the preface of Third Miss: ¡°If Nephew Zhu is really lucky to reborn, there will be a grand celebration in the mansion. It is necessary to y gongs and firecrackers.¡± If the Immortal didn¡¯t instruct her to stay at home for 2 days, Madam Luo would not wait to put on wings to see how Zhu was like after being saved by the Immortal¡¯s magic. Yi took the pills of Immortals in her dream. She not only gained rebirth, but also became smart and cute. Also, she became livelier than before. Now, Zhu also gained rebirth. Was he also awakened by the Immortal? Could the Four Books and the Five ssics be blurted out of his mouth? Could he get a schr for Luo¡¯s Family?

    Madam Luo was eager to reward Third Miss. Hearing Mammy Tang saying that Third Miss had a miserable experience of ¡°starving for half a year¡±, she immediately ordered people to prepare a table of exquisite food, and asked Gan Cao and Pu Gongying to call Third Miss to eat. However, ording to the reply of Third Miss¡¯s maid, Third Miss was so frightened in the street that she cried a lot under the quilt. Now her eyes were even more swollen than the steamed bread. So, she would like to see the rest after the swelling subsided.

    Before Third Missing out for the meal, Ms. Dong suddenly came here and shouted furiously, which frightened Madam Luo a lot, because she thought Zhu was dead again. Therefore, she couldn¡¯t care about the Immortal¡¯s exnation that ¡°she must stay at home for two days¡±, urging maids to call in Ms. Dong, and at the same time letting Xiang Chunya call Third Miss.

    After hearing Ms. Dong¡¯s words, they knew Zhu was safe and Ms. Dong were here to arrest Third Miss, the one who had killed Zhu before.

    Ms. Dong told them in tears: people from the First Branch found a nest of mice under the bed of Zhu. Master Baiqian also found thousands of such things in the West Mountain Garden and West Lateral court in the daytime. Most of them were in the West Lateral court and now it had been burned down. After careful analysis and reasoning, now they could bepletely sure that someone had raised this kind of things in arge amount in the West Lateral court and lured Wei to put them under the bed of Zhu, which caused the disease and evil, making Zhu suffer such pain.

    Miss Ji picked her eyebrows. Third Miss lived in West Lateral court, so it was obvious that ¡°someone¡± was referring to her. Third Miss had lived in the mansion for half a year and was always tearful like a little wronged daughter-inw. Therefore, Miss Ji always felt sorry for her. It was hard to imagine that Third Miss had done such a thing.

    At this time, Mammy Tang quietly pulled Miss Ji, exined the brief story that Third Miss told her in Shui Shang Temple and said sadly, ¡°Madam Luo also knew the whole story¡±.

    But Madam Luo said, ¡°Though Wei put all those things around, and he identally caused a disaster atst; though Ms. Dong knew that Wei had put them in the kitchte of West Lateral court, and she had not stopped Wei at that time; though Second Mistress Luo knew that there were many mice in West Lateral court, and she didn¡¯t approve the rodenticides at that time... After all, Third Miss is the true master of the West Lateral court, so she has to bear some responsibility for it happened in her yard. Madam Luo understood the principle of ¡°a house divided against itself cannot stand¡±, and she didn¡¯t want to embarrass all the people. Especially, Second Mistress Luo is the wife in charge of the family. It¡¯s good for the whole family to maintain her prestige...¡±

    So, Madam Luo decided to let Third Miss bear the responsibility and let everyone know it was Third Miss¡¯s fault. Besides, Madam Luo decided to let Third Miss kowtow and pour tea for Ms. Dong in public to make amends.

    In Madam Luo¡¯s opinion, in this mouse chaos, Zhu was the biggest victim, and his mother was also frightened. It was better to punish Yi with a symbolic punishment, and let the little girl kowtow to her elder brother and sister-inw topensate for these things. Then it was over, Zhu had gained rebirth, and the whole family would be happy again. After a few days, she would fire the unruly Wang Qi¡¯s wife. In addition to the 400 liang silver which was embezzled from West Lateral court, she would appropriate another 400 liang silver from the public expense to gather a lucky number for Yi as her dowry, which was also apensation for her to some extent. After all, Yi was such a pitiful little girl and didn¡¯t do anything wrong.

    As for the whole matter of ¡°the Immortal entrusted the dream to Yi and taught her the solution to save Zhu¡±, Madam Luo absolutely did not intend to make it public.

    There were 2 among the young generations died in Luo¡¯s Family and then both had been revived by the Immortal. This kind of thing was too surprising to shock those viins. If there was any rumor that ¡°the best medicine family, Luo¡¯s Family, had a secret medicine to bring the dead back to life¡±, all the thieves, rtives, friends and powerful people, even the Emperor would ask Luo¡¯s Family for the medicine in various ways. The consequences would be unimaginable... All in all, this thing must not be known to the outsiders.

    Madam Luo had made up a set of words by herself. Externally, they would say that Zhu was not dead before, but was temporarily copsed and dizzy. Everyone was so sad that they didn¡¯t even check his body carefully. Senior Lord Luo who was travelling outside heard about this, so he came back quietly to diagnose Zhu. However, he didn¡¯t like to meet people, so he left a letter to teach Qian the method. Based on that, Qian saved his son. In private, Madam Luo would tell Qian and his wife about ¡°Yi dreamed about an Immortal who told her the way to save her nephew¡¯s life at the cost of her beautiful face¡±. Qian and his wife would naturally double their love for Yi. In this way, Yi, who wasck of her mother¡¯s love, could grow up with the love of her brother and sister-inw. Madam Luo would see her family nice and harmonious. It was a happy situation!

    But the only unexpected thing was¡ªon this side, Madam Luo had just made this arrangement with Mammy Tang. But before she could discuss with He Danggui, Dong Xin wasing.

    When Madam Luo knew that Dong Xin was here to get justice for Zhu, she was in a bit of dilemma. At first, she agreed to return the First Branch justice, and also nned to let Yi make an apology. But now, if she suddenly asked Yi to kowtow to her granddaughter-inw and make amends, Yi would feel aggrieved. If Yi thought that her deeds outweighed her faults, she would tell the truth that the Immortal taught her how to save Zhu. The situation would be terrible. Therefore, Madam Luo nned to mediate with both sides tonight to ease their anger. After everyone left, she would persuade Yi to apologize to her sister-inw the next day. Lan was a virtuous and reasonable woman. How could she seriously badger with a child?

    Mammy Tang also agreed with Madam Luo¡¯s idea. After handling this way, all people of Luo¡¯s Mansion would be decent. People in all branches would be satisfied: First Branch got justice for Zhu; Second Mistress Luo of Second Branch¡¯s dereliction of duty would be ended in silence; the poor Third Miss in Fourth Branch would get a huge sum of 800 liang silver. Even if she had to suffer a little grievance in the beginning, she would be happy when these silvers were sent to her.

    In fact, such arrangement was for the sake of Third Miss. After all, in such arge mansion, people couldn¡¯t take full care of her, and the good reputation of rescuing others selflessly couldn¡¯t bepared with heavy silver. Although it would be a spot for her future marriage that ¡°she raised mice to hurt her nephew, kowtowed in public and confessed guilt¡±, her future was still promising. Given her good family background, high rank, and Madam Luo¡¯s love, Madam Luo would naturally find a good family for her and give more dowries topensate her.

    After Dong Xin storming in, Mammy Tang was afraid that Dong Xin would say some excessive words in her anger. With the soft temper of Third Miss, she definitely could not bear the excessive words. So, Mammy Tang sent Ji to stand behind Third Miss and told Ji that if the situation was not good, she should bring Third Miss back to the room first. The bad situation would be dealt withter.

 Chapter 102 - The young old man

    <h4>Chapter 102 The young old man</h4>

    He Danggui felt her chest cool because of the cool tea she just drank in her room, so she took the tea brought by Miss Ji after she gratefully thanked her, and then began to drink happily with a foolish look.

    Madam Luo and Mammy Tang looked at each other and sighed. They thought that He Danggui might think that she had made great contribution for saving Zhu¡¯s life, and she must be waiting for Zhu¡¯s mother to pay her thankfulness. He Danggui was such a silly girl. This time, she would be inevitably wronged, because they were out of choice and the only solution was the best for Luo¡¯s Family. Then they both shook their heads and ignored their concerns at the same time.

    Luo Baishao had already lost interest in Dong Xin¡¯s revenge for her son at this moment, so she circled around He Danggui twice on the ground excitedly. Then Luo Baishao stared at He Danggui¡¯s face and finally touched it twice. Staring at He Danggui¡¯s shy appearance, Luo Baishao asked happily, ¡°Third sister, how did your face be like this? Didn¡¯t you say that your skin was a little special and could not be tanned easily?¡±

    Seeing that He Danggui was about to answer her, Madam Luo hurriedly stopped her and said, ¡°Shao, your third sister is tired from the journey. You can talk about these gossips another day! Mammy Shangguan in the pce will give you the etiquette lesson in person in a few days. You should go back and prepare for it. Why do you always make people worried?¡± Speaking to the end, Madam Luo med Luo Baishao seriously, making Luo Baishao speechless for a moment.

    Mammy Tang sighed in relief... How did He Danggui¡¯s face turned yellow? That should be kept as a secret.

    Dong Xin had never heard Madam Luo scold her two granddaughters. When she saw this scene, she couldn¡¯t help wondering what had happened.

    Hearing what Mammy Tang said about ¡°picking up our great heroine back¡±, Dong Xin felt disgruntled about what kind of heroine He Danggui was? She was just a wild girl who had lived in the mansion for half a year, and always looked at Luo Baiqian with a pair of attractive eyes, which let Luo Baiqian always make a statement for her. It was annoying that the two cousins exchanged nces of silent understanding.

    In fact, Dong Xin knew that Wei had taken a litter of mice to the kitchte of the West Lateral court 6 months ago.

    Dong Xin disapproved of her son ying those things, but she couldn¡¯t stop her son after she tried so many times. In addition to taking care of the kids, she was also busy memorizing the Catalogue of Jokes to coax Madam Luo to be happy, finding various reasons to divide Second Mistress Luo¡¯s ownership of Luo¡¯s Family, and trying to tie her husband¡¯s heart. In order to keep the mice, her son cried and quarreled, making her distracted. So, she directly let her son raise them outside Liu Li Tang. Later, when she learnt that her son raised them in He Danggui¡¯s ce, but He Danggui dared not to speak out, there was a burst of pleasure in Dong Xin¡¯s heart. She felt d that her son knew how to help her to rectify her rivals at such a young age. What a filial kid! Unexpectedly, these mice settled down in He Danggui¡¯s ce and developed rapidly. In the end, they were brought back to her son¡¯s ce, and another son almost died because of them. Dong Xin felt very bitter, but she could not express her pain to others.

    Dong Xin didn¡¯t want to suffer the consequences, so she wanted toe here to make some troubles to He Danggui, and abreacted the resentment in her mind. There were a lot of things wandering in her mind: Luo Baiqian detested and abused her, and he disappeared again when their son just came alive; she herself, as the eldest granddaughter-inw of the eldest son in her generation, could not take charge in Luo¡¯s Family in the past 4 years, and she could not even save more money for her own use; she was so great to have given birth to 3 kids for Luo¡¯s Family consecutively in the past 4 years, all of whom were top-notch, so she felt that everyone in Luo¡¯s Family owed her.

    The weakest member of Luo¡¯s Family was He Danggui. Everyone knew that He Danggui was like a weak little white rabbit who could be teased by anyone, but never had refuted a word. Dong Xin now felt that she was full of anger but failed to release. If she didn¡¯t pull the girl out and hit her 40 boards, she would be too annoyed to swallow her meals! Thinking of this, she cried out loudly, ¡°Grandma, you don¡¯t know. After the fake death of Zhu in the morning, Luo Baiqian was so unconscionable that he beat me covering with wounds... Also, he hid a letter which He Danggui wrote to him, and kept it a secret from me! He said there was something wrong, and it was about confidentiality... Grandma, now He Danggui is here. You should ask her what inscrutable secret is written in the letter?¡±

    He Danggui¡¯s eyes widened, and she wanted to exin something. Madam Luo was so scared that she hurriedly took the head start before He Danggui saying anything, and scolded Dong Xin sternly, ¡°You are talking nonsense. She is a girl who has not married yet. How can you describe her like that? Yi felt happy when she finally learned how to write in the Taoist temple, so she wrote a letter to greet you. After reading, I feel it quite literate, so I asked Nie Chun to give it to Qian and let him review it. How can you, her sister-inw, directly call your third sister¡¯s name? It¡¯s not appropriate! Is this the way how your family taught you to call people?¡±

    After scolding, Dong Xin and Luo Baishao were very surprised. Because Dong Xin had always called He Danggui like ¡°Hey¡±, ¡°You¡± or her name directly. In private, every time she mentioned He Danggui, she also called her ¡°her¡±, ¡°that person¡± or her name directly, and she did the same thing in front of Madam Luo all the time. For half a year, Madam Luo had never med Dong Xin for that, not even once! Now was there red rain in the sky, or Madam Luo was mentally confused? How could Madam Luo¡¯s every word be on He Danggui¡¯s side? For He Danggui, Madam Luo repeatedly scolded 2 people she had always favored! Out of surprise, Dong Xin and Luo Baishao chose to keep silent.

    Mammy Tang sighed in relief... As for the content written in the letter, that should not be exposed!

    A surprised expression also appeared on He Danggui¡¯s face, and she looked around. Then her eyes were suddenly wide open, and she whispered with her mouth covered, ¡°Oh my god, a disaster is imminent. I¡¯m afraid our family will suffer a disaster soon!¡±

    Madam Luo bounced from the seat when she heard this, and the thin nket fell to the ground as she moved. She asked in a tight voice, ¡°What disaster? Where (which immortal) did you hear that from?¡±

    There was a drop of sweat on He Danggui¡¯s forehead. Had she be a god-like person like Bai Yangbai that no matter what she said, Madam Luo just believed her immediately?

    Dong Xin and Luo Baishao were even more shocked and angry. They just asked He Danggui in a few words like ¡°How did your face be like this?¡± and ¡°What did you write to Luo Baiqian?¡± They didn¡¯t even start bullying He Danggui, but had already been scolded by Madam Luo. However, what He Danggui directly said was ¡°a disaster is imminent¡±, whichmitted high treason, but Madam Luo acted like she was under great stress. She did not even scold He Danggui, but regarded her words as a decree!

    Dong Xin hated He Danggui so much that she almost bit off her tongue. After everything she suffered, her third aunt only drove her away on the excuse of headache. So, she wanted toe to Madam Luo toin, and then vent her anger on He Danggui. Unexpectedly, Madam Luo helped He Danggui and used her of having no manners. It was unfair! Madam Luo was partial! Dong Xin was a legitimate daughter of a famous family, but He Danggui was just a daughter of the concubine. How could she call her ¡°third sister¡± with this identity? Every time Dong Xin heard Luo Baiqian calling He Danggui like that, her anger puffed up!

    He Danggui¡¯s big doe-eyed rolled, and then she answered with a small volume, ¡°I was told by the man I mentioned before... ¡®The young old man¡¯.¡±

    The young old man? It was that old immortal who rejuvenated! Madam Luo and Mammy Tang suddenly praised her for being smart because they hadn¡¯t told her what to do before, but she had already learnt what she could say and what she couldn¡¯t. So, Mammy Tang also asked vaguely, ¡°Is it because the mandment¡¯ of no guests is broken?¡±

    He Danggui nodded solemnly and said, ¡°Yes, the old man said that it must be at least 2 days to ¡®obey the precepts¡¯. Of course, staying a few more days would be more secure, but I am surprised that something bad happens on the first day... Oops.¡±

    Madam Luo asked nervously, ¡°What kind of disaster? Is there any remedy?¡±

    ¡°The old man only mentioned the word ¡®bloodshed disasters¡¯, and he didn¡¯t disclose more.¡± He Danggui blinked her eyes in sharp contrast and spread out her hands, ¡°At that time, I was in a state of illusion and didn¡¯t ask anymore. You must have had a dream, Grandma. The feeling was that I wanted to ask in my minds, but my tongue was stiff, and I couldn¡¯t control it. So, I couldn¡¯t ask even if I want to.¡±

    Madam Luo sat back in the soft chair and said sadly, ¡°What should I do? I wonder if it would be useful if I invite some monks and old Taoist priests to perform some religious rituals. Ordinary Taoist priests only have limited power. Unfortunately, Qi Xuanyu is quite capable, but he left a few days ago. Now Senior Lord Luo is not here, where are we going to find Qi Xuanyu?¡±

    Dong Xin and Luo Baishao became dizzy, and didn¡¯t know what they were talking about. For them, the rest¡¯s conversation was like speaking ciphered codes, but they talked very eagerly as if there were some great secrets. What secrets could He Danggui know, but they couldn¡¯t? Luo Baishao went up, pulled Madam Luo¡¯s sleeves, and coquettishlyined, ¡°Grandma, what¡¯s wrong with you? I don¡¯t care! I would have third sister to apany me tonight...¡±

    ¡°Ah, ah!!!¡± There were sudden screamsing out of the hall, ¡°Fire! Madam Luo, fire! Mammy, fire!¡±

    Madam Luo bounced off from the seat and asked in a dumb voice, ¡°Where?¡± Mammy Tang anxiously stepped forward to hold Madam Luo¡¯s arm and whispered, ¡°You should care about your body. Is there anything more important than your own body?¡±

    Xiang Chunya ran in panic from outside the corridor and breathlessly replied, ¡°Madam Luo... It¡¯s the Bitter Bamboo Grove behind the yard... The grass outside the grove caught fire and burned terribly.¡±

    ¡°Grasses of Bitter Bamboo Grove?¡± Madam Luo immediately breathed a sigh of relief and ordered with a deep voice, ¡°You go to organize the servants who guard the yard inside to save the fire and call servants who guard the yard outside together!¡±

    Mammy Tang also breathed a sigh of relief with a little smile on her face. Then she turned tofort Madam Luo and said, ¡°You can rx, Madam. First, the weather in fall is too dry, and the items are dry and mmable. Under normal circumstances, there is also the possibility of getting fires. Second, the fire was kind of a proof that the old immor... Er, the old man was right about what¡¯s gonna happen. Therefore, the disaster of Luo¡¯s Mansion is considered to have passed. We will have a bright future since then. Xiang Chunya, why are you still standing there? Didn¡¯t you hear Madam Luo asked you to organize manpower to fight the fire?¡± Mammy Tang scorned the girl in green dress at the door. It was already a period with frequent idents and incidents, but the maids were still stupid during their services. They were not very clever when it came to manage things, which was really annoying.

    ¡°Eek!¡± Xiang Chunya suddenly screamed with tears, which shocked everyone in the hall except He Danggui. Surrounded by everyone¡¯s astonishment, she said extremely sorrowful, ¡°No, Mammy! No, indeed the grass is on fire. But the burning things are¡­there are so many... bloody corpses!¡±

    ¡°Many bloody corpses?¡± This time, not only did Madam Luo and Mammy Tang feel scared, but even Dong Xin and Luo Baishao felt shocked and even took few steps back, ¡°You mean a lot of... dead people! How many people were there?¡±

    Xiang Chunya waved her hands and said, ¡°Not dead people, but dead crows!¡± Speaking of the experience just now, she couldn¡¯t help shivering and said, ¡°Just now when a few of us were checking the kitchen utensils, we suddenly saw a fire outside the window in the direction of Bitter Bamboo Grove. So, we gathered some people to be courageous with each other, and then we went to check the situation. After approaching, we found the fire was burning very vigorously, and the smoke was soaring. There was a pungent burnt smell. Then we went on and saw... dead crows were all over the ce! They were all fragmented crow corpses, all over the ground. Heads, wings, ws and intestines of hundreds of dead birds. Actually, there was not aplete...¡±

    ¡°Enough, stop talking!¡± Mammy Tang noticed that Madam Luo was not in a good mental status. For fear that Madam Luo¡¯s old illness would recur due to excessive shock, she quickly stopped Xiang Chunya from going on, and enjoined her with a deep voice, ¡°Release an emergency letter rocket now and call Nie Chun and the Four Guards (Pan Jingyan, Guang Hang, Xiao and Wei) of our mansion. Exin the serious situation to them, let them take people to extinguish the fire first and then search the Bitter Bamboo Grove again to see what beasts are hidden in the grove.¡±

    After Xiang Chunya ran away, Mammy Tang helped Madam Luo to sit down, put the nket for her again andforted, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Madam. After all, Luo¡¯s Mansion upies arge area. Except for many groves in the Mansion, there are many rare animals delivered from the South. asionally, it is normal that 1 or 2 wild cats or weasel leaping in from the courtyard wall toe in for food. Now we have called Nie Chun and the Four Guards toe over. When they arrive, everything will be solved. Besides... Now it has fulfilled the prediction of ¡®bloodshed disasters¡¯, and it meets doom. The most fortunate thing is that this time only a few noisy crows died, so Luo¡¯s Mansion did not suffer a little loss...¡±

    ¡°Ah! Ah!¡± A scream in the hall interrupted Mammy Tang¡¯s words, attracting everyone¡¯s attention to the face of the person who made the noise.

    He Danggui also turned her head, looked at Chan Yi unhappily and med her in a low voice, ¡°What¡¯s the matter with you? Don¡¯t you know there is a fire in our mansion now? Everyone feels nervous and is scared by your scream! I shouldn¡¯t take you out to meet the guests. It¡¯s quite rude for you to do so!¡±

    ¡°Ah,¡± Chan Yi still whispered while covering her mouth with her hands, and immediately raised her fingers, ¡°No, look at that. Ghost! There is a ghost out there!¡±

 Chapter 103 - Amorous eyes or fishy eyes

    <h4>Chapter 103 Amorous eyes or fishy eyes</h4>

    All the people widened their eyes to look at the Side Hall that Chan Yi pointed at. They used to hear someone saying they had seen ghosts. But this was the first time for them to hear some saying, ¡°Look! There is a ghost!¡±

    He Danggui was also amazed. Immediately. She turned to see what it was. But after her first nce, she knocked Chan Yi¡¯s head, ¡°What nonsense are you talking about? Go and apologize to First Miss! How could she be a ghost? You should be punished seriously when we get back!¡±

    It turned out that the ghost appeared was exactly Luo Baiying, the First Miss of Luo¡¯s Family. He Danggui knew her eldest sister was cantankerous and couldn¡¯t stand anyone speaking ill of her. She was afraid Chan Yi would be punished because of her words, so she intended to take the initiative of her punishment first. But then again, even the people who were familiar with Luo Baiying were also startled when they saw her standing at a dark corner of the Side Hall silently with a white cloth, bare feet, loosened hair and wet body.

    Mammy Tang was shocked. She ran to Luo Baiying, then went around her twice. She wanted to support her but didn¡¯t know where to start, so she inquired anxiously, ¡°Why are you here, First Miss? What happened to you? Why are you wearing such thin middle clothes in such a cold weather? Your clothes¡­¡±

    ¡°I just heard that Grandma hade back home. As I have something urgent to tell her, Ie to Ting Zhu Yard hurriedly.¡±

    Luo Baiying answered. She was wet through, and her voice was hoarse and weak, as if it were from a fifty-year-old woman who had experienced many vicissitudes of life. And the voice was in stark contrast to her beautiful and young face. It was the first time for Chan Yi to hear her voice, and she couldn¡¯t help trembling to hear that.

    Luo Baiying raised her hand and pushed the wet hair away from her face. Some green algae and a mess of mud fell to the ground as she acted. Her appearance was just above the average. Unlike Luo Baiqian who had inherited the fine skin of First Lord, her chin was long and pointed, which looked a little discordant at first sight, and made people feel it was a blemish on her appearance. Luckily, she had a pair of tapered almond eyes, which were called ¡°Amorous eyes¡± by most people. However, Ms. Dong liked to call that ¡°Fishy eyes¡± privately. Though it sounded mean, it was actually appropriate. Because when Luo Baiying was speaking, she never looked at other¡¯s eyes, even during her talk with Madam Luo. Her view was always focusing on the space above her nose, which let people feel she was noble and invible.

    So, many servants in Luo¡¯s Mansion said that though Second Miss was beautiful, her features were not delicate enough, and her nose was slightly erged, so she was a not sustainable beauty. As for First Miss, though you wouldn¡¯t think of her as a standard beauty at first sight, the more you looked at her, the better you would feel her beauty. It seemed that her eyes could talk with others. Although she didn¡¯t look at you, you would still feel you were exposed in her eyes. Fortunately, those words had not yet heard by Ms. Sun and Luo Baiqiong, or the servants of Luo¡¯s Mission would be substitutedpletely.

    ¡°After I arrived here, I heard Qian¡¯s wife quarreling terribly with someone at the door. So, I went to the Ting Xiang Shui Xie pavilion to have a sit and intended toe in after all people left.¡± Luo Baiying took the nket Mammy Tang brought and covered herself, then continued to speak inly, ¡°When I passed by the bridge, I was tripped by something and then fell into the pond. I couldn¡¯t swim, so I cried for help, but my voice was covered by the loud voice of Qian¡¯s wife. I struggled for a while under the water, and then I found that under my feet was the bottom of the pond. The water only reached my waist after I stood up. At that time, my coat and cloak were full of water and I wasn¡¯t strong enough to climb ashore, so I took off my clothes and threw them at the pond.¡± Her tone was so m like she was talking about the new embroidery patterns that came out the other day instead of her sad story.

    Madam Luo and Mammy Tang shook their heads and sighed, ¡°Poor girl¡±. While Ms. Dong¡¯s face was livid and her teeth clenched. She thought, ¡°Annoying fishy eyes! Since you had fallen into the pond, why not just drown yourself?! I¡¯ve being polite to you all the time. Why do you always ice me out as we are talking?!

    Luo Baiying looked straight ahead and then raised her chin slightly to adjust her sight. She looked around at all the people and finally stared at Chan Yi. She raised her chin and said, ¡°Come here and serve me with my changing.¡±

    Hearing this, Chan Yi moved closer to He Danggui unconsciously. He Danggui lowered her head and thought for a second, then patted Chan Yi¡¯s shoulder and said softly, ¡°Chan Yi, First Miss is calling you, hurry up! In our family, First Miss doesn¡¯t like to repeat what she ordered the servants to do. You should be more attentiveter, and make amends for your mistakes. First Miss is merciful and she won¡¯t aim at a ten-year-old child like you.¡±

    So, Chan Yi was pushed by He Danggui and took some steps forward. She followed Luo Baiying to the East Flower Hall in fear as thetter dripped along their way. Miss Ji hesitated for a moment, and then turned her head and said, ¡°I¡¯ll go to get some clothes and hot water for First Miss.¡± Then she followed them to the East Flower Hall, too.

    Seeing Madam Luo was pallid and got frightened, Mammy Tang persuaded her apprehensively, ¡°What happened to First Miss is just an ident. And now she is safe. She was just wet for a little while and will be fine after taking several medicines. To say the least, even if there is something wrong, as the young old man predicted, we had already suffered the disaster¡­¡± This time, even Mammy Tang couldn¡¯t continue the story after she said that. She had already repeated the words twice: the first time was when the dead crows appeared, and the second time was when First Miss fell into the pond. And she was afraid that after she finished speaking, there might be something more happening¡ª¡ª¡°Ah!¡± Her eyes twitched. Was this her hallucination?

    ¡°Ah!¡± This sound was made by Luo Baishao, ¡°It¡¯s falling off! Ah!¡± Then she got down and put her hands on her head. The next moment, all the people noticed that one of the nails on the one hundred jin que that hung on the central nave was loosened, and the que was going to fall off. Madam Luo patted her leg and yelled with her eyes wide-open, ¡°Oh my god! Hurry! Catch it! The que was awarded by the royal!¡±

    Though she shouted loudly, except herself and aged Mammy Tang, the others here were three delicate Misses anddies, none of whom were able to carry a one hundred jin que.

    He Danggui frowned. In her memory, though this que was awarded to Senior Lord Luo by the deceased Crown Prince, the si on it was not the prince seal but a literati seal. So, this que wasn¡¯t something that couldn¡¯t be damaged, and they wouldn¡¯t be decapitated for damaging it. At the very beginning, she wanted to imitate Luo Baishao to get down, put her hands on her head and yelled. But when she saw Mammy Tang was going to protect the que with her life, she almost saw the sense that Mammy Tang protected the que with her body, then vomited blood and died with herst words, ¡°Whether alive or dead, I belong to Luo¡¯s Family¡­¡±

    He Danggui didn¡¯t know if her Zhenqi for protecting her body was still working and whether she would feel painful after the one hundred que hit her. But she couldn¡¯t bear to see Mammy Tang losing her life in this way. So, she took apromising way by using the kung fu ¡°lion strikes rabbit¡± of Kongtong Sect, nning to kick off Mammy Tang with her left foot while kicking off the que before the que fell down with the other foot. In this way, Mammy Tang might only sprain her waist. As for that que, her action could relieve the impact force, but it was impossible to predict the damaged condition.

    Surely, Madam Luo didn¡¯t know either He Danggui¡¯s intention or the girl knew a little kung fu in her previous life and she could deal with this situation. Seeing He Danggui rushing to save the que, Madam Luo cried out again, ¡°Help! Yi is gonna die!¡±

    While Madam Luo was yelling, He Danggui rushed a few steps forward, then she felt her cor was caught by someone, and her feet were away from the ground afterwards. No matter how she managed to run, she was always at the same ce. She looked around confusedly, and then her eyes happened to see Nie Chun¡¯s sepulchral eagle eyes and his haughty nostrils.

    Nie Chun used three fingers to hold her and threw her at Madam Luo¡¯s side. Then he turned back and noticed Pan Jingyang. Thetter had curbed Mammy Tang with one hand, supported the que with his foot, and then set it beside the wall with the other hand.

    Mammy Tang finally brought back to herself. When she found that besides Pan Jingyang, the three guards, Guang, Xiao, and Wei, also came here, she hurriedly told them the fire situation of Bitter Bamboo Grove, let them order someone to put out the fire and guard the entrance of Bitter Bamboo Grove. She also asked them to search the Bitter Bamboo Grovepletely after dawn.

    At the other side, after Madam Luo made sure He Danggui was safe, she then patted her head with exasperation and gratitude, ¡°I just said ¡®catch it¡¯ casually, but I didn¡¯t really mean to let you and Hong Jiang to catch it. Silly kid, don¡¯t do that again!¡± Actually, Madam Luo also knew that this que was not a standard award of the deceased Crown Prince, but a gift that he gave Senior Lord Luo in private. But since the deceased Crown Prince had died, the Emperor didn¡¯t set a new Crown Prince. She guessed that the Emperor nned to let the deceased Crown Prince¡¯s son, Zhu Yunwen, inherit the throne. Therefore, although it was just a private que of the deceased Crown Prince, after some years, it might be the evidence of Senior Lord Luo and the deceased Crown Prince¡¯ friendship. That was why she was so nervous and let people to catch that que desperately.

    He Danggui was still immersed in the shock of being caught and thrown away by someone. Though she was in a little kid¡¯s body, she was 28 years old in her previous life, just as old as Nie Chun right now. It was a shame for her to be treated like that. Madam Luo thought she was too frightened, so she patted her head again tofort her.

    The sense made Luo Baishao and Dong Xin feel jealous. Ms. Dong thought of her purpose of this visit, so she reminded Madam Luo, ¡°Whoa, my poor Zhu. You are so intelligent, but just because someone had wicked intentions¡­¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s enough. Let¡¯s stop here today.¡± Madam Luo interposed Ms. Dong¡¯s words testily. Since she put all the me on Ms. Dong secretly for what happened today, she rebuked her, ¡°We could have safely avoided today¡¯s troubles, but you suddenly came here and bothered our rest, so we have suffered so much! I wonder if we are still safe now, or do we have to suffer the bloodshed disasters before everything settled? My god, where should I found Qi Xuanyu to drive out the evil spirits? Xin, Zhu just woke up, as his mother, you didn¡¯t take care of him but ran here to make troubles. The que had fallen down because of you!¡±

    Ms. Dong was dumbfounded for the me. She couldn¡¯t say a word even if she was the ¡°The first meritorious person of Luo¡¯s Family¡±.

    Looking away, Madam Luo found Luo Baishao lowing her head and snickering, so she rebuked her, too, but her tone was gentler than before, ¡°So do you, Shao. You didn¡¯t join in the ss at daytime, and refused to practice calligraphy at night. You even can¡¯t write a word well, how do you housekeep after you get married? It¡¯s alreadyte at night, but you still stand there having fun. Now your eldest sister had an ident, but you¡¯re still so naughty. Quickly get back to your Tao Yao Yard. If I hear that you are still hanging around here, I will ask your mother to let you transcribe the Analects for Women tomorrow!¡±

    Madam Luo hadn¡¯t been so furious before. This time, she rebuked both Ms. Dong and Luo Baishao, and it was obvious she was asking them to leave. So, she sessfully dislodged the two. On the other side, Nie Chun and the four guards were leading the servants to put out the fire. When there were only Madam Luo, Mammy Tang and He Danggui in the hall, Madam Luo suddenly slumped in the chair. Mammy Tang rushed to catch her and cried out, ¡°Doctor! I¡¯ll get them to call Dr. Wu here!¡±

    ¡°Calm down.¡± Madam Luo waved her hand wearily, ¡°I¡¯m too tired and don¡¯t want to see anyone. And I¡¯m well aware of my body condition. It¡¯s just my old mdies rpsing. By the way, had Dr. Wu treat the patient sent by Yang? Had Yang arrived?¡±

    Mammy Tang shook her head and sighed, ¡°I don¡¯t know. I was too busy to care about that. Don¡¯t worry about other people¡¯s business. Nothing is more important than your health. Third Miss, please call Gan Cao here, and let her¡­ Eh, where is Third Miss?¡±

 Chapter 104 - An innocent man got into trouble because of his ability

    <strong>Chapter 104 An innocent man got into trouble because of his ability</strong>

    While He Danggui was on her way back to the East Flower Hall, she was thinking about these strange things happened tonight. Would those be coincidences?

    At the very beginning, she saw Ms. Dong and Luo Baishao breaking in in with full fury, but she was sick at that time, so she wanted to drive them away with Madam Luo¡¯s help before she dealt with them when she was in a good moodter. She remembered that there were many crows in the grove, so she pretended to be a mystical conman just like Bai Yangbai, predicting the ¡°bloodshed disaster¡± mysteriously. She thought that when someone found the dead crows outside the backyard, Madam Luo would believe in the ¡°meditation in two days to get through the suffering¡± under the guidance of her superstitious character. Then she could get some time to rest and heal.

    Unexpectedly, she was a little surprised when she heard Bitter Bamboo Grove was on fire. Was it on fire? Was the fire caused by the dry weather and mmable things? And the sparks flied out of the kitchen? However, before the fire was put out, Luo Baiying appeared like a ghost suddenly, which made Chan Yi offend her. He Danggui was also a little worried about this. Luo Baiying was a serious person and He Danggui didn¡¯t know how she would deal with Chan Yi. Well, even if she took what happened to Luo Baiying as an ident, how did the que on the hall fall down unexpectedly?

    He Danggui shook her head lightly. Coincidences happened. Maybe that worked for everything happened today. Anyway, she had already chased Ms. Dong and Luo Baishao away as she wanted. Next, she could use her free time to think about how to deal with Ms. Dong for finding fault to her. Judging from Madam Luo¡¯s attitude, He Danggui could tell something probably. Ms. Dong came to find the culprit who caused her son¡¯s death. Madam Luo picked out from the four cards of Wei, Ms. Dong, Ms. Sun and her, the silly girl. Ms. Sun was the treasure of Madam Luo, and she was the first to be excluded. Secondly, whether it was Wei or Ms. Dong to be med, the story of ¡°One in the First Branch lifted the stone and smashed his own foot¡± would spread and be theughingstock of the people in the house. So, Madam Luo chose the unimportant girl, i.e., her, to be med in the end.

    Although it was expected and reasonable, she was sad when she saw Madam Luo trying her best to cover up the truth of Zhu¡¯s rebirth in front of the public. In fact, she should have thought of this a long time ago. She smiled bitterly. It¡¯s not the first day she knew about the improper behavior of everyone in Luo¡¯s Family. What was she looking forward to?

    ¡°Good evening, sis, have you had dinner?¡±

    He Danggui frowned to see the speaker, Feng Yang. Behind him was the sick boy who looked like Lu Jiangbei. So, she replied, ¡°Not yet, how about you?¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes, we have.¡± Feng Yang answered.

    He Danggui nodded and said, ¡°That¡¯s good. Are you going to sleep?¡± What were these two people doing in the middle of the intersection of the East Flower Hall and West Flower Hall? Appreciating the moon? It was the dimst quarter moon today. What was worth seeing?

    Feng Yang also nodded, ¡°Yes.¡±

    He Danggui continued, ¡°Well, guests, please go to bed early. Our mansion is on fire tonight. I hope you can excuse our poor service.¡±

    ¡°Not at all.¡± Feng Yang nodded.

    He Danggui raised her eyebrows, ¡°Does Childe Feng catch a cold? Your voice sounds hoarse. If you need to see a doctor or ask for medicine, there are ready-made staffs in our mansion. Just enjoin the maids in your room to do that for you.¡±

    Feng Yang touched his throat, cleared it and said, ¡°Sis, you are so considerate. I had a cold on the way. Unfortunately, I won¡¯t be cured for a month. And to be honest, I always hate to see doctors and take medicines, so I will speak in such a hoarse voice in the next month. Sis, if you see Madam Luo, please tell her about this and let her have a psychological preparation.¡±

    What nonsense was he talking about? What coldness required a month to recover? He Danggui¡¯s eyes focused on Feng Yang¡¯s face for a few seconds, and then Feng Yang turned his face shyly. She was full of doubts. Why was he acting like this? In the morning, he was cheerful and eloquent, but he showed the shy expression like girls at night? Forgot it, anyway, it had nothing to do with her. He Danggui nodded, ¡°Childe Feng, I¡¯ll leave you to enjoy the moon.¡± Then she bypassed the two and went to the East Flower Hall.

    ¡°Hey.¡± The man next to Feng Yang said suddenly, ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±

    It was impolite for a stranger to ask a girl¡¯s name. However, He Danggui told him casually. Names were named to be called. After she went afar, Ning Yuan turned his head, frowned and stared at Feng Yang, ¡°You had behaved badly. Hadn¡¯t you practiced the whole afternoon? Can¡¯t you talk to people for a little while normally?¡±

    Feng Yang said with a bitter face, ¡°Childe, I share totally different temperament with Childe Chang. How can I learn his skill of talking and chasing girls within such a short time?¡±

    Ning Yuan thought for a moment and sighed, ¡°With Chang Nuo¡¯s character, I wonder if he could disguise as me sessfully. Hope everything goes well.¡±

    ¡°Childe.¡± Feng Yang asked in confusion, ¡°Why did you knock out that que in Luo¡¯s Family?¡±

    Ning Yuan¡¯s eyes shed a cold light and said coldly, ¡°Because I don¡¯t like it. I hate everything rted to Crown Prince Yiwen. If it hadn¡¯t been for him, my mother wouldn¡¯t have died so miserably!¡±

    He Danggui ran back to her room hurriedly. Since Chan Yi had gone to serve Luo Baiying and didn¡¯te back, she began to search her luggage in a hurry, and finally took out a jar. Inside it were 9 egg-sized Purple Jujubes. When she was in the Taoist temple, she firstly found out 24 kinds of fine herbs. After she washed and baked them 3 times, she soaked them in strong wines, then added Shayu Jujube which came from the Western Regions, and finally processed them into purple jujubes. She chuckled. With these in her hands, she would be able to stand firm in Luo¡¯s Mansion.

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù

    ¡°Where are you going, Third Miss?¡± Mammy Tang asked her anxiously. He Danggui was about to speak, but Madam Luo¡¯s voice sounded on the other side of the screen, ¡°Is it Yi? Come here quickly. Grandma has something to tell you.¡±

    When He Danggui bypassed the screen, Madam Luo was very weak. She couldn¡¯t help worrying about her and said, ¡°Grandma, you look pale. Take care of your body. I have some...¡±

    ¡°Good child,e here.¡± Madam Luo waved and said, ¡°Let grandma see you.¡±

    He Danggui walked obediently, and sat on the small chair with brocade beside Madam Luo¡¯s feet. She lowered her head under Madam Luo¡¯s re and blinked her eyshes, ¡°Grandma, what¡¯s the matter?¡±

    After scolding Ms. Dong for leaving, Madam Luo thought it was a bit inappropriate. She remembered that every October, Dong¡¯s Family would send someone to visit Ms. Dong in Yangzhou City. Once Ms. Dong told some bad things to her natal family, the outsiders would gossip that Luo¡¯s Family treated their daughter-inw badly. Anyway, now Ms. Dong just wanted justice for Zhu. It was better to solve it the way she had nned, i.e., asking Yi to apologize for almost killing Zhu.

    Madam Luo took a string of Buddha beads from her sleeve and twirled them one by one, ¡°Yi, this time you made great contribution to save Zhu¡¯s life, exchanging your skin with the Immortal. You should have been rewarded. But on second thought, the story about the celestial must keep as a secret. Once the outsiders know that Zhu was saved by the celestial, they would think that our family have stored such precious elixir. By then, will Luo¡¯s Family have a safe life? So, even if we want to reward you, we can¡¯t do it in the name of this.¡±

    He Danggui nodded convincingly, ¡°Grandma, you are so considerate. Even an innocent man would get into trouble because of his wealth. We shouldn¡¯t let the outsiders know about the celestial.¡±

    As soon as Madam Luo saw that He Danggui understood the truth, she felt relieved to turn half a circle of Buddha beads, and then looked up at Mammy Tang. Then Mammy Tang also moved a chair with brocade to sit next to He Danggui, and said in a tone of discussion, ¡°Third Miss, since the things about the celestial should be kept as a secret, we can only record this contribution to you secretly. Your kindness to Zhu¡¯s Family can only be known by the three of us.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t do it for the sake of fame. Now that Zhu is alive, the rest are unimportant.¡± He Danggui looked up at Mammy Tang and said calmly.

    Mammy Tang pped her hand and said, ¡°Now the First Younger Mistress Luo is not willing to give up. Third Miss, do you still remember what I have told you in the Taoist temple? You are the master of the West Lateral court. So, you are responsible for the rat disease in your ce. Madam Luo and I have discussed this. We both think you should take the initiative to admit your mistake to First Younger Mistress Luo. In this way, she could ease her anger and Zhu also could also get his justice. Madam Luo would be d to see such a happy ending.¡± Looking at the girl¡¯s cid face, Mammy Tang asked anxiously, ¡°What do you think, Third Miss?¡±

    Her ck eyes seemed to hide a star awn which had been broken. Mammy Tang was shocked to see that. But when Mammy Tang fixed her eyes and saw it again, she suspected that she was in a daze, because Third Miss didn¡¯t even lift her eyelids.

    He Danggui said obediently, ¡°Mammy, your proposal is very good. If we can end it delightedly, I will also be very happy.¡±

    ¡°Yi, I know that you feel aggrieved in your heart. You have been bullied by some unruly servants during the half year you lived at home. Once I faired Wang Qi¡¯s wife, I will tell the ountant to pay you several hundred liang silver, and then give you several sets of gold and silver head dressing dowries, the kind that Second Miss often wears.¡± The Buddha beads in Madam Luo¡¯s hand stopped for a while, and then continued slowly, ¡°I heard that your sister-inw had suffered a lot for Zhu¡¯s illness this time, and was beaten by your cousin in front of the servants in the yard. Now she has no face and feels that the servants areughing at her behind her back. If you apologize for your cousin by the way, kowtow to her and offer her tea in public, she wouldn¡¯t be embarrassed like before. Okay?¡±

    He Danggui had to use all her self-control to suppress the sneer that almost spilled from her throat. They promised her gold and silver first, and then let her rece Luo Baiqian to apologize and recover Dong Xin¡¯s face? Let a ten-year-old girl join in the resentment between a couple? Ha ha ha, indeed, she could hear the funniest joke in the world as long as she went back to the East Yard of Luo¡¯s Mansion.

    When Mammy Tang saw that she remained silent, she thought that He Danggui thought she would lose face if she did this. Mammy Tang advised gently, ¡°It¡¯s said that the Elder Sister-inw is like a mother, so First Younger Mistress Luo is also the elder of you, Third Miss. You are young, so it means nothing to kowtow to the elder. Now that First Younger Mistress Luo and First Master have quarreled, and First Mistress Luo can¡¯t handle that due to her headache, as their sister, why don¡¯t you take this opportunity to mediate from the middle? First, you can apologize to them for what happened to Zhu. Second, you can get closer to First Younger Mistress Luo, which means you will have a sister-inw who would care about you in the future. Why don¡¯t do it? In fact, we...¡±

    ¡°Ying!¡± Madam Luo interrupted Mammy Tang and looked at Luo Baiying, who was standing beside the screen in a red outermost clothes and green dress. She raised her eyebrows and asked, ¡°How can you match such a suit? Red outermost clothes matched with green dress?!¡±

    Luo Baiying nodded and replied, ¡°I¡¯ve just been cold. This is the warmest clothes I got. Hey, lend your maid to me for a few days.¡± One thing that Luo Baiying was simr to Ms. Dong was she liked to use ¡°hey¡± to call He Danggui. And she said ¡°Lend your maid to me for a few days¡± without any discussion or inquiry. She just met the owner of the maid, so she informed her. She would still borrow the maid away even if she didn¡¯t meet He Danggui.

    He Danggui took a look at Chan Yi, who was hidden behind the screen and sending out a help signal to her with her eyes. Seeing Luo Baiying still having no expression, He Danggui smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s okay to borrow her, and I can even give her to you, First Sister. It¡¯s just I heard that you always like your staffs clean. Even your Wu Shang Yard has to be cleaned three times a day with rose water... My little girl is not selected from the Qingcaoniu market. She hasn¡¯t been trained systematically. This is not the biggest concern. She has a little problem. I wonder if you can pardon...¡±

    Luo Baiying frowned and hummed, ¡°I just want to borrow a maid, but you talk so much. What¡¯s her problem?¡±

    He Danggui looked at Chan Yi and shook her head regretfully, ¡°Bed-wetting.¡±

    ¡°Bed-wetting?¡± Luo Baiying was surprised and looked at He Danggui for the very first time.

    ¡°Yes.¡± He Danggui blinked, ¡°It¡¯s normal for a child at her age. After all, she has not grown up. I¡¯ll go to the Medicine Pavilion of Nanyuan Yard to take some herbs for her in a few days.¡±

    Luo Baiying looked at Chan Yi in disgust and said, ¡°I will not borrow her then, but I need her to carry thentern on my way back. I don¡¯t like to walk alone at night.¡±

    ¡°As a green hand, she can¡¯t even recognize the way. She might get you lost, First Miss.¡± Miss Ji went out behind the screen and said with a smile, ¡°I¡¯d better go with you. I¡¯ll be apanion to talk to First Miss when I¡¯m leading the way.¡±

    Luo Baiying walked out of the main hall without hesitation. Mammy Tang asked, ¡°What¡¯s the emergency you mentioned just now, First Miss?¡± Luo Baiying didn¡¯t look back. She just threw out the words ¡°I forget it¡± and went to the gate. Miss Ji grabbed Chan Yi with her left hand and chased up with thentern in her right hand.

    Seeing the three people went far away, Mammy Tang turned her head to continue the topic and exined in a low voice, ¡°In fact, Madam Luo and I discussed that we should tell the truth about Zhu¡¯s rebirth to First Younger Mistress Luo. Then she would feel grateful for your kindness and take care of you more in the future. But next month, Ms. Dong¡¯s parents and some childes wille to Luo¡¯s Mansion for a visit. We are afraid that First Younger Mistress Luo will tell something about the celestial in Luo¡¯s Mansion, so we n to keep it from her temporarily. We will find a suitable time to tell her about it after two months, and tell her to keep the secret. So, before First Younger Mistress Luo knows the truth, please take the grievance first!¡±

    ¡°Moreover, you are Wei¡¯s aunt.¡± Madam Luo added, ¡°It¡¯s your duty to guide him in the right way, but you let him y with that thing for half a year, and never restricted him. Just for this matter, you should apologize to your cousin sincerely!¡±

    After listening obediently, He Danggui said, ¡°What Mammy Tang and Grandma said makes sense. I also feel sorry for my cousin¡¯s family. It¡¯s a good solution to apologize to them in public. When should I do it?¡±

 Chapter 105 - Birth of Heirlooms

    <strong>Chapter 105 Birth of Heirlooms</strong>

    Madam Luo and Mammy Tang couldn¡¯t imagine that she would agree so smoothly. They were stunned for a moment. Then ording to the deal that Madam Luo and Mammy Tang made before, thetter replied, ¡°Since Third Miss is so sensible, it¡¯s better to do it in the morning after tomorrow. We will convene all the people in the family. Then you¡¯ll admit the fact that you once knew that West Lateral court was infested with rats and didn¡¯t report it. After you kowtow and apologize to Ms. Dong, I¡¯ll mediate and end it.¡±

    He Danggui nodded approvingly and said, ¡°It can¡¯t be better. When my sister-inw married in our family, I didn¡¯t have the honor to see or salute to her. Now several years passed, my greeting should have been redoubled. I should have kowtowed twice to her after all.¡±

    Madam Luo put the Buddha beads on the table and smiled happily to Mammy Tang, ¡°I¡¯ve always said that the cleverest child in our family is Yi. Now it seems that it¡¯s absolutely true! Ha-ha, such a good child saves us a lot of troubles!¡± The two had discussed for an afternoon, and prepared a lot to persuade He Danggui to admit the crime of ¡°injuring her nephew by mistake¡±. Now they only said a little, and He Danggui agreed directly. How could Madam Luo not be happy about that?

    Mammy Tang also said with a smile, ¡°Yes, Third Miss always shares your worries.¡± He Danggui also smiled.

    Looking at the lovely granddaughter, Madam Luo thought for a moment, and then faltered out a few words, ¡°Yi, your sister-inw is also a spoiled daughter before she got married, and sometimes she was a little grumpy. When you go to Liu Li Tang to apologize, if she says something bad or hits you gently, that¡¯s because she loves her son. Don¡¯t take it into your heart. I¡¯ll tell her the truth in an appropriate time, and then let her apologize to you quietly. Then you¡¯ll be even. Isn¡¯t it great?!¡±

    Seeing her nodding again, Madam Luo finally said the key point, ¡°In a word, you can¡¯t tell the story about how the Immortal showed his mercy and helped with Zhu¡¯s rebirth, or it will be very bad for Luo¡¯s Family. Yi, you are also a member of Luo¡¯s Family, so you should remember the principle of ¡®honor one and you honor them all¡¯ and ¡®one can be profited under the protection of people of power and influence¡¯. In the future, don¡¯t you still need to rely on Luo¡¯s Family for your marriage?¡±

    ¡°I know. Please don¡¯t worry, Grandma. I won¡¯t be angry with her or talk as I please in public.¡± The candles in the room were about to burn out at this time, which made the face of the speaker and the room dim for a moment. ¡°From now on, I will never mention the dream of meeting the Immortal, as if nothing had happened.¡±

    Madam Luo took a sigh of relief, patted the girl on the shoulder and said, ¡°Good girl, you are so obedient. Grandma will reward youter. Now that you can write, you can learn some etiquette lessons with Qiong from Mammy Shangguan. Then I¡¯ll request Vice-President Wei to let you enter Chengxu Academy without examination, which is good for your future marriage.¡±

    In the previous life, He Danggui had never gone to this legendary academy, where both male and female students were enrolled. When she heard Luo Baiqiong and Luo Baishao talking about the interesting stories of the academy, she envied them. However, now she had all kinds of skills and had read various books on numerous subjects. How could she join those ignoramusdies to learn about propriety, music, archery, riding, writing, arithmetic, or female virtue and needlework?

    Instead, she wanted to sneak out of Luo¡¯s Mansion to do business and make money. In her previous life, she hade up with many business ideas. Every time she told Zhu Quan, all her advice was rejected immediately. However, the strangest thing was that after she encountered the profitable business belonging to Caobang Organization several times, she found that the internal structure and marketing strategy they used were surprisingly simr to her previous ideas. Finally, the owner of Caobang Organization, who had simr ideas with her, turned the organization into a powerful chief. With arge wealth, the organization gradually became thergest group in Jianghu.

    Now she had many business ideas, which had been proved to be very sessful by Caobang in the previous life. In addition, she got the first ie from selling her fragrant wooden coffin. Her idea of trying was quietly emerging every day. In the business circle of this life, she wanted topete with Caobang. She had to get both wealth and honor!

    Hearing that Madam Luo also nned to send Third Miss to Chengxu Academy, Mammy Tang whispered, ¡°But First Lord said that he could only get admission for two at most. Haven¡¯t you decided to let Second Miss and Fourth Miss go there for studying?¡±

    Madam Luo also answered in a low voice, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. Yi can learn female virtues and needlework at home this year. After copying the calligraphy for a year, we can get her another one for admission.¡±

    He Danggui was very excellent in hearing, so she heard the conversation very clearly. If what she remembered was right, the Female Academy of Chengxu Academy would once again raise the standard of entrance examination next year, and Luo¡¯s Family would fail to get another admission without examination. Therefore, in the previous life, she hadn¡¯t been able to enter the academy to enrich her advantages. However, she was also happy to be excluded, so she wisely chose to keep silent.

    After their whispering, they turned around and smiled at He Danggui. Madam Luo cleared her throat and said, ¡°That¡¯s great. We¡¯ll shut our door and pray for Luo¡¯s Family and Zhu in the next two days. The day after tomorrow, you should go to Liu Li Tang with Hong Jiang and apologize to your sister-inw. Don¡¯t be afraid. Lan is a virtuous person. Besides, she knows the source of the things under the bed of Zhu, so she won¡¯t embarrass you hard.¡±

    ¡°OK! Deal!¡± Then He Danggui looked at Madam Luo¡¯s face anxiously and asked, ¡°Look at your pale face, Grandma. Are your old diseases of weakness and rheumatism happening again?¡±

    After dealing with the burden, Madam Luo fell down on the table, squinted and pressed her temple, ¡°I¡¯ve been taking good care of my body for several years, so these diseases haven¡¯t happened for a long time, but I still haven¡¯tpletely cured. See? I¡¯m always breathless when something bad happens at home.¡±

    He Danggui said gloomily, ¡°It was all my fault. I climbed the rockery and fell down, which caused my death and made you sad. I have no choice but to take this as my gratitude to you.¡± Then she took out a wax pill from her sleeve and handed it over, ¡°Please eat it, Grandma. At that time, when I woke up in the Taoist temple, I was very weak. After eating one like this, I recovered as before.¡±

    Madam Luo took off the wax pill and asked in surprise, ¡°Is this a fruit or a purple plum? Where did you get it?¡±

    He Danggui answered with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s a jujube, not a plum. Hurry up, eat it!¡± Then she pushed the jujube to Madam Luo¡¯s mouth, just like thest time when she forced her to eat medicine. Madam Luo had never epted such treatment. The maids never dared do it and her granddaughters hadn¡¯t been closing enough to feed her. So, she felt that it was probably a manifestation of intimacy and love for her, so she ate it hurriedly, which tasted strangely.

    ¡°Ah, Madam Luo, your face be ruddy! And your eyes are shining!¡± Mammy Tang was surprised to see her like that, so she cried, ¡°What happened? How do you feel, Madam Luo? What jujube is that, Third Miss? Where did you get it?¡±

    Madam Luo suddenly felt that her head wasn¡¯t dizzy and her chest wasn¡¯t stuffy. And her voice was full of energy, ¡°My belly is quitefortable right now. Yi, what jujube is that?¡±

    He Danggui exined, ¡°At the night I revived, the man whose name couldn¡¯t be mentioned gave it to me as well as the ¡®reborn pill¡¯. I swallowed the pill immediately. When I woke up, a handful of jujubes were put in my arms.¡±

    Mammy Tang widened her eyes, ¡°You mean...They¡¯re from Nanji Xianweng?!¡±

    He Danggui nodded, ¡°Yes, he said that they¡¯re wild jujubes growing in his yard. If you eat three of them, all your diseases can be cured; if you eat six, you will live longer; if you eat ten, you can...¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Madam Luo and Mammy Tang asked in unison.

    ¡°Oh, here is the thing.¡± He Danggui scratched her cheek and said helplessly. ¡°When he said this, I was eating the pill, then I woke up identally, so I didn¡¯t hear thest sentence.¡±

    ¡°You just said there were a handful of jujubes?¡± Madam Luo sat up straight and asked, ¡°How many in all?¡±

    He Danggui said timidly, ¡°Well, after I woke up at that night, I was tired, cold and hungry. The jujubes looked delicious, so I picked one up and ate it. After that, I felt its magic effect. So, I didn¡¯t dare to enjoy it alone and soaked the remaining nine into a jar of strong wines ording to the preservation method the nameless person taught me.¡±

    ¡°Where is the wine?¡± Madam Luo took He Danggui¡¯s hands.

    ¡°Over there.¡± He Danggui pointed to the corner, ¡°I lost all my strength when I moved them there. When I heard Mammy and Grandma calling me, I put the jar in the corridor...¡± Before He Danggui finished, Madam Luo and Mammy Tang had both jumped up and moved the dark brown wine jar to the table together.

    ¡°I¡¯ve just had, one.¡± Madam Luo said in tiredness. ¡°Now there are eight left... You should let us move such a heavy jar. What are we gonna do if you break it?¡±

    ¡°The one whose name can¡¯t be mentioned said that I was virtuous in my previous life, but was killed by others, so I got these rewards andpensations in this life. But things from heaven can¡¯t be brought to the world at will, so these jujubes are sealed and would only work when I eat them. If I want to share them with others, I¡¯ll have to fast and burn incense for three days. After that, I¡¯ll need to recite the Heart Sutra that the unmentionable person gave to me a hundred times with a jujube in my hand, then I can give it to other people, or it would be poisonous.¡±Visit vi p novel.

    Seeing that Madam Luo was shocked, He Danggui patted her on the back andforted her, ¡°The jujube you ate has naturally been processed properly. Don¡¯t you feel strong and energetic now? You can even move the wine jar which weighs more than ten jin! That man also said that the jujubes are the most precious treasure in the world, so in order to prevent the evil people from coveting them, he added a forbidden magic. If the jujubes are not given by me voluntarily, but taken away by others, the person who took them would die unexpectedly...¡± Seeing that Madam Luo changed her look again, He Dangguiforted her again, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Grandma. I would like to give you the jujubes as a present voluntarily. Don¡¯t you see I have moved the jar here?¡±

    Madam Luo asked nervously, ¡°But thest steps were not done by you. Do you need to move it again?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t bother.¡± He Danggui waved her hand and said, ¡°The unmentionable person said that it¡¯s all up to my will. As long as I¡¯m voluntary, the way I give them and the rest are secondary. But don¡¯t forget to let me ¡®deal with¡¯ the other eight jujubes in this jar before you eat. Besides, they are only useful within three days after they are processed. If they are overdue, they need to be processed again. How many do you still want to eat? I¡¯ll help you with that!¡±

    Madam Luo stroked the jar and sighed, ¡°This is the treasure that Nanji Xianweng has given to our Luo¡¯s Family. It¡¯s quite good luck for me to eat one of them. How can I eat more? They¡¯re the heirlooms of Luo¡¯s Family from now on!¡±

    He Danggui couldn¡¯t helpughing. To avoid giving the game away, she coughed several times to conceal. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you, Third Miss?¡± Mammy Tang asked with care. Now Third Miss was the key to the heirlooms. What could they do if anything unfortunate happened to her?

    He Danggui waved her hand and said, ¡°Maybe I was tired of moving the wine jar just now. By the way, Grandma, the jujube you ate has other benefits, which vary with the individual, so you need to have dew and avoid grains for several days to maximize the benefits.¡±

    Madam Luo hugged the jar and asked, ¡°Is it possible that the wine with jujubes are with good fortunes?¡±

    He Danggui replied with a smile, ¡°Maybe, but only those who have eaten the jujubes can drink the wine. I don¡¯t know what will happen if others drink it. Grandma, you can drink a little and have a rest. I¡¯ll go back to my room and pray for Luo¡¯s Family and Zhu.¡±

    Mammy Tang stopped her and said haltingly, ¡°Third Miss, you will be rewarded by Madam Luo in the future for handing over the jujubes... But going Liu Li Tang to apologize... We¡¯d better go there anyway.¡± She was afraid that Third Miss would refuse to do it due to her contribution for handing over the fortune. Now Madam Luo wouldn¡¯t me her seriously or force her to do it. After all, she was the key of the heirloom. But this time the matter hadn¡¯t been solved. They could do nothing in other aspects. Only Third Miss was the most agile and reasonable person.

    As expected, Mammy Tang got an agreed reply, ¡°Of course I will go. Don¡¯t worry, I know what I should do. For the sake of our Luo¡¯s Family, these jujubes are also confidential to others. Handing over the jujubes and apologizing are totally two different things, which can¡¯t be offset. Mammy, take care of Grandma carefully. I¡¯ll leave.¡±

    Mammy Tang looked at the figure, smiling at Madam Luo and said, ¡°It¡¯s really rare that Third Miss can consider the overall situation.¡±

    Madam Luo stroked the cold jar and said to herself, ¡°If one eats three, all his diseases can be cured... If we had this a few years earlier, the heartless man Luo Duzhong wouldn¡¯t have died so early.¡±

 Chapter 106 - Behind a prescription

    <h4>Chapter 106 Behind a prescription</h4>

    When He Danggui went out of the main hall, the smile on her face was brighter. Ha-ha, no medicine could cure all diseases in the world. These jujubes were specially made for Madam Luo.

    Madam Luo was just 50 years old. She had been ill not only just because the uncured illness when she gave birth to Third Lord, but also she was extremely sad when Grandpa Luo Duzhong died 7 years ago. The muddled energy, blocked meridians, disordered breath, and no appetite, all the symptoms caused her weakness.

    As for the prescription of the ¡°lifesaving jujube¡±, it was initially developed by Grandpa to treat Madam Luo¡¯s illness. Later, her mother married into He¡¯s Family in the capital with half prescription and gave it to He¡¯s Family. Several yearster, based on the original prescription, Yao Shi Tang added 15 medicinal materials, such as ginseng, ephedra, scuteria baicalensis, apricot, poria with hostwood, agwood, ligusticum wallichii, Chinese angelica and so on, and finally made the Lifesaving Pill and Zhiming Sticking ster, which were known as ¡°life extending medicine¡± among the public. He¡¯s Family even imed that the medicine was home-made and not supposed to be exposed to the outsiders. Since the medicine was quite difficult to make, its price was fifteen times as high as equivalent weight of gold. Even so, the medicine was so popr that only people like Duan Xiaolou, the master of the Earl Mansion, could buy the medicine from Yao Shi Tang.

    He Danggui found the whole prescription from a letter that Grandpa left for her in her previous life, and he noted the prescription was specially made for ¡°treating the old postpartum illness of my beloved wife Chai Dan¡±. He Danggui¡¯s medical skill was poor at that time, so she was puzzled, wondering now that Grandpa had the method to cure Madam Luo, why didn¡¯t he give it to Madam Luo directly, but leave it to her secretly? She was afraid that First Branch and Second Branch would make troubles, so she didn¡¯t tell anyone, just put the medicine into Madam Luo¡¯s meals in person. Later, the rheumatism of Madam Luo was on the mend, but couldn¡¯t be recovered.

    Few yearster in Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion, after she improved her medical skills, she found that prescription was not perfect. 4 herbs among the main medicine and vice-medicine restricted each other. So, she tried her best to refine the prescription. 2 yearster,bining some ancient prescriptions, she developed an amazing ¡°lifesaving prescription¡± finally, which could not only cure Madam Luo¡¯s rheumatism thoroughly, but mainly function on one¡¯s hemiplegia symptoms. This medicine could cure people immediately, which was much better and effective than Lifesaving Pill and Zhiming Sticking ster.

    In the summer before she had been killed, she went to Luo¡¯s Family with this prescription and discussed with her mom secretly. She thought a good prescription was supposed to benefit people, but when the new Emperor took the throne, San Qing Tang was inferior to Yao Shi Tang, Ren Shu Tang and Wu Yi Tang, not as glorious as before. So, she decided to send the prescription to Luo¡¯s Family as a secret recipe to be handed down in San Qing Tang. Her mother also agreed. But on second thought, her mother said, ¡°First Branch and Second Branch always hold disagreements and now they are dividing up the family property. To avoid troubles, we¡¯d better give the prescription to my elder brother Chuanbai.¡± Luo Chuanbai and Luo Chuanxiong were siblings, but Luo Chuanbai and Luo Chuanpu shared different mothers with the above two. He Danggui could understand why her mom made such a decision, and she always respected her mom¡¯s opinion, so she agreed.

    When Second Lord Luo Chuangu learnt that ¡°Madam Luo was fully recovered after taking herbs of the magical prescription several times¡± and the prescription was taken by First Branch, he immediately asked Madam Luo for an exnation. Madam Luo fobbed him off, so he went to Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion to find He Danggui. He Danggui followed her mother¡¯s advice and gave him an indirect refusal. At that time, Zhou Jinn and Xu Siniang were also present. They had a great rtionship with He Danggui at that time. Hearing the conversation, they said nothing at the time, but they asked Luo Chuangu to stayter, and told him that they knew the ce where Concubine He hid the prescription. If they could deal with Concubine He together, he would get the prescription.

    When Luo Chuangu went back, he thought for a long time. Luo¡¯s Family had been divided up now, and his capable niece just had a good rtionship with First Branch. She always dealt issues for First Branch immediately, but stalled aste as possible when Second Branch asked for help. So, he would like to get the prescription rather than depend on his ungrateful niece. If he got the prescription, his wife and daughter wouldn¡¯t have toe to Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion to please He Danggui any longer. Then, ording to Zhou Jinn¡¯s n, Luo Baiqiong excused that she was abused by her husband¡¯s family, so she ran out of home and didn¡¯t go back to Luo¡¯s Family. Instead, she bought a house beside Lord Ning¡¯s Mansionter, and asked her maid to find He Danggui several times at night, saying ¡°Second Miss hung herself¡± ¡°Second Miss drowned herself in a well¡± or ¡°Second Miss took the poison and spat blood¡±. He Danggui was worried about her, so she came to save her several times at night. In this way, Zhou Jinn had the evidence that she went out of Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion frequently.

    These venomous truths were told by Luo Chuangu¡¯s wife, Sun Meiniang, when He Danggui was in the water dungeon.

    Sun Meiniangughed crazily, and told her fiercely, ¡°It was He Jingxian¡¯s fault. He betrayed me. He said that he would marry me, but he didn¡¯t keep his promise. I am so happy to see his only daughter in such desperate situation. By the way, Zeng Yuelian is not a seductress, but my cousin. She reced Luo Chuanxiong and became He Jingxian¡¯s new wife. As for his beloved son and daughter, they are Zeng Yuelian and a coachman¡¯s children. He Jingxian failed me, and you should atone for him.¡±

    He Danggui was dumb, but she suddenly understood at that time. She and her half year old daughter Tian were both atoning for the crime of her father, whom she had never met before.

    ¡°Ha-ha-ha!¡± He Danggui took out her handkerchief and wiped her tears, ¡°Interesting, interesting. It¡¯s so interesting! Ha-ha!¡± In the previous life, based on Luo¡¯s ¡°lifesaving prescription¡±, Luo¡¯s Family made the ¡°lifesaving jujube¡±, and now it became the heirloom of Luo¡¯s Family again!

    Ning Yuan looked at the girl and frowned. Her tears poured down her face, but she was stillughing. Although she seemed so cheerful, Ning Yuan could feel her endless sorrow. He couldn¡¯t understand why a ten years old girl would be so sad. So, he didn¡¯t know whether he and Feng Yang should start the second munication test¡± or avoid the girl smartly. Surprisingly, the hysterical girl fainted and blood oozed from her eyes, ears, nose and mouth.

    Ning Yuan moved closer to her hesitantly. He reached out for checking her breath first, and felt her pulse for a while. She was¡­

    ¡°Childe, what¡¯s wrong with her? Shall I call her family?¡± Feng Yang looked at the girl who was covered with blood, and suggested.

    ¡°No! You can¡¯t call anyone. Open the door of my room and then guard in the doorway. Don¡¯t let anyone approach there.¡± Ning Yuan embraced the girl in the ground, enjoining him in a low voice.

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù

    ¡°Crack, squish, crack, squish¡­¡± Here came strange footsteps in the silent Bitter Bamboo Grove. It seemed like someone was stepping on the bamboo leaves, but it was so strange that the time interval between two steps was like twenty or thirty steps of a normal people. It was so weird in the grove at night.

    It was Nie Chun, who was good at Phantom Footwork and known as the ¡°mysterious swift-footed walker¡± in Jianghu. He cut through the Bitter Bamboo Grove proficiently, just in a while he arrived in the end of the Bitter Bamboo Grove. Through the sand, which was full of strange rocks, and cross the ck Water Pond, he reached a deep cave. After waiting for a while, he suddenly stepped strangely, tried his best to use Phantom Footwork, and shouted loudly, ¡°I know you¡¯re in there. Show yourself and surrender!¡±

    A little sharp noise sounded in the air. Nie Chun came into the cave with the fastest actions. The light in the cave was flickering, and then someone said, ¡°Bro, stop! It¡¯s me.¡±

    Nie Chun fell to the ground, frowned and stared at the middle-aged man who had long hair. His eyes turned emotionless, ¡°It¡¯s you! What are you doing here?¡±

    The middle-aged man waved his hands, ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. Several days ago, I was assassinated by an assassin. His kung fu was so remarkable, and I was almost killed by him. I tried my best to escape, but suffered grievous injures. Fortunately, I met Luo Maitong, who used to work with me in the imperial court. He also had impression on me, and knew that I was transferred from the army to be the new master of the Imperial Guard. I asked him for help and told him that I wanted to find an isted ce to recover, so he rmended me this ce. I¡¯m not intruding. Senior Lord Luo allowed me in.¡±

    Nie Chun asked with a cold voice, ¡°You killed the crows and set the fire? How long will you stay here?¡±

    ¡°Haha, you are so heartless. We haven¡¯t met for ten years, and you just care about the noisy dead birds. Do you want to drive me away?¡± The middle-aged man sat in front of the log fire, and his face was full of frustration, ¡°I think someone in the Imperial Guard revealed my trace, so I would not leave before I recover. Since you know I¡¯m here, you have to bring food and water to me in the following days, then I wouldn¡¯t need to go to the kitchen to steal food. It¡¯s safer for the people in Luo¡¯s Mansion as well. You must know it¡¯s a secret that I¡¯m here. Anyone who sees me must die.¡±

    ¡°After so many years, you are still disgusting.¡± Nie Chun gritted his teeth.

    ¡°Hahaha, you are ttering me. But,¡± An evil emotion flickered in the middle-aged man¡¯s eyes. He smiled, ¡°as our Master¡¯s most proud disciple, howe you didn¡¯t be world-famous, but became a flunky in Luo¡¯s Mansion? Does something in Luo¡¯s Mansion hamper you?¡±

    Nie Chun was expressionless, ¡°Geng Bingxiu, listen carefully. Luo¡¯s Mansion is my home. I¡¯ll protect everything there. Since Senior Lord Luo allowed you to stay here, I¡¯ll put the meal in the entrance of the cave every day in 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. And as exchange, you can¡¯t go out of the cave until you are fully recovered. If I find that youe out of the cave, I¡¯ll kill you. You know it¡¯s easy for me to do that right now. Since you¡¯ve been evicted from Longhu Sect a long time ago, killing you wouldn¡¯t be considered as murdering my fellows.¡±

    It turned out the middle-aged man was the Deputy Commander of Imperial Guard, Geng Bingxiu, who would be known as ¡°the cruelest official in the world¡± several yearster. He was weird, shrewd and unstable. He was usually as normal as ordinary people, but someone who had close rtionships with him knew that there was a demon in his heart. He was a narrow-minded and cruel man.

    Geng Bingxiu grinned his bloodstained teeth, ¡°Bro, you are wrong. I¡¯m injured, and I¡¯d like to stay here. If you give me abundant meals with wines and meats, I would not wander in Luo¡¯s Mansion. Do you agree? Why are you staring at me? I¡¯m not a murderer. I didn¡¯t kill the woman who was in my way right now. I just stumbled her into the pool. Damn! The evil boy knew how to use the lost Changfeng Form, which almost got me killed!¡±

    ¡°Evil boy? Changfeng Form?¡± Nie Chun frowned. Although he knew that there was a master who could perform Changfeng Form, he never heard that the senior had a disciple.

    Geng Bingxiu pressed his chest painfully, coughing and saying, ¡°Ten days ago, my subordinates and I met a people who hindered us when we were on duty. He wore a mask. But depending on his figure and voice, we knew that he was a child less than twelve years old. We lost him at the foot of the hill, and we couldn¡¯t find him in the following days. Eh-hem. But several days ago, I went to Yangzhou, and then was seduced by a note in a dart. When I went to the suburb, he appeared again, and tried to kill me desperately.¡±

    Nie Chun looked at Geng Bingxiu sarcastically, ¡°You are defeated by a kid. How useless you are, General Geng!¡±

    ¡°Eh-hem, he attacked me first! And I think he is not a human because a human would not have such remarkable kung fu at his age. Among all the people I know, there were only Lu Jiangbei, Gao Jue and few seniors who could fight against with him.¡± Geng Bingxiu looked at his scarred legs with fear and frowned, ¡°We tried our best to mob him, and he also got injured, but he recovered within ten days. How could he get healed so thoroughly?¡±

    ¡°So why did he want to kill you?¡± Nie Chun smirked at him, ¡°What have you done recently?¡±

    Geng Bingxiu frowned, recalling, ¡°At first, I thought he must take me for someone else, because he said ¡®everyone deserves to kill the cruelest official in the world¡¯. But I¡¯m not an official. I had been a civil official in cab for two years when I was young. Afterwards, I was in the Northwest Army for more than ten years, and I didn¡¯t be the Fourth-Grade imperial guard until the beginning of this year. So, I asked him to stop, and told him ¡®I¡¯m Geng Bingxiu, not the cruelest official in the world¡¯, but he shouted ¡®It¡¯s you indeed¡¯. At the same time, he performed the deadly kill action in Changfeng Form¡­ What a powerful boy! He is just twelve years old with excellent kung fu and he hates me very much. If he grows up, how can I be alive?!¡±

    ¡°It serves you right.¡± It seemed that Nie Chun didn¡¯t care about that, but he was interested in the secret boy.

    Geng Bingxiu looked at Nie Chun and begged him, ¡°Bro, I¡¯ve heard you are in Luo¡¯s Mansion, so I came here. I was very kind to you and saved your life once when we were in Longhu Sect. I beg you to send out an order in our Sect, helping me investigate the background of that boy.¡±

 Chapter 107 - Ruin your reputation

    <h4>Chapter 107 Ruin your reputation</h4>

    He Danggui waked up from a long dream with tears. In the dream, her daughter came towards her with a pack of silver needles and begged naively, ¡°Mum, I heard your acupuncture can save people from death. Why don¡¯t you save me from death? I haven¡¯t seen enough of the world!¡±

    She saw arge orange bed, and smelt the familiar aroma from the pillow. If she was right, it was ambergris, which was specially used by the royal family. In the previous life, it was Zhu Quan¡¯ favorite. By smelling it, she would know he was approaching. She didn¡¯t know when she had a deep memory of the aroma. She had asked him for a piece to put on her pillow, smelling it day and night. No wonder that she always dreamed her daughter, it¡¯s because of the aroma.

    ¡°Where am I?¡± He Danggui sat up. This was not her room. She must be in Ting Zhu Yard because there were no curtains and mosquitos on the bed. She remembered she felt chest distress, and took several hours to seal the important acupoints on her chest to avoid the burst of Zhenqi, then she went nk, but she could smell ambergris...

    ¡°You are awake? Press your Fengchi acupoint and Qimen acupoint to check out whether the pain exists. If you cannot feel the pain, try to lead Zhenqi into Dantian.¡±

    Following the voice, she looked at the side hall, then saw the young man who looked like Lu Jiangbei sitting by a jade-made table. She didn¡¯t know him well, so she blurted out, ¡°Why am I here? Where is Childe Feng?¡±

    ¡°Why are you looking for him? The person who saved you is me. You should thank me!¡± The young man said unpleasantly.

    ¡°Oh, thanks for saving my life!¡± He Danggui looked at the teapot on the table and asked, ¡°Is there any water in the teapot?¡±

    The young man remained silent for a moment, then poured out a cup of tea reluctantly. He came slowly and held it in front of her face impolitely.

    It was sure that he had never served tea for anyone, but He Danggui was used to the bad attitude andined nothing. She took the tea and drank up. The warm tea made her feel veryfortable. Just thinking of cold tea in her room, she immediately got out of bed and run to the table with a pair of strange soft shoes on her feet to pour herself a cup of tea.

    When she was drinking the third cup, she heard a husky voice of the young man, ¡°You are He Danggui, aren¡¯t you? Now that I ruined your reputation¡­ Tomorrow I will ask Madam Luo for marrying you as my concubine. What do you think?

    He Danggui suspected she was hallucinating, then she looked down at her child-shaped body and her neat clothes. She was still confused, ¡°Who has ruined whose reputation, and who will propose to whom?

    Ning Yuan saw that she was confused, and reminded, ¡°I see your feet.¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± He Danggui realized she had no socks on. The size of the shoes showed that they were a man¡¯s shoes. She put on his shoes by mistake! Luckily, her dress was long enough, so she quickly covered her exposed feet with her dress.

    ¡°The shape of your feet is very beautiful and they look less than three inches. You didn¡¯t bind your feet, did you? Although I don¡¯t mind if women keep them natural, I think foot binding would make your feet look better since you¡¯re at the perfect age for it.¡± Ning Yuanmented, looking at the woman, and then rmended, ¡°I intend to take you with me when I leave Yangzhou City. It doesn¡¯t matter that you are still young. You can live in my mansion for a few years before you marry me as a concubine, and get familiar with your new home before our marriage...¡±

    He Danggui was surprised and angry, ¡°What nonsense are you talking about? Who would like to go with you?¡±

    Ning Yuan said slowly, ¡°Ady¡¯s feet are so precious that only her husband can see them. Even if you cannot match me, I have to ept...¡±

    ¡°Now that you know there¡¯s Zhenqi in my body, then I can tell you, I am a heroine actually.¡± She interrupted him angrily, ¡°I¡¯m forthright, so I don¡¯t care about the Law of the Ladies, and I will not marry you.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Sorry, so you are a heroine in Jianghu. What is your alias then? Do you belong to the group of the day road, night road,nd road or water road?¡±

    ¡°¡­ Yangzhou Heroine.¡± He Danggui thought for a long time, and only thought of this normal alias.

    Ning Yuanughed, ¡°Yangzhou Heroine? This is the first time I¡¯ve heard of it. No wonder you were not scared of the dead birds. Turns out you are a little heroine¡­¡± A faint gleam passed over his eyes. He said, ¡°What have you put on your hands and face? I have checked you. Except for the two parts, the skin on other parts of your body is white.¡±

    ¡°What part of my body have you seen??¡± He Danggui stared at him.

    ¡°What? Change your mind and want me to take the responsibility?¡± Ning Yuan showed an improper smile, taking a sachet from his waist, and said slowly, ¡°When I took off your shoes and socks just now, I found that the skin color on your feet was different from your face. Out of curiosity, I checked the color of other parts of your body. Not much to look anyway... I won¡¯t deny, you see,¡± he plucked a wisp of ck hair from his sachet, ¡°this is your hair that I took from your hairpin. Consider it a token of our rtionship. Ordinary people would not dare to marry a woman like you. Even if you refuse toe with me this time, I wille back and offer the bride-price to take you away within three years.¡±

    He Danggui frowned after hearing this, and smiled, ¡°I heard that there are two excellent skills in Jianghu, namely ¡®disguise skill¡¯ and ¡®voice-changing skill¡¯, but I¡¯ve never seen one. To my surprise, today I have seen both of them at the same time. Your disguise skill is exquisite, but you voice-changing skill still need to be improved. In our conversation just now, your voice, tone, and speed of speech have changed three or four times.¡± Looking at the boy¡¯s expression in shock, she was in a good mood, ¡°Nowadays, these minstrels are quite irresponsible. How could they send their disciples off when thetter only learned a few skills? You are destined to make a fool of yourselves like this!¡±

    Ning Yuan jumped up and pinned the woman down on the table. With two fingers sping her thin neck, he coldly said, ¡°Who the hell are you? How do you know I am disguised?¡±

    ¡°It was just a doubt, but now you admit it yourself.¡± He Danggui squashed on the table and yawned, ¡°Your disguise is fine. The problem is your voice, so I think you just want to hide your identity. Anyway, who you are and what you are trying to hide have nothing to do with me. Just give my hair back to me and swear that you will never mention tonight again. Then I will not expose you.¡±

    Ning Yuan thought about it and let go of her. She just knew he was disguised, but she didn¡¯t even know his identity. He snorted coldly, ¡°You¡¯re only rejecting me because you don¡¯t know who I am. Once you learn about my identity, you will beg to be my concubine!¡±

    ¡°Boy, the ambergris you used is too ostentatious. Change an incense next time when you disguise as someone else, and return my hair to me now!¡± He Danggui spread out her palm for her hair. She didn¡¯t expect this man to not only peek at her body but also steal her hair. However, after careful thinking, she was 28, and she needn¡¯t care much about it. If she had a son when she was 14 in her previous life, her son would be as tall as this boy in front of her! She could consider that she was seen by her son!

    Ning Yuan looked at her in surprise, ¡°You know... Ambergris? How do you know that?¡± Ambergris was only used by the royal family. Only a few pounds of spices were presented as tribute each year. Zhu Yuanzhang only rewarded it to three or four favored sons, including Zhu Quan. Even many powerful seigniors had never used this incense. Very few people could recognize it. Even his Senior Concubine Wan, the daughter of the Crown Prince¡¯s grand preceptor (Second-Grade), a girl who had already seen the prosperity of the capital, couldn¡¯t recognize the incense and praised it smelt good.

    He Danggui also realized that she had made a slip of speech and she felt regret, so she threw another question to divert his attention, ¡°Hey, where¡¯s the real Feng Yang? You get someone to fake him. Why don¡¯t you get someone who can talk more fluently?¡± Seeing the boy wanted to rush here and kill her, He Danggui put her hands in front of her chest and said, ¡°Stop! Stop there! Like I said, I am not interested in your secrets. As long as you don¡¯t mess with me, we can mind our own businesses ¡ª Give my hair back to me!¡±

    Ning Yuan inscrutably looked at her for a moment, then he tried to negotiate, ¡°I can give you your hair back, but not now. I¡¯ve got serious internal injury and I¡¯m looking for a senior to heal it. I saved your life once before, now it is time for you to repay me. If you can heal my wound, I will return your hair.¡±

    ¡°Se¡­nior?¡± He Danggui pointed at herself, ¡°Are you talking about¡­ me?¡±

    Ning Yuan nodded naturally, ¡°Of course, I¡¯ve never seen any woman with such deep internal force like you. Although I don¡¯t think it¡¯s worth mentioning...¡± Seeing that the woman¡¯s face darkened and considering he still needed her now, he turned his tone and tried to say the following justly, ¡°To be fair, it is reasonable that you call yourself Yangzhou Heroine. My injury will take two months to heal if I do it by myself, but with your help, the period can be shortened to one month. If you serve me well, maybe I¡¯ll be in a good mood and take you as my junior wife.¡±

    In a fit of rage, He Danggui almost wanted to p him. But given what he said, he seemed like a senior, which was a rare opportunity for He Danggui. She thought about it for a second, and then slowly asked, ¡°Do you know any Method for circling Zhenqi?¡± Seeing him nodding unknowingly, sheughed and said, ¡°How about this? You teach me the Method for circling Zhenqi, and I¡¯ll help you with your healing. It¡¯s mutual benefit. What do you think?¡±

    ¡°I can do it, but why do you want me to teach you this?¡± Thinking of her untidy pulse before, he raised his eyebrow, ¡°So, you don¡¯t know the Methods for circling Zhenqi? Where is your deep internal force from then?¡±

    He Danggui spread her hands, ¡°I don¡¯t ask about your secrets, and I don¡¯t like others to find out about mine. ¡®The guidance of Methods for circling Zhenqi¡¯ for ¡®one-month treatment¡¯, deal?

    ¡°¡­Deal.¡±

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù

    ¡°Dong dong dong! Dong dong dong!¡±

    He Danggui opened her sleepy eyes, and saw it was almost dawn, wondering who was knocking at the door, ¡°Chan Yi, is that you?¡± Yesterday, Huai Hua and she waited for Chan Yi until midnight, but thetter still didn¡¯t show up, so she finally fell asleep.

    Mammy Tang pushed the door open and said anxiously, ¡°Third Miss, terrible news! Be quick! Change your clothes. Let¡¯s go to Liu Li Tang!¡±

    ¡°Liu Li Tang?¡± She asked out of curiosity, half-supporting her body. ¡°Haven¡¯t we decided to go there tomorrow and I¡¯m supposed to prey for Zhu today?¡± Today, she made an appointment with Ning Yuan to start the first day of their operation. Martial arts learning and therapy, working along for mutual benefits.

    ¡°Third Miss, Zhu is again in danger. Be quick and check on him!¡± Mammy Tang said with a bitter face, ¡°Ms. Dong sent a message that he was unconscious right after he had the bird¡¯s nest soup you sent him!¡±

    He Danggui pulled her long hair to her chest andbed it with her fingers. ¡°I haven¡¯t eaten for two days. How can I get him any soup?¡±

    ¡°Actually, the soup was made and sent in your name under Madam Luo¡¯s order. She wanted to do this to ease Ms. Dong¡¯s rage. Then she wouldn¡¯t embarrass you tomorrow. No one expected such things.¡± Mammy Tang found a green forging cloth and put it on He Danggui. Then she further exined, ¡°Madam Luo ate a jujube yesterday. She thought the jujube pit might be with good fortunes as well, so she had the pit boiled in water all night. A pot of water boiled into a small bowl of water. Then she enjoined the maid to make a bowl of bird¡¯s nest soup with the water of the pit and send it to Zhu, saying it was your apology to Ms. Dong. But within less than two hours, Zhu was unconscious! So, people from Liu Li Tang delivered a message that Zhu fell unconscious right after he took little of the soup. Third Miss, does he have food poisoning after he drank the water of your pit? Quickly, go and look at him!¡±

 Chapter 108 - Kindness to the wicked

    <h4>Chapter 108 Kindness to the wicked</h4>

    Food-poisoning? There were surely no good fortunes on the jujube pit, but the medicinal properties were quite slight. Even if the medicine given to Zhu was not suitable for his disease and failed to cure him, he definitely wouldn¡¯t lose his consciousness because of that.

    He Danggui chuckled to herself. That was quite funny. It was a secret that she saved Zhu and it was also confidential that she offered the heirloom. However, the problem still came to her now. Fine! Last night she found a set of 14 centimeter long-silver needles with wax ends from Senior Lord Luo¡¯s study. It was a chance to see if it fit.

    The best set of needles in her previous life were the gold needles forged in Chongwen Tower of the capital, 70% gold and 30% brass, soft and hard to break. The needles were about 11-centimeter long. The thick ends were like bowstrings, while the tips were like cattle hairs, with rhinoceros¡¯ horns as handles. As the old saying went, herbs cured the interior injuries while acupuncture cured the exterior. Many famous ancient doctors who had written down ancient works had said that acupuncture and moxibustion worked better than herbs. The quality of the needles had a direct influence on the acupuncture and moxibustion. Fine needles did not change with the temperature, and they were always suitable for the body temperature. There was no pain when the needles were stuck. The color didn¡¯t change under one¡¯s skin and one didn¡¯t have to worry if the needles would get stuck. Senior Lord Luo had been practicing medicine for more than 50 years, so his equipment was definitely excellent.

    He Danggui stood up and asked Mammy Tang to tidy her clothes. Huh, Zhu was unconscious after eating ¡°the bird¡¯s nest soup she sent¡±? She didn¡¯t even need to think about this. The trick in this problem was if the soup was given by Madam Luo, Zhu would be still energetic. The deleterious thing was more her reputation than the jujube pit.

    Sitting in front of the dressing table and feeling the needles wrapping around her wrist, she let Mammy Tang deal with her hair, but thought deep inside, ¡°Dong Xin, you and I have no conflict of interest, but you are not satisfied with your peaceful life. Now that you¡¯d like to make trouble, I¡¯ll do you favor and stir up the mess. My needles were only used to save lives in the previous life, but I earned a broken and desperate end for myself; Mr. Dou Haizhen had used his needles to save countless people for 10 years, but earned himself a friendless and bloody mess end. Except me, his so-called ¡°fake disciple¡±, there was even no one there to bury his body. So, good things can only be used on humans. For the wicked beasts, the benevolence of the doctor is redundant.¡±

    ¡°Mammy, it is fine if I go to Liu Li Tang, but everyone in the family is aware that I have no knowledge about medicine¨CHow can my elder sister-inw take Zhu to me? I can¡¯t tell them about the story of jujube pit. So, if I hold Zhu in public and recite the Heart Sutra to dissolve the toxin, wouldn¡¯t that be strange?¡± He Danggui said, ¡°Moreover, we didn¡¯t go out yesterday, but they came and took the ¡®punishment from the Immortal¡¯ to us. I don¡¯t know what will happen if we once again vite what we said about staying at home to prey for the Immortal. Mammy, what do you think?¡±

    Mammy Tang was distressed and said anxiously, ¡°Be that as it may, Zhu¡¯s life is in danger. Saving one¡¯s lives is like putting off the fire! The jujubes were given to you by the Immortal. Maybe if you cradle Zhu in your arms, he will wake up!¡±

    He Danggui said with a smile, ¡°Interesting, if I have that skill, I¡¯ll be an Immortal. If I hugged Zhu and he did not wake up, my elder sister-inw would be excited, and my hands would shiver. If I drop Zhu on the ground, what should I do? In my point of view, my elder sister-inw is too concerned about Zhu, which is not useful to save him. Don¡¯t you remember, Mammy? When I share my jujubes with others, I should do it voluntarily. Holding Zhu and chanting would be secondary. Although I¡¯m willing to share my jujubes with everyone in Luo¡¯s Family. But Mammy, I am timid by nature. If someone speaks loudly, I will cry. And I will faint as soon as anyone pushes or urges me! By then, ¡®being voluntary¡¯ bes ¡®being forced¡¯. Maybe Zhu would die immediately because the poison would work instantly!¡±

    Mammy Tang was dumbfounded. But on second thought, He Danggui was right. Ms. Dong had always been gentle and demure, and she always spoke softly to anyone except the Third Miss. Mammy Tang herself had seen Ms. Dong gurgling Third Miss with her hands on hips many times before. Every time Mammy Tang saw Third Miss crying hopelessly, she also felt quite distressed. However, Ms. Dong was pregnant with Yan, so it was understandable that a pregnant woman¡¯s temper was furious. It was better for her to spit it out than to hold it. What¡¯s more, she was half of the elder to Third Miss, and it was also good for Third Miss to be tutored. Holding this idea, every time Mammy Tang saw this situation, she immediately avoided it so that Ms. Dong wouldn¡¯t feel embarrassed.

    But the situation had changed now. Third Miss cried a whole afternoon because she was trampled by a horse. If she was fainted for being pushed by Ms. Dong, who could chant for Zhu to dissolve the toxin? Thinking of this, Mammy Tang was puzzled, ¡°Although there are a lot of highly-skilled doctors in our family, they are unable to deal with these Immortal staffs. Madam Luo is now anxious and regretful. She is extremely puzzled. Third Miss, please help me!¡±

    He Danggui chuckled and said, ¡°How about this? Mammy, you can invite my elder sister-inw and nephew here, and then put nephew Zhu alone in the East Wing-room. I¡¯ll sneak in to check on him. It would be best if I saved him, but if not... We¡¯ll know what to do by then. Don¡¯t worry, Mammy, we got Senior Lord Luo in our family. He is the No.1 in the medical circle!¡±

    Mammy Tang¡¯s eyes lit up and nodded repeatedly, ¡°That sounds great. I¡¯m on it. I¡¯ll invite them toe here right now, Third Miss, please dress up quickly!¡± Then she stoppedbing that half-finished hair and hastened away.

    He Danggui was not very good atbing hair. After a long time, she still couldn¡¯t finish the semi-finished haircut that Mammy Tang left. It was still messy and unformed. Huai Hua came in from the outside and smiled, ¡°Let me do it for you, Miss. I used to help Sister Zhen Zhu with her hair, and I¡¯ve practiced it for a long time!¡± As she said that, she put down the water basin, and took over the handful of ck hair. In a while, a pretty Fanwan haircut waspleted.

    He Danggui admired the shadow in the mirror and smiled, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to have such a craft. This bun is quite chic with moderate sticity, and I feel good about it. My hair is all yours in the future.¡±

    Huai Hua¡¯s face was a little gloomy even if she was praised, ¡°Sister Zhen Zhu¡¯s skill onbing hair is the greatest. No one is doing that better than her. If she is here, how good it will be! We advised her several times, but she refused to go with us, and said that she was ¡®destined to stay only in the Taoist temple¡¯. I don¡¯t see anything good in the dark Taoist temple.¡±

    He Danggui also sighed. It was never easy to go or stay. Where was one¡¯s home in this big world? Some wounds had scabs on the surface, but pus underneath. There was one on Zhen Zhu¡¯s heart, and another in her heart as well.

    Zhen Zhu won her husband¡¯s family in thewsuit, got the money she deserved, and changed herself to became a nun. Seemingly, she had nothing to worry about and nothing to strive for. But the truth was that she still couldn¡¯t forget the family that had ruined her, and those memories were her pus. Because of that, she fled and hid herself in the Taoist temple. She thought as long as she didn¡¯t listen to it or watch it, there would be no disturbance in the world.

    When He Danggui woke up in this life, she once had the same idea. She was afraid that she would repeat the experience of the previous life after returning to Luo¡¯s Family, constantly forgiving and being bullying by those of Luo¡¯s Family, confusedly drowning in the fiery pit of Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion and finally burying a lifetime. Although she got a brand-new body without any wound, the poisonous pus of memory was still peeping at her in a dark ce, which kept her listening and watching. In the end, she resolutely chose a path that was diametrically opposite to that of Zhen Zhu. She had to go back to the old ce where the pus grew, remove all the dirty things, and then put a good medicine on her wound.

    Looking at the sorrowful appearance of Huai Hua, He Danggui extorted, ¡°Zhen Zhu likes the winter in the Taoist temple. At that time, the mountains are covered with frost flowers. It is very beautiful. When flowers bloom in spring, she will be willing to go out. At that time, we will keep her here and stop her from going back to Shui Shang Temple. How does that sound?¡±

    Huai Hua nodded happily, then turned to cover her mouth and shouted, ¡°Oh, no, Chan Yi hasn¡¯t returned yet! Does it mean the First Miss has, has got her¡­¡±

    He Danggui picked out a pearl, put it obliquely on the chignon, and then whispered, ¡°Rx, she wouldn¡¯t do that. I¡¯ll ask someone who can freely enter and leave Ting Zhu Yard to find Chan Yi.¡±

    After finishing her make-up, Mammy Tang came in, panting and reporting, saying that Ms. Dong and her son were about to e¡±. He Danggui took the opportunity to ask whether she knew why Miss Ji and Chan Yi did not return all night.

    Mammy Tang replied, ¡°Ji came backst night, but went to Fu Shou Yard hurriedly. Because today is the billing day in Madam Luo¡¯s small storehouse, and she is the manager there, so she cannot be absent. As for that round face maid ... I haven¡¯t seen her sincest night.¡± He Danggui was puzzled. Was there a wolf in the mansion that stole the little sheep Chan Yi?

    Mammy Tang enjoined He Danggui again. When the time was right, she would drag Ms. Dong out with Mammy Li and Mammy Hua. He Danggui could hide in the tea room of the East Wing-room in advance. As long as Zhu was taken there, she should rescue him by all means immediately. Mammy Tang also said that no difficulty was insurmountable if one set one¡¯s mind on it. As long as He Danggui held Zhu tightly and recited the Heart Sutra taught by the Immortal sincerely, the Immortal would be impressed. He Danggui nodded with a smile.

    After Mammy Tang left, He Danggui turned to the West Flower Hall and wanted to tell Ning Yuan about dying their healing n, but Ning Yuan and the fake Feng Yang were not there. So, she had to go to the tea room in the East Wing-room, waiting for the arrival of her lovely dying nephew who was poisoned.

    When passing by the Side Pce, she heard many voices from inside, so she leaned quietly to the door and looked at the situation inside.

    It turned out that Feng Jiugu, who finally got the news, came here to see her nephew, and now she was holding the fake Feng Yang¡¯s hand, and Madam Luo, Mammy Pin and Ning Yuan all apanied them.

    Madam Luo and Ning Yuan were chatting very spectively. She could hear that Ning Yuan saying something like ¡°ancestral in the north¡±, ¡°father died early¡±, ¡°only child in the family¡±, ¡°jewelry business for generations¡±, etc. Probably he was making up his background for Madam Luo. Madam Luoughed happily, inquired about his birth date for a while, and then inquired about his marriage status.

    It seemed that Madam Luo had temporarily put aside the unpleasantness of her great grandson¡¯s being poisoned for the jujube pit. Ning Yuan replied that he had not yet married a wife, and he was stillck of a wife in charge of the family- The matchmaker character in woman¡¯s nature was going to pump out, and Madam Luo began to gain a deeper understanding of Ning Yuan¡¯s view of women. They talked about from women¡¯s appearances, virtues, tempers, knowledge to the rtion between women¡¯s butts and their birth of boys and girls, and then further the topic between the size of a woman¡¯s feet and the degree of her husband¡¯s love.

    He Danggui couldn¡¯t help curling her lips. Madam Luo only heard that Ning Yuan¡¯s family was upied in jewelry business, and she had already be so intimate with him. If one day she learnt that Ning Yuan was from the royal family, she might pack Luo Baiqiong and Luo Baishao together to send him as a gift!

    Looking at Ning Yuan¡¯s face that looked like Lu Jiangbei, she couldn¡¯t help wondering about his real appearance. Even though he was from Zhu¡¯s Family, Ning Yuan must be his pseudonym. What was his real name? Did she know him in her previous life? The Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang had so many sons, grandsons and nephews. Who knew whom Ning Yuan might be?

    Inside the Side Pce, Madam Luo began to talk about her granddaughter Qiong, who had superb swing skills, superb lute-ying skills to perform five ancient songs, meticulous attention and caring to the servants, and great appreciation of aesthetics.

    Ning Yuan caressed a strand of silk hanging in his braid, and asked abruptly, ¡°In a family like yours, the girls are required to bind their feet since childhood, right?¡±

    Madam Luo froze for a moment before she nodded, ¡°Of course. My granddaughters were equipped with Mammies who were specially responsible for their foot-binding since they were 6 or 7. Every now and then their mammies would check the shape of their feet and improve the binding method as well as the herbs used for their foot bath. Yuan, you can ask around if you like. The three-inch golden lotus (a way that women binding their feet in the feudal age) made by my family is well-known throughout Yangzhou City...¡±

    Ning Yuan interrupted her and asked suddenly, ¡°What about your daughters of daughters?¡±

 Chapter 109 - Ning Yuan coerced He Danggui

    <h4>Chapter 109 Ning Yuan coerced He Danggui</h4>

    After hearing this, Madam Luo was stunned again. He Danggui fiercely red at Ning Yuan¡¯s lips. And she thought, ¡°It is too bad. Is he going to say what happenedst night?¡±

    Madam Luo thought for a moment, then looked at Ning Yuan carefully and said, ¡°Apart from those girls, I also have a granddaughter who is 10 years old. You once have met each other on the street. Yuan, do you...¡± ¡°This topic is too dangerous!¡± Thinking of this, He Danggui quickly touched the needles on the cuff around her wrist, took out the smallest silver needle and aimed at the Yamen acupoint of Ning Yuan which was 5 centimeters higher than his hairline. When she was in Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion in the previous life, she studied with a senior of hidden weapons known as the ¡°Invincible Dartlike Weapon¡±. Although she didn¡¯t even learn the superficial skills of that senior, she was confident that she could turn Ning Yuan into a mute instantly. He was heartless, so he couldn¡¯t me her for her cruelty!

    Under the zealous eyes of Madam Luo and the hidden but cold eyes of He Danggui, Ning Yuan smiled and said, ¡°Madam, you misunderstood me. I was far away from that younger sister at that time and was not very impressed with her. But I saw she ran very fast when she saved people. It seems that she doesn¡¯t bind her feet, so I asked casually. By the way, is her father from the capital? She seems to have the ent in the capital.¡± Madam Luo kept silent for a moment. After some vague words to reply, she changed the topic. They began to gossip and gradually talked with a smile. There was a harmonious atmosphere.

    He Danggui breathed a sigh of relief. She took the silver needle back, and then turned to see the affectionate scene between the aunt Feng Jiugu and the nephew, the fake Feng Yang.

    Feng Jiugu was a Hmong woman who was 41 years old now. She had a beautiful face and looked like a middle-aged woman in her thirties. Feng Jiugu had lived in Luo¡¯s Mansion in recent years, and was set up for life and respected by others. Her life in Luo¡¯s Mansion was much better than that when she was in Feng¡¯s Mansion. However, she spent years without husband and children, so she missed her nephew Feng Yang very much, who often followed her in his childhood. Now, with Madam Luo¡¯s help, she finally met Yang who was as handsome and reticent as before. He didn¡¯t change anymore except that he was a head taller than her.

    Seeing Jiugu holding the hands of the fake Feng Yang and chitchatting, He Danggui suddenly found that the eyes of Jiugu and fake Feng Yang looked same, and their noses and mouths were also quite simr. It was normal if they were biological aunt and nephew, but she remembered that Jiugu was an orphan brought back by Grandpa Feng...

    When He Danggui was contemting, she felt that there was someone in the hall looking at her straight. Then she looked up, seeing that Ning Yuan left the table through the back door on the other side under the pretext of changing clothes. Thinking that she needed to ¡°detoxify¡± Zhu, she didn¡¯t stop anymore. She turned around the corridor and went to the wing-room of the main hall directly. A dark shadow suddenly came outterally, blocking her way. It was Ning Yuan who had just left the table.

    ¡°Hey, do you have enough strength? Can you throw it out urately?¡± Ning Yuan looked at He Danggui and said sarcastically, ¡°You don¡¯t sit in your boudoir to learn to embroider, bute to eavesdrop and throw hidden weapons like others. For the safety of other concubines in my mansion, I will subject you to discipline today!¡±

    He Danggui nced at him and said coldly, ¡°Lu Jiangbei is a gentleman. You disguised as him. At first nce, you looked like a personage. But it¡¯s a pity that you spoke daggers. What a disappointment!¡±

    Ning Yuan became serious and asked, ¡°Are you familiar with Lu Jiangbei? Last time you said you met him only once!¡±

    ¡°Last time, you said that you had never met Lu Jiangbei! How did you disguise as him?¡± He Danggui raised her eyebrows slightly and said loudly, ¡°I didn¡¯t lie. Although I only met him once, I know that he is a hero who is a hundred times better than you.¡±

    Ning Yuan was very angry andughed sarcastically, ¡°No matter how good he is, you won¡¯t be able to wait for him. I will ask Madam Luo to bring you away now. Then you can only stay at my Lord¡¯s Mansion to miss Lu Jiangbei!¡±

    ¡°Lord¡¯s Mansion? There are no seigniors in Yangzhou City.¡± He Danggui smiled, ¡°As far as I know, thew stiptes that ¡®seigniors and their ns can¡¯t leave their fiefs without the Imperial Edict¡¯. Childe Ning, it seems to be a taboo to you, because you use a fake name, voice and face! If I yell out now, I wonder whether you, a young Lord or a young Shizi (the eldest legitimate son and heir of a Lord), will be in trouble.¡±

    Ning Yuan couldn¡¯t help being furious. What he was angry about was not that he identally spoke out his identity, but the girl who knew his identity but didn¡¯t fear him. She still tried to intimidate him. She really didn¡¯t know how to spell the word ¡°death¡±! Although he had internal injury now, it was easy for him to kill a little girl like her. Besides, knowing that he was a Lord or a Shizi, a person should bow down and kowtow at first! Since she could recite thew of the Ming Dynasty, she must understand the respect for royals! There would be many people passing by, so Ning Yuan decided to get He Danggui to a ce without other people before he argued with her.

    Ning Yuan normally took a half step forward. He Danggui immediately saw the mystery in his footwork and felt the oppression from him, so she said quickly, ¡°If you kill me now, 8 letters I wrote will be sent to officials of the Imperial n Department, Central Secretariat, Ministry of Punishments, Ministry of Official Personnel Affairs, Ministry of Rites, Dongchang Organization, Xichang Organization and the Department of Imperial Guard. Your identity is false, and you are pretending to be someone else, so you can run away at any time. However, Feng Yang and Caobang Organization cannot. I have written in the letter that the Young Bangzhu of Caobang Organization, Feng Yang, makes friends with a seignior who left his fief privately. And they are engaged in the illegal activities!¡±

    Ning Yuan caught her, flew into a side room, sped her neck tightly and sneered, ¡°You are a good storyteller, little girl. You know a lot of things, and all the things you said are key points. But you forget an important thing that my identity was revealed by myself just now, so how could you write the letters in advance? I found you were interesting at first, and I wanted to get you back to my Lord¡¯s Mansion to know you slowly. However, now my identity has been recognized by you, and you are not obedient enough, so I have to let you shut up forever...¡± Then, the strength on his hand really increased.

    He Danggui closed her eyes and whispered two names, ¡°Cao Hongrui, Geng Bingxiu.¡± Then she felt that the hand on her neck immediately flicked away. It was really effective.

    ¡°What did you say?¡± Ning Yuan was shocked and angry. He looked at He Danggui as if she was a monster, ¡°You make it clear!¡±

    He Danggui bypassed Ning Yuan in front of her, found a pot of yogurt on the corner cab and poured out half a bowl to drink. Then she replied slowly, ¡°I smelled the ambergris on you yesterday and found that your face was fake. Therefore, I suspected that you might be a Lord or a Shizi who left the fief privately, and you were in conflict with the imperial guards. You disguised as Lu Jiangbei, but when we met for the first time, you denied that you knew Lu Jiangbei, as if you were afraid that he woulde to you. It can be seen that the reason why you disguise as Lu Jiangbei is not that you admire him, but you were thinking of him when you were making this fake face. Therefore, you made his appearance unconsciously. Ha-ha! You should see your expression now. It seems that you see a ghost. You must be very afraid of him.¡±

    Ning Yuan gritted his teeth and said, ¡°I only need to kill you and all your servants. This thing is going to end, and my secret will not be exposed.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re so duplicitous. You want to know how I send my letters, right?¡± He Danggui picked up a piece of preserved kumquat and threw it into her mouth. Then she continued with a smile, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter to tell you. I have a carrier pigeon in each of the 8 dovecotes in Yangzhou City. And the letters I wrotest night after I went back to my room have been tied on their legs. Every 3 days, I asked my subordinates to feed them a kind of nectar called ¡°Xue Du Ruo¡±. If I die, the supply of Xue Du Ruo will be stopped. Then the carrier pigeons will crash out of the dovecotes and fly to the designated ces where they have been trained for many years, for example, the study room of the head of Dongchang Organization, Cao Hongrui, or the practice room of Deputy Commander of the Department of Imperial Guard, Geng Bingxiu... I¡¯ve heard that they are particrly interested in rebellion cases. As long as they cannot read these letters, they will not be able to eat well. After I die, I will send these letters to them as a ¡®vor dish¡¯.¡±

    Ning yuan kept silent with a cold expression. He was considering the authenticity of her words. How could a little girl know Xue Du Ruo, Cao Hongrui and Geng Bingxiu? In particr, only a few people knew that Geng Bingxiu was violent and bloodthirsty. After a pause, Ning Yuan asked in a deep voice, ¡°You are just a young girl of a noble family. How can you have subordinates? Did you join an organized school in Jianghu?¡±

    ¡°Since you have guessed it, I have to show my identity...¡± He Danggui put her small hands behind her back, trying to give him a stronger image, ¡°From your words, I know you are familiar with Jianghu, so you must have heard the ¡®Lord of Qi Yang¡¯!¡±

    ¡°Lord of Qi Yang? You are his...¡± Ning Yuan was surprised.

    ¡°Yes, Lord of Qi Yang is a grand master who overrides the orthodox & unorthodox factions. Qiyanggong Sect he founded is full of mysteries. His disciplese from all over the world. And he is a man like an immortal!¡± He Danggui cleared her throat, ¡°As for my position in Qiyanggong Sect, I can¡¯t disclose too much. In fact, my strong internal force is conveyed by him.¡±

    ¡°Your internal force is conveyed by Lord of Qi Yang? No wonder you can¡¯t control your Zhenqi and adjust your breath; you don¡¯t look as agile as the person who knows kung fu; and your technique of throwing hidden weapons is non-standard...¡± Ning Yuan held his chin and said to himself, ¡°But your internal force is as good as a first-rate senior. How pathetic you are! A man-made senior who gains without any effort often faces Qi Deviation. You have internal force, but you cannot use it. And you are so stupid that you were trampled by a horse yesterday... It was Zhenqi for protecting the body that saved your life.¡±

    He Danggui gritted her teeth and concluded, ¡°In short, I mean that we don¡¯t interfere with each other. I know that you are interested in Luo¡¯s Mansion and want to recuperate your serious injuries here. You are afraid of Lu Jiangbei, so maybe it was he who injured you!¡± He Danggui shrunk her neck, ¡°Why do you stare at me? I haven¡¯t injured you anyway. In a word, as long as you take care of your injuries peacefully, we will be at peace with each other. And I will never expose you, because it is not good for me. In fact, I also hate people like Geng Bingxiu and Cao Hongrui.¡±

    Ning Yuan gradually retracted his murderous look, which immediately reduced the pressure of He Danggui. She was relieved secretly, but she did not dare to show this.

    Just now, when she heard that he lived in the ¡°Lord¡¯s Mansion¡±, she wanted to say that she would expose the fact that he left the fief without permission. At that time, she did not know that a youth about 16 years old could have such excellent kung fu. She even did not have the chance to struggle or call for help. When he was about to strangle her, she was frightened. But begging for mercy and calling for help were the worst ways. Instead, she would have a better chance of surviving by threatening him with his identity.

    Ning Yuan thought for a while and warned, ¡°I will not kill you today. If this thing is revealed in the future, you will be the most suspect. I wille to you first and get even with you.¡±

    He Danggui sneered, ¡°Your ventriloquism is so poor. Maybe you have exposed yourself many times. Why do you doubt me first?¡±

    Ning Yuan stared at her fiercely and said in a cold voice, ¡°How disrespectful you are to me, little girl! Are you not afraid that I will trouble Luo¡¯s Family in the future? The Emperor is fond of killing people. As long as I find a suitable reason, it is possible that Luo¡¯s Family will be exterminated!¡±

    Covering her mouth with the handkerchief, He Danggui smiled with charming eyes, ¡°If ites true one day, I will invite you to drink and give you a red packet of 200 liang silver as a reward.¡±

    Ning Yuan looked at her in surprise and asked, ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°I mean¡ª¡± He Danggui turned around, poured out half a bowl of yogurt, stared at the white ssh and said slowly, ¡°Your weakness is Feng Yang. Even if you run away, I can find Feng Yang. But my weakness is not Luo¡¯s Family. If you kill them, you are helping me. I will be grateful to you.¡±

    ¡°Do you have a grudge against Luo¡¯s Family? Why? Isn¡¯t this your grandparents¡¯ family?¡± Ning Yuan stared at the profile of the girl in front of him.

    He Danggui didn¡¯t answer but asked, ¡°Childe Ning, is the deal we talked before still valid? You need a senior with strong internal force to help you heal. And I can¡¯t contact our Gongzhu (the head) of Qiyanggong Sect now and desperately need someone to teach me how to control the Zhenqi and use the internal force. Although we have a little misunderstanding just now, there is no conflict of interest or deep hatred between us. I don¡¯t think you are a narrow-minded person. Can you bury the hatchet and continue this mutually beneficial cooperation?¡±

    ¡°I cannot think of any objection. Let¡¯s start our cooperation tonight.¡± Ning Yuan nodded and said with a smile, ¡°However, it¡¯s dangerous to control the Zhenqi and use the internal force. Normally, it¡¯s best for a person to practice alone. Now we will practice together. At least, we should build a little trust between each other.¡±

    He Danggui raised her eyebrows slightly, ¡°What kind of trust? I¡¯m little and weak. You can kill me if you want to. What kind of guarantee do you need?¡±

    Ning Yuan shook his head and said, ¡°No, both sides of us will be constrained during practice. There is no great contrast between the strong and the weak. And now you know Feng Yang¡¯s weakness and also mine, but I did not know any weakness of you. If you expose our secrets in the future and run away, I will lose you and the money.¡±

    ¡°I have no money.¡± He Danggui said without thinking.

    Ning Yuanughed aloud and joked, ¡°No money? Just mortgage you to me first.¡± Ning Yuan dragged He Danggui into his arms, sniffing her faint fragrance beside her ear. Then he said with a smile, ¡°I¡¯m afraid that your credit is not good, so I have to charge a little interest first.¡± Then, he kissed He Danggui from her small earlobe and sighed, ¡°You may not be fat if you stay in Luo¡¯s Mansion, or you can stay with me...¡±

 Chapter 110 - Vicious oath of no descendants

    <h4>Chapter 110 Vicious oath of no descendants</h4>

    He Danggui suddenly found that she couldn¡¯t move. She cried out anxiously in a low voice, ¡°Relieve my acupoint! I will give you another benefit. You must be satisfied with it!¡±

    Ning Yuan stroked the beautiful and lovely face gently with his long fingers, appreciating the frightened look showing on the face for the first time. It turned out that she would care about some things too. It turned out that her calmness was also a mask. It turned out that when she took off her mask, she would also show a panic expression. Ning Yuan was delighted and approached He Danggui. Suddenly, he stuck his tongue out and grimaced at the face without make-up. Matching with Lu Jiangbei¡¯s face, Ning Yuan¡¯s action gave He Danggui a strange feeling. He kissed at her small nose tip slightly and said happily, ¡°Take it easy. I said that I only charged you a little interest today¡­¡±

    ¡°The soft spot of Geng Bingxiu, the material evidence of Lord Jin, Zhu Gang¡¯s corruption and perversion of thew, and the 5 favorite words of the Emperor! You can choose one thing you want to know!¡±

    Ning Yuan stopped and pushed her face away. After thinking for a while, he asked, ¡°The soft spot of Geng Bingxiu¡­ How do you know that? Why do you want to tell me?¡±

    He Danggui said casually, ¡°Our Qiyanggong Sect has arge congregation. We can inquire all things. You can use the precious ambergris, so I think you are also a celebrity who often meet the Emperor. He likes wearing crimson middle clothes and peach-pink inner gown, and before dinner, chewing the Longjing tea-leaves soaked 3 times. He usually eats the fillets of fresh fishes. We know all details of the life in the Imperial Pce! How much do you know about this?¡±

    ¡°What is the soft spot of Geng Bingxiu?¡± After surprise, Ning Yuan really believed her words, because everything the girl said was exactly true. And ording to his knowledge, Qiyanggong Sect had such a high level of intelligence. If not for his identity, even Wuying Tower could not get such urate information. This girl was really from Qiyanggong Sect!

    ¡°Childe Ning, is it your attitude towards trading?¡± He Danggui shouted seriously, ¡°How dare you punish the beloved disciple of the Lord of Qi Yang? Hum, unless you kill me at once, I will pay 10 timester for your insult to me! What are you still doing? Relieve the acupoint quickly!¡±

    Ning Yuan felt more surprised, ¡°Are you the outstanding disciple of Meng Xi, the creator of Changfeng Form and Lord of Qi Yang? But I¡¯ve never heard that he has a disciple, and never heard the second person in Jianghu who can use Changfeng Form. Besides, the level of your kung fu¡­ No, no, how can Meng Xi have such a weak disciple like you?¡±

    He Danggui sneered, ¡°Hares may pull dead lions by the beard. When I take revenge on you in the future, you don¡¯t regret about your behavior today. Although I can¡¯tpare with you in kung fu, it doesn¡¯t mean that I can¡¯t lesson you severely. If you don¡¯t relieve my acupoint quickly, there will be no Xue Du Ruo for those 8 carrier pigeons to eat this noon!¡±

    Ning Yuan drew the small face closer again and put the tip of his nose on hers. Then he said with a smile, ¡°You are really noisy. No matter what you said, or how amazing your identity was, you are my concubine I orderedst night. Now, my original intention is still unchanged. I¡¯ll take it as consolidating our contract¡­ As for the soft spot of Geng Bingxiu, and the material evidence of Zhu Gang¡¯s corruption and perversion of thew, I will let you tell me.¡±

    ¡°Third Miss! Third Miss? Third Miss!¡± Two old voices shouted alternately, ¡°The First Younger Mistress ising! Where are you?¡± He Danggui recognized the voices of Mammy Li and Mammy Hua. Both of them were the main forces arranged by Mammy Tang to entangle Dong Xin, the First Younger Mistress. Perhaps they could not wait for the pioneer He Danggui, so they were in a hurry to find her.

    He Danggui looked at the opposite side, seeing that Ning Yuan was about to poke her mute acupoint. She quickly scolded, ¡°Ning Yuan, is this the only method you can use to conquer women? You can just use your identity or kung fu to control people!¡±

    Ning Yuan¡¯s hand paused for a moment. Then he stopped his intention of poking her Yamen acupoint at the back of her neck, but gently stroked her cheek and said, ¡°Girl, I have many means, but you are only 10 years old. Those are not suitable for you!¡± Looking at the little beauty with angry expression in his arms, Ning Yuan sighed and raised his hand to relieve her major acupoints. He said to her in a rarely soft tone, ¡°Well, I¡¯ll let you go today. Actually, I¡¯m not a bad person. I¡¯ve never used strong means for women. You can think about it well. Even if you look all over the world, you will never find another person who has the power and status like me¡­ Ah! What did you do?!¡±

    Ning Yuan looked at a blood blister on the back of his hand in anger and shock. It looked as big as a copper cash. As it grew slowly, his right arm suddenly became numb and unable to move freely, and his right hand could hardly make a fist freely!

    He Danggui smiled, took back a silver needle into the cuff, nodded and said, ¡°I admit that I¡¯m a bit clumsy in throwing hidden weapons, but I¡¯m confident to show the skill of inserting needles. What do you think of my skill, Knight Ning? I also hope you can point out my shorings.¡± Seeing that Ning Yuan seemed to rush towards her angrily, she added unhurriedly, ¡°In fact, that silver needle is highly toxic. Do you still want to move around like this?¡±

    Ning Yuan was furious, ¡°What? How dare you poison me? I must make you bear the crime of murdering your husband, and I¡¯ll take off all your clothes¡­¡±

    He Danggui pped Ning Yuan in the face, and then ran back to the door quickly. She said with a hand crossed, ¡°I pped you to let you speak politely. Hey, don¡¯te here! My poison is very powerful!¡± Seeing Ning Yuan going forward a step, she retreated about 4 steps for her safety, and continued, ¡°If you don¡¯t believe me, you can stab your Shangqu acupoint with a silver needle to see what color it is on the tip of the needle. Shangqu acupoint is one of the 8 important acupoints for kung Fu learners. If there is a lot of poison there, I believe you will know how dangerous you are even if I don¡¯t say it!¡±

    Ning Yuan stared at her coldly and asked, ¡°Are you going to poison me to death?¡±

    ¡°This poison won¡¯t kill you, but 3 monthster, it will make you blind; 4 monthster, it will make you deaf; 5 monthster, it will make you bald. And 6 monthster, you are unable to have a son.¡± He Danggui counted the terrible effects of this ¡°poison¡±. The more she counted, the happier she was. Seeing Ning Yuan¡¯s face which even could not be described as ¡°unhappy¡±, and thinking of his amazing arts of lightness, she didn¡¯t want to offend him too thoroughly. Therefore, she said, ¡°But considering that it is your first offence to me, I also don¡¯t want to make you have no offspring. I will give you a temporary antidote every 7 days. When you leave Luo¡¯s Mansion, you will bepletely detoxified.¡±

    ¡°What are your requirements? I don¡¯t think you can help me without any conditions, can you?¡± He asked. At some point, Ning Yuan¡¯s eyes turned from dark ck to golden brown. His eyshes were long and dense, so the strange scene was covered. Not far away, He Danggui nned to escape, so she also didn¡¯t see his change.

    ¡°You¡¯re really smart. I do have a request,¡± He Danggui said, shaking her forefinger carefully. ¡°Although I doubt your credit, I want you to make a vicious oath immediately. If you seek revenge after detoxification, if you dare to touch me, if you insist on marrying me as your concubine, you will never have a child! Say it now! Say it! It¡¯s now or never! No one in this world can detoxify you except me!¡±

    Ning Yuan lowered his head and hated himself secretly, ¡°Not only does the injury suddenly recur, but also the Mo Tong Skill that my teacher Mr. Bai taught me suddenly fails. Is it because her poison is too powerful? It¡¯s really bad. Among all the Lords, only my eyes are brown. If this girl sees my brown eyes, with the intelligence ability of Qiyanggong Sect, my identity would bepletely exposed! If I kill her, Feng Yang¡¯s private friendship with a seignior will also be exposed. In order to avoid troubles, Chang Nuo can no longer pretend to be Feng Yang, and I will lose the strong support from Caobang Organization, just like losing one arm!¡±

    After thinking about the pros and cons for a while, Ning Yuan lowered his head and said stiffly, ¡°I swear. If I hurt you, if I am not sincere to you, and if I marry you as a concubine, I will have no child for my whole life.¡±

    He Danggui didn¡¯t expect that he had sworn so obediently. Hearing that Mammy Hua was about toe here, she didn¡¯t want to dy anymore. She hurriedly left a sentence, ¡°Your hand will move after 2 hours, and you can get the first antidote after 7 days!¡± Then she ran out of the corridor as fast as she could.

    She didn¡¯t stop until she ran to the main hall. Then she took a breath, ¡°Oh, what a terrible man! Peerless kung fu, meticulous scheming and ruthless heart!¡±

    ¡°Who is he? Among Zhu Yuanzhang¡¯s sons, grandsons and nephews, there are over 30 Lords and about 7 Lords are of his age. Besides, although he called himself ¡°Lord¡±, he may lie to me. It¡¯s true that the ambergris was not avable to ordinary people, but his arts of lightness is so excellent, so he can steal ambergris¡­ It¡¯s not good. He bes interested in my secret and wants to take me away to ¡°study slowly¡±. In a word, until he left Luo¡¯s Mansion, I have to prepare more ¡°poison¡± needles.¡±

    ¡°Third Miss, I have found you! Where have you been?¡± Mammy Li and Mammy Hua ran near, panted and said, ¡°First Younger Mistress ising with Zhu. Now she ising here. You¡­¡±

    ¡°Do ording to the n! I¡¯m going to the tearoom to hide.¡±

    He Danggui answered and turned around to walk into the main hall. She went through a side room and a wing-room, then to thest room and had a cup of tea to calm herself down. Fortunately, after stealing these needlesst night, she suddenly had a good idea. Smearing Tian Cang Ma anesthesia on the needles and matching with her Yunqi Acupuncture might lead to the double effect. Unexpectedly, she used it on Ning Yuan before she tried it. Tian Cang Ma anesthesia had the effects of benefiting galldder channel and rejuvenating the heart. In addition, the big blood blister she stabbed and the numbness temporarily intimidated Ning Yuan and forced him to make that vicious oath. She only hoped that he could keep his promise and nevere to trouble her again.

    Originally, she wanted the menservants called Feng Yan and Feng Yu to go out to look for Chan Yi. However, since she had fallen out with Ning Yuan, she had to think another way. He Danggui was in a state of preupation, and then she heard the voices of Dong Xin and Mammy Tang. After listening carefully, she found that there were many people, including Luo Baiqian, Luo Baishao and Wei.

    Mammy Tang was also surprised that Madam Luo just drove away two peoplest night, but today, with Zhu who was in aa, a total of 5 people came again. However, they only had 3 people, including Mammy Li and Mammy Hua. There was a huge gap between the two sides. In order to leave Zhu alone in the wing-room, Mammy Tang warmly invited everyone to talk to Madam Luo, and everyone agreed. When Dong Xin left, she wanted to take her son Zhu with her. Mammy Tang stopped her and said that theatose child could not move frequently. Otherwise, he would easily catch a cold and be in danger of falling. Dong Xin felt Mammy Tang¡¯s words reasonable, so she put Zhu in the middle of the couch and turned away.

    He Danggui listened to the sound of everyone¡¯s footsteps and the breathing sound of Zhu outside. It was long and smooth, meaning that Zhu slept well, so she went out to check his condition.

    A thin 3-year-old boy wearing brocade clothes was covered with brocade quilt. His eyes were closed, as if he was dreaming and no one could disturb him. He Danggui walked closer and thought, ¡°Since Dong Xin dares to take Zhu to visit Madam Luo, he would not wake at once. How could Dong Xin make him fall asleep?¡± He Danggui opened the brocade quilt, pulled the hand half smaller than hers to feel the pulse, and then opened his eyelids to see the color of his eyes.

    She sneered, ¡°Knockout drops, it should be knockout drops! There should be such a ruthless mother in the world. Just to find someone to revenge, just to frame a little girl who had no hatred with her, she even uses the knockout drops on her own son!¡±

    For healthy adults, knockout drops were just a simple drug whose efficacy would disappear after sleeping and sweating. However, Zhu was a little boy who also suffered from a serious illness. Now he was extremely weak. Therefore, it was hard to say what kind of sequ he would have after he took this kind of ¡°refined knockout drops¡±. Although Luo Baiqian was a skilled physician, Dong Xin did not have any medical knowledge and did not know that she had made a big mistake now.

    He Danggui thought for a moment, took out 3 small size and one medium size silver needles, and then took off the coat of Zhu to give him an acupuncture treatment. After about 15 minutes, she faintly heard the voices from the distance, among which Dong Xin¡¯s voice was the loudest. He Danggui frowned, quickly collected the needles and dressed Zhu. She sneered, ¡°In daily life, Dong Xin often speaks in a voice as low as the mosquito. It seems that this time, she suffered a lot of grievances from Luo Baiqian. In order tofort herself, she even uses her real voice.¡±

    Restoring the quilt of Zhu to the original state with 4 corners rolled up, He Danggui supported the windowsill with one hand and jumped to the back of the house, standing behind a cluster of Chinese roses and listening to the voices from the distance. In addition to the people who just left, it seemed that there were also the people who talked with Madam Luo before, as well as Mr. Ma and Mr. Wu, the famous physicians of San Qing Tang who lived in Luo¡¯s Mansion recently to treat Zhu. Oh, it was livelier than a y.

    After a sound of footsteps, Dong Xin cried, ¡°My son just recovered yesterday. That woman is so cruel. I don¡¯t know what was put in the cubilose. He fell into aa after drinking it! Oh, I don¡¯t know if he can wake up this time!¡±

    Because she was reprimanded by Madam Luo yesterday, Dong Xin no longer called ¡°He Danggui¡± today, but used ¡°that woman¡± to refer to her. Madam Luo, Mammy Tang and Luo Baiqian knew the reason, but Ning Yuan and the fake Feng Yang were confused and thought that there was a fatal case.

    Therefore, the fake Feng Yang suggested, ¡°Don¡¯t be sad, Madam. Poisoning and killing people are not allowed in our country, let alone poisoning a kid. Let¡¯s notify the Yamen as soon as possible and let the local government handle it.¡±

    ¡°No, you can¡¯t notify the Yamen!¡± Madam Luo, Mammy Tang and Dong Xin shouted in unison.

 Chapter 111 - Young Master was poisoned

    <h4>Chapter 111 Young Master was poisoned</h4>

    The fake Feng Yang and Ning Yuan looked at each other, finding the confusion in each other¡¯s eyes. The family was so united that they said the same thing. However, who was the murderer poisoning that kid? Not only Madam Luo who was the head of the family spoke to protect him, but also the mother of the ¡°victim¡± was afraid to notify the Yamen to arrest him?

    In fact, the reason why Madam Luo didn¡¯t allow them to notify the Yamen was not that she was afraid of taking the responsibility of poisoning Zhu because the cubilose was sent by her order. Instead, she was afraid that the secret of jujube pit might be exposed. It was a big secret about the heirlooms of Luo¡¯s Family!

    Luo Baishao suddenly asked, ¡°Sister-inw, you are here to do justice for Nephew Zhu, aren¡¯t you? Why don¡¯t you let the officials take her away for questioning?¡± It sounded interesting that He Danggui was sent to prison.

    Dong Xin felt that all the people in the wing-room, including Madam Luo, were staring at her. She smiled awkwardly and said, ¡°Actually, I¡¯m not cruel. I also can¡¯t bear to send a little girl to prison... Well, if she is willing to be punished, and then I will give her a way out. After all, who dares to marry a girl who has ever been in prison?¡±

    Madam Luo nodded, ¡°That¡¯s the truth. Xin is virtuous and considerate.¡±

    Mammy Tang was troubled because she and Third Miss hadn¡¯t told Madam Luo about their ¡°Rescue n¡±. Just before, she led First Younger Mistress Luo to talk to Madam Luo, and left Third Miss to detoxify Zhu. However, after hearing that Dong Xin had brought Zhu here, Madam Luo led a group of people toe here. Mammy Tang had no time to talk to Madam Luo, and couldn¡¯t find an excuse to stop them, so she had to see them entered the main hall one by one. Now Zhu was still in aa. Obviously, the treatment of Third Miss was unsessful. Maybe it was because of the disturbance of these people. Was there any remedy at present?

    Thinking of this, Mammy Tang came up to hold Dong Xin¡¯s arm and said, ¡°You should calm down, First Younger Mistress Luo. There are so many people here and Third Miss is timid. How can you let here here and be punished? It¡¯s better to let Dr. Ma and Dr. Wu treat Zhu. You can go back...¡±

    ¡°No way! A life for a life. Now I only ask her to kowtow to me to make amends, and then hit her by board as punishment.¡± Dong Xin screamed, ¡°If my requirements are not allowed, is there any justice in the family? Mammy Tang, don¡¯t protect her anymore. Her surname is not Luo, but Zhu is the legitimate son of Luo¡¯s Family!¡± Dong Xin was going to give He Danggui a lesson in public. Certainly, the more people here, the more respect she gained. Now listening to Mammy Tang¡¯s words, she found that Mammy Tang clearly wanted to smooth things over. Of course, she could ruthlessly teach He Danggui a lesson in private, but she was beaten in public by Luo Baiqian. How could she let it go?

    The fake Feng Yang and Ning Yuan looked at each other again. Third Miss? It turned out that the murderer was one of thedies of Luo¡¯s Family? ording to these people¡¯s words, they all knew the murderer. Now they were just discussing how to deal with this person.

    Ning Yuan drooped his eyes, ¡°Since this is a family matter of Luo¡¯s Mansion, and the murderer is a young Miss, it¡¯s not appropriate for Feng Yang and me to be here, so see youter.¡±

    At this time, his eyes had changed from brown to ck. After He Danggui left, Ning Yuan remembered that Mr. Bai had said that when using Mo Tong Skill, one should keep his mind and have no emotions and desires. Otherwise, the skill would be naturally relieved. His pupils changed back to their original colors must be because he was disturbed by her face and fragrance. Therefore, Ning Yuan held his breath and collected his spirit to drive the annoying little girl out of his mind. Then he sessfully used Mo Tong Skill again.

    With Madam Luo¡¯s permission, Ning Yuan and the fake Feng Yang turned to leave. Dong Xin suddenly whispered, ¡°Miss? He Danggui is just a wild girl raised in the countryside?¡± Although her voice was not loud, everyone in the room hear it clearly.

    The name ¡°He Danggui¡± sessfully stopped Ning Yuan. His right arm was behind his back. At the moment, it still could not move freely. The blood blister on his right hand didn¡¯t get better, so he hid the whole hand in his sleeve. It was caused by the poison of that little girl. Now she also poisoned a kid? The woman also said that the little girl was not the Miss of Luo¡¯s Family, but a ¡°wild girl raised in the countryside¡±!

    Ning Yuan stopped and turned around. Then the fake Feng Yang also stopped, which showed that he followed the order of the former.

    When Madam Luo saw that the two youths stopped and looked at them curiously, she was annoyed by Dong Xin. She thought, ¡°Ah! Lan is the legitimate daughter of a noble family, but she doesn¡¯t know the truth that family scandals can¡¯t be publicized. It isn¡¯t a glorious thing to have an unorthodox young Miss at home. How can she say it in public! I just chatted with the guests for a long time, but I didn¡¯t disclose it. They were clearly about to leave. But now, she used only a word to attract them to stay. It¡¯s Luo¡¯s Family that will lose face atst!¡±

    Mammy Tang went to the tearoom and then came back. She didn¡¯t find He Danggui. Therefore, she guessed that Third Miss had probably escaped before they came in. Now that the present situation was not good, as the old saying went, other ways wouldn¡¯t work, and only the Third Miss who was clever and sensible was the most flexible and reasonable way. Mammy Tang said quietly to Shi Liu, ¡°Go and call Third Miss to kowtow to First Younger Mistress Luo to make amends. Tell her that the new guests are also here. She¡¯d better be sensible. After this, Madam Luo will love her more.¡±

    Shi Liu was a maid of about 13 years old. A few years ago, she had a disease after eating the uncooked meat, so she was a little stupid. She likedughing every day, but she didn¡¯t know how to take her cue from others. She replied straightforwardly, ¡°Mammy Tang, you are confused! Madam Luo ordered us to send the soup. Sister Pu Gongying cooked it by herself. Third Miss never showed up. It had nothing to do with her. Why should she kowtow to make amends? Maybe Sister Pu Gongying and I can kowtow to First Younger Mistress Luo to admit the mistake.¡±

    Her voice was not so loud, but it was clearly heard by everyone in the room, including He Danggui who was outside. Imaging the faces of Dong Xin, Mammy Tang and Madam Luo in the room, He Danggui couldn¡¯t help smiling. She had been dealing with Luo¡¯s Family for so many years. The first fair words for her she heard in her two lives shoulde from a silly little maid.

    Madam Luo saw the surprised or embarrassed faces of all the people in the room. Obviously, they all heard Shi Liu¡¯s words. Therefore, she pondered for a moment and said, ¡°I think my granddaughter-inw had a little conflict with Yi. Originally, you girls always have a conflict with each other for a while and then make peace. I have nothing to do with this. But this time, I meddled in. I asked Pu Gongying to make the cubilose soup and send it in the name of Yi. I wanted you two to make up. Who knows that there should be something wrong with it? It was because of me.¡±

    Mammy Tang stared at Shi Liu, and saw that thetter was still smiling and even didn¡¯t know that she said something wrong. Madam Luo and Mammy Tang had always been partial to her. Every time they saw her carefree look, they feel that their troubles were reduced. Shi Liu seldom got scolded no matter what mistakes she made. Many maids often asked her to scapegoat for their mistakes when they damaged the master¡¯s things. She also agreed happily, so she had the best rtionship among the maids.

    Mammy Tang sighed, ¡°Well, call Pu Gongying here. We will ask her if she carelessly added something unclean when making soup.¡± Shi Liu replied and bounced away.

    Dong Xin was really remorseful. She thought, ¡°Now it bes such a big deal. Luo Baiqian, who is rarely seen before, is here, and two handsome young guests are also here. If He Danggui could kowtow to me to make amends, and then be hit 40 boards, I can give vent to my anger and save face, and let Luo Baiqian see the ugliness of his dear cousin. Besides, it can provide a new topic for servants to talk about in Luo¡¯s Mansion. With the embarrassment of He Danggui crying in public in pain, the ¡°event of the ownership of a man¡¯s belt¡± yesterday would naturally be inferior byparison.¡±

    Dong Xin couldn¡¯t help biting her silver teeth. Three goals could be achieved at the same time by doing this good n. But she seemed destined to be unable to implement it now. However, she wanted to fight for it, so she wiped her tears and said, ¡°Even if this event has nothing to do with her, she can¡¯t get rid of the fact that those things which hurt Zhu crawled all over her yard! Last night, I just came to ask for a reasonable exnation, but I failed. After I went back, I felt aggrieved, so I neglected to take care of Zhu. Wind blew his forehead and then he had a cold at night. Maybe he fainted due to the cold. Grandma, you love them most. Please give me and my children a justice!¡± She specially stressed the words ¡°me and my children¡± to remind Madam Luo of the unfair treatment she received. She gave birth to three children for Luo¡¯s Family, but she was unable to manage family affairs, and was beaten by Luo Baiqian. Therefore, Luo¡¯s Family owed her a lot!

    Madam Luo stroked the little face of Zhu on the couch andforted Dong Xin, ¡°You and Zhu suffered a lot from the mice. I am also distressed when seeing Zhu. Yi suffered a lot, too. Now she¡¯s guiltier for Zhu. Don¡¯t me her too much. You just tell her the truth and let her correct it slowlyter.¡± Then she said to Mammy Hua, ¡°Call Yi here and ask her to kowtow to her sister-inw as we said yesterday. Then it¡¯s over.¡±

    Dong Xin was very happy, and she tried not to show it on her face. But the corner of her eyes slightly raised. Luo Baiqian was very unhappy when he saw that. This shrew was the most aggressive, and she specialized in bullying kind people. This morning, she dragged him and didn¡¯t let him go out. It turned out that she had such a n. What a shame! Therefore, Luo Baiqian immediately framed Dong Xin, ¡°You said that our son fainted after eating the soup sent by ¡®Third Sister¡¯. Later, hearing that the soup was sent by ¡®Grandma¡¯, you said that Zhu fainted because of the cold. Dong Xin, you are a mother. Don¡¯t you know why your son fainted?¡±

    ¡°Oh! As long as I made trouble for He Danggui, Luo Baiqian was the first one to help her! That wild girl from countryside doesn¡¯t have parents to teach her. She is born to be a coquette to seduce others¡¯ husbands!¡± Dong Xin thought and sneered, ¡°Hum. This time, I have already thought of how to deal with it!¡±

    ¡°So what? The San Qing Tang and Medicine Pavilion were not under my control. What¡¯s wrong with me if I know nothing about the medical science?¡± Dong Xin wiped the tears that didn¡¯t exist in the corner of her eyes with a silk handkerchief andined, ¡°You¡¯re not at home all day. Dr. Wu and Dr. Ma can¡¯t stay in Liu Li Tang all day. Every time youe back from the outside, as long as you see any doctor or manservant, you will be angry and pull your face as long as the horse.¡± Then she said with a little coquettish meaning, and snorted, ¡°You have no conscience. You go outside all day, but you doubt me who take care of the children for you. Yesterday, just for the belt of a man from the Elder Sister...¡±

    ¡°Enough! Stop talking!¡± Luo Baiqian and Madam Luo stopped Dong Xin at the same time. Madam Luo trembled with anger. This time, she lost her face. How could Dong Xin speak so freely in front of the outsiders! She was ady in a big family and also read a lot of books in Dong¡¯s Family. Didn¡¯t her know that the first chapter of the female virtues asked women to learn how to maintain the reputation of her family? Or did she never regard herself as a member of Luo¡¯s Family? Ordinarily she knew what to say and what not to say. How could she act up and coquet in front of strangers now!

    In fact, it was not Dong Xin¡¯s fault. Her father was strict to her before she got married, and Luo Baiqian was also strict to her after marriage. Apart from the dusty menservants in family, she had seen no more than five decent men in her life. This time, she suddenly saw two handsome, elegant and noble young men, so she was excited and couldn¡¯t help coquetting.

    As for the scandal of Luo Baiying, although Luo Baiqian repeatedly exhorted her not to tell it out, and he also gave the hush money to every servant in the yard who heard it yesterday, Dong Xin got angry again after seeing Luo Baiyingst night. She immediately made up her mind to find an asion with the most people and speak out the scandal! Hum, it was obvious that Luo Baiqian wanted to keep it in secret. So many servants only heard that Luo Baiqian beat her because of a man¡¯s belt, but they didn¡¯t hear that Wei had said that the belt belonged to Luo Baiying. Those servants probably thought that she was dissolute and she was beaten by Luo Baiqian when she got caught. Thinking of that pair of dead fish eyes of Luo Baiying, she would be extremely angry. Why should she take the me for Luo Baiying!

    ¡°Sister, let Dr. Ma and Dr. Wu see Zhu first.¡± Jiugu, who had not spoken all the time, came out to smooth things over and shook Madam Luo¡¯s trembling hands.

    Madam Luo nodded reluctantly, so Dr. Ma went up to feel Zhu¡¯s pulse. After looking at the eyes and the coating on the tongue of Zhu, Dr. Ma said in a deep voice, ¡°Young Master is poisoned!¡±

 Chapter 112 - What a mess

    <h4>Chapter 112 What a mess</h4>

    Although Madam Luo and Mammy Tang were mentally well-prepared, they were shocked by Dr. Ma¡¯s words. Dong Xin was not surprised but angry. Dr. Ma was so stupid! Shi Liu had said that the cubilose soup was sent by Madam Luo. Why did he still say that Zhu had been poisoned?

    In the early of this morning, Pu Gongying brought a cup of superior red cubilose soup, saying that it was made by the Third Miss for Zhu. Although the red cubilose was a good thing, it wasn¡¯t a rarity for Dong Xin. A few days ago, when she was pregnant, all the red cubilose in Luo¡¯s Family was sent to her. Wang Qi¡¯s wife, the administrator of kitchen, cooked it for her in various ways, so she just wanted to vomit when eating it.

    After Pu Gongying left, Dong Xin was very angry, so she raised her hand and sshed the red cubilose soup on the ground, which made her happier. Then she hit upon an idea while seeing Zhu who was sound asleep in couch. She fed him with a few knockout drops dissolved in warm water. Then she asked Shu¡¯er to tell Dr. Ma, who lived in the guest room, that if Madam Luo asked Zhu¡¯s situation, he just told Madam Luo that Zhu had been poisoned by the cubilose sent by He Danggui, so that he was unconscious. And she also gave Dr. Ma a red packet of 20 liang silver.

    Seeing that Dr. Ma was extremely stiff, Dong Xin hastened to wink at him. At this time, Luo Baiqian was confused by her action, so he asked, ¡°Do you have a cramp in your eyes?¡± Then Dong Xin had to give up the idea of changing Dr. Ma¡¯s words.

    ¡°Madam Luo, the Third Miss ising.¡± Mammy Hua led in the Third Miss she met on the way. He Danggui came up and bowed to Madam Luo. Then she stood obediently behind Mammy Hua. It seemed that she was unchanged, as timid and resigned as she was in everyone¡¯s memory.

    ¡°Ah, she¡¯s the ghost!¡± Wei, who stood in the corner, looked at He Danggui and threw the thing in his hand away. He cried, ¡°She¡¯s the ghost! She is the ghost who wants to kill my little brother!¡±

    Wei threw the thing on Mammy Li¡¯s feet, and then Mammy Li looked down. Immediately, she yelled, ¡°Ah! That¡¯s a mouse! A mouse!¡±

    All people looked at it. It was really a mouse. Among the people in the room, Luo Baiqian was the one most afraid of it. He killed the mice all the time yesterday, and he dreamed of these things at night. Therefore, seeing them again, he jumped to the couch where his son was sleeping without taking off his shoes. That mouse didn¡¯t go to find anyone else, but just jumped into the couch and crawled to the sleeping Zhu. Then Dong Xin and Madam Luo started screaming, but they didn¡¯t dare toe forward to save Zhu.

    Seeing that the mouse was about to climb onto Zhu, Madam Luo looked up to the sky and shouted, ¡°Nie Chun, help!¡± Then Nie Chun, who was always hiding in the dark, leaped into the room immediately. He killed that mouse by waving his palm and threw it away from the window with another wave.

    Dong Xin was irritated, and then she saw He Danggui lowering her head in the corner. Immediately, she rushed toward He Danggui with her right palm high raised and was about to hit He Danggui. However, He Danggui who was in the cornerpletely wasn¡¯t aware of it, but just lowered her head without any intention of avoiding. The fake Feng Yang was close to He Danggui. Seeing this, he subconsciously jumped to and stood in front of her to block Dong Xin. Therefore, Dong Xin who was rushing rebounded from the fake Feng Yang and took some steps backward. Wherever she went, everyone avoided her. Atst, she sat on the ground.

    Dong Xin was so anxious and angry that she screamed, ¡°Ah! You bastard! Why do you stop me?¡± Mammy Pin stepped forward to hold her, and whispered that the Childe was Feng Yang, the Young Lord of Caobang Organization, an important guest invited by Madam Luo. Young Lord of Caobang Organization? Dong Xin¡¯s face turned pale at once. The trepang business of Dong¡¯s Family depended on the business channels of Caobang Organization! Then Dong Xin got rid of Mammy Pin¡¯s hands angrily. She said angrily, ¡°Hum, before I fell down, you saw me but eluded. But now, why do you hold me?¡±

    Mammy Pin was sent by Madam Luo to serve Jiugu. Although she could notpare with Mammy Tang in status in Luo¡¯s Mansion, she was an elder. Besides, as an old saying went, ¡°When you beat a dog, you should consider its owner.¡± Hearing Dong Xin¡¯s words, Jiugu said unhappily, ¡°First Younger Mistress Luo, why did you hit the Third Miss?¡±

    Dong Xin pointed to He Danggui behind the fake Feng Yang who was tall and strong, replying angrily, ¡°She is a jinx! Before she came, all of us were just talking with each other. As soon as she came in, first she scared Wei and then almost let the mouse bite Zhu!¡± After hearing that, Feng Jiugu¡¯s face turned pale. Then Dong Xin realized that she had misspoken because the biggest ¡°jinx¡± there was Feng Jiugu! And the word ¡°jinx¡± was a taboo for Jiugu. The reason why she refused to go back to Feng¡¯s Mansion with Feng Yilian was that Madam Feng once pointed at her nose and scolded her as ¡°white tiger spirit¡± and ¡°jinx¡±.

    Finally, Madam Luo was intolerant of her granddaughter-inw who spoke bad words frequently. She rebuked, ¡°Granddaughter-inw, I think you are the niece of my first daughter-inw, and you are spoiled at Dong¡¯s Family, so I always treat you as my granddaughter. But you definitely crossed the line today! You even don¡¯t know how to speak well in front of the distinguished guests. Today, even if your mother-inw doesn¡¯t teach you a lesson, I will do it for her!¡±

    Madam Luo¡¯s rebuke stunned Dong Xin. Then she threw herself on Zhu who wasatose, and cried, ¡°How undeserved! What¡¯s wrong with me? Zhu has be like this. Why can¡¯t I beat her?¡±

    Luo Baishao saw Wei shaking in chaos, so she asked happily, ¡°Nephew Wei, don¡¯t hide! Come to y with me! Tell me, why do you call the Third Sister ghost? Why do you think she looks like a ghost?¡±

    ¡°Ah, ghost!¡± Wei rushed towards Luo Baishao¡¯s arms, shivering and shouting, ¡°Fourth Aunt, help! The bitch He muste to avenge herself on me and my little brother! Don¡¯t look for me! It was my little brother who pushed her down the rockery. I was just watching them. I did nothing!¡±

    After Wei finished, all the people in the wing-room kept quiet. Even Dong Xin who was the loudest stopped crying. All people were shocked. They looked at Wei together and then looked at Wei¡¯s mother together.

    All people in Luo¡¯s Family knew that ¡°the bitch He¡± said by Wei was Third Miss. Under the ¡°education of different status¡± of the First Younger Mistress Luo, not only the two Young Masters called the Third Miss of low status ¡°the bitch He¡±, but a maid in Liu Li Tang called her ¡°the bitch He¡± casually. Much to their surprise, a white dog named ¡°Shuo Yue¡± from the Western Regions raised in Liu Li Tang would like to roll and y with anyone in the family. But it went away only when seeing the Third Miss.

    In the stare of the crowd, Dong Xin regretted and wanted to leave. After hearing that He Danggui was reborn in the Taoist temple, she immediately joined up with the First Mistress Luo to persuade Madam Luo not to bring He Danggui home. She was afraid that He Danggui would tell others that Zhu pushed her down the rockery and hurt her head if she came back. Later, Li Jiuguang¡¯s wife from the Taoist temple said that He Danggui had lost her memory and couldn¡¯t remember all the things before her ¡°death¡±. Therefore, Dong Xin no longer cared about Madam Luo¡¯s determination to take He Danggui back. Then she was busy looking after her son Zhu, so she forgot to tell Wei that he didn¡¯t need to be panic while seeing ¡°the bitch He¡± and never told others that he and his little brother bullied He Danggui so she fell off the rockery!

    In fact, Dong Xin didn¡¯t want to bring Wei here because he had been crying for his mouse since yesterday. And he was sadder than when his little brother died. But in this morning, Luo Baiqian was absent-minded and tried to go out, while Wei made the effort to leave him staying at home. Then Dong Xin was very happy, so she brought Wei here and asked him not to let his father leave.

    ¡°Hey, why do you all stare at me?¡± Dong Xin rolled her eyes and screamed, ¡°Wei is only 3 years old. How can you believe his words? Why don¡¯t you ask He Danggui if she was pushed down? Did Zhu push her down? Grandma, you know that Zhu can¡¯t even hold chopsticks while eating. How can he push a strong person down the rockery?¡±

    Therefore, everyone looked at He Danggui.

    He Danggui was also shocked because when she woke up in the Taoist temple in the previous life and in this life, the memory of her death was nk, which was really weird. She had doubted several defiant maids, and also doubted Dong Xin, Sun Meiniang or Luo Baishao, but she had never doubted these two three-year-old nephews. Oh, how weak she was in the previous life! She should be pushed down the rockery by Zhu who couldn¡¯t hold chopsticks and just learned to walk!

    Then He Danggui realized that both Dong Xin and Ms. Zhao, the First Mistress Luo, knew that she was killed by Zhu.

    She lost her memory in the previous life, and she said she only remembered a dream that three kids were fighting for a jelly bean. Then the jelly bean fell onto the ground, and she picked it up and ate it. After that, she woke up. This dream was delivered to the people in Luo¡¯s Family by several women who kept vigil beside the coffin. Ms. Zhao and Dong Xin were guilty about it. They thought that ¡°three kids¡± in He Danggui¡¯s dream obviously were Dong Xin¡¯s three children. Even if He Danggui really lost her memory, there must be several scenes before she died in her mind. Maybe once she returned to Luo¡¯s Mansion, she would remember who killed her. Therefore, Ms. Zhao and Dong Xin bribed Fortune-teller Li on the West Street, and then told Madam Luo some bad words about He Danggui. As a result, He Danggui was abandoned in the Taoist temple for half a year.

    Thinking of that, He Danggui, who was standing behind the fake Feng Yang, suddenly put her hands on her head and cried out sadly, ¡°Ah, I have a splitting headache! Ah, I can¡¯t remember it! Don¡¯t push me. I forget everything!¡± After this, she closed her eyes and fell onto the ground.

    The fake Feng Yang was shocked, and then he held her in his arms nimbly. But immediately, he thought it was inappropriate, so he highly held her neck with one hand and wanted someone to help. Then he handed her to Ning Yuan and winked at him to ask if Ning Yuan wanted to take her. Ning Yuan shook his head slightly. At this time, Nie Chun in red, the tallest man, came out and held He Danggui who was just like a doll under his right arm. Then he walked quickly to hand her to Madam Luo who was sitting beside the couch.

    Madam Luo touched He Danggui¡¯s chest, and then her face suddenly changed. She cried loudly, ¡°No, Yi is going to die again! What a short-lived child!¡±

    Nie Chun tugged at He Danggui¡¯s right arm to feel her pulse. Then he found that there was no response. He used his finger to transmit Zhenqi for her, but it was also useless. Therefore, Nie Chun, who hardly had expressions, couldn¡¯t help opening his mouth and eximing, ¡°She really died! Was she scared to death?¡±

    Luo Baiqian didn¡¯t believe it. Therefore, he pushed Nie Chun away and grabbed that delicate arm to feel the pulse. After a while, Dong Xin looked unhappy and just wanted toin. Unexpectedly, another man grabbed the arm from Luo Baiqian to observe. Luo Baiqian and Nie Chun stared at the man together. Where did hee from? Someone of Luo¡¯s Family was dead now. Did he have anything to do with it?

    Ning Yuan frowned and felt He Danggui¡¯s pulse. He also wanted to feel the pulse on the side of her neck and the heartbeat on her chest, but he stopped because he was surrounded by several people who were staring at him. She was indeed dead from her pulse. Ning Yuan shook his head. If he hadn¡¯t dealt with her, it was OK. But just now, she was still fighting with him. He had to admit that he lost a game, though he was unwilling to admit it in his mind. How could a girl with subtlety, means and courage be scared to death by a three-year-old kid? Thinking of this, he transmitted Zhenqi for her through her right palm.

    Seeing this, Nie Chun also held another hand of He Danggui to transmit Zhenqi for her. However, he felt that his Zhenqi was useless for her life.

    When all the people in the room were nervous, gloating or waiting, Zhu lying on the couch writhed suddenly. Then he looked extremely painful and got cramp in the whole body. Meanwhile, he started foaming at the mouth. Dong Xin burst into tears, rushed to pick up him and asked, ¡°How could this happen? What about Zhu?¡±

    Dr. Ma threw up his hands and replied helplessly, ¡°First Younger Mistress Luo, I have said that Young Master was poisoned! Highly toxic!¡±

 Chapter 113 - A zombie in the garden

    <h4>Chapter 113 A zombie in the garden</h4>

    ¡°Poisoned? It¡¯s impossible. He didn¡¯t eat anything. How could he be poisoned!¡± Dong Xin shook her son¡¯s body and refused to believe Dr. Ma¡¯s diagnosis. She just let Zhu take some knockout drops to have a good sleep. Luo Baiqian had taken that kind of knockout drops before, but he could still jump and run out after sleeping for a while. Seeing her weak son, Dong Xin felt extremely distressed. Turning around, she saw He Danggui who was lying on the other side of the soft couch. She immediately became angry again. Then she wanted to p He Danggui and scolded, ¡°That jinx has harmed my son. He had nightmares every day after she died! He must be frightened by her!¡±

    At the same time, Madam Luo and Mammy Tang opened their mouths in surprise, ¡°Zhu... didn¡¯t eat anything!¡±

    People couldn¡¯t be disturbed when they were transmitting Zhenqi. Otherwise, not only couldn¡¯t they save others, but they would be in danger. Seeing that Dong Xin was going to hurt others, the fake Feng Yang immediately stood behind Ning Yuan and stared at Dong Xin coldly. He thought that if he couldn¡¯t scare her away, he would have to make an exception to hit a woman. Dong Xin felt the danger from the fake Feng Yang and couldn¡¯t help slowing down. Then she turned around to attack He Danggui from the side where Nie Chun stood. Today, she determined to discipline He Danggui. This coquette was repugnant when she was alive, and harmed her son after she died!

    Getting a glimpse of Dong Xin¡¯s clothes fluttering on his back, Nie Chun immediately pushed his elbow back, took off Dong Xin¡¯s arm and shook her away.

    Dong Xin felt that her right arm was numb, and then she couldn¡¯t control it. Although she was not very painful, as a noble woman, she had never dislocated, so she burst into tears then and there, which destroyed her makeup. Luo Baiqian ran to her and held her up. He asked angrily, ¡°Why does Zhu have nightmares every day? Did he push the Third Sister down from the rockeryst time? Why do you know everything but I know nothing?¡±

    Dong Xin kept moaning in pain and crying, but refused to answer these questions of Luo Baiqian. Seeing Nie Chun hit his mother to cry, and remembering that he also killed his lovely pets before, Wei rushed up and pped Nie Chun¡¯s feet after all the hatred came up. Heined loudly, ¡°You killed my lovely pets! You¡¯re the murder! You¡¯re the devil!¡± Nie Chun frowned and snorted, ¡°Idiot!¡± Then he kicked the kid on his feet to Luo Baiqian.

    Luo Baiqian caught his son who flied towards him. He didn¡¯t have time to take revenge on Nie Chun, but held his son and scolded him, ¡°You damned fool! How can you keep that kind of thing as a pet?¡± Thinking of the moving ck spots on the belt under the pillow yesterday, Luo Baiqian couldn¡¯t help shivering, so he stared at his son fiercely and said, ¡°From now on, you can¡¯t keep anything alive. If I find you keep those things again, I will castrate you!¡±

    Wei kept shaking his head, opening his mouth and crying, ¡°Dad is a bad dad. Mom is better! Mom said as long as I put my pet in the yard of the bitch He, I can keep my pets as much as I want!¡±

    Dong Xin¡¯s expression changed rapidly. She raised her left arm and pped her son in the face, ¡°What are you talking about? Who let you put the mouse in He Danggui¡¯s yard?¡±

    Then Wei cried more loudly, ¡°Mom is also a bad mom! You break your promise! You praised me for thisst time. You said you would give me prizes, but now you hit me!¡± Dong Xin was so regretful that she wanted to bump her head. Why did she bring this little devil with her? He exposed everything! At the moment, Dong Xin¡¯s right arm could not move at all. Seeing Zhu whose body was convulsing in couch and Wei venting his anger on the ground, Dong Xin suddenly cried, ¡°What a miserable destiny I have! I often have troubles. No one upholds justice for me. Third Aunt, why don¡¯t youe to save me? You¡¯ve made me miserable!¡±

    Madam Luo beat the couch angrily, ¡°Shut up! Zhu is still alive! Why do you begin to say unlucky words! Qian, let your wife shut up!¡±

    Luo Baiqian¡¯s eyes immediately became bright and excited. He almost kowtowed and said thankfully, ¡°Yes, I will do that!¡± He instantly took off the sweatband at his waist. Holding Dong Xin¡¯s hair with one hand, he used the other hand to wrap Dong Xin¡¯s head around three or four circles with the sweatband, blocking her mouth tightly. Dong Xin kept struggling. Her gold hairpins and silver hair essories fell to the ground. She also scratched Luo Baiqian¡¯s neck with her left hand, leaving three blood stains. Luo Baiqian was extremely angry and immediately dislocated Dong Xin¡¯s left arm. But he was not as skilled as Nie Chun. He almost pulled the arm to dislocated with brute force, making Dong Xin tear ceaselessly.

    After dealing with Dong Xin, Luo Baiqian looked down at his son on the ground again. Wei was so scared that he stopped crying immediately. Therefore, the room quickly became quiet!

    Mammy Tang shook her head and sighed. In a short time, it caused a shockingmotion and Luo¡¯s Family lost facepletely in front of the guests. Mammy Tang turned to look at the other side. Zhu who was salivatingy on the left side of the soft couch. Dr. Ma, Dr. Wu and Madam Luo were diagnosing him. On the right side of the soft couch was lying the Third Miss who was breathless. Nie Chun and the sick guest were warming her hands... Mammy Tang was particrly surprised that the ¡°bloodshed disasters¡± were really confirmed, but she didn¡¯t expect that the Third Miss would die!

    ¡°Someone died! Someone died! Madam Luo, it¡¯s in trouble. Someone died...¡± Shi Liu and Pu Gongying shouted and ran into the door in a panic.

    Mammy Tang stamped her feet and shouted, ¡°What are you talking about? Madam Luo is very fine! Are you here to make a mess? If the Third Miss died, you should say ¡®suffering misfortune¡¯ or ¡®be in heaven¡¯. How can you say ¡®died¡¯?¡±

    Pu Gongying trembled and replied, ¡°But he really died. Mammy, everyone has seen it. There is a... zombie in the garden of the atrium!¡±

    ¡°Zombie?¡± Nie Chun turned around, ¡°What kind of zombie?¡±

    Pu Gongying trembled and had to support Shi Liu¡¯s shoulder to keep standing up. She was very scared, gesticted and described, ¡°There is a blood hole in its neck, but there is no blood on the ground. The face is extremely pale. Everyone said that it¡¯s a zombie whose blood was sucked up!¡±

    Nie Chun pondered and asked, ¡°Is the zombie¡¯s face pure white? Is there anything strange on the face?¡±

    Pu Gongying ran away with only a quick nce, so she couldn¡¯t answer this question. Then she turned to Shi Liu. Shi Liu grinned and tilted her head, replying crisply, ¡°Although its face is pure white, when you look carefully, you will find that there are many blue striations under the skin, with horizontal and vertical striations. They crisscross like a honeb.¡±

    Nie Chun and Ning Yuan turned around at the same time and eximed, ¡°Honeb? Blue striations like a honeb?¡± These two people had never met before. Now, it was a bit awkward to stand side by side to deliver Zhenqi to the same person. Now they said the same thing, so they felt more awkward. At the same time, they eximed in mind together, ¡°Does he also know the Miao Shi Arts? Who is he?¡±

    Shi Liu nodded and sighed, ¡°It¡¯s terrible that an alive person bes a zombie after only one night! When a fire broke out in the Bitter Bamboo Grovest night, he said hello to me and asked me the direction!¡± Pu Gongying also nodded in agreement, ¡°Yes, he must have been taken away by monsters at night and made into a zombie!¡±

    There was chilling light in Nie Chun¡¯s eyes. ording to their description ¡ª there was a hole in the neck of the dead; his blood was sucked up; and after death, there were blue striations like a honeb on his face ¡ª it was obvious that he was used as a furnace tripod for cultivating Miao Shi Arts, one of the four evil martial arts. Miao Shi Arts was insidious and merciless, with many restrictions for cultivation. If there were any problems, people who cultivated it might be possessed. Therefore, there were few people cultivating it in the world. However, now there was just a person who was obsessed with Miao Shi Arts in Bitter Bamboo Grove of Luo¡¯s Mansion. Nie Chun gnashed his teeth, ¡°Damn! Geng Bingxiu promised me that he would not hurt anyone in Luo¡¯s Mansion, but he actually broke his promise!¡±

    ¡°Who died?¡± He Danggui opened her eyes and asked.

    Pu Gongying had juste into the room. She didn¡¯t know that the Third Miss was breathless just now, so she wasn¡¯t as shocked as others when the Third Miss suddenly spoke. Pu Gongying thought for a moment, and asked, ¡°Third Miss, that little maid of yours who is over 10 years old, is she Chan Yi?¡±

    ¡°Chan Yi?!¡± He Danggui immediately sat up from the couch and asked, ¡°What happened to her?¡± Pu Gongying waved her hand and didn¡¯t answer. Then she looked at the fake Feng Yang and asked, ¡°Guest, do you bring two servants called Feng Yan and Feng Yu?¡± The fake Feng Yang nodded hesitantly.

    Pu Gongying put up three fingers and said, ¡°The three of them found the zombie firstly. The two servants were frightened and trampled on a precious white orchid in the atrium. Now they have been detained by Administrator Li. Administrator Li asked for 15 Liang silver to redeem them and let me tell their master that during the detention, he only provides tea but not food for them. However, after drinking tea, the three people murmured ceaselessly, which annoyed Administrator Li. He hopes that you can redeem them as soon as possible.¡±

    He Danggui secretly gave a sigh of relief. Her hands held by Ning Yuan and Nie Chun to transmit Zhenqi trembled unconsciously. She asked, ¡°What about Chan Yi? Does she also trample on something and is detained?¡±

    Pu Gongying shook her head and said, ¡°Oh, she hasn¡¯t been detained, but she seems to be frightened by the zombie, so she is only willing to follow the two servants. Just now, I saw that her face was covered with mud, so I asked her toe back with me for washing, but she refused to go with me. When are you going to redeem them, guest?¡±

    Before the fake Feng Yang spoke, Mammy Tang interrupted, ¡°Is Li stupid? How could he ask our guests topensate?¡± Turning around, she said to Deng Cao, ¡°Go and lead them back, and tell Li to charge this to the public ount.¡±

    After Deng Cao left, He Dangguiy back on the couch. At this time, Ning Yuan and Nie Chun were still transmitting Zhenqi to her.

    At first, He Danggui wanted to orchestrate a story that the Third Miss who was weak recovered her memory after stimtion. In order to make the effect more realistic, she secretly used a silver needle to suppress her pulse and heartbeat to make herself in slow breathing, but she was conscious and breathing. Originally, she didn¡¯t n to let others think that the Third Miss died. But after Madam Luo first said that she was dead, Nie Chun, Luo Baiqian and Ning Yuan took turns to feel her pulse and her heartbeat, but no one check if she was breathing.

    At the beginning, she hesitated to pretend to wake up by herself, but as Ning Yuan and Nie Chun began to transmit Zhenqi to her, she decided to continue to y dead for a while. She found that after the two kinds of cold and warm Zhenqi were injected, the original insubordinate Zhenqi in her body was gradually smoothed down. The Zhenqi was also obediently collected in the Dantian, making her whole body warm andfortable. Later, when Pu Gongying and Shi Liu came in to talk about the zombie, although they didn¡¯t mention Chan Yi, she was worried about Chan Yi all the time. In addition, hearing some words like ¡°an alive person bes a zombie after only one night¡±, she could not help opening her eyes to inquire about the details of the zombie. But Pu Gongying didn¡¯t exin things quickly andpletely, which really frightened He Danggui.

    ¡°Bang!¡± Ning Yuan¡¯s fan pendant suddenly fell on the pillow beside He Danggui. When he bent down to pick up the fan pendant, he approached her ear and whispered, ¡°You also care about others, little girl. Ah, this is your weakness.¡±

    When Madam Luo saw that He Danggui woke up, she immediately moved over from Zhu to see her situation. Seeing that He Danggui was fine, she said happily, ¡°Bless you. The immortal blesses you!¡±

    ¡°I should thank Uncle Nie and the guest,¡± He Danggui said gratefully, ¡°If they didn¡¯t give me the unique Zhenqi of martial artists, I couldn¡¯t wake up now.¡± Then she said to Nie Chun who was proud and Ning Yuan who was smiling, ¡°Danggui thanks for the help of uncles.¡± Ning Yuan¡¯s smile froze for a moment.

    After listening to this, Mammy Tang and Luo Baishao, who knew nothing about kung fu, both eximed in surprise, ¡°This is the legendary transmitting skill!¡±

    ¡°Do you want to continue?¡± Nie Chun snorted.

    He Danggui squinted and said weakly, ¡°In fact, I am still a little dizzy. Uncle Nie, if you are not in a hurry to leave¡­ let¡¯s continue for a while.¡± After the disorder of Zhenqi yesterday, she was really frightened by the bleeding from seven orifices, so she made up her mind to solve the problem of taking care of Zhenqi by herself as soon as possible. Now, when the two kinds of warm and cold Zhenqi were alternately transmitted, the Zhenqi in her body gradually started to move regrly. Then she gradually had a little understanding of the method for controlling the Zhenqi and using the internal force, so she didn¡¯t want to miss this good opportunity to learn.

    Nie Chun snorted discontentedly, but he didn¡¯t take his hand away. He just turned around and asked Pu Gongying, ¡°Who died?¡±

 Chapter 114 - Met in Bitter Bamboo Grove

    <h4>Chapter 114 Met in Bitter Bamboo Grove</h4>

    ¡°He is Wang Fan, the guard of the outer courtyard. Last night, we all saw him when the servants came to put out the fire in Bitter Bamboo Grove. When he died, he was still wearing that set of armor he wore when putting out the fire.¡± At this time, Pu Gongying suddenly thought of something. She took out a hairpin iid with plum blossom from the sleeve and handed it to Mammy Li, ¡°You are in charge of the lost and found. I picked up it in the atrium and hand it to you now.¡±

    ¡°Was it found near the zombie?¡± Nie Chun frowned and asked.

    Pu Gongying waved, ¡°It was found in Yuan Yang Pavilion, which is far away from the zombie.¡±

    He Danggui was also interested in their talk. ording to the crowsst night and the zombie today, there must be a fiendish person in Luo¡¯s Mansion which had always been peaceful, so that such terrible events would ur frequently. Thetest residents Ning Yuan and the fake Feng Yang would be able to do these two things, especially Ning Yuan who also entered the Bitter Bamboo Grove yesterday, but he didn¡¯t look so evil¡­ Thinking of this, He Danggui looked up at Ning Yuan and imagined the scene that he brutally tore up crows all over the sky, while Ning Yuan were also staring at her. There was a familiar feeling in his eyes, which made her in a trance¡­

    Then, a strange and cold smell of chrysanthemum came near.

    ¡°Ha-ha. Third Sister, it¡¯s so nice that you wake up!¡± Luo Baishao grinned. Then she slowly climbed up the soft cough on her knees and took out a white silk handkerchief, ¡°Oh, you sweat on your forehead. I¡¯ll wipe it for you!¡±

    He Danggui opened her eyes immediately. It was the smell of Diaoshanyao Powder on the handkerchief! Looking at Luo Baishao who was close to her with a smile, He Danggui was worried, but now her hands were held by Nie Chun and Ning Yuan. It was impossible to kick Luo Baishao away in public, so she sat up in a hurry and vomited on the ground between Nie Chun and Ning Yuan.

    Madam Luo behind her asked anxiously, ¡°Oh, Yi. What¡¯s wrong with you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± He Danggui replied and vomited. ¡°All of a sudden I feel like vomiting. I¡¯ll be fine after a while.¡± Nie Chun and Ning yuan, who were transmitting Zhenqi, felt very strange, so they squatted down together to see her. They saw that she just cried, but didn¡¯t vomit anything.

    Luo Baishao didn¡¯t expect that He Danggui would dodge. The handkerchief was held in the air, and she was so stunned that she forgot to take the handkerchief back. However, Madam Luo sweated on her head due to anxiety, so she seized it to wipe her face. Luo Baishao called out to take back the handkerchief. There were a lot of pound poison powders¡± on it! But it was toote. Madam Luo had wiped her forehead and cheeks with it. In order to repair her faults, Luo Baishao immediately got out of the couch and brought a basin of water in the fastest speed, ¡°Grandma, your makeup is massed up. Please wash your face!¡± Then she sshed water on Madam Luo¡¯s face, which wet Madam Luo¡¯s clothes, making Madam Luo scream.

    This immediately attracted the attention of all the people in the room. Luo Baiqian, Feng Jiugu, Mammy Tang, Mammy Hua and other mammies all swarmed in, which made the soft couch squeaky.

    He Danggui just stopped vomiting at this time. She raised her head and asked Nie Chun and Ning yuan, ¡°In order not to disturb others, can we go there for treatment?¡± Then she jumped out of the couch and led them to the tearoom. The fake Feng Yang, who had been protecting Ning Yuan, followed them like a tail.

    And there was a new change around Madam Luo. Luo Baishao suddenly opened her eyes and screamed.

    It turned out that before she directly contacted the external poison Diaoshanyao Powder, she would use the batter made of cassava powder, papaya powder and coptis powder to daub her hands, so that the three powders would iste the poison. But just now she washed the batter in a panic. Then when she got the Anti-burping Pill in her arms, she caught that white silk handkerchief! When she got rid of the handkerchief, she also threw out the bottle of Anti-burping Pill. ¡°Plop¡±! The whole bottle of pill was sprinkled in the basin which was full of water!

    The pound poison powders¡± meant thebination of Diaoshanyao Powder, burping powder, yawning powder and sneezing powder. That was a gift that Luo Baishao prepared for He Danggui. Among the four powders, only the burping powder had an antidote. As for the other three powders, whether it touched the skin or was absorbed into the nasal cavity, the effect was the same. Moreover, the effect wouldst from six hours to four days. What made Luo Baishao crazy was that the whole bottle of antidote for burping powder, whose effect was longeststing, had fallen into a basin of dirty water!

    ¡°Shao! What¡¯s wrong with you?¡±

    Madam Luo felt that everyone was abnormal today, so she was very angry. Dong Xin, who was gentle before, became a shrew. Wei was holding a mouse as a treasure. Zhu didn¡¯t eat the poisonous jujube pit and cubilose soup, but he was poisoned. Yi had a headache and vomited. Now, Shao was as mad as a loony, robbing the handkerchief from her first, then sshing the water on her face, and finally, shaking hands and shouting out.

    Before Luo Baishao answered, the effect of Diaoshanyao Powder first broke out. Madam Luo began to scratch her face. The more she scratched, the redder and itchier her face became. Moreover, Madam Luo was served by others all the year round, so she had long nails, which were hard and glossy. Only a few times, there were terrible scratches on her cheeks. Mammy Tang suddenly understood, and immediately pressed her hands, ¡°Don¡¯t scratch, Madam! You are poisoned by Diaoshanyao Powder! Never scratch with your nails. Otherwise, you will be disfigured!¡±

    Madam Luo opened her eyes in surprise, ¡°Diaoshanyao Powder? Hic! Is that the itching powder? Ho-hum! It¡¯s impossible! Achoo!¡±

    At the same time, Luo Baishao also yawned and sneezed, crying loudly, ¡°Achoo! Ho-hum! Please forgive me, Grandma. I¡¯m just ying with Third Sister. Hic! But I haven¡¯t expected that you took the handkerchief suddenly. Ho-hum! I also don¡¯t know that the powder is so powerful. What should we do now? I¡¯m poisoned too! Achoo!¡±

    The handkerchief was poisoned, and it was used to wipe He Danggui¡¯s face! Ning Yuan frowned and looked at He Danggui¡¯s calm face. He couldn¡¯t help asking, ¡°Aren¡¯t you angry?¡± Why didn¡¯t she dodge when the wicked woman was about to hit her? Why didn¡¯t she get angry when the child pushed her down the rockery? Why didn¡¯t she fight for herself? Why did she look so calm as if nothing happened?

    At this time, the three people who transmitted Zhenqi and the fake Feng Yang had moved to the tearoom.

    He Danggui didn¡¯t answer Ning Yuan¡¯s question, but turned to look at Nie Chun, ¡°Uncle Nie, are you very concerned about that zombie? You have been staring out of the window since you heard about it.¡± It was very rare that the cries of Madam Luo and Luo Baishao couldn¡¯t attract Nie Chun¡¯s attention. As He Danggui knew, Nie Chun and her grandfather Luo Duzhong reached an agreement. One item in the agreement was that if he lived in Luo¡¯s Family for ten years, he would share Madam Luo¡¯s worries for ten years.

    Nie Chun nodded absently, but his attention already shifted. Wang Fan¡¯s blood was sucked up by Geng Bingxiu with Miao Shi Arts. He didn¡¯t know whether Geng Bingxiu was still healing in the cave of Bitter Bamboo Grove. What should he do about it? It was not hard for him to kill Geng Bingxiu who was injured. But Geng Bingxiu actually had saved his life and helped him before. He thought of the elder senior fellow apprentice who had carried him to the temple fair through mountain road of 200 miles, and the words of his Master before he died¡­ But if he missed the chance, he wouldn¡¯t have such a chance to kill Geng Bingxiu, a demon for Wulin, because his kung fu was not as good as Geng Bingxiu¡¯s. Should he seize this opportunity?

    The fake Feng Yang saw that his Childe Ning Yuan was talking to He Danggui, but was ignoredpletely, so he wanted to solve the embarrassment for him. He said courteously, ¡°Childe¡­ Oh, Brother Ning, what tea do you want? I¡¯ll make it for you.¡±

    Ning Yuan waved impatiently, ¡°No, go away! Oh¡­ please go to have a rest first. I don¡¯t want to drink tea.¡±

    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to drink, what would you like to have, Brother Ning? I ask the chef to make it for you. How can you starve when you are still ill?¡± The fake Feng Yang bowed and stared at where He Danggui was. He thought, ¡°My Childe had suffered from internal injuries, and he haven¡¯t recovered yet. But this little girl pesters him. After healing her yesterday, Childe vomited two mouthfuls of blood and recuperated for a whole night. Today, she is always holding his hands to transmit Zhenqi.¡±

    Ning Yuan saw He Danggui¡¯s expression and thought that she had probably guessed that this Feng Yang was his subordinate ording to his attitude. Then he angrily pushed away the fake Feng Yang, and snorted discontentedly, ¡°I don¡¯t want to eat! Don¡¯t talk to me!¡±

    Ning Yuan didn¡¯t ept his kindness. However, the fake Feng Yang not only didn¡¯t get angry, but also bowed subconsciously, and then quietly retreated to the corner to sit down.

    He Danggui suddenly realized that they were the master-servant rtionship. She remembered that in the gharry before, in addition to the two menservants of Feng Yang, there was another manservant who called Ning Yuan ¡°Master¡±. But when they arrived at Luo¡¯s Mansion, Feng Yang was reced by another person. Feng Yang¡¯s menservants who named ¡°Feng Yan¡± and ¡°Feng Yu¡± were all there, but Ning Yuan¡¯s manservant disappeared. It turned out that he pretended to be Feng Yang, and the real Feng Yang disappeared. Feng Yang sent his friend to Luo¡¯s Mansion, but didn¡¯t show up and made a face that looked exactly like himself. It was not reasonable. Therefore, he must conceal something.

    He Danggui frowned and shook her head. As far as she knew, although there were many people proficient in disguise skill (for example, she was one of them), only Bai Yangbai could do this wonderful and magical thing of imitating a real face and making a fake skin so simr. For example, although Ning yuan wanted to pretend to be Lu Jiangbei, he could only make half the simrity of a face. Now, there were three possibilities. First, there was another person who was as good as Bai Yangbai in disguise skill. That person helped them to make a fake face of Feng Yang. Second, Ning Yuan and Feng Yang knew Bai Yangbai and asked him to make it. This was the most possible because Bai Yangbai appeared in Tu¡¯er Town a few days ago, and it was not surprising that he came to Yangzhou City now. Third, the real Feng Yang¡¯s face was also fake. He just needed to take it off and give it to the fake Feng Yang. They didn¡¯t need to make a new one at all.

    Ning Yuan was uneasy and stared at the girl in a meditative mood. He was unhappy and said, ¡°Hey, what are you thinking of? I¡¯m asking you!¡±

    He Danggui still ignored him. She smiled at Nie Chun and said, ¡°Uncle Nie, since you care about that zombie, I shouldn¡¯t dy you. Let¡¯s go on another day.¡± Now, there were so many noises from Madam Luo that they couldn¡¯t focus on transmitting Zhenqi anymore. He Danggui thought that even if they were not affected by the noise, they should leave after a while because there were so many people here. It was better to finish first and continue another day.

    Nie Chun still nodded absently. He withdrew his hands and adjusted his breath. He had figured out that Geng Bingxiu was not his elder senior fellow apprentice anymore. That person should be responsible for his crime! Therefore, Nie Chun decided to avenge Wang Fan¡¯s death.

    He Danggui was worried that it would be hard to find him next time, so she made an appointment with him, ¡°After ten days, I will wait for you outside the Bitter Bamboo Grove at noon!¡±

    ¡°Bitter Bamboo Grove?¡± Nie Chun came to his sense immediately and looked at her.

    ¡°Yes.¡± He Danggui nodded, ¡°I¡¯ve heard that it¡¯s necessary to be absolutely quiet when you transmit Zhenqi. Otherwise, it will not only affect the quality of Zhenqi output, but also increase the transmission risk. The quietest ce in Luo¡¯s Mansion is Bitter Bamboo Grove, so it¡¯s right to go there.¡± Then, she said with a smile, ¡°The crows diedst night outside the Bitter Bamboo Grove. Wang Fan, who died miserably today, once went to the Bitter Bamboo Grove to put out the fire. It seems that it is a very dangerous ce. At ordinary times, I don¡¯t dare to go there, but if there are two seniors with me, I will be brave. What do you think, Uncle Nie?¡±

    ¡°As you wish.¡± Nie Chun stood up, shook his clothes, pushed the window and jumped away.

    After he went far away, Ning Yuan immediately stared at He Danggui and said, ¡°Hum! What¡¯s the meaning of ¡®two seniors with me¡¯? I haven¡¯t promised to apany you to Bitter Bamboo Grove! What¡¯s the name of the man in red? Who is he in Luo¡¯s Mansion? Is he also a senior in Jianghu? Is he also from Qiyanggong Sect?¡±

    He Danggui touched her chin idly, ¡°I heard that the Taoist Sage Bai Yangbai came to Yangzhou City. Childe Ning and this manservant, have you ever seen him?¡±

    ¡°What? What are you talking about?!¡± Ning Yuan and the fake Feng Yang stood up from their seats.

 Chapter 115 - Didnâ€™t wash your dirty linen in public

    <h4>Chapter 115 Didn¡¯t wash your dirty linen in public</h4>

    Madam Luo¡¯s hands were constrained by Mammy Tang tightly. The itching powder in her face and hands drove her crazy and mad. She wanted to scold Luo Baishao, but she couldn¡¯t speak due to constant yawn, sneeze and burp.

    Seeing that Luo Baiqian wanted to feel the pulse for Madam Luo, Mammy Tang shook her head immediately and shouted, ¡°Stop! First Master, it is infectious! Back off! Everybody!¡± Her words not only stopped Luo Baiqian sessfully, but frightened Dong Xin who tried to support her injured body and wanted to care for Madam Luo. However, Dong Xin¡¯s back-off identally affected her injured arms, which was so painful. But she couldn¡¯t speak now, with tears and snivel on her face, making her uglier.

    Mammy Tang was holding Madam Luo¡¯s hands which touched the poisonous silk handkerchief. Her hands were also a little itchy. Before it became more serious, she said quickly, ¡°First Master, take First Younger Mistress and Wei back to Liu Li Tang. You couldn¡¯t let others know that Madam Luo was infected with Diaoshanyao Powder. Zhu will stay here and will be treated by Dr. Ma and Dr. Wu. Don¡¯te to Ting Zhu Yard these days. If there is any news, I will let you know immediately. Hua Sanniang, Li Siniang, Pin Shiniang, Shi Liu, and Pu Gongying¡­ hic¡­ after sending First Master away, ho-hum, you get back to guard the gate of the main hall. Don¡¯t let anyone be close to here!¡±

    After those mammies and maids sent away Luo Baiqian¡¯s family, Mammy Tang looked up at Feng Jiugu and asked, ¡°Jiugu, do you have more Qingdu Baihuo Powder that you gave me the day before yesterday? Hic! It¡¯s so effective that I immediately felt much better than before when I put it on my skin. Achoo!¡±

    Feng Jiugu frowned, ¡°OK, I will take it immediately, but it may not work for you. Hong Jiang, you got poisoned lightly that day, so the medicine worked. I have checked the silk handkerchief¡­¡± She shook the dangerous handkerchief which had been isted in a brocade box, and continued, ¡°This itching powder is the same as that on the clothes you gave me that day. Besides, there are more powders that can let you yawn, sneeze and burp. That¡¯s why you feel like this. I know something about the poisonous powders but can put off your symptom just for a while. All right, let me make preparations.¡± Then she left quickly.

    There were only Dr. Ma and Dr. Wu who treated Zhu, as well as Madam Luo, Mammy Tang and Luo Baishao who were poisoned by the pound poison powders¡± in the room. At this time, the three tried their best to bear the itch, and kept yawning, sneezing and burping, even spitting out acid saliva.

    Dr. Ma worried about Madam Luo and suggested, ¡°Madam Luo, I will make a medicine soup for you to clear the poison. You can wash your face with it.¡±

    Madam Luo was angry and didn¡¯t want to reply. She just stared at Luo Baishao. Luo Baishao scratched her hands and cried, ¡°Forgive me, Grandma. I didn¡¯t know this poison¡­ hic¡­ was so powerful. If I know that¡­ hic¡­ I shall not bring it to Third Sister! Achoo!¡± This was the first time that Luo Baishao had known the effect of Diaoshanyao Powder. She almost wanted to cut her hands off. Just for a while, her hands were red and swelling, and the skin was also peeling because of her scratching. Luo Baishao¡¯s face which always had smiles before was full of tears now. She sobbed, ¡°I just¡­ ho-hum¡­ haven¡¯t seen Third Sister for a long time, so I miss her so much. Hic! I want to y a joke with her, but¡­ ho-hum¡­ I don¡¯t know you would take that silk handkerchief. What should I do? Achoo! I¡¯m so itchy. Help me, Grandma!¡±

    Madam Luo trembled with anger. She gritted her teeth and didn¡¯t want to respond. Then she turned her head towards Dr. Wu, ¡°Do you figure it out? Hic! What poison did Zhu get?¡±

    Dr. Wu touched his mustache, nodding and shaking his head now and then. Finally, he said, ¡°Yes, yes¡­ he ate the knockout drops made by me.¡±

    ¡°Ho-hum¡­ Hic! Did you let Zhu eat knockout drops?!¡± Madam Luo stared at him.

    Dr. Wu was scared and shook his hands repeatedly. His mustache also moved with his action. He exined, ¡°Never have I given that to Young Master! Every time I make a prescription, I will prepare three copies. One is to give the apprentice to fill the prescription, one for myself, and thest one for you to check. I have never given Young Master the knockout drops!¡±

    Madam Luo thought his words were reasonable. Although doctors gave medical advice and made prescriptions, the food and medicine that Zhu ate were made by the family members and not transferred by Dr. Wu. Madam Luo scratched and burped, ¡°But why did you say that the knockout drops were made by you?¡±

    Dr. Wu instantly told her what happened, ¡°I¡¯m a famous doctor from San Qing Tang, and I love my reputation more than anything. Even though someone spends a lot of money to buy the knockout drops from me, I shall not give him. However, a few months ago, the First Younger Mistress came to me. She said there was a thief in Liu Li Tang of Luo¡¯s Mansion who stole her tonic, so she wanted to put the knockout drops in food. The person who fainted would be the thief. At beginning, I told her that I couldn¡¯t make it. I rmended her to get some crotons which are also effective in catching the thief. But she said that her tonic was liquid and the powder must be colorless and tasteless.¡±

    Mammy Tang yawned and med with misty eyes, ¡°But you still can¡¯t give her the knockout drops!¡±

    Dr. Wu threw up his hands, ¡°Oh, Mammy, do you think I¡¯m willing to do this? At that time, the First Younger Mistress was pregnant for 8 months. If I didn¡¯t give her the knockout drops, she would sit in the Medicine Room and didn¡¯t leave! The workers of the Medicine Room bustled in and out. There also were stoves and smog. If there was anything wrong with her, I couldn¡¯t afford it! And she also said she would take charge of San Qing Tang in the future, and asked us who live by the Medicine Pavilion to know that she would be the boss!¡±

    After hearing this, Madam Luo was too mad to say anything. Suddenly, a cold and melodious voice appeared, ¡°Dr. Wu, there are many kinds of knockout drops. Maybe someone else wants to murder Zhu and feeds him that secretly. Are you sure that the knockout drops are those taken by Elder Sister-inw from you? Watch your words.¡±

    ¡°Achoo!¡± Mammy Tang wiped her tears and snot with her handkerchief while asking, ¡°Third Miss, where did you go? Hic! Do you get over your vomiting?¡±

    He Danggui nodded, ¡°Uncle Nie¡¯s Zhenqi was very useful. He cured my vomit immediately, but he went to see Wang Fan, the zombie, so he can¡¯t help Grandma right now. Grandma and Fourth Sister, I just kept vomiting, so I took little care of you. What happened to you? You¡¯re yawning all the time. Are you sleepy?¡±

    Yawning and sneezing, Luo Baishao said angrily, ¡°He Danggui, are you pretending to be stupid? You had already used this kind of yawning powder in thest ss. Ho-hum¡­ How dare you ask this question! You must do it on purpose! Achoo!¡±

    With her eyes wide open, He Danggui covered her mouth and smiled, ¡°Oh, you misunderstand me. I don¡¯t know there is the yawning powder in the world! Last time, the teacher asked me to stand and beat my palm as punishment because I yawned in the ss. I was angry about myziness¡­ But now I know the reason. Ha-ha! It¡¯s so interesting! Next time, we y this yawning powder with our Second Sister! I know you must have something interesting and new! I¡¯m so excited!¡±

    Luo Baishao was surprised that He Danggui talked all the time. It was so strange that He Danggui should change greatly after just a month!

    On hearing this, Madam Luo poked Luo Baishao¡¯s head angrily, ¡°Hic! Did you y this dangerous thing with your two sisters? Now, another one is misled by you, Shao! You¡¯re going to be a wife of a noble family. Hic! Do you want to use these powders to manage your family affairs? Ho-hum¡­ Where did you learn it?!¡±

    Luo Baishao backed off and cried, ¡°Grandma, you were poisoned in your hands. Hic! Don¡¯t touch me!¡±

    Madam Luo was too angry to say a word. She scratched her ears and cheeks, and threw her head into the quilt. ¡°What bad things we have done! How can I have such a naughty and unfilial granddaughter!¡±

    Mammy Tang worried about revealing family scandals in public. She was searching for the fake Feng Yang and Ning Yuan, but found none of them everywhere. Then she was rxed, ¡°Third Miss, achoo! When did the guests leave? Did¡­ hic¡­ they hear our conversation?¡±

    ¡°Leave?¡± He Danggui pointed to the tearoom with a smile, ¡°They never say goodbye to Grandma. How dare they leave? They are waiting in the tearoom. They want to send best wishes to Grandma before they leave. Shall I call them in?¡±

    Mammy Tang was surprised. She waved her hands instantly and said in a lower voice, ¡°Don¡¯t let them in at this moment! Hic¡­ everyone was in a flurry! Third Miss, you just thank for their kindness and exin what happened. You could say¡­ hic¡­ that because of fever, Fourth Miss had got migraine. Ho-hum¡­ Today¡¯s trouble was caused by her migraine. And you also need to exin what happened on the First Younger Mistress, achoo! You make an excuse by yourself. Anyway, you should save the reputation of Luo¡¯s Family! Why are you standing here, Third Miss? Hurry up!¡±

    After sending He Danggui away, Mammy Tang turned her head towards Dr. Wu and asked, ¡°I think Third Miss was right. There are many kinds of knockout drops. Hic! How do you know that the medicine Zhu ate was from you? It couldn¡¯t be the First Younger Mistress. Hic¡­ Watch your words. Will a mother murder her own son?¡±

    Dr. Wu shook his head helplessly, ¡°From your words, I know that you and Third Miss don¡¯t know the pharmacology. Actually, ¡®knockout drops¡¯ are a generic term for this kind of medicine. It includes 8 sses and 500 subsses. Each doctor has their own way in making drugs, and this is why the medicine is different. Therefore, I¡¯m sure that Zhu ate my knockout drops and I want to say something right now!¡±

    Madam Luo scratched and thought for a while. Then she said to Dr. Ma, ¡°You take Shao to the Medicine Room and make a medicine for her to wash hands. Achoo! Find out if there are any other medicines that can help us.¡± On hearing the words, Dr. Ma and Luo Baishao left. When Madam Luo couldn¡¯t hear their footsteps, she nodded to Dr. Wu, ¡°There is no one else here. Hic! You can say directly.¡±

    Dr. Wu sighed, ¡°In my opinion, the First Younger Mistress also doesn¡¯t know the pharmacology. Half a month after I gave her the knockout drops for the first time, she came to ask me for four packs of knockout drops. At that time, she was about to give birth to a child, so I didn¡¯t dare to argue with her and I gave her the medicine as she required. However, she asked me for the knockout drops once again one month after she gave birth to a child. This time I decided to refuse her in the risk of offending her. I told her that I was a famous doctor, and my medicine was used to save people¡¯s life instead of hurting them. I told her that she could go to the night fair in the West Street. There were a lot of knockout drops! Madam Luo, do you know what did she say?¡±

    ¡°Hic¡­ What did she say?¡± Madam Luo scratched two new blood stains on her face, so Mammy Tang used a towel to tie her hands behind. Although Madam Luo was unpleasant, she knew that it was good for her, so she didn¡¯tin anymore.

    ¡°The First Younger Mistress said, ¡®Ie here just for your good skill. How can I use those cheap things to my husband¡­¡¯ Then she broke off in mid-sentence!¡± Dr. Wu shook his head and frowned, ¡°s! I didn¡¯t know who would eat these knockout drops, so I persuaded her that if someone was suffering from insomnia, I could give her some Clove Pacifying Pills. As a saying goes, ¡®Every medicine has its side effect¡¯. There were some toxic herbs in the knockout drops which couldn¡¯t be taken for a long time. But she insisted that the Clove Pacifying Pill was not as effective as knockout drops. Finally, she took away knockout drops of 1 jin greedily!¡±

    Mammy Tang frowned, ¡°The First Younger Mistress always stays in the mansion to raise her three children in Liu Li Tang, and she never manages the family affairs. Achoo! Why did she need so many knockout drops?¡±

    Dr. Wu hesitated, and then gritted his teeth, ¡°A few days ago when I was treating patients in San Qing Tang, the First Master came to inspect. I saw that he was weak, with his Cuanzhu acupoints ck and his eyes bloodshot. Therefore, I asked to feel his pulse and I was shocked. He was slightly poisoned by Datura stramonium and radix aconiti which were the main herbs in my knockout drops!¡±

    ¡°Ho-hum¡­ You mean that my granddaughter-inw gave the knockout drops to Qian!¡± Madam Luo shouted and yawned with tears on her face.

    Dr. Wu nodded and added, ¡°In order to make sure whether the First Master got poisoned, I used a silver needle to prick his Fengchi acupoint and the needle tip became cyan. Seeing that I was serious, he asked what¡¯s wrong with him. I couldn¡¯t tell him the truth, so I just told him that he got hyperactivity of liver fire. Madam Luo, you know that once the Fengchi acupoint be cyan, it means that the First Master has taken slight toxic drugs for a long time!¡±

 Chapter 116 - Childe, you became enamored of her

    <h4>Chapter 116 Childe, you became enamored of her</h4>

    He Dangguimanded Ning Yuan and the fake Feng Yang to jump out of the tearoom from the window. They were unwilling but did as she asked.

    Seeing Ning Yuan staring at her, He Danggui chuckled and apologized, ¡°Oh, sorry. You have already known too many scandals about Luo¡¯s Family, so you can¡¯t see my dignified Grandma, the master of Luo¡¯s Family, scratching her body and being embarrassed.¡±

    The fake Feng Yang jeered, ¡°Why do you still describe it to us since you don¡¯t want us to see it?¡± Ning Yuan turned to him and gave him a nce. Then he instantly shrank his neck and stood aside.

    He Danggui smiled and looked up at Ning Yuan, praising, ¡°Childe Ning, I don¡¯t expect that you are acquainted with Taoist Sage, which is really enviable. Actually, I know that Taoist Sagees to Yangzhou City from the informers of Qiyanggong Sect. But it¡¯s a pity that I have no chance to see him. Since we both are admirers of him, let¡¯s disregard previous enmity, and help each other to make progress together when you are in Luo¡¯s Mansion. What do you think?¡±

    ¡°OK. Girl, you don¡¯t have to be so vignt. Actually, I¡­¡±

    Ning Yuan didn¡¯t finish his words, but the fake Feng Yang suddenly flung himself on Ning Yuan and then blindfolded Ning Yuan with his waistband. When he saw a look of surprise from He Danggui, he smiled embarrassedly, ¡°There was a bee right there! It stung his eyes just now! Ha-ha! Miss He, as for the cooperation, it is a deal. Go ahead with your business. We know the way back. Bye!¡±

    He Danggui nodded and exhorted them, ¡°If my Grandma asks what you have seen today, you should tell her that you don¡¯t remember anything. I believe she will feel much better, so I can report on her mission. I will go first. Take your time.¡± Then she left. The two handsome guys halfy on the ground and embraced intimately.

    ¡°What happened?¡± Ning Yuan took the waistband away, sitting up and brushing the dirt off his robe, then looking back at the fake Feng Yang.

    ¡°Childe, you became enamored of her again.¡± The fake Feng Yang pointed at Ning Yuan¡¯s eyes, ¡°Childe, your eyes turned brown. Do you really have a crush on that girl? Come on, Childe! I don¡¯t think she is what she looks like. She is more sophisticated than a 50-year-old man. We¡¯d better not get in trouble. How about say goodbye to Madam Luo after Feng Yan and Feng Yu get back? We find another ce to heal your injury!¡±

    Ning Yuan sat cross-legged in a cloister, picking up a pink fallen flower on his left. He sighed, ¡°Flowers are blooming in luxuriant peach trees. I don¡¯t know why I feel that I knew her in my previous life. Though I know it is right to leave, I¡­ I can¡¯t convince myself. I am so eager to know her secrets, and to know everything about her.¡±

    ¡°How absurd! She is murdering her husband! How could my intelligent and lovely Qian marry such a vicious woman! She is the legitimate daughter of Dong¡¯s Family, but she should do this!¡± Madam Luo was so angry that she spoke aplete sentence, and then she went on yawning, sneezing, and burping.

    Dr. Wu sighed, ¡°First Younger Mistress doesn¡¯t know the pharmacology and listen to me. What Mammy just said is reasonable. There is no reason for her to harm her own son. I guess that she must mistake the knockout drops as tranquillizers. Madam Luo, First Master was healthy before but now looks weak. What will happen to the weak Young Master if he takes that knockout drops?!¡±

    ¡°Stupid! Hic! Stupid!¡± Madam Luo banged on the bed and shook her head again and again, ¡°My first daughter-inw told me that Lan, her second sister¡¯s daughter, is educated and reasonable, hic¡­ gentle and virtuous, and no one couldpete with her. She said that no one can be more suitable than Lan to be Qian¡¯s wife. I did know her intention, achoo! She let Qian marry her niece because she wanted to control Qian! I showed favor to her for she had no son, hic¡­ and had raised Qian for a few years. I thought it was good to make the First Branch more harmonious, so I promised it. Ho-hum¡­ I had never thought that I let Qian marry such a stupid woman! Now, she is scourging all of the people in the First Branch!¡±

    ¡°Oh, Madam! Please take a breath, and take a good care of yourself!¡± Mammy Tang rubbed her hands and persuaded, ¡°First Younger Mistress had given birth to Wei, hic¡­ Zhu and Yan, and her contribution could not be ignored. Even if she made a big mistake because she didn¡¯t know the pharmacology, achoo¡­ we can teach herter and let her correct her mistakes!¡±

    ¡°Mammy Tang has got a point.¡± He Danggui was smiling happily anding far away from the main hall. She agreed and added, ¡°Since Elder Cousin has married his wife, he not only had three children, but also had a huge achievement in his studies. I heard that he is studying in an advanced ce ¡ª the Chengxu Academy, which makes me admire so much! Grandma, in my opinion, though my Elder Sister-inw made a small mistake, she brought up three children, so she was a great contributor in our Luo¡¯s Family¡­ Ha-ha! She looks slim but does well in giving birth to babies. Elder Cousin is really lucky. Maybe he has no son now if he married a daughter of another family.¡±

    However, hearing their words, Madam Luo became crazier. She roared strictly, ¡°Stop! Don¡¯t plead for her anymore! Ho-hum¡­ Every woman can give birth to children. Well, just because she gave birth to sons, can she feed knockout drops to her husband and son? Hic! Can she teach her son to keep rats? Hic! Can she go to San Qing Tang to give orders? I am still alive, but she has already coveted San Qing Tang. She was much inferior to Mei of the Second Branch. She can¡¯t manage servants, can¡¯t understand the ount books, and knows nothing about the pharmacology. Achoo! She should want to take over the power!¡± Madam Luo was so angry that she went sprawling on the couch unintentionally for her hands were tied.

    Mammy Tang went forward to lift her up immediately, and said with sadness, ¡°First Master didn¡¯t marry a good wife. Hic! It is their business. You are more than 50 years old. It is not worth getting mad¡­ ho-hum¡­ because of them.¡±

    He Danggui also went forward to help Madam Luo, and said, ¡°Yes, Grandma, you should take care of yourself! Something bad had happened in recent days, but when everything is fine, this unhappy feeling will disappear. My Elder Cousin is in good condition now. He is good in both brainly and brawny activities. He is much better than my First Uncle!¡±

    Madam Luo gnashed her teeth after hearing He Danggui¡¯s words. She said, ¡°Achoo! Nonsense! If he didn¡¯t marry such a stupid and narrow-minded woman, he wouldn¡¯t follow the same disastrous road as his father. He couldn¡¯t even pass the examination for Xiucai. Hic! There are schrs, farmers, artisans, and merchants in the society. He can only be a merchant now, being in the lowest social ss! Thinking about it now, I guess that you First Uncle was ufortable at home after he married Zhao Qi who was stupid, so he had no official rank. Hic! I didn¡¯t expect that Qian also married a woman from Zhao Qi¡¯s family. That woman brought the whole family into a tempest! Ho-hum¡­ Yi, untie my hands quickly. I am so itchy!¡±

    Mammy Tang stopped and said, ¡°No! Don¡¯t do that! Achoo!¡± Seeing that He Danggui was going to untie that towel, Mammy Tang went forward to bundle her, ¡°Madam Luo can¡¯t stand the itch. She will scratch her face seriously!¡±

    He Danggui untied the towel and smiled, ¡°I had suffered from the itch by this itching powder more than twenty times in six months, so I couldn¡¯t see someone suffering from it too, especially my dear Grandma. Mammy, you don¡¯t let her scratch, but she can p!¡±

    ¡°More than twenty times?!¡± Madam Luo, Mammy Tang, and Dr. Wu were all shocked and shouted.

    ¡°Yep! My Fourth Sister yed with me every five or six days, so I had suffered from it for more than twenty times in half a year.¡± He Danggui blinked and continued, ¡°To relieve itching, I had invented several postures which were more effective than the detoxification soup or gram soup, but¡­¡± Seeing the eager expression of Madam Luo and Mammy Tang, He Danggui frowned tightly and shook her head, ¡°Those postures are not nice. They are unsuitable for your identity¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t consider the identity now, achoo! What kind of postures? Hurry up! I want to learn!¡± Madam Luo pped her forehead and cheeks heavily as He Danggui said and asked eagerly.

    ¡°Well, Dr. Wu, do you want to learn too?¡± He Danggui turned to look at Dr. Wu who was curious.

    Dr. Wu touched his mustache and said, ¡°Doctors should be knowledgeable and shouldn¡¯t feel ashamed to learn from others. Ha-ha! After I learn it, when I treat those¡­¡±

    ¡°Hic! Please teach us, Third Miss!¡± Mammy Tang interrupted Dr. Wu impatiently. She just let him see if he wanted.

    He Danggui stoop down deftly, lowered her head and said shyly, ¡°I haven¡¯t done it for a long time, so I¡¯m a little bit ufortable. I named it ¡®Qing Liang Si Duan Jin¡¯. Please follow me, Grandma.¡±

    Carrying a small stove and a pot of medicated soup, Feng Jiugu came in the side room. She was so shocked that almost threw her belongings out. What was it? What kind of powders did they get? Madness Powder or Insane Powder?

    He Danggui came forward to take over the stove kindly, and carried it to the corner of the room. Then she took off the iron hook hanging on the stove, and prodded at the sliver charcoal in the stove. She looked up and said, ¡°Jiugu, they felt that the ¡®Qing Liang Si Duan Jin¡¯ worked. Now they don¡¯t feel too itchy, but they still burp, sneeze and yawn. Do you have any good way to help them?¡±

    Feng Jiugu came to her sense and asked, ¡°Why did Dr. Wu get infected too? Did Fourth Miss throw powders again to infect others?¡±

    He Danggui waved her hands and exined, ¡°Dr. Wu said that in the past, Shen Nong tasted all kinds of herbs, and now Wu Yide tests the itching powder by himself! Therefore, he touched that poisonous silk handkerchief.¡± Then pointing to the brocade box used to iste the poisonous silk handkerchief, she chuckled, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Jiugu. They highly praise my ¡®Qing Liang Si Duan Jin¡¯, and say that it is useful. They stillin to me for not teaching them earlier! And you don¡¯t need to worry about their tears. They shed tears just because they yawn constantly. In fact, they are grinning!¡±

    Feng Jiugu looked at the three people, and found that Madam Luo was hopping around like a toad, Mammy Tang was bumping like a ho, and Dr. Wu was pping in a quilt like a butterfly. However, everyone was smiling with tears.

    ¡°Hic! Jiugu, Yi taught us ¡®Qing Liang Si Duan Jin¡¯ which is very useful. Hic! Do you find the method to stop burping?¡± Madam Luo jumped on the ground and said breathlessly, ¡°Now I can bear yawns and sneezes, but my chest hurts because of burps. If it continues¡­ hic¡­ I can¡¯t stand it anymore!¡±

    Feng Jiugu looked at He Danggui in surprise, and asked, ¡°What is ¡®Qing Liang Si Duan Jin¡¯? Did you teach them, Third Miss? Where did you learn it?¡±

 Chapter 117 - Relieve itching in a shy way

    <h4>Chapter 117 Relieve itching in a shy way</h4>

    ¡°As the saying goes, experience is the mother of wisdom,¡± He Danggui said gratefully, ¡°Thanks to Fourth Sister¡¯s training, I was able to invent this method for relieving itching. Dr. Wu said that it could be handed down from generation to generation. Ah, Jiugu, look at Mammy Tang,¡± He Danggui pointed to Mammy Tang whose limbs and head suddenly rubbed against the wall like a gecko and said softly, ¡°The ¡®Qing Liang Si Duan Jin¡¯ imitates the movements of 4 insects. In addition to cricket, bee and butterfly, there is also the spider which Mammy Tang is demonstrating. This exercise is close to the natural life infinitely through imitation, and the whole body¡¯s itching will spread to the natural space, so as to achieve the ultimate goal of relieving itching.¡±

    ¡°... It was a cricket not a toad.¡± Feng Jiugu thought to herself. Then she asked anxiously, ¡°Are they going to do this for about 3 days? How can Sister Luo take it?¡±

    He Danggui said proudly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. This exercise is the association of three activities and a standstill. If they are tired of jumping or flying, they just need to rub against the wall like a spider and climb slowly. Then they will get some rest.¡± At this time, Madam Luo and Dr. Wu both found a wall and began to climb. He Danggui shook her head and shouted at them, ¡°Grandma, your posture is wrong. Both of your upper surface of feet and forehead should rub against the wall! Dr. Wu, you should stay close to the wall when you climb!¡±

    Hearing this, Dr. Wu turned his head and asked in a painful tone, ¡°Third Miss, atishoo! I have arthralgia. The wall is too cold for me. Can I climb that silk screen? Atishoo!¡±

    He Danggui pondered for a moment and then nodded, ¡°I haven¡¯t climbed the screen before, but everything is getting better and better in the process of improvement before it works for everyone, so Dr. Wu, you can try it.¡± As soon as she said that, Madam Luo and Mammy Tang, who were also disgusted with the cool wall, ran to climb the screen too. But Dr. Wu who was closest to the screen had already upied one side, and the area of the screen was too small for two people to climb at one side at the same time... Madam Luo and Mammy Tang looked at each other. Then Mammy Tang went back to the wall woefully and let Madam Luo use the other side of the screen.

    He Danggui exined carefully to Feng Jiugu, ¡°In fact, when I was climbing, I would add some movements of climbing up. But all of them are too old, so they could only climb sideways. Of course, the effect of relieving itching will be reduced. Jiugu, are you find the way to stop burping? I think my Grandma cannot take it anymore!¡±

    Feng Jiugu nodded, ¡°Third Miss, please heat up the stove and I¡¯ll give them something to stop their burps!¡± She went ahead and gave everyone a big ck pill, then letting them hold in the mouth and not swallow it.

    Madam Luo asked in tears as she climbed the screen, ¡°Jiugu, what is the pill made of? Why does it taste so bitter and spicy, and it smell fishy and smelly? Awful!

    Hesitating for a moment, Feng Jiugu replied, ¡°Sister, you¡¯d better... not know. I¡¯ve picked out as clean pills as possible.¡±

    Mammy Tang climbed and shouted as she faced the wall, ¡°Madam, I have told you that you cannot pamper Fourth Miss anymore but you don¡¯t listen to me. Now what are you suffering? If you don¡¯t discipline her, there will be more things that you will regretter! Wait and see! Who else in our family can handle Fourth Miss, that imp, in the future! Atishoo!¡±

    Madam Luo banged against the screen with her head and said hatefully, ¡°She is the bad daughter taught by my second daughter-inw! Now it seems that Shao will cause some disasters if I don¡¯t send her to Shui Shang Temple to discipline her behaviors!¡±

    He Danggui stirred up the stove. Feng Jiugu put an earthenware pot on the stove, took the lid off the pot and turned to Madam Luo, ¡°This is the acid-grass soup I made to relieve yawning. When it boils on the stove, the smell will go up into the air, and it will relieve your drowsiness. Neither Third Miss nor I have been poisoned, so it is not advisable for us to smell too much of it, or we will be too excited to fall asleep at night. We will wait at the door of the wing-room and just call us if you need something.¡±

    After Madam Luo agreed, Feng Jiugu pulled He Danggui out of the wing-room and dropped a curtain to stop the smell of that acid-grass soup. She turned to find two small stools and two wet towels, giving one of them to He Danggui. They sat on either side of the curtain and covered their noses and mouths with the wet towels.

    Madam Luo¡¯s voice came from inside the curtain, ¡°Yi, what about the environment and food in Shui Shang Temple? And what about the Taoist nuns¡¯ abilities there? I remember that you once said there was a criminal who made illegal drugs and was arrested by the officials.¡±

    He Danggui answered earnestly, pressing her Yingxiang acupoint with the wet towel, ¡°The scenery there is beautiful and the environment is very good. In the morning, wild flowers are in full bloom, and in the evening, the tired birds wille back nests. The air there is very fresh. It is really a good ce for cultivating the soul and character. As for food, the food there is definitely not as good as at home, but a vegetarian diet will give us a clearer mind. We will be energetic when we read and write. And I lived there for half a month withoutining about the food (because I¡¯ve never been able to eat the food there), and the Taoist nuns¡¯ abilities...¡±

    Suddenly, there was the sound of a falling screen. Then Mammy Tang said, ¡°Third Miss, you don¡¯t need toe in! It was Madam who pushed down the screen, and no one was injured because Dr. Wu dodged in time!¡± Then Madam Luo said, ¡°Yi, you just continue and I¡¯m listening.¡±

    He Danggui said, scratching her head, ¡°As for the abilities of those nuns, I was not able to judge their abilities because I¡¯m only 10 years old and inexperienced and illiterate. But I heard that almost all people near Tu¡¯er Town know Master Tai Shan (Who lent money at usury). She was really a big shot! As for Master Tai Chen who made Wushi Powder, it was said that she had been arrested to the capital. Now that the whole temple has been put in order, it should be peace and quiet. But Grandma, do you really want to send Fourth Sister to Shui Shang Temple immediately? Could you let me, Fourth Sister, First Sister and Second Sister have a gathering first so that we can exchange views of things that happened recently. In fact, we are very interested in Fourth Sister¡¯s collection...¡±

    ¡°No! What gathering? Are you nning a gathering? Atishoo!¡± Madam Luo howled, ¡°You are not allowed to talk with her before her behaviors are corrected! Hum, Yi, you don¡¯t need to plead for her. I¡¯m going to send her away right now, or she will mislead other girls of the family! Jiugu,e to find Pan Jingyang and Guang Hang!¡± Hearing this, Feng Jiugu got up and left at once.

    ¡°Oh? Would Four Guards of Luo¡¯s Mansion apany her?¡± He Danggui raised her eyebrows and thought, ¡°It drags in so many people. If Sun Meiniang knows, she will certainly stand in the way of this.¡± After Feng Jiugu had gone away, He Danggui said hesitantly, ¡°Grandma, should we wait for Fourth Sister¡¯s itchy symptom being cured before sending her away? If she keeps scratching on the road, it will not only dy the trip but also damage her reputation...¡±

    ¡°I cannot wait!¡± Madam Luo interrupted her sharply, ¡°I¡¯ve got an idea what to do about this, and you don¡¯t have to say that anymore! And, Yi, keep your mouth shut and never tell anyone about this, especially your Second Sister and Second Aunt!¡±

    He Danggui couldn¡¯t help eximing, ¡°Grandma, you want to send Fourth Sister away without telling my Second Aunt? I didn¡¯t think it is a proper way.¡±

    Madam Luo sneezed twice,ining that the pill in her mouth tasted bad and unpleasant, then that the air was too sour, and finally that the ¡°Qing Liang Si Duan Jin¡± was too tiring. She finally calmed down under the softfort of Mammy Tang. Then she talked again, ¡°Wu, you are also a member of our family, so I will arrange this in your presence. You, Yi, Jiugu, Pan Jingyang and Guang Hang are the insiders who know that Shao will be sent away except me and Hong Jiang. I will enjoin the other three peopleter. But now, each of you swear to me that you will not tell anyone this secret.¡±

    ¡°Secret?¡± He Danggui¡¯s surprised voice passed through the curtain, ¡°When Fourth Sister is missing, my Second Aunt must be so anxious that she¡¯ll torn the whole Luo¡¯s Mansion upside down. How can it be a secret?¡±

    Madam Luo said in a deep voice, ¡°Hong Jiang had told me a good idea yesterday. I didn¡¯t want to send Shao away, but I never expect that her character is so bad and she cannot get over it. Hong Jiang is right. This time I have to discipline her severely and do this in secret from her parents. If they know, they will go to the temple frequently because of the tender love to their daughter, and will send her food, clothes and toys. If Shao says that life in the temple is too hard and she is bored in there, they must bring her home immediately, and our good intentions will be useless! Having lived in Sanqing Temple for a while, I know it would be the most emotionally demanding ce for a misguided child like her!¡±

    He Danggui followed Madam Luo¡¯s words after a silent yawn, ¡°She will not be bored when living in Shui Shang Temple. All masters there are enthusiastic, and they will never let the guests living there feel bored. Grandma, can you tell us the details of the idea that Mammy Tang proposed? We have to have the same words so that we don¡¯t get stuck in front of my Second Aunt. You know me. I¡¯m not good at telling lies.¡±

    Madam Luo emphasized again, ¡°You have to promise that you will never tell this to others! Wu, you swear first!¡±

    Dr. Wu was panting for practicing one of sections of ¡°Qing Liang Si Duan Jin¡±, and he said loudly, ¡°I promise that¡­ that I will keep silent that Fourth Miss will be sent to the temple, or¡­ I will catch that poisonous handkerchief again! Atishoo!¡±

    He Danggui also said in a broken and timid voice, ¡°I swear too... If I tell anyone the things of Fourth Sister, let me go back to West Lateral court that was burnt down after the mouse trouble!¡±

    ¡°Ah, Madam!¡± Mammy Tang said, ¡°The living ce of Third Miss was burnt down, but we haven¡¯t even arranged a new ce for her yet!¡±

    Madam Luo said suddenly after a moment¡¯s silence, ¡°Let her live in Shao¡¯s Tao Yao Yard. Let Shao¡¯s mother choose another yard for Shao when shees back with correct behaviors.¡±

    This time, He Danggui was really taken aback, ¡°Tao Yao Yard? The most poetic living ce in the East Yard of Luo¡¯s Family! It owns arge forest of perennial peach blossoms about 30 mu (a unit of area). How can it be my turn to live in there? And, how can I hog Fourth Sister¡¯s yard? If my Second Aunt knows that, she will...¡± When she talked this, her voice tailed off and finally died down. Madam Luo and the others in the wing-room could almost imagine her timid manner.

    ¡°Yi, don¡¯t be afraid. Though your Second Aunt is a little bit outspoken, she is as kind to you as she is to Shao, so you don¡¯t have to worry about it.¡± Madam Luo¡¯s voice of constion came through the curtain, ¡°And, I heard from a servant of Tao Yao Yard whom Hong Jiang had caught that Shao had a collection of various poisons except Diaoshanyao Powder and Mute Drug in Tao Yao Yard. Some of them are buried deep under the ground. Hum, I must destroy all those drugs this time! Atishoo! But if we search openly for those bad things, the reputation of your sister may be damaged, because we are a big family and people will talk about this. Therefore, Yi, you just move in there, and I¡¯ll have the poison dug up under the pretext of renovating your yard and decorating your house... If your Second Aunt makes trouble for you, I will me her for you. Is that OK?¡±

    ¡°Ho, that¡¯s what you think.¡± He Danggui thought and couldn¡¯t help smiling. ¡°There are no free lunches in life. Tao Yao Yard is the best yard of the whole Luo¡¯s Mansion, and Sun Meiniang had taken great pains to get it for her daughter. How could Madam Luo take her own granddaughter¡¯s yard and give it to me? But, for the peach blossom forest at the back of Tao Yao Yard where I could practice martial arts, it isn¡¯t a bad thing to confront with Sun Meiniang in advance...¡± Therefore, He Danggui replied in a low voice, ¡°I dare not disobey all your arrangements, Grandma.¡±

    There was a sound of footsteps from outside, and it was Feng Jiugu who led Pan Jingyang and Guang Hang in. Feng Jiugu said, approaching the curtain, ¡°Sister, Guard Pan and Guard Guang are here and they also have something to tell you.¡± At the same time, He Danggui took her stool aside to let them in.

    ¡°Atishoo! What happened again?¡± Madam Luo was a little paranoid now. She felt anxious when hearing that ¡°they have something to tell you¡±.

    Pan Jingyang smiled to the curtain, ¡°Don¡¯t be worry, Madam. The two Master Peng of the Luo¡¯s Family in the capitale here. Second Mistress Luo sent them to the guest room of South Yard to have a rest. Theye to Yangzhou City to study in Chengxu Academy, so they must live here for a long time. Second Mistress Luo wanted to know which yard would be a good ce for them, but she didn¡¯t dare toe here to disturb you. Hearing that we areing here, she let us ask you for her.¡±

 Chapter 118 - Luo Baiqiong seduced her elder cousin

    <h4>Chapter 118 Luo Baiqiong seduced her elder cousin</h4>

    Madam Luo became happy immediately, ¡°Both Shi and Jian came? It¡¯s a pity that I can¡¯t greet them in person. Last time when Chuanbei came to visit me with them, the elder one was only 3 or 4 years old, at the same age as Zhu. Now ten years had passed, they must have be big boys.¡±

    Mammy Tang who was out of breath alsoughed, ¡°s, Ms. Chuanbei hade to me before and said that both the Madam and Mistress of the West Yard of Luo¡¯s Family wanted two Young Masters of Peng¡¯s Family to live in their mansion. However, when she saw over 60 concubines of Lord Duheng and Lord Chuanwu of the West Yard, achoo¡­ some of whom dressed strange clothes in types of Tang Dynasty which had a big opening in the chest, she was afraid that one of them might have an bad influence on the two Young Masters¡­¡± Madam Luo hurriedly stopped Mammy Tang from continuing with a cough. She thought it was inappropriate to speak out such words in front of Yi, a little girl.

    Feng Jiugu reminded Madam Luo, ¡°Sister, we should focus on important matters. Where should we arrange those two guests? I think it¡¯s better to send a message to Second Mistress Luo first. And about Fourth Miss¡­¡±

    ¡°Yes, the Xi Chang Yard in our mansion has plenty rooms and it¡¯s elegant. There also possesses the fun of the wild. Just take them there.¡± Madam Luo ordered, ¡°Take good care of their daily uses and provide them the same service as Qian. We must treat these two young guests very well.¡±

    Behind the curtain, Mammy Tang said with a bit of amazement, ¡°Madam, Xi Chang Yard and Tao Yao Yard are built next to each other. I¡¯m afraid that they might be too close¡­¡±

    Madam Luoughed, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Yi is too young to care much about this. Chuanbei and Chuanxiong are cousins. And Shi and Jian are Yi¡¯s elder cousins. Besides, their father Peng Haoguang is a Shujishi (a temporary position in the Hanlin Academy) who canmunicate with the Emperor¡­ Yi, Shi and Jian would be close ymates very soon, and I¡¯m happy to see that!¡± Then Madam Luo raised her voice towards the curtain, ¡°Yi, if you want to marry one of them, juste to me and I will help you.¡±

    Peng Shi and Peng Jian? He Danggui couldn¡¯t helpughing in her mind, ¡°It¡¯s a nice move, but Madam Luo, you chose a wrong person.¡±

    In the previous life, after returning from the Taoist temple, He Danggui heard maids taking about Luo Baiqiong who had fell in love with Peng Shi, a Young Master of Peng¡¯s Family who was 2 years older than her. Therefore, Luo Baiqiong begged her mother Sun Meiniang to propose a marriage. At first, Sun Meiniang disagreed because she thought the social level of Peng¡¯s Family was lower than Luo¡¯s Family, so it would be inappropriate for Luo Baiqiong to marry Peng Shi. He Danggui understood that, at that time, Sun Meiniang nned to arrange Luo Baiqiong to attend the selection of Xiunv (women in the Imperial Harem), so her marriage would not be decided too soon.

    However, Sun Meiniang couldn¡¯t stand Luo Baiqiong¡¯s ¡°entanglement¡±, so she put her proud aside and asked a matchmaker Biddy Jiao to propose a marriage for her daughter. But Peng¡¯s Family refused directly. Sun Meiniang got angry but secretly sent someone to pry into the reason. Then she found that Peng Shi and Peng Jian were going to be reading partners of Zhu Yunwen, the Eldest Legitimate Grandson of the Emperor. It meant that they would have a bright future because several reading partners of thete Crown Prince had be grand preceptors and officials of the Eastern Pce above the third grade.

    Therefore, Sun Meiniang then asked for Madam Luo¡¯s help. But this time Madam Luo failed as well. It was said that Peng Shi firmly disagreed. All in all, those matchmakers from the East Yard were all sent back in frustration and the East Yard lost their faces badly. While Peng Shi and Peng Jian said goodbye to Madam Luo after studying in Chengxu Academy for less than half a year. As a result, He Danggui didn¡¯t see them when she came back.

    Then, Lord Luo Dusong of Luo¡¯s Family in the capital heard this and didn¡¯t want to have a rift with the East Yard. He took his two grandsons and paid a visit to Yangzhou City. Sun Meiniang was so delighted that she organized a tea party in Bao Qin Ge to make a match between her two daughters and two Young Masters of Peng¡¯s Family. But He Danggui was not invited, so she didn¡¯t know what exactly happened in that party which was in a mass and had an unhappy ending. Until Luo Baiqiong married to Liang¡¯s Family in the north, there were still some people in Luo¡¯s Family talking things like ¡°Luo Baiqiong seduced her elder cousin¡± and ¡°overshoot herself¡±.

    He Danggui thought that the reason why Madam Luo arranged them to live beside her was to strengthen the connection with Luo¡¯s Family in the capital. And in this way, if her granddaughter married into Peng¡¯s Family sessfully, these two families would be much closer and those masters in Luo¡¯s Family could even be officials one day. But when hearing Madam Luo¡¯s words, He Danggui didn¡¯t feel astonished, or she didn¡¯t care about it. She thought, ¡°Now that Peng¡¯s Family looks down upon the beautiful Luo Baiqiong, they would never like me. Madam Luo¡¯s n and banter are nothing but her own satisfaction.¡±

    Hearing no replies outside the curtain, Mammy Tang thought Third Miss must be shy. In order to disembarrass Third Miss, she sneezed, interrupted Madam Luo and talked about Peng Shi and Peng Jian¡¯s funny stories in their childhoods that Luo Chuanbei mentioned. He Danggui sweat and thought, ¡°Mammy Tang, Zhu is still lying inside half-dead.¡± Feng Jiugu also didn¡¯t want to hear it and said, ¡°I will send Shi Liu to respond to Second Mistress Luo and arrange two young masters to live in Xi Chang Yard, at First Master¡¯s standard.¡± Then she turned away and left.

    Madam Luo also thought of something important and restrained herself, ¡°Jingyang, Guang Hang, you two quickly go to the Medicine Room in the South Yard and knock out Shao. Don¡¯t let anyone see you¡­ Be gentle but don¡¯t let her wake up easily. Then you wrap her up with a soft quilt, put her in a gharry and drive to Shui Shang Temple as soon as possible!¡±

    He Danggui was surprised that Madam Luo could be so decisive. She thought, ¡°Knock her out at where no one could see? Send her to Shui Shang Temple as soon as possible? Ha-ha. It seems that Luo Baishao is carried with poisons all her body.¡± Pan Jingyang¡¯s expression was beyond surprise, ¡°Knock Fourth Miss out? Why?¡±

    At this time, Feng Jiugu walked in and said, ¡°I¡¯ve sent Shi Liu to Bao Qin Ge to report. Third Miss, your maid Chan Yi hase back and she is waiting for you at the gate.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s good for her. Just do it.¡± Madam Luo said decisively to Pan Jingyang. She had always listened to Mammy Tang¡¯s advice, and the reason why she kept putting off this was that she couldn¡¯t bear to see her granddaughter suffering in the Taoist temple. But now she determined to do so, she wouldn¡¯t do that sloppily. Then she started to give orders, ¡°Listen up! Considering Shao¡¯s future, I will send her to Shui Shang Temple for half a year. Each one of you must keep this as a secret. Don¡¯t talk to the Second Branch or anyone in this mansion about Shao¡¯s whereabouts.¡±

    Guang Hang couldn¡¯t help asking, ¡°What did Fourth Miss do wrong that Madam would punish her like this?¡±

    While Madam Luo and Mammy Tang were exining the story of Diaoshanyao Powder, He Danggui left the main hall silently and found Chan Yi with mud on face in a corner. She frowned and asked, ¡°What happened? Why did you get so dirty? Are you hurt?¡±

    Chan Yi rushed to hug He Danggui and cried, ¡°Miss, I saw that blood-sucking monster. He has purple eyes. It was so scaring!¡±

    He Danggui turned around and took a nce at Mammy Li and Mammy Pin who whispered at the gate of the main hall. Then she pulled Chan Yi to the corner to make sure that she didn¡¯t get hurt. He Danggui asked, ¡°Did that ¡®monster¡¯ see your face? How did you get away? Have you mentioned this to anyone else?¡±

    Chan Yi tried to touch her eyes with her dirty hands but was stopped by He Danggui. Then she pouted and shook her head, ¡°I was hiding behind a stone tablet so the monster didn¡¯t see me. But I yelled out when seeing that monster sucking blood. The monster heard it and walked towards me to suck my blood. And then two weird guys called Feng Yan and Feng Yu came out. They took me to escape. Miss, I¡¯ve heard before, although that monster didn¡¯t see what exactly our appearances are, that once it smells us, it would¡­¡±

    He Danggui signed to Chan Yi to stop her strange talking and lowered her voice, ¡°Remember, don¡¯t mention this to anyone else, even Huai Hua. It¡¯s better to let lesser people know this. Don¡¯t be scared. Go back to your room and take a hot bath. I will ask you about thister. Be rx. Monsters don¡¯t go out in daytime. Go back!¡±

    After Chan Yi left, He Danggui returned to the main hall and found that Madam Luo was telling others the exnation of Luo Baishao¡¯s whereabouts to outsiders.

    ¡°Hong Jiang has proposed an exnation which I think is quite proper. Now keep in mind. I will tell Shao¡¯s mother that Shao asked to go back to the capital with her Aunt Chuanbei to see new serials and take part inpetitions with those childes and misses. But because Chuanbei left in a hurry, and Shao had no time to ask for her mother¡¯s permission, I agree to let her go to the capital. She has been to Luo¡¯s Family in the capital 3 times before, so her mother would not feel too strange.¡±

    He Danggui sat on her small stool and asked, ¡°Is my Fourth Sister going to stay at Luo¡¯s Family in the capital as ¡®a guest¡¯ for half a year? Won¡¯t my Second Aunt send someone to pick her up? I¡¯ve remembered that my Second Sister likes to watch serials as well. What if she knows that and bes envy, and then runs to the capital to find Fourth Sister?¡±

    Mammy Tang smiled and replied, ¡°I¡¯ve thought about your concerns. After one mouth, Madam Luo can tell Second Mistress Luo that Fourth Miss finds a famous tea art master and determines not to go home until she masters the tea art. Second Mistress Luo must be delighted hearing Fourth Miss being so devoted, so she would definitely allow Fourth Miss to stay at Luo¡¯s Family in the capital. And this would give us at least a year¡¯s time.¡±

    He Danggui nodded slightly and thought, ¡°Learning tea art is indeed a nice excuse. Since the end of Yuan Dynasty, some amusements and entertainment of Tang and Song dynasties have been flourishing. In southern areas, tea art is loved by nobles. Highly skilled tea girls are much more popr than beautiful female entertainers who only sings. A nobledy who has skilled tea art would be more favorable and attract more attention from noble families, which equals to the effect of 3 years¡¯ learning in Chengxu Academy. Therefore, tea art masters are famous and valuable in Yangzhou City. On this matter, the East Yard of Luo¡¯s Family couldn¡¯tpete against Guan¡¯s Family and Sun¡¯s Family. As a result, the misses in the East Yard of Luo¡¯s Family couldn¡¯t get the chance to learn tea art. Sun Meiniang often sends Luo Baiqiong to live in Sun¡¯s Mansion for a few days just for giving her a chance to follow her female cousins and learn the tea art from the Master Huang who had the reputation of ¡®Cha Wu Xiang¡¯.¡±

    Meanwhile, Madam Luo added, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I would never allow Qiong to find her sister in the capital. The first day of the next lunar mouth is the opening day of Chengxu Academy, and Qiong will be busy studying and have no spare time to see serials. Yi, you¡¯re familiar with Shui Shang Temple. What suggestions do you have to tell Guang Hang?¡±

    He Danggui shook her head, ¡°Anyway, I disagree to send Fourth Sister away. But if Grandma insists, I have nothing more to say.¡± Pan Jingyang and Guang Hang respected Second Mistress Luo very much, and they might be her spies, so it was better for He Danggui to say nothing.

    Mammy Tang was not satisfied with Third Miss¡¯s answer. She recalled what she heard in the Taoist temple, so she replied for the kind Third Miss, ¡°I¡¯ve asked around in Shui Shang Temple. Both Master Tai Shan in charge of the temple and her disciples are considerate and smart. They would try their best to meet our requirements. How about we write a letter and ask Guard Pan to carry it? Well, I also heard that those masters don¡¯t like money. If we bring much silver, it would be counter-productive, so we can donate until we pick Fourth Miss back. Madam, we haven¡¯t let Fourth Miss to pour tea and apologize to Third Miss. Fourth Miss had made Third Miss suffer a lot in the past half year!¡±

    He Danggui didn¡¯t want cause more troubles, so she hurriedly refused, ¡°It¡¯s not necessary. We¡¯re sisters and I don¡¯t want her apology.¡± Those damage needed more than just an apology.

    Seeing Third Miss being so kind, Mammy Tang and Madam Luo didn¡¯t talk about it anymore.

    After Mammy Tang dictated, He Danggui milled the ink stick and Feng Jiugu wrote, a letter marked ¡°To Master Tai Shan¡± had beenpleted. Madam Luo thought carefully again and found that the reason for sending Shao to cultivate herself in the Taoist temple and the exnation of her whereabouts to the outsiders were all fully prepared without any w. Then she ordered, ¡°Jingyang, Guang Hang, make this quick. When you return, you go search Tao Yao Yard thoroughly in the name of ¡®helping Third Miss move and decorate¡¯. Find out all the poisons and destroy them!¡±

    After Pan Jingyang and Guang Hang left, He Danggui lifted her head up and stared at the spider hanging on the beam, and asked in concern, ¡°Dr. Wu, Nephew Zhu just ate the slightly toxic knockout drops. How could his symptoms be so severe? Will he be alright?¡±

 Chapter 119 - Five breaking news

    <h4>Chapter 119 Five breaking news</h4>

    Seven dayster, the servants¡¯ rooms of the northern yard on the East Yard of Luo¡¯s Mansion.

    Originally, 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. was supposed to be the drowsiest period for the servants in a day. The servants showed little interest and yawned all the time whatever they did. But today was different. It was obvious that today was a day-off, but they refused to have a rest in their rooms. Instead, they gathered as a crowd with eight to ten people and talked excitedly about the breaking news which had happened recently.

    First, the current news they cared about the most¨C Wang Qi¡¯s wife, the administrator of the kitchen, fell from the power and her gambling house were also shut down! The ¡°gambling case¡± only involved a small group of people who had invested or had managed it, but to those servants, who had used board wages to pay their debts to suffer from hungry, finally could eat the delicious foods. The move was weed by most servants of Luo¡¯s Mansion. They all praised Mammy Tang¡¯s tough means like her used to.

    Second, the mostplicated, confusing and varied family news¨C First Master and First Younger Mistress Luo had separated! It was said that under Madam Luo¡¯s approval, First Master had moved into Qi Lu Yard with Master Wei and Miss Yan, while First Younger Mistress was grounded in Liu Li Yard with four dower maids. And the rest of servants were all allocated to Qi Lu Yard! Reputedly, Madam Luo hired ¡°the best matchmaker in Yangzhou City¡±, Guang Xiazhi, to arrange a noble concubine for First Master.

    Third, the most fancied news that caused great gossips and fantasies¨CSecond Miss fell into the water! Again! It was said that Second Miss appreciated flowers at Ting Xiang Waterside Pavilion. But she didn¡¯t let her maid-guard protect her by her side for some reasons. And she even fell into the water. Although the depth of the water in that pond was lower than her chest, Second Miss still passed out because of the cold water! It was said that First Master of Peng¡¯s Family, Peng Shi, passed by and saved her! He not only saved her from the water, but also held her to the bedroom at the pavilion to get a treatment!

    Fourth, the most unimaginable big news that Madam Luo might acting ¡°abnormally¡± ¡ª At the second day Fourth Miss traveled outside, Madam Luo ordered to renovate the Tao Yao Yard and gave it to Third Miss, the one just reviving from death? Then Madam Luo sent the dying and unconscious Master Zhu to Tao Yao Yard, and said that it was the perfect ce for him to recuperate? Second Mistress Luo sent Ding Rong¡¯s wife to Tao Yao Yard for querying, but she was stopped by Pan Jingyang at the gate, and didn¡¯t even step into the yard?

    Fifth, the biggest and thrilling news which could prove Madam Luo¡¯s being ¡°abnormal¡± ¡ª Madam Luo... She had rejuvenated? Everyone who saw Madam Luo all said so. Her wrinkles on her face became less than before, her gray hair turned into ck, and she was more energetic. Yesterday early morning, an old servant who cleaned Fu Shou Yard had seen Madam Luo who was always sitting still... Doing Tai Chi in the garden? He was so shocked that he almost dropped his broom! Anyway, everyone had praised Madam Luo looked nice and healthy in the past few days. Madam Luo was so pleased.

    In the Fu Shou Yard of this time, Mammy Tang grinned from ear to ear and asked Deng Cao, ¡°I heard that Madam Luo ate two bowls of rice at lunch?¡±

    Deng Cao smiled, ¡°Yes, if Miss Ji didn¡¯t extort her, ¡®don¡¯t eat too much, or it¡¯s bad for your health¡¯, Madam Luo wanted to eat another bowl. Besides, she tasted every dishes on the table, and wasn¡¯t picky at all! After lunch, she strolled in the yard before she took a nap. It is the rarest thing in thest ten years!¡±

    ¡°Is she awake?¡± Mammy Tang listened intently to the sound in Madam Luo¡¯s bedroom, ¡°I have an emergency to ask her.¡±

    Speaking of that, a loud voice came through the bedroom, ¡°Hong Jiang, you back? Come in!¡±

    Mammy Tang let Deng Cao leave first, then went inside. Madam Luo was sitting in front of the dresser and ying those holed jade beads. Though these beads were top ss jade beads, in Madam Luo¡¯s critical eyes, they were still divided into three grades. Looking at Madam Luo¡¯s healthy and pink cheek and her high moods, Mammy Tang said happily, ¡°Miss, you haven¡¯t been into ying these flowers and beads for many years. Now, you look so much younger after you ate the jujube, so does your mood!¡±

    ¡°In these days, I feel my whole body is rxed, so I have extra energy to y those things. Ha-ha, that jujube is a treasure.¡± Madam Luo smiled and said, ¡°Oh, by the way, Hong Jiang. Have you visited Zhu today? Is he awake yet?¡¯

    Mammy Tang shook her head and said, ¡°I had a look at him at the side hall when I sent money to Third Miss in the morning. Tut-tut, such a poor kid, he was poisoned by his own mother. And he isn¡¯t awake until now! Now, everything goes well, except his illness.¡±

    Madam Luo stopped ying with those beads and continued to ask, ¡°Isn¡¯t awake? Has he eaten the jujube? It doesn¡¯t work?¡±

    Mammy Tang got closer to Madam Luo and murmured to exin, ¡°Yesterday Third Miss said, although the jujube can cure kinds of diseases, it can¡¯t detoxify any poison. She also asked, ¡®Since Mammy knows that it may not work, do you want to give it to Zhu or not?¡¯ I pondered for a little while, finally I decided to give it back, and put it in the jar at our chamber...Madam, I think we can¡¯t use the jujube on Zhu.¡±

    ¡°...Why?¡± Madam Luo¡¯s tone didn¡¯t tell her attitude, while she started ying those beads, and made the beads sound.

    Mammy Tang stepped forward and told Madam Luo her innermost thoughts that she had considered all night, ¡°These jujubes are the rarest precious treasure in the world, also are family heirloom of our Luo¡¯s Family. You only ate one jujube, and you already look much younger. It¡¯s amazing. But now, there are eight jujubes left. It¡¯s very rare. We must use these jujubes on the most emergency events. First of all, Senior Lord Luo is eighty years old now. He is our family¡¯s glory. We can¡¯t lose him. Second, you are in charge of the East Yard of Luo¡¯s Mansion. If you are healthy, the East Yard will be in order. Third, Second Master of Third Branch, Ji, is your only biological grandchild. Expect First Master of First Branch, that concubine¡¯s son, he is the only blood of our family. Besides, there are many functions of the jujubes. No matter which, it is better than using on Zhu!¡±

    Seeing Madam Luo picked a few beads into three boxes in silence, Mammy Tang said hesitantly, ¡°Miss, are you listening?¡± Madam nodded, ¡°Go ahead.¡±

    ¡°Miss. It¡¯s not our fault. After all, you already sent me to give Zhu a jujube, and I did so,¡± Mammy Tang used handkerchief to wipe sweat on her face, ¡°but Third Miss said that there is a small chance to save him even if he took the blessed jujube. It¡¯s the Immortal¡¯s will...¡±

    Madam Luo sighed, ¡°What a pity. Are we really gonna lose one of the twins? Is there another chance to save Zhu¡¯s life?¡±

    Madam Luo sounded peaceful, and Mammy Tang learned Madam Luo had agreed that she brought back the jujube. So, she was relieved and answered honestly, ¡°Dr. Wu examines Zhu every day. ording to him, since Zhu lives in Tao Yao Yard, his symptoms have lessened. Maybe it is a nice ce to recuperate... But he doesn¡¯t know why he can¡¯t wake him up after he tried so many ways. He didn¡¯t know why Zhu is still in aa under many treatments, but he just said that Zhu¡¯s life was not in danger currently. Except Senior Lord Luo, Dr. Wu is the most capable doctor in Yang Zhou. If he can¡¯t cure Zhu, nobody can.¡±

    ¡°Hong Jiang. Originally, I want Yi to make a jujube blessed and give Zhu jujubes expediently, so we put Zhu into Tao Yao Yard.¡± Madam raised her head and asked, ¡°Now, Zhu needn¡¯t eat jujubes. Should we move him out of Tao Yao Yard? Yi is a ten years old child after all, and she has no experience to take care of another child.¡±

    Mammy Tang thought about it and suggested, ¡°In my opinion, now that Dr. Wu said that is a suitable ce for Zhu, why not let him stay there? Then we can make an agreement with Third Miss. When he is not really curable, we will send him to First Mistress Luo¡¯s ce for thest meeting... Anyhow, a few days ago, Zhu¡¯s illness is hopeless, and people of First Branch had prepared mentally during the first time. We had done enough. First Younger Mistress Luo should be the one to be med for being heartless. In order to frame Third Miss, she even feed her son poison!¡±

    Madam Luo was picking the jade beads in quality while asking slowly, ¡°What¡¯s the opinion of Yi? Does she want to ept Zhu? All in all... She used to live in the Taoist temple because Zhu pushed her.¡±

    Mammy Tang smiled, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Madam Luo. Third Miss is the most softhearted person. She said that though she passed out and puked and finally remembered that Zhu pushed her, he is just a three-year-old kid, and she doesn¡¯t care about it. Besides, she is also worried about Zhu¡¯s condition. In her words, she is willing to take care of him.¡±

    ¡°s, she is the most obedient kid in our family. I don¡¯t worry about her,¡± Madam Luo said astonishingly, ¡°I thought Qiong is the most well-educated kid. But I didn¡¯t think that she could do such a shameful thing!¡±

    Mammy Tang persuaded haltingly, ¡°Maybe it is just an ident... and Second Miss is just a twelve-year-old girl. It is not a big deal that she was held by her own cousin... If it doesn¡¯t work, Peng¡¯s Family can match with ours. I heard that Master Peng Shi is very handsome, no wonder that Second Miss...¡±

    ¡°No, no. It¡¯s not gonna work. Her mother, my Second daughter-inw, in these two years, wants Qiong to attend the imperial audition in recent years. Peng¡¯s Family, she won¡¯t agree!¡± Madam Luo shook her head, ¡°Forget about it. Take this the end of the topic. They have their fates to practice. Oh, Hong Jiang, did you send those cheques to Yi? And has she picked these patterns of hair sps which I told you to take to her?¡±

    Mammy Tang nodded, ¡°Besides the 400 liang silver from Wang Qi¡¯s wife. I also drew 1,000 liang silver from the ount of your dried food store as an award to her for presenting the heirloom. 1,400 liang silver in total, and I sent to Third Miss in the morning. Then I presented these patterns to let her pick. But she said she doesn¡¯t like wearing these jewelries, not only because these were burdensome, but also she wouldn¡¯t look as graceful as Second Miss even if she wears them. I told her that you promised to give her three head-ornaments and she deserved them. Even if she didn¡¯t wear them now, she can wear them after her marriage. But she still refused to pick these patterns. Seeing her act like that, I thought she can buy her jewelries after she grows up. So, I decided to give her 300 liang silver of the material of the jewelries. So, it is 1,700 liang silver in all.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, Yi is a good girl. She deserves this.¡± Madam Luo remembered something, and then looked up and asked, ¡°I just heard you told Deng Cao that you have ¡®some emergency¡¯ to tell me?¡±

    Mammy Tang padded her forehead and said, ¡°Oh, I almost forgot the important thing. First Lord came here before noon, and he said that he had gotten two test-free chances to attend Chengxu Academy from Vice-President Wei. The new term begins at the first day of October. Now there are two tables to fill in. First Lord said Qiong had already filled that table and gave it to him. And he asked when Shao coulde and fill in. What should we do? Should we tell him the truth?¡±

    Madam Luo began to y those beads again, and made the beads sound. Mammy Tang felt that she waited for a long while. Finally, Madam Luo made the decision, ¡°This chance...we give it to Yi. Well, she can¡¯t write, so let her first uncle fill for her.¡±

    Mammy Tang wide-opened her eyes, ¡°Third Miss? You want Third Miss to go to the Chengxu Academy? It is hard to get the two chances. What about Fourth Miss?¡±

    ¡°s, why bother? The chance is valuable now. When Shaoes back, we can ask Vice President Wei to get another chance for her.¡± Madam Luo exined, ¡°I¡¯m thinking that it¡¯s hard for Yi to marry into a nice Family as a wife because of her bad background. It¡¯s a good opportunity for her to marry Shi or Jian of Peng¡¯s Family. Even if she couldn¡¯t be a wife in charge, she could be the Junior Wife given that we are rtives. We can be even closer than before. In the future, if we ask Peng Haoguang to help Qian get an official position, we can make things easier. It is a good thing that has many benefits.¡±

    Mammy Tang admired, ¡°Madam Luo, you are so considerable. This arrangement will please both Third Miss and First Master!¡±

    ¡°Yes, Shi and Jian are both good kids. Out of the reasons I said before, I make them live next to Yi, and also send them three to the same school. I hope Yi can understand my intention, and pick her husband from themter. Although they are still young, we can settle their engagement first. In this way, Qian¡¯s official position could be settled down earlier.¡± After saying that, Madam Luo had already separated those beads. She hesitated for a second, and then handed the box with top grade jade to Mammy Tang, ¡°Give it to Yi. Tell her, if she didn¡¯t like ornaments, she could string those jade beads as bracelets; and tell her, she needs to prepare to go to the Chengxu Academy with Qiong in four days!¡±

 Chapter 120 - Vampire in Yu Ya Hall

    <h4>Chapter 120 Vampire in Yu Ya Hall</h4>

    He Danggui was bored to fiddle with a box of jade beads that Mammy Tang sent and she said helplessly, ¡°Chan Yi, don¡¯t take these things in front of me, OK? It makes me feel dizzy!¡±

    ¡°Third Miss, I¡¯ll tell you what. I can sleep tight at night since I put on those sets of ghost-fighting things!¡± With a monster-revealing mirror on her chest, Chan Yi tied a circle of garlic around her neck. What¡¯s more, her maid uniform was sewed several dozens of bright yellow ghost-fighting hierogram runes for luck. Every time she came to serve tea, the acrid smell came along. Chan Yi said with a smile, ¡°Since you told me in Tu¡¯er Town that Luo¡¯s Family is dangerous, I have prepared those things for exorcism. I was skeptical about it originally, but since I met ¡®you-know-who¡¯ that day, I fully believed what you said.¡±

    He Danggui and Chan Yi made a covenant that they would use ¡°you-know-who¡± to describe that monster when they mentioned that, for fear that it might be heard by other people.

    ording to Chan Yi, that night, after she and Miss Ji sent Luo Baiying back to the courtyard, First Miss assigned her a bunch of chores and ordered that she must finish before leaving. Since Miss Ji was hurried to count the bills in the small warehouse of Fu Shou Yard, Chan Yi was left there alone. The sun was almost up after she weeded the whole garden, fed a few goats, sheared the fleece of them and spread them on the ground.

    Chan Yi wanted to go back to Ting Zhu Yard to have a rest. Unfortunately, she lost her way. She came to a pavilion named ¡°Yu Ya Hall¡±¡ªAfterwards, He Danggui had once inspected the scene of the ident, so the ce Chan Yi mentioned might be ¡°Yuan Yang Pavilion¡±. There were a man and a woman kissing with their legs crossing. She wanted to ask them for directions, but before she did it, a man like a monster flew down from above.

    The fact was that the man in the pavilion was caught by ¡°you-know-who¡± to suck his blood, and that woman was fainted on the spot. ording to Chan Yi, you-know-who¡¯s eyes were suffused with purple lights, but... it seemed that he couldn¡¯t see something still, but the moving things only. Because after you-know-who sucked the blood of that man, he didn¡¯t do it again to the woman who was fainted on the ground. Instead, he turned around and sucked the blood of a passing badger pig.

    Chan Yi recalled with fear. Her own cries had drawn him to her side. Feng Yan and Feng Yu suddenly came out from behind and dragged her to run away. But they all could not outrun you-know-who. There was an ideal shed through Feng Yu¡¯s mind: Everybodyy on the ground and held their breathes. When you-know-who flew over, he didn¡¯t even look at them who were lying on the ground to fake their deaths, but flew away straight to the southeast direction. Later, the three of them found that they identally crushed arge piece of white magnolia in the flower bed when faking death. Later, Administrator Li found a crushed white magnolia on the back of Feng Yan¡¯s head, and then Feng Yan and Feng Yu were detained forpensation.

    He Danggui pondered after Chan Yi finished. There was only Bitter Bamboo Grove at the southeast of atrium. Did that vampire fly into the Bitter Bamboo Grove? Thinking of this, she drew portraits of all who could perform kung fu in Luo¡¯s Mansion, and then let Chan Yi identify them one by one. However, Chan Yi shook her head and said none of them was the you-know-who. Couldn¡¯t get more information, He Danggui just simplyid it aside. She just told the maids to keep the door of Tao Yao Yard at night.

    Actually, the so-called maids were only five people. Although Tao Yao Yard was incredibly big, now, except for Chan Yi and Huai Hua, there were only Bo He, Dou Jiang and Qian Shi three maids who were transferred from Madam Luo¡¯s ce to take care of Zhu specially. Mammy Tang once said that a few dayster, Second Mistress Luo would send a batch of good maids and mammies and she could choose some for her own use. But the conception of ¡°a few days¡± was fuzzy, because seven dayster, there were still nobody sent here. He Danggui enjoyed staying at this quiet courtyard, and she ordered Chan Yi and Huai Hua to do nothing more but the sprinkling and sweeping work of their own room.

    Since the Administrator of the kitchen Wang Qi¡¯s wife had fallen, this position was reced by Yang Wu¡¯s wife. Although everyday her diets were lit, at least all the food was delivered timely. Every day, He Danggui stayed at her room after dinner, nning to do something with her first deal. After eating and putting away the dishes and bowls, Chan Yi began to draw her ghost-fighting hierogram runes for luck on the dining table. After it was finished, she would ask Huai Hua to sew it on her clothes. And then she would show it to He Danggui. The three of them wouldment andugh... Days passed like flowing water.

    It was difficult for one to tell the changes within 1 or 2 days. But about 5 days passed, fallen leaves had covered the ground of Tao Yao Yard. Now, most of the rooms, except for a few upied, were covered with dust, and the newly painted beams were already decorated with beautiful cobwebs.

    In previous times when Luo Baishao was the master of Tao Yao Yard, there were more than 20 servants in the yard who took charge of maintaining the peach-blossom forest, pruning bushes, nourishing the soil, and watering, plus those who swept the main courtyard and served drinking, sewing, starching, and kitchte respectively. There was always a crowd as soon as one entered Tao Yao Yard. At that time, Tao Yao Yard could top the busiest ce in the whole Luo¡¯s Mansion.

    This morning when Mammy Tang came to deliver the money and visit Zhu, she thought she wandered into the wrong yard. Compared with the busy and prosperous yard it used to be, she felt the depression scene in front of her seemed even more dispiriting. So, this time, even Mammy Tang couldn¡¯t help but secretly reprimand Second Mistress Luo, because it was really too unseemly. Second Mistress Luo could treat her daughter and her niece differently, but was it too obvious? Wouldn¡¯t it be another joke for the outsiders? Now there were two groups of distinguished guests in Luo¡¯s Mansion! Fortunately, Third Miss was always reasonable. She said living at Tao Yao Yard was veryfortable. Both Chan Yi and Huai Hua were also thoughtful. So, there was no need to add maids.

    Feeling sorry for it, so in the afternoon, Mammy Tang brought 12 maids from Madam Luo¡¯s Fu Shou Yard for cleaning and starching when she sent a box of jade beads to Tao Yao Yard. Now, they all began to clean up the fallen leaves and cobwebs everywhere. Mammy Tang was thinking that the distance between Xi Chang Yard and Tao Yao Yard was the closest, so it was possible that the two Masters of Peng¡¯s Family mighte one day to visit. Therefore, she must do a good job from all appearances, so that she could help Third Miss handle one of them as soon as possible. Only in this way could ¡°the bridegroom¡¯s father¡± Peng Haoguang seek an official position for First Master in the capital! Thinking of that, Mammy Tang was afraid that the fragrance of the peach-blossom forest would not be strong enough to attract the two Masters next door, hence she let gardeners bring all the hundreds of aromatic chrysanthemums in the garden house out, and circled 2 rounds in the whole Tao Yao Yard.

    He Danggui didn¡¯t know Mammy Tang had such an idea, but thought that her ¡°Depression n¡± had been fully seeded. So, she was delighted to see these fascinating chrysanthemums all over the ce. In this way, the two smiled inwardly for their own n¡­

    But after Mammy Tang left, He Danggui was in a bad mood again, because Mammy Tang said before left, ¡°By the way, good news for you, Third Miss. We get two test-free admissions to Chengxu Academy, and one is for you. You will go to school four dayster! It¡¯s the most important thing. So, please prepare some clothes and bead flowers (a flowery headdress made of beads) you will wear!¡± And then she left before she patiently exined some questions about how to match clothes and ornaments.

    ¡°s...¡± He Danggui sighed. She didn¡¯t expect that she not only lived in Luo Baishao¡¯s yard, but also went to school for her. Plus, the 1,700 liang silver she had just won, the 240 liang silver in Qibao Money Shop, this box of superior jade beads, and that agarwood removed from the lignaloes coffin, now she had about 2,700 liang silver in total. Next, she nned to sneak out Luo¡¯s Mansion to investigate the market situation of Yangzhou City¡¯s business streets. She was so busy to catch up with her n. How could she squeeze out time to y the child-go-to-school thing?

    ¡°Here, drink it while it¡¯s hot, and hurry up!¡± Chan Yi approached with a whiff of garlic, bringing a bowl of chamomile tea. She said in delight, ¡°I¡¯ve just picked up a lot of chamomiles in the yard, and I¡¯ve made it into tea!¡±

    He Danggui wondered, ¡°Where are you going?¡± She took a sip of the tea and said bitterly, ¡°The flowers are all burnt. Why do you add sugar? It tastes quite strange.¡±

    ¡°You taught me that!¡± Chan Yi said naturally, ¡°You put much more sugar in your Hawthorn teast time, right? Madam Luo just sent someone to say that she is going to invite the guests to have dinner at Fu Shou Yard in the evening, and she invited you, too. But you were in a daze at that time, and didn¡¯t hear it. So, I agreed on your behalf. Our meals here are all vegetarian and you just recovered from a serious illness, so you should go to gain more nutrients. By the way, Madam Luo emphasized that she hoped you can dress up nicely. Do you want to wear flowers? I haven¡¯t run out of it for tea. Let me put some on you.¡± As she said that, two fresh chrysanthemums were sent to He Danggui¡¯s nose.

    However, He Danggui refused. After drinking the Chrysanthemum tea, she went to the closet to find clothes for meeting the guests.

    There were mixed clothes in the closet. When she lived with her mother half a year ago, she got a lot of gorgeous dresses, which almost were wide-sleeved floor-length skirts for dancing only. Later when she came to Luo¡¯s Mansion, all the misses were given clothes for Spring, Summer and Autumn except her. So, there were only two in home clothes made by female embroiders from West Lateral court. The only lucky thing was that she asked the maids to take some boxes out of the house before Luo Baiqian burned the court, or else she would have lost all her clothes.

    Picking and choosing, finally she put on that most in feather gauzed skirt with double breasted dress that Duan Xiaolou sent her in the Taoist temple, which was the most decent clothes she got recently. Madam Luo said that she would hold a dinner party, and specially sent someone to invite her. Given that Madam was quite hospitable to the guests of Peng¡¯s Family the other day, He Danggui could tell that they were the guests who were invited. And Luo Baiqiong also did not let her down. ¡°Once again¡± she fell in love with that Peng Shi at first sight. There was no doubt that Luo Baiqiong would certainly be present in such an asion. If she dressed in, Luo Baiqiong¡¯s dress would look more decent.

    After putting the clothes on, He Danggui went out alone. Because Chan Yi firmly refused to pick off her garlics and monster-revealing mirror, so she did not take any maid with her. Passing a few courts, she met nobody. However, when she turned the corner, she saw that manservant who named Feng Yan or Feng Yu. The one quickly walked in a hurry towards southeast. So, He Danggui also followed out of curiosity.

    With a small pack, he ran to the side door southeast. Then he opened half the door, handing out the pack and murmured something with someone outside the door. Under the cover of the branches, He Danggui saw a man outside who seemed like a boy about 14-year-old at first nce. Although his purple robe was luxury, it was shabby and dirty. He had an unkempt chignon with several straws on it. Again, fixing her eyes to see the boy¡¯s attractive face, He Danggui found that she was familiar with this youth with double curved eyebrow, dark eyes, an upturned nose and a dimple on the left cheek as he spoke.

    He Danggui¡¯s eyes wide-opened. The person was... Gao Jue¡¯s sister-inw!

    Yes, that¡¯s right. She was the girl appeared in Tu¡¯er Town! He Danggui still remembered that in Qunxian Restaurant, the gossip boy and the cool boy both called this girl ¡°Ling Miaoyi¡±. He Danggui was curiosity about how this little girl of noble birth troubled in this abject situation and why she came to the side door of Luo¡¯s Mansion?

    He Danggui closed her eyes to ruminate for a moment. However, when she looked at them again, the two people had finished their talking, and that girl standing outside ran away, while that manservant closed the side door, went back to the court as he hummed songs. He Danggui jumped out from sideways to block his way and questioned with a smile, ¡°Hi, man. Does that little girle from Ling¡¯s Mansion in the capital¡­What¡¯s her name? I forget it. I should say hi to her!¡±

    Feng Yu was scared by He Danggui¡¯s popping out. Hearing that He Danggui not only recognized Ling Miaoyi, but also wanted to find her, he hurriedly stopped her and said, ¡°Please don¡¯t, Miss. She... you cannot talk to her!¡±

    He Danggui was puzzled, ¡°Why? All the people of the world are friends. Couldn¡¯t I say hello with my ¡®friend¡¯?¡±

    Feng Yu scratched his head and smiled embarrassedly, then an idea urred to his mind, ¡°Ah, Miss He, you must have seen her in rags! She doesn¡¯t like to meet people in that way, because it¡¯s embarrassing for both sides. So, just leave her alone.¡± He said, peering at He Danggui, and then probed, ¡°You don¡¯t know her that much? Even her name?¡±

    He Danggui shook her head and said, ¡°Oh, actually I only met her once in the street.¡± Seeing that he breathed a sigh of relief, sheughed, ¡°But I have admired her for a long time, and we just like two old friends separated for a long time. Today, wee together as if by predestination, I must greet her today no matter what!¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t look for her!¡± Feng Yu yelled in a low voice, with his arms stretching to block her way, ¡°Well, tell you the truth, she¡¯s... She¡¯s a wicked viin!¡±

 Chapter 121 - I had seen the sister

    <h4>Chapter 121 I had seen the sister</h4>

    ¡°Big viin?¡± He Danggui raised her eyebrow.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Feng Yu lied with sweat on his forehead. ¡°Don¡¯t be cheated by her appearance. In fact, besides telling lies, she usually likes fighting, abusing, and even killing. So, you must leave her without a word as soon as meeting her. And remember not to tell her the thing that our Childe ever lived with Childe Ning in Luo¡¯s Mansion, please!¡±

    After thinking for a while, He Danggui asked, ¡°ording to her ent, shees from the capital¡­ Ling Miaoyi knows Childe Feng and Childe Ning, doesn¡¯t she? Where are they from?¡±

    Feng Yu regretted what he just said. He said immediately with his hands shaking, ¡°No, no, no. Our Childe has never been to the capital with Childe Ning. Particrly Childe Feng is from Yangzhou. He has been to nowhere except Wudang Mountain in his all life¡­ Though he has met Ling Miaoyi, he¡¯s not familiar with her. They have never ever met in the capital because we hardly went out.¡± The more he said, the more worried he was. He scratched his head and was afraid that he might give the show away.

    He Dangguiughed and made her hair neat with her fingers. She said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, dude. I just said that randomly. I¡¯m not so interested in your Childes. By the way, thank you for saving Chan Yi! I really appreciate it.¡±

    Feng Yu was about to reply. Suddenly, a high voice came into ears, ¡°Ah, Third Miss! Why are you still here? Madam is calling you!¡± He Danggui looked back and saw Mammy Hua, who served Madam.

    Mammy Hua ran totteringly to here. She ignored Feng Yu and caught the arm of He Danggui to leave immediately. She said quickly, ¡°Madam¡¯s going to introduce you to the guests. Today an honored guest, Earl Baoding Meng Shan, is present at the feast. And I heard that First Master Guan would alsoe!¡± She looked at He Danggui from head to toe and asked, ¡°Third Miss, is your dress too in? Today there are all special guests.¡±

    He Danggui shook her head and asked, ¡°Earl Baoding Meng Shan? How could hee suddenly? I didn¡¯t know it before. I thought it is just amon family feast. Why is it a big feast?¡± Generally, it would take Luo¡¯s Mansion three days to prepare a middle feast. The atmosphere in those three days was like in a festival. A big one was much more morous.

    Mammy Hua exined, ¡°It¡¯s because Earl Baoding¡¯s army just passed by Yangzhou and he came to visit Senior Lord Luo. But Senior Lord Luo traveled around the other day. Madam persuaded him as well as his little Childe to stay to have a meal two hours ago. Now the cooks are preparing the dishes.¡± She said while pulling He Danggui. ¡°Third Miss, your dress seems too in. There are some dresses of Four Miss in Madam¡¯s room. Would you like to change one you are fond of?¡± She still asked.

    He Danggui smiled and said, ¡°Ha-ha. Madam entertains the guests at the banquet. I¡¯ll just have a meal sitting at the edge. Why are you so focused on my clothes?¡±

    Mammy Hua smiled embarrassedly and said, ¡°This is Madam¡¯s instruction. Two masters of Peng¡¯s Family also havee¡­¡±

    It turned out that they were nning for this. He Danggui smiled and thought, ¡°Does the senior really like to make a crazy match? Luo Baiqiong has shown her affection to Peng Shi and even doesn¡¯t care about her reputation. Madam should make a match for them.

    While just going into Fu Shou Yard, they saw thenterns and festoons could be find everywhere and everyone was all smiles as if it was the Spring Festival. The feast would be in the Xin Rong Hall of the main hall. It hadn¡¯t started. Mammy Tang was running from the kitchen to the hall again and again. Seeing Third Missing, she was so delighted and said, ¡°Third Miss, you¡¯re here. Madam¡¯s talking with guests in the hall. The First and Second Miss haven¡¯t reached. Hua Sanniang, take Third Miss in!¡±

    Declining the suggestion of changing a colorful suit, He Danggui went to the Xin Rong Hall. She felt curious about the Peng Shi who made Luo Baiqiong jump into the water willingly. She suddenly heard a man talking with a cracked voice. ¡°Ha-ha, brother, this step is so awful that you don¡¯t have chance to go forward or back. You will lose after a little while!¡±

    Standing by the door, He Danggui found two well-dressed men ying Chinese Go. She saw a man in light blue robe leaning in the armchair and yawning. The other one in dark green robe was sitting so straight. As she looked at the second man, he suddenly felt that and looked up to her. The man in light blue robe found his brother hanging the fingers with a Go stone and staring the left side. He also turned to see the left while yawning. When he saw He Danggui, he was stare nkly for a moment. Then he was excited and suddenly jumped up.

    Madam sitting in the seat of the host also saw He Danggui. She waved to her and said, ¡°Come here to see your cousins.¡± She pointed at the two men and said, ¡°They are the sons of your aunt. Jian is two years older than you, and Shi is four years older than you. They are both outstanding. (Which one do you like?)¡± Thest sentence was said by eyes to He Danggui. And then Madam pointed at He Danggui and told those two men, ¡°Shi and Jian, this is your Third Sister. She will also go to academy. You¡¯d take good care of her!¡±

    That man in light blue robe went forward. He smiled and said, ¡°Madam, I¡¯ve ever seen this sister!¡±

    Madam looked at He Danggui curiously. She asked, ¡°Have you ever met?¡±

    Staring at these two men, He Danggui shouted in her mind, ¡°Oh no! As a ¡®high-fed¡¯ miss, the thing that I¡¯ve been to the restaurant by disguising myself as a man can be a seriously wrong thing, but it can also be not that serious. However, if it¡¯s known by Madam, I will be med by her. Should I admit that?¡±

    Right, she had ever met these two men at Qunxian Restaurant in Tu¡¯er Town. The man in dark green robe was about fourteen years old, and he was probably Peng Shi, who was a cool guy just eating alone on that day. He had ck charming eyes with upturned canthus. He looked impassive and haughty. which made people be timid and overcautious when facing him.

    The man in light blue robe was about twenty, and he was probably Peng Jian. He liked to care about others¡¯ business. On that day, he med that they booked too many dishes. His appearance was a little bit like Peng Shi. He had thin and long eyebrows, an aquiline nose and beautiful jaw. His lips were upwards, looking like a little rampant. Meanwhile, his ck eyes were shining.

    He Danggui felt annoyed and thought, ¡°Humph. How can he be so happy? He should tell her actions suddenly, and Madam will me her. Moreover, it¡¯s believed that she slipped away to indulge herself drinking and eating. Madam will be worried about the food in Shui Shang Temple. If taking Luo Baishao back in advance, her n will be in vain.¡± Think about this, she couldn¡¯t help sighing with emotion. ¡°What a coincidence! I should meet my ¡®cousins¡¯ in the same restaurant, and they were just next to my table!¡±

    At this moment, the man in dark green robe went up and pped the shoulder of his brother. He said with displeased mood, ¡°What are you bullshitting? When did we meet this sister? Look, she doesn¡¯t know you.¡± Meanwhile, he nodded towards He Danggui and said, ¡°Hello, Third Sister. I¡¯m Peng Shi. It¡¯s nice to meet you here for the first time!¡± He stressed ¡°the first time¡±.

    He Danggui didn¡¯t know what happened and said fast to Madam, ¡°Madam, it should be the first time we meet. I¡¯ve never seen them.¡±

    Then all the people took their seat. Peng Jian was pped heavily by his brother. He suddenly thought that they followed Taoist Sage Bai Yangbai to Tu¡¯er Town in want of learning skills from him. That thing couldn¡¯t tell anyone else because his father, Peng Haoguang, had a great prejudice to Taoist Sage. Therefore, the thing that they met in Tu¡¯er Town could not be known by others.

    However, looking at the girl in front of their table, Peng Jian felt a little annoyed. Huh, why did she also pretend not knowing him? That day in the Qunxianlou Restaurant, he was called ¡°yenta man¡± by her. And then his brother took him to secretly follow Ling Miaoyi, who presented suddenly. After that, he couldn¡¯t find her whening back. Seeing the girl, Peng Jian felt excited. He couldn¡¯t imagine that the vige girl met on that day was the Third Miss of Luo¡¯s Mansion. Now he finally had the chance to say back that he was not the ¡°yenta man¡±!

    He didn¡¯t know if it was his illusion that the gorgeous vige girl that day became somon now¡­ Her face became pale. Was she hungry? Her eyes became smaller. Was she tired? She was that vige girl, but why did her appearance be a lot? Last time they met in the restaurant, her gestures, expressions, every twinkle and smile were so charming that he could not move his eyes from her face. But now she had no expressions. Though she was drinking tea as that day, her free and easy temperament disappeared¡­

    ¡°Ahem! Ahem¡­¡±

    Peng Jian jumped up from his seat. Seeing the Third Sister just took a nce at him, she was choked suddenly by the water! ¡°Third Sister. Are you OK?¡± Peng Jian couldn¡¯t help but ask her while going back to his seat.

    He Danggui took a deep breath and touched her chest. And then she took a chrysanthemum cake to hide her embarrassing look. The man in the first-ss seat was fifty-year-old Earl Baoding Meng Shan. She had just seen him a few times in the previous life. However, the guy in white was the man she saved in the Shui Shang Temple, wasn¡¯t he?

    Madam didn¡¯t notice the scene that He Danggui was chocked. She smiled and introduced to two Childes of Peng¡¯s Family, fake Feng Yang and Ning Yuan, ¡°They are Earl Baoding Meng Shan as well as his Seventh Childe Meng Xuan. Though Meng Xuan is just eleven years old, he is the Young General of the Cavalry bestowed by His Majesty. And he once went to the front and killed enemies.¡±

 Chapter 122 - Six people played Go

    <h4><strong>Chapter 122</strong> Six people yed Go</h4>

    He Danggui remembered that Earl Baoding Meng Shan had eleven sons. The Seventh Childe Meng Xuan should be his legitimate son, who was a Young General of the Earl Mansion. But why he was chased by imperial guards?

    As far as she knew, Meng Shan was brave and battle-wise. He was not only a trusted follower of the Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, but also was one of the scarce founding fathersmanding arge number of troops. Liu Bowen, Lu Zhongheng, Chen Huan and others, who werebeled at the same time, were all demoted, whereas Meng Shan always kept his position in the field. Since he followed Zhu Yuanzhang, who was over-suspicious, for 30 years and was always trusted, it could be described as a marvel. It was obvious that Meng Shan was not a simple person and different from other lead soldiers.

    Meng Shan was a man with a full forehead, a round chin, long eyshes and deep eyes. He must be a handsome man when he was young. It was no wonder that his son Meng Xuan was as pretty as a girl. Meng Xuan¡¯s delicate features were as lively as a figure cut off from the painting. He Danggui curled her lips and thought. It was estimated that dressing up him with women¡¯s clothing maybe surpassed her beauty. Fortunately, he had been unconscious when she saved him, or today he would suddenly say, ¡°I have seen this sister!¡± She didn¡¯t know how to exin it. After all, it was a felony to obstruct imperial guard¡¯s case.

    At this time, fake Feng Yang and Ning Yuan went into the hall, sitting on the seats opposite to Meng Shan and his son. He Danggui put chrysanthemum cake in front of her face as a cover for sizing up Meng Xuan¡¯s expression. His clear ck eyes stared at Ning Yuan¡¯s face for a moment, which was simr to the face of Lu Jiangbei. And then with a slight sigh of relief, he picked up his ss and began to drink as if he knew it was not Lu Jiangbei. He Danggui was sure that he was the severely injured man that chased by Lu Jiangbei and then hid in the grass on that day. If she remembered correctly, Meng Shan was amander-in-chief stationed in Shanhai pass. He took the soldiers through Yangzhou City to go to the fornd of Fuzhou City this time...

    ¡°Third Sister!¡± A deep voice came in her ears. ¡°Why do you just look at it but not eat it? Is your chrysanthemum cake not delicious? Maybe you can eat my food!¡± Holding a dish of double-vored steamed dumplings, Peng Jian ran from the opposite seat to thest seat on her side, pulled a stool and sat down. Then he asked in a low voice, ¡°Hey, what¡¯s the matter with you? Are you sick?¡±

    He Danggui was scared by him suddenly, so she said angrily with a low voice, ¡°I am willing to eat chrysanthemum cake, and I am not sick. My face was just blowsy.¡±

    As for Madam Luo, it was clear that two juniors adored each other and were whispering, so she was overjoyed immediately. Madam Luo turned back to see Little Childe Xuan, Peng Shi, Ning Yuan and others, who were holding gons to drink ceaselessly. She couldn¡¯t help concerning and said, ¡°The feast hasn¡¯t started now, and all of you cannot drink a lot.¡± So, she asked someone to rece all the wine in front of everyone except Meng Shan with grape juice mixed with honey and asked the Mammy Tang when the feast would start.

    Meng Xuan, Peng Shi, Ning Yuan, fake Feng Yang and other people picked up the new grape juice to drink at the same time. Then Meng Xuan, Peng Shi, Ning Yuan frowned immediately and put down the cups. They thought that only women would like to drunk such a sweet wine! The fake Feng Yang drank half of it directly, but he looked up inadvertently and realized the other three people were staring at him, so he put down his cup with a little bit embarrassment.

    Meng Xuan saw his father and Madam Luo were talking about the past of the first highly-skilled doctor Luo Maitong around the world, so he looked at Feng Yang, Young Lord of Caobang Organization who was sitting opposite to him. Then he asked, ¡°Childe, you must be the person referred by warriors in Jianghu ¡®Fuliu sword¡¯ Feng Yang, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    Fake Feng Yang nodded foolishly and said, ¡°Huh.¡±

    Meng Xuan said with a smile, ¡°I heard that Childe Feng has learned the skill for ten years in Wudang Mountain and obtained the real skills of the outstanding person Jiao Youwu. You are the newly rising first famous person in Jianghu. I have been admirable about the Jiao but never see him. Since today I meet his outstanding disciple, I would like to ask for advice. Please favor me with your instructions.¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± Fake Feng Yang became hesitated for a moment. But after he saw the slightly sarcastic eyes on the opposite side, he couldn¡¯t help saying, ¡°Well, it¡¯s better to pass time byparing notes before the banquet held.¡± At least he was one of the masters in Wuying Tower. Was he still afraid of an eleven-year-old guy?

    Ning Yuan felt something wrong immediately. Since Meng Shan dared to put his little son on the battlefield, he must have full confidence in him. And on the other side, Meng Xuan was in fine fettle, which showed the profound internal force clearly. No matter whether Ming Yue could win Meng Xuan, he should not pretend to be Feng Yang to fight with Meng Xuan. How should they do if something happened? It would reveal their secrets. So, Ning Yuan interrupted immediately and said, ¡°Feng Yang, didn¡¯t you say that you are dizzy today?¡±

    Hearing it, fake Feng Yang shocked and understood the meaning of Ni Yuan. Then fake Feng Yang covered his face and said, ¡°Dizzy. I¡¯m so dizzy!¡±

    Madam Luo was talking with Earl Baoding. She shook her head toward fake Feng Yang and said, ¡°Yang, I said that children should not drink. He is drunk now. Come on, bring him a bowl of sober-up soup!¡± Oh, he liked to show off. Now he had to drink sober-up soup before the feat started!

    At the same time, Peng Shi turned to see his brother sitting on the most inferior seat near the door and eating chrysanthemum cake. Even his mouth was filled, but he kept talking. The hall was noisy, and he was far away from his brother, so he did not know what his brother said. However, from the serious expression of Third Sister of East Yard, he could know that she was so impatient. So, Peng Shi called across the hall, ¡°Jian,e back quickly. We have not finished ying Go!¡±

    All the people in the hall were so bored since they were waiting for the feast started. Suddenly, they heard such a voice, so it attracted all people¡¯s attention immediately, which made them turn to see Peng Jian, who was eating at the door, and He Danggui, who was bending to see her fingers. Peng Jian stopped eating and speaking. He looked up at his surly brother and was reluctant to leave. Eventually, he went back slowly to his seat and continued ying Go.

    The Go board was carved on the wall of the hall. When people were sitting there, they could see it around them. A Go stone was a small semicircr ball that could be embedded in a Go board. There were a dozen simr Go boards carved into the walls here, while they were hardly used in Luo¡¯s Mansion. They had been purely ornamentation since they were made, so each of them was polished. They looked at a crowd of people waiting for dinner with empty stomachs. On the other side, Ning Yuan got inspiration from Peng Shi, so he pulled fake Feng Yang to also y Go on one of the Go boards. Therefore, Meng Xuan couldn¡¯t chat with him.

    So, everyone there began to enjoy themselves in pairs, either ying or talking except Meng Xuan. Of course, He Danggui was not in all of them. She had the ability to make herself be more unremarkable than those servants, which was her rule of living in Luo¡¯s Mansion. But Madam Luo was very concerned about the situation in the hall. For a while, she noticed that the little Childe Xuan was not only sitting there alone, but didn¡¯t dink his grape juice.

    Earl Baoding Meng Shan was a respected guest in Luo¡¯s Mansion for years, so was his Little Childe. Even the little Childe Xuan was more distinguished than Shi, Jian, Yang and Yuan. It was unsuitable for him to be bored and neglected. Madam Luo saw the figure of her grandchild at the door for the first time, and shouted across the hall, ¡°Yi! Didn¡¯t your mother teach you how to y Go? y it with the Little Childe Xuan!¡±

    Hearing it, He Danggui slowly went to the table of Earl Baoding. Looking at the eleven-year-old pretty boy, she asked with patience, ¡°Hello, would you like to y Go?¡±

    The pretty boy nodded and said, ¡°Up to you.¡± Although ying Go could kill time, he didn¡¯t want to y Go with a ten-year-old girl.

    ¡°Oh,¡± He Danggui also nodded and said, ¡°Actually, me too.¡±

    The beautiful boy thought for a moment. Perhaps he was so bored that even if his opponent was only ten years old, he wanted to y Go to pass time. So, he asked, ¡°Little sister, which Go board should we choose?¡±

    He Danggui skewed her head and said, ¡°It¡¯s up to you.¡±

    Meng Xuan skewed his head too. He went to thergest Go board in the hall straightly without saying anything more. This Go board had a size of four or five other Go boards. He Danggui followed him, and found that he was a head taller than her and looked more beautiful than her. She couldn¡¯t help murmuring, ¡°Little boy, you are so cocky. I have taken off your clothes before.¡±

    They stood at the side of therge Go board which was engraved on the wall. Meng Xuan adjusted his sight slightly, frowned and sized He Danggui up. Based on what Madam Luo just said, Meng Xuan guessed that He Danggui just learned to y Go. Since He Danggui saw Meng Zhen keep silent for a moment, she took off the hanging Go bowls from the wall directly and said, ¡°Do you want white stones or ck stones?¡± Meng Xuan replied naturally, ¡°Up to you.¡±

    He Danggui rolled her eyes and took the ck stones. But she found he was about to take that. Then she turned to took the white one, but there were also two fingers hanging above them. Therefore, she stopped to choose but allowed her opponent to take firstly. His hand paused slightly and then grabbed the ck one. It wastest time on the mountain road, so she didn¡¯t pay attention to his hands. When she looked closely now, she found that his fingers were not as delicate as those of other pretty boys. There were thick cocoons on many joints. She guessed it was because he had held a sword for a long time. Moreover,pared with a few masters she had met, such as Lu Jiangbei, Duan Xiaolou and Ning Yuan, his hands were rougher than others¡¯, which could show that he was really diligent.

    Then, when it was time to set the Go game, she didn¡¯t ask him again. She turned to pick up two longthy leaves from the fruit te on the table. Then she crossed them and passed another end to Meng Xuan. She said, ¡°Who wins first!¡± Meng Xuan stared andughed himself. He had been reduced to drink sugar juice and then yed grass with the little girl, hadn¡¯t he?

    Each of them held one end of the leaf to pull backwards. ¡°St.¡± The leaf in He Danggui¡¯s hands was broken, so she nodded and said, ¡°You go first.¡± He wouldn¡¯t win her if she let him go first twenty pieces.

    At that time, Earl Baoding went to change clothes. Madam Luo went out of the hall hurriedly to find Mammy Tang and asked her directly, ¡°Hong Jiang, what are you doing? Why hasn¡¯t start the feast yet? Where are Ying, Qiong and Qian? Where is my second daughter-inw? The guests don¡¯t like the grape juice. Is there any other drink?¡±

    Mammy Tang said with a bitter face, ¡°The Administrator in kitchen was reced by Yang Wu¡¯s wife five days ago, while now she was unable to do with it. At such a feast, the kitchen is at a mess, so she has to ask the guests to stay a little longer. It¡¯s not suitable for them to waiting like that, but there are a few men in our family, and there are no dancers. How about I call some performers for Forth Miss to act in an opera?¡±

    Madam Luo waved her hands and said, ¡°Now they are all ying Go and enjoying themselves. I will have a headache when I hear the ys by the performers. I will send them away tomorrow, and it¡¯s time for Shao to go to the academy to study after shees back from the Taoist temple!¡±

    Mammy Tang continued saying, ¡°Second Madam went back to her natal family at noon. She was in a hurry, so she had no time to take leave from you. I do not know what happened to Sun¡¯s Family. First Master has been away from home for a whole day, and his personal manservant Xiong Huang had gone, too. The First Miss sent for a letter, saying that ever since that day when she fell into the water, she had been in poor health. For avoiding misbehavior during the feast, so she will note here.¡±

    ¡°What about Qiong?¡± Madam became agitated for there was no reliable one at the critical moment! The men were not at home. The elder son was still busy in San Qing Tang, while the second son was busy with his business!

    Mammy Tang wiped a handful of sweat and answered, ¡°Second Miss was toe here earlier, but she has not picked up the right clothes. Now she is still choosing clothes!¡±

    Madam instructed with a deep voice, ¡°Send someone to urge Qiong, send more people to help in the kitchen, and tell Yang Wu¡¯s wife that the level of feast can be reduced a little, but they must serve guests as soon as possible. If not, they will leave like Wang Qi Family!¡±

    Mammy Tang nodded, then she remembered something and asked, ¡°Since the guests do not like to drink juice, and desserts should not be served before the meal. How about the Hawthorn tea?¡±

    ¡°The Hawthorn tea?¡± Madam Luo became a little confused.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Mammy Tang reminded, ¡°That is the Hawthorn tea which Third Miss gave youst time in the carriage. Few days ago, she also made two jin Hawthorn tea and sent it to Fu Shou Yard with Gan Cao, which you haven¡¯t drunk. That kind of tea is fragrant and refreshing, and you want to drink it when you smell it. We have enjoyed it, so you can share it to the guests.¡±

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s time to get ready!¡± When she saw that Earl Baoding had already changed clothes and came back, she was in a hurry, waved her hands to Mammy Tang and said, ¡°Then, you can go to the kitchen to urge them!¡±

    Madam Luo turned around and went into Xin Rong Hall quickly. To her surprise, she found that Peng Shi, Peng Jian, Ning Yuan and fake Feng Yang who had been ying Go before stopped ying it. They were behind Little Childe Xuan and Yi, pointing at the big Go board on the wall and talking about something. So, what happened?

 Chapter 123 - Old enemies met again

    <h4>Chapter 123 Old enemies met again</h4>

    On the Go board in Xin Rong Hall, He Danggui yed Go with Meng Xuan three times. In the first round, both of them experienced inadvertence, attention, solemnity, hesitation, and anxiety. Finally, the game ended in a draw.

    It ended in a draw? He Danggui stared at the man in front of her angrily and thought that there was really a child prodigy in the world who couldbat with her on the Go board and draw a match in his teens, wasn¡¯t there? ying Go was one of her best skills. How could she be defeated! He Danggui thought about the match. She was perfunctory to a child in the first half of match, then she was in stalemate gradually. If she took it seriously in the beginning, she believed she could win in thirty steps!

    However, Meng Xuan also stared at He Danggui angrily. He actually lost the game, didn¡¯t he? Even if he started first, he lost the game by one step! How ironic! He had lived for neen years in the previous life, and eleven years in this life. With over 20 years of experience in ying Go, he was defeated by a green hand. He couldn¡¯t ept it. So, Meng Xuan said, ¡°One more time!¡±

    ¡°OK!¡± He Danggui took a deep breath and became serious. This time she would rout him!

    Both of them had same thought that they had lived twice and couldn¡¯t be defeated by a child in their favorite game! Perhaps they were too eager to win and ignored two problems. First, ordinary children would never have such wonderful Go skills. What kind child he/she was if he/she could draw a match? Second, they were ying the role of children and hiding themselves from others. Was it necessary to expose to win once?

    Then, the second round began.

    After some struggling, He Danggui finally won by four steps with painstaking efforts. At this moment, both of them looked at each other and were shocked. Each of them thought that there should be a child prodigy in the world! As the old saying went, there was always someone better than you. It was a truth!

    More trouble of them was that the match with its big Go board was so wonderful that attracted Peng Shi, Peng Jian, Ning Yuan and fake Feng Yang. These men all gave up their matches and came up to watch the match.

    At their request, He Danggui and Meng Xuan began the third round.

    This time, they regretted that they had just identally exposed themselves, and attracted others attention. So, they determined to y Go like an ordinary child. As soon as it began, they exposed weaknesses to each other and wanted to be defeated by the other quickly. They yed Go like an idiot which made others feel disappointed.

    Then, Peng Jian gave up obeying the principle, ¡°A true gentleman should keep silent while watching a Go game.¡± He couldn¡¯t help giving advices to He Danggui and teaching her how to win the game. Then Peng Jian, Ning Yuan and fake Feng Yang all joined in guiding the game. So, the match between two guys turned to a war of words among six people.

    He Danggui felt as if a swarm of flies were buzzing overhead. She wanted to put down the Go bowl and then went back to her seat to have snacks. But when she saw Madam Luo looking at her with appreciation and uncertainty, she had to continue the poor match.

    ¡°May good fortune be with you, Madam Luo! I¡¯mte, please forgive me!¡± With clear voice like a yellowbird, a twelve-year-old girl in formal dress went into the hall slowly.

    He Danggui frowned and turned to the girl. It was Luo Baiqiong. Although her appearance, smile, expression and behavior looked like a child and not like a 30-year-old coquette in the previous life, she was the one who killed her, her mother and her daughter with Zhou Jinn, and set traps to her over and over again in the name of kinship. She was the one who finally led her to death. She was her Second Sister, Luo Baiqiong.

    Of course, dressing was very important. The age of twelve was not the best time of a woman, but it meant youth and innocence. No one knew whether Luo Baiqiong even had an innocent life. Now, she was well-dressed with delicate clothes and essories. The dress was made by floral brocade, gold yarn, and an emerald gauzy skirt outside. Her hair was in two topknots with double Ruyi ring. And there was a gold hairpin carved flowers and a tortoise shell dangling ornament with jewels. She was smiling and walking charmingly. When she came in, everyone was attracted.

    He Danggui had been prepared to meet with Sun Meiniang, Luo Baiqiong and Luo Chuangu. Even though one of her goal was to find them, and she had be so callous, she almost tried her best to hide her hatred when she saw her old enemy.

    She had saved Zhou Jinn¡¯s life, but Zhou Jinn and Xu Siniang returned evil for good. She didn¡¯t hate them like this even they framed her. She despised them but could understand them because they were fighting for men, honor, and status. They killed her because she was just in their way of promotion.

    After she gained the honor and power in the Mansion, she was always working for the Luo¡¯s Family, thinking about them first, and constantly paying for nothing. However, they were not grateful, and sometimes bullied her. She used to be so patient to y with them for more than ten years.

    In those years, Luo Baiqiong asked her to get a Fourth-Grade Transmission Officer for her husband, Liang Yizhou. Although it was difficult, she still strived for it day and night. When she finally seeded, she was threatened by Luo Baiqiong to reveal that she had abused power. After that, as long as the people of the Second Branch asked her for business, they always mentioned the matter to threaten her. Even so, she still did all kinds of things for them patiently for thinking that they would be moved by her kindness. But she was unable to fight against when she finally knew their evil intentions.

    She never let them down. How could they trample on her kindness!

    She didn¡¯t mind her injuries, but cared for her daughter¡¯s life. However, when she and her daughter were dying in Water Dungeon, Sun Meiniang and Luo Baiqiong still hurt them by putting snakes into water. Her daughter was killed by the snakes. She could only put her daughter¡¯s body into the water, then caught snakes and threw them on the wall madly. Seeing she was still alive, Sun Meiniang told her that her mother was seriously ill, andter would be fed with a bowl of soup with arsenic. As long as she was willing to die, the three of them could be together after death.

    She regretted and hit her head to the wall. If she had not married into the Mansion, or she was ordinary, or she had nevere to this world, her mother would not have died so miserably!

    ¡°Are you cold, Third Sister? Your shoulders are shaking all the time!¡± Peng Jian interrupted her thought and dragged her out of the nightmare. Now his voice was not unpleasant. ¡°Oh, you must have a cold when you were sitting at the door. Why don¡¯t you go with us to have a cup of hot tea!¡± He suggested.

    He Danggui nodded and was about to say something. Then, the clear and sweet voice sounded again, ¡°It¡¯s our Mansion¡¯s fault to let you wait for a long time. I made some fruit tea in person to show our apology. Please have a taste, and is it delicious?¡±

    Madam Luo nodded approvingly with her decent behavior. It thanked to the cultivation of the Second Daughter-inw that Qiong grew up as a beautiful and smartdy who had nopetitors in Yangzhou City. Mammy Tang followed Luo Baiqiong into the hall. Gan Cao and Deng Cao followed Mammy Tang, holding arge steaming porcin bottle on their hands.

    Then eight people, including the six thirsty Go seniors, Madam Luo and Earl Baoding Meng Shan, all seated and waited for the beauty to serve the tea.

    Luo Baiqiong first served a cup of tea to Earl Baoding Meng Shan and Seventh Childe, Meng Xuan, then to Madam Luo, fake Feng Yang, Ning Yuan, Peng Shi, Peng Jian. Finally, she held a cup of tea in her hands and walked to the center of the hall. She said with a smile, ¡°This tea is an appetizing fruit tea made from the finest fresh fruit and a variety of herbs. It¡¯s suitable to have it before a meal. It is dry and windy in autumn, so I put some herbs which benefit the lungs into it...¡±

    The voice echoed in the hall. Everyone who got the tea couldn¡¯t help taking deep breaths. It was sweet! The sweet smell was mixed with natural odor of herbs. They could almost smell the taste before having it. It was also a pleasure to listen to Miss Luo. Everyone gradually calmed down and rxed from the anxiety of waiting for the feast. Even the serious Earl Baoding Meng Shan showed a rxed expression, closing his eyes to sniff the tea.

    At this moment, Gan Cao, who stood behind the audience with arge half-empty porcin bottle, suddenly noticed the Third Miss¡¯s table was empty. So, she served a cup of tea to her.

    Even since He Danggui had recalled painful memories, she had been stunned, not paying attention to the hall and snakes. Now, Gan Cao served tea to her. She suddenly noticed her table was empty. Later, she remembered there were snakes on the table before. But Peng Jian came here to chat with her with a dish of double-vored dumplings. He ate his dumplings and all her snacks. He was really a boring guy saying a lot of nonsense while eating.

    He Danggui gradually came over from the terrible memory. She sighed and looked up. Meng Xuan who just sat opposite also looked at her at the same time. She felt that Meng Xuan read her mind. She lowered her head immediately to hide her feelings and tried to drink tea to warm up. But she stopped when she was about to drink. The smell and the color showed that the orange tea was Hawthorn tea made by her. Why did Luo Baiqiong say she made the fruit tea?

    He Danggui was confused and looked up at Mammy Tang, trying to figure out what happened. She found that Mammy Tang also stared at her. Seeing that He Danggui discovered ¡°this tea was that tea¡±, Mammy Tang smiled guiltily and said to herself, ¡°The Second Miss is good at making tea. This fruit tea is a specialty of Luo¡¯s Mansion.¡± She appreciated Luo Baiqiong and also hinted He Danggui not to tell the truth! Because this matter was about the honor of ¡°Our Luo¡¯s Mansion!¡±

    He Danggui took the hint from Mammy Tang. Then she pretended to be a coward as usual and stared at the tea. But she chuckled in her heart. Luo¡¯s Family was really an interesting family where many strange things happened. Someone falsely imed a tea and showed the benefits of tea without embarrassment. He Danggui thought that now that she could recognize this Hawthorn tea, Madam Luo who had several cups of tea in the carriage that day could also recognize it. But now Madam Luo who sat on main seat in the center of the hall was appreciating the fruit tea and praising her lovely granddaughter for her smartness and being good at medicine. Did she feel a little bit uneasy?

    At this moment, Luo Baiqiong finished introducing her fruit tea to the public. Then she picked up her silk handkerchief and bowed to Earl Baoding with a smile, ¡°Uncle Meng, help yourself!¡± Then she looked around and smiled, ¡°Please!¡±

    Then everyone except He Danggui drank a mouthful of tea.

    Luo Baiqiong smiled and saw Earl Baoding Meng Shan holding up the cup with his hand and enjoying the tea. Suddenly, he opened his eyes and covered mouth for a while. Then he turned away to spit tea into a tumbler!

 Chapter 124 - A dusty pearl, bah!

    <h4>Chapter 124 A dusty pearl, bah!</h4>

    Luo Baiqiong¡¯s smile froze on her face and opened her eyes widely. She looked around, finding that everyone, besides Peng Jian, was spitting the tea out into their mugs. And the cousin called Peng Jian spayed the tea on Peng Shi¡¯s face, which irritated Peng Shi.

    Luo Baiqiong was confused. Then she drank the tea and spat it out on the fine carpet immediately. ¡°Bah, what¡¯s wrong with it? Mammy, you said this tea was...¡± Her voice became higher and was quite different from her gentle voice just now. She was scared and looked at Mammy Tang. Then she looked at Madam Luo who sat in the main seat. And finally, she turned her head and stared at He Danggui.

    He Danggui was puzzled about their response. For ten years, no one had responded like this to her Hawthorn tea. But why did eight persons spit out her tea today? Therefore, she picked up her cup and tasted the tea with doubt. Then she was stunned.

    Madam Luo was extremely angry to see the tea show being screwing up. She stared at He Danggui who sat at the lowest seat, ¡°Yi, what¡¯s the matter?!¡±

    What was the matter? He Danggui also wanted to know why the Hawthorn tea tasted awfully sweet. If those people didn¡¯t add too much sugar to the tea, it was because she had added too much sugar when she had made tea, wasn¡¯t it?

    Since she had moved into the Tao Yao Yard, He Danggui and her servants had their ownrge and bright kitchen. Although the main kitchen sent three tasteless meals a day, they were not worried about it. Only by giving some money to Wang Buliuxing who worked in food material room sometimes, they could buy any food materials they wanted in double price.

    Unfortunately, although He Danggui didn¡¯tck of money now, and even had more sliver than Luo Baiqiong, she had no chance to slip out the Mansion to money shops to depositrge amount of cheques and change money. Over ten liang was left in the bag of sliver which had changed in Tu¡¯er Town. In order to deal with the emergency which needed money, she could not run it out. It meant that they needed to save money before He Danggui tried to slip out the Mansion. Therefore, He Danggui gave two liang to Chan Yi to stock some necessary foods in their new kitchen and let her find Wang Buliuxing to purchase some important materials, such as rice, noodles, vegetables and fruits. They would buy some ¡°luxuries¡± like chicken, duck, fish and meatter for theck of change.

    Chan Yi followed her orders, but she bought one more thing ¨C sugar. She bought four terrines of sugar. Chan Yi said proudly that she had bought all sugar in food material room! He Danggui estimated that the sugar was about seven or eight jin in each terrine, and about thirty jin in total. He Danggui asked Chan Yi amazingly about why she bought too much sugar. Chan Yi replied that sugar was so sweet!

    Then He Danggui remembered that several days ago she asked Chan Yi to help her care for the fire when she fried tea. And she remembered that Chan Yi had given her a cup of awfully sweet chrysanthemum tea before she went to the feast. Because Chan Yi favored sugar, she might put more sugar into the Hawthorn tea that was about to be sent to Madam Luo, which made the tea so sweet.

    As for He Danggui, this tea was not so bad to be spitted out immediately. These great people had been used to delicious foods and beautiful clothes, so they could not ept something bad. Besides, before they drank the Hawthorn tea, they were attracted by Luo Baiqiong¡¯s description. When they tasted the bad tea, they felt so disappointed. Therefore, they spat it immediately.

    He Danggui sneered. If the tea was tasty like before, it would be none of her business. Luo Baiqiong would be appreciated by Madam Luo and other guests. But now there was something wrong with the tea. Luo Baiqiong not only asked for help from Madam Luo by eye contacting, but also stared at He Danggui which revealed Luo Baiqiong had known who was the real maker of this tea. Luo Baiqiong was so thick-skinned to say that the tea was made by her and to introduce it in public! Besides, Madam Luo denounced He Danggui immediately. He Danggui wondered whether she would take the responsibilities and tell a lie that she had put too much sugar in it. Then, she would be med by Madam.

    Although Mammy Tang didn¡¯t drink the tea, she knew there was something wrong from their response. She looked at silent Third Miss and became anxious, ¡°Third Miss, what¡¯s wrong with this tea?¡±

    On hearing their query on Miss Luo who was sitting at the corner, the guests were confused. Then Peng Jian asked, ¡°This tea is made and sent by Second Miss, and it¡¯s none of business about Third Miss. Why did you me her?¡± Madam Luo and Mammy Tang couldn¡¯t answer it. They only stared at He Danggui as if they wanted to find an answer from He Danggui¡¯s head. Therefore, all guests looked at He Danggui.

    He Danggui finally put up her head and looked at Mammy Tang in a surprise, ¡°Mammy, is it¡­ the Hawthorn tea?¡± Mammy Tang nodded with hesitation. Then He Danggui stood up slowly and went to the center of the hall gently. She took a white gauze handkerchief and gave a salute to Madam Luo, ¡°Madam Luo, there are some differences between this Hawthorn tea and thest one. The ways of making the tea are also different. A few days ago, before the tea was sent, I had written the way of making this tea down on the oiled paper which was used to pack the tea up. Maybe the maids had transmitted wrong ways to each other when they were shifting. Only by seeing that paper can we make it clear.¡±

    Gan Cao replied immediately, ¡°Madam Luo, there were too many people in the tea room, and I was so busy that day. Therefore, I didn¡¯t hear clearly what the maid says. As for that paper, after we poured the tea into the caddy, I threw it.¡± Then she turned to He Danggui and apologized, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Third Miss! We don¡¯t know that you had written the methods on that paper, so I threw it.¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. You didn¡¯t do it on purpose. You don¡¯t need to apologize!¡± In fact, that paper was useless.

    He Danggui smiled. She knew the tea room of Madam Luo was in perfect order. The tea leaves and tea fruits from outside would be stored in storage room in time. Those with strong vors would be store in caddies, and others would be put in the drawers which were numbered like those in herbal medicine shop with their original packages. Because the Hawthorn tea had a strong vor, He Danggui bet that maids would throw that package after putting the tea into a caddy. She told a lie that she had written a way of making the tea on the paper. And she put the me on the shift. There were about twenty maids in tea room. Therefore, no one would be med.

    Of course, with too much sugar, the Hawthorn tea would have a bad taste no matter what methods were used. With her good ears, He Danggui heard some people walking quickly from a distance. She thought that the banquet would begin, and the thing would be forgotten soon. As expected, with the footstepsing closer, the good smell of food also came. Madam Luo took the opportunity and began entertaining the guests to drink and eat as soon as the first round of foods were served. She acted as if that thing hadn¡¯t happened. She didn¡¯t stop childes to drink, and let maids serve wine to everyone.

    Mammy Tang led Luo Baiqiong to sit beside Peng Shi and Peng Jian andforted her that it was an ident, and never mind about that.

    Luo Baiqiong could only suffer in silence, because she did it on the spur of the moment. For several months, she had constantly attended sses of ¡°Cha Wu Xiang¡± Master Huang who was a famous tea master. She thought that she had a goodprehension on tea art and could even recite the expression of serving tea, so she wanted to show herself in big asions. Because of the death of younger uncle, her mother would not hold parties of poetry and tea in months to let her show herself. It made her feel unhappy and thought that she was like a dusty pearl.

    Today, after hearing that Earl Baoding Meng Shan and Seventh Childe Meng came, and Madam Luo were going to entertain the guests, she immediately began to dress up. But she took a long time in preparing the clothes and essories for dinner. When she was outside the Xin Rong Hall, she met with Mammy Tang who was nning to serve tea.

    Luo Baiqiong knew that Earl Baoding was the most important guest today. She regretted to bete on such an important asion. Suddenly, she saw the hot porcin bottle in Gan Cao¡¯s hands giving off a sweet smell. She immediately had an idea to give a unique tea show. As it known to all, a daughter of a family with superb tea art was the first choice for all the rich childes. If she could show her herself in front of the guests, she could lift her social status and attracted cousin Pen Shi¡¯s special attention!

    Knowing her n, Mammy Tang told her with hesitation that what was in the porcin bottle was not ordinary tea, but the Hawthorn tea made by Third Miss. And it might not be polite to pretend that the Hawthorn tea was made by her. After hearing this, her eyes were even brighter. She happened to recite an introduction of fragrant fruit tea several days ago. She was so lucky! She could use it in this asion. But finally, her wonderful performance was screwed up by the tea of ¡°the wild He Danggui¡±, which drove her crazy!

    Sitting in the hall, Luo Baiqiong only felt embarrassed. She believed that these people in the hall mustugh at her. She med all the fault on ¡°the wild He Danggui¡±!

    Many people, such as Second Madam, First Master, First Miss and Master Guan who had nned three days ago to pay a visit, didn¡¯t show up at the feast. So, there were so many vacancies in the hall. After Mammy Tangforted Luo Baiqiong, she let He Danggui move from thest seat to the upper seat. The feast would be more exciting if people sat closer to each other. As a result, He Danggui was moved to the opposite of Luo Baiqiong. They hated each other and felt that the good dishes were tasteless.

    The feast started. In the center of the main seat was Madam Luo. There were two rows of seats under the stairs of five. In the left row, the first was Meng Shan and his son, the second was Peng Shi and Peng Jian, the third was Luo Baiqiong. In the right row, the first was Ning Yuan and his servant, the second was Guan Bai, who hadn¡¯t been present, and the third was He Danggui.

    These people were either strangers who met for the first time, for example, Meng Shan and his son were strangers to Peng Shi and Peng Jian. And Peng Shi and Pen Jian didn¡¯t know Ning Yuan and his servant; or familiar strangers, like He Danggui and Luo Baiqiong; or someone was eager to treat others as strangers, like Peng Shi¡¯s attitude towards Luo Baiqiong. These ¡°strangers¡± seated beside their own tables, drinking and eating. It was not a feast at all. Madam felt so anxious that she began to chat with them one by one. She firstly asked whether Meng Xuan was engaged, and then asked whether Pend Shi and Peng Jian were satisfied with Xi Chang Yard, and finally asked whether Luo Baiqiong had enough food. But she only got simple answers like ¡°Yes¡± or ¡°No¡±. All of them were not in the mood.

    Madam Luo turned to the right and wanted to talk to Ning Yuan again, because she had a good talking to Ning Yuanst time. But before she spoke, Ning Yuan suddenly stood up and said, ¡°Excuse me, I¡¯m going to change my clothes.¡± Madam Luo nodded and wanted to talk with fake Feng Yang. But fake Feng Yang, who was patted by Ning Yuan, immediately stood up, ¡°I¡¯m also going to change my clothes! Help yourself!¡± Then, they rushed out of the side door.

    Were two men going to change clothes together? Their actions attracted the rest in the hall immediately and the atmosphere of the feast became more interesting. Peng Jian turned to his elder brother and said with a smile, ¡°Brother, is Feng Yang really the newly-appeared ¡®Fuliu Swordsman¡¯? Why does he act like ady?¡±

    Before Peng Shi answered, Meng Xuan suddenly interrupted, ¡°I saw ¡®Fuliu Swordsman¡¯ a few months ago, and he looked the same as this Feng Yang.¡±

 Chapter 125 - Appreciating the extraordinary beauty

    <h4>Chapter 125 Appreciating the extraordinary beauty</h4>

    Peng Jian curled his lips and said, ¡°Come on! Could a childe who likes drinking juice take a sword?¡±

    Peng Shi also chatted with Meng Xuan, ¡°Master Xuan, which academy are you in?¡±

    ¡°Yinghui Academy at the capital. What about you two?¡± Meng Xuan answered while looked at He Danggui who was on the opposite side of the passage. That little girl tilted her head and showed a thoughtful look. Meng Xuan wondered what she was thinking about.

    ¡°Well.¡± Peng Jian smiled, ¡°We were schoolmates. My brother and I attended at Yinghui Academy before, but now we¡¯ve transferred at Chengxu Academy.¡±

    ¡°The learning atmosphere of Chengxu Academy is not as good as Yinghui Academy. I can tell by your ents. Youe from the capital. But why did you leave to study at Chengxu Academy in Yangzhou City?¡± Meng Xuan looked at that little girl again and found that she smiled as if she figured out something. It seemed that opening a casket which held a legendary luminous pearl, and that smile lighted her charming appearance, making Meng Xuan be very fascinated. Then she felt someone on the opposite was looking at her, so she looked up to see and found he was staring at her. She didn¡¯t feel panic and looked at him too. She was so calm like theke water on an autumn evening. Under the light, her yellowish skin seemed to appear a soft halo.

    ¡°Huh, who said Chengxu Academy is not as good as Yinghui Academy?¡± Peng Jian was unconvinced and said, ¡°You¡¯re so ignorant, Meng Xuan. Now the students from southern all know that the famous Taoist Sage, Bai Yangbai will teach at Chengxu Academy for a year. He will teach Astrology and the Eight-diagrams tactics. While we just learn six ssical arts (propriety, music, archery, riding, writing, arithmetic) at Yinghui Academy. How boring it is!¡±

    ¡°Bai Yangbai? Just an imposter.¡± Meng Xuan said and shook his head. But he was still looking at that little girl. She was definitely a beauty in appearance, but she was young and not yet tall. Besides, herplexion was yellow, showing the weakness. It was a fly in the ointment. However, when she looked at Meng Xuan, he had a subtle feeling, like a furry paw touching his heart. Although Meng Xuan didn¡¯t know her whether in the previous life or this life, he always felt that it wasn¡¯t the first time they¡¯d met¡­

    Peng Jian was angry when he heard Meng Xuan ndered Taoist Sage. Then he found Meng Xuan was still looking at the Third Sister opposite them, so he became angrier. When Peng Jian noticed the Third Sister was also looking at Meng Xuan, he became furious immediately. When he was about to jump and teach Meng Xuan a lesson, his brother, Peng Shi patted him suddenly and said in a low voice, ¡°Look over there!¡± While saying, Peng Shi turned to look outside the hall.

    Peng Jian was unpleasant and turned to look. Then he said in surprise, ¡°Ah? Is that¡­Master Duan? What is he doing here? I thought he had no connection with Luo¡¯s Family!¡±

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù

    Although He Danggui felt ufortable and couldn¡¯t eat when Luo Baiqiong sat opposite her, then she thought that she shouldn¡¯t embarrass her belly. A full of table of dishes in front of He Danggui were superior and delicious. The fried shrimps, the fired chicken with bean sprouts, exquisite sd, snow fungus soup and braised superior shark¡¯s fins. All of them should be eaten on scene and not to be packed out to give her two maids. The more she ate, the better the bargain was, so He Danggui kept eating.

    Suddenly, she heard the sound of toads from a distance. When she looked over there, she found the manservant whose name was Feng Yan or Feng Yu was hiding on the crown of an old locust tree and still making some weird gestures towards the hall. He Danggui turned back again and looked at Ning Yuan and the fake Feng Yang who were at another table. She saw Ning Yuan rolled his eyes and stood up to leave with the fake Feng Yang as an excuse of going to the restroom. It reminded He Danggui of a conversation between her and that manservant and all kinds of information which that manservant revealed. She couldn¡¯t help guessing why Ning Yuan and the fake Feng Yang acted so mysteriously. Who were they? And what secrets they were hiding? Then she turned up and coincidentally looked at Meng Xuan.

    He Danggui sniggered in her heart that it was better to convert gains ahead without being aware of danger behind. She was curious about Ning Yuan¡¯s secret while others had the same thought to her. However, that boy was also a mystery¡­ There was no one in the world could make He Danggui feel nervous in ying Go except Bai Yangbai. And Ning Yuan was 20 years younger than him¡­ Then He Danggui heard Peng Jian say, ¡°Who said Chengxu Academy is not as good as Yinghui Academy? The famous Taoist Sage, Bai Yangbai, will teach at Chengxu Academy for a year¡­¡± What? He Danggui felt surprised. The old mystical conman would go to teach? Was he short of money recently?

    The next moment, she heard him say, ¡°Is that¡­Master Duan? What is he doing here? I thought he had no connection with Luo¡¯s Family!¡± Master Duan? Which Master Duan? He Danggui turned to find out. The first oneing into the hall was a woman who disguised herself as a man and wore a red long gown; the second one was First Master of Guan¡¯s Family, Guan Bai, who wore a dark blue robe; the third one wore a dark green suit with the wide cor. Based on that facial feature and expression, he was definitely Duan Xiaolou.

    Madam Luo felt delighted when she saw three young childes chatting with each other and the banquet was permeated with fun; when she saw Guan Bai, Guan Yun and Duan Xiaoloue, she felt more delighted and immediately walked down from her seat and said with a smile, ¡°Finally! I¡¯ve expecting you for so long. Are you Earl Ruting¡¯s Shizi (the eldest legitimate son and heir of a Lord)?¡± She looked at that strange childe who smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯m Duan Xiaolou. Salute you, Madam Luo. It¡¯s rude of us to keep you waiting.¡± Turning back and seeing Meng Shan was here too, he showed an amazing expression and smiled again, ¡°Salute Uncle Meng. I haven¡¯t seen you for several years. How are you?¡±

    This reminded He Danggui of the scene of Ning Yuan and the fake Feng Yang hiding out hurriedly. Maybe they received the emergency signal of that manservant who was on the crown. That manservant must know Duan Xiaolou and Lu Jiangbei. Knowing Ning Yuan disguised Lu Jiangbei, so he signed to those fake people and let them leave. He Danggui guessed those two would not show up until the end of the banquet. Well, anyhow, Meng Xuan was the one who definitely should hide out because of once being chased by Duan Xiaolou. Why he was still here¡­and taking his eyes of her?

    ¡°Hey, what are you looking at?¡± Peng Jian remembered and found Meng Xuan still looking at the Third Sister of East Yard. He was immediately angry and said, ¡°Don¡¯t stare at her!¡±

    Seeing this noisy little boy next to him, Meng Xuan said slowly, ¡°It¡¯s none of your business.¡±

    Peng Jian was so angry and shouted, ¡°You not only ndered the famous Taoist Sage, but also saw something you shouldn¡¯t see. I¡¯ll teach you a lesson! You just asked for Fuliu Sword, I guess you¡¯re a master too. Come on, show me what you got!¡±

    He Danggui was thinking the reason why Meng Xuan didn¡¯t hide from Duan Xiaolou and Duan Xiaolou seemed not to know Meng Xuan. Suddenly hearing Peng Jian yell and noticing he was pointing her as ¡°a wrong thing to be looked at¡±, she was speechless. Until now, Duan Xiaolou didn¡¯t turn back and see the direction she was sitting, so he didn¡¯t know she was here. If he recognized herter, would he say in surprise that, ¡°I once met her!¡±? He Danggui thought if that happened, she just exined to Madam Luo that ¡°Master Duan went to Shui Shang Temple to pray and had met her only once.

    Peng Jian and Meng Xuan werepeting. From Madam Luo¡¯s direction, she didn¡¯t see who Meng Xuan was looking at, otherwise she must be delighted. She might think they quarreled because of ying games, so she had an idea to divert their attention. Seeing her granddaughter felt blue, Madam Luo guessed that she must take the matter of fruit tea to heart. Madam felt regretful and thought for a while and said, ¡°We rarely listen to instrumental music. And now, there is not even a musician who ys the instrument at the banquet. It¡¯s hard to avoid losing the interest. Come and bring a Guqin (Chinese seven-stringed zither) from Side Pce!¡± She smiled to Earl Baoding, ¡°My granddaughter Qiong is quite good at music theory. Let her y it to entertain us!¡± Luo Baiqiong¡¯s eyes brightened when she heard what Madam Luo said.

    Then Madam Luo turned to introduce to everybody, ¡°He is Shizi Duan of Earl Ruting. Here are the First Master, Guan Bai, and the Third Miss, Guan Yun, of Guan¡¯s Family. This little girl likes dressing up as a boy, but that¡¯s not the point.¡±

    At this moment, He Danggui also looked at that woman who disguised herself as a man. She was about 17 or 18 years old. Her behavior was free like a man, and her appearance was impressive which was totally different from Luo Baiqiong¡¯s stagy behavior. She was also a rare beauty, but He Danggui felt ufortable because a woman she hated so much had simr eyes to this woman. So, she lowered her head andforted herself that there were so many people having simr appearance. Even they just had simr eyes, and they also could not decide their looks¡­

    ¡°Third sister,¡± Peng Jian came and said, ¡°Come on and eat with us!¡±

    ¡°Uh?¡± He Danggui¡¯s thought was muddled. She saw it was the annoying Peng Jian again, so she said in displeasure, ¡°Why do I have to eat with you?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s Madam¡¯s order,¡± Peng Jian felt strange and said, ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear that? Look, your dishes are all removed!¡±

    He Danggui noticed that because there was an extra one who was Third Miss of Guan¡¯s Familying, so He Danggui who was Third Miss of Luo¡¯s Family upied one superior seat¡ªNing Yuan and the fake Feng Yang who sat on the right one weren¡¯t here because they just changed their dresses and woulde backter. The right two was vacant, but Guan Bai and Duan Xiaolou had sat now. He Danggui was once on the third right seat, but now the dishes in front of her were removed by maids and sent out from the side door. And a mammy took a dry towel and a wet towel to wipe the table and rearranged the tableware. Of course, it was for Third Miss of Guan¡¯s Family.

    Although He Danggui tranced and didn¡¯t hear what Madam Luo¡¯s order was. ¡°Men and women do not sit together¡± was the basic rule of a banquet. Even she would share a table, and she should sit with Luo Baiqiong. How did Madam Luo ask her to sit with Peng Jian and other men? So, He Danggui turned to look at Madam Luo and found the second rare guest, Ruting Mansion¡¯s Shizi (the eldest legitimate son and heir of a Lord). Therefore, Madam was hospitably greeting him and ignored her.

    ¡°Well?¡± Peng Jian asked happily, ¡°Come on and eat with us, okay? I can tell you about Taoist Sage!¡±

    He Danggui looked at the opposite seats. Meng Xuan had lowered his head and yawned; Peng Shi was coldly looking at her direction. He slightly raised his chin like keeping others away; while Luo Baiqiong immediately noticed He Danggui¡¯s embarrassing situation, as if she thought this was more embarrassing than her tea art performance before, so she smiled with the silk handkerchief covering her mouth.

    He Danggui also smiled in her heart. Such little thing could make Luo Baiqiong be happy. Why she would be fooled by this silly woman in the previous life? Suddenly, she smelled the aroma of the plum and guessed that Third Miss of Guan¡¯s Family might be impatient, so she stood up to offer her seat. When she stood up, that mammy who took a dry and a wet towel immediately wiped He Danggui¡¯s stool. He Danggui slightly raised her eyebrow and thought in her heart, ¡°Was this necessary to do so obviously? There are more than 10 stools at one table. If you think Third Miss of Guan¡¯s Family can¡¯t sit the same seat, just change another. Why do you do like this?¡±

    Seeing Luo Baiqiong be pleased, He Danggui guessed Luo Baiqiong sent thisbor-loving mammy. So, she said nothing. She just turned around and walked to the gate of the hall.

    Peng Jian hurriedly stopped her and shouted, ¡°Third sister, where are you going?!¡± His loud and anxious voice immediately interrupted the conversation of Madam Luo, Duan Xiaolou and Guan Bai. They all looked forward there. Madam Luo thought it was also a quarrel of games again. But seeing Jian was attentive to Yi, she felt delighted in her heart and hurriedly beckoned He Danggui toe when she found Duan Xiaolou also looked over there. She said, ¡°Yi,e here and salute guests!¡±

    Hearing Madam Luo¡¯s call, He Danggui bypassed the barrier, Peng Jian. She walked there and saluted to guests, ¡°Salute Shizi Duan; salute Master Guan. Best wishes for Shizi Duan; best wishes for Master Guan.¡±

    Madam Luo pointed at He Danggui and introduced her to Duan Xiaolou with a smile, ¡°This is my granddaughter, Yi. She is 10 years old and will go to study at Chengxu Academy next month. She knows few words and didn¡¯t study before. I hope you can take care of her at Chengxu Academy!¡±

    He Danggui surprisingly looked at Duan Xiaolou. ¡°Take care?¡± Would Duan Xiaolou at his twenties go to Chengxu Academy? It was impossible. The imperial guards were busy working, and he was not like Luo Baiqian¡­ Was that because the imperial guards¡¯ secret task? Yeah, Bai Yangbai went to Chengxu Academy to teach, and the Emperor wanted to recruit Bai Yangbai, so Duan Xiaolou was sent to Chengxu Academy. Reasoning with heart, touching by truth. Emperor bewitched Bai Yangbai to serve imperial court, and if Bai Yangbai refused, Duan Xiaolou could also arrest him secretly and send him to the Emperor.

    Duan Xiaolou smiled like thest time when they parted, but he looked at her as a stranger. He just sized her up politely and turned to look at Madam Luo with a smile. He said, ¡°I teach the courses of riding, archery and music theory. They are all elective for women. I don¡¯t know whether Yi wants to choose them or not.¡±

 Chapter 126 - Searching the mansion

    <h4>Chapter 126 Searching the mansion</h4>

    ¡°Riding and archery? We can¡¯t choose that!¡± Madam Luo was vexed, ¡°Music? Yi can y the instrument, but she needs to read books when having music ss, right? In fact, Yi was busy learning instrument, go, dance and music in childhood, so she had no time to learn how to read. I n to let her learn needlework, virtue and etiquette in the academy first, then she can learn some words. Anyway, the sses in women¡¯s academy are rxing, whatever the educational background of a girl is, she will notg behind. By the way, Qiong will have music sses and she can y the instrument very well.¡± She pointed at Luo Baiqiong who was sitting in front of the instrument at the center of the hall and smiled, ¡°Shizi, please listen.¡±

    He Danggui carefully looked at Duan Xiaolou¡¯s profile, full of confusion. He didn¡¯t know Meng Xuan, the one he had chased before, and even her. Hadn¡¯t he lost his memory? Or he just pretended not to know her? But why? It wasn¡¯t a secret that they had met in Shui Shang Temple. He could speak it out.

    Duan Xiaolou was also looking at her when she was staring at him, and he smiled kindly, ¡°It¡¯s okay. ording to President of the academy, lots of Misses in women¡¯s academy aren¡¯t good at writing, so Miss Yi can learn it from the beginning in academy.¡± His expression was unfamiliar and his long eyshes didn¡¯t quiver at all under the stare of her. If he was pretending, then he was indeed a good actor.

    At the moment, Luo Baishao started ying. He Danggui listened for a while and talked to herself secretly, ¡°What a waste for a good instrument.¡± Guan Bai who was next to her seized the chance to apologize to her; He Danggui did the same and apologized to his red mane horse in response. Their conversation was noticed by Duan Xiaolou who was talking to Madam Luo about Miss Qiong¡¯s great ying, so Duan Xiaolou turned to Guan Bai and asked what had happenedst time. Guan Bai exined to him briefly.

    Since He Danggui had already saluted the guests, she intended to leave. Since Luo Baiqiong was ying in the main way, she changed to the narrow way behind their seats and moved toward the gate. Peng Jian blocked her way, ¡°The third sister, where are you going? Do you want to leave?¡±

    He Danggui smiled, ¡°How dare I leave without Grandma¡¯s permission? I juste back to my seat.¡± After saying this, she bypassed him and sat down on thest seat near the gate. And she had to drink tea and listen to the music obediently. It was the sweet Hawthorn tea and still had lingering temperature, which could warm her stomach and heart at least.

    At this time, Luo Baiqiong suddenly started ying Lanqian Butterfly and her eyes exuded tenderness and love to Peng Shi. But Peng Shi was a little angry, because his father yed this song for chasing his mother. How did the woman know this and y in public? Moreover, her ying was unpleasant to ears.

    Then he found his brother was staring at He Danggui who was at thest seat. So, he also looked at He Danggui. After thought for a while, he shouted to her, for she sat some way off him, ¡°Third sister! Since that kind of Hawthorn tea was made by yourself, how about making some for us? The tea made just now is so bad and has made my chest still ufortable!¡±

    The ying stopped as he shouted, and Luo Baiqiong shed some incredible tears immediately. She first looked at Peng Shi who was cold and got no response. Then she turned to stare at He Danggui who immersed herself in drinking tea, so she could only stare at He Danggui¡¯s forehead but failed to vent her anger. Finally, she turned to Madam Luo to seek help.

    Since the ying stopped, the hall was so quiet. Earl Baoding was eating, and Meng Xuan was taking a nap. Madam Luo, Duan Xiaolou, Guan Bai and Guan Yun were talking. But now, they all turned to look at He Danggui. Madam Luo thought the thing was over, but now it was mentioned again. Getting the signal of Luo Baiqiong, she also turned to He Danggui and wanted her to say something like ¡°the tea was made by my second sister and me¡± to smooth the thing over. Unfortunately, He Danggui was at the distant seat. And Madam Luo only saw a blur of her granddaughter¡¯s lowering head for she drank a little too much just now, so she cast several gazes at He Danggui¡¯s forehead and failed to warn her about this.

    Madam Luo couldn¡¯t express her signals, so she had to say something to save her granddaughter from embarrassment in person, ¡°I remember that Qiong sent fruit tea made by herself before. Maybe the maids took the wrong tea. He-he...¡± She dared not excessively praise the tea that didn¡¯t exist. If some guests were interested in tasting it... Suddenly, a bright idea urred, and she shouted to He Danggui whose seat was far away from hers, ¡°Yi, why don¡¯t you make some Hawthorn tea for the guests in your own way?¡±

    Hearing this, He Danggui slowly raised her head and suggested, ¡°Grandma, the guests are dining. How about making tea after dinner?¡± She needed some time to improve that tea. Even the Immortal couldn¡¯t make good tea out of the present tea.

    ¡°The Hawthorn tea?¡± Third Miss of Guan¡¯s Family, Guan Yun, smiled and showed interest, ¡°I¡¯ve never drunk that before. It has a novel name. Please make it for us, Miss He!¡±

    Meng Xuan suddenly echoed, ¡°I also want to taste the tea which is made in a ¡®correct way¡¯.¡±

    Madam Luo let the servants remove the instrument table and ce a tea table at once. Also, she instructed Gan Cao to bring the white china tea set and the can of tea that Third Miss made instantly. Their expectations made He Danggui have to stand up and approach that tea table slowly.

    Seeing Meng Xuan¡¯s mocking, He Danggui gritted her teeth secretly. Go to hell with that ¡°correct way¡±. In this case, she should have showed that she was tired and left before. She would have gone if she had not wanted to stay and watched Duan Xiaolou¡¯s amnesia a little longer. Disgusting Peng Shi. He used her to make Luo Baiqiong stop ying.

    What should she do? Should she show her tea art that could ¡°amaze the world¡± or just let it go and exin to all that she was joking and that tea was made wrong!

    Her brain was on fire. She thought about how to respond and even wished some ident would happen. In that way, she could relieve herself out of this. But even a thunder couldn¡¯t destroy the disgusting tea table through the roof. Her tea art could show in public, but that can of Hawthorn tea couldn¡¯t. He Danggui thought, ¡°Chan Yi, look the trouble you bring to me!¡±

    ¡°Madam Luo, trouble¡¯s looming! God!¡± Someone was roaring outside Xin Rong Hall.

    He Danggui turned her head in surprise. That was the so-called having wishesing true. She saw the wife of Li Jiuguang running here from outside and shouted, ¡°Madam Luo, big trouble.¡± The woman in forties spit at He Danggui¡¯s head in the previous life and often went to West Lateral court to steal staffs. Today, the vicious woman became cute. He Danggui looked at her with expectation and thought, ¡°Please say something bad. The worse, the better.¡±

    Seeing the wife of Li Jiuguang ran into here out of breath, Mammy Tang wanted to p her if the guests weren¡¯t here. What did she mean that Madam Luo got into trouble? It not only was a curse on Madam Luo, but disturbed the distinguished guests! What kind of thing happened that needed to make a big fuss on the official asion? It was impossible that the mansion had a big fire at midnight or officials came to search the mansion!

    ¡°Madam Luo, they..e here to search the mansion!¡± The wife of Li Jiuguang said out of breath, ¡°Lots of officials...gathered at the gate of our mansion at first, then our mansion was surrounded by them... They all have swords, spears and shields. That scared me!¡±

    Hearing this, He Danggui raised her eyebrow a little. Although she hoped that something bad happened, this was too exciting. How could the officiale to Luo¡¯s Mansion to search? For rebellion books? For killing the entire family? For confiscating the property and executing the whole family?

    Mammy Tang cried in fear, ¡°Nonsense! Do you know what you are talking about?¡±

    Madam Luo walked down from the owner¡¯s seat, and quivered her lips, ¡°Did those officials say the reason? Luo¡¯s Family has been blessed by the Emperor generation by generation and never breaks thews!¡± She stamped with fury, for the equivocation of the wife of Li Jiuguang.

    Meng Xuan and his father looked at each other without a word; Peng Jian wanted to say something but was stopped by Peng Shi; Guan Bai and Guan Yun were very tense, stood together and even moved to the side door, seeming like they wanted to leave the ce with troubles; Luo Baiqiong never experienced this kind of thing, so she began to sob. Seeing no oneing tofort her, she cried gradually. He Danggui stood at the tea table at the center of the hall, and now she knew she needn¡¯t to make tea, so she directly sat at the closest seat. Seeing a te of crunchy sugars with white sesames, she took one in her mouth on the sly.

    Anyway, her attitude toward that officials came to search the mansion was suspicious. Luo¡¯s Family had a powerful influence and was a distinguished family. The magistrates in Yangzhou City, even the magistrate of Yangzhou City dared not offend people of Luo¡¯s Family, let alone searching the mansion. Madam Luo could think things through if she calmed down, for she was capable and experienced when she was young. Maybe she was afraid of getting into trouble when getting old. And the mansion¡¯s little troubles never stopped recently, so she was being the state of nervousness. Luo¡¯s Family had more than 20 branches¡ªmore than 300 people, and a slight trouble in one part might affect the whole family. So, as long as those powerful people like Luo Shuisheng didn¡¯t die, no one could damage Luo¡¯s Family, except the Emperor.

    Although the Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang liked killing people at old age, and the imperial guards and eunuchs in Dongchang Organization and Xichang Organization held power for executing people first and reporting afterwards, those people they killed were all corrupt officials, imperious officials and people who disobeyed the Emperor. The talents among Senior Lord¡¯s offspring in East Yard, West Yard and Luo¡¯s Family in the capital waned. The most outstanding people Luo Dusong was only an imperial physician in the Imperial Hospital. His 2 sons-inw Peng Haoguang and Wu Lin both were civil officials without much power and weren¡¯t eyesores to the Emperor. While men in East Yard were bullies at home but actually futile. They were people that the Emperor didn¡¯t care at all, so the Emperor wouldn¡¯t bother to kill them.

    He Danggui analyzed in mind while she took a crunchy sugar in her mouth secretly at the same time.

    All people at the hall were anxious, and no one had time to observe others. But Meng Xuan was secretly looking at He Danggui, so he noticed her behaviors. What an interesting girl. How could she be calm and even d when her grandmother¡¯s home got into trouble? Madam Luo¡¯s granddaughters were sitting close. One was crying while the other was eating sugars on the sly. How great contrast between the two girls taught by Luo¡¯s Family?

    Seeing Madam Luo was worried and angry without any decisions, Duan Xiaolou suddenly stood up, ¡°Madam Luo, don¡¯t worry. The thing is odd, maybe it¡¯s not true. Even if the officialse here to handle the case, why do they hold weapons and shields? It¡¯s not a war in the battlefield. And the magistrate of Yangzhou City, Han Fei, is my acquaintance. It is impossible to search Luo¡¯s Mansion without his permission. I will visit him to ask what the real situation is!¡±

    Madam Luo gradually calmed down and nodded with gratitude, ¡°I¡¯ll have to bother you for this. Thank you!¡±

    ¡°Who is there?!¡± He Danggui suddenly shouted. Seeing everybody noticing her, she pointed at the transom in Xin Rong Hall, ¡°Someone was lying prone there to eavesdrop!¡±

    Everyone was frightened, and Duan Xiaolou jumped out of the transom as quickly as possible without saying anything. The rest of them were at a loss. After a while, Duan Xiaolou came back, ¡°I checked. No one was on the roof, nor the surrounding areas of the hall.¡±

    Luo Baiqiong chuckled and stared at He Danggui, ¡°We were already anxious just now. But you still scare us with random saying. How could a person eavesdrop on the roof? If someone indeed wants to do so, he should be at that kind of window¡­ Ah!¡± Luo Baiqiong suddenly let out a scream and pointed at a ck wooden muntin with hollowed flower patterns, ¡°Someone is there.¡± Everybody turned to look, but no one was there, so they turned back to Luo Baiqiong. Luo Baiqiong felt anxious, ¡°Someone was there! You should step outside to check! Now!¡±

 Chapter 127 - A secret mistress of Childe Duan

    <h4>Chapter 127 A secret mistress of Childe Duan</h4>

    ¡°Don¡¯t bother.¡± A hoarse voice came from the door, ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± Along with this voice, a young woman in blue stepped into the pce slowly. It was Luo Baiying. She nced at Luo Baiqiong coldly and scolded, ¡°You are nervous and shouting when you encounter something unexpected. You are not calm at all. Is this how Luo¡¯s Family¡¯s daughter should be? Don¡¯t make yourself a joke.¡±

    Luo Baiqiong pointed to He Danggui and said aggressively, ¡°Why do you me me? She started this. She said that someone was eavesdropping on the roof. It was going to be dark, and there were officers and soldiers outside to search the mansion and confiscate our possessions. I was scared at the moment.¡±

    Luo Baiying didn¡¯t look at He Danggui. She still squinted Luo Baiqiong and said, ¡°I¡¯m talking about being the daughter of Luo¡¯s Family. Since you are a family, listen to me carefully and bear what I said in your mind. Why bother to care about others? Haven¡¯t you heard of the story that the rumor might be regarded as something true once it was spread repeatedly. Someone in the street called for the tiger toe, so you run without even asking?¡±

    He Danggui lowered her head a little bit, and she had thest little crunchy sugar in her mouth. It was funny. Luo Baiying had lived for more than ten years. She was more self-contained than Luo Baiqiong, but she was still scolding He Danggui for ¡°talking nonsense and cheating others¡± actually. But just now she did see that half of a person¡¯s face was peeping down on the transom window, but no one else saw this.

    ¡°I saw it, too.¡± Meng Xuan said suddenly, ¡°A figure shed by, and I heard the man fled through the roof over there.¡± He pointed to the roof on the left.

    So, Duan Xiaolou rose again and flew out to investigate the situation. Later, he came back with a piece of light blue zed tile and showed it to the public. There was a clear ck footprint on it. The Third Miss of Guan¡¯s Family, Guan Yun, took over the zed tiles and said, ¡°It should be a man¡¯s footprint, and the man is at least 1.8 meters. The pattern of the footprint is checkered. It¡¯s totally different from the pattern of the sole of Xiaolou¡¯s boots. We can assure that you didn¡¯t leave your footstep there identally. There was a heavy rain in Yangzhou City three days ago. If the roof of Xin Rong Pce has not been repaired in Luo¡¯s Mansion in thest three days, it is the footprint left by the eavesdropper.¡±

    Guan Yun¡¯s voice was elegant and reasonable, so everyone nodded and agreed with her. However, Guan Bai was most concerned about another question, ¡°Third Sister, how did you know the pattern of Childe Duan¡¯s sole?¡±

    ¡°I give the boots to him!¡± Guan Yun said naturally.

    ¡°Oh.¡± Madam Luo and Peng Jian replied in unison. So, Third Miss Guan and Shizi of Earl Ruting Mansion were close enough to give away boots!

    Although Peng Shi and Peng Jian were not Duan Xiaolou¡¯s friends to be exact, they were at least acquaintances. Peng Jian stabbed Duan Xiaolou in the waist with his elbow and whispered, ¡°Hey, congrattions. You are finally out of the ranks of bachelors. Seized your chance, huh!¡± But the ¡°whisper¡± was judged from Peng Jian¡¯s point of view. However, his duck voice was too hard not to be noticed, so all the people heard it. Peng Shi coughed, then reached out and pulled his brother back. He scolded in a low voice, ¡°Be quiet. We all heard you speak too loudly.¡± He made Guan Yun and Duan Xiaolou shy sessfully.

    Meng Xuan continued to analyze, ¡°Third Miss in Luo¡¯s Family called out when she saw the man just now, and the eldest legitimate son in Duan¡¯s Family rushed out to find that man. However, he still didn¡¯t see anyone. It can be told that the man is a Wulin master with excellent arts of lightness skill.¡±

    ¡°Nie Chun?¡± Madam Luo and Mammy Tang guessed in unison. He was the most qualified person in Luo¡¯s Mansion, and unless Madam Luo summoned him, he never appeared. Would he have been on standby on the roof just now, and Third Miss screamed as she looking up and saw him. People liked Nie Chun was not willing toment on strangers or exin more, which would cause such a misunderstanding? Thinking of it, Madam Luo looked up to the sky and said, ¡°Nie Chun! Nie Chun? Nie Chun!¡±

    Madam Luo and Mammy Tang looked at each other suspiciously after shouting three times today without a response. Madam Luo remembered that she had never seen Nie Chun since thest time she suffered itch powder in the Ting Zhu Yard. Even if she didn¡¯t call Nie Chun, he would appear in front of her every now and then. But thought about it carefully, she hasn¡¯t seen Nie Chun for 7 or 8 days. What was the matter?

    ¡°It¡¯s not Uncle Nie.¡± He Danggui said suddenly, ¡°The pattern on the sole of his boots is totally different from that on the zed tiles.¡±

    ¡°Well?¡± Madam Luo, Mammy Tang, Peng Jian and Duan Xiaolou asked in unison, ¡°How do you know that?¡± Were his boots also you¡­

    He Danggui broke their imagination and exined, ¡°On the one hand, when we were in the tearoom of Ting Zhu Yardst time, I saw Uncle Nie¡¯s sole as he crossed his legs. That was a kind of threaded pattern with short nails on the sole of his feet. On the other hand, I heard from my mother that Uncle Nie is very famous in the Jianghu. He was called ¡®mysterious swift-footed walker¡¯. When he was walking, he must wear shoes with short nails at the bottom to better y his Phantom Footwork. And there is no scratch left by sharp objects on the zed tiles. It must not have been stepped by Uncle Nie.¡±

    Luo Baiqiong was surprised to hear He Danggui¡¯s long speech. She could hardly believe her ears, because it was the longest speech she had ever heard from ¡°Savage He Danggui¡±. If Luo Baiqiong¡¯s memory was correct, the former He Danggui not only had few words, but also was timid and coward. She dared not speak most of the time. When she had to speak in public, she would have a short breath and a shaking voice. And she couldn¡¯t speak two sentences, because she was too nervous to speak. The reason why Luo Baiqiong and her sister bullied her so recklessly was that they believed that she was a little white rabbit who could not speak no matter how they bullied her. How had the little white rabbit be different now?

    Duan Xiaolou pondered and said, ¡°The man has left now, it¡¯s hard to trace him again. It¡¯s more urgent because the officers and soldiers has already surrounded the mansion. Everyone stays here. Don¡¯t act separately. I¡¯ll go out and ask the leader of officers and soldiers about their intention to surround the Luo¡¯s Mansion, and try to persuade them to retreat first. We will deal with them afterwards.¡±

    Madam Luo looked at Duan Xiaolou with gratitude and nodded, ¡°Shizi, thank you!¡±

    After Duan Xiaolou left, everyone went back to their original positions and sat down. He Danggui sat at the table with crunchy sugar on Luo Baiqiong¡¯s left side and continued to eat sugar. At the same time, she tried to analyze the real intention of the officers and soldiers. Since they are not intended to search the mansion and confiscate possessions. But considering their number, were they here to arrest someone?

    Of course, there were no such figures among the members of Luo¡¯s Mansion, but there were many outsiders here tonight. In the main hall, there were Meng Shan, Earl Baoding, the No.1 big figure among them; next him was Duan Xiaolou, but both of them were royalists. Unless Zhu Yuanzhang were died, the sky would not fall on them, so they were both excluded. Secondly, there were unknown mysterious figures. Ning Yuan and that fake Feng Yang were the same group. The blood sucking master who was suspected to be hiding in the Bitter Bamboo Grove was the second group, and the arts of lightness skill masters who just hid on the roof to eavesdrop was the third group. Of course, these three groups might actually be two, or even the same person ¨C Ning Yuan.

    Ning Yuan¡¯s identify was very mysterious. He was proficient in disguise skill and change of voice skill. He was a guest in Luo¡¯s Mansion with fake identity, name, face and voice. Even if He Danggui provoked him and satirized his poor change of voice that night deliberately, he wasn¡¯t angry, neither said a word with his true voice. He was very shrewd. It was unbelievable that he was only a 15-year-old boy. There was such a watertight person in the world. He Danggui had two arguments with him. Although she hadn¡¯t suffered any loss because of him, she was often very scared by his bossy style. It was just like the present Emperor. Was Ning Yuan the son or grandson of Zhu Yuanzhang?

    Although He Danggui couldn¡¯t test how powerful his kung fu was, the arts of lightness that Ning Yuan used to catch her and kill her was a level higher than Duan Xiaolou¡¯s. He Danggui once took Duan Xiaolou¡¯s ¡°hitchhike¡± twice, so she had a personal experience. No matter the speed of kung fu or the frequency of stepping on the ground, Ning Yuan¡¯s arts of lightness was slightly better than Duan Xiaolou¡¯s. Among all the people He Danggui had seen, probably only Gao Jue¡¯s arts of lightness of Dun Shu was better than Ning Yuan. So, if the person who just overheard was Ning Yuan, it wasn¡¯t surprising that Duan Xiaolou couldn¡¯t catch up with him.

    As He Danggui was eating and thinking, her little hand had been touching the sugar and she kept chewing it. She found that the small te in front of her had been eaten up, and then she looked around. She found that most of the people in the hall were staring at her. Some were curious, and some were sarcastic, so she changed her expression and showed a submissive little daughter-inw. In order to reduce people¡¯s attention to her.

    At this time, Earl Baoding stood up and said, ¡°I¡¯m going to change my clothes. Is there anyone going with me? It¡¯s safer to go together.¡±

    Earl Baoding was a fierce general in the battlefield. He must be very skilled in kung fu. It must be safe to go to the East toilet with him, but only men could go with him. Luo Baiqiong and Guan Yun just had eaten and drunk a lot. Now they both wanted to go to the toilet. As soon as Earl Baoding left, they looked at each other and stood up at the same time, and then they walked to the side hall. It was dark at the moment. The East toilet was opposite the garden. They dared not go to the toilet on the premise that there were ¡°Unidentified flying seniors¡± outside. However, there was a special toilet in the side hall. Luo Baiqiong knew that, clearly, so did Guan Yun, who was a regr visitor of Luo¡¯s Mansion, and they were both heading for the side hall at the moment.

    When Guan Bai saw his sister leave the banquet, he was a little worried. So, he followed them from afar to protect their safety.

    At this time, in addition to a group of maids and mammies, only Madam Luo, Luo Baiying, He Danggui, Meng Xuan Peng Shi and Peng Jian were left in the Pce. Madam Luo saw that Luo Baiying was wearing thin clothes, so she asked her if she felt cold, whether she had dinner or not, and whether the wind was cold or not. Luo Baiying answered one by one as she looked at the roof beams without any expression. Meng Xuan seemed to be sleepy again. He supported his cheek with his hand and began to catnap.

    When Peng Jian saw He Danggui being d to eat sugar, he thought she had not eaten enough at the banquet, and assumed that she would not join their table. So, Peng Jian found a clean bowl and a pair of chopsticks, and made the best part of their table full of bowl, such as arge piece of crab roe in crab roe with fresh mushrooms, kidneys in cucumber with kidneys, and the shrimps in Steamed Fresh Shrimp Dumplings. Under his brother¡¯s slightly dissatisfied gaze, Peng Jian took the bowl of vegetables in his hands and ran to tter He Danggui.

    He Danggui ate too much sugar and had no appetite at the moment. Seeing such a bowl of good things, she couldn¡¯t help thinking, was there any chance for her to take these things back to Tao Yao Yard quietly? They would heat these things in their small kitchen, and it could be the top food of Chan Yi and Huai Hua¡­

    When she was thinking, a figure fell from above and fell beside Madam Luo suddenly. The man, dressed in grey, with a yellow mask on his face, buttoned up Madam Luo¡¯s throat and shouted in a hoarse voice, ¡°No one is allowed to move, or I will kill her!¡±

    In the event of such an ident, all the people in the hall were in a panic. He Danggui sat on the seat safely. But when she saw the mask on his face, she widened her beautiful eyes and shouted suddenly, ¡°Hey! Where¡¯s your facial mask from?!¡±

 Chapter 128 - The vampire lord as a matchmaker

    <h4>Chapter 128 The vampire lord as a matchmaker</h4>

    The viin who captured Madam Luo was about 1.7 meters tall and his voice sounded hoarse. If it wasn¡¯t his innate voice, he must be hiding his true voice deliberately. ording to his Adam¡¯s apple, skin color and body shape, they could be sure that the viin was a man on his thirties.

    He Danggui also noticed that there were attractive purple lights in his red eyes. And maybe he was the person ¡°you-know-who¡± that Chan Yi mentioned. If his purple eyes weren¡¯t born that way, it could be caused by practicing some immoral kung fu and then he was possessed by the Devil. Thinking of his action of sucking blood, the truth was more likely to be that. However, these were not what He Danggui cared about the most, and what she wanted to know badly was that¨C

    ¡°Come clean! Where did you get this facial mask?¡± He Danggui stood up rapidly and took some steps forward to the vampire lord. Her voice sounded anxious. Why was he wearing her collection?

    This was a facial mask made by hand-painted pottery paper. The characteristic of handmade facial mask was that each of them was different from others, and you could say that they were unique. So, He Danggui was pretty sure it was the one she bought from Tu¡¯er Town. Gao Jue insisted onpensating for the wooden hairpin that he damaged at that time, so she asked 15 wen from him and bought 5 colorful facial masks. She kept the yellow one and gave the other 4 as presents to Gao Jue. This yellow one had always hung in her room, and she even had seen it before she went out this afternoon. Why it appeared on the vampire lord¡¯s face now?

    Had the vampire lord gone to Tao Yao Yard? What was he doing there? Were Chan Yi and Huai Hua OK? The masked man didn¡¯t answer her, so she got anxious. She ran straight up the hall, and couldn¡¯t help but wanted to pull down his mask, grab his cor and ask whether he had sucked some person that he shouldn¡¯t suck or not?

    But before she got there, her arm was grabbed by someone. She looked back and found it was Meng Xuan. She waved her arm angrily and wanted to get rid of him, while he even didn¡¯t move. He Danggui felt as if she was hit back by a wall of air. If her arm wasn¡¯t grabbed by him, maybe she would blow off because of that. Actually, she was indeed crashed. For a moment she felt her feet flying backward off the ground while her arm was grabbed by Meng Xuan, so her whole body was like a flying kite flown by Meng Xuan.

    Meng Xuan identally shook the little girl out and then he pulled her back. Because of inertia, the little girl headed into his arms. As all these happened in a moment, in others¡¯ eyes, it looked like Childe Xuan suddenly hugged Third Miss! If Madam Luo was not captured by the viin at this moment with her life at stake, she would be very excited.

    But it was a pity that even if Childe Xuan hugged was hugging Qiong right now, she couldn¡¯t be happy either¨Cthe masked man stood close to her and pervaded a cold, angry feeling, which made her feel scared in her heart, and this fear even greater than death.

    Madam Luo just felt the hand stuck in her throat was as cold as ice, and made her trembling and out of breath. Guard Nie Chun always protected her not far, and there had never been such a vicious incident. However, today Nie Chun was not here and there was such a terrible masked man! Though the man only said one sentence, she could feel that he was a cold killer. Whatever the purpose of this man¡¯s abduction was, it was hard for her to imagine that she could escape today. She thought dejectedly, would she die here today¡­ No! She had a big secret in her heart, and she must tell the secret to her family secretly, or she had no face to meet Luo Duzhong. If so, she would die with evesting regret!

    He Danggui flew out and then back, finally she went straight into the arms of Meng Xuan. She felt pain in her nose and then a warm feeling came out from her nose. Looking down at his green lotus embroidered cor, she saw a red flower appeared on it. Then she suddenly recognized that the guy¡¯s chest made her suffer a nosebleed.

    ¡°Hey, let me go!¡± ¡°No!¡± ¡°I said, let me go!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Meng Xuan loosened his hand and passed a white handkerchief embroidered with green lotus to her. But He Danggui covered her injured nose and refused to take it. She wanted to get around the obstacle in her way and continue to question the masked man whether he had hurt her two maids.

    Seeing her like this, Meng Xuan straightly grabbed her sharp chin with one hand and put the handkerchief on her nose with the other, pressing the acupoint that could stop bleeding through the handkerchief. However, the little girl was so ungrateful that she kept beating his chest. He didn¡¯t know whether she was intentional or not, every time the ce she hit was either Qimen acupoint or Zhangmen acupoint, which were the most painful acupoints. And she used a lot of strength. Without Zhenqi for protecting his body, he would be beaten to vomit blood.

    Peng Jian next to them couldn¡¯t stand it, and wanted to stop Meng Xuan using his chest to hit his Third Sister¡¯s hand. While Peng Shi held him down and whispered to him, then seeded appeased Peng Jian¡¯s mood.

    After Meng Xuan had stopped the bleeding, he made a motion to take the bloody handkerchief inside his pocket first. But he paused for a while, then he turned back to put this handkerchief into He Danggui¡¯s clothes.

    He Danggui saw a hand pulling the cor of her robe and putting a bloody handkerchief in without exnation. She said angrily, ¡°Why do you give this to me?¡± Meng Xuan answered naturally, ¡°You¡¯ve soiled this, so I don¡¯t want it.¡± He Danggui red at him, ¡°If you don¡¯t want it, you can throw it away.¡± While he answered with a low voice, ¡°The green lotus on it is embroidered by my mother, I can¡¯t throw it.¡± After heard this, He Danggui was amused and vexed. This boy was indeed a dutiful son, but what was the difference between giving it to her and throwing it away?

    Unexpectedly, the next moment Meng Xuan bended over slowly, and his handsome face moved slowly towards her¡­ As his charming face approached, He Danggui drew back unconsciously, while his hand sped her waist unexpectedly! In a twinkling of eyes, his thin red lips skimmed her cheek and his warm breath blew her eyshes slightly, making her close her eyes subconsciously.

    Meng Xuan whispered to her, ¡°The man at the hall is a senior, and it¡¯s easy for him to kill one within 10 steps. A woman like you will be a corpse before you get close to him.¡±

    Hearing this, He Danggui got a shock. She turned her face to him and whispered, ¡°How do you know how powerful he is? Do you know who he is?¡±

    Meng Xuan shook his head and said, ¡°I could only recognize from his breathing that he is the man who had been hiding on the roof, and figure out he must be the man whose kung fu is unfathomable ording to his breath, eyes, and killing intention. And it is highly possible he had practice Miao Shi Arts.¡± Seeing the little girl was about to ask something, he had guessed what she would ask, so he continued, ¡°You won¡¯t understand Miao Shi Arts even if I exin it to you. In a word, it¡¯s a rare and evil art in the world. When you practice it, you need to suck blood, and human blood is the best. After you be a master of it, your internal force will increase a lot, and you will be very powerful. One can break a stone in at very long distance, not to mention your head.¡± Actually, Meng Xuan deliberately exaggerated. He wanted to let the little girl get frightened and understand that he is her savior, so she should be polite to him and shouldn¡¯t pull up his cor tightly!

    But He Danggui wasn¡¯t scared, and she didn¡¯t think there was anything wrong to pull a 10-year-old boy¡¯s cor as they spoke. She thought for a while and whispered to Meng Xuan, ¡°There were a lot of crows died in Luo¡¯s Mansion 8 days ago. And they were torn into pieces by the murderer. The next day a guard¡¯s blood was sucked thoroughly and his body was thrown in the garden. And Nie Chun has gone to investigate this since then. So, we can assure that the vampire lord must have lived in Luo¡¯s Mansion for a long time. But why did he capture Madam Luo? If he wants to suck blood, there are a lot of people in the garden; if he wants treasures, there is nothing he can¡¯t steal with his arts of lightness. What¡¯s more, Madam Luo¡¯s identity is very special, and the Four Guards of Luo¡¯s Mansion are very powerful.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, either.¡± Meng Xuan shook his head, while his lips touched He Danggui¡¯s exquisite ear identally. At that moment, the two people both paused and felt embarrassed. Then they consoled themselves, that¡¯s OK, he/she just a little kid. After consoling himself, Meng Xuan said in a low voice, ¡°Well, I guess it has something to do with the officers and soldiers outside Luo¡¯s Mansion.¡±

    ¡°You mean those officers and soldiers are here to arrest this guy?¡± He Danggui felt surprised that he thought the same thing as hers.

    Meng Xuan¡¯s mouth slightly raised. Before he could speak, he suddenly felt his cor was grasped by someone behind, and he was pulled back as He Danggui¡¯s face gradually became smaller in his sight. Peng Jian¡¯s face appeared in his vision sneakily as he snarled, ¡°Are you tired of living? How dare you hold my Third Sister all the time!¡± Meng Xuan snorted, ¡°Which eye of yours saw that I didn¡¯t loose her?¡± Then he pointed at his cor, which had been caught crumpling. To be reasonable, it was He Danggui who grabbed him and didn¡¯t loosen.

    While the two men were arguing, He Danggui bypassed them and took some steps forward. She looked straight at the masked man and tried to negotiate with him, ¡°Knight, if you tell me where you got this facial makeup, I can tell you how to leave Luo¡¯s Mansion safely.¡±

    Geng Bingxiu, who wore this facial mask, had recognized the little girl at first nce. The little girl was not anyone else but the reborn Miss He that he met at Shui Shang Temple at the beginning of this month. Though her face was a little pale and sallow now, and she was not as dazzlingly beautiful as before, he wouldn¡¯t mistake her ording to her charm and eyes. Though he didn¡¯t know her, the intuition and experience that he umted over the years told him the little girl was weird and she wouldn¡¯t be an easy-going ordinary person. Sometimes, he even felt a strange sense of fear of her!

    Actually, he came to Yangzhou City again because of her to some extent.

    At the beginning of the month, he led 8 subordinate generals and 300 capable seniors to Yang Zhou to look for Bai Yangbai, whom the Emperor wanted to hire the most. ording to the message they knew, they arrived at Tu¡¯er Town. And in there, they met Su Xiaoxiao, who was the escaped criminal of the Hu Weiyong case ten years ago. So, they set tight encirclement to arrest the woman. When they got near to sess, a boy with bronze mask popped up and rescued her, failing their n in the final second. Fortunately, before they escaped, Jiang Yi hurt that boy¡¯s left shoulder by toxic Jin Mai Nail, and only Jiang Yi had the antidote of that poison.

    ording to their analysis, the bronze mask boy was probably the associate of Hu Weiyong case. Now he had been poisoned, and he muste back and stole the antidote. So, they rescheduled and wanted to arrest him. However, on the next day, the nine of them were yed by him like a puppet. They not only didn¡¯t let the boy fall into their trap, but also lost the whole antidotes. When they were fighting with each other, the bronze mask boy was outnumbered, and he escaped to a barren mountain outside the town with a bad injury. They went up the mountain in pursuit of him. To cover their tracks, they lived at Shui Shang Temple. Then they met that weird girl.

    Lu Jiangbei had said that the evidence of Master Tai Chen¡¯s case was found by that girl, so Geng Bingxiu began to be curious about her. The next day, Duan Xiaolou said that he was going to help the little girl find a lost gold lock, so Geng Bingxiu eavesdropped their n, knowing they nned to fire the kitchen and draw the snake out of its hole wittingly. It was said that this n was submitted by He Danggui¨CHe hid in the back alley of the kitchen in advance to peep and saw the whole process of finding back the gold lock.

    Seeing her calm attitude, firm determination and noble temperament, one wouldn¡¯t believe that she was a 10-year-old girl. Even the women he had seen like Noble Consort Zhao and Noble Consort Zheng, both had experienced a lot of Pce scheming before they had the current aura. You could hardly imagine that such an unsophisticated girl was born with such grace and capacity.

    What scared him most was the way she looked at Tai Shan. At the back alley of Shui Shang Temple¡¯s kitchen, under the firelight and moonlight, he saw her bright, cold eyes looked straight at Tai Shan. It was hard to say whether she was happy or sad. It was as if the exalted queen stared at her prey, as if the noble goddess looked at the dregs, as if¡­a ghost from the hell watched at her lifelong enemy!

    He was frightened by her eyes at that moment.

 Chapter 129 - Asked for a good idea

    <h4>Chapter 129 Asked for a good idea</h4>

    Later, Duan Xiaolou came and begged Geng Bingxiu to act as a matchmaker for proposing to the little girl. On the surface, Geng Bingxiu found several excuses such as ¡°it¡¯s not right to make decisions without parents¡¯ permission¡±, ¡°you should marry a matched woman,¡± or ¡°it¡¯s better to considerprehensively about marriage¡±. In fact, he was just a little afraid to see those eyes again. He didn¡¯t know if it was his illusion. After he saw that scene in the back alley of the kitchen, he thought of thest time when Tai Shan asked He Danggui to reply their question about the resurrection from death. At that time, her eyesight was so cold as if he were judged by her!

    After that, he went back to the capital. Duan Xiaolou, who failed to propose marriagest time, heard that he was about to go to Yangzhou City again for work, and then came to ask him again to act as a matchmaker and propose to Luo¡¯s Family. Then, he didn¡¯t know why he agreed.

    Therefore, when he came to Yangzhou City, in addition to dealing with the corruption case of Wei Hong, the governor of Yangzhou, he actually acted as a matchmaker to propose marriage to the little girl for Duan Xiaolou. He had always been suspicious that he mistook the little girl. She might don¡¯t have such a profound internal force and sharp eyes which he saw in the Taoist temple. Most of those were all from his imagination. As long as he saw her again, he would find that she was just a little smart but ordinary girl.

    This time, he went alone in in clothes but was seriously injured by a youth with a bronzed mask, so he escaped to the cave in Bitter Bamboo Grove of Luo¡¯s Mansion. He hadn¡¯t expected that Miao Shi Arts would suddenly injure the channel one night, which made him extremely painful. He ran out and sucked the blood of a guard of Luo¡¯s Mansion and a badger pig before he got better. He expected that Nie Chun woulde to denounce him and even kill him. Therefore, he made traps in the cave in advance. Sure enough, Nie Chun came. First, he lowered himself, begged Nie Chun for mercy, and talked about their fellowship in the past. Then he suddenly attacked at the moment when Nie Chun was rxed, and released various traps in the cave to kill Nie Chun. However, he had been seriously injured and was in Qi Deviation. Although he was shot by Nie Chun with a poisoned spike arrow in his right arm, he finally escaped.

    Geng Bingxiu guessed that the troops who besieged Luo¡¯s Mansion wereing here for him. It must be Nie Chun who used some methods to incite the government, persuading them to believe that the most concerned murderer of the Imperial Court who had excellent kung fu was hiding in Luo¡¯s Mansion, so they besieged here with a fanfare. Geng Bingxiu wanted to escape from Luo¡¯s Mansion, but his Miao Shi Arts were still hurting him. His power turned stronger asionally and then became weaker. In this disadvantageous situation, it was difficult for him to escape from Luo¡¯s Mansion safely without alerting the troops. Therefore, he tried to hold an important hostage, forcing the troops to withdraw from Luo¡¯s Mansion and letting him go. Madam Luo was his target because she was elder and weaker but had an exalted position.

    After Duan Xiaolou, Meng Shan and others left from the main hall, he entered from the window when the time was right, and caught his target sessfully. At that time, He Danggui came in front of him, stared at him with her ck eyes, and lured him, ¡°If you tell me where did you get your mask, I¡¯ll tell you how to leave Luo¡¯s Mansion safely.¡±

    At that time, Geng Bingxiu felt that the girl saw through his designs and he couldn¡¯t hide. She was just a little girl whom could be killed easily, but why he was scared of her? Should he believe her that her idea could help him leave Luo¡¯s Mansion? Or should he kill her immediately, those eyes, and also kill his unknown fear? Why did he need to listen to her idea? He caught Madam Luo, so he could leave safely. He should kill her before it was toote!

    Madam Luo felt that the masked man who neared her suddenly burst out his killing intention, so she yelled loudly, ¡°Yi, turn back!¡± It was a dangerous situation and it was better to die less. If Luo Duzhong¡¯s favorite granddaughter was also dead, she was ashamed to see him.

    When Meng Xuan heard this, he immediately pushed away Peng Jian, who was staring at him awkwardly. Meng Xuan was shocked to see the halo on the left palm of that masked man in the hall shing. It was obvious that he was gathering his power to kill the opponent quickly. Why? Was it necessary to fight against a little girl?

    Meng Xuan was hesitant to stand on the left side of the little girl. Should he help her? If he was going to take this palm, he might use 80% of his power. Now he was trying to hide his true power. Unless he wore a bronzed mask on his face, he would never show his true power in the rest of time. Last year, in order to save a toddler who was about to be trampled by a horse, he used only 20% of his power, which surprised his father. Thinking that he was very talented in practicing martial arts, his father made him a young general and let him go to the battlefield to practice. Due to this, his elder brother Meng Xian was jealous and hateful to him, and fought with him for several times...

    At this time, not only his father, but also an imperial guard Duan Xiaolou were here. Feng Yang and Ning Yuan were also strange. He was just an 11-year-old boy now. If he showed his true power to take the palm, the consequence would be unimaginable. But if he didn¡¯t do that, the audacious Go prodigy girl would die without aplete body. Could he see that an innocent girl died in front of him and then stand by?

    Madam Luo, Meng Xuan and other onlookers all felt the killing intention of the masked man. How could He Danggui, his attack target, not know?

    He Danggui, who was stared at by the masked man, felt that her temples were slightly pricked. She also understood that the halo on his palm was the expression of his power when it was condensed to the extreme. That attack was even dozens of times more violent than that of a horse treading the chest. It was sure that the Zhenqi for protecting her body was unable to resist his attack. But he was so strange. Was it necessary to use such profound martial arts to attack a girl who looked very weak? As expected, the idea of a brave man who could tear birds with his hands was really different from that of normal people.

    ¡°Ha-ha,¡± He Dangguiughed, which made Meng Xuan and Madam Luo anxious. She said, ¡°Listen, the Knight Mask! Don¡¯t you want to hear my idea before driving me away? That¡¯s may be helpful to you. At least two heads are better than one. It won¡¯t bring any loss to you.¡±

    Geng Bingxiu thought it was right. He could kill her after hearing her idea. Maybe this quick-witted girl had some special ideas. Therefore, he drew his power back immediately and nodded, ¡°Alright, you can say.¡±

    Madam Luo and Meng Xuan were in relief. However, He Danggui said boldly, ¡°Ah? But I¡¯ve told you. You¡¯d better tell me where your mask from. And then I¡¯d let you know my good idea. Come on, you say first.¡± Madam Luo and Meng Xuan were amazed. She was just ten years old. Didn¡¯t she want to be alive?

    Geng Bingxiu felt fairly confused that why was she so interested in his mask? Was there any secret on it? Let him find it outter. Anyhow, he kept the mask. Then he replied truly, ¡°I picked it up from the ground.¡±

    ¡°Picked up from the ground?¡± He Danggui frowned, ¡°Aren¡¯t you lying?¡±

    Geng Bingxiu responded by asking, ¡°For what?¡± You were going to die. Was it necessary for me to cheat a dying girl?

    He Danggui asked continuously, ¡°Where and how did you pick it up?¡±

    Geng Bingxiu replied impatiently, ¡°It was on a flower path in Luo¡¯s Mansion. And I just bent and found it. All right, now can you let me know your good idea?¡± Madam Luo and Meng Xuan were shocked. Not only did this demon answer every question of a little girl, but he asked the good ideas from her. Did he bump his head and became silly?

    He Danggui lowered her head and thought. He was actually unnecessary to lie to her. Since he dared to kidnap Madam Luo, he must dare to admit. Tao Yao Yard was surrounded by flower paths, so it was a ce matching to his words. But why the mask in her room would be there? Meanwhile, this masked man couldn¡¯t wait to know her idea. There might be two reasons. One was that he was curious about anything that he didn¡¯t know. The other was¡­ He knew her and he also knew that she had a great ability.

    Thinking it, He Danggui suddenly walked to the masked man and Madam Luo. ¡°Stop!¡± Madam Luo, Meng Xuan, and Geng Bingxiu stopped her together.

    ¡°Stop!¡± Geng Bingxiu asked warily, ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    He Danggui replied innocently, ¡°Don¡¯t you want to know my good idea? I have to go over and whisper in your ear, or they will all hear it.¡± She pointed to Meng Xuan, Peng Shi and Peng Jian who remained vignt. ¡°Then my idea would not work.¡± Geng Bingxiu raised his chin and was about to speak, but he was interrupted by He Danggui, ¡°Hey, you can¡¯t let them go out of Xin Rong Hall because they are very cunning. If they go out, they will inevitably discuss some ruses to deal with you. Therefore, you¡¯d better watch for them.¡±

    Geng Bingxiu didn¡¯t care about teenagers before, but since he was assassinated by a youth with a bronzed mask, he hadn¡¯t dared to take anyone lightly. No one should be allowed to leave the hall, or they would discuss countermeasures and send information secretly. However, he didn¡¯t want to let the girl near him. Seeing her bright eyes and the posture that she couldn¡¯t wait toe, he felt that she had a bad idea for him.

    He Danggui smiled innocently and said in a coaxing tone, ¡°Knight, you are so powerful, and I can neither do martial arts nor hurt you. Let me be close to you. If you are not satisfied with my idea, just do as you want!¡±

    Geng Bingxiu pondered and didn¡¯t speak since he thought it was suspicious. Seeing the action and words of He Danggui, Madam Luo felt that her granddaughter wanted to rescue her. She was moved and felt that it was a suicide, so she constantly dropped a hint to He Danggui that she shouldn¡¯te. Seeing that a devil who had practiced the sinister Miao Shi Arts was so wary of that little girl, Meng Xuan couldn¡¯t help guessing all kinds of possibilities, and then became more interested in her. Peng Shi tightly tugged at his younger brother¡¯s arm to prevent him from doing impulsive things and repeated what they had just appointed in his ear. The First Miss Luo Baiying was standing beside the wall with a group of maids and mammies, watching the changes of the situation nervously. If the maids who trembled with fear dared to look at her, they would be surprised to find that the First Miss could also look at others normally with her proud eyes!

    While the two parties refused to give in, Luo Baiqiong, who went to the side hall to change clothes, saw the scene. Although she didn¡¯t know what happened, she gained the nervous atmosphere from the scene of Luo Baiying and the servants hiding their heads as well as a terrible masked man taking Madam Luo by the throat... ¡°Ah! Ah!¡± Luo Baiqiong screamed in horror.

    Geng Bingxiu raised his hand to blow away the nearest table from Luo Baiqiong and said in a deep voice, ¡°Shut up!¡±

    Luo Baiqiong shut up immediately and sat on the floor in fright. What happened here? How terrible it was! If she had known this, she would have stayed at the side hall with Guan Bai and Guan Yun! After she went to the toilet, she was about toe back with them. But they said that they felt drunk, so they wanted to take a rest in the side hall before going back. Therefore, she had to walk alone through the dark corridor and came back to Xin Rong Hall. What a horrible masked man. Who would save her?

    ¡°Madam Luo, I fetch the Hawthorn tea and tea set of Third Miss!¡± Gan Cao in yellow clothes hunched over and pushed a handcart into the hall. She looked up and smiled, ¡°I also fetch... Ah!¡± Gan Cao was also frightened by the scene in the hall. Madam Luo was strangled by a masked man, which was so terrible!

    Geng Bingxiu was very impatient and snorted, ¡°Noisy!¡± If the maid didn¡¯te in from the opposite main gate where was too far to hit, he must give her a palm too.

    After looking at the masked man who exposed his magic skills by splitting a table from a distance with his hand, Luo Baiying and the maids and mammies were all stunned. If they didn¡¯t support each other, they must sit on the ground like Luo Baiqiong. At this moment, only He Danggui and Meng Xuan in the whole hall could be as calm as usual. While thetter was staring at the former. Who was this girl? Or was she not a human? Didn¡¯t she know what death was or had she died once? She knew the feeling of death so that she had nothing to fear.

    Madam Luo looked at Luo Baiying and said suddenly, ¡°I want to have tea. Ying, make a cup of tea for me.¡±

 Chapter 130 - Madam Luoâ€™s last words

    <h4>Chapter 130 Madam Luo¡¯sst words</h4>

    Luo Baiying probably understood that Madam Luo wanted to tell her some st words¡± which could not be said publicly. But she was unwilling to take a risk. If she was also taken as a hostage by the masked man, it was worthless to hear Madam Luo¡¯sst words. Luo Baiying waited for a moment and expected the masked man to stop her from offering the tea. Since he refused He Danggui toe near, he certainly would not call her to send tea. But waiting for a long time, the masked man was still silent, so Luo Baiying had to face Madam Luo¡¯s expectant eyes, ¡°Grandma, I¡¯m sorry that I don¡¯t know how to make tea.¡±

    Madam Luo also knew that it was dangerous to call Luo Baiying here, but she was the most stable and reliable member of Luo¡¯s Family present. However, Madam Luo didn¡¯t expect that the granddaughter she loved most should refuse her st request¡±! Madam Luo was extremely angry, so she looked at Luo Baiqiong and ordered, ¡°Qiong, offer me a cup of tea!¡± Madam Luo was d to see that Luo Baiqiong wanted to stand up after hearing her words. She was relieved and thought that at the critical time, her biological granddaughter was the best!

    However, the ¡°best¡± granddaughter Luo Baiqiong had difficulty standing up, who finally cried to Madam Luo, ¡°Grandma, I¡¯m sorry that I can¡¯t stand up. My leg must be broken!¡± In fact, she thought, ¡°Grandma, you are a hostage now. Why do you want to drink tea?¡±

    ¡°I also want a cup of tea.¡± Geng Bingxiu suddenly said, ¡°The woman in blue, you offer the tea, or I¡¯ll kill her!¡± Then he shook Madam Luo.

    Finding that the masked man suddenly looked at her direction, Luo Baiying looked around in fear. However, she found that only she was in blue, and the other maids were in green! She didn¡¯t know whether to go or not.

    Luo Baiying frowned perplexedly and thought, ¡°The kidnapper must have known that I¡¯m an important person and want an extra hostage, so he lets me go there. If I go there, I would die. However, he is threatening me with Madam Luo¡¯s life. If I don¡¯t go there, I will be an unfaithful and unfilial person once Madam Luo dies. Then I have no status in Luo¡¯s Family... How unfair it was! I¡¯m beautiful, but unhealthy, so I could not get married forever due to an unmentionable disease. Where could I go if I had no status in Luo¡¯s Family?¡±

    Seeing Luo Baiying not moving, Geng Bingxiu added, ¡°You go to that girl first.¡± He pointed to He Danggui, ¡°Let her whisper her good idea to you, and you repeat it to me. If you do well, I will not hurt you!¡±

    Luo Baiying was shocked. She thought, ¡°Once this devil adopts that idea, he would must immediately kill me and He Danggui, and then escape! No! I could never take a message for them!¡±

    Meng Xuan looked at He Danggui, the calm girl, with interest. he was quite sure that the devil was so afraid of the girl that he didn¡¯t dare to get close to her! Ho-ho, it was getting more and more interesting!

    Thinking for a moment, Geng Bingxiu suddenly looked at Luo Baiying and said, ¡°Eight days ago, you fell into the water at midnight, didn¡¯t you? Actually, I pushed you. By the way, my palm is poisonous, and you will die with a rotted body two dayster. But if you offer me the tea and take a message, I¡¯ll give you the antidote.¡±

    Luo Baiying almost fainted. Body rotted, and then died? Really? Why was she unaware? She had been feeling a little sick these days, but there was no sign of poisoning... Maybe he lied! Considering for a while, Luo Baiying decided to lower her head and stay at the corner silently. Anyway, here was far away from the devil and he couldn¡¯t hurt her. As long as she stayed here, the devil would look for others to take a message. Actually, how could he kill Madam Luo? Madam Luo was his amulet. Thinking of this, Luo Baiying closed her eyes.

    Madam Luo saw that none of her two granddaughters would listen to her st words¡±. One couldn¡¯t walk, and the other clearly could walk but pretended not to see and listen! Madam Luo was angry and cursed in heart, ¡°Luo Duzhong, these are your good granddaughters, good descendants of Luo¡¯s Family! The secret that you discovered could not be known by your descendants. It¡¯s none of my business!¡±

    Mammy Tang who was standing in the corner then rushed out and yelled, ¡°Miss, I¡¯ll offer you a cup of tea!¡± As if Madam Luo was dying, she wanted to give Madam Luo her blessing.

    ¡°No, you can¡¯t!¡± Madam Luo stopped Mammy Tang at once. She narrowed her eyes and thought for a moment. Then she opened her eyes and looked at He Danggui, saying, ¡°Yi, offer me a cup of Hawthorn tea.¡± It wasn¡¯t that she didn¡¯t trust Hong Jiang, but her husband had warned that the secret could only be told to descendants of Luo¡¯s Family. Although Yi¡¯s surname was not Luo, her name was on the family tree. She had obeyed the rules if she changed Yi¡¯s surname to Luo before she died.

    Hearing Madam Luo¡¯s words, He Danggui came to her sense and took her white gauze handkerchief leisurely. She saluted to Madam Luo and the masked man, smiling, ¡°Grandma, you can¡¯t drink the Hawthorn tea.¡± Seeing Madam Luo looking at her in disappointment, she said again, ¡°But I notice that there are many kinds of tea at Gan Cao¡¯s handcart. I can make the Cloud tea for you.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Meng Xuan suddenly asked before Madam Luo replied, ¡°Why Madam Luo can¡¯t drink the Hawthorn tea?¡± He bantered with He Danggui and looked at her. In fact, there was too much sugar in the tea, and there was no ¡°right way¡± to make a good tea!

    When the girl said that ¡°I had written the way of making this tea down on the oiled paper which was used to pack the tea up¡±, she was nervous. Then, the maid said that the paper had been thrown away, so she was relieved and happy again. If he didn¡¯t discover her uniqueness and intelligence when he yed Go with her, he would not watch her carefully and discovered who she really was under her tender disposition.

    He Danggui cursed Meng Xuan in heart, but smiled brighter. Then she gave him the baloney, ¡°Childe Xuan, fuel, rice, oil, salt, soy, vinegar, and tea are our daily necessities. Tea is an indispensable part of our daily life, and tasting tea needs peace and respect. But now, in the panic, how can we drink the Hawthorn tea which is like spirits? It¡¯s suitable to drink the Cloud tea that can soothe emotions.¡±

    ¡°She should make such an excuse!¡± Meng Xuan listened to her exnation and thought. Then he didn¡¯t say any words. Madam Luo said in a deep voice, ¡°OK, Danggui, please make a cup of Cloud tea! And I will tell you something.¡±

    No one spoke in the hall. All of them looked at He Danggui who put the tea set in order on the tea table and poured the water into the reddish y stove to boil it.

    When the water boiled, He Danggui saluted to the center. Then she sat and washed the tea set with the boiling water. She took out a bit of tea with the tea spoon on the paper to divide ording to the thickness. The green Cloud tea leaves with more stems were separated. In everyone¡¯s surprised eyes, He Danggui put these tea leaves in the censer and took Huo Zhe Zi from her sleeve to ignite.

    Everyone was confused. They had only heard about burning incense, not burning tea. Although tea was also a kind of grass, it couldn¡¯t be easily ignited. How could she do it easily?

    Meng Xuan stood on her left side and looked at her, seeing her clear and peaceful eyes which were just like a pool. She was different from the one who had just red at and cursed him... Which was the real one, or neither?

    At this time, everybody was afraid and worried. They were different from the calm girl standing in the center. She was easygoing.

    She took out a stick of grass and stirred the censer. A green smoke was floating up. She dispersed the smoke with her finger, letting the green smoke diffuse. The smell of the smoke was incredibly diffused into the whole hall. Everyone became cheerful and breathed a sign after smelling it. In the corner, Luo Baiying and the others who were supporting each other could almost stand up as usual.

    Suddenly, a draught blew in Xin Rong Hall from windows in four corners and took away the smell of the green smoke. Then people could smell another fragrance.

    When everyone was addicted to this fragrance, He Danggui poured water and tea fluently, and made a pot of Cloud tea. She smiled, ¡°Knight, this tea includes four cups. You¡¯d better taste it nearby. Why don¡¯t you and Grandmae over here?¡±

    Everyone thought that the tough masked man would refuse, but he was very obedient to escort Madam Luo and go slowly down the steps,ing to the tea table and sitting down. He Danggui and Meng Xuan sat on the left side, and Madam Luo and the masked man sat on the right. All the three people were staring at He Danggui. Meng Xuan thought that in the close distance, he could save Madam Luo. ¡°Should I save her or wait for a while? Maybe my father would be here soon.¡±

    Geng Bingxiu asked, ¡°Girl, what are the four cups of tea?¡±

    He Danggui poured out the first cup of tea, and walked lightly to Madam Luo. When Geng Bingxiu saw that, he put more weight on Madam Luo¡¯s shoulder. However, He Danggui bypassed Madam Luo, offered the tea to Geng Bingxiu and smiled, ¡°Knight, this first cup is for you. Please have a try.¡± Geng Bingxiu smelled the tea but didn¡¯t taste because he wore a mask and he couldn¡¯t drink it.

    He Danggui wanted to say something, but Madam Luo suddenly drew He Danggui close to her and whispered. Although Geng Bingxiu was dissatisfied, he didn¡¯t stop. After a while, He Danggui patted Madam Luo¡¯s shoulder and stood up, and then poured the second cup of tea. She poured more than a half of the white cup and offered to Madam Luo, saying softly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Grandma. Things change constantly. This cup of tea is for you. Please have a try.¡±

    Madam Luo had said her secretst words, so she only felt rxed. She received the tea with her hands to smell, which made her feel that there was no trouble at all. Then she tasted for a while and said, ¡°I haven¡¯t tasted such a good tea for many years.¡± Thefort in her words made others more interested in the tea.

 Chapter 131 - The father of my motherâ€™s teacher

    <h4>Chapter 131 The father of my mother¡¯s teacher</h4>

    At this time, He Danggui gave the third cup of tea to Meng Xuan, who took it to taste. The confused look in his eyes flickered in the dense vapor.

    Meng Xuan always thought that the girl was different, but he didn¡¯t figure out her uniqueness. Now he found that the girl acted like a noble. For example, she walked slowly and quietly, but her dress did not move a little. When she talked, her expressions are rxed, as if she was an official dealing with ¡°diplomatic affairs¡±. If she was not born in this way, she must be trained specially and seriously. But no one would be trained like this except the princesses?

    As noble as Meng¡¯s Family, an Earl family, his three sisters were taught about etiquette by mammies from the Imperial Pce. They had been taught not to grin and not to show feet in walking since their childhood. But none of them could obey the rules in daily life. After all, everyone was rxed in their own family. They couldugh and run casually.

    He heard that Madam Luo just called her ¡°Danggui¡±, and the Third Miss Guan Yun called her ¡°Miss He¡±. Therefore, where did the girl named ¡°He Danggui¡± grow up? She must live in a quite noble ce where people couldn¡¯t talk orugh casually for many years, so she behaved in an aristocratic manner.

    ¡°Yi¡±, Madam Luo drank a cup of tea, and chatted with He Danggui as if she forgot about the present situation, ¡°Your mother Chuanxiong once learned the tea art from a tea expert Song Shuwen who was called ¡®Junior Lu Yu¡¯. But I think your skill of making tea is better than hers. Did you learn it from your mother? How could you be better than her?¡±

    He Danggui smiled and replied, ¡°I cannotpare with my mother. Tea tasting is nothing more than a state of peaceful mind. Grandma, you are calm and rxed at the moment. Therefore, it tastes good and delicious.¡± Then she held the teapot to pour out the fourth cup of tea and taste it. At the same time, she thought, ¡°You do not know, Grandma. The teacher of my mum is the ¡°Junior Lu Yu¡± Song Shuwen, but my teacher in the previous life was the father of Song Shuwen ¡ª ¡®Senior Lu Yu¡¯.¡±

    At this time, no one in the hall noticed that another masked man was lurking outside the transom above the hall.

    After He Danggui poured out the four cups of tea, the three cups had been tasted out except the one of Geng Bingxiu. The room was full of tea fragrance. At this time, a voice came far outside the hall. It was Guan Bai, ¡°Childe Duan, youe back! Do you know why the soldiers outside the mansion came here?¡±

    Then Duan Xiaolou said, ¡°Go ahead first. Everyone should be upset in waiting.¡±

    Then Guan Yun shouted, ¡°Ah! Brother Xiaolou, your hand is hurt, and it bled! What happened? Did you fight with the soldiers? Let me bind it up!¡±

    All people in the hall were listening attentively. At that moment, the masked man suddenly ran away from the side door, carrying Madam Luo in one hand and Third Miss in the other. Everyone in the hall screamed. Mammy Tang shouted, ¡°Madam Luo, Third Miss¡±. Luo Baiying was d that the wicked finally left and at the same time, asked the maids to find the Four Guards of Luo¡¯s Family. Luo Baiqiong stood up and ran to the side hall quickly as if her broken leg recovered suddenly. She thought, ¡°Where is safe? Yes, let me hide in the restroom of the side hall where no one was inside!¡±

    Seeing that two people beside him were taken away, Meng Xuan was angry and regretted about what had happened. And he was astonished to find that he was too weak to stand up! What the hell was going on? Was it an overpowering drug? It was impossible! No overpowering drug in the world could work on him because he was powerful enough!

    Hearing the noise in the hall, Duan Xiaolou immediately flew in like an arrow and asked in a loud voice, ¡°What happened?¡± At the same time, he tried his best to search the hall for someone. But the hall was in a mess like a vegetable market. Even if someone answered his question, he could only hear a few fragmented sentences, ¡°Third Miss... tasted tea...¡± (In Chinese, the pronunciation of ¡°tasting tea¡± is simr to that of mitting suicide¡±.)

    Duan Xiaolou was shocked, continuing to search the hall. He asked seriously, ¡°Where is she?¡± Then another person pointed to the side door of the hall, so Duan Xiaolou used arts of lightness to fly over the head of the people to the side door.

    In the hall, one next to the speaker was surprised to ask, ¡°What did you say to Childe Duan? Why he suddenly became crazy?¡± The speaker looked even more surprised, ¡°Huh? I just said, ¡®Madam Luo asked the Third Miss to make tea for her, but they stopped in half way¡¯. Before I said that they stopped tasting tea because they were arrested by a bad man, he rushed away!¡± Another man sighed, ¡°What a kind man!¡±

    Outside the main hall, Duan Xiaolou flew to search for He Danggui in the darkness. Gosh! He had just known that shemitted suicide, but forgot to ask how did she do it. Did she jump into ake, or a well? Or did she hang herself? How to find her in a darkness? Damn, he didn¡¯t expect that she wouldmit suicide just after a few moments!

    He pretended not to recognize her because he asked Master Geng to be a matchmaker. If other people knew that they had stayed together in a Taoist temple in a mountain for a few days, and then he, a Shizi, proposed to her, a daughter of a concubine with low status, as his wife, all kinds of rumors would spread and damage her reputation... It was destined! This time, in order to meet her, he tried his best to take the job of catching Bai Yangbai in Yangzhou City! He heard that Guan¡¯s Family and Luo¡¯s Family were old friends, so he asked Guan Bai to bring him to the feast in Luo¡¯s Mansion. However, he didn¡¯t expect that she wouldmit suicide because he didn¡¯t recognize her!

    ¡°Sister He, do you know how much I missed you in the capital? I cannot wait for our ¡°half-year agreement¡±. My mind is all about you when I¡¯m awake. You show up in my wine cup when I¡¯m drinking; you are holding a cup of tea beside me and smiling when I¡¯m reading in the midnight; I saw that you married someone when I closed my eyes to sleep. In my dream, you smiled and waved to me, saying, ¡®Childe Duan, you are not my Mr. Right. Wish you good luck!¡¯¡¯¡¯ Duan Xiaolou thought.

    ¡°In my dream, I was so worried that I could not speak. After waking up, I found that the dagger engraved with your image had made a red mark on my chest. Then I stared at the image as small as a copper coin to miss you... Sister He, why did youmit suicide? Why didn¡¯t you wait for me? Please wait for me! I wille to you soon, and we will never be apart!¡±

    On the other side, the Sister He of Duan Xiaolou was still alive, and was happy to negotiate with the masked man, ¡°Knight, my grandmother is about 50 kilograms and it is hard for her to walk by herself. She will exhaust you! Although she is honorable, no one could recognize her as Madam Luo or Mammy Luo who deals with the excreta in Luo¡¯s Mansion in the darkness and mess. I think you can leave her here, and we can walk faster together!¡±

    Geng Bingxiu kept silent, and stared at the little girl. She was kidnapped and would lose her life easily if he wanted. He wondered why she didn¡¯t fear of it but still bargained with him. Did she have any background to support her?

    ¡°You see! My grandmother sleeps like a dead pig.¡± He Danggui pointed to Madam Luo on the ground who was knocked out as soon as they flew out. He Danggui shook her head and sighed, ¡°I have heard that the dead pig is the heaviest thing in the world. It weighs like a mountain. And I hear that your breath is in disorder. Dou you have an internal injury? Is it necessary for you to carry such a thing with you?¡±

    Geng Bingxiu stared at He Danggui, ¡°What! You know I have an internal injury. How do you know? Do you also practice martial arts?¡±

    He Danggui yed her handkerchief, lowered down her head and said in a low voice, ¡°Uncle Knight, do I look like a person who practices martial arts? You are kidding me. Don¡¯t waste time. Let¡¯s go fast. Otherwise, we will be caught by guards who are all seniors in martial arts!¡± As she said, she dragged Geng Bingxiu to the dark garden. Geng Bingxiu looked back and was reluctant to leave Madam Luo who was asleep. But finally, he made up his mind to leave her and run away with her granddaughter.

    He Danggui was happy to see that the masked man finally decided to leave Madam Luo. Madam Luo would be saved by Duan Xiaolou and Pan Jingyang who were chasing behind them! It would be easier for her to escape if she was the only hostage. When she was close to him, she knew that although the masked man was good at martial arts, he was seriously injured both internally and externally. His breath was weak and in disorder. And his legs began to bleed after running. It was really strange that he should be hurt on legs because legs were the strongest part of a martial artist, not to mention a senior. Who could hurt him like this? Was the person fighting with him¡­ a dwarf?

    ¡°What do you see, girl? You¡¯d better show me the way to the secret exit of Luo¡¯s Mansion. If you dare to y a trick, as a knight, I will gouge your eyes out!¡± Geng Bingxiu grabbed He Danggui¡¯s cor, running and threatening her. As long as he saw her clever eyes, he felt that she was thinking some evil ideas to against him.

    ¡°What for?¡± He Danggui clutched the masked man¡¯s arm and said carelessly, ¡°If you gouge my eyes out, no one will show you the way. If you pull my tongue out, no one will answer your questions. Why don¡¯t you cut my ears? I can hear without ears anyway. Do you have a knife or a dagger? Get ready!¡±

    No one ever dared to despise his methods for torturing others like this. Geng Bingxiu was furious and said, ¡°Hum! As a knight, I have a hundred ways to make you beg for death. Even if you are brave and knowledgeable, you have never known my ways to torture. Beg to me, or I will let you know the feeling of ¡®rolling on the board full of nails¡¯!¡±

    ¡°Rolling on the board full of nails, now?¡± He Danggui asked as she ran, ¡°We need a wooden board with rusty nails, but I find that you don¡¯t have anything like this on you, Uncle?¡± Before he replied, He Danggui smiled again, ¡°¡®Rolling on the board full of nails¡¯ is the favorite method of the officials for torturing others. Are you one of them? Oh, nice to meet you!¡±

    Geng Bingxiu was so surprised that he stumbled and almost fell down. A pair of small hands supported him kindly, and their owner asked with concern, ¡°Uncle, are you OK? Do you feel ufortable with the mask on your face? Let me help you to take it off!¡±

    ¡°Help me to take the mask off?¡± Geng Bingxiu thought. Then he immediately stopped, ¡°Hum! As a knight, I don¡¯t need your help. I¡¯ll take the mask off by myself when I want to. As soon as I take it off, you¡¯re going to die!¡±

    ¡°Ah, ah, I am so scared!¡± He Danggui patted her chest and said, ¡°But why don¡¯t you go, Uncle? You let me drag you to walk all the time. You are really heavier than the plow. Sorry, I cannot support you anymore. I¡¯ll let go!¡±

    Geng Bingxiu fell to the ground, feeling too weak to sit up. He screamed in horror, ¡°What have you done to me?¡±

    ¡°Shh!¡± He Danggui said, gently and dangerously, with a slender finger on her lips, ¡°Lower your voice down, Uncle! What if the pursuers hear us?¡±

 Chapter 132 - I was a sucking child before the age of three

    <h4>Chapter 132 I was a sucking child before the age of three</h4>

    Geng Bingxiu was shocked and angry, and said coldly, ¡°You little girl! It¡¯s impossible to put me down with your simple tricks. As a knight, I have been in Jianghu for many years, and I¡¯m more experienced and sophisticated than you. The people killed by me are more than the meals you had.¡±

    He Danggui was surprised. She counted with her fingers and said, ¡°Aha, I have two meals a day. That¡¯s to say, I have 600 meals a year. In seven years, I have more than 4,000 meals in total. Uncle, have you killed more than 4,000 people? Oh my!¡±

    ¡°It is nothing to kill 4,000 people.¡± Geng Bingxiu couldn¡¯t help sneering, ¡°You are too bad in arithmetic. There are more than 700 meals a year if you have two meals a day... Hey, why do you have only two meals a day? Why do you only count the amount of meals for seven years? Are you only seven years old?¡± Was Duan Xiaolou crazy to marry a seven-year-old girl?

    ¡°No, no, no. I¡¯m ten years old. I was a sucking child before the age of three. I had been breastfed by my nanny or with goat milk. I was too poor to have meals after three, so I counted as over 600 meals.¡± He Danggui said seriously, ¡°You killed 4,000 people and you haven¡¯t been avenged to death. Uncle, is it possible that¡­ you had killed those people on the battlefield? Are you a¡­ general?¡±

    On hearing this, Geng Bingxiu¡¯s eyelids under the mask twitched. He thought, ¡°She is right. I was the General of Western Expedition in the Northwest Army in the past dozen years, and those people were indeed killed on the battlefield! Just now she called me as ¡°knight¡±, so I imed myself as ¡°a knight¡± to let her believe that I¡¯m a knight in Jianghu. I never expect that she figured out too much things just from the number of people I killed. My! It must be terrible if she figures out my identity.¡±

    Geng Bingxiu wanted to sit up but couldn¡¯t do it. He had profound internal energy, so any ordinary drugs or poisons couldn¡¯t work on him. Even if he really took some powerful poisons, it was impossible for him to find out until the moment of the attack. There is no symptom before. How could this be?

    ¡°Wicked girl, what did you do to me?¡± Geng Bingxiu gritted his teeth.

    He Danggui scratched her nose and exined, ¡°Uncle, I was killed unfortunately once a month ago, and then rescued by an immortal in my dream. I was saved and blessed by the immortal. He told me that if anyone wants to hurt me, I just need to say ¡®obey order presto¡¯. Then the guy who¡¯s going to hurt me will be paralyzed like you. Of course, it is so mysterious. I was skeptical and thought that the immortal yed a joke with me. I didn¡¯t expect that it¡¯s very useful and wonderful. Can¡¯t you move indeed? Do you have any other feelings?¡±

    ¡°Obey order presto?¡± Geng Bingxiu believed it immediately. Although he was a killer, and was delighted to torture people before killing them, he believed that there were immortals and karmas in the world because of a childhood experience. Moreover, this girl was revived after taking the medicine dregs from the pill furnace of Taishang Laojun, so it was very likely that she was blessed by Taishang Laojun using the immortalws. He was shocked and closed his eyes to practice Miao Shi Arts. He chose to practice the heretic arts five years ago just because it had miraculous effects.

    Seeing Geng Bingxiu closing his eyes suddenly, He Danggui knew that he practiced to ¡°drive the immortalw¡±. She was worried that he would dispel the effects of the sleeping herb, but she couldn¡¯t show it on her face. Otherwise, he would know that he had been fooled. She thought, ¡°What should I do? Should I hit his head with a stone or poke his acupoints? But he is a blood-sucking devil with great power, I¡¯m scared that he will catch and kill me by sucking my blood.¡± As she hesitated, she smelled blood. It was stinking. And then the red soup like blood drenched Geng Bingxiu, which made him extremely angry and even sit up to curse.

    He Danggui looked around immediately for the source of the red soup, but only saw the grass nearby swaying.

    Geng Bingxiu looked up and shouted, ¡°Damn it! I had never been humiliated in this way in my life! Who are you? Who did it to me? Come out quickly! Otherwise, I will kill this little girl!¡±

    He Danggui saw the big devil suddenly sitting up, so she was scared and stepped back. Although Geng Bingxiu didn¡¯t recover, he was still a man with a very strong mind and power. With the force for sitting up, he jumped up from the ground, and slowly raised up his right palm to He Danggui. At the moment, his eyes turned grim and he thought, ¡°If she is protected by the immortalws, what she said about the secret exit in Luo¡¯s Mansion before must be a lie. She fooled me. She is useless and can make me fearful. I must kill her right now!¡±

    Feeling that Geng Bingxiu wanted to kill her, He Danggui wanted to say or do something. However, she felt that she was hugged tightly in the waist by a person with ambergris. When she looked up, she recognized that he was Ning Yuan at the first nce, though his face was covered with a cloth towel. At the same time, he had taken her back straightly far away.

    Ning Yuan put the fearless little girl behind him first, and suddenly took out a short sword from his sleeve to ¡°attack in order to defend¡±, and pointed at the man who raised up his right arm. Feeling his power and anger, Geng Bingxiu with a mask knew that he shouldn¡¯t reveal his weakness at this moment. Therefore, he tried to calm down and looked at the masker. A dialogue began between the two maskers who looked at each other.

    The stinky and bloody masked man held back for a moment, and asked cautiously, ¡°Who are you? What¡¯s the rtionship between you and the little girl?¡±

    The fragrant masker replied, ¡°You don¡¯t show your real face, so you needn¡¯t to know my name. Have you practiced Miao Shi Arts? Those dead crows were your masterpieces, right?¡±

    The masked man said proudly, ¡°Besides that, I also killed a guard of Luo¡¯s Mansion. Well! You only ask about the birds but not the human, which shows that you are also a ruthless man. Why do you want to protect the little girl? I have practiced Miao Shi Art to the tenth level. It¡¯s easy for me to kill the two of you. Back off, and let me suck the blood of this girl to vent my anger!¡±

    He Danggui emerged from Ning Yuan¡¯s back and asked, ¡°Hey, Uncle! Is Uncle Nie Chun still alive? Where is he now? Please let me know!¡±

    The masked man sneered, ¡°That day, the guy ran away. Wait¡­ How do you know that I hurt Nie Chun?¡±

    He Danggui was relieved after hearing his words. It was lucky that Nie Chun was only injured. Ning Yuan was jealous with her happy expression, so he asked in a cold voice, ¡°What¡¯s the rtionship between you and that Nie Chun? Do you like him?¡±

    He Danggui rolled her eyes and thought, ¡°I don¡¯t like Nie Chun. I only suspect that Nie Chun likes my mother. Besides, he is not a bad guy, so I should care about him.¡± She hid behind Ning Yuan again, and intended to avoid the troubles first. She thought that she could be adaptable. When she could control her internal force and became a senior, she could also learn from them to have a dialogue before the battle. Seeing the two staring at her silently, He Danggui waved her hand and said, ¡°Go on. I won¡¯t disturb you anymore.¡±

    The masked man then said, ¡°Hey, you look like a 15-year-old guy and you must be suitable to practice martial arts. But even if you start to practice after your birth, the people who were injured by you were not more than those I have ever killed¡­¡± He Danggui murmured behind Ning Yuan, ¡°I heard that he killed 4,000 people. He is so terrible.¡± The masked man paused and said, ¡°I don¡¯t want to kill you. Cherish your life, and stay away from this girl. Let me turn her into a zombie!¡±

    The masker said coldly, ¡°You can never hurt her. She is mine!¡±

    The masked man frowned, ¡°Yours?¡± He thought, ¡°Is he also a member of Luo¡¯s Family? Or did he also want to kill the little girl?¡±

    The masker nodded proudly, ¡°She is my lover.¡± He Danggui immediately raised her head and imed, ¡°Nonsense.¡± Then she retracted.

    After a pause, the masked man said, ¡°Go away or not?¡±

    The masker said firmly, ¡°No.¡±

    The masked man snorted, ¡°I know you are young and ignorant, so I will let you go. But I won¡¯t be lenient next time.¡± Then he waved the sleeves with blood and strode away.

    He Danggui poked Ning Yuan¡¯s back anxiously and said, ¡°Beat him! Hurry up! I guess he is weak now.¡±

    Ning Yuan had no reaction. But Geng Bingxiu was very panic because he was not only injured seriously, but also was tricked with the ¡°obey order presto¡± by the little girl. At this moment, he had run out of his energy to walk. How could he fight with the mysterious youth?

    Therefore, Geng Bingxiu bit the tip of his tongue immediately, and used his essential energy to escape quickly. He knew this time he shortened his life for three years, but there was no other way to save his life. Damn it! In the trip to Yangzhou, he was not only hurt seriously, but also became the enemy with the Master of Longhu Sect, Nie Chun. It was terrible that he had to fight with all members of Longhu Sect in the future. A youth with a bronzed mask and a crafty little girl defeated him in Yangzhou City. Damn!

    Seeing the masked man go away, He Danggui tapped Ning Yuan¡¯s shoulder angrily, and med, ¡°Why do you let him go? You said you are very powerful. Why not hit him and cut his head with your sword right now.¡±

    However, Ning Yuan neither looked back nor answered her. He stood still for a moment until the masked man disappeared in the darkness. Then he seemed to be so weak that he fell forward. He Danggui helped him and asked anxiously, ¡°Are you OK? Have you been injured?¡±

    Before Ning Yuan answered, a voice came from the sky not far away, ¡°Sister He, where are you? Sister He, answer me now.¡±

    It was Duan Xiaolou!

    He Danggui just wanted to raise her head and shouted, ¡°Brother Duan, I¡¯m here.¡± Ning Yuan covered her mouth suddenly and pushed her into the grass. She was about to fall backwards in an instant. It felt like opening a pair of wings against the wind. She closed her eyes subconsciously, but didn¡¯t feel the pain of falling to the ground. She felt a palm supporting her back, and the warmth permeated through the cloth. At the next moment, she felt arge piece of grass with the night dew sticking her back. Compared with the warm palm, the grass was so cold.

    The most unbearable thing was that her chest was hit by a huge power suddenly, which nearly knocked away all the air in her chest, and blocked her breath, ¡°Um¡­ um¡­¡± Her mouth and nose were covered tightly, so she couldn¡¯t cry out. She opened her eyes in a shock, seeing the deep eyes of Ning Yuan. Maybe the stars in the sky were so bright that his ck pupils were changed into light brown. Wow¡­ it was really a pretty sky.

    ¡°Well.¡± She opened her eyes widely and suddenly felt that he was pressing on her.

    She raised her hands and thumped his back, and then his mask was covered with blood. But he didn¡¯t take away his hand on her nose and mouth, and didn¡¯t move his chest from hers. The injured guy just saved her life, so she had no choice but to stop. If she thumped him to death identally, then she would be ungrateful.

    ¡°Ah¡­ Sister He, where are you?¡± Duan Xiaolou¡¯s hoarse voice crossed over the sky, and then drifted away, ¡°Sister He, please answer me¡­¡±

 Chapter 133 - All men were so heavy

    <h4>Chapter 133 All men were so heavy</h4>

    In He Danggui¡¯s opinion, it had been a very long time before Ning Yuan finally released the hand covering her mouth. But he didn¡¯t get up. Instead, he propped himself up on one elbow against the grass and hung over her in an ambiguous pose. His emotional eyes were tightly locked on her.

    He Danggui felt her ears burning with the look that she was extremely familiar with. She gave him a push and said, ¡°Move away! You¡¯re too heavy!¡± Her voice trembled unconsciously. She wondered why she was behaving like that.

    Ning Yuan took off his veil and threw it aside, exposing his pale thin lips and a blood trace next to them. But as his face was disguised, he still looked healthy with white and powdery cheeks. Ning Yuan arched his back a little and put his head on her ear again. As he opened his mouth, he sprayed a hot breath on her ear which was already burning hot. Then he whispered in her ear, ¡°Of course, I¡¯m heavy because I¡¯m a man¡­ You will have a deep understanding of this in the future.¡±

    Hearing this, He Danggui gave him a shove on the chest and seeded in pushing some blood out of his mouth.

    Ning Yuan red at her angrily, ¡°You¡¯re an ungrateful woman! I just saved your life, and now you¡¯re murdering your husband. Let me teach you a lesson!¡± As he spoke, his bloody lips moved toward her.

    He Danggui put her hand over her mouth, and looked at the back of Ning Yuan. Then she said surprisingly, ¡°Xiaoyou, why are you here?¡±

    Ning Yuan also heard the breath of someone behind him. With a low murmur of discontent, he raised himself on his palm and pulled her up from the ground. Then he turned around and saw aely teenager of about 14 years old who was one head lower than him and wore like a manservant. The teenager stared at He Danggui in a strange way. Ning Yuan nced down and asked, ¡°Who is he?¡±

    The manservant also looked at He Danggui with shining eyes, ¡°Miss, do you know who I am? Tell me now!¡± From his ent, it seemed that he was from Shandong Prefecture.

    He Danggui chuckled, then stepped forward and patted the manservant¡¯s cheeks with her hands. (The smoke of anger came out of Ning Yuan¡¯s head.) She patted a de of grass off the manservant¡¯s face and smiled, ¡°I guess it was you hiding in the grass and spilling blood on that masked man. Good job! Xiaoyou!¡±

    ¡°Xiaoyou? My name is Xiaoyou!¡± The manservant touched his head and smiled, ¡°What¡¯s your name, Miss?¡±

    He Danggui smiled at the best and only friend in Luo¡¯s Mansion in her previous life. Her eyes bent like two little crescents and told him patiently, ¡°You are from Zou County, Shandong Prefecture. Later you fled from famine to Yangzhou City. One day, you were injured by a carriage and was taken to Luo¡¯s Mansion for treatment. But you hit your head and lost all memory, so you can¡¯t remember your name and who you are. ¡®Xiaoyou¡¯ is the name I gave you, and yourst name followed mine, which is ¡®He¡¯. Therefore, your full name is ¡®He Dangyou¡¯. My name is He Danggui. I style myself Qingyi, so you can call me Yi or Sister Qingyi. From now on, you are my friend and younger brother. Let¡¯s go! Follow me back to Tao Yao Yard.¡±

    Thisely teenager who named ¡°He Dangyou¡± by He Danggui was the beggar encountered by First Master Luo Baiqian at the gate of East Yard of Luo¡¯s Mansion. At that time, Luo Baiqian was on his way back from Qing Ya Yard in the West Yard after he enjoyed himself with Qi Sanniang, a concubine of his uncle. Then he ordered his manservant Xiong Huang to bring the beggar into the mansion and arranged him in a servant¡¯s room in the northern yard. In less than half a day, the little bagger was sober. He wasn¡¯t hurt badly, so he could get up from the bed after eating thepound soup of astragalus and ck date.

    While Xiong Huang thought the problem had been trivialized, the little beggar touched his head and smiled foolishly, ¡°Who¡­ who am I?¡±

    After a short conversation, Xiong Huang found that although the little beggar¡¯s smile was a bit silly, his brain worked normally. He just lost his memory. ording to his northern ent, Xiong Huang thought he was a beggar from a northern area. When he saw that the little beggar became like this after being hit by his carriage, Xiong Huang couldn¡¯t help feeling gloomy. Should he throw the beggar back to the street or let him stay in the mansion? Xiong Huang wanted to ask for Luo Baiqian¡¯s opinion, but he ran across Luo Baiqian¡¯s waking-up temper and was rebuked by him. He simply imitated his master and pretended not to see the little beggar. Anyway, the beggar was still alive. And he should me himself for standing outside the gate. Any person like him couldn¡¯t put his dirty feet on the preciousnd of Luo¡¯s Mansion!

    Although Xiong Huang ¡°didn¡¯t see¡± the little beggar, the beggar did not disappear in the world. Suddenly, there was a strange boy of 15 years old in the servants¡¯ room. As people passed by, they could not help turning their heads and looking at the ck boy. After all, servants in Luo¡¯s Mansion were mostly fat and white. A ck and thin boy was indeed more eye-catching.

    At first few days after he lived in Luo¡¯s Mansion, he was injured, so he justy in his bunk, smiling at the people who came and went. When his wound was almost healed, he went to exercise and twisted his neck and waist. When others chopped for firewood, he would chop with another axe; when others carried water, he would help carry water with another bucket; and when it was the time to eat, those who had been helped by him would give him two steamed buns to eat. By the time of distributing the fall uniform, there was one extra uniform which didn¡¯t fit others. Finally, it was given to him.

    After putting on a blue servant uniform, the youth worked harder, and the food for him was better. But he was not on the roster, and Administrator Bao who was in charge of personnel had not found his existence. Therefore, he was like a temp without a payroll, also without regr jobs.

    Every day he wandered casually inside the mansion and from time to time hummed a song from his hometown with satisfaction. He was very diligent and could always find work to do. As soon as he saw others working, he followed them up and did it with them. When he had finished, he wiped his sweat and smiled, and left without leaving a name (He didn¡¯t know who he was). Over time, he won the good feeling of many people in the mansion. He was living a much morefortable life than he had ever lived before. After only half a month, he began to ¡°do as the Romans do¡±, bing fat and white, and he also grew taller. He looked tall and handsome, and would grin when someone stared at him.

    One day, he woke up early. He jumped out of the bunk which could contain 10 people but now 11 people were sleeping on, and then ran out to find work. It was still dark. He walked in the mansion for a long time but didn¡¯t see anyone. Then he turned around and came to a pavilion called ¡°Yu Ya Hall¡±. He saw a man and a woman kissing and crossing their legs in the pavilion. The woman threw her clothes on the floor despite the cold weather and shook off the jewels on her head. Therefore, he wanted to go closer and ask if they needed any help. Before he had put his idea into action, a man-looking monster flew down from the sky.

    At that time, the man in the pavilion was caught by that monster to suck his blood, while the woman was stunned on the spot. The monster¡¯s eyes were purple. After sucking the man¡¯s blood, he sucked a passing pig. Then he flew after two men and a woman. This frightened Xiaoyou so much that hey in the grass feebly. After the monster flew away, he immediately ran back to the bunk in the servants¡¯ room and asked the oldest Uncle Zhou about how to conquer the monster. Uncle Zhou was in a good dream, and told him, ¡°You can douse the monster with the blood of a dog mixed with urine, and then the monster will disappear...¡±

    Today, the monster appeared again. Its purple eyes and clothes remained the same, even though it had a mask on its face. Therefore, Xiaoyou immediately ran to the kitchen¡¯s back alley to find a barrel of pig blood, and added some ingredients ording to the instructions of Uncle Zhou, then carrying the barrel to Xin Rong Hall to kill that monster. He saw that the masked monster and a girl were running into the garden arm in arm like a couple, so he followed them with his barrel.

    He had seen that girl once today, and knew that she was one of the Misses of Luo¡¯s Family. When he passed the greenhouse this afternoon, he saw everyone carrying two or three pots of chrysanthemums. Therefore, he ran into the greenhouse, carried six pots of chrysanthemums and followed them. When he came to a beautiful yard, he saw a girl standing far away in the middle of the yard. She was smiling and like a peach flower fairy in the peach petals all over the sky. For a moment he was shocked. He had dropped five of the six pots of flowers. Fortunately, neither the fairydy nor the mammy beside her had noticed the scene or rebuked him. Then a small maid with a round face came to pick up all the broken chrysanthemums on the ground and said that she wanted to make some chrysanthemum tea. He saw that the little maid looked familiar, much like one of the three who had been chased by the monster that day.

    Later, in order to save the fairy girl, he poured the bucket of water on the monster. Probably the pig blood was not as useful as dog blood. That monster didn¡¯t ¡°disappear¡± but ran away atst. Later on, he saw a boy pin the fairy girl down in the grass and didn¡¯t know what to do. Therefore, he wanted toe near and ask the two people if there was anything that he could do for them. But before he could put his thought into action, the fairydy recognized him immediately and called him ¡°Xiaoyou¡±. Then she let him call her ¡°Sister Qingyi¡±, imed that he was her ¡°friend and younger brother¡±, and even nned to take him back to her yard!

    ¡°Sister Qingyi?¡± He asked confusedly, ¡°No one here knows my story. Where did you get it, sister?¡± Somehow, the word ¡°sister¡± came out as he opened his mouth. But he didn¡¯t feel embarrassed to call this fairy girl who was one head lower than him.

    He Danggui stood on tiptoe and patted his head, saying softly, ¡°Come. I¡¯ll exin these things to youter. In a word, you will only listen to me in the future, and I¡¯m your only family in the world. Just tell me what you want, and I¡¯ll bring it to you. But, if someone bullies you, you just tell me that and I¡¯ll make them pay. Xiaoyou, remember this.¡± It seemed that she wanted to make up for what she had owed to him in the previous life.

    The fairy girl spoke so close that the fragrance from her hair caught the mind of Xiaoyou. The youth nodded dully, ¡°Yes, I will. Sister is my only family, and from now on I only listen to you.¡±

    She nodded with satisfaction. As she nned to tell him a few words about ¡°Luo¡¯s Mansion is a dangerous ce¡± and ¡°several of most typical dangerous people¡±, she felt that her waist was held suddenly and then her body fell into the arms of Ning Yuan again. After she struggled twice to get out of his arms but failed, she was angry, ¡°Childe Ning, we¡¯re not acquaintances. Please speak normally when you want to speak. On the one hand, my ¡®brother¡¯ is watching. Don¡¯t do such things in front of a child. On the other hand, have you forgotten the oath you took that day?¡±

    Ning Yuan was full of anger and thought, ¡°I am a lord! I saved her life twice, but she always shows an attitude of indifference. On the contrary, she is quite enthusiastic towards a silly manservant. She not only made him a brother in a few seconds, but also touched his face and head so gently! Even if he was her biological brother, she should follow the manners, not to mention that the silly brother who looks like a manservant is obviously about 6 years older than her! Doesn¡¯t she know what ¡®forbidden physical contact between men and women¡¯ is, or is it just ¡®forbidden¡¯ for me? What¡¯s more, no matter how good the rtionship between master and servant is, I have never heard any master and servant would be brothers and sisters. Master is master, and servant is always the servant. If you mess up, you¡¯re breaking the rules of etiquette. Hum, when I get you into my mansion, I will teach you some manners!¡±

    He Danggui was distracted by the smell of ambergris in his arms, and more agitated by the memory of the man who betrayed her in her previous life since the ambergris was his favorite. Therefore, she let out a low roar and used the move of ¡°open the door and see the mountain¡± of Huashan Sect to push Ning yuan away. She didn¡¯t know how to use her internal force. But because at this moment, she was very angry, she should use fifty or sixty percent of her internal force and pushed Ning Yuan who was defenseless so badly, making him move backward a dozen steps and fall unsteadily on thewn.

    ¡°You know kung fu? You should hit me!¡± Afterint, Ning Yuan gave her an indignant look, and then closed his tired eyes slowly.

 Chapter 134 - Brother Duan and Sister He

    <h4>Chapter 134 Brother Duan and Sister He</h4>

    He Danggui did not expect that the boy with excellent kung fu could be knocked down by her in just one palm. She just thought he pretended to be injured and threw himself into her arms. Now seeing that he was seriously injured, she took off the silver needles from the sleeve and gave an acupuncture treatment to him. After pricking him about five times, He Danggui pped Ning Yuan¡¯s face angrily and said, ¡°Open your eyes! Don¡¯t pretend to be dead. You were okay when you were in the banquet. How could you be hurt like this after a few moments? It¡¯s like the serious injury that you sustained when I first saw you. What happened to you?¡±

    Just before falling on the conscienceless girl, Ning Yuan felt that his Yintang acupoint and Yuyao acupoint were somewhat abnormal. He understood that he became enamored inadvertently, so his ¡°Mo Tong Skill¡± failed again. And this was the third time.

    In fact, Mo Tong Skill was a magic skill which was urged by drugs at Yintang and Yuyao acupoints. It was created by Mr. Bai. It was very useful for Ning Yuan because his brown eyes naturally followed with his mother¡¯s. It was inconvenient for him to work in Jianghu and the Imperial Court. Since he learned this skill with Mr. Bai four years ago, he had devoted himself to practicing it. In those years, he never broke this skill, and also didn¡¯t worry about the problem that the color of his eyes was different from that of ordinary people. But after he met this girl, it seemed that he met the opponent in his life. He thought, ¡°I always win in other ces, but always lose in her. Damn! Was I owe her in the previous life?¡±

    The girl said that she was a member of Qiyanggong Sect and knew many details of Zhu Yuanzhang¡¯s life, which made him extremely careful to hide his secrets. Although he had sworn that he would get her, he couldn¡¯t tell her his true identity and the secret that he was away from his fief privately. He couldn¡¯t show her his brown eyes, at least when he was too weak to protect himself.

    Therefore, after thinking, Ning Yuan closed his eyes tightly and said unhappily, ¡°I¡¯m just a little sleepy. Don¡¯t worry. Anyway, you have to cure me. If you don¡¯t cure me, I¡¯ll stay here forever.¡±

    Hearing this, He Danggui said angrily, ¡°Why!¡± How could he look like a rascal?

    ¡°Why?¡± Ning Yuan sneered, ¡°Because I was hurt by ¡®Your Bother Duan¡¯. You, his ¡®Sister He¡¯, are responsible for curing me.¡±

    ¡°Duan Xiaolou?¡± He Danggui said in astonishment, ¡°Why should you fight with him? Aren¡¯t you acting as Lu Jiangbei¡¯s younger brother now?¡± Anyway, Xiaoyou couldn¡¯t understand anything. She simply said the secret in front of Xiaoyou.

    Ning Yuan was unhappy, but he didn¡¯t open his eyes. He said, ¡°Who is acting as Lu Jiangbei¡¯s younger brother? Don¡¯t you know that I have a bad rtionship with Lu Jiangbei?¡± Then he said jealously, ¡°Although I was hurt by him, you Brother Duan was also hurt by me. You must be very distressed!¡±

    She immediately pricked him with the silver needle in her slender fingers, which made him gasp. He Danggui pretended to be angry and said, ¡°What nonsense are you talking about? I met Childe Duan for the first time today. Tell me why did you hit him? Is he seriously injured?¡± Those people with kung fu caused troubles easily. If they weren¡¯t happy, they would fight with each other. Atst, they were all hurt. It was so nice to be like Luo Baiqiong and He Danggui. Obviously, they both hated each other, but still got along with civility and etiquette. Although they stabbed each other in the back, they were still good sisters on the bright side.

    ¡°Are you serious?¡± Ning Yuan squinted and asked, ¡°Are you really not familiar with Duan Xiaolou? Then why did he call you Sister He so frequently?¡±

    He Danggui didn¡¯t think that the fight between Ning Yuan and Duan Xiaolou had something to do with her. However, since they both had some rtionship with her, in order to stop their fight, she still lied, ¡°You didn¡¯t hear clearly in the pce. Childe Duan is a very kind person. He is friendly with all Misses, not just with me. He also called others Sister Guan or Sister Luo. Now he flew around to look for me. It must be my Grandma¡¯s request, so it¡¯s nothing surprising.¡± And it was not a lie. Duan Xiaolou didn¡¯t recognize her indeed.

    Ning Yuan couldn¡¯t help opening his eyes, looked at her and said, ¡°Are you deceiving me? I heard Childe Duan utter dreary cries and screams that sounded very sorrowful¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because there was something wrong with your ears. Why didn¡¯t I hear them?¡± He Danggui raised her hand and pricked a lot of silver needles into his chest until he looked like a hedgehog. As she raised her eyes, He Danggui saw Ning Yuan¡¯s eyes unintentionally. She was shocked and said in a low voice, ¡°How could your eyes be like that?¡±

    Ning Yuan was frightened by her voice, and quickly closed his eyes again. It was strange that he had recalled Mo Tong Skill before he opened his eyes. How could she still scream when she looked at them? Could it be that he loved her so deep that he couldn¡¯t use Mo Tong Skill calmly?

    ¡°Childe Ning, I saw blue streaks in the white of your eyes and dtion of the pupils. It¡¯s obviously that you once had a cold in winter, which led to cold limbs and unlimatization.¡± He Danggui looked at his eyes and face, diagnosing, ¡°No wonder your internal injury couldn¡¯t be cured all the time. If you trust me, you can try my prescription: Xiong Huang of 0.6 qian, cinnabar of 0.5 qian, musk of 0.2 qian, borneol of 0.2 qian, and sodium sulfate of 0.1 qian. You should crush these medicinal materials and store them in the porcin bottles. When you take them, dip them withcquer chopsticks, and then take them with lukewarm water. After half a month, the disease could be eliminated.¡±

    When Ning Yuan heard this, he was relieved. He thought that as the girl just diagnosed a disease, why did she scream and make such a fuss? He was shocked by her.

    Hearing no response, He Danggui thought that he didn¡¯t pay attention to this disease, so she emphasized once again, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t think that since you have Zhenqi for protecting your body, you will not be invaded by all diseases. If you don¡¯t treat this disease in time, it will be more and more serious with your internal injury, and finally its consequences will be unimaginable... Do you remember the prescription I just told you?¡±

    Ning Yuan nodded and promised, ¡°I¡¯ll take this medicine after I go back... and you should take care of yourself in Lou¡¯s Family and eat more.¡±

    These rare gentle words from his mouth were indeed a gift, but the listener had no response and was still focusing on the silver needles on his chest. At this time, Ning Yuan looked down at his chest in surprise. He just didn¡¯t notice for a while. How could she prick about 50 needles at the ce of his heart! When he wanted to me her for murdering her husband again, Ning Yuan suddenly felt that the most chill from Duan Xiaolou¡¯s palm energy had dissipated unconsciously, and the ce hurt by the palm energy was also warm andfortable.

    He Danggui thought for a while, nced at the youth standing next to her and ordered, ¡°Xiaoyou, go to the kitchen to find some wine. Spirits are preferable. Bring a half bottle to me when you find it.¡± The spirits could cooperate with her Jin Zhen Da Xue to improve the healing effect to the best. When she had a fever in Shui Shang Temple, she also used this kind of enhanced acupuncture method to instantly reduce the fever and calm the nerves. In fact, this skill shouldn¡¯t be exposed in front of such an outsider as Ning Yuan. But as he saved her twice, the instinct of a doctor made her unable to ignore such a patient with injures.

    When the young man got the order and ran away, Ning Yuan looked at He Danggui curiously and said, ¡°Girl, where did you learn these excellent medical skills and acupuncture method?¡± Seeing her droop eyelids and ignore his questions, Ning Yuan added, ¡°Your tea art is the same as ¡®the tea art of Song¡¯ created by Song You. But I never heard he had a female disciple, so where did you learn the skill for making the Cloud tea?¡±

    When Ning Yuan said thest words, He Danggui suddenly stopped and looked at him strangely, repeating, ¡°The skill for making the Cloud tea? Childe Ning, do you also know this skill?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Ning Yuan said. He did not know why she showed that look, and guessed that she might admire the best tea artist Song You, who was known as ¡°Senior Lu Yu¡±. Therefore, he exined to her in detail, ¡°The skill for making the Cloud tea was newly created by Song You in the past two years as a method for brewing the green tea ording to a poem of Li Shangyin. It includes four cups of tea. This skill is most suitable for making the Cloud tea and Biluochun tea. By the way, I was very surprised on the roof of Xin Rong Hall when seeing you make the Cloud tea. Song You only showed this skill to me and Feng Yang, so where did you learn it?¡±

    The more He Danggui listened, the more ufortable she felt. Her hands and lips were shaking slightly, and her bright and sharp eyes were staring at Ning Yuan, which made him ufortable. Then He Danggui asked, ¡°Do you meet Song You... frequently?¡±

    Ning Yuan didn¡¯t know why she suddenly showed this strange look, so he replied hesitantly, ¡°Of course, he lives in my house... Do you admire him? I could help you to meet him. By the way, the poem for this skill also contains your name ¡®He Danggui¡¯. No wonder you are so interested in it.¡± Ning Yuan made an excuse for her strange action, but he didn¡¯t know that He Danggui wasn¡¯t just interested in Song You.

    He Danggui looked up at the stars and recalled the life of Song You, the ¡°Senior Lu Yu¡±. In his early years, he was also a person with kung fu in Jianghu. Later, his kneecaps were cut off when he was fighting with others. Since then he couldn¡¯t walk anymore, so he began to concentrate on studying tea art at home and became a master of tea art. But Song You got into a lot of troubles when he was in Jianghu. His enemies came to him frequently, so he couldn¡¯t spend the rest of life safely. In the end, he left a letter and became a monk. But in fact, before he had a tonsure, he was picked up and hidden by the 17th Prince Zhu Quan.

    Later, Zhu Quan was appointed as Lord Ning. When he went to Daning Prefecture, he took Song You with him and ced him in Jiu Lan Yard. Whenever Zhu Quan was free, he would go to have tea and y Go with Song You. He Danggui¡¯s tea art also learned from Song You after she married into Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion. And in her memory, Song You had never been out of Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion until he died in the 3rd year of Jianwen Period. He also didn¡¯t make tea for others.

    ¡°That¡¯s all right. I¡¯ve been admiring Song You for a long time,¡± He Danggui said, and stopped looking at the sky. She stared at Ning Yuan and continued, ¡°I often think it is a great pity that he became a monk and hid in the forest. It turned out that he moved into your home. Ho-ho¡­ Childe Ning... when did he move into your home?¡±

    Ning Yuan saw her start to smile again. Although the expression in her eyes was a little strange, her looked like very lively. Therefore, he also smiled and said, ¡°Song You has been my follower six months ago. It¡¯s easy for you to see him as long as you be my concubine and go back with me. You can discuss tea art with him every day... Girl, although I can¡¯t tell you my real identity now, I promise you that it won¡¯t bring disgrace to you if you are my concubine. On the contrary, it¡¯s your best choice. I understand that you are not happy in Luo¡¯s Mansion, and the people here are not kind to you. It¡¯s better to stay with me...¡±

    He Danggui suddenly felt extremely angry and her limbs were cold, while her ears were ¡°buzzing¡± by the surging airflow. Gradually, she couldn¡¯t hear anything, and could only see that Ning Yuan kept talking. Although she didn¡¯t want to think about Zhu Quan, she couldn¡¯t forget the memories in her previous life easily. If she was not mistaken, Zhu Quan was appointed as Lord Ning by the Emperor half a year ago. And he was sent to Daning Prefecture, the Northwest military town. Then, he built Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion here, and Song You also moved there half a year ago.

    A gust of wind made her shiver. She clearly knew the identity of ¡°Ning Yuan¡±, the ¡°Childe Ning¡±. It was terrible! He was so close to her again, and he met her again. He wanted her to be his concubine again!

 Chapter 135 - The farthest, the coldest and the most injured

    <h4>Chapter 135 The farthest, the coldest and the most injured</h4>

    ¡°Sister Qingyi,¡± Xiaoyou said in a merry mood behind her, ¡°I found a pot full of liquor you want.¡±

    He Danggui pulled out all the silver needles and took back the needle sleeve with her trembling hands. She bitted the posterior alver socket and spat out a word from her teeth, ¡°I don¡¯t need it anymore. Take it away.¡± These silver needles were taken back in a hurry, and they were not ced in order. Therefore, several protruding needle tips were all stabbed on her fingers, and a lot of bright drops of blood oozed out, which blotted on the ck velvet needle sleeve. The nerves of the fingertips were linked with the heart. However, she didn¡¯t feel pain but shivered with cold.

    ¡°Sister, are you all right?¡± Xiaoyou also felt something was not in harmony.

    Ning Yuan lying on the ground was even more amazed. They had a pleasant chat just now. Did he say something wrong? Why did she get angry in a sh? However, in their previous conversation, he had said more and more excessive words. She didn¡¯t change her face, nor was she angry at being offended at all. She only dealt with him in a smart way, which was one of the reasons why he became more and more interested in her... What happened? Didn¡¯t she want to meet Song You? He just followed her thinking. Why did she suddenly be like this?

    ¡°Girl?¡± Ning Yuan asked tentatively in a low voice. ¡°Are you angry? Are you angry with me?¡±

    He Danggui was trembling at moment, and she couldn¡¯t say aplete sentence at all. She didn¡¯t want to look at that man any more. She just gathered her needles silently and pulled Xiaoyou standing beside her. Then she left the dark garden as fast as she could. She just wanted to stay as far away as possible.

    Although Ning Yuan was badly injured, he was unlikely to lie on the ground and couldn¡¯t stand up. He could have chased her to make it clear, but he couldn¡¯t guess the reason of the contrast in her mind, so he didn¡¯t stand up. He looked at the back of the thin figure moving away and thought about their conversation again and again. When did she start to be offish with him?

    Before that, she was kind enough to feel his pulse and asked him to take some remedial medicine for mdjustment. Later, he was curious about her medical skill and tea ceremony. But the expression in her eyes seemed to be a little strange, especially when she heard that Song You lived in his home. Did she have a feud with Song You?

    Maybe it was because of his delusion. In his opinion, the expression of her was not so much anger as hate. He wanted to know what kind of person and what kind of thing could make her hate that the whole body was trembled unconsciously. He had seen all people of Luo¡¯s Family. Some people beat her and scolded her openly, some pushed her down a rockery, some bullied her and humiliated her, and some used a poisonous powder on her. In the face of such a group of people, he had never seen her hate like this. In fact, her expression at that time was extremely offish to others... He couldn¡¯t understand it.

    He Danggui dragged Xiaoyou to Tao Yao Yard. As she walked with her head down, sheughed ironically. She thought she was superior in stratagem since she regenerated. But she didn¡¯t find any clue after many days with the man who with ¡°the beast within.¡± She was really the stupidest fool in the world!

    Who would wear ambergris sachets every day? Who would even put a piece of ambergris beside the pillow? Who would have such an exquisite disguise skill? And who would be able to ask Bai Yangbai to make the skin mask for fake Feng Yang? Among the princes and grandsons of the Emperor, who would like to live with a mask and a fake voice all day long? Only him! Only Zhu Quan, who was devoted to be the Emperor!

    It was so terrible. She didn¡¯t expect that Zhu Quan was excellent in kung fu. Now, he was only 15 years old, but his arts of lightness could match Gao Jue. He could fight with Duan Xiaolou with an internal injury and stabbed Duan Xiaolou¡¯s hand. It could be imagined how outstanding Zhu Quan¡¯s kung fu were after 5, 10 and 15 years!

    But in her previous life, she followed him for 14 years. She did all kinds of secret affairs and plotted all kinds of stratagems for him, so that he couldpete with Emperor Hui and Lord Yan and finally retreat to be a leisure Lord. When she was 22 years old, she had a miscarriage to save his life. She lost a pair of 4-month-old pigeon pair in her womb. At the age of 28, she gave birth to his daughter Zhu Yutian. She always thought that she was the most trusted and loved one of Zhu Quan. However, she did not know that he had such a strong kung fu until the day she died!

    Although Zhu Quan in the previous life often went to the Military Drill Ground and Wuying Tower, and he also went to the battlefield to kill the enemies, fought in the arena and lived in Jianghu, his kung fu in front of all people, including her, were not as good as the 30 percent capability of the 15-year-old ¡°Ning Yuan¡±, and he often took a group of guards to protect his safety when he went in and out. Now it seemed that all these were his strategies of keeping his low profile!

    He Danggui shivered again and couldn¡¯t help holding Xiaoyou¡¯s arms to keep warm.

    If Zhu Quan was excellent in kung Fu like this, at the age of 22, she would not have to block the assassin¡¯s sword for him when she was heavy with children! In order to keep a low profile and didn¡¯t want people to know his kung fu, he did not prevent her froming to block the sword, but watched the de went into her abdomen! She recalled that her two children with human shape slipped out of her body and were finally put into a pair of small fragrant wooden coffins. She recalled Zhu Quan¡¯s eyes flickered with a little guilty expression at that time. He Danggui was so angry that she trembled all over. She wanted to shout loudly for her two unborn children.

    Xiaoyou patted her shoulder nervously and asked, ¡°Sister, are you sick? I¡¯ll take you to Medicine Room to buy some medicine. I¡¯m quite familiar with there.¡±

    He Danggui suddenly burst into tears. She looked up at this silly young man. In the previous life, he died because of her and was insulted after his death. The culprits were Zhu Quan¡­ and selfish her... If she hadn¡¯t been obsessed with Zhu Quan and dead set on following him at that time, she would not have sacrificed Xiaoyou to help Zhu Quan, not have discarded Xiaoyou¡¯s corpse to help Zhu Quan keep secrets, and not have allowed the viin whipped Xiaoyou¡¯s corpse for a few days.

    How pathetic three of her children were! How pathetic Xiaoyou was! How pathetic she was!

    He Danggui could no longer bear the great grief in her heart. She hugged Xiaoyou and started to cry. Her love began with hope and ended with despair. After giving up love, there was no longer any expectation she had for that person.

    It was the furthest distance, the coldest autumn night, and the most painful memory. Zhu Quan betrayed her too much! She lost too much for Zhu Quan! Even if she coulde back again, how could she face the three bloody children who often appeared in her dream? How could she face the silly brother who was owed a lot by herself? And how could she heal her broken heart?

    Zhu Quan owed her all of these, and she would let him return all of these. She wanted him to pay for his blood and life!

    He Danggui suddenly stopped crying. She raised her head and stared at Xiaoyou¡¯s wet chest. Her eyes were misty with tears. Zhu Quan was seriously injured and unprepared. Now was the best time to kill him. If she missed this time, she would never get revenge!

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù

    All over the sky flied snow. Snowkes spread like salt in the air. Between the earth and the sky, it was silvery white. A goshawk suddenly shook off the floating snow on its body, flying to the sky and leaving only a vague shadow in a sh.

    Here was Changbai Mount, where the snow and the silence remained all the year round. However, no one could imagine that in this snowy world, there were actually 5 petite girls climbing on crutches. They were stop-and-go with difficulty. If there were other people, they would feel nervous for these girls.

    Four girls had their hair in buns with maids¡¯ style, while the girl walking in the front had a very strange hair style. Her long hair was very simple and tied into a long ponytail at the back of her head. She walked with the ponytail shaking. It often touched the girl walked behind her with a bun. The girl with the ponytail looked up at the sky, pped her hands and said to the four maids in the back, ¡°Hurry up. Don¡¯t dawdle. Come on! Everyone all run, and when we get to the mountain, I¡¯ll treat you to a dish of stewed pork feet in brown sauce!¡±

    ¡°Miss, you are a liar,¡± said Jinjia. She curled her lips and said, ¡°The stewed pork feet in brown sauce can only be found in the restaurant of Donggua Town under the mountain. There is not any dish of stewed pork feet in brown sauce on the top of the mountain!¡±

    Yinyi said wearily, ¡°Miss, don¡¯t say run. We can¡¯t even walk now. Please let us have a rest, otherwise, we will die!¡±

    Manbing quickly waved her hands and said, ¡°Yinyi, don¡¯t talk nonsense. It¡¯s not a ce to rest. Here is cold and wet. There are tigers, leopards, jackals, poisonous insects and poisonous snakes all over the mountain!¡±

    Neiding eximed suddenly, ¡°Oh, there have poisonous snakes!¡± She pointed the ce not far away.

    The other 4 people all looked around and saw a gorgeous snake stood there. It opened its mouth and spitted out the tongue as if it wereughing for the delicious food that was deliver to its home. To be sure, it did have the capital to challenge these girls. It had not only the sharp fangs in its mouth, but also had half a person¡¯s height when it stood up. Besides, the thickest part of the middle part of the snake¡¯s body was superior to the human arm.

    ¡°Don¡¯t move!¡± Miss with the ponytail said calmly, ¡°When you see a snake, you can¡¯t move around, because moving around will only let the snake senses the position of its prey. In fact, the snake¡¯s eyesight is not good, and it is more sensitive to moving targets, like frogs!¡± As a result, 4 maids were immobile as if they were suddenly poked the acupoint.

    Yinyi worried about Miss and said, ¡°Miss, when you speak, will it find you?¡± As soon as the voice done, the snake approached them a few zhang, swinging its t head up and down and spitting out a long and thin tongue.

    ¡°Are you stupid?¡± Miss with ponytail said angrily, ¡°I told you not to move. You can¡¯t move your lips when you talk ¨C you see, just like me.¡± 4 maids squinted to see her. As expected, when the Miss was talking, it was just that the parts in her mouth were moving, making as clear a voice as possible through various twists and turns of her tongue. While her lips were only slightly moving. So, the 4 maids suddenly made a voice of ¡°Oh!¡±

    When Miss with the ponytail was satisfied, she showed a stiff and bright smile on her face. Then she continued to poprize the knowledge about snakes, ¡°Snakes are more sensitive to red than other colors. So, just now Yinyi¡¯s lips moved, and the snake was attracted. Look at the color of the snake¡¯s skin. It is a poisonous snake. If you were bitten by such a snake, you will die unless you immediately inject the serum containing the corresponding antibody.¡± The maids were very convinced after listening. Miss was really knowledgeable. When she spoke, it made people felt unfathomable. The words ¡°sensitivity coefficient, percentage, antibody and serum¡± couldn¡¯t be understood at all, which made them be worshipful!

    Manbing learned the same way as Miss and said, ¡°Shall we keep standing like this? It¡¯s going to be dark soon, Miss.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Miss said confidently, ¡°I have prepared!¡± Then, she smashed the crutch in her hand on the hard ice. Ayer of wood outside was smashed and peeled off, and an umbre came out inside. She quickly spread out the umbre and shook it into a bowl-shape. Then, she slowly approached the poisonous snake. At the same time, sheughed loudly with victory, ¡°Ha-ha, do you think I would go to Changbai Mount without any preparation?¡±

    You deserved to be Miss! 4 maids cheered in unison and ran to the back of Miss to take refuge. Miss held the ¡°Overturning umbre¡± in her hands, approaching the poisonous snake slowly. Her umbre was made of a special cloth, which was as tough as a rain cloth. As long as the snake was firmly under the umbre, and everyone stepped on it together, the snake would be killed definitely!

    However, the wish was beautiful, but the reality was cruel. Although the umbre cloth might be really tough, the umbre tip was not strong enough. A wind blew, the first half of the umbre was taken away, leaving only a smooth handle for Miss. 5 people stared at it for a while. When they epted the reality that the umbre disappeared, the real big poisonous snake was only 3 steps away from them!

    Jinjia looked at Miss with tears. She said, ¡°Miss lied again. This time we will die!¡±

    Yinyi asked, ¡°Miss, can we move our lips this time? It can see us all the time!¡±

    Manbing recalled her life and said, ¡°When I was 3 years old, I lost my father. Then I lost my mother at the age of 4. When I was 5 years old, I became a maid in Liao¡¯s Family. Now I have saved a huge sum of 6 liang silvers in the past 10 years. I didn¡¯t spend the money and didn¡¯t marry. I¡¯m unreconciled!¡±

    ¡°Oh, poisonous snake!¡± Neiding cried.

    The snake spitted out a long and red tongue, showing the winner¡¯s smile. The upper body looked forward, and the fangs aimed at Manbing who had just finished herst words.

    But the next moment, with a dull sound, its long and thin snake tail straightened. The whole snake flied into the sky in a gorgeous posture, and then disappeared into the vision of 5 people. What was it? Did the poisonous snake dance before eating? The Miss opened her eyes incredulously and eximed, ¡°It¡¯s so powerful. It turns out that snakes can also fly. They¡¯ve never yed in the Animal World!¡± 5 people looked at each other, which was very slow to find that just then, for some reason, 5 of them picked up their lives from the poisonous snake!

    Four maids cried and cheered, ¡°We are saved! It was immortals who took the poisonous snake away! Oh!¡±

    The big snake writhed and drew a long arc in the air. Finally, it fell behind a dead old por tree. After a sound of bone disjointed, suddenly, a man in ck came out from behind the tree. He carrying the snake that became soft as a cloth shouted coldly, ¡°Shut up, all of you.¡±

    The maids shut up in response. The man in ck raised his eyes and scanned them. He asked viciously, ¡°Who is Liao Qing¡¯er?¡±

 Chapter 136 - A little fat girl, Liao Qingâ€™er

    <h4>Chapter 136 A little fat girl, Liao Qing¡¯er</h4>

    At 9:45 p.m., in the main hall of Xin Rong Hall which was the outer yard of the East Yard (of Luo¡¯s Mansion).

    Duan Xiaolou flew back and forth, but he couldn¡¯t find He Danggui who mightmit suicide for love. In desperation, he nned to go back to Xin Rong Hall first and ask for more clues before continuing to find. But when he passed by the flowers at the gate of the hall, he found that the Madam Luo was unconscious there. Then he took her back to the hall and entrusted her to others for care. He was more restless when he backed to the hall and heard Mammy Tang say ¡°the real course of event¡±. He Danggui and Madam Luo were taken away by the assassin. But now he only found Madam Luo. Was it possible that...He Danggui had been killed?

    When he was going to find He Danggui again, Guan Yun stopped him and said, ¡°Brother Xiaolou, your hand is hurt. If you don¡¯t bind it up and let it bleed, your hands will be crippled!¡±

    Duan Xiaolou was no time to answer her and rushed out quickly like a bull. Guan Yun was very worried, so she hugged him from the back and said earnestly, ¡°I know you are an obliging man and don¡¯t want any girl to suffer or be killed. But Miss He has been taken away for a long time, and now you have only found Madam Luo, so it¡¯s self-evident what happened. Even if you want to help Luo¡¯s Mansion find her corpse, please go after I bind up your wound, okay? And I saw that the Four Guards of Luo¡¯s Mansion have sent people to search. Maybe when I bind up your wound, some news wille here!¡±

    When Duan Xiaolou heard the word ¡°corpse¡±, he felt like being struck by lightning, which made him lose his soul. He repeated in a low voice, ¡°Her...corpse...¡±

    Guan Yun was extremely puzzled and asked, ¡°Brother Xiaolou, why do you so care about Miss He? Didn¡¯t you just know her?¡± Then she tore a clean silk handkerchief to bind up his wound and told him with a low voice, ¡°Brother Xiaolou, you don¡¯t have to be sad since you can¡¯t help Luo¡¯s Mansion and save He Danggui. (When I was in the toilet,) I heard Second Miss say that Third Miss, He Danggui, isn¡¯t really ady of Luo¡¯s Mansion, but a dispensable person in Luo¡¯s Mansion. Even if you can¡¯t help this thing, they won¡¯t me you...¡±

    Duan Xiaolou was still like losing his soul, repeating the word ¡°corpse¡± in his heart. Why was this happening? He had juste to Luo¡¯s Mansion. He hadn¡¯t shared confidences with her alone and hadn¡¯t told her his lovesickness. Last time she gave the farewell in Taoist temple, and she wished him peace and told him to take good care of himself all the way. He didn¡¯t expect it meant that they would part forever. And when he heard Guan Yun doubt that he cared too much about this matter, he was even more bitter. Yes, he ¡°just knew¡± He Danggui, so he couldn¡¯t care too much about her...

    On the other side, Madam Luo woke up slowly after Mammy Tang gave Madam Luo a bowl of Wolfberry Tea with Eight Treasures. Peng Jian ran to her at once and asked, ¡°Madam, why did you faint outside the hall? And where is the Third Sister?¡±

    Madam Luo was in a daze for a moment. Then she kept her eyes open and said, ¡°Yi?! She didn¡¯te back, did she? She must have been taken away by the man!¡± She could only remember that the assassin had captured her and her granddaughter with each of his hands and rushed out of the door. After he went out, he shouted in a deep voice and then went up into the sky, taking them both up. At that time, she felt weak all over and fainted. Then she didn¡¯t know anything. Now she woke up in the hall, but her granddaughter didn¡¯te back. So, her granddaughter must have been taken by the assassin as a hostage instead of her!

    Peng Jian realized that he couldn¡¯t find any more clues from Madam Luo, so he stomped his feet and ran out to find the Third Sister. Seeing this, Peng Shi hurriedly stopped him at once and said calmly, ¡°You have known how powerful the man is. What can you do if you go? It¡¯s better to keep calm and wait here.¡±

    Peng Jian looked at his brother resentfully and said, ¡°You just asked me to keep calm and be patient. You told me to wait for Earl Baoding, and then we could attack inside and outside to rescue the hostage. If you hadn¡¯t said that, I would not have done nothing. It¡¯s your fault to make the Third Sister to be a hostage!¡±

    Peng Shi said coldly, ¡°Stop acting like a child with your bad temper. This time mother left you to me and let me look after you, so I can¡¯t allow you to do something stupid. Whatever you want to me me, you shouldn¡¯t go.¡±

    When they were deadlocked, Peng Jian tilted his head and saw Meng Xuan was sitting at the tea table, fiddling with those tea sets. Peng Jian felt very angry. He pointed at his nose and scolded, ¡°Meng Xuan, I didn¡¯t expect that you are so cold-blooded. Two persons were taken away in front of you, and you didn¡¯t do anything. Now you are still drinking tea there. Why don¡¯t you drink yourself to death!¡±

    But Meng Xuan didn¡¯t even look at him. He was still looking down to smell the tea canister or lighting the white porcin tea-cup against the light, as if he was appreciated these beautiful porcins.

    Peng Shi was afraid that his brother would say more sharp words, so he dragged Peng Jian to the other end of the hall. Even if Peng Jian couldn¡¯t have a good rtionship with the son of Earl Baoding, he couldn¡¯t offend Childe Meng.

    Before they went to Yangzhou City, their father specially told them that President Bai of Chengxu Academy was his old friend, so that if they had difficulties, they could ask him for help. And their father said that he transferred them to Chengxu Academy to study this time. On the one hand, Prince Zhangsun was very satisfied with them and would like to invite them to study in the Eastern Pce next year. He hoped that they would hone their skills before going to there and would make great progress in officialdom, writing and kung fu. On the other hand, their grandfather wanted them to live in Yangzhou City for about a year. If they met Senior Lord Luo, they could take the opportunity to learn some skills of San Qing Acupuncture and the way of doing things for officials.

    Peng Shi was very adored Senior Lord Luo, so he immediately agreed to go to Yangzhou City to study at Chengxu Academy. But Peng Jian was quite interested in Taoist Sage, Bai Yangbai. As early as half a month ago, he heard that Taoist Sage would be a teacher at Chengxu Academy, but he couldn¡¯t go there and listened to the teachings of Taoist Sage. Now he heard the good news of transferring, he agreed certainly. So, they came to Yangzhou City and lived in Luo¡¯s Mansion.

    On that day, their mother sent them to East Yard (of Luo¡¯s Mansion). Before returning to the capital, she specially told them that there were many Misses living in the East Yard and the West Yard, and there were 4 or 5 Misses who were at the same age of them, so she asked them not to y with them on weekdays. If they yed close with them, not only would some people gossip, but also they would be rted by marriage with the people of the East Yard and the West Yard.

    And Peng Jian felt strange and asked, ¡°Why can¡¯t we get married with the people of the East Yard and the West Yard?¡± Their mother shook her head without answer. Peng Jian was quite puzzled by this behavior.

    Peng Shi also wondered in his heart, ¡°The elders like choosing a bride or groom from rtives. My mother¡¯s surname is also Luo. Why does she object to finding a daughter-inw from Luo¡¯s Family? Besides, Luo¡¯s Mansion is the old aristocrat, and the family¡¯s position is high. They have strict family rules, so their Misses will be excellent.¡± Of course, Peng Shi didn¡¯t ask anything. Since their mother told them so, there must be her reason. So, Peng Shi solemnly promised for his mother that he must stay brother away from the Misses of Luo¡¯s Mansion. Then their mother returned to the capital with pleasure.

    Now, seeing his brother who was so anxious to beat the wall repeatedly for the Third Sister of East Yard, Peng Shi couldn¡¯t help being annoyed. Seeing that he was very impetuous, Peng Shi thought, ¡°Does he like that girl? It¡¯s not good. I must reprimand him severely after returning to the room in the evening, and let him put this idea off immediately! No matter whether that girl can back alive or not, I can¡¯t let my brother like her!¡±

    Since Peng Shi lived in Luo¡¯s Mansion these days, he heard the people in the mansion said that the Third Sister was the daughter of the younger aunt of East Yard, and she was the daughter of the concubine who was got run out of the door by her family. Now she was fostered in the East Yard. When she was a child, she was also fostered in the farm for a few years. Such a girl who had the bad identity would never have chance to go in Peng¡¯s Family. And thest time when he saw her at Tu¡¯er Town, her sharp words made his brother be annoyed and flushed. Today, when they saw her at dinner, she seemed to have changed her personality, hanging her head and not speaking for the most of the time, as if she was very cute and docile. If he hadn¡¯t been impressed with her before, he wouldn¡¯t have found that she was pretending.

    The two siblings of Guan¡¯s Family and Master Duan camete just now. When they needed to take their seats, Madam Luo told her to give up her seat to Third Miss of Guan¡¯s Family. And the servants of Luo¡¯s Mansion came up and directly took away all the dishes in front of her after hearing Madam Luo¡¯s words. One of the elderly woman servants went too far. As soon as He Danggui just stood up, she began to wipe the stool quickly which she had sat. Under the watchful eyes of the people, how embarrassing and humiliating it was. For ordinary girls, no matter how cheeky or determined they are, they would be angry, cry, or leave the seat for an excuse to cry in a ce where no one was.

    However, the Third Sister even didn¡¯t lift her eyelids, and there was a faint smile on the corner of her lips. When Madam Luo let her salute to the guests, she was obedient to do; When Madam Luo was busy to invite the guests to leave her out, she was obedient to return to the end seat which near the door, and silently drunk a cup of the leftover tea. How determined and shrewd she was! If this girl had not been sure that there would be a way to make up for today¡¯s humiliation in the future, how could she have suffered so calmly?

    In a word, Peng Shi firmly believed that the Third Sister was a scourge, which would cause trouble. So, he wouldn¡¯t let his brother make friends with her and even tell less with her. In addition, the disgusting Second Miss Luo not only fell into the water, pretending to be dizzy and deceiving him to save her, but also looked at him with the eyes of anthomaniac from time to time. Those annoyed him so much. And he was even more convinced of the truth of his mother¡¯s words that they could not y with Misses of Luo¡¯s Mansion on weekdays.

    In the hall, just when Peng Shi rejoiced, Peng Jian beat the wall, Meng Xuan sat in meditation, Duan Xiaolou was distracted, Madam Luo cried that Yi lived a short life, a manservant who was about 15 or 16 years old and in blue clothes ran into the hall breathlessly. After holding the door frame and taking a breath, he shouted loudly.

    ¡°Third Miss asked me to tell Madam Luo that she had been rescued now and didn¡¯t hurt at all. However, since she was so frightened that she went back to Tao Yao Yard to rest, she did note to see Madam Luo.¡±

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù

    ¡°Are you Liao Qing¡¯er? Liao Zhiyuan¡¯s sister?!¡± Gao Jue¡¯s eyebrows were twisted together, and he stared at the girl in purple. Though she was the best dressed of the 5 girls with the mostcent and haughty expression, yet...how could she be the Lynx¡¯s sister?

    The girl in purple raised her eyebrows and kept her chin up. She said, ¡°Of course, who are you?¡± A long ponytail at the back of her head, swinging smartly with her movements.

    Gao Jue still refused to believe her words, so he turned to see the four girls dressed like maids. 2 of them looked bright and beautiful with fair skin. Gao Jue thought of Liao Zhiyuan once said that his sister was very cunning, so Gao Jue suspected that the girl changed maid¡¯s clothes to camouge and avoid Liao¡¯s Family sending people to take her home. Thinking of this, Gao Jue looked at the 2 bright and beautiful girls and snapped, ¡°One of you is Liao Qing¡¯er, right?¡±

    Manbing and Neiding shook their hands and said unanimously, ¡°We are the Man-Neibination, and we are the maids of our Miss!¡± Jinjia and Yinyi also said, ¡°She is really our Miss Qing!¡±

    Gao Jue turned back to see the girl in purple and reluctantly epted the fact that she was Liao Zhiyuan¡¯s sister. This girl looked about 16 years old, and she was the highest of these girls. On the whole, she looked round ¨Cround head, round face, round eyes, round nose, round body, and round fists. Waving her fists up and down with hostility, she shouted, ¡°Why are you looking for me? Are you the spy sent by my brother?¡±

    No matter he looked at the girl horizontally, vertically or sideways, she was round and chubby. Although she had beautiful features and good looks, Gao Jue could not connect her with Liao Zhiyuan¡¯s description that she was a beautiful girl with arge amount of money and no kung fu, like amb to be ughtered in the eyes of brigands. It was strange. Liao Zhiyuan was also good-looking and had been practicing kung fu throughout the year. How could he have such a fruity sister? And Liao Zhiyuan said that his sister only brought one maid. Why were there 4 maids?

    But these were secondary questions. The most important of which was ¨C ¡°I heard that there is a good wine in your family. And your brother said it was made by you. Is this true?¡± Gao Jue condescendingly stared at her and asked.

    Liao Qing¡¯er blinked her round eyes with a shrewd expression and said, ¡°It turns out that you are really the spy sent by my brother. Are you going to take me home now? No, I will not go back! What benefits did my brother give you? How about I hire you to help me with double the benefits?¡±

    ¡°Can you make the wine with sandalwood?¡± Gao Jue repeated the question.

    Liao Qing¡¯er held up her chin with her chubby fingers and said, ¡°It turns out that you want that kind of wine. Yes, the distilled champagne is made by me, but it is very troublesome. So, you may have to wait for one or 2 months... Hey! Tall man, what do you want to do?¡± She was surprised to see that he took out arge roll of rope from his sleeves. Then he went forward and tied up her hands. After thinking for a while, he tied up the 4 little maids, Jia, Yi, Bing and Ding, who had already been stunned. Because the rope was very long, the 5 people looked like a string of ck fungus.

    Gao Jue led one end of the rope and announced to them, ¡°I¡¯m going to take you back to Liao¡¯s Family in the capital now. You¡¯d better be obedient and don¡¯t talk about anything. If you dare to have a bit of disobedience, the end of you will like this viper!¡± Then he threw the soft viper at their feet.

 Chapter 137 - Feng Yan and Feng Yu blocked the way

    <h4>Chapter 137 Feng Yan and Feng Yu blocked the way</h4>

    The four maids were scared to cry, but Liao Qing¡¯er continued to negotiate with Gao Jue. She hoped that he could escort her to Yangzhou City instead of detaining her to the capital. And he would get rich rewards. Liao Qing¡¯er raised three chubby fingers to promise that she was much more generous than her brother.

    During this trip to Changbai Mount, not only did Liao Qing¡¯er find cheap sources of Chinese medicinal materials such as ginseng, velvet antler, tortoise stron, animal bones, but also she negotiated the route and price of business channel with Peaceful Escort. However, there was market saturation for medicinal materials in the capital. Therefore, she chose Yangzhou City as the first sales target, which was second only to capital in prosperity. Now everything was ready except one key element. Where she was going was Yangzhou City, not the capital!

    But Gao Jue didn¡¯t pay attention to her temptation at all. He took a long string of wood ears to go down the mountain. As long as he handed over them to the Lynx, he would get the fifteen jars of wine.

    He walked very fast. Although generally it was much easier to go down the mountain than go up, he still dragged the five girls staggeringly. The four entourages wanted to cry but didn¡¯t dare to do. At first, they thought this the man in ck was a hero who saved them from danger, but they hadn¡¯t expected that he was a trafficker who didn¡¯t know how to pity girls!

    In this way, the five girls would have spent more half a day to go down the mountain. Under his high pressure, they only spent two hours and returned to Donggua Town. Gao Jue took the rope and walked back to Songxiang Inn where he stayed. He tied the rope in his hands to the pir of the horse at the entrance of the inn. In the face of the female master and her four entourages, he chopped the blue stone floor on the ground to threaten them. And he told them not to think about things like running away. Afterwards, Gao Jue entered the inn and asked for a table of dishes. He wanted to resume his journey to the capital as soon as possible after eating.

    ¡°Sir, are you Gao Shenxin?¡± A young man who looked so tired walked into the inn. He just nced at the lobby and walked towards Gao Jue. He said, ¡°I am a messenger of Changnian Post Office. Here is a letter to Gao Shenxin who wears a ck shirt.¡±

    Gao Shenxin was a pseudonym when Gao Jue was a warrior in Jianghu. Imperial guard also used this name when they delivered letters internally, so he signed the letter. After reading it, Gao Jue thought for a while and hurriedly ate some food. Then he checked out and went out. As soon as he went out, he saw a boy wearing a white shirt untied the five people. He immediately stopped him, ¡°Stop, don¡¯t untie these people! Go away!¡±

    The teenager looked back in shock. When he found that the ¡°big wicked man¡±, who the chubby girl said, had arrived, he was unconvinced and said immediately, ¡°You are a man who abuses five weak women in such a way, which is really a shame to all men!¡±

    Gao Jue didn¡¯t want to care about the young man who looked like a schr. He walked over and checked the knots that bound the five people. Then he took them to hire a carriage at a courier station. With tears shed in Liao Qing¡¯er¡¯s round eyes, she turned back and said goodbye to the teenager, ¡°Little brother, it is our fate that we meet each other. Although you cannot save us, thank you... This person is very fierce and unreasonable. I advise you do not to interfere in this matter!¡±

    After hearing the words, the teenagers who were not particrly excited immediately rushed forward to block their way and said, ¡°Everything should be particr about the reason. What crimes did these womenmit? If it doesn¡¯t make sense, I¡¯ll take you to see the official!¡±

    Gao Jue knew that he was a priggish pedant by hearing his literary words. Was it reasonable? There were so many more unreasonable things in this world! Gao Jue snorted immediately and bypassed the young man. And the young man was so anxious that he directly pounced on Gao Jue, as a hero to save the beauty. He wanted to snatch the rope in Gao Jue¡¯s hand. Since Gao Jue saw that the young man risked his neck, Gao Jue didn¡¯t want to make concessions anymore. When Gao Jue was about to hit the young man, someone next to him suddenly shouted loudly, ¡°Baiji, stop quickly!¡±

    Gao Jue turned his head and saw a middle-aged man in a brown-red robe and a big cloak of the same color. The man came with a smile and said, ¡°Please forgive me, Knight. My surname is Lou. I¡¯m going to the Snow Mountain with my son. I¡¯m so sorry that he made troubles. I also hope that you can show mercy and let me teach him a lesson!¡±

    It was said that if someone admitted his mistake, he usually would not be med. Gao Jue snorted and nodded, to signal to him to take his son away. So, the middle-aged man smiled and stepped forward, taking away the reluctant teenager with tough act and soft talk.

    After they walked away, Gao Jue looked at Liao Qing¡¯er who was depressed and said coldly, ¡°Woman, listen. You don¡¯t have to try to escape anymore. Don¡¯t you want to go to Yangzhou City? I will send you to there¡±. Seeing the girl¡¯s round face with an incredible expression, Gao Jue exined in detail. ¡°I just received a letter from your brother. It says that he found a lot of information about Yangzhou City in your room, such as the books and maps about Yangzhou City. He guesses that you are going to resell medicinal materials in Yangzhou City. So, he asks me to send you to Yangzhou City directly, so as not to let you have opportunity to escape after being home.¡±

    ¡°Send me to Yangzhou City? Will my brother be so good?¡± Liao Qing¡¯er asked suspiciously, ¡°Will there be some additional conditions?¡±

    Gao Jue nodded and said, ¡°Yes, Liao Zhiyuan said in his letter that after you arrive at Yangzhou City, you must live in your aunt¡¯s house, Guan¡¯s Mansion. At the same time, you must also go to Chengxu Academy with Miss Guan.¡±

    ¡°Chengxu Academy?¡± Liao Qing¡¯er flicked her hair and smiled. ¡°Is it ¡®the legendary No. 1 Dating Club of the Ming Dynasty¡¯? I heard that people have to pass the exam before they can join the club. My brother knows that I¡¯m not good at soft brush calligraphy. So, he must have helped me get the VIP test-free card, hasn¡¯t he? Just go. Anyway, I¡¯m ady from a decent family, and I¡¯m fair-skinned and attractive now. I can find a man who is tall, rich and handsome!¡±

    Gao Jue was confused about her words, but he could finally understand that she had agreed to go to Chengxu Academy. That was to say, as long as he sent her to Yangzhou City, he finished the task. So, he told her that thetest remuneration Liao Zhiyuan wrote in the letter was ¡°Twenty jars of delicious wine¡±, and it must be paid within three months after arriving in Yangzhou City. Liao Qing¡¯er agreed happily. Of course, Liao Zhiyuan also mentioned in the letter that there would be ¡°another mysterious gift¡± in the future. Gao Jue absolutely didn¡¯t care about it, because the words said by Lynx could only be believed below 10%. Wasn¡¯t the chubby girl the best example?

    After they negotiated properly, Gao Jue led the women to hire a carriage at the courier station. Then they drove to Yangzhou City overnight.

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù

    The night wind blew away, which made several flowers and leaves in front of the yard sweep. And it also made the clothes of the woman in the garden float, which made her face covered by hair like a ghost.

    Since He Danggui made the decision to assassinate Ning Yuan just now, she asked Xiaoyou to go to the main hall to report safe for Madam Luo. Then she went back to the garden alone to find Ning Yuan. She constantly reviewed several of the most vulnerable dead acupoints in the human body that could kill people in one blow, and various methods in silver needle that could take away others¡¯ lives.

    Thinking of it, although she took care of Wuying Tower¡¯s assassination affairs for Zhu Quan, and indirectly killed many people, she never killed anyone by herself. Not to mention that she used her hands to save life in silver needle... However, she tried to stain her hands in case of not to be regretful to kill the demon. She believed that as long as he died, the nightmare of her previous life would end. Besides, if he was absent from the vanity fair in the next ten years, the world would be more peaceful!

    The reason why she didn¡¯t use a sword to kill him was because she hadn¡¯t mastered to kill with one blow. So, she thought that no matter how weak Zhu Quan was, it would be very difficult to kill him with a sword. As a saying went, ¡°The wily hare has three holes to his burrow,¡± so treacherous people like Zhu Quan must have an emergency life-saving method, just like the masked man who escaped suddenly. Only in the name of treating his wounds, she unexpectedly attacked him and pierced his dead acupoint with a silver needle was the best strategy...

    Thinking of this, the hands under her sleeve slowly clenched into a fist, and gradually stopped the tremor that had been unstoppable since the person¡¯s true identity was discovered. He Danggui closed her eyes and took two deep breaths. Don¡¯t be afraid. Don¡¯t panic. She could do it! As long as there were legitimate reasons in the name of justice and revenge, anyone could gain the courage to take the lives of others... Cause-and-effect transmigration, the debts of previous lives were paid in this life. Let the demon go to hell to repent for her three children... Hey, where he was?

    He Danggui searched the whole garden, but she couldn¡¯t find the person she wanted to kill. So, she generally stood in a daze in the garden. The feeling of madness in her heart and the desire to kill gradually faded. She began to hesitate. That man had left, so should she chase to kill him in Ting Zhu Yard? Did she really want to kill Zhu Quan, a teenager who saved her life twice in this life? She wanted to strangle the future ambitious and fiercelypetitive person in the cradle. Was it really justice and the right decision?

    He Danggui walked aimlessly in the dark night. She was hesitating and irritating in her heart. If she didn¡¯t take advantage of him now, she would never have such a good opportunity again. However, the 33-year-old Zhu Quan, who had hurt her in the previous life, had already been abandoned in the depths of time and space. Now Zhu Quan in this life had done nothing to her. Would she really want to treat him as a way to vent hatred and ask him for the blood debts of the previous life?

    ¡°Ha-ha! Miss He, what a coincidence. Are youing for a walk under the moon?¡±

    ¡°Miss He walks under the moon, which looks like a moonlight fairy. If you turn around in the garden, you will look like a flower fairy. Ha-ha!¡±

    He Danggui stopped her footsteps and looked at the two manservants called Feng Yan and Feng Yu. Then she sneered. It turned out that Zhu Quan and Young Lord Feng Yang of Caobang Organization had always been good friend. Ho-ho!

    It was no wonder that her own ideas in the previous life which were rejected by Zhu Quan were found in the profit business of Caobang Organization. Its structure and strategy were as the same as hers! It turned out that thergest scales of business, Caobang Organization, which was the so-called ¡°the biggest school of Jianghu¡±, came about this way! Zhu Quan had made full use of her, but he didn¡¯t trust her at all. How much had Zhu Quan concealed her? Her thoughts that she had understood him thoroughly and all kinds of affectionate contributions to him were just a fantasy dream, which couldn¡¯t stand a light shock, even the needle tip!

    ¡°Where did your Childe and Childe Ning go?¡± He Danggui smiled and asked, ¡°I saw Childe Ning in the garden just now. Why didn¡¯t I see him just for a while? I notice that he was injured seriously. Did he find a ce to heal?¡±

    Feng Yan rubbed his hands and said with a smile, ¡°Maybe he goes to bed. Don¡¯t mind him! Miss He, we want to exin something to you.¡±

    ¡°You want to exin something to me?¡± He Danggui stood with her hands sped behind the back. She said, ¡°Go ahead.¡±

    Feng Yu scratched his head and said, ¡°I was at the side door before. Didn¡¯t you see that I talked to Miss Ling Miaoyi and gave her a bundle wrapped in cloth? In fact, Ling Miaoyi is the sister of my Young Lord. This time she came to Yangzhou City alone...¡±

    Feng Yan said in a timely manner, ¡°It is said that she came to Yangzhou City to chase her sweetheart, which is really admirable. But this time she ran away from home secretly, with a little money around. After she arrived at Yangzhou City, she met a thief again. Her baggage and money bag were stolen, so that she had no money to eat. She had to sleep on the street and could not support her life in the next day...¡±

    ¡°Huh, it¡¯s so pitiful!¡± Feng Yu continued, ¡°So one day, when she was cold and hungry, waiting to ask for steamed buns in the back door of Luo¡¯s Mansion, she happened to meet us. We all knew each other, so she ran to grab us and told her tragic encounter while sniveling and crying. We showed sympathy for her...¡±

    Feng Yan wiped the corners of his eyes with his sleeve and sighed, ¡°Later, she wanted to borrow money from us, and we were moved by her story, so I agreed...¡±

    ¡°So, Miss He, in fact, the scene you saw this afternoon was that I was lending money to Ling Miaoyi!¡± Feng Yu looked at He Danggui nervously and said with a smile, ¡°So, please don¡¯t misunderstand. And don¡¯t tell anyone about it, please!¡±

    ¡°We know that you must be very strange about not to tell this thing out. Ha-ha!¡± Feng Yan also smiled and said, ¡°Miss He, please think about it. Miss Ling¡¯s action was both admirable and sympathetic. In order to meet a man, she ran away from home and went to Yangzhou City to apply for Chengxu Academy. If others know, it¡¯s always bad for her reputation. Ha-ha! Miss He, you look like a kind person, so please help Miss Ling to keep this secret. Okay?¡±

    Feng Yu concluded, ¡°Anyway, you should have never seen me give her a bundle wrapped in cloth. The most important thing is that when you see Miss Ling again, don¡¯t talk to her about my Young Lord and Childe Ning, okay? You just don¡¯t know us, okay?¡±

    ¡°I get it.¡± He Danggui smiled and nodded. She looked up at them and pointed out the loopholes in their words. She said, ¡°Miss Ling is your Young Lord¡¯s sister, isn¡¯t she? I don¡¯t know when Wudang Sect also epts female disciples.¡±

 Chapter 138 - Who led the soldiers to there?

    <h4>Chapter 138 Who led the soldiers to there?</h4>

    Feng Yan and Feng Yu looked at each other for a long time. Atst, Feng Yu suddenly had an idea and exined, ¡°The Wudang Sect doesn¡¯t ept female disciples, but she disguised herself as a man and became the junior fellow apprentice of my Young Lord!¡¯¡¯ After hearing this, He Dangguiughed but didn¡¯t speak. What was the matter with Ling Miaoyi? Why did she make the two men be so panic?

    Actually, what Feng Yan and Feng Yu said could be considered half-true. This matter also started from the time that Ling Miaoyi ran away from home and met He Danggui.

    At that time, Ling Miaoyi was cheated to go back to Yinma Town by her brother-inw Gao Jue with Duan Xiaolou as the ¡°bait¡±. She waited for Gao Jue to bring Duan Xiaolou to meet her. However, she waited for a long time, and they didn¡¯te. After a few days, the silver was bing scarce. It was amon thing for the rich youngdy like her toe out with silver and went home without silver. But this time, she didn¡¯t want to go back to the lonely home of Ling¡¯s Mansion in the capital. The First Madam Li was ruthless and usually persecuted others. Her father was partial to First Madam Li and often scolded her. Besides, he married several coquettish concubines. The concubines made her be angry.

    Afterwards, she sneaked into Baisha Mountain Vi of the secret stronghold of the imperial guide. She heard that Duan Xiaolou was about to go to Yangzhou City for a business and teach in Chengxu Academy, so she pawned the valuable things and got a hundred liang silver for the journey to Yangzhou. Originally, 100 liang silver was enough for an ordinary family of five to live for 20 years. However, as a First Miss, she spent it a few days in a waste way, and thest few valuable clothes and package were stolen by a thief. It was difficult to live without money away from home. Ling Miaoyi lived a miserable life without money. Later, she heard that there were free steamed buns in the back door of Luo¡¯s Mansion, so she went to the alley to wait. Before waiting until the steamed buns, she met Feng Yan and Feng Yu. Each of them bit a stick of sugar-coated haws and walked into Luo¡¯s Mansion. They were talking andughing, which surprised her.

    It turned out that Ling Miaoyi didn¡¯t know Feng Yang or Ning Yuan, but she knew Chang Nuo, who lived next door to her. Ling¡¯s Mansion was beside Chang¡¯s Mansion. Ling Miaoyi and Chang Nuo were simr in age and family background, so they often meet in the celebrity social circle of the capital. Ling Miaoyi not only knew Chang Nuo, but also was very familiar with Chang Yan and Chang Yu, who were hisckeys. She yed tricks on the two seemingly interestingckeys several times. A year ago, Chang Nuo went to study and took away Chang Yan and Chang Yu. Apart from going back to Chang¡¯s Mansion for two days at the festivals, she couldn¡¯t see them usually. How did these twockeys of Chang Nuo get into Luo¡¯s Mansion? Was Chang Nuo in Luo¡¯s Mansion for study?

    Therefore, Ling Miaoyi rushed to asked Chang Yan and Chang Yu. Of course, the main purpose was to borrow money from Chang Nuo. At first, Feng Yan and Feng Yu lied to her that they had stopped following Chang Nuo. Now they had changed their ideas to choose a new master, and they didn¡¯t know where Chang Nuo was.

    Ling Miaoyi didn¡¯t believe them. Feng Yan and Feng Yu followed Chang Nuo when they were young. They wereckeys of Chang Nuo. One month ago, on the Mid-Autumn Festival, Chang Nuo hurriedly back to Chang¡¯s Mansion with Chang Yu, but he left in a hurry within half a day. At that time, Ling Miaoyi wondered about that they might have to go to two ces for a festival. Thought of this, Ling Miaoyi held Chang Yan and Chang Yu and insisted on meeting Chang Nuo. Of course, her purpose was to borrow money ¨C She was destitute and wandered in a strangend. How lucky it was to suddenly meet rich acquaintances!

    Feng Yan and Feng Yu were perplexed and took a look at each other. One of them led her to a ce where nobody was. And he lied to calm her down. The other hurriedly informed Ning Yuan and fake Feng Yang that the acquaintance of his Childe in the capital met them. Now the acquaintance thought that his Childe lived in Luo¡¯s Mansion and wanted to borrow money from him.

    Ning Yuan thought about it and asked Ming Yue to prepare a bag of silver to Feng Yu, who would give the silver to Chang Nuo¡¯s acquaintance. At the same time, he asked Feng Yu to tell that person that Chang Nuo would leave Luo¡¯s Mansion immediately and did not toe to Luo¡¯s Mansion to find Chang Nuo again. As soon as Feng Yu left, Ming Yue advised his master that they should leave as soon as possible because Luo¡¯s Mansion was no longer a safe refuge. After all, Chang Nuo had never been to Luo¡¯s Mansion, and people in Luo¡¯s Mansion didn¡¯t recognize Chang Nuo. If that person often came here to find Chang Nuo and revealed identally the secret that ¡°Feng Yang is Chang Nuo, and Chang Nuo pretends to be Feng Yang¡±, how could they do?

    Ning Yuan hesitated after hearing this. In the past, if he had heard this, he would have left firstly and found another ce for healing. But now¡­ He hadn¡¯t understood the girl¡¯s secret yet. Besides, the girl asked him to practice and heal in the Bitter Bamboo Grove after two days. It was interesting to think of it¡­

    Seeing his master in such a dazed and bewildered state, Ming Yue felt bad, so he got out of the Mansion to see Ming Ri and discussed about countermeasures with him.

    Ming Ri and he were both the fearless warriors of Lord. They had been taking care of Wuying Tower for Lord. A few days ago, Chang Nuo came to Daning Drill Ground with the Lord¡¯s face and helped the Lord to attend the maneuver. He was excellent and could stop at where it should while fighting. His kung fu had won a great udit. When Ming Ri was very relieved that Feng Yang pretended the Lord, Chang Nuo ran in a panic and said that he let the cat out of the bag. He strolled in the Lord¡¯s Mansion just now. And when he went to Jiu Lan Yard, he drank tea and yed Go with Song You. Because he had drunk tea several times with Song You in the capital before, he thought he would not be revealed. But after just a cup of tea and one round of ying Go, Song You called him ¡°Mr. Chang¡± unexpectedly! Chang Nuo was dejected. He scratched his head and asked Ming Ri what to do now.

    In the usual situation, Ming Ri would immediately murder her. But Ming Ri knew that Song You was the tea partner, fellow Go yer and confidant of the Lord. So, he didn¡¯t dare to make a decision without permission. Then he hurried to Yangzhou City overnight. He needed to ask the Lord if Song You could stay and also cared about the condition of Lord¡¯s injury.

    Unexpectedly, after meeting Ming Yue in the teahouse outside the Mansion, Ming Ri knew that the Lord would not leave although Luo¡¯s Mansion was no longer safe because of a wicked girl. After that, Ming Yue told Ming Ri about the thing that the Lord cured the wicked girl twice with internal injury. After hearing this, Ming Ri immediately decided that he must try to force the Lord to leave Luo¡¯s Mansion and stay away from the wicked girl.

    Even after the event, the Lord would know that he did something and want tomit a crime to him. He would receive punishment. In a word, he could not let the Lord get lost in his mind and be blocked the way to the sess by somemon women. Ming Ri had always believed that the Lord was the one who did great things and was the most qualified to be the emperor!

    Therefore, this evening, the one who designed to lead the soldiers to surround Luo¡¯s Mansion was not as Nie Chun who escaped with a poisonous arrow and might be dead. Instead, the one was Ming Ri who was loyal for his master. Of course, he didn¡¯t use the excuse that a seignior had left his fief and came to Yangzhou City. After all, his real purpose was to make the Lord feel the danger of the Luo¡¯s Mansion. Then the Lord would leave the Luo¡¯s Mansion as soon as possible, instead of exposing the Lord¡¯s secret really.

    ording to Wuying Tower¡¯s tip-off from Ming Ri, Wei Hong, the Governor of Yangzhou City, embezzled the relief funds allocated by the Imperial Court. After the incident was exposed, he absconded with two confidential military geographical maps. Now he was the No. 1 felon of the Imperial Court. So, Ming Ri sent a believable fake message to the heeler of Han Fei, the Senior Governor of Yangzhou City. He said that someone saw Wei Hong escaped into East Yard (of Luo¡¯s Mansion), which led Han Fei to surround East Yard (of Luo¡¯s Mansion), and then a series of things happened.

    This time, Geng Bingxiu had nothing to do with the search of Mansion by the soldiers, but Geng Bingxiu had a guilty conscience. First, he seized Madam Luo, and then he suffered an anesthetic herb of He Danggui, which could make him sleep for three days. Geng Bingxiu broke his tongue and used the potential powers of his essential energy. He knew that he could not stay in Luo¡¯s Mansion anymore, so he jumped out of the wall and killed a group of the soldiers. Then he escaped.

    However, Han Fei, the Senior Governor of Yangzhou City outside Luo¡¯s Mansion, believed that the masked man who killed the soldiers was Wei Hong, so he went to Luo¡¯s Mansion to ask their reason of hiding the criminal that the Emperor wanted to arrest. However, before the Madam Luo exined, Duan Xiaolou immediately testified that Luo¡¯s Mansion was not on the masked man¡¯s side. Just now, the viin kidnapped the Madam Luo and intended to threaten the soldiers with her life to retreat. Then, Shizi of Earl Baoding, First Master of Guan¡¯s Mansion, and others all testified that the Luo¡¯s Mansion was also the victim.

    After hearing those, Han Fei thought that he had not informed Luo¡¯s Mansion before, and he suddenly surrounded Luo¡¯s Mansion with the soldiers, making people be panic. Now he wronged Luo¡¯s Mansion for hiding the fugitive, which was really not right. At that time, he offered tea to Madam Luo and apologized again and again.

    People in Luo¡¯s Mansion were very proud of getting personally apologized by the Senior Governor. Therefore, a disaster turned into a lucky event. They even held a family dinner for three days. First, it was to celebrate the Madam Luo turned cmities into blessings. Second, it was to celebrate the honor of Luo¡¯s Mansion. Third, it was to celebrate Sun Yanbin was sess in the imperial examination, who was the Second Madam Sun¡¯s half-brother. He got the Second ce at Liberal Arts Test and the Third ce at Martial Arts Test. In this way, East Yard (of Luo¡¯s Mansion) was very busy. Everybody was happy. But it was what happenedter and was unnecessary to go into details.

    At present, Feng Yan and Feng Yu thought that He Danggui didn¡¯t believe what they said. Besides, she didn¡¯t promise them that she would never talk to Ling Miaoyi that two menservants called ¡°Feng¡± Yan and ¡°Feng¡± Yu used to visit Luo¡¯s Mansion. So, they were very anxious, and they talked with He Danggui constantly. The spittle sprayed. And He Danggui had to take out the gauze as a veil was on the face.

    Tonight, she was so shocked that her head was like hurt by a pinprick. And she just used 50% internal force to attack that man. She felt wrong at that time. Now she found that the Zhenqi in her body was the same as before, and it couldn¡¯t go back from Dantian. Now, it made her channel be very ufortable. She almost wore out. She wanted to go back and have a good sleep.

    Therefore, she didn¡¯t want to stay in the dark garden and consider whether to avenge herself on Ning Yuan. She turned around and went to Tao Yao Yard. Although she answered Feng Yan and Feng Yu perfunctorily, they were still not very satisfied. And they kept pestering her and tried to force her to swear that she would never let it out¡­ Swear? He Danggui sneered. If it worked, how could there be so many treacherous people in the world! At that year, that man swore that he would never leave her and never give up her. And he swore that he would always believe everything she said. But in the end, he chose to believe Zhou Jinn and abandon her. What was the use of those damn oaths?

    He Danggui felt dizzy and nauseous. Every part of her body was tingling, aching, cold and numb. She was eager to fall into her bed and have a sleep at once. However, the two menservants were imposing on her. She couldn¡¯t get rid of them. The voice was more annoying than the fly.

    When He Danggui went to Tao Yao Yard, she was surprised to find arge wet area on the flower path at the gate of the yard. Under the moonlight, she couldn¡¯t distinguish what kind of liquid it was. Thinking of the mask of an assassin, who would suck human blood, still hanged in her room this afternoon, He Danggui suddenly trembled. Then she was running and shouting, ¡°Chan Yi! Huai Hua! Buo He, Dou Jiang, Qian Shi!¡±

    Fortunately, the Immortal heard her prayer and didn¡¯t abandon her. After a few calls, Chan Yi came out of the door alive, and her mouth was oily and bright. Next, Xiaoyou came out. Then Peng Shi and Peng Jian came out.

 Chapter 139 - No one could hurt her anymore

    <h4>Chapter 139 No one could hurt her anymore</h4>

    He Danggui sent Xiaoyou to inform Madam Luo that Nie Chun suddenly appeared in the garden. He beat the masked man to save her, and finally he left again. After hearing it, Madam Luo chanted ¡°Amitabha Buddha¡±, and all the people in the hall were relieved, especially Duan Xiaolou. When Guan Yun saw that Duan Xiaolou¡¯s delighted expression, she felt unhappy and puzzled. Why did Brother Xiaolou be so concerned about Miss He?

    When Peng Jian heard that Third Sister was frightened, and now she went back to rest, he thought that she was not full before. So, he put the bowl of ¡°delicious dishes¡± and a few desserts into the food box to visit Third Sister. Peng Shi failed to stop his brother, so he followed Peng Jian. It was not only to monitor his brother and prevent him from doing impulsive things, but he was curious about the girl who had been caught by the murderous assassin for a long time. Was she really unscathed? Was she really saved by Nie Chun whose track was mysterious?

    After the brothers of Peng¡¯s Family and Xiaoyou arrived at Tao Yao Yard together, they found that He Danggui had note back. Peng Jian confirmed to Xiaoyou again, whether Third Sister was really rescued and safe. He got a positive answer and then waited in peace. Chan Yi and Huai Hua took the food box and opened it. When they saw the Crab Roe Buns, they cheered and ate them rudely. After a while, they ate two dishes. Peng Jian didn¡¯t stop them because they were girls. He said, ¡°I took these for Third Sister. Eat less!¡±

    Peng Shi was very puzzled. How did Third Sister teach servants? The maids had eaten the food before the master. Previously, when Xiaoyou who had the Shandong ent went to report, he called Third Sister ¡°Sister¡±. Madam Luo also felt strange to ask, but Xiaoyou only said that she asked me to call her sister. Mammy Tang said to Madam Luo, ¡°It¡¯s lucky that no one is hurt. I will ask Third Sister some other day about the trifle.¡± Madam Luo nodded and called ¡°Amitabha Buddha¡± again.

    When Third Sister returned to Tao Yao Yard, she saw that food box was almost empty by two maids. However, she was not angry. She smiled and picked up the handkerchief to wipe the mouth of the maid who had a round face. Peng Shi was very surprised. What kind of person was Third Sister? Were there no rules between masters and servants in Tao Yao Yard?

    He Danggui first arranged amodation for Xiaoyou and let him go to rest. Then she turned her head to ask Chan Yi, ¡°What is the wet at the gate? It scared me!¡±

    Chan Yi happily told her, ¡°There are a lot of new chrysanthemums in our yard. I watered the flowers first and then sprinkled a lot of water outside the yard. The fragrance of chrysanthemum with cool water will smell better!¡±

    He Danggui disdained, because it made her be afraid greatly! She thought for a moment and asked, ¡°Have you seen that mask in my room, which I bought in Tu¡¯er Town?¡±

    Chan Yi covered her mouth and said, ¡°Miss, how can you foresee? Your mask was lost before you get back!¡±

    ¡°How did you lose it?¡± He Danggui¡¯s question had been suffocated for a night.

    Chan Yi crooked her finger and apologized, ¡°When I cleaned your room, there was a mosquito in your room. I swatted it but identally hit on your mask, so your mask was dirty. Then I went to wash it and let it dry out in the wind because it was too wet. However, the wind blew away the mask suddenly.¡±

    ¡°The mask was blown away, wasn¡¯t it?¡± He Danggui raised her eyebrows.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Chan Yi continued, ¡°I saw that mask was blown out of the courtyard wall, and I heard the mask fell to the ground. But when I ran out to see, there was nothing!¡±

    He Danggui was relieved secretly. It seemed that the assassin who picked up the mask didn¡¯t meet Chan Yi. If Chan Yi went out early, she would probably meet the assassin! Looking at Chan Yi who turned around to eat desserts happily, He Danggui sighed that this girl was blessed. Even Chan Yi encountered the blood-sucking master twice, she was safe and sound. She was on the edge of danger every time but identally avoided it ¨C It seemed the Immortal was fair. The Immortal knew who should not die.

    After this thing, He Danggui felt that her was weaker. At this time, Feng Yan and Feng Yu were still in the Tao Yao Yard. Since Miss He refused to make an oath and ignored them, they decided to ask her maids for help because Miss He was very fond of Chan Yi. They took her aside and asked for her help to persuade Miss He not to tell their secrets.

    At this time, Peng Jian didn¡¯t want to leave. He kept talking, as if he wanted to say something but couldn¡¯t speak for a while. No matter what he thought, He Danggui had no energy to guess. She needed to sleep very much, so she said to Huai Hua, ¡°You greet guests for me¡±. Then she hid in her room and closed the door tightly.

    Finally, she was left alone to have rest and heal herself.

    ¡°Hey, please help me detoxify.¡± There were a pair of clear eyes in the dark room, like two lights in the snowy night. Meng Xuan said, ¡°I¡¯m poisoned by you.¡±

    ¡°Poisoned?¡± He Danggui carefully looked at Meng Xuan who sat in the shadow and asked, ¡°Is it serious?¡±

    Meng Xuan nodded slightly, ¡°Not so bad. I just can¡¯t walk.¡±

    He Danggui tilted her head, ¡°You can¡¯t walk, can you? How did youe to Tao Yao Yard?¡±

    ¡°It took me a little time,¡± Meng Xuan replied vaguely. In fact, he was strenuous. First, he managed to persuade his father to allow him to stay in Luo¡¯s Mansion. Then, after all the people in Xin Rong Hall left, he secretly followed behind Peng Jian and others¡­ He stood upside down and walked with his hands.

    He Danggui apologized, ¡°Childe Xuan, I don¡¯t know you have internal force. I¡¯m sorry to add ¡®tea dew¡¯ directly to the teapot. Actually, it is not a poison but an anesthetic. It specially used for martial arts practitioners. I can¡¯t help you. You can only wait for the medicinal properties to fade. Please hold on for two or three days.¡± In fact, it was not just him. All the people who had smelled the fragrance in the hall were poisoned. However, the medicinal properties of the four people who had touched the tea near the tea case were catalyzed.

    At that time, she sealed her Zhongfu acupoint with a silver needle and did not inhale the fragrance. Madam Luo had no internal force, so she was not affected. However, the anesthetic made the masked assassin feel painful and used emergency life-saving to temporarily get rid of the medicinal properties. He Danggui underestimated Meng Xuan. She didn¡¯t expect that his internal force was so power that he would be affected by the anesthetic.

    She remembered a book recorded that only the martial arts practitioners with powerful energy would have paralytic symptoms after inhaling the anesthetic. The symptoms varied from person to person. Some people¡¯s whole bodies would be paralytic, while for some people, only half of their bodies would be paralytic. In fact, He Danggui thought that her energy was not that powerful, and she would not be affected. Using silver needles to seal herself was just in case.

    ¡°Hold on?¡± Meng Xuan raised his eyebrows and said, ¡°You mean I can¡¯t walk in the next three days, don¡¯t you?¡±

    He Danggui nodded. She felt dizzy, and the Daimai acupoint around her waist was blocked by Zhenqi. She didn¡¯t expect that she had returned to her room but still couldn¡¯t rest quietly¡­ Was there no ce for her to heal quietly in the world? She nced at Meng Xuan sullenly. She thought she didn¡¯t need to care about him since he was a child. In Meng Xuan¡¯s surprised eyes, she took off her outermost skirt and threw it on the ground. She climbed onto the bed as hard as an olddy with waist pain. Then she pulled the quilt to wrap herself.

    She had a safe ce to hide in, and no one could hurt her again.

    Meng Xuan was keenly aware that this girl was not as dynamic as she was at the banquet. Was this the real her? Or was she injured when she was caught by that assassin? If so, she was so ufortable that she was impatient to deal with him. Meng Xuan was silent for a while then asked, ¡°Did that man hurt you? I know a little about the method of healing others with internal force. I can help you treat internal injuries.¡±

    He Danggui stayed in the quilt and didn¡¯t want to talk. Whether it was trauma, internal injury or heartache, it would be recovered. She needed a quiet corner now. She showed him the door obviously. Couldn¡¯t he understand?

    Meng Xuan, who was ignored, fell into silence. He tried to force out the anesthetic and thought something.

    This trip to Yangzhou City was full of twists and turns. First, he rescued Su Xiaoxiao in Tu¡¯er Town. Later, he was hunted several times by the elites of imperial guard. Fortunately, he met a kind-hearted little Taoist nun, who named Huaiyi, when he was seriously injured. Huaiyi not only bandaged his wounds but also took her closest clothes for him. Without her, he would have died.

    After she left with herpanion, he ate the hemostatic herbs and the bird eggs which were left by her. He felt that he had recovered some strength and then found a safe ce on the mountain. After the people of imperial guard, who searched the mountain for several days, left, he came out. He firstly found Shui Shang Temple, which was the only Taoist temple on the mountain. Then he inquired about the person whose religious name had the words ¡°Yi¡±. Finally, he found the little Taoist nun Huaiyi.

    It was sad that she didn¡¯t remember him at all. Then he realized that she lost her memory. When she returned to Taoist temple with herpanion, they met the beasts which made them fall into the cliff. The Taoist who was with her was dead on the spot. She hit her head and lost a lot of memory, including the part that she once saved him.

    But when he took out her clothes, she immediately recognized it. She worked in Medicine Room of Taoist temple, so she was familiar with pharmacology. Besides, she often picked herbs on this mountain. These conditions were consistent with the woman in the Taoist robe who saved him on that day, so he was pretty sure that Huaiyi was the one he was looking for.

    Huaiyi saved his life, so he was responsible for her amnesia and loss of her best friend. In addition, he had worn her closest clothing. Therefore, he should take responsibility for her and return her kindness. He asked her if she would like to resume secr life, leaving Taoist temple with him and re-entering the secr life. At first, she was hesitant. But when he solemnly promised to take care of her for life, she promised to resume secr life and go home with him.

    Later, when he arrived in Yangzhou City, he heard that ¡°the cruelest official in the world¡± Geng Bingxiu was about to arrive in Yangzhou City to deal with a corruption case. He decided to caught the evil man. He asked the servant to send Huaiyi who renamed ¡°Zixiao¡± to Meng¡¯s Mansion in capital.

    He asked Zixiao¡¯s life experience and realized that she was a daughter of an influential family. Because the family was in straitened circumstances and she didn¡¯t want to live a life of humiliation in rtive¡¯s house, she resolutely went to Shui Shang Temple to be a Taoist nun.

    He thought that since he took the benefactor out of Taoist temple, he must give her a status to let her live easily in Meng¡¯s Mansion. If she was unclear to live in Meng¡¯s Mansion, he could only tell others for a while that she was his benefactor. In the future, she would be humiliated because didn¡¯t have a proper status. But her background was too low to be his wife, so he asked the servants to amodate her in Lu Feng Yard in the identity of ¡°concubine¡±, so that she could live in peace.

    The six elder brothers already had concubines. His mother had taken three waiting-maids in room, but he didn¡¯t want to see the three women fighting for jealousy, so he sent them away. Now he took a concubine was not undue. Zixiao came from Taoist temple and had saved his life. He believed that his mother would be satisfied with her and treat her well.

    Su Xiaoxiao was the adopted daughter of Hu Weiyong, who was the No. 1 offender, so she couldn¡¯t go home with him. But she was a friend of his previous life. He couldn¡¯t bear to see her to make a living as a performer. In his view, whether a woman had a strong character or a kung fu, she was still soft and vulnerable in nature. So, protecting women was a men¡¯s duty.

    Although Su Xiaoxiao¡¯s eyes were full of surprise and admiration after being rescued, he had no feelings for her. In fact, in the neen years of previous life and the eleven years of this life, he had never been in love. Maybe he was born to be a heartless person. Su Xiaoxiao, a congenial friend of the previous life, looked at him strangely, which made him feel very ufortable. But he still trusted Lu Feng Escort to send her to the capital and temporarily settled her in his separate courtyard. He only hoped she could follow the trajectory of her previous life as soon as possible to meet the man who named ¡°Luo Baiji¡± and fall in love with him, so that he could get rid of her and bless them.

 Chapter 140 - A heart breaker was far away

    <h4>Chapter 140 A heart breaker was far away</h4>

    Meng Xuan frowned and thought that during the trip to Yangzhou City, he imperceptibly picked up two women, a benefactor and an old friend. Why did he always feel that something was missing? Was it because he failed to kill Geng Bingxiu? Geng Bingxiu was hit by his Changfeng Form, so he would not run far. Why even his secret investigation couldn¡¯t get Geng Bingxiu¡¯s news in these days? He hid in the roof of imperial guard¡¯s stronghold in Yangzhou City and eavesdropped for a long time. But he did not hear where Geng Bingxiu had gone.

    Anyway, he had thought that as a child, he would not defeat the traitor probably. Therefore, before the engagement, he specially chose a piece ofnd that was most advantageous to him and came out in a sneak attack, just like a head start in the Go game. He did not expect that Geng Bingxiu¡¯s martial arts was not as high as his previous life that he heard from others. Had Geng Bingxiu¡¯s martial arts not reach the peak? Or that day he was underestimating and did not take out the real means. Damn it. It was such a good opportunity to kill Geng Bingxiu, but he failed. If Geng Bingxiu was on the alert from now on, he would go out with Lu Jiangbei and others every time. It was difficult to assassinate him again.

    He had better tell his father that he wanted to stay in Chengxu Academy for a few months to study before he returned to the army, because he yearned for the lessons that taught by Bai Yangbai. On one hand, there was no war now, so it was nothing important in the army except calling the roll in the morning and practicing martial arts. On the other hand, he did not like reading as a child. After all, in previous life, he used to read the Liu Tao and the Guiguzi. In this life, he really did not want to recite the Three-Character ssic and the Book of Family Names. If his father heard that he was initiative to read those, his father would readily agree.

    All right, let¡¯s did it! Meng Xuan believed that Geng Bingxiu was still in Yangzhou City now, and he was still hiding in somewhere to heal and practice. This was a good chance to kill him. If he missed this chance, he couldn¡¯t battle with the imperial guards by himself, even his kung fu was recovering just like his previous life.

    ¡°Ahem...¡± The light cough of the woman on the bed interrupted his thoughts and made him realize that he was not meditating in his own South Yard¡¯s room, plotting to eliminate evil. He was a guest in the bedroom of an unfriendly littledy, and because ¨C He looked at the well-wrappeddy on the bed and asked, ¡°Hello, Miss He, why doesn¡¯t it work that I push the anesthetic out? Where did you get this anesthetic? Do I have to wait for three days to restore normal?¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°Hey, are you asleep, girl?¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°Are you not feeling well? What can I do for you? Do you want to see a doctor? Shall I call your maid and your family?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t call anyone. Just get out.¡±

    ¡°...I also know it is impolite toe into your room in the midnight. However, first, you caused that I got the anesthetic, and now you should take responsible for me. Second, I can¡¯t go back, because I¡¯ve heard there is a wall between East and West yards (of Luo¡¯s Mansion), and it is locked at 23:15. Now, it is 23:45. The guest room you have arranged for me is on the other side of the wall. Now I am unable to move. Even I don¡¯t want to linger, I can¡¯t go back.¡± Meng Xuan shook his head with a sigh.

    He Danggui gnashed her teeth and said, ¡°There are rooms all over the Tao Yao Yard. You can sleep in whatever room you want. If I hear you again, I¡¯ll smack you to death and feed you to the wild cats and boars.¡± Then, there was no answer near the table. He Danggui gratified secretly. To deal with those naughty children, it was no use to beat and scold them. The most effective one was intimidation.

    Feeling the room became quiet, she could not sleep when she should have had a good rest. She had never been afraid of the night in her life, and it was the first time that she trembled in the night. She shivered and shrunk into the quilt just like a piece of autumn leaves. She must grit teeth and tough it out. No matter how many times she was reborn, as long as she had a choice, she would not choose to drink that bowl of Meng Po soup. That was because it was her own choice to be awake and painful living in this world where all the people ¡°lost their memory¡±, and it was also her own journey¡­ Danggui, as long as gnashing teeth, you could survive¡­

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll choose this one.¡± A voice sounded in the back of He Danggui¡¯s head, and the warm air brushed her ear. ¡°Hey, give me half of the quilt, thanks.¡±

    She shook her head abruptly and stared at the man incredulously who had taken half of her pillow with a smile. Though she wanted to kick him off, she was too exhausted to do anything. She didn¡¯t expect that Earl Baoding Meng Shan, a descendant of Mencius, could teach such a yboy. He even crawled into a woman¡¯s boudoir at the age of 11 and climbed on a woman¡¯s embroidered bed.

    He Danggui was extremely anger butughed at him. ¡°Childe Xuan, I¡¯ll tell you the truth. I¡¯m ten years old this year. I¡¯m ugly and as thin as ath. If you want to look for a beauty, you should go to find my Second Sister. My whole family will wee you.¡±

    ¡°Why is there only one pillow and one quilt on your bed? There are four pillows and two quilts on my bed at home.¡± Meng Xuan said and tugged at the head of the quilt with his fingers. He was trying to peel off the cocoon-like quilt for a share and telling the little girl, ¡°You should put more quilts on the bed, and then you will feel warm and lively when you sleep, so you won¡¯t shiver lonely.¡± Tugging for a long time, Meng Xuan felt helpless because when he opened a split, the girl would tighten it up, ¡°I came to see you because you were caught by the evil man, and you are so scared that you are shaking at night. At least, throw back the covers and let me see you. What¡¯s wrong with you? I can cure you.¡±

    The top of the quilt wriggled, and a muffled voice came from inside, ¡°I¡¯m not shaking. I¡¯m fine. Go away.¡± She really hoped there would be ayer of thorns on the quilt to dress herself up as a hedgehog. Then it could strike out all those evil-minded and snobbish men, and indifferent strangers at once.

    Meng Xuan was silent for a moment and went on to pull the quilt. ¡°Did that wicked man hurt you? Where did he hit you? Show me! I¡¯ll leave after seeing it, or I¡¯ll be here all the time making noise, and you can¡¯t sleep quietly. Can you show me, girl?¡±

    She said coldly, ¡°Now there are Peng Shi, Peng Jian, Feng Yan, Feng Yu and my two maids in the yard. I will count to three, and if you don¡¯t escape through the window, I will call for help.¡±

    Meng Xuan said casually, ¡°I heard them earlier. Just six children! Tell you the truth. I¡¯m a good a fighter, and every time I went out to molest women, if anyone encountered me, I¡¯d kill them and then clean it up, as if I never killed anyone before. If you want yell, just do it. And in tomorrow morning, people in Luo¡¯s Mansion will find six people are missing.¡±

    ¡°Knock, knock, knock.¡± There was a knock on the door, and then the voice of Chan Yi sounded, ¡°Are you sleep, Miss?¡± A cheerful voice let the two people on the bed suddenly became rigid.

    He Danggui came out from the quilt and said to the shadow on the door, ¡°I slept.¡± Her voice was trembling.

    ¡°Slept?¡± The tone of Chan Yi turned a corner just like sang a song, ¡°But I hear your voice is not sleepy at all? Miss, open the door. I want to tell you something, and I also made a chrysanthemum tea for you. You drink it before you sleep.¡±

    He Danggui turned her head in panic and weakness. When seeing the grim and menacing face beside her pillow, she snapped at the door. ¡°No, go away. If you don¡¯t leave, I will set my dog to catch you.¡±

    Chan Yi did not believe. ¡°Miss, you do not have a dog.¡±

    He Danggui suddenly shed an idea in her drowsy mind. ¡°There¡¯s a mouse on my door,¡± she said, ¡°Do you see it? It¡¯s squeaky and annoying. Get rid of it.¡±

    ¡°...¡± The figure on the door was gone immediately, and the sound of Chan Yi was also far away. ¡°Oh! Oh! Oh ¨C¡±

    Meng Xuan sniggered. While the quilt next to him opened a slit, he quickly pulled it and opened a corner to get in. With a surprised expression, heined, ¡°Oh, you are as cold as ice. You are colder than me who has no quilt, and I wanted you to warm me up!¡± Seeing the ice on his side shook violently, he sighed and took the ice in his arms. ¡°I¡¯m not really hot. Come on, let¡¯s keep each other warm.¡±

    He Danggui felt that her back was covered with a warm support. Although it did not add much warmth, the arms stuck out from behind effectively stopped her shivering. As if she had been falling down in an endless abyss, but all of a sudden, this arm caught her.

    ¡°Look, isn¡¯t it great? We¡¯re not cold anymore.¡± Meng Xuan said, sounding like an adult, with gentleness and intellect, ¡°I said just now that I was only trying to help you, but you wouldn¡¯t open your quilt. Now you are clinging to me. You must feel that I won¡¯t hurt you, right? People usually are liars, as if you were shivering when you said you weren¡¯t; as if you were dying of loneliness when you said I should go away. But the body is the most honest. Your body says that you need a hug, and my body says that I just want to give you a hug.¡±

    ¡°...¡± She did not want to think more, whether she warmed herself from such a warm embrace. And she did not want to think why this embrace let her feel at ease, as if a lost tired bird flied into the nest of the same kind. Although it was very strange, but between the same species, people always had a reason to help each other, with the same smell, the same eyes, and the same temperature.

    ¡°In fact, I used to be impervious to heat and cold, but since I was drugged by you, my legs are cold, numb, and unconscious. Girl, your anesthetic is very powerful. Where did you get it?¡± Since he could not get the answer from the woman in his arms, Meng Xuan tightened his arms and hugged the ice beauty more tightly. He rubbed his chin against her head and suddenly wondered, ¡°You smell so good. I¡¯ve smelled it before. What kind of face powder do you use? Can I buy it in any rouge shop?¡± He smelt from her hair to ear, neck, chest and stomach, and then he held her into his arms again. He whispered, ¡°Yes, that¡¯s the smells... Eh, that¡¯s weird. Do Taoist nuns use face powder?¡±

    She was like an inanimate doll, letting him fiddle with, but she didn¡¯t feel any difort or offence. Why? Although she had saved his life once, he was still a stranger to her. Could it because of his age? She had lived for twenty-eight years, so it was all right to be hugged by a little brother of ten? But if Peng Jian hugged her, would she feel the same way?

    ¡°Hey!¡±

    ¡°Girl!¡± They said at the same time.

    ¡°You go first.¡± He Danggui was depressed.

    Meng Xuan picked up a strand of her ck hair and shook it. ¡°What face powder did you use?¡± He asked, ¡°I like the smell. I also want to buy one. Where can I buy it?¡±

    ¡°It is the scent of love flower. It is the seed of the love flower in the box locked by Changsheng Lock, but it has been used up for many years.¡±

    ¡°Love flower?¡± Meng Xuan blinked his long eysh and became a curious baby. He asked, ¡°It¡¯s an artistic name, and it smells like orchid and musk. Isn¡¯t it a beautiful flower?¡±

    ¡°Well, you can buy it at an herbal medicine shop if you want. You can¡¯t find it in a rouge store.¡±

    ¡°An herbal medicine shop? It also can heal people. Great...¡± Meng Xuan mped the hair between his upper lips and nose. ¡°A flower that is fragrant, kind and healing, just like Freshwater Sponge.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s poisonous.¡±

    ¡°Poisonous?¡± The hair clipped on Meng Xuan¡¯s nose was fell, and his eyebrows was high on one side and low on the other.

    ¡°Yes, the love flower is also known as white thorn apple. It is said it was a flower in the sky and fell to earth by mistake. The whole nt of this flower is slightly poisonous. The seeds are the most poisonous and have the narcotic effect. It can be made into a knockout drop together with the monkshood and wild aconite. The anesthetic you were drugged was steamed by love flowers.¡± He Danggui said a lot. She suddenly felt that somewhere in the chest wasfortable, so she took a deep breath, allowing more energy to flow through her body.

    Meng Xuan felt a sweet fragrance on the nose, which made the tip of his nose itch slightly. He couldn¡¯t help but lower his head and rub He Danggui¡¯s forehead. Then his lips happened to brush her eyebrows. He knew he was crossing the line when he saw her eyebrows raised slightly. But on second thought, he exined, ¡°I¡¯m older than you, much older.¡± He only regarded her as a little sister, and that was all.

    He Dangguiughed in her heart. He was just a child, who most liked topare the age with others. Who was older, or who was higher? Well, forgot it. He was just a kid.

 Chapter 141 - Ate her internal force

    <h4>Chapter 141 Ate her internal force</h4>

    Seeing that she became silent again, Meng Xuan hesitated and then exined, ¡°I felt chilly just now. I saw your quilt which looks soft and warm, so I couldn¡¯t control myself¡­ Of course, I could find a bed and quilt next door. But... I just want to seek apany suddenly. Miss He, you will forgive my abruptness of influencing your reputation, won¡¯t you?¡±

    He Danggui felt that it was like her heart being flicked by a feather. The kid¡¯s soul was as lonely as hers. He just wanted to seek apany. Well, they ought to apany each other. So, she said softly, ¡°I lend you half of quilt, and you lend me your arm to sleep on it. Let¡¯s apany each other to spend the night.¡±

    Meng Xuan stunned a little while, and then he nodded, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll give you my leg additionally.¡± Then, he held this cold girl with his left arm, and he put his left leg on her side, trying to sp her with left hand on her belly. And his chest was tightly attached her slim back. In his arms, He Danggui refusedzily, ¡°Get off. You are too heavy.¡±

    ¡°Hush, girl, I have something to tell you,¡± Meng Xuan suddenly whispered in her ear, ¡°Don¡¯t be sacred and don¡¯t talk. Just listen to me. When I yed Go with you, I had known you were not an ordinary people. Later, the assassin came, and you rushed forward to save Madam Luo. When I stopped you, I found that you had internal force in your channel, but your internal force was not stable. Sometimes it was strong, while sometimes it was not. I was confused that why ady had such a strong internal force, but I didn¡¯t talk about it, which was hidden in my heart.¡±

    Before he finished, He Danggui stiffened in his arms. So, he patted her shoulder andforted her, ¡°Rx, I have no bad intention. Could you please listen to me first, okay? When you returned to your room, I saw your eyes dim, and your nose close and open incessantly, but you had no serious injuries. That¡¯s the reason why I insisted to lift your quilt to check on you.¡±

    Then he picked up her delicate wrist. After he examined a little while, he said, ¡°Just now, I heard your pulse of your heart and your Dantian, when I sniffed your fragrance. You didn¡¯t have internal injury, instead, your Zhenqi have broken forth, which we called ¡°Qizhou¡±. So, I¡¯m more curious. In fact, as for a general who has practiced kung fu day and night and been through a lot at wars, like me, only when his kung fu raises up to another levels, can his force raise up suddenly. If the situation has happened on a person twice a year, you can say that person is diligent. For me, in the few past years, kung fu was my life, besides eating. Even though, I can only encounter 5 times of ¡°Qizhou¡±, which added up less than 5 days. But yours, it seems that it urred at least half a month or more. So, girl, I want to ask you a question. Did you get your Zhenqi from others?¡±

    Hearing that he talked her secret confidently, He Danggui was rattled and asked angrily, ¡°How do you know that I did not practice by myself? Maybe I¡¯m a kung fu genius?¡±

    ¡°Well, in fact, although you are gifted, your talent is less than half of mine. And touch it.¡± Meng Xuan put his rough fingers on her soft palm to let her feel. He said, ¡°Geniuses and wizards in the world all need to practice. Your hands have no sword scars, while your internal force canpare to a martial arts expert. Isn¡¯t it too strange?¡±

    ¡°What do you want to say?¡± He Danggui pulled her hands back to quilt and touched the needle case on her wrist. She asked coldly, ¡°There are so many strange things in the world. Why are you curious about my secret?¡± He Danggui thought that she needn¡¯t to be panic, because she also knew his secrets. And also, she had saved his life. She could use these two things to threaten him!

    Meng Xuan smiled and said, ¡°Girl, don¡¯t be so panic. I have said that I have no bad intention. I can tell that you can¡¯t control these streams of Zhenqi which don¡¯t belong to you, and you can¡¯t use your internal energy. So, your Zhenqi are useless. Besides, it is so dangerous that these Zhenqi spread inside of your body every day. So, I¡¯d like to make a deal with you. Could you please lend me your Zhenqi?¡±

    ¡°Lend you?! How? No! It¡¯s not lending money, which just needs to pass it. Of course, I won¡¯t lend you my money!¡± He Danggui pouted and tried to get rid of his arms. Humph, at first, she thought that he was a yboy who sneaked into youngdies¡¯ bedrooms in the night. Then, she thought he was a lonely boy who sought for mom¡¯s love. She didn¡¯t expect that he was a bean counter who borrowed money from her.

    Struggling for a while, He Danggui suddenly found that her body could move but her back was stuck tightly on his chest. His arms and legs locked her between the bed and him. He didn¡¯t allow her to leave!

    ¡°What have you done to me?!¡± He Danggui screamed, ¡°Let me go! I will call someone!¡±

    ¡°I heard that Peng Shi, Peng Jian and these servants had left for a while. And your maid had also run away because of you. Who are you going to call?¡± Meng Xuan just used one hand and one leg to control her limbs properly. He didn¡¯t hurt her but also made her be unable to escape. He chuckled in her ear, ¡°Pardon me. When I held you, I have already been ¡®borrowing¡¯ it. My arts have a trait. Once I stick with an unprepared person, unless I let go, it won¡¯t pause.¡±

    However, He Danggui didn¡¯t believe what he said. She still struggled like a lively shrimp. Meng Xuan wanted to change a posture to control her, but he let her hands off identally. Then, her hands specifically attacked his acupoints and vulnerable parts. Consequently, Meng Xuan felt his left eye got punched. Next, he felt his armpit got poked. Fine, it didn¡¯t matter... Then... He felt the most vulnerable part of him got hardly pinched and wrenched!

    ¡°Howl!¡± Meng Xuan howled like a wolf. He forced her to grovel on the bed and then pressed her back strongly. He said unbelievably, ¡°Hey, chick, are you a woman? How could you do that?¡±

    He Danggui regretted. She knew that she put herself in dangerous. But she just struggled as possible as she can, at the same time she yelled, ¡°Xiaoyou, help me! Chan Yi, Huai Hua, help me! Bo He, Dou Jiang, Qian Shi, help me!¡± Of course, that ¡°yell¡± was based on her posture. Because her head was embedded on this soft pillow within Juncus. So, her tears and shout were all towards her pillow which was specially made for her by Huai Hua.

    Meng Xuan whispered threateningly in her ear, ¡°Miss He, do you really think I won¡¯t kill you? Do you want someone to die for you?¡± These two questions stopped He Danggui¡¯s restlessness sessfully. Then, Meng Xuan put quilt on his shoulder. It also covered her because she was under him.

    Meng Xuan looked at the calm girl who just acted like losing her soul. She looked like a silkworm, even if she was like a lioness just now. Not only she was motionless, but also her eyes were gazing at one direction without even blinking. Meng Xuan was touched and asked softly, ¡°If you are obedient, I won¡¯t hurt you or harm you. Okay?¡±

    The girl under him didn¡¯t make any sound. So, Meng Xuan continued, ¡°Girl, actually I could have poked your acupoint and make you be dumb. But if I do that, it could harm your channel. So, I didn¡¯t do that. Thus, it can be seen that I have no bad intention to you. When I just said I wanted to borrow your internal force, you were angry immediately and didn¡¯t allow me to exin. First, I said ¡®borrow¡¯, it really means to ¡®borrow¡¯. And I will pay you back with ¡®interests¡¯; Second, I am actually saving your life. I¡¯ve checked your channel. ¡®Zhenqi¡¯ inside of your body was a mess. Besides, your minds were messier than your ¡®Zhenqi¡¯. You need to know, the first rule of exercising internal force is ¡®peace of mind¡¯. It¡¯s the most important than any excellent methods of internal force. Once you mind is in a mess, you will get Qi Deviation. At that time, even if I don¡¯t tell you, you would know the consequence!¡±

    This time, the girl under him finally raised her head slightly with crystal tears and turned her head to that handsome boy. But she just cared about one thing, ¡°Are you really going to ¡®pay me back¡¯?¡±

    Meng Xuan was stunned for a moment. And then he nodded, ¡°Of course, if I lie to you, I will be a dog.¡±

    Hearing that, He Danggui put her head into the pillow with tears dropping. Well, fine, just go ahead. She gave up fighting anymore. He had been absorbing her internal force without her agreement. How could he say that he had no bad intention! Furthermore, he was Earl Baoding¡¯s son and worked for the army throughout the years. If he wanted to repudiate a debt and run away, where could she find him? And he said ¡°If he lied to me, he was a dog¡±. It was clearly a lie to cheat kids.

    Meng Xuan didn¡¯t know her thoughts. He thought he sessfully pacified that girl, so he was relieved and said with a smile, ¡°Ho-ho, you only need to be obedient to me. I found your Zhenqi wasing from more than three people. That¡¯s even more dangerous. Although these are the top and purest Zhenqi, each of them doesn¡¯t blend to others, or even repels each other. Some are the icy Zhenqi of thend of snow. Some are zing Zhenqi of Longhu Sect. I really don¡¯t know your standard! Besides, you didn¡¯t exercise at all after you got them. Instead, you let them run in your channel. We can¡¯t see the harm now, but in a long while, your hands and your feet will be disabled!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t scare me. Who knows if you are deceiving me? You want me to give my Zhenqi willingly when I¡¯m sacred!¡± He Danggui finally couldn¡¯t help but retort, ¡°And even if you want to absorb it, you can ask politely for my permission! After I deliberate it and promise your request, you can do it! You are a general who will spend much time on the battlefield. If you go to war and anything untoward happens to you, who will pay back my Zhenqi?¡± She had worked hard to umte Zhenqi. Although it had not been refined into her own things, she insisted on using silver needles to guide the streams of Zhenqi. It was not that serious.

    Meng Xuan was shocked by her roaring, and he said with a smile, ¡°I am an adult, so why do I trick you? I¡¯m twenty years older than you, and my kung fu, mind and intelligence are better than yours. If I want to do something bad to you, I will knock you down and do whatever I want. So that I won¡¯t let you make me almost be sonless... Eh, in a word, I won¡¯t lie to you. I swear to Heaven!¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± He Danggui used her elbow to hit back his waist. While Meng Xuan felt hurtful, she took the chance to make a snowball trick and made him under her body. She said coldly, ¡°Stupid boy, you are twenty years older than me, aren¡¯t you? Your mind and intelligence are better than me, aren¡¯t they? I tell you the truth that in my previous life, I could step a thief like you under my feet, not to mention now!¡±

 Chapter 142 - Fairly weak little Miss

    <h4>Chapter 142 Fairly weak little Miss</h4>

    Uh-oh! They eximed in their hearts at the same time, ¡°I spilled the beans by ident!¡±

    When Meng Xuan was pinned down, and his neck was choked by He Danggui who was really angry, he suddenly realized that he should conceal his true ability. So, he pretended to be weak and begged, ¡°Spare me, my kind sister! I bragged. It was just a joke! Actually, I¡¯m stupid and silly. There is nothing I can surpass you!¡±

    But He Danggui also put her hands over her mouth in surprise and said, ¡°What a coincidence. In fact, I was joking too. I never fought a thief, and I¡¯m just a little Miss who is fairly weak... So, Seventh Childe Xuan, could you please forget what I said? Just pretend that I said nothing before, okay?¡±

    ¡°Well, what a coincidence.¡± Meng Xuan smiled and looked up at He Danggui. His eyes sparkled like the sea. She said, ¡°I have the same thought with you! How about forgetting it together?¡±

    ¡°Forgetting it together?¡± What should she forget about? Although He Danggui didn¡¯t know what Meng Xuan was doing, she nodded, ¡°Deal!¡±

    Seeing that she was so amenable, Meng Xuan couldn¡¯t help sighing with relief. But when he was about to thank her, he found that she still rode on him and squeezed his neck. So, he reminded her kindly, ¡°Sister, now that we¡¯ve exined clearly the misunderstanding. Could you pleasee down?¡± He Danggui¡¯s leg also was on Meng Xuan¡¯s private part.

    He Danggui shook her head and said, ¡°That is quite another matter. Although we leave that thing behind, but look at this.¡± She grinned while taking out a sharp and long silver needle and putting it in front of Meng Xuan. Then she asked dangerously, ¡°Do you know what it is?¡±

    ¡°A needle.¡± Meng Xuan answered honestly.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, and it¡¯s also a poisonous needle.¡± He Danggui stopped smiling and said in horror, ¡°It has the poison, Jian Xue Feng Kou, and it¡¯s a horrible poison which can make the corpse cken. I order you to stop taking away my Zhenqi now, otherwise you¡¯ll die!¡±

    After holding down Meng Xuan, He Danggui found that things were really like what he said. Transmitting Zhenqi would not be interrupted unless he let his hands go. He Danggui struggled several times and couldn¡¯t remove from Meng Xuan¡¯s body. Until now she found that what he really chose to transmit Zhenqi was lower abdomen. He attracted her belly button with his belly button, transmitting from Dantian to Dantian. This was barely robbing! It was on the basis of consensual rtionships when she asked Lu Jiangbei and others to transmit Zhenqi before. That was from channel to channel with a uniform speed. But Meng Xuan transmitted from Dantian directly. Did he want to absorb everything out of her?

    Thinking of this, she pricked a bleeding blister on his hand with her needle, just like the blister that she frightened that manst time. The bleeding blister slowly swelled, which looked a little horrible.

    Since she suspected to that man, she took this kind of ¡°poisonous needle¡± all the time. Besides, she also took the anesthesia and ¡°tea dew¡±. She almost used her special skills and those could hold down seniors inplete secrecy. She was ready to use when that man wanted to kill her. Unexpectedly, she fought with the masked man with the anesthesia and ¡°tea dew¡±, and used the poisonous needle on Meng Xuan.

    ¡°Hey, why am I still alive?¡± Meng Xuan tilted his head in the state of being choked by He Danggui and looked at the bleeding blister on his hand. He asked, ¡°Is this a horrible poison that can kill people in a sh?¡±

    ¡°It is just an exaggerated expression, and even arsenic can¡¯t kill people in a sh.¡± He Danggui frightened Meng Xuan with thest excuse again, ¡°In fact, this kind of poison won¡¯t kill you. But you will be blind one monthter; you will be deaf 2 monthster; you will be bald 3 monthter; you will be sonless 4 monthster¡­¡± She just shortened the time of poison she saidst time. Then she continued, ¡°If you don¡¯t believe it, you can prick your Shangqu acupoint with a silver needle and look at the pinpoint¡¯s color when you¡¯re back. Shangqu acupoint is one of the eight important acupoints for those martial artists. If you¡¯re infected with this deadly poison, you must know how worrying your situation is!¡±

    ¡°Among other things, my queen. Could you please change another posture to press me?¡± Meng Xuan¡¯s bitter expression was so lovely that people wanted to pinch it. He said, ¡°If you still maintain this posture, I will be sonless before the poison breaks out!¡±

    He Danggui lowered her head and found that she chose a wrong point of strength, so she moved over a little bit and continued to negotiate, ¡°I guess you definitely want the antidote, right? I suppose that you¡¯re young and ignorant, and I don¡¯t really think that your sin should make you be sonless. So, I will give you one temporary antidote every 7 days. When you give all my Zhenqi back, I¡¯ll detoxify for youpletely, okay?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s more, please don¡¯t wriggle when you speak. It makes me feel ufortable.¡± Meng Xuan continued to tell his troubles, ¡°And please don¡¯t shake your head. Your hair makes me feel itchy.¡±

    He Danggui said angrily, ¡°You got poisoned! Don¡¯t you want to get the antidote?¡±

    Meng Xuan broke the bleeding blister with his hand and torn a piece of silk from his sleeve. He was binding up the wound and said, ¡°A month ago, I got poisoned. It is called ¡®He He Qi Ri Qing¡¯ which is the strongest poison in the world. After taking the antidote, I be immune for all poisons. If you don¡¯t believe me, you can prick my Shangqu acupoint and look at pinpoint¡¯s color.¡±

    ¡°He He Qi Ri Qing? It¡¯s reserved for imperial guards. Oh, so you¡¯re the prisoner arrested by the Imperial Court!¡± He Danggui thought thatst time when she saved him, he didn¡¯t have the sign of being poisoning. Was it because he had detoxified? Should she tell about saving him as a chip so that asking him to give energy back to her?

    Meng Xuan¡¯s insouciant expression suddenly disappeared. He stared at He Danggui and asked, ¡°Why did you know He He Qi Ri Qing? Who are you?¡± Well, this poison was from Jiang Yi who was an imperial guard. He used his special Jin Mai Nail and fought on Meng Xuan¡¯s body when Meng Xuan saved Su Xiaoxiao at Tu¡¯er Town. Later, Meng Xuan fought with imperial guards again in order to ask for the antidote. Although he deflected people¡¯s attention in a tactic of dispersing group¡¯s strength and ate the antidote sessfully, he was surrounded by Gao Jue and others when he was about to leave. As being outnumbered, he was injured and hid in the mountain. Later, he was saved by Zixiao.

    But why He Danggui could know his secret? As a Miss of rich family, not only did she have internal energy, but also she clearly knew the matters of imperial guards. Meng Xuan¡¯s expression became colder and colder. He asked again, ¡°Who are you exactly?¡±

    ¡°Boy, you¡¯ve known that there is special zing Zhenqi of Longhu Sect inside my body, right? To be honest, I¡¯m the saint of Longhu Sect. People in Jianghu praise my arts of lightness as ¡®no trace of water, flying in the grass¡¯ and call me the heroine He Danggui.¡± With a change of thought, she decided not to tell him that she had saved him before. Saving the prisoner arrested by the Imperial Court was a deadly sin, and he also had a felony. They were both involved in the case. If he was a rogue, what about threatening and controlling her by it? Seeing his beautiful face with bright eyes and red mouth, she confirmed this possibility. Taking her Zhenqi without asking, he was really a viin!

    He Danggui knew that Nie Chun came from Longhu Sect, and her internal zing Zhenqi was from him. Both Longhu Sect and Qiyanggong Sect did act secretly, like the legendary existence. Who cared that she pretended only once?

    ¡°The saint of Longhu Sect? No trace of water, flying in the grass?¡± Meng Xuan frowned to think back while whispered, ¡°What¡¯s that? I never heard it before.¡± With his wide knowledge, he hadn¡¯t heard this name in Jianghu. Was it because he was ignorant or she talked recklessly?

    Of course, He Danggui didn¡¯t believe that she couldn¡¯t fool a boy with her intelligent wisdom and lying experience. So, she snorted inscrutably, ¡°You¡¯ve been practicing martial arts all the year round so that you be an ignorant material arts addict. It is not strange that you don¡¯t know what happened in Jianghu. How dare you disrespect the saint of Longhu Sect? Stop transmitting Zhenqi now! What are you waiting for?¡± Gee! She would lose all her Zhenqi if he continued to absorb.

    ¡°Sister Saint.¡± Meng Xuan twinkled his eyes and begged, ¡°Could you please not tell anyone that once I¡¯ve poisoned by He He Qi Ri Qing, okay? Actually, I just ate outside and identally ate this kind of poison. I¡¯m not the prisoner arrested by the Imperial Court. Instead, I¡¯m a vanguard general who is willingly to sacrifice myself for the country. Please help me keep this secret, okay?¡± He didn¡¯t care whether she was a saint or a goddess. Although just he believed a little and guessed she might hide some secrets, he had a lot of secrets too. It was unnecessary to know her secrets so clearly. Anyway, what he wanted to do first was tofort her.

    Meng Xuan held He Danggui¡¯s slim waist. Taking a move of reversing their positions, he pinned He Danggui down and said sincerely, ¡°Taking away your energy is really to help you. If you don¡¯t believe it, just remember the terrible situation of faltering before you came to the room. Look at yourself now. You¡¯re full of energy and even want me to have no offspring. Don¡¯t you really get that?¡±

    He Danggui was confused and found he was right. Looking back, she felt so ufortable as if she was going to die. But now, she felt energetic to pinch. Her hands and feet were so warm. She pinched Meng Xuan¡¯s neck and asked, ¡°So, do I give you my Zhenqi for nothing? Will I harm my health if I have Zhenqi? Or am I just not cut out for practicing martial arts?¡±

    ¡°I was about to tell you, but you suddenly held me down and I have no chance to say. Although you¡¯re suitable for practicing martial arts, you¡¯rezy and opportunistic. You think you can be a master just by taking internal force from other seniors. You¡¯re wrong.¡±

    Seeing He Danggui¡¯s lovely grimace, he pinched her pink cheek and touched her tip of nose with his forefinger. When she shouted, ¡°How dare you...¡±, he covered her mouth and continued, ¡°No man is content. There are too much Zhenqi that you took away from different methods. Although Zhenqi is good, you should take it slowly. Besides, you¡¯re a woman. But what you received is virile Zhenqi. It¡¯s thick and heavy and is ipatible with your constitution. Above all, only a person with good external energy dare to use others¡¯ Zhenqi. Otherwise, many Wulin schools in the world all can cultivate a number of artificial seniors. Girl, you are sozy that you almost have no external energy.¡±

    He Danggui was unconvinced and bit Meng Xuan¡¯s finger, then she snorted, ¡°I¡¯m good at martial arts¡¯ forms of every schools in the world. And I also have the peach grove which allows me to practice martial arts. One day I¡¯ll be a senior of martial arts and defeat you!¡± Actually, after she moved into Tao Yao Yard, she had rested 5 or 6 days. Every day she slept till noon and continued to get more sleep at noon. So, ¡°having no time¡± was the best exnation of zy¡± forever.

    ¡°Of course, Zhenqi is essential energy for martial artists, and every drop of it is so precious. I¡¯m 1.68 meters tall¡­¡± He Danggui interrupted him to correct, ¡°1.08 meters tall.¡± He paused for a while and continued, ¡°How can I grab such a weak woman¡¯s Zhenqi? In fact, I took away your Zhenqi from Dantian to Dantian is to help you promote Zhenqi. Look at your irregr Zhenqi, you never know methods for circling Zhenqi. I¡¯m teaching you the basic methods, but you refused to learn.¡±

    Hearing this, He Danggui was confused. The basic course of internal energy? This was her most desirable course both in her previous life and this life! After holding her breath, she found irregr Zhenqi really flew to Dantian regrly with a smooth and steady rhythm.

    ¡°Sorry, I never noticed this. Could you please repeat it?¡± He Danggui humbly asked for advice, ¡°Which channels are going first? Pericardium channel? Tri-jiao channel? Zusanli acupoint?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± Meng Xuan felt surprised to the girl who changed her attitude so fast. Then he smiled and said, ¡°In order to help you adjust the breath, of course, also to help me adjust the Zhenqi taking from you, I let the speed of receiving Zhenqi to the slowest. I will take away all your Zhenqi inside your body about 10 days. That means I¡¯lle to your room every night for the next 10 days. Would you mind it? Uh, if you haven¡¯t been engaged to other man, I can ask for Madam Luo to propose marriage to you, in order to maintain your reputation and moral integrity.¡±

 Chapter 143 - Embracing in sleep

    <h4>Chapter 143 Embracing in sleep</h4>

    ¡°Well, you are willing to spend 10 days to teach me, aren¡¯t you?¡± He Danggui smiled with curved eyes. She felt that Meng Xuan¡¯s cold and handsome face suddenly became lovely and cute. She said, ¡°Little master, when you circle Zhenqi in important channels, could you make a sound to remind me so that I can memorize the circling route?¡±

    Meng Xuan nodded dully and said, ¡°Fine, now it¡¯s in my Qihai acupoint, and soon it will enter my Dantian. Do you want me to be responsible for you? Well, I haven¡¯t engaged. I think I¡¯m a nice person. I have good temper and no bad habits. Our personalities are matched, and we¡¯re at the same age. Now we did this, so if you like¡­¡±

    ¡°No! Something¡¯s wrong!¡± He Danggui suddenly opened her eyes and yelled, ¡°When you taught me the methods for circling Zhenqi, you took away all the Zhenqi in my body. What the hell am I learning this for? It¡¯s useless!¡± It was like teaching her how to cook and then taking away her cooking materials as tuition. When she learnt all the skills, she would have nothing to practice! Let alone aszy as she was, she would never be a senior even when she became an olddy.

    Meng Xuan was shocked by ¡°It¡¯s useless¡±, so he stopped talking about proposing marriage and exined, ¡°Once you learn the methods for circling Zhenqi? and practice hard External Boxing Arts for half a year, I will teach you some palm methods and sword methods, which are suitable for women. And with these foundations, I will return your Zhenqi back to you gently in one month. At that moment, those Zhenqi have already been cultivated stronger and be much easier for you to absorb. I will straightly transfer Zhenqi into your Dantian, and Qizhou will never happen again. Is that okay?¡±

    What Meng Xuan said made He Danggui extremely delight, but she had a second thought and asked in doubt, ¡°Why are you being so nice to me? You will even cultivate all my Zhenqi and then return them all to me without keeping some for yourself. Besides, now you can stay at Yangzhou City for days, but what if you die in battle half a yearter?¡±

    Meng Xuanforted her, ¡°Rx, I will not die. If there isn¡¯t urgent military call, I will be studying at Chengxu Academy for the year toe. Tomorrow I will tell Madam Luo about this. If she wants me to stay at Luo¡¯s Mansion, I will agree after refusing one or two times; if she doesn¡¯t want me to stay here, I will buy a house outside Luo¡¯s Mansion and climb over the walls to teach you martial arts at nights. Will that be good?¡±

    ¡°Why? Why will you help me like this?¡± He Danggui didn¡¯t believe that Meng Xuan would help her without benefits. So, she said solemnly, ¡°I don¡¯t have money.¡±

    ¡°Take it easy. I will charge you nothing.¡± Meng Xuan told her honestly, ¡°To be honest, I can get a lot of advantages by teaching you. In this half a year, your Zhenqi became more and stronger inside my body, and I have improved a lot with your Zhenqi. It¡¯s win-win.¡± Of course, there was another reason he didn¡¯t say ¨C With He Danggui¡¯s Zhenqi, he would be more confident of sess to kill Geng Bingxiu. In ten years, that evil would kill and murder thousands of innocent officials and citizens. So, he must kill Geng Bingxiu before Geng Bingxiu became powerful. It was what said in Buddhism ¨C ¡°Kill one to save one hundred¡±.

    Hearing his reasonable exnation, He Danggui didn¡¯t doubt again. After all, he was much stronger than her. If he really kept some Zhenqi, it was unnecessary that he exined so much. Then He Danggui smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯m always in fond of our Huaxia¡¯s extensive and profound martial arts. And I¡¯m even more respectful for a senior like you, Childe Xuan. I¡¯ve been trying to find a master to teach me martial arts, but I couldn¡¯t find the right one for me. Now since you will teach me and are worried that someone may reproach us, why not let me be your disciple?¡±

    Meng Xuan paused, ¡°My disciple?¡± Was he going to take this naughty and cute girl as his disciple? Although he had a strange familiarity with her, somehow, he rejected this proposal intuitively. He said, ¡°No, I can¡¯t be your master. Why don¡¯t you consider¡­my proposal? Actually, I am really a nice guy.¡±

    ¡°Little master, you¡¯re too young to understand the love between male and female. You will know what kind of male and female will be a couple when you grow up.¡± Because He Danggui had thought of Meng Xuan differently, so she talked more patiently, ¡°Well, if you refuse to take me as your disciple, I just have to call your master privately. Master, it¡¯s midnight now, and time is precious. I would like to learn something from you. Which sect did you learn your internal energy from? Do we belong to the underworld or the righteous world?¡±

    Since He Danggui refused his proposal, and he realized that he didn¡¯t know anything about the feelings between male and female, he decided to give it up and said, ¡°I¡¯m not a warrior in Jianghu. What I learnt was the handed-down martial arts of Meng¡¯s Family. And I¡¯m a busy person, so I don¡¯t have much time to teach you. If you want to find a master, you need to find someone else. Wait, aren¡¯t you a saint? I heard Longhu Sect have some serious kung fu skills. Was there no one to teach you that?¡± Girl, you got exposed.

    But she had a thick skin. She would not blush because of this kind of reveal. Then she continued, ¡°Dare to ask is a traditional virtue. Even I have more theoretical knowledge and Jianghu experience than you, none of these could stop me from being your disciple. A teacher who teaches only a word or a move is still a teacher.¡± Last time, after Gao Jue helped cultivate her Zhenqi, Gao Jue became her master. Not to mention Meng Xuan was going to teach her more. She said, ¡°Well, let¡¯s not talk about it anymore. I can tell that you are indeed a noble guy, and you¡¯re honest to me. I¡¯ve regarded you as my master ¨C it¡¯s reached my Zhongfu acupoint, right? I felt a sudden warm.¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s in your Shaoyin channel now.¡± Meng Xuan showed He Danggui a hair and said, ¡°It¡¯s on your cloth. By the way, why is your body cold as ice? I can¡¯t warm you up no matter what I do. I feel hot sleeping on your bed, but you are still so cold. How do you feel?¡± While saying, he tucked quilt for He Danggui.

    ¡°It¡¯s much better than before. I was born cold body, and tonight I can feel coldness from head to toe.¡± He Dangguiid her head in his chest and said with a smile, ¡°Thank you, master, for tonight.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re wee. Actually, it was a moment of crush. First, I was interested in you; Second,¡± The young boy¡¯s hot breath sprayed on her forehead. And in the darkness, those clear eyes staring at her hair. He said, ¡°I have a feeling that we are the same.¡±

    He Danggui felt the same way!

    He Danggui closed her eyes and felt at ease. She was shocked and grateful to Immortal that one of her kind was sent to her tonight, pulling her out of the cold loneliness. He was a distinguished but easy-going boy; a stranger who talked like a very close friend; a passenger who apanied her toe through the most difficult path. At this moment, He Danggui believed there was Immortal in this earth, so Immortal could take this young boy who was different from anyone else to her side.

    He Danggui yawned and covered her face in the chest which was giving out a faint vor of tea. Then she fell into deep sleep with satisfaction. This journey was better since they could apany each other.

    They had a nice sleep.

    ¡°Rub-a-dub¡±, Huai Hua said, ¡°Miss, are you awake? We all have finished our breakfasts, and your meal is getting cold! Two masters in Peng¡¯s Family just came and left.¡± To be precise, as soon as Second Mater Peng walked to the gate, he was knocked out and carried away by First Master Peng. Huai Hua thought they were scared of Tao Yao Yard, so they didn¡¯t even enter the gate.

    He Danggui was awakened right away. She opened her eyes to see an extreme handsome face on the other side of the pillow, and the face was filled with drowsiness and confusion. He Danggui raised her voice and said to Huai Hua, ¡°I¡¯m up! You can go do other business first.¡±

    ¡°Other business? My biggest task is to serve you, my Miss!¡± Then she shook the door very hard, but it wouldn¡¯t be opened. Huai Hua felt very strange and said, ¡°Miss, did you lock the door? You¡¯ve never locked the door! Please open the door and let me serve you!¡± The door was still shaking ¨CHuai Hua was trying to find out if the Miss¡¯s door was strong enough.

    He Danggui waved her hands towards the door and said, ¡°I don¡¯t need your service. Just¡­go to the Peach Grove and pick some flowers for me¡­I want to bath in flowers tonight.¡± He Danggui had a feeling of getting busted, so she covered Meng Xuan with quilt and put down the curtain to hide Meng Xuan.

    ¡°Oh, okay.¡± Huai Hua¡¯s voice had gone further, ¡°Please don¡¯t get upte anymore, Miss!¡±

    He Danggui was relived. But suddenly the door was shaking fiercely again, leaving the ashes dancing in the morning light. He Danggui was shocked. Chan Yi¡¯s voice came from outside the door, ¡°Miss, water has prepared. Why is the door still locked?¡±

    Meng Xuan who just woke up couldn¡¯t stop butugh happily, which caused He Danggui stare at him angrily. Then she said to Chan Yi, ¡°Just put the water by the door. And I want to eat egg noodles now. Go and bring me one.¡± Chan Yi said yes. She discussed with Huai Hua about ¡°Miss is gettingzy¡± and left.

    After they walked far, He Danggui jumped out of the bed and put on her dress which was on the floor. She said quickly, ¡°Come on, leave through the window. Don¡¯t let anyone see you. And return after midnight. When you knock on the window three times, I will open the window to let you in. If you meet someone from Luo¡¯s Mansion on the way from Tao Yao Yard, you tell them you are here to see Peng Jian and Peng Shi, because the Xi Chang Yard where they live is next to my yard. Today when you mention about studying at Chengxu Academy to Madam Luo, if she asked you to stay, just say yes immediately. Otherwise, she may misunderstand you for being reluctant to stay at Luo¡¯s Mansion and decide to never invite you again as the guest. Luo¡¯s Mansion¡¯s guards are everywhere, and some of them are seniors. it will not be easy for you to climb over the walls to meet me every night¡­¡±

    Having heard no responds, He Danggui turned around and saw Meng Xuan fall asleep again, so she said in worries, ¡°No more sleep, get up! It won¡¯t take a while for Chan Yi to make a meal. She will be here soon. I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s almost eleven o¡¯clock. What if your fatheres here to find you? And you can totally sleep in your room!¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t feel my legs, so I¡¯m afraid that I can¡¯t walk now.¡± Meng Xuan had control of the whole bed now, so he rolled himself with quilt just like He Dangguist night and moved around in bed like a small worm. He said, ¡°My father was at a courier hostel (a ce where ancient messengers can rest and change their horses), and he came back therest night. I lied to him that Peng Jian, Peng Shi and I had be friends, and they asked me to stay a couple of more days in Luo¡¯s Mansion. Therefore, my father wille pick me up the day after tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Even so, you still can¡¯t sleep here.¡± He Danggui dressed herself in a hurry and picked up Meng Xuan¡¯s white silk robe. She tidied it up on the table and ran to pull his quilt. She said, ¡°As a distinguished guest like you staying here at Luo¡¯s Mansion, there will be visitors the whole day. And they will be worried if they fail to find where you are. And they even maybe start a big search.¡± Since she could not drag Meng Xuan out of his quilt, He Danggui took away the pillow to make him feel ufortable. She said, ¡°Come on. Get up. Get dressed and leave quickly. You are not a little kid anymore. The anesthetic I used on you means nothing to you. A brave general like you can swallow broken teeth and blood, and I¡¯m sure that¡¯s what your father taught you. You can leave the same way you camest night. Did you fly herest night?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Meng Xuan was covered in quilt. He yawned and said, ¡°I crawled with my hand stand. Girl, what was the Tea Dew you used on me? It¡¯s so strong that I couldn¡¯t even use my arts of lightness.¡±

    ¡°You crawled?¡± He Danggui thought it would be awkward if he crawled back to South Yard¡¯s guest house like that. Everyone in the mansion would want to take a look. But at the same time, she felt surprised and said, ¡°The Anesthetic Herb can only affect seniors. The more powerful the senior is, the more effects the senior will suffer. I¡¯m surprised that my master is so powerful that your arts of lightness got affected.¡±

    ¡°I thought it was Tea Dew you were talking. How does it suddenly be herb?¡± Meng Xuan stretched his head out of the quilt.

    He Danggui exined to him in details, ¡°You were affected by both Anesthetic Herb and Tea Dew. I tell you how that happened. First, I put some tea stems into the censer and lighted the fire. And then I added some Anesthetic Herbs, because it had the simr smell of tea after burning. If I had chosen to burn sandalwood and agwood with the Anesthetic Herb, it would have produced a smell of fish. In this case, people would have covered their noses, including that assassin. Since I had sealed my acupoint with silver needle in advance, everyone except me got Anesthetic Herb. Among these people, anyone whose kung fu was super stronger would feel paralyzed half or all over the body when circling Zhenqi. And the effects would disappear gradually in three days. However, the Anesthetic Herb is not actually an herb. It¡¯s a narcosis prescription made from multiple herbs mixed with Anesthetic Herb, so I called it ¡®Three-Day Anesthetic Herb¡¯.¡±

    ¡°You gave it a name, didn¡¯t you? Did you invent this prescription?¡± Meng Xuan sat up in bed and looked at He Danggui from head to toe. He asked, ¡°Girl, who are you? Are your really 10 years old?¡±

    Meng Xuan¡¯s fourth uncle Meng Xi established Qiyanggong Sect with his bare hands. Meng Xi had traveled around the world to search rare and precious herbs, but he couldn¡¯t find a single one that couldpete with this one, because this one had such serious effects on Wulin seniors. It was easy to bring down a normal person, but it would be much harder to bring down a senior. Besides, the Changfeng Form that his fourth uncle taught him had 19 methods for circling Zhenqi, which was better than just one or two methods of the normal one. And now unexpectedly, a prescription that could limit his power this much came from a 10-year-old girl?

 Chapter 144 - Unable to recognize him

    <h4>Chapter 144 Unable to recognize him</h4>

    When Meng Xuan got up, He Danggui grabbed the long gown on the table and put it on him. Even if he wanted to stay in her room, he must put on his clothes. When Chan Yi came in, it could be exined that ¡°Childe Xuan lost his way, so he came to visit here.¡±

    But Meng Xuan didn¡¯t cooperate with her at all. His body was as soft as noodles. He scratched his head with his right hand and dug his nostril with his left hand when wearing his clothes, which made He Danggui be very angry and said, ¡°Hey, have you heard of the evil energy in Jianghu of renewing one¡¯s youth? I became a ten-year-old girl by practicing it. When practicing it, I have to suck a boy¡¯s brain every day. If you don¡¯t wear clothes, I will suck yours!¡±

    Meng Xuanughed with his shoulders trembling. As he raised his arms and put on his sleeves, he stared at He Danggui with a pair of beautiful eyes and said, ¡°I¡¯ve never seen such an interesting person as you. I really want to be friends with you. By the way, what¡¯s the Tea Dew?¡±

    ¡°Oh, that is the concentrated tea cream, which could intoxicate a lot of people after taking a sip,¡± He Danggui dragged Meng Xuan out of bed. Like a conscientious maid, she dressed his cor, front and waistband. Then she pressed him to the dressing table tob his hair. At the same time, she continued to exin, ¡°Wine can be intoxicating, so is tea. Its potency is thirty times stronger than wine, which can let a person sleep for more than half a day after taking a drop, and even thunder can¡¯t wake him up. But this Tea Dew that can intoxicate people is so scattered that sometimes you can¡¯t take a drop even though after ten barrels of tea. Before being intoxicated, people will die because of drinking too much. Therefore, few people know about tea intoxication.¡±

    ¡°You, Madam Luo and I all have had it. Why are you all okay? The assassin didn¡¯t take a sip of tea. Is your precious Tea Dew only used for me?¡± It was the first time that Meng Xuan had sat in front of the dressing table used by women andbed his hair, so he felt so strange that he reached out to pull the dressing box on the table and looked over it.

    ¡°No, the strangest thing about Tea Dew is that it doesn¡¯t only work if you drink it, but also if you smell it, which just works slowly. As for the reason why Madam Luo is OK... If you use Anesthetic Herb alone, it will only work for martial arts seniors; if you use Tea Dew alone, it will work for anyone. However, if you get Anesthetic Herb first, and then drink Tea Dew, ordinary people will neutralize them and be safe, just like Madam Luo; if someone with internal force like you drink Tea Dew, he will catalyze the development of Anesthetic Herb and immediately be unable to walk or even to move.¡±

    He Danggui couldn¡¯tb her own hair very well, but she couldb others¡¯. In a short time, she made a bun for Meng Xuan. Then she nned to drag him to sit the table and poured him a cup of tea, acting as a guest came to visit. However, this guy had a strong interest in her dressing box and sat so steadily as a mountain that couldn¡¯t be dragged like the Giant Buddha.

    He Danggui had no choice but to tell him, ¡°As soon as someonees, you stand up relying on the dressing table and pretend to appreciate theyout of my room with your hands behind. If you are obedient, when I have time, I will use a silver needle to help you invigorate blood and discharge the medicine as soon as possible.¡±

    Meng Xuan raised his eyebrows and looked at her, ¡°Yesterday you said that you couldn¡¯t help me to discharge the medicine, so I had to wait for it to fade away and make do with it for two or three days.¡±

    ¡°Yesterday I was sleepy and impatient to you,¡± He Danggui said vaguely and exined after a pause, ¡°Besides, my acupuncture technique is very rare in the world, which had only been seen by my closest maid. I¡¯m not familiar with you, and I¡¯m afraid that you are a bad person with other intentions, so I dare not to show you my rare technique. Now you teach me the methods of internal energy and make friends with me. Of course, I will change my attitude. I hope you can keep the secret of acupuncture. Don¡¯t let it out.¡±

    Meng Xuan said with a smile, ¡°Well, anyway, I will also ask you to keep the secret about ¡®He He Qi Ri Qing¡¯. However, I¡¯m so curious that the reason why you know more than us (adults). I even want to open your head up and have a look.¡± Suddenly he opened a fragrant box and sniffed it. Then he said with a low voice, ¡°Yes, that¡¯s the smell of Zixiao!¡±

    He Danggui was bending over to fold the quilt, then she turned around and had a look, ¡°That¡¯s the spice made from the seeds of Love Flower. In addition to Love Flower, there are other fragrant nts, such as Huolie Flower, Lc and Jasmine. I named it ¡®Carefree Fragrance¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Carefree Fragrance?¡± Meng Xuan was amazed and asked, ¡°Is it also made by yourself that can¡¯t be bought outside?¡±

    As He Danggui made the bed, she shook her head and said, ¡°It was developed by my mother. I just added a few Huolie Flower to it and gave it the name of ¡®Carefree¡¯. Because every time I smell it, I will dispel my worry...¡± He Danggui grabbed the pillow and patted it. Then she said, ¡°Buy it outside? You can only buy Lc in Rouge shop and Love Flower in herbal medicine shop. It¡¯s hard to find the rest. Do you like the fragrant so much? That¡¯s for you. I¡¯ll make a new one when I have time. Oh, you can use that green jade hairpin to pick out some for me and put them in another box. I¡¯ll use them these days.¡±

    ¡°Oh, thank you.¡± Meng Xuan left some for her and put the remaining with the box into his sleeve. Then he asked again, ¡°Can¡¯t I really buy it outside?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. You can have a try.¡± He Danggui made up the bed, hung up the bed curtain, turned around and poured half a bowl of Distilled Osmanthus Drink to Meng Xuan. Then she asked him, ¡°What is Zixiao? A flower?¡±

    Meng Xuan was fiddling with a handful of bead sheet flowers. He shook his head and said, ¡°No, Zixiao is a person.¡± She was my savior and my concubine.

    ¡°Well, drink it now,¡± He Danggui turned to open the door and told him, ¡°When Chan Yies, you pretend that you aren¡¯t familiar with me and be very polite. You say that you were lost and came here by ident, so you came in and sat here casually. Besides, put those things you messed up in order.¡±

    He Danggui opened the door and carried the water on the ground outside. After washing her face, she was about to go out and ssh water. Suddenly, Meng Xuan, who had been ¡°inconvenient to move and half paralyzed¡±, stood up abruptly and walked up with a big step. He washed his face with the water in her hand, wiped his face with her towel, and jumped out of the house as soon as he pushed the window.

    Meng Xuan turned around outside the window and saw her expression was like seeing a ghost. He exined kindly, ¡°I really couldn¡¯t walkst night. It took me a night to practice energy here. Although I can walk now, both of my legs are unconscious. You can touch them in the evening if you don¡¯t believe me... I¡¯lle back at midnight tonight. Make some midnight snack for me except sweets and noodles.¡± Then he waved at He Danggui and left.

    He Danggui held the basin for a long time. Then she went to the window and sshed out the water. s! She had always been a person who fooled others, but now it was the opposite. It was really like that she always hunted wild geese all the year, but identally she was pecked by them.

    ¡°Miss, you wake up!¡± Chan Yi came in with a bowl of bright egg noodles. She smiled and said, ¡°Ah, it¡¯s so strange that you have made up your bed. You have never made it since I lived with you for such a long time!¡±

    He Danggui rolled her eyes and asked, ¡°Why did you find mest night? Did Madam Luo send people to find me?¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± Chan Yi put down the bowl and bowed her head. She twisted clothes and said, ¡°Brother Feng Yan and Brother Feng Yu let me ask you if you don¡¯t tell Miss Ling that they have lived in our mansion. Although I don¡¯t know what happened and who Miss Ling is, they¡¯re very pitiful. Miss, could you promise them?¡±

    ¡°Feng Yan and Feng Yu?¡± He Danggui frowned slightly and said, ¡°You aren¡¯t allowed to talk to them!¡±

    ¡°Well? Why?¡± Chan Yi put down her clothes in surprise and said, ¡°Miss, although they look glib-tongued, actually, they are very good people. When I picked the little white flowersst time, a little boy dropped his sugar man and started crying. They bought a new one for making the little childugh... And they had already left Luo¡¯s Mansionst night. I can¡¯t find any of them even if I want to talk to them.¡±

    ¡°They left? You mean... All four of them are gone?!¡± He Danggui opened her eyes and stared at Chan Yi. Seeing that she nodded at a loss, He Danggui asked again, ¡°When did you pick flowers? Are you familiar with them?¡±

    Chan Yi waved her hands hurriedly and said, ¡°No. I¡¯ve met them three times. Thest time wasst night; the time beforest time was in the Yu Ya Hall Pavilion; the first time was when you were almost stepped by the horse on the street. Didn¡¯t you ask Huai Hua and me to pick the little white flowers? Brother Feng Yan and Brother Feng Yu also went to pick them. They said that Childe Ning ordered to pick.¡±

    ¡°... Huolie Flower?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    He Danggui suddenly felt a little cold. She sat down and held the bowl of noodles to keep warm. Now she could be certainly sure that Ning yuan was Zhu Quan.

    The record of Huolie Flower was from the small study room of Zhu Quan in the Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion. All the books in it were out of print ancient books collected by him, which would never be found in other ces. She remembered clearly that on one rainy night of that year, he and she were drinking tea in a small study room. He was reading The Catalogue of Taishang Taoist ssics, and she was reading The ssic of Rare Herbs.

    When she read Huolie Flower, she saw two lines of old ink annotations, which praised it as ¡°Salt of all herbs¡±, and the writing was only 60% simr to his. After asking, she knew that it was the annotation he wrote in his childhood. It was only because he changed to practice Liu¡¯s calligraphyter, which was quite different from before. Then she started to write with a smile and added a sentence in the nk of the page ¡°At the night of Nov. 8, 5th year of Yongle Period, reading in leisure time, which is always profitable.¡± He also took the writing brush with a smile and added a sentence at the back ¡°The ownership of this book is apanied by a beautiful girl reading at night, which is the happiest thing in life.¡±

    He Danggui picked up chopsticks and began to eat noodles. She bit her teeth and regretted. She didn¡¯t expect that the man would leave so fast. She had thought about it in the garden yesterday. Although she didn¡¯t want to kill Zhu Quan at present who was young, after all, he hadn¡¯t harmed her, she had figured out a way to let him be in trouble.

    She only needed to deliver an anonymous letter to copper turtle outside the Yamen of Senior Governor in Yangzhou City. It said that Lord Ning Zhu Quan paid a private visit to Taoist Sage Bai Yangbai, who was recruited by the Emperor. Zhu Quan took Bai Yangbai as his teacher and learned the disguise skill very well. Zhu Quan often left the fief arbitrarily to engage in various underground activities. Now, he disguised himself as ¡°Ning Yuan¡± and hid in the Ting Zhu Yard of Luo¡¯s Mansion. When the Senior Governor of Yangzhou City Han Fei received such a letter, there were three ways for him to deal with it. The first was to lead troops to surround Luo¡¯s Mansion again and catch Ning Yuan. The second was to send people to find out whether Lord Ning was in Daning Prefecture. The third was to write a letter to the Emperor and attach this anonymous letter.

    No matter which way he chose, of course, it would be better if he chose all. The consequences of this matter were enough for Zhu Quan to be in trouble. After all, in the final analysis, all his power, status and money were given by his father Zhu Yuanzhang. Once Zhu Yuanzhang didn¡¯t trust him, his happy life would end... But it was pity that he ran in time. If he could stay for one or two days... Well, she only wanted to be a passer-by who had nothing to do with him. She only hoped the heaven would pity her and let him disappear in her vision and her life forever.

    ¡°Bah!¡±

    He Danggui quickly spat the noodles in her mouth into the gargling bowl and was greatly frantic, ¡°Chan Yi, what did you add to the noodles? Sugar?¡± It was very greasy and awful! He Danggui was suddenly furious. Was the little girl possessed by the devil? The chrysanthemum tea she brought was as greasy as syrup, which made her struggle to drink it. How could she add sugar in a bowl of salty noodles with chili sauce?!

    Chan Yi was surprised and covered her mouth, with round eyes opening wide. She had never seen that Miss lost her temper, let alone to her.

    ¡°It¡¯s too sweet to eat. I¡¯m going to sleep now!¡±

    He Danggui gargled with Distilled Osmanthus Drink. Then she pouted and jumped to the bed. Sheid back to Chan Yi first. Then she pulled the quilt and hid herself to sulk.

    The room was silent for a long time, and He Danggui began to regret. Ticktock, ticktock, ticktock... The excessive silence made her feel guilty and introspective... In fact, what she was angry about was that she didn¡¯t recognize the real identity of that devil earlier. She used tough at him and even regarded him as a friend. Even when she thought about the things happened in the past, she still felt heartache, which not only made herin about herself, but also couldn¡¯t be interrupted and separated from her body like breathing and heartbeat.

    But these things weren¡¯t rted to Chan Yi at all. How delicious food could she make as a teenager? She really shouldn¡¯t yell at her for a bowl of noodles. In retrospect, one of the things she regretted the most in her previous life was that she didn¡¯t have money to take Chan Yi away from Taoist temple. Now she could stay with Chan Yi forever as she wished. Why wouldn¡¯t she be satisfied? As expected, people were all animals who would be insatiable¡­

    The words of apology were almost out of the mouth...

    At this time, she felt that her back was poked across the quilt, and then the sound of Chan Yi rang behind her. It was her representative words, ¡°Miss, if you dislike sugar, just tell me. How can I know whether you like it? Although you suddenly leave your chopsticks and go to the bed, you still have to tell me whether you like sugar or not! If you really dislike it, I won¡¯t add it again. Eh, Miss, are you pretending to lose your temper to have a lie-in? Get up, you can¡¯t sleep anymore! You¡¯ll be a pig!¡±

 Chapter 145 - Long hair floated in the wind

    <h4>Chapter 145 Long hair floated in the wind</h4>

    He Danggui reluctantly crawled out of the quilt and continued to drink the Distilled Osmanthus Drink at the table. Then she picked out the eggs in the noodles and ate them. She asked Chan Yi, ¡°Why do you like sugar so much?¡±

    ¡°Miss, you are sozy that you even don¡¯t make the bed. If you don¡¯t make the bed, don¡¯t pull it at random!¡± Chan Yi replied as she made the bed, ¡°I don¡¯ know. But I think that sugar was the most delicious in the world when I was a kid. Yet I couldn¡¯t afford it at that time. My grandmother knew I like it, so she bought a jar of it with her own money and put it under the bed. Every day at meal time she would put a handful of sugar into my bowl. But no one gives me sugar after she died. A few monthster before meal, I found that the sugar under the bed was all eaten by rats.¡±

    He Danggui was silent for a moment, and apologized suddenly, ¡°Chan Yi, I¡¯m so sorry that I just got angry with you.¡±

    Yeah, childhood memories and preferences were always difficult to change. Chan Yi couldn¡¯t eat sugar at her young age, but for her, He Danggui, was salt.

    Qian Laowu¡¯s Family where she lived on the farm, was the poorest, whose food was watery and scarce, without salt all the year around. It was probably the first time at one day¡¯s lunch when she lived one yearter there, she had tasted something like vegetable porridge and pickles which was so salty. Since it was so delicious, so she asked Mrs. Qian, the wife of handicapped Qian Laowu, what it was. And then she got that the salty stuff was called ¡°Salt¡±.

    Mrs. Qian held up a broken stean for her. She pointed to the white stuff inside and said, ¡°The master of our farm, Luo¡¯s Mansion in Yangzhou City, dispensed it, and each family has four jin! We can eat porridge with salt the whole year! After eating it, you¡¯ll feel more energetic during work!¡±

    When she was 5 years old, she crept out of the bed in the middle night and ran to the kitchen to find that stean. She grabbed a handful of ¡°delicious¡± salt and curiously observed it. This was the gift from her home, wasn¡¯t it? After observing, she put it into the mouth... Even though her mouth was burned to swollen by that salt for half a month, she was still like to eat salty food.

    ¡°As long as you like, you can add any sugar in your bowl from now on.¡± He Danggui said gloomily, ¡°Remember to gargle with halite after eating, and then drink two cups of tea to cleanse the pte. After all, too much sugar is bad for health.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you like sugar?¡± Chan Yi said regretfully, ¡°Second Childe Peng presented you a lot of sugar, but all of it fell to the ground!¡±

    ¡°Fell to the ground? It¡¯s dirty, so just throw it away.¡± He Danggui looked at Chan Yi and added, ¡°By the way, next time when Peng Jianes here, don¡¯t treat him too warmly. Just let him alone. Then he will get bored and leave. In this case, he won¡¯te next time. Also, from now on, we can¡¯t take anything he presents. Return them.¡± That bloke was dull but was full of enthusiasm. Possibly because it was a new ce for him, he would like to make some new friends. However, if it was seen by Madam Luo and Mammy Tang, they would facilitate the marriage between him and her. That would take a lot of troubles even though it would be rejected by his parents eventually. Therefore, it would be better to nip it in the bud as early as possible.

    Hearing what she said, Chan Yi rushed over and exined, ¡°You can¡¯t throw it away, Miss. That tes of Zongzi-shaped sugar and Sesame seed sugar were both packed in the boxes, which all fell on the ground after Second Childe Peng fainted. Although two tes inside were broken, the sugars were still clean! I¡¯ve tasted them, which is so good. Why do you ask me to throw them away?!¡±

    He Danggui¡¯s canthi couldn¡¯t help but twitch after she heard it. It turned out Chan Yi did it for sugar. She thought Chan Yi rushed up to defend Peng Jian... ¡°What? Peng Jian fainted? Was he sick?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. In the morning, he was walking into our yard with boxes and smiled. However, First Childe Peng suddenly sprang out from behind Peng Jian and hit Peng Jian¡¯s neck.¡± Chan Yi gesticted with a fierce expression on her face, which immediately let He Danggui think of Peng Shi¡¯s sullen face, ¡°The boxes fell to the ground after hearing ¡®bang¡¯. What a pity! The tes inside look so valuable. However, two of them were smashed into pieces, and some of them even had holes!¡± Chan Yi shook her head and sighed. And then she took off her apron and knelt down beside the bed to pick up He Danggui¡¯s long hair on the pillows.

    He Danggui waited for a long time. Did what Chan Yi saide to an end like this... ¡°So, what happened after Peng Jian fainted?¡±

    ¡°Miss, you¡¯re so stupid! Of course, he was dragged away!¡± Chan Yi answered carelessly. A momentter, she walked to the door with seven or eight long hairs in her hand. She looked at hairs through the early morning light for a long time and eximed, ¡°Miss, look, there is something wrong with your hair!¡±

    He Danggui frowned. Did Meng Xuan¡¯s hair fall into her hands? Just as she was about to exin, she heard that, ¡°Look, there are split ends of your two hairs. Let me cut them!¡± She pulled out a pair of scissors out of somewhere and held it up to walk toward He Danggui as she said. She took He Danggui¡¯s hairpin and loosed He Danggui¡¯s chignon. Then she began to cut He Danggui¡¯s hair.

    He Danggui¡¯s hair was still uneven after several times cutting. So, Chan Yi had tofort her, ¡°Just a minute, I¡¯m almost done.¡± A couple of timester, the ground had been covered with ck hairs. When He Danggui turned around, she was concerned about her hair but also enjoyed that leisure moment.

    She was living in a big, dry and warm house in the sun. She didn¡¯t have to worry about dressing, eating and living. In addition, there was no need to please a man by working her heart out. Besides, she didn¡¯t need to deal with women who were also suffering like her day and night. Besides, it made no sense to struggle with those women for getting that man¡¯s little impermanent fake love.

    It was so nice in her own quiet courtyard, basking in the autumn morning sun without seeing anyone she didn¡¯t want to see. She just stayed with Chan Yi who was careless but kind-hearted to enjoy the rhythm of the time with scissors¡¯ sound...

    Scissors¡¯ sound¡­

    For a while, He Danggui¡¯s mind went nk. Finally, she couldn¡¯t help taking back her over-knee-length hair that could be used as coverlet at night, looking at it with tears. Now the longest part of it was only around her waist, which was seemingly gnawed by a dog.

    ¡°Why are you crying... Your hair will be better and grow faster. It¡¯s easy tob¡­¡± Chan Yi murmured. She put the scissors into He Danggui¡¯s hand and went out despondently, letting herself do the ends. After taking two steps, she came back and said, ¡°Look, Mammy Tang ising.¡±

    When He Danggui raised her head, she saw Mammy Tang wasing from the far side of the gate. Feng Jiugu followed Mammy Tang, holding a painting scroll in her hands. Behind Feng Jiugu, there were a lot of maids such as Gan Cao, Deng Cao, Shi Liu, Pu Gongying, Xiang Chunya and so on. Their hands were filled with gifts¡­ Did theye to see me a patient? Or a hero who rescued Madam Luo?

    ¡°Third Miss, you performed meritoriousst night, and were also frightened. Why don¡¯t you have a rest?¡± Said Mammy Tang, who ran to press He Danggui to the stool with a smile. Her action, however, was in contrast to what she said. She kept Chan Yi and maids of Madam Luo away, except herself and Feng Jiugu, with the closed door, which was sneaky that there would be a secret talk between them.

    He Danggui put down the scissors. She poured two cups of Distilled Osmanthus Drink for them and said, ¡°I have no time to burn hot water this morning, so I can¡¯t serve you with hot tea. Please just take some Distilled Osmanthus Drink. I made it with Osmanthus¡¯s stamens and ground Lotus leaves.¡± She had to serve them with cold Distilled Osmanthus Drink in winter because the hot water room didn¡¯t send her water.

    Every year in the autumn, the number of people in the hot water room immediately increased nearly 100. They needed to boil hot water day and night. All the courtyards were given a cart load of hot water every two hours (Tao Yao Yard was exclusion of it 10 days before), which was avable for all kitchtes in Luo¡¯s Mansion to make snacks and tea, and for people to wash and take a shower. Besides, servants¡¯ rooms also received hot water three times a day. The rule was created by Madam Luo when she was young to benefit local people. The unified-serviced hot water supply not only saved firewood, but helped every yard to boil water for bathing without smoke.

    Of course, Madam Luo, Ms. Sun, as well as Luo Baiqiong, Luo Baishao and Luo Baiying didn¡¯t have to worry about something like taking a bath, because there were three Ganjiu hot springs in Luo¡¯s Mansion. One of them was for Madam Luo; one was for Ms. Sun; thest one was for Luo Baiqiong, Luo Baishao, as well as Luo Baiying. As the old saying went, ¡°Hot spring water can smooth the glistening jade-like body.¡± It seemed that the five peoples¡¯ skin was stered in balsam with hot spring water.

    When Ms. Dong just married into Luo¡¯s Mansion, she was envious of the hot springs of Luo¡¯s Mansion. As early as living in Dong¡¯s Mansion in Fuzhou City, she had heard that bathing in hot spring provided some benefits to health, and Ganjiu hot springs and Yuhua hot springs were good for skin. But there were no hot spring people talked widely in Dong¡¯s Mansion, and she only bathed in a few carts of water from Yuhua hot spring that had been sent from other mansions. After all,dies differed from gentlemen. As long as he had money, he could go outside bathhouse for hot spring bath as possible as he could. While Ms. Dong even didn¡¯t see the Ganjiu hot spring which was more luxurious than Yuhua hot spring. Luo¡¯s Mansion, however, got three, which motivated her.

    In Ms. Dong¡¯s mind, as the first daughter-inw of the First Branch, naturally, she could enjoy the hot spring water. She counted off her fingers and thought how to get it. Madam Luo was an elder, so she couldn¡¯t share with her. She heard Ms. Sun got serious mysophobia, and even her daughters were refused to share it with her. Humph, pretentious bitch! Luo Baiqiong, Luo Baishao and Luo Baiying were at her age and generation. They had been sharing one hot spring anyway, so it was not a big deal for her use it with them.

    Therefore Ms. Dong ran to ask her Third Aunt Ms. Zhao whether she could take the same hot spring with them or not. Her Third Aunt said that even she just only asionally took some water from the hot spring to wash in the room. Not to mention her, a newer junior. Staring at Ms. Zhao, Ms. Dong asked why. Ms. Zhao was First Younger Mistress Luo who was the best qualified to use hot spring! Ms. Dong heard bathing in hot springs would help give birth to a boy!

    Ms. Zhao sighed and confided in her niece. Luo Duzhong, the master of Luo¡¯s Mansion who had passed away, had been a pair of lovers with Madam Luo. Master Luo would ask her the proposal of marriage when he got a great career. However, Madam Luo had an elder sister, who was ten years older than her. Because of her sister¡¯s temperament, her sister had not found a local man to marry yet, even her sister was known as ¡°The First Beauty in Sichuan Prefecture¡±. Their mother loved her elder daughter, so she seized the opportunity of the master¡¯s visit. She let him stay at mansion that day and schemed him to vite her elder daughter, so that he could marry her two daughters.

    It was out of Ms. Dong¡¯s expectation that there was such a love a love affair from the older generation. So, she could not help but listen with interest, wondering why her Third Aunt was shaking her head and sighing.

    Ms. Zhao continued, ¡°The reason why Chai¡¯s Mansion treated this son-inw so well was that the Luo¡¯s Mansion was superior to Chai¡¯s, and the master was also the eldest legitimate son with unlimited talent, who was also a very nice and dashing gentlemen. Besides, when the Emperor offered sacrifice to Heaven, the Emperor said, ¡®Kill all the corrupt officials in the world.¡¯ After killing them, the Emperor made the skulls of the corrupt officials into a signing box for death warrant, and put it on the court where he once sat for the next official to use, which made everyone feel upset and was in fear¨Cno one could say ¡®My hands are clean¡¯. After a few years in officialdom, even if one who was incorrupt, he would be afraid of being framed by his political enemies. In addition, the Emperor would rather use someone unjustly than let you go. Once you did anything to do with ¡®greed¡¯, you would be a cranium in a day or two¨CHowever, you may know the rtionship between Grandpa Luo and the Emperor¨CI mean that the master had two wives, First Madam Luo and Madam Luo.¡±

    Ms. Dong then asked why she had never met First Madam Luo. She vaguely heard someone said that she was still alive.

    Ms. Zhao nced at the door and whispered to her that First Madam Luo was under house arrest and was about to die... The ¡°contrary¡± battle, which hadsted for decades, was finally won by Madam Luo! ¡°Our First Branch came from First Madam Luo, so Lan, you know our position in Luo¡¯s Mansion¡­ I think you got what I¡¯m saying.¡±

    At that time, Ms. Dong was still a little woman who newly married and did not even hear such a terrible family history of struggle! Hearing those words, she immediately nched. How did it happen? They two were sisters! In this way, she was just having a good-sounding name ¡°First Younger Mistress Luo¡±. But in fact, she was divided into coteral, wasn¡¯t she? So, her hot spring n fell through, didn¡¯t it? No, Baiying was also from First Branch. How could she go to use hot spring?

    Ms. Zhao shook her head and didn¡¯t say anymore. She went to her room for snacks. Ms. Dong clenched her teeth. Why? It was undeliverable! She determined to have a try! So, she ran to Madam Luo and asked for a bath in the hot spring.

    At same time, Ms. Sun and Luo Baiying were also present. Ms. Sun smiled but did not speak. Luo Baiying immediately thought that Ms. Dong wanted to share the spring with their three sisters... She felt Madam Luo peeked at her from the corner of her eyes, which was like asking her if she agreed with that. Luo Baiying suddenly mentioned his brother Qian, who was recently frequent in and out of brothels.

    Madam Luo was shocked to hear that. She pounded bed and scolded this bad boy. How could he go to such a ce? She was so worried. What if Qian got ill or tired? Meanwhile, Ms. Dong was angry about that damn Luo Baiqian who said he was going to the academy to study for fame with all day long outside, putting her in the empty room. But actually, he went out for vixens! Childe Pan, who was introduced for herst time before she married into Luo¡¯s Mansion, now was Jinshi. You Luo Baiqian, however, even was not a Xiucai! She felt shameful for him. She felt she was blind to marry him!

    Ms. Sun suddenly sighed and said in a low voice, ¡°Men just like cats who always eat meat. If his wife came along with him and supported him, he would not run out to find other women.¡±

    Ms. Dong was horrified. Clearly it was a metaphor for the fact that she and her Third Aunt had been keeping a tight rein on Luo Baiqian. They didn¡¯t let him marry a concubine...

 Chapter 146 - Luoâ€™s Family was abnormal

    <h4>Chapter 146 Luo¡¯s Family was abnormal</h4>

    Dong Xin gritted his teeth. Hell, weren¡¯t you talking about hot springs? Why were you talking about this again! What a hypocritical person Sun Meiniang was. When you talked about other people, you just pulled out a lot of reasons. Did you think I don¡¯t know something about you? Third Aunt told me a long time ago. You showed your magnanimity by taking six beautiful concubines for your husband. But you secretly sent each of them a bowl of sterilization soup, damaging their bodies and making them be unable to conceive! Hum, as the Second Branch, if you could conceive, it wouldn¡¯t lead to the absence of a sessor here. Sun, what qualifications did you have to be wife in charge of the family of Luo¡¯s Mansion!

    After a long silence, Madam Luo suddenly looked at Dong Xin and said kindly, ¡°You are Qian¡¯s wife. I think you are the same as Ying. You should have used the same hot spring with them together. But you think, at present, he often goes to the whorehouse. In such a ce, even one mosquito or one grass is blemished, let alone those prostitutes. You¡¯ve only just got married, so you will often be intimate. If you get in touch with him, it¡¯s not appropriate to go to that hot spring for bathing. If you think about it, Qiong and her are pure little girls. They cannot be defiled¡­¡±

    Hearing this, Dong Xin still smiled stiffly and pulled the corners of her mouth to her ears, but she was extremely angry.

    Ah, Madam Luo thought she was blemished and worried about contaminating her two granddaughters. From birth to marriage, Dong Xin had not suffered such a great insult during 18 years! Originally, Madam Luo, who had been nice to her since she married into Luo¡¯s Family and rewarded her with a thousand liang of silver and gold head-ornaments when she kowtowed to her for the first time, became the most hateful and shameless old woman in the world immediately! Hum, it was obvious that a woman who had cursed her husband and was now forcing her sister to die was not easy to deal with.

    As soon as Madam Luo saw Dong Xin was still smiling, she continued to said kindly, ¡°I know you all have own thoughts, hoping to monopolize a man by yourself. But I tell you, it is not the right. Men are born with wide perspective and consider more than us¨Cwe only see one bed, one room, one yard and one bath room, but men are not satisfied with these. As far as a man¡¯s attitude towards women is concerned, no matter how much he likes you, there will always be other women in his heart. Do you want him to focus on you alone? Ha-ha, I¡¯ve lived so long, but I¡¯ve never knew a rich yboy who doesn¡¯t make contact with other women except his wife! It¡¯s appropriate to be like your Second Aunt. She helped Second Uncle to pick out some women who were beautiful and obedient. Finally, she not only did not lose the Second Uncle¡¯s concern, but also made him bepliant, agreeing with all her ideas!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not right!¡± Dong Xin sneered. Madam Luo¡¯s second son was more than 30 years old, but he still had no son. Was it different from a man without offspring?

    But Madam Luo didn¡¯t hear her unspoken criticism. She still sincerely expressed with her, ¡°No one could break the ancient truth that one teapot needs more than one bowl. When those people who used to be low status suddenly be prominent, they always abandon their first wife and then remarry the beautiful woman. I don¡¯t know if you heard from your Third Aunt that I have a granddaughter, Qingyi. When her father married her mother, her father had no waiting-maid (maid in name, concubine in reality) and concubines. Others thought that He Jingxian, who was struck by thunder, was an infatuated man. They also said that it was suitable for Chuanxiong to marry him, and there would be no worries in her life. Bah! That short-lived man has implicated my Chuanxiong. He and his mother are vicious. They won¡¯t get a lucky end!¡±

    Dong Xin saw Madam Luo, who always spoke slowly and gently, was so excited to say rough words for the first time. She couldn¡¯t help but be surprised to cover her mouth with a handkerchief. The matter was really puzzling. She also heard about Luo Chuanxiong, the little aunt of Luo Baiqian, who was sent back to her mother¡¯s house after divorcing with negotiation. Now that the woman had remarried other man and moved out to live. Why did Madam Luo get so angry when she mentioned the past, just liked He Jingxian and his mother killed her family and pried her ancestral tomb? Wasn¡¯t Luo Chuanxiong the daughter of Madam Luo¡¯s rival in love? Why was she angry? She should be happy.

    Sun Meiniang fixed on the que in the hall by shining eyes with a flickering smile. Luo Baiying found that Madam Luo was far away from the topic, so she gave a low cough to remind her.

    Madam Luo calmed down and concluded that, ¡°My granddaughter-inw, you are from a family of schrs. You should be more reasonable than ordinary women naturally. I know that you are sensible. I care about you as much as I care about others. As for what you want to use hot spring water for skin care... In principle, you can also get part of the hot springs in the mansion. If Qian doesn¡¯t go to those brothels, I¡¯ll ask people to send the hot spring water to your Liu Li Tang every day, OK?

    Hearing this, Dong Xin was so angry that she shivered secretly. Sent hot spring water to Liu Li Tang? Hum, she couldn¡¯t take a bath in the hot spring finally. Madam Luo was afraid that her lovely granddaughters might be infected! What was the meaning of ¡°when Luo Baiqian doesn¡¯t go to those brothels¡±? After all, Madam Luo still asked her to take a concubine for Luo Baiqian! Was she going to take a concubine for her husband for a few buckets of bath water?!

    At this time, Luo Baiying seemed to understand Dong Xin¡¯s thought. She stared at the top of her nose and told Dong Xin that she had no choice. Whether she could wash or not, Qian would be with other women. Either sheined that she was not lucky enough and could reincarnate when having a chance, or she annoyed herself by taking concubines for him. We were women with no other choices.

    Sun Meiniang covered her mouth andughed. Ying¡¯s words were brilliant and unique. Ha-ha, sometimes Dong Xin felt younger when she looked at juniors who were jealous of concubines¡­

    The 17-year-old Deng Cao, who was massaging legs for Madam Luo, immediately said with a ttering smile that Second Madam was not old now and looked much younger than her.

    After that, Madam Luo drove away three people because she was tired. Out of the Fu Shou Yard, Sun Meiniang and Luo Baiying went far away. And Dong Xin went alone to a corner of the garden where there was no one else. She grabbed the blooming begonias and crumpled them to pieces. She was crazy. She thought, ¡°Third Aunt, you told me that Luo¡¯s Mansion was very good, but you never told me that the people living here all confused right and wrong, liked devils!

    Have their eyes and hearts been blinded together? Luo Baiqian ran out to do something improper. However, they didn¡¯t stop him from going out; they didn¡¯t take him back to sermon him from the brothel; they didn¡¯t ask him to make amends and beg her for forgiveness. Instead, they all med her and thought that she was so closefisted that she did not give him concubines! Ha-ha, it was ridiculous that they could say such unkind words as women!

    The annoying old woman said, since ancient times, no one could break the rule that one teapot needed more than one tea bowl. But like this, who was happy when allowing concubines married her husband? Ah, half a year ago in Fuzhou City, if Third Aunt had not promised that no concubine would marry Luo Baiqian, Dong Xin would not havee to Luo¡¯s Mansion with her mother for a blind date. If so, she would not meet Luo Baiqian, the bane her in life; she would not have to stay alone in this disgusting Luo¡¯s Mansion to get along with these women in a hypocritical way!

    Even though the living conditions here were many times better than at home in Fuzhou City; even if there were people calling her ¡°First Younger Mistress Luo¡± respectfully everywhere; even if Luo Baiqian was the best looking man she had ever met in her life; even if she realized her wish and got the marriage she wanted, since she lived in the disgusting East Yard of Luo¡¯s Mansion, she hadn¡¯t had a real happy life. Her smiling was not pure anymore. When she was sad and wanted to cry, she had no tears. She felt more and more ufortable staying in Luo¡¯s Mansion!

    Luo Baiying had dead fish eyes; Sun Meiniang was an old vixen; Luo Baiqiong and Luo Baishao were a pair of coquettes; Chai Dan was an old ogre, who pretended to be loyal and kind but was treacherous actually; Luo Baiqian was always like a runaway train that couldn¡¯t be tied down. All the people living in Luo¡¯s Mansion were abnormal people!

    ¡°Hah-hah, Third Miss, don¡¯t worry. Sometimes Second Madam was just like a child losing her temper. She was not malevolent and didn¡¯t look down on you...¡± Mammy Tang picked up the Distilled Osmanthus Drink on the table. And after drinking it, she praised ceaselessly. She even praised Third Miss for her dexterity. Whoever she married in the future would be blessed.

    When He Danggui hid her face shyly with her sleeve and yawned at the back of the sleeve, she thought that she had just said, ¡°Life is quiet and peaceful, and there is no one who she doesn¡¯t want to see¡±, but arge number of noisy people rushed in at once; she just said that today there was no need to ¡°Devote all the efforts and energy¡±, but Mammy Tang closed the door mysteriously, meaning that something happened again obviously. If she hadn¡¯t found a little master who was willing to teach her the Cultivation Methods for Internal Energy, she would have been really upset to deal with these things today.

    Jiugu also nodded and smiled, ¡°Yes, I have lived in Luo¡¯s Mansion for many years, and I think Second Madam is excellent!¡±

    She Danggui put down her sleeves and said with surprise, ¡°What are you talking about, Mammy? What¡¯s wrong with Second Aunt? Why did you mention the Second Aunt at the beginning?¡± She said as she picked up the scissors to trim her hair.

    Mammy Tang and Jiugu looked at each other for a moment, and then they suddenly thought that Third Miss just said casually, ¡°I have no time to burn hot water this morning, so I can¡¯t serve you with hot tea. Please just take some Distilled Osmanthus Drink.¡± That didn¡¯t mention Second Madam. Because Third Miss had not lived there for a long time, and she had never experienced autumn and winter there, she didn¡¯t know that Second Madam administered the hot water room directly. She might not even know that there was a hot water room in Luo¡¯s Mansion. Originally, they thought about it secretly. When they heard something about it, they couldn¡¯t help saying it and revealed what they knew.

    In fact, a few days ago, Mammy Tang heard that from maids¡¯ whispering. Here was the thing. Second Madam heard from others that Third Miss took advantage of the Fourth Miss¡¯s absence and upied the Fourth Miss¡¯s Tao Yao Yard with Young Master Zhu. It was threatening the Madam Luo with Young Master Zhu.

    Maid A said, ¡°We all know that Second Madam is smart and capable, and she can¡¯t tolerate inappropriate things. The Third Miss overstepped the line of Second Madam and will face reprimand. It¡¯s said that Second Madam decides to let Third Miss learn the rules.¡±

    Maid B agreed, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s said that Second Madam has told all administrators who had the pass. She wants to take charge of Third Miss who is indelicate. Therefore, first of all, Second Madam will take care of the little things in daily life. She wants to change Third Miss¡¯s frivolous attitude and suppress her malevolent ideas¡­ ording to what the person hearing that news said, Second Madam¡¯s words were not friendly. In a word, the monthly allowance, hot water, charcoal, maids and Miss¡¯s outfits in Tao Yao Yard have been seized.¡±

    Maid C asked, ¡°What about the meal? It¡¯s said that the former kitchen steward in Wang Qi¡¯s Family withheld the amount of regr meals of Third Miss for half a year and was exposed, but then an ident happened. How can Housekeeper Yang manage this troublesome business again?¡±

    Maid A replied that there were one master and five servants in Tao Yao Yard. It was said that Second Madam asked the kitchen to provide six maids¡¯ type food for Tao Yao Yard. As for the extra silvers, Second Madam thought that no one wanted Third Miss¡¯s silvers. Therefore, the silvers of regr meals and monthly allowance should be written down on the public ount temporarily. Later, Third Miss would receive them back to her as dowry before she got married.

    Ha-ha. Maid Dughed. Second Madam was so divided between business and private. She was serious for everything.

    After overhearing it, Mammy Tang was worried that Third Miss wouldn¡¯t be able to bear the grievance. Third Miss would reveal where Fourth Miss was and the real reason why she lived in Tao Yao Yard. She didn¡¯t expect that several dayster, Third Miss was surprisingly calm. Every time when Mammy Tang went to see Zhu, she often saw Third Miss sleep in the house or bask in the sun in the yard. She had neverined or showed mncholy about food, deducting monthly allowance or other things. She lived morefortably than Fourth Miss who used to live here. Was it true that Tao Yao Yard was suitable for people to live?

    In fact, as long as Madam Luo said something about monthly allowance, even if Second Madam Luo was dissatisfied, Third Miss would also get it. But as the saying went, ¡°If you doubt a person, it is unnecessary to use him.¡± Since Madam Luo had delegated her power to Second Madam, Madam Luo couldn¡¯t easily interfere with Second Madam¡¯s decisions and refute Second Madam¡¯s prestige and face. In addition, Madam Luo just tied Second Madam¡¯s daughter into the Taoist temple. Although it was mere for the sake of Fourth Miss, Madam Luo still felt guilty when she saw Second Madam. So, what Second Madam wanted to do was up to her.

    After a few days, the original animate Tao Yao Yard turned lifeless. Yesterday afternoon, Mammy Tang could not stand and made the decision to arrange twelve maids for sweeping and cleaning. And she decorated the whole yard with chrysanthemum. Then, Tao Yao Yard became vital again.

    However, a surprising change urred at the banquetst night. People of the whole family almost lost the most respectful, the most reliable and the pir of the family!

    At that time, Mammy Tang was very clear about the situation. When Madam Luo asked First Miss to serve tea, she was refused. When she asked the Second Miss to serve tea, she was prevaricated. Although Madam Luo didn¡¯t scold in public and show too much emotion, Mammy Tang was really heartbroken for her master who had been with her for decades and wished she could rece her master.

    So, when Madam Luo opened her mouth for the third time and asked Third Miss to make tea for her, the Third Miss agreed in a generous manner, which made Mammy Tang be so grateful that she would almost like to kowtow to her. She thanked Third Miss for sending Madam Luo thest time. But she didn¡¯t expect Madam Luo did not die. Shizi Duan took Madam Luo back. In addition to a shock, it could be said to be unharmed. It was heard that Third Miss was taken for hostage, so Mammy Tang was worried. Then when she heard that Third Miss was saved by Nie Chun, she was also sincerely happy.

    As the old saying went, ¡°As distance tests a horse¡¯s strength, so time reveals a person¡¯s heart.¡± Usually, several Misses liked to y the woman around Madam Luo, and all of them were good children or good granddaughters. When they encountered great difficulties, the person who stood out was the soft and weak Third Miss. It was amazing that a Miss who was brought up outside the mansion and was not very close to Madam Luo stood out!

    So,st night, after Mammy Tang helped Madam Luoe back to the bedroom of Fu Shou Yard, when Mammy Tang was massaging Madam Luo, Mammy Tang couldn¡¯t help but say that Third Miss was a good girl. Her mother almost didn¡¯t stay in the Mansion all the year, so Third Miss was too poor and alone. People all said, ¡°A child with mother is a treasure, while a child without mother is a grass¡±. It would be better to find an adopted mother for Third Miss.

 Chapter 147 - Dong Xinlan hanged herself from a beam

    <h4>Chapter 147 Dong Xin hanged herself from a beam</h4>

    Madam Luo thought that made sense and asked Mammy Tang if she had a right person. Then Mammy Tang mentioned Third Lord¡¯s remarried wife Ms. Liang.

    A few days ago, Madam Luo got the letter from Third Lord. It said that Lu Feng Escort would send Ms. Liang and his son Baiji back to home. Besides, it said that Ji¡¯s skills of writing, riding and archery all made great progress in the past year. However, there weren¡¯t good academies in north, so Third Lord wanted his son to study in Chengxu Academy in Yangzhou City.

    Although those in ¡°Women Institute¡± in Chengxu Academy must pass a strict exam, ¡°Men Institute¡± was an institute with universal education that just needed some money to go in. Recently, Sun Yanbin of Sun¡¯s Mansion in Yangzhou City, who was the Second ce in the exam of literature and the Third ce in the exam of martial arts, was from the Men Institute in Chengxu Academy. It was a great honor to Chengxu Academy which seemed to make Chengxu Academy beyond Yinghui Academy in capital. That was the main reason that Third Lord nned to send his son to Chengxu Academy.

    The remarried wife of Third Lord Ms. Liang was 27 years old and married into Luo¡¯s Family more than 5 years, but she didn¡¯t give birth so far. And Second Master Luo Baiji, the child of Third Lord and his first wife, had been living with his wet nurse all the time and wasn¡¯t raised by Ms. Liang. So, Mammy Tang got a perfect idea. Yi who didn¡¯t have her mother around her and Ms. Liang who hadn¡¯t her baby yet, just liked two semicircles that could consist of aplete circle. They were perfect to each other!

    When Madam Luo was ready to agree Mammy Tang¡¯s proposal, Miss Ji suddenly knocked on the door and came in. She said, ¡°ording to Liu Li Tang, First Younger Mistress Luo killed herself!¡±

    ¡°What! Elder Sister-inw killed herself, didn¡¯t she?¡± He Danggui was a little shocked. She paused a second while she was cutting hair. She asked, ¡°Mammy, then why you still have the time toe my room? Why don¡¯t you go to Second Aunt-inw¡¯s room to discuss how to announce the death to Fuzhou City?¡±

    ¡°Um.¡± Mammy Tang choked off a moment and said, ¡°Although First Younger Mistress Luo tried to kill herself, she didn¡¯t seed. In fact, ording to Qiaoshu, First Younger Mistress Luo suddenly drove everyone out of Liu Li Tang and put out every light. After a while, there was a sound like a stool falling to the ground. Then they ran into the room and saw that First Younger Mistress Luo hanged herself from a beam. Her face was pale and sallow, and she looked like her soul had already gone to the hell!¡±

    ¡°¡­ And?¡±

    ¡°And she was saved.¡±

    He Danggui was still surprised, ¡°Since she was saved, Mammy shouldn¡¯t be here either. The room Elder Sister-inw lived must be a mess now. And I remember that you have said that the natal family of First Younger Mistress Luo wille to Yangzhou City to visitkes next month. We will be ashamed of letting them to see First Younger Mistress Luo¡¯s sallow face and a blood stain on her neck.¡±

    Mammy Tang nodded and pped her hands. She said, ¡°We know that. You¡¯re very right!¡±

    ¡°You mean¡­¡±

    ¡°Oh, actually,¡± Mammy Tang told the whole story, ¡°First Younger Mistress Luo missed Zhu very much when she was in sickness, and she wanted to take care of Zhu around her. But Doctor Wu said that Zhu has turned for the better since he lives with you. So, Madam Luo let me ask you that if you¡¯re willing to take care of First Younger Mistress Luo in Liu Li Tang with Zhu?¡±

    He Dangguibed her hair with her fingers and smiled. She said, ¡°Go to Liu Li Tang to take care of her¡­ Of course, I do, but what about Elder Sister-inw and Zhu? We¡¯ll wait for their decisions.¡±

    Mammy Tang saw Third Miss agree that, so she couldn¡¯t but be happy. She said, ¡°Then the thing is done. By the way, Madam Luo let me ask you what you have heardst night. The word was said by Madam Luo when she moved close to your ear¡­ When you were drinking tea with the assassin.¡±

    ¡°Oh, that word.¡± He Danggui tilted her head and said, ¡°I heard vaguely something like ¡®green gstone¡¯. I was very nervous at that time, and all things in my mind was how to pour tea steadily. So, I had no time to talk to Madam Luo.¡±

    Mammy Tang relieved and said, ¡°You didn¡¯t hear it clearly, did you? Then forget it. And that thing doesn¡¯t ce at that green gstone now.¡±

    ¡°OK. I¡¯ll forget it.¡± He Danggui drank a sip of Distilled Osmanthus Drink and asked, ¡°Mammy, Jiugu, do you want to drink more? Don¡¯t mention it. I made a lot.¡±

    The two people shook their hands at the same time. Jiugu exined, ¡°Although it smells good and tastes delicious, my stomach doesn¡¯t feel well these days. I hope Third Miss doesn¡¯t mind that I can¡¯t drink more.¡±

    He Danggui smiled, ¡°Jiugu, don¡¯t be a stranger. It¡¯s my fault that I can¡¯t treat you well. Ah, I¡¯m about to tell Chan Yi to heat up some water to make tea. Who knows where she is now? Maybe she is taking a rest somewhere. I¡¯ll get her to heat up water right now!¡± The truth was Mammy Tang let Chan Yi and other maids go away when she came in. So, He Danggui was really telling a tant lie.

    With this, Mammy Tang pulled her back to the stool, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Third Miss. We have other things to talk, and we always have time to drink hot tea.¡±

    Mammy Tang¡¯s words reminded herself ofcking water in Tao Yao Yard. She went here sometimes just not having hot water to drink. But Third Miss who lived here must heat up water to drink and bath every day. So, Mammy Tang considered a second and said, ¡°Second Madam takes charge of heating up water, so we can¡¯t interfere in. So, your drinking water still needs you to heat up. Anyway, a few people needn¡¯t too much water, and I¡¯ll transfer several maids to help. As for the water to bath¡­ Although I don¡¯t have the power to let you bath at a hot spring, there are lots of water in Madam Luo¡¯s Ganjiu hot spring, and she can¡¯t use them all. So, how about this? I¡¯ll ask maids to pull two carts of water by buckets in the morning and noon every day, and then you can bath by this.¡±

    The more He Danggui listened, the more shock she got. How luck she was! In spite of her good ears, she couldn¡¯t help reaffirming, ¡°Two carts a day? The hot spring only Madam Luo can use? Are you sure?¡±

    Ganjiu hot spring was the best one among the three hot springs in Luo¡¯s Mansion. It not only hadfortable temperature and concentration, but kinds of beneficial medicinal herbs were put in. ording to Mammy Tang, the reason was ¡°Madam can¡¯t use them all¡±, but it was wasted for years. Why could she suddenly get the benefits? In the previous life, Dong Xin, Ms. Zhao and Ms. Liang all wanted to use the water, but all failed¡­ Was it for awarding her? Ho-ho.

    Mammy Tang smiled and narrowed her eyes into a slit. She patted Third Miss¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°Exactly! Well, let me help you get a haircut.¡± After saying, she picked up a scissors to cut and finally noticed the much strands of hair had been on the floor since she came into the room. She was surprised and said, ¡°Ah, why did you cut those hair? That¡¯s not auspicious!¡±

    He Danggui still forced herself to lie, ¡°My hair is too long to wash, so I cut them half off. Since there is hot water, it¡¯s so convenient that I needn¡¯t cut my hair anymore.¡±

    Mammy Tang felt pity for her. Just like the old saying that a child without mother around her would live like a grass. Third Miss needed to cut her beautiful hair, just for inadequate hot water¡­ When Third Madam came back to home, Mammy Tang would help Third Madam adopt Third Miss as a daughter and let Third Miss get some maternal love from Third Madam.

    Seeing Third Miss¡¯s thin body, Mammy Tang felt sympathized to her. Her impression to Third Miss was even much better afterst night. She had always thought that Third Miss was quiet and coward. But it was unexpected that she was a tough girl when something happened. When Mammy Tang saw the assassin chop the table from a distance, she, an old experienced servant and was willing to die for her owner, scared a lot¡­ What a beautiful, smart and kind Miss! No wonder Childe Ning wanted to marry her.

    ¡°As for your monthly allowance, meal, clothes and daily use,¡± Mammy Tang continued, ¡°I represented Madam Luo to instruct the administrators, and you¡¯ll neverck these. Actually, Second Madam doesn¡¯t know the thing, so she must be a little unhappy when she knows. But I heard that she went back to her natal family in a hurry yesterday. Sun Yanbin, Fifth Master of Sun¡¯s Mansion, who was the Second ce in the exam of literature and the Third ce in the exam of martial arts, came back from Northern Zhili Area (areas directly administered by the capital)! What an excellent person in both literature and martial arts!¡±

    He Danggui tilted her head and said, ¡°The Second ce in the exam of literature and the Third ce in the exam of martial arts?¡± Strange! She never heard about that in her previous life.

    ¡°Ah. Don¡¯t move your head or I can¡¯t cut them properly.¡± Mammy Tang said while holding a scissors to cut, ¡°It can be assumed that Second Madam can¡¯t be very mad at you because of her promising brother. And it was Madam Luo¡¯s idea that you live in Fourth Miss¡¯s yard. It¡¯s not your fault. Second Madam treats you strictly but also cares for you. You should learn to understand her.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± He Danggui¡¯s hands were squeezing in her sleeves. She said, ¡°I¡¯m back for a few days and don¡¯t meet Second Aunt-inw yet. Every time I think of it, I feel sad. How about meeting her by congratting her brother?¡± Everyone in Luo¡¯s Mansion knew that Second Madam disliked He Danggui very well. In the previous life, when He Danggui wanted to pay respects to visit Second Madam, she couldn¡¯t even be allowed to meet her but was sent away. One day, there was happyughter and cheerful voices in the poetry tea party at Bao Qin Ge. She asked a maid to report, waiting for an hour, but no one let her in. Then, she couldn¡¯t help sneaking in. Looking at them through the hollow part of the wall, she admired those peers who wereughing and ying together.

    While Second Madam was a vicious woman, it was her who didn¡¯t want to meet He Danggui. However, sheined to Madam Luo that every Master and Miss respected her very much and visited her at intervals. Even little Zhu knew to y with her with his gands. Except the arrogant Yi, Yi never gave her morning or evening visits every day. With this, Madam Luo shook her head and taught He Danggui how to respect her elders and be a sweet girl to make her Second Aunt-inw love her more.

    Now, He Danggui initiatively asked for visiting Second Madam in front of Mammy Tang who could be a witness.

    ¡°You want to visit her, don¡¯t you?¡± Mammy Tang hesitated with a frown and said, ¡°How about waiting for a few days? Recently, Second Madam is in excitement, and many guests¡­ We had better not disturb her.¡± The ¡°we¡± meant only Third Miss.

    He Danggui smiled and looked down. She always thought people in Luo¡¯s Mansion in her previous life were blind. They could see that she wasn¡¯t allowed to visit Second Aunt-inw, but it wasn¡¯t that she was not willing to visit. They still med her for disrespect. It turned out that they knew that well. They weren¡¯t blind in eyes but in minds. He Danggui said, ¡°I¡¯m okay with that, and I will just wait for some days. Now, I can congratte her in my mind¡­ By the way, how old is the Uncle Sun? Where does he study literature and martial arts? How outstanding he is.¡±

    Seeing that Third Miss decided not to meet Second Madam in a reasonable way, Mammy Tang was satisfied and exined to her patiently, ¡°Fifth Master, Sun Yanbin in Sun¡¯s Family, is 24 years old and two years older than First Master, but he is a promising man. Regardless of his family¡¯s objection, he gave up literature for a military career in his early years. He joined the Northwest army and killed enemies in the battlefield for years. Before the New Year, he came back home and became a private adviser around a Master Geng. Then after he studied at Chengxu Academy for just a year, he took the literature and martial arts imperial examination. He passed them in one shot! We can¡¯t imagine this kind of person shows up in our family.¡±

    ¡°Master Geng?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s his official position?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not clear.¡± Mammy Tang shook her head and asked in reply, ¡°Why do you inquire this? You definitely don¡¯t know whoever he is.¡±

    He Danggui knew she said something wrong, so she smiled and said, ¡°Since I can¡¯t meet Second Aunt-inw, how about visiting my Second Sister? Her Fifth Uncle achieved sess, so she must be excited in her sickbed.¡±

    ¡°Sickbed?¡± Mammy Tang was strange and stopped her cutting. She said, ¡°I don¡¯t know Second Miss is in sickness!¡±

    He Danggui was stranger than her and said, ¡°What? The Second Sister broke her legs yesterday. We were all present. How can you don¡¯t know it?¡±

    Mammy Tang was embarrassed. She forgot that people saw Second Miss ran away when Madam Luo and Third Miss were seized. But Third Miss missed the scene, so she believed Second Miss broke her legs. What a silly girl. Smart people knew that she was pretended.

    But Mammy Tang didn¡¯t intend to tell her the truth. The one reason was Sun¡¯s Family was honorable now, so Luo¡¯s Family must take care of the people in Sun¡¯s Family. So, skipping this kind of embarrassing thing wasn¡¯t bad. The other reason was Second Miss was a little girl. How could people expect her fighting with the assassin? Second Madam trained her to learn Guqin, Go, calligraphy, painting and tea art but not sword.

    Madam Luo was a little angry at first, but after Mammy Tang¡¯s persuasion, she thought Second Miss was her own granddaughter, so the only thing she could do was to instruct her granddaughter slowly when she was naughty and insensible. As for her first granddaughter Luo Baiying, Madam Luo was in a big fury. She loved the granddaughter more than Shao since First Miss was in childhood. The minor reason was they had same disposition. The major reason was her mistake caused the granddaughter¡¯s disease that First Miss couldn¡¯t marry others. So, she had been trying to make up for First Miss. But looked what First Miss did in the crucial moment! How cruel and selfish the First Miss was! She would never forgive the granddaughter!

    On the other side, Luo Baiying knew she had offended Madam Luo much when she came back to Wu Shang Yardst night. At Luo¡¯s Family, her father was too busy to see her, and her mother wasn¡¯t close to her. Now she offended Madam Luo who loved her most. So, she was so regretted that she couldn¡¯t stay still. She sat, stood and went in circles all the time. She shouldn¡¯t have gone to Xin Rong Hall. Who wrote that note to guide her to there? Shit! She lost the love of Madam Luo now, so her life in Luo¡¯s Family would be harder. But marriage couldn¡¯t be her solution. What she could do was gradually umte private savings for her future.

    Mammy Tang didn¡¯t want to tell the broken legs of Second Miss in detail, so she just said that He Danggui could y with her in a few days. Actually, that didn¡¯t work. They were about to study together in academy.

    ¡°Third Miss, Jiugu and I came here for another thing.¡± Mammy Tang thought of another important thing, so she skipped the matter of Second Miss, looking down to carefully notice the expression of Third Miss, ¡°You know what? Childe Ning and Childe Feng left without sayingst night.¡±

    He Danggui¡¯s face showed a proper shock, ¡°What? Left?¡±

    Mammy Tang didn¡¯t get any message from her face, so she asked her directly, ¡°Third Miss. Does the Childe Ning, Ning Yuan, like you? What kind of business his family does except jewelry?¡±

    He Danggui¡¯s heart skipped a beat. Did Ning Yuan break his promise? Did he say something he shouldn¡¯t say to Madam Luo before he left? Or did he find that silver needle wasn¡¯t poisonous? So, he decided to ruin her reputation to revenge, didn¡¯t he?

    ¡°Ho-ho. Ning Yuan?¡± He Danggui squeezed her hands hard in her sleeves and said, ¡°Oh. That Childe treated my losing memory diseasest time. I seemed to listen from him. The most impressed thing in his mind was our hospitality to guests. And he not only likes me, but Madam Luo and Wei. As for the business of his family... Mammy, you must be confused. I don¡¯t know at all.¡±

    ¡°Look at this, Third Miss.¡± Mammy Tang took out the scroll of painting which was held by Jiugu all the time and spread it slowly. She asked, ¡°The person in the painting is you, right? And at the corner of the painting has a poem Jiangchengzi. Is that a famous love poem?¡±

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù

    ¡°What?!¡± Ming Ri asked Ming Yue with anger, ¡°The lord gave the jade pendant with Azure Dragon to that bitch? It¡¯s an imperial treasure! What if something bad happens because someone else gets it?¡±

    ¡°Shh. Keep your voice down.¡± Ming Yue patted him and said in a low voice, ¡°Our lord is healing himself inside. What if he hears something like bitch and queries us? You will expose that you led officials to surround Luo¡¯s Mansion.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care. I did that, so I should be responsible for it. And I dare to do and dare to let the lord know!¡± Ming Ri said coldly, ¡°Ming Yue, it¡¯s our lord¡¯s order that youe back to Daning to ce Song You under house arrest. And Lord Jin, Zhu Gang, wanted his sister-inw Xie Qiaofeng, Earl Yongping¡¯s second daughter, to be our lord¡¯s princess. Youe to mediate with Lord Jin. I¡¯m worried about our lord being here alone. He must go to meet that bitch. I¡¯ll stay here to watch him.¡±

    Ming Yue nodded and said, ¡°OK. Take care. When I finish the things in Daning during half of a month, I¡¯ll take Childe Chang to meet you.¡±

    ¡°Take care.¡±

    ¡°You too.¡±

    Then the two friends stared at each other and hugged for long time. Zhu Quan, who was healing himself in the secret room, still didn¡¯t know that his subordinates had already selected a princess for him. After all, he had considered in a league with Lord Jin several months ago. Now his subordinates wanted to solve this for him and give him the big surprise. But the proper princess he loved was intending to tear his painting into pieces now.

 Chapter 148 - Deep affections

    <h4>Chapter 148 Deep affections</h4>

    How dared he!

    He Danggui gritted her teeth. How dared he draw her into Dao Feng Pavilion of his mansion! Near the Dao Feng Pavilion, it was Zhiyuan Yard, and she and her daughter were drowned in the well in her previous life.

    ¡°Ten years, dead and living dim and draw apart. I don¡¯t try to remember, but forgetting is hard. Lonely grave a thousand miles off, cold thoughts, where can I talk them out? Even if we met, you wouldn¡¯t know me. Dust on my face, hair like frost.¡± He Danggui sneered secretly when she read the poetry in the picture. What a suitable poetry! Was Zhu Quan in the previous life missing Concubine He, who died a horrible death? Why did Zhu Quan in his boyhood inscribe the poetry that Su Dongpo mourned his deceased wife? What an ironic inscription! How could she be worthy of this inscription? Even in the previous life, she wasn¡¯t his wife!

    ¡°Third Miss,¡± Mammy Tang looked at He Danggui, who became gloomy at that moment, and she continued to say, ¡°Both of them left in a hurry. Childe Feng had no time to say good-bye to Jiugu, so she was sad and asked servants to inquire the details. But the servants told her that the two guests were sleeping in the same room in these ten days. When Jiugu came into their room, she found a package. She thought Childe Feng left it for her at first. But when she opened it, she found that there was your portrait and the letter was signed ¡®Ning Yuan¡¯. On the letter, he wrote that the jade pendant was given to you. You see, it¡¯s the jade pendant in the envelope...¡± Mammy Tang gave the jade pendant with Azure Dragon to He Danggui and said, ¡°Madam Luo observed it for several times, and she suspects that the jade pendant is... from Imperial Family.¡±

    He Danggui carefully looked at the jade pendant, and suddenly she found it belonged to Princess Xie in the previous life. She had heard from Concubine Gu, who said enviously that it was the bride-price when Zhu Quan married Xie Qiaofeng. When she was in the Mansion, Xie Qiaofeng often unted it. Was Zhu Quan silly? He had always been a thorough man and never let anyone find his mistakes. How could he give the jade pendant to his foe who could expose his identity?

    ¡°Third Miss, have a careful look. Does it belong to Child Ning?¡± Before Mammy Tang gave the jade pendant to He Danggui, she told her seriously, ¡°Be careful. It¡¯s precious. You should hold it by your two hands.¡±

    He Danggui was unwilling to take it, so she shook her head and said, ¡°I¡¯ve only met him once. At that time, you were hit by the itching powder and asked me to send visitors out. I just had few words with Child Feng, and then they left. I have no idea with Child Ning and his things. Since the jade pendant is so precious, I dare not to take it. I always feel a tremor in my hands in the morning when I get up.¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you really... meet each other in private? Didn¡¯t Child Ning tell you... he loves you?¡± Mammy Tang looked at He Danggui with suspicions. Although He Danggui¡¯s expression was as usual, Mammy Tang also felt that the feeling in her eyes was different as usual, which was colder than before. Mammy Tang pointed at the picture in the desk and continued to ask, ¡°Why did he draw you into his picture? Look! The expression, the eyes, and the smile. This portrait is a very true likeness of you. Second Madam always invited famous painters to draw portraits for Second Miss and others, but none of them can draw a picture like this one. If he doesn¡¯t like you, why all the strokes are full of deep affections and all the words are full of yearnings?¡±

    He Danggui was doubled over inughter. She wiped her tears because ofughing and said, ¡°Mammy is also a litterateur who has a quick intellect. If you take part in the imperial examination, probably, you¡¯ll be the Second ce at Pce Examinations... I don¡¯t understand painting and I can¡¯t read, so I don¡¯t know what he wanted to pour out in the picture. I¡¯ve heard from Child Feng that Child Ning has a sister who looks like me, but she died when she was young. Maybe the person in the picture is his sister.¡±

    ¡°Sister?!¡± Mammy Tang and Jiugu looked at each other. Then Jiugu thought for a while and nodded. She said, ¡°It is possible. The Jangchenzi was written for mourning the dead. If Child Ning really loves Third Miss, he shouldn¡¯t give her this poetry. But if he is sorrowful when he sees Third Miss that she looks like his dead sister, it will be absolutely possible that he drew the picture, inscribed the poetry and gave Third Miss the jade pendant.¡±

    Mammy Tang nodded favorably, but another distressing thing came into her mind. She said, ¡°This is an unusual jade pendant, and it seems not belong to themon people. How can we deal with it? Third Miss, what do you think?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± He Danggui said briefly.

    Mammy Tang and Jiugu kept silent for a while, and then, Jiugu told Mammy Tang, ¡°Whether he loves Third Miss or regards Third Miss as his dead sister, this jade pendant is given to her. Since Madam Luo also doesn¡¯t know how to handle it, I think Third Miss should take care of the jade pendant. If one day, Yang or Child Fenge back, we can ask the reason and then decide whether we return it or ept it. What do you think?¡±

    With some hesitation, Mammy Tang took jade pendant back into the casket and put the casket into He Danggui¡¯s hands solemnly. She said, ¡°Take good care of it. Never chip it and lost it. I¡¯ll choose a dark steel box, which is several hundred jin. This box is specially for you to store up the jade pendant. Third Miss, you must take good care of it!¡± Mammy Tang exhorted and found that Third Miss was so weak, as if she couldn¡¯t grasp the casket. Mammy Tang remembered that Third Miss said she always felt a tremor in her hands in the morning when she got up. Mammy Tang was so scared and wrested the casket. She put it under the pillow in the inner room¡¯s embroidered bed. After that, Mammy Tang exhorted seriously and went away with Jiugu worriedly.

    When they left, Chan Yi jumped in from the door. She took out an apple from her apron and bit it. Then she asked, ¡°What do you want to eat for breakfast? Mammy Tang gave us a lot of foods and clothes. The foods are more thanst time that arranged in the mourning hall for you, and the whole storage room in the kitchen are stuffed. There are many things that I¡¯ve ever seen. I saw a light red fruit. When I asked Xiang Chunya, she told me it was Litchi, which was Noble Consort Yang¡¯s favorite. She told me this fruit are very perishable and should be frozen. The earlier we eat, the more delicious it is. I¡¯ll peel it for you!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t like it. You can eat them. I am a little sleepy and want to have a rest. You arrange these things and choose two smart maids to help you manage the kitchen from the twelve maids in the yard. Mammy Tang will ask servants to give me the iron box. You ask them to put it in the gate. Don¡¯t let them knock the door. If someone from Liu Li Tang asks me to go there with Zhu, you let Bo He and Dou Jiang hold him to see them, ande back when it¡¯s getting dark. No matter who asks you, you just tell them I have eaten something wrong. OK, that¡¯s all. You can leave now.¡±

    When she finished, she pushed Chan Yi out of the door. Then she bolted the door and found a nail to fasten the door. After confirming everything was fine, she heard that Chan Yi murmured, ¡°Did she have a stomachache because of the sweet noodle?¡± Then Chan Yi left. He Danggui relieved and escaped to her inner room. She put down the door curtain, run to the bed and put down the bed curtain.

    She overestimated herself.

    After a night of buffering, she thought it was better, but that didn¡¯t work!

    Did she drink too much Distilled Osmanthus Drink? There was a ball of cold air in her stomach, permeating to her body.

    She trembled and held her underbelly into the quilt. No, she couldn¡¯t see anyone, just let herself alone.

    She thought it was a fortune in the morning. She thought Mammy Tang came here with a lot of things forpensating her, formending her filial affection. But they suspected that a prince loved her. All her ns and performances couldn¡¯tpare with his picture. Of course, his status was higher than her, and she could only look up to him.

    She thought she loved him in the previous life. When she waked up in this life, she thought she hated him. Now, he wasing, and she had already known that she was afraid of him. All her abilities and means were taught by him. When she faced with Dong Xin and Luo Baishao in Luo¡¯s Mansion, she felt it just like an adult yed with children. But now the master who was good at scheming wasing, she felt that she could never transcend him. When she heard that he left the Luo¡¯s Mansion, she pretended not to be resented on the surface, but she rejoiced of it. She would never confront with such a horrible man, but why did he give her his poison? Would hee back to find her again?

    Was it possible? When she lived in a peaceful life in Tao Yao Yard, one day, a glib-tongued matchmaker sent by him woulde suddenly, just like the previous life. She would take her away in the name of Lord Ning.

    Would she meet Zhou Jinn and Xie Qiaofeng again? Would shee back to the ce where she and her daughter died? Would she have to re-experience the real old dream?

    Why did she meet him again? She was so regret! If she knew, she would hide herself. Never let he see; never let he be curious; never let he pursuit her; never let her be his prey... How terrible! She had been his prey now. She knew all his temper and means. If he liked something, no matter it would spend ten years or twenty years, he would try his best to get it. Even it would die, he would get it... Until she died in the previous life, he still stared at the Emperor¡¯s chair. He and the previous emperor who faked his own death still coped with the new emperor together...

    ¡°Tut-tut, why are you still sleeping? Lazy girl.¡± The voice out of the quilt sounded again, ¡°Get up, quickly. I want to tell you something.¡±

    Her body suddenly felt cold, and here came a light in her eyes. Her protective cover had gone! How terrible! She must have been found! He had excellent martial arts, and maybe he would suddenlye just like Little Master. He would catch her and lock her up. She must have been painful!

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you? Are you getting sick? Why are you trembling in the daytime?¡± The cold fingers touched her forehead. He said, ¡°Oh, you have a fever! Do you feel not well? Do you want to see doctors?¡± The voice became closer, and she could feel his breath. He said, ¡°Are you still crying? What a dangerous situation yesterday, but you didn¡¯t cry. I think you are a queen. I have not expected that you will cry when you get sick.¡± He held her weak body and put her body into sitting. Then he said, ¡°I know a kung fu that can cure people. Let me help you. As for exchange, you cannot tell anyone about this kung fu.¡±

    He put his warm palms on her back, holding a form constantly. Her back gradually felt warm and then scalding. This feeling transmitted from her back to her chest and then transmitted all over her body, dispelling the coldness.

    It was no use to cure her. She was watched by a devil. She would die soon. How could she fight against with the devil, the most horrible and the most merciless devil? Would she do everything to please him? How terrible! He had already known that Chan Yi was her weakness. If he did a thorough investigation, he would know that she also had her own mother. If she wasn¡¯t obedient to him, would he catch them and threaten her?

    ¡°Girl. Gather your mind together. Observe your Dantian. Your mind was so messy. My Zhenqi is broken up.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    A momentter, the warm hands withdrew. Her weak body was put in the bed, and her quilt wasing back again. She heard that he fell to the ground and stepped away. Then the cupboard was opened, with some rustle, and the footstep sounded close.

    She suddenly felt there was something pressing on her body, and then her body turned warmer.

    ¡°There are a lot of pillows and quilts in the cupboard. Why don¡¯t use them? Look! How wonderful! The bed is full of the pillows and quilts. Much crowded than before. When I came in your room, I thought there was no one in the room. You are still fine in the morning when we separated. How can you be no hope again that we have just separated for four hours? No, much worse than yesterday. It seems that your whole body is written ¡®let me disappear¡¯, ¡®I shouldn¡¯te into the world¡¯.¡± He said with ridicule and joy, ¡°Who bullied you? Little chili girl? Why don¡¯t deal with him just like yesterday that you handled with me?

    He Danggui threw a pillow to him.

    ¡°How lucky! I get it. You threw it too ntingly. It almost drops to the ground and gets dirty.¡±

    ¡°... It¡¯s just noon. You said you woulde in the night.¡± When she opened her mouth, she recognized that she still retained her voice.

    ¡°Sorry, I won¡¯te this night.¡± The voice was far away. Then, the voice of dragging a stool and eating melon seeds sounded. He said, ¡°I can¡¯t stay here for a long time. My father is waiting for me in the main hall. I¡¯ll say briefly and then I¡¯ll go.¡±

    He left too. So fast. He was also a passerby. She thought the special boy was a light of rescuing and shined her further road. But she never expected that it was the end of the road.

    The voice of eating melon seeds continued about 5 minutes. He said, ¡°Wow, what a special taste the melon seeds are. It is just like the assorted melon seeds dish that I ate in Yu Xuan Fang in the capital. The fragrant water you gave me in the morning is also delicious. I was going to have a midnight snack in there,¡± Crunch. Puff. He said, ¡°However, I went to see Madam Luo in the morning and told her that I wanted to study in Chengxu Academy, but she just asked me to oftene here. She never invited me to stay here. I implied her for several times, but she couldn¡¯t understand. So, the n failed.¡±

    Didn¡¯t ask him to stay? How strange that was! It wasn¡¯t like Madam Luo. First, Madam Luo enjoyed crowds and liked to see many youths in home. Second, she was very enthusiastic when she saw the Childe who was young and promising but didn¡¯t have engagement. So, why didn¡¯t she ask Meng Xuan to stay in Luo¡¯s Mansion?

    Both the smart Meng Xuan and He Danggui didn¡¯t guess Madam Luo¡¯s idea. Madam Luo was not unwilling to ask the honored guest to stay, but she never regarded ¡°the honored guest that she hardly met¡± as ¡°the long-term guest in Luo¡¯s Mansion¡±. She never expected that, so she couldn¡¯t understand Meng Xuan¡¯s implication and just invited him toe to Luo¡¯s Mansion frequently.

    ¡°And then, my father came looking for me. I told him that I wanted to study in Chengxu Academy. He agreed strongly and would choose a house, some reading attendants and servants for me, so I have to leave today. I wille in the night after my father leaves. I just took 10% of your Zhenqi, and the rest of them is still in your body. Girl, these days you must not be perplexed, nervous and depressed, or else you will be dangerous. So, you can umte it and tell me when Ie to see you next time.¡±

    ¡°... OK.¡± She felt this kind of persuasion that she ever heard was extremely moving.

    ¡°Crunch.¡± The voice of eating melon seeds mingled with his gentle words. Although she hid in the warm dark environment that covered by the thick quilt, she could still feel his bright eyes and warm smile. He said, ¡°So... That¡¯s all. My father is talking with your rtives. If he is going to get fidgety and show his true colors, it won¡¯t be good, because I will visit your home by his name. Can you lend me a handkerchief? My handkerchief wiped your nosebleed yesterday.¡±

    ¡°You can find it in the drawer.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t find it. There are only socks. They seem new. Have you worn them?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°... Looks new. Lend me one. Thank you!¡±

    ¡°... What are you doing?¡±

    ¡°Of course, take the melon seeds away. You get ill and must have no appetite to eat the melon seeds. It won¡¯t be delicious if you set it aside for a very long time. I help you deal with it. Don¡¯t feel grateful for this.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Bye, see you again!¡±

    The window opened and then closed. The smart and mysterious boy just like herself came and left with her unmentionable disease unconsciously. It was because he said that if she was perplexed, her Zhenqi would lose control. He said that she could umte all the sadness and told him when she saw him again.

    So, see youter, Little Master.

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù

    ¡°Get up, get up!¡± Chan Yi forced her to get up and said, ¡°It¡¯s the first day that you go to school. Will you want to bete? You are sleeping for two or three days. Are you still sleepy?¡±

    He Danggui was confused and looked at the sky. She asked, ¡°Why is it so dark outside? What time is it?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s about midnight or 3 a.m. The watchman just reported the time, but I didn¡¯t mention.¡± Chan Yi helped her wear clothes skillfully and continued toin, ¡°It¡¯s fine that you never fold up a quilt, but now, you sleep with four quilts. Don¡¯t you know that I should pay half an hour to fold them?¡±

    He Danggui was shocked and said, ¡°3 a.m.?! It¡¯s just 3 a.m. that you call me to get up?¡± No wonder she felt that she just climbed to bed and then Chan Yi forced her to get up!

    Chan Yi didn¡¯t feel it was wrong. She exhorted her Miss, ¡°I¡¯ve heard that people who study in school should eat lunch outside. You are such a fussy eater, so I prepare a home-made lunchbox. There are a lot of dishes, such as sesame seed cake with pig¡¯s-head meat, four colors steamed twisted roll with chicken and a delicious big drumstick. Your ssmates will be goggle-eyed at thevish foods. You must finish them by yourself and can¡¯t give others. I cooked it by a whole night.¡±

    He Danggui just wanted to say something, but she was dragged by Huai Hua to the dressing table where Huai Hua set a lot face powders and headdresses in order.

    Huai Hua smiled and said, ¡°Mammy Tang came yesterday. She suggested me specially. It doesn¡¯t matter to you if you are illiterate and don¡¯t listen to the teacher in ss, but you must be beautiful. I¡¯ve heard that all the Misses whoe to school must try their best to beautify themselves. Because there is a grandpetition by choosing the most beautiful Miss in Women Institute. Don¡¯t worry. I will try my best to help you win the prize and be ¡°the most beautiful Miss¡± in this year!¡±

 Chapter 149 - The First Miss and Childe

    <h4>Chapter 149 The First Miss and Childe</h4>

    Chengxu Academy was surrounded by mountains on three sides and water on one side. There were exquisite designs in these spacious houses. Many rooms were unliked ssrooms, but liked the treasure houses in business. It was said that Chengxu was first built at end of the Southern Song Dynasty. In addition to the officials of Project Supervision Department in Yangzhou City, there were two monks who came from Nihon to travel and study here. It took 5 years to have a preliminary scale. Later, the whole country was in a turbulent situation, and the house, which had been more than half built, was abandoned. Until this dynasty, they werepleted and put into use gradually.

    The Men Institute had arge area. There was also a ce for horse racing and a ce for practicing archery. The Women Institute was the dormitory and the tea-house for the teacher originally. Since the former headmaster Hou Yi proposed the concept of ¡°Women Institute¡±, a high wall was established on the side of the Men Institute, separating a Women Institute. At that time, the 6 female students who dressed as male and studied in the Men Institute became the first batch of students in the Women Institute.

    However, the female students had lost the studious spirit of those women predecessors who had to learn till death and made headmaster Hou open a Women Institute specially. They regarded the school as the theater of the South Street. They walked for two times every day and always gathered at the stage to catch some male students¡¯ attention. They usually made male students blush and quicken their pulses. These kinds of girls belonged to the lostmbs that made the teachers shake their heads and sigh. Half of the girls in the school belonged to this type nowadays, and most of them were spectors who had no knowledge and took the ¡°entrance examination free¡±.

    Of course, there were also many young Misses who had been famous because of learning talent since childhood, such as Guan Yun and Guan Zhan, the Third and the Fourth Miss of Guan¡¯s Family. Although they were from a prestigious family and got special enrollments surely, they just threw the special enrollments away and walked into the examination hall gracefully. They took the exam together with the young Misses with lower family background, and passed the exam with their true talents.

    Another example was Ling Miaoyi the Third Miss of Ling¡¯s Family. She walked into the examination hall without saying a word. After the examination, she handed in the papers and left. Then teachers corrected all examination papers, and she passed with high marks. When Headmaster Bai copied the list, he found that the niece of Shizi of Ling¡¯s Family, Ling Miaoyi was also in it. Among them, there were Wu Yuying, the daughter of Wu¡¯s Family, Niu Wenbao, the daughter of Crown Prince¡¯s teacher Niu Tong, as well as Han Xinxin and Han Qiqi, the daughters of Senior Governor Hanfei in Yang Zhou City. They were all talented girls who had worked hard in Guqin, Go, Calligraphy, painting as well as Shi, Shu, Li, Yue (Four ssics of The Six ssics of Confucianism).

    As soon as these girls arrived at the school, they got together to chat. Several beautiful girls with exquisite jewelry and clothes chose a pavilion near the water to sit in together. Aftermenting on the failure of the school¡¯sndscape garden, they also nced at the pnquins at the entrance of the school. If there was a person that they all knew, they would make frivolous remarks about that person¡¯s appearance.

    However, when they looked at the scenery, there were also peopleing and going who regarded them as the scenery. They knew and enjoyed it.

    This was a public area outside the Men Institute and Women Institute. Only the Childes sat here to study and watched the ¡°scenery¡± usually. Those reserved Misses always got out of the pnquins and covered half of their faces with handkerchiefs or fans. Their little feet walked like lotus, and they went into the Women Institute while looking steadily forward. They left the Childes with beautiful backs of infinite reverie.

    However, today was an exception. On the one hand, male students and female students were going to attend the opening ceremony in this public area. On the other hand, Sun Yanbin, the Second ce at Pce Examinations, was invited by Headmaster Bai to attend the opening ceremony for students. Therefore, the Misses also waited outside the Women Institute.

    In addition to the Feast of Qushui Liushang and blind date, such an opening ceremony only took ce once a year. Therefore, the Misses had to dress up carefully on this important asion where they stayed together with the Childes of famous families. They took out the precious night pearl, grandma¡¯s bloodstone, ancestral blood coral, and the most valuable gold and silver jewelry of the dowry. All of which were iid on their hair, clothes and embroidered shoes.

    At a nce, the scene of Missespeted with each other for beauty of looks was amazing, and the beauty of youth was remarkable. But some old teachers who had been teaching in the school for more than 10 or 20 years couldn¡¯t help shaking heads and sighing that the ethos had changed. When they were young, the Misses were all simple and elegant.

    This opening ceremony was the ¡°beauty contest¡± that Mammy Tang said. The so-called election of ¡°the First Miss¡± and ¡°the First Childe¡± were unofficial results of small-scale discussions actually. When the headmaster and teachers were speaking on the stage, the Childesmented the Misses on the right secretly, and then voted several outstanding people after selecting. Of course, only some of them took part in this activity. For example, Luo Baiqian, a father of several children, had lost interest inmenting Misses. Peng Shi, a representative of the ¡°cool group¡± who had a high vision, was sniffy at these things really.

    On the contrary, almost every young Miss who was usually very shy voted for the one they loved. If a young Miss chose to abstain when it was her turn, someone would always say, ¡°Pretend to be self-contained¡±, or ¡°It¡¯s an affectation¡±, and so on. So even if the young Miss was very introverted, and her face would be very red and intoxicating, she would also bite lower lip and whisper a name. If the Childes on the left saw this, they would be so d that they wanted to shake off the folding fan with ink painting in order to bring some cool breeze to relieve them.

    Although the results didn¡¯t represent everyone¡¯s opinion, the poprity of the Miss and Childe who won the titles of ¡°the First Miss¡± and ¡°the First Childe¡± would be very high in the whole Chengxu Academy, even the headmaster and vice-headmaster would hear about it. The Miss who got the name of ¡°the First Miss¡± could find a good husband in Chengxu. Because of the hundreds of male students in such arge school, there must be at least ten Childes who liked her secretly. And there were 3 or 4 of them would secretly send love letters to her probably. If she was willing to reply to one of the letters, she would be acquainted with the male.

    He adored her, and she liked him. In a beautiful academy, two young, noble and innocent hearts approached gradually. The way was exchange of letters, and the goal was to get marry. Then an affection came into being gradually.

    At present, the opening ceremony had not started, and the Childes and Misses were not all here. Therefore, everyone was discussing several hot figures who were expected to be nominated as ¡°the First Miss¡± and ¡°the First Childe¡± this year secretly. Of course, family background was the first. Although people who could study in Chengxu Academy all had good family background naturally, they could also be divided into some levels. Even if people with family background below the third level were nominated, it was impossible for him or her to be selected. It was because most people would leave their precious votes to the real aristocrats.

    The next was appearance, which was the only standard of evaluation under the same family background. However, there was a certain gap in each person¡¯s aesthetic, which leaded to endless debates on the selection every year. There were also many beautiful Misses who protested the results of the selection seriously, so they asked for one-on-onepetition with ¡°the First Miss¡±¡­ All in all, it was a lively gathering, which made many teachers on the stage sigh that being young was great.

    ¡°Sister, who are ¡®the First Miss¡¯ and ¡®the First Childe¡¯st year?¡± Guan Zhan, the Fourth Miss of Guan¡¯s Family who was daughter of a concubine, asked Guan Yun, the Third Miss of Guan¡¯s Family who was a legitimate daughter.

    Among the young Misses who passed the examination ording to their true abilities, only Guan Yun was an old student who had studied for two years. Today, it was the first time that the other young Misses had entered the academy¡¯s gate. They were like chickens as if they just broke their shells and were turning their ck eyes to look at the beautiful and prosperous world curiously. This legendary mixed Academy for men and women had a very good atmosphere. After entering the academy, they felt their life was about to rapid rise from here.

    Guan Yun said smilingly, ¡°The First Miss is Xie Qiaofeng, who is the legitimate daughter of Earl Yongpin. She doesn¡¯t study this year. It is said that her family is match-making for her. She will marry this year. The First Childe is Luo Baiqian, the First Master of East Yard of Luo¡¯s Family. He has been the First Childe for three times in a row. Although he has been married for a long time, he is nominated every time. When ites to voting, we are all very shy. Although we have people in our hearts, we feel embarrassed to say their names, so we all vote for Brother Luo. Of course, his appearance is beautiful. He deserves the name of the First Childe.¡±

    Han Xinxin, the eldest daughter of Senior Governor Hanfei, asked with shining eyes, ¡°Where is he? Where is he?¡± Where was the handsome First Master Luo who was beautiful than a woman?

    Guan Yun shook head and said, ¡°I don¡¯t see him. Maybe he hasn¡¯t arrived yet. He is waiting for his sister to go to school today. It¡¯s estimated that he will be dyed for a while. Qiong has always been very picky about her clothes and jewelry. I¡¯m really convinced of her.¡±

    Among the girls in the pavilion, Guan Yun was the only one who didn¡¯t dress up too much. Even Ling Miaoyi, who borrowed money from acquaintances to buy clothes, had done enough surface work to dress up the grandest effect with the least money. Guan Yun believed that one who was filled with knowledge always behaved with elegance. Male¡¯s appreciation attracted by a few pieces of jewelry was neither pure nor long-term. She liked to wear simple andfortable men¡¯s robe usually. Today, she was wearing women¡¯s clothes, a simple brocade skirt with dark pattern. In others eyes, she was really a beautiful person.

    Wu Yuying, the Fourth Miss of Wu¡¯s Family, smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s a pity that she only can change clothes but can¡¯t change her noses.¡± It meant that Luo Baiqiong¡¯s nose was too big which was a failure in her appearance.

    Your nose didn¡¯t look good. Niu Wenbao, the youngest daughter of Crown Prince¡¯s teacher Niu Tong, murmured in her heart. Then she poked Ling Miaoyi gently, who was next to her, and eximed in surprise, ¡°Aren¡¯t those the two masters of Peng¡¯s Family?¡±

    Ling Miaoyi was also surprised, ¡°Peng Shi! Peng Jian! They will also study at Chengxu, will they?¡± Peng Shi and Peng Jian were also familiar faces that Ling Miaoyi often met at banquets in the capital like Chang Nuo. Especially, Peng Jian had several quarrels and mischiefs with her, so she was impressed particrly.

    ¡°They also live in East Yard now.¡± Guan Yun said of what she knew. ¡°It¡¯s said that the old people want to arrange a marriage, in order to deepen the rtionship between rtives.¡±

    Moreover, she overheard thements from the servants of Luo¡¯s Family. Luo Baiqiong fell in love with the cold-hearted Peng Shi at the first sight, and she designed a drama of falling into the water carefully. When the maid tried to attract Peng Shi, she lured him to rescue her, and pretended to be in aa to let Peng Shi hold her all the way. However, it seemed that she hadn¡¯t won his favor. To be frank, Peng Shi was indeed a talent. At a young age, he looked like an adult, and had some of his father¡¯s demeanor. Apart from his family background, Luo Baiqiong wasn¡¯t worthy of him. From another point of view, he had no interest in such a delicate girl as Luo Baiqiong. It remained to be seen whether the two could get married. Anyway, she thought they couldn¡¯t.

    Ling Miaoyi hissed and said, ¡°Two monsters. The people who will marry them are really unlucky¡­ Eh, that¡¯s Meng Xuan, the youngest general in Meng¡¯s Family! His family lives next to Yinghui Academy in the capital. How could hee to Chengxu in Yangzhou City? Strange! What¡¯s the matter with Chengxu this year? All the dragons in the deep water have sprung up here. Taoist Sage, Major General Meng, the two masters of the Peng¡¯s Family, and ¡­Mr. Duan. There are so many talents.¡± Although she always called Duan Xiaolou brother, there was the academy. Female students couldn¡¯t call a male teacher too intimate in public, so she called ¡°Mr. Duan¡± awkwardly.

    ¡°And you?¡± The Fourth Miss Wu said ironically, ¡°Why do youe to Chengxu? It¡¯s said that you¡¯ve had a good time in the capital. The whole capital knows your name.¡± Ling Miaoyi was famous for her ability to make trouble, lie, hurt people and set on fire.

    Ling Miaoyi just wanted to retort. Miss Niu patted them and eximed, ¡°Look! Herees the real celebrity ¨C Liao Qing¡¯er from Liao¡¯s Family!¡±

    Ling Miaoyi and other people looked at them together, and they were all surprised to open mouths widely, ¡°Crazy girl Liao Qing¡¯er!¡±

    The outlook of the girl was not bad. She had white skin, but was very different from the thin beauty of the south. She had a round face and body. Her round face slightly up, and she looked up at the sky with 45-degree angles. She walked fast as the wind, and her arms alternately swung. It was very different with the noble woman¡¯s etiquette. She seemed to sense that there were many acquaintances in the capital looking at her, so she held her head higher and left a white double chin for them to look up.

    Guan Yun and Guan Zhan looked at Liao Qing¡¯er¡¯s striking gand, and then they looked at each other. They decided to keep their mouths shut about the fact that the girl was their cousin who was now lived in Guan¡¯s Family secretly. It was really humiliating to have such a rude rtive.

    ¡°Who is that man?¡± Han Xinxin, the eldest daughter of Senior Governor Han Fei. She patted Guan Yun and asked nervously, ¡°That Childe, the smiling one, is looking at us!¡±

    Guan Yun nced at him and replied, ¡°Oh, he is the First Master of Luo¡¯s Family, Luo Baiqian. The girl besides him is Luo Baiqiong, the Second Miss. They have been regr guests of my family for two years, but you went to Northren Zhili Area (areas directly administered by the capital) to study tea art for two years, so you don¡¯t meet them...¡± Then, she suddenly stopped. Eh? She looked at Han Xinxin, who was shy and wanted to see him again. Was it possible for Han Xinxin to fall in love with the First Master Luo at first sight? Ho-ho! If so, Han Xinxin was really blind. He was a well-known amorous and cowardly man!

    ¡°Hey, who is the girl walking behind them? Her face is rubbed like a monkey¡¯s butt.¡± The Fourth Miss Wu asked.

    ¡°Her surname is He.¡± Guan Yun nced at her and replied briefly.

    ¡°He? Which Family? Who is her father?¡± Miss Niu asked curiously, ¡°It seems that she is not going to participate in the selection of ¡®The First Miss¡¯ because of her ordinary dress. Why does she paint her face so red?¡±

    Guan Jun¡¯s face showed a slightly disgusted expression. She shook her head and didn¡¯t want to say anymore, which further aroused the curiosity of the public. Ling Miaoyi nced over there at first casually, then her almond eyes opened wide. She eximed, ¡°This girl¡­ I¡¯ve seen her!¡±

    Miss Niu asked, ¡°Where? In the capital?¡± Ling Miaoyi shook her head in disbelief, and bowed head for a moment.

    In a short time, the Childes and Misses of Chengxu¡¯s new school year all presented constantly. The Childes were sitting one by one on the left side of the temporary tform. Since the number of Misses was far less than that of Childes, Misses were sitting in a long row on their right side.

    Because there were not too strict formation rules, and the Misses were used to being loose, they all sat ording to the intimacy of each other¡¯s rtionship. For example, Guan Yun, Ling Miaoyi and other four Misses who had a wide range of friends sat in a row; Luo Baiqiong, a specially enrolled student, sat in a row timidly with her cousins, Sun Ru and Sun Shu. Besides¡­

    ¡°There are too many empty seat. Two persons sit there!¡± Zheng Lian, a female teacher in the Women Institute, standing in front of the line, pointed to the back row and shouted suddenly, ¡°Two more!¡±

    He Danggui bowed her head and was in a daze. Hearing that, she looked up and found that the female teacher¡¯s hand was pointing at her side. She looked back and forth and found that she was the only one in the whole team. ording to the ¡°Group¡± division of seats, she was indeed one of the no group, but she didn¡¯t expect to be highlighted so soon.

    She was unwilling to go to school, and after the event of jade pendant with Azure Dragon that day, her spirit had been listless and she didn¡¯t want to do anything. She didn¡¯t even go to see Ms. Dong make a fool of herself. The shadow that terrible man brought to her, appeared from some of the tragic memories that were vague in her dream, and became vivid memories that she didn¡¯t want to recall when she woke up. Now, these forced into her peaceful life in the way of real scroll painting and the jade pendant. She hated and feared, but there was no way now.

    ¡°You!¡± Ms. Zheng pointed to Guan Yun¡¯s row with thergest number of people, and said, ¡°Two people sit in the back!¡± They looked at each other, but no one moved. ¡°No matter who, go there and sit next to her!¡± Mr. Zheng shouted impatiently.

    This shout was too loud. The teachers on the stage and the students under the stage couldn¡¯t help looking back over. The noisy garden a moment ago was quiet suddenly. Originally, everyone was bored and was chatting in a low voice. As soon as there was an unusual movement at the moment, it attracted the attention of many people immediately.

    Ms. Zheng was in a hurry and said, ¡°Why didn¡¯t anyone move? Would no one like to sit next to her?¡± Her finger pointed to He Danggui¡¯s head.

 Chapter 150 - Renascence and Time Travel

    <h4>Chapter 150 Renascence and Time Travel</h4>

    Ms. Zheng repeated, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t anybody like to sit by her? Come on! Anyone?¡± Some female students sneered, some knew the reason didn¡¯t say anything, some were confused. All in all, no one wanted to sit by her.

    It was not supposed to be a big problem to sit without order. But Ms. Zheng felt awkward for getting no response. Therefore, she repeated her question again and again. She asked every line of girls to sit there. However, it seemed that they were all against her on purpose. Eventually, no one moved to there.

    Luo Baiqiong and her cousinughed out low, and then more girls followed tough with handkerchiefs coving their mouths. Even someone made catcalls. It was obvious that the catcalls didn¡¯t aim at Ms. Zheng because the first rule of Chengxu Academy was ¡°respecting the teachers and teaching.¡±

    Peng Jian had looked at the girl with over-painted red cheeks for many times, and he suddenly recognized that she was his Third Sister. They hadn¡¯t seen each other for several days. Hey! Why did you iste her in such a way? Peng Shi could feel the forting outbreak of anger of his brother, so he held his brother¡¯s body and warned, ¡°If you don¡¯t behave yourself and tend to make trouble, I¡¯m going to make a final letter to let you go home. What¡¯s more, you¡¯ll fail to help her out, and she doesn¡¯t need your help.¡±

    Meanwhile, stubborn Ms. Zheng was standing awkwardly there, and she had to let someone fill the empty seat. However, the girls didn¡¯t want to sit there for a second. At that moment, nearly all the people were focused on the disharmonious idental matter.

    Mr. Bai, the headmaster, frowned and thought, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Stop making a show of yourself! Today, there are many special guests. It¡¯s the first time that Taoist Sage and Mr. Zhang havee here. And Mr. Sun is the Second ce at Pce Examinations.¡± Duan Xiaolou sat on pins and needles. Sister He wasughed at there. Would it be suitable for him to help her out?

    He Danggui looked calm and lowered her head receiving the unkindugh. But she didn¡¯t know why they wereughing at her. Her hairpins and dress were all first-ss goods given by the servants of First Madam Luo. Her face was just painted redder than before by Huai Hua, but hundreds of girls were all heavily dressed on their face. Even some people¡¯s faces were much redder than her. How did they distinguish that she was unusual? Only a few people knew her here. How did they know who they wereughing at was inferior to them?

    When it was in a stalemate and He Danggui wanted to say or do something, a fat girl with flower ring on her head suddenly rushed and sat next to her. The stout girl almost made He Danggui off her seat due to her strong strength.

    ¡°Sorry!¡± she apologized at once, ¡°I didn¡¯t hear that just now, or I¡¯de earlier. My name is Liao Qing¡¯er. It¡¯s my first timeing to Yangzhou City. And I don¡¯t know the roads of this city. Please take care of me in the following days!¡±

    He Danggui tried not to be hit off her seat and nodded. Just when she was about to say, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter¡±, the fat girl showed her two balls of cotton. She said with a high voice, ¡°I didn¡¯t lie that I really didn¡¯t hear what Ms. Zheng said. Look, I used them to block my ears so that I could not hear those annoying people calling. And I was chewing gum just now.¡±

    After her words, other girls stopped speaking and all the people was looking at them. Liao Qing¡¯er was aware of that and still spoke continuously to He Danggui, ¡°A lot of girls were talking about the candidate handsome men such as Duan Xiaolou, Guan Mo, Peng Shi, Peng Jian, and Meng Xuan, and Luo Baiqian. Those girls said that they were all exceedingly good-looking with different characteristics and personalities. I don¡¯t know anyone of them, and I don¡¯t think they would be better at least than my private guard. He has a strong body, bronzed skin and powerful arms. And I like his wild but gentle personality, as well as gloom and depressive looking. He is just the standard of men, and I believe every girl would like him. Now, I¡¯m trying to get his heart.¡±

    He Danggui stared at this fat girl surprisingly. Meanwhile, she looked around and found that it was fairly silent.

    ¡°And you¡­¡± Liao Qing¡¯er took out a little wooden box and took a white handkerchief. She said, ¡°This is a disposable wet napkin that made by myself. You know, in the age of puberty, at times I need to wipe the oil on my face.¡± Liao Qing¡¯er held the face of He Danggui to wipe her blusher while speaking.

    He Danggui looked at that white napkin nervously. She felt in relief when seeing that it hadn¡¯t been used. Liao Qing¡¯er said with a big smile, ¡°Just now when I saw youing in here, I thought you are so pretty and you made me refresh suddenly. Though you use too much blusher to be as normal as others, I know you are hiding your beauty with the blusher. You are more beautiful than those girls who look likenterns.¡± Meanwhile, she pointed at the gorgeous jade, gold and silver hairpins on the hairs of Luo Baiqiong and Luo Baiqiong¡¯s cousins. After what Liao Qing¡¯er said, people felt that they really looked likenterns.

    Then, over there, Peng Jian was stoppedughing by Peng Shi¡¯s heavy pat. Peng Shi said with a low voice to Peng Jian, ¡°Don¡¯tugh out loudly.¡± Suddenly, Luo Baiqiong as well as others felt so awkward and their faces were pale.

    He Danggui didn¡¯t know where this fat girling from and couldn¡¯t express any feelings. She could just say, ¡°Yeah, yeah, right. It doesn¡¯t matter. Thank you.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go out. It¡¯s so boring to listen to their titudes. It¡¯s a waste of time. Let¡¯s go around in the campus.¡± Liao Qing¡¯er picked He Danggui¡¯s hand and left the ce. He Danggui denied at first, but then she followed Liao Qing¡¯er to go out.

    Right, Liao Qing¡¯er was right. She was not willing to go to the academy originally. And she was not willing to be the focused one. She was even also not willing to take the boring opening ceremony. Why did she stay here? Just run away.

    In this way, she was led by a strange girl. They walked for a long time. Suddenly, Liao Qing¡¯er stopped walking, and then He Danggui rushed to a chest of a man with fragrant smell. He Danggui looked up and saw the passionate eyes of Duan Xiaolou.

    ¡°Who are you? Do youe to take us back?¡± Liao Qing¡¯er said and red at the handsome man who took He Danggui in his arm.

    ¡°Duan¡­Shizi (the eldest legitimate son and heir of a Lord)?¡± He Danggui called him tentatively. And she guessed that he had lost his memory.

    Duan Xiaolou was irritated by this calling, so he didn¡¯t care about the stranger. He caught the hands of He Danggui and said heavily, ¡°I miss you every day and night. I miss you at every moment of my breath. You said you wanted to make a ¡°star bet¡± with me. You said half a yearter if there was a meteor shower in the Zhinv Bridge of the Milky Way, it would mean that we don¡¯t have the destiny to be together. I received that bet because I love you and I believe we are destined to belong to each other. But I heard from Qi Xuanyu, the Imperial Astronomer of Qintianjian Celestial Prefecture, that he predicted that after half a year, there would be a meteor shower in a possible area in the south. To be honest, I don¡¯t believe that, but I also don¡¯t want our destiny to be decided by that ridiculous thing. So, Ie to see you.¡±

    Seeing Duan Xiaolou, He Danggui didn¡¯t know what to say. Sorry? Good bye?

    ¡°Sister He, I saw you that day in the Xin Rong Hall. Though I was as happy as ark, I couldn¡¯t say hello to you. Because you will be my wife and I don¡¯t want others know that we have private love before marriage. That¡¯s bad for you. When I saw that you were wearing the clothes that I gave you as a gift, I knew you have me in your mind. I was so happy that I wanted to have a sword dance. But that banquet spent so much time that day. I really wanted to talk with you that how sad I was when I could not see you. When I heard that you were trodden by the horse, I felt so anxious. I wanted to see if you were hurt; if you have taken good care of yourself and lost weight without mypany. When I mistook that you had died, at that moment, I just wanted to go to the paradise at once to apany with you. When I knew that you were caught by an unknown assassin, my heart was as if being cut by someone. That hurts. When I heard that you had been saved and was safe, my broken heart recovered at that time. It was like that my heart was linked with yours¡­¡±

    ¡°Sneeze¡­¡± A loud sneeze interrupted the serious true confession. Liao Qing¡¯er used her handkerchief to hide her nose and said right now, ¡°Excuse me, excuse me. You go ahead.¡±

    ¡°At the beginning, I didn¡¯t know whether I truly liked you, and I was not sure what made I like you at that time. But I¡¯m afraid that I¡¯d regret that I miss you. After all, you are the first girl that I affect. So, I let Lu Jiangbei be our matchmaker to propose for me. And then I was not discouraged by your refusal. It made me beware clearly that I love you and I want to spoil and protect you every day. After I returned to the capital, I began to miss you. I missed your hair, fragrance, eyes, and voice. Your smile was like a shadow around me. Every time I turn back, I could see you watching me. I¡¯d run to you as long as you saw me in that gentle eyes in spite of everything. I dreamed several times that I saw you wearing a red wedding dress. You waved to me and said, ¡®I¡¯ve found my Mr. Right, and I hope you could find a right girl.¡¯ I was aware that one could make you sad means you love her in the deepest heart. Sister He, I love you, I know you, and I treasure you. I¡¯ll wait for you to be my bride. Would you like to marry me?¡±

    At one moment, she wanted to nod and say, ¡°Yes, I¡¯d love to.¡±

    ¡°No way!¡± However, Ling Miaoyi suddenly rushed and said, ¡°Brother Xiaolou, you can¡¯t like her. She is a bad girl. And she has affair with two men at the same time. She has affair with the husband of my sister! My brother-inw loves her, too!¡±

    Duan Xiaolou looked at Miao Lingyi with surprise and said, ¡°Gao Jue? Don¡¯t bullshit, Miaoyi!¡±

    Liao Qing¡¯er wiped her tears and mumbled, ¡°Gao Jue? That cool guy I¡¯m fond of?¡±

    He Danggui looked at the left in an amazement. She said in a lower voice, ¡°Little Master? Why are you here? You¡­ In fact, I¡­ How long have you been here?¡±

    Meng Xuan seemed to smile but without emotion. He said, ¡°Just arrived for a few minutes. I just heard a little.¡±

    ¡°Hey senior guy, who are you?¡± Liao Qing¡¯er looked at the right thick growth of grass and asked with astonishment. That man looked like Zhou Botong, an old naughty guy.

    Bai Yangbai with a grass ring on his head stood up and waved to He Danggui. He said, ¡°My King. Receive my respect, please. I have just arrived for a while and I have just heard a little.¡± Only a little.

    ¡°Ie to see whether you are in trouble.¡± Meng Xuan said, ¡°Since nothing, I¡¯ll leave.¡± Then, he walked away towards left.

    ¡°I leave too. I have nothing here.¡± Bai Yangbai left to the opposite direction.

    Ling Miaoyi cried like dropping dogs and cats. She shouted to Duan Xiaolou, ¡°You¡¯ll regret to like her. Brother Xiaolou, she doesn¡¯t match you.¡± And then she ran off here.

    ¡°Stop! Miaoyi!¡± Duan Xiaolou shouted suddenly. He apologized to He Danggui at once, ¡°Sorry about that. Miaoyi is just a stubborn girl, and she is actually very kind. And I¡¯m going to talk with her. She has been off home for a long time. You just wait for me, and I¡¯lle back soon. I¡¯ll never regret for loving you. I¡¯ll love you forever.¡± He released her hands and ran to follow Ling Miaoyi.

    ¡°Hey, are you OK?¡± Liao Qing¡¯er patted her shoulder and said worriedly, ¡°You look pale. By the way, what¡¯s your name? I¡¯m Qing. I don¡¯t know why I like to talk with you so much. Why don¡¯t we make a friend?¡±

    He Danggui sat on the grass slowly with her arms around her knees. She buried her head to herp as if she could not understand what had happened.

    The end lines of time and space got across in this moment. It was a torture for her to be rolled into such series of strange things. She could not understand why it could happen, and she felt helpless in this situation. Her heart was left in another space, but why could she feel a pain on her chest? That hurt. Who made that?

    Let time deal with all these things. She was just a ghost flowing with wind.

    ¡ª-October 1, 27th year of Hongwu Period in the Ming Dynasty, at the garden of Chengxu Academy. Sorrow.

    ¡ª-In the next volume the story will begin from December 17, 30th year of Hongwu Period. In that year, He Danggui will be 13 years old and be a close friend with Liao Qing¡¯er. It will be told with shback to make the knots open, which are the feeling of gratitude, resentment, love and hatred during the three years. More stories are going to be told in the next volume.

 Chapter 151 - The first appearance of great beauty

    <h4>Chapter 151 The first appearance of great beauty</h4>

    ¡°December, 17th; 30th year of Hongwu Period; it is not suitable for people who was born in the Year of the Ox (in Chinese zodiac) to handle affairs in the west. Today is the sunniest day of this month. The sun is like gold on the ground and makes people feel warm. One side adjoins mountains and rivers; the nature is quiet and beautiful. Another side has the murmuring of running water and bamboo grove; it¡¯s elegant and fresh. Ah! The water is as clear as a mirror and the green grass look as if it has just been washed. The birds on the shore are pecking. All this is surrounded by green hills in the distance. This peaceful scene is as poetic as a first love. When you look up, you are watching theke; when you look down, you are missing Meng Xuan. What a good poem! And it is written on the back hill of Chengxu Academy and named Qing Dairy of having Time Travel to the Ming Dynasty. What do you think? Is my ssical Chinese very good? Does it go even farther than The Orchid Pavilion? Oh my god! Do I used ¡®go even farther than¡¯? I¡¯m about to be a litterateur!¡±

    Theke was as high as the shore. A girl sat on theke¡¯s edge. She skimmed the water by a de of grass, and it rippled. She wore a skirt which was embroidered with tiny patterns and a hazy moon. The high neck and tight waist of the skirt depicted the beautiful outline of her. Her ck hair wasbed into a Liuxian haircut, and there were two wisps of her hair hung down loosely and felled from behind her ears to her chest. She wore a pale pink butterfly-shaped hair ornament on the top of her bun and twigs of green camellias on either side.

    Her eyes were softly closed. On her long and denseshes, there were some glittering drops of water which may be her tears or dewdrops formed by the vapor of theke. Tiny pink petals scattered all over the sky, brushing against her hair andnding on her skirt. Soon the petals were all over her body. The beautiful scenery and the beauty were perfect.

    Suddenly, the beautiful girl opened her eyes, but the expression in her eyes were full of alienation and loneliness. And then she said, ¡°Qing, don¡¯t scatter the petals or you¡¯ll be scolded by the teacher.¡±

    The girl in blue who was scattering the petalsughed and asked her, ¡°What do you think of the Fu of Lakeside of Chengxu I just wrote?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s ordinary. It sounds too colloquial to be ssical, and even my Nephew Shi Zhu can write this kind of sentences. By the way, it contains some words which out of line. Don¡¯t we make an appointment not to mention Meng Xuan?¡± The beautiful girl stood up and pped the petals off her skirt. Then she asked, ¡°What do you mean ¡®the nature¡¯ and ¡®fresh¡¯ in it?¡±

    ¡°Just ordinary? Yi, you have no aesthetic ability. If I had given this article to a primary school teacher, I would have gotten an excellent score of 85!¡± The girl in blue who wore a midi skirt with buttons on the side was about 19 years old. Her features wereely and pleasing, and her ck eyes were like a bird which had just been released from its cage to enjoy the beautiful scenery in the mountains and rivers. Her skin was white as snow, but she was not a standard beauty because her figure was a little fuller.

    ¡°Primary school teacher? Is that one of the things belongs to your home before you had ¡®Time Travel¡¯?¡± The beautiful girl was about 13 or 14 years old and had an oval face. Although herplexion was light yellow, her eyebrows were long and thin; her eyes were ck; her nose was cute; her mouth was small like a cherry. And she had a quiet temperament which was totally different from the girl in blue. People could not help admiring her for her bright eyes and noble temperament, which, at the age of 13, had already owned great beauty.

    Liao Qing¡¯er, who had Time Travel, nodded and said, ¡°Yes. Primary school teacher is a ¡®thing¡¯ belongs to my home. s, that I do not know the historical trend of the Ming Dynasty and cannot marry a potential boss are all because of my unprofessional history teacher who always let students on self-study and copy the textbook when I was young. By the way, who is the Emperor after Zhu Yuanzhang?¡±

    He Danggui, who was reborn, was shocked and looked around. She just found teachers and students were drinking and versifying near a distant stream. Only a few unintelligible sparrows were near them. She med Qing with a cold face, ¡°I have told you many times that you cannot call Emperor¡¯s name directly. You will be sentenced to death if you are overheard. I cannot tell you this because you are so outspoken, and you will surely spill the beans to your brother and sister-inwter.¡±

    ¡°No, I will not.¡± Liao Qing¡¯er shook her hands and said, ¡°I have sworn that I will never talk with them anymore, even if theye to beg me. Much less, they went back to the capital without doing anything the next day.¡±

    He Danggui said upromisingly, ¡°Even so, I cannot tell you. It has no influence on the daughters of ordinary official families like us about who the Emperor will be. We will eat as usual and do our business as usual. Let¡¯s stop this topic and do not mention it anymore, or I will scratch your ticklish spot!¡±

    ¡°But you got so many taboo terms. I cannot mention Meng Xuan, Duan Xiaolou, Geezer Zhu and Zhu¡¯s sessor...¡± Liao Qing¡¯er counted four on her fingers but was interrupted by He Danggui who came to scratch her. Liao Qing¡¯er begged for mercy as she ran, ¡°Sister Yi, please stop. I will never do this again, really! You are a person who can do martial arts, so you cannot bully a weak girl like me who had no power!¡±

    ¡°Never do this again? You mentioned them at least 4 or 5 times a day. I have told you many times that I have no rtionship with them. How many times you want me to repeat it?¡± He Danggui griped Liao Qing¡¯er¡¯s double chin and pulled it down angrily. She said, ¡°You are intentional right? Tell me!¡±

    ¡°Whoops! I really will not do that again. Brother Xiaolou, where are you? Come here to save me!¡± Liao Qing¡¯er seized her double chin with her hands, but she was attacked in the ticklish spot on her stomach by He Danggui, which made her scream shrilly.

    The two girls were ying happily as a young man in a cyan silk robe approached the edge of theke where the girls were standing. He stopped a little way off. Since neither of them had noticed him, he said, ¡°Miss He, Miss Liao, I¡¯m Song Qiao. Nice to meet you.¡± He had a folding fan in his hands and bent down to make a slight bow as he said. And he looked at He Danggui directly.

    The girls stopped ying, and Liao Qing¡¯er finally got rid of He Danggui. She ran a few steps away from He Danggui and said with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s Mr. Song. You read a beautiful poem just now when the cup ran down in front of you. I didn¡¯t understand anything, but my sister nodded her head because of your poem.¡±

    Song Qiao was d to hear that. He said, ¡°Well, Miss He also likes my Ode to the Bamboo, doesn¡¯t she? Actually, I was going to write a poem of 16 sentences, but I just write half of it. Can Miss He help me fill up the rest of it?¡±

    He Danggui assumed a serious expression and apologized, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m not good at poems, so I dare not to show off in front of you and pick up your wonderful poem at random.¡±

    It was the first time that Song Qiao had heard He Danggui said so many words, so he couldn¡¯t help bowing to her again and inviting her fervidly, ¡°Senior, I hope you don¡¯t refuse me and give me some advice. Last time, the teacher of our Men Institute brought us several good poems of your Women Institute. Although yours was put at the bottom, the poem which named Cats that Seizing Foods is like washing all the attachment and has a simple sense. And it is different from the other girls¡¯ which are full of flowery words. Your poem presents a new appearance, and it attracts me.¡±

    Song Qiao was 4 or 5 years older than He Danggui, but He Danggui had been studying in Chengxu Academy for 3 years. It was naturally for him to call her ¡°senior¡±, since he was a freshman. ¡°A cat got the head of the fish, and a cat got the tail of the fish. Ask the dog near the west wall to find the middle part of the fish.¡± And this was only a doggerel made by He Danggui, so the ttery of Song Qiao made her be embarrassed. She said, ¡°It is ashamed that my poor poem was passed round for perusal at Men Institute. After being taught by several famous teachers for three years, I can only hand over such a poem. It is not worth reading really, so please forget it.¡±

    He Danggui thought her careless poem would be thrown away by Ms. Zheng and other teachers, but she didn¡¯t expect that the female students in Women Institute werezier than 2 years before. In addition to the few talented girls who wanted to show their talent like Guan Zhan and Wu Yuying, no more than ten of the nearly one hundred female students handed in their homework. Because Teacher Zheng was angry, the work of He Danggui, as if great minds matured slowly, also be taken out to show¡­ Look at Miss He. Even she could not write a poem, she also handed over her work. However, you who were well-educated and had chapter and verse at your tongue¡¯s tip were sozy that you didn¡¯t want to write anything. Didn¡¯t you feel shameful and be moved after reading He Danggui¡¯s work?

    ¡°No!¡± Song Qiao kept his bow with his fan on his hand and walked a few steps towards He Danggui. He said in a low voice, ¡°I heard that when you entered the school three years ago, you did not even know how to hold a writing brush. But now you can write beautiful Regr Script, so it can be seen that your talent is excellent. And if you want to learn how to write a poem, I am willing to teach you by starting from the tonal patterns and the four steps of regted ssic writing.¡±

    He Danggui¡¯s left hand was hurt because of saving people half year ago, so she could only use her right hand to write. Although she tried her best to write badly, she was still the best calligrapher in the Women Institute. At Ms. Zheng¡¯s request, she copied articles and pasted them on the walls of every ssroom of Women Institute for everyone to see.

    He Danggui refused, ¡°Thank you, Childe Song. I am satisfied enough that I can read, and it is useless for me to learn more. You will take the imperial examination held in autumn next year, so your time is very precious and I dare not to waste your time.¡±

    He Danggui was taking her time to answer Song Qiao. When Liao Qing¡¯er saw that Song Qiao moved two more steps forward, and he was almost at He Danggui¡¯s side, she could not help but walk quickly to take He Danggui away and said, ¡°The Feast of Qushui Liushang is not over yet. Let¡¯s go to join them. If the wine ss stops in front of us, I will drink the wine and you can write the poem. Our alliance will surely astonish the audience!¡±

    As Liao Qing¡¯er spoke, she pulled He Danggui away and walked straight to the most popted part of the stream. Song Qiao was left alone. He was stunned for a moment. Then he took out a letter from his sleeve and hurried forward. He said, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, I mean no harm. I just want to make friends with Miss He. I wrote something in my letter, and hope Miss He can read it...¡± He stopped because Guan Zhan and Wu Yuying went forward here now. Finally, he added in a whisper, ¡°Hope Miss He can read it carefully.¡± He handed the letter to He Danggui with both hands, and made a slight bowing gesture.

    He Danggui was still refused to ept it and said slowly, ¡°I cannot recognize many words, so if you want to tell me something, please tell it me now. I will listen carefully.¡± Liao Qing¡¯er, who was nearby, thought of something suddenly and seized the letter with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s OK. I can recognize a lot of words, so I can help you!¡± Before Song Qiao could say anything more, Guan Zhan and Wu Yuying were approaching. The roads were wide on either side, but they wereing straight up to them.

    He Danggui and Liao Qing¡¯er looked at each other. Then they looked at Guan Zhan and Wu Yuying, and both said to themselves, ¡°Blighterse again.¡±

    Since Guan Jun left the academy to the capital to learn tea artst year, the rtionship between Guan Zhan and Wu Yuying was so good, and they were just like Zongzi sugars. He Danggui and Liao Qing¡¯er who were like old friends from the start were another a pair of Zongzi sugars. Although Liao Qing¡¯er was still lived in Guan¡¯s Mansion, only Guan Jun, Guan Bai and Guan Mo had real cousinship with her. Guan Zhan was the daughter of the concubine who was described by Liao Qing¡¯er as ¡°a girl with double-faced and full of tricks¡±. Guan Wuying had always looked down upon He Danggui¡¯s origin. But now Guan Zhan and Wu Yuying were walked straight to them, so they must want to take He Danggui and Liao Qing¡¯er into trouble.

    ¡°Childe Song, why did you send your letter to her? Any girl is better than her.¡± There was a note of sarcasm in Wu Yuying¡¯s mellow voice. She said, ¡°You are new here, so you don¡¯t know that in here, childes will send letters to the daughter of a private assistant or the daughter of a rice merchant in our Women Institute except her. I suggest you to take your letter back and ask the people here. Then you can make a decision whether you should tear or burn it.¡±

    Song Qiao was in a daze and then looked down at He Danggui. When he found that He Danggui was looking at him, he shook his hands and said, ¡°I have heard about the things that your mother remarried and you are now lodged in your grandparents¡¯ house, but I don¡¯t mind that. I have written all my feelings in the letter and you will know it after read it.¡±

    He Danggui shot a nce at the letter in Liao Qing¡¯er¡¯s hand and shook her head. She said, ¡°I persuade you to take back your letter, because I¡¯m not going to find a boyfriend.¡±

    Liao Qing¡¯er said to herself, ¡°How connotative the ancient people are when they show their love. The beauty just stands in front of him, but he says nothing and just emphasizes that she should read the letter. I really want to know what he has written in the letter...¡± She thought about this and returned the letter to Song Qiao unwillingly at the sign of He Danggui, but he refused to took it firmly. The atmosphere was awkward for a moment. Guan Zhan and Wu Yuying sneered and looked on with malice in their eyes.

    Two years ago, Duan Xiaolou was failed to persuade Bai Yangbai to be an officer. At the same time, there was big case in capital, so Duan Xiaolou needed to go back immediately. He took Ling Miaoyi who had run away from home for a long time with him. When they arrived at one of the strongholds of imperial guards in Yinma Town, Baisha Mountain Vi, Ling Miaoyi didn¡¯t want to go any further firmly. Therefore, Duan Xiaolou had no choose but let the Curator of vi, Liao Zhiyua, take care of her.

    Then, Ling Miaoyi heard from Liao Zhiyuan that He Danggui was a daughter abandoned by her uncle, He Jingxian, and her mother who was a remarried woman had a bad fame. Then these messages were sent back to Yangzhou City and were spread like wind in Chengxu Academy. This hurricane of ¡°The denounce about the First Miss¡¯s origin¡± was finally stopped after two months and made He Danggui be a celebrity who known by everyone in Chengxu because of Luo Baiqiong¡¯s testify.

    In the first year that He Danggui entered the Chengxu, she was nominated by the selection of ¡°the First Miss¡± inexplicably. And she became ¡°the First Miss¡± finally without knowing how the Childes voted because she ran away with Liao Qing¡¯er and was not in Chengxu at that time. Then the letters which came from the students of Men Institute constantly appeared in her desk, Guqin (Chinese seven-stringed zither) table, Go board and other ces. They even gave the letters to the driver, Gui Banjiao, who had picked her up from school.

    In the second year, her ignominious origin was exposed, and her loyal supporter, Peng Jian, who was good at canvass went back to the capital with his brother. These made her fail to be chosen as ¡°the First Miss¡± sessfully. When she was d that she no longer had to deal with the love letters that came up from time to time, by the end of the second year, she still received 11 love letters, far more than that year¡¯s ¡°the First Miss¡±, Han Xinxin had received.

    Two months before the third year¡¯s selection of ¡°the First Miss¡±, Han Xinxin went home to get marry. Wu Yuying became ¡°the First Miss¡± with the highest number of votes. However, two months passed, she not only got no love letters, but had saw three men send their letters to He Danggui. Because of this, she decided to take He Danggui into trouble and poked where He Danggui¡¯s hurts in front of her adorer because of jealousy. But what Wu Yuying didn¡¯t know was that what she said would not hurt He Danggui because He Danggui had heard the words like ¡°a daughter of the concubine¡±, ¡°an abandoned girl¡±, ¡°a daughter of a feculent woman¡± so many times. What she really didn¡¯t want to hear were the name of Men Xuan and Duan Xiaolou, which were the taboo terms that she had made an appointment with Liao Qing¡¯er.

    ¡°Hey, you!¡± Ms. Cheng ran here and pointed at them. She said, ¡°There are only a few peopleing this time, but you even don¡¯t join in actively. Don¡¯t you see the silence over there? Go to the stream quickly!¡±

    Because the New Year was half a mouth away, and the weather was cold and wet, the Blind Dates of Feast of Qushui Liushang this time was quite dull. The female students¡¯ talent show was gone because Missesined that their fingers were frozen so they could not y Guqin. Besides, the martial arts demonstration of male students was also not worth seeing. In the year beforest, the Young General Men yed his unique skill of Zheye Feihua (a kind of Chinese martial arts), so in the past two years, the martial arts yed by others were nothing new for people.

    Because of the interruption of Ms. Zheng, the 5 persons walked away immediately. Song Qiao asked He Danggui to reconsider his letter carefully and went back to the male students sitting on the other side of the stream. He Danggui and Liao Qing¡¯er paid no attention to Guan Zhan and Wu Yuying. They sat down on a dry-stone table by the stream and began to drink a jug of hot plum wine from the academy.

    For the past 3 years, Bai Yangbai, Men Xuan, Duan Xiaolou, brothers of Peng¡¯s Family had left the academy one by one. Looking at the strange faces across the stream, He Danggui felt a sense of loss. She drank 3 mugs of plum wine in a row in an attempt to ay her loneliness. Now she got a bosom female friend, Qing, and sat up Quan Ji Tang and Yi Hong Brothel. She got a lot of money and title deeds for farms. She had everything, so nothing could make she feel sad.

    Liao Qing¡¯er seized her mug and said with different opinions, ¡°You cannot drink like this. If you feel sad, the wine is harmful; if you feel happy, the wine is good. Let¡¯s y a game, and the loser should drink the wine!¡± It was not worth to be sad for men. She never expected that the smart Yi would do a foolish thing sometimes. Even she was dumped by Gao Jue, she could still be happy, because she thought they should look forward to making more money!

    So, these two girls who had their own thoughts yed the game silently in a noisy environment and drank the plum wine which was gradually cooling to pass the idle time in the winter afternoon.

 Chapter 153 - Crotchety Commander He

    <h4>Chapter 153 Crotchety Commander He</h4>

    ¡°Damn it!¡± Liao Qing¡¯er kept her eyes open and said, ¡°How could it be? Even if your stepmother dislikes you, as long as your biological father meets you, he definitely likes you!¡±

    He Danggui still shook her head with a sense of alienation and obstinacy in her eyes. Liao Qing¡¯er lovingly gave her a big hug, which made the people gulp on the other side of the river. Liao Qing¡¯er said sincerely, ¡°Your personality, temper, appearance and ability are all preeminent. Even Zhu¡¯s Family could not teach such a princess like you. Now the only regret is your family background. Why not try to change it?¡±

    ¡°Would you like some wine, Miss?¡± A boy of academy who took charge of boiling plum wine carried a basket and stood behind them. He Danggui took a pot of wine, a dish of sour plum and peanut with sauce. And she gave that boy 500 qian as gratuity. Then he happily received and ran away.

    They had a drink together, and Liao Qing¡¯er still persuaded, ¡°Your biological father is living in He¡¯s Family in the capital. Don¡¯t look down upon the love that a father has for his daughter. It¡¯s deeper than sea and heavier than gold. Maybe he never notices how deeper his love is, and you should feel his love face to face. If you agree, next month when ites to the New Year, we wille back to the capital and I¡¯ll go to He¡¯s Family with you to get a status for you! As long as getting the status of legitimate daughter, you¡¯ll choose those childes arbitrarily!¡± She said and pointed at those childes on the other side like counting ducks, ¡°Zong Qiao is so pedantic. Pass! Wen Han ys the field. Pass! Guan Mo and Guan Qi all have waiting-maids (maid in name, concubine in reality), and they are not virginal. Pass! Sun Zhize? People in Sun¡¯s Family can get out of my face! Han Fang? He looks nice. Oh, he nced at me. I¡¯m so excited...¡±

    He Danggui put one sour plum into her mouth. It was so sour that she frowned. Sheughed at Liao Qing¡¯er and said, ¡°Do men need to be virginal? Your standard of choosing a husband is so diversified, which could pass so many men. You may not know that when a childe is 11 or 12 years old, his mother or grandmother will choose a few older unknown girls as waiting-maids in his room. You have only lived in Guan¡¯s Mansion, so you only know Guan Mo and Guan Qi have waiting-maids. In fact, they are not alone. Even Han Fang, which you think is very good, probably has a waiting-maid.

    ¡°Really?¡± Liao Qing¡¯er doubted, ¡°My brother has no waiting-maid. He was a virgin before he married my sister-inw! He imed that he never had that behavior even when he went to a brothel. A gentleman of ¡®Passing through flowers, nothing can be allured.¡¯ Oh, no, no, no. My mother really gave him a waiting-maid! Oh, Xi Chan is my brother¡¯s waiting-maid. That¡¯s so secret, and I never noticed since I¡¯ve lived in Liao¡¯s Family for so long... No wonder she was so shy when looking at my brother... Does Meng Xuan have a waiting-maid?¡±

    He Danggui gave her an annoyed look and said, ¡°Don¡¯t you feel tired when you mention him a dozen times in different pretexts every day?¡±

    Liao Qing¡¯er scooped up a peanut with a small white porcin spoon and chewed, saying vaguely, ¡°Because you¡¯re not so direct. You like him, but why don¡¯t you try it? Let¡¯s go to He¡¯s Family to find your father, okay?¡±

    ¡°Hush, be quiet. There¡¯s something wrong.¡± He Danggui raised her hands to stop Liao Qing¡¯er while listening for it.

    Liao Qing¡¯er knew that He Danggui was listening to others¡¯ conversation by ¡°long ears¡± which seniors usually used. So, she stopped and waited. After a while, He Danggui turned back to drink with a thoughtful expression in her face. Liao Qing¡¯er asked eagerly, ¡°Did you hear something?¡± Seeing He Danggui was silent and said nothing, Liao Qing¡¯er curled her lips and said, ¡°You just want to change the topic deliberately, don¡¯t you? Now that you are patient to linger with those viins like Dong Xin and Luo Baiqiong. Why not have the courage to meet your father? I think he is nice. It¡¯s so cool when he flied on the eaves like a martial-arts film!¡±

    Being silent for a while, He Danggui said seriously, ¡°Qing, for all I know in previous life, Commander He is definitely not good. As you said to describe Cao Hongrui, Commander He is abnormal. If you meet him when youe back to the capital, just regard him as the second Cao Hongrui and keep away from him as far as you can. Remember don¡¯t speak to him, and even do not say that you know me, got it?¡±

    Liao Qing¡¯er asked surprisingly with an unbelievable expression on her face, ¡°The second Cao Hongrui? Are you kidding me? He is your father. Why do you describe him like that? Did he do something offensive?¡±

    ¡°I just heard and never saw him.¡± He Danggui said slightly, ¡°Just because he is my biological father, it¡¯s inappropriate for me to say. If you¡¯re curious, just ask you brother to survey him. The spies from Changye Tower like researching others¡¯ secrets the best, don¡¯t they? As for my status of the daughter of the concubine, on the third day after the death of He Jinpeng who is Commander He¡¯s father, Commander He threatened his father¡¯s cousin, He Jinzhou who is the patriarch of He¡¯s Family and came to condole. He forced He Jinzhou to give him the family tree. Then he changed my mother to Concubine Luo and changed me to the daughter of the concubine. Will he be kind again and change it back for me?¡±

    Hearing this, Liao Qing¡¯er was so surprised and cared about another thing. She asked, ¡°He Jinpeng? Your biological grandfather? You call your father Commander He. It seems that you have a deep resentment with him. Did your mother told you that?¡±

    He Danggui sighed and said, ¡°My mother is a spoony. She has given all her love for Commander He when she was with him. Later shepletely gave him up and was matched to marry He Fu by my grandmother. She believed the truth that following the man you marry, no matter what he does. No matter how cold and heartless he was, she still paid all her heart to him, as if taking care of her brother to help him manage everything. Even though, He Fu still left her. It was said that he considered him to a son-inw of Luo¡¯s Mansion in the capital, kept concubines and had children. He was so carefree. My mother, like a fool, has no sophisticated thoughts and is inarticte. What could she tell me? Some of these stories were heard from the conversation between Madam Luo and others in the previous life, and others were known from Wuying Tower. Actually, I don¡¯t have any resentment to people in He¡¯s Family. They¡¯re just irrelevant.¡±

    ¡°Wuying Tower? Is that the ce where you worked for your husband in the previous life? Oh, sorry. Never say the name of Zhu¡¯s Family¡¯s seventeenth son!¡± Liao Qing¡¯er repeatedly weaved her hands and said, ¡°Every time when mentioning his name, your look gloomy! Come on, just drink! In wine, there¡¯s truth. My sister, just tell me who is the sessor? Is his first grandson?¡±

    He Danggui hit Liao Qing¡¯er with her fist and said, ¡°Stop saying it. I will never tell you in case you have some shocking actions, such as running for Xiunv (women in the Imperial Harem) or Crown Prince¡¯s concubines.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not Luo Baiqiong!¡± Liao Qing¡¯er was originally angry to mumble. Suddenly, her eyes brightened up, and she moved close to He Danggui. She said, ¡°Tell me,st time when Luo Baiqiong lured Peng Shi with overpowering drug, how far they were going? Did you fly on the roof to see them? Does she still have the virginity to run for Xiunv?¡±

    He Danggui despised Liao Qing¡¯er while she chewed the sour plum. She said, ¡°What a shame. As a postgraduate having Time Travel from the future, you not only didn¡¯t read history and have no idea of the history of Ming Dynasty, but also have such a vulgar interest.¡±

    Liao Qing¡¯er didn¡¯t care about it. She said, ¡°I was a little rebellious at the period of junior middle school. Because of having much money given by my father, I hired students to help me do homework. Each subject was 2.5 yuan. Well, my history book was still new from the beginning to end of the semester, and I even didn¡¯t distinguish Zheng Chenggong and Zheng He. I always thought that Zheng He¡¯s given name was Chenggong. Later I know they two have no rtions.¡±

    He Danggui tilted her head and asked, ¡°Zheng He? I vaguely heard this name. What did he do?¡±

    Liao Qing¡¯er scratched her head and said, ¡°A general maybe, like a national hero. He also went to the Antic by ship. Later I was a freshman in high school and usually skipped ss to my father¡¯s office to ask him for money. But that secretary didn¡¯t let me in and said my father was having an important meeting. So, I waited for him on the sofa outside. After a while, a strange sound came from inside. That secretary and I looked at each other and listened from beginning to end. In the end, the door was opened. A woman with a slender figure came out and saw me. Then she turned back to sneer at my father, as if to say, ¡®your daughteres for money again.¡¯ I looked at him from a crack and found that he wore a suit on his upper body and underpants. Things on the table were rolled on the floor. We looked at each other with embarrassing looks. Luckily, the elevator opened and I came into the first floor at once. Aftering out, I took a taxi to school. Since then, I never skipped ss, andter I went to college and got into a graduate school. But before honoring my mother, I had Time Travel back with my soul suddenly. When my mother saw my corpse, how sad she would be!¡±

    He Dangguiforted her, ¡°Having the vast sums of 50,000 yuan you kept, your mother must have afortable and wealthy lives with a good health and happiness.¡±

    ¡°How could it be called the vast sums of money? I told you that 1 yuan of my age isn¡¯t same as 1 liang. 1 yuan is equivalent to 3 or 4 copper cash, so 50,000 yuan is just equivalent to 400 or 500 liang silver. You don¡¯t know that the housing price of my country is so high, and my mother has been living in the old house which my grandmother left till now. I really want to send my 20,000 liang silver to her so that she could buy a house...¡± Liao Qing¡¯er showed a lonely expression which He Danggui was sympathetic. When He Danggui was about tofort her, Liao Qing¡¯er shook her arms and said with a smile, ¡°Say something happy. After the feastst month, which stage did Luo Baiqiong and Peng Shi develop? I don¡¯t believe that you didn¡¯t see it!¡±

    He Danggui searched the white plum on the wine cup and smiled slightly. She said, ¡°I didn¡¯t specifically see it. But passing by that wing-room, I admired the flowers for a while...¡± Liao Qing¡¯er hissed, but He Danggui didn¡¯t care and continued, ¡°I haven¡¯t heard it. If it has, even if Peng Shi isn¡¯t willing to marry Luo Baiqiong, Luo Baiqiong would depend on him as a concubine. So, I guess that maybe she just kissed him, which waked Peng Shi up. Thanks to it, otherwise Peng Shi would kill her with his personality. As a legitimate daughter of Luo¡¯s Mansion, if she goes to be her cousin¡¯s concubine, how humiliating this marriage is! There are so many curious reasons behind, and she couldn¡¯t bear even just Peng¡¯s Family¡¯s gossip.¡±

    ¡°What about your mother?¡± Liao Qing¡¯er and Liao Zhiyuan were really brother and sister, who both had a strong thirst for knowledge and exploring spirit. Then Liao Qing¡¯er stroked her chin and said, ¡°She is a legitimate daughter of Luo¡¯s Mansion, and the family property of Luo¡¯s Mansion is little higher than He¡¯s Mansion¡¯s. Why did she endure humiliation to be a concubine? Divorce is not a big deal. Just delete the name of the family tree and leave! Why did she change into a concubine? She didn¡¯t be Commander He¡¯s wife, of course bing his concubine is not a choice!¡±

    He Danggui smiled and said, ¡°My mother is artless and couldn¡¯t get the sense. At first, she heard that Commander He had a concubine living outside and spoiled her so much. Commander He gave her anything whatever she wanted, so my mother constantly cried and screamed in order to ask her husband to change his mind. But she never thought they would break up. Later, that concubine was taken to He¡¯s Family, and Commander He took her to kowtow to his seriously ill father. He told his father that the concubine was a prostitute before, which resulted in his father¡¯s death. At that time, my mother also served his father with decoction, and she was charged in neglecting father-inw¡¯s care to his death without reason somehow. Then she received a piece of divorce paper on the spot.¡±

    Liao Qing¡¯er was shocked and said, ¡°How insidious Commander He is! Why did she have something to say to him? Just divorce by agreement!¡±

    He Danggui said, ¡°Do you really think ¡®divorce by agreement¡¯ of this age is the same as yours? Actually, it¡¯s not. There is little difference between divorce by agreement and divorcing wives. They¡¯re all up to men. Since ancient times, no matter how wronged the wife was in her husband¡¯s family, she would go back to her mother¡¯s home toin for a few days at most, and would not take the initiative to ask for a divorce. In their eyes, their husbands are like sky and root. Not only they couldn¡¯t be higher than sky, but also they couldn¡¯t cut off their roots. Just like He Fu. He treated my mother with heartlessness, but my mother still couldn¡¯t send divorce by agreement to him. She is pedantic and cowardly, but Madam Luo of Luo¡¯s Family also has her own idea and really loves my mother. But she still couldn¡¯t tell my mother about ¡®divorcing husbands¡¯. Last year, I once indirectly asked Madam Luo. Do you know what she said?¡±

    ¡°What did she say?¡±

    He Danggui calmed down and said, ¡°She said that the reason why they still had something to do with He Fu is considering on my behalf, for I¡¯ll have a father when I get married in the future. If my mother divorces him and those things, which she got married twice and had divorce by agreement twice, are spread, my social status will also be lower. And it will be more difficult for me to get married. Childes from rich family even aren¡¯t willing to take me as a concubine. Even if a childe loves my beauty and wants to appreciate me at home, his parents dare not agree to let a woman without good family background to tarnish their reputations and the ancestral hall.¡±

    ¡°What? Is this the reason? Your mother didn¡¯t marry a good man, but does it have anything to do with you?¡± Liao Qing¡¯er was unconvinced, ¡°Why did they divorce to make you devalue? Who made the rule? That sucks.¡±

    ¡°This is the truth. No one could change it from ancient times till today. Women obey the three obediences and the four virtues as well as regard their husbands as guides and the heaven. Not only should they obey and assist her husband, but also not be sopetent as to damage her husband¡¯s majesty.¡± He Danggui looked up at the sky, and the line of egrets which rose up to the sky was reflected in her ck pupils. She said, ¡°I once broke this rule in my previous life, so I failed with my head broken and bleeding.¡±

    Touching her chin and thinking for a while, Liao Qing¡¯er suddenly asked, ¡°Zeng Yuelian, your stepmother. I heard that she was the most beautiful prostitute. It seems like your family background is higher than her. How could she get into the gate and ancestral hall of He¡¯s Family, and also became Commander He¡¯s wife? Commander He¡¯s father died of anger, but his mother didn¡¯t care it and usually went to the opera in Ming Jia Fang and watched soap operas. How could she agree her son to marry that prostitute?¡±

    He Danggui drew back her sight of seeing the sky and looked at the opposite bank at random. When she unconsciously nced at Wen Han with an evil gaze and smile, she thought it was a whammy and just turned to look at the wooden cup in the river. It had already flowed to the sisters of Qian¡¯s Family. She said, ¡°I just eavesdropped from the conversation between Madam Luo and Mammy Tang. They two chattered and scolded on behalf of Luo¡¯s Family, which seemed tock the justice. It was said that Madam He is narrow-minded and always dislikes my mother. In order to send away my mother, she would rather let a prostitutee into He¡¯s Family. And I heard that woman is cleverer than my mother and has the excellent ability of rxing bone. When Commander He took her home at the first time, she had made Madam Heugh and did everything whatever Madam He wanted.¡±

    ¡°The enemy of my enemy is my friends.¡± Liao Qing¡¯er sighed and said, ¡°No wonder you don¡¯t want to go back. No one is good in He¡¯s Family. But your identity depends on Commander He. I think you¡¯d better go back. I¡¯m sure he will arouse his conscience of his love to you when seeing you. Because you really look like him, especially your nose and mouth. Your eyes are also a little like his, and there¡¯s a sh of unfathomable light in your eyes. He¡¯ll recognize you as his daughter the moment he sees you. If you call him daddy again, he will be in the mood to resume your status as a legitimate daughter. Then you will... Why did he change the family tree by forcing the patriarch? If he didn¡¯t love your mother, he could just kick her out of the door. Have they already divorced by agreement?¡±

    He Danggui exined, ¡°You don¡¯t know the difference between divorce by agreement and divorcing wives, Qing. One is woman could bring her dowry, and the other is woman could continue to live in her husband¡¯s family but must lower her status to a concubine. So, my mother who never changed her mind and hoped her husband toe round...took his divorce paper with tears and lowered her status as a concubine. Hearing this, Commander He became so angry. His purpose wasn¡¯t to be entangled in Luo¡¯s Family and my mother. He didn¡¯t want my mother to be his concubine. He just wanted her to leave by all means, so he changed the family tree in front of tens of guests who came to condole, and humiliated her with ¡®concubine¡¯ and ¡®the daughter of the concubine¡¯. But it was just a beginning.¡±

    Liao Qing¡¯er frowned and asked, ¡°Uh? What could he have done worse? Your mother also has the background of a master, Grandpa Luo, to support her. Could Commander He not be afraid of offending Luo¡¯s Family?¡±

    ¡°Luo¡¯s Family had a deep hatred with He¡¯s Family a hundred year ago. My grandfather Luo Duzhong facilitated this marriage with He Jinpeng to resolve that hostility. He Jinzhou, who was the patriarch of He¡¯s Family, also knew it, so on that day at He Jinpeng¡¯s mourning hall, even though the sword was on his neck, he firmly didn¡¯t revise the family tree of changing the legitimate daughter of Luo¡¯s Family to a concubine in order to avoid two families¡¯ feud.¡± He Danggui pause for a while and then said, ¡°But my mother kowtowed to the patriarch, He Jinzhou, and asked for taking her as Concubine Luo to redeem her husband¡¯s love.¡±

    Liao Qing¡¯er kept her eyes wide open and said, ¡°Come on. That sucks! Oh, I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s the worst. My mother¡¯s bride servant, Mammy Li, told these things to Madam Luo.¡± He Danggui sneered and said, ¡°A few dayster, Commander He and his new wife went into the bridal chamber, and they didn¡¯t ask the personal maids to serve. Instead, they asked my mother to hold the te with a happy steelyard to lift the bridal veil and to give them the articles that they needed while flirting. My mother humiliated herself to serve them and witness the whole process of their wedding night.¡±

 Chapter 154 - Cold-blooded people killed the classmate

    <h4>Chapter 154 Cold-blooded people killed the ssmate</h4>

    ¡°Live version of live sex? Uh¡­ Xiaoyi, are you alright?¡± Liao Qing¡¯er asked carefully, ¡°Speaking of these things, you must be very upset. I¡¯m sorry. I just asked for curiosity, and you¡¯ve been answering it all the time. You¡¯ve also told me about your father abusing your mother. Forget it, I¡¯m not curious anymore. The thing of changing the identity of the legitimate daughter can be consideredter. If this is not possible, I will ask my parents ept you as an adoptive daughter, and you can get married better than now.¡±

    He Danggui smiled and said, ¡°Qing, your family doesn¡¯t have issues like this, so you don¡¯t know much about the struggle of these wives and concubines. And you can¡¯t ept the basicmon sense that women are inferior to men. Actually, the status of some concubines is not much higher than maids. To be specific, the masters of the whole family are only the Lord and the Madam. It is also a duty for the concubines to serve them. Many madams like to use this to punish those beautiful concubines who newly marry into the family. They make those concubines feel wronged and then have a quarrel with the husband.¡±

    ¡°You talked as if you are very experienced.¡± Liao Qing¡¯er turned her arm around He Danggui and grinned. She said, ¡°Have you seen Xie Qiaofeng and Zhu Quan¡­? Uh, their...¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± Suddenly there was a scream somewhere on the bank of the stream. He Danggui and Liao Qing¡¯er looked over together. Not far away from the stream, there was sisters of Qian¡¯s Family. One of them was about to fall into the stream, while the other clutched her tightly. But in the end, the strength seemed to reduce. Then the former yelled and fell into the water.

    The Miss Qian on the bank cried to the other bank and said, ¡°Hurry! Save my sister! Please, she can¡¯t swim!¡±

    The childes on the opposite side heard what she said and looked at each other for a while. Although more than half of them could swim, if they embraced the delicate body of the 17-year-old Miss Qian under the eyes of everyone, they would have to marry her. Unless she refused. Thinking this way, no one moved their footsteps. They just looked on, watching Miss Qian struggling in the water and then sank into the water in fear. Finally, there was no sign on the water surface.

    On this side, as for thedies, there were no more than 10 people who could swim. Three or four people were afraid that they would be suffocated by the freezing water after getting into the water and the efforts would be in vain. Another three who were on their period. They were afraid that their bodies would be hurt by cold water, and they would be regarded as aughing stock by everyone because blood would melt into the water. The remaining who could swim were He Danggui and Liao Qing¡¯er. He Danggui was not only familiar with water, but also had the arts of lightness of ¡°no trace of water, flying in the grass¡±. Once she stepped on the water lightly, she would be able to catch drowning people¨Conly if she was willing to expose her martial arts in front of everyone.

    Liao Qing¡¯er frowned and thought, although Qian¡¯s family was her rival, she couldn¡¯t let Miss Qian die. This was just an exercise of winter swimming. Thinking this way, she took quick steps to the bank, spread her arms and made a posture of plunging into the water. However, she was hugged by He Danggui from behind.

    Liao Qing¡¯er looked back at her with iprehension. He Danggui shook her head slightly and then whispered with Liao Qing¡¯er, which made her calm down. Because everyone¡¯s eyes were on Miss Qian, who fell into the water, no one noticed this scene. He Danggui was relieved, and she carried Liao Qing¡¯er¡¯s arm to observe the development of the situation. It was proper to be kind and good, but it was not necessary to be overly nice. If Qing entered the water at this time, it would definitely be a thankless task.

    After a while, none of the male and female students went into the water to save Miss Qian. And Miss Qian never emerged from the water again. He Danggui and Liao Qing¡¯er looked at each other in doubt, and they began to hesitate whether going into the water to save her or not. After waiting for a while, He Danggui couldn¡¯t help it anymore. She raised her hand and removed her gold lock (representing wealth and longevity) to Liao Qing¡¯er and whispered, ¡°I¡¯ll go down to see the situation.¡± But there was a dark red figure jumped into the water before she made her move. The swimming position was awkward, and the red figure swam very slowly.

    When everyone stared at the figure, they found out that was Ms. Zheng from the Women Institute. They couldn¡¯t help but breathe a sigh of relief, especially those who were quite good at swimming, or who boasted about good at swimming to their ssmates. After all, watching a living person drown in front of themselves and die was a psychological torment for everyone. Now it was more appropriate for the female teacher to rescue her because she was an adult. Adults should do everything first!

    However, Ms. Zheng in the water couldn¡¯t tell the bitterness. One was that indeed she could swim, but she hadn¡¯t swum for many years. Besides, she was afraid that if the drowning student died, she would be responsible for this ident. Therefore, she just got panic and dived into the water with no preparation. Not only the cotton skirt and shoes were heavy after absorbing water, but also she was very far away from the ident site. She paddled very slowly. It was better to run to the drop point first and then dive to save Qian Mudan. If she went on like this, the student Qian Mudan could die soon! It was a real disaster. This Feast of Qushui Liushang been held for so many years, and there had never been such a drowning incident!

    He Danggui also noticed this, so she took a deep breath and jumped into the water as the second after Ms. Zheng. She quickly swam to the ce where Miss Qianst appeared, paddling in the waves of clear water and leaving a white trace.

    Seeing the famous ¡°Ice Beauty¡± Miss He also threw herself into the water, some of the childes on the bank were tempted to move. The water was so cold, and Miss He was so delicate. She might have a cramp of her legs and drown after a while. Well... If she could be saved at this opportunity, the little beauty who could only be seen from a distance and was not sphemous on normal days could only marry the person who saved her as a concubine!

    It was not a problem for them to find as many beauties as they want since they had much silver, and Miss He was not the only beauty they had seen in their lives. But Chick He was smart and well-behaved, and she was not moved by gold and silver. It was a pity for many childes from powerful families that she refused all the childes who had pursued her before. They thought that they were able to take back the cool girl who was so indifferent, diplomatic and beautiful to home, and slowly conquering her body and mind... Such a temptation, no men could resist.

    Thinking about this, after He Danggui diving, ¡°Plop¡±, four or five childes were diving one after another. They were swimming so fast, and all of them were swimming straight toward He Danggui. It seemed to have quite a feeling of firste-first-served.

    Seeing this scene, Liao Qing¡¯er on the bank was very worried. Although she didn¡¯t worry that Xiaoyi, who was strong in martial arts, would get hurt, the river was so turbulent. If those wolves approached Xiaoyi, they might insist that they had touched her after returning to ruin her reputation. What if they forced her to be a concubine?

    What a group of scoundrels. Xiaoyi was busy saving Miss Qian, while they were taking advantage of it. It was so shameless! Wen Han, Guan Mo, Xun Shenn, Wu Junhao... Oh, the young and handsome Han Fang, who she admired the most, also dived in the water. She realized that one couldn¡¯t judge a book by its cover. She looked at the bank again. Zong Qiao, Du Ruofei, Du Ruoguang and other people were also eager to dive in. Obviously, they also wanted to take advantage of this, but they couldn¡¯t because they didn¡¯t know how to swim! Oh, Xiaoyi was really a high-profile beauty, like a piece of fat in the eyes of the wolves!

    He Danggui was observant and alert, so she naturally heard the sound of water sshes approaching her. If she went directly to bank at this time, she could let these five people in the water go to rescue Miss Qian. However, now that there was no trace of Miss Qian. Maybe she was swept away by the current. No one would be better at swimming than her who had lived in the water dungeon for two months. So, it was better to save Miss Qian by her. She was hesitated to exert art of lightness and go to the downstream to find Miss Qian.

    Thedies on the bank also noticed the intentions of the diving childes. Because Han Fang, Guan Mo and Wen Han had a high support rate among the female students, a few girls immediately gave He Danggui a ferocious stare. Humph. Ms. Zheng had dived into the water to save Miss Qian, but He Danggui was showing her swimming skills. And why didn¡¯t she dive into the water before Ms. Zheng?

    Just when everyone has own opinion, a white figure leaped here from the distance. He whirled above the stream. Then he held the drowned Miss Qian in one hand, and Ms. Zheng, who was about to drown, in another hand, and fell to the bank slowly. After putting the two persons on thewn, he turned back to see He Danggui in the water. When he saw that she had returned to bank, he turned away and stopped looking at her.

    A waiter of the academy put on a thick nket right away to protect white-lipped Ms. Zheng, who was trembling. Mr. Bao, the person in charge of the Men Institute, trotted here and said with gratitude, ¡°There were two students¡¯ fathersing to visit just now, so I just had a conversation with them. I didn¡¯t expect such an ident happened here. Fortunately, Childe Meng came in time. Thank you, Childe!¡±

    The person wore a jade crown and a white gown with dark pattern. He had an awe-inspiring charm, a faint smile, sharp eyes, and a splendid look like the sturdy bamboo behind him. When he was saving people, he was like a sword out of the sheath. Now he had rescued people, and when he talked with his teacher, he was as gentle as a clear jade. Especially thezy smile in the corner of his mouth attracted people.

    This person was Meng Xuan, who had been away from Yangzhou City for nearly three years.

    Meng Xuan said with a smile, ¡°I was just in time and lifted a finger.¡± But Mr. Bao insisted on thanking Meng Xuan again.

    After He Danggui returned to bank, she was white-lipped when being blown by the cold wind. Although she immediately circled Zhenqi to drive off the cold, she still couldn¡¯t get rid of the coldness. Then Liao Qing¡¯er quickly went up and put off her cotton smock and tightly wrapped it on He Danggui. He Danggui immediately felt much better. Liao Qing¡¯er whispered, ¡°I was about to be scared to death just now. Those guys dare to y dirty and dive into the water like a pack of wolves. Disgusting! Someday we will make them pay. Let¡¯s go and change clothes. I have spare clothes and cotton skirts.¡±

    He Danggui nced at Mr. Bao and gently nodded, ¡°I¡¯m tired as well. Let¡¯s go home.¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± The Second Miss Qian, Qian Shuixian, who came from not far away looked at her sister Qian Mudan and suddenly cried out loudly, ¡°My sister is dead. She is drowned! Sister!¡±

    Ms. Zheng, who was wrapped in nkets for warmth, quickly looked at the girl lying to the left. That girl¡¯s face was pale, and she seemed to be dead. Ms. Zheng could not help but yell, ¡°The student in my ss is drowned!¡± She looked up at Mr. Bao in panic and begged, ¡°Mr. Bao, you must be my witness and help me! I have tried my best to save her. I cannot afford this responsibility!¡±

    Mr. Bao hadn¡¯t spoken yet, but Meng Xuan said first, ¡°In any case, report to the government office first. If it proves that thisdy died in an ident, everyone will discuss the issue of responsibility again. I believe the academy will help Ms. Zheng to bear this responsibility.

    Ms. Zheng nodded repeatedly. When she was about to disown it, Qi Mu¡¯er, who was standing next to her, suddenly said quietly, ¡°Ms. Zheng, Mr. Bao, I think both of you don¡¯t need to be responsible for this matter. Because there was another person who killed Qian Mudan.¡±

    At that time, everyone caught their eyes on her. Who killed Qian Mudan? A murder? No, Qian Mudan fell into the stream by herself and everyone saw it. Her sister Qian Shuixian did try to pull her back several times. Was it just an ident of falling into the water?

    He Danggui also looked at Qi Mu¡¯er, who was dubbed ¡°Little White Rabbit Princess¡± by Liao Qing¡¯er. Was there someone else who killed Qian Mudan? Could she have heard the conversation between the two persons?

    Mr. Bao looked at Qi Mu¡¯er and said seriously, ¡°Qi Mu¡¯er, Ms. Zheng and I thank you for helping us out, but the investigation of the case must always be handed over to the government.¡±

    Qi Mu¡¯er blinked her watery eyes, as if her tears woulde down at the next moment. Then she asked in a soft voice, ¡°Teacher once taught us a sentence, ¡®I don¡¯t kill Boren, but Boren died because of me, and that is a sinful thing too.¡¯ I have to speak out. After Qian Mudan fell into the water just now, if someone immediately had dived into the water to save her, she wouldn¡¯t have drowned and died. Teacher, am I right?¡±

    Mr. Bao nodded slowly and said, ¡°You¡¯re right.¡±

    Han Qiqi aside sneered and said, ¡°Miss Qi means that we didn¡¯t rescue her in time, so we are all murderers who killed Qian Mudan. Does this ¡®killer murderers¡¯ include you, Miss Qi?¡±

    Qi Mu¡¯er showed a timid expression like a small animal, bit her lip twice, and said with courage, ¡°You misunderstood me, Sister Qiqi. You and I can¡¯t swim. The only thing we could do was to pray for Qian Mudan on the bank. However, someone is so good at swimming, but she didn¡¯t save Miss Qian immediately, and also stopped others from saving her. What is the difference from killing Qian Mudan?¡± He Danggui¡¯s eyes narrowed. The person she said was...

    Meng Xuan asked in a deep voice, ¡°Who is Miss Qi talking about?¡±

    Qi Mu¡¯er was as beautiful as a lc flower, and she was firm in her weakness. She raised her finger to point at He Danggui, who snuggled beside Liao Qing¡¯er to warm her. A clear voice spread throughout the audience, ¡°I saw it with my own eyes. Liao Qing¡¯er was the first to run towards the stream, but He Danggui stopped her from saving Miss Qian. So, the person who killed Qian Mudan was He Danggui!¡±

    The crowd looked at He Danggui who was dripping water all over the body and white-lipped. Seeing that she did not have a trace of panic, nor the anger after being used, and was calm as if she were just a bystander of the incident, many people started to raise questions about the authenticity of Qi Mu¡¯er¡¯s words. Wasn¡¯t He Danggui a heroine who saved people? How could she stop others from saving Miss Qi?

    Zong Qiao and Du Ruofei rebutted in unison, ¡°It¡¯s impossible. It couldn¡¯t be Miss He!¡± The two looked at each other, and Zong Qiao continued, ¡°Miss He is a heroine who dived into the water to save Miss Qi in the cold wind. Even if you really saw simr behaviors between Miss He and Miss Liao, it must be that Miss He was worried about her friend¡¯s safety, and felt that she was more safer to dive¨CEveryone saw that Miss He was good at swimming, and all the five childes were far behind her.¡±

    After hearing this, several childes all sneered. They had the intention to imitate those childes who had dived into the water, but they couldn¡¯t swim. Not only didn¡¯t they touch the beauty, but they were like drowned rats. Wasn¡¯t it funny? They deserved it!

    Liao Qing¡¯er also nodded her head hard to vindicate Song Qiao¡¯s words and said loudly, ¡°As he said, I am not good at swimming, and I suffer from severe wind chill. The most important thing is that I just stretched my waist and wanted to go near the bank. After looking at it clearly, I got no n to go into the water to save her. If I really jumped, it is estimated that, like Ms. Zheng, I would also expect others to rescue me. Sister Danggui mistakenly thought I was going to dive, and she was very worried about my safety, so she stopped me. Qi Mu¡¯er is too exaggerated, and she didn¡¯t stand beside us. How could she just lie to people with two actions? You can look at He Danggui now. She is almost like a ice-lolly because of diving into the water!¡±

    ¡°Everyone saw that He Danggui is the best swimmer here. Since she intended to save Miss Qian, why didn¡¯t she get into the water in the first ce? Why didn¡¯t she wait for a long time? Until Ms. Zheng, who was not a good swimmer was forced to dive into the water, she dived into the water after a while. Did she really n to save Qian Mudan?¡± The questioning voice came from the ¡°The First Miss¡± Wu Yuying. Before the ident, she was disturbed by Ms. Zheng when she wanted to pick on He Danggui. So, she nned to find another opportunity to get He Danggui into trouble. What made her be so angry was that among the childes who had just jumped into the water to ¡°save¡± He Danggui, there was her second older brother Wu Junhao. Now he was shaking under the nket. It was all because of He Danggui.

    ¡°The First Childe¡± Han Fang, the legitimate son of Han Fei, Senior Governor in Yangzhou City, and another childe who dived to ¡°save¡± He Danggui, also said for justice at the moment, ¡°Among more than a hundred people, is there only the weak and delicate Miss He can swim? Although she swims very fast, she has little strength. Even if she could find Miss Qian, she still couldn¡¯t drag her to the bank. The reason we didn¡¯t jump into the water was because it was inconvenient between men and women. But do the girls present dare to say that you all don¡¯t know how to swim?¡± After returning to the bank, he was better than Wu Junhao. He only wore a fur cape that was carried by his following manservant, and his body temperature recovered gradually.

    What surprised Liao Qing¡¯er was that Han Fang, a pretty boy, actually practiced internal energy. He stood there for a while to adjust his breath, and then water mist rose from his body. After a while, the gown was half dry. He Danggui nced at him enviously. This level of circling Zhenqi to warm up was easy for He Danggui, but she couldn¡¯t produce water mist in front of the people. After warming up, Han Fang seemed to be very warm, which made He Danggui a little envy. Han Fang immediately sensed her gaze and showed a friendly smile.

    ¡°Ah! My sister is dead! She is only 17 years old. She was originally happy toe to the Feast of Qushui Liushang today. Now she is gone! There must be someone to be responsible for this matter!¡± Qian Shuixian cried andined, ¡°She didn¡¯t have to die. All of you can swim. Why didn¡¯t you go to save her?¡± Although her usations were unreasonable, it was reasonable for her to air her grievances since she just lost her sister.

    ¡°I know Liao Qing¡¯er is lying!¡± Guan Zhan shouted suddenly, ¡°Liao Qing¡¯er is very good at swimming, and she is not ill at all. I also saw the scene that Qi Mu¡¯er said. He Danggui stopped Liao Qing¡¯er from saving Miss Qian!¡±

    ¡°I saw it too, as Qi Mu¡¯er said.¡± Another witness came out, and then four or fivedies echoed in unison. They all said that they saw Liao Qing¡¯er got into the water with one leg and was dragged back by He Danggui. And various words such as ¡°cold blood¡±, ¡°selfishness¡± and ¡°murderer¡± were gradually spread.

    Mr. Bao asked Meng Xuan, ¡°General Meng, what do you think?¡±

    Meng Xuan was m and said lightly, ¡°Leave it to the government. They are specialized in investigating the case, especially for the important case.¡±

    Liao Qing¡¯er nervously pulled He Danggui¡¯s sleeves and quietly asked, ¡°What should I do? Should I send someone to Gao Jue for help? He is now working in Yangzhou City as an official, and when he arrives, he can split his sword against the Bamboo Grove. Those bastards would close their filthy mouths.¡±

    He Danggui shook her head slightly. Then she looked at Mr. Bao and Ms. Zheng with a smile, and said in a clear voice, ¡°It is also my wish to ask the government to intervene. Teachers, please send someone to notify the government.¡±

 Chapter 155 - Smelling the perfume of the beauty

    <h4>Chapter 155 Smelling the perfume of the beauty</h4>

    Mr. Bao, a pupil of President Wei, was about 30 years old. He became a Jinshi in the 22th year of Hongwu Period. He became an inferior official when he was young, but he was dismissed because he offended the superior official. He knew that being upright was impractical in officialdom, so he stayed in Chengxu Academy and became a teacher.

    Compared with the officialdom, the air of the academy was fresh and it was really like a paradise. The nepotism existed in the academy, because the students¡¯ family pulled the strings in order to make sure their children were taken good care of. For example, President Wei had asked Mr. Bao to take good care of Luo Baiqian several years ago, because Senior Lord Luo Maitong had helped him in his early age. The benefactor of the teacher was his, so Mr. Bao genuinely cared about Luo Baiqian, especially in his studies, and then they established a very close rtionship.

    After a hot topic of ¡°the public denunciation of The First Miss¡¯s life experience¡± two years ago, Mr. Bao also heard that He Danggui was a Miss of Luo¡¯s Family. So, he had to stand on her side. And if she offended an official, she would earn a bad reputation whether shemitted a crime or not.

    Thinking of this, Mr. Bao said confidently, ¡°Let¡¯s make it clear. There is no doubt that Qian Mudan fell into water by herself. I do believe that He Danggui is really warm-hearted whether she has dissuaded Liao Qing¡¯er from going diving or not, because she dived into the water regardless of her own safety. Therefore, He Danggui is a kind person who is eager to help ssmates, but not a selfish and indifferent person. We all feel sorry for Qian Mudan¡¯s death. We are genuinely remorseful. Some of us are not good at swimming, and some of us dared not to save her breaking a rule. We are so angry that we inevitably wronged the kindness of He Danggui. Do you think so?¡±

    Mr. Bao, a veteran, talked a lot and asked seriously in a threatening tone, ¡°Isn¡¯t it?¡± Everybody had to fall in with his wishes but say ¡°No¡±. Therefore, the female students who had been fighting injustice for Qian Mudan were silent at this time. And a group of male students, who came over on the single-log bridge, only echoed a few times. After all, a charming and lovely girl, Miss Qian, died in front of them. They all chose to be bystanders even if they could help. At this moment, they felt so guilty.

    With the support, Mr. Bao nodded and concluded, ¡°It was just an ident. Nobody reacted to it because everyone didn¡¯t expect it. Qian Mudan won¡¯t me everyone in her grave.¡± At the same time, he looked at Qian Shuixian with a saddest expression and persuaded her, ¡°Qian Shuixian, please restrain your grief. The academy must take responsibility for the death of your elder sister. If your parents hear this bad news, they will hope to pay their respects to the remains of your elder sister at once. How could we ask the official to take the corpse away? There is no doubt about this drowning incident. She fell into water by herself and died. I advise you not to disturb the government but deal with it secretly. What do you think of it?¡±

    Then Qian Shuixian lowered her head and thought about his suggestion with tears in her eyes. While Qi Mu¡¯er, who had been gentle and shy, said sharply, ¡°Mr. Bao, I heard that you are always righteous and never willfully helped one¡¯s rtives because of a close rtionship. So, I want to exin why He Danggui suddenly jumped into the water. Mr. Bao, I wonder if you can ept me.¡±

    Hearing this, all people were surprised. Qi Mu¡¯er usually looked very vulnerable. When any youngdiesughed at her identity as an illegitimate daughter, or suggested that she had an affected air, she always kept silent and bore it silently. She never showed her invincible spirit to the full extent, but she was against Mr. Bao¨CEveryone knew that Luo Baiqian had a very close rtionship with Mr. Bao in Chengxu Academy, and he often treated Mr. Bao and chatted with him. What Qi Mu¡¯er said just implied that Mr. Bao was partial to He Danggui!

    Chengxu Academy stressed the importance of respecting teachers and honoring truth. Even Han Fang and Han Qiqi, the children of Han Fei who was the chief official in Yangzhou City and the high officer of the frontier, they didn¡¯t dare to contradict their teachers openly. How dared Qi Mu¡¯er, a daughter of a salt merchant to do it? Didn¡¯t she want to study at Chengxu Academy anymore? It was said that she only missed two points in the entrance examination. Her father did a lot of efforts, such as standing treat and presenting gifts, to get her into Chengxu Academy. Shouldn¡¯t she cherish this hard-won opportunity? Or did she really know the truth and she wanted to get justice for the dead?

    He Danggui looked puzzled. She didn¡¯t know when she offended Qi Mu¡¯er. Why did Qi Mu¡¯er suddenly target at her? It seemed that she had never dealt with Qi Mu¡¯er. She didn¡¯t understand it.

    Mr. Bao nodded slowly and said with a serious face, ¡°Qi Mu¡¯er, you can tell me now. Are there any reasons for He Danggui to dive into the water bravely?¡±

    Then Qi Mu¡¯er said clearly, ¡°Before the Guqin ss the day before yesterday, I saw Qian Mudan secretly put a sharp string to the Guqin of He Danggui. Later, He Danggui¡¯s fingers were scratched and bled, while Qian Mudanughed at her. Then He Danggui just took a nce at Qian Mudan and then went to bind up her wound. I guess she began to hate Qian Mudan from that time, so she tried to stop Liao Qing¡¯er to save Qian Mudan. As I saw this scene, she also suddenly looked back and nced at me. She was in a state of panic, as if she was afraid of being exposed by me to the fact that she intended to revenge Qian Mudan. Next, in order to cover up the truth, she paused for a while, and then she jumped into the river to pretend to save Qian Mudan. Qian Mudan couldn¡¯t be rescued by Liao Qing¡¯er because of this stay and the joke on the day before yesterday, so finally the beauty died.¡±

    Hearing this, all the people thought deeply. They didn¡¯t expect that there was such an intricate reason in this event. If that was true, it was like a storm in a teacup. However, no one could me her for Qian Mudan¡¯s death, because Qian Mudan was drowned indeed by herself.

    Qi Mu¡¯er nced at the corpse of Qian Mudan and said sadly, ¡°I have talked with Sister Mudan several times. She is really nice. I secretly admire her grace, and I set her as my model. Just now I saw her without vitality, so I was so furious that I med Miss He for Sister Mudan¡¯s death. Actually, there is nothing to do with Miss He. Miss He, I¡¯m so sorry. I shouldn¡¯t regard you as a murderer.¡± At the same time, Qi Mu¡¯er turned to He Danggui and apologized, while He Danggui nodded, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, and I forgive you. Stand up.¡±

    Qi Mu¡¯er choked for a while, and then she took a firm stand on this matter but as a cowardlydy. Then she sighed and said, ¡°Miss He, since I can acknowledge the mistake and correct it, should you ept the good advice to kowtow to the corpse of Sister Mudan? Even if you don¡¯t want to let her rest in peace, please think about for your conscience.¡±

    Qian Shuixian also said in tears, ¡°You should kowtow to my sister. She died really wrongly. It was just for a string! You act terribly!¡±

    He Danggui sneered at them, and she thought the new students in this year were really ridiculous. That pair of sisters of Qian¡¯s Family had behaved very badly. Unexpectedly, Miss Qi framed a case against her, and she said in a roundabout way. First, Qi Mu¡¯er regarded her as a murderer and then ¡°corrected¡± that she was the indirect murderer. And Qi Mu¡¯er still framed her in front of the public... Qi Mu¡¯er, where was she from? Was there any conflict?

    He Danggui was calm, and all the people were watching her. Then they made all kinds of guesses at this event. Wen Han couldn¡¯t help asking, ¡°He Danggui, Miss Qi told the truth, right? You did nothing to save Miss Qian and you are just a stander-by, really?¡±

    Stander-by? ¡°Stander-by¡± was the literary name of Dou Haiqin, who taught her medicine in the farm when she was a child. Many years ago, the world called him Dr. Dou of ¡°Lifesaver¡±. Later, the Dr. Dou was betrayed by a man he cured, and no one stuck up for him. Finally, he was exiled for 3000 miles after receiving ¡°Five Punishments¡± (corporal punishment). After escaping from there, he disguised himself and wrote the medical book on the farm. However, after being punished, he had no ability to work, so he had to make a living by running a clinic. Although his medical skills were amazing, he was only willing to treat a minor illness, and he refused the seriously injured. So, he made a name ¡°Stander-by¡± for himself.

    In her opinion, Dr. Dou would rather save the wild animals, such as cats, dogs or wolves, than save people. It was obvious that he was heart-broken. It was a pity that she had lived an easeful and wealthy life for half a year, but she prayed no more once on shore. She didn¡¯t seek for troubles, but troubles came to find her. That was reality, and she had to face it.

    ¡°Miss Qi is right. The day before yesterday, in the Guqin room, I identally cut my fingers by the string. At that time, I was still very surprised why the string was so sharp.¡± He Danggui said honestly, ¡°After the hand injury, Mudan next to me seemed tough. I¡¯m not sure. At that time, Miss Qi was also here, and witnessed the whole process of changing string by Qian Mudan. So, Miss Qi really told the truth.¡±

    Wu Yuying, Guan Zhan and others were secretly happy when hearing this. Well! He Danggui pleaded her guilty! Her reputation was going to be ruined. Without those young childes¡¯ protection, she dared not to be arrogant and ignore them!

    He Danggui continued to plead, ¡°As for what Miss Qi said, it¡¯s true that I blocked Qing, but it¡¯s not as exaggerated as theter ¡®witnesses¡¯ who said, ¡®They saw Qing¡¯s leg was in the water, but I dragged it back¡¯. If you don¡¯t believe me, you can see Qing¡¯s skirt. It¡¯s really dry. At that time, everyone was nervously watching the person under the water. The young childes standing opposite us didn¡¯t see this scene, so I don¡¯t know why the youngdies standing side by side with us had seen our action. At that time, Qing really intended to save people, but I held her up and said to her, which spent some time. Damn it! Then I discussed with Qing and jumped into the water. I didn¡¯t have any ¡®eye contact¡¯ with Miss Qi. Maybe she was looking at me, but I didn¡¯t see her. That¡¯s all.¡±

    Qi Mu¡¯er said coldly, ¡°Don¡¯t argue. At that time, you clearly saw me and showed an expression of guilty, which was found by me. In order to correct the mistake, you pretended to jump into the water to save her. He Danggui, please respect the dead. How can you tell a lie in front of the corpse of Sister Mudan?¡±

    These words were really true to life, and the people could almost describe ady with carefulness and scheme in their minds.

    He Danggui crooked her head and asked suddenly, ¡°I gave Qing something before I jumped into the water. What was it?¡±

    ¡°Well? What was it?¡± Qi Mu¡¯er was stunned and repeated it.

    ¡°Yes.¡± He Danggui nodded and said, ¡°I have a precious thing, and I can¡¯t take it into the water, so I took it off and gave it to Qing. Now it¡¯s in her pouch.¡± she said and patted Liao Qing¡¯er¡¯s plump waist. She questioned, ¡°Hadn¡¯t Miss Qi seen my expression before I went into the water? Didn¡¯t you see an act of picking and delivering something? Didn¡¯t you see that?¡±

    Qi Mu¡¯er bit her lip and said, ¡°Of course, I saw it. Isn¡¯t it a jade pendant? I didn¡¯t see the specific shape and the color of that jade pendant because of the distance¡­ Do you want to go on arguing?¡±

    He Danggui patted Liao Qing¡¯er and said with a smile, ¡°A jade pendant? Please show it to Miss Qi.¡±

    Liao Qing¡¯er took off her assorted pouch slowly. Firstly, she took out 2 silver ingots from it and put them on He Danggui¡¯s hand. Then she took out 2 pairs of hand-made puppets and stuffed them into He Danggui¡¯s sleeves. Next, she took out a round Zhuyu jade pendant and exined to Qi Mu¡¯er, who was smiling, ¡°This is mine. My name was engraved on it. Here you are, and you can see it.¡± Then she turned and handed it to Meng Xuan who stood on her left. She pointed to the middle ring with her fat finger and said, ¡°It¡¯s carved for 15 wen. It¡¯s a small seal script in ancient style.¡±

    Meng Xuan took a look at it and then read out, ¡°Extraordinary Qing? Well, there is a word ¡®Qing¡¯. This jade pendant belongs to Miss Liao.¡±

    Liao Qing¡¯er put her hand into the pouch again. Then she found a semicircle golden box andughed, ¡°Ha-ha! Xiaoyi gave me this, a gold lock representing wealth and longevity. It¡¯s a kind of thing that little babies love the most! Qi Mu¡¯er, you said that you witnessed everything before Xiaoyi went into the water, but why can¡¯t you tell me what she gave me before she went into the water? I think you just made that all up. You only vaguely glimpsed a movement I came to the bank, so you said all that ridiculously. Tell me! What¡¯s your meaning? Why did you frame my sister? How did she offend you?¡±

    Qi Mu¡¯er cried and whispered, ¡°It¡¯s up to you to say everything. How can I know that the gold lock didn¡¯t belong to you? And how can I know that the jade pendant is not the souvenir that you engraved your name on and gave to He Danggui? Luo Baiqiong and Luo Baishao didn¡¯te. Who can prove that the gold lock belongs to He Danggui? Does the gold lock be engraved the name of He Danggui? Can she open that gold lock?¡±

    He Danggui¡¯s gold lock was not engraved, and there were many strange things in the box of the gold lock. She didn¡¯t want to open them to the public, so she thought for a moment and said, ¡°My gold lock is a perfume box, which contains my self-made ¡®Carefree Fragrance¡¯. It¡¯s very easy to verify the owner of this gold lock. Usually, I hang the gold lock in my inner neckline. Please invite a ssmate to smell the gold lock, and then smell the neckline of mine and Qing¡¯er¡¯s. Finally, it will all be cleared up.¡±

    Ms. Zheng thought it was reasonable, and then she ordered Guan Zhan and said, ¡°You go and smell them.¡±

    Hearing this, the expressions of Liao Qing¡¯er and Guan Zhan were both ashamed. Liao Qing¡¯er often ignored Guan Zhan, although she had been living in Guan¡¯s Mansion. She often called Guan Zhan ¡°the daughter of a concubine who is cunning¡±, so Guan Zhan was very angry. Just now, Guan Zhan exposed Liao Qing¡¯er¡¯s lie for protecting He Danggui, which was about her poor ability in swimming and her cough, so Liao Qing¡¯er believed that Guan Zhan was a slippery person. And Liao Qing¡¯er became unhappy immediately when she heard that Guan Zhan woulde to smell her.

    Guan Zhan was rather angry after seeing this, so she said firmly, ¡°Ms. Zheng, I have a stuffy nose and can¡¯t smell anything.¡±

    Ms. Zheng frowned, and she was just about to order another female student to carry out this task of smelling the perfume. Meng Xuan, standing next to Liao Qing¡¯er, suddenly volunteered to say, ¡°I have a good sense of smell. Let me help you.¡± At this time, he grabbed the gold lock in Liao Qing¡¯s hand and smelt it slightly. Then he tore the silk handkerchief hanging on Liao Qing¡¯s front button and smelt it. Finally, he went toward He Danggui. In others¡¯ eyes, he put his whole head on He Danggui¡¯s neckline and smelt it for a long time.

    He seemed to be addicted to smell it, while the ¡°Ice beauty¡±, which had been smelt, stood peacefully. Many young childes were not happy with it, because the ¡®Ice Beauty¡¯ was the private property of their academy, and none of them could conquer her. How could an outsider get first?

    Han Fang said unhappily, ¡°Childe Xuan, it will be dark if you smell it again and again. If you don¡¯t have a good sense of smell, let me do it for you.¡± Then Song Qiao, Guan Mo and others all said that they had a very good sense of smell.

    Meng Xuan pulled his head out of the perfume and told others seriously, ¡°The perfume dispersed by the water, and the scent mixed with the taste of aquatic nts, so I should carefully smell it to show justice, neither wronged Miss He nor Miss Qi.¡±

    Guan Mo asked impatiently, ¡°What¡¯s the result? Does the gold lock belong to Sister He?¡±

    ¡°Sister He?¡± Meng Xuan raised his eyebrows.

    ¡°Yeah, do you understand? If you don¡¯t understand, ¡®please¡¯ get away!¡± Guan Mo gnashed his teeth at the word ¡°please¡± in a high tone.

    ¡°Oh, I understand absolutely.¡± With a vivid recollection of the past, Meng Xuan nodded and said, ¡°That gold lock belongs to Miss He. It¡¯s absolutely right. I promise. Because her body is filled with the scent of orchid.¡± Han Fang and other five people who jumped into the water didn¡¯t smell the ¡°scent of orchid¡±. However, only Meng Xuan, who was an outsider, smelt it well. Immediately, the five people¡¯s nostrils closed and opened from time to time, and they became rather angry.

    ¡°Qi Mu¡¯er! What else can you say? ¡°Liao Qing¡¯er was also angry, and she was determined to teach this ¡®little white rabbit¡¯ a lesson.

    Suddenly, Qi Mu¡¯er became pitiful instead of being aggressive, which immediately made Liao Qing¡¯er look like a stepmother. But Ms. Zheng who looked like her biological mother came out and said, ¡°Just a misunderstanding. It¡¯s just really hard to lose Qian Mudan. That¡¯s enough for today. Good night! Well, there will be a month-long New Year holiday from tomorrow, so you should always review your lessons at home and make a good progress every time!¡±

    ¡°Wait!¡± Meng Xuan and He Danggui stopped her together, ¡°Please wait for a moment!¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Ms. Zheng asked in surprise.

    Meng Xuan said with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s not over yet. I think that Miss Qian doesn¡¯t seem to have been drowned, and then I asked a manservant to notify the local government about it early because she died in suspicious circumstances. The officials will be here soon. Please wait for a moment and stay for as witnesses.¡±

    Mr. Bao kept his eyes open and looked at the corpse on the ground. He asked with disbelief, ¡°Not be drowned? But we all saw that she was drowned in the water!¡±

    Meng Xuan didn¡¯t speak anymore, and then he turned around with his hands sped behind the back. Suddenly, he picked up He Danggui and went deeper into the Bamboo Grove while others were gulping.

    He held her and stood on the top of a sturdy verdant bamboo. Then he said in her ear, ¡°If an ant falls into the water, and throwing a leaf can save it, I will do such a thing. But if a person falls into the water, and he can only be saved by someone jumping into the water, I will bnce the advantages and disadvantages before deciding whether to save or not. I used to save him, but now, although I¡¯m good at swimming, I may not do that. If my kindness can only reach the level of a leaf, Xiaoyi, do you think I am a nice person?¡±

    He Danggui tilted her head and looked at him in surprise. She said, ¡°You¡¯ve known that, haven¡¯t you? How do you know...?¡± She widened her eyes in surprise, and then she was too stunned to speak as if her breath suddenly had been stopped for a moment, because he kissed her.

    The clear eyes close at hand were filled with tears.

 Chapter 156 - Who was relentless? And who was injured?

    <h4>Chapter 156 Who was relentless? And who was injured?</h4>

    Their breathing was gently and intertwined. Then they saw what their most concerned things from each other¡¯s eyes. When they found the exact feeling, they closed their eyes and kissed at the same time.

    Their hearts were so warm that they didn¡¯t want to move or have further actions. It was better to snuggle up to each other like this all the time and feel each other from the soft lips. In the past three years, they must have experienced a lot. Now they stood in front of each other undamaged, so they enjoyed the chest closed to each other. And their hearts must be melted. Everything could be forgiven.

    It had better be dark, so that he could hug her all the time, and not go anywhere.

    Suddenly, his hands moved on her, from the neckline to the shoulder, to the chest, to the girdle, and then to the skirt. When his hands tried to continue moving down, it was out of reach. So, he had to leave her lips and gentle eyes for a while, and then he leaned over her slender legs. His Xiaoyi had grown up.

    ¡°Master, I can dry the clothes and warm myself.¡± He left suddenly, which made He Danggui¡¯s tone cold.

    ¡°You do yours, and I¡¯ll do mine.¡± He began to take off her embroidered shoes and white socks. He seemed to warm her feet.

    ¡°I don¡¯t need to take off my shoes and socks. My Zhenqi has reached Guanyuan acupoint and Zusanli acupoint, so my feet will warm up soon. My shoes and socks will be dried.¡± she restrained, ¡°You should stand up quickly. Now we are at the top of bamboo. What if you fall down identally? What if you drop my shoes?¡±

    ¡°What? Your Zhenqi has reached Zusanli acupoint?¡± His actions were ceaseless, but his tone was harshly, ¡°Stop! Your Zhenqi can¡¯t go down. You just need to warm your upper body. I¡¯ll warm the lower body.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± She had never seen him speak so harshly before, so she took Zhenqi back.

    Meng Xuan said seriously, ¡°I only taught you the Methods for circling Zhenqi in the upper body, but not in the lower body, so you can¡¯t warm your feet. Let me help you.¡±

    He Danggui was puzzled, ¡°But¡­you taught me that martial artists should learn to draw inferences. You only taught the left part of the upper body in that year and let me explore the right part by myself. ording to your instructions, now I can circle the Zhenqi to my whole body.¡±

    Meng Xuan shook his head and said, ¡°Xiaoyi, I trust you, but Zusanli acupoint is very important. It needs to be used under the instruction of the Master. It¡¯s dangerous to use it by yourself. So, before I teach you, let me warm you up. You¡¯re so cold. Don¡¯t try to be brave.¡± He took her delicate feet into his arms and held them to his chest. He contentedly pasted his face on the beautiful leg and rubbed it gently. His chest was cold, but his heart was warm, as if he held the warmest sun in the world.

    He Danggui had no strength in the air, and there was nothing to support her. She only relied on him to support her feet, so she said uneasily, ¡°Please hold steady. Don¡¯t drop me. Why do we have to stand on the top of bamboo? Let¡¯s go down.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡± Meng Xuan took her delicate feet and pretended to be asleep for a moment. Then he opened his eyes and looked up at her face as if admiring a goddess. He said, ¡°You answer my question first. If I am satisfied with the answer, I will take you down. If not, you will still stand in my chest.¡±

    He Danggui frowned and said, ¡°Don¡¯t joke around. They are waiting for us. Don¡¯t you say the official will arrive soon?¡±

    ¡°I lied to them. It¡¯s early. Let them wait.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Meng Xuan lowered his head. He looked at the delicate legs and couldn¡¯t help kissing them. When he closed his eyes, his tears fell on them. He Danggui shivered slightly with surprise. Meng Xuan kissed the beautiful girl, and his pain and affection flowed to her at this moment,

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me once you saved me? Why were you so calm when I mentioned that the Taoist nun who saved me and even married me as a concubine? Why didn¡¯t you exin anything to me? Why didn¡¯t you go to Chang Ye Pavilion to see me off? I waited ten hours for you, so I waste for the calling roll in the morning and was punished with two hundred sticks. I wrote that I was dying to see you for thest time. Why didn¡¯t youe to see me? Why are you always so mysterious? Why can you predict? Why do you have wisdom and eyes that do not belong to your age? Why?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Xiaoxuan.¡± He Danggui lowered her head and gently stroked his forehead. She said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry to disappoint you.¡±

    Hearing her gentle tone as if she wasforting a child, he did not ease, but became more irascible. He took a deep bite on the delicate leg, and looked at the two red marks on it. Then he said with a deep voice, ¡°This is not the answer I want. I never ept others¡¯ apologies. I think since you have the sincerity to apologize, why did you choose to hurt? Why couldn¡¯t you feel it when I was sincere to you?¡±

    He Danggui stared at Meng Xuan in a trance, who seemed to have never been worried and always unconsciously helped her out of trouble. But now, he had such a fierce and hurt look. She hesitated for a moment and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t expect it would hurt you. I thought we were friends. I never knew¡­you love me.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t know?!¡± Meng Xuan sneered and said, ¡°I saw Duan Xiaolou around you every day, and you always smiled at him. However, I insisted on climbing over the wall for four months. I avoided the guards of Luo¡¯s Mansion and went to your room to teach you martial arts. I told you all about my background and experience. I even shared my deepest secret with you. Is it just because we are friends?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to make you sad. At that time, my thought was not clear.¡± He Danggui looked down at him, and her eyes reflected the Bamboo Grove swaying in the wind below. She said, ¡°Although I know you are good, I dare not to confess to you as I did to Qing. One day you suddenly told me that you were very busy and would leave after two months in Yangzhou City, so I thought you were just a passer-by and would not stay in my life for too long. So, I chose to keep silent for many things.¡±

    Meng Xuan said angrily, ¡°I said that deliberately because you held Duan Xiaolou¡¯s hand during the day! Then I stayed for another two months!¡±

    He Danggui was puzzled, ¡°Holding his hand? He stabbed his hand, so he held up the injured hand and waited for me to cure him. He waited for more than two hours. Could I ignore him? And you said that you would stay for another two months because Zhou Yi Can Tong Qi taught by Bai Yangbai had not been finished. You wanted to hear it out before you leave.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care about his lessons!¡± Meng Xuan angrily pinched her delicate legs and said, ¡°Why did you go to his room for four hours every day after school, and even spent the night with him once?¡±

    ¡°You were following me, weren¡¯t you?¡± He Danggui was shocked and angry, ¡°I told you that I was looking for a medicine!¡±

    Meng Xuan kneaded her legs to let out his anger. He said, ¡°This is a pretext! Is there any medicine you can¡¯t make in the world? Is it Elixir of Life? Why did you spend the night with him?!¡±

    He Danggui frowned and recalled, ¡°It waste when I got out of the bath, and I had already told Madam Luo that I would stay at Qing¡¯s room, so I would not go back to Luo¡¯s Mansion. I stayed in that old liar¡¯s room for a night. He only had one quilt in his house, and he even wrested the quilt with me. I was sick from the cold. Later, I went back to Luo¡¯s Mansion and waited for you to cure me in the evening. I waited you for two nights but didn¡¯t see you. Then, I sent you a letter by a carrier pigeon, but you didn¡¯t reply. It turned out that you were angry about it.¡±

    Meng Xuan bit her leg fiercely and didn¡¯t loosen his mouth. He even wished he could inhale her into his stomach, so that he had been with her and didn¡¯t have to worry about her so much.

    He Danggui hit the back of his head angrily and cried, ¡°What are you doing? You are hurting me!¡±

    Meng Xuan raised his head and showed his white teeth. He said, ¡°What¡¯s the rtionship between you and Bai Yangbai? Why did you take a bath and sleep in his room? You said that you only treat Duan Xiaolou as a brother and a friend. Why did you let him hold you? You let Peng Jian carry you to the Wangyue Restaurant, and you went to Taibai Restaurant with Gao Jue. Under your pillow, there was the jade pendant of Lord Ning! What¡¯s your rtionship with each of them? Why did you provoke so many men!¡±

    He Danggui was so angry that her shoulders trembled. She beat his forehead hard and said angrily, ¡°Let me down. I don¡¯t allow you to warm my feet. I have nothing to do with you. I will pretend that I don¡¯t know you in the future! Why are you full ofints? That¡¯s all my business, and I never provoked you. Why are you following me? Meng Xuan, let me go!¡±

    ¡°You never provoked me?!¡± Meng Xuan shook the leg in his hands and shouted angrily, ¡°How can you say that! You made me almost die, made me crazy for you, and made me wait three years for you. You said that you didn¡¯t know I love you, but everyone around you could feel it clearly. Why couldn¡¯t only you feel it? Or did you have someone you like long ago? Did you like Zhu Quan who gave you the jade pendant?¡±

    ¡°Let me go. I don¡¯t want to talk to you!¡± He Danggui scratched his face and shouted, ¡°I don¡¯t want to talk to you. Let me down. I want to go home! I don¡¯t know you!¡±

    ¡°No! If you don¡¯t make it clear, you can¡¯t leave here! You owe me an exnation and worry of the three years!¡± Meng Xuan kneaded her legs even harder.

    He Danggui was crying, ¡°If you want the exnation, why didn¡¯t youe to me during the three years? You¡¯ve forgotten me for a long time! Whimper¡­¡±

    Hearing her sobbing, Meng Xuan immediately became nervous. He stood up with her feet in his arms. Then she let her slip down with holding her waist, and let her bare feet step on his feet. He asked anxiously as he wiped her tears, ¡°Did I hurt you? Did I press the key acupoint? What¡¯s matter with you?¡±

    He Danggui shook her head and wept. She just felt a lot of grievances in her heart, but she didn¡¯t know how to say it.

    Seeing the girl who made him both love and hate crying so sad, Meng Xuan didn¡¯t have any pleasure after revenge. He was usually smart and calm, but now he was so anxious. He put one hand around her waist and put the other hand made a bow to her. He said, ¡°Xiaoyi. Don¡¯t cry. It¡¯s all my fault. Where do you hurt? Have I pinched your Xuehai acupoint and Qimen acupoint? Have I pinched your hamstring? Can you still bend your knees?¡± She bent her knee and gave him a kick. Then she cried even more heartily and let out her sadness like a child.

    Meng Xuan had no choice but to kiss her as before, so she could not cry. But her tears still flowed down, so he put his mouth in her eyes to suck all her sadness. It turned out that she med him for noting to her for three years. Was she waiting for him? She must have had a bad time in Luo¡¯s Mansion. It was his fault that he didn¡¯te to take her away.

    His kiss was deep and shallow. He wanted to take away all her unhappiness, and let her remember him as well as his tenderness. Gradually, she stopped crying. Seeing the effect, Meng Xuan looked for her mouth under the cute nose to ask for some rewards. He cured her grief, so now it was her turn.

    But this time he didn¡¯t touch her soft lips. He only kissed the back of her tight hand.

    He tried to move her hand twice, but he failed, so heined again, ¡°The night before I left, I heard that Duan Xiaolou invited you to go to see the flowers on the next day. So, I specially left a letter saying that I would go to the battlefield to fight a cruel battle tomorrow, which would probably be the end of my life. I asked you to sing and see me off in Chang Ye Pavilion. On the next day, I was waiting for you in Chang Ye Pavilion from dark to dawn, and to noon, but you never showed up. I went back to the army disappointedly, and my head was full of your smile when you and Duan Xiaolou were enjoying flowers. I was impatient to answer master¡¯s questions, so I only said that I missed the call the roll in the morning because I overslept. He was so angry that punished me with a hundred army sticks. The generals came up to plead for me. One of them was surnamed Duan. When I saw him, I was angry, and my words offended my father. In addition, my brother of the concubine Meng Xian instigated him. So, he wanted to punish me with two hundred army sticks on the spot personally. I got the two hundred sticks because of you, so you should let me kiss you twice forpensation.¡±

    He Danggui covered her mouth tightly and shook her head. She said, ¡°Didn¡¯t you kiss twice just now? You are so powerful, and the two hundred sticks won¡¯t hurt you. Moreover, I didn¡¯t mean to break my appointment, and I didn¡¯t go to enjoy flowers with Duan Xiaolou that day.¡±

    ¡°The first time I admit it, but the second time I only touched your lips, and then I turned to help you treat your eyes. So, you still owe me once.¡± Meng Xuan haggled and bit her earlobe while trying to find out if she would rx her vignce. However, she still covered her mouth and didn¡¯t give up, so he continued to tell about his sadness, ¡°Your ruthlessness made my heart ache as if I had been stabbed by a poisonous arrow. So, I thought that if my father had killed me, I would have been given birth again and be the wolf cub of the white wolf under your feet. Then I would be held in your arms every day. Therefore, I sealed all my significant acupoints andy down to be punished without saying a word. While my father thought that I was not satisfied with him, so he beat me harder. After receiving two hundred sticks, I was seriously injured and was carried back to the camp. But I still though about you. I sent a letter saying that I was dying to see you for thest time. Why didn¡¯t you go to see me? I even drew the map for you!¡±

    He Danggui covered her mouth and quickly exined, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. The letter was put in my schoolbag when Chan Yi cleared my bed. At that time, she didn¡¯t know that it was the letter you sent to me because she was illiterate, but now she is literate. You know I never opened my schoolbag and didn¡¯t read my textbook, so I saw the letter two dayster. As for going to see you in the army, it was even more impossible. Yangzhou City was far away from Shanhai Pass, and it would spend four or five days to go back and forth. How could I go out for such a long time? First, I had to salute Madam Luo every morning. Second, my nephew, Shizhu, did his homework in my room every afternoon. Third, I often skipped ss, which made many teachers be dissatisfied. Thanks to the mediation of Bai Yangbai and Duan Xiaolou, they didn¡¯te to my home toin about my absence. Later, I came up with a reason that I wanted to go to Sanqing Temple to see my mother. I went to take a leave with Madam Luo, but she said that she had just sent someone to Sanqing Temple to take my mother home to attend the ancestor worship ten dayster, and I also needed to attend it. I thought that you have the internal force of Changfeng Form, and you wound surely recover in ten days, so I gave up.¡±

    Meng Xuan stared at her and said, ¡°I wound surely recover in ten days? What you think was too easy. You just didn¡¯t worry about me! I wrote a dozen letters to you. Why didn¡¯t you reply me?¡±

    He Danggui exined again, ¡°Your carrier pigeon flied away every time when I open a letter. At that time, my arts of lightness couldn¡¯t catch up with them, so I didn¡¯t reply you. The carrier pigeon you left me before you left was kept by Huai Hua. I asked her to take special care of it, but she misunderstood my meaning. She didn¡¯t know that the pigeon was used for sending letters, so she fed it as a chicken. When I went to see the carrier pigeon, it was already too fat to fly. After a few months, you hadn¡¯t written to me for a long time when the carrier pigeon could fly.¡±

    Meng Xuan looked at her bitterly and said, ¡°You always have a lot of reasons. I was sad because I couldn¡¯t receive your reply. I was so angry, so I didn¡¯t write to you. Couldn¡¯t you take the initiative to write me a letter?¡±

    ¡°Sorry.¡± He Danggui apologized, ¡°I didn¡¯t know if you were still in the army. I was worried the carrier pigeon was in the wrong ce. In a word, I¡¯m sorry, Xiaoxuan. I didn¡¯t know that you would be angry for several letters and won¡¯te to me for three years. I didn¡¯t know that I always in your heart.

    ¡°You¡¯re so heartless. You are not just in my heart!¡± Meng Xuan stared at her and said, ¡°You don¡¯t understand me at all. Give me the kiss you owe me!¡±

 Chapter 157 - The truth of drowning

    <h4>Chapter 157 The truth of drowning</h4>

    He Danggui covered her mouth, shaking her head like a rattle-drum to refuse his approach, ¡°Those 2 times just now were idents. Don¡¯t do that to me anymore. I will be 14 years old after the lunar new year. Don¡¯t hold me as I was a child, and don¡¯t treat me well. Emm¡­ I already have an engagement.¡±

    ¡°What did you say?¡± Meng Xuan forced her hand apart hardly and asked nervously, ¡°Who is he?¡±

    He Danggui shook her head and didn¡¯t want to say anything more. He had been gone for 3 years. There was nothing strange about her engagement. Therefore, she covered her mouth and closed her eyes again, as if she was a y figure that could not speak or see.

    Meng Xuan rocked her several times and said anxiously, ¡°Go to ask Madam Luo to break off the engagement. I¡¯ll ask my father to propose marriage for me. Actually, I¡­ I¡¯ve seen you take a bath and... I¡¯ve wiped your back, so you¡¯re mine, and you can¡¯t marry anyone else.¡±

    He Danggui was surprised, ¡°When?¡±

    Meng Xuan squinted down and pouted, ¡°There are 365 days in a year. You take a bath every day. How can I remember the specific times? Once when I was not satisfied, I disguised myself as a maid to wipe your back. You squinted and let me wipe your back, so you didn¡¯t find out. Therefore, you can only marry me. Look, I¡¯ve seen your little feet two¡­ Eh? Why are your feet still so small? Are you binding them now?¡±

    He Danggui looked at him coldly and asked, ¡°There are 3 little red moles on my body. Are they on my arm, shoulder or back?¡±

    Meng Xuan looked down at the little feet and couldn¡¯t help persuading, ¡°It¡¯s harmful for you to bind your feet. Even if your feet grow bigger than me in the future, I will never mind. Anyway, you are bound to marry me, so don¡¯t bind your feet anymore¡­ Eh? Why your hands and face are yellow, but the skin in other ces is as white as snow? Did you apply anything on your face?¡±

    ¡°Where are the moles? On the arm, shoulder, or back?¡±

    ¡°¡­On the shoulder, well, one of them is on the back. I can¡¯t remember clearly.¡± Meng Xuan stroked her jade face, and finally couldn¡¯t help covering that pair of dark and sharp eyes with his fingers and said in a soft voice, ¡°I don¡¯t ask about your past, and I¡¯m not angry about that you were merciless to me before. Shall we restart? Would you like to break off the engagement?¡±

    ¡°You said that you ask your father to propose a marriage. Will he agree it?¡±

    ¡°Well,¡± Meng Xuan stupefied, and then nodded, ¡°I will try to persuade him. Please give me some time, and I will try my best.¡±

    He Danggui raised her eyebrows, ¡°Try your best? That is to say, you are not sure that you can marry me as a wife. But you came to see me take a bath first, so I have to marry you. Meng Xuan, are you nning to marry me as a concubine all the time?¡± Looking at his expression of remorse, she said, ¡°My red mole is as small as a needle tip, which can¡¯t be seen at all. It can only be seen by leaning on it, and it¡¯s not on any of the 3 ces I just said. I just want to know whether you really have seen it. Since it¡¯s a misunderstanding, let¡¯s go down quickly. The things about Qian Mudan haven¡¯t ended.¡±

    Meng Xuan didn¡¯t give up, ¡°When will you go to break off the engagement?¡±

    He Danggui tilted her head and said, ¡°I lied to you about the engagement. There are several men who proposed marriage. However, Madam Luo thought that I would not marry as their wives and they were not from Yangzhou City, so she refused all of them.¡±

    ¡°Why do you marry a native?¡± As a foreigner, Meng Xuan asked nervously, ¡°Was Madam Luo reluctant to marry you too far?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± He Danggui said dully, ¡°It¡¯s a kind of jujube. Those jujubes need me, so Luo¡¯s Family needs me.¡±

    ¡°Jujubes?¡±

    ¡°Well, master, let¡¯s go down quickly. They will find us in the groveter.¡± He Danggui looked at Meng Xuan up and down, and asked doubtfully, ¡°Where are my shoes and socks? Where did you put them?¡±

    Meng Xuan replied confidently, ¡°The socks were stuffed in the embroidered shoes, and the embroidered shoes were thrown down. Didn¡¯t you hear the sound?¡± He said, pointing down for her to see.

    He Danggui¡¯s unidentified anger burst out, ¡°Meng Xuan! Why did you throw my shoes? If you¡¯re unwilling to take them, you can give them to me. Why did you take me to such a high ce? Why did you suddenly kiss me? When did I be so intimate with you? I¡¯ve been your disciple for only 4 months. Why did you suddenly say that you want to marry me? I never said I¡¯d like to marry you, and I won¡¯t marry you. You threw my shoes away. What if I don¡¯t have them.¡±

    ¡°They are not lost. Look, right there.¡± Meng Xuan only answered herst question. But when he looked down, he shouted in a low voice, which led He Danggui to see. They found that a small gray animal took an embroidered shoe off the ground, swayed its tail proudly and ran quickly out of the bamboo grove.

    Looking at Meng Xuan who was indifferent, He Danggui was angry and said, ¡°Go and help me get back. If it¡¯s taken out and seen by others, they will think I¡¯ve been eaten by the wolf!¡± Then she pushed Meng Xuan down from the top of the bamboo, while using arts of lightness and standing on the top of the bamboo with her toes to wait for her shoe.

    After a while, Meng Xuan came up with a shoe in one hand and a gray wolf in the other. He stood on the top of the bamboo beside hers and said with a smile, ¡°Look, I¡¯ve found apanion for your little white wolf. Your arts of lightness are poor. Let me help you to wear shoes and socks, OK?¡±

    He Danggui was not convinced, ¡°Poor? I¡¯ve been able to walk in the snow without trace. Can you find the second female expert who isparable to me all around the world? Give my shoes back quickly. Please don¡¯t get close to me within 7 chi without my permission. Master!¡±

    For a while, they went out of the bamboo grove at a distance of 7 chi. Other people were still waiting at the same ce and looking at each other in puzzlement, and the so-called officials didn¡¯t appear. Liao Qing¡¯er ran out of the crowd, took a look at He Danggui and asked quietly, ¡°Are you OK? What did that guy do after taking you away?¡± He Danggui said in a low voice, ¡°Let¡¯s talk about it after going back. Haven¡¯t the officialse yet?¡± Liao Qing¡¯er shook her head, then turned to see Meng Xuan and asked him suspiciously, ¡°Why are you wearing the veil?¡±

    Meng Xuan replied, ¡°I had a cold and I¡¯m afraid of infecting others.¡± The veil on his face was put on by He Danggui. During the quarrel, He Danggui left several scratches on his handsome face. His face was white, so the scratches could not be covered. He Danggui was worried about other people¡¯s thoughts when he went out like this, so she covered his face with a piece of veil.

    Mr. Bao also came up, looked anxiously at the masked Meng Xuan, and asked closely, ¡°Childe Meng, didn¡¯t you let the manservant notify the local yamen? Why haven¡¯t the officials arrived yet? Just now you said that the cause of Qian Mudan¡¯s death was suspicious, but she was obviously drowned. Is there any doubt about that?¡±

    Meng Xuan apologized, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. The manservant isme. I¡¯ll hurry him up. Please take a moment. Oh, this wolf is my prey. It is very fierce. Please don¡¯t get close to it.¡± He put the bound wolf on the side. And then he moved his body, and flew away like a white roc.

    But Liao Qing¡¯er couldn¡¯t help saying, ¡°Mr. Bao, in my opinion, Qian Mudan didn¡¯t fall into the water at all. She drowned herself in the water. Her sister was her aplice, so the academy didn¡¯t have to apologize andpensate for her death!¡±

    As soon as these words came out, there was uproar immediately. Mr. Bao asked incredulously, ¡°Liao Qing¡¯er, did you say that Qian Mudanmitted suicide? Do you have evidence?¡± If Qian Mudan was a suicide, the responsibility of the academy would be much smaller. Mr. Bao and Zheng Lian had been ready to take the me and resign from teaching. It was a piece of good news.

    Liao Qing¡¯er took a look at He Danggui and saw her nodding slightly. Therefore, she drew a line on the ground with her feet, turned around and pulled up He Danggui¡¯s hands. ¡°Now I¡¯ll show you the scene before Qian Mudan fell into the water. Now I¡¯m ying Qian Mudan and Danggui is ying Qian Shuixian. This line is the bank. At that time, they stood on the bank hand in hand until the call attracted everyone¡¯s attention. Their arms are really straight like this, so that Qian Shuixian supported the whole body of Qian Mudan. At that time, Qian Mudan pretended to be panic on her face, and then she nodded at Qian Shuixian. They pretended to slide their hands, and then Qian Mudan fell into the water.¡± At this time, Liao Qing¡¯er in the performance also lost her hand with He Danggui, and then stumbled to the other side of the line. ¡°Then, Qian Shuixian shouted to the other side, saying that her sister couldn¡¯t swim and inviting the handsome boys to save her. Any open secret which involves a plot.¡±

    Qian Shuixian angrily rushed up, pointed to the nose of Liao Qing¡¯er and shouted, ¡°You¡¯re ndering her. My sister has died. What do you mean! Why does my sistermit suicide? Why do I help her tomit suicide? How can you falsely use people without evidence?¡±

    Liao Qing¡¯er threw up her hands and said, ¡°Do you want evidence? I also learned this from your good friend Qi Mu¡¯er. Based on one look and one facial expression of others, we can infer various subtle psychological activities of others. However, it was finally confirmed that Qi Mu¡¯er didn¡¯t see the scene before Danggui diving, so she lied. But what I said is truth, and there is a special term called ¡®thought reading skill¡¯. If you don¡¯t believe it, let the evidence speak! The body is the best evidence. A good evidence is more powerful than ten lying witnesses, because people will lie but things will not, so please believe ¨C there is only one truth!¡± Liao Qing¡¯er said it with great boldness. Of course, what she said about the reasoning was what He Danggui told her when stopping her from jumping into the water.

    Qian Shuixian was so angry that she turned her eyes and stammered, ¡°What¡¯s the evidence? Take it out!¡±

    Liao Qing¡¯er looked down at her in high spirit, then turned and patted He Danggui¡¯s shoulder, whispering, ¡°Xiaoyi, go.¡±

    He Danggui nced at Liao Qing¡¯er who suddenly ran behind her, and then looked at Mr. Bao who was full of expectation, saying slowly, ¡°Qian Mudan is lively. Two days before, she was wild about mischief. Yesterday, she handed a letter to a ssmate in public. It¡¯s hard to imagine that she couldmit suicide. Since she is unlikely tomit suicide, and assuming that Miss Qian jumped into the water on her own initiative, as Qing¡¯er said, she probably can swim when she was not sure if anyone would save her in time. At least, she is not afraid of the water and knows how to hold her breath before going into the water. For a person who does not want to die and is afraid of the river, it is a terrible thing to jump into the water. But at the moment of Miss Qian¡¯s falling into the water, I noticed her two expressions. One was that her left corner of her lip was raised when she was screaming, as if falling into the water was a pleasant thing for her, so I guess that she can swim; the other was that she opened her mouth wide, her nostrils were also open at the same time, and her chest was bulging, so I guess she was preparing to inhale before entering the water. She probably can swim.¡±

    Everyone was reflecting on the logic silently. For a while, they couldn¡¯t find any ws. Some people couldn¡¯t help believing her words. Ms. Zheng asked, ¡°What about the evidence? You are the only one who saw them.¡±

    He Danggui shook her head and said, ¡°Ms. Zheng, what you said is not urate. Miss Qian shouted before she fell into the water, so everyone was attracted to see that scene. Therefore, I was not the only one who ¡®saw¡¯ it, but I was the only one who ¡®found¡¯ it. Everyone can recall it carefully. Maybe you can find some impressions of what I said. Of course, these can only be regarded as conjectures, which cannot be used as evidence in the court. But for material evidence, there are three things at present. The first one is the application form for special students filled in by Miss Qian when she was enrolled. I remember one item is about the skill of swimming. Why not take a look? Second, please see. There is a different color under the clothes of Miss Qian¡¯s inneryer, and there is a bulge. I remember that Miss Qian¡¯s waist was thin in the past, so I wonder what that bulge is. I heard that there was a kind of diving suit around waist on the market. Why don¡¯t you open Miss Qian¡¯s clothes and have a look? The third is Miss Qian¡¯s ¡®suicide letter¡¯. Yesterday, she delivered a letter to Zong Qiao in public. Today, she drowned herself. It was inappropriate for us to read that letter in the past. But now it has be an important material evidence to investigate the cause of Miss Qian¡¯s death. I hope that Childe Zong can present it for everyone to see.¡±

    ¡°No way!¡± Qian Shuixian immediately objected, ¡°My sister¡¯s application form is filled out in disorder. You are not allowed to read my sister¡¯s body and love letter, or you will be punished if you disturb her spirit in the sky!¡±

    ¡°The spirit in the sky of Miss Mudan?¡± He Danggui sneered, ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡±

    Qian Shuixian said angrily, ¡°You mean that my sister is not worthy of heaven, but can only go to hell? He Danggui! You are so vicious!¡±

    He Danggui¡¯s long and dense eyshes cast two circles of shadow, so people could not see her eyes clearly at the moment, but could only hear her faint voice, ¡°Miss Qian, you misunderstand me. What I mean is that your sister hasn¡¯t died, so she doesn¡¯t need to go to heaven.¡± Regardless of all surprised eyes of others, she approached Qian Mudan who was on the ground. She stroked her hair, found a falling hair, caught one end of it and hung it to Qian Mudan¡¯s nostril. Then she asked everyone to look closely. ¡°Look, the hair is moving.¡±

    Even Liao Qing¡¯er was frightened and shouted, ¡°Ah! It¡¯s really. Qian Mudan hasn¡¯t died!¡±

    Just at this time, someone in the rear called out, ¡°Look, the officialse! They are Guard Zhan and his subordinates!¡±

    Then they looked back together, and saw Meng Xuan, who was masked, hisme manservant, and arge group of officials in uniformsing from afar. He Danggui seized this fleeting opportunity, raised her hand and passed over the top of Qian Mudan, using a silver needle to prick the Cuanzhu acupoint on her face. When she took the needle and looked at it, she found that the tip of the needle was slightly ck. She was really poisoned. How could she be poisoned? As she pondered, she looked up to see Meng Xuan and his manservant Yi Tong. When she saw Yi Tongst time, his legs and feet were very agile. He always ran away in a sh when working for his master. What were they doing?

    When Guard Zhan and others approached, Mr. Bao looked at He Danggui and asked, ¡°He Danggui, how do you know that Qian Mudan is not dead? Now she is in aa. Was she stimted by water? Let¡¯s ask a doctor for her.¡±

    ¡°It turns out that Miss Qian is still alive?¡± Meng Xuan came up and said, ¡°I know a little about medicine. It¡¯s better to let me treat her before the doctores. Yi Tong, please send for a doctor.¡± Before the manservant named Yi Tong agreed, Mr. Bao hurriedly stopped him and said, ¡°It needn¡¯t to bother your manservant. There is a clinic outside the academy. I¡¯ll ask a little reading attendant to invite the doctor!¡± It took the manservant nearly two hours to ask several guards. When he sent for a doctor, the coffin carrying Qian Mudan would arrive.

    The masked Meng Xuan smiled and squatted down next to Qian Mudan, whispering to He Danggui. Then he stood up and said to the crowd, ¡°ording to my initial diagnose, Miss Qian is poisoned. Since I can¡¯t touch Miss Qian directly, I¡¯ve told Miss He how to treat her. She will give first aid until the doctor arrives.¡±

    With permission of Mr. Bao and Ms. Zheng, He Danggui said nothing. First, she immediately lifted Qian Mudan¡¯s clothes slightly, pulled out a dark blue diving suit from her waist, waved it to the crowd twice and threw it on the ground. Then she turned to Qian Shuixian in the distance and grinned, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I moved the things on your sister, but Childe Xuan instructed me to press her waist. The ¡®belt¡¯ is a hindrance to the treatment on Shenque acupoint and Qihai acupoint.¡±

    Everyone turned to see Qian Shuixian who was standing in the corner of the crowd. Ms. Zheng asked angrily, ¡°Qian Shuixian, what¡¯s the matter? Why is your sister wearing the diving suit? Are He Danggui¡¯s words just now true? Did she dive on her own initiative?¡± Qian Shuixian looked pale and her lips were quivering. She couldn¡¯t speak anymore.

    ¡°Here it is!¡± A reading attendant in blue came up, holding a piece of paper and saying to Mr. Bao, ¡°Here is Miss Qian Mudan¡¯s application form!¡± Mr. Bao took a look and handed it to Ms. Zheng. At the same time, he raised his voice and said to the people, ¡°It says that Qian Mudan can swim, and it is her handwriting. The space between words is veryrge, and her fonts are scattered, so I am very impressed with her handwriting.¡±

    ¡°Here he is!¡± Another reading attendant in blue, dragging an old man by the corner of his clothes, stumbled over and called out from afar, ¡°Doctor Lies!¡± The old man looked at least 60 years old, with his hair white. He ran out of breath, squatted down beside Miss Qian on the ground and began diagnosis and treatment. At the same time, He Danggui ended her ¡°acupressure emergency treatment¡± and stood up to give way to Doctor Li.

    Mr. Bao looked at the girl who was just blooming and asked a question for everybody, ¡°He Danggui, why can you exactly infer that Qian Mudan dived on her own initiative instead of falling into the water only by one expression before she fell into the water? Do you know why she did such an unreasonable thing? Besides, how do you know that Qian Mudan hasn¡¯t died? What¡¯s the matter with Qian Mudan? Is she in danger?¡±

    He Danggui stood among the people like a clean lotus and slowly exined to them, ¡°Mr. Bao and all of you may know that I¡¯m stupid, so I can¡¯t think of such aplex thing. But just during the Feast of Qushui Liushang, I passed by Qian¡¯s sisters and overheard some of their conversations, so I came to the conclusion just now. As for why Miss Qian wanted to jump in theke, I think we can find the answer just by reading the letter she wrote to Zong Qiao.¡±

 Chapter 158 - Suicide was better than amputation

    <h4>Chapter 158 Suicide was better than amputation</h4>

    ¡°No way!¡± The voice of Qian Shuixian was not as loud as before, but she still said upromisingly, ¡°Mr. Bao, now my sister has not died, and that love letter is not her suicide paper, so you can¡¯t read it. Chengxu Academy is an elegant ce full of schrliness. I don¡¯t believe that you dare to open and read the love letter of a young girl in public! He Danggui, why do you bully my sister and me like this? Are there any grudges between us? If you have a grudge just because of one string, you are too narrow-minded!¡±

    Mr. Bao and Ms. Zheng looked at each other, and then asked Zong Qiao, ¡°Zong Qiao, does the letter mention the reason why Qian Mudan drowned herself? Where do you put that letter?¡±

    Zong Qiao could not answer at first, and then said with a painful look, ¡°In fact, I have not opened the letter, and I intend to return it as soon as I have a chance. Please see. The double seals of the sealing-wax and wax oil on it are intact.¡± He handed a light-yellow envelope to the teachers and earnestly exined, ¡°My parents have repeatedly asked me to concentrate on studying in the academy and not to be entangled with female ssmates, expecting me to achieve great results in autumn examination. Therefore, I did not dare to open Miss Qian¡¯s letter, worrying that I would let her down and dy my study.¡± Obviously, his words were totally inconsistent with his behavior of giving a love letter to He Danggui just now, so Wu Yuying and others snorted coldly. However, due to theplex situation of the incident of falling into the river, they temporarily lost the interest of satirizing He Danggui.

    Mr. Bao took the yellow envelope and looked at it several times. He put it under the sunset for two times, as if he wanted to take off his eyes and put them in the envelope to read the letter carefully. He thought it would be nice if Taoist Sage still worked in Chengxu, because he had the magic ability of guessing things through nk and guessing words through paper, and he seeded every time. If he could read the letter without opening the envelope, teachers in Chengxu would not be regarded as forcibly opening the love letter of a female student.

    By this time, all the teachers and students here had believed half of what He Danggui said, because Qian Mudan really did not drown. She wore a diving suit and once filled in a form which indicated that she mastered the ability to swim. Why did Qian Mudan who was good at swimming and made full preparations act such a y with her sister, Qian Shuixian? Did they want to swindle academy for thepensation? But they were famous upstarts. Were they short of money? There was no need for Miss Qian to ckmail in this way!

    He Danggui said that the letter could reveal the mystery. People really wanted to read such a love letter ¡®concerning life and death¡¯. But what Qian Shuixian said was right. Qian Mudan¡¯s love letter was her privacy, so it was inappropriate to disy it in public.

    Ms. Zheng looked at He Danggui and asked, ¡°It¡¯s not convenient for us to open this letter. Since you said that you heard the conversation of Qian¡¯s sisters and mastered their secrets, so please exin it.¡±

    He Danggui said with a smile, ¡°Their conversation I heard is really amazing, which makes me suspect that there may be something wrong with my ears, or there is really wrong with my ears. Therefore, please forgive me. I dare not parrot the words. It seems that the usation of Miss Qian Shuixian is in my ear. She will regard me as a viin revenging and wanting to destroy her and her sister¡¯s reputation, which makes me afraid and ashamed, so I dare not speak more.¡± After that, she stood next to Liao Qing¡¯er with her head down. Liao Qing¡¯er smiled at the crowd and said, ¡°She is timid. She was scared by Qian Shuixian just now. Sorry, we will leave. You can go on.¡±

    Ms. Zheng looked at Mr. Bao in embarrassment. The witness was gagged, and the evidence could not be opened because of privacy. Did it stop here? And Mr. Bao looked at Meng Xuan subconsciously. It heard that Meng Xuan had solved several major cases in the north in the past two years by using many strange tricks. He was very valued by his father Earl Baoding. He must have more ways to deal with such a simple drowning case than these people in the academy.

    Sure enough, Meng Xuan was very clever. He asked Doctor Li who was squatting down on the ground to make a diagnosis, ¡°Sir, how is the situation of this Miss? Is she in danger?¡±

    People finally remembered that Qian Mudan, ¡°the suspect¡±, could die at any time. She should be rescued first before being investigated. Therefore, they all looked at Doctor Li. Doctor Li nodded and shook his head sometimes, which made all people nervous. Then he picked up his beard and answered in a deep voice which spread the whole ce, ¡°She is poisoned. The ingredients of this poison are veryplex. I can only find out monkshood and Shixinzi in it, so to be honest, this Miss¡¯s life is not long.¡± When people felt sorry for her, Doctor Li suddenly said, ¡°However, she had been in the ice water for a long time, so the poison coagted in her right arm and didn¡¯t spread. After she was salvaged, she was still in a state of suspended animation and didn¡¯t move. Just now, acupressure by the youngdy in blue yed a role of temporarily blocking the poison, so¡­¡±

    He stopped again at the key point. About eight people were impatient and asked in unison, ¡°So what?¡±

    Doctor Li raised his head and looked at the sword on the waist of Guard Zhan. He said, ¡°If you want to protect her life, you need to use that sword to cut her right arm from the root. If you want to keep her arm, you can¡¯t save her!¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± Hearing that, several timid female students shouted in a low voice, and retreated one after another to hide behind the male students, as if there was going to be a barbarity in the next moment.

    Doctor Li added, ¡°In addition, it is only effective to cut off the arm and remove the poison in this period of time, because she has been out of the state of suspended animation, and her limbs are also restoring blood flow. If the poison begins to spread soon, it won¡¯t help to cut off arm. It¡¯s better to let hermit suicide directly.¡±

    All people were shocked and frightened by his words. They didn¡¯t feel sorry for Qian Mudan on the ground, but they had a new understanding of Doctor Li. What they didn¡¯t expect was that the old man who had run a clinic outside Chengxu for more than ten years and often set up a shed outside the clinic to sell medicine candies could be so cruel and so calm when he mentioned cutting off arms! God, they dare not take his medicine candies any more. When passing his clinic, they would take a detour.

    Doctor Li hadn¡¯t realized that he had lost arge number of customers because of his words and behaviors. He looked at Mr. Bao and asked bluntly, ¡°Who can make the choice? Arm or life? I¡¯m not as strong as before and don¡¯t have the strength to cut off her arm now. Who can do this?¡±

    The students who once took his medicine candies were frightened in silence. Not as strong as before? Had no strength to cut off her arm? Was he a butcher before?

    Mr. Bao and Ms. Zheng were anxious like two ants on a hot pot at the moment. Only did they can make a decision here. But they didn¡¯t know how to speak, and whether could they be responsible for it. Oh, Qian Mudan was such a troublemaker. She jumped into the river, took poison and wrote a suicide note to a boy. What did she want to do? It was better tomit suicide directly.

    ¡°Stop!¡± Qian Shuixian, who had been hiding at the edge of the crowd suddenly rushed up and shouted, ¡°No one can cut my sister¡¯s arm. If she has no arm, she will not want to live! Now, I¡¯ve made a decision for her that no one is allowed to cut my sister¡¯s arm. If you want to cut her, cut me first!¡± She was miserable and angry, as if she was fighting with a group of murderers.

    ¡°Hum,¡± Wu Yuying said coldly, ¡°Qian Shuixian, don¡¯t talk in a way that we all seem to want to cut both of you. There are two teachers and many guards. Naturally, they will make a proper decision. Besides, if you stop them, then your parents wille to the academy to ask about your sister¡¯s life, saying that words of a 15-year-old girl don¡¯t work. They will ask the academy topensate their daughter for one life and one arm. Will you let the two teachers break their arms?¡±

    Although Wu Yuying¡¯s words were rmist, Mr. Bao and Ms. Zheng were already confused at that time. They couldn¡¯t think on their own. Anyone¡¯s words could affect their thoughts. If they didn¡¯t order to cut off her arm to save her, they would be asked to break their own arms to apologizeter? No, they were just conscientious andmon teachers. They were not warriors in Jianghu or bandits on hills, and never killed anyone or set fire. Why were they put in such a dilemma? They gathered together to discuss, and then Mr. Bao looked up to the crowd and said, ¡°On behalf of the two of us, I announce our final choice... Cut off her arm!¡±

    After the crowd¡¯s noise subsided, Mr. Bao looked at Guard Zhan, who was about 40 years old and full of sense of justice, and pleaded, ¡°Guard Zhan, you¡¯re the best at it. Ms. Zheng and I are both faint at the sight of blood, or even at the mention of it. In order to save Qian Mudan¡¯s life, we hope that you can wave your sword to cut off the poisoned arm for our academy!¡±

    Guard Zhan was a real hero and for the amputation, he was not as timid as a group of sissy people in the academy. What¡¯s more, it was to save people, not kill people now. His dashing eyebrows stood up, and his face was full of sternness. He slowly drew out the sword, raised it, and approached Qian Mudan on the ground step by step. Doctor Li quickly gave his way to Guard Zhan. Guard Zhan was getting closer and closer, and his de was getting brighter and brighter. People who knew martial arts understood that it was because the de was full of Zhenqi. At this time, he was very close to Qian Mudan who was insensible.

    People held their breath, covered their mouths and eyes, and looked through the cracks of their fingers. At the same time, they secretly felt sorry for Qian Mudan. At the age of 17, she should be like a delicate flower, but she would have one armter just because of a momentary impulse. Even if she lived, it was impossible for her to marry into a rich family. She had to be raised by her parents for a lifetime. At most, she could hire apanion from a poor family. Finally, Guard Zhan came to Qian Mudan and looked down on her. It was urgent to save her, so it was time to start!

    ¡°Please wait!¡± Just now, Qian Shuixian who sacrificed herself to protect her sister appeared again. Looking at Doctor Li, she asked slowly, ¡°Is it possible to save her life by cutting off her arm?¡± Seeing Doctor Li shaking head, she asked again, ¡°How likely is she to survive?¡±

    Doctor Li said honestly, ¡°Only less than 40%. Miss, please think that after the arm is cut off, there will be blood sshing everywhere... Losing so much blood and with some residual poisons which would not be discharged cleanly in ten years, s, she would suffer hemiplegia even if she is alive. What a vicious poison! There must be no dick for the son of whom made this poison!¡±

    After hearing this, the girls murmured in a low voice, showing their disgust and hiding behind the boys. How could Geezer Li who was still doing business at the gate of the academy speak so rudely? How could teachers invite such a person to the academy!

    Just when people worried about that Qian Shuixian would continue to prevent amputation, she backed away and said, ¡°Since there is a chance to live, please try it.¡± Therefore, Guard Zhan nodded seriously, and injected Zhenqi into the de to cut off the poisoned right arm quickly, trying to make Miss Qian feel less pain...

    ¡°Wait!¡± Meng Xuan suddenly stopped Guard Zhan, and then said to Mr. Bao, ¡°I know a little bit about medical skills. I didn¡¯t diagnose Miss Qian very carefully, but I think there will be other methods that don¡¯t need to cut her arm. I want to diagnose her again. If we are sure that there is no other way, we continue to cut her arm, OK?¡±

    Mr. Bao nodded, ¡°That¡¯s very good. Please try your best.¡±

    Meng Xuan looked at He Danggui again and asked, ¡°Miss He, I need your help. I will be very busy alone.¡±

    He Danggui stepped forward, ¡°Well, if you insist, I¡¯ll have a try.¡±

    Then, in full view of the public, the two people squatted down beside Qian Mudan for a while andmunicated secretly. People only saw their lips moving, but could not hear their voices. Qian Shuixian said reluctantly, ¡°He Danggui, don¡¯t dy so much time. You will miss the opportunity to cure my sister.¡±

    At that moment, a lot of people had great doubts about Qian Shuixian. She just tried her best to prevent cutting, iming that if they wanted to cut Qian Mudan¡¯s arm, they should kill her first. But she didn¡¯t stop anymore and even cooperatively asked Guard Zhan to act when he really started to cut off the arm, even though Geezer Li said that the chance of survival was small, and her sister could suffer hemiplegia after curing. Now she was even stranger. Childe Xuan said that there might be a better way to save her sister, and he also asked Miss He to help him together, but Qian Shuixian didn¡¯t appreciate them. She thought that they dyed Guard Zhan to cut her sister¡¯s arm. What did she want to do?

    He Danggui looked up at Qian Shuixian who was rude and said peacefully, ¡°Childe Xuan said that he might have a method to save your sister, but he should discuss with Doctor Li. Miss Qian, please be patient. Childe Xuan has sealed her acupoints. During the treatment period, the poison in her body will never spread.¡± Then He Danggui looked at Doctor Li and said with a smile, ¡°Sir, pleasee here.¡±

    After hearing this, Doctor Li slowly moved to the side of Qian Mudan. Since Meng Xuan and He Danggui squatted on both sides of Qian Mudan, he went around and squatted in front of Qian Mudan¡¯s head, but identally stepped on her ck hair on the ground. He turned to apologize to Qian Shuixian and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t mean it.¡± When Qian Shuixian was shaking her head to say ¡°it doesn¡¯t matter¡±, she saw the geezer parting the scented hair on the sides with his muddy shoes to make space and slowly squatting down.

    Then, all people opened their eyes curiously to see Meng Xuan¡¯s method of saving the girl who could only live through cutting her arms. In an instant, there were only the sound of gurgling stream and the soughing in the whole valley, but no speaking.

    In the silence, Meng Xuan, He Danggui and Doctor Li made eye contact with each other for a moment. Then, Meng Xuan turned to Mr. Bao and said, ¡°After my and Doctor Li¡¯s consultation, we found that Miss Qian still have a chance to live. However, no one can be present during our treatment to avoid interference and influence on the effect of treatment. It¡¯s inconvenient to move Miss Qian¡¯s body. Mr. Bao, please take all people to the ssroom to wait!¡±

    All of them were speechless. After his and Doctor Li¡¯s consultation? Wasn¡¯t that bullshit? Did they consult?

    Three years ago, Mr. Bao taught Meng Xuan the discourse on politics for a few months. Mr. Bao thought that he was an outstanding genius, and was very unassuming. Therefore, at this moment, Mr. Bao, who had no idea, just obeyed him. He immediately drove all people away with Ms. Zheng and emptied the scene with a shout. No one left.

    Liao Qing¡¯er was also a member of the crowd being driven away. She was full of puzzlement. What did Xiaoyi want to do? Just now, she saw Xiaoyi blinking at Meng Xuan for several times just before Guard Zhan raised the sword. Then Meng Xuan immediately stopped Guard Zhan¡¯s action. Xiaoyi¡¯s medical skill was excellent. It was understandable that she wanted to save Qian Mudan because of her mercy. Her bark was worse than her bite. She was merciless on the surface to Zhu and Madam Luo of Luo¡¯s Family, but still treat them for their illness. However, why did Xiaoyi take Doctor Li to save Qian Mudan? That geezer¡¯s crude appearance showed that he was an unschooled chatan. If he was present, what if he learned Xiaoyi¡¯s Jin Zhen Da Xue? It was strange.

    When all people left, He Danggui quickly took off the needle guard from her wrist, and gave an acupuncture treatment for Qian Mudan. She asked Doctor Li, ¡°When did you start to be a doctor? It was so vicious to cut the arm of a beauty. What a quack!¡±

    Doctor Li quickly sat on the grass and said angrily, ¡°I am proficient in astronomy, geography and astrology. Of course, I am qualified to be a doctor. What¡¯s wrong with my diagnosis? Girl, dare you say that this woman¡¯s poison is not virulent? Even if Chengxu Academy invited Luo Maitong to treat her, she would have to cut off one of her fingers, so my diagnosis is definitely right!¡±

    He Danggui said dismissively, ¡°Your ¡®astrology¡¯ sounds lofty. In fact, both ¡®physiognomy¡¯ and ¡®medical skill¡¯ are verymon. The level of your physiognomy is much lower than that of Qi Jing, the Royal Prophet. Therefore, you are unwilling to be the right Royal Prophet when the emperor hired you. After all,pared with Qi Jing, you look inferior. It¡¯s called that the inferiority is revealed byparison. As for your medical skills, Qianjun, don¡¯t me me for belittling you. Your skill is just on par with Madam Luo. Tell me how long have you been running a medical center outside the academy? How many people have you killed?¡±

    Doctor Li pulled a de of grass from the ground and held it by his mouth. He hummed, ¡°I just arrived in Yangzhou Cityst month and wanted to go to the Wulin Assembly at the Lantern Festival where the world¡¯s heroes gathered. But the price of Taibai Restaurant I used to live in has increased. It¡¯s really inhumane to cost 20 liang silver to live here a month. Later, I suddenly remembered that three years ago, I had buried 100 liang silver in the back mountain of the academy, so I sneaked in at night to dig for the silver, but I can¡¯t remember the exact location of the buried silver. I haven¡¯t found it for a long time. Therefore, I had to sneak into the ssroom while you were in the riding and shooting ss and borrowed more than 10 liang silver from your pocket. When I came out, I heard that Lao Li, who operated Bao Yao Tang at the gate of the academy, would go back to the countryside and live out his rest life, so I rented half of his shop with 3 liang silver and pretended to be him. Every day, I shouted to the children in the school, ¡®Sell medicine candies. Sell medicine candies.¡¯ Once, I also sold 4 liang medicine candies to the fat girl beside you. At that time, you stood by and waited. I asked if you would buy them, but you smiled and shook your head at me. Master, have I made a lot of progress in my disguise skill? Now you can¡¯t even recognize me.¡±

    ¡°Who would pay more attention to an old man selling fake medicines?¡± He Danggui snorted, ¡°You dare to steal my silver, Bai Yangbai. Since ancient times, disciples had been using silver to show their respect to masters. I never heard of any disciples using masters¡¯ silver.¡±

    Meng Xuan also took off his veil, pulled out a de of grass and held it by his mouth. He looked at the old man with white hair and said smilingly: ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that Taoist Sage was also interested in the Wulin Assembly at the Lantern Festival. In fact, I came to Yangzhou City for this grand asion too.¡±

 Chapter 159 - The mystery of Childe Duan climbing over the wall

    <h4>Chapter 159 The mystery of Childe Duan climbing over the wall</h4>

    ¡°Well, Meng Xuan, what¡¯s wrong with your face?¡± Bai Yangbai asked, with the de of grass in his mouth swaying twice. He approached with interest to observe the red scratches on Meng Xuan¡¯s face.

    Meng Xuan exined calmly, ¡°These were scratched by my mother.¡±

    Bai Yangbai believed it and sighed, ¡°Childe Xuan, I¡¯m not talking like an unconcerned person. Now the old women are really more vicious than a tiger or a lion. Well, one wound is bleeding... Are you really born by your mom?¡±

    Meng Xuan looked at He Danggui and sighed, ¡°Who knows? I am full of doubts now. Xiaoyi, do you have any medicine for me?¡±

    He Danggui pricked the forehead of Qian Mudan with a silver needle which she poured into Zhenqi, nced at Bai Yangbai and said, ¡°Ask him. He is selling medicine.¡±

    Meng Xuan looked at Bai Yangbai again. Bai Yangbai turned around and found a green porcin bottle from his medicine kit and threw it to Meng Xuan. Meng Xuan held it, opened the bottle and sniffed at it. He frowned and asked, ¡°Why does it smell like oranges? Taoist Sage, is your medicine useful? What is the medicine?¡±

    Bai Yangbai looked at him with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s not good for children to apply medicine to body. They are orange medicine candies I baked. You won¡¯t feel pain after you take two candies.¡±

    Meng Xuan poured out and ate two candies, and handed them to He Danggui, ¡°It tastes good. Try it.¡±

    He Danggui frowned, dodged and said angrily, ¡°Don¡¯t you see that I¡¯m using Zhenqi to the needle to help Qian Mudan drive the poison away? Don¡¯t let my Zhenqi go astray. Eat candies? Do you think it¡¯s time to y? If my needle goes astray, she will be in hemiplegia.¡±

    Meng Xuan was embarrassed and withdrew his hand. Then he asked Bai Yangbai who wasughing at him, ¡°Do you eat?¡±

    ¡°Thanks. I never eat the medicine candies I made. Young Childe, keep it for yourself.¡± Bai Yangbai waved his hands and refused. Suddenly, he took his eyes to the sleeve of He Danggui and asked curiously, ¡°What is that? Show me.¡± After that, he pulled her sleeve and immediately shook her hand which was having an acupuncture treatment. The white hand of Qian Mudan with the needle was immediately bleeding.

    He Danggui was angry, ¡°Bai Yangbai! Are you on purpose? Why do you pull me at this time? It¡¯s the key to block the poison in the Sanjiao Channel of Hand-Shaoyang. If I prick mistakenly and let the poison flow into the heart, she will live 3 years less!¡± Then she hurriedly used the needle to remedy again.

    ¡°Life and death are determined by fate, and I haven¡¯t poisoned her.¡± Bai Yangbai continued to reach into the sleeve of He Danggui and gently took 4 walnut-sized colored dolls. He put them in the palm and yed with them. The heads of the 4 dolls were round and stuffed with cotton, which were soft and lovely. It was strange that the body, the hands and feet of the dolls were as small as nails, which was a little funny when they were matching with big heads.

    Bai Yangbai looked carefully at one of the eyebrows of a doll, and wondered, ¡°Isn¡¯t this Duan Xiaolou? Girl, why do you do a doll in his appearance? Do you use it as your pincushion to curse him to die early because he abandoned you?¡± He shook his head disapprovingly. ¡°Women are terrible, who will take the men¡¯s lives after they break up.¡±

    He Danggui simply denied his conjecture, ¡°These dolls belong to Qing. And I¡¯ll prick you if I want.¡±

    Bai Yangbai didn¡¯t believe it, ¡°You¡¯re the one that Duan was obsessed with. Why does that fat girl make a doll in his appearance?¡± He held his chin to think and murmured, ¡°Maybe the fat girl also admires Duan. Actually, she¡¯s making friends with you to get close to Duan. Unexpectedly, you look intimate on the surface as if you can wear the same skirt, but secretly you¡¯re rivals in love.¡±

    ¡°Old man, you can eat at random but you can¡¯t talk at random,¡± Meng Xuan corrected, ¡°Xiaoyi and Childe Duan are just ordinary friends, not lovers. It¡¯s not good for her reputation to talk like this.¡±

    Bai Yangbai stroked his beard and shook his head, ¡°No, no, I¡¯ve lived for more than 100 years. I¡¯ve seen numerous lovers. More than half of them are the same as her. The woman said that she didn¡¯t like the man or they were impossible, but she was lenient to him. With sweet words, love letters, stabs in his hands, tears, the man would seed in chasing! I think that Duan Xiaolou may seed, and Danggui will marry himter. Eh, hasn¡¯t he proposed marriage to Luo¡¯s Family yet? Two years ago, I set up a stall at the side door of Luo¡¯s Mansion. It seemed that he often climbed over the wall of your house. He was also a noble man. Why didn¡¯t he go to the front door but climbing over the wall, as if he had a love affair stealthily.¡±

    He Danggui stared at him. ¡°Just take care of yourself. Don¡¯t worry about others. I don¡¯t know what you are talking about and I¡¯ve never met Childe Duan in Luo¡¯s Mansion. Even if he really climbed over the wall to find someone, it wasn¡¯t me.¡± At this time, two lines of ck blood slowly flowed out of Qian Mudan¡¯s nostrils, whose face was covered with silver needles. He Danggui pulled out a de of grass and dipped it into the blood to smell. Then she frowned, ¡°What a strange poison! How can it change so quickly! Hey, have you seen this poison that can change its toxicity?¡±

    Meng Xuan shook his head, and Bai Yangbai said, ¡°Don¡¯t change the topic deliberately and talk about useless things. Tell me the truth. How much did Duan Xiaolou give you to open the Yi Hong Brothel?¡±

    He Danggui looked at him in surprise, ¡°How do you know that Yi Hong Brothel is opened by Qing and me?¡±

    Bai Yangbai grinned triumphantly, ¡°I saw you often dressed in men¡¯s improper clothing, and went through the back door of the brothel in the evening. Later, I disguised as a guest to make trouble, which made the procuress unable to deal with. Then the fat girl disguised as a fat boss. She faced my lifeblood and took one foot. Then I was thrown out by your thugs... It was so cruel. Girl, you should polish your eyes and pay attention to the people around you. Don¡¯t make bad friends by mistake!¡±

    He Danggui was unhappy, ¡°Don¡¯t always call her ¡®fat girl¡¯. She is named Liao Qing¡¯er, and she¡¯s much thinner now. Have you been in Yangzhou City for 3 years? Your name of ¡®Qianjun¡¯ is really suitable. You lurked in Luo¡¯s Mansion and Yi Hong Brothel to observe my life and my friends instead of finding me frankly. Do you deserve to be called ¡®saint¡¯?¡± While talking about it, she pulled the sleeve of Bai Yangbai and tore off arge piece of cloth.

    Bai Yangbai red at her with rage, ¡°Why do you tear off my clothes? I just met the secret love between Duan and you!¡±

    ¡°If you ther on and on, I¡¯ll poke your acupoint and throw you into theke directly.¡± He Danggui wiped the nose blood of Qian Mudan with this cloth and said, ¡°The worst clothes here were yours, so I have to use them. Let the academy pay for your clothester. Hey, Bai Yangbai, don¡¯t you really know the poison? Although I helped her a little, I couldn¡¯t eliminate all poison. I wanted to give her a prescription to reduce the internal heat. However, I am confused since its toxicity is changing. I have never seen such poison before.¡±

    Bai Yangbai dug his nostril and despised, ¡°You¡¯re stupid. The girl is obviously poisoned by venomous insect. She can¡¯t be saved. Deal with her funeral affairs.¡±

    ¡°Poisoned by venomous insect?!¡± He Danggui was surprised to see Qian Mudan who lost her vitality. ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why I just asked someone to cut her arm. You try your best to save her, but you even don¡¯t know what poison she has. Now you know you can¡¯t save her.¡± Bai Yangbai sneered, ¡°Well, borrow the sword of Guard Zhan and cut her arm as soon as possible.¡±

    Meng Xuan took Qian Mudan¡¯s right arm, looked at her right hand for a moment, and said in a deep voice, ¡°It wasn¡¯t today that she was poisoned by venomous insect. That venomous insect has been staying in her body for at least one month. But you can see that there is a small ck spot in her palm, and the poison is also concentrated in her right arm. Thus, I guess that someone pricked her with a poisonous needle before she fell into the water, which urged the venomous insect in her body. Thebination of them makes the poison so strange.¡±

    ¡°Someone?¡± He Danggui recalled, ¡°Before she fell into the water, it was her sister Qian Shuixian who pulled her right hand. Is it her?¡±

    Bai Yangbai waved and said, ¡°Don¡¯t need to guess anymore. It must be her! I often sell medicine candies to them, so I know their behavior very well. The girl who is dying on the ground seems to be domineering and often has disputes with other girls. In fact, she is a woman who doesn¡¯t consider clearly when she goes out. All disputes were first provoked by some words of her younger sister. Then her younger sister retreated and sneered at her who was arguing with others. It wasn¡¯t strange that she was poisoned by such a vicious younger sister.¡±

    He Danggui didn¡¯t understand, ¡°Even if they bear a deep grudge, they could use arsenic or Hedinghong Poison. How can Qian Shuixian who is ignorant and unskilled be able to make such aplex poison?¡±

    Meng Xuan asked, ¡°How do you know that? I think that this girl is very scheming. She isn¡¯t a simple woman.¡±

    He Danggui was surprised, ¡°I have taken 4 courses with her together, and saw her loose font and poor performance in Guqin and Go. Of course, I know that she is ignorant and unskilled. Where do youe to the conclusion that she is scheming?¡±

    Meng Xuan raised his eyebrows, ¡°Through my observation. I observed her walking. It seemed that she knew kung fu. As for the poor performance in Guqin, Go, calligraphy and painting, it¡¯s not enough. How do you know that she is not hiding her talents and pretending to be dull like you? ¡®Seeing it with your own eyes¡¯ is useless. Bai Yangbai also saw Duan Xiaolou climb over the wall of your house. Didn¡¯t you deny that?¡±

    He Danggui opened her eyes, ¡°Aren¡¯t we talking about Qian Shuixian? Why talk about Duan Xiaolou now? I meet that 15-year-old girl every day, so I know what kind of person she is. Last time, a big que fell off her head, but her clothes were caught by the bolt. She just closed her eyes and shouted, instead of escaping. This time you¡¯re wrong.¡±

    ¡°Ah, I¡¯m often wrong, but this time it may not be my mistake,¡± Meng Xuan sneered. ¡°Did the que hit her atst? Did she break her head and bleed?¡±

    He Danggui frowned and told him reluctantly, ¡°No, Qing had poor arts of lightness and pushed her away.¡± After thinking for a while, He Danggui said, ¡°It still can¡¯t prove that Qian Shuixian is scheming to hide her kung fu. At that time, Qing was so far away that she couldn¡¯t save her and nearly broke her head. When people encounter danger, their first reaction is to dodge. But she even had no strength to tear off her clothes. Nobody in the world would deliberately hide their kung fu at the risk of their lives.¡±

    Meng Xuan nodded, ¡°No, I have seen more than three people who can do that. You¡¯re one of them, but you are at the risk of others¡¯ lives. You had said, ¡®If a man falls into the river and I have to jump into the river to save him, I will save him before. But now no matter how good my swimming skill is, I will weigh the advantages and disadvantages and then decide whether to save him or not.¡¯ At that time, you were only 10 years old. Now, after more than 3 years, you be more indifferent. At that time, I thought you just said that. After all, you risked your life to save me from those people. I only know that you are firm in speech but soft in heart. But today, Qian Mudan fell into the water in front of you. You were really weighing the advantages and disadvantages. At that time, you didn¡¯t go to rescue her immediately. Later, she was submerged and would lose her life. You can just fly to get her, but you didn¡¯t do so, did you? It can be seen that there are people who will ¡®risk lives and deliberately hide their kung fu¡¯.¡±

    He Danggui sneered, ¡°Meng Xuan, since you know that I am your lifesaver, you should be polite. Women are very vengeful, and I know many secrets of you. You aren¡¯t qualified to judge whether I¡¯m kind or merciless. Anyway, I¡¯ve never thought of myself as a good woman. But you really wrong me in this matter. I have to argue for myself. First, people who have a little contact with Qian¡¯s sisters all know their temper. They won¡¯t be grateful if you save them 100 times... Last time, Qing saved Qian Shuixian, but Qian Shuixian told teachers falsely, saying that Qing pushed her and made her sprain her feet... And you can imagine that at that time, I wasn¡¯t the only one who saw Qian Mudan fell into the water. There were also many people who knew kung fu and could swim. Countless people are so kind-hearted that they can¡¯t bear to trample on ants, but no one was willing to go into the water to save her. It can be seen that Qian Mudan was really...¡±

    ¡°Do you mean that bad people should die?¡± Meng Xuan suddenly interrupted her.

    ¡°I don¡¯t mean that. Can¡¯t you hear me out?¡± He Danggui¡¯s face was gloomy in the dark sky, and as cold as a jade statue. ¡°In this world, both good people and bad people shouldn¡¯t die. Only those stupid deserve to die. I know that from my own experience. The reason why I didn¡¯t save Qian Mudan is that I heard the discussion of Qian¡¯s sisters about how to stay out of the cold under the water and how to hold Zong Qiao so that he had to marry Qian Mudan. At that time, I didn¡¯t think much about it, because it was none of my business. Later, when Qian Mudan really fell into the water, I thought of the conversation of Qian¡¯s sisters, so I stopped Qing from being the first one to save Qian Mudan. I wanted to leave the opportunity to Zong Qiao to save a beauty. At that time, it was obvious that Qian Mudan cried to Zong Qiao for help, which convinced me even more. Later, when I saw that Qian Mudan was sinking into the water, Zong Qiao and other people didn¡¯t have the intention to save her. However, Ms. Zheng also couldn¡¯t save her, so I immediately went into the water to save them. The main reason why I didn¡¯t use arts of lightness was that I didn¡¯t want to expose my kung fu, but I had calcted the time in my heart. A person who is prepared to hold their breath is able to keep at least a few minutes under the water. However, at that time, it passed far less minutes...¡±

    Meng Xuan nodded and said, ¡°Look, I¡¯m right. You¡¯re really weighing the advantages and disadvantages, and calcting the gains and losses.¡±

    He Danggui also smiled, ¡°At that time, Qian Shuixian called out that her sister was dead. You have seen that she wasn¡¯t dead, and you have also known that she was poisoned. You are the famous descendant of the saint who saved people in danger. Why don¡¯t you use Zhenqi and drive out the poison for her at the first time? At that time, if you immediately helped her, she could be saved. Why did you suddenly hold me to the Bamboo Grove?¡±

    Meng Xuan said angrily, ¡°I miss you.¡±

    ¡°Miss me? It makes me really despondent,¡± He Danggui didn¡¯t believe it. ¡°I haven¡¯t heard from you for 3 years, so I have to ask Gao Jue for help on methods for circling Zhenqi that I don¡¯t understand. Meng Xuan, even if you¡¯ve been too busy these years, you can take a few days off for the Lunar New Year, and go back to the capital to see your mother, right? Since you said you missed me, why didn¡¯t you go to Yangzhou City and see if I¡¯m alive by the way? I¡¯ve practiced your strange internal energy and I nearly lost my grip on it several times. Thus, I can¡¯t practice the rest of it at all. When you borrowed my Zhenqi, you promised to teach me kung fu for half a year and pass me a set of palm method. Then you ran away for 3 years before fulfilling your promises. You haven¡¯t kept your words.¡±

    Meng Xuan frowned, ¡°I have exined to you that I stayed in Yangzhou City to find someone. Later, I found out that he had left here, so I couldn¡¯t stay long. ¡®Haven¡¯t heard from me¡¯? Girl, you¡¯re wrong. It¡¯s obvious that my letters were sent out one after another, but I never heard from you like the y oxen entering the sea. What my brother said that women are the most unreasonable people in the world was really true. That form of cultivation methods my uncle passed on me is the most precious in the world. I not only helped you to practice it for more than 3 months, but also wrote the whole content without reservation. I have marked the notes during each part. Why cannot you practice? When I practiced it, I didn¡¯t have the guidance of a master, and I groped for it by myself. I only practiced it once, without any difficulty or block. It¡¯s clear that you¡¯re tired of practicing too hard, so you¡¯ve beenzy and thrown aside. Now you me that my internal energy is hard to practice. You are so unreasonable.¡±

    ¡°I hate to read theplex manual on kung fu very much. The former masters gave me a bunch of manuals on kung fu to learn by myself, so I haven¡¯t been a senior for a long time.¡± He Danggui was angry when he mentioned it. ¡°I was willing to learn from you because you said that you wanted to teach me kung fu by yourself. I didn¡¯t expect that you were the same as those people atst, just giving me a disgusting manual and letting me practice by myself. You¡¯re a wizard on kung fu, so you can¡¯t understand the pain of our ordinary people. I told you that I can¡¯t understand your manual, and asked you to teach me for a few more days. But you promised verbally, and then slipped away without saying a word. You still owe me 10% of my energy. Liar!¡±

    Meng Xuan grinned and said, ¡°As the old saying goes, women and viins are hard to get along with. If you get close to them, they will be impolite. If you stay away from them, they willin. The ancients will not deceive me! At that time, my father sent a series of letters to me in the army, asking me to finish my studies and attend the Arena of Heroes held by Lord Yan. However, I threw the letters away and locked up the carrier pigeons. I ignored my father¡¯s urgent call just for staying in Yangzhou City for several months to teach you kung fu. At that time, I didn¡¯t see how dependent you were on my teaching. When I told you the channels, you always waved and said, ¡®I know this. Skip it!¡¯ You¡¯re so impetuous. Do you still want to practice peerless kung fu? I have told you for many times that there are no wizards on kung fu in the world. How much you pay and how much you will gain. However, you¡¯re always afraid of tiredness and don¡¯t do it. As for the 10% of your energy, I didn¡¯t pass it on to you because your channels were full at that time. Don¡¯t worry. I will never upy your things. Before I leave Yangzhou City, I will pass it on to you with interests.¡±

 Chapter 160 - Lord Ning never changed his mind

    <h4>Chapter 160 Lord Ning never changed his mind</h4>

    He Danggui nodded and said, ¡°It¡¯s better. I hope you can keep your words, although I never expect that.¡±

    Meng Xuan pointed at Bai Yangbai and said, ¡°Taoist Sage is the witness. Are you still afraid that I do not keep them?¡±

    He Danggui said indifferently, ¡°His nickname is ¡®The old con man¡¯, and the credibility of him isn¡¯t better than yours.¡±

    At that time, Bai Yangbai, who was mentioned, was so nervous that he was sweating on his head and his face got a cramp, even the grass around him were pulled up. It was strange! At beginning, they were talking about Qian Mudan and Qian Shuixian, but suddenly they were mad at each other. They talked about He Danggui¡¯s heart, and then they talked about Meng Xuan¡¯s credibility. Now they were settling the old ounts and breaking off all rtions with each other. How strange they were!

    It was dark. Meng Xuan and He Danggui had nothing to say, so the 3 people were sitting at the grasnd silently, which was shrouded by darkness. Finally, Bai Yangbai broke the silence and asked, ¡°Girl, do we still save this woman?¡± He pointed at Qian Mudan, whose face and hands were pricked by silver needles. At this moment, she was not only getting a nosebleed, but the bloods were oozing from her eyes, mouth and ears. She shook her head and shoulder slightly, which looked very terrifying.

    When He Danggui heard what Bai Yangbai said, she turned around and took silver needles back. She murmured, ¡°If a friend has faults, try your best to persuade him and guide him to the good way. But if he doesn¡¯t ept, you shouldn¡¯t force him and ask for an insult. Qian Mudan didn¡¯t listen to me. She was suicidal. What can I say? Bai Yangbai, find Guard Zhan to cut her.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Bai Yangbai goggled at her and asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t you the most excellent doctor in the world?¡±

    ¡°I have excellent medical skill,¡± He Danggui said in a fit of pique, ¡°But I don¡¯t have a good medical ethics. It¡¯s inconvenient for me to save her, so I don¡¯t want to do. It¡¯s none of my business whether she is alive or not.¡± The real reason was that she knew few about the type of venomous insect and didn¡¯t know how to detoxify it. She had heard from Jiugu that each venomous insect had equivalent poison, and only the person who nted the venomous insect knew how to detoxify it. Maybe Qian Mudan¡¯s sister or her families poisoned her. It was difficult for others to recognize. What Meng Xuan said was right. She was selfish. Trying her best to climb out of the hell anding back were not for being a Hua Tuo to save people. There should not be a doctor whose medical skill was outstanding than Luo Maitong in the world.

    Bai Yangbai nodded and said, ¡°You are right. It nice for you to know this. I couldn¡¯t bear that you take care of everything but everyone mes you. You have always led to self-injury. Why? Now you can understand that. It¡¯s wonderful!¡± Then he tried to stand up, but he was stopped by He Danggui. He Danggui tore another sleeve up from him and wrapped all her silver needles. Bai Yangbai sighed, ¡°You can only walk over me. No one else.¡±

    Meng Xuan couldn¡¯t help reminding her, ¡°Be careful! Don¡¯t prick your fingers. It has severe toxicity. You should clean it up before you use it next time. First, polish it by fine sandpapers. Then, soak it into mercury. Finally, ...¡±

    ¡°You needn¡¯t tell me. I know much more than you.¡± He Danggui¡¯s words made Meng Xuan feel a little unpleasant. Then she turned around and perfunctorily told Bai Yangbai, who looked on, ¡°I can do nothing here, so Ie back home. Please tell Qing that I can¡¯t apany her to Yi Hong Brothel. When Guard Zhan ising, you tell him to cut Qian Mudan¡¯s right hand. This hand collected her 70% toxicity. After cutting her hand, she can survive for 20 years. The academy must invite her parents. If there is no objection, you can cut it as quickly as possible. Her acupoints can only be sealed up by my silver needles for less than 2 hours. That¡¯s all. You can leave.¡±

    Bai Yangbai returned the 4 dolls back to He Danggui. He smiled and said, ¡°Those 4 dolls are less beautiful than yours, which is hanging on your bedside. Just the little girl and the pig. The little girl is you. Ha-ha.¡±

    He Danggui looked at him skeptically and asked, ¡°Bai Yangbai, have you... disguised and sneaked into Luo¡¯s Mansion?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Bai Yangbai seemed to forget Qian Mudan who was at death¡¯s door. He uninhibitedly sat and was cross-legged. He recalled his bad taste tricks, ¡°A year ago, I traveled and arrived at your home, so I disguised as a maid who had juste in to the side door. The manservant, named Ma Douling, who guarded the entrance, was shocked when he opened the door. After all, the maid was justing in. Ha-ha, his expression was so funny. When I just went in, I met the administrator Li of garden. He should go back to his hometown for the funeral, so I pretended to be him and worked in your home for a month. I still helped him get a month¡¯s sry. Girl, I had talked to you in Luo¡¯s Mansion.¡±

    He Danggui said indifferently, ¡°You are so boring that waste time to nt flowers in Luo¡¯s Mansion instead of pursuing beauty and power.¡±

    Bai Yangbai winked and smiled, ¡°I¡¯m not only nting flowers. One day, at dusk, I made up for Madam Luo, and came to your Tao Yao Yard, asking for a cup of tea. You made the tea for me immediately. I asked you to massage my shoulder, and you did. I asked you to massage my leg, but you looked at me doubtfully. I was so scared and left immediately. Girl, do you remember? You wore so cool at that time. I advised you to wear more clothes, but you said you are not cold...¡±

    He Danggui gritted her teeth, ¡°I want to strangle you.¡±

    ¡°But I did some good things,¡± Bai Yangbai wanted to save his face hastily, ¡°The woman Dong made trouble for you twice. She wanted to take Luo Shizhu back, but Luo Shizhu didn¡¯t want to leave. Every time that she beat and scolded you, it was me who made up for Madam Luo to help you. After that, I also came to Liu Li Tang and scolded her. Did you discover that she made trouble for rarely at that time? And your Second Aunt, she incited Madam Luo to give you a foot binding. She put the lime on the gauze and bound your feet in front of Madam Luo. When you came back and took the lime apart, your feet were burned. When I knew, I went to avenge you.¡±

    He Danggui narrowed her eyes and asked, ¡°What did you do?¡±

    Bai Yangbai giggled and said, ¡°I made up for her husband and went to the hot spring in the backyard, putting 2 jin chili powders in it. I also stole her changing clothes and some stomachers and hung them on the crowded main street. But I absolutely don¡¯t peep at her. She asked me to help her scrub her back, but I refused.¡±

    ¡°Bai Yangbai, you are so boring,¡± He Danggui said coldly, ¡°Never approach to that woman. Around her daughter, there was a female guard who has excellent martial arts and is very murderous. They¡¯ve never heard Taoist Sage. If you are exposed, they will use all the penalties and make you to be a homunculus. Then you will be collected in the easttrine. No one will help you at that time.¡±

    Bai Yangbai clenched on his breast and said, ¡°I¡¯m so scared! Girl, don¡¯t frighten me. I¡¯ve been scared since I was a kid.¡±

    Meng Xuan kept silent for a moment, and he said suddenly, ¡°Taoist Sage, I investigated you. I know you are a 34- or 35-year-old man, but the girl is in her early teens. Even you are cynical and like to y jokes, but you shouldn¡¯t y tricks on her. Please remember the chastity between woman and man, and don¡¯t do that thing again.¡±

    Bai Yangbai puckered his lips and looked at He Danggui for seeking help, but He Danggui said nothing. First, she didn¡¯t want Bai Yangbai to do it again. She didn¡¯t want that every time when she saw Madam Luo, she should distinguish whether she was the real Madam Luo, and she also didn¡¯t want Bai Yangbai to provoke Sun Meiniang, who was very vicious. Second, it was enough for her to have a quarrel with Meng Xuan today. She never expected that the little master, the smart boy who was her intimate, guided her and had the same experience with her, broke her reliance and fantasy when they met again. He not only was vexatious, scolded her and inquired about her secrets, just like she owed him a lot, but he disclosed her scar in particr, talking about Zhu Quan again and again.

    She had never heard the name ¡°Zhu Quan¡± for almost 1 year. She thought everything would be fine, and she didn¡¯t have nightmares every night just like 3 years ago. But she never expected that when she heard it again, she was not as m as she thought. She still feared for this.

    Especially Feng Yang came to see Jiugu several times every year, and then he brought her various ambiguous gifts in passing. He threatened her if she refused the friend gifts, he would give those to Madam Luo as the betrothal presents for Lord Ning. Yes, it was Ning Yuan who escaped hastily 3 years ago. Feng Yang indicated his identity and also said that Lord Ning never changed his mind, and she would know it when time was right. What kind of mind? What kind of opportunity? Did he regard her as amb to be ughtered? Put her in Luo¡¯s Mansion first, and when she grew up, pulled her out of Luo¡¯s Mansion to the operation of ughter.

    She was very uptight in those days. After the new year, she was 14-year-old. The ordinary kids worn the new clothes happily, but she was uneasy because of Zhu Quan¡¯s threatening words. Particrly, when she thought her previous life, after new year, she saved Zhu Quan¡¯s wet nurse, and then a matchmaker wasing. Just because of several words, she became Lord Ning¡¯s concubine and she began her nightmare. A few days ago, a green covered pnquin from north came here, packing her furtively for a long time, anding in the Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion from the back door.

    How could she want to repeat that nightmare? She had fought against it. One year ago, she was unwilling to ept this fate. She wanted to fight against it and put Zhu Quan through hell, stopping his malicious idea. So, she asked Xiaoyou to go to Daning and collect the evidence of Ning Yuan¡¯s absence from duty for a long time, when he detained in Yangzhou City.

    If she got this evidence, with the jade in her hands, she could write a secret letter to sue that Zhu Quan arbitrarily left his fief. Although it was an old issue, she had the jade pendant with Azure Dragon that the Emperor bestowed to Zhu Quan as the evidence, and the situation in the capital was more serious than several years ago, just one grass could stir the pool. Lord Ning left fief and made friends with the Young Lord of Jianghu organizations. If those activities were disclosed a little to the Emperor, there must be a lot of busybodies dug the whole thing to show the Emperor. When Zhu Quan was busy repairing his image, he had no time to pursue pretty women.

    But half monthter, Xiaoyou came back from Daning and took no evidence about Lord Ning¡¯s absence. Instead, he took the information about the glorious deeds that he battled with soldiers in Daning Drill Ground. In other words, when Ning Yuan recovered in Luo¡¯s Mansion, Lord Ning also appeared in Daning, so the jade pendant with Azure Dragon in her hands not only could not be the evidence, but if Zhu Qian used that she stole the jade, or she epted robbers¡¯ booty, and possessed the jade illegally, she would be arrested by imperial guards, and went to ¡°chat¡± with Tie Nan, the Director of the Highest Judiciary.

    When she had no choice, Feng Yang came with a smile. He told her a shocking and despairing information... When Xiaoyou just arrived in Daning, Zhu Quan knew his traces immediately. Zhu Quan had seen Xiaoyou in Luo¡¯s Mansion. Thinking of the content that Xiaoyou investigated in the army, he knew that she asked Xiaoyou to investigate him.

    Feng Yang told her with a smile. It was such a fortune for her to be loved by his friend. She should appreciate it rather than y tricks behind Lord Ning¡¯s back. It was impossible for Lord Ning to change his mind and let her go. Even there was something wrong, as his character, he would be more possessive and desired to conquer. Feng Yang told her in particr that Lord Ning wanted to wait for 1 or 2 years, but now, he couldn¡¯t wait. Every time when he talked about her name, his eyes lighted.

    After she sent Feng Yang whose smile was full of ambiguities out, she hid behind the rockery and stared nkly. She never expected that young Zhu Quan was so sinister and everything he did was watertight. She couldn¡¯t do anything about him. What should she do? Ask for help? The first one that she thought was not Duan Xiaolou, who told her several times that when she needed help, she could deliver letters by pigeons to tell him. Although Duan Xiaolou said firmly that he could protect her, how could she upy his concerns and attentions? His mother arranged a betrothal for Guan Yun and him. Since she didn¡¯t love him, she wouldn¡¯t bother him and force him to Lord Ning¡¯s opposite side. She had owed him a lot.

    In such anxious and fearful situations, the first one appeared in her mind was Meng Xuan, and then was Bai Yangbai.

    Bai Yangbai was Zhu Quan¡¯s teacher. Although Bai Yangbai never told her, if she found Bai Yangbai and begged him to persuade Zhu Quan, maybe Zhu Quan agreed to let her go. If it was no use, she could connect with Meng Xuan and asked him to tell Madam Luo that he wanted her to be his concubine. And she would imply Madam Luo, so it would seed. If both the methods were failure, she could only pretend that she went to Sanqing Temple to visit her mother, and never came back. She would leave Luo¡¯s Mansion forever, hid her name, changed her appearance, and restarted her life.

    Although she never met Meng Xuan for 3 years, and she didn¡¯t have a deep rtionship with Meng Xuan, when she thought of him, she eased. Because of him, she could feel that she was not a grass with no root, and would break off in the wind. Since she knew that he died in the battlefield in the first year of Jianwen Period, and he came back to Meng¡¯s Family as an infant. She put down her inner defense to the boy who had the same experience with her, and depended on him that she couldn¡¯t believe. Whether in her previous life or this life, she never depended on others. She learned not to depend on anyone early.

    She relied on Meng Xuan, and regarded him as her intimate and family member. She even couldn¡¯t help telling her secrets to him, but she was afraid that she would repeat the experience of her previous life. She mistrusted someone and exposed all her abilities. Finally, she found that she was so blind to believe an evil man.

    Although she mastered his secrets, he was so powerful, both inside and outside. He had the confidence to tell others his secrets, while she didn¡¯t have this confidence to believe others. In these contradiction and anxiety, every time when she faced with his frank eyes and dazzling smile, she was extremely guilty. In order to reduce this feeling or avoid disclosing her secrets, she pretended to be indifferent to him, ignoring his kindness which was beyond ¡°the agreement of teaching kung fu¡±.

    After Meng Xuan left, she thought that she would never believe others. She held her secrets lonely and covered her sadness. She thought that she would live in this world as a person who stayed beyond the world and understood thoroughly about people until she died. However, a girl named Liao Qing¡¯er came into her life.

    After the opening ceremony 3 years ago, she had a friend, Liao Qing¡¯er. Because both of them were strange in academy, and between the strange people, they could sometimes be friends. Although Qing¡¯er was strange, she didn¡¯t hate her. On the fifth day, they became friends. Qing¡¯er murmured that she came from another space-time... At that time, Qing¡¯er thought that she could understand, but she believed that Qing¡¯er was same as her. So, she regarded Qing¡¯er as her intimate and became more kind to Liao Qing¡¯er.

    In the Dragon Boat Race Festival half a year ago, when Qing¡¯er was going to die, they knew the secrets of each other. She knew Qing¡¯er¡¯s situation was different from hers. Qing¡¯er wasing from another space-time. Qing¡¯er quickly understood her renascence andforted her that it wasmon. So, when Qing¡¯er recovered, their rtionship became better. They finally understood the precocity, which didn¡¯t belong to this age, and the marvelous and bold idea of business.

    But for the problem of Zhu Quan, Liao Qing¡¯er couldn¡¯t help her. The only one that could help her was Meng Xuan. Although she didn¡¯t know whether he was willing to help her by marrying a nominal concubine and then let her go. But she really thought about in her heart and told herself, if she couldn¡¯t keep going, maybe she could find a shoulder to depend on. Meng Xuan¡¯s shoulder must be broader. Maybe he was willing to hold her hand and took her out of theplicated Go board or took her way from this endless sea of dense fog.

    Now, they met again. He was as taller as she thought. He became stronger and more reliable. He became the man who could protect her, but she never expected that all her expectations and trusts gave to a wrong man.

 Chapter 161 - Feng Yang understood women most

    <h4>Chapter 161 Feng Yang understood women most</h4>

    When she saw him, she felt d and a little nervous. Thanks to himing timely and saving Qian Mudan and Ms. Zheng, so that she could not be hesitated between saving people and hiding her power. And she also avoided being badgered with those men in water. The most fortunate thing was that he appeared at the very time she needed him and missed him most.

    A few days ago, Chan Yi wet the portrayal of He Danggui that Zhu Quan drew 3 years ago. She wanted to take it out to dry stealthily. However, she crashed into Zhu who was ying a bamboo dragonfly, and tore that portrayal identally.

    Chan Yi realized she couldn¡¯t hide this thing. Sometimes, Third Miss stared at this portrayal in a daze, and it seemed that whoever called her she won¡¯t reply. This portrayal must be very precious to her. So, she went to make an apology to Third Miss with the ruined portrayal. However, Third Miss behaved normally after hearing this, as if she didn¡¯t care about this. She only let her take the axis down and make a simr er. After that, she would take this one out to the shop and frame it with this axis. So, they could hang it on the wall to deal with Mammy Tang and others who always came to visit her.

    To their surprise, something unexpected happened. Chan Yi found that this axis was hollow, which had a covert lid that could be unscrewed. After unscrewing the lid, there was a letter in it. Chan Yi took this letter to He Danggui. He Danggui took a nce at it and then threw it away in disgust.

    It wrote with a triumphant tone by Ning Yuan. He said he had a noble status that she could not imagine. One day, he would be more honorable than that. In this letter, he also wrote that he was very impressed with her, thinking that she was the woman who matched him. However, her status was too humble. Though he wanted to marry her as his wife, she would be ridiculed by others even being his concubine. Then heforted her that he would put this thing in mind. He would make a prefect n to change a noble status for her secretly at an appropriate time and marry her as his wife. He let He Danggui wait patiently and take good care of herself, eating and sleeping well and so on.

    After a while, He Danggui took a deep breath and picked the letter again. She read it once again, while she still had an ufortable feeling. She couldn¡¯t help crumpling up the letter and throwing it again. From the sense of superiority between the lines, she felt she could see Zhu Quan¡¯s patronizing face. ¡°Wait patiently¡±? Interesting. Did he think that she would be impatient after reading this letter? ¡°Eating and sleeping well¡±? Just as she expected, he regarded her as a little sheep kept at the Luo¡¯s Mansion. After she was fattened, she would be ughtered.

    As far as He Danggui knew, not long after Zhu Quan left Yangzhou City, he married Xie Qiaofeng as his Princess. Though this event was dyed a few months than the previous life, Lord Jin¡¯s sister-inw was still the person he married. A truly nobility was noble without having to invent an identity.

    It should be a piece of good news for her. However, Zhu Quan didn¡¯t give up on her. She thought he wanted to persuade her to make a concession. Being a Senior Concubine or just a concubine was honorable for her. Every festival, he always let Feng Yang send all kinds of exotic treasures to her and called it ¡°love token¡±, letting her feel his ¡°sincerity¡± to her. Oh, how could she have the adoration of Lord Ning? Her own heart was taken away by a pack of wild wolves and dogs. It was unexpected that younger Zhu Quan was so childish on affection. It was totally different from the yboy Lord Ning many yearster. He was so naive that he regarded the affection as treasures. Did a man with nothing not deserve love?

    And every time, after she received the presents by the force of Feng Yang, Feng Yang would immediately change into an intimate brother who persuaded her to cherish Lord Ning¡¯s kindness with gratitude and admiration, waiting for Lord Ning to take time out of his busy schedule to marry her.

    Feng Yang raised his head and signed, ¡°Easy to find priceless treasure, rare to have a lover¡±. As women, the only ce they could active freely was just a mansion. Even the mansion was as big as a city, it was still a mansion. The owner of this mansion was the husband of all women in the mansion. It seemed that he understood women better than women themselves, and he was pity for women more than the Immortal did.

    Feng Yang waved an inscription folding fan and deimed that a lot of women could never be loved by their husband during their life time, just like Xie Qiaofeng. She went out of her way but still couldn¡¯t draw Lord Ning¡¯s attention. However, He Danggui, the little woman, who was seeking survival in a gap, had let Lord Ning be worried about her even she didn¡¯t marry him. It was easy to imagine that how many honors and favors were waiting for her. Again, with Lord Ning¡¯s status, personality, and appearance, all women in the world admired him. There were no women he didn¡¯t deserve, and no women he couldn¡¯t pursue. But now he only wanted such a humble woman like her, so she should feel honored and wait for him to marry her. After getting married, she would live a carefree and prosperous life¨Cthis was Lord Ning¡¯s promise, and he never broke his promise.

    Now, a letter was revealed. He Danggui was so happy that Feng Yang had disappeared for nearly a year. Because of this letter, she was terrified again. Even she had packed her parcel and was ready to run away from home. She owned Quan Ji Tang and Yi Hong Brothel, and her cheques and title deeds worth 15,000 liang in total. It almost caught up Madam Luo¡¯s dowry when she married into Luo¡¯s Family. If she didn¡¯t wanted to see what happened to the people of the Second Branch, and didn¡¯t wanted to approach the royalty by Luo¡¯s Family to seek a honor identify that won¡¯t be looked down upon by others, so that her mother could stand up straight and went out from Taoist temple to enjoy the sunshine, she could have left early and distanced herself from the past.

    Several times she really decided to leave. While Sun Meiniang was still working as the wife in charge of Lou¡¯s Family happily, and putting people in Luo¡¯s Family in order with her shrewd ways. As long as she saw her triumphant face, she could recollect her experience at the dark Water Dungeon, and the smile face that been shielded by windows when she rose up her head. Every time she thought about that scene, her internal organs seemed had been soaked by liquor, and she had the courage to stay on Luo¡¯s Mansion.

    She couldn¡¯t even forgive Zhu Quan who was just looked with folded arms. Let alone Sun Meiniang and her daughter who had put serpent into Water Dungeon and caused her daughter, Tian¡¯s death. Her life would never beplete without vengeance for this. Only when the two persons had got what they deserved, could she start her new life really. She told herself revenge repeatedly, and this was for justice¡­

    But she was really worried that the ill-disposed Zhu Quan would do as what he said in the letter to set her a fake identity and took her to his mansion before she had achieved her aim. Though there were a couple of her old friends, she didn¡¯t want to meet them, as it would remind her that she used to be one of them, a woman who was ¡°deeply loved¡± Zhu Quan. As long as she lived a freedom life and had a lot of money, she would be content when she thought of the scene that those women fight just for Zhu Quan. She didn¡¯t want to risk her own happiness to see a live harem battle.

    Therefore, after Chan Yi had made this ident and helped her find Ning Yuan¡¯s letter, she missed Meng Xuan frequently during these days. ording to the current situation, even if she couldmand Bai Yangbai to persuade Zhu Quan, it would be possible that Zhu Quan was just pretend to agree and then set her up by surprise to put her into prison.

    Before He Danggui met Meng Xuan, she thought he was the only one who could save her, and was the most suitable person. She even thought that he must be very pleasure to save her. Every time when she closed her eyes and imagined him, she always recollected his friendly smile and unselfish assistance to her. Though she didn¡¯t speak out, she knew she had taken great advantage of him as she learnt his cultivation methods and epted refining Zhenqi from him.

    As for the reason why he helped her a lot, he said that it was also good for him. He got benefits after her Zhenqi circled through his channels. In addition to that, she regarded this ¡°unselfish assistance¡± as ¡°congener help¡±. The Immortal testified, before she met him, she really thought so.

    After He Danggui had seen Meng Xuan, she thought he was far away from her. After two years training in the army, his facial features had be sharper. He got ridded of the beautiful face that she had been jealous of three years ago, and won¡¯t be mistaken for a girl again. It seemed like he was a precious jade, which was clear and without a w, or he was like a rare sword in the box, as if he was quiet like an ancient ck iron and brisk like the towering mountain. He was really outstanding, so did he still recognize her?

    He used to impart martial arts to her at a silent night, and said out his biggest secret when she was faking sleeping. Three yearster, was he still her ¡°congener¡±? Would he offer her unselfish help and let her escape into Meng¡¯s Family selflessly? After Zhu Quan dropped his idea forever, she could back to Luo¡¯s Family and continue her most important mission¨Crevenge.

    It seemed that he didn¡¯t lose much, as Meng¡¯s Family was the hardest part that Zhu Quan didn¡¯t want to touch, and Meng Xuan could take her away from Luo¡¯s Family just by acting two scenes. However, he was so excellent, and would he like to marry her as a ¡°nominal concubine¡±?

    So, she felt like there were a brisk rabbit in her heart at the first nce. It was bouncing and vivacious that made her heart throb. In retrospect, she didn¡¯t see his farewell letter and didn¡¯t see him off. Afterwards, she received his letter, which said that he suffered fearful beatings and hurt his muscles and bones. His visceral was ruptured, and he wasn¡¯t long for this world. She researched his handwriting and found that it looked powerful, so she thought that it most possible for him to use hyperbole, so she didn¡¯t go to see him. He helped her a lot, while she did nothing for him. Could she ask him for help as a congener? Would he still be willing to help her after had experienced her indifference?

    In this situation, she met him in the midst of the crowd with a mixture of joy and uneasiness. Though she lowered her head and didn¡¯t see him, she knew his position clearly. Though he didn¡¯t turn his head to see her, she felt there were a pair of eyes in the back of his head, and they were staring at her with unaffectionate.

    After a long time, the master and the disciple had changed a lot, while they pretend to be strangers to each other in the crowd deliberately. The longer He Danggui stayed, the more uneasy she felt. She couldn¡¯t help thinking that he must be angry with her, and probably he would never be willing to admit her apprentice identity. She even wasn¡¯t worried about him after seeing his blood letter, and she didn¡¯t visit him because of feeling troublesome.

    There was an empty in her heart, and it was acid and bitter that made her feel heart-broken. The hands and feet which never warmed up after she was saved from theke be colder. Why did she feel grieved? Hadn¡¯t she armed herself by hard armor after three years¡¯ adjustment to this ¡°new world¡±? Or because she felt guilty and owed him a lot? He told her his secret identity which was like a luminous pearl hid in the deep sea. However, she hid her pearl and told him there was stone in her box. Was she too hypocrisy?

    Though when he spoke out his secret, he thought she was asleep. And because she was so attached to such intimate and precious warmth, so she wasn¡¯t willing to fall asleep. After he said that, he was startled and found that she was wake, so he kept petitioning her to keep this secret. In fact, he did not have to be so humble, his ability is so powerful that he could easily let her shut up forever¨CShe knew that, if he was someone like Zhu Quan, she would be a corpse immediately.

    Thinking in this way, she felt guiltier about him. It seemed that he only kept distance to her alone. She felt remorsefully, for he had sent so many letters to her about greeting and his practice progress. Why didn¡¯t she reply one letter? The hole in her heart be bigger and bigger, and it was stuffed with snow. Did she lose her friend? Didn¡¯t he be close to her anymore?

    All the symptoms such as her chest feeling cold, suffocated and bitter were cured at one moment¨Cthe moment he put his head on her shoulder to smell her.

    He needn¡¯t to be so close, as he knew clearly what she smelled like. If it was a routine inspection, he could just smell it symbolically and needn¡¯t to do that. He was willing to close her and warm her. Did it mean that he didn¡¯t get angry with her?

    A little joy rose in her heart, and she let him ¡°smell¡± without moving. The sand clock in her heart dripped, and umted into a wonderful and eternal moment. When he was back off, she saw a long-lost smile in his eyes instead of the alienated radian on his lips. When he smiled, bloomy springing. She finally believed that her master really came back. She had saved! She had the shelter!

    Meng Xuan let the multitude stand still and wait for the official to make a proof together. Then she fell into his arms suddenly, and she smelled green tea fragrance of his clothes.

    She knew they were flying away from the crowd, and there was a tumult in the crowd. But she didn¡¯t want to consider if it was suitable to leave in this way. She missed the embrace with green tea fragrance so much. It had been three years, and every time when she recollected this embrace, she felt gratitude and bitterness. He like aet streaked across her life, taking away her loneliness and her fear. And for the first time in her life, she learned to ¡°rely on¡±.

    Before she knew him, she was a lone hero. When she was pushed to hopeless situation, all the things she could do was to imitate Jing Ke, who tried to murder the First Emperor of Qin, to kill Zhu Quan. After knowing him, she learnt how to draw energy from her surroundings and ask for help. When she was haunted by nightmare, she could find joy from Qing¡¯er and Chan Yi. When she met Zhu Quan, whom she did not want to face, she would want to regard Meng Xuan as her shield¡­ Would he say yes?

    Thinking like that, they flew deep into the bamboo forest and settled at the tip of an emerald bamboo, swing up and down in the wind. In the setting sun, he told her that she used to save him in a deep mountain¡¯s grass three years ago with the same sunset. She felt amazed and joyful, so he knew! In addition to congener, friend, confidant, master and disciple, there was another rtionship between them¨Cbenefactor¡­ Now she was forced into difficult situation by Zhu Quan, so would Meng Xuan be willing to be her ¡°life buoy¡±? Qing¡¯er said once that if a person had a ¡°life buoy¡±, he would never be afraid of getting drowned.

    Before she could ask, he kissed her suddenly.

    Though her first reaction was to push him away, but the sh of tears in his eyes stopped her hand in the air. Did he cry? Was it because he missed her too much? Then why didn¡¯t hee to her? Did it never ur to him that perhaps she was waiting for him? She didn¡¯t want to swim alone after she had experienced the feeling of having the ¡°life buoy¡±.

    He was in tears and was kissing her lips, but she didn¡¯t feel angry. She only wanted to know her ce in his mind. Like he said three years ago, he was a very nice guy. How about¡­caught this ¡°life buoy¡± and settled at on the cold and helpless sea? Well¡­ How about she married him as his concubine? So, she needn¡¯t be afraid of the year-round and directionless tempest above the sea.

    He was so gentle and amicable, and he was so considerate to her. Knowing that she would feel cold after from the pond, he specially took her to where there are no people, and helped her dry clothes. He was so considerate that he must be a good man and a perfect husband¡­ However, it was a pity that her identity was so low too be his wife. Even marrying her as a concubine was because he would consider their old friendship and feel that she was pitiful. So, he would decide to help her.

    Though she had a lot of ways to raise her status so that she could marry him with a better identity, while she didn¡¯t have enough time. Zhu Quan¡¯s sword had already hung over her head.

 Chapter 162 - The hurt of being immersed in love

    <h4>Chapter 162 The hurt of being immersed in love</h4>

    It was okay to be a concubine for her. He treated her so tender that he must give her a great space. He won¡¯t force her to do something against her will. And he would give her a peaceful life. Besides, she didn¡¯t love him. She needn¡¯t to worry how to get her husband¡¯s attention from other concubines and get into endless family feud. Even if he slept with others everyday of a year, she wouldn¡¯t feel bad, because she didn¡¯t love him.

    While Meng Xuan must have no feeling for her, or else he woulde to see her in three years.

    How good it was! Two close people who didn¡¯t have affections spent their life with each other. He would give her a peaceful and cozy life, and she would give him a little help in need. He had ¡°died¡± at the first year of the reign of the Jianwen Emperor, so he didn¡¯t know that Jianwen Emperor and Lord Yan could fight for the throne in the future. She could base on the history she had known to help him avoid dangers and get promotion.

    How useless love was! The one who fell in love first was the loser. In her previous life, she had loved Zhu Quan fondly, while it turned out that it was a joke. She didn¡¯t know Zhu Quan. What did she love about him?

    So, it was the best that helpmates had no feelings for each other¡­ She and Meng Xuan would cooperate naturally and be an enviable and wise couple like she and Qing¡¯er... Qing¡¯er often said that she would marry He Danggui only if she was a man¡­ He Danggui thought in this way. She thought it was an excellent idea. That she and Meng Xuan could benefit mutually and all get what they wanted.

    Before she couldn¡¯t help asking him to marry her, Meng Xuan talked first with a strong usatorial tone which almost made her fall into the ground to ease his anger.

    She was stunned by his tone. Where was her gentle and civilized master?

    Meng Xuan asked her why she didn¡¯t tell him that she had been saved his life; why she was so mysterious.; why she could foresee everything; why she was so mature. He asked her who she was. He also asked her why he gave his heart to her, but her eyes were always not looking at him!

    She looked at Meng Xuan who was heating her feet unbelievably. He was not the same person she knew. He was totally Duan Xiaolou with Meng Xuan¡¯s appearance!

    He was manic, fretful and resentful. His eyes were full of hurtfulness. He said that he ¡°gave his heart¡± to her. Could she understand that he liked her a little bit? She told him timidly that she didn¡¯t know that he liked her. While, she thought in her mind, ¡°Does he really like her? Don¡¯t deny it. Don¡¯t deny it¡­¡±

    Not only did he deny it, but he used her apathy. He also med her that she didn¡¯t stay at home, and seduced Bai Yangbai, Duan Xiaolou, Peng Jian, Gao Jue, and him! Heined that she was amorous, and mentioned Zhu Quan, the nightmarish name, repeatedly! Three years ago, he not only taught her martial arts, but also tailed after her and spied on her to figure out which men she had been contacted! Oh! Was he the tender boy on her mind who could save her out of the miserable life?

    He Danggui thought that she and he were naturally tacit. So, although she wasn¡¯t familiar with him, she knew his disposition and temperament. Wasn¡¯t he a mild gentleman? When did he be the second Duan Xiaolou?

    He acted like this, so did Duan Xiaolou. They all med for her indifference. Was her too indifferent or they asked too much? When did they act like this? When she met Duan Xiaolou firstly, he smiled innocently. He looked at her and said ¡°interesting¡±. Why couldn¡¯t she and Duan Xiaolou be ¡°interesting¡± friends all the time? When did Duan Xiaolou always be sad when he met her? In the beginning, he wanted to marry her as his wife. But when his mother asked him to marry Guan Yun as his wife, he wanted her to be his concubine. Even worse, he framed her and just wanted her to ask for his help.

    Were they naturally bossy, or she changed them?

    What did she do wrongly? Why did they like two injured leopards and want torn her apart? Even if she had messed with Duan Xiaolou and told him that she could consider his proposal, but she never fell in love with Meng Xuan and talked about marriage. She just wanted to grab a lifesaver, and he was willing to y this role. Why did he change his role?

    Looking at the abnormal Meng Xuan, He Danggui felt sorry and sad for him. In the meanwhile, she told herself that every single man was better than Zhu Quan. She could marry any man expect Zhu Quan, if there were emergency. If Duan Xiaolou wasn¡¯t that man, why not him? Now that he extremely liked her even he wanted to bite her. So, she had a way to make him dislike her eventually, as if she did the same to Duan Xiaolou.

    Then, she analyzed Meng Xuan¡¯s attitude. She said that she had already engaged. As expected, he responded what she wanted eagerly. He said that he would ask his father to propose a marriage to her. He Danggui was relived. This conversation she had expected for a year. She could eat more two bowls of rice at dinner with this pledge.

    When she wanted to verify his words¨Cwell, she became greedy suddenly. She asked him if she could be his wife, and if his father would agree. Meng Xuan was stunned clearly for a moment. That was a long moment. She heard that a sparrow was caught by a goshawk, and heard the beating of wings behind her.

    Well, she asked too much. It turned out that he asked his father to ¡°talk about a marriage¡±, and he really just talked about it. Like Duan Xianlou, he couldn¡¯t decide who his wife was, but he made a promise to her. When he knew that a nobledy would be his wife, he wasn¡¯t surprised at all, as if he had already seen the consequence. He just told her how deep his love was to her. And he said that no matter who would be his wife, he would give his best love to her.

    At that time, she found out that Duan Xiaolou didn¡¯t intend to marry her as his wife at all. In other words, he had been epted the reality that she would never be his wife. But he still used this sweet bait to lure her into his trap.

    Duan Xiaolou expressed his love incoherently to her, while she was as cold as a handful snow of Changbai Mountains. Her tender voice was like a knife. She said to him, ¡°Sorry, Duan Xiaolou, I don¡¯t like you at all. So, your ¡®best love¡¯ means nothing to me. When you said you wanted me to be your wife, I said yes because I was touched. Well, you know that I just have a few chances to be someone¡¯s wife because of my background. Now that I can¡¯t be your wife, we break up peacefully. Master Duan, you should go back to the capital since your affairs in Yangzhou City have been done.¡±

    Duan Xiaolou had gone with a broken heart. Before he had gone, he told her as long as she met any trouble, she could ask him for help. He would help her no matter where he was. What a kind person. He needn¡¯t to be kind with her. She was just a gloomy person who stood in the dark and stared at those people walking under the sunlight like him. Duan Xianlou had left at dusk. And she had tears with joy because she had got rid of him.

    At the beginning, Meng Xuan went crazy. He shouted and shook her, as if he liked her a lot. She was a little bit touched, and she even thought that the scene which she swore at the Shui Shang Temple. She wanted to look for a husband who could grow old together with her. Was Meng Xuan the right person? However, he didn¡¯t reach the range that he loved her so much that he wanted marry her as a wife firmly, and won¡¯t marry others from now on.

    ¡°Meng Xuan, actually I just asked it. Why didn¡¯t you coax me? In fact, I coaxed you. Hearing that you didn¡¯t have rights to choose your wife, I treated you like to Duan Xiaolou. But, in order to get rid of Zhu Quan by using you, I pretended to be close with you and love you so much.¡± He Danggui thought.

    Whatever, she should be grateful that before she was fond of him, he didn¡¯t love her so much that he wanted to marry her as his wife.

    It was good. He was just a suitable Go stone for her to help her get out of the trap. Since he said he liked her too, she must get together with him. Before he left Yangzhou City, she must be ¡°the General Meng¡¯s concubine¡±.

    Now that he didn¡¯t want her to get close with Bai Yangbai, she should follow his will. He asked Bai Yangbai to ¡°be careful for the lines between man and woman¡±. Did he imply that she was dissolute? She should pretend a polite and mannered girl in front him, so that he had no doubt about her chastity. And he would marry her as his concubine to protect her.

    Night fell, and all the nts in the valley were shaking because of the north wind. Only the three people stayed silently.

    Meng Xuan frowned and looked at He Danggui with confusions. The reason why he med Bai Yangbai was that he wanted He Danggui to argue with him. Since the she had argued with him just now, she didn¡¯t talk to him. He remembered three years ago, every time he had med Bai Yangbai like that, she always defended for Bai Yangbai. Why didn¡¯t she defend for Bai Yangbai today? Was she mad at him? And didn¡¯t she want to talk to him?

    Meng Xuan was regretful. Although it was his fault to argue with her, how could she let Duan Xiaolou climb the Luo¡¯s Mansion¡¯s wall to meet her? He believed her ethic, and she didn¡¯t do something wrong with Duan Xiaolou. But Duan Xiaolou had feeling for her. The spectator saw most clearly. He knew that Duan Xiaolou¡¯s eyes were more and more torrid, and so did his behaviors. Sooner orter, Duan Xiaolou would show off! The girl was cleverest and the most vignt. How could she let a prepared leopard go to her bedroom frequently?

    Three years ago, he had leaked his secret that he had been lived twice inadvertently. He thought that she would have thought that he was lying, but she believed him constantly. So, he pleaded her to keep his secret and told her what had happened to him in the previous life. He wanted her to know, although he was younger than Duan Xiaolou, he was more mature and tenderer than him. At that time, his means, ability, and influence couldn¡¯tpete with Daun Xiaolou¡¯s, but someday he would be a more reliable person than him.

    However, on the second day after he told her his secret, Duan Xiaolou hugged her for some reasons. And she didn¡¯t struggle at all. Why did she be so meek? She let him hug because of transmitting Zhenqi. And they were in kids¡¯ body. She let Duan Xiaolou hug her because she liked him, right?

    At that time, he just looked on and didn¡¯t pull her away, or queried her at night. Because he was in a kid¡¯s body. There were many aspects he couldn¡¯tpare with Duan Xiaolou. And he thought that she was a kid, so she didn¡¯t want to marry someone so early. So, he chose to leave and made her miss him, so that he could be more powerful to protect her and could propose to her in the Luo¡¯s Mansion.

    He shed blood in the battlefield and grew up while being engaged in hot battle. Besides, he expanded his force in the Jianghu and imperial court.

    During the three years, he didn¡¯t think of her. At the beginning, he controlled his mind to stop thinking about her. And he recited all kinds of spells to banish her in his mind. Then, he didn¡¯t think of her gradually. Later, when he tried to remind her face, her face was just a pretty face in the many beautiful faces that he had met before. Except those eyes which were cold as a spring. In fact, she was not that special.

    He told himself again and again that she was just a clever and beautiful girl. There were so many women in the world. He barely contacted with them, so he was attracted by her irresistibly. Now he was not like that anymore, why did he frustrate because of her? When he met a suitable woman, he would find out that all the affections like flowers and the envies like poisonous herbs were the inverted reflection in water. He had been experiencing unrequited love which was far from the real love. Yes, it must be like this.

    Under his own hypnosis, he didn¡¯t like a cold girl like her. Every year when he went back to the capital during the festival, his mother often found any kinds of excuses to let him meet all kinds ofdies. Some were tender like the water; some were passionate like the me; some were both tender and passionate. So, he told himself repeatedly that thesedies were all fine. It was time to choose one among them to be his wife. He was over thirty years old after adding his previous life¡¯s years, and he could marry someone as his wife.

    Every time he passed Yangzhou City, he would detour, and his heart was peaceful. So, he told himself in relief. Look, he did it. The life was too short, and there were so many things to see and to do. Why did he trap for a woman? Besides, she didn¡¯t look at him and treated him as a stranger.

    He thought in relief that he let things over now. Even if he passed by her window, he could walk away peacefully. Next time when he talked to her face to face, he also could continue the conversation without quaver. Like an old friend, he could greet to her with a smile. ¡°Hey, girl. Do you remember me? I¡¯m Meng Xuan. We yed together when we were kids. I didn¡¯t expect that you were here. What a coincidence!¡±

    Afterwards, he really met her face to face.

    He had forgotten her, and didn¡¯t want to see her anymore. Why the destiny arranged this?

    He attended a Wulin bash in Yangzhou City. He sced himself before he left. Yangzhou was a big city. He might not meet her even if he toured ten days. President Bai invited him to visit Chengxu Academy and admired a hundred-year ancient sword. He epted it for no reason. It was a very rare sword which was hard to see.

    In his chamber in the separate courtyard, he took a wisp of her hair with ¡°Carefree Fragrance¡± on it. The hair which was stolen by him when she fell asleep. He kissed her hair and told himself that he would be back as soon as possible. He would go nowhere expect President Bai¡¯s room. She was often absented, so he wouldn¡¯t meet her. Maybe she had left Chengxu Academy. Maybe she was proposed by someone and prepared her wedding in her home.

    He didn¡¯t like her already. There were so many women in the world like her. If he sought carefully, he would find another one.

    He thought he didn¡¯t like her, until he saw her face. He just took a look at her cold face, and his heartache which suffered three years was cured. The big hole in his heart was filled instantly.

 Chapter 163 - A woman without bottom line

    <h4>Chapter 163 A woman without bottom line</h4>

    He looked at this female Master of Medical Treatment who could cure his illness, persuading himself secretly. Since he adored a woman like her and he had not found the second one except her now. So, could he approach her again? Perhaps, she changed a lot after three years and would no longer hurt him. Maybe she had been missing his kindness, while she just felt embarrassed to reply to him.

    Therefore, he put down his face and self-esteem to find her. As long as he walked towards her direction for a few steps, she would respond and walk towards him too. Because they were simr, it seemed that everything was calm on the surface, and they did not care about anything. In fact, they paid attention to all in silent. Even if they lost a less important friend, they would also feel sad for a long time, let alone such an important master and confidant like him. After regaining him, she would have certainly started to look up to him. After all, he was no longer the little boy without the sense of presence. And now he was a dangerous person who wouldn¡¯t be ignored by anyone.

    When he smelt the fragrance from her neckline, not only had he recovered from the pain in his chest, but also from the failure of his smell which had afflicted him for three year¨Che could not smell the rest fragrance except for Carefree Fragrance of her hair in past three years. His manservant, Yi Tong, sniffed it carefully and told him that the wisps of hair were not fragrant at all. There must be something wrong with his nose.

    Xiaoyi, Xiaoyi, since I left you, many problems urred to me. How would youpensate me?

    Smelling the Carefree Fragrance and looking at the ice-cold eyes of her, he wished he could take her to a quiet ce and make a good im for her. Then, when he thought in this way, he really did. She owed him a lot and made him change a lot so that he could not recognize himself. For such a heartless and merciless woman, he couldn¡¯t relieve the hatred of his heart even if he swallowed her alive.

    He tried to strangle her with his hand at first, but his hand was on her waist. Her arts of lightness were not good enough, so she would fall if he had not held her tightly. Although he had one mouth to speak something, it could not express what he was feeling now. He would like to kill her with one bite. If she died, he would be all right.

    So, he put his face close to her, and her neck was so slender that only one bite could kill her. She had saved his life, so had he. They were so entangled that if they could not be lovers, they would be enemies. If he killed her, would her soule to haunt him day and night? And would she never leave him? Or maybe he could also go to theherworld with her and be a couple there.

    Her breath was shallow and sweet. And her unguarded lips were slightly parted in that way so that he could meet her with the sweet scent and intercept her breath identally. Her lips were warm and soft. Not only didn¡¯t she refuse his kiss, but also her eyes were full of dependence and trust, as if a newborn rabbit trusted its owner wholeheartedly.

    Such clear eyes and sweet lips appeased him who wanted to kill her for venting the manic rage before, but questions umted during three years in his heart were all rolling in the tongue. Did she always be so docile and unguarded to Duan Xiaolou? Did Duan Xiaolou kiss her like this?

    She used to stare at a jade pendant in a daze when she was alone in three years ago. Her eyes did not blink as if she were a figure without soul. Did the master of the jade pendant attract her soul? He recognized that the jade pendant was the royal thing. Andter, he found out in Qiyanggong Sect that the jade pendant was the treasure which the Emperor gave to Lord Ning. Originally, Zhu Quan was the man she had admired before, right? Three years ago, she always ignored him because she already had a crush on him, didn¡¯t she?

    His questions let her be silent and careful. She just apologized to him repeatedly. But why she only apologized to him? He wanted to hear more about her. Why didn¡¯t she say more to express that she missed him or she liked him?

    Three years ago, when they were close to each other, she liked to call him ¡°Xiaoxuan¡±, but he didn¡¯t expect to hear that. At that time, she thought that he was too young to protect her, but now he had be the Second Lord of Qi Yang who was deterrent in Wulin. He could give her everything she wanted, and he would give her the things that Duan Xiaolou and Zhu Quan could not give to her. ¡°So, please don¡¯t call me ¡°Xiaoxuan¡± again, okay? Please leave Luo¡¯s Mansion, and leave Yangzhou City. Would you like to go to Meng¡¯s Mansion in the capital with me and to be my wife there?¡± He thought.

    He knew that she was a special one. She was more reserved and mysterious than him. He also knew that she was more inscrutable than he was so that she had more burdens than him.

    It was the first time that he had seen her in Xin Rong Hall in Luo¡¯s Mansion. At that moment, she was an ¡°umbre girl¡± in Luo¡¯s Mansion. When it was sunny day, she knew that she was superfluous. Therefore, she turned herself into a white umbre and stood at the wall. She made only a blurred vertical line in the background. When it was cloudy, she suddenly turned into her original color, and she became a blue bamboo pole oil paper umbre, reminding her existence silently.

    When the storm struck, the people with many umbres in Luo¡¯s family suddenly found that the other bright and beautiful umbres were decorations and not avable to protect people. Though the blue oil paper umbre seemed to be more vulnerable than a begonia in the wind, in fact, she was a truly good umbre to pass through the storm.

    Once he held such an umbre to walk in the wind and rain. Then the wind stopped, the moon became bright, the flowers became fragrant, and he could not help obtaining her as his own, while he found that her umbre handle had been grasped by another man early. In his struggling and dangerous days in the barren mountains, Duan Xiaolou found the umbre firstly, and then he tied a silk thread on it. Therefore, no matter how far away from her in the future, he could always find the umbre girl at the other end if he would like to take up the line.

    ¡°Umbre girl, did you fall in love with that man firstly? If I take advantage of his absence and take exclusive possession of you, would you be my umbre obediently? Or would you hate me to break your wings secretly so that you could not fly?¡± He thought.

    ¡°Hey, why are we sitting here?¡± said Bai Yangbai, the first one to break the silence. Then he asked doubtfully, ¡°Are we waiting for grass blossoming on the ground? But it will not bloom till tomorrow morning.¡±

    He Danggui raised her eyebrows and said, ¡°I would let you find Guard Zhan quickly to cut the hand of Qian Mudan. Why don¡¯t you go in a hurry? She would not be saved if it is toote. You should know that the poison is dead, but the venomous insect is alive. And I cannot guarantee that she will insist for an hour even though I sealed her acupoint.¡± Yeah, how did they be silent suddenly? Why did she quarrel with Meng Xuan? Now she shouldn¡¯t offend him, because she still hoped him to ask Madam Luo to marry her as his concubine. It was too awkward to talk about it this time. So, maybe she would take advantage of the next time when he came to return her Zhenqi. Anyway, he had a good temper, so he would be relieved for the next time.

    Meng Xuan nced at Qian Mudan, who was bleeding from seven holes on the ground, and he felt a little unbearable in his heart, so he asked, ¡°Can¡¯t you save her anymore? After all, she was just a naive girl and was a bit bossy.¡± Hearing Xiaoyi¡¯s words, it was clear that the girl could be saved originally, but Xiaoyi thought it was troublesome and didn¡¯t want to save that girl... Was it because the girl had bullied her before? He didn¡¯t want to quarrel with her again, so his tone was very soft with a sense of pleading.

    When he said this, he didn¡¯t look at He Danggui, so he didn¡¯t notice her expression of contemtion. She frowned as if she was thinking about something confusing. Since he didn¡¯t get a response, he asked again, ¡°Can you save her again?¡±

    Bai Yangbai moved his face closer to He Danggui and asked with a smile, ¡°Who is he asking for?¡± He Danggui replied casually, ¡°I don¡¯t know. Maybe he asks for you.¡± Bai Yangbai realized suddenly, ¡°He is begging me! Since General Meng asked me for help, I will try my best and use my best skills to save her.¡± Then he sat with cross-legged, and his walnut-shaped eyes were closed. He was saying something.

    Meng Xuan became displeased and asked, ¡°Taoist Sage, what are you doing?¡±

    ¡°Hush¨C¡± Bai Yangbai said mysteriously, ¡°Don¡¯t disturb me to help the girl get rid of the misery. To be honest, the women who had been relieved by me can be reborn and be princesses and infantas. I guessed that Quan will have a sister in this year, so let her be his sister! Oh, I said it unconsciously, so you can pretend not hearing it.¡± He said Quan¡¯s name identally. It was fortunate that neither of them understood it.

    How could He Danggui not understand it? There was no one who understood better than her. Besides, as far as she knew, Zhu Yuanzhang would have a daughter who would be born this year. For she used to look him with a cheeky face, she seldom forgot that he was also a man with great skills and intelligence. He was the person with many strange ideas. At that time, he made a small n to help Zhu Quan take back the corpse of his mother. In addition, Bai Yangbai had the great grace about preaching and teaching Zhu Quan, so it was better to discuss with him about Zhu Quan. Then they could think about some ideas, so maybe there was a way to make Zhu Quan give up her instead of marrying Meng Xuan.

    He Danggui looked at Meng Xuan¡¯s manservant Yi Tong, who was walking around in the distance. At this moment, the teenager¡¯s legs and feet were no longerme, and it seemed that he walked back and forth anxiously.

    He Danggui shouted, ¡°Yi Tong! Call Guard Zhan to cut the hand!¡± After shouting, she pulled Bai Yangbai¡¯s arm and left. She nned to find a ce where no one was to discuss countermeasures. It was not easy for her to see the guy, so she entrusted the thing with him this time whether he could help her or not. At least, she asked Bai Yangbai to go to the north to make some troubles for Zhu Quan, so that Zhu Quan would be busy with these things in two or three years. It was the best way for Zhu Quan to forget her throughout.

    Bai Yangbai cried with a weird voice, ¡°Ah, girl, what are you doing? Slow down, and what¡¯s the matter? You are agitated suddenly.¡±

    He Danggui said, ¡°I invite you for dinner. Let¡¯s go.¡±

    ¡°Thest time you invited me for dinner was not fun. You let me bow and scrape to worship you as a teacher,¡± Bai Yangbai muttered, ¡°And looking at your busy posture, it seems that you are pulling your lover to cheat...¡±

    He Danggui threatened in a low voice, ¡°Behave yourself or I will point you dumb acupoint. Go faster for I am in a hurry.¡±

    Bai Yangbai caught the ridicule of her words and said, ¡°As we expected before, there wasn¡¯t such a thing as a good party. So, what do you want to do with me? The bath water form has been cheated away by you, so what else do you want to do?¡±

    ¡°I will distinguish whether the bath water form is fake or not. I¡¯ve already recognized that how stingy you are. I will let you spit it out soon,¡± He Danggui said it quickly while dragging Bai Yangbai, ¡°I am not interested in the bath water, but I have another thing to ask for you. It is essential to benefit you if it is done.¡±

    ¡°Gee.¡± Bai Yangbai leaned closer and said, ¡°There is a hint of ash on your nose. Let me wipe it.¡± Then he stretched out his dark hands.

    ¡°No,¡± He Danggui turned her head with disgust and said, ¡°Your hands are full of mud.¡±

    Manservant Yi Tong ran forward and said with a bit of anxiety, ¡°Childe, Third Childe was in trouble again. Just now Fu Kuan sent us a message that Third Childe wandered a brothel but fought with someone, as if he beat that man seriously. After the county magistrate detained the drunk Third Childe, he recognized at a nce that he was Meng Ying, Meng Shan¡¯s eldest legitimate son. Now the county magistrate is in a dilemma, waiting for our Meng¡¯s family to bring him back. You told me to go back first and not disturb you talking to Miss He, so I didn¡¯t dare to step forward and give a reply. Now Miss He has gone away, and let¡¯s go round to find Guard Zhan for telling this message there. We should go and take Third Childe away as soon as possible. If you let the master know about this, he will definitely beat him with a club!¡±

    There was no one in Meng Xuan¡¯s eyes at the moment, only the woman in ck who was moving away. Didn¡¯t she just say that Bai Yangbai would follow her rules? Why did she take the initiative to pull his sleeves? Bai Yangbai said ¡°Princess¡±, and then he said, ¡°Quan will have a sister in this year.¡± Did that ¡°Quan¡± mean Zhu Quan? She was so excited when she heard this name, and she was obsessed with Zhu Quan as much as she was, right? Even so, there was a dying person in front of her waiting for her rescue. At least, she would pull with Bai Yangbai after saving her, right? Was she still a doctor? Was she really as hard-hearted as what she said?

    Bai Yangbai touched the bridge of her nose with his hand, while she just hit his shoulder with a fist. Then she said slightly, ¡°Don¡¯t make troubles. Let¡¯s go.¡± Meng Xuan¡¯s eyes almost burst into mes because of her indifferent attitude, which attracted all men to take advantage of her. Three years ago, Duan Xiaolou took her into his arms. And he could tell himself that she was only ten years old and young, so it was nothing. How about this now?

    He Danggui was considering how should she exin to Bai Yangbai that she knew the teacher-student rtionship between him and Zhu Quan, and how should she exin to him that she hated Zhu Quan to the extent that she would rather die... Suddenly, a ck figure blocked the target of her and Bai Yangbai¨CMeng Xuan? They all quarreled, but he also stopped her way. Hum, she didn¡¯t want to reconcile with him today.

    Seeing that He Danggui turned her face to another direction, Bai Yangbai waved hands to Meng Xuan with smiling and said, ¡°Gee, it was Seventh Childe. You don¡¯t have to send us away. We are going to have a drink to reminisce about something from the past. Next time, we will invite you, for the pouch is shy today.¡±

    Meng Xuan raised his chin towards Qian Mudan in the distance and asked, ¡°How about her? She just lies there and waits for death, right? One of you is called saint, and the other is unparalleled in medicine. Why not save her life before drinking?¡±

    Bai Yangbai and He Danggui looked at each other. Did hee here to find fault? Bai Yangbai looked at the expressionless Meng Xuan and chuckled, ¡°Seventh Childe, you don¡¯t know that although I am only a little famous, it¡¯s really hard for me to cure and save people. Usually when I have a headache and fever, I will see a doctor. In a winter, all the medical halls were closed, but I...¡±

    ¡°What about you, Miss He?¡± Meng Xuan interrupted Bai Yangbai¡¯s words and looked directly at He Danggui.

    ¡°I won¡¯t save her.¡± He Danggui first threw out this sentence, and then she thought that her attitude should be better. Bai Yangbai was her ¡°n B¡±, but he had not thought a way to help her. Meng Xuan was her ¡°n A¡±, so she couldn¡¯t offend him. After all, one more n was one more chance of winning.

    So, she became patient and exined in detail to Meng Xuan, ¡°I know very little about poison produced by venomous insects, but I saw ¡°Shi Hua Poison¡± in a book many years ago, which was very simr to Qian Mudan¡¯s symptoms. But I have to go home and ask Jiugu first. She is a Miao girl with a lot of knowledge, so she should know a lot in this field. But distant water cannot quench present thirst. Now, you should cut her hand and remove most of the toxicity if you want to save her. I will detoxify her after I get through the method, which will allow her to live more than ten years.¡±

    Meng xuan listened to her exin. Why did she not get angry since he called her ¡°Miss He¡±? Why did she still walk away with another person when he came to find her after three years? Why did she still leave him? She was holding the sleeves of Bai Yangbai with her small hand, which made Meng Xuan really be disappointed. She could hug Duan Xiaolou, kiss with himself and let Bai Yangbai touch her face. So, where was her bottom line?

 Chapter 164 - Lifetime silver

    <h4>Chapter164 Lifetime silver</h4>

    Meng Xuan went up quietly. Under the surprised eyes of Bai Yangbai and He Danggui, he tore off the whole sleeve of Bai Yangbai, which was pulled by He Danggui. Bai Yangbai looked at the sleeve resignedly. It had be shorter and shorter and been separated from his clothespletely. Why did everyone take cloth from him?

    He Danggui held Bai Yangbai¡¯s sleeve and looked up at Meng Xuan coldly. She said, ¡°Sir, what do you mean?¡± He was so tall that she had to look up at him. His cold and beautiful face made her suspect that she had identified the wrong person. Was he still Meng Xuan?

    ¡°I¡¯m thinking for your reputation.¡± Meng Xuan looked down at her and said, ¡°Don¡¯t pull other men¡¯s sleeves in the future.¡±

    That was the reason! Bai Yangbai was stunned. When she pulled his sleeve, Meng Xuan ripped it. If she held his hand for next time, would he wring his hand off and burn it with fire? Well, he admitted that he was a little bit slow, and he didn¡¯t realize that Meng Xuan also liked He Danggui. But he could say in a civilized way, ¡°Let that girl go.¡± Was it necessary to do like this? What¡¯s more, He Danggui couldn¡¯t wait to drag himself out. He was also under duress.

    ¡­Now she couldn¡¯t offend him. He Danggui was carrying this sleeve which was drifting in the wind, and told herself silently in the heart.

    ¡°I learned it.¡± He Danggui said quietly, ¡°If there are no other suggestions, we will go.¡± Since she didn¡¯t get an answer from Meng Xuan, she tucked one end of this sleeve into Bai Yangbai¡¯s hand and said, ¡°Qianjun, let¡¯s go.¡± After that, she took Bai Yangbai away as if she took an animal, and passed by Meng Xuan.

    Meng Xuan looked behind them for a long time, then he tore the sleeve from the middle into two pieces suddenly.

    Bai Yangbai looked up at the sky silently and sighed, ¡°Well, this time there is no way. I¡¯m just amon Taoist Sage to sell medical sugar.¡±

    He Danggui took a small piece of the sleeve and looked at Meng Xuan. She said, ¡°I don¡¯t know which taboo I have break.¡± This was the real Meng Xuan. He was not rted to posedness¡± at all. He and her imaginary husband who could respect her as a guest were nearly poles apart. Now he just a little bit liked her. Maybe he just listed her as a concubine candidate. He was so domineering that she would be his concubine in the future. Would he tie and lock her up?

    Meng Xuan said frankly, ¡°Miss He doesn¡¯t know. Only the bridegroom and the bride can lead the two ends of the 1meter red cloth in this way. You are a virgin miss. He is a bachelor who is more than 30 years old. If you don¡¯t want to be a couple, you can¡¯t lead this red sleeve in this way. If you still want to leave some reputation before you get married, please don¡¯t have any intimate behavior with Mr. Bai in the future. For example, if you want him to go with you, just call him twice. And, if he tells you that your nose is stained with ash, you should clean it immediately and don¡¯t leave others help you clean. In addition, if you see ¡®some¡¯ mene to hug you in the future, you can¡¯t stand still. You should dodge at the first time. If you can follow these basic defenses of men and women, even if your family background is wed, you can marry into an aristocratic mansion in the future and get the respect of your husband.¡± He would let his parents allow him to marry her as his wife. Should she also do something to make him feel that his n and painstaking efforts were worth it?

    He Danggui looked at this piece of dark brown cloth called ¡°red sleeve¡± by Meng Xuan in the moonlight, and then looked at Bai Yangbai who disguised as a white-haired old man beside her. Bai Yangbai was also looking at her with bright and innocent eyes, which were full of countless surprises, as if he had been treated as a ¡°love enemy¡± for the first time in his life.

    There were only a few friends in her previous life. Apart from Bai Yangbai, the best partner in Wuying Tower, there was only Xiaoyou. In order to please Meng Xuan, should she be careful to Bai Yangbai and Xiaoyou everywhere in the future?

    She was very clear that what kind of person Bai Yangbai was. He didn¡¯t have any sex life for decades, and he was the same as the eunuch. The first time she saw him was when she first came to the Lord¡¯s Mansion and begged for survival, but it was the time when money was extorted by Tai Shan most.

    At that time, Tai Shan heard that she had married Lord Ning, so she ran to Daning Prefecture to meet her secretly. She treated He Danggui by the old thing that she was a ve and servant in the Taoist temple as a threat. She also ndered He Danggui for misdemeanor that she often stole money. She would extort 100 liang silver from He Danggui. When He Danggui married to the Lord¡¯s Mansion, her mother gave her a dowry of nearly 3000 liang. She thought it was a huge sum of money, because her monthly allowance in Luo¡¯s Mansion was only one or two liang silver a month. She saved less than fifty liang after more than four years. The second month after entering the Lord¡¯s Mansion, Princess Xie told the public that she had opened several antique shops in Ping Cui Fang and asked the public to raise money. When she got the money, everyone could earn money and all have dividends.

    So, they all responded. Some of them paid 6,000 liang, and some of them paid 4,000 liang. The person who paid the least paid 3,000 liang. They said to Princess Xie with a ttering smile that the shop was opened newly, everything needed silver. And the dividend in the first year was not much, so she could buy herself some cosmetics and dressed herself, instead of giving them dividends. So, Princess Xie nodded to them with satisfaction.

    At that time, He Danggui realized that the group of wife and concubines of her husband were all rich people. No wonder they all looked down on her. Everyone bullied her. It turned out that she was the poorest of these people whenpared with gold and silver. Her dowry, which was less than 3,000 liang, also included the gold and silver jewelries and jadeites that her mother made for herself before her marriage. They were all fixed assets. Even though those weren¡¯t the first and the only jewelry that her mother made for her first time, she should also wear them in the banquets of the Lord¡¯s Mansion. Otherwise, those servants would recognize her as a maid, and she even couldn¡¯t enter the door of banquets.

    Therefore, when she took out all her cheques and a set of deeds of the house in Northern Zhili Area (areas directly administered by the capital), which were worth 18,000 liang and weighed more than a thousand jin for her, the group of women in Xianyue Tower, from Princess Xie to concubine Tian, allughed. In theughter of all the people, she lost the silver that her mother gave her carefully to spend her whole life in the Lord¡¯s Mansion. The next year, she received only a few ¡°dividends¡±. She was only 14 years old. In this Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion, people needed sliver everywhere. How long was her ¡°lifetime¡± left without ¡°lifetime silver¡±?

    Later, in the Lord¡¯s Mansion, she had to give gifts to the concubine who gave birth to a child. As a ¡°senior concubine¡±, she also should give some jewelries to the new concubine. She shouldpare with other concubines of the same rank, which couldn¡¯t be higher or lower. She had no rtionship or influence in the Lord¡¯s Mansion. She couldn¡¯t give her servants less money. Otherwise, she couldn¡¯t get any important news, and she would be blind and deaf. She would offend Princess Xie identally, or wore same clothes with some consorts and concubines at the banquet. Each kind of consequence was very serious.

    The most desperate thing for her was Tai Shan¡¯s extortion. At first, she picked one of jewelries from her mother and took it to the pawnshop as a redeemable pawn. She thought that she would save money and redeem itter. Then Tai Shan asked for more and more. After bargaining, she put all her dowry into the package and took it to the pawnshop as an unredeemable pawn. However, Tai Shan still didn¡¯t satisfy.

    Finally, Tai Shan found that He Danggui really couldn¡¯t afford money, so she set up a poisonous n. She drank He Danggui a cup of tea with Jinfeng Yulu Powder, and took off He Danggui¡¯s clothes. Then Tai Shan led an old man who was more than 50 years old to the Wing- room. Tai Shan closed the door and left at that time¡­ If Bai Yangbai hadn¡¯t appeared suddenly and saved her, her innocence and life would have been all gone.

    At that time, Bai Yangbai didn¡¯t know that she was the concubine of Lord Ning. He didn¡¯t care about a beautiful woman who had been taken off and got the Jinfeng Yulu Powder. How could he affect her reputation?

    She never regarded Bai Yangbai as a ¡°young man¡±, but as a close friend. What was wrong with pulling his sleeve?

    She had evolved from a weak little sheep to a fox that Princess Xie had always conceded. She could get the precious favor of her husband. All she relied on was Bai Yangbai¡¯s advice and help. In those years when she worked for Wuying Tower, Bai Yangbai saved her life for several times. Did this kind of friendship like teacher and friend really need to draw a line as ¡°male and female defense¡± from now?

    Yi Tong saw that his master was nervous because of a ragged sleeve, so he went forward and said, ¡°Childe, the woman on the ground is not in good condition. Apart from mria, she sits up and lies down asionally. She looks a little serious. What should I do? Let¡¯s go to find a doctor. You can¡¯t cure people at all, Childe. Why should you take care of such a thing? Let¡¯s turn that woman over to others quickly!¡±

    Meng Xuan was still determined to against with He Danggui. He continued to find fault, ¡°Since you know that woman gets Shi Hua Poison, and that the Jiugu of Luo¡¯s Mansion knows it, why don¡¯t you rush back to the Luo¡¯s Family to develop the solution at the first time, but go to have fun with others?¡±

    He Danggui¡¯s heart became more and more tense. She didn¡¯t know how long she could keep such a pleasant face. She just felt that her breath and ears were burning. She couldn¡¯t get along with Meng Xuan for another moment.

    Atst, she found her voice and exined to him, ¡°The time of the attack of the Shi Hua Poison is very short, only a few hours. Even if I fly back to Luo¡¯s Family and ask Jiugu, I can¡¯t make an antidote or find a solution immediately. Besides the venomous insect lurking in Qian Mudan¡¯s body for a long time, there is another kind of strange poison that catalyzes it today. I still have no idea about that kind of strange poison. I feel sorry for my ignorance. There is still a month before the next attack. I can only guarantee that before attacking, I will try my best to expel the venomous insect for Qian Mudan. It¡¯s all up to heaven. There is only so much I can do.¡±

    Meng Xuan was silent for a moment. Then he pointed to Bai Yangbai suddenly and said, ¡°What about him? If Bai Yangbai got this Poison, would you do the same way to deal with it?¡±

    Bai Yangbai cried out in his heart that it was unlucky. Why did he make such a hypothesis suddenly? Fie, fie, fie, it was so unlucky. Why didn¡¯t he use Childe Duan to draw an analogy? He Danggui took a look at Bai Yangbai and said firmly, ¡°If Qianjun is poisoned, I will try my best to save him naturally. I will catch all suspects who poisoned him and interrogate them to get the antidote. I will visit all the seniors who are good at antidoting in the Jianghu that I know, and develop the most effective antidote at the fastest speed.¡±

    Meng Xuan felt sour in his heart and sneered, ¡°Saving people is rted to feelings. The Master who taught you medicine skills has good taste really. He chose a good apprentice.¡±

    Bai Yangbai was moved in his heart, because he seldom heard that girl talked about him in such a serious way. She only bullied and satirized him usually. And what she said looked like from her heart. It was sincere. Unexpectedly, the girl was so kind to himself. She was so affectionate and righteous. Maybe next time, he could reveal half of the bathing prescription for her to keep beautiful¡­ However, Meng Xuan looked coldly at him, as if Meng Xuan¡¯s eyes were like knife, which could make two holes on him. His sense of touching immediately disappeared, like a frosty leaf in the autumn wind¨C ¡°Atishoo! Girl! I will get sick without sleeves. What can I do? You should press the acupoints that can cure a cold for me quickly¨CEh, by the way, can¡¯t you press them for me in the future?¡±

    However, Meng Xuan found fault with He Danggui subtly. He picked a quarrel with her, ¡°Hey, where did you press the acupoints for him?¡± He was very ufortable. He didn¡¯t want to quarrel with her at all. He just didn¡¯t like being left alone, and he just wanted to talk to her more, even in the way of quarreling.

    He Danggui said, ¡°Too much to remember. Taiyang acupoint, Cuanzhu acupoint, Renzhong acupoint...¡± Bai Yangbai covered her mouth, and then removed his hands quickly. Heughed at them and said, ¡°This part is passed. Let¡¯s talk about something else.¡±

    Yi Tong also reminded Meng Xuan, ¡°Childe, if we goter, Third Childe will spend the night in Yangzhou Prison. I heard that it is cold and humid, and there are many snakes, insects, mice and ants¡­¡±

    ¡°Ah¨Csob¨C¡±

    Qian Mudan lying on the ground in the distance made a shrill and long scream in thea, interrupting Yi Tong¡¯s words. At the beginning of the scream, it sounded like a shout. Then, it was like a melody singing, and it was made from a deeper ce than the chest. It was very creepy in the dark night.

    Yi Tong stamped his feet and said, ¡°I¡¯ll call for doctor first.¡± Then he ran away. However, He Danggui understood that it was because the venomous insect in Qian Mudan¡¯s body attacked, which showed that the poison had spread to her whole body at the moment. It was useless to cut off her hand. There was the only way to save her! Just when she was about to stop Yi Tong and give him another order, Meng Xuan found a new round of provocative topic. He said, ¡°If the person who lies there screaming is Bai Yangbai, will you still be so indifferent? And will you still look as usual?¡±

    Bai Yangbaiined in his heart, ¡°Why did he curse me again?¡± He Danggui took a look at Bai Yangbai who looked listless and replied calmly, ¡°I will fly back to Luo¡¯s Mansion with him on my back, and find Jiugu to help him relieve the pain. Then I will send him internal force to suppress the toxicity.¡±

    ¡°He is a man. You can¡¯t carry him on your back.¡± Meng Xuan¡¯s eyes were shining liked two ck pearls with only luster but no emotion.

    ¡°¡­He is an exception. There are other ways.¡±

    ¡°How about Duan Xiaolou?¡±

    ¡°¡­He is the same.¡±

    ¡°¡­And Lord Ning, Zhu Quan?¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°Why do you have so many exceptions? How many men have you put in your heart? Where am I ced?¡±

 Chapter 165 - Self-defense dagger

    <h4>Chapter 165 Self-defense dagger</h4>

    When He Danggui heard Zhu Quan¡¯s name, her brows rose again, and she unconsciously grabbed Bai Yangbai¡¯s hand for supporting. Why did Meng Xuan talk about Zhu Quan repeatedly? And how could he know that she had had conflicts with Zhu Quan? Did Zhu Quan have already started to do something to her when she knew nothing? That deep and terrible demon!

    Yet Bai Yangbai¡¯s eyes were bright with curiosity. Huh? When did He Danggui know Quan, and even treat him as ¡°Duan Xiaolou¡±? Ah, adding Peng Jian and Luo Baiji of Luo¡¯s Family, He Danggui had so many admirers. Ha-ha! He knew why Meng Xuan was so angry.

    However, Meng Xuan didn¡¯t know that He Danggui treated everyone as her younger brothers or sisters, including aged him, which differed from the love between men and women. Although he did not know how He Danggui became so mature with leisurely words and deeds which were more attractive than most of affected and bashful woman, he didn¡¯t think her intimate behavior with him was queer. Gradually, He Danggui became a tacit friend of him from ¡°a scheming, dark and terrible devil and queen with inside story¡± in his mind. She was even his true close friend.

    Maybe this was her personal charisma. She was easy-going, clever and sophisticated. She had a naturalpassion for human being rather than acquired hypocrisy. Also, she would give others advice in an eptable way, or she would stop. She was a sensible and intelligent girl. However, she was too insensitive to recognize men¡¯s love and chase. Luo Baiji borrowed and returned her books frequently. Even if he did it 20 years until He Danggui married and got 2 or 3 kids, he could only be regarded as a good booklover.

    The most iprehensible was that He Danggui even didn¡¯t recognize that she loved and cared about Duan Xiaolou who affected her already. Bai Yangbai evoked her for kindness, and she firmly said that it was not love¨CIf both of them were willing to die for each other, how could it not be love? The man slid into the woman¡¯s room at midnight and stood like a stone, looking at the woman through the curtain of bed for an entire night. The woman, however, broke up with him stoutly because the man would marry other women. She said with sweet-tempered, ¡°I was the only woman in your life.¡± If this was not love, what was the ¡°love¡± in her mind? Did she ever love anyone?

    By the way¨C ¡°How do you know Quan? I usually passed through Yangzhou City during three years, and walked around your house. I don¡¯t know anything about that.¡± Bai Yangbai observed her strange expression. Her hands were cold and shivering when she heard ¡°Quan¡±. Did she really fell in love with Quan?

    Bai Yangbai advised, ¡°Girl, you and he arepletely different people. Forget it. The distance between he and you just like an old wolf and a chick. If you touch him, you¡¯ll be eaten out. And you demanded Duan Xiaolou that he couldn¡¯t marry another woman, right? Honestly, there are so many women of Quan, and even his women and children can be found outside or inside of the mansion. How could you love such a phndering man? And strange to say, he is attractive. Girls at your age easily fall in love deeply and get overwhelmed with him at first sight. Just his name can agitate you¡­¡±

    Feeling that Meng Xuan was angry, Bai Yangbai said, ¡°But Seventh Childe, who acquired higher martial arts, is handsomer, kinder and more easy-going than Quan. Seventh Childe may spend time in being with you, bickering or getting cross with you. Well, Duan Xiaolou has been dumped by you. Besides, Peng Jian and Luo Baiji are not sessful who are unworthy of you, a magnificentdy. What¡¯s more, those who like Wen Han, Zong Qiao and Han Fang are too superficial and only love your appearance, but not knowing inner. How about Seventh Childe? I hope you can take it seriously, for I heard that Madam Luo is nning to promise you to Feng Yang or Guan Mo. She¡¯s going to arrange a marriage for you after the New Year!¡±

    He Danggui got panic, and her eyes widely opened. She stared at Bai Yangbai and said, ¡°Bullshit! How do you know that? Don¡¯t frighten me!¡±

    Bai Yangbai scratched his chin and said innocently, ¡°Come on, girl, speak with your conscience. Did I scare you before? On the contrary, you always frighten me. You don¡¯t know how to respect the elder. It must be more difficult for you to handle the rtionship with mother-inw and sisters-inw. Just take Quan as an example. Though his mother is dead, he treats his wet nurse as his mother because of hisck of maternal love¨Ca poor guy. One of his favorite concubines once contradicted his wet nurse. She said that the wet nurse was a lowly maid who used to wash other masters¡¯ feet. Next day, that concubine was given to the servants, a group of green-eyed servants. And just after one night, the concubine was tortured by them...¡±

    ¡°Come on! How did you know that! Is it true? Tell me everything you know!¡± He Danggui groped out a silver needle stained with Qian Mudan¡¯s poison, putting it in front of him. Did Zhu Quan do something to her? He did think it was troublesome to give her a new false identity to get into his mansion, didn¡¯t he? So, he just let Feng Yang get her away from Luo¡¯s Family and then lock her up until he was not boring to enjoy, right?

    Bai Yangbai looked at that poison needle sadly. Women were always fickle. Just now she said that if he was poisoned, she would go all the way down the mountain to find an antidote for him, which almost made him tell her half of the recipe for his bath water. While, now, she even wanted to stab him with a poison needle. This was a highly poisonous silver needle without an antidote but not a pleasant prop that she could y with good friends. She would rather take out a dagger than it. What a devil!

    ¡°My queen, calm down please. How dare I cheat you? I just heard it with my ears. Please forgive me! By the way, you are so excited and mentioned Feng Yang specifically. Is that the master of Caobang Organization also included in your n?¡± Bai Yangbai couldn¡¯t help asking even he was in danger. ¡°Then you are wrong. It seemed that he is a gay. You will be a widow if you marry him! He even doesn¡¯t touch the concubines his legitimate mother sent. One of his concubines could not bear to have illicit intercourse with a bodyguard of Feng¡¯s Mansion, which even doesn¡¯t matter to him even if they were caught. He was not angry at all, and he gave the concubine to that guard. Soter, other concubines followed the example of her. They all finally fell in love with servants, cooks or coachmen as well! Also, if you marry him and you want to break up with him, you have to do the same thing with one coachman. And I would like to be this man to help you¡­¡±

    ¡°Xiaoyi, use it. That one in your hand is dangerous. Don¡¯t take out. It will hurt you and others.¡±

    Next moment, the poison needle in He Danggui¡¯s left hand was reced by a small, sharp and shimmering dagger. And her right hand was caught in a rough and calloused hand out of Bai Yangbai¡¯s gloved hand. When He Danggui looked back, Meng Xuan became quiet. He took away the silver needle in her hand and all silver needles wrapped with ¡°Bai Yangbai¡¯s fabric.¡± ¡°What are you doing? Give me back my needles!¡± She said disapprovingly.

    Meng Xuan pointed to the dagger in her hand and said, ¡°I exchange my dagger for your silver needles, and you won¡¯t lose anything. This dagger is the only thing my grandfather left me before he died. I cherish it so much that I couldn¡¯t bear to use it to cut the hands of Qian Mudan. Now I give it to you. This is the best sharp de in the world, which isparable to the Seven-star Sword that Cao Mengde (also Cao Cao) used to kill Dong Zhuo in the Three Kingdoms period. And it¡¯s easy to cut off ears and noses.¡± He added with bitchiness. Tears fell down from Bai Yangbai¡¯s face. Bai Yangbai thought that he was just an ordinary Taoist Sage who was fond of pretending to be a servant.

    He Danggui shook her head and said, ¡°No. I do not want your dagger. I stole those silver needles from Senior Lord Luo¡¯s room, and I used them for almost 3 years. Give it back to me.¡±

    Meng Xuan carefully wrapped a packet of poison needles and collected them into the innermostyer of pouch, and then he answered slowly, ¡°These needles are highly poisonous. I¡¯m afraid that you won¡¯t clean them up, so I decided to do it for you. As for the dagger, once you receive it, you can¡¯t return it back. My grandfather told me this dagger is the protection tool to his granddaughter-inw before he passed away.¡±

    He Danggui was surprised and angry, ¡°Nonsense! Take your dagger and get out of here right away. I will extract all the information that that swindler knows. Stop bothering me! Give my needles back! I haven¡¯t made up with you yet... Why are you hugging me? You told me that women should keep distance with men, and I should keep my manners, right?¡±

    Meng Xuan stood behind her in silence, and his chest pressed against her back. His right hand held her cold hand, and his left hand...pressed her plump bosom!

    He Danggui¡¯s chest was touched suddenly. She just wanted to test whether the dagger was really sharp to cut down the hand or not. However, the ¡°groper¡± slowly moved down a bit, and held her waist behind tighter and tighter.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± said Meng Xuan, pressing against the top of her head with his chin. He apologized, ¡°You are so short. I want to hold your waist, but not your chest. While, you handled it so well that only I can do this to you. If anyone else does this, you should do it with your dagger. I¡¯ll pay for it if anything happened. So, just do it. Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± Then he nced at Bai Yangbai.

    He Danggui gnashed her teeth, ¡°Meng Xuan, let me go. How dare you hug me? I hate you. Stop your crocodile tears! Ah!¡±

    Meng Xuan gave her cheek a kiss and said tenderly, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, girl. No matter how many men Madam Luo looks for you, the man who can marry you is me only. Even if it needs to block the way to rob the bride, I will take you back to Meng¡¯s Family, to my room. Now, let¡¯s listen to Bai Yangbai¡¯s words first. If Madam Luo wants to promise you to Feng Yang or Guan Mo, I¡¯ll call on her and tell her give it up. If she has already begun to negotiate with those two families, I¡¯ll try to destroy it. In short, don¡¯t worry about it. I¡¯ll help you.¡± Why was she so scared when she heard Madam Luo was fond of Feng Yang? Actually, he knew a bit about Feng Yang. He was a gentleman.

    He Danggui sneered, ¡°Meng Xuan, I don¡¯t need your sympathy. I can¡¯t give you what you want, and also you can¡¯t give me what I want. So, from now on, there is no rtionship between us! Let me go, or I¡¯ll stab you with this dagger, and you will ...¡±

    ¡°Uh, I¡¯m sorry...¡± Bai Yangbai interjected.

    ¡°No, never.¡± said Meng Xuan.

    Bai Yangbai turned up his volume, ¡°I¡¯m sorry to interrupt both of you, but there¡¯s arge crowd headed by President Bai and Pedant Bao. Look! They haven¡¯t seen us yet. Do we need to see the fun, or converse with the loving feeling while drinking and eating?¡± In fact, Mr. Bao¡¯s name was Bao Shuangfu, but since Bai Yangbai called him ¡°Pedant Bao¡± (Bao Suanfu in Chinese pronunciation), this name was popr in the whole Chengxu Academy. Mr. Bao was so angry that he squatted in the corner to curse Bai Yangbai.

    ¡°See the fun.¡± said He Danggui. She would like to see what would happen when Shi Hua Poison attacked the most. She was reborn because of Zhou Jinn¡¯s Xiaoyao Poison. Therefore, she felt awesome towards the venomous insect from her heart.

    ¡°Converse with the loving feeling.¡± Meng Xuan said. For the first time, he felt Bai Yangbai was an understanding man.

    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Bai Yangbaipromised their wills and came up with a perfect idea, ¡°Why don¡¯t we hide in that bamboo grove and watch what will going on here? Both of you have eyes in the back of your head. Besides, it¡¯s so dark and my eyes are in poor vision, so you can do whatever you want. Never mind. Merciful Buddha¡­¡± he said.

    He Danggui cut away a piece of clothing of Bai Yangbai and scolded him, ¡°If you continue to be so bitchy, I will kill you, so that you will be Emperor¡¯s Princess!¡±

    ¡°Xiaoyi, don¡¯t be so rude.¡± said Meng Xuan tenderly, ¡°Since he is so considerate of us, let¡¯s go and hide in the bamboo grove, and see what they will do with Qian Mudan. Since Yi Tong have heard your diagnosis, he will surely persuade them to cut off her right hand. After all, life is more important than anything else.¡±

    He Danggui struggled to extricate herself from the arms of Meng Xuan and said angrily, ¡°It¡¯s toote. It seems that Shi Hua Poison have been attacking, and now no one can save her including the Immortal. Why don¡¯t you give her a short suffering?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯ste, isn¡¯t it? But just now I thought she can be saved, and you refused.¡± Meng Xuan frowned and looked at Qian Mudan, who was ceaselessly sitting down and lying down in the distance. He said, ¡°Her eyes open widely, but it¡¯s so weird. What will happen? Will she die?¡±

    He Danggui nodded and then shook her head. She said, ¡°From book, I learn that if a person who was poisoned Shi Hua Poison gets the attack for 3 times, that person will be a living dead, a corpse which can still walk.¡±

 Chapter 166 - Be naked face to face in the dark

    <h4>Chapter 166 Be naked face to face in the dark</h4>

    ¡°Oh, they areing!¡± Bai Yangbai opened his eyes widely and eximed, ¡°Let¡¯s go! Otherwise, we will not be able to look on their troubles with indifference! And neither of you can be naked in the dark or express feelings to each other! I see Seventh Childe has been ready, ho-ho!¡±

    Hearing it, He Danggui used kung fu called ¡°Shaolin Long Zhua Shou¡± angrily and directly pinched Bai Yangbai¡¯s neck. Bah, he was known as the sage who could summon wind and rain, or ¡°the Dragon King on the earth¡±. Actually, he was so disrespectful of himself and was full of nasty ideas.

    But Meng Xuan suddenly realized that Bai Yangbai was the most honorable and lovable Taoist priest in the world. Meng Xuan had seen that Xiaoyi looked for Bai Yangbai all the time and could always find ways to let him appear, no matter how Bai Yangbai hid. And she thought of Bai Yangbai first after the ident happened, which made Meng Xuan be so jealous that he secretly thought of Bai Yangbai as his enemy. But now, it seemed that Bai Yangbai really didn¡¯t like her at all. Ho-ho, what a saint he was. Such a beauty often went to his room to take a bath, but he was not tempted...

    Suddenly, Meng Xuan was angry. Then he pinched Bai Yangbai¡¯s shoulder by ¡°Shaolin Long Zhua Shou¡± and asked Bai Yangbai angrily, ¡°Bai Yangbai! Why did Xiaoyie so often to your room to take a bath? And once she stayed in your room for the night. What did you do to her?¡±

    Bai Yangbai immediately cried in pain. Whoops, He Danggui didn¡¯t really want to scratch him, but Meng Xuan did. Bai Yangbai felt as if 1 or 3 bones of his shoulder had been crumbed off. Whine. It was an obvious revenge. He had taught the Zhou Yi Can Tong Qi loudly three years ago and often disturbed Meng Xuan¡¯s sleep. Now, Meng Xuan was looking for an opportunity to revenge!

    He Danggui also vaguely heard a sound of crack, and it seemed toe out of Bai Yangbai¡¯s body. So, she turned hastily to step Meng Xuan¡¯s feet and said angrily, ¡°Meng Xuan, stop. Don¡¯t hurt him. Just ask him what you want. Why did you hit him!¡±

    ¡°You hit first.¡± Two men said in their hearts at the same time.

    At this moment, they saw a group of people headed by President Baiing here. They had no time to tangle. Meng Xuan took He Danggui¡¯s hand and ran to the bamboo grove, but He Danggui shook off his hand. Meanwhile, He Danggui grabbed Bai Yangbai¡¯s cor and ran to the bamboo grove, but Bai Yangbai snatched his cor and ran to the bamboo grove with his injured shoulder. Finally, they hid in the bamboo grove where the moon didn¡¯t shine before they were discovered.

    As they came in, He Danggui wanted to look Bai Yangbai¡¯s wound. She took off his tattered robe, one of whose sleeves was missing, as she asked anxiously, ¡°Are you OK, geezer? How many bones are broken? Does it hurt? Where? Let me see.¡±

    Bai Yangbai tried to protect his cor and politely refused He Danggui, ¡°Thanks, I¡¯m fine. You undress the man behind you. He likes it best!¡±

    He Danggui didn¡¯t believe, ¡°I heard your bones were broken. How could it not be hurt? Don¡¯t be afraid. Take off your clothes and let me have a look, OK?¡± She thought Bai Yangbai was afraid that Meng Xuan would see his ¡°real chest¡±, which was fairplexioned and stic, instead of a middle-aged man¡¯s skin. So, shemanded Meng Xuan, ¡°I¡¯m hungry. You go to the canteen and fetch me 2 buns.¡±

    Meng Xuan didn¡¯t be fooled. He folded his arms around his chest and stared at her. He condescendingly said, ¡°Let¡¯s go together if you are hungry. I¡¯m not going anywhere. You can treat him if you want, but I will be here.¡± He also felt sorry that he had broken Bai Yangbai¡¯s bones. After all, Bai Yangbai had just put in a good word for him. But Meng Xuan didn¡¯t expect that the Taoist Sage, Bai Yangbai, was so vulnerable that he only used less than 10 percent internal force to hurt Bai Yangbai badly. He was almost as fragile as a pottery figurine. Bai Yangbai had been in Jianghu for many years. How could he still be alive?

    Meng Xuan wouldn¡¯t listen to He Danggui, so He Danggui only had to persuade Bai Yangbai to take off his clothes. Bai Yangbai knew he could not deceive her, so he had to tell the truth, ¡°Girl, I¡¯m really fine. The shoulder pads I just broken were made of y. s, I want to get an apology from Meng Xuan and ask him to be respectful to me in the future. But I failed.¡±

    Meng Xuan suddenly understood. He felt hard when he had touched Bai Yangbai¡¯s body. He thought that Bai Yangbai had a more fragile but indestructible body. It turned out to be y. Meng Xuan smiled and said, ¡°If you tell the reason why ¡®my wife¡¯ went to your house to take a bath and the process in detail, I will make a solemn apology to you and be very respectful to you when we meet again.¡±

    Meng Xuan was no longer like a free and easy horse, but now he looked like a stubborn ox with horns. He was so stubborn, which displeased He Danggui.

    She said gravely, ¡°Childe Meng, first of all, I don¡¯t know you very well, and we don¡¯t have any promise of marriage. I¡¯m not worthy of being your wife, please know thismon sense before you speak¨CI¡¯m not your possession, and I have my own privacy. Second, if you don¡¯t believe me at all, my words and actions will always be in doubt in your eyes, and they are always not correct behaviors, which are bad for reputation and integrity. I don¡¯t think it is necessary to exin, and I don¡¯t want everyone to understand my character temperament. Go and find your perfect wife. Don¡¯t pester me all the time.¡±

    After a short silence, Meng Xuan said, ¡°Just I believe all of you, Xiaoyi, I ask you. Do you love me a little?¡± He thought a while, then added, ¡°Love between men and women.¡±

    After a short silence, He Danggui gritted her teeth and confessed to him, ¡°Meng Xuan, I¡¯m d to have a friend like you, and I am lucky enough, too. Although I saved you once, I still owe you more when I think carefully. So, I don¡¯t want to cheat you anymore.¡± As she said, she returned the dagger to Meng Xuan and sincerely said, ¡°In fact, I have no feelings for you, and I can¡¯t receive your dagger. Please take it back, or I¡¯ll throw it on the ground.¡±

    Meng Xuan wouldn¡¯t take back the dagger, nor would he believe her. He smiled awkwardly and then said, ¡°We are not familiar with each other, aren¡¯t we? What about those we had in the bamboo grove? What about those we had in your room 3 years ago?¡± He demanded seriously, ncing at Bai Yangbai before she could answer, ¡°I will whisper to her, Taoist priest, please go to the bamboo grove.¡±

    Bai Yangbai didn¡¯t move. He turned to He Danggui and said bitterly, ¡°Whoops, the shoulder is too painful to move. Although the bones don¡¯t break, I guess the wound are purple. I must rest for half a year to heal. Meng Xuan hurt me so badly for one thing that you insisted on taking your clothes off in my house, and the more I refused, the more you took off. And finally, you forced me to boil bath water. You should be responsible for me, an ordinary Taoist Sage, who works on boiling the bath water. And now, I am a seriously injured man!¡± Was Meng Xuan kidding him? He loved to hear whispers of others. Even if his shoulder hurt, he would like to see through the y.

    Meng Xuan wanted to believe Xiaoyi very much, but he hesitated and finally asked, ¡°Is that true? Are you really naked in front of Bai Yangbai?¡±

    ¡°Ah¨C¡± There was Qian Shuixian¡¯s cry from the river bank, ¡°Sister, what¡¯s wrong with you? How could this be!¡±

    He Danggui was attracted. Then she came back to earth and replied, ¡°I didn¡¯t.¡±

    All 3 people in the bamboo grove had internal force. They all could improve the eyes, ears, mouth, nose and other senses of the 6-vision range. Even Bai Yangbai, the weakest among 3 people, could hear the conversations from hundreds zhang away by just using energy on his ears. And as long as he looked at the distance, the expression of those people seemed to be in front of him.

    Now, they heard the Yi Tong¡¯s voice, ¡°My childe said, the only way he can do is to keep the poison in Miss Qian¡¯s right hand but not get rid of it all. After cutting off Miss Qian¡¯s right hand, she can live more than 20 years. He also said his silver needles, um, poking the acupoint could onlyst a short time. If you want to save Miss Qian, hurry up.¡± Everything Miss He said had been transferred to his childe as his childe had ordered.

    Meng Xuan asked, ¡°Now, it¡¯s toote to save her. Shall we stop them from cutting hand? Leave her an intact body.¡±

    ¡°Anyway, she is going to die, whatever. Even if they really cut off, we can sew it with a needle and thread when they send out obituary. Aren¡¯t you whispering? Mind your own business.¡± Bai Yangbai looked very bad and badly said, ¡°Meng Xuan, He Danggui had lied to you. She took all her clothes off in my house that made me be very embarrassed. Ah, now, speaking of which, I am still very shy. One by one took off in front of my eyes.¡±

    He Danggui nodded and concluded, ¡°Let¡¯s wait and see. If they really want to cut off her hand, we will do something else. Qian Mudan is really going to die unless the man who made the venomous insect is found and let him solve. The book says this venomous insect poison takes 3 times attacks to kill people, and urs at month intervals. If this is the third time, she will die tonight. It¡¯s useless to do anything. Unfortunately, I wasn¡¯t careful enough to read, or I can distinguish how many times it happened. It is when you are using what you have learned from books that you wish you had read more books than you have.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Meng Xuan asked.

    He Danggui wondered, ¡°Of course, I have a photographic memory for reading. I can recite book that I read a few years ago. At that time, I didn¡¯t believe there were ¡®venomous insects¡¯ in the world, so I thought the book was rmist. Just few pages, I stopped reading.¡±

    Bai Yangbai asked curiously, ¡°Girl, where did you find such a book? I have read all books, including the pornographic books, which are from the night market in the capital, and the thick ck books in thergest library of Central Secretariat, but I¡¯ve never seen any books like what you said.¡±

    He Danggui raised her eyebrows, ¡°Haven¡¯t you read that book? How can you recognize it as a venomous insect at a nce?¡± This book was in big study of the mansion. In those years, Bai Yangbai had chosen this book for her.

    Bai Yangbai said persuasively, ¡°Little girl, when you grow up, you will understand that it is better to travel ten thousand miles than to read ten thousand books. When you read at a certain age, you will want to throw it, go out on the streets and visit ordinary people to experience life. When I was in Jianghu in those days, I saw that someone was attacked by a venomous insect. Tut, that was terrible, so I¡¯m sure I know. Jianghu, is a big book that broadens your horizon. Only when you go in, you will get the feeling. Anyway, you have read that book, why can¡¯t you diagnose it half of the day? Are your skills down, ¡®the First Master¡¯? And where did you learn the medical skills? I¡¯ve been curious for a long time.¡±

    ¡°There is always someone who is better than us. There is no real the first in the world. Besides, ¡®the First Master¡¯ is not an Immortal.¡± He Danggui exined, ¡°In order to expand my knowledge, I set a goal of ¡®reading hundreds of books a day¡¯. Then I forced myself to remember in those years.¡± In fact, the fast reading and shorthand methods were taught by you. He Danggui thought. Then she said, ¡°I¡¯m content with superficial understanding, instead ofprehensive understanding. So, although I know a lot, I¡¯m not as flexible as you who are ignorant and ipetent when thinking of the problem. You have been in Jianghu. I¡¯m so ashamed. Thus, I have a matter to bother you. Could you give me some advice?¡±

    ¡°Good attitude.¡± Bai Yangbai smiled and said, ¡°But you are just a little girl, why do you always talk like me, ¡®in those years¡¯? Young but full of ideas. What¡¯s up? Go ahead.¡±

    He Danggui said cautiously, ¡°Well, I have a friend who offended a great man. She was afraid that the man will propose a marriage to her...¡±

    ¡°Xiaoyi, is what Bai Yangbai said true?¡± Meng Xuan could not help interrupting the conversation between them. He wanted to ask the matter of bath directly, ¡°Why did you go to his house to bathe? How many times? Have you ever undressed in front of him? Did you let him see your body? I¡¯m sorry. I believe you, but I really want to know this thing clearly. You said no, but he said yes. I really want to trust you, but why would you, ady, take the initiative to go to another man¡¯s house to bathe? I saw these situations many times 3 years ago. Bai Yangbai kept avoiding you, and you kept trying to find him. He locked the door and you went in through the window. You liked him 3 years ago, right?¡±

    He Danggui was amused and angry. Then she signed, ¡°Seventh Childe, you watched carefully. But to tell the truth, you still don¡¯t believe me, right? As I said just now, it doesn¡¯t matter to me whether you believe it or not. And it¡¯s true that he hasn¡¯t seen. I¡¯m not lying, but the old liar is lying.¡±

    Bai Yangbai touched his nose guiltily and looked at Meng Xuan earnestly. He apologized, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Because my shoulder hurt, which affects my memory sequence. I identally transferred what happened in my dream to reality. Ho-ho.¡±

    ¡°Ah¨C¡± Qian Shuixian¡¯s cries came again from the bank of river, ¡°Don¡¯t cut my sister! Father, stop Guard Zhan quickly. Don¡¯t let him cut my sister¡¯s hand!¡±

    Mr. Bao said helplessly, ¡°Qian Shuixian, didn¡¯t you agree to cut your sister¡¯s arm afternoon? And you said to try as long as there was hope. Now only cutting one hand will let your sister live more than 20 years, why not?¡±

    Headed by President Bai and Mr. Zheng, the teachers nodded in agreement. They said it worth cutting the hand. Song Qiao, Wen Han and other male students gently persuaded Qian Shuixian. They said her sister looked so miserable that they should cut off the hand quickly, and cutting the hand was right for her sister. Wu Yuying and Niu Wenbao began to doubt her caprice. They could not help satirizing her. They said whether she had ulterior motives, so she deliberately tried to stop her sister¡¯s chance of survival. Childe Meng said, muchter, and her sister had dead.

    Thedies¡¯ words let Qian Shuixian be pale and speechless, so she only could cry quietly. Finally, Guard Zhan with the guard¡¯s special sword asked gruffly whether cut or not. He had other official business, so he couldn¡¯t stay here all the time.

    Mr. Bao looked at Qian Shuixian¡¯s father anxiously, who named Qian Xi and was the parvenu Liao Qing¡¯er said before. Mr. Bao said, ¡°It¡¯s up to you, Mr. Qian. Our academy is in favor of cutting off the hand totally.¡±

 Chapter 167 - Men and women were concerned with love and romance

    <h4>Chapter 167 Men and women were concerned with love and romance</h4>

    Liao Qing¡¯er used to describe that Qian Xi¡¯s long thin face seemed to be full of bitterness and hatred, as if he had experienced more ss struggle since his childhood. In fact, if his eyebrows could be rxed, he was also a middle-aged man with great vitality.

    He Danggui appraised Qian Xi in her heart and waited his answer. If he agreed to cut Qian Mudan¡¯s hand, she would stop him, which showed that cutting the hand could no longer save Qian Mudan. And she would provide another more terrible treatment which was extremely dangerous, strange and weird. It could only be used when the Shi Hua Poison first attacked; if this attack was the second time, only the people who poisoned could save her; if this attack was the third time, only Taishang Laojun could save her.

    However, these were from books. To believe everything in books was worse than to have no books at all. He Danggui never treated a patient with a venomous insect before. Moreover, Shi Hua Poison was extremely sinister. The person who poisoned Qian Mudan must hate her very much, because the person didn¡¯t kill Qian Mudan directly, but tortured her by poisoning. And this person wanted Qian Mudan to be a dead-alive person so that Qian Mudan couldn¡¯t die peaceful... What kind of hatred was this?

    In those years, Zhou Jinn poisoned He Danggui with Xiaoyao Poison. She not only wanted He Danggui to experience the extreme pain, but the most important reason was that she hoped He Danggui had no scars and toxins in her body after dying, which looked like a natural death. The book said, ¡°Xiaoyao Poison, as the name suggests, will make the face of the dead still be vivid and peaceful after being killed by it. It¡¯s hard to imagine that people will experience so extreme pain that they die. Although the body of the dead is stillplete for 49 days, the soul of the dead is destroyed and the person can¡¯t even be a ghost.¡±

    In general, someone died of Xiaoyao Poison, which was the most dignified way to die¨Cwhich was the sentence from that book. And He Danggui would never believe it until tonight. However, after seeing the horrible situation of Qian Mudan tonight, should she be grateful that Zhou Jinn gave her dignity? She didn¡¯t know whether the noble and affectionate gentleman had ever paid a visit to the ¡°lifelike and peaceful¡± remains of his beloved concubine? Did he let someone go to the bottom of the well to retrieve his little daughter¡¯s corpse which was wrapped in swaddling clothes with a long-lived lock?

    Ho-ho, ¡°venomous insect¡± was a terrible thing. No wonder people were frightened when hearing it. But even if it was frightful, it was only a tool. And the most frightful thing was people¡¯s minds. The thing could be described clearly in the books, but it was hard for everyone to guess others¡¯ ideas. Although the most practiced fortune-tellers who could know other people¡¯s psychology through his face, Royal Prophet, Qi Jing, and his son, Qi Xuanyu, they could only guess people¡¯s previous life, present life, and the bad experience in people¡¯s life. But they also couldn¡¯t guess the evil thoughts in people¡¯s minds.

    Those evil thoughts of viciousness, arrogance, jealousy and hate, cynicism and all negative emotions appeared in people¡¯s minds, which created those people such as Geng Bingxiu, Cao Hongrui, He Jingxian and Sun Meiniang. They spread their evil ideas to the world, and made more people be evil like them... Now, how much bad idea were there in He Danggui¡¯s mind? It was no matter that she consolidated step by step to calcte Second Branch of Luo¡¯s Mansion, but the juvenile who sat next to her was her little master, and he taught her many things. How could she, in order to let herself out of trouble, seduce him and deceive him to save herself from suffering?

    No, she couldn¡¯t go wrong like this. Otherwise, even if she could revenge in the future, she would be the second Sun Meiniang, who used her husband, Luo Chuangu, a man who she didn¡¯t love at all.

    Meeting in the Water Dungeon, Sun Meiniang proudly revealed to He Danggui that she also had been pregnant with a son of Luo Chuangu when she was young. But because of He Jingxian¡¯s letter, she was so excited that she aborted the child, and waited the tryst with He Jingxian. But a monthter, she realized she had been cheated and He Jingxian didn¡¯t n to meet her at all. However, she didn¡¯t regret too much. Anyway, she didn¡¯t like boy very much, because she thought the boy would grow up to be the same coward as Luo Chuangu...

    He Danggui secretly made up her mind to make it clear to Meng Xuan that originally, she wanted to use him to avoid enemies. Butter, she realized her wrong behavior, so she didn¡¯t want to use him anymore. If he was willing to forgive her, they could continue to be master and apprentice, or friends; if he wasn¡¯t willing to forgive her and keep her at a distance, she would say nothing and have less burden in her heart, and at least she could live a little easier. The biggest difference between herself and Sun Meiniang was that she could repent in time. She didn¡¯t use the kindness of good people and didn¡¯t involve innocent people.

    ¡°Bai Yangbai.¡± Meng Xuan said coldly, ¡°I hope you will not make jokes like this. And do not dream about someone you shouldn¡¯t dream about when your dreams are erotic. Otherwise, I¡¯ll make you stop joking and dreaming in the future. Now, I have some ¡°midnight whispers¡± with Xiaoyi. Do you really want to hear?¡±

    Bai Yangbai nodded excitedly, and asked He Danggui, ¡°Can I hear? I won¡¯t tell anyone!¡±

    He Danggui snorted nomittally and thought, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. Nothing can¡¯t be told, and I have decided to tell the truth to Meng Xuan. Now I want to face my heart frankly. It doesn¡¯t matter if there is an audience.¡±

    Meng Xuan looked at the beautiful face of He Danggui, and said all the words in his mind, ¡°Xiaoyi, just now, in this grove, you are so docile in my arms. You let me hug you quietly; let me take off your shoes and socks; let me warm your cold body.¡± There was a loud breath by Bai Yangbai. Meng Xuan continued to state the facts, ¡°You let me kiss your eyes, lips and body.¡± There was a cough by Bai Yangbai. Meng Xuan ignored, and he asked seriously, ¡°However, you said that you don¡¯t love me. What kind of feelings do you have for me? I have kissed you. Who else do you want to marry? We¡¯ve all been like this. You still said that you and I don¡¯t have a deep rtionship. What kind of rtionship do you think can be deep enough? I don¡¯t understand. Xiaoyi, you tell me.¡±

    Bai Yangbai¡¯s eyes were bright, his cough was loud. He shook his hands and hit his thighs. It seemed that the hidden messages in Meng Xuan¡¯s words had made him so excited that he forgot other things. However, He Danggui was biting her teeth andforting herself repeatedly, ¡°Nothing can¡¯t be told¡±, so that she could only resist the impulse of beating Bai Yangbai to the deep of bamboo grove. This guy was really boring.

    Bai Yangbai sit on the ground, took out a small box of melon seeds from his medicine box. He was eating the melon seeds and winking to Meng Xuan. He said, ¡°Boy, you are very good. I haven¡¯t even dreamed about that link, but you can actually do it. You are our example. Those boys in the academy will be mad when they know it.¡±

    He Danggui handed the dagger back to Meng Xuan, but his hands were behind him, so she turned to give it to Bai Yangbai and said, ¡°Take it first, and return it to Meng Xuan when he leaves.¡± Then sheid a handkerchief on the ground, facing the crowd outside the bamboo grove and intending to sit on the ground like Bai Yangbai. But Meng Xuan added his folded robe on her handkerchief and said, ¡°The ground is cool, so take good care of yourself. Otherwise, you will need me bring warm to you at midnight.¡± Bai Yangbai took the dagger and whistled loudly.

    At that time, He Danggui sat on it without hesitation and said coldly, ¡°It¡¯s unnecessary that you mention this in front of Bai Yangbai. The witness won¡¯t affect my choice. Even if there are more than 10 spectators, I will tell the truth today.¡±

    Meng Xuan also sat on the ground and nodded slightly, ¡°Come on, tell me what you lied to me.¡±

    He Danggui listened to the conversation of the people on the bank of the river in the distance. Just a while ago, she didn¡¯t hear it. It seemed that Qian Mudan¡¯s father, Qian Xi, also agreed to cut the hand, but her sister, Qian Shuixian, was still struggling to stop this.

    Qian Shuixian said in tears, ¡°Sir, everybody, you don¡¯t know that my elder sister is eager to do well in everything and pursues perfection. If she doesn¡¯t go to school at her best, she will not go out until she is satisfied. As a result, both of us are oftente. Once there was a kind of jade hairpin made of bloodstone in the capital. It was said that it was the first popr hairpin from the mansion of Princess Lin¡¯an. The bloodstone is precious and rare. A 3 zhang high rough was cut in the jade market of the capital, which only gained dozens of jin of bloodstone. These were open plundered by jade¡¯s shopkeepers. At that time, our father bought a jade hairpin of bloodstone from the capital at a high price, and gave it to my sister when he went home. She was very happy and wore it all night. However, when she went to the academy the next day, she found that Miss Wu even wore a whole set of bloodstone jewelry, and each one was better than her hairpin, so she...¡±

    He Danggui thought that Qian Shuixian was procrastinating. Wu Yuying also found this and said, ¡°It¡¯s the critical moment. What are you talking about? I think you want to dy time until Qian Mudan died, which will make you happy. Qian Shuixian, what do you mean?¡±

    Looking at the Qian Shuixian who couldn¡¯t answer the question, He Danggui thought that Qian Shuixian wouldn¡¯t poisoned Qian Mudan at least. Because a person who knew the poison slightly would know that the poison in the Qian Mudan¡¯s body had spread, and it was hard to recover. Therefore, If Qian Shuixian wanted her sister to die, she had achieved her goal now. Why did she use this set of clumsy procrastination tactics? It was in full view of the public, and there were guards of Yamen. Wasn¡¯t this too obvious? Eh, where was Qian Shuixian squinting at?

    ¡°Hello.¡± Of course, He Danggui mainly called Meng Xuan, ¡°Do you hear anything in the thick growth of wormwood on the other side of the river bank? Such as people¡¯s breath sounds?¡± The thick growth of wormwood was about 400 or 500 zhang away from here, and there was a rushing river in the middle. It was hard for He Danggui to hear people¡¯s breath sounds there, not to mention Bai Yangbai. So, in fact, she asked Meng Xuan.

    ¡°I can hear one person¡¯s breath sounds and 4- or 5-person¡¯s footsteps.¡± Meng Xuan listened carefully. Then he gazed at He Danggui affectionately and said, ¡°Let¡¯s talk about us. Your love for me...¡±

    ¡°One person¡¯s breath sounds and 4- or 5-person¡¯s footsteps?¡± He Danggui said inconceivably, ¡°Are you stupid? Or is something wrong with your ears?¡±

    Meng Xuan said impatiently, ¡°I don¡¯t know. Anyway, since I met you, I have a lot of trouble. I think you know my mind, but I extremely puzzle your attitude towards to me. Today, when I first met you, you were so docile and obedient that I could take whatever I wanted, which let me think that you also had feelings for me. Why did you be angryter and leave with Bai Yangbai without saying goodbye?¡±

    He Danggui recalled the past and answered, ¡°At that time, you were quarreling with me, so it¡¯s not surprising that I leave without saying goodbye. Besides, you found fault with me first, and I just fought back. Anyway, it¡¯s over. Now I think back to the quarrel process which was stupid at that time.¡±

    ¡°Stupid?¡± Meng Xuan looked at the girl¡¯s indifferent face and smiled sadly. In the rhythmic sound of Bai Yangbai¡¯s eating melon seeds, he said, ¡°Why do you always be so rational and calm? Don¡¯t you ever do anything in your life that you know is stupid but can¡¯t help doing? Do you really don¡¯t know why I¡¯m so angry with you? In the final analysis, this is because your indifferent attitude.¡±

    He Danggui pulled some grass from the ground, made a grass ring and said, ¡°Everyone has done stupid things. I have done so much before, and there are no good results. So, now I have formed the habit of thinking carefully when I do things. And I can¡¯t change it easily. Please forgive me more. In fact, the truth is that I have had a bad experience in Luo¡¯s Mansion in the past 3 years. Madam Luo asked me to recognize my Third Aunt as a godmother. Every day, I need to salute my godmother in the morning and at night, and all things are nice. But,ter, I found that she used to put a kind of poison in my tea and advise me to drink it all.¡±

    ¡°What kind of poison?¡± Meng Xuan was going to help her expel the poison, but He Danggui waved her hands and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. That was 3 years ago. Now I¡¯m still healthy. At that time, Madam Luo asked Zhu to cure his illness in my yard. Zhu ate the knockout drops given by his mother, and was poisoned by Datura, monkshood and radix aconiti. I secretly reced the medicine prescribed by Dr. Wu, because I felt that his body was too weak to be put into medicine. I only used the warm tonic and acupuncture method for him. But Zhu¡¯s body was too bad because of those poisons. At first, those poisons would invade his brain and make him be a fool. So, I sealed the acupoints with silver needles to make him be drowsy, and I wanted to let those poisons disperse slowly. Later, the wife in charge of the Luo¡¯s Family, Younger Second Madam Luo, went to tell Madam Luo that I was murdering Zhu and brought out the evidence that I had secretly changed Zhu¡¯s medicine. After being interrogated and confronted, although I didn¡¯t receive any punishment, I was not favored by Madam Luo. The reason why I was able to live in Tao Yao Yard and enjoy the treatment of a youngdy was because of several jujubes and a painting.¡±

    ¡°Jujubes and painting?¡± Two men who listened to the story in silence repeated in unison. Bai Yangbai unconsciously stopped eating melon seeds and asked with his chin in his hands, ¡°I have sneaked into Luo¡¯s Mansion several times, but I haven¡¯t seen any jujubes and paintings in your room. I¡¯ve also been to your boudoir many times. However, I only saw your maid who has round and little face often folds your bellybands into a pile and puts it on your bedside, and your bellybands embroidered with begonia and plum blossom, right? Ha-ha, don¡¯t stare at me. I¡¯m a gentleman. I only saw them but didn¡¯t take them.¡±

    He Danggui stared at Bai Yangbai coldly and said, ¡°You¡¯re so boring. In these 2 years, there is a severe drought in the northwest. Aren¡¯t you Dragon King? Why don¡¯t you bring rain to relieve all living beings?¡±

    Bai Yangbai picked his nose and looked up at the sky. He said, ¡°It can be seen from the disrespectful attitude of yours towards me that you don¡¯t believe that I¡¯m the kind of person who can know everything. Since nomon goal, nomon cause to cooperate, it¡¯s not convenient for me to disclose it to you. However, since the Luo¡¯s family think you hurt Zhu, why is he still eating and sleeping in your yard now? And he often moved into your room in the middle of the night and got into your bed. Once he wet your bed with urine.¡±

    He Danggui raised her eyebrows and said, ¡°You have also seen that Zhu¡¯s mother go to my yard to make troubles with me, but Zhu didn¡¯t want to go with her. I can do nothing about it. Although I don¡¯t hate children, it¡¯s inconvenient for me to support him for a long time. Everything about him should be kept by me. If I didn¡¯t take care of him, Younger Second Madam Luo always would say that I severely reduced his food, articles for use and monthly allowance. Then Younger Second Madam Luo would fight awsuit with me at home, which made a lot of troubles. Every time when I sent Zhu to his mother and Madam Luo, he will sneak back by himself at night. I reprimanded him several times with cold and unhappy expression, but he didn¡¯t leave, which made me be helpless. Now he is 7 years old, and he will be sent in the end.¡±

    Bai Yangbai covered his mouth and smiled. He said, ¡°In the past 3 years, you have one more mother and one more son. Oh, by the way, you also have a non-rtive younger brother, that strong young man who can carry such heavy things, right? My oh my, his strength is really powerful. Last time your Second Aunt said that there were obscene things hidden in your wall. She called the whole family to your yard and asked someone to knock on the wall to search. Your younger brother, Xiaoyou, pushed down the wall with brute force by one hand. It was so powerful! It was really disappointing that they didn¡¯t find anything atst. I was curious that what obscene things were in your yard, which your Second Aunt framed you.¡±

    Meng Xuan questioned closely, ¡°What are the jujubes and painting you just said?¡±

 Chapter 168 - He Danggui had a crush on Zhu Quan

    <h4>Chapter 168 He Danggui had a crush on Zhu Quan</h4>

    He Danggui said with a smile, ¡°You know that the jujubes are my trick on Madam Luo. As for the painting, it was drawn by an enemy. I hide it under the step stool beside my bed and trampled it every day to give vent to my anger.¡±

    After hearing this, the two men were silent for a moment, and then Bai Yangbai enlightened her sincerely, ¡°Girl, you are so young. Why do you have enemies? Don¡¯t be blinded by hatred and then ignore the good things in the world. You should treat the people who have trampled on you with tolerance, and believe that they are virtuous and amiable. Actually, they just like to bully you. Ho-ho, who drew that picture? Do I know him? It¡¯s useless for you to only trample on the painting. You should revenge back. I have many ways to trick people. Do you want to learn some from me? You can kowtow to me, and pay me 10 liang silver per method, which is cheap and good.¡±

    In the distance, a simr thing happened between Qian Xi and Qian Shuixian. Qian Xi enlightened his daughter, ¡°Shuixian, you are too young to backstab others. Certainly, you can¡¯t backstab your family. Even if your legitimate mother is a bit domineering, your legitimate sister Mudan takes good care of you and she is always apanying you. What¡¯s more, what your legitimate mother did are for your sake. When you grow up, you will understand her. She is not as fierce as you think. Actually, she is very concerned about you. Therefore, you should remember their kindness to you and treat them with more tolerance!¡± Then Qian Xi turned his head to Guard Zhan and nodded, ¡°Please cut off my daughter¡¯s arm!¡±

    Guard Zhan rushed up and waved his sword to cut. This action just happened in a moment. He Danggui didn¡¯t expect that they discussed patiently for a long time, but executed quickly. It was toote to run forward to stop. When she wanted to shout ¡°stop¡±, Meng Xuan beside her said, ¡°leave it to me¡±. And in the next moment, the crescent-shaped sword made of fine iron in Guard Zhan¡¯s hands had been broken, and be about 30 pieces of curly scrap iron. He could not cut off Qian Mudan¡¯s arm anymore.

    He Danggui asked in surprise, ¡°What did you do?¡±

    Meng Xuan showed her a few small steel balls in his hand and said, ¡°These are the bullets used in the musket. I poured the gunpowder out. It is very easy to throw and convenient to carry. Do you want to learn this skill of throwing hidden weapons?¡±

    He Danggui looked at him with envy and said with inferiority, ¡°Maybe my hands are not suitable for throwing hidden weapons. I have practiced many skills, but I always missed the targets. I can¡¯t even hit the bull¡¯s eye within 10 zhang, so I can¡¯t practice the masterstroke of throwing balls to break sword more than 100 zhang away like you in my whole life.¡±

    Meng Xuanforted her softly, ¡°In fact, I practiced many times to acquire this skill. I remember that when I threw the darts for the first time, I practiced for several hours to reach half the level of my skill before (Bai Yangbai thought, ¡°What did he say?¡±). You are clever. Even if you are a little clumsy asionally, you are lovely and interesting. If you want to learn how to throw hidden weapons, I can stay in Yangzhou City for a few more days and teach you from the most basic skills of 3 fingers and snapping of the finger. When you acquire this skill, you can hit anyone who you are disgusting 100 zhang away.¡±

    He Danggui was interested. However, she thought that she would show her utilitarian and insidious features to him immediately, so he would be angry and leave. How could he teach her kung fu again? Therefore, she lowered and shook her head gently, and said sadly, ¡°I appreciate your kind offer. But, how can I waste your time teaching me, a stupid disciple?¡±

    Meng Xuan seldom saw such a weak and sad girl. Now she was in the blooming age. She was daintier when showing such an expression, making others hardly tear themselves away from her. Meng Xuan sat closer and said with a smile, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter how stupid a disciple is and how long I teach. The key point is that the payment for me should be more generous, so I can teach with motivation and teach you with your aptitude better.¡±

    He Danggui wondered, ¡°You are young and have no family burden. Why do you earn extra money like Bai Yangbai? Do you indulge in eating, drinking, gambling and frequenting the brothels?¡± Bai Yangbai protested, ¡°I never go whoring!¡±

    ¡°I neither want the money nor go whoring.¡± Meng Xuan sat closer to her again, and lowered his voice a lot, ¡°Actually...you are the first girl I kissed and the first girl I want to marry. Since you are not happy in Luo¡¯s Family, why don¡¯t you marry me? Since you are going to marry me, I...¡± Meng Xuan moved next to her and close to her head, ¡°Is it reasonable that I want to advance part of tuition first?¡± Bai Yangbai nodded, ¡°It¡¯s reasonable. Girl, you should ept his proposal.¡±

    He Danggui turned her body away. Although she had no intention of marrying Meng Xuan anymore, she couldn¡¯t help having some obsessions and delusions. She sounded him out, ¡°The first girl that you want to marry? Will you have a second and a third? Will you marry someone elseter?¡±

    Bai Yangbai picked his nose and thought, ¡°Well, she asks Meng Xuan with the words that she had asked Duan Xiaolou. Even if she is a fairy and she can break through the shackles of family status and be the wife of a general, she can¡¯t let her husband only marry her in his whole lifetime! Even though he is not polygamous and doesn¡¯t like other girls, his mother, grandmothers, aunts, sisters, friends, superiors and subordinates would send some women to him. Got real, girl. This was the stark reality!

    Meng Xuan didn¡¯t expect that she would ask such a question. He didn¡¯t know how to answer at that time, so he said honestly, ¡°Well, I¡¯m not sure.¡±

    ¡°Not sure?! I heard that Seventh Childe is very methodical. You like to make a thorough n in advance to meet changes with constancy.¡± He Danggui raised her eyebrows slightly and asked with a smile, ¡°Does Seventh Childe have a n that how many wives and concubines do you want to marry in your life?¡±

    Meng Xuan tilted his head, thinking for a moment, and then replied seriously, ¡°I will marry 7 women. My father married 12 wives and concubines, except for those who were living outside. Besides, as an old saying goes, a man should have a polygamous marriage to continue the family line. You¡¯re my first wife, and I¡¯ll try to make you my wife. Of course, I will take you first in everything.¡±

    Bai Yangbai was nervous when he heard their conversion. He pounded his thighs violently and broke 3 pieces of leg guards made of y. The talks failed. The talks failed. She failed again!

    At that time, Duan Xiaolou answered this question by saying that at present he only had a concubine named Lian and a fianc¨¦e Guan Yun, who was appointed by his mother. In addition, there were 2 waiting-maids that his mother chose for him, who should be promoted to a higher status in the future. Then plus He Danggui, he would have 5 wives and concubines. Duan Xiaolou found that He Danggui seemed to be unhappy after listening to this, so he immediately guaranteed that he would neither marry the sixth woman nor take any new woman in distress to his home. Moreover, when He Danggui had a son, he would make her to be the Junior Wife.

    What a good thing! However, He Danggui was still unsatisfied after hearing this. Since then, she began to alienate Duan Xiaolou. After a few days, they had brokenpletely. Duan Xiaolou was so miserable that he drank wine and scratched the wall. Because of this, his hands were bloody. What a poor guy.

    Even Bai Yangbai thought that it was not worth for Duan Xiaolou. Duan Xiaolou was not much worse than Quan, and he was simpler than thetter. Even if he secretly framed He Danggui and her non-rtive younger brother, Xiaoyou, for a few times, he never really hurt her. He just wanted her to ask him for help. In this way, they could deal with the troubles and promote their rtionship. However, Bai Yangbai didn¡¯t know why when He Danggui knew the truth, she changed her attitudepletely. She immediately alienated Duan Xiaolou and avoided him like the gue. Duan Xiaolou would just apologize humbly with a sad face. If this happened to Quan, he must poke her acupoints to carry her back to the room and sleep with her before she could react. Then she had no time to lose her temper.

    The way for a man to live a better life was obvious when Bai Yangbai looked at Duan Xiaolou, who was in deep sorrow and Quan who was satisfied with his wives and concubines. Bai Yangbai went to persuade Duan Xiaolou to forget He Danggui and stop quarreling with his mother about breaking off the marriage with Guan¡¯s Family, because He Danggui didn¡¯t care about him at all. But Duan Xiaolou was like a stubborn cow who convinced that she didn¡¯t marry him just because she couldn¡¯t be his wife. As long as she could be his wife, she would change her mind and make up with him again. What a silly boy!

    No one could live asfortable and sober as Quan. As long as any official sent his daughter to him actively, he would take her. There were nearly 20 women. He couldn¡¯t remember their names, so he directly numbered them from No. 1 to No. 17, ha-ha!

    Quan just regarded women as women. When he needed them, he could let them serve him. When he didn¡¯t need them, he would leave them in the mansion as beautiful flowers. He never cared about love. His most favored concubines were the kind of obedient and cute girls. Although Bai Yangbai didn¡¯t know why these concubines looked a little like He Danggui, it might be that beautiful women looked very simr, ha-ha! Even the clothes on them were very simr with He Danggui. Their clothes were also mainly cyan and light blue. And there were only one or two small flowers on their head. However, those concubines were more obedient than a little sheep. They were different from He Danggui, who was as stubborn as a stone and hurt Duan Xiaolou¡¯s heart constantly. And she gave Peng Jian and Luo Baiji a bloody nose.

    Therefore, a man should either cherish life and stay away from beautiful women, or just like Quan, regard women as animals like cats and dogs. If he was happy, he would feed them, and if he was unhappy, put them back in the cage.

    Now, He Danggui was attracted by his detached attitude and charm. Just hearing Quan¡¯s name, she was so excited that she trembled from head to foot. As the saying goes, everything had its vanquisher. If Bai Yangbai didn¡¯t have a private rtionship with He Danggui, he really wanted to take her, the heartless girl who specially abused men, to Quan, and let Quan help to teach her. Then he took her to Duan Xiaolou tofort his serious inner trauma!

    Bai Yangbai thought Meng Xuan had given a wrong answer, so He Danggui would immediately show a cold face, break up with him, or shout at him, ¡°My husband can only have one wife. He can¡¯t sleep with other women all his life. Otherwise, there is no way to marry me! Don¡¯te and propose to me before you think about it clearly!¡±

    But the terrible scene that Bai Yangbai imagined didn¡¯t happen. He Danggui seemed to be attracted by the ¡°wife¡± and ¡°taking you first in everything¡± promised by Meng Xuan.

    She thought for a moment with a smile and pointed out the irrationality, ¡°It¡¯s inappropriate. Even if Seventh Childe has a way to persuade your parents to allow me to be your wife, Seventh Childe has higher family status. Except that I will marry you through a special way, other wives and concubines of Seventh Childe and Seventh Childe¡¯s brothers all have a higher status than me. How could the other wives and concubines of Seventh Childe be willing to be inferior to me? Besides, how could the wives of Seventh Childe¡¯s brothers be willing to have the same status as me?¡±

    Meng Xuan frowned and carefully thought about the question she asked. Then he immediately said with a smile, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. You are so smart and lovely. They will like you. My mother, the wife in charge of Meng¡¯s Mansion, is easy-going. As long as you can please her, no one in Meng¡¯s Mansion will look down on you. You should have confidence in yourself.¡±

    He Danggui didn¡¯t expect that Meng Xuan was such ayman in the family affairs although he lived two times, as if he had never lived in a mansion. As long as she behaved ¡°cleverly¡±, would all women, including Meng Xuan¡¯s other wives and concubines, like her? Ha-ha, Meng Xuan was indeed a general who grew up in the army. He had never married a wife or concubine. He didn¡¯t know the family matters. He Danggui nodded smilingly and said, ¡°It sounds that the atmosphere of Meng¡¯s Mansion is much better than that in Luo¡¯s Mansion. I really envy you. But you are so busy, so you must not live at home for a long time every year.¡±

    Meng Xuan didn¡¯t understand, ¡°Why are you asking so detailed? Are you afraid that my wives and concubines will not get along well with you? You can rest assured. My family rules are very strict. It is stipted in Instructions of Meng¡¯s Family that the wives and concubines should not abuse, fight or persecute each other for their husband¡¯s attentions. Those who vite the rules would be divorced. If other people bully you, I will help you. Besides, you are so smart, so who can bully you? You should have confidence in yourself.¡±

    ¡°Instructions of Meng¡¯s Family?¡± He Danggui asked curiously, ¡°Is it working? Who enforces thew?¡±

    Meng Xuan nodded and said, ¡°The Instructions of Meng¡¯s Family is very effective, which includes 48 main rules, 256 detailed rules and more than 1,000 daily rules. In addition to my mother who is in charge of punishment ording to family instructions, every master in Meng¡¯s Family has the right to supervise. At the same time, they are also supervised by others. If they vite one of the most serious 12 rules, even the wife will be divorced. There can be exceptions to the wives and concubines who have children. However, they will be punished by demotion. There are also many kinds of physical punishment, such as tonsure, p, mping fingers, kneeling down for a long time, holding water on the head, or beating. Punishment corresponding to each mistake is stipted in the family instructions.¡±

    He Danggui sighed, ¡°No wonder Meng¡¯s Family is an aristocratic family. It has made a set of such admirable family instructions.¡±

    Meng Xuan went to take her hand and said softly, ¡°Therefore, we should have children as soon as possible after you marry me, so that you can get less punishment if you make mistakes. Since you like Instructions of Meng¡¯s Family so much, I¡¯ll go back and find one for you. You can read it several times before you marry me. When you marry into Meng¡¯s Mansion, you will be more confident.¡±

    Bai Yangbai burst outughing, and then his tears came fromughing. He thought that Meng Xuan was so cute. Other childes used jewelry and love letters to court He Danggui, but he used a dagger and a book of family instructions. The dagger was for her self-defense so that other men couldn¡¯t approach her. The book was for her to read, and let her be afraid of Meng¡¯s Family before she got married. Besides, it was obvious that He Danggui hadn¡¯t promised to marry him, but he had thought about their children, as if he was sure that she would marry him. By the way, what did they do in the bamboo grove just now? What gave him confidence...

    It was said that the eyebrows of a virgin are smooth, and those women¡¯s eyebrows, who were not a virgin, were messy. With the faint moonlight, Bai Yangbai looked at He Danggui and found that her eyebrows were smooth...

 Chapter 169 - Girls sold afrodyn

    <h4>Chapter 169 Girls sold afrodyn</h4>

    Meng Xuan raised his eyebrows and asked, ¡°What are youughing at? I want to give my fianc¨¦e a copy of family instructions. Is that funny?¡±

    ¡°Sorry,¡± Bai Yangbai grinned, ¡°I just suddenly thought of a joke I heard yesterday.¡±

    Meng Xuan just wanted to say something more, but He Danggui made a gesture to remind them to stop speaking. She pointed at the wormwood grass in the distance to let them listen. Just as Meng Xuan said, there were a lot of footsteps. This time even Bai Yangbai, who had the worst hearing, could hear them. Bai Yangbai said with a smile, ¡°It turns out that there are a group of people observing like us. Who they are? Let¡¯s go and check it out.¡± He Danggui said, ¡°If you want to know who they are, you can go and see it.¡± Then Bai Yangbai ran away immediately. Meng Xuan paused and said, ¡°It¡¯s weird. I can only hear one living person there, and the rest who walk without gasping are strange. What if Bai Yangbai gets in danger?¡±

    He Danggui couldn¡¯t help shuddering and looked at Meng Xuan, ¡°What are you talking about? What dangers can exist in the academy? Bai Yangbai can even fight with the tiger and the leopard. What¡¯s the thing which walks without gasping, ghost? It sounds scared in the midnight.¡±

    Meng Xuan seized the golden chance, quickly stretched out his arms and hugged He Danggui with smile, ¡°It¡¯s better if he doesn¡¯te back. Yi,e back to the suburban courtyard with me. I have something good to show you, and I¡¯m sure you will like it.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± He Danggui asked without interest.

    Meng Xuan took off the camellia from her bun and put it in his sleeve. Then he picked 2 or 3 unknown wildflowers from the ground and gave them to He Danggui. He kept He Danggui guessing and said, ¡°You will know when you get there. You said that you only need to ask for leave to Madam Luo, saying you want to y with Liao Qing¡¯er, so you can spend the night outside casually. I promise that you won¡¯t feel the trip fruitless. No time like the present. Let¡¯s do it tonight!¡±

    ¡°Is there a ghost in the academy tonight?¡± There were voices of dozens of male and female students in the distance, ¡°Qian Mudan drowned and didn¡¯t die, but she got a strange poison, which was terrible. Why did Guard Zhan¡¯s sword suddenly change into a pile of scrap iron? Was it hit by lightning?¡±

    Yi Tong was probably sure that his Childe did it. When he saw an unbroken bullet on the ground, he was almostpletely sure. His Childe secretly stopped Qian Mudan from being cut. Although he didn¡¯t know the reason, he quietly stepped the bullet into the mud and hid severalrge pieces of bullet wreckage in a simr way.

    At this time, Qian Mudan no longer sat up andy back suddenly like before, and no longer made a strange noise. She justy on the ground with her eyes wide open. But her feet were pedaling unconsciously on the grass, as if she was in endless pain, but lost the vocal organs.

    Her father, Qian Xi, was heartbroken and snapped, ¡°Where is the doctor?! Who has a sword? Any sword is OK. let me cut it!¡±

    Everyone looked at each other anxiously, but no one came out to offer a knife. Mr. Bao hurriedly asked Yi Tong, ¡°Why did Childe Meng who went to the east toilet still note back yet?¡± Yi Tong said, ¡°I just forgot to say it. Childe Meng said that he had done everything he can. Now we need to cut her arm as soon as possible, and they... he had something else to do, so he left first.¡± Mr. Bao asked Doctor Li¡¯s trace again, but Yi Tong couldn¡¯t help Mr. Bao.

    Guard Zhan, Han Fang, Guan Mo and others studied the broken pieces of iron on the ground and whispered to each other. Then, Guard Zhan suddenly lifted his body lightly, with his feet hanging less than half an inch from the ground. Then he stepped on the grass and ran away quickly. Seeing this, Yi Tong was very anxious. Where was his Childe? Why didn¡¯t he show up? Why did he throw a hidden weapon to destroy the sword?

    Meng Xuan who hid in the bamboo grove embraced the beauty, sniffed her fragrance and sighed, ¡°The stone steps in the night are as cool as cold water, we sitting in the grove and gazing at the cowherd and the weaver. Girl, are you cold?¡±

    He Danggui broke free from Meng Xuan¡¯s arms and asked in surprise, ¡°You don¡¯t need to take flowers on my head and put them in your sleeves. There are so many camellias in this season. Listen, no matter where we are, you can¡¯t hug me anymore. We are not children anymore, and we only hugged a few times for transmitting internal energy when we were young.¡±

    ¡°I just like to collect things rted to you because you never give me gifts.¡± Meng Xuan found 4 dolls in He Danggui¡¯s sleeves, ¡°Duan Xiaolou, Gao Jue, Lu Jiangbei, and Liao Zhiyuan. They are like real people. Who made these? I also want to make two dolls in our images... In fact, there are so many postures to transmit internal energy. It is unnecessary to hug you to transmit internal energy to Dantian. When I took away your internal energy, I hugged you to make it easier for me to sort out internal energy; but when I transmitted it back to you, I could have used my palms on your belly. But I had different feelings to you at that time. I thought it was too far from you if I transmit internal energy like that, so I deliberately hugged you.¡± Then he kneaded the doll in Duan Xiaolou¡¯s image, ¡°By the way, I must clean up the smell that Duan Xiaolou left on you during the day. Why do you always let him hug you?¡±

    He Danggui recaptured four dolls and said, ¡°These belong to Qing. You saw her took them out of the purse for everyone to check, so you can¡¯t take them away. At that time, I had a n to marry Childe Duan. He proposed our marriage to my mother, and my mother also gave my date of birth and eight characters of a horoscope to him and asked him to wait two years before officially sending betrothal gifts. Therefore, I naturally have different attitude to him. However, we never hugged each other every day as you said. He only hugged me 3 times in total, which were all for decent reasons. He never had the intention to flirt with me. On the whole, Childe Duan is more respectful than you.¡±

    Meng Xuan took the pouch from her waist and said, ¡°We? It sounds so close. Three times? Good memory. I heard that he and Guan Yun had an engagement, but he didn¡¯t marry Guan Yun. Guan Yun became a 20-year-olddy and lived in Liao¡¯s Mansion in the capital to learn the tea art course over and over again. Are you still missing Duan Xiaolou?¡± Meng Xuan opened her pouch, found a small decoration for folding fans from a handful of silver, and hung it on his white jade silk belt with silver thread.

    ¡°What are you hanging? This is a decoration for folding fans, not a jade pendant!¡± He Danggui immediately grabbed it and said angrily, ¡°This thing also doesn¡¯t belong to me. It belongs to my Second Cousin. I broke it a little bit, so I¡¯m going to repair it or buy a simr one. Look, it¡¯s broken a little here. Childe Duan is righteous, and he will be kind to Miss Guan. It¡¯s none of your business. Why are you robbing my things suddenly? You robber!¡±

    Meng Xuan said unhappily, ¡°You have never given me a love token. Now that you agree with my proposal, I am deeply afraid that you will regret in the future, so I...¡± Then he reached his hand to find ¡°a token¡± on her head. But there was only a pale pink butterfly-shaped hair essory on her head. She even didn¡¯t have a little jade hairpin. The butterfly hair essory was fixed so firmly that it would mess up her hair if he mmed it.

    He Danggui covered her bun and avoided, frowning and whispering, ¡°Get your hands off my hair! Stop searching. You can¡¯t take it away. This is the new essory in Qing¡¯s hometown that she taught me to make. It took me 2 days to make it, and my eyes were sore. I didn¡¯t wear it until today. You can¡¯t put it on your head. What¡¯s more, I don¡¯t know my engagement and haven¡¯t finished my words...¡±

    ¡°How absurd! Luo¡¯s Family treats you so harshly. They don¡¯t even buy hairpins for you, and you even have to make essories by yourself,¡± Meng Xuan said indignantly, ¡°The 3 daughters of the concubines in my family own many essories which should be put in big wooden boxes. Since you live a hard life in Luo¡¯s Family, you should think about our marriage at once!¡±

    He Danggui solemnly shook her head and said, ¡°No! To be honest, I have a big feud with Luo¡¯s Family. Before it is finished, I can¡¯t follow Buddhism now. And I¡¯m doing business with Qing now. We opened Quan Ji Tang and Yi Hong Brothel. I am richer than you. I don¡¯t wear hairpins because I feel too heavy.¡±

    ¡°What feud? After you marry me, I will deal with this for you. You don¡¯t have to worry about those things. Just write down the name and handling way of the enemy.¡± Meng Xuan grabbed her hands, but she escaped. Meng Xuan frowned, ¡°That Yi Hong Brothel is not fit for you. You should walk around it, let alone being the boss! I hear that there are prostitutes and even¡­ pimps. You¡¯d better be far away from it. I don¡¯t want to repeat again. Besides, is the Quan Ji Tang a pharmacy that specializes in men¡¯s sexual dysfunction? Have you diagnosed those men?¡±

    He Danggui carefully looked at Meng Xuan in surprise, ¡°How could you know this so clearly. Could you also be deeply troubled by this disease?¡± No wonder... Meng Xuan did not get married until he was 19 in his previous life.

    Meng Xuan felt very angry and funny, ¡°Don¡¯t talk nonsense. I¡¯m very well. I learn about it through other channels. Tell me that why you are doing this job? Do youck money? Answer me! Have you diagnosed the men?¡±

    He Danggui was greatly displeased, and refuted quickly, ¡°What the difference whether I have diagnosed them or not? As long as there are diseases, doctors will naturally cure patients. When a patient is sick, he also has no right to choose what kind of disease he wants to or not to get. Can a doctor choose what disease he should diagnose or shouldn¡¯t? You are really naive, Meng Xuan! Doctors who diagnose diseases can be divided into high and low sses. Some are imperial doctors and others are ordinary doctors. But there is no difference between cold and sexual dysfunction. I don¡¯t think thetter is embarrassing. The way I make money is legal, including the ie of Yi Hong Brothel. If you don¡¯t believe me, I will have nothing to say. Anyway, I am with a clear conscience.¡± He Danggui was disappointed. At the end, her voice was as cold as broken ice. What was wrong with Meng Xuan? Why did he ask He Danggui with endless questions and haggle over every ounce? As if he wanted to ask the doubts that he had umted three years. Where was the calm youth who was like the wind 3 years ago?

    At the beginning, there was a bad business in ¡°Quan Ji Tang¡± for two months as ¡°Ren Shu Tang¡± of Guan¡¯s Family coincidentally opened a branch on the next street. Comparing Ren Shu Tang, a branch of a well-known pharmacy, and Quan Ji Tang, a newly opened pharmacy, most people naturally chose the former without hesitation. Although Ren Shu Tang was 30% more expensive than Quan Ji Tang for medicinal materials and medical treatment, the quality of Ren Shu Tang was obvious to all. Quan Ji Tang¡¯s medicinal materials were of sufficient weight and their prices were lower than the market price. As a result, all people inevitably wondered and even suspected that the medicinal materials of Quan Ji Tang were adulterated.

    After discussion with Liao Qing¡¯er, He Danggui directly imitate Bai Yangbai and disguised herself as an old doctor. She used her superb medical skills to get rid of the diseases, attracting a group of ordinary people who came for cheap medicine. They gradually had the first batch of stable customers and some good reputation.

    Later, there were several richer patients who could not be cured for a long time in Ren Shu Tang and couldn¡¯t see two famous doctors Dr. Wu and Dr. Ma in San Qing Tang. Finally, they had a try to see the doctor in Quan Ji Tang.

    They had been suffering from heat injury to the lungs, bloody saliva, and a weak face for many years. With itchy throat and dry cough, they would have bloody phlegm which was bright red. In addition, their abdomen was burning like fire, and the diarrhea made them difficult to move around. Under the magical treatment of He Danggui, all those symptoms such as theplicated dysentery had been cured. They felt refreshed and vigorous. Afterwards, they made arge and heavy que and sent it to Quan Ji Tang, praising the excellent medical skills of the old doctor Xue Zhibai, who was disguised by He Danggui.

    Since then, Quan Ji Tang had also be a new and excellent pharmacy with a small fame (It was famous beyond four streets). However, it could only do business for ordinary people and a small number of rich people. High officials and noble people never went there because they all had settled doctors and could just let the doctor go to their homes. Who would line up to patronize a small Quan Ji Tang? If they lined up, they would go to San Qing Tang and Ren Shu Tang.

    Therefore, Quan Ji Tang¡¯s business was booming superficially, but the money actually earned was far less than the number that He Danggui and Liao Qing¡¯er expected. In the leaflets of Quan Ji Tang, the medical fee was free for the poor; it could be paid in half; and if there were special circumstances, the medical fee could not be paid. It was also determined after the consultation between He Danggui and Liao Qing¡¯er. After all, when the medicine pharmacy was named ¡°Quan Ji (the meaning was treating all)¡±, it had already carried the initial wish of the two girls: allowing poor patients to take some lifesaving medicines. However, buying the store, decorating, purchasing medicinal materials, and the subsequent chain costs had made themselves in poor situation.

    In this way, Quan Ji Tang which was prosperous but had meagre ie operated for 4 months. Suddenly one day, a middle-aged man with an obscene and suspicious appearance came to see a doctor and insisted on going to the back hall alone.

    At the beginning, Liao Qing¡¯er, who disguised as an old woman, strongly opposed and felt that this man was not a good person. And she was afraid that he would behave badly against He Danggui who disguised as an old man. But at one nce, He Danggui recognized this person as the brother-inw of Wu¡¯s Family called Lan Siwen. He was rich in fur business and naturally was one of the ¡°high officials and noble people¡± that she and Qing hoped for.

    After appeasing the old woman, Xue Zhibai took the pulse for Lan Siwen in the back hall and diagnosed him as ¡°sexual dysfunction¡±. In addition, he described that he had ¡°excessive urination, pain in the waist and knees, cold and numb feet, and walking obstacle¡±. Xue Zhibai then used soup medicine and moxibustion together, which quickly let him go out of the shadow of this disease. This time, the medical fee was 152 liang silver. He Danggui and Liao Qing¡¯er earned a lot.

    After half a month, when Lan Siwen patronized again, he did not look obscene at all and even looked a little bit handsome.

    This time, he brought 2 of his male friends who were bothered by the same disease. They said that they should seek medical treatment from Xue Zhibai. However, since Xue Zhibai was going to school, Granny Xue who skipped school greeted them enthusiastically for tea and snacks, making them eat until ¡°excessive urination¡±. Xue Zhibai, who quickly changed her appearance after school, used the moxibustion to make Lan Siwen¡¯s two friends feel better quickly. Then she rmended her newly developed steaming bath therapy to the three.

    After the 2 patients recovered, the three people came to buy the afrodyn. ording to their physical constitution and sexual habits, Xue Zhibai gave them three kinds ofpletely different afrodyn with the ultimate goal of strengthening the body. Everyone who had eaten it said great. After the 3 people left, Granny Xue checked the ounts and found that they earned a lot of money from the three nobles who had sexual dysfunction. The gross profit was as much as 800 liang sliver.

    As for the so-called ¡°gross profit¡±, Xue Zhibai once rushed to treat Lan Siwen for his disease but was spotted by Ms. Sun when she ran out of Luo¡¯s Mansion. Although Ms. Sun failed to track and capture her, when she returned home, Ms. Sun had let Madam Luo to Tao Yao Yard and made Tao Yao Yard panic. Even Chan Yi and Bo He suffered minor injuries, and everyone in Tao Yao Yard learnt a great lesson.

    Granny Xue ticked off beads on abacus, looked at Xue Zhibai with a smile, and proposed, ¡°Dear, it is very difficult for us topete with San Qing Tang and Ren Shu Tang in other aspects. Our Quan Ji Tang can mainly sell afrodyn. How do you like it?¡±

 Chapter 170 - Specialized instruments of torture for female

    <h4>Chapter 170 Specialized instruments of torture for female</h4>

    Rich families¡¯ childes lived at leisure. They didn¡¯t have to worry about time, money or women. Then, what would they worry about? First, theyined about having no limitless energy or healthy body to spend limitless time with women. Second, they were scared that once their bodies feeling not well and their energy was low, they went to see their familiar doctors or to the medicine pharmacy. Even if their secrets were not going to be spread, they would lose faces in front of their acquaintances. A man could lose anything except his face, because if so, he would not be able to show his masculinity to women.

    While Quan Ji Tang was the best choice for them, which was held by Master Xue and his wife. At the beginning, they went there because some friends rmended, and Quan Ji Tang was an unfamiliar ce with less poprity. What¡¯s more, they thought it was less awkward to see a doctor in an unfamiliar pharmacy. Master Xue had excellent medical skills and a full understanding of those childes¡¯ urgent but low-profile feelings. During the examination, Master Xue would not make them feel embarrass whether feeling the pulse or asking private questions, so they liked to visit Quan Ji Tang gradually. After feeling the effect brought by potion, moxibustion and bath, they became regr customers.

    Later, Quan Ji Tangunched many types of aphrodisiacs named restoratives, and the effect was amazing. Master Xue was too old to examine patients quite often, and it was harder to see him once than the Dr. Ma in San Qing Tang. Now there was only Dr. Hai in Quan Ji Tang, but the best aphrodisiacs in Yang Zhou City were selling here. Quan Ji Tang made huge profits every single day, and it became the top in this field with its¡¯ four chain stores.

    He Danggui and Liao Qing¡¯er didn¡¯t expect it¨CQuan Ji Tang which once meant ¡°the determination to save all¡± had be almost as famous as Ren Shu Tang, and it was earning money from officials and rich families. So, everyone in Yangzhou City had heard more or less about Quan Ji Tang¨Cthe pharmacy selling aphrodisiacs. Everyone seemed to forget the kindness of Quan Ji Tang that it offered medicine to poor people constantly inst three years.

    All in all, Quan Ji Tang¡¯s reputation was not very well, so it was hard for Liao Qing¡¯er and He Danggui to expose their identities as bosses.

    Liao Qing¡¯er¡¯s older brother Liao Zhiyuan who knew this secret through his resources changed into a different person suddenly. He was strongly against Liao Qing¡¯er selling aphrodisiacs and opening brothels. Liao Qing¡¯er opened three brothels¨Cone male brothel (no women entered), one female brothel (no men entered) and one regr brothel (no minors entered). Liao Zhiyuan had been to their brothels looking for trouble by dressing as a rich guest, but he was chased away by Gao Jue who was hired by Liao Qing¡¯er with some wine. So, he went back to the capital with a bloody nose and a swollen face. And he decided to let Liao Qing¡¯er get married with someone soon.

    When they were having a quarrel, He Danggui was also there. She tried to stop them, but Liao Zhiyuan acted impolitely to her. The kind smile he had in the Taoist Temple back in the years was gone. He Danggui guessed the change was because of Duan Xiaolou and Guan Yun, Liao Zhiyuan¡¯s younger cousin. And it was heard that Guan Yun was staying at Liao¡¯s Family all the time, but she didn¡¯t get married with Duan Xiaolou.

    So, He Danggui asked Liao Zhiyuan what was going on with Master Duan recently.

    ¡°Master Duan?¡± After a sneer, Liao Zhiyuan didn¡¯t answer He Danggui and pulled his sword out¨Ceven it was cut in half by Gao Jue, but it was still a nice sword.

    He Danggui was right. The sword was indeed sharp and powerful. Liao Zhiyuan cut some of his hairs and threw them on the de, and his hairs just got cut in half in a sh. Then he began to tell the details of him torturing some criminals¨Cthe most painful way to peel the scalp, nails and figures, and how to make the best sound when dismantling the bones. And then he described some specialized ancient instruments of torture for female, which would made them cry and yell when being tortured. Finally, he told about what scaring punishments an ungrateful person would get in afterlife.

    Before He Danggui said anything, Liao Qing¡¯er ran towards Liao Zhiyuan and scratched his face which was already badly battered, leaving some scary blood marks. Liao Zhiyuan became so angry that he ran out to the yard and chopped several hundred jin of wood. Then, he was gone with anger and left a message, ¡°After the Spring Festival, I will let you marry the most fierce and violent person in imperial guards. And you two can scratch each other¡¯s face!¡±

    He Danggui was concerned about Liao Qing¡¯er, but Liao Qing¡¯erforted her, ¡°I once lost my face badly in a crucial public asion in the capital three years ago, so I am still a ¡®celebrity¡¯ now, and no childe would want to get married with me. What¡¯s more, I nned to find three or four husbands. If the person my brother selected for me is not bad, he can be one of my future husbands.¡±

    He Danggui thought ¡°the most fierce and violent person in imperial guards¡± was no way to be ¡°not bad¡±, so she kept persuading Liao Qing¡¯er to return to the capital once the vacation started and reconcile with her brother. What if she acted rashly to marry an inappropriate person because of being angry? It would cause so much trouble when divorcing and cause a bad influence to her reputation. He Danggui was aware that Qing¡¯er was a woman who wanted to have a husband who only loved her, even if she always acted so free and said that she would have three or four husbands. On the night He Danggui went to sleep together with Qing¡¯er, Qing¡¯er told many love stories from her world to He Danggui. In those stories, the end would always be a couple being together in life or death beautifully, no matter what happiness or struggles they experienced before.

    Liao Qing¡¯er promised casually of going back the capital once the vacation started. He Danggui asked like having a stutter if she could help her find out what Duan Xiaolou was doing recently. Liao Zhiyuan hated He Danggui so much, so He Danggui was worried about Duan Xiaolou. It had been two years since she and Duan Xiaolou broke up peacefully. She sincerely hoped Duan Xiaolou could forget this unpleasant period and find his true soulmate.

    Liao Qing¡¯er squinted at He Danggui and asked, ¡°Xiaoyi, are you regretting now? You must be thinking about Duan Xiaolou all the time, right? The feelings you have to him must have changed from move to love, right? You are actually jealous of Guan Yun, and the reason why you broke up with Duan Xiaolou was because he was always wearing Guan Yun¡¯s handmade shoes and socks, right? To be honest, you¡¯re envying her.¡±

    This was the first time He Danggui had heard Qing¡¯er spoke with this kind of tone, so He Danggui paused and thought for minutes about these questions. She thought, ¡°Have I really been jealous of Guan Yun? Was it when Guan Yun and Duan Xiaolou were riding happily on the racecourse of Chengxu?¡±

    Suddenly, Liao Qing¡¯er¡¯s cute chubby hands reached over and held He Danggui¡¯s face. Liao Qing¡¯er apologized sincerely, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. These love stories I¡¯ve told you have poisoned your pure heart. You have be a love perfectionist who thought the reality could be the same in the stories¨Cthe man loves you only and forever. s, now it seems that Duan Xiaolou could never be able to do that. I don¡¯t know if you¡¯re going to meet another considerate and sweet man like him who loves you so much.¡±

    He Danggui smiled and said, ¡°Yeah, Childe Duan is a nice man, and I hope he has forgot about mepletely.¡±

    Liao Qing¡¯er sighed deeply and said, ¡°Anyway, even the love master Duan Xiaolou can¡¯t marry one woman in all his life, so I feel hopeless for every man in your world. Each one is male chauvinist. They think every woman is so tolerant, and their wives and concubines should love each other. They think an asional jealousy is cute, but constant being jealous is quite annoying. When I first met Duan Xiaolou, he was expressing his love to you, which made me be very touched. And I thought the stories in books havee true. Duan Xiaolou loved you so much, but he was also detestable. Every time when you were moved and decided to treat him better and express your feelings to him, he was seduced by that sinister woman Guan Yun, which made you be bitterly disappointed. And he was like a fool when he happily showed you a small doll that he and Guan Yun made together. What a fool.¡±

    He Danggui lowered her eyes and said, ¡°I guess he was not stupid at all. At that moment, he was probably aware that his mother has decided to let Guan Yun marry him as his wife. So, he was testing me with that to see if I was willing to be his concubine. He tried several times but failed to know my true feelings, so he did some stupid thingster.¡±

    Liao Qing¡¯er scorned on Duan Xiaolou, ¡°He looked like a nice and decent man who loved you very much, but he did dirty ns to you. And you were doing the same to him. You already have known what he was plotting, but you acted that you knew nothing at all, letting him continue his ns. And atst, you could sentence him in all. After losing you, he was half dead in heart. You were hardhearted even if you loved him, but I admire that. Actually, it was not a bad idea to be his concubine. His family is the richest in the capital. And I heard that his family uses legendary luminous pearls as light bulbs. If you marry him, you could invite me to have a tour in his house and then we will fight against Guan Yun together. And finally, you would be his wife.¡±

    He Danggui smiled and said, ¡°Qing¡¯er, although I¡¯ve experienced so much, but the rtionship between men and women is strange to me. I¡¯ve never been taught about these things in my life, so I¡¯m clumsy on these things. In my previous life, I only knew how to be a concubine, and I did a bad job. So, when I woke up in this life, I decided to avoid the sadness of my previous life when I got married¨Cbeing required to kneel in front of the wife all the time, or always acting nervously in front of every concubine. When I was with that man, I became more restless, and it seemed all the pleasure and love were stolen by me from his other women. But back then, at the Taoist temple, I didn¡¯t dare to say that I wanted my husband to love me only in his whole life. Thank you for clearing my mind.¡±

    Liao Qing¡¯er couldn¡¯t help being regretful and said, ¡°Actually, Nn Xingde said all these. I was quite far away from his ideological level. I wanted to have many husbands when I was young. Besides, it was Zhu Quan¡¯s business to take care of whoever he wants. You who were being imprisoned shouldn¡¯t fight each other, instead you should resent him together because he treated you like animals.¡±

    He Danggui nodded and thought back for a while. Then she said, ¡°At thatst moment, everyone took the opportunity to go against me, which also verified my thoughts. When I lost my position, I saw around that the highest seat was iid with pairs of resentful eyes, as if they were already there for years. They were staring at me all the time. They watched me fighting to reach the top, watched me trying to have a baby but failing because of my sick body, watched me threatening Bai Yangbai to use his forbidden magic in order to help me conceive, watched me losing my kids just as Bai Yangbai warned before, and watched me giving up the seat I got with my lifetime¡¯s hard work. It must be those wicked eyes which made my kids die. They said I stole their husband. But now I¡¯ve thought it clear. No matter what kind of man I marry, he can¡¯t have rtionships with other women and can¡¯t bring those resentful eyes home. I desire a man can only love me in his whole life.¡±

    Liao Qing¡¯er was crying. She said, ¡°Yes, let¡¯s work together! I also want a faithful husband. But I¡¯ve looking for him since I entered your world. And I only knew that Commander He is the man who would devote all his love to the woman he loved. However, he already had a son and a daughter. What if we all fall in love with the same man?¡±

    He Danggui smiled and said, ¡°You can tell me the person you like in advance, and I will notpete with you for him.¡±

    Liao Qing¡¯er dried her tears and said, ¡°Xiaoyi, you¡¯re so nice. But it should be vice versa, because the person would not be mine after you quit. You designed to make Gao Jue hate you, but he was not a fool. I guess he is still thinking about you now, and it is quite scary to be loved by him. I saw he draw a picture of you in his secret chamber and cut the eyes out to carry them in his chest. And then he just burnt the painting. That scared the hell out of me! Since then, my feelings towards him have gone. Ancient people are so mysterious and strange! Later, I saw Gao Jue was with a woman guard. She is good looking. I think they are in love, and I even feel a little jealous. Xiaoyi, you should wear sunsses when going out. Gao Jue is a maniac, and I¡¯m afraid that he would suddenly appear and rip your eyes out!¡±

    He Danggui said calmly, ¡°Rx. As for Master Gao¡¯s attitude, I have already asked him. He never liked me, and he was just missing his childhood friend through my eyes. The blue hairpin that was mistaken as a love token by you is actually his friend¡¯s legacy. He wanted me to keep it just because we have simr eyes. But that hairpin seemed to be quite worthy, and even I couldn¡¯t guess its actual price. So, I insisted to return it back. Then he suggested to draw a painting of me and asked me to do a couple of more favors for him. And then his hairpin stayed with me, for now.¡±

    Liao Qing¡¯er was surprised and said, ¡°Are we talking about the same person? The way he looked at you was pure love! But even he was the man who loved you the most in this world, I can¡¯t let him be with you! He used the scissor to cut your eyes out of the painting. What a pervert! He would abuse you to death when you get married with him. By the way, what was the favors he wanted you to help with?¡±

    He Dangguiughed and said, ¡°He wanted me to tell you next time when you peep at him through the gate of his secret chamber, be careful of the switch under your feet. Last time, you stepped on a switch and locked him inside the chamber, which made him take a lot of efforts to get out.¡±

    Hearing this, Liao Qing¡¯er was shocked and said, ¡°So dangerous! It¡¯s true what happened on televisions! Once the secrets of this kind of chamber were found out, the person would be killed and melted by Hua Shi Powder! He thought about you at that moment, so he didn¡¯t kill me.¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± He Danggui disagreed, ¡°Master Gao had a kind heart below his scaring face. Last time when you were being harassed, it was him who saved you. I¡¯m sure he was just missing his friend through my eyes. You thought he was staring at me with love, but actually his focus was on somewhere else. What¡¯s more, the blue hairpin was carved with a girl¡¯s name in small letters, which can prove that it was worn by someone. He didn¡¯t have to lie to me. If he wanted to hurt me, he wouldn¡¯t help me. And, what is Hua Shi Powder you just mentioned? It sounded so powerful. I¡¯m surprised I haven¡¯t heard it before.¡±

    Liao Qing¡¯er scratched her chin and said, ¡°I guess it is concentrated hydrochloric acid, a magic liquid. In fact, it was weird when I was being harassed. After all these years I¡¯ve lived, I have never been harassed before. And the second day after I found out Gao Jus¡¯s dirty secrets, two seniors came to harass me, yelling indecently. But they were just holding my shoulders without touching or kissing. They didn¡¯t even see my face to check if I was a woman or not. And then the pervert Gao Jue suddenly jumped to save me. What a coincidence!¡±

    He Danggui couldn¡¯t help butugh. She said, ¡°In this case, he was probably touched by your sincerity, so he decided to be gentle to you.¡±

    ¡°No, thanks.¡± Liao Qing¡¯er waved her hands and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t know he got married back then, so I fell in love with him. Now since I know that, I will never like him again. We ought to have consistence on this. We won¡¯t allow our husbands to have other concubines, and their servants must be male, not even a eunuch!¡±

    He Danggui was surprised and said, ¡°Do you discriminate against eunuchs? I rememberedst time you were crying sadly over the eunuch and the women in brothels.¡±

    Liao Qing¡¯er waved her hands again and said, ¡°The period I lived in Guan¡¯s Family had only left me bad memories and terror. Fortunately, I refused my aunt and didn¡¯t get married with Guan Mo, or else I would bepeting his love and care with a wicked 12-year-old eunuch. Come on, let¡¯s forget about him and make a promise by holding palms¨Cwe will only get married with a man who support monogamy. We shall have a race about which one of us can first find our loved one. Let¡¯s bet on Gao Jue¡¯ hairpin, and I will bet on my ck ount book!¡±

    He Danggui smiled and said, ¡°Gao Jue¡¯s hairpin? Are you sure? If so, I will give it to you.¡±

    Liao Qing¡¯erughed and said, ¡°It¡¯s the jackpot. It will be no fun if you just give it to me!¡±

    So, they held each other¡¯s palms to make the promise, which happened a month ago. Now, Meng Xuan wasining about He Danggui doing business secretly, ¡°No matter how you gained your profits legally or illegally, you can¡¯t go to the brothel anymore and you can¡¯t cure men¡¯s physiological illness anymore. They can just go somewhere else to see another doctor. It¡¯s my insistence, and I hope you can respect me because we will be a couple in the future. I will feed you and give you whatever you want.¡±

    He Danggui raised her eyebrows and said, ¡°Seventh Childe, actually I also have a principle that I must insist. Could you consider it?¡±

 Chapter 171 - The question of having children

    <h4>Chapter 171 The question of having children</h4>

    ¡°Principle?¡± Meng Xuan looked at her serious face and said with a smile, ¡°Tell me anyway. I want to know everything about you.¡±

    He Danggui said cautiously, ¡°What I want to know is that since you have no other women until now, can you keep it like this all the time? In other words, you can¡¯t marry anyone but me. I can do what they can do. In that way, there will be no fights between the legitimate sons and the sons of the concubines, and the rtionship of your sons will be deeper. Isn¡¯t it good?¡±

    Meng Xuan was stunned and then smiled again. He didn¡¯t expect this girl who seemed to be indifferent would also have the jealousy as an ordinary woman, which looked quite lovely. He couldn¡¯t help but reach out to scratch her nose. Then he smiled and said, ¡°You don¡¯t want me to be with other women. Does it mean that you care about me very much? Even if what your words are reasonable, I¡¯m sorry that I can¡¯t agree with your request. But I will make up for you from other aspects. Well, we can have more children. If you mind me having children with other, I¡¯ll only have children with you. Is that okay?¡±

    He Danggui didn¡¯t fully understand. Meng Xuan said that he couldn¡¯t promise not to marry others. He was so resolute and had no doubts, which made her be upset. However, he said that he would only have children with her, which made her be a little happy. As if her heart floated up. When she opened her mouth, it was full of cold wind. She said, ¡°Since you will not have children with others, why do you marry them? If someone marries you but refuses to give birth for you, won¡¯t you be angry?¡±

    ¡°Angry? Why should I be angry?¡± Meng Xuan smiled and touched her hands again. He said, ¡°As long as you are willing to have more children for me, I can always see you when I miss you, just like when I reach out to catch you, it¡¯s not a mirage. Then I won¡¯t be angry with other concubines. If you think it¡¯s unfair to them, I¡¯ll barely have a child with them.¡±

    He Danggui flung off his hands and sneered. She said, ¡°You are really brilliant to ¡®choose the best advice¡¯. Why don¡¯t you consider my first proposal? And why can¡¯t you not marry other women at first? In this way, no one will be hurt and feel that their marriage is worth nothing.¡±

    Meng Xuan thought He Danggui was really childish and lovely, so he patiently exined to her, ¡°Girl, calm down. Although I¡¯m not interested in women, I have to take a few more concubines because of the family training and the identity of Meng¡¯s Family. Besides, I have 3 concubines now, so I can¡¯t throw them away just because I want to marry you, right? In addition, if you are the fourth, I should reserve 3 quotas to prevent the situation of having to marry again. In the previous life, I made great efforts to Zhaoxin General. In this life, I will be higher than it. If a general has no concubines, it is not nice to talk about it, is it? Girl, don¡¯t split hairs any more. Don¡¯t you know you are always the first in my heart? So, even if you don¡¯t fight for anything, I will give the best to you.¡±

    He Danggui opened her eyes widely and said in surprise, ¡°3 women? You just said that I was the first one. You are lying to me!¡±

    Meng Xuan said carefully, ¡°Have I ever lied to you? What I mean is you are the first woman I want to marry, but my mother and grandmother gave me 3 women, and I was forced to ept them. In the past 3 years, I can¡¯t see you, and I¡¯m not interested in other women. Therefore, I never pay attention to them. I heard that you left Duan Xiaolou because he has been cheating on you. How can I make the same mistake? I really didn¡¯t cheat you.¡±

    He Danggui yed a doll in Gaojue¡¯s appearance and a doll in Lu Jiangbei¡¯s appearance. She said with a smile, ¡°You haven¡¯t been 16 years old, but your elders have given you 3 women. It is thus clear that you epted every woman. However, you don¡¯t care about them. What do you think of women? Decorations in the room? How do you know about something between Childe Duan and me?¡±

    Meng Xuan argued for himself, ¡°I don¡¯t ept everything. When I was a child, my mother selected many beautiful maids for me. I took the opportunity to send them out because I thought they were too noisy. Later, both Ninth Brother and Eleventh Brother epted waiting-maids (maid in name, concubine in reality), and my mother only thought about me. Last year, during the Spring Festival, she urged her grandparents to give each of us a beautiful maid as a concubine. In front of all rtives, it¡¯s not good to disobey my grandmother. Besides, my 2 brothers epted them. Later, I learned that the women my 2 brothers received were all maids, but what I received was the daughter of andlord selected by my mother. She knew that I would not ept them, so she asked my grandmother to convince me. And I involved my brothers in adding concubines.¡±

    ¡°Oh, you have a grievance about it. It seems that you and your brothers are reluctant to ept concubines.¡± He Danggui sneered and continued, ¡°Who told you about me and Childe Duan? Apart from Qing¡¯er and Bai Yangbai who is easy to lurk, others don¡¯t know anything about it. Did Childe Duan mention it to others after he returned to the capital?¡±

    Meng Xuan said, ¡°I¡¯m telling the truth. I didn¡¯t even remember the woman¡¯s name. I tried my best to forget you all these years. I thought I did it. But when I saw you, I found that I still remember you. If you go to my separate courtyard in the suburbs, you will understand.¡±

    He Danggui made the doll in Gaojue¡¯s appearance sit on the doll in Lu Jiangbei¡¯s appearance and asked with a smile, ¡°How did you ept the other 2 concubines reluctantly?¡±

    Hearing her bad tone, Meng Xuan felt aggrieved and said, ¡°Most of women keep on the rails before they get married, and they even hardly go out. Before they get married, they even never see their future husbands. However, they still get married happily and are very satisfied. Now I look for you regardless of the past. How can you be extremer than before? I can¡¯t marry you alone, but my heart is always with you. Is it okay?¡±

    He Danggui revealed her thoughts, ¡°You don¡¯t have to feel aggrieved anymore. In fact, I¡¯m not only mean, but also cheating you. I didn¡¯t n to marry you at the beginning. As I said just now, I didn¡¯t have a good time in Luo¡¯s Mansion, but I found it myself. I love to stay in Luo¡¯s Mansion, waiting for those people to trouble me and then fail. I will be happy to eat 2 more bowls of rice. But I once offended a man who I could not afford to offend. I heard that the man woulde to seek revenge recently. I¡¯m panicking, but I happened to meet you. I thought immediately that Immortal helps me. Since life is too hard, why don¡¯t I depend on you first? I can stay away from trouble temporarily and make another n when the issues pass.¡±

    After being silent for a moment, Meng Xuan sighed, ¡°It turns out that you¡¯re trying to avoid revenge, so when we meet each other, you were so cute. Why don¡¯t you just keep going? Why do you confess it to me?¡±

    He Danggui grabbed the long rabbit ear of the doll in Lu Jiangbei¡¯s appearance and confessed, ¡°At first, I just wanted to ask you to get me out of Luo¡¯s Family in the name of your concubine. When my enemy forgets me after a year, I¡¯ll go back to Luo¡¯s Family to find my old friends.¡± When Zhu Yuanzhang died and Zhu Quan¡¯s nephew ascended the throne, Lord Ning, Zhu Quan, whose interests were seriously touched, would be so busy that he had no time to think about her. At this time, He Danggui¡¯s strength was too strong, and she took one of the ears off. She had to put the broken ear into her pocket, and she nned to sew it in the evening before returning it to Qing¡¯er.

    Seeing that Meng Xuan didn¡¯t speak, He Danggui continued to confess her crime, ¡°Before I saw you, I was worried that you would refuse to help me because I had a bad attitude towards you in the past. You are the most suitable person I can find. So, if you didn¡¯t help me, I would be very passive. I didn¡¯t expect that you still hugged me like in our childhoods and kissed me suddenly, so I guessed that you liked me. I couldn¡¯t help but feel relieved and asked you to help me more. I only n to be a fake concubine for one or two months, so that the enemy will give up finding me. And I don¡¯t n to have any intimate behavior with you. But after all, I begged you, so I just pretended to obey you. Different from the women staying indoors all the time, I¡¯m an open-minded person. I can ept someone who I ask for help to kiss me once¨CI¡¯m sorry that I really don¡¯t have any affection for you, Meng Xuan.¡±

    Meng Xuan picked up the doll in Duan Xiaolou¡¯s appearance on her skirt and asked, ¡°What about him? Do you like him? Did he kiss you? You let me marry you alone, but you said you have no affection for me. I don¡¯t believe it! If you don¡¯t like me, why do you care about how many women I have?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t mess with it. I¡¯ll return it to Qing¡¯er tomorrow. This is the sample of our new rabbit doll series.¡± He Danggui grabbed it back and frowned. She said, ¡°I don¡¯t deny that I was moved by Childe Duan. I wanted to be nice to him for a while and wanted to be his wife, but I can¡¯t ept that he had other wives and concubines. In addition,ter, he framed Xiaoyou and let Xiaoyou be put in prison. He even did what he never did before. Just for me. I felt distressed and realized that there would be no future for us, so I chose to let it go. And I am determined to choose a monogamous marriage, so I will ask everyone I want to marry in this way. If he cannot ept it, I will give up considering him. If he can consider about it, I will know more about him.¡±

    ¡°Monogamy?¡± Meng Yu frowned and said, ¡°In addition to Duan Xiaolou and I, who else have you asked? Has anyone promised you?¡±

    He Danggui apologized and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. These are the most real ideas in my heart. I originally wanted to use you to avoid my enemy. Later, I heard that you were interested in me, so I couldn¡¯t help asking about your views on monogamy. I thought that if you agree with me, even if I have no affection for you, I must be your wife. Later, my conscience was found out. I should not use you so recklessly when I thought that you transmitted martial arts and disclosed your life experience secrets to me. Besides, you n to have more concubines, which is uneptable to me. It¡¯s doomed that you and I are still suitable to be master and apprentice. Of course, if you are angry that I cheated you, you can also sever the rtionship with me, just like the past 3 years. We will have no contact until death, and I will never dare to defend myself.¡±

    Meng Xuan gnashed his teeth and said, ¡°You mean that only Duan Xiaolou is the one you like. If he can¡¯t be monogamous, you won¡¯t marry him. And other people are even more impossible?¡±

    He Danggui nodded and said, ¡°Basically right. You have a strong understanding.¡±

    Meng Xuan sneered and said, ¡°Then I¡¯d like to congratte you. Duan Xiaolou has sessfully terminated his engagement with Guan¡¯s Family and moved out of Duan¡¯s Mansion to build a small Duan¡¯s Mansion. It needs a hostess, so I guess he wille to you after he doesn¡¯t need to wear mourning for his father.¡±

    He Danggui frowned and asked, ¡°Childe Duan¡¯s father died? Is he OK?¡±

    ¡°Yes, why not? Earl Anning, General Duan, got his son when he was elderly, so he loved his son so much. Before he went to the battlefield, he promised his son that if he would win the battle this time, he would ask the emperor to grant a marriage for his son, so that his son could marry the woman he had daily and nightly in his thoughts. Duan Xiaolou was very happy after hearing this, because the emperor¡¯s order cannot be disobeyed. And the status of woman the emperor granted is certainly higher than other concubines¡¯ status. If Guan Yun refuses to live under your status, he will break off an engagement with the Guan¡¯s Family and meet your demanding requirements.¡± Meng Xuan had a faint smile on his face and said, ¡°Later, although Earl Anning died in the battle, the emperor not only let Duan Xiaolou inherit the title of nobility, but also promoted the title from Earl to Marquis. The Marquis Duan got the imperial decree to terminate the marriage contract from the emperor. Duan¡¯s mother was so angry that she didn¡¯t let him go home, so he had to live in another house. However, there was something wrong with Marquis Duan who was very happyst month. Haven¡¯t you heard of it?¡±

    Hearing this, He Danggui was very anxious. She asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter with Duan Xiaolou? Don¡¯t keep me guessing. Tell me the details quickly!¡±

    Meng Xuan asked with a smile, ¡°Girl, who have you asked for monogamy? Has anyone ever promised you?¡±

    He Danggui became angry and said, ¡°It¡¯s none of your business. Just tell me what happened to Duan Xiaolou!¡±

    Meng Xuan said slowly, ¡°It¡¯s not a big deal. He gave his concubines money to send them away after he got out of the marriage with the Guan¡¯s Family. Everyone else took the silver and left. There was a stubborn concubine named Lian. She threw herself and her half-year-old son into the lotus pond. Later, her life was saved, but the child died of lung disease. So, now Duan Xiaolou not only gives filial piety to his father, but also mourns his son.¡±

    He Danggui rooted to the spot and felt unease.

    ¡°I was wondering why he didn¡¯t ask the emperor to grant marriage directly ore back to you after taking the title. It turns out that he didn¡¯t meet your standards, but he was still clearing the way for you.¡± Meng Xuan smiled and said, ¡°Girl, you can¡¯t make the rude request like ¡®monogamy¡¯ optionally. If someone like me hears it, he will only take it as a joke. If you meet someone like Duan Xiaolou, who really obeys it, he won¡¯t go back his home anymore. Once upon a time, the rtionship between Duan¡¯s mother and Duan Xiaolou were very close. Now Duan¡¯s mother even refuses to see him once. Before you get married, you have already made a bigint with Duan¡¯s mother. Do you dare to be Duan¡¯s Family¡¯s daughter-inw?¡±

    He Danggui¡¯s hand was full of cold sweat. She pinched one ear of the doll in Lu Jiangbei¡¯s appearance repeatedly and apologized to Duan Xiaolou in her heart. Sorry, she said heartlessly at that time. She just wanted him to get along well with Guan Yun after he gave up marrying with her. She thought Duan Xiaolou thought about things positively when she saw him off at Chang Ye Pavilion. He wished her to find her husband early at that time, didn¡¯t he? Didn¡¯t he and she be friends again? Didn¡¯t he say that he thought about things positively? She felt so sorry that she caused him to lose his father and son.

    Meng Xuan sighed, ¡°You tell me that you have no love for me, which makes me be disappointed. But in the future, I don¡¯t believe that your heart will never be hot. Since you asked me to help you and let me go to Luo¡¯s Mansion to ask you to be my concubine, I didn¡¯t have any loss. But I¡¯m afraid that after being my concubine, it¡¯s not easy for you to get married in the future when you make ¡®another n¡¯... How about this? I will ask the matchmaker in the name of my parents to ask you to marry me as my wife with the letter of appointment. Anyway, it¡¯s a fake marriage proposal. It¡¯s okay to borrow their name. They seldome to Yangzhou City, and it should not be exposed. You probably settled on Meng¡¯s Mansion. You want to frighten your enemy¨C the fianc¨¦e of the Seventh Childe of Meng¡¯s Family. Can this identity prevent your enemy from seeking revenge? Who is that man? And why are you at enmity with him?¡±

    He Danggui said stiffly, ¡°I¡¯m so malevolent. Why do you help me? Let me die with my enemy, who is a big viin. I can¡¯t guarantee that he won¡¯t trouble you in the future. I¡¯ve hurt Duan Xiaolou, and I don¡¯t want to hurt you anymore.¡±

    Meng Xuan shook his head and said, ¡°I am not Duan Xiaolou, and I won¡¯t do the stupid things like him. There is only one Duan Xiaolou in the world, girl. Since you have no room to recover from him, you should take it easy in the future.¡± Meng Xuan took the blue camellia from his arms and put it on his nose to sniff. He said, ¡°In fact, if a man falls in love with you, he will inevitably be that kind of person like Duan Xiaolou. Fortunately, I have experienced a life and death, and I always want to be more rxed instead of being crazy. And I have tolerated that I haven¡¯t seen you for 3 years. Now I can not only see you, but also hold you in my arms. I can hold you for another 3 years. Maybe I will like other women in the future.¡±

    He Danggui nodded and said, ¡°Yes, a wise and open-minded person like you should have thought about things like this. By the way, why hasn¡¯t Bai Yangbaie back? Won¡¯t he have an ident? What¡¯s it in that thick growth of wormwood?¡±

    Meng Xuan smiled and said, ¡°Did you say that after being poisoned by Shi Hua Poison, Qian Mudan would be a ¡®living dead¡¯? It¡¯s said that there is a Ganshi School in Jianghu, but I¡¯ve never seen it. I don¡¯t know whether it¡¯s true or not. There are only steps and no breath sound in the wormwood. I guess the murderer may be there, or somethinge to find its panion¡¯.¡±

 Chapter 172 - The corpse came to life

    <h4>Chapter 172 The corpse came to life</h4>

    Hearing that, He Danggui was shocked, ¡°Ganshi School? Bai Yangbai! I have to save him!¡± At the same time, she used the arts of lightness learned from Feng Yang¡¯s manual and ran out.

    Meng Xuan chuckled and grabbed her cor to pull her back. Then he said jokingly, ¡°I¡¯m only joking. Don¡¯t get defensive. No dead people can walk in the world. I haven¡¯t seen the Ganshi School in Jianghu for many years. The dead can¡¯t move.¡±

    But He Danggui tried to get rid of him again and said angrily, ¡°Bah, you can only fight a battle, and you died early in your previous life, right? Hey, let go of me! Listening to you, I¡¯m worrying about Bai Yangbai, so I must see him. Why is there so silent? Bai Yangbai has to talk with the people there, right?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry!¡± Meng Xuanforted her and said, ¡°Bai Yangbai will be all right. It¡¯s just the 30th year of Hongwu Period now, and he was still alive when I died in the first year of Jianwen Period. Maybe he was lying on the grass to watch Qian¡¯s Familyying Qian Mudan¡¯s body into a coffin. It¡¯s a pity! I could have saved her, but it was toote to cut her hand. Then she died of poison. Look, she didn¡¯t be a ¡®zombie¡¯ as you said, right? Don¡¯t you know an old saying that books should be read with reservation said by Mencius? Do you also believe in those unscientific books?¡±

    At this moment, after a painful struggle, Qian Mudan stopped twitching before her hand was cut off. Her father, Qian Xi walked to her and felt her breath. Then he cried bitterly on the ground. The academy prepared a coffin immediately. The servants of Qian¡¯s Family wrapped the body of Qian Mudan and put it into the coffin. Mr. Bao and Ms. Zheng were talking in whispers. No one knew what they were discussing. Then they looked for someone around.

    Hearing what Meng Xuan said, He Danggui still felt uneasy, so she shook her head and said, ¡°But in the previous life, Bai Yangbai didn¡¯t teach in Chengxu Academy, and this event didn¡¯t happen. Please let go of my sleeve. I want to see what happened!¡± After she told to Meng Xuan that she didn¡¯t like him but just used him, he didn¡¯t touch her but pulled her dress. Her dress had wrinkles, which was invented by Qing¡¯er. But now it almost became t.

    Meng Xuan asked doubtfully, ¡°What did you say? I can¡¯t hear it clearly. Pardon?¡±

    He Danggui didn¡¯t react and continued, ¡°You didn¡¯t know Bai Yangbai in the previous life. However, you know him now. And you have been squatting here with him to peep at others, which never happened...¡± At this moment, He Danggui realized that she didn¡¯t say that she had a previous life, so she continued, ¡°Um, I mean, Bai Yangbai didn¡¯t know you in the previous life.¡± He Danggui said quickly, as if something was wrong. Then she waved and said, ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m worried about him. I want to go there and have a look.¡±

    At this time, a sound of a nightingale came from not far away. After listening to it, Meng Xuan replied with the sound of cuckoo. After a while, not did only Yi Tong find a reason toe to the bamboo grove, but also Yi Tiao dressed in a full-body nocturnal clothing appeared here.

    Yi Tong apologized, ¡°Childe, I¡¯m sorry. That woman is dead, because I¡¯mte to call for help.¡±

    Meng Xuan shook his head and said, ¡°I also have responsibility for it. It seems weird. I don¡¯t know who poisoned this delicate girl. Yi Tiao, how is my elder brother now?¡±

    Yi Tiao replied with a bitter smile, ¡°After Miss Xiao heard about this, she ran to the Prison of the County Government to save Third Childe. She threw a smoke bomb, and then she got out of the Prison carrying the sleeping Third Childe soon. After knowing this, the county magistrate Kong was very anxious. And he said that if the Third Childe was rescued by his friend, it would be all right. He was afraid that some kidnappers would take the Third Childe away. Then the County Government would also be used of failing to protect people. They would be guilty to the Meng¡¯s Family. If necessary, the county magistrate Kong will make amends to the Lord. Childe, how can I do now?¡±

    Meng Xuan frowned and said, ¡°Suxin is really so naughty. She dared to break into the prison. Well, let¡¯s go to meet Kong Wei.¡±

    Yi Tong and Yi Tiao agreed together. Meng Xuan took 3 steps first, but he stopped suddenly. He looked back to He Danggui and said softly, ¡°I know this matter. Before I leave Yangzhou City, I will go to Luo¡¯s Mansion to propose marriage with the whole rituals. Write me a letter while you stay away from trouble, and I will find another reason to break off this marital engagement. Is that OK?¡±

    Although He Danggui was moved, she still thought something was wrong and paused for a while. Then she said, ¡°Thank you so much! But let me think of another solution. If it doesn¡¯t work, I will ask you for help.¡± She wanted to find Bai Yangbai first and asked for a better solution.

    Meng Xuan looked He Danggui up and down, ¡°Who is that man? How can you be so afraid of him even if you are powerful?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not afraid of him, but just don¡¯t want to deal with him direct. It¡¯s ratherplicated.¡± He Danggui frowned and said, ¡°I¡¯ll tell youter when I¡¯m free. You can go, and I¡¯ll see youter!¡±

    Meng Xuan took a nce at her again and then went away. He Danggui looked at the crowd in the distance to find Qing¡¯er, because she wanted Qing¡¯er to go back to the capital to see Duan Xiaolou. However, she didn¡¯t find Qing¡¯er, which was so strange. She hadn¡¯t seen Qing¡¯er since just now. Qing¡¯er should be the one who liked to join in the fun. Just now, she was absorbed in saving Qian Mudan, so she didn¡¯t stay with Qing¡¯er. Bai Yangbai wasn¡¯t a congenial person to Qing¡¯er. Every time they met, there must be an angry argument.

    Unexpectedly, Duan Xiaolou broke off the marital engagement with Guan Yun. She always thought that Duan Xiaolou was affectionate to Guan Yun. Besides, Duan Xiaolou always put himself into all women¡¯s shoes. Guan Yun divorced again when she was 21 years old. After this, she had been living under the shadow of marriage. He was so ruthless.

    Now, Duan Xiaolou lost his father and son. He Danggui thought, ¡°Was it only because of what she said when she advised him to return to the capital?¡±

    ¡°Duan Xiaolou, I¡¯m sorry. I don¡¯t like you at all, so your ¡®special love¡¯ is worthless to me. You have asked me to be your wife for a few times, so I was moved at that time and agreed with you reluctantly. You know, I don¡¯t have many opportunities to be a wife with my identity. Now that this matter is over, we also are friends. Childe Duan, you can go back to the capital. Your official business in Yangzhou City has been over for a long time, right?¡±

    Because he was stimted, he went to get the ¡°status of wife¡± for her, right? In fact, she just wanted him to stay away from her, hate her and forget her. His love was so intense that she couldn¡¯t endure it.

    How could she repay a debt owed from Duan Xiaolou? Gradually, with the high rates of interest, she owed a high debt. He didn¡¯tck of money, fame and wealth. What did heck of? A state of chaos would happen in the next few years. There would be the violent fighting between Lord Yan, Zhu Di, and Emperor Hui, Zhu Yunwen. Duan Xiaolou didn¡¯t know certainly how to stand in the right position at the right time. She could disguise herself as a schrly consultant to help him.

    Besides, she should ask Lu Jiangbei to pay attention to Geng Bingxiu. During the 2 years after the Emperor Hui ascended the throne, Geng Bingxiu was very rampant and tried to frame Lu Jiangbei, Duan Xiaolou and others because of an old case¡­ She hoped this kind ofpensation could make her feel less guilty.

    She was full of tricks. If she had ignored Duan Xiaolou at the beginning, he would feel bored and leave her. He would have been very happy now. But she took his clothes and his medicine first, and then she arranged with him to meet in Yangzhou City. She also pretended to think about his proposal and give him hope all the time, so that he had to y tricks on her, even if he hated plotters.

    What did he like about her? She told him that she had suffered from a disease and her face turned yellow and ugly, but he didn¡¯t mind about it just because he felt sorry for her. She thought that he liked her appearance, and he totally changed without it. What he was infatuated with was only a reflection in the water. The real person didn¡¯t have anything he wanted. She was just a woman who was vain, selfish, scheming and had a lot of shorings. She was the ugliest scenery in his life, and he should avoid it far away.

    She was really ungrateful. Duan Xiaolou delivered her letters to her mother, andter saved her mother on the way back to Luo¡¯s Family. However, she broke his heart from the beginning to the end. So, Liao Zhiyuan was so angry that he wanted to treat her with those implements of punishment. Was there anyone in the world who was more heartless than her?

    ¡°Ah, the corpsees to life. Qian Mudanes to life!¡± Hundreds of people on the field were in a mess, fleeing from ce to ce, and some of them even came to the bamboo grove.

    He Danggui moved to hide in the low shrubbery and ran along the river. How could Bai Yangbai lose track after going to the opposite bank? She had never heard of ¡®Ganshi School¡¯ mentioned by Meng Xuan, which sounded like a kind of school in Jianghu. Why did theye to Chengxu Academy?

    As she thought about it, she bent down and ran forward. Unexpectedly, she stepped on a soft thing. When she looked it carefully, she found that it was Bai Yangbai with a grass ring on his head and grass all over his body. His mouth and eyes were crooked. He was lying on the ground and bleeding from his from his eyes, ears, nostrils and mouth. And one arm was missing from his body.

    He Danggui couldn¡¯t help but burst into tears. She held him up and pped his bloody face. She shouted, ¡°Qianjun! Old liar! How are you? Hold on and I¡¯ll cure you!¡±

    Bai Yangbai¡¯s eyes moved slowly to her face, and he said with difficulty, ¡°I have traveled around the world and I have been worshipped all my life, which is worthy of my life. I owed 100 liang wine debts in Taibai Restaurant and 350 liang gambling debts in Taibao gambling house. Please help me! I prepared bath for you but I haven¡¯t peeked at you. Help me return the money¡­ You can burn paper money, paper man, paper horse, paper carriage, paper house more. That¡¯s all. Tomorrow you can help me return the money first.¡± After that, Bai Yangbai returned to the state with crooked mouth and eyes.

    He Danggui wiped her tears. She nodded and promised, ¡°OK, I¡¯ll help you pay back these debts¡­ But what¡¯s the prescription for retaining youthful looks? I¡¯ll help you pass it on.¡±

    Bai Yangbai said weakly, ¡°I¡¯m sorry that I can¡¯t tell you because this is a secret¡­ Girl, you are so beautiful that you don¡¯t dare to go out unless you pretend to be ugly. What else do you want to be? Be careful! You¡¯ll suffer permanent disfigurement if the Immortal is angry and the people are resentful.¡±

    He Danggui said seriously, ¡°Taoist Sage, I do it just for you. I don¡¯t want your wonderful medicine to disappear in the world. As a developer, don¡¯t you want your hard work to pass on? What¡¯s more, flowers don¡¯t still keep blossom for 100 days, just like people don¡¯t keep good health for 1000 days. As a delicatedy, I can only rely on my appearance to make living, so isn¡¯t it proper to avoid having a wrinkly face? You have kowtowed to me, your master. Shouldn¡¯t you respect your master and tell the truth? Do you have no sympathy for my miserable life?¡±

    Bai Yangbai vomited blood and squint at He Danggui. He said weakly, ¡°Wicked girl, I¡¯ve been like this, but you still want to use me. Who has no sympathy indeed?¡±

    He Danggui sighed and asked, ¡°What are yourst wishes? I¡¯ll do it for you. Just tell me where to find the ginseng rhizome.¡±

    Bai Yangbai thought about it for a while. Then he asked in a sharp voice, ¡°Well, just kiss me first. I wanted to live a long life, so I didn¡¯t get close to female for decades. I didn¡¯t expect to die here in vain today. I¡¯m really not reconciled. If you kiss me, I¡¯ll give you the ginseng rhizome in stock. On the lips!¡±

    He Danggui hesitated for a moment. Then she approached him slowly and tried to kiss Bai Yangbai¡¯s bloody lips. At this moment, Bai Yangbai was so shocked that he raised his hand to cover his mouth. Then he got rid of He Danggui. Finally, he untied his belt and liberated his arm.

    Bai Yangbai said unhappily, ¡°Can you really kiss me just for the ginseng rhizome? Please remember that I am also a man. When a beautiful woman throws herself into my arms, I can¡¯t control myself sometimes, so I won¡¯t hide if you do this next time.¡±

    He Danggui sneered and said, ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sure you will hide anyway. If you don¡¯t hide, you will not be Bai Yangbai. Why do you lie here and pretend to be dead? Just now, I burst into tears because I think you were really dead. How can youpensate me? It¡¯s clear that you didn¡¯t let me kiss you just now. Not my fault. So, you should give me all your ginseng rhizomes, or you can tell me where I can get them.¡±

    Bai Yangbai shook his head firmly and said, ¡°I can¡¯t give them to you even if you really kiss me. I¡¯ve found that you have insatiable desires. You nned to get every medicine of mine. And you study the form of my bath lotion in private. It¡¯s so disgusting! Tell me when did you get Yingying Powder from me? If you tell me this, I will tell you what you want to know most now¨Chow you can meet Duan Xiaolou, OK?¡±

    He Danggui frowned and asked, ¡°How do you know I want to meet Childe Duan?¡± She opened her eyes widely suddenly and said, ¡°You eavesdropped on me and Meng Xuan! You were contemptible.¡±

    Bai Yangbai grinned and said, ¡°Well, when I was there, you were all quite reserved and discussed the same topic. So, I pretended to leave and listened in the grass here. Later, I heard that you were worried about my safety. When I was moved, I disguised myself to make you feel guilty for Childe Duan! Hey! You just said you would pay for my wine and gambling debts. You must keep your word.¡±

    He Danggui began to think back to the conversation with Meng Xuan. Suddenly, she seized Bai Yangbai¡¯s cor and asked, ¡°Have you heard anything that you shouldn¡¯t listen to? Such as ¡®the previous life¡¯ or ¡®died early¡¯?¡±

    Bai Yangbai gawked at her and asked, ¡°The previous life? What are you talking about? Do you pay for me or not?¡±

    He Danggui red at him and said, ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear it? No, I don¡¯t believe it. I¡¯ll prick you first.¡± At this moment, she took a plum blossom needle to prick his be. After she pricked the human-skin mask, he was bleeding.

    Bai Yangbai covered his forehead and asked, ¡°How can you still have a needle? Weren¡¯t them confiscated by Meng Xuan? Has this needle pricked Qian Mudan¡¯s face? What a vicious woman Miss He!¡±

    ¡°Yes, of course. This needle is full of her poison. Look, you can see her situation.¡± He Danggui pointed to Qian Mudan, a beautiful girl with a crooked neck, dull eyes and stiff body, who was walking around to scare people. She threatened, ¡°I am the only one in the world who can save your life. And you need to answer my questions after a while, or you¡¯ll be fool if the poison invades into your brain. First, do you have any way to contact with Duan Xiaolou? Second, how much did you eavesdrop on our conversation just now? Third, what is your prescription for retaining youthful looks? And where can I find each herb?¡±

    Bai Yangbai took a nce at He Danggui, and suddenly he raised his hand to pick his nose and said, ¡°I don¡¯t believe that you are so cruel. Just now you have shed tears for me. Don¡¯t worry. I haven¡¯t heard a few words clearly about your secret conversation because the river flowed rapidly. I only heard that you asked Duan Xiaolou¡¯s question again. You also discussed something about giving birth to a child. I didn¡¯t hear clearly about others. If you don¡¯t believe it, you can use your kung fu to listen to the bamboo grove. Can you hear the people over there?¡± Bai Yangbai pointed to a group of people who were scared by Qian Mudan and running into the bamboo grove.

    Although He Danggui was trying to listen, she heard only a few fragmentary words but no coherent information. Therefore, she believed in Bai Yangbai. Meng Xuan could distinguish the footsteps and gasps several hundred zhang away. Naturally, he could hear if people appeared in the near distance. What¡¯s more, with the memory of the previous life, she woke up from her previous body. This thing would not be believed by anyone unless he experienced it in person.

    Bai Yangbai poked He Danggui and said, ¡°Queen, I¡¯m not lying. I justy down here and wanted to know your rtionship. Meng Xuan has sent you a copy of ¡®The Rules of Punishment of Meng¡¯s Family¡¯ as bride-price. In the end, I didn¡¯t see any good news. Tut, Meng Xuan is really masculine. He wins credit for all men. As for your rude request, Duan Xiaolou thought about it at least. Then he discussed and bargained with you. However, Meng Xuan refused you firmly, so his meaning is very clear. It¡¯s useless for him to like you anymore. Your request is unrealistic. Now, do you understand? Girl, even if you are a fairy, no noble childe will only marry you. The fairy in the sky goes down to the earth, looking for the filial son like Dong Yong, instead of the rich childe! Hey, is there any poison on your needle?¡±

    He Danggui sneered and said, ¡°Of course. If it¡¯s not poisonous, why should I prick you?¡±

    ¡°Poisonous! Ah,e on! Give me two pills you gave Qian Mudan when you knocked her out!¡± Bai Yangbai shook her arms and pleaded, ¡°Master, please help me! I don¡¯t want to be the same as Qian Mudan. Isn¡¯t she dead? Or she¡¯s dead but the corpse came to life? I¡¯m so scared that I can¡¯t remember when Duan Xiaolou wille to Yangzhou City to attend the Wulin Assembly.¡±

 Chapter 173 - Precious horse and priceless fur

    <h4>Chapter 173 Precious horse and priceless fur</h4>

    He Danggui gave Bai Yangbai a kick, which made him scream and shout. Then she said while she gritted teeth, ¡°Bai Yangbai, I think you should be my good friend. But I couldn¡¯t find you when I want to ask you for help. In my critical moment, not only don¡¯t you help me, but also sneer at me. The most hateful thing is that you have known about the recent disappointments of Childe Duan and wandered around me all day long, but you didn¡¯t tell me, which kept me in the dark from beginning to end. And I went to ask Childe Duan¡¯s colleagues about his recent situation but was given a lesson without reason. You should wait for death, Mr. Qianjun. After you die, I¡¯ll have a good look at your relics.¡±

    Bai Yangbai repeatedly bowed to He Danggui and said, ¡°Master, please allow me to report to you. I just went to the capital 2 or 3 months ago and visited Duan¡¯s Mansion by the way. Seeing Duan Xiaolou was still missing you, I went to persuade him. At that time, his father was still alive, and he also nodded and smiled at me. I don¡¯t know that so many tragedies happened in Duan¡¯s Mansionter, so how can I tell you?¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± He Danggui said doubtfully.

    ¡°Of course, yes!¡± Bai Yangbai nodded hard and said, ¡°You said ites to your critical moment, but I¡¯m on the sidelines. Just as the old saying goes, ¡®If you are out to condemn somebody, you can always trump up a charge.¡¯ When you were bullied by the middle-aged Second Mistress Luo, it was me who helped you to peep at her bath and destroy her reputation. For a woman, what is more precious than her reputation? For example, Meng Xuan has kissed you, and he regarded himself as your husband because you¡¯ve destroyed your reputation and can only marry him whether he is good or not. He doesn¡¯t consider your request at all. More regret now? You have lost your reputation and everything is toote. This time, you are thoughtless, and these unreasonable demands should be useful when you negotiated before going to have sex with him.¡±

    He Danggui raised the small plum blossom needle and wanted to prick his mouth. Bai Yangbai bowed again, put the dagger of Meng Xuan in his hands and said, ¡°Master, please calm down. That poisonous needle can¡¯t be used for ying around. It¡¯s better to use a dagger. I tried it just now. Cutting the bluestone on the ground is so easy like cutting tofu.¡±

    He Danggui put the small needle away and took the dagger in front of Bai Yangbai. She sneered and said, ¡°Now that you¡¯ve seen the power of this dagger. I don¡¯t want to talk about the nonsense. For the sake of your ears, nose and fingers, you should speak out the event about Childe Duan going to Yangzhou City from beginning to end. Why will hee to Wulin Assembly? He is not a warrior in Jianghu. Will he bring officers and soldiers to disrupt it? When will he arrive? Where will he stay? Where did your newse from?¡±

    Bai Yangbai proudly smiled with arms akimbo and said, ¡°Well, since the power of this dagger is so great, I firmly believe that you, with a kind heart, dare not to approach me, let alone cut my ears. Is that right, master? In fact, I don¡¯t offer a high price. Counting with my fingers from now on and 1 liang for one sentence. How about paying 50 liang silver for every word I say?¡±

    He Danggui weighed her pouch, which were less than 20 liang silver inside. That was to say, she could only buy his 20 sentences. Then she said with full of displeasure, ¡°You have a big house given by the Emperor in the capital, don¡¯t you? It was said that there are countless treasures, such as the precious horse, priceless fur, fragrant carriage and beauties. You are just the scum of the rich people and the rich person of the scum. How dare you be ashamed to ask a little girl for money?¡±

    Bai Yangbai was unashamed to whistle and hum with his eyes focusing on He Danggui¡¯s pouch. He Danggui took it off with anger and handed it to him. Then she bargained, ¡°I¡¯ll buy your words for one night, and I¡¯ll add it next time if it¡¯s not enough. From now on, you should be obedient to me. Answer my questions whatever I ask. Got it?¡±

    ¡°Alright, I didn¡¯t expect that I could be so cheap.¡± Bai Yangbai emptied all the silver and returned the pouch with fan pendant to He Danggui. He murmured reluctantly, ¡°If I go to the gate of Central Secretariat to beg for several hours, I can get more than that. Next time, I will steal a dozen love letters from Duan Xiaolou in your boudoir¡¯s secret locker and sell them to your ¡®fianc¨¦¡¯ Meng Xuan. Thus, I can get at least a thousand liang silver.¡±

    He Danggui angrily reced the dagger with a small needle, pointed it to his nose and shouted in a cold voice, ¡°You dare to peek at my personal letters. Bai Yangbai, you are really an old rascal that you¡¯ve done so many excessive things over these years. Just wait for the death of poison¡­¡±

    The words were hardly out of her mouth, Bai Yangbai suddenly held her down like a mountain. When He Danggui was about to scold, his lips touched her lips. Although he moved away in a sh, it still made He Danggui be startled. The next moment, an old woman in ck ran from the thick growth of wormwood in the distance. She didn¡¯t look at them when she passed by, and just ran straight to the disordered crowd on the field.

    After the old woman in ck ran away, Bai Yangbai immediately turned over and fell on the grass. Before He Danggui spoke, he exined, ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to. When I held you down, your needle just pierced my arm, and I had a fake skin on my mouth, so you just kissed my skin. This is nothing, okay?¡± He took off twoyers of skin from his lips, which immediately changed from dark red to cherry red. Because he took it off so fast that even took off some parts of his chin. As the night wind blew, the fake skin on his chin swung up and down with the wind, which seemed weirder than the scene of Qian Mudan¡¯s corpse.

    Seeing He Danggui had been always staring at his chin, Bai Yangbai started to tear the skin from his chin. Then he tore up his fake face disguised as ¡°Doctor Li¡¯s face¡± like an artwork.

    Bai Yangbai said with a smile, ¡°I¡¯d better go to your yard to wash clothes for you tomorrow. The work of selling medical candy at the gate of the academy is too tired. I sleptter and got up earlier, but I only earned 5 liang silver without offering eating and drinking in a month. What I¡¯ve done to Qian Mudan made me be too embarrassed to stay at Chengxu Academy. Her father was so sad and angry that he couldn¡¯t find the culprit. Because he can¡¯t provoke Childe Meng Xuan, who just treated her daughter, he must provoke me first.¡±

    As he spoke, he had gradually changed from an old man with white beard to a young man who looked like the same age with Meng Xuan and Peng Jian. Although he was not as handsome as Meng Xuan and not as dashing as Peng Jian, he gave her an approachable feeling, as if the spring breeze kissed her face. Because his true skin couldn¡¯t see the sun all the year round, the color of his face was morbid white, but a pair of clear and flexible eyes were full of vitality, forming a great contrast with his white sick face.

    He had Yuanshan eyebrows (a kind of eyebrows like seeing the far mountain), Asian eyes, aquiline nose and cute mouth like a cherry. Who could have thought that such a young Taoist Sage, Bai Yangbai, had been 35 years old? And who could not have a strong desire to explore his way to remain his young face? He Danggui explored him for 5 or 6 years in the previous life, and this life she also kept pestering him for nearly a year, but she was still confused about the legendary ¡°secret recipe for maintaining youth bath¡±. She even began to wonder if he had such a secret recipe.

    He Danggui had been studying medicine for more than 20 years. In her childhood of the previous life, she was taught by Dou Haizhen, a master of acupuncture. After returning to Luo¡¯s Family, she also secretly reviewed the medical skills she had learned before. At the same time, she tried her best to learn to read and find a way to get ess to the library of Luo¡¯s Mansion in order to read medical books. Only because she found a letter left by her grandfather Luo Duzhong in her gold lock.

    She was only 4 years old when she left her mother, so she didn¡¯t know that there was a mechanism hidden in the gold lock at first. She could open it by touching with a pin. Later, she learned acupuncture with Dou Haizhen and fiddled with several needles every day. She wanted to prick to practice the flexibility of her fingers whatever she saw. One day, she pricked her gold lock and saw it divided into 4 small petals like blooming with a st. One contained a small half box of finely ground spices, one contained a handful of silver needles, and the other were 2rge stacks of smooth and bright white silks, which were extremely light and thin. These were what her grandfather had left her.

    Although she was a miss of a wealthy and influential family, she had a very narrow vision. She seldom saw the cotton cloth, let alone such beautiful silk. After pulling it out with her thin fingers, she opened them one by one towards the sun and looked for a long time. They were all white silks without flowers or words. But there was her grandfather¡¯s seal with Recluse Dongguo in the corner of each silk. It was her grandfather¡¯s literary name, so she still had an impression.

    She only knew that these handkerchiefs were given to her by her grandfather, she was reluctant to move them, so she put them back. Until she left the farm to live an extravagant life with her mother, she found that a miss¡¯s handkerchief of a rich family was meaningful. It should be with flowers, patterns, embroidery and small words of the owner. For example, her handkerchief was usually embroidered with ¡°Qingyi¡± or ¡°Qingxiu¡±. No matter which female embroider crafted the embroidery on the handkerchief, she could sign her name as her work. It was an unwritten rule among thedies and also an open secret in a small area.

    These exquisite artworks yed an important role on many game activities at the banquet, such as passing round a spray of blossom, poetry solitaire and talent show. Misses could show their own ability to all guests with their handkerchiefs. The most important role was to select 1 or 2 best works for the man¡¯s mother and grandmother when they were proposing marriage. It was an important indicator to judge the ability of this youngdy. After all, childes could ask painters to paint more for themselves, and then sent several pieces of pictures to each matchmaker so that more marriageabledies could see their appearances. However, women couldn¡¯t be bold and open to give their portraits to men unless their marriage had been engaged. Therefore, the embroidery and implied emotion of that flower on their handkerchiefs had be their important answer when they proposed marriage.

    All in all,cking knowledge and experience, He Danggui knew that the beautiful white silk cloth in her gold lock was far from the legendary ¡°a miss¡¯s handkerchiefs¡± when she was 9 years old. She didn¡¯t understand the reason why her grandfather kept packing the pieces of silk cloth with quality below the average in her gold lock before his death from her mother and grandmother. At that time, with a broad vision, He Danggui had known that the color of silk would be tacky and be regarded as inferior material if it was too bright. However, she, who intended to finish her first embroidery in her life, took these silk cloths and immersed them in water to remove the dust. The cloth which had been dry for 5 or 6 years showed lines of writing. It turned out that this was a letter left by her grandfather.

    There were 9 pieces of silk cloths, six of which showed characters when being wet. The other 3 pieces were nk silks no matter how long being soaked in water.

    Through this ¡°silk note¡±, He Danggui, who had no impression of her grandfather¡¯s appearance, outlined the face of a kind and amiable old man. The old man told her that although the Luo¡¯s Family was a literary family, people were numb about kinship with conflicts umted over time. He tried his best to write He Danggui and her mother into family tree andpiled them into Fourth Branch, but he was worried that He Danggui and her mother would depend on no one in Luo¡¯s Family after his death. So, he left his lifelong work Joint San Qing Acupuncture to his granddaughter, so that she could study hard and develop his medical skills. And she would have some confidence in Luo¡¯s Family. He also specially told He Danggui not to show off in front of others before the sess of medical skills, nor to im that she learned this skill from him, so as not to cause dissatisfaction among the people from other three branches.

    Since then, He Danggui began to go to the library of Luo¡¯s Mansion to get the Joint San Qing Acupuncture, which was left by her grandfather. She also wanted to see if it was as magical as the ¡°Wuming Acupuncture¡± taught by Dou Haizhen. However, only when arriving at the Luo¡¯s Mansion did she know that the library was a rtively advanced ce for reading. Only the masters of the family could go into it, and servants wouldn¡¯t be allowed to enter. She had proposed several times that she would like to go to study, but there was always someone opposing. The reason was that He Danggui couldn¡¯t read, so they were afraid that those rare books collected carefully would be scattered and damaged by her. They thought that she should go to the study to read the basic medical books, instead of going to the library of higher learning.

    At that time, she couldn¡¯t find any word to defend herself, because she didn¡¯t read much. When her grandfather hid what he left to her in the library, he probably didn¡¯t expect that his beloved granddaughter would be rejected because of illiteracy.

    Finally, one night, she secretly slid into the library, holding a slender candle and finding a long letter written by her grandfather to her in the middle of the bookshelf. When she held therge stack of paper in the thick paper envelope in her hands, she felt warm and relieved, as if it was a letter that her grandfather wrote to her from another world. Suddenly, her candlelight attracted the guards of Luo¡¯s Mansion¡¯s. There was a mor outside the library, which made her panic. So, she quickly threw away the candle, but it burned the chair.

    Nie Chun first rushed in to put out the fire. After he stepped on the burning chair into coke, several guards outside the door asked him if there were thieves inside. Nie Chun looked up and found He Danggui, who was covering her mouth. Then he told guards in a deep voice that there was no one inside. After those guards left, Nie Chun told her in a cold voice that she should not make any mess in the future, otherwise her mother would live hard in Luo¡¯s Mansion.

    Although Nie Chun was fierce, he was not the same as others. He Danggui felt intuitively that he would not hurt her, so she followed him back to the West Lateral court and ran back to her room quickly. Then she hid in the quilt to read the letter written by her grandfather.

    ording to the letter, there were 74 volumes of Joint San Qing Acupuncture, which were all collected in a bookcase in the library. There were several other medical books in it for her to read in detail. There was also a prescription in the letter, which said ¡°for Chai Dan, my beloved wife, to cure rpse¡±. So, He Danggui secretly made up the medicines and tried to add into Madam Luo¡¯s diet, or made snacks for Madam to eat, so that her health gradually improved. And this prescription was the beginning of ¡°lifesaving prescription¡±, the heirloom of Luo¡¯s Family, which made her die.

    Finding no chance to secretly go into the library, she had no chance to find the bookcase and couldn¡¯t learn ¡°San Qing Acupuncture¡± of her grandfather. Therefore, she continued to practice ¡°Wuming Acupuncture¡± from Dou Haizhen.

    The first time when she went into the library above board was that she came back to visit her rtives from Daning City at the age of 18. People in Yangzhou City had already heard that she had almost be a hostess in Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion in the north. She was very capable and highly appreciated by Lord Ning, so people never looked down upon her with their disdainful eyes. Some of them even showed some ttering expressions, which made He Danggui feel extremely ttered. Of course, the library of Luo¡¯s Mansion was no longer ¡°forbidden¡± to her.

    She walked into the library naturally and strolled through the sea of books. Then she found the dark green iron case mentioned by her grandfather in his testament among a pile of old bookcases covered with dust, and found that her grandfather¡¯s Joint San Qing Acupuncture and all kinds of letters¡¯ weight were dozens of Jin. With the time from the beginning of his twenties to the end of his sixties, he never stopped writing letters of medical knowledge for decades. He gave them to his granddaughter who was crying day and night in her infancy rather than any of his three sons. Even at that time, he was not sure whether she could grow up sessfully.

    He Danggui was deeply moved by the timeworn medical books and letters with precise diction. She felt that she had found a second rtive besides her mother in Luo¡¯s Family. It was her grandfather Luo Duzhong, the hearsay famous doctor. His medical skills were closely followed under Senior Lord Luo Maitong¡¯s.

    Thinking that the other three branches of Luo¡¯s Mansion were his descendants, she had less rejection and resentment towards them. Now that she had received her grandfather¡¯s kindness, so she should benefit the whole people of Luo¡¯s Family. With this idea in mind, for the rest of days, no matter how those people treated her and her mother, she would first think about the kindness of her grandfather, and then mediated with them. After all, her grandfather was unwilling to see his children and grandchildren became ungrateful.

    At that time, she found that although her grandfather¡¯s San Qing Acupuncture was not as ingenious as Senior Lord Luo Maitong¡¯s, her grandfather had many of his own originality, which could even be said to be his own school. In the next few years, shebined San Qing Acupuncture and Wuming Acupuncture, and then created ¡°Yunqi Acupuncture¡± by her own. Later, she found that her acupuncture could always save some birds and small animals which had just died.

    On one asion, in her grandfather¡¯s acrostic poems, she found that there was a secret note left under the blue stone b of the ancestral hall of Luo¡¯s Mansion. So, she went there and read that letter. Then she realized that her grandfather once had found a secret about the elixir of immortality many years ago.

    But at that time, she was trying to get the prescription of maintaining youth from Bai Yangbai. For a period of time, she even doubted that Bai Yangbai was so mysterious and precious about that prescription. Could the so-called prescription of maintaining youth be the ¡°secret elixir of immortality¡± mentioned in her grandfather¡¯s letter?

 Chapter 174 - Relying on a sister because of being aged

    <h4>Chapter 174 Relying on a sister because of being aged</h4>

    Bai Yangbai looked like a 16 or 17-year-old boy. Even if others recognized him with the most severe and critical eyes, it was still hard to recognize that he was a middle-aged man, and no one would associate him with the Taoist Sage, who was very famous.

    Looking at him, He Danggui couldn¡¯t help but wonder, ¡°Bai Yangbai, in fact, when you walk in the street or Jianghu normally and talk without your oral skills, although your voice sounds mature, no one will think that you are the Taoist Sage. So, why do you wear a mask every day? Since you treat your fame like dirt, why don¡¯t you abandon the status of Taoist Sage and let it disappear? Isn¡¯t it good for you to live like this?¡±

    Bai Yangbai whispered, ¡°Do you think I don¡¯t want to bask in the sun? When I was young, I once killed people with this face. And now I am wanted by the Imperial Court, so I will die if I go out now. Besides, I just ¡®treat the emperor like dirt¡¯, so I don¡¯t want to go into the Imperial Court and work for him as a master for catching ghost. And why do I have to give up the name of ¡®Taoist Sage¡¯ that I have umted through my hard work? Girl, why don¡¯t you give up the identity, He Danggui, a daughter of the concubine, and then go to Liao¡¯s Mansion with Liao Qing¡¯er as the legitimate daughter Liao Danggui?¡±

    He Danggui was surprised and angry, ¡°How do you know I¡¯ll go back with her? Why do you know everything about me and ambush around me all day? Do you have nothing to do? Oh, why haven¡¯t you mentioned (in the previous life) that you killed people when you were young?¡± However, in retrospect, she never saw Bai Yangbai go out of the door without the mask in her previous life. Even in his home, he seldom showed his origin face when he faced her who knew him well alone, which was very strange. Couldn¡¯t his origin face without disfigurement be seen by others?

    Without the mask, Bai Yangbai was a little reserved for some reason, which seemed that he was born to be such an elegant person, unlike a slippery fellow. Somehow, he made people feel noble.

    These were all the things that He Danggui never noticed in the previous life. Sometimes people were blind and clung to one person or one thing, which made them lose sensitivity to everything around them and think about things only by feelings. Thus, it led to her mistakes. She took it for granted that she was kind to Consort Zhou and the people of Luo¡¯s Family, so they should be very lucky to know her. But in fact, in retrospect, a lot of their hatred towards her could be foundpletely, and they had signs of harming her. However, she never thought about it at that time.

    For example, many times when Zhu Quan and she were reading and ying Go together in the study, she would asionally encounter Consort Zhou standing outside the door quietly. Then He Danggui asked when she came, she always replied, ¡°It¡¯s not long since I came.¡± However, Zhu Quan didn¡¯t even mean to greet Consort Zhou and always sent her away with a few words. At that time, Consort Zhou must suffer in silence.

    On one asion, there was a banquet held by Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion to entertain guests from afar. The guests presented an orchid carved from spar in the sea for the Princess. At that time, Princess Xie wasn¡¯t present. Next to Zhu Quan was Consort Zhou, who was wearing blue brocades and had the word ¡°Lan¡± in her name. Everyone thought that Zhu Quan would give the orchid to her, and Concubine Gu also said, ¡°Only a beauty like Sister Zhou can wear this flower. The rest of us dare not to even think about it.¡± Looking at Zhu Quan, who was on her side and picked up the orchid, Consort Zhou even half hung her head and waited for him to put the flower in her bun. But Zhu Quan ran down the stairs to the left seat and put the orchid on the hand of Concubine He. He said with a smile that her red clothes didn¡¯t match it. Then he let her change clothes to show him at night.

    Consort Zhou knocked down the spoon on the table. He Danggui also felt that Consort Zhou had lost face and the scene was really embarrassing. It wasn¡¯t good to disobey Zhu Quan in public who was a man of his words, so she asked him in gentle words after the banquet and presented the orchid for Consort Zhou privately after his approval. Therefore, Consort Zhou put on this valuable orchid and took a walk with He Danggui in the garden, which attracted the ridicule of concubines attaching to Princess Xie. They insinuated that Consort Zhou was too old to rely on a sister in the future instead of her husband. He Danggui looked worriedly at Consort Zhou with trembling shoulders. He Danggui didn¡¯t expect that Consort Zhou had changed the former temperament and continued to ask He Danggui to walk with her, without any response.

    From now on, Consort Zhou went to the garden every day at this time and worn this blue orchid with head high and chest out, as if she wanted to engrave this disgrace.

    Every time when He Danggui thought about it, she was regretted that she was so dull that shepletely believed Consort Zhou, whose eyes and heart have been demonized. When she was pregnant twice, she drank the ant-abortifacient that Consort Zhou had sent her. And she never doubted that there was something wrong with it although she felt the fetus was unstable. In the final analysis, it was because she firmly believed that she had a favor for Consort Zhou and no one in the world would harm his benefactor. In her logic, it was themon sense to reciprocate the kindness of dripping water.

    In the past 3 years, it wasn¡¯t that she had no chance to kill Luo Chuangu and others of Second Branch, but for the sake of San Qing Acupuncture, she was unable to stick the sharp knife directly into the chest of her grandfather¡¯s offspring. She secretly annoyed herself that she had forgotten her old blood feud. At the same time, she advised herself that good and evil would be recognized in the end. As long as they continued to do evil things like that, they were equivalent to running towards the cliff of death. Just watch it quietly without dirtying her hands. When it was dark and the road was slippery, evil people would jump off the cliff by themselves.

    She didn¡¯t want to leave Luo¡¯s Family at all until she witnessed their fate. And she also didn¡¯t want to tangle with Feng Yang sent by Zhu Quan anymore. Feng Yang threatened herself with proposing the marriage, just because he was convinced that she had no right to discuss or choose marriage, not even her mother, except for Madam Luo.

    ording to Meng Xuan¡¯s idea that he ostensibly proposed her to be the wife of Seventh Childe of Meng¡¯s Family, Madam Luo wouldn¡¯t worry about whether to marry far away or not; whether it was easy to find her to ¡°deal with¡± lifesaving jujube. And Madam Luo wouldn¡¯t think about the teenager who had royal jade pendant with Azure Dragon once painted for her. After all, if Luo Baiqiong, the most potential girl in Luo¡¯s Mansion, could be the senior concubine of Seventh Childe, who was young and promising, Madam Luo would be happy secretly, not to mention a granddaughter who had humble status without future. It was just like the story of Tian Ji¡¯s strategy for a horse racing, which meant that inferior horse from her own had attracted others¡¯ superior horse.

    Madam Luo would agree certainly without thinking, and He Danggui would be able to return all the gifts from Zhu Quan, including the jade pendant with Azure Dragon, to Feng Yang, who would have nothing to say. Zhu Quan, who was too busy to show up, had never been short of beautiful women. Although she had been in his mansion for 1 or 2 years in her previous life, she couldn¡¯t even let Zhu Quan take a look. As one of the most handsome and talented Princes of Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Quan didn¡¯tck beautiful women. And his mansion was fully decorated with all kinds of beauties.

    When Zhu Quan, who was embracing beauties in his arms, heard that she had been proposed by Meng¡¯s Family, maybe he would smile at those beauties on his side and say that when he didn¡¯t see them before, he thought that she was so beautiful that he wanted to get her back to the mansion to enjoy. But now,paring her with them, she couldn¡¯t even lift their shoes. He didn¡¯t care for her any more.

    In this way, she could get rid of the nightmare Zhu Quan brought to her... The premise was that she could still believe Meng Xuan. If Meng Xuan was the same as he was 3 years ago, and he proposed such a good idea, she wouldn¡¯t hesitate to agree it and let Meng Xuan dy for 2 or 3 years, which could provide her enough time to livefortably in Luo¡¯s Mansion and fight with evil people.

    But she had no sense of familiarity with Meng Xuan now. At first, he mistakenly thought that she liked him, so she was docile to him. Later, he suspected that she was ady of easy virtue and wouldn¡¯t refuse other men, including Duan Xiaolou, Zhu Quan and Bai Yangbai, who was old, which seemed that she had done nothing except seducing all the men in the 3 years. Finally, he suspected that she had bad conduct and believed that she didn¡¯t try her best to cure Qian Mudan just because of her hatred of ¡°a string¡±, which said by others.

    She took it for granted that after 3 years of getting along with each other, he knew her mind very well. When she saved people, she didn¡¯t treat people differently. If the person couldn¡¯t be saved, it was hopeless, even if Bai Yangbai (Bai said, ¡°Why me again?¡±) was the one whose heart was poisoned. And her ns of ¡°Asking the murderer for antidote and seeking senior of antidote¡± were only do what she wanted to do, which was just for the sake of venting the grief and indignation of losing friends. It didn¡¯t work out in the end.

    However, Meng Xuan¡¯s implication was that she had no medical ethics without heart of mercy because at the first moment when Qian Mudan fell into the water, she didn¡¯t use the arts of lightness to save her, which was really cold-blooded and selfish. She deeply felt that the little master was already very far away from herself. One was the spring flower with a short flowering period; the other was the autumn insect whose life was not long. Both of them could never find their intersection point again, which made her feel cold. Originally, they should be the closestpanions. They lived in the world with the memory of previous lives and also had various talents and abilities, but they had to hide because they were young. Of course, his starting point was much higher than that of her. He was the legitimate son of Earl Anning Ruting Mansion, and now he is a favored General, but she was a fake daughter in the eyes of the public.

    Now it seemed that he had already left her world and be a person of another world, which was so pity that the formerpanions pursued differently today.

    He couldn¡¯t know her any more, and it was harder for her to know his real mind. Could she believe Meng Xuan wholeheartedly? Were there any leaks in his idea? Wouldn¡¯t the people living in Meng¡¯s Family and Luo¡¯s Family meet each other in the world?

    Or it was Meng Xuan¡¯s bad idea that he let the fake marriage proposal be uncovered and then he came out to exin that he had liked her for a long time and showed his love to her. However, she proposed to be the wife and asked him to propose marriage immediately because of her humble status. Unable to think about it for a while, and attracted by her beauty, he made a proposal without the consent of his parents and nned to mediate it slowly in the future.

    If such things happened, her maiden name would be ruined. In Bai Yangbai¡¯s words, she could only marry him, and of course she couldn¡¯t be his wife. If he refused to marry her at that time, she would have to bear a bad reputation to be a concubine for others.

    Was it calcted by Meng Xuan? Was he taking revenge on her unfeeling love for him 3 years ago and her usefulness for him after they met 3 yearster again? Would he repeat ¡°Whisper at midnight¡± talked by Bai Yangbai and her in public topletely ruin her innocence and wrong her in losing her virginity?

    Please forgive her for specting so maliciously about his mind because he had be so unknowable to her, or that she had never known him at all. A gentle young man Meng Xuan, a chivalrous little master, both of them were ¡°Fabricated¡± figures in her mind. As for now, she only saw a vague shadow in a bronze mirror.

    Just as she secretly envied that every concubine in Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion had a strong backstage and a warm backing in her previous life. Their families often sent things to them and visited them from time to time. While she was envious, she couldn¡¯t help but ¡°fabricated¡± a warm Luo¡¯s Family in her heart. The real Luo¡¯s Family couldn¡¯t evenpare with a little she fabricated, but she still tried to depict the kindness of Madam Luo, who was very worried about her marriage before she was lucky enough to marry into Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion. Although Madam Luo had the idea of using her for the family¡¯s welfare, Madam Luo still had some sincere pity on her mother, so Madam Luo also loved her.

    At that time, her mother took her back to Luo¡¯s Family with crying, but her 3 uncles werepletely indifferent. Ms. Sun and others watched andughed at them secretly. Her grandfather died of a heart attack soon after. At that time, everyone thought it was the two of them that made her grandfather be angry. Even Madam Luo thought so.

    However, Madam Luo never put this hatred on them. Instead, she decided that the Madam He and He Jingxian were the culprits. Originally, because of an ancient book involving glory and wealth, Luo¡¯s Family and He¡¯s Family had long been feuding with each other for a long time. It was Lord He who came to drink with He Danggui¡¯s grandfather and proposed marriage between children, which meant their glory and wealth would be shared together. Thus, no one would care about the ownership of the book. Later, Lord He died. The daughter of Luo¡¯s Family, who was ¡°married¡±, was sent home and suffered humiliation in He¡¯s Family, which made He Danggui¡¯s grandfather be so angry that he also died.

    In this way, when Madam Luo vowed to be a mortal enemy with He¡¯s Family, she didn¡¯t get angry with her granddaughter, whose surname was He. ording to the attitude of other members of Luo¡¯s Family, Madam Luo was like the bodhisattvas. Therefore, He Danggui, who was eager for family affection in her previous life, fabricated Madam Luo as a kind elder. Seeing that the uncle of Consort Wan, who was in charge of Department of Supervision, often visited Consort Wan, He Danggui began to fabricate her own ¡°good uncles¡±.

    At that time, her impression of the 3 uncles was her mother¡¯s tearfulintte one night. Her mother said, ¡°My brothers are dispensable, so is my husband. What did she do wrong and why is her life so miserable?¡± After knowing that He Fu sneaked off to be an official in the capital, Luo¡¯s Family scolded him. However, no one was willing to go to the capital for 2 days and ask him for an exnation.

    The Third Uncle said that the medicine business in the north was so busy that he couldn¡¯t leave. The First Uncle was indecent and joked that there was no need to find He Fu again. What means did he have to let his sister be so devoted to him and pay back his money? Anyway, his little sister didn¡¯t want to get married again. So, she could just raise some handsome manservants at home. Wasn¡¯t it better than worrying about him? The Second Uncle said coldly that he didn¡¯t like to travel far away. But after a few days, he apanied Ms. Sun to visit the theatre in Northren Zhili Area (areas directly administered by the capital).

    How could she fabricate such uncles? The First Uncle wasn¡¯t to stick at trifles. The Second Uncle was terribly cool towards others. Although he didn¡¯t say, he was deeply in love. The Third Uncle was a natural literato who loved famous mountains and rivers. He wasn¡¯t willing to be involved in the small family disputes, so as to avoid tarnishing hisndscape articles.

    After a period of time, when He Danggui, whose mind was full of fabricated tenderness, embroidered in Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion, Ms. Sun, whose faces were full of tears, and Luo Baiqiong came to find her. She quickly asked the maids to show their seats and pour tea for them. After careful inquiry, she found out that the Second Uncle, who was terribly cool towards others, thought that his wife and concubines couldn¡¯t give birth to a son for many years, so he kept a concubine living outside in the backstreet of Luo¡¯s Mansion without telling his families. After some time, the woman was pregnant. Ms. Sun was so unconvinced for a moment and got a bad idea. She gave the woman food mixed with abortifacient anonymously, which made the woman miscarry a male fetus of 6 months old. Now, her Second Uncle was so angry that he ordered to investigate the matter thoroughly. Now he was suspected Ms. Sun.

    But the purpose of Ms. Sun and Luo Baiqionging here was to ask He Danggui to take the me. ording to what said by Ms. Sun, the Second Uncle only epted that woman because of her beauty. And he didn¡¯t check her unapparent details. In fact, she was the daughter of a guilty official. She should have been exiled or be a prostitute in official brothels, but she escaped after finding someone to bear her name.

    Ms. Sun wiped her tears and begged He Danggui to tell her Second Uncle that abortifacient was sent by her. The purpose was for his sake, and his generation shouldn¡¯t be connected with the daughter of a guilty official. In Ms. Sun and Luo Baiqiong¡¯s chorus of entreaties, she was filled with ¡°the fabricated warmth of Luo¡¯s Family¡± and agreed. She thought that she was the Consort favored by Lord Ning, so even if she recognized this, her Second Uncle wouldn¡¯t me her too much, which was equivalent to eliminating the family changes of Second Branch. Second Aunt and others would secretly appreciate her.

    As expected, when her Second Uncle, Luo Chuangu, heard that it was the promising niece who gave the abortifacient, and that it was out of a kind heart, his towering anger immediately subsided. And he didn¡¯t evene to Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion to question her. Only a few yearster, when He Danggui was betrayed by Second Branch led by Luo Chuangu, she realized that she was not only blind in eyes and heart, but she was the one person who liked to act on assumptions in the world. It was okay if she didn¡¯t know people clearly. At most, she should keep away from those who weren¡¯t familiar with, but she liked to ¡°guess¡± others. She guessed that this was a good person; that was a good matter; this was a good sister; that was a good uncle. In the end, she all guessed wrong.

    Having guessed wrong a lot in her previous life, she didn¡¯t dare to ¡°guess¡± that Meng Xuan was a selfless passer-by. When he happened to pass by once, would he help her solve a huge dilemma? Without asking who her enemy was, was he still willing to go all out to help her?

    This time, she would rather work hard to deal with Zhu Quan, instead of believing Meng Xuan again.

 Chapter 175 - Reappearance of the massacre in the previous life

    <h4>Chapter 175 Reappearance of the massacre in the previous life</h4>

    Bai Yangbai removed the camouge and was stared at directly by He Danggui. He was a little shy. He turned his body slightly and looked at the grass beside him. Then he scolded her with a low voice, ¡°I¡¯m shy of you looking at me like this. Didn¡¯t I show you my facest time? Why is it still like seeing me for the first time? Besides, Meng Xuan is so handsome, so you shouldn¡¯t look at others. If I say something carelessly to him, it will cause you to quarrel.¡±

    He Danggui sneered and said, ¡°If you rte me to Meng Xuan again, I will let the first-rate senior to expose your mask when you walk on the street. Don¡¯t you like to expose others¡¯ shorings best? I¡¯ll let you also taste the feeling of being embarrassed in front of the public!¡±

    ¡°No, no, no.¡± Bai Yangbai pleaded for mercy, ¡°Don¡¯t be angry. Did I say something wrong? I heard that Meng Xuan said he will go to the Luo¡¯s Mansion to propose a marriage with the whole rituals.¡±

    He Danggui squatted and stabbed the surrounding grass with a plum blossom needle in her hand. She said dully, ¡°First, he just pretended to propose a marriage. Second, I didn¡¯t agree at that time. I was determined to solve the enemy by myself. I don¡¯t want to bother Meng Xuan anymore and don¡¯t want to owe others debt of gratitude. You have received my silver, so you should work for me. Before my matter has been solved, you should obey all my orders.¡±

    Meng Xuan couldn¡¯t be trusted, but Bai Yangbai, an acquaintance in her previous life, was a rtively reliable. She would ask Bai Yangbai to find out if Zhu Quan had forgotten her.

    If Zhu Quan was busy enough and had many women around him, she wound not bother him. If Zhu Quan still remembered the girl with unusual intelligence three years ago, and wanted to add a helper in Wuying Tower and a concubine at the same time, she would ask Bai Yangbai to trouble Zhu Quan, so that Zhu Quan was too busy to find her in Yangzhou City. After a long time, when Zhu Yuanzhang had a new situation, she believed that Zhu Quan would not bother for a woman. After all, women were insignificant to him.

    However, what she was most worried about at present was that the Madam Luo would agree Feng Yang to let her marry him as a concubine. Who took the initiative? Was Madam Luo or Feng Yang? Would the passive party agree? She felt that things were out of her control.

    ¡°Girl, you are so stingy. Only 20 liang want to buy me over. I¡¯m too cheap!¡± Bai Yangbai sitting on the ground dug a small pit with a straw stick and buried his disguise materials in it. Then he read the poem that Qing¡¯er wrote on the Feast of Qushui Liushang with a sharp voice, ¡°The blossoms fade and falling fill the air/Of fragrance and bright hues bereft and bare/ Can I, that these flowers¡¯ obsequies attend/Another year who will be burying me?¡± Then he said, ¡°Girl, you¡¯re talented. How can you make such a vulgar friend? She also takes the initiative to make a fool of herself. Is she crazy?¡±

    ¡°Listen, you can¡¯t speak ill of Qing¡¯er. If I hear you again, I will make you suffer for it. I think this poem is good. The first half is exquisite, and the second half is straightforward. Besides, Qing¡¯er is just a beginner. As long as the verses are neat, it is very rare!¡± He Danggui continued to ask, ¡°By the way, have you seen Qing¡¯er? I haven¡¯t seen her since just now.¡±

    ¡°One of her maids, Jia, Yi, Bing and Ding, came to her just now. Then she ran out of the academy in a hurry and didn¡¯t even tell you. But she can¡¯t find you and Meng Xuan in the bamboo grove. ¡®Exquisite¡¯ means euphemistic, and ¡®straightforward¡¯ means direct¡­ One¡¯s poems can reflect his character.¡± Bai Yangbai was lying on the grass with grass leaves in his mouth. Heughed and said, ¡°Is it funny and suspicious that a person who is both euphemistic and straightforward? I guess the first two verses were not written by her, but stolen.¡±

    He Danggui frowned. The four maids of Qing¡¯er were now helping in Yi Hong Brothel. Was there any problem?

    When she was nning to visit there first, Bai Yangbai said, ¡°The maid named Bo He hase to you. She has been standing under the tree for a while. It seems that something happened in your family. I heard her tell your coachman that your Second Uncle¡¯s concubine has miscarriage. Now they are looking for you.¡±

    He Danggui was shocked and said repeatedly, ¡°My Second Uncle¡¯s concubine has miscarriage?¡± She was absent-minded.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Bai Yangbaiughed and said, ¡°It¡¯s so strange. She is neither your mother nor your father¡¯s concubine. Why are all your family looking for you? Did you prick her with your small needle?¡±

    He Danggui silently twisted the grass at her hand, bowed her head and fell into meditation. After a while, the grass was ground to pieces.

    Bai Yangbai saw it and then sighed, ¡°I¡¯ve advised you many times. Sometimes your kindness is unnecessary. For example, Zhu is a spy. You keep Ms. Dong¡¯s son, who has hatred with you. He doesn¡¯t show his selfishness in ordinary days. But when he needs to choose a position, will he choose you or his biological mother? Half a month ago, when I bought medicine candies, I saw that Qian Mudan¡¯s ophryon was livid, so I took a divination for her. I figured out that she would die on the street today, which was a dead end and could not be solved. I haven¡¯t seen such a situation for many years, so I followed her into the academy with curiosity. Then, I saw you say something behind her, but she pushed you away. You stood behind her for a moment. Then you picked up a small stone and hit her sleepy acupoint to treat her. You didn¡¯t have to treat her. No one will appreciate you. Meng Xuan even suspected that you won¡¯t save Qian Mudan because of your personal grievance.¡±

    He Danggui said coldly, ¡°I can do whatever I want. I don¡¯t need anyone to understand me. Since you saw this scene, when Meng Xuan used me just now, why didn¡¯t you exin for me?¡± She didn¡¯t want to admit that Bai Yangbai was right, but she couldn¡¯t deny that Sun Meiniang won again because of her miscalction. The thing of previous life was repeated. Sun Meiniang wanted to frame her that she murdered the concubine of Luo Chuangu.

    Actually, she had already be hard-hearted, but after a rtively stable year, she forgot the lessons she had learned. She saw Hua Yu, a concubine who was controlled by Sun Meiniang¡¯s medicine, and realized that Hua Yu was pregnant. She couldn¡¯t help asking herself how the history could change.

    In the previous life, Luo¡¯s Family had few heirs. Luo Baiji, the Second Master of the Third Branch, eloped with Su Niang, a heroine in the Jianghu, when he was a teenager. Since then, there was no news about them, and the Third Branch had no heir.

    Luo Chuangu of the Second Branch had two daughters, Luo Baiqiong and Luo Baishao. Although Sun Meiniang found many beautiful concubines for him, she secretly poisoned them by sterilization drugs. Several smart concubines escaped the sterilization drugs and became pregnant quietly. But Sun Meiniang tried to make them miscarry. Hua Yu was also one of them. The ending of Hua Yu in the previous life was abject. Compared with Sun Meiniang, she was too simple.

    Although He Danggui had a grudge with the people in Second Branch and had no rtionship with Hua Yu. On the one hand, she wanted to know whether the history could be changed in a small scale. The life and death of these people would not affect history. So, why couldn¡¯t human effort achieve anything? On the other hand, she also wanted to know if she could leave an heir for her grandfather.

    In the previous life, not only the Second Branch and Third Branch had no heir, but also the First Branch had no heir. The First Lord, Luo Chuanbai, only had a son of the concubine named Luo Baiqian, who only had the twins, Shiwei and Shizhu. However, one of them was fond of men and the other was impotent, so the Luo¡¯s Family had no heir.

    No matter how rich and powerful East Yard of Luo¡¯s Mansion was, none of them could inherit the family business. Therefore, they had to go to the distant rtives of Luo¡¯s Family for adoption. They raised three little boys but all died. After that, no poor rtives would give their children to them. Even if they were poor, they would not let their children die. Maybe this was the punishment of Immortal for them, so that they had no heir.

    Although Luo Baiqian of the First Branch was dissolute before, he had no interest in beauties since a massacre three years ago. Now he was absorbed in refining elixirs and different than before.

    Three years ago, a great tragedy happened in Yangzhou City, in which 82 people were killed in house. It was said that brigands did it. No one heard the noise or saw the fire at night. When they went to see it in the morning, it had be scorched. ording to the guard, there were 31 masters and 51 servants in the yard. All of them were women. They were not the local rich family and had no farm ie, but lived a luxurious life. They didn¡¯t earn money, but spent money like water.

    After discussion, several guards concluded that the courtyard was a brothel, and all the women were prostitutes. Because of the dispute with the brigands who were disguised as whoremasters, they were all raped first and then killed. This conclusion seemed inconceivable. There were mountains and forests around the courtyard. Although it was close to Chengxu Academy, it was remote and nearly 2 miles away from the nearest private house. The beautiful women sang and danced in the yard, where there were great treasures, but no guards and passers-by, so it was not surprising that the brigands were attracted.

    There were 2 questionable points. First, after the brigands raped and killed the prostitutes, they moved their bodies out of the yard first. Then they robbed the yard and burned it. When the fire was going out, they moved the corpses back to the yard. When the guards received the report, they found that there were more than 80 bodies of naked young women lying on the scorching ground. And their colorful clothes were scattered on the ground. The strange scene shocked them. Someone had nightmares after many years.

    Second, ording to the disorder of the scene and the situation that more than 80 dead were raped, the guards concluded that that there were at least 30 murderers. But all the women were strangled, with the same palm print on their neck. It was a man¡¯s right palm print, who had lost the little finger.

    It meant that no matter how many brigands there were, there was only one murderer who strangled more than 80 women. What a vicious viin! It was deplorable that 3 of the dead were pregnant. The fetuses were taken out and burned to ashes. There was a baby more than a month old who was killed by the smoke in the house.

    The local government was preparing to determine the nature of the case. When they draw a picture for sampling and hand it over to the Ministry of Punishments for disposal, a dramatic turn happened.

    Hearing it, Luo Baiqian, the First Master of the Luo¡¯s Family, came to the scene in a hurry. When he only saw it, he ran out of the yard quickly. He was retching and crying while propping up on a locust tree. The Yamen runner who guarded the scene knew him, so the Yamen runner went tofort him. The Yamen runner thought that it was very possible that there was a prostitute who had an affair with Luo Baiqian, because there was not far from Chengxu Academy. Maybe the customers were the male students, so these women lived so rich.

    When Luo Baiqian slowly stopped crying and made it clear off and on, the Yamen runner was shocked! It turned out that all the women in the yard were Luo Baiqian¡¯s concubines!

    They are not the prostitutes, but good women! All the women were bought by Luo Baiqian from the Qingcaoniu market. The beautiful women were concubines and the unattractive women were maids for Luo Baiqian to enjoy after school every day. The four dead babies were all Luo Baiqian¡¯s children.

    The case changed from ¡°robbery of more than 80 prostitutes¡± to ¡°murder of more than 80 good women and four rich illegitimate children¡±, which had been highly valued by the Ministry of Punishments. However, the case had not been solved for 3 years because the criminal was too cunning and didn¡¯t leave any useful clues at the scene.

    This case made Luo Baiqian grieved, and he was no longer as dissolute as before. Even though Madam Luo found several beautiful concubines for him, he was not interested.

    After finishing his study in Chengxu Academy, he neither took the imperial examination nor took over the San Qing Tang. The Master of Guan¡¯s Family invited him to the Weaving Factory, but he refused. The Master of Feng¡¯s Family invited him to the Lu Feng Escort, but he was not interested in it. Now, he had built a Qi Xing Hall and Zhai Xing Tower in Qi Lu Yard of Luo¡¯s Mansion. During the day, he sat in the hall for meditation, and at night he went upstairs to watch the sky. Madam Luo and others regarded all these as his mourning for his one son and three daughters. As for schrly honor or official rank, they had to wait for the influence of this matter to fade away.

    When He Danggui heard about it three years ago, she was very surprised. She knew that Luo Baiqian had several concubines, who had given birth to four children, and they would die. But those things were all happened in the 2nd year of Jianwen Period, and the cause of death of those people was not robbed by brigands, but a mud avnche after the rainstorm.

    He Danggui was surprised that Luo Baiqian had more than 80 concubines. Besides, these people would die two and a half years earlier than in the previous life, which was tragic.

    Why? Did Immortal make some changes?

    Since she knew the future, Immortal thought that she would try to find out the houses of those people and move them away before the mud avnche appeared. So, Immortal acted before her and took the lives of those people.

    In this life, something happened that never happened in the previous life. However, Luo Baiqian¡¯s concubines and children were all dead in the end. He Danggui didn¡¯t know what such an event meant. Would history change with time? Or would history never be changed, no matter how many variables there were?

    He Danggui, Qing¡¯er and Meng Xuan came from different era. Couldn¡¯t anyone change history? Even small changes?

    She would marry into Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion; Qing¡¯er and Meng Xuan would follow the track of their previous lives step by step. No one knew the previous life of Qing¡¯er. Meng Xuan once mentioned that he was betrayed by Deputy General Liu who feared the enemy in his previous life. He didn¡¯t have enough time to waiting for the reinforcements. He was not only outnumbered, but also his leg was hit a poisonous arrow. Finally, he died after exhaustion.

    Meng Xuan would be on guard against the Deputy General Liu in this life, but would there be other people or other reasons for his death?

    In this life, would she be taken into the Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion soon? Then, Zhu Quan would threaten her with the lives of her mother and friends and force her to work for Wuying Tower. Finally, she would avoid the vicious Zhou Jinn but be harmed by Xie Qiaofeng.

    Neither she nor Meng Xuan could not disobey the will of fate. Could they only disappear in the history?

    Couldn¡¯t everyone¡¯s ending be changed?

 Chapter 176 - A doll looked like He Danggui

    <h4>Chapter 176 A doll looked like He Danggui</h4>

    Not far away across the bank, the ¡®crazy chasing game¡¯ had been stopped by Guard Zhan and his subordinates. More than twenty misses who were chased by Qian Mudan fell, and some twisted their ankles. Now they were safe, so they couldn¡¯t help crying in each other¡¯s arms.

    Although more than half of childes had powerful martial artists and seniors like Han Fang and Guan Mo were also here, they were confused whether Qian Mudan who was walking very slowly dead or alive. If she was alive, it would be inappropriate to attack her, because even she was running and scaring people with blood over her body, they needed to treat her with respect. If she was dead, they wouldn¡¯t dare to touch her even more¨CShe was dead but still walking. What monster had Qian Mudan be?

    However, Guard Zhan and his subordinates didn¡¯t hesitate¨Cas soon as Guard Zhan came back and saw this scene, he immediately stood out and offered protection. Qian Mudan¡¯s father and sister were unconscious because of terror. So, without consulting their opinions, Guan Zhan tied Qian Mudan in seconds and controlled her down on the floor with the handle of his sword.

    On the other side of the bank, Bai Yangbai stared at He Danggui, who was extremely calm, and reminded her kindly, ¡°Girl, the Luo¡¯s Family are looking for you, and it seems that they¡¯reing for you with bad intentions. Why are you so rxed? At least, you should look nervous, right? Every time I see you, the feeling of inferiority hit me right away. Compared with your gesture, I feel like I don¡¯t deserve to be a Taoist Sage.¡±

    He Danggui rolled her eyes and said, ¡°It¡¯s not time for jokes. Last time when you met Childe Duan, what did he say? How was his expression andplexion? Was his body healthy?¡±

    Bai Yangbai stared at He Danggui and said in a low voice, ¡°Why don¡¯t you ask him yourself that if he still loves you anymore? Why do you pretend¡­¡± Seeing that He Danggui was about to get pissed off, he said quickly and fluently, ¡°Two months ago, I was unluckily caught by imperial guards and was sent to the Imperial Pce to see the Emperor. On the way, I overheard that a maid in Pce told her friend she was pregnant with Emperor¡¯s child. But being afraid of others¡¯ envy, she chose to remain this as a secret. So, when I met the Emperor, I told him this year there would be a princess born in the Imperial Pce, which will be his bless. Thus, he should treat this child very well.¡±

    s! He Danggui thought Bai Yangbai could really foresee the future that Zhu Yuanzhang¡¯sst daughter would be born this year. It turned out to be like this. What a liar! He Danggui frowned and said, ¡°I¡¯m asking about Childe Duan. Don¡¯t change the subject!¡± She needed to know how he had been recently. If he ran into trouble in the Department of Imperial Guard, she could try to help and pay her debt.

    ¡°After I left the Pce, I didn¡¯t find Duan Xiaolou among those imperial guards. Later I knew he had asked a long leave to take care of his new born baby. I was delighted to hear this and I thought he finally gave up the affection towards you and moved on. So, I visited him and congratted him by dressing up as a servant in Duan¡¯s Mansion. However, the thing he was holding was not a real baby. It was a doll in your clothes and look. And it was almost as big as you! Although it was a doll, but anyone can recognize it was made based on your look¨Cit wore the green suit that you always dressed¡­¡±

    He Danggui was worried and urged, ¡°What was he going to use it for? Is his state of mind normal?¡±

    ¡°For what?¡± Bai Yangbai couldn¡¯t helpughing, ¡°What do you think? He was sleeping with the doll! He was murmuring your name and crying with the doll in his arms. I couldn¡¯t bear it, so I persuaded him that the He Danggui he loved was the owner of two brothels and selling afrodyn. Now she was preparing her third brothel. Every day she was delighted and satisfied. She already forgot about him. He should buy some of her afrodyn, so he could make more babies with his wife and concubines. But he begged me not to tell you about him having a child. He said that he and Guan Yun hadn¡¯t married, so he could leave her very soon. Then he said that the child was only an ident. He told me that one night he was drunk because of his concubine Lian. Later he was told by Lian that she was carrying his child. In his words, he was about to offer you the wife¡¯s position and ask you to forgive him having other concubines. I was so resentful that I scolded him and left. It was thest time I saw him.¡±

    He Danggui was silent for a while and asked, ¡°How was his body? Did he lose weight?¡±

    Bai Yangbai signed, ¡°Yes, although he was not as cute as I am, he was still a good-looking man. But his mental state was not stable. All he cared about was you. Hearing what Meng Xuan just said, I thought you and Duan Xiaolou both have a feeling towards each other and you miss him all the time. Since Duan Xiaolou was willing to marry you as his wife and couldn¡¯t live without you, why don¡¯t you just get married and express your feelings to each other in bed? But then I was worried about you. His mother was a heroine who once fought in the battle following Earl Anning. She was clear about what to love and hate. Lately her husband and grandson died, though which is none of your business. But to think it clearly, you seem to be part of their death, not to mention what she would think. It¡¯s not a good idea for you to marry into her home. She would only treat you with bad intentions.¡±

    He Danggui shook her head and said, ¡°I don¡¯t deserve Duan Xiaolou¡¯s care and love, or to be his wife. But I heard that the capital is not very peaceful recently. The Emperor is getting weaker and easier to lose his temper. Assisting the Emperor is like sleeping with a tiger, not to mention the rich and powerful bigwigs staring and waiting by side. I¡¯m worried that Childe Duan and Master Lu would be caught into trouble. I want to help them as possible as I can, so I can repay their kindness¡­¡±

    ¡°Hey, look at that!¡± Bai Yangbai pointed at somewhere in the central and yelled, ¡°What is that old woman in ck doing?¡±

    The old woman in ck suddenly appeared just now, which made Bai Yangbai almost kissed He Danggui. The old woman tied a white string to Qian Mudan¡¯s wrists and smiled at Guard Zhan and others. She said, ¡°Your honor, I¡¯m her aunt. Sorry about all the troubles. Actually, she was not poisoned or dead. She just had a disease called epilepsy. When it happens, she will be crazy like this. I¡¯m going to take her to see the doctor now. If you have more questions, just ask him.¡±

    Then she touched Qian Mudan¡¯s father Qian Xi who was still unconscious with a red rattan-like thing. Then she pulled the white silk tied to Qian Mudan. She smiled and said, ¡°Nice girl, let¡¯s take you to see the doctor.¡±

    Witnessed by frightened eyes, Qian Mudan suddenly became lively. She nodded and said, ¡°Yeah, auntie. Let¡¯s go.¡±

    And then they left towards the wormwood. Everyone would get out of the way to let them pass. Seeing they were about passing by, He Danggui was worried that Bai Yangbai would try to kiss her once again. So, she held Bai Yangbai¡¯s cor and jumped on a near tree silently. They hid in thick leaves.

    Bai Yangbai said in surprise with a very low voice, ¡°When did your arts of lightness be so good? I¡¯ve never seen this before. Although it is nothingpared with Meng Xuan¡¯s and Duan Xiaolou¡¯s, you just started to learn martial arts withziness and clumsiness. It¡¯s a surprise that you can jump on a tall tree so easily.¡±

    ¡°Why should I be so high-profile? Powerful skills are used in emergency.¡± He Danggui uttered a humph, ¡°Besides, I was carrying you who are heavy as a pig! That is my limit. I wouldn¡¯t call myself a senior.¡±

    Bai Yangbai wondered, ¡°The way you use your arts of lightness is much different from Meng Xuan¡¯s. His is untraceable and flexible, like a feather. While yours is like a cheetah. Your gesture in the air is not very beautiful. You were like a monkey climbing a wall when you just jumped on the tree.¡±

    He Danggui said angrily, ¡°You piss me off one more time. I will dump you off the tree and let Qian Mudan eat you.¡±

    Bai Yangbai was scared and exined, ¡°I was just curious. Your moves are like the Mysterious Footwork of Feng Yang, the Young Lord of Yangzhou Caobang Organization. Do you know each other? What is your rtion with him?¡±

    He Danggui nodded and exined after a pause, ¡°You¡¯re right. That was Feng Yang¡¯s Mysterious Footwork. In those days, Meng Xuan was my master. But I didn¡¯t have the foundation and was reluctant to hang under the ceiling or hold buckets of water all day with my hands. So, until he left, I only managed to learn a small part of the Methods for circling Zhenqi. Then Feng Yang came to me to fulfill his promise. I once was stepped by a horse because of him, so he promised to teach me a type of arts of lightness as his apology. I didn¡¯t expect this but he still came, with a volume of hand painting methods. The ink was still wet, which suggested the volume was made day in and day out. So, I epted it and began to practice. Even though I waszy and a fan of shortcuts, I still became a senior after three years.¡±

    Bai Yangbai squinted at her with doubt and said, ¡°The Mysterious Footwork is the extend version of Wudang Sect¡¯s secrets method¨CCloud walking (the best arts of lightness), which was created by Feng Yang with Fuliu Sword. He should be willing to teach you this powerful martial art. Did he also like you? He pretended to like men to not get married. And when you grow up, he can propose to you. He would im to the outside world that he only loves you besides men¨Cbecause you are the most masculine woman in this world¨CIn this way, he could make your ¡®monogamy¡¯ wishe true. Girl, is he going to be the next Duan Xiaolou? How did you seduce him anyway?¡±

    He Danggui nodded with scorn and said, ¡°Lovely story, and interesting image. I¡¯m truly a heartbreaker then? With each move, I can make a man fall in love with me.¡±

    Now the old woman in ck and Qian Mudan had vanished in the bush. The valley was extremely quiet, so everyone could hear there were at least eight people hid in the bush. Hearing these footsteps gone further, President Bai breathed a sigh of relief and paid his thanks to Guard Zhan, ¡°Fortunately, you arrived in time, or else we wouldn¡¯t know what to do. Epilepsy is so scary!¡±

    Guard Zhan nodded and said in a deep voice, ¡°We saw that sword suddenly changed into a pile of wasted iron, so we thought there must be a senior hiding nearby, stooping us from saving Qian Mudan. I guessed that senior was the one who poisoned Qian Mudan. Seeing the sword¡¯s pieces, I knew I couldn¡¯t beat him, so I went to call for help. As the epilepsy the old woman just said, I could hardly agree. I¡¯ve never seen this kind of epilepsy in my life. We can just figure it out when Qian Shuixian and her father wake up.¡±

    Bai Yangbai heard this and said to He Danggui excitedly, ¡°I guess you already know the truth, right? How did Qian Mudan be poisoned? Is her sister the murderer or aplice? Half a month ago, why did you knock Qian Mudan out suddenly to feed her medicine and use acupuncture on her? You said the Shi Hua Poison would turn people into a walking dead, but Qian Mudan just talked to us. Could a dead person talk?¡±

 Chapter 177 - Infatuation in three days

    <h4>Chapter 177 Infatuation in three days</h4>

    He Danggui pped Bai Yangbai¡¯s hands and said sarcastically, ¡°You are the master of calcting. I¡¯m much worse than you. While you reminded me, I knew that Qian Mudan was got the venomous insect. You asked me that, but how am I supposed to know?¡± The book said that a man who got Shi Hua Poison would be a zombie and controlled by others, while the venomous insect attracted for three times. But He Danggui couldn¡¯t guarantee that it was the third time for Qian Mudan. She never saw zombies before, so how could she distinguish Qian Mudan¡¯s sweet voice was from a human or the venomous insect in her body?

    Bai Yangbai still not gave up. He said, ¡°Half a month ago, what kind of pills did you give to her? I want it, too.¡±

    ¡°It was amon pill just for fire-clearing. Do you want it? I also agree that you should take it. I¡¯ll give you another day. No charge.¡± He Danggui proposed generously. Seeing that he was confused, she exined, ¡°Half a month ago, I noticed that Qian Mudan, who sat diagonally in the front of me, was extremely excited. When the ss was over, she immediately came to the wall of Men Institute and sang songs, so did the other misses around her. Only I could keep my head, but I was not as calm as usual. Every ss was a suffering. The more I listened, the more fretful I was. I had to read the Heart Sutra in my heart to stick with it. After two days¡¯ observation, I found the magnolia worn in Qian Mudan¡¯s hairpin was very fragrant. I identified it for several times and was shocked. This smell was musk and added other fragrance of flowers. It was a powerful hallucinogen in the magnolia. If you smelt it, you would be infatuated with a particr opposite sex and couldn¡¯t stop.¡±

    Bai Yangbai¡¯s eyes were lightened. He said, ¡°What a wonderful thing! How to make it? Please give me the prescription.¡±

    He Danggui nced at him and asked with surprise, ¡°Eh? You are not chase women, so why are you interested in the hallucinogen? I haven¡¯t analyzed the prescription, but I have two flowers from Qian Mudan. If you like, I can give you one of them.¡±

    ¡°How can I love women! Even you pursue me, I¡¯ll consider for two or three years. Not to mention other ugly women just like the fatty girl Qing¡¯er, Ms. Zheng and your Second Aunt,¡± Bai Yangbai giggled with his hands covered his mouth and said, ¡°I am just curious. When you smell it, who will you recall? And who will you fall in love with? Every time when you hear Feng Yang, you change your expression. Every time when you hear Quan, you are trembling. Is it have something to do with this?¡±

    He Danggui pretended not to hear that, and continued to talk about Qian Mudan, ¡°So, I suggested her not to wear the flower, but she didn¡¯t listen to me. I stole her flower when nobody noticed, but she wore a new flower to school the next day. I don¡¯t know whether she smelt the aphrodisiac in her own initiative or she was drugged by someone when she was unaware. So, I tested her with some words for several times. And finally, I was sure that she was drugged. But I had poor rtionship with her. After the testing, I offended this First Miss Qian, so she started trouble me. Strings of Guqin, benches, brushes and food containers. I didn¡¯t want to tangle with the little girl, so I endured several times. She lost interests and never teased me finally.¡±

    ¡°The little girl? I think she is about sixteen or seventeen years old.¡± Bai Yangbai rubbed his chin with his thumb and asked, ¡°Girl, how old are you?¡±

    He Danggui just kept talking, ¡°Until now, I just know she is First Miss Qian. I even don¡¯t know her whole name. After I gave her an acupuncture treatment and fed her herbal medicine, the toxin was expelled from her body, so she wasn¡¯t unrestrained like before. And then I put something on her head that girls scared most, just like bees and caterpirs. Gradually, she doubted that the flower¡¯s fragrance attracted these insects, so she didn¡¯t wear the flowers when she went to school. But I noticed another thing. These days when First Miss Qian wore the flower, the Second Miss Qian never came to school. However, the next day when First Miss Qian didn¡¯t wear the flower, Second Miss Qian went to school with her again. But it was over. They wereplete strangers to me, so I never got to the bottom of the matter.¡±

    ¡°Aphrodisiac...¡± Bai Yangbai held his cheek by his left hand and said with a smile, ¡°I think I¡¯m well informed, but I never heard that who have this wonderful thing. If the drug is useful, there will be less perverseds and intive maidens. Such as, eh, I just set an example. If you are fed this drug in front of Duan Xiaolou, you will never care about status and obey him in every matter. He¡¯ll be very happy.¡±

    ¡°I tested the drug by someone and found the property of the drug could onlyst for three days. That is to say, the affection could onlyst for three days without particr target. It won¡¯t let you falling in love with the person who is in front of you.¡± He Danggui said slowly, ¡°Although I don¡¯t know why Duan Xiaolou love me so much, I¡¯m sure that he wouldn¡¯t love a girl who has no thoughts and mind. If I was obedient to him in every matter when we first met, he would forget me for a long time.¡±

    Bai Yangbai sighed, ¡°You have your mind, but I think you have no heart. You say you want topensate Duan Xiaolou, but you know what he wants. As long as you give him a smile, he will be happy immediately.¡±

    He Danggui frowned with sorrow and signed too. She said, ¡°Qianjun, the most regretting thing for me in this life is that I let Duan Xiaolou love me. The second thing that I regret was pushing him away. It was not because I loved him and realized that I couldn¡¯t leave him. I always thought I was the most stubborn one. But this time, I met the person who was more stubborn than me. If I had known that, I would have married him before he lost his father. As such a stubborn man, he must never change his mind.¡±

    Suddenly, Bai Yangbai reached out his fingers and put them on her cheek. Then he scratched her cheek up and down. While He Danggui just wanted to push his fingers away, he pinched her face tightly and let her weep. Bai Yangbai took back his fingers and said to himself, ¡°Damn it. I think I guess the truth...¡±

    He Danggui rubbed her cheek and red at him. She shouted, ¡°Bai Yangbai, why did you pinch me?¡±

    Bai Yangbai looked at her with an exploratory expression. He smiled and said, ¡°I feel that your tone is not suitable for your face. As if a woman who has the same age as me wears the girl¡¯s face and talks to me. I was controlled by this thought at that time, so I tried to disclose your mask. I thought I found your secret.¡±

    He Danggui was in a daze. When she just wanted to say something, she found Guard Zhan and his subordinates were searching the valley carefully. They wereing here quickly. It seemed that they were finding the mysterious man who broke Guard Zhan¡¯s knife. They searched regrly. One was in charge of an area. They separated the grasses by knifes and lighted up the trees by torches. If they on like this, He Danggui and Bai Yangbai must be found. But Bai Yangbai¡¯s real face couldn¡¯t be seen by others.

    He Danggui turned and asked Bai Yangbai, ¡°Uncle, can you fly? We can step on the top of the tree, climb over the hilltop ande to the ssroom.¡± She knew that Bai Yangbai¡¯s kung fu was just better than her in previous life, so she didn¡¯t have much expectation on him. Because of her poor flying ability, she was hardly able to save herself. How could she fly with a muddy pig?

    Bai Yangbai shook his head and said seriously, ¡°Only bird-man can fly. I never practice such useless arts of lightness.¡± Then, he brought a human skin mask and stuck it on his face skillfully. Just after a second, he handled it well. He shook He Danggui¡¯s arm and yed the coquetry with a shrill voice, ¡°Miss, let¡¯sing down from the tree. First Madam Luo and others must feel anxious for waiting you. They are waiting for you to exin why you poison the child of Second Branch!¡±

    ¡°Huai, Huai Hua¡­ Oh!¡± He Danggui was shocked by Huai Hua¡¯s smiling face, because she hadn¡¯t seen Huai Hua for three months. Abruptly, she was pushed down the tree by Bai Yangbai!

    She could turn around or turn a somersault to fall to the ground safely, but Guard Zhan was approaching. She was unwilling to expose her kung fu, so she closed her eyes and prepared to fall on the ground¡­

    But, but, she ¡°gnawed¡± a warm¡­

    ¡°Sorry, my...my lips are covered by the fake skin. You just gnawed that. Forget it, OK?¡± ¡°Huai Hua¡± in grey doctor robe covered her mouth. His eyes were full of scare, just like his lips were touched by a snake. He was so anxious. It seemed that if Guard Zhan and others were not here, he would disclose the skin on his lips and confirmed his innocence.

    Guard Zhan came quickly. After seeing He Danggui and a young maid who was unkempt, he felt strange and asked, ¡°Miss, why are you falling down from the tree?¡±

    He Danggui just tried to answer, but ¡°Huai Hua¡± said before her, ¡°Let me tell you, sir. The Miss Qian was so scary, who fell into the water just now. She chased us for a long time. We were so scared that we couldn¡¯t help climbing up the tree. But my Miss was timid, so she couldn¡¯t hold the tree and fell down!¡± Her intonation was wired with lengthen tone, but her voice was actually a girl¡¯s voice and it was nearly 60% simrity of Huai Hua. Except He Danggui and Chan Yi, who were very familiar with Huai Hua, others couldn¡¯t distinguish true or false.

    A guard near them couldn¡¯t help asking the strange maid, ¡°Why are you wearing man clothes? How long have you stayed on the tree? Have you ever seen someone strange passed by?¡±

    ¡°Huai Hua¡± answered seriously, ¡°It¡¯s my personal hobby. The strange person was the old woman in ck, but you let her and the people hiding in the grass go away. I don¡¯t know where to find them. Even Qian Mudan was abducted by the witch. I want to see how you will exin it to Lord Qian!¡±

    Guard Zhan stared at ¡°Huai Hua¡± and said, ¡°What¡¯s your meaning? Qian Mudan was willing to follow her aunt to treat illness. Why should I stop her?¡±

    ¡°Huai Hua¡± shouted in a low voice. She bent and hid in He Danggui¡¯s back. It seemed that she was scared by Guard Zhan¡¯s fierce eyes. She pushed He Danggui to be her shield and said in a hurry, ¡°If you want to ask something, you can ask my Miss. She has heard Qian Mudan and Qian Shuixian talking in whispers.¡±

    Guard Zhan had recognized that He Danggui was that Miss who helped Childe Meng to save people. When he just wanted to ask something, He Danggui clutched her head and leaned against the maid. He Danggui said weakly, ¡°Sorry, although I¡¯ve heard that Qian Mudan and Qian Shuixian nned this incident by ident. They nned to lure Childe Zong to save Qian Mudan and ask him to marry Qian Mudan. I know nothing else. I also heard they said, in Qian Mudan¡¯s love letter, Qian Mudan made an appointment of ¡®Pledge to love underwater¡¯ with Childe Zong, but she never thought that Childe Zong didn¡¯t read her letter and didn¡¯t know how to swim. As for other things about faked death and poisoning, you must ask Qian Shuixian. Many people saw that before she approached Qian Mudan, she cried and said, ¡®My sister was dead.¡¯. All of us felt strange.¡±

    Guard Zhan wanted to ask more, but the Miss in cyan was in a state of unconsciousness. She could only stand with difficulty and let her maid hold her shoulder. He concerned, ¡°Are you OK? Miss.¡± The maid answered, ¡°Miss is very timid. She was scared and got sick because of Qian Mudan, so we need to go home and see a doctor first. See you!¡± Then, they waved their handkerchiefs and sleeves, bypassed all the guards and went to the back door of the academy.

    ¡°Huai Hua¡± asked, ¡°Girl, I think it¡¯s interesting. Maybe it will have a y named ¡°Interrogating Shuixian at night¡±. You just watched the first half. Do you want to leave?¡±

    He Danggui chuckled and said, ¡°I guess we can see the second half by some dayster. You know the efficiency of Yamen. Furthermore, the stage in Luo¡¯s Family is ready, waiting me to y the leading role.¡±

    ¡°Huai Hua¡± nced at her and sighed, ¡°Meng Xuan was right. You prefer to hurt yourself rather than show your kung fu. Why are you hiding so much?¡±

    He Danggui thought for a while and answered, ¡°The precious stonends its innocent possessor in jail. Medical skills and kung fu are my precious stones. I¡¯m afraid to be a sinner.¡±

 Chapter 178 - Taking the prescription into the coffin

    <h4>Chapter 178 Taking the prescription into the coffin</h4>

    ¡°I understand your mood. I am the ¡®precious stone¡¯, so I am a sinner among sinners.¡± Bai Yangbai touched the tip of He Danggui¡¯s nose, but she dodged. He sighed suddenly, ¡°I find that since Meng Xuan said that you should keep distance with other men, you seem to sneer at him but you don¡¯t treat me as close as before. Hey, do you have any spare dresses for me in your ssroom?¡± Bai Yangbai patted the robe with one sleeve cut off by Meng Xuan. This action affected his shoulder, which was pinched by Meng Xuan. He couldn¡¯t help biting his teeth with pain. He hated Meng Xuan very much.

    ¡°I lend the dress of Qing¡¯er to you. My dresses are not suitable for you. Hurry up and let me see how serious your injury is.¡± He Danggui led him through the flowers to the door of the Guqin ssroom. She said, ¡°I don¡¯t care about Meng Xuan¡¯s words. If I remember what others say, I will die long ago. In fact, I just have a talk with you.¡± When speaking, she turned back and looked at him with a smile.

    ¡°What?¡± Bai Yangbai rubbed the wound and looked at a section of willow in her hands naively. He asked, ¡°What are you doing with this, girl?¡±

    He Danggui tried the toughness of the wicker and exined to him, ¡°Well, I heard that a real senior could kill people with flowers and leaves. Unfortunately, I throw hidden weapons without right direction, and I can¡¯t hit people with flowers and leaves. So, I want to how deep my wicker will get into the wood...¡± She held the willow in her right hand and pinched a Form of Sword in her left hand. She had stepped on the mysterious footwork to approach a willow tree in a moment. Her wrists were shaking slightly, and she waved that section of willow to the trunk on the right. Wherever the wicker came, there was a deep mark on the trunk, and even arge piece of bark around it was pulled off.

    He Danggui touched the flexible wicker and looked at Bai Yangbai. She asked slowly, ¡°Please tell me, how many times have you sneaked into Luo¡¯s Mansion? What secrets have you heard? In addition to Madam Luo and Huai Hua, who else did you y in front of me? How many personal effects have you touched?¡±

    Bai Yangbai¡¯s face twitched, and he tried to calm down and said, ¡°I¡¯m an ascetic. It doesn¡¯t matter to go in and out of your room asionally. In those days, you went into my room to ask for my maintaining youth bath pitifully. Every time I boiled water for you and packed the valuables in the room. Then I went out the room focusing on my way. I locked the door and had a walk in the academy for four to six hours. You think carefully. Have I ever seen you one more time?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t say anything else. I¡¯ve always regarded you as the eunuch in the Imperial Pce. I don¡¯t taboo this.¡± He Danggui nced at him and said, ¡°What I ask is why you didn¡¯te to look for me honestly, but to pretend to be mysterious behind me. Since you can take out the mask of Huai Hua, I think you are not pretending to be her for the first time. What¡¯s your purpose?¡±

    Bai Yangbai continued to exin himself, ¡°I still remember that once, you bathed and fell asleep in my room carelessly. If I have any evil intention, you¡¯re screwed! But when I came back and found that the situation was wrong, I went out at the first time and threw stones into the room through the transom. After throwing eight or nine stones, I woke you up. But you didn¡¯t thank me for guarding your innocence. You also punched my face and knocked out half of my mask!¡±

    He Danggui was angry when he mentioned this matter, ¡°I asked you to go to sleep in another ce and let me use your room for one day. I find that circling Zhenqi and regting breath in the bath is more fluent than in the hot spring water. When I was just getting better that day, there were stones falling from the top of my head. I had to stop my most sess exercise immediately. How dare you mention it?¡±

    Bai Yangbai held his head and bowed to her. He said smilingly, ¡°I¡¯m afraid that you¡¯ll find something in my room alone. You always care about my prescriptions and medicinal materials.¡±

    He Danggui red at him fiercely and said, ¡°We have such a good rtionship. It doesn¡¯t matter to tell me your secret prescription, does it?¡±

    ¡°How good is our rtionship?¡± Bai Yangbai waved his hand and said, ¡°Don¡¯t try to get close to me. You are just my master and bath friend. I can only pass this prescription to my descendants, but I¡¯m not interested in women. So, it¡¯s destined that I will bring it into my coffin. And don¡¯t think about my prescription in the future. If you y tricks on me again, I will tell Quan that you admire him and let him take you away. His family is full of women, and you can¡¯t resolve them all your life.¡±

    He Danggui was surprised and angry, ¡°Ghosts admire that man. Even if I like pigs and dogs, I will not like him. If you dare to do so, I will kill you first and thenmit suicide. I will never enter the Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion.¡±

    Bai Yangbai shook his shoulders and said, ¡°Women are too terrible. You love other man desperately and want me to die together with you. I don¡¯t want to talk with you.¡± With his head in his arms, he went to Liao Qing¡¯er¡¯s seat. He found a cotton skirt and put it on. After he came out, he looked like Huai Hua exactly. ¡°Miss, let¡¯s go home and fight viins.¡± He said with a sharp sound.

    He Danggui looked at him critically, but she couldn¡¯t find any loopholes. So, she nodded and told him, ¡°Huai Hua went to take care of Zhenzhu who is pregnant three months ago. When you go to Tao Yao Yard, you can only smile. Don¡¯t speak, especially to Chan Yi, or you will be suspicious.¡± After thinking for a second, she said, ¡°It seems that Ms. Sun is well prepared this time. Maybe she gave Hua Yu some cold medicine and let me meet Hua Yu to find this thing identally. These were all the ys that Ms. Sun has rehearsed for a long time. I hate that I fell into her trap carelessly. When I get to the Luo¡¯s Family, I will lose the first half of the game inevitably. Please don¡¯t say something to help me. When the master speaks in the Luo¡¯s Family, the servants are not qualified to interrupt.¡±

    Bai Yangbai nodded excitedly and said, ¡°I know. Let¡¯s go to meet Sun Meiniang!¡±

    He Danggui patted the dust and dew on her skirt and went out first. Then Bai Yangbai followed. He Danggui said, ¡°While there is no one on the road now, you can tell me the details that Madam Luo picks Feng Yang and Guan Mo out. She wants me to be a concubine of one of them. Is it true or not? Where did you hear that? Does the Madam Luo say it personally?¡±

    ¡°Of course, what news in the world can¡¯t I find out?¡± Bai Yangbai covered his mouth with a wry smile and said, ¡°Madam Luo has a trusted follower named Mammy Tang who has never married in her whole life. Mammy Tang has two adopted sons and one adopted daughter, right? That adopted daughter also imitated Mammy Tang. She is nearly 30 years old but also doesn¡¯t get married.¡±

    ¡°Yes. Mammy Tang¡¯s adopted daughter is Miss Ji.¡± He Danggui beat the holly leaves on the roadside with the wicker in her hand. Every time when she waved it, a lot of leaves fell. And the holly was as neat as it had been cut with a long scissors.

    Bai Yangbai lowered his voice and said mysteriously, ¡°Tut-tut, it turns out that she has two lovers. Since she can¡¯t marry both of them at the same time, they don¡¯t get married.¡± Seeing He Danggui¡¯s face was full of consternation, he further revealed, ¡°These are all from my own ears. She gave birth to a son for each of them.¡±

    He Danggui didn¡¯t believe it, ¡°Are you talking about Miss Ji¡¯s two adopted children in infancy? She picked them up from the backne, and we all saw it. Hey, I talk about Feng Yang and Guan Mo, why do you say Miss Ji?¡±

    Bai Yangbai waved and said, ¡°Take it easy. Here is the thing. Last month, I stayed in the stable of a small inn. I couldn¡¯t sleep in the middle of the cold night. I wanted to see if there was a free room to sleep. But I saw an exciting scene. Actually, two men and one woman were making love. The woman also called one elder brother and called the other second brother. I was very shy when I saw it. After they finished, they put on their clothes and left. And I was not sleepy at that time. So, I followed them to go home. But the more I looked at that house, the more familiar it was. Wasn¡¯t this the Luo¡¯s Family where you lived? I heard that the woman was called Miss Ji. After I looked carefully, I realized that she was the woman in charge of Madam Luo¡¯s warehouse. At the same time, her second brother took her to her room again. Soon, clothes were thrown out. So, I picked up her clothes and put them on. I dressed like her and stayed in front of Madam Luo for four days.¡±

    ¡°Four days?¡± He Danggui frowned and asked, ¡°What did you hear from Madam Luo?¡±

    Bai Yangbai approached and said, ¡°Don¡¯t you wonder why the Miss Ji was absent for four days? It turns out that her two brothers are both very busy. One is the head of the branch of Lu Feng Escort, and the other is the fifth-generation head of Beggars¡¯ Organization. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. They can¡¯t get out after entering the room...¡±

    ¡°What did you hear from Madam Luo?¡± They would arrive at the gate of the academy, and the sedan chair of the Luo¡¯s Family could be seen from a distance. He Danggui couldn¡¯t bear to interrupt Bai Yangbai finally. She said angrily, ¡°Don¡¯t mind other¡¯s business. Miss Ji is one of the few good women in the Luo¡¯s Family. Is it strange that she has lovers and sons when she is 28 or 29 years old? It¡¯s really disrespectful to overhear. Did Madam Luo mention my marriage?¡±

    Bai Yangbai touched his nose dully and said, ¡°You are so anxious, as if you would like to go to the bridal sedan chair tomorrow. You are so calm about that a woman has two lovers. I see that you have the potential to develop towards her. In the days when I pretended to be her, I intercepted an unofficial engagement letter from Guan Mo identally. He said that he would like to marry you as the first concubine. Although Madam Luo didn¡¯t see it, Guan Mo let his mother, Mrs. Liao came here. She took the many boxes of fat crabs and said that she would like to appreciate chrysanthemums with Madam Luo. However, during the meal, she mentioned your name five times and didn¡¯t say anything about chrysanthemum.

    He Danggui frowned and said, ¡°Mrs. Liao? Isn¡¯t Qing¡¯er¡¯s first aunt? It¡¯s just a small thing that her son wants to have a concubine. Just sending a matchmaker is enough. Why did shee here in person?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re charming. Everyone loves you, even the woman.¡± Bai Yangbai guessed, ¡°You often go to Liao¡¯s Mansion to find that fat girl for the night. Haven¡¯t you met Mrs. Liao? Could it have been that she had any affection for you at that time? When the fat girl chatted with her aunt, did she say a lot of good things about you?¡±

    He Danggui shook her head and said, ¡°I¡¯ve never seen Mrs. Liao before. I heard that she doesn¡¯t like liveliness. It¡¯s very rare for Guan¡¯s younger generation to pay respects to her. She went to Luo¡¯s Mansion to propose marriagest month...¡± He Danggui thought for a moment and opened her eyes wide suddenly. She said, ¡°Last month, Guan Yun was broken off the marital engagement by Duan Xiaolou. Then Guan Yun¡¯s mother came to ask me to be Guan Mo¡¯s concubine! She wanted to vent her anger for Guan Yun. She med me for this! How did Madam Luo reply to Mrs. Liao?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry! Madam Luo rejected her on the spot.¡± Bai Yangbai pat her shoulder and said smilingly, ¡°Madam Luo said that although your identity is poor, you are smart and cute. When a pretty girl of humble birth marries into a rich family, she will be a concubine. The status of Luo¡¯s Family and Guan¡¯s Family are almost the same. Even if a Miss from Luo¡¯s Family would marry into Guan¡¯s Family, she should be the Junior Wife at least. Mrs. Liao said she would like to think about it again. In this way, your marriage will be shelved if the two people don¡¯t talk about it anymore.¡±

    He Danggui looked a little anxious. She said, ¡°If they fail to talk once, there will be a second time. If Mrs. Liao has a grudge against me, how can she be reluctant to take out the position of a Junior Wife in front of her hatred? I heard Qing¡¯er said that Guan Yun is the most loved one for her aunt!¡±

    Bai Yangbai said, ¡°It¡¯s OK. If it is unfortunate that they reach an agreement on letting you marry into Guan¡¯s Family, Guan Mo is fond of you, even if Mrs. Liao doesn¡¯t like you. Just now he dove into the ice water to save you. It is said that all his concubines can¡¯tpare with the eunuch who was presented to him as a gift. Maybe he, like Feng Yang, pretends to like the eunuch. In fact, he is in love with you secretly and keeps his integrity for you. Besides, he is also a good-looking man. You¡¯d better marry him. Anyway, you won¡¯t marry Duan Xiaolou.¡±

    He Danggui was silent. She whipped the holly by the wicker, and the holly was split from the middle.

    Bai Yangbai scratched his face. It was a constion, but he couldn¡¯t help taunting her. Now, seeing her stubborn appearance, he felt a little embarrassed. He said a serious tone, ¡°In fact, Meng Xuan¡¯s method is quite good. Even if you can prevent Guan¡¯s Family for a time, maybe Wu¡¯s Family and Zong¡¯s Family will appear next time. How many times can you prevent it? Let Meng Xuan go to Luo¡¯s Family to propose marriage to you!¡±

 Chapter 179 - Rich businessman Bai Yang proposed marriage

    <h4>Chapter 179 Rich businessman Bai Yang proposed marriage</h4>

    He Danggui was suddenly inspired by Bai Yangbai¡¯s words. She stared at Bai Yangbai¡¯s mask with bright eyes and walked around him twice. Then she poked the ¡°soft object¡± on his chest with her hand. Suddenly, she seemed to think of something. A greedy thought shed through her mind.

    Under her eyes, Bai Yangbai could not help shaking. He asked in a low voice, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Did I say something wrong?¡±

    He Danggui bit her lips and said with a smile, ¡°Qianjun, you are not wrong. I also want to thank you for reminding me that. Yes. If I have been busy mending the hole, there will always be water leakage. So, I have to solve the problem fundamentally. It¡¯s better for me to get married. However, I am fond of you more than Meng Xuan. When I met you at this time, this is your chance to help me obviously.¡±

    Bai Yangbai shook his head firmly and said, ¡°You are fond of me? Never. I¡¯m a real monk. I seldom go to brothels. How can I help you get married? There¡¯s no need to talk about it. Even if you give me money, I won¡¯t agree.¡±

    He Danggui ignored the feasibility and began to consider the details, ¡°Your family name is Bai and your first name is Yang. You are 18 years old. Your family is engaged in tea business. Besides, your family moved to Yangzhou City from the north and nned to settle in Yangzhou City for a long time. It is very important, because Madam Luo does not want me to marry someone who lives far away. Meng Xuan has arge separate courtyard on the outskirts. We can borrow it from him. He is toozy to name the separate courtyard. I will make a big que of ¡®Bai¡¯s Mansion¡¯ and send it to hang outside the separate courtyard. It will be more like your mansion. However, as you are only a tea merchant, if you want Madam Luo to agree on the marriage, you must ask me to be your wife and show your extraordinary talent. Madam Luo likes the intelligent younger generation best. You can roll your eyes around to show your liveliness and cleverness.¡±

    ¡°I haven¡¯t agreed yet...¡± Bai Yangbai interrupted in a low voice.

    ¡°By the way, you still need to prepare betrothal gifts. Generally, 1,000 liang is more than enough to marry a concubine, but marrying a wife will make you spend more money.¡± He Danggui touched the palm of her hand and calcted. Then she nodded and said, ¡°5,000 liang silver is very suitable. Even if Madam Luo doesn¡¯t really want your silver, it will be very decent if there is such an amount. Then she is more likely to agree.¡±

    ¡°I have no money...¡± Bai Yangbai whispered his objection.

    He Danggui patted his shoulder and said in a soft voice, ¡°You can get money ready before you propose a marriage officially. You go to ask for a marriage first. Then, on the pretext that you want to take the imperial examination for official rank, you can postpone the marriage for three to five years. When I write a letter to inform you of the termination of the engagement, you will break off the marital engagement. We don¡¯t have to pay the money. I¡¯ve already came up with the excuse. You will disguise as a manservant to give an obituary notice. You can say that your Master Bai is killed by bandits on the way to taking the exam. Before he dies, he asks you to break off the marital engagement.¡±

    Bai Yangbai was angry. He said, ¡°I don¡¯t want to help you. You can choose one of the noble childes who is fond of you to help you. Won¡¯t you get married in the rest of your life?¡±

    ¡°There are different ways to have a poor or rich marriage. Naturally, I have my reasons for doing so.¡± He Danggui did notpromise and was not afraid of his anger. She said, ¡°It¡¯s useless for you to be angry with me. Unless you are going to break up with me, you must help me!¡±

    Bai Yangbai¡¯s anger onlysted for a moment. He lowered his head and protested passively, ¡°I can¡¯t guarantee that I will obey you in everything. If you bully me like this again, I¡¯ll tell them about it and make Madam Luo be so angry. Then she will ask you to marry Guan Bai and Guan Mo at the same time. And you have to give birth to a child for each of them.¡±

    He Danggui regarded that as Bai Yangbai hadpromised. She nodded with satisfaction, ¡°Bai Yang must have parents and siblings. It¡¯s easy to find the ws if we ask someone else to y them. It¡¯s better to y three members of Bai¡¯s Family by yourself, including the kind Madam Bai, the friendly elder sister Bai Qian, and Bai Yang. You appear several times in turn as the three roles. After the marriage is confirmed, you can just y Bai Qian toe alone.¡±

    Bai Yangbai walked to the sedan chair of Luo¡¯s Family and muttered, ¡°Why do you only bully me? When will you bully others?¡±

    ¡°Because you are a Taoist Sage. And you are the most reliable one with good conduct.¡± He Danggui said with a smile, ¡°If you help me sessfully this time, I will thank you sincerely after this. However, this method can only solve temporary minor problems. It cannot solve more serious problems. There is a very powerful enemy who wants toe to the Luo¡¯s Family to propose marriage. I need your help in this matter...¡±

    ¡°If I had known this, I would not have sold medicine candies at the gate of Chengxu Academy. You are so awesome. Even your enemy wants to marry you.¡± Bai Yangbai walked two steps into the carriage and said vaguely, ¡°How did you start a feud? Did someone die because of your aphrodisiac?¡±

    Before He Danggui answered, Bo He who stood beside the sedan chair ran to her immediately and said in a flustered way, ¡°It¡¯s terrible, Miss. Concubine Hua of Second Branch has been pregnant for four months. When she was wandering in the garden this afternoon, she suddenly bled. Just a few days ago, Madam Luo felt that Concubine Hua was pregnant with a boy, and Madam Luo was very concerned about her. And Madam Luo sent two mammies for her, so this matter was immediately heard by Madam Luo!¡±

    He Danggui lightly got into the carriage and turned around to pull Bo He into it. He Danggui said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Let¡¯s talk slowly on the way.¡±

    After they got into the carriage, Bo He noticed the woman sitting opposite. She was surprised and asked, ¡°Sister Huai Hua, didn¡¯t you go back to your hometown to farm? Why did youe to Chengxu Academy?¡±

    The woman sitting opposite giggled, and He Danggui answered for her, ¡°She brought local products to visit me. I¡¯ll let her stay for two days. Bo He, you can go on and tell about Concubine Hua. Did she miscarry? You came to me in such a hurry. What¡¯s the matter with you?¡±

    ¡°Gee! Gee!¡± The carriage galloped so fast that Bo He¡¯s voice was intermittent, ¡°No... Although the fetus was saved, the doctors said it¡¯s not stable. It¡¯s hard to keep it.¡±

    He Danggui tasted the tea and cakes on the table. She raised her eyebrow and chuckled, ¡°It¡¯s just bleeding, not miscarriage. Amitabha Buddha, it¡¯s so good!¡±

    Bo He waved her hand and said, ¡°Miss, don¡¯t say Amitabha Buddha. Doctor Ma diagnosed that Concubine Hua¡¯s fetus was unstable because of defects in the antiabortifacient, so he took out a pile of prescriptions prescribed for Concubine Hua to check. Both Madam Luo and Doctor Ma were sure that there was no defect in the prescription, but there was a mistake in dispensing or boiling the herbal medicine. The closest maid who boiled the herbal medicine for Concubine Hua immediately knelt down and said that she didn¡¯t dare to hurt the master. The herbal medicine were boiled in the big kitchen and there were people everywhere. How dare she poison Concubine Hua? Finally, Concubine Hua¡¯s maid thought that there was some medicine left in the cupboard, so she submitted it to Madam Luo and others for inspection. As a result, they found that there were parturifacient in it!¡±

    ¡°Concubine Hua is pregnant for only four months, and parturifacient is taboo for her.¡± He Danggui said and chewed an almond cake. Seeing that she ate deliciously, Huai Hua immediately felt hungry. She washed her hands with tea, and then grabbed most of the almond cakes from the dishes. He Danggui covered up her less half of the cakes and said with a smile, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect Concubine Hua to be a tough woman. After taking several pieces of parturifacient, she just bled. If someone else, she would have a miscarriage.¡±

    Seeing the master and maid were grabbing food, Bo He said anxiously, ¡°Miss, stop eating! Now it involves you, and parturifacient was seen at the scene. It is irrefutable evidence! They sent me to take you back to trial! How to deal with it, Miss?¡±

    He Danggui stopped chewing and repeated, ¡°The irrefutable evidence? What¡¯s my motive? Why did I harm Concubine Hua, who had nothing to do with me?¡±

    Bo He said helplessly, ¡°That¡¯s all I know. If you want to know more, you have to go home to be interrogated first.¡±

    He Danggui shrugged indifferently and said, ¡°Let¡¯s look forward to the results.¡±

    Huai Hua approached her ear and said, ¡°Are you afraid? They have got irrefutable evidence. But in any case, why does Sun Meiniang just bully you? Isn¡¯t there Miss Chai who is better than you to bully in Luo¡¯s Family?¡±

    He Danggui approached her and replied, ¡°It¡¯s not bullying, but framing. In the whole Luo¡¯s Family, Sun Meiniang treated me in a special way. As a wife in charge of the family, she was very busy every day, but she had to spend her time to n to frame me. It¡¯s my ¡®honor¡¯ to mention this. As for fear, I guess the most scared one at the moment is Hua Yu, the victim of using parturifacient.¡±

    In the previous life, Sun Meiniang never spent time to ¡°frame¡± He Danggui, she just ¡°bullied¡± He Danggui directly. She arbitrarily skimped her food. In Luo¡¯s Mansion, there were many snobbish viins ttering the superior and bullying the subordinate. Naturally, many of them bullied miserable Third Miss for Sun Meiniang. At this time, He Danggui was weak. She pursed her mouth with hanging tears when she was bullied. She looked very pitiful and easy to be bullied. Sun Meiniang felt very delighted when seeing the daughter of her enemy He Jingxian had been bullied by a group of despicable minions. She really relieved her hatred.

    Besides relieving hatred, Sun Meiniang despised He Danggui¡¯s weakness, so she didn¡¯t bully her directly or did anything outrageous. Therefore, He Danggui, who couldn¡¯t distinguish right from wrong, thought that although Sun Meiniang was mean and ungrateful, she was not a viin. Instead, she was bullied cooperated by her First Aunt and Elder Sister-inw. They were two very annoying women. With this idea in mind, in the days toe, she who was the favorite of Lord Ning would be deceived by the hypocrisy of Sun Meiniang and others. She was their obedient niece and ignored the hatred generously.

    In fact, in the previous life, if He Danggui hadn¡¯t had such a good fortune to be a superior and only married an ordinary childe as a concubine, living a mediocre life, Sun Meiniang probably would not have nned to harm her. However, He Danggui, who was silent when she was a child, became more and more excellent and lived better and better. She not only married a hundred times better than the husband of Sun Meiniang¡¯s own daughters, but also Sun Meiniang¡¯s daughters were not promising. All of them could not attract their husbands, and they had to ask He Danggui for their husbands¡¯ official posts. These sharp contrasts stimted Sun Meiniang, so she was more and more jealous and hateful about He Danggui. She began to bedevil He Danggui, whose life was very blissful.

    In this life, the situation was simr. Originally, He Danggui lived in Taoist temple for half a year. When she returned to Luo¡¯s Mansion to keep a low profile, Sun Meiniang would not regard her as a top enemy. However, when she lived in the Taoist temple, she made Sun Meiniang be embarrassed and annoyed. In addition, Sun Meiniang¡¯s brother died just after He Danggui was reborn. Although there was no rtionship between them, Sun Meiniang still stubbornly believed that He Danggui had robbed her brother¡¯s life. So, she hated He Danggui more and more. Although Sun Meiniang¡¯s younger brother didn¡¯t live long in his previous life, he didn¡¯t die until he was infected with a disease. He Danggui was surprised to hear that he died so early in this life.

    In addition, He Danggui lived in Tao Yao Yard as soon as she returned to the mansion, upying the valuablend of Luo¡¯s Mansion. Therefore, before meeting with He Danggui after her rebirth, Sun Meiniang had hated He Danggui even more than in her previous life.

    At the beginning, Sun¡¯s method was the same as before. She informed the relevant administrator in charge to cut off necessities of life of Tao Yao Yard. She artificially turned the Tao Yao Yard into a doghouse and hoped that He Danggui could be a wretch. After hearing about this, Madam Luo didn¡¯t care about it. Sun Meiniang guessed that Madam Luo probably felt guilty after giving Shao¡¯s Tao Yao Yard to someone else. And Madam Luo was too embarrassed to say anything more. So, Sun Meiniang felt proud and thought that she had prevailed.

    However, in an instant, Zhu Quan, whose pseudonym was Ning Yuan, left a painting and a jade pendant after leaving, which made Madam Luo wonder if the identity of Childe Ning was different from others. Was he fond of Yi? These things could be regarded as a part of bride-price. When Yi grew up, he would marry her, wouldn¡¯t he?

    With this idea in mind, Madam Luo was also concerned about the daily life of her granddaughter. Madam Luo asked maids to make up for what was deducted by Sun Meiniang, which irritated Sun Meiniang. Why did Madam Luo suddenly change her mind?

    Later, Feng Yang came to visit Madam Luo. At the beginning, when Madam Luo asked him the identity of Ning Yuan, he avoided this topic without a worthwhile word, which made Madam Luo have suspicion. Later, Feng Yang furtively went to visit He Danggui, and after her entreaty and threat, they unified their views. When Madam Luo asked again, Feng Yang said that Ning Yuan was a rich businessman and his deceased younger sister was simr to He Danggui in appearance, so he gave her the painting with no other intention.

 Chapter 180 - Faked adultery evidence

    <h4>Chapter 180 Faked adultery evidence</h4>

    Madam Luo realized that jade pendant with Azure Dragon was precious. Although Feng Yang said Ning Yuan was a jewelry businessman, Madam Luo believed Ning Yuan might belong to an imperial family. He Danggui and Feng Yang exined the figures in the painting were brother and sister, but they were a couple in Madam Luo¡¯s eyes. Despite He Danggui emphasized that she only talked to Childe Ning with three sentences, Madam Luo thought she was a promising child that a duke was attracted to her with only three sentences.

    In this way, He Danggui was thought to be the second promising girl after Luo Baiqiong in Luo¡¯s Mansion that she might marry a noble man in Madam Luo¡¯s eyes. It was clear that He Danggui¡¯s food and clothing must be served carefully. Even though Sun Meiniang devised means to reduce the daily use in Tao Yao Yard, Mammy Tang would replenish theck in time when she found it.

    The efforts Sun Meiniang made were in vain. She was angry indeed, but the angriest person was He Danggui. Zhu Quan offset all the efforts she made in Luo¡¯s Mansion by only a painting and a jade, which made her firstly experience the life that a miss should live. Now He Danggui didn¡¯t need to do anything. Even if she was as weak as her in previous life, she could also live an extravagant life.

    He Danggui¡¯s happy life let Sun Meiniang hate her more. Reducing He Danggui¡¯s daily use could decrease her hatred originally, what she wanted now was to make He Danggui suffer. Gradually, lots of intrigues came out.

    He Danggui responded smartly. Once Sun Meiniang failed, she aggravated more. At the beginning, she did He Danggui wrong and sent persons to spy on He Danggui. And she found fault with He Danggui twice when He Danggui was about to sneak out of the mansion. This time the offspring of Luo¡¯s family were involved in. She could eliminate her rival in love Hua Yu and let He Danggui be the scapegoat. What a perfect n! It was worthwhile that she spent 2 months to devise and gave them the surprise.

    ¡°You said you watched her showering. Does she have any mark? Like a mole, birthmark or scar?¡± He Danggui said moving close to Huai Hua¡¯s ear.

    Huai Hua grinned and said, ¡°You mean¡­ Evil girl. That¡¯s the girl who can fight with Sun Meiniang.¡±

    He Danggui smiled and said to his ear, ¡°You overpraised. Just a tit-for-tat.¡±

    The reason why Sun Meiniang who was respected in Luo¡¯s Mansion, even if she always tyrannized, was that she was the eldest daughter-inw of Madam Luo. If she was disloyal to her husband, she must lose the trust of Madam Luo. It was more effective than disclosing that she misappropriated the family deposit. He Danggui learned this trick just from Sun Meiniang and Consort Zhou.

    In the past, when He Danggui took care of Consort Zhou who suffered lung disease, they spend all day together. It was unavoidable that they saw each other naked. Then Consort Zhou remembered that He Danggui had three red moles on her breasts.

    Later Luo Baiqiong said in tears that she was uglier than those sisters-inw and concubines of her husband. She fell into disfavor that her husband didn¡¯t sleep with her for several months. Luo Baiqiong begged, ¡°You can let the Lorde to your room every night, so you must have some methods. Please teach me some! I want my husband¡¯s heart back.¡±

    He Danggui couldn¡¯t tell Luo Baiqiong the reason why the Lord came to her room every night was she was his trusted subordinate. She helped him handle the things of Wuying Tower, so she needed to report to him every night. Expressing her sympathy to Luo Baiqiong, she took her jewelries out and asked Luo Baiqiong to pick some. And she taught Luo Baiqiong how to dress better. Luo Baiqiong looked through those luxury jewelries, but she was only interested in a box of round fragrant flower decorations which were made of brass. Then she asked He Danggui where the things stuck on.

    The box of flower decorations was given by Zhu Quan. He let He Danggui stick on her navel. Fair skin and yellow flowers formed a beautiful scene, which made him be excited. He Danggui roughly exined to her. Then Luo Baiqiong was more interested and pestered He Danggui for taking off her clothes and showing how to use them. Before Luo Baiqiong leaving, He Danggui gave half a box of flower decorations to Luo Baiqiong. But Luo Baiqiong refused. She said it could be bought outside and she didn¡¯t want to take things the Lord gave to He Danggui.

    Then when He Danggui was wronged, the red moles and the flower decorations were the evidence of her adultery. She suddenly realized that the people she should stay alert were not only Consort Zhou, but the Second Branch! If He Danggui changed the n a little bit, Sun Meiniang would be beat at their own game. Wasn¡¯t that great?

    Huai Hua was grinning while saying, ¡°I disdained to look the naked body of a middle-aged woman like her. But she burned your feet with lime. I forced myself to look with revenge. You know what? She is still hot! If you don¡¯t look her face, she is totally a twenty-year-old girl. No wonder your Second Uncle loves her so much. Madam Luo treated her as a family member because she was obedient to Madam Luo¡¯s son. If your Second Uncle thinks Sun Meiniang is a slut and abandons her, she will definitely lose trust of Madam Luo. And she took lots of money from kinds of affairs in Luo¡¯s Family these years, right?¡±

    He Danggui smiled embarrassedly at Bo He who was confused opposite. Then she continued to talk with Huai Hua, ¡°Don¡¯tugh near my ear. It¡¯s itchy. Did you see any feature on Sun Meiniang¡¯s body?¡±

    Huai Hua answered directly, ¡°I¡¯m clear that she doesn¡¯t have any scar or birthmark.¡± As He Danggui was disappointed, Huai Hua smiled again and said, ¡°But on her inner thigh, there is a tattoo of a red flower. Slut! The women in brothels just have tattoos on their shoulders or ankles. How did she tattoo there?¡±

    He Danggui smiled and asked, ¡°Red flower? What kind of flower? Did you see that clear?¡±

    Huai Hua rolled her eyes and said, ¡°I should have washed my eyes immediately at the first sight, let alone keeping my eyes on her! Maybe a peony or herbaceous peony. I saw it as big as two fists. I didn¡¯t expect that couple had this hobby.¡±

    He Danggui continued to ask, ¡°What kind of red it is? Just red? What¡¯s the exact position of her tattoo? Her left thigh or right thigh?¡±

    Bo He looked with confusion at her Miss and Huai Hua who discussed in a low voice. Huai Hua reached out to touch Miss¡¯s leg and then hit by Miss¡¯s wicker. Later Huai Hua pained to cry and raised her left leg. She pointed the end of her thigh and said, ¡°Here. Red.¡±

    ¡°Whoa! Whoa!¡±

    The gharry stopped. He Danggui thought it was too soon to arrive home. So, she pulled the curtain and looked outside. Then she said in shock, ¡°Second Childe of Guan¡¯s Family, what happened?¡±

    The purplish red horse Guan Mo rode suddenly stopped. Its speed was very fast before, so it went round and round now. Guan Mo gazed at He Danggui through the window with hollow flowers. He smiled and said, ¡°My manservant told me that something happened in Luo¡¯s Family. In case you will be med in a while, I want to go back to Luo¡¯s Mansion, too. Hope I can help you say something.¡±

    He Danggui replied with a smile, ¡°Second Childe, you got the message so quick. After experiencing the matter in academy, you must be tired. Don¡¯t you want to go home? Or your mother will worry about you. As for the little boring things in Luo¡¯s Mansion, I will feel a deep shame if you see these. And Madam Luo must me me, for I announce the family scandals.¡±

    Guan Mo was the second child in Guan¡¯s Family. He, Guan Bai and Guan Yun were all Mrs. Liao¡¯s children. At the beginning, He Danggui wasn¡¯t familiar with the three people. She knew Guan Bai because of an ident about the hoof. Besides, she and Guan Yun were rivals in love, but they just didn¡¯t speak out. After all, Duan Xiaolou was her lover in secret, and Guan Yun¡¯s intimate friend in public. In this way, they couldn¡¯t be counted as rivals in love.

    As for Guan Mo, he fell in love with Luo Baiqiong one year ago when visiting Luo¡¯s Family. Luo Baiqiong also liked him. Guan Mo was 22 years old, and he was a charming man. His pair of long eyes seemed to be saying something. When he looked at a girl, a slight raising of one corner of his lip could attract any unmarried girls. His smile was a little bit serious but also frivolous, which made girls be shy. But Luo Baiqiong still loved Peng Jian, so she didn¡¯t go close to Guan Mo.

    On one afternoon of thest year, He Danggui went on streets in a gharry. She told Madam Luo that she was going to y with Qing¡¯er in Guan¡¯s Mansion. In fact, she just went on streets and held apass looked like a basin to choose a good ce for the branch of Quan Ji Tang, ording to the method Bai Yangbai taught. Then the gharry went to a street near Guan¡¯s Mansion.

    Through the window, He Danggui saw a man riding horse in front of her. He was Guan Mo. She instructed the coachman Ren Dongteng to slow down and wait for the rider making a turn. And then they could speed up. But the rider suddenly turned back as if he heard He Danggui¡¯s words. He Danggui didn¡¯t want to meet him, so she put the curtain down. After a moment, she heard a sound from the front, like a man fell to the ground.

    When she lifted the curtain, she saw that Guan Mo was unconscious on the ground. His eyes closed, and his horse walked half of the street alone. The street was full of people. She couldn¡¯t leave him lying on the middle of the street. So, she stopped the gharry and moved Guan Mo to the roadside with Ren Dongteng.

    When feeling his pulse, He Danggui was shocked. Although Guan Mo was called the master of literature and martial arts, she didn¡¯t feel it at all. Now she found his inner force was almost half of hers. So, his martial arts were far more ten times than his brother Guan Bai¡¯s. But when theypared notes, He Danggui watched by side. Guan Mo won most of the fights. However, the most surprising thing was that Guan Mo¡¯s Zhenqi was evil like the result of training evil kung fu.

    He Danggui didn¡¯t know why he was in aa when riding horse, and she couldn¡¯t leave him on the street. When she intended to let Ren Dongteng go to Guan¡¯s Mansion for help, Guan Mo woke up suddenly and seemed like nothing had happened. He whistled his horse toe back. He Danggui said goodbye to him, but he followed her gharry by riding horse. He said that she was his savior and he must return her. And then he started to call her ¡°Sister He¡±, instead of ¡°Third Miss¡±.

    From then, Guan Mo turned his target to He Danggui and stopped contacting Luo Baiqiong. He was very shameless that He Danggui couldn¡¯t get rid of him after trying several times. One time he made an excuse to hold her hands. Liao Qing¡¯er saw through his trick and found a wooden hand letting him hold.

    At the Feast of Qushui Liushang half of a year ago, he delivered the first love letter to He Danggui, and He Danggui gave it to Liao Qing¡¯er by ident. Liao Qing¡¯er opened it and spoke out identally, ¡°¡­You are the only girl who doesn¡¯t feel shy with my gaze. On the contrary, I¡¯m anxious when you look at me. I even don¡¯t know where my hands should put¡­ I need a satisfying woman in my room. And the suitable person I believe is you. If you say yes, I will spend much money letting you be my concubine. What? Concubine? Xiaoyi! Ah, why is it so quiet?¡± Qing¡¯er raised her head. When finding everyone in the feast were looking at her, she felt puzzled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t look at me. My cousin Guan Mo wrote it!¡±

    Since then, Guan Mo didn¡¯t chase He Danggui that much but turned to chase other real misses. Moreover, he often did some intimate behaviors with those misses in front of He Danggui.

    He Danggui was rejoicing that she got rid of him. A month ago, Guan Mo ran after her again. She was confused at first. Now she reminded of the matter that Guan Yun was broken off the marital engagement. She was suspicious and stayed alert to Guan Mo who was more enthusiastic about chasing her than before.

 Chapter 181 - Madam Luo became younger and stronger

    <h4>Chapter 181 Madam Luo became younger and stronger</h4>

    Guan Mo dressed in silver gray riding suit and became attractive in the night. He held the reins and the whip in hands. Then he said loudly with a smile, ¡°Since you are worried that Madam Luo will not allow you to take outsiders home, well, I will wait in Luo¡¯s Mansion first. If they make trouble for you, as the guest of Luo¡¯s Mansion, I can help you with a few words. Don¡¯t be afraid. I will always support you at any time.¡±

    Hearing it, He Danggui became more ufortable. She didn¡¯t provoke Guan Mo, but why did he say that? What an unreasonable person he was. She thought for a moment and asked Guan Mo, ¡°How is Guan Yun doing with tea art in the capital? I heard that she had an engagement with a family in the capital, right?¡±

    Guan Mo was stunned and then nodded. He said, ¡°Yes, Yun is very nice. She now lives in Qing¡¯er¡¯s house in the capital, and she will be married early next year. By the way, she mentioned you in her home letter.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± There was some surprise in He Danggui¡¯s eyes, as if the moonlight in the sky was identally reflected. She asked, ¡°What did she say?¡±

    Guan Mo showed a thoughtful expression and said with a smile, ¡°It seemed that there was a Master Lu who went to the tea house to drink tea. They mentioned you for some reason. Yun admired your tea art. She said that she had studied so hard for many years but could notpare with the tea you made causally. It seemed that what we lose in hake, we shall have in herring. Although you live in Luo¡¯s Family and have a pitiful background, you are very smart.¡±

    He Danggui was puzzled, but she couldn¡¯t see anything from Guan Mo¡¯s expression. Didn¡¯t Guan Mo really know if Guan Yun broke off the engagement? Or did he pretended to do? She put down the curtain and said, ¡°The weather is cold and the road is slippery. You should return to Guan¡¯s Mansion earlier. Luo¡¯s Mansion doesn¡¯t like guests to visit at this time.¡±

    Guan Mo pulled the reins andughed loudly. He said, ¡°Go slowly, sister, see you in Luo¡¯s Mansion.¡± Then, he rode and went away with the sound of horse¡¯s hooves.

    When He Danggui turned her head, she saw Huai Hua have a strange expression. So, she said with a little unhappy, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡±

    Huai Hua whispered, ¡°Guan Mo is really persistent. There is a saying that the brave woman is tired of the man who has been pestering her. How clever is he. Whether you agree or not, go home first! So, he has more potential than Duan Xiaolou and Meng Xuan.¡±

    He Danggui asked with a low voice, ¡°He has been 22 years old and doesn¡¯t has an engagement. Is the rumor true that he is a homosexual?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± Huai Hua nodded and said, ¡°Whether Feng Yang is homosexual is still uncertain, but the entire Guan¡¯s Mansion knows that Guan Mo sleeps with a little eunuch in his arms every night. s, I really want to go to his room at door in disguise and overhear one night.¡±

    He Danggui sternly said, ¡°Don¡¯t make a fool of yourself. Guan Mo¡¯s hearing is so good that you can¡¯t get close to him. If you keep running around like this, you will be caught by him!¡±

    After a while, the gharry stopped, Ren Dongteng said, ¡°Miss, we¡¯re home. Zhang Huan¡¯s wife is waiting us at the gate.¡±

    He Danggui got out of the gharry and followed her to the inner courtyard. Zhang Huan¡¯s wife led the way and other 3 little maids walked closely behind He Danggui, which was like escorting the prisoners. When she arrived at Fu Shou Yard, she saw Madam Luo, Younger Second Madam Luo and Second Lord sit in a row on the main hall and be surrounded by a group of mammies and maids, which was like in the court.

    The suspect He Danggui saluted the elder and said, ¡°Good luck to Madam Luo, good luck to Second Uncle and Second Aunt. I¡¯m sorry that there were some idents in the academy, which dyed our work.¡±

    Sun Meiniang wore silver red satin sleeved over-dress and held a small handwarmer in her hands. She sneered and said firstly, ¡°This is your pretext. It¡¯s clear that you dare not toe back. He Danggui, how did our Second Branch offend you so that you poisoned Concubine Hua who is pregnant?¡±

    Before He Danggui answered, Guan Mo in the silver coat rushed into the main hall with a cold wind to help her, ¡°Sister He didn¡¯t lie. Second Mistress Luo, you don¡¯t know what happened on the poetry feast today. A girl fell into the water, and Sister He jumped into the water to save her. Madam Luo, Sister He soaked in ice water and blew cold wind for half a day. If she was not taken good care, she would be seriously ill.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Sun Meiniang pulled the sp of the handwarmer andughed. She said, ¡°It turns out that she is a heroine, waiting for us to reward her.¡±

    Hearing this, Madam Luo asked people to bring a small stool with brocade and a cup of ginger tea with brown sugar to He Danggui. Then she allowed He Danggui to reply while sitting. Although He Danggui was a little shorter than just now, the atmosphere of the whole court changed immediately when the ¡°suspect¡± was treated with tea.

    Madam Luo said with stateliness but was not angry, ¡°Yi, Concubine Hua said that you had some resentment with her, so you changed several herbal medicines in her antiabortifacient, which made her fetus be unstable. Is this true?¡± Madam Luo dressed the home-made cotton jacket with lined velvet. And she looked much younger than 3 years ago, as if she was a woman in her early forties.

    It all depended on the recuperation of the ¡°lifesaving prescription¡±. The family heirloom, ¡°lifesaving jujubes¡±, were 8 left, so Madam Luo was reluctant to eat them. However, He Danggui still quietly mixed the decoction of lifesaving prescription into Madam Luo¡¯s tea, dessert and hot spring water, like the previous life, so that Madam Luo could continue to enjoy the benefits of this miraculous prescription specially developed for her disease. In the previous life, she used the Senior Lord Luo Maitong¡¯s imperfect prescription, but in this life, she used the real lifesaving prescription. So, the effect was not the same, which made Madam Luo feel younger and stronger day by day, and the past diseases were swept away. Her body was even stronger than when she was young.

    Although Madam Luo didn¡¯t know He Danggui¡¯s ¡°secretbor¡±, she recorded all the credit on the lifesaving jujube of 3 years ago. And He Danggui, as the key to open the elixir, became a pivotal figure in Madam Luo¡¯s heart. In addition, 3 years ago, First Miss, Luo Baiying, let Madam Luo down. Now she was not as popr as she used to be, and her position had been vacated. As a result, He Danggui gradually became a respectable person around Madam Luo, but she still had to be in the back of the whole Second Branch.

    ¡°Please allow me to report to you. Although I was scared by Concubine Hua¡¯s big ck cat once, we are the whole family and I won¡¯t hold grudges.¡± He Danggui sipped a sip of ginger tea and warmed her hands with the cup. Her face was full of loyalty and honesty. She replied lovely, ¡°Besides, Concubine Hua¡¯s child is Second Uncle¡¯s, which means that the child will be my brother or sister in the future. How can I poison her?¡±

    Guan Mo declined the guest seat that Madam Luo provided, but he got a small folding stool and ced it upright next to He Danggui. He sat down with his robe and faced the 3 ¡°masters¡± in the hall just like her. Guan Mo tilted his head slightly and apologized to He Danggui, ¡°Sorry, my horse doesn¡¯t like strange ces and refused to enter your stable, so it took some time. I¡¯mte, have you been wronged?¡± Guan Mo¡¯s voice was not loud, but it happened to be heard by everyone in the room.

    Guan Mo showed great hospitality to Luo Baiqiong a year ago. Sun Meiniang and Luo¡¯s Family had seen it with their own eyes, and Sun Meiniang was also happy to see it. They even regarded Guan Mo as half a son-inw. But Qiong couldn¡¯t forget Peng Shi. Even if Peng Shi was going to be the person who apanied the emperor¡¯s grandson to study, the Peng¡¯s Family didn¡¯t care about this marriage. Wasn¡¯t it necessary for Qiong to insist on it? As a result, the incident dragged on, and Guan Mo was attracted by He Danggui. Sun Meiniang had no choice butforted herself that it was almost an open secret that Guan Mo was a homosexual. Even if He Danggui get married with Guan Mo, she could only be a concubine. And Guan Mo would be tired of her soon.

    Butst month, Luo Dusong, the master of Luo¡¯s Mansion in the capital, brought Peng Shi and Peng Jian to visit rtives. Sun Meiniang thought of creating opportunities for her daughter and Peng Shi, so she organized a poetry feast and let them be alone. Unexpectedly, her daughter got some overpowering drug, which made Peng Shi be unconscious. And she got Peng Shi into her boudoir. Fortunately, Peng Shi only slept for a while and woke up, so that things did not develop to the point of being out of control.

    But for some reason, the servants in the mansion rushed into the yard and witnessed the scene of these 2 being disheveled and pulling out of the room, which damaged Qiong¡¯s reputation. Peng Shi returned to the capital as if nothing had happened, leaving Qiong to bear the consequences alone. Qiong still locked herself in the room and refused to see anyone.

    Today, Chengxu had a poetry feast of blind date. Sun Meiniang persuaded her daughter to go out for a walk, but failed. Later, she saw He Danggui dress up and go outside, knowing that she was going to academy to attend the blind date, which made her be jealous. One of her 2 daughters had a handicapped hand, and she would definitely not marry a particrly good person in the future. The other had a damaged reputation, and it was uncertain for her daughter to get married in Yangzhou City. But He Danggui, an uncultivated girl, looked like an aristocraticdy every day. So, how could she ept it?

    Fortunately, 2 months ago, she witnessed a quarrel between He Danggui and Concubine Hua in the yard. At that time, she had a n to make them fight each other and both lose. This trap was done as early as a month ago, and it happened to be used today, which made He Danggui cannot participate in a poetry feast of blind date happily!

    Thinking of this, Sun Meiniang sneered and said to Madam Luo, ¡°Do you hear that, Madam Luo? It is clearly that Yi has a guilty conscience. As soon as she heard that we came to look for her, she immediately asked Second Childe Guan to go home. She thought that it¡¯s not appropriate for us to punish her in front of the guests, so she can escape the me. She is so treacherous at a young age. And she told outsiders about our family affairs, which is really unforgivable!¡±

    Madam Luo took it seriously and reprimanded He Danggui, ¡°Yi, you took Second Childe Guan home because you let him to intercede for you, right? Since you let him do, you must first confess your guilt!¡±

    He Danggui was about to exin that she met Guan Mo halfway through, and he came to Luo¡¯s Mansion alone when he got the news. But Guan Mo said firstly, ¡°Please calm down, Madam Luo. Sister He had already told me everything. I understood that she would only do such a thing because she was confused for a while. So, I agreed toe to your mansion with her to exin clearly. She is so young and ignorant that she identally made a mistake. And she is about to marry into Guan¡¯s Mansion soon, so I hope Madam Luo will forgive her this time!¡±

    He Danggui looked at Guan Mo in surprise. What was he talking nonsense? Rather than exonerating her guilt, it was better to say that he was convicted of her crimes. And what did it mean to ¡°marry into Guan¡¯s Mansion soon¡±? When was this marriage set? Why did she know nothing as a party? Madam Luo in the hall didn¡¯t react strangely to thest sentence. He Danggui suddenly understood that it seemed that they had a tacit understanding in private and agreed to let her marry Guan Mo as a concubine. It was what happened within this month, after Guan Yun was canceled the engagement.

    Huai Hua standing at the door was covering her face, and thought in her heart, ¡°It is awful. I didn¡¯t expect that Guan Mo is a double-faced person. He not only has different performance, but he talks nonsense about making He Danggui into trouble at a critical moment. He Danggui is miserable this time. She is framed by Sun Meiniang. At the same time, she is thrown into trouble by Guan Mo. How to deal with this bad situation? How can I help her? Should I pretend to be Guan Mo¡¯s mother and pick up Guan Mo here?¡±

    Sun Meiniang was overjoyed when she heard this. She quickly told to Madam Luo, ¡°Doctor Ma has already said that Concubine Hua¡¯s child is a boy. Now that she has eaten the abortifacient and parturifacient for many days. Even if the child can be born, he may be an idiot in the future! It is really malicious that she is about to poison people¡¯s lives just because of a bit of collision and quarrel. Is it tolerable? Madam Luo, our Second Branch now has no males and He Danggui has poisoned the only one. You have always been fair. We can¡¯t let He Danggui just get rid of the sin of murder by taking the opportunity of marrying into Guan¡¯s Family!¡±

    Guan Mo was anxious and pleaded, ¡°Madam Luo, my mother promised to consider Sister He as my wife. You may think thoughtfully when you are sentencing. If she is injured, how can she marry me?¡±

 Chapter 182 - Elopement was hindered

    <h4>Chapter 182 Elopement was hindered</h4>

    Madam Luo was in a gloomy. She looked at Luo Chuangu, her second son, who was silent beside her. Then, she thought about her grandson, who was doomed to be weak before he was born. She was very angry. Looking at He Danggui, who was drinking tea there, Madam Luo asked sharply, ¡°Yi, what else do you want to say? Do you really think that with the support of Guan¡¯s Family, you can act unscrupulously before you get married?¡±

    He Danggui put the empty tea cup aside and nced at Guan Mo. His handsome face was tense. Then she looked at Sun Meiniang, who was beautiful but vicious. It seemed that they were in perfect harmony like temporary partners. Seeing Sun Meiniang singing loudly, Guan Mo beat the drum and yed the strings beside her. Were they nning to sing ¡°Snow in Midsummer¡±?

    ¡°Grandma, I have something to say, but for the sake of feelings, let¡¯s go to the internal hall.¡± He Danggui blinked her bright eyes and asked softly.

    ¡°No way!¡± Before Madam Luo answered, Sun Meiniang and Luo Chuangu stopped her. It was the first time that Luo Chuangu had spoken. He said with a gruff voice, ¡°Yi, you must exin clearly in front of us today. What hatred do you have with Hua Yu? Why did you poison her unborn child? Don¡¯t think that you can ignore our Luo¡¯s Family because you will be the Younger Mistress of Guan¡¯s Family? Whether you can marry depends on my mother¡¯s words!¡±

    Hearing it, He Danggui was a little pleased and confirmed quickly, ¡°Grandma, is it true? Has the marriage with Guan¡¯s Family not been decided yet?¡±

    Sun Meiniang sneered and said, ¡°You are afraid now? Your marriage is only a verbal agreement. Even if we got the letter of appointment, or the red bridal sedan came here, as the elders of Luo¡¯s Family, we would have the right to detain such an unruly girl and let you shave your hair to apany your mother in the Taoist temple!¡±

    Madam Luo nodded and said, ¡°Yes. Originally, I wanted to find a suitable engagement for you. Over the years, more than a dozen families who came to propose marriage were rejected by me because I couldn¡¯t bear to aggrieve your talent and appearance. Last month, First Madam Guan personally came to propose a marriage because she thought you were smart and she wanted you to stay with her for instructing, which was a great honor for you. However, I wanted you to get more and asked her for the position of Junior Wife. She hasn¡¯t answered me yet. If you really poisoned Concubine Hua, the marriage will be invalid. I will instruct you well for a few years before your marriage.¡±

    He Danggui looked at Guan Mo again and asked slowly, ¡°Second Childe, do you have anything else to say?¡±

    When Guan Mo wanted to grab her hand, He Danggui dodged away. Guan Mo sighed, ¡°Sister He, I¡¯ll support you all the time, so don¡¯t be afraid. Even if the marriage is dyed for several years, I will wait patiently.¡±

    ¡°Ah, but I can¡¯t wait,¡± He Danggui said and sipped her lips. Her smile was brilliant, but not sincere. She said, ¡°Grandma, in order to for the sake of the guest¡¯s feelings, I don¡¯t want to say these in public originally. After all, Luo¡¯s Family and Guan¡¯s Family are friendly. And the conduct and reputation of Second Childe Guan are more important than whether I¡¯m wronged. However, when I think about it again, Second Childe Guan is only in his twenties, and there is still room for correction of his bad conduct. So, we can¡¯t allow him to talk nonsense because of his face.¡±

    ¡°Third sister, what are you talking about?¡± Theplexion of Guan Mo was uncertain, and he scolded in a low voice, ¡°I¡¯ve been talking for you, so you can¡¯t be ungrateful.¡±

    However, He Danggui had already turned her head and looked at the 3 people in the hall. She said, ¡°Everything happens for a reason. What I have said to Concubine Hua adds up to only 10 sentences, and we only met once in such arge Luo¡¯s Family. Why do I poison her? What will I gain?¡±

    Sun Meiniang refused to let He Danggui go on and yelled, ¡°The evidence is irrefutable, and Concubine Hua has said that she was at big enmity with you. You have the motive to murder her. Now there are human testimony and material evidence. It¡¯s useless for you to make any excuses. You¡¯d better confess your guilt, so as not to suffer physical pain! Ding Rong¡¯s wife!¡±

    A white woman in her fifties came out of the line and said, ¡°Madam, please tell.¡±

    Sun Meiniang peered at He Danggui with a foxy smile and said softly, ¡°Since we are in front of the guest and she is ady, we can¡¯t carry out the cruel family rules now. Put a stone lock on her first before she speaks, so that she can speak clearly.¡±

    Ding Rong¡¯s wife was ready to take action. Guan Mo was anxious and reached out to grab the girl¡¯s arm beside him, but he only caught the sleeve. Guan Mo affectionately looked at the beautiful girl who was with lidded eyes, and said passionately, ¡°I can¡¯t bear to see you suffer that kind of pain. Sister He, go with me! As long as you are willing to go, no one can stop us here. Not only will I take you out of Luo¡¯s Mansion without damage but also promise to treat you well in the future. Besides, I won¡¯t mind your identity and the mistakes you made when you lost your head for the moment.¡± While saying that, he was even ready to rush to He Danggui.

    He Danggui evaded him twice in a row. While she focused on recapturing her sleeve, she kindly reminded Guan Mo, ¡°Second Childe, there¡¯s a big moth fluttering on your hair. It is pping the wings. It looks so terrible.¡±

    Hearing this, Guan Mo became stiff for a moment and said reluctantly, ¡°Sister, you have to split the scene when you are joking. The situation is so bad now that you should go with me first instead of caring about anything...¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± Shi Liu, who was at the side of the hall, suddenly hugged her head. She jumped and shouted, ¡°A big moth! So terrible! No...¡±

    Guan Mo was also suddenly frightened. He loosened the sleeve of He Danggui and jumped twice. And then he circled internal force to use arts of lightness, which made him fly out in a sh. Then, He Danggui nced at the 3 people who were slightly surprised in the hall and said solemnly, ¡°The moth is hiding behind his bun, so you can¡¯t see it.¡±

    Sun Meiniang snorted scornfully and thought to herself, ¡°He is really a worthless man. He is 7 chi tall but still afraid of a moth. He Danggui, doesn¡¯t you kneel down and beg for mercy? Even if you haven¡¯t enjoyed the taste of the stone lock of 100 Jin, you should have heard of the story that a maid was crushed off an arm. It seems that you are not willing to give up. You are born to be miserable!¡±

    In a moment, Ding Rong¡¯s wife took an old woman, who was in a darkplexion to the main hall. The former walked very fast, but thetter panted like a bull and walked unsteadily.

    Ding Rong¡¯s wife looked back at the old woman impatiently and said, ¡°Biddy Wen, I told you that you can¡¯t push alone, but you drove the others away. I don¡¯t know how long it will take you to push it like this! Madam Luo and Second Mistress Luo are very anxious to wait!¡±

    Biddy Wen pushed a small wooden cart with a pair of old stone locks covered with moss. From herborious movements, the deep ruts on the ground where the cart passed, and the harsh sound from the wooden cart, it could be known how heavy a pair of old stone locks was. Biddy Wen said with a hoarse voice intermittently, ¡°Administrator Ding, you may not know that the people who put on this lockst time has died for leprosy. Since then, no one dares to get close to this lock. Even if someone wants to help me, I dare not to let them get close to it... So, you must stand far away. It will be troublesome if it infects you!¡±

    Ding Rong¡¯s wife was so scared that she quickly got out of the way. She went to the back of Biddy Wen and the wooden cart, so as to prevent the cart from hitting her if Biddy Wen couldn¡¯t hold the handlebar. Thinking that there was leprosy virus on it, Ding Rong¡¯s wife couldn¡¯t helpughing. She said kindly, ¡°Biddy Wen, push the cart slowly, and I will take care of the back.¡±

    The harsh sound of the cart sounded through the path with plum blossom and the entrance of the main hall. Biddy Wen said in a hot sweat, ¡°I don¡¯t have the strength to move it any more. Let the person who wants to put on ite out.¡±

    Madam Luo calmly asked, ¡°Yi, what else do you want to say?¡±

    He Danggui continued to plead, ¡°Firstly, I have never poisoned Concubine Hua. Secondly, I only heard that the evidence is irrefutable, but I haven¡¯t seen it with my own eyes, so I can¡¯t ept it in my heart. Thirdly, as for Concubine Hua...¡±

    ¡°Well, you don¡¯t have to say that!¡± Sun Meiniang interrupted her. She winked with Ding Rong¡¯s wife outside the door and said, ¡°Madam Luo, I think she will tell the truth until she suffers the pain. I asked Ding Rong¡¯s wife to transfer a small lock of 20 jin from the torture room. Put it on her and let her suffer a little. Maybe it can make her be sober.¡±

    Without any words, Madam Luo picked up the ck jujube tea and drank it. The steaming cup covered half of her face. Ding Rong¡¯s wife stepped forward and looked down at He Danggui, who was sitting upright on the small stool. Then Ding Rong¡¯s wife asked, ¡°Third Miss, do you want to put the lock by yourself, or by 2 maids and me?¡±

    He Danggui stood up slowly and walked to the door. Ding Rong¡¯s wife sneered and followed He Danggui for several steps. When Ding Rong¡¯s wife thought that there was virus on the stone lock, she stopped. It would be better to stay away from it.

    Biddy Wen put the wooden cart at the door and took a breath. Seeing He Dangguie out, Biddy Wen looked at He Danggui up and down. Then Biddy Wen asked, ¡°Are you going to put it on, Third Miss? Can you?¡±

    He Danggui shook her head and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know. Let me try it.¡± Sun Meiniang said it was 20 jin, but it seemed that the stone lock was no less than 150 jin, and all the weight would be concentrated on the shoulder. She might not put it on for a long time. How long could the Overlord of the Western Chu carry the Ding (weighty treasure; as symbol of dynasty)? The most troublesome thing was that she had deep internal force and Zhenqi. If any external injury couldn¡¯t be seen, wouldn¡¯t it be very suspicious?

    ¡°You don¡¯t know?!¡± Biddy Wen burst out in a loud voice, which scared He Danggui. Biddy Wen said, ¡°Have a try first?! Young people are always indiscreet. Give me an urate answer! If you can¡¯t carry it and still want to try, you¡¯ll die!¡±

    He Danggui was slightly annoyed. Did I want to put it on voluntarily? What did the ck biddy want to do? She folded her dress and squatted beside the wooden cart. She couldn¡¯t bear to say, ¡°Quickly. We are all anxious.¡±

    ¡°Ha!¡± Biddy Wen felt strange and said, ¡°It is the first time that the one who is tortured is more anxious than the torturer. Later, you will feel that time is slower than before.¡± As she said, she put the stone lock on He Danggui¡¯s shoulders and told her years of experience, ¡°Before putting on it, 15 minutes is as long as 2 hours; after that, several seconds is as long as 2 hours! Enjoy it slowly...¡±

    Then, He Danggui, who was putting on a stone lock, moved into the main hall step by step. Shi Liu beside the door cleverly brought the stool to the door. He Danggui moved half a step with difficulty, and slowly bent down to sit down. After that, her slender shoulders were covered with blood, even her chest. Looking from a distance, she seemed to be wearing a blue cloth with red embroidery on her upper body.

    Madam Luo couldn¡¯t bear to see it and turned her head. She said, ¡°Yi, confess your guilt quickly. I¡¯ll let someone remove the lock on you. If you do it, you will only be forbidden to go outside and copy scriptures to get rid of the demons in your heart, instead of suffering pain.¡±

    Sun Meiniang disagreed, ¡°Madam Luo, you can¡¯t let it go like that. Even if you are bias for her, you should at least cut her hair and let her criticize herself for 3 or 5 years!¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Guan Mo ran from a distance as quick as the wind, and he was about to remove the stone lock. But as soon as his hands got the stone lock, Biddy Wen came to stop him and screamed, ¡°This pair of stone locks is very dirty.¡± Then she turned to whispered, ¡°It was stained with leprosy virus.¡±

    Guan Mo couldn¡¯t help shouting when he heard it, ¡°Remove it quickly. You can¡¯t treat her like this!¡± These words were really sincere, which sounded shrill.

    Although he wanted He Danggui to suffer some pain, he never intended to kill her! She was so beautiful and cold to him, but he didn¡¯t even touch her. If she died, who would he revenge for thest humiliation? And how to help his sister repay the shame of being broken off the engagement? He was so determined to get her that no one could kill her except for him!

    Thinking of this, he broke away from the biddy with ck face, who was entangled with him. Then he wanted to break the lock of hundred jin on He Danggui.

 Chapter 183 - The most poisonous stone lock

    <h4>Chapter 183 The most poisonous stone lock</h4>

    Guan Mo was very afraid of the winged insects just like moths. He could keep calm when he was scared by He Danggui¡¯s words, but the only remaining calm of him was broken by Shi Liu¡¯s scream. Atst, he was so scared that he flied into the sky to drive the moths away. Actually, Shi Liu didn¡¯t see any moths, but she saw there was a sense of boredom shing from Third Miss¡¯s eyes when Second Childe Guan pulled Third Miss. Therefore, in order to help Third Miss to drive the yboy away, Shi Liu cried out naturally and scared Guan Mo away sessfully.

    After Guan Mo messed his bun up and drove moths away, he immediately came back to see this good y. But he saw that the intact girl was covered all over with blood!

    He never expected the torture in Luo¡¯s Family was so harsh that put a hundred jin of stone lock on a delicatedy. In Guan¡¯s Family, even if the maids made mistakes, they would not use this kind of instruments to torment them. Were the steel needles, bamboo sticks, tongs and soft whips more suitable fordies?

    Third Sister was broken off the engagement by Duan¡¯s Familyst month. In her letter, she exined the reasons. When Duan Xiaolou was in Chengxu Academy, he was obsessed with He Danggui. He wanted He Danggui to marry him as his wife. And he would keep all the women around him away. The letter got wet for Third Sister¡¯s tears. In her letter, she said that Duan Xiaolou made several apologies to her. He said that she would not return the very precious bride-price. And he gave her a beautiful tea house. She would always think of him when she sat in there.

    After reading the letter, Guan Mo¡¯s mother was so angry with her shoulders trembling. Her most cherished daughter loved the only son of Duan¡¯s Family in her daughter¡¯s best year, and waited him until he was 20 years old. They were engaged for 2 years, but now he broke off the engagement. Did he want to destroy her daughter¡¯s whole life?

    Guan Mo persuaded his mother hardly. If He Danggui married into Guan¡¯s Family, they could gradually teach her. They would not only let Duan Xiaolou change his mind to make an apology to Third Sister and ask for marriage again, but also torment the arrogant and indifferent beauty... Thinking of the girl¡¯s alienating gaze and the feeling of destroying her, he felt extremely excited.

    In this afternoon, He Danggui jumped into theke, which made many people follow her. He was afraid that his beauty would take away by others, so he jumped too. When he went ashore, He Danggui was held by Meng Xuan and they went to the bamboo forest. He felt it was unsuitable, so he wanted to follow them. But Liao Qing¡¯er came suddenly and chatted a lot with him, which seemed that she wanted to stop him. When he asked Liao Qing¡¯er what was the rtionship between He Danggui and Meng Xuan, she said they were unfamiliar with each other and they were strange who had never saw each other for several years.

    But he still felt there was a kind of secret agreement between them. Although they never saw each other, it seemed that they always focused on each other. He didn¡¯t know why he had this feeling, but that angered him. That girl was reserved by him. How could other people get close to her! So, when he heard that Second Mistress Luo in Luo¡¯s Family would teach He Danggui a lesson, he absolutely agreed. Who allowed her to stand here letting others lean on her body and smell her?

    Guan Mo saw his mother, his Second Aunt and Third Aunt¡¯s means, which were used to deal with concubines. In order to avoid others¡¯ gossip, all the means would let them feel pain at that time, but it wouldn¡¯t remain any scars after that. As for such a beauty like He Danggui, it was so pity that she got injured, let alone that she was crushed to death!

    That biddy with ck face said the stone lock was stained with leprosy virus. Oh, my, my! It was He Danggui¡¯s fault. She was so stubborn. If she agreed to leave Luo¡¯s Mansion with him, she would be his concubine without status and wouldn¡¯t die!

    ¡°You are reserved by me, and you will soon belong to me. Even you want to die, you must ask me!¡± Guan Mo used the Ba Huang Evil energy, which he practiced secretly, and tried to split the stone lock.

    It was unexpected that biddy with ck face lunged at the stone lock and screamed, ¡°Don¡¯t hit my lock. It¡¯s a previous antique lock, which has been handed down for 3 generations and killed 108 people. You can¡¯t break it!¡± Seeing Guan Moe to pull her, she immediately waved her hands and said, ¡°Stop! Don¡¯t touch me! If you want to save her, I can give you the key. Why don¡¯t you ask me for help? I won¡¯t receive your money. Martial artists are troublesome...¡± The loud cough by He Danggui interrupted her words.

    When Sun Meiniang saw Biddy Wen take the key from her arms, Sun Meiniang immediately stopped Biddy Wen, ¡°Don¡¯t unlock it. Who allow you to give the key to outsiders? How could she be crushed to death? She is not made by paste.¡± Crushing He Danggui to death was a favor to her.

    Because of the stone lock and Biddy Wen¡¯s weight, more blood exuded through He Danggui¡¯s shoulders. Just a few moments, her clothes turned red. Madam Luo couldn¡¯t bear it, so she asked Zhang Huan¡¯s wife and others, ¡°You work together to hold the stone lock. If Third Miss confesses her guilt, remove it.¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Sun Meiniang and Biddy Wen shouted together.

    After their words, all the people were shocked and looked at the lower biddy with ck face. They never knew there was a strange person in Luo¡¯s Mansion. How dared she oppose Madam Luo in public!

    Biddy Wen also realized that she was wrong, so she immediately did a remedy. She waved her fingers and exined to all the people, ¡°Actually, my grandson got smallpox. He liked to put his hands and face on the stone lock, so you couldn¡¯t touch it. It¡¯s so dirty. Many kinds of poisonous insects and snakes like to settle down at there, tut-tut.¡±

    ¡°Did you say it was stained with leprosy virus?¡± Guan Mo and Ding Rong¡¯s wife asked together. Why the old biddy was so incoherent?

    ¡°Uh, of course,¡± Biddy Wen said slowly, ¡°But leprosy is a terminal disease. I¡¯m afraid that you are scared, and smallpox is weaker... My grandson is still alive! Generally speaking, the stone lock can kill people without spilling blood. Uh, shedding blood like water. It¡¯s so dangerous!¡±

    Madam Luo was so angry that she pounded her legs. She shouted, ¡°Remove it now! Who allow you to use it? Burn it immediately!¡± But after hearing Biddy Wen¡¯s words, nobody dared to remove the lock.

    Biddy Wen blinked the only shining eyes in her ck and old face. She corrected Madam Luo and said, ¡°This lock is made by stone and can¡¯t be burnt. It¡¯s a nice material and can be widely used. Why burn it?¡± She also pped the lock when she said. He Danggui was blooding again, and the blood dropped in the ground. When Guan Mo saw it, he gnashed his teeth in hatred and pinched Biddy Wen¡¯s neck. He asked, ¡°Do you unlock it?¡±

    ¡°Oh, oh! A kid is bullying an old woman!¡± Biddy Wen rolled her eyes with her tongue out and screeched, ¡°Spare my life! I just follow the orders. Administrator Ding asked me to bring the heaviest stone lock in the warehouse. She was dissatisfied with some stone locks, which was less 100 jin, and asked for a stone lock of 150 jin. I told her this lock would crush a man to death. It was lying idle for many years and was full of green hairs. But she waved her hands and said that Second Mistress Luo just wanted that result. Second Mistress Luo wanted to crush Third Miss to death in a moment and didn¡¯t allow Third Miss to exin anything. If you want to revenge, you can find Administrator Ding. I¡¯m just a normal biddy who cleaned the toilet. I have parents and children, please spare my life.¡±

    The expression of Ding Rong¡¯s wife changed a lot. She pointed at the ck face biddy and said with a trembling voice, ¡°You are lying. She was lying! Club her to death. Club her now!¡±

    After her words, some servants arranged by Ding Rong¡¯s wife came into the main hall with sticks and many weapons. If He Danggui beat the rap and left Luo¡¯s Mansion with Guan Mo by force, these people would stop them. Even if they couldn¡¯t keep He Danggui stay here, she would be injured.

    However, Sun Meiniang never expected that Guan Mo would interfere, otherwise she would have told servants of Luo¡¯s Mansion to let He Danggui and Guan Mo go. As thew, ¡°If the couple elope, the woman cannot be a wife¡±, which meant that no matter who abducted the other, who eloped to others¡¯ home or where the couple eloped, the woman could only be a concubine. Anyway, if the couple went to have a honeymoon without their parents¡¯ agreement, the female would never be a wife, no matter how honorable her status was and what an outstanding contribution that her children made.

    Although it was not crucial among normal people, the female who eloped would bebeled as ¡°an immoral woman¡±. She couldn¡¯t raise her head among people. That was what Sun Meiniang wanted. It would be much more carefree for her than she killed He Danggui directly.

    At that year, Sun Meiniang was willing to abandon her position as the daughter of the concubine in Sun¡¯s Mansion. She made an appointment by letters with He Jingxian. They would elope first, and when they had children, they woulde back home to beg for their parents to agree their marriage. A woman was willing to sacrifice herself for a man. How she loved him! But it was unforgivable that the heartless man wasted her love!

    Seeing the malicious servants around approach, Biddy Wen yelled, ¡°Help... Guan Mo is taking liberties with me!¡±

    After this yell, Guan Mo was too scared to lose his grip on her neck and turned back disgustingly. Biddy Wen severely coughed and rubbed her neck. She said, ¡°Cough, cough. Third Miss, you see his true feature clearly. Cough, cough. If you get married with him, he must treat you like this. Maybe worse than this. You can¡¯t marry a man who bullies the weak. They are used to use violence...¡±

    He Danggui, who was still holding the stone lock, thought Bai Yangbai, who disguised as Biddy Wen, said too much. He would reveal if he kept talking, so He Danggui coughed in order to stop him. And this cough drew Madam Luo¡¯s attention. Seeing that her granddaughter was locked by the ¡°hypertoxic stone lock¡±, shemanded servants to unlock it, but the servant who was called asked Biddy Wen to do it.

    But Biddy Wen was chasing by 2 servants, who carried sticks. She yelled and opened Third Miss¡¯s dress to take refuge, but she was kicked out by Third Miss. She covered the painful ce between her legs and jumped. She yelled, ¡°Bad girl, where you are kicking? My, my lifeblood...¡±

    ¡°Madam Luo, I needn¡¯t unlock. I can hold on for a while,¡± He Danggui¡¯s sonorous voice drowned Biddy Wen¡¯s ravings. He Danggui also queried, ¡°Administrator Ding, Madam Luo and 2 masters of Second Branch are here. Even the biddy said something wrong, they willmand to swipe or punish her. Why did you want to kill the biddy with no words?¡±

    Ding Rong¡¯s wife was so angry that she was still trembling. She talked harshly, ¡°What Biddy Wen talked is nonsense. All her words are fake! You are working together with her!¡±

    Hearing this, He Danggui sneered. She refuted with a smile, ¡°Madam Luo must examine it carefully. Before I went to school, everything was fine and all the people were smiling when they saw me. After I paid respect to Madam Luo, I went to Chengxu Academy. In the poetry feast, we were singing, dancing and performing corpses impromptu. At that time, all of us enjoyed ourselves. However, Bo He came suddenly and told me there was something wrong in family. She said Concubine Hua aborted. Qing¡¯er also felt strange at that time. Qing¡¯er said that my Second Uncle¡¯s concubine was ill, but I was not a doctor or a midwife. Why did they ask mee back quickly? Although I was confused, I immediately asked for leaving and came back in a hurry. On my way home, Second Childe Guan blocked the way and said he wanted toe with me. But I said it was toote and there were some misfortunes happening in Luo¡¯s Family. I was afraid that we couldn¡¯t treat him well, but he...¡±

    ¡°Sister He, what are you talking about?¡± Guan Mo interrupted her immediately, ¡°If you didn¡¯t ask me for help, how can I know what happened in your home?¡±

    The blood still dropped from He Danggui¡¯s shoulders, which made her look like a proud red lotus. She smiled and said, ¡°I refused several times, but Childe Guan dragged the rein and came to Luo¡¯s Mansion directly. Even though I called him, he never listened to me. Ren Dongteng, Bo He and Huai Hua all saw it. Childe Guan, I praised that you are well-informed and arranged spies in Luo¡¯s Mansion at that time. You also epted it pleasantly. I have 3 witnesses. As a man, don¡¯t you feel ashamed that you framed me in order to revenge for the old resentment half a year ago?¡±

 Chapter 184 - Husband was a â€œvampireâ€

    <h4>Chapter 184 Husband was a ¡°vampire¡±</h4>

    The expression of Guan Mo changed a lot. He stared at He Danggui viciously andughed reluctantly. He said, ¡°What nonsense are you talking about? We are going to get married soon, and you should pay attention to your behavior. Your identity is wed. Shouldn¡¯t you make up for it in other ways? How can you take care of your parents-inw if you are so rebellious?¡±

    He Danggui sneered and said, ¡°Did I mention your weakness? You said that I ask you toe to Luo¡¯s Family to intercede for me. Isn¡¯t that a lie? First, it¡¯s a family affair of Luo¡¯s Family. You are an outsider, and a man, so it has nothing to do with you that my Second Uncle¡¯s concubine miscarried. Even if I want to find someone to intercede for me, I will find my good friend Qing¡¯er. Second, our engagement has not been confirmed. It¡¯s just an oral agreement between my grandmother and your mother. Your mother has told you, but my grandmother hasn¡¯t. I regard you as an unfamiliar Childe. It is more distant than the rtionship between me and your brother Childe Guan Bai, so I won¡¯t ask for your help. Third, I have nothing to do with Concubine Hua¡¯s matter. I have a clear conscience and my grandmother has always been fair. Why should I ask others for help?¡±

    Hearing it, Madam Luo was ashamed. After listening to Concubine Hua and her second daughter-inw, she thought that her granddaughter had done something to Concubine Hua¡¯s antiabortifacient and even punished Yi without giving her a chance to exin. At the moment, her granddaughter still imed that she was ¡°fair¡±, which made her feel embarrassed. Just now the biddy who executed the punishment said that the second daughter-inw wanted to crush her granddaughter with a stone lock to kill Yi. Why?

    Anyway, she should open the shackles of Yi first. Madam Luo eximed around, ¡°You go and untie Third Miss!¡±

    All the servants ordered by Madam Luo did not move, but Zhang Huan¡¯s wife first came out and said with a dull smile, ¡°Madam Luo, we don¡¯t have the key. Let the Biddy Wen untie Third Miss. She has mush experience.¡±

    Looking around, they couldn¡¯t find the biddy. Then Madam Luo said angrily, ¡°Where is the Biddy Wen? Go to help Yi hold the stone lock quickly. Don¡¯t crush her.¡± Madam Luo got angry because no one responded to the order. She said, ¡°What I said doesn¡¯t work? Get that biddy for me. I¡¯ll ask her carefully!¡± At first, she believed a little bit of what biddy said. But when she thought that the order was from her second daughter-inw, she didn¡¯t believe it at all. The second daughter-inw¡¯s attitude towards Yi was not good enough, and she didn¡¯t like her indeed. However, that didn¡¯t constitute the motive of killing! The second daughter-inw was always kind-hearted. How could she murder a younger generation?

    Ding Rong¡¯s wife suddenly knelt down. She kowtowed twice then said, ¡°Madam Luo, please allow me to say a few words. The biddy was in collusion with Third Miss and was lying all the time. It must be Third Miss, who bought the biddy over with money to deal with me and Second Mistress Luo!¡±

    The Second Lord Luo Chuangu said impatiently, ¡°Where did the biddy go? Let here out for confrontation!¡±

    Shi Liu answered at the door, ¡°Biddy Wen was beaten away by a group of people called by Administrator Ding. I only heard that she shouted, ¡®You killed me to prevent divulgence of your secrets! I am wronged!¡¯ In the end, there was no sound.¡±

    The main hall was silent for a moment, then Ding Rong¡¯s wife blushed and yelled, ¡°She¡¯s framing us. The Biddy Wen is a thief. A thief!¡±

    The Madam Luo¡¯s face changed, and she called out, ¡°The leader outside,e in to reply with Biddy Wen immediately! Nobody can hurt her!¡± The sound was so far away that the echo could almost be heard. However, no servant came in to reply with Biddy Wen. It seemed that there was no one outside the yard.

    Ding Rong¡¯s wife was anxious. She was really wronged by the biddy. When she went to ask for the lock, she only said, ¡°Take a pair of hundred jin of lock and follow me to Fu Shou Yard quickly!¡± On the contrary, Biddy Wen had been chatting with her, wasting a lot of time. And Biddy Wen had been cottoning up to her. At that time, she only felt that the biddy knew she was powerful and wanted to tter her, so she answered a few words. Unexpectedly, the biddy was a viin. She was framed by the biddy by surprise!

    However, Ding Rong¡¯s wife ignored one thing. It was that every word said by Bai Yangbai, who disguised as Biddy Wen, was the inner word of Ding Rong¡¯s wife and Sun Meiniang. Bai Yangbai just said those words out. Just now when Bai Yangbai said that there was leprosy virus on the stone lock, Ding Rong¡¯s wife was secretly pleased. He Danggui wore a stone lock with a bag with pig blood and was covered with blood, but Sun Meiniang felt that was not enough. Therefore, Bai Yangbai¡¯s words were not ¡°wronged¡± them, but ¡°highlighted¡± the vicious means of them.

    Ding Rong¡¯s wife was Sun Meiniang¡¯s loyal servant. She was a mammy to guide Sun Meiniang before Sun Meiniang got married. Besides, Sun Meiniang had saved her once. Therefore, she regarded Sun Meiniang as her heaven. Sun Meiniang also had absolute trust in this servant, and told the servant all kinds of entanglements between her and He Jingxian.

    3 years ago, He Danggui, who was carried out in a coffin, was carried back by a sedan chair. Then she changedpletely and became crafty. She often made Sun Meiniang be abnormal and furious. Sun Meiniang usually smashed things in the inner hall of Bao Qin Ge. Ding Rong¡¯s wife was very distressed after seeing the situation. Although Sun Meiniang didn¡¯t want to kill He Danggui because she wanted to torture He Danggui slowly, Ding Rong¡¯s wife often wanted to kill He Danggui secretly. Thinking that if He Danggui died, her miss would let her obsession and hatred towards He Jingxian go. And her miss would feel at ease as Second Mistress Luo.

    Because this difference often leaded to a slight discrepancy between the orders and execution, He Danggui often seized this subtle discrepancy and created a reverse situation. Madam Luo was absolute trust in Sun Meiniang, so He Danggui¡¯s reversal could only protect herself but not hurt Sun Meiniang. If Sun Meiniang suffered a loss this time, she must be unwilling to let it go. There would be constant revenge¡­

    He Danggui was also happy to deal with Sun Meiniang. She was bullied by Sun Meiniang when she lived in Luo¡¯s Family in the previous life. She never nned to revenge, but daydreamed that a man who could protect her suddenly appeared. He would take her away and protect her. As a result, the man appeared. He gave her a rich life and let her be dignified. But finally, she found that it was just a dream. Everything was gone when she waked up. The man failed to protect her. She was still bullied by Sun Meiniang and the people of Luo¡¯s Family. Even the man was one of them!

    Therefore, He Danggui now ¡°cherished¡± every attack and challenge of Sun Meiniang. She could not do anything in her previous life, so she must do double in this life and return the humiliation umted to Sun Meiniang, who was so vicious!

    In the main hall, Madam Luo cried again, but no one took Biddy Wen in, which made Madam Luo be more and more suspicious. If Biddy Wen was just a drunkard woman whose words were full of lies, how could there suddenly be arge number of guards in the outer yard? At ordinary times, even if Madam Luo summoned with a signal bomb, it would take 5 minutes for the Four Guards to arrive here. How could those guards appear as soon as Ding Rong¡¯s wife summoned? If that biddy was nonsense, then the wronged Ding Rong¡¯s wife should immediately seize and confront the biddy. Why did Ding Rong¡¯s wife call in arge group of people to kill the biddy on the spot? Did she really¡­want to kill Yi to prevent divulgence of her secrets? And her second daughter-inw wanted to kill Yi? Why did Sun Meiniang want to kill Yi? And Sun Meiniang even didn¡¯t give Yi a chance to defend herself.

    Ding Rong¡¯s wife¡¯s head was full of fine sweat. She must confront Biddy Wen, or she would not prove her innocence. If the image of the Second Mistress Luo in the Madam Luo¡¯s heart was damaged, it would not be worth the loss! Thinking of it, Ding Rong¡¯s wife shouted to outside, ¡°Zhong Qi! Bring the Biddy Wen in immediately!¡±

    As soon as she said that, 2 strong men in armor ran into the inner hall. One of them replied, ¡°Sorry, she was so cunning that she ran away.¡±

    Madam Luo was livid. Her mouth trembled slightly, but she could not speak.

    After years of following Madam Luo¡¯s instructions, Sun Meiniang knew her very well. Even Madam Luo lifted her eyelids at will, Sun Meiniang would know Madam Luo¡¯s mood. Therefore, Sun Meiniang immediately understood the meaning of Madam Luo¡¯s expression. Madam Luo didn¡¯t mind whether Biddy Wen was caught or not. What Madam Luo got annoyed was that no one came in after she called 3 times. However, Ding Rong¡¯s wife called casually, and 2 guards came in immediately! This was really a big taboo!

    The guards were the servant of East Yard of Luo¡¯s Mansion, and Madam Luo was the biggest master of East Yard of Luo¡¯s Mansion. But now it was different, her words were not worth the words of a servant leader. The guards in the outer yard came in without being summoned by Madam Luo, and no one informed Madam Luo in advance. Would Madam Luo sleep well in the future? What a blunder!

    Sun Meiniang secretly regretted and med Ding Rong¡¯s wife for being too reckless this time. When she nced down the hall, she saw that even if He Danggui was almost covered with blood, He Danggui was still as calm as usual. He Danggui did not shed tears because of pain, nor did she mess up because of Concubine Hua¡¯s usation that she was a murderer.

    The more she looked at He Danggui, the angrier she became. She thought that if she had not seen He Danggui ran to the poetry feast this morning, she would not have been angry and take advantage of Concubine Hua¡¯s affairs. Then there would not have been such a series of idents, and Madam Luo would not have been suspicious! Madam Luo tabooed Ding Rong¡¯s wife, which was tantamount to taboo herself. It was because as they all knew, Ding Rong¡¯s wife was just like her hands and feet. And she was like the brain and mouth. If both hands and feet were fraudulent, would anyone believe that the brain and mouth were loyal?

    However, Luo Chuangu directly through the phenomenon to see the essence¡­ What he cared most currently was that who harmed his unborn son!

    At first, Concubine Hua woke up and sobbed to testify He Danggui. He and Madam Luo immediately believed her words without hesitation and thought He Danggui was the murderer. His wife, Sun Meiniang, always disliked his niece and found faults with He Danggui every day. If there were any mistakes, she would not let it go. If there was no mistake, she would make all kinds of strange reasons and try her best to make He Danggui feel ufortable.

    For example, what impressed Luo Chuangu most was that he got a set of authentic picture album of famous erotic pictures painter ¡°Ban Bian Feng Yue¡± from a special channel. Not only was the painting lifelike, but also the story plot was novel and interesting. Besides, there were pocket pictures in one corner of the picture album. When he flipped the picture album quickly, it seemed that he was watching the real situation, which was really interesting!

    However, it disappeared a few dayster. Then a servant came out to report that an erotic picture album was hidden in He Danggui¡¯s Tao Yao Yard. Then Sun Meiniang gathered all the family members and broke into the Tao Yao Yard to search for the erotic picture album. Luo Chuangu understood immediately that it was nned by Sun Meiniang. The erotic picture album that he had kept in the inner hall was gone. Then servants told Sun Meiniang that there was something unclean in Tao Yao Yard. At the same time, someone in Tao Yao Yard saw He Danggui digging a hole in the bedroom wall and hiding an erotic picture album in. All these were too coincidental!

    Luo Chuangu didn¡¯t say anything and just looked on coldly. One was his first wife, and the other was the granddaughter of Madam Luo. He knew which one was more important.

    After that, as soon as Sun Meiniang entered the door, she found the hole in the wall. Then she went to get the picture album, but she didn¡¯t find it. Therefore, she was so angry that she wanted to broke the wall. And someone carried a big hammer for breaking the wall immediately. But the hammer didn¡¯te in handy, because He Danggui¡¯s nominal younger brother, He Dangyou, pushed down the wall with one hand and let Sun Meiniang and others look for it. In fact, He Dangyou was several years older than He Danggui. Then, Sun Meiniang and Ding Rong¡¯s wife left in awkward without finding anything.

    After 5 days, her daughter, Luo Baiqiong, gathered many friends to taste tea and appreciate poems. The erotic picture album appeared in the room suddenly, which became a popr topic at that time¡­

 Chapter 185 - Life and death agreement was broken

    <h4>Chapter 185 Life and death agreement was broken</h4>

    Although both Luo Chuangu and Madam Luo understood that Sun Meiniang got tired of He Danggui and often embarrassed her, they never formally denounced or corrected Sun Meiniang¡¯s behavior.

    Seeing that He Danggui was able to survive in Sun Meiniang¡¯s various pitfalls, Luo Chuangu and Madam Luo were slightly surprised. Sun Meiniang was in charge of Luo¡¯ Family¡¯s fortunes and could almost decide the life and death of others whose status were lower than her. At the same time, they subconsciously thought that He Danggui must hate Sun Meiniang and want to grasp for an opportunity to retaliate against her. After all, Sun Meiniang only aimed at her and couldn¡¯t get along well with her only.

    In fact, Sun Meiniang should be the one who did wrong. As an elder, she often intolerantly bullied a little girl. However, once a dispute arose, Luo Chuangu still supported Sun Meiniang every time, and Madam Luo still believed in her daughter-inw Sun Meiniang. Therefore, even He Danggui had to sigh that Sun Meiniang had such good rtions with people!

    This time, when Concubine Hua bled abnormally, Madam Luo and Luo Chuangu listened to Concubine Hua¡¯s testimony and the testimony of several maids who ¡°happened to witness¡±. Besides, they saw the evidence that Sun Meiniang searched. Madam Luo and Luo Chuangu believed that He Danggui should be the murderer. The motive was mainly to revenge for Sun Meiniang¡¯s consistent ¡°special care¡± and to prevent the Second Branch from having a sessor. Secondly, she had a quarrel with Concubine Hua... Of course, no one would tell the first motive stupidly. After Sun Meiniang¡¯s perfect guidance, Madam Luo and others gradually believed in such a logic that He Danggui turned her anger from Sun Meiniang to all of the Second Branch. Therefore, her aim was Concubine Hua, the most valuable and weak people in the Second Branch!

    Now things have changed. Before a woman with ck face ¡°died¡±, she said that Ding Rong¡¯s wife wanted to murder her to prevent divulgence of the secrets. Before that, she said that Sun Meiniang would crush He Danggui with a stone lock, so that He Danggui could not overturn the facts. As the saying went, when people were dying, what they said were sincere and kind. Since she was hunted down by the group of servants, what she said were also more credible.

    Thinking of today, Sun Meiniang had been keen to guide the search for the truth. She was so serious to help Concubine Hua find the murderer. Luo Chuangu was the first one who felt that the whole thing was weird. As everyone known, Sun Meiniang was very jealous of his concubines. She had a detailed record about when he entered which concubine¡¯s room, and how long he slept here. In addition, what he ate and what he did were recorded. Even if he only went to take a nap at noon, she would also record it. If he went into a concubine¡¯s room too often, Sun Meiniang would go to talk to that concubine.

    Because Concubine Hua¡¯s delicate and snow-white hands fascinated Luo Chuangu, the number of times he went to her room was almost equal to that of Sun Meiniang¡¯s. In addition, Concubine Hua was pregnant with a precious boy for the first time. This was a good thing for Luo¡¯s Family. At the beginning, when Sun Meiniang knew that Concubine Hua was so lucky, her jealous made Luo Chuangu suffer a lot. Heforted her for a few days and swore that he would not change his mind. Then, Sun Meiniang was a little bit better.

    Today, Concubine Hua bled. Why was Sun Meiniang so keen to help find the murderer? After finding the ¡°murderer¡± He Danggui, why did Sun Meiniang often interrupt He Danggui¡¯s self-defense and immediately press her with a hundred jin lock? If what the ck faced woman said was true, why did Sun Meiniang decide to kill He Danggui, so that He Danggui could not speak at all? Did Sun Meiniang mean...?

    When Luo Chuangu thought of this, his expression was a bit gloomy. There were a pair of eyescking of vitality on his white fat face, leaving an offish impression, as if two ck holes cut out of a piece of white paper. Luo Chuangu opened his eyes and asked Zhong Qi, the guard in the hall, ¡°Where is the Biddy Wen? Whether she is dead or alive, you must find her. Even if you identally kill that woman, you must drag her corpse to show us.¡±

    Zhong Qi opened his mouth but didn¡¯t know how to answer. He looked at Ding Rong¡¯s wife. Ding Rong¡¯s wife regretted that she didn¡¯t confront the Biddy Wen at the first time. When she saw Zhong Qi looking at her, she said angrily, ¡°Why are you looking at me? The Second Lord is asking you. You may as well answer truthfully right away!¡±

    So, Zhong Qi bowed down and said, ¡°I dare not deceive you, Second Lord. The woman has indeed run away without trace. I can¡¯t catch up with her!¡±

    Seeing this, Madam Luo was very depressed again. Well, the Second Lord of Luo¡¯s family asked the servant, should he answer after the approval of Ding Rong¡¯s wife? Sun Meiniang was a little nervous. Damn, Madam Luo was very serious about it. Once Madam Luo thought that there was a w on Ding Rong¡¯s wife, Madam Luo would focus on many ws after repeated observation. The normal behavior in the past now was offensive! Damn it, why was there such a nonsense Biddy Wen today?!

    Luo Chuangu sneered and said, ¡°Twenty or thirty macho men with kung fu and swords in your hands chased an old woman with little feet. We all heard the old woman shouting st words¡¯, but you said that she was ¡®running without trace¡¯. How can we believe that? Even if she was a four-legged toad, she wouldn¡¯t be faster than you, would she?¡±

    Zhong Qi hesitated and couldn¡¯t answer. He was ordered to guard the main hall door. As long as the Third Miss ran out with Master Guan hand in hand, he would run up and cut the Third Miss several times without hesitation. He got a reward of one hundred liang for each cut. Therefore, Zhong Qi kept his eyes on the main gate and never pursued the strange old woman.

    Another macho man next to Zhong Qi took part in the chase, but he never went into the inner hall to talk to the master and didn¡¯t know the etiquette. Before the master asked him, he spoke in a loud voice, ¡°No matter how many people we are, no one can catch up with the old woman. What¡¯s the use of having more people? In my opinion, the old woman has the best lightness skill. She was stop-and-go running, and sometimes stopped to tie her belt. But she still often runs away from our swords. It is obvious that she is ying a trick on us!¡±

    Luo Chuangu didn¡¯t believe it, but the possibility that he guessed became more and more pellucid. Sun Meiniang wanted to kill Biddy Wen and He Danggui to keep silence. Because one told her secret, and the other was her scapegoat. The people who attacked Concubine Hua and her children was not others, but Sun Meiniang!

    ¡°St!¡±

    Luo Chuangu threw the tea cup on the ground. He smacked the table and said angrily, ¡°Ha! The biddy has lightness skill? She yed tricks on you? In fact, you are ying tricks on us! The guards in the mansion are usually very useful. How can you be so ipetent today? A woman who takes out excrement has martial arts, ha! When did my Luo¡¯s Family not give full y to the talents of others? You think we¡¯re stupid enough for you to fool around!¡±

    The guard was an idiot. He straightened his neck and said, ¡°Why do I cheat you? The biddy is very hateful. She also brought a bag of smelly manure, which was scattered everywhere. We got it with full feet, and we couldn¡¯t catch up with her when we slipped! Look!¡± While saying, he showed a piece of khaki sole in public.

    Sun Meiniang realized her husband, who always supported her and had been loyal to her, paid special attention to the matter of Biddy Wen. Obviously, he wanted to confront with Biddy Wen, proving that He Danggui should be wronged. If He Danggui got rid of the usation, Sun Meiniang would be the first suspect who tried to get He Danggui wrong. Sun Meiniang was angry and thought in her heart, ¡°Luo Chuangu, you¡¯re cowardly at ordinary times and does nothing seriously. Now you pretend to be a real man unexpectedly!¡±

    At this time, Shi Liu suddenly reminded with crisp voice, ¡°Madam Luo, Third Miss still wears this thing! Biddy Wen and the key disappeared together. What about Third Miss?¡±

    Madam Luo thought back how Ding Rong¡¯s wife broke the rules in the past. The more she thought, the more frightened she was. At the moment, she nced at Yi, who couldn¡¯t suffer the pain in the hall and even fell to the ground with the stone lock! Yi was soaked in blood, as if she had just been pulled out of the blood pool, which was shocking!

    Madam Luo trembled and pointed to the maids around her and said, ¡°Remove the lock now!¡±

    Several maids looked at each other, and Li Jiuguang¡¯s wife stammered, ¡°I identally shed my waist yesterday. Now I can¡¯t do anything. Isn¡¯t Childe Guan willing to help...¡± Then she looked at Guan Mo and pleaded in a low voice, ¡°You are capable, and you love our Third Miss. Please remove the lock!¡±

    Guan Mo was so angry just now that he was about to show the Ba Huang Evil Energy, which he practiced secretly. When he circled the energy, there would be a crystal ball in his hand. Fortunately, there were no martial artist and nobody here could recognize, so this episode was missed. Did he want to show the Ba Huang Evil Energy, which he practiced secretly for 6 years? Was there anyone or anything worth paying so much to reveal his secret?

    Now, Guan Mo¡¯s ck hair was around his shoulders, and his arms were in front of his chest. He looked down at the lock and the beautiful girl in red lying on the ground. He slightly adjusted his stance, as if he wanted to do something. He whispered to the beauty, ¡°If you are willing to be my concubine and apologize to me for what you said just now, I will remove the lock, and let bygones be bygones. Then I forget the unpleasant things that happened before and treat you well, OK?¡± It couldn¡¯t be true. As for her, who was hard to deal with, he couldn¡¯t wait to grind her into powder at where nobody was.

    He Danggui raised her eyes that looked like jewels and looked at Guan Mo¡¯s evil eyes. Then, with full of ridicule in her eyes, she muttered, ¡°You¡¯re dreaming.¡±

    Guan Mo immediately became angry. How dare she be so arrogant when she was dying? How long could she have a contest like this with him? Since her parents weren¡¯t around, she was uncultured andcked themon sense that a woman should have. She was the beauty that he had been thinking about for half a year but was unable to get, so he would give her a chance again.

    After taking a deep breath and slowly expiring, Guan Mo whispered again, ¡°As long as you agree, I will save you immediately. Should you pledge to marry me in return? If you think that concubine is in low status, I will try to let you be the top. If you are not satisfied with me and think that I can¡¯t keep up with Meng Xuan and others, it¡¯s just because you don¡¯t know me well...¡± Guan Mo¡¯s voice suddenly became dumb, which was more ambiguous than the splendor of the sunset. He said, ¡°I¡¯m sure you can¡¯t leave me for a moment when we get together.¡±

    He Danggui even didn¡¯t raise her eyelids this time as well as her lips, but her words could be heard clearly, ¡°Guan Mo, you make me feel sick. Stand away.¡± Tomorrow she must remind Qing¡¯er of staying away from this scumbag in Guan¡¯s Mansion.

    There was murderous desire showing in Guan Mo¡¯s eyes. If there were no people here, he would like to strangle the girl immediately, as if he uprooted this beautiful but not lovely blue flower, and then destroyed itpletely. After a pause, he half bent down and said with repressed words, ¡°Do you really want to die, He Danggui? Or is it because you had a miserable life in Luo¡¯s Mansion, which makes you feel that you lose hope? Don¡¯t worry. Even if you die, I will take good care of your corpse and recover every tear of my Third Sister because of your hurt. I won¡¯t let you die so easily.¡±

    He Danggui turned her neck and replied sinctly, ¡°Go away.¡±

    Guan Mo was very angry andughed. Suddenly he circled energy in his palm and set his palm as a knife. The next moment, his palm was next to He Danggui¡¯s ear. Anyway, she would die soon because of the poisonous stone lock. In this case, it was better to let her die under his palm. And she could ask him for her life in the next life, so that they could continue to settle the ounts that have not been settled in this life!

 Chapter 186 - Sun Meiniang lost her virginity before she got married

    <h4>Chapter 186 Sun Meiniang lost her virginity before she got married</h4>

    In the main hall, Madam Luo, Sun Meiniang and others only saw Guan Mo surround He Danggui whoid on the ground and then walk half a circle with his lips raising twice but without voice. Then, something astonishing happened. Guan Mo bowed his waist and looked down. Suddenly, a dark red light shed in his eyes, and then he raised his palm and shed at the head of He Danggui.

    Despite the distance, Madam Luo still felt the murderous aura from Guan Mo, so she couldn¡¯t help screaming, ¡°What are you doing, Guan Mo?!¡±

    This sound awakened Guan Mo¡¯s mind. He nced at his hand which was about to cut the girl¡¯s head, and cried out secretly, ¡°That was close¡±. Just now, he was so violent that he identally touched the magic side of evil power, which made him lose control and almost kill the grumpy girl in front of many people!

    Keeping being lucid, Guan Mo raised his head and stood up. He stepped back slowly and stood here. Then he turned his head to avoid seeing the hateful and extremely silent eyes of He Danggui.

    She dared to step on his admiration and offend him, and she ruined the chance of his Third Sister to obtain happiness. Such a woman was no longer worthy to live in this world. Even if he didn¡¯t take action to solve it, He Danggui would not have much vitality. She had lost too much blood. Besides, leprosy, smallpox, poisonous snakes and insects all could kill her. He could witness her tragic death without moving a finger.

    Great. He wouldugh in his dream at night. Since he could not get her, he would destroy her. He would like to make her understand that her lonely self-respect, maverick, and not epting the rules which had been set in this world, caused such a tragic death.

    Thinking of this, Guan Mo turned his head to see Madam Luo, and lied without changing countenance, ¡°Madam, I just tried to break the chain on her neck. However, after I tried it, I found that I really overestimated my abilities. I¡¯m sorry that I can¡¯t save her, so please find someone better qualified.¡± After saying, he walked a few steps with his hands sped behind his back, as if he was avoiding poisonous weeds. Then he stood on the far side of the room.

    Madam Luo was anxious and asked sternly, ¡°How about Biddy Wen? Call her quickly, and then go outside to invite a few locksmiths!¡±

    Sun Meiniang smiled and said, ¡°Madam Luo, now where are you going to find a locksmith in the middle of the night? Even if we smash their shops, there is no one inside. It also doesn¡¯t solve the real problem. As for me, I feel that Yi looks well, and she must have understood the truth. Let¡¯s ask her about Concubine Hua and antiabortifacient first. If she is willing to exin honestly, let¡¯s put some drugs for traumatic injuries on her wounds. And when it¡¯s dawn, we will go and ask the locksmith to open the lock. How about this way?¡±

    Madam Luo was worried and said, ¡°But Biddy Wen has said that there were terrible diseases and poisonous insects on the lock. How can we let Yi sleep on it for a whole night?¡±

    Sun Meiniang made a loud sneer, and her pair of arched eyebrows moved, as if sheughed at the words of Madam Luo. Turning around the priceless bloodstone jade bracelet on her wrist, Sun Meiniang said in a soft voice, ¡°Madam, you can perceive this. If what such a crazy biddy said are true, what we say in our daily life will probably be heard as an Imperial Edict! He-he, Madam, please think for a moment. If that stone is as poisonous as the biddy said, how dare she touch it with her own hands? She said people were sure to die as they touched the stone, but she did not hesitate to touch it repeatedly. You can see that she should be a desperate madman, so everything she said cannot be trusted.¡±

    Sun Meiniang stressed the words ¡°everything¡± to others, intending to imply that every word said by Biddy Wen just now was false and even an illusion of them. It was best to remove it from memory.

    But Luo Chuangu was the first one who couldn¡¯t remove it. He suddenly looked at her by raising his chin, and asked quickly, ¡°You mean that we cannot find the locksmith to unlock Yi until tomorrow morning, do you?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s tomorrow morning.¡± Sun Meiniang was slightly displeased and asked him, ¡°Can you think of a better idea?¡±

    Luo Chuangu stared at Sun Meiniang closely, and questioned, ¡°Why don¡¯t you ask someone to find Biddy Wen? Obviously, she has the key of the stone lock in her hand. Your proposal just now seems more difficult.¡±

    Sun Meiniang was stunned that she had never heard Luo Chuangu talk to her in such a tone for years. She thought that he was a man without temper, but it turned out that he would lose his temper and he also knew how to question! Ha-ha! Biting her mrs, Sun Meiniang said the word one by one, ¡°The two guards under the hall have made it very clear that Biddy Wen has a guilty and dare not to confront me. She has already run away, so we can¡¯t find her. I would like to dig her out, and let her exin everything to avoid that some secretly rigged us feel proud. However, the important biddy with ck face just disappeared in the dark, so what can I do?¡±

    Then, Sun Meiniang firmly held the bloodstone jade bracelet on her wrist, and she would like to crush it for outrage! Why did she marry into Luo¡¯s Family? Why she married Luo Chuangu who didn¡¯t be an intellectual or a martial artist? He was dismissed after less than half a year as an official and lost money in business. How could they be a couple for a lifetime? She was bored by looking at him more!

    Sometimes, when she was saying a few words to his expressionless face, she wanted to pick up a vase and knock it on his forehead! This useless soft man deserved a cuckold for a lifetime! Ha-ha!

    Thest time Luo Chuangu lost his temper to her because she snatched a few pills and miscarried. When he found that she did that on purpose, he was so angry that he smashed things all over the house and suffered pain. He asked her the reason. She would not tell him that her old lover He Jingxian wrote to her and asked her to go to a field tryst. She was afraid that being pregnant was not suitable.

    At that time, while applying beautiful nail polish, she told him in her nasal voice, ¡°Fortune-teller Zhao said that if the son was born, he must be the prodigal son and the unfilial son in the future. When he had grown up, he would kill his own father¨Cjust like someone.¡± Like a scattered gas ball, Luo Chuangu didn¡¯t lose temper immediately, so he was fooled easily. Then, she kept her belly t and smooth. When she dressed beautifully with fragrance and waited for a long time, He Jingxian, who had promised toe and meet her, was always far away.

    Last time, Luo Chuangu lost his temper to Sun Meiniang because she didn¡¯t bleed on the night of their wedding. After she making out with him during the night, on the next morning, he threw the clean silk handkerchief on her face, and asked her ferociously, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Who is your first man?¡± Of course, she couldn¡¯t tell him that her first man was He Jingxian. He also drank with He Jingxian and called each other brothers.

    So, she covered her face and cried, ¡°Brother Chuangu, don¡¯t you know that I took a riding and shooting ss in Chengxu? Do you know why I suddenly stopped going to the ss?¡±

    Luo Chuangu was distracted for a moment and said, ¡°It seems... Because you fell off from the horse, right?¡±

    Suddenly, she burst into tears and was out of breath. She told him intermittently, ¡°In fact, once in a riding ss... Ipeted with Chuanxiong in riding, and each of us yed a few difficult horsemanship of fancy riding... At that time, I felt a tearing pain in my lower body. When I went home, there was arge red mark on my underwear. At that time, it was more than half a month away from my menstrual period... So, I suspected the blood stain was because I lost my virginity. After that, I didn¡¯t dare to ride horses anymore. Sob...¡±

    Luo Chuangu looked at her suspiciously, but he did not speak. He indulged in thatst night, so he didn¡¯t notice something wrong. Now he thought back that she was active and enthusiastic on the bed. She was not shy for the first time.

    Sun Meiniang didn¡¯t believe that she can¡¯t deceive Luo Chuangu, such a stupid man. Luo Chuanxiong was a stupid woman. Luo Chuanxiong even didn¡¯t know that she had been with Luo Chuanxiong¡¯s fiance secretly. And Luo Chuanxiong still treated her as a good friend and future sister-inw. Luo Chuanxiong always joked about the affair between Luo Chuangu and her. Luo Chuanxiong was so stupid, so as her Second Brother...

    Covering her face and weeping, Sun Meiniang continued to exin, ¡°I wanted to tell you clearly before we got married. But every time I saw your sparkling and gentle eyes looking at me, I couldn¡¯t open my mouth. Before I married you, I told my mother about this. My mother gave me a little medicine bottle filled with chicken-blood mixed with white vinegar, and asked me to poured a little on bed while you didn¡¯t notice it. But during contemtion, I think you and me are already a couple. If we don¡¯t believe each other, how can we spend a long life together? So, I threw away the medicine bottle. Brother Chuangu, I believe that you will trust me.¡±

    Luo Chuangu had already believed half of her words, and when he heard thest sentence, ¡°Brother Chuangu, I believe that you will trust me¡±, Luo Chuangu couldn¡¯t help feeling a little guilty. Yeah, why didn¡¯t he choose to believe her? He secretly adored this woman in the academy for a long time, and he used to ask his Fourth Sister to pass on her love letters. He pursued her for a long time and wrote a lot of love letters. Meiniang was a well-known puredy in the academy. She always abided the rules of a miss, and she didn¡¯t say a word to male students. How could she lose her virginity before she married him? He heard from the Fourth Sister that Meiniang didn¡¯t familiar with other men outside Sun¡¯s Family except himself, so she would never do anything to betray him.

    In fact, Sun Meiniang¡¯s words were semi-usible. Before going to the bridal sedan, her mother did give her a chicken-blood bottle quietly, and she also epted it too. But when she was sitting on the bed alone and opened the bottle for inspection, she found that the smell was really pungent. In such a small space like the bed, people would be ovee by the smell as soon as she opened it, which was easy to be found by Luo Chuangu. If he found that she was holding the chicken-blood bottle while she was in the bridal chamber, she couldn¡¯t dispute it! ¡°My mother¡¯s really stupid. No wonder she can¡¯t get my father¡¯s favor. Does she want to harm me?¡± After Sun Meiniang criticized her mother, she threw the bottle of chicken-blood under the bed.

    Seeing Luo Chuangu had been moved by her, Sun Meiniang jumped up from the bed suddenly and picked up a scissor from the rattan box. Then she raised her hands and scratched a blood mark on her wrist. Luo Chuangu was shocked. He rushed to snatch the scissor and help her stanch in a panic. Then he asked her what she was doing.

    Sun Meiniang looked desperate and said, ¡°My husband, since you don¡¯t believe in my innocence, it doesn¡¯t make sense for me to live. So, let me die. Then things will be all right.¡±

    Luo Chuangu felt distressed when he heard that. Besides, he also heard that his name called by her was changed from ¡°Brother Chuangu¡± to ¡°My husband¡±. So, it made him suddenly realize that now they were a married couple, and she treated him so frankly. As the first talented woman in Chengxu, she married him, an idiot who failed in the imperial examinations. What could he doubt? So, heforted her and vowed never to mention this matter again. He would let this matter be the eternal secret between them.

    Sun Meiniang wiped the blood from her wrist and applied it to the silk handkerchief that was specially picked up for the blood of virgin on the wedding night. Luo Chuangu immediately understood. He took the silk handkerchief and presented it to his mother.

    Seeing that he was so obedient, Sun Meiniang began to look for beautiful concubines for him after their wedding so that he could livefortably in the inner house, and praised her as a good wife. However, she gave everyone a bowl of permanent sterilization soup, Jiu Cao Soup, to avoid that those lowly concubines menaced her status. If they drank it obediently and would not be particrly charming in the future, they would live a peaceful life. However, if they secretly poured the soup and secretly became pregnant with Luo Chuangu, they should not me her for being cruel.

    Every day, Sun Meiniang had to worry about the unpromising man, and cleaned up his affairs. She had to kill 1 or 2 unformed fetuses time and again. She lived this kind of life because of the unfaithful He Jingxian!

    Before she got married, her innocence was robbed by He Jingxian. Although she fell in love with him at first sight, she never thought that there would be such a ¡°swift¡± progress between them.

    When they met for the first time, he took part in the Feast of Qushui Liushang in Chengxu. He smiled at her on the opposite bank across a river. Since then, she fell in love with him. The second time they met was the time when Luo Chuanxiong and He Jingxian went on a blind date. Luo Chuanxiong asked her to apany. On the surface, he was gentle and considerate to Luo Chuanxiong. But after a moment, he hugged her and kissed her in a ce, where there were only themselves. He also asked her to watchnterns.

    When they met for the third time, she didn¡¯t see thenterns. He abducted her to a brothel and led her into an empty embroidery room. Then he raped her without any exnation. On the left and right sides of the room were the screams of prostitutes, so she couldn¡¯t help screaming too. Gradually, she became initiative rather than him. Afterwards, she asked him whether he liked her or not. He smiled and said that Luo Chuanxiong was as the white shrimp without salt, but she was like the fish with salt and pepper, which tasted better.

    In this way, He Jingxian went on a ¡°Blind date¡± with Luo Chuanxiong while secretly dating her in various ces. He promised to marry her, but he didn¡¯t do it. He said that he hated Luo Chuanxiong, a well-mannered, dull and uninteresting girl from a respectable family, but he rode a tall horse and weed the bridal sedan of Luo Chuanxiong to the apaniment of gongs and drums.

    Sun Meiniang thought, ¡°He Jingxian, you are a big liar! I will get back from your daughter for many times for what you owe me! I want you to die without descendants. When you are too old to give birth to a son, I will visit you again and tell you that your beloved wife Zeng Yuelian is my cousin. Her family fortunes declined, and she had to be a singsong girl. I bought her with a lot of money and helped her raise her two young sisters. Then I let her seduce you and try to destroy your rtionship with Luo Chuanxiong. Finally, I let her have a son and a daughter with your coachman!¡±

    ¡°You are so stupid that you hold the 3 of them on your palm for decades, but you are helping a cheap coachman to raise his children. The only daughter of you and Luo Chuanxiong was also killed by me. You, a heartless man, die without descendants! Your family had no offspring! Ha-ha!¡±

    Now, she was going to step on He Danggui thoroughly. She would humiliate and sh He Danggui. When He Jingxian became old, she would carry the ashes of He Danggui to visit him!

 Chapter 187 - He Danggui said her last words

    <h4>Chapter 187 He Danggui said herst words</h4>

    Luo Chuangu still felt suspicious and queried, ¡°A woman like Biddy Wen could casually be caught in several minutes by me. You, a group of men with weapons failed to catch her from the room to the outside garden. Does anyone believe it?¡±

    It was not strange he was so skeptical this time. He would be 38 years old next year, but the only son of him was bound to be an idiot. So, he would find the murderer at least. To be honest, he would truly like to expect that it was done by his niece He Danggui, instead of his wife Sun Meiniang. The former one was the daughter of his half-blooded Fourth Sister. It was inessential for him that He Danggui was alive or dead. Theter one used to be his beloved wife, and he couldn¡¯t leave her now.

    Sun Meiniang so was impatient that she would go away right now if Madam Luo were not there. He Danggui was dying now. But she would like to torture He Danggui slowly. So, Sun Meiniang said without interest, ¡°I didn¡¯t join to arrest Biddy Wen. How should I know what means she did to run away? You should go to ask them.¡± She pointed at the two guards and sneered. She said, ¡°They are eyewitnesses. You should ask them to break the case.¡±

    Luo Chuangu said discontentedly, ¡°They were called to be here by Ding Rong¡¯s wife. You also saw it. The two guards lied all the time and thought they could fool me. I can¡¯t know something from them.¡± He really wanted to know whether Sun Meiniang harmed his son now. She was broad-minded, wasn¡¯t she? A son of the concubine was also her son. Wouldn¡¯t she want a son?

    Sun Meiniangughed and said, ¡°Hum, since you don¡¯t believe that they told the truth, you can prison them, bind them and torture them to extract confession!¡±

    Madam Luo had a cough and nced at Sun Meiniang unpleasantly. She said, ¡°Behave yourself, please. There is the guest, many guards and maids here. You¡¯d better know your statues. Do not argue in the public. Look, the lock on Yi hasn¡¯t been taken off!¡± However, her subtext was another meaning. ¡°Sun Meiniang, what¡¯s your problem today? Chuangu is a man. Whatever you do in your room, in public, you shouldn¡¯t make him lose face!¡±

    Sun Meiniang was suddenly shocked and aware that her behavior was improper. How could she criticize her husband in front of his mother!No matter how silly the son was, his mother would never stop loving him. Hum, because she suddenly thought of He Jingxian, she became furious. And she forgot the order of status from high to low in Luo¡¯s Mansion was Madam Luo, Luo Chuangu and her.

    Looking at He Danggui locked by the stone lock, Sun Meiniang disdained He Danggui. After being tortured for 3 years, He Danggui was still alive. Sun Meiniang thought that He Danggui was as tricky as He Jingxian. So, Sun Meiniang was interested in contending with He Danggui. However, He Danggui was so frail that she was dying before Sun Meiniang used up her means. That was too boring.

    But He Danggui was a rarely tough girl. Some of Luo Chuangu¡¯s beautiful concubines used to live in the brothel. Their living environment wasplex and serpentine. They even couldn¡¯t pass through Sun Meiniang¡¯s means for more than three times. However, He Danggui unbelievably made it. She deserved to be the child of He Jingxian. Especially in thest year, Sun Meiniang tried her best to kill He Danggui, but He Danggui survived every time, as if she got the help of Immortal. It was incredible.

    Even though Sun Meiniang was med and even doubted by Madam Luo, Sun Meiniang felt so happy, as if she was in a honey jar, when she saw He Danggui who was dying.

    Suddenly, He Danggui, who was side-lying on the ground, trembled two times and sat up with the big stone lock. She sat cross-legged on the carpet and apologized, ¡°Excuse me. I was so exhausted just now, so I had a rest. Now I feel better. Madam, I want to say something.¡±

    Madam Luo thought that it was the momentary recovery of consciousness just before death. So, she said anxiously, ¡°You don¡¯t have to do that! Just lie down and go ahead.¡± It was an unexpected misfortune. If she had known it early, she wouldn¡¯t have asked Yi to put on the lock. And she didn¡¯t expect that the biddy with the key was disappeared.

    He Danggui twinkled to Sun Meiniang, who looked unhappy, and lied down. When she glimpsed at Guan Mo in grey, she said, ¡°Second Childe Guan, you are still here.¡± Before Guan Mo answered, sheughed and said, ¡°I have seen a lot of thick-skinned people, but you can be the top three. I rarely see such a person like you.¡±

    Guan Mo looked gloomy suddenly. Then he said with a smile, ¡°Sister, if you still have energy, save it till the locksmithes.¡±

    He Danggui shook her head and changed a morefortable gesture. Then she said slowly, ¡°Madam, I guessed it might be like this. Honestly, I understood it just now. Second Aunt said that with the stone lock, I can think better. Half a year ago, Second Childe wrote a love letter to a Miss. But it happened to be sent to me. Qing¡¯er didn¡¯t know what it was and opened it. She read a few lines, which make Second Childe feel embarrassed. And from that time on, I displeased Second Childe. But I didn¡¯t expect that he is so narrow-minded. He is even a big man. Hum.¡±

    Guan Mo grinned and said, ¡°You spoke too seriously. Did you be bitten by a poisonous insect? Is your brain okay?¡±

    ¡°Just becausest month, someone in the academy retold it, which made him remind of the passed hatred.¡± He Danggui disagreed and shook her head. She said, ¡°The next day, he asked his mom to bring up proposal of marriage. He wants to take vengeance on me by marriage just because of the little thing. I will never get married with such a person. Madam, I hope you can reconsider it. Otherwise, I may lose my life and have no chance to make a kowtow to you after I leave Luo¡¯s Mansion.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Madam Luo asked and frowned. She looked at her granddaughter but could just see the top of Yi¡¯s head. Then she looked at Guan Mo, who was staring at Danggui viciously.

    He Danggui nodded seriously and said, ¡°Madam, I dare not to cheat you. Luo¡¯s Family and Guan¡¯s Family have a good rtionship for a long time. And Second Childe Guan is the legitimate son of the First Branch of Guan¡¯s Family. I shouldn¡¯t make him lose face. But he isn¡¯t as reasonable as his brother, First Childe Guan. Second Childe Guan is narrow-minded. It was supposed to be none of my business, but I heard that ck-faced biddy said that I would die once I was locked by the stone lock. I thought I won¡¯t live any longer, so I said all of this.¡± Then, she pretended to sob.

    Madam Luo med, ¡°Do not talk nonsense. You are a little child. I¡¯ll ask someone to unlock it soon. Heal your wounds first. We can talk other thingster.¡±

    Guan Mo frowned heavily. He was afraid that He Danggui would tell the thing that his Third Sister Guan Yun was broken off an engagement. After all, it was absolutely a secret in Yangzhou. Duan¡¯s Family didn¡¯t want to beughed, so they didn¡¯t spread the news. And Guan¡¯s Family was nning to resume the engagement. All the people who knew about this should keep it as a secret. Seeing the act of He Danggui, Guan Mo thought that she might know it. Maybe Duan Xiaolou told her as good news. She should have contact with Duan Xiaolou. Damn, he would never let her tell it out to make Guan¡¯s Family and his Third Sister beughed.

    ¡°Sister He, you¡¯d better think it over before you say.¡± Guan Mo persuaded her gently, ¡°Even though you lose the faith of being alive, your mom is still here. She cannot lose you. You just talk about yourself. Don¡¯t mention other family affairs.¡±

    He Dangguiughed and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m just recalling my life. I lived in the Tao Yao Yard since I was ten years old. It was not filled with too many people. Even nobody took care of the flower. Tillst year, new maids were sent to here. It was said that one of them was really idiotic. Second Sister and Fourth Sister could not bear her. And that maid was finally driven to my yard. I looked at her. What a pretty girl. And I find that she can do the work well. Why did they say that she was idiotic?¡±

    Guan Mo looked gloomy. He med with a low voice, ¡°What are you talking about? You¡¯d better save your energy until a locksmithes here.¡±

    He Danggui said continuously, ¡°Since the girl called Shu Qin came to my yard, I could meet Second Childe more frequently. I could meet Second Childe not only in Guan¡¯s Mansion, but also in the garden of Luo¡¯s Mansion. Even when I strolled around the streets, I could meet him. He-he. Second Childe, you are really narrow-minded. You knew what happened today from Shu Qin, right? So, you suddenly came here to make trouble. No matter if I was rted to Concubine Hua, you made a crime to me first. The reason was just your private hatred. You are so narrow-minded, Second Childe.¡±

    Guan Mo couldn¡¯t deny that, because he couldn¡¯t say that he wanted to give vent to his sister¡¯s anger on He Danggui. In fact, there were many other ways to deal with He Danggui. But he just wanted to keep his sister¡¯s rival in love around him and torture her. Then, Guan Mo lied, ¡°What? Shu Qin? Who¡¯s that? I have never heard about her. If you don¡¯t believe, you can ask her to confront.¡±

    He Danggui sighed and shook her head. She said, ¡°Sorry, she cannote because she had something to deal with.¡±

    Guan Mo kept silent with suspicion. He got the letter of Shu Qin and rode over to Luo¡¯s Family quickly. He was faster than He Danggui for one hour, but He Danggui came to the main hall early. During the middle time, he stayed with Shu Qin. He had confirmed that Shu Qin was well. What happened to her? Did He Danggui knew something that he didn¡¯t know?

    Guan Mo made a decision to ignore what she said. She must be cheating.

    He Danggui suddenly flexed her neck and looked at the Huai Hua at the door. He Danggui smiled and asked, ¡°Huai Hua, how is Shu Qin after she had an abortion? Does she feel better after taking the medicine?¡±

    Huai Hua held a quilt and tightly covered He Danggui on the floor. Huai Hua said angrily, ¡°Miss, don¡¯t mention her. She¡¯s just a bitch. You haven¡¯t given her permission to get married, but she couldn¡¯t stand. She had illicit intercourse with someone and became pregnant! Now she had an abortion. She paid for it. Hum.¡±

    When He Danggui was suddenly covered with warm and fragrance, she semi-closed her eyesfortably and sighed, ¡°At the beginning, I thought that she was a talent. And I would like to ask her to serve in the room and keep several keys of mine if she didn¡¯t like cleaning the yard. Later, I knew that she got pregnant and started to wear some delicate closes. I thought that she found a man with a good status¡­ Now it seems that I was totally wrong. What a shame. I misconstrue Second Chide Guan. I feel so sorry.¡±

    Huai Hua helped He Danggui to put her hair in order so that she looked refreshed. Huai Hua smiled and asked, ¡°Miss, how will you deal with this disgusting bitch?¡±

    He Danggui said with a strange voice, ¡°Is there any better way than the Rules¡¯ of Luo¡¯s Family? The punishment tools in our Tao Yao Yard haven¡¯t been used after you washed themst time. And that iron chain should be applied with some oil. You see the same one of my Second Aunt¡¯s. How glossy!¡±

 Chapter 188 - Vulnerable Sun Meiniang

    <h4>Chapter 188 Vulnerable Sun Meiniang</h4>

    Huai Hua opened her mouth widely and said in surprise, ¡°You are known to be kind-hearted normally. You had not even punished me in recent decades. Why is you so cruel this time? Severely punished the bitch who had a miscarriage, which is not like your style.¡±

    He Danggui was wrapped in the quilt, like a caterpir. She moved a little and smiled. She said, ¡°It has nothing to do with personal style. Domestic discipline must be strictly enforced. If outsiders hear that one of my maids who was pregnant before she got married still cleaned the yard, they will think how filthy Tao Yao Yard and Luo¡¯s Mansion are. If so, I can¡¯t rest assured even I die. Thinking it, I don¡¯t care about the rtionship between her and me. I must finish this before I die.¡±

    ¡°But you have different attitude.¡± Bai Yangbai, who disguised as Huai Hua, said on purpose, ¡°Last night, you asked me to cook chicken soup for the bitch.¡± Bai Yangbai thought, ¡°I will see how you exin it. He-he.¡±

    He Danggui secretly rolled her eyes and thought, ¡°Brother Qianjun, this time we let Sun Meiniang and others dominate at first. It is not easy for us to win steadily, but you always improvised. Just now, you almost gave the game away when you disguised as Biddy Wen. You should reflect on yourself after this event.¡±

    Under the teasing gaze of Huai Hua, He Danggui exined calmly, ¡°I was not familiar with the family rules before, so I was moved when I saw Shu Qin cry sadly. But today, I heard that Run Xiang, a maid of Second Aunt, made the same mistake. She is now stripped of her clothes and hanged in the woodshed hungrily. It is the fourth day. Only her belly is bulging. At first, I didn¡¯t know why Second Aunt is so cruel. But when I heard about the family rules, I realized that I have wronged Second Aunt. If the wife in charge of the family cannot give orders, our family rules will exist in name only. Right?¡±

    Sun Meiniang¡¯s face changed a lot, and her shoulders trembled slightly when she heard the second sentence. Except herself, only a few trusted maids knew that Run Xiang was pregnant. Even if someone had perception of it, who dare to say that on such an asion? ¡°Is this yourst deration and a parting gift to me before you die? Do you really think that you can take me down with a few words? I¡¯m not a pushover!¡± Sun Meiniang thought.

    Sun Meiniang looked at He Danggui, who also looked up at her. What wild and warlike eyes were, which were not like a dying person¡¯s eyes at all. Sun Meiniang couldn¡¯t imagine that He Danggui was treacherous, who revealed before she died. But it was toote. Sun Meiniang gritted her teeth and sneered. She said, ¡°He Danggui, since your brain has been invaded by poison, you should close your mouth and wait for rescue. These nderous words you said¡­¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Luo Chuangu suddenly pounded the table and stood up. He looked at Sun Meiniang, as if she were a ghost. He asked with a hoarse voice, ¡°What on earth is the matter?!¡±

    Sun Meiniang¡¯s face turned ashen after she heard what Luo Chuangu said. Luo Chuangu thought that no wonder he didn¡¯t see Run Xiang these days. It turned out that she had his child. But Sun Meiniang killed the child! A pregnant woman was hanged for four or five days in winter. How could she survive? How could this child in the abdomen be kept? Sun Meiniang killed his unborn child!

    Before Sun Meiniang answered Luo Chuangu, He Danggui and Huai Hua ignored others and had the conversation with interest.

    ¡°Which family rules did Run Xiang vite?¡± Huai Hua humbly asked, ¡°Miss, please tell me. In case I offend it identally, will we have to enforce the tragedy ¡®Kong Ming killed Ma Su with tears¡¯?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t talk nonsense,¡± He Danggui objected, ¡°I will die soon. And even if I¡¯m alive, you won¡¯t make mistakes in this kind of affairs.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Huai Hua abased herself, ¡°Because no man is willing to look at my ugly face?¡±

    ¡°Because...you are a man.¡± He Danggui thought. But sheforted Huai Hua, ¡°You are not ugly. What you don¡¯t know is that although the family rules strictly forbid maids¡¯ misconduct, it also depends on the situation. If the man is a servant, the maid will be tortured directly. If the man is a master, she only needs to report to my grandmother, and then she can be a concubine.¡±

    ¡°So good!¡± Huai Hua¡¯s eyes turned bright, and she swallowed saliva.

    Seeing that, He Danggui wanted to kick her and thought, ¡°Bai Yangbai, can you retain a little good image for the real Huai Hua? She doesn¡¯t have such indecent expression like you.¡± He Danggui snorted as a warning, and then her voice became mysterious. She said, ¡°However, someone exploited the loophole of family rules. For example, a maid, like Shu Qin, lied that her lover is childe. Humph, she just attempted to avoid punishment.¡±

    Guan Mo stared at He Danggui on the other side of main hall, as if he wanted to see 2 holes on her face and to judge whether her words were true or false.

    If what she said was false, how would she know that Shu Qin was his woman? Even if she had guessed that Shu Qin was a spy, she could not have asserted so firmly that Shu Qin and he often had ndestine meetings. Shu Qin was a reliable person and would never show off. If it was true, why had he never heard that Shu Qin was pregnant? She was fine just now. How could she suddenly miscarry? Did He Danggui sent people to harm Shu Qin? Or... Did he hurt the fetus when he made out with Shu Qin just now? Thinking that, Guan Mo really wanted to see what happened in Tao Yao Yard.

    He Danggui smiled and talked with Huai Hua in a whisper which all the people in the house could hear, ¡°For another example, when a female master heard that a humble maid was pregnant with her husband¡¯s child, she will punish the maid directly and let the maid miscarry. She doesn¡¯t be afraid when someone exposes. She only needs to say that the maid has made out with a servant, and she is only enforcing the family rules. As soon as she said that, there would be ¡®witnesses¡¯ to testify. So, no one can me the female master for any mistakes.¡±

    ¡°Crack!¡±

    Sun Meiniang broke the beautiful bloodstone jade bracelet on her wrist. Her beautiful face turned into a cannibal expression. Her lips trembled twice, but her voice could not be heard.

    Luo Chuangu¡¯s lips trembled too. He looked straight into Sun Meiniang¡¯s eyes and asked slowly, ¡°Sun Meiniang, why did you torture Run Xiang? Didn¡¯t she say that she was pregnant with my child?¡±

    Sun Meiniang had intended to exin that someone hade across Run Xiang¡¯s affair with a servant and sent Run Xiang to Bao Qin Ge. So, she acted in ordance with family rules. She broke the servant¡¯s leg and threw him out of the mansion. Then she hanged up Run Xiang in order to warn other maids. After she said this, a session of people would surelye forward and said that they were the witnesses, and they could prove that Run Xiang was a sinful whore indeed.

    In this way, even Luo Chuangu had nothing to say. Even if he had made out with Run Xiang, Run Xiang had another adulterer at the same time. How could be sure that the child in Run Xiang¡¯s belly belonged to Luo Chuangu?

    After years of managing, Sun Meiniang had built a deep and extensive connections in Luo¡¯s Family. No matter what she said or did, even if there was no prior arrangement and it just yed on the spot, there were many people waited for such an opportunity to tter her. They cooperated with her and testified for her. Ha-ha. She was so popr. A daughter of a concubine, like He Danggui, could never get these forces and power she cultivated.

    But now, the most difficult thing had happened. He Danggui took the first step to point out the excuse that she intended to say, as if He Danggui had written the words for her and her tterers, waiting for them.

    Luo Chuangu was gloomy. He had been angry with her for the third time in these years, so Sun Meiniang couldn¡¯t help hesitating. Should she y ording to He Danggui¡¯s script? Or should she act like a jealous woman and call him ¡°Brother Chuangu¡± to soften his heart like many years ago.

    At the moment of Sun Meiniang¡¯s consideration, Ding Rong¡¯s wife rushed into the main hall. Just now, she saw that Second Lord had paid attention to the matter of Biddy Wen all the time, and she was framed by Biddy Wen. So, she summoned the guards to beat Biddy Wen away. When she calmed down, she intended to confront Biddy Wen, so she left for a while.

    Before Ding Rong¡¯s wife came in, she heard Second Lord asking, ¡°Why did you punish Run Xiang? Didn¡¯t the child in her belly is mine?¡± As soon as entering the main hall, she saw Second Madam drooping her head and frowning tightly.

    Although Ding Rong¡¯s wife only heard that, she immediately understood that the affair of Run Xiang had been exposed! So, she walked quickly and bowed her head to reply, ¡°Second Lord, please calm down. Run Xiang is a wicked adulteress. A few days ago, I saw her having an affair with the servant Wu Jiu, who is from the outside yard, in the firewood room in broad daylight. It is shameless extremely. Second Mistress Luo has always been impartial and selfless, so I take them to Bao Qin Ge. Although Run Xiang is in charge of Second Mistress Luo¡¯s storehouse, Second Mistress Luo still imitated the y of ¡®Kong Ming killed Ma Su with tears¡¯, and locked Run Xiang in the firewood room to let her reflect on herself. And then Second Mistress Luo threw Wu Jiu to the street and let him be a beggar. Second Mistress Luo has not done anything wrong.¡± Fortunately, Ding Rong¡¯s wife knew that Wu Jiu returned home two days ago. Now he could be the adulterer. She would give some money to Wu Jiu and let him never enter the Luo¡¯s Mansion again.

    A bunch of muscles on Sun Meiniang¡¯s face twitched uncontrobly. She felt that things were not going well, as if she had identally stepped on a cliff.

    Luo Chuangu stared at Ding Rong¡¯s wife. He gritted his teeth and asked, ¡°Is it true?¡±

    Ding Rong¡¯s wife kowtowed solemnly and said earnestly, ¡°I dare not to lie to you, Master. The affair of Run Xiang and Wu Jiu was witnessed by me. It was a terrible scene. After this affair, Run Xiang just kowtowed and begged for mercy. She didn¡¯t mention that she was your waiting-maid. As soon as Run Xiang heard that Second Mistress Luo was going to lock her up and reveal her to public as a warning to others, she was so ashamed that she ran into the pir. She knocked out a mouthful of blood and several teeth. Second Mistress Luo was sad when she saw that, so Second Mistress Luo promised to keep Run Xiang¡¯s secret and not to reveal her scandal to public. Therefore, it was not heard of by you, Master.¡± In fact, this was a lie. Run Xiang¡¯s teeth had been pulled out by Sun Meiniang when she asked others to press Run Xiang tightly.

    Run Xiang was Sun Meiniang¡¯s trusted subordinate and usually gave advice to Sun Meiniang to impeach Luo Chuangu¡¯s concubines. She was the second popr maid of Sun Meiniang. But other maids said that Run Xiang seduced Second Lord while Sun Meiniang returned her natal family those days. Now Run Xiang was even pregnant. As soon as Sun Meiniang heard that, she immediately got angry. She hated that someone betrayed her most in her whole life. She was so good to Run Xiang and gave her dignity, but the bitch Run Xiang wanted to give birth to a son of Luo Chuangu and then be a master of Luo¡¯s Mansion!

    Luo Chuangu stood up and paced forward. He confirmed, ¡°Run Xiang hit the pir and knocked out the teeth by herself?¡±

    Ding Rong¡¯s wife kowtowed again and said certainly, ¡°Second Lord, I dare not to deceive you¡­¡± At this time, Luo Chuangu kicked her chest and continuously trampled dozens of times. He sneered and said, ¡°You knock the teeth off to show me. You show me!¡±

 Chapter 189 - Second Uncle was sinister and selfish

    <h4>Chapter 189 Second Uncle was sinister and selfish</h4>

    Madam Luo and Sun Meiniang were shocked for a moment that they had never seen Luo Chuangu like this. Luo Chuangu had a gentle temper, like a half bowl of warm water. Unexpectedly, he could hurt others.

    Knowing that her son had been always worried about not having a son, Madam Luo took pity on him and understood his anger. However, Ding Rong¡¯s wife was not amon servant. In fact, she didn¡¯t have to be a servant for a long time. One of her sons was Ninth-Grade Country Magistrate, and her another son had made a lot of money by selling leather goods. Now both of them wanted to look after her and asked her to enjoy a happy life in their homes as a master. But Ding Rong¡¯s wife was reluctant to leave Sun Meiniang. She said that now she was only in her fifties and still strong. After a decade, she was too old to work for Second Mistress Luo. Then she would go to her son¡¯s homes to enjoy life.

    Even if they didn¡¯t think of Ding Rong¡¯s wife as a loyal servant, they must consider that if one day her son was promoted to be a high-ranking official, Ding Rong¡¯s wife would be an imperial mandate countess. Although she couldn¡¯tpare with Madam Luo, who was a Sixth-Grade imperial mandate countess, she was also a woman with high grade. At that time, if she bore grudges on the old affairs of being beaten, she could file awsuit against Luo Chuangu, who was amon person, at any time.

    Considering this, Madam Luo ordered maids to pull Luo Chuangu away. Then Li Jiuguang¡¯s wife and others dragged Luo Chuangu who was as crazy as a wild dog away. Meanwhile, the face of Ding Rong¡¯s wife was covered with red marks, and her 2 teeth were lost. She was crawling on the ground, like He Danggui, and scratching the carpet in pain.

    After releasing the real disposition, which was always repressed, Luo Chuangu became quite different. He even kicked and beat down several maids who entangled him. Then he went to He Danggui step by step. Huai Hua was frightened and stepped forward to protect He Danggui¡¯s head. She cried out, ¡°No! My miss will die soon. Please do me a favor and let her go. She still has a lot ofst words to say.¡±

    He Danggui said unhappily, ¡°Your feet! Your feet were stepping on my hair! Huai Hua, get out of my way. What are you talking about? Second Lord is my uncle. How can he do harm to me? Get out of my way quickly. Don¡¯t bother us.¡±

    Huai Hua left with her mouth pursed and said, ¡°I want to go to the restroom. You go ahead.¡± Then she turned back and left. When He Danggui was concerning that Huai Hua would make some troubles, Luo Chuangu said with a hoarse voice, ¡°My niece, we treated you well. We provided the best yard for you and sent you to the best school. Your food, clothing, and expenditure are as same as other Misses in Luo¡¯s Mansion. Why did you do harm to my child? After Concubine Hua woke up, she has testified that you changed the antiabortifacient. What hatred did Second Branch have against you that you could do such a vicious thing?¡±

    He Danggui listened to him calmly and said calmly, ¡°Second Uncle, please calm down. Thanks to the kindness of my grandfather, I could be written in the family tree of Luo¡¯s Family and became Fourth Branch of East Yard of Luo¡¯s Family together with my mother. Therefore, I always regarded myself as a member of Luo¡¯s Family. How could I do harm to the next generation? As soon as I entered the door, I was eager to defend my innocence. However, all the people didn¡¯t give me the chance to defend. Then, I was put on a pair of big locks of 100 jin. I don¡¯t know what ¡®evidence¡¯ you have seen and how much testimony you have heard. But I¡¯ll defend myself instead of being afraid to confront with it. Anyway, when a person is dying, his or herst words are true. I don¡¯t have to hide anything.¡±

    It was the first time that Luo Chuangu had said so many words to his niece. In former days, he always watched his wife persecute his niece. So, he felt subconsciously that not only did his niece hate his wife, but also hate him. Having watched his wife persecute his niece so long, Luo Chuangu unconsciously thought of his niece as an enemy and the opposite person in the family.

    However, at this moment, Luo Chuangu thought that he had a rift with Sun Meiniang, and he suspected that all the evil things were done by her. But Sun Meiniang was his first wife. He knew her superb skills, and he could not get an answer in a friendly debate. Therefore, he thought of his niece He Danggui, who had thrived under the persecution of Sun Meiniang. Now he was 70 percent sure that He Danggui wasn¡¯t the true murderer of harming Concubine Hua. He wanted to reveal the real murderer. But not only did he have no way to solve the problem without hurting his feelings, but also he didn¡¯t have the courage to ask directly.

    So, Luo Chuangu came up with an idea to ask He Danggui. He wanted to use his identity of original member of Luo¡¯s Family to show his kindness and sternness so as to oppress and tell her that she couldn¡¯t be so ungrateful because what she ate and wore were all offered by Luo¡¯s Family. In this way, she would defend herself and help him find the real murderer.

    Luo Chuangu had already found that since He Danggui came back to Luo¡¯s Family 3 years ago, her spirit had changed, and her oral ability was totally different from before. The most amazing thing was her analytical ability. No matter how Sun Meiniang set up a trap to confuse everyone with appearances, He Danggui could always recognize and exin it clearly in a few words. Every time before Sun Meiniang could find out the reason why she failed, her argument was ill-founded. Luo Chuangu could see clearly that the only mistake made by Sun Meiniang was that she was not as calm as He Danggui, so she was inferior to He Danggui in momentum.

    Why didn¡¯t make use of such a calm and clever niece to find the answer? Anyhow, she didn¡¯t want to die under the name of murderer.

    Thinking of this wonderful idea, Luo Chuangu said with a foxy smile, ¡°Yi, I trust you firmly, but Concubine Hua said you had the old grudge with her, so you had the motive to hurt her. A lot of maids have seen you in Medicine Room and witnessed that you have touched the antiabortifacient of Concubine Hua. A maid named Mi Li found your jade pendant nearby the antiabortifacient mixed with abortifacient. Can¡¯t all these evidences make you plead guilty?¡±

    How smart He Danggui was. When she heard the tone of Luo Chuangu¡¯s words, she recognized that he was not ¡°questioning¡± the prisoner, but ¡°inducing¡± the witness. It seemed that he had started suspecting Sun Meiniang, but he wouldn¡¯t like to point out bluntly. So, he wanted to cooperate with her to find the murderer. Of course, Luo Chuangu didn¡¯t ask her for permission to do so. He didn¡¯t seem to look for a partner to solve the case but use her as a tool... He didn¡¯t want to do this by himself, so he used the hand of her.

    However, the reason why He Danggui hadin on the carpet for a long time with this pair of fake stone lock of 5 jin was to wait for the opportunity to find out the real murderer. Whether the opportunity was sinister or selfish, it was the only one chance she had been waiting for.

    He Danggui kept silent for a while, and then she said to the main hall, ¡°Madam, please ask someone to go to the woodshed and release Run Xiang. Even though she is guilty, we can punish her after shees here.¡±

    Madam Luo also suspected that the child of Run Xiang belonged to Luo Chuangu, so she nodded and said, ¡°Li Jiuguang¡¯s wife, take 2 maids to go to the woodshed of Bao Qin Ge. Put Run Xiang down and check her condition. If she¡¯s still pregnant, take her to Medicine Room to recuperate... If not, take her here.¡±

    Looking at Li Jiuguang¡¯s wifee out, Sun Meiniang changed her face a lot. Madam Luo did not ask the opinion of her as the wife in charge of the family and let people release Run Xiang. Not only did Madam Luo release Run Xiang, but also Madam Luo focused her eyes on the pregnancy. It was clear that she had acquiesced that the child in Run Xiang¡¯s belly was the descendant of Luo¡¯s Family. That was to say that Sun Meiniang persecuted Run Xiang and her child because of jealousy! Damn it! How could a humble woman as Run Xiang get an honorable son!

    Sun Meiniang, who had been in charge of Luo¡¯s Mansion and had done whatever she wanted for many years, had never been treated so coldly in public for a long time. She was irritated and regretted that she shouldn¡¯t miscarry the son on that year.

    Over these years, she seemed to be very powerful in Luo¡¯s Family. But in fact, she had to take efforts to prevent Luo Chuangu¡¯s concubines from being pregnant and eliminate all the children of the women around him. It was not because she liked Luo Chuangu very much. It was because that she knew the importance of a son. Once Luo Chuangu had a son, this son would be the first master of Luo¡¯s Family in the future. If Luo¡¯s Family was to be separated in the future, the son could take 70 percent of the property of Luo¡¯s Family and the whole San Qing Tang. Therefore, this son must belong to her, so that she could live without worry.

    Over the past years, after she gave birth to Shao, she had been pregnant twice, but none of them could be kept in their 3 months. She kept them in her uterus, but suddenly they all became dead babies. The doctor did not approve of her pregnancy again. And the doctor said that it was very likely that she would have a dead fetus. Did she have to spend her life dealing with the vile spawns of Luo Chuangu? She thought in herself, ¡°He Jingxian! I hate you. I regret. You are full of scorpion venom and destroyed my life! I won¡¯t let you go!¡±

    He Danggui said with a smile, ¡°Second Uncle, are you muddled? There are 2 ¡®witnesses¡¯ about Run Xiang just now, Administrator Ding and Wu Jiu. As for ¡®evidence¡¯, it is easy for Administrator Ding to find something private between Run Xiang and Wu Jiu. Can this exin that Run Xiang is a woman who has an affair with a servant? Run Xiang has achieved such a high position as a warehouse administrator of the wife in charge of the family, which is regarded as the high position among the maids and is envied by others. If she falls in love with one servant and goes to ask master¡¯s permission, is she afraid of not being allowed to marry? Why does she want to break her future and her innocence?¡±

    Luo Chuangu was silent for a while and reminded, ¡°I am talking about Concubine Hua. Why are you always talking about Run Xiang?¡±

    There were no misgivings about the Run Xiang. It was clear that Sun Meiniang harmed Run Xiang. But Luo Chuangu was not willing to reveal this in pubic because he was guilty of Sun Meiniang on this matter.

    A few months ago, Sun Meiniang¡¯s mother was ill, so she asked him to go with her to have a visit. He made up an excuse and didn¡¯t go with her. It was because he suddenly found that Run Xiang, who was always inseparable from Sun Meiniang, didn¡¯t follow her. Instead, Run Xiang stayed to check the ounts of the warehouse. He had coveted the woman who was as pitiful as white lotus root in her twenties for a long time. So, if not now, when?

    After the first unvoiced pact between Luo Chuangu and Run Xiang, Luo Chuangu often took any opportunity to have a date with Run Xiang when Sun Meiniang came back from Sun¡¯s Family, which was unknown to Sun Meiniang. After that, when he faced Sun Meiniang¡¯s virtuous face, he felt guilty. So, after hitting Ding Rong¡¯s wife just now, he decided not to investigate the issue of Run Xiang. But Concubine Hua was his concubine. How could a boy in her belly be stupid? He must find it out!

    He Danggui nodded with a smile and said, ¡°My Second Uncle, take it easy. The matter of Run Xiang is a transition. I¡¯ll talk about Concubine Huater.¡±

    Luo Chuangu pondered and then said, ¡°Regardless of Run Xiang. Anyway, her child can¡¯t be kept.¡±

    He Danggui shook her head and said with disapproval, ¡°No. If it¡¯s omitted, there is nothing interesting. Second Uncle, don¡¯t you like to invite storytellers toe home and hear stories from them? The story I am talking about is more interesting and more vivid than theirs because it is true.¡±

 Chapter 190 - A friend cost 300 liang silver

    <h4>Chapter 190 A friend cost 300 liang silver</h4>

    Luo Chuangu frowned and wondered whether to let He Danggui continue. What kind of ¡°real people and thing¡± was she talking about? He had talked that he would not investigate the case of Run Xiang. It was really his fault to vite Run Xiang surreptitiously. He had tried twice to hint Sun Meiniang, but she had not noticed. Well, Run Xiang was trapped in the woodshed by Sun Meiniang, so Run Xiang was probably dying now. Luo Chuangu could image that how angry Sun Meiniang was when she knew that Run Xiang was pregnant. After all, Run Xiang was her closest maid, who was at her side almost 24 hours one day. But he availed himself to make Run Xiang be pregnant.

    Luo Chuangu thought that he and Sun Meiniang reconciled in the matter of Run Xiang. But in the case of Hua Yu, who was the most favored woman that he had favored all these years, he could not reconcile it so hastily. He felt an unspeakable heartache when he looked at Hua Yu who was haggard, resentful and terrified. If He Danggui framed Hua Yu, he would let He Danggui pay with her life. If his wife Sun Meiniang did that, he would let Sun Meiniang kowtow and make an apology to Hua Yu!

    Guan Mo suddenly stood up. He bowed with hands sped to Madam Luo and said, ¡°Madam Luo, it¡¯s gettingte now, so I have to go.¡±

    After Madam Luo listened to the words of her granddaughter just now, especially when she heard that Guan Mo had put the informer into East Yard of Luo¡¯s Mansion, Madam Luo didn¡¯t like Guan Mo as much as she used to. The mansions hid informers and passed secret information to each other, which could only be done by the family of public officials in the capital. And it was one of the means of uniting with those who had the same views and alienating those who had different views in the court. However, Yang Zhou City was prosperous and peaceful. And no one entered the court and became an official in the East Yard of Luo¡¯s Mansion. Unexpectedly, there was a hidden informer. How puzzling it was!

    Even though Yi said that Guan Mo was taking revenge on her, which sounded childish, Madam Luo thought that Guan Mo did these crazy things only because he had fallen in love with Yi. However, Madam Luo had determined to reconsider the marriage. Guan Mo was bing less and less pleasant...

    No, Yi was still hanging by a thread. Once she was dead, she could not get married. And the eight immortal jujubes, which could be passed for generations...

    Madam Luo nodded with mixed thoughts and said, ¡°Second Childe, you can leave right now.¡±

    Guan Mo bowed down again, and he bypassed ¡°a lump of thing¡± on the ground with his head holding high, as if there was nothing there. He brushed the nonexistent dust from his gorgeous robe, lifted his leg over the threshold ruthlessly and walked away in the dark. ¡°The end of disobedience is death. Enjoy your death, my Sister He.¡± He thought.

    Guan Mo ran in the night wind and went directly to Tao Yao Yard. He wanted to find out what had happened to Shu Qin and whether she had a miscarriage. Then he would take her away by the way. Shu Qin, who was a considerate girl, was too humble to be sent to monitor He Danggui. If Shu Qin hadn¡¯t heard that he was determined to get a stubborn girl, and she hadn¡¯t really wanted to personally see the girl who bothered him, he would not have sent Shu Qin to He Danggui as a servant. He Danggui was unworthy of using his Shu Qin as a servant!

    Just now, Madam Luo secretly told Deng Cao to set off the signal bomb to call Pan Jingyang and Guang Hang, who both belonged to the Four Guards. And Madam Luo asked them to search the garden carefully to find out the odd Biddy Wen.

    It was so heavily guarded in Luo¡¯s Mansion that the old biddy could not get out of there. When the old biddy was found, she would ask the biddy to open the lock first, and then exin clearly whether the words were true or not that her second daughter-inw tried to harm Yi and prevent Yi to withdraw a confession. If these were just nonsense, the old biddy must exin it to Yi clearly, so as not to let Yi care too much to hurt the feelings of the family. Even if something bad happened to Yi this time, and Yi couldn¡¯t continue to quarrel with her Second Aunt, it must be exined clearly. If someone who was nosy talked about it when Luo Chuanxiong came back, wouldn¡¯t it be a knot in the heart that could never be solved? What a crazy biddy who talked nonsense!

    ¡°Madam...¡±

    Three people followed Li Jiuguang¡¯s wife to release Run Xiang, but only Biddy Zhao came back with empty hands.

    Biddy Zhao came in through the side door. She leaned over Madam Luo and whispered. Madam Luo¡¯s face immediately turned pale, and the tea cup was scratched by her long nails. People all over the room looked at the scene and wondered what happened. Was Run Xiang and her child frozen to death?

    ¡°Madam!¡±

    Pan Jingyang said, who was called to search for Biddy Wen. He saluted outside the main hall. Then Madam Luo nodded and beckoned him toe in.

    Pan Jingyang came in and strode over the corner of He Danggui¡¯s quilt. At this time, he realized that the girl in the way was actually Third Miss. So, he went back and asked surprisingly, ¡°What are you doing, Third Miss?¡± She was lying on the carpet with a lock on her neck and was covered in a quilt with half closed eyes... Was she sleeping?!

    He Danggui opened her eyes and said innocently, ¡°I am being punished. The elders suspected that I had something to do with a poisoning case. They hoped that wearing a lock could sober my mind up and make me speak more clearly.¡±

    He Danggui was unfamiliar with Pan Jingyang in her previous life. She had no idea whether he was loyal or treacherous. In this life, she saw that he was very deferential to Sun Meiniang when she met him at first time in Ting Zhu Yard, so she regarded him as ¡°the subordinate of Sun¡±. However,ter, Madam Luo assigned her and Zhu to live in the Tao Yao Yard, and asked Pan Jingyang to guard the entrance for a few days. At that time, Pan Jingyang was immune to both soft and hard tactics of Ding Rong¡¯s wife, and he never let Ding Rong¡¯s wife get into Tao Yao Yard to make troubles. Since then, He Danggui had a good impression on him.

    A year ago, He Danggui went out of the house secretly and was discovered by a spy who was arranged by Sun Meiniang in Tao Yao Yard. He Danggui didn¡¯t realize it inattentively, but on second thought, she noticed something was wrong. So, she turned back to find if there was anyone squatting around and waiting to get her faults. However, she found that Pan Jingyang was tying a servant behind the stone lion not far away. The servant was the gardener in her yard, who was the spy arranged by Sun Meiniang a few days ago. He Danggui realized immediately that Pan Jingyang was helping her catch the spy! It was strange that he was unfamiliar with her. So, why did he help her?

    She asked Pan Jingyang, and he answered truthfully that he had received 200 liang silver from Nie Chun to help guard the Tao Yao Yard until Third Miss was married.

    He Danggui was amazed by his words. She had never met Nie Chun after the ¡°itching powder event¡±. Nie Chun came back to Luo¡¯s Mansion asionally to greet Madam Luo only, and then he went away. He had nevere to meet her. Nie Chun was the creditor who had promised to teach her Kung Fu in the Bitter Bamboo Grove but failed to fulfill it. Why did Nie Chun spend money to help her get on well with others? Their contacts in this life was rarer than that in the previous life. And Nie Chun was also a murderous viin rather than such a good man that helped the weak and the poor! This mysterious Nie Chun had never appeared in front of her, so that she couldn¡¯t ask him for answers.

    In this way, Pan Jingyang helped He Danggui solve a lot of troubles for the reward of 200 liang silver. On several asions, he might even provide the ¡°heavyweight aid¡± which might offend Sun Meiniang, who was in charge of the family.

    He Danggui considered that the ¡°workload¡± of two hundred liang silver was almost used up. She dealt with Sun Meiniang more easily since she had the tacit help of Pan Jingyang. And when she went out, she didn¡¯t have to worry about that Sun Meiniang woulde to bully Chan Yi, Bo He and others. Therefore, she tended to spend 5 pieces of 100 liang silver bills to continue hire Pan Jingyang. Pan Jingyang didn¡¯t receive these at first, but he took one silver bill and gave back the other four to He Danggui due to her persistence. He said that this was the regr wage, which was clearly priced in the bodyguard business. So, he couldn¡¯t overcharge for fear of breaking the rules.

    After these contacts, He Danggui gradually regarded Pan Jingyang as ¡°the subordinate of He¡±. In the course of working in unison against Sun Meiniang, there was arade-in-arms friendship between them.

    In this way, He Danggui paid one hundred liang silver, and Nie Chun paid two hundred liang silver in advance. It costed 300 liang silver to hire a ¡°bodyguard friend¡±. It could be said that a new scenery had been found in this Luo¡¯s Mansion where the sense of warmth was very scarce. Look, after renascence, she could see a lot of scenery that she didn¡¯t have the chance to see in the previous life, which was also an unexpected harvest of insisting on living in this damn Luo¡¯s Mansion.

    Pan Jingyang frowned and stared at the half cor of the girl under the quilt. It was...blood! Smelling carefully, he found that she was surrounded by a strong smell of blood. There must be a lot of blood! Third Miss was injured! He wanted to open the quilt, but he immediately realized that it would be against the rules. So, he asked in a low voice, ¡°Are you seriously hurt? Should I beg Madam Luo to let you go?¡±

    He Danggui responded in a low voice as well, ¡°No, I am very good. Just listen to my breath. Are the seriously injured people as energetic as me? And Madam Luo is trying to unlock me instead of punishing me now.¡±

    After hearing her words, Pan Jingyang looked at the old stone lock. It looked very hard, and he wondered whether his knife could split it...

    When He Danggui saw Pan Jingyang¡¯s hand touching the knife at his waist, she found out his intention. She declined quickly, ¡°No, please stop! Well, Uncle Pan, you don¡¯t have to care about me. I¡¯m veryfortable with this lock. It¡¯s true. You can¡¯t cut my lock with your knife. Actually, I¡¯ll be a little dizzy when seeing the knife. I¡¯d better wait for the locksmith to open it.¡±

    Pan Jingyang felt uncertain and stopped his act of pulling the knife. What was Third Miss doing? Not only was her speech quite different from her previous temperament, but also there was a sense of nervousness in her voice. Was she truly dizzy when seeing the knife? It was impossible! He often saw her in the Peach Blossom Grove carrying arge knife and ying it powerfully. But there were too many moves. All of which were pretty and useless tricks. It was strange that the girl liked to y a big knife.

    However, when he got closer, he could feel that the breath of Third Miss was long and powerful. She really didn¡¯t look like an injured people. So, he left her alone for the time just as she said.

    In fact, Pan Jingyang was under 28 years old this year, so it was theatrical to be called ¡°Uncle Pan¡±. But he and Nie Chun were friends of the same generation. Since He Danggui called 32-year-old Nie Chun ¡°Uncle Nie¡±, she must call Pan Jingyang ¡°Uncle Pan¡±. At first, Pan Jingyang was really surprised by this title, but he got used to hearing it. Then he gradually felt warmer when he heard it.

    After sessfully driving Pan Jingyang away, He Danggui let out a sign of relief. This stone lock looked over 100 jin, but it was actually only about 5 jin, which was not as heavy as her little white wolf. The little white wolf without teeth three years ago had grown up now. It weighted more than 10 jin but still liked to jump on her shoulder to see the scenery. The wolf might think it could see farther in that way. Compared with the furry little white wolf, this fake lock was really much lighter.

    He Danggui didn¡¯t know where Bai Yangbai temporarily got such a thing and what material this ¡°stone lock¡± was made. It might be hollow. Just now, Guan Mo also was about to split the lock, and Bai Yangbai, who disguised as the dark-faced woman, tried his best to stop him, which showed that this ¡°stone lock¡± must be unusual. And if it was broken, it might be exposed. So, it was safer to open the lock in a normal way. Otherwise, she could also try to crush this fake lock with her deep internal force. But then, what the hell did funny Bai Yangbai run out to do? Why did he leave her here?

    After hearing about the report on the matter of Run Xiang by servants, Madam Luo looked gloomy. Her face was as same as Luo Chuangu¡¯s face in his normal expression. At this moment, Pan Jingyang just finished the contact with He Danggui and went forward to report back to Madam Luo. The words he said made everyone be startled, ¡°Madam Luo, Biddy Wen, the person you asked us to find, has been dead.¡±

    ¡°Dead?!¡± Several people in the room eximed at the same time, so that others could not distinguish who eximed.

    Madam Luo red at Pan Jingyang and said, ¡°Bring her to me, dead or live. Have you found her corpse?¡±

    Pan Jingyang nodded and said, ¡°We have found it by several wolf dogs. ording to the description of Deng Cao, Guang Hang and I got preliminary conclusion that the scorched corpse was Biddy Wen, who was the person that Madam Luo asked us to find. However, the spot is in chaos, and the key that Madam Luo is looking for has not been found yet. Oh, by the way, 2 lines of words are written on the wall above the head of the corpse, which may be... herst words!¡±

 Chapter 191 - An improper relationship between Sun Meiniang and the servant

    <h4>Chapter 191 An improper rtionship between Sun Meiniang and the servant</h4>

    ¡°Last words? What are thest words?!¡± Arge group of people asked in unison.

    At this time, He Danggui stopped lying on the ground and pretending to be dying. She kicked off the quilt and sat back on the small bench with her stone lock. Her long eyshes pped, and her cherry-red lips curved. She thought, ¡°What kind of tricks is Bai Yangbai ying? Isn¡¯t he afraid of backfiring? Ho-ho.¡±

    In the nervous and expectant eyes of everyone, Pan Jingyang hesitated for a while and then looked at the writing materials (brush, ink stick, paper and inkstone) on the corner cab. He said, ¡°Thest words... I¡¯ll write them down. Please wait a moment.¡± Walking to the corner cab, he picked up a brush and moistened it. Then he wrote down 2 lines with cursive style and then handed it to the nearest Zhang Huan¡¯s wife. He said with a spurious smile, ¡°It¡¯s probably a random note written by a crazy biddy. It shouldn¡¯t be true.¡±

    Zhang Huan¡¯s wife was recognizing those words while saying clearly, ¡°The servant Wu Jiu bragged when he was drunk that he had slept with Second Mistress Luo? He also said that there is a big red flower on Second Mistress Luo¡¯s inner thigh!¡± Zhang Huan¡¯s wife was shocked after reading it. She threw this paper away and thought, ¡°My oh my! What did I say just now? I said that Second Mistress Luo had an affair with Wu Jiu! I¡¯ll die! Second Mistress Luo will take revenge on me and kill me definitely!¡±

    The main hall was so quiet that there was no sound of breathing, as if the wind stopped blowing here as well.

    In the main hall, half of people looked at Second Mistress Luo¡¯s face, and the other half looked at her legs, as if they wanted to use their eyes to make a hole on her skirt to see if there was a ¡°big red flower¡± inside. This time, even He Danggui, who had been ustomed to Bai Yangbai¡¯s behaviors for many years, also couldn¡¯t adapt. Qianjun, you were so cute.

    After hearing thest words of Biddy Wen, the 2 people who responded the most were of course Sun Meiniang and Luo Chuangu. Luo Chuangu looked at Sun Meiniang, as if there were horns growing on her head and flowers blooming on her face suddenly. Sun Meiniang red at the piece of paper on the ground, as if she was looking at the heartless He Jingxian who had ruined her life.

    The red poppy on her leg was tattooed by He Jingxian before she married into Luo¡¯s Family. At that time, she passed out and woke up in pain several times. After her leg was tattooed it, her leg was so painful that she couldn¡¯t walk. When she could walk again, she went to the inn to find He Jingxian. However, he left the inn early. When she saw He Jingxian again, it was the time when he went to Luo¡¯s Mansion to marry Luo Chuanxiong. He rode on a horse in the middle of the avenue, and she stood beside the avenue. When his horse passed by her, his bright eyes saw her clearly. But he looked like a blind man with a poker face. He rode on the white horse superciliously, and gradually left away.

    Later, she married Luo Chuangu with this red poppy. She worried about what Luo Chuangu would think, so she tried her best to find out a secret potion that could temporarily conceal the tattoo. In order to buy that expensive potion, she was arrested for stealing the gold hairpin of the legitimate daughter of Sun¡¯s Mansion. She was ridiculed and despised by her whole family. Now, there were people who used this poppy as the evidence and wronged her for adultery!

    Seeing Second Mistress Luo who stared nkly, Luo Chuangu couldn¡¯t help keeping his grievance and anger that had umted in his heart for many years. This woman didn¡¯t blood after the wedding night. Besides, when she was pregnant with his son, she secretly took medicine and aborted their child. In addition, she was suspected of murdering his dear concubine. Now, she was exposed to have an affair with the servant! Well, what a talented woman Sun Meiniang! What a virtuous wife in Luo¡¯s Family! If the tattoo on her inner thigh was not seen by one¡¯s own eyes, how could anyone tell it? Not long after getting married, she suddenly got a flower tattoo on her inner thigh, which showed that she was not a well-behaved woman. He used to be blind in the past. He should think that she was virtuous!

    Well, well, well. What a shameless adulteress! Luo Chuangu threw himself down on Sun Meiniang. He rode on her to press her heart and clutched her neck. He just thought, ¡°Strangle her! Strangle her! Strangle her...¡±

    Sun Meiniang felt that it was difficult to breathe. Looking at the man¡¯s grim fat face, she suddenly remembered He Jingxian¡¯s handsome face and his bewitching smile on the opposite bank at Feast of Qushui Liushang many years ago. The 2 faces formed a strong contrast. She disgusted Luo Chuangu¡¯s face, while she pursued but failed to get He Jingxian, who made her toss and turn. Because Luo Chuangu pressed her heart, her eyes dulled, and she lost consciousness.

    Luo Chuangu was still like a demon. He only thought, ¡°Strangle her! Strangle her! Strangle her...¡±

    Everyone stared nkly for a moment, and then they btedly realized that Second Mistress Luo really got a big red flower tattooed on her leg, otherwise Second Lord would not be so excited. Madam Luo came to her sense firstly. She tremblingly pointed at the crowd and shouted, ¡°Pull Second Lord away! Hurry up!¡± The crowd rushed forward. Several strong servants took turns but couldn¡¯t pull Second Lord who had very little strength in ordinary days.

    Now, Luo Chuangu was like a heavy stone statue. He firmly pressed down on Second Mistress Luo. Ding Rong¡¯s wife weakly rushed to rescue Second Mistress Luo, but her chest was elbowed against by Luo Chuangu. She shouted, ¡°Ouch!¡± Then she became unconscious.

    Madam Luo was shaking with anger. What was all this about? A literacy Luo¡¯s Family with dignified medical schr unexpectedly had a farce that there was abortifacient in the antiabortifacient. But it seemed that the farce was not messy enough. Now, there was another scandal about the wife in charge of the family having an affair with the servant. Seeing her son was likely to strangle Sun Meiniang, Madam Luo was too anxious. Regardless of this issue¨Cwhether Sun Meiniang¡¯s affair was true or not, they had no right to kill the daughter of Sun¡¯s Family. Sun Yanbin, Second Mistress Luo¡¯s young brother, was a fair-haired guy in the Eastern Pce, and everyone tended to butter him up. Who dared to kill his sister Sun Meiniang, who had always been close to him!

    Seeing Madam Luo hurriedly scratched the table, Pan Jingyang, who was standing outside the crowd, squeezed in and stunned Luo Chuangu on his back neck with a hand.

    At this moment, Luo Chuangu and Sun Meiniang were both unconscious. Luo Chuangu lie on his stomach, while Sun Meiniang rolled her eyes, and there was a bruise on her fair neck. A group of servants and maids talked about the most surprising secret in disorder that happened just now. All the new things heard in the past 10 years were not as amazing as this one.

    Thest time they were so excited was when Luo Chuanxiong was sent back to Luo¡¯s Family from He¡¯s Family in the capital. It was said that He Jingxian took a dirty beggar into Luo Chuanxiong¡¯s room, and the beggar wanted to do something bad with her. Therefore, Luo Chuanxiong could not stay in He¡¯s Family anymore. She fled to Yangzhou City with her daughter overnight. At that time, Lord Luo Duzhong and First Madam Luo were alive. Lord Luo Duzhong was so angry that he rolled his eyes and fainted when he heard it. And First Madam Luo was so annoyed that she wanted to fall the infant Third Miss to death. Luo Chuanxiong cried and shouted. She seized her daughter back and fled into the garden. Therefore, First Madam Luo chased after them with a feather duster. The whole family was like a mess, which was even more chaotic than the scene that officials confiscated and robbers ransacked!

    They working in Luo¡¯s Family really had ¡°the benefits¡±. It could glut people¡¯s eyes and ears from time to time! Ha-ha!

    Seeing some servants were gloating, Madam Luo pounded the square table with anger and sternly shouted, ¡°Get all out of me! Get out of here!¡± So, a group of servants and maids gingerly left one by one.

    Madam Luo was disturbed by this matter. The talenteddy Sun Meiniang, whom she carefully selected for her beloved son more than 10 years ago, should be a shameless adulteress.

    Originally, the daughter of the concubine of Sun¡¯s Family could not be Luo Chuangu¡¯s wife. At that time, Madam Luo spent a lot of time to persuade her husband to allow the marriage. But when they went to Sun¡¯s Mansion to propose a marriage, Sun Meiniang refused. It took a long time for the engagement.

    Could it be said that the marriage was wrong, and this daughter-inw was also wrong? Could it be said that her own assertion had harmed her son¡¯s life? It made him fail to be sessful and even made him not have a son when he was 38 years old.

    Before Madam Luo got mad, there were nearly 30 people in the main hall. But now, only Shi Liu left here, who was carefully patting Madam Luo¡¯s chest.

    That group of servants loved to gossip. And they were specially found by Sun Meiniang. Sun Meiniang wanted them to spread the whole process of interrogating He Danggui. If the matter of Concubine Hua couldn¡¯t deliver vital blows to fling He Danggui down, Sun Meiniang would let these servants talk gossip about He Danggui, which could ruin her reputation and made her be groveling whether in Luo¡¯s Family or her husband¡¯s family! He Jingxian¡¯s daughter deserved to be treated like this!

    However, now that He Danggui had not been convicted, while Sun Meiniang was strangled to faint by her husband first. And the reason was the flower tattoo on Sun Meiniang¡¯s inner thigh was seen by a servant! When could a servant see her legs? Tomorrow, Luo¡¯s Mansion would consume 2 jin of tea more than usual definitely, because everyone would talk about this topic until they were thirsty.

    But Wu Jiu, who was hundreds of miles away, didn¡¯t know about it. Just because he went back to the countryside and visited his rtives, he was firstly referred to as Run Xiang¡¯s ¡°adulterer¡± by Ding Rong¡¯s wife. His leg was broken, and he was expelled from Luo¡¯s Mansion. Then he was arranged by Bai Yangbai. Now he had been Second Mistress Luo¡¯s ¡°adulterer¡±.

    After everyone left, Pan Jingyang asked Madam Luo, ¡°Madam, are you okay? Sorry, I don¡¯t know these st words¡¯ are so serious, otherwise I won¡¯t write them out.¡±

    Madam Luo waved her hand weakly and thought, ¡°Now that it happened, there is no need to call to ount. s, just found a way to solve the current plight first.¡± Looking at her son, daughter-inw, and Ding Rong¡¯s wife lying on the ground not far away, Madam Luo felt that she suddenly became older. Why did things turn out like this? Everything was fine in this morning. When she used breakfast, Yi came to pay respects to her and stayed with her lovely for a long time. They talked about what gifts would give to everyone this year...

    Everything was fine. Suddenly, Concubine Hua almost had an abortion; the murderer was identified as Yi, who was well-behaved; Yi wore a stone lock with bleeding all over and was dying; her son and her daughter-inw fought! What was wrong with Luo¡¯s Family? Luo Duzhong, what were you doing in heaven? Why didn¡¯t youe to bless your children and grandchildren!

    Suddenly, a tender and warm voice sounded at the door not far away, ¡°Don¡¯t be sad, Madam. Second Uncle was only angry at that time, so he had abnormal behaviors. Now he is under 40 years old, and it¡¯s in his prime of life. Why don¡¯t you worry him about having no heirs in the future? As for Second Aunt, I have no right toment. Second Uncle is also a real man. He is submissive to Second Aunt, not because he is afraid of her, but Second Uncle has the virtue of liberality, which ordinary people don¡¯t possess. If one day, Second Uncle can¡¯t bear it any more, he will have his decision. Luo¡¯s Family is a good family protected by the heaven. We have umted more than 10 generations of good fortune. How can something unfortunate happen?¡±

    These words were as soft as a breeze, which made Madam Luo feel a little bitfortable. But Madam Luo still shook her head and said, ¡°But, it was me who insisted the marriage between Chuangu and Sun Meiniang on that year. If Sun Meiniang is really a shameless hussy with bad behaviors, will I have face to see my son, and even see his father when I die?¡±

    He Danggui smiled and exined, ¡°Cats hide their ws. You are not an immortal, Madam. How can you predict things more than 10 yearster? Besides, we can¡¯t just rely on a sentence written by a lowly woman of Luo¡¯s Mansion before her death, and put such a big crime on Second Aunt. Maybe, everything is just a misunderstanding. We haven¡¯t heard my Second Aunt¡¯s opinion. How can we draw a conclusion on this? If it is a wrong case, doesn¡¯t it fail my Second Aunt¡¯s painstaking management and dedication in Luo¡¯s Family more than 10 years? Madam, please think carefully.¡±

 Chapter 192 - Ill breeding

    <h4>Chapter 192 Ill breeding</h4>

    When Madam Luo heard that He Danggui mentioned painstaking management of Sun Meiniang, her eyes twitched. She didn¡¯t know when more than half of the servants were loyal to Sun Meiniang. They even disobeyed her, the only senior elder, while Ding Rong¡¯s wife, one of Sun Meiniang¡¯s servants, couldmand them at will¡­ What did that mean?

    Why was Sun Meiniang so persistent in cultivating her loyal servants? As the wife of Second Branch, as long as something was owned by the Luo¡¯s Family, Sun Meiniang had never been short of it. But she was not satisfied and had to make some trouble secretly¡­ Although Madam Luo was old, her eyes were still clear, and she could see the truth. With the connivance of her, how many tricks did Sun Meiniang y?

    Luo Chuangu was Madam Luo most beloved son, who was not good atmunication,nguage appropriate to the asion and finance since he was young. On that year, Luo Chuanxiong mentioned that there was a talented girl named Sun Meiniang in Chengxu Academy, who was exquisite, clever, good at poetry and articles, and skilled in ounting. It made Madam Luo feel that Sun Meiniang was like herself when she was young. Madam Luo thought that such a daughter-inw would help Luo Chuangu. Moreover, the daughter-inw Zhao of the First Branch was very stupid. She couldn¡¯t even sort out the list of servants, let alone the ounts. Luo¡¯s Mansion needed a smart daughter-inw. If this smart daughter-inw was the wife of Madam Luo¡¯s beloved son, Luo Chuangu, when Madam Luo was not in charge of the mansion, it would be no different than the past¡­

    She was wrong, quite wrong!

    Sun Meiniang was not united with Madam Luo or Luo¡¯s Mansion. On the surface, she was in charge of East Yard, but secretly she built an independent kingdom of her own!

    She also cruelly killed Run Xiang¡¯s unborn child, who was Madam Luo¡¯s grandson!

    Thinking of it, Madam Luo shook her head and sighed, ¡°Is there any misunderstanding about this thing? I think it¡¯s a hard fact! Judging from Luo Chuangu¡¯s reaction just now, we can know that Sun Meiniang¡¯s leg clearly has the red flower. In addition, there is the dead Biddy Wen as a witness. Can herst words be false? Now there are all kinds of evidence. I didn¡¯t expect that the Sun¡¯s Family taught such a daughter! It disgraces Sun¡¯s family!¡±

    Madam Luo coughed repeatedly after saying this. Shi Liu pped her back in a hurry. He Danggui said softly, ¡°Don¡¯t be angry, Madam. Nothing is more important than your health. As the saying goes, children and grandchildren have their own lives. You should be more open-minded.¡± This was just the beginning. Now you were so angry. What could you do in the future? When Sun Meiniang¡¯s hypocritical veil was gradually exposed, you would sincerely feel that how unlucky Luo¡¯s Family was. Such a poisonous woman should marry into Luo¡¯s Family! Ho-ho.

    ¡°Madam, it¡¯s wrong. Second Mistress Luo is really wronged!¡±

    Ding Rong¡¯s wife, who was knocked by Luo Chuangu just now, woke up and heard Madam Luo say, ¡°There are all kinds of evidence.¡± Then she immediately exined, ¡°All the evidence is false. Second Mistress Luo is absolutely innocent. She is in charge of the chores of East Yard diligently. She doesn¡¯t even have time to take a nap, let alone go to find a servant!¡± Hearing it, He Danggui smiled. It meant that Sun Meiniang just didn¡¯t have time to carry on a ndestine love affair. If she got free one day, she might go to find a servant.

    In fact, what Ding Rong¡¯s wife said was true. There were hundreds of things in the Luo¡¯s Family every day. Sun Meiniang was not willing to let go of her power, so she had to deal with everything personally. Dong Xin of First Branch had contended with Sun Meiniang for 3 years, but Dong Xin only got a construction project of Luo¡¯s Mansion, Xiao Bi Bo Tian. The rest of the good things which people could get fringe benefits and misceneous things, Sun Meiniang was fully responsible, as if she did not want to be idle for a moment.

    There were two people who could make Sun Meiniang take time off. One was her daughter, Luo Baiqiong. She took her daughter as her embodiment, and she was determined to train her daughter to be a master and could trample others. The other was her niece, He Danggui. Sun Meiniang poured all her hatred for He Jingxian on this girl.

    In fact, Sun Meiniang¡¯s enemy lived in the capital aboveboard. He rode up to the Imperial Court every day. After the morning meeting broke up, he usually went to buy soybean milk and fried bread sticks for his wife. His life was happiness andfortable. Zeng Yuelian, Sun Meiniang¡¯s informer, lived a luxurious life in He¡¯s Mansion and got along with her enemy day and night. As long as Sun Meiniang took a gharry for a day and a night, she could go to the capital to see her enemy. She could kill her enemy by using Zeng Yuelian¡¯s 2 sisters as a threat. However, Sun Meiniang did nothing.

    Hating that man for a long time, she couldn¡¯t get rid of the hatred and live in in the world. As long as He Jingxian lived, she could always hate him and spend a happy day in Luo¡¯s Mansion. Therefore, He Jingxian couldn¡¯t die.

    Sun Meiniang did not dare to go to the capital to see He Jingxian. Every time when she remembered that evil but beautiful face, she could not help trembling. So, she really didn¡¯t have courage to see him again. As the saying went, when you were about to see someone you hadplex feelings, you would be timid. Sometimes, when she was hating He Jingxian, she would suddenly find that she seemed to have loved him, especially when shepared him with the loser Luo Chuangu.

    The culprit was the father of Luo Chuanxiong and Luo Chuangu. Why they want to connect through marriages!

    Luo Chuanxiong should not exist in this world. Before they got married, Sun Meiniang felt inferior when shepared with Luo Chuanxiong. Luo Chuanxiong was the only miss in the magnificent East Yard of Luo¡¯s Mansion. She was a legitimate daughter and was favored by her father, mother and aunt. She was even happier than the princess in the imperial city. While Sun Meiniang was a daughter of the concubine of Sun¡¯s Mansion. Her mother was old, ugly, and stupid. Her father had forgotten about them for a long time. Even if they wanted to die together, her father would not shed a tear.

    Why were their lives so different? Luo Chuanxiong was stupid. Her poems and articles were not good, but there were still people who praised her poems. They even said that Luo Chuanxiong was better than Li Qingzhao. Sun Meiniang made more efforts than Luo Chuanxiong, but Sun Meiniang could only be the focus of the public asionally.

    Destiny was not fair! Luo Chuanxiong didn¡¯t need to do anything but got He Jingxian to be her husband, who was excellent. Why? She didn¡¯t deserve it!

    Humph. Now Sun Meiniang¡¯s enemy He Jingxian and her rival Luo Chuanxiong¡¯s daughter was by her side. She didn¡¯t have to deal with those directly. As long as she trampled their daughter and let the girl experience the pain, she would be happier than directly dealing with the two enemies.

    He Danggui, you should repent of being born in this world!

    ¡°He Danggui!¡±

    Sun Meiniang, who passed out just now, suddenly woke up and looked at He Danggui, who looked like a red lotus swaying in the night wind. When Sun Meiniang looked at the cold eyes of He Danggui, Sun Meiniang gnashed the teeth in anger and said, ¡°I know. This is a trap that you set. You are secretly setting me up! You¡¯re uncultivated, vicious and treacherous. You will not have a good end!¡±

    Madam Luo was so surprised that she couldn¡¯t speak. It was the first time that she had seen Sun Meiniang speak like that, which made her feel so strange. Sun Meiniang told a lot of nonsense and used the most vicious curses to vent her emotions, just like a shrew. Where was the virtuous second daughter-inw?

    Ding Rong¡¯s wife struggled to get up from the ground. She moved to Sun Meiniang¡¯s side while kneeling. Then she embraced Sun Meiniang¡¯s waist and cried, ¡°Miss, you are innocent. Immortal knows. Immortal, open your eyes! What a mean and dirty bitch He Danggui was. She must have bought Biddy Wen over and conspired to against you. She will not have a good end!¡± She looked up to see Madam Luo and eximed sadly, ¡°Madam, since Miss married into Luo¡¯s Family, she has been diligent and dedicated to serving her parents-inw. She not only takes care of the housework, handles everything for Second Lord and selects beautiful women to serve him, but also gave birth to Second Miss and Fourth Miss. She has not made any mistakes! Don¡¯t you know what kind of person she is? How can you wrong her and wipe out her 10-year hard work by listening to the instigation of outsiders?¡±

    Hearing it, Madam Luo was a little moved. Sun Meiniang had been doing housework for the Luo¡¯s Family for more than 10 years. Did such a virtuous woman from an official family really have an affair with a servant? Before today, if someone told her that Sun Meiniang was unchaste, she would not believe it. But¡­

    ¡°However, the fact is so strong that you can¡¯t quibble!¡± Madam Luo said coldly, ¡°Sun Meiniang, do you really have a red flower tattoo on your leg? How can drunk Wu Jiu know about it? Even if I give you a chance to let you defend yourself because of your past hard work, how can you exin it?¡±

    Sun Meiniang got up from the ground with drooping eyelids and kowtowed to Madam Luo 3 times with tears. She said, ¡°Thank you for giving me a chance to defend myself. I¡¯m wronged. Don¡¯t you know what kind of person I am? I swear that I have never done anything sorry to Luo Chuangu. I am innocent! Madam, please think about it. The dark-faced Biddy Wen¡¯s origin is unknown. She said that I framed He Danggui and wanted to kill her. In my opinion, she and He Danggui are aplices!¡±

    Ding Rong¡¯s wife knelt down straight with tears in her eyes and said, ¡°What Second Mistress Luo said is right. I fell into the treacherous plot of that poisonous woman because I was negligent! Madam Luo, I am a superior servant. I went to the torture room to take a tool. How would I talk to an inferior servant like Biddy Wen? I just said, ¡®Madam Luo needs a small lock of more than 10 jin¡¯. That 100 jin lock was brought out by her own will!¡±

    Madam Luo said in a deep voice, ¡°Biddy Wen is dead, so we can¡¯t verify. What¡¯s the use of what you said? Although your words are reasonable¡­¡±

    ¡°Madam, I can guarantee it with my life.¡± Ding Rong¡¯s wife said and kowtowed with tears. She intercepted Madam Luo¡¯s words, and said tragically and decisively, ¡°If I lied, I would knock to death on the threshold on the spot!¡± She raised her hand and pointed to the threshold under the foot of He Danggui. Then she looked at He Danggui with a resentful look and said angrily, ¡°Even if you bribed Biddy Wen to frame us, there are so many people in the Luo¡¯s Family. Someone will stand up and uphold justice for us. We all know what kind of person you are and what kind of person Second Mistress Luo is. We are just embarrassed to say it. Justice naturally exists in people¡¯s hearts!¡±

    He Danggui stood by the door in silence like a silent ghost in the night wind. Madam Luo couldn¡¯t stand it. She frowned and scolded, ¡°Ding Rong¡¯s wife, don¡¯t be disrespectful to Yi, even you have some dignity. She is a master of the Luo¡¯s Family and also a child. Why do you have to say such harsh words to scare her.¡±

    Pan Jingyang couldn¡¯t stand it, and his gentle voice became cold. He said, ¡°Biddy Wen was chased and killed by a group of people sent by Administrator Ding, and then disappeared. When she was found again, she became a charred corpse. Isn¡¯t this very suspicious? Now Biddy Wen is dead, there¡¯s no testimony. Do you have any evidence that the Third Miss bribed her to frame Second Mistress Luo? When the matter is urgent, everyone can make a vicious oath. These oaths are not convincing.¡±

    Sun Meiniang¡¯s sharp eyes slowly crossed Pan Jingyang¡¯s handsome side face. In the past, she only thought that he was dull. Today, she realized that he was stupid. He was confused by He Danggui and united with her. Sun Meiniang thought that when she bobbed up like a cork in the future, she would get even with Pan Jingyang.

    ¡°Of course, I have the evidence.¡± Sun Meiniang sneered and said, ¡°Biddy Wen is an inferior servant and has never dealt with Ding Rong¡¯s wife. If I really want to kill He Danggui and order Ding Rong¡¯s wife to get the biggest stone lock to crush He Danggui, how can Ding Rong¡¯s wife, such a smart and prudent person, tell all our secrets to a person who met for the first time? Madam, have you ever seen such a fool?¡±

 Chapter 193 - A woman who walked on the blade

    <h4>Chapter 193 A woman who walked on the de</h4>

    Then, Madam Luo immediately felt that it was very reasonable. Yes, even if Sun Meiniang was really going to kill Yi, how could Biddy Wen know such a secret thing? Even if Sun Meiniang really nned any plot, she should be carried out secretly.

    When Sun Meiniang noticed that Madam Luo was moved, she further exined, ¡°You know me, Madam. Although I am stricter with this daughter of Chuanxiong, it is because she was raised in those wild viges outside, and it is inevitable that shecked parental control since her childhood. Chuanxiong has been indifferent to her all the time. I could have chosen not to care her and let her grow up in a bad direction. But, in the future, she will marry under the name of the Luo¡¯s Family. If she is still disrespectful to her elders, her future mother-inw won¡¯t stand herck of manners. At that time, the whole Luo¡¯s Family will lose face. You also saw what she has done to Guan Mo just now. Humph, she is so shameless that she thinks she is a fairy and will marry the Crown Prince in the future!¡±

    Hearing this, Pan Jingyang was angry and wanted to say something fair for Third Miss. However, he saw that although Third Miss wore a bloody dress and carried a stone lock, her face was strangely calm. Her ck eyes were like 2 deep wells that lured people to jump down. She must be very sad when she was scolded by someone. Besides, she had to endure her sorrow and continued to be punished here...

    Just now he didn¡¯t help her to open the lock because he saw that she was still in good spirits. But after she jumped out of the quilt, he found that her whole body was covered with blood. Although it seemed that the blood was not hers, he could not help worrying about her.

    As early as 2 years ago, he found that Third Miss was a woman who always walked on the de. In fact, there were more smooth roads on the left and right. For example, he had seen it with his own eyes several times that every time Childe Feng came to visit Madam Luo, Childe Feng always visited her with all kinds of precious gifts... Childe Feng should like her and give her a real home. She should be moved by the outstanding person like Childe Feng. However, she always left that person a merciless back. And then she continued to walk on the de.

    Was she the same now? Clearly, her wound was very painful, but she said no pain. She was stabbed by those words, but she hid her wound indifferently.

    ¡°Second Mistress Luo, I think you deviate from what we are talking about.¡± Pan Jingyang pointed out the problem, ¡°We are talking about Biddy Wen. Even if there is a certain degree of credibility in her words, what does it have to do with Third Miss? Third Miss is also a victim. Now she wears a heavy stone lock, and her shoulders are hurt badly. How could she be an aplice with Biddy Wen? Even if you feel wronged, you don¡¯t have to do everything to frame up Third Miss and vent your anger on her. Thest words were written by Biddy Wen, and were announced by me. If you have anyints, you can vent your anger on me.¡±

    Ding Rong¡¯s wife sneered and said, ¡°It was just her bitter trick. Biddy Wen said that there were leprosy virus and smallpox virus on the stone lock, but she still wore it so safely. It is obvious that there is something wrong.¡± Then she turned her head to look at Madam Luo and said, ¡°You can see. If the stone lock is really poisonous, she should at least cry, jump up and shake, right? So, I guess, she and Biddy Wen must be aplices, and that stone lock also has no poison at all!¡±

    Madam Luo looked at her granddaughter, who was standing by the door with the stone lock. As Ding Rong¡¯s wife said, she was m after contacting poison. If normal people heard that something on their bodies might contain poisonous snakes and insects, at least, they would have some performance of being frightened. Madam Luo frowned and didn¡¯t speak. Who said the true, Sun Meiniang or Yi? Madam Luo was confused. Mammy Tang and Miss Ji, who usually helped Madam Luo to analyze this kind of problems, went to the suburbs a few days ago to prepare for ancestor worship. Now things wereplicated and confusing. Who should she trust?

    He Danggui finally opened her mouth. She asked Pan Jingyang softly, ¡°Uncle Pan, I¡¯ve heard that wolfhounds have very sensitive noses and can never make mistakes in identifying things. Is this true?¡±

    Pan Jingyang was stunned for a moment. Then he nodded and replied, ¡°Of course, the wolfhound has always been the best helper for Yamen¡¯s guards. Luo¡¯s Mansion has always been stable, and this kind of wolfhound is not needed. But Guang Hang loves to domesticate beasts, so he raises several wolfhounds in the west yard. Unexpectedly, it came into y today. We let them smell the bedding of Biddy Wen in the torture room. Then, they took us to find the burned corpse. It is certain that it was the injured Biddy Wen.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for your detailed exnation.¡± He Danggui nodded her head and looked at Madam Luo. Her ck pupils were like ink, and seemed to have a kind of persuasive magic power. She said slowly, ¡°Madam, I was put on a heavy poison lock by Biddy Wen, and I was seriously injured in an instant. I am not painless. I am wronged. I want to cry, but my mother who care about me the most is not here. Who should I cry to? I¡¯m afraid when I hear that there are poisonous snakes in the stone lock. Administrator Ding said that I should jump up and shake. Ah, I guess that you have never worn a stone lock. Next time, Administrator Ding, you put on a pair of 10 jin small lock. If you can jump in ce, I will agree with you. Biddy Wen died miserably, and I am the next. There are Run Xiang and Concubine Hua. Sooner orter, the murderer will show her true face when she kills all the unruly people.¡±

    The voice so cold, like a de of ice, that Ding Rong¡¯s wife couldn¡¯t answer. It was the first time that she had seen He Danggui say sharp words.

    Pan Jingyang frowned and said, ¡°Don¡¯t say anything, Third Miss. I¡¯ll split the lock and let you free!¡± Then he stepped forward with a big stride. His right hand pressed on the handle of the knife on his waist. Seeing that Third Miss unconsciously stepped back half a step, he saidfortingly, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid. I¡¯ll not hurt you, let me try.¡±

    Pan Jingyang was about to draw his sword. Suddenly, a man who dressed in white flied here and became a bright spot in the night. The man was waving a folding fan while eximed, ¡°Guard Pan, don¡¯t move. Let me do it!¡± Then, he had already glided a few steps from the far to the main hall door. He stood behind He Danggui with the folding fan and chuckled. He said, ¡°Sister He, don¡¯t be sad. Your mother is not the only one who cares about you. I also care about you very much. And I¡¯ll help you get the damned stone lock away!¡±

    It was Feng Yang. Before He Danggui replied, he put his folding fan on the stone lock, which was on He Danggui¡¯s neck. At the same time, his right hand threw out a brocade bag and used it to cover He Danggui¡¯s whole head. Heforted, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid. I won¡¯t hurt you.¡± Feng Yang winked at Pan Jingyang and said with a smile, ¡°It may be a little dusty. Guard Pan, please stand outside the house.¡±

    After Pan Jingyang went out, Feng Yang shouted with a deep voice, ¡°Go!¡± Then, the most amazing thing happened. The whole stone lock suddenly exploded! It was broken into powders, instead of big or small stones. It was not quietly turned into a pile of fly ash, but suddenly, there was a big explosion that destroyed all things!

    Madam Luo, Sun Meiniang and Ding Rong¡¯s wife all cried with fright. Although He Danggui was covered with brocade bag and felt breathless, she couldn¡¯t think of any reason why Feng Yang would hurt her. So, she just stood still and waited to see what Feng Yang was going to do. Hearing the sound of the explosion in the sight of the dark, He Danggui was a little frightened. Feng Yang blew the stone lock up!

    After blowing up the stone lock, Feng Yang took off the headgear on He Danggui, and apologized, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Didn¡¯t scare you, did you? I¡¯m afraid that I may dirty your hair, so I use this to cover your head.¡± He pointed out the beautiful scene of the hall to He Danggui with a folding fan. It turned out that it ¡°snowed¡± in the whole room. Except for Madam Luo, who sat in the farthest distance, Sun Meiniang, Ding Rong¡¯s wife and Luo Chuangu, who was still in aa, were 3 ¡°snowmen¡±.

    It was just an explosion. He Danggui in the center of the explosion was still safe, but the stone lock had turned into very fine powders. Even a whole piece of small stone couldn¡¯t be found! Although He Danggui knew that this lock was fake, even if it was a fake lock made of wood or paper, it was really sensational to achieve this level with one stroke of folding fan? If the folding fan didn¡¯t point at the stone lock, but her shoulders, would she turn into powders?

    What a terrible man Feng Yang was. And he was destined to be her enemy.

    Ignoring Sun Meiniang and Ding Rong¡¯s wife who were already numb, Feng Yang in white lowered his head and untied his belt. Since he didn¡¯t untie it sessfully, he closed the folding fan and continued to untie the belt impatiently. He Danggui was surprised and said, ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    Feng Yang naturally said, ¡°I take off clothes for you to wear. It¡¯s so cold, and you hurt bad. How can you do without wearing more clothes?¡±

    He Danggui frowned and firmly said, ¡°Thank you for your kindness. You don¡¯t have to take off your clothes. I won¡¯t wear.¡±

    Although she didn¡¯t hate Feng Yang, she couldn¡¯t get along with Feng Yang calmly when she thought of the person Feng Yang represented. She even had obstacles to be amon friend with Feng Yang. However, although Feng Yang was not familiar with her character and temperament, he always looked like an old friend with her and made a very intimate gesture.

    He Danggui had not seen Feng Yang for nearly a year. At the moment, when she saw him, she really couldn¡¯t stand get along with a person who was closely rted to Zhu Quan, and she couldn¡¯t even wear his clothes. Although she did need a cloak to cover her bloody shoulders. Madam Luo and others could not see clearly from a distance. But if they approached at this time, He Danggui might be seen through.

    Feng Yang was untying his belt while smiling. He said happily, ¡°What are you doing so politely? I can take off any of my clothes to you as long as it is necessary. You know that.¡±

    He Danggui repeated coldly, ¡°I won¡¯t wear your clothes even if you take them off.¡±

    Pan Jingyang, who was stand outside the house, didn¡¯t understand why Third Miss was so resistant to Childe Feng. However, he could hear that there was no politeness or humility in her voice. Instead, there was a sense of resolute determination. It seemed that if Feng Yang handed over his clothes, she would immediately throw it to the ground. Therefore, Pan Jingyang came forward and said, ¡°Don¡¯t take off, Childe Feng. Let Third Miss wear mine.¡±

    With that, Pan Jingyang took off his nightly cloak and wrapped the bloody girl in it. He was so close that he had noticed that although the shoulders of Third Miss were soaked with blood, the dress on her shoulders was not worn at all, nor did it look like she was injured. It was strange that Third Miss was not hurt with 100 jin stone lock. Where did the bloode from all over her body? Such a strong blood gas made her injury look very lifelike. Even if someone looked at her closely, the person might not immediately find that Third Miss was not hurt.

    After wrapping up the cloak, He Danggui thanked Pan Jingyang firstly, and then thanked Feng Yang. Finally, she looked at Sun Meiniang and Ding Rong¡¯s wife, who were kneeling on the ground. She smiled and said, ¡°Second Aunt, you just said that I was in collusion with Biddy Wen, and the stone lock was free from virus and poisonous snakes and insects. Now Childe Feng helps me to untie the chain, and finally the truth is revealed. Please see.¡± She pointed to the ground not far away from them. There were a few small snakes lying there. One of them was still trembling slightly. Those small snakes were colorful and poisonous.

    He Danggui looked at Madam Luo and said, ¡°Madam, with this, can I prove my innocence? As to whether the stone lock has leprosy virus and smallpox virus, we have to wait and see.¡±

    At this time, Sun Meiniang, who was covered with stone powder and saw the poisonous snake at first sight, was no longer as noble and calm as before. She couldn¡¯t help shaking.

    He Danggui shook her head and sighed, ¡°But this time, there are 3 more ¡®experimental objects¡¯. My Second Uncle, Second Aunt and Administrator Ding apany me to wait for the results. I am really¡­ttered.¡±

 Chapter 194 - Feng Yang strolled and enjoyed the moon

    <h4>Chapter 194 Feng Yang strolled and enjoyed the moon</h4>

    As soon as Madam Luo heard this, she got panicked and quickly red at Pan Jingyang. She said, ¡°Hurry up! Go to Nanyuan Medicine Pavilion and ask all the doctors toe here at once! Then go to Doctor Ma¡¯s and Doctor Wu¡¯s home and ask them toe here, too! Let them take all the medical books about leprosy here!¡± Luo Chuangu should get stone powder that contained leprosy virus. How to do! What an unlucky day! After Yi¡¯s illness, even Luo Chuangu might lose his life!

    However, the one who broke the stone lock was Yang. Whether considering the rtionship with Feng Jiugu or the amazing reputation of Feng¡¯s Family in the past 2 years, Madam Luo couldn¡¯t use Feng Yang. Even if Luo Chuangu was really infected with the disease and died, Madam Luo couldn¡¯t ask Feng Yang topensate. Hatefully, Biddy Wen was to me. Since she appeared, bad things happened frequently.

    Now it seemed that the stone lock was really as same as what Biddy Wen said¨Cwith deadly poisonous snakes, which could prove that Yi was innocent. Yi didn¡¯t bribe Biddy Wen to lie. Well, were Biddy Wen¡¯sst words true or false? Although Sun Meiniang imed that she was wronged, how could outsiders know the tattoo on her legs?

    Madam Luo pondered. Her son, Luo Chuangu, had abnormal expression just now, and he confirmed the affair between Sun Meiniang and the servant without asking even a question. Could it not be the first time that this kind of clue had appeared? Could something happen before, which made Luo Chuangu feel that Sun Meiniang was unfaithful? But Luo Chuangu was cowardly, while Sun Meiniang had a silver tongue. A few words of Sun Meiniang could deceive Luo Chuangu and keep him silent. So, Luo Chuangu was abnormally excited after hearing the affair of Sun Meiniang this time?

    The more Madam Luo thought, the more she felt that was possible. In this way, it could exin why her gentle and taciturn son suddenly became crazy and was different from before, which was really unusual...

    In this way, Madam Luo¡¯s eyes toward Sun Meiniang had be unprecedented harsh. How much sincerity did this woman have in treating her son? Just now, Luo Chuangu asked 2 guards about his doubts and couldn¡¯t get an answer. He just asked Sun Meiniang one more sentence, but Sun Meiniang was very impatient and lost her temper. In particr, they were being in front of outsiders. After they returned home and closed the door, how terrible Sun Meiniang¡¯s attitude toward her son could be!

    On the other side, He Danggui didn¡¯t notice Madam Luo¡¯s expression. Just after the white powder flew all over the sky, she found a few poisonous snakes on the ground. So, she pointed them to Sun Meiniang and others. Even if she could not defeat them, she would frighten them. Sure enough, at the moment, Sun Meiniang and her servant had been scared out of their souls. They quickly scrambled away and kept away from those snakes. While they tried their best to shake off the poisonous powder on their bodies, the agates and jadeites on Sun Meiniang¡¯s head fell to the ground and many valuable jewelries were broken.

    Although He Danggui enjoyed watching it, she also got angry secretly. How could Bai Yangbai really put poisonous snakes on the lock? She thought, ¡°You even schemed my life, didn¡¯t you? That¡¯s unexpected. I regard you as my best friend.¡±

    Madam Luo suddenly looked at He Danggui and said in a softer voice, ¡°Yi, it seems that I wronged you. Just now I didn¡¯t give you a chance to exin and let you wear the stone lock. I was wrong. Now the lock has been removed. Just tell me if you have any grievances. I¡¯ll help you!¡±

    He Danggui realized that Madam Luo wanted her to be a gun to beat and test Sun Meiniang, just like Luo Chuangu did before.

    It was just what He Danggui wanted, so she seized this opportunity to say, ¡°Grandmother, I¡¯m really wronged. I knew nothing about Concubine Hua, but I was charged with poisoning. Later, Administrator Ding ran to torture room and found a strange old woman that I had never seen before. That woman put a big lock with a hundred jin on me, which was stained with poisonous insects and snakes. I was afraid and painful at that time. Then I did not know what kind of dispute she had with Second Aunt and others. She said that Second Aunt was going to crush me with the lock and let me shut uppletely. She wanted to suppress the crime of murdering Concubine Hua. As the victim, I had not asked about the situation, but Second Aunt, the initiator, took the lead in making a fuss. She said that I bribed Biddy Wen and we conspired to frame her up, which was extremely ridiculous...¡±

    ¡°You said who was the initiator? Don¡¯t frame up, He Danggui!¡± Ding Rong¡¯s wife yelled while patting the poisonous powder on her sleeves.

    Madam Luo nced at Ding Rong¡¯s wife sullenly and said in a cold voice, ¡°Don¡¯t interrupt her and let her finish what she wanted to say. Since I gave you a chance to speak just now, I should treat her equally and let her tell her grievances.¡± Now Madam Luo really felt that Sun Meiniang and her servant were guilty so that they deliberately stopped Yi speaking, which was really questionable.

    Feng Yang gantly served up an old-fashioned chair and held a cup of steaming ck tea. He grinned and said, ¡°This tea was taken from the next-door room, without a drop of poisonous powder. You can drink a little to moisten your throat. It will bruise your throat to say such grievances. I have experience in this kind of thing.¡±

    He Danggui nodded to thank him and drank half a cup. Then she continued to pour out her heart bitterly, ¡°Second Aunt and others said that they were not familiar with Biddy Wen. Was I acquainted with that old woman? That old woman was the one that Administrator Ding called for. When she got to main hall, she locked me up. How could I bribe a stranger that I had never met? Administrator Ding said that it was a lock with only 10 jin, but even a fool could see that people would be killed by it. At that time, Biddy Wen said that the lock was stained with smallpox virus, but Administrator Ding said in surprise, ¡®Didn¡¯t you said that it was leprosy virus?¡¯ It could be seen that she knew that the lock was stained with leprosy virus, but she still let me wear the lock. Didn¡¯t she want to kill me? In this way, Biddy Wen said nothing wrong. Second Aunt undoubtedly wanted to kill me, and the reason was really meaningful!¡±

    Feng Yang nodded and said, ¡°It was reasonable. Although I didn¡¯t know what happened, I do know that you stand aloof from worldly sess. You never hurt others, but others always hurt you.¡±

    Sun Meiniang¡¯s blood suddenly rushed to the top of her head. She sneered and said, ¡°Pan Jingyang has gone, but Feng Yang has arrived. You have so many helpers, He Danggui. It¡¯s a matter of fact that you changed medicine to poison Concubine Hua. At least 10 people saw that you had changed Concubine Hua¡¯s medicinal pack. You said you were wronged. Weren¡¯t all those people blind together?¡±

    He Danggui drooped her eyes and did not say anything. Her statement had only a point that weren¡¯t tenable. And she also couldn¡¯t answer this only question. Because she did change Concubine Hua¡¯s medicinal pack. She secretly added a few herbs to neutralize cold property of the original herbs which could let Concubine Hua miscarry. The original herbs were given by Sun Meiniang. However, He Danggui could not exin in this way. On the one hand, no one knew that she was well versed in pharmacology. On the other hand, no one would believe that she had done such a good deed in silence, which was just like that no one would believe that Sun Meiniang had been poisoning Concubine Hua¡¯s fetus.

    He Danggui was sure that she changed the medicine covertly. In theory, no one would witness this incident. However, Sun Meiniang brought out more than 10 witnesses. It seemed that Sun Meiniang had made a trap early andid ambush for her. Ah, it was a good plot.

    Seeing that He Danggui who was garrulous just now became mute, Sun Meiniang was verycent. When she was about to interrogate He Danggui further, Feng Yang suddenly analyzed in a deep voice, ¡°What you saw may not be true. I absolutely believe in the character of Sister He. Everyone needs a reason when doing anything. I don¡¯t know what benefits could she get from hurting Concubine Hua. On the other hand, if Concubine Hua and her baby fall ill, who will be stoked secretly? Even if you didn¡¯t understand it, you canpare it with the affair of Run Xiang.¡±

    ¡°Childe Feng, how did you know about the affair of Concubine Hua¡¯s baby and Run Xiang?¡± He Danggui was surprised and asked the question that others also wanted to ask.

    Feng Yang answered calmly, ¡°The moon seemed very nice tonight, so I walked under the sky and enjoyed the moon. And then I stepped into your mansion. I thought Madam Luo always loves me a lot. Even if asionally I take a rest in your mansion uninvitedly, she will not me me forck of rules. Therefore, Iy on the roof of side hall to sleep and enjoy the moon. But I was woken up by your voice and heard some key words in your conversation.¡±

    The words were quite in line with Feng Yang¡¯s behavior, so He Danggui and Madam Luo immediately believed him. By the way, He Danggui said, ¡°Childe Feng¡¯s analysis is right. I¡¯m not familiar with Concubine Hua. Only once in the garden, her ck cat suddenly jumped on me. I was frightened and pushed the cat carelessly. The cat fell into theke and drowned before someone arrived to rescue it. I felt so sorry, so I bought a new cat and visited Concubine Hua to apologize. But Concubine Hua was too sad to meet me. Since then I have never seen her again. I did offend Concubine Hua, so she was dissatisfied with me. But I didn¡¯t have any hatred for her. What benefit would I get if something happens to her baby?¡±

    The words that He Danggui said were almost right. But in fact, she didn¡¯t control her power well, and the cat was half dead before it drowned. So, He Danggui felt a little sorry for this. She held some meaning ofpensation and changed medicine for Concubine Hua in secret to keep her baby.

    But she didn¡¯t expect that Concubine Hua wronged a kind-hearted person. It didn¡¯t matter that Concubine Hua didn¡¯t appreciate her, but under Sun Meiniang¡¯s tough threat, Concubine Hua should choose to make friends with a tiger. Knowing that the real murderer was Sun Meiniang, Concubine Hua still lied with eyes opened and cooperated with Sun Meiniang to falsely use her. Once He Danggui only said that Concubine Hua had no brain. Now it seemed that Concubine Hua was really mindless. How many years could she live under Sun Meiniang¡¯s control?

    Feng Yang was surprised and said, ¡°Oh, the hatred just originated from a cat. Concubine Hua is too petty, isn¡¯t she? If she could have hatred to kill people only because of a cat, how much resentment she would have when she usually ate, dressed and grabbed her husband. ording to her logic, she had been cut to death more than 10 times. How could she testify against you!¡±

    He Danggui chimed in with him, ¡°Thank you for being so outspoken, Childe Feng. I think so. I¡¯m so cautious and have to say ¡°Amitabha¡± in the mansion in case of offending others. How could I hurt others initiatively? Once, when I was sitting in the Tao Yao Yard and embroidering, Second Aunt brought a group of people with knives and sticks to search for something in my yard and made a mess. The wall was also pushed down. Didn¡¯t I admit that I was unlucky? And since then, didn¡¯t I be more cautious?¡±

    After hearing this, Feng Yang felt sympathy and sighed, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that you should live such a miserable life in Luo¡¯s Mansion. I¡¯m so sad to hear that. I admired you for a long time. Originally, I wanted to ask Madam Luo for you when you grew up. Now, I can¡¯t wait any longer. Otherwise, when Ie to see you next time, you will be gnawed by Second Aunt and others. They will not leave any residue of you. Sister He, go with me now.¡±

    Then, he stared at the eyes of the beauty in front of him. She was stunned at first, and then was like to eat him in the next moment. He immediately felt in a good mood. He thought, ¡°You schemed me every time before. It wasn¡¯t expected that you were schemed by me this time, girl.¡±

 Chapter 195 - The sting was to the point

    <h4>Chapter 195 The sting was to the point</h4>

    He Danggui pushed herself out of the chair, whose ears were humming unconsciously. Feng Yang... he was taking her away for that person!

    She gnashed her teeth and murmured, ¡°Feng Yang, you can whistle for it unless you take my corpse.¡± Bai Yangbai, where were you? Came to help me. Anyone was okay as long as he or she could stop the deal between Madam Luo and Feng Yang!

    Feng Yang was shocked by the unmistakable ruthlessness in her words. What happened to this girl? After a pause, Feng Yang turned head to Madam Luo and said with a smile, ¡°Ha-ha, well, I¡¯m just kidding. Actually, I¡¯ve newly opened a Daming Teahouse. I have appreciated Sister He¡¯s tea art for a long time, so I¡¯d like to invite her to make some cups of tea. Well, drinking a little tea is better to calm down, isn¡¯t it? My sister He?¡±

    The emotion of Madam Luo wasforted by his words, yet He Danggui¡¯s hatred towards him was increasingly growing stronger. Well, what a damn matter was that? He drove her to hell first, and then pulled her in half with a rope to tell her how beautiful the world was. As she received his gift for thest time one year ago, she had made three rules with him. The second one was that he should be cautious in his words and deeds. He should not talk nonsense in front of Madam Luo, so that Madam Luo would not have wrong thoughts and make some stupidities, like deciding a wrong marriage for her.

    Feng Yang readily promised at that time. However, he tried to sound out Madam Luo and her with some words today. Was this a deration of broken agreement between them? At the beginning, he had just been coaxing the little girl, casually coping with a few promises. But now the ¡°wire-puller¡± had issued the instruction, so Feng Yang did not hesitate to implement it, right?

    Feng Yang felt the strong anger of He Danggui, so he apologized to her twice again. He Danggui stood a little farther away from him, facing him with the back of her head, and whispered, ¡°I will not agree. Never.¡±

    Madam Luo had mixed feeling when hearing that Feng Yang proposed to marry her granddaughter Yi. What she was pleased with was that Feng Yang was the best candidate for her granddaughter¡¯s husband, because she had aplete understanding of him. If her granddaughter married into Feng¡¯s Family, it would be convenient to go back natal family. Originally, there were 2 such candidates. But she had a bad impression on Guan Mo tonight, so Feng Yang¡¯s proposal had coincided with Madam Luo¡¯s n.

    However, Madam Luo was a little worried. A few days ago, the mammy around Shao came to report that Shao had been attracted to Feng Yang because of a chance encounter in the street. Now Shao only wrote ¡°Feng Yang¡± these 2 characters in calligraphy practice.

    Madam Luo couldn¡¯t help but feel puzzled after hearing this. In these 2 years, Shao had be more and more gloomy, and been not very friendly in dealing with people and things. Now that Shao had fallen in love with Feng Yang, should she arrange these 2 people to get married to improve the rtionship between her and Shao? But the left hand of Shao had been burned and Shao became disabled. It was not sure if Feng Yang would like her. Even if Feng Yang agreed to this marriage, Shao could only be his concubine. Originally, Madam Luo was going to give Shao a uxorilocal marriage and let Shao marry to a talented person from a poor family, so that they could live in East Yard of Luo¡¯s Mansion all the time.

    But Feng Yang was not so serious. Before Madam Luo could express her intention, Feng Yang had canceled the informal marriage proposal just now. He said that he just made a joke, didn¡¯t he? This joke was not funny at all. No one in the room wasughing.

    He Danggui took the lead in saying, ¡°Madam Luo, Yi is very happy to live in Luo¡¯s Mansion although I am disturbed by Second Aunt asionally. It has always been my dream to greet Madam Luo every day and listen to the teachings. Until now, I have only listened to the teachings for three years. I still want to listen to them for a few more years.¡± Madam Luo had been so active recently to think about setting a marriage rtionship for her. Her ¡°n of marriage proposal¡± with Bai Yangbai must be implemented as soon as possible. And it must be implemented before Feng Yang, a troublesome figure, asked for marriage proposal.

    It seemed that what she expected was right. Zhu Quan had no time to give her a false status as a superior, and he was afraid that she would be married out for time-wasting. He simply asked Feng Yang to take her away and lock her up. Zhu Quan woulde to Yangzhou City to enjoy the flowers when he was free. In this way, she did not even count as Zhu Quan¡¯s concubine, and the oath, ¡°Marrying her as a concubine would result in the loss of children and grandchildren¡±, made by him became useless. No, she must deal with the trouble between Feng Yang and her as soon as possible. She couldn¡¯t deal with him courteously but without sincerity.

    Madam Luo stared at Yi and Feng Yang, but she could not know what they were thinking. She simply put aside the matter for the time being and nned to consider itter. ¡°Yi, when your Second Uncle just asked you about the matter of Hua Yu, you said that you would tell him a story.¡± Madam Luo asked, ¡°What kind of story of ¡®real people and thing¡¯ is?¡±

    When He Danggui looked at Luo Chuangu, who was unconscious like a snowman on the ground, she couldn¡¯t help but smile. She said, ¡°Now my Second Uncle has been severely injured. First, Hua Yu¡¯s fetus had a problem. Then, Run Xiang, the waiting-maid, was pregnant, but now she is tortured for being used of misbehavior. Her fetus might not survive. Finally, news came out that Wu Jiu, who is a ¡°beau¡± of Run Xiang, said when he got drunk that Second Mistress¡¯s leg has a tattoo, which he has seen with his own eyes. Now the chaos at home is more wonderful than the story of a storyteller, and even my story is inferior byparison. Madam, look, after my Second Aunt woke up after being strangled by my Second Uncle, she didn¡¯t even look at my Second Uncle, but let him face down as if he was dead. However, she immediately kowtowed to you and exined. What does this mean?¡±

    Madam Luo squinted her eyes and asked, ¡°What does it mean?¡± Could it be said that Yi had seen that, too?

    Regardless of the sharp gazes of the Sun Meiniang and her servant, He Danggui said slowly, ¡°My Second Aunt is the most eloquent person in the world and is good at sophistry. Actually, it has been a matter of fact, and there is nothing to question. But she just touched Madam with only a few words, and Madam was even believed that she is innocent. My Second Uncle is generous and soft-hearted, so he will be easy to feel reassured only if my Second Aunt fools him with a few words. Thus, she doesn¡¯t pay any attention to him. Just imagine, when a woman was charged with such a crime, shouldn¡¯t she exin it clearly to her husband at the first time?¡±

    ¡°He Danggui, what do you think you are? How dare you talk about my business?¡± Sun Meiniang was furious and said, ¡°If our Luo¡¯s Family hadn¡¯t taken you in, you would have starved to death in the street. We sent you to the academy to study. You didn¡¯t learn anything else, but first learned to tell tales and frame the elders! What a shameless bitch! How dare you seduce Pan Jingyang and Feng Yang again!¡±

    ¡°Second Aunt, since you are an elder, you must be like an elder when you speak. Otherwise, when you say something that are beneath your dignity, the first thing others willugh at is not my conduct, but yours.¡± She pulled her mantle on the ground after a gust of night wind. Then she said unhurriedly, ¡°I owed it to my grandfather and Madam Luo¡¯s kindness to be named Third Miss of Luo¡¯s Mansion, so my identity is Third Miss of Luo¡¯s Mansion. I always pay attention to my identity in every word and action, walking without showing my feet and smiling without showing my teeth. I am being well-behaved as Third Miss, and I don¡¯t know what ¡®seduce¡¯ means.¡±

    Sun Meiniang snorted coldly, but she could not refute it. Mammy Shangguan who came out of the Pce said in public that the words, deeds and manners of Third Miss were the best of all the Misses not only in Luo¡¯s family, but also in Yangzhou City. Mammy Shangguan said that Third Miss could integrate those etiquette standards into every daily thing and do it perfectly, which let people pick out no ws.

    He Danggui showed the sting in her words, ¡°Even though you are my elder, Second Aunt, you have be a junior in front of Madam Luo. Madam Luo took me in and cherished me. It is the grace of Madam Luo herself, but you repeatedly spoke ¡°on behalf of¡± the entire Luo¡¯s Family in front of Madam Luo. You usually threatened me that Luo¡¯s Family can drive me out at any time. My status is low, and I don¡¯t dare to say anything more. But I just want to ask you whether the most authoritative person in Luo¡¯s Family now is Madam Luo or Second Aunt? Madam Luo leaves me in Luo¡¯s Family, but Second Aunt wants to drive me out. So, who should I obey?¡±

    Sun Meiniang¡¯s face changed rapidly when she heard this. The damned girl even disrupted her rtionship with Madam Luo and made Madam Luo scruple her. It was so insidious that He Danggui directly cut the ground from under her.

    ¡°Madam Luo, don¡¯t listen to her nonsense. I never said that I would drive her out of Luo¡¯s Family. She was too careful. As long as any elder said something about her, or a servant was slightly disrespectful to her, she suspected that they were driving her away.¡± Sun Meiniang said bitterly, ¡°You have known how to tell tales about the elders since you are young. It can be seen how difficult you will be when you grow up. Originally, I wanted to discipline you for your mother. Now that you are so ignorant. It¡¯s all right. Well, I will not care about you from now on. I¡¯ll see what kind of monster you will be.¡±

    ¡°Madam Luo, look, my Second Aunt is quibbling again,¡± He Danggui pointed out, ¡°This is a typical unreasonable argument. When she fails, she will be unreasonable and importunate. Only by this way can distract people¡¯s attention. Originally, you asked me to ¡®tell a story¡¯, and I told my ¡®story¡¯ well. But now I don¡¯t know where I have told because my Second Aunt disturbed me. What I talked about just now is that my Second Aunt has no respect for her husband and was perfunctory. In a sh, the discussion turned to something about my growth. It doesn¡¯t make sense to reason well with her. At ordinary times, does she also fool my Second Uncle like this?¡±

    Madam Luo was shocked when she looked at her weak son in aa. In those years, he married a powerful wife, because Madam Luo wanted him to deal with less business at home and go outside to start a career. But she didn¡¯t except that in the past ten years, there was no fame. No grandson was born in the family, and two granddaughters were more spoiled. Was it because the powerful daughter-inw fooled him on the face and framed him behind his back?

    Seeing that the eyes of Madam Luo were not in harmony, Ding Rong¡¯s wife got heated and yelled, ¡°Madam Luo, you can¡¯t believe her nonsense. Lord and Mistress are in harmony with each other, and show great respect for each other. They have never quarreled. Why does He Danggui as an outsider talk about the matter of our Second Branch?¡±

    He Danggui looked at Madam Luo with innocent eyes and said, ¡°Madam Luo, the person who ¡®lets me shut up¡¯ hase again. I dare not say anymore.¡±

    ¡°Go ahead!¡± Madam Luo said in a deep voice, ¡°I approve of you!¡±

    He Danggui got the approval, so she continued, ¡°Just now we talked about thest words of Biddy Wen and the tattoo of my Second Aunt. Even though we don¡¯t know why my Second Uncle was so excited after hearing it, but it could be realized that my Second Uncle was really angry with fierce eyes. He wanted to kill Second Aunt to vent his anger. Why was my Second Uncle so angry? Wasn¡¯t it the first time that he has encountered this kind of thing? And he was too silence to report those to Madam Luo?¡±

    Sun Meiniang gritted her teeth and sneered. She said, ¡°Hum, wake him up! Go and ask him! Ask him how I deceived him!¡±

    He Danggui turned a deaf ear and said, ¡°Forgive me, I really can¡¯t agree with the excuses made by Administer Ding. Is it ridiculous that she said that my Second Aunt was too busy with her business to have a private meeting with the servant? Administer Ding also counted the contribution of my Second Aunt. It is clear that Administer Ding prides my Second Aunt on being veteran. Could Second Aunt show the tattoo on her leg to others because of her status as a wife in charge of the family? As for the contribution of my Second Aunt, of course, she is very busy and has sent many beauties to her husband. But my Second Uncle is nearly forty years old and didn¡¯t have a son. Everyone said that my Second Aunt once was the number one female schr, but she failed repeatedly in Second Uncle¡¯s business. He spent money being an official but made some troubles after a few days. Which embodies the contribution of my Second Aunt?¡±

    Ding Rong¡¯s wife really wanted to strangle this girl with her own hands. She really regretted that when she went to the farm to spy on this girl, she couldn¡¯t find an unmanned corner and a belt to strangle her. If she had killed this evil girl in those years, maybe Second Mistress Luo would have given up her hatred and lived a peaceful andfortable life. And there would have been such a girl here saying nonsense! What a malicious one! He Danggui had hidden the knife for 3 years, and now she took it out to stab people!

 Chapter 196 - The enigmatic master foresaw

    <h4>Chapter 196 The enigmatic master foresaw</h4>

    Ding Rong¡¯s wife kept kowtowing to Madam Luo until bleeding, and said miserably, ¡°Madam, you cannot listen to rumors, but treat Second Mistress Luo unjustly. What kind of people Wu Jiu is? How could she have anything to do with him? She does not know him at all! Besides, I have just said that Wu Jiu and Run Xiang are a couple. If Second Mistress Luo really has something to do with Wu Jiu, how could I mention his name in public? Did I make my master be ufortable intentionally?¡±

    Madam Luo nodded. That was right. If Wu Jiu were Sun Meiniang¡¯s adulterer, Ding Rong¡¯s wife certainly would not mention the name in public. Was there any misunderstanding?

    Feng Yang smiled and said, ¡°It seems that Wu Jiu is the key figure now. Why not call him over for a confrontation?¡±

    Ding Rong¡¯s wife stunned for a moment, and forced herself to answer, ¡°Childe Feng, you don¡¯t know. Wu Jiu was thrown out with his broken legs when he was found to fornicate with Run Xiang. Now a few days passed, I don¡¯t know where to find him, and we are short of manpower during New Year. Even if we have extra people, we may not find that flunkey.¡±

    Feng Yang muttered and said, ¡°This is easy to do. You are short of hands, but the people in my family have nothing to do. Why don¡¯t I help you to find Wu Jiu?¡±

    Ding Rong¡¯s wife and Sun Meiniang exchanged a deep look. No one knew what emotion contact they had. Then, Ding Rong¡¯s wife gritted her teeth and said, ¡°Well, thank you, Childe Feng, for your generous help. If he can be found out, he will prove that Second Mistress Luo is innocent.¡±

    Ding Rong¡¯s wife thought that it was so difficult to find Wu Jiu. As long as the servants involved said nothing, just let Feng Yang fumble. To say the least, even if Feng Yang found Wu Jiu and asked him to rify all things he knew under severe punishment, although she would be used of framing Run Xiang, and Second Mistress Luo also would be used of maltreating Run Xiang, Second Mistress Luo could clear the usation of adultery. It was self-evident which of these 2 crimes was more severe. As long as Second Mistress Luo was innocent, whatever she did could be forgiven. Run Xiang was nothing but a flunky, and her life belonged to her owner, which could be controlled as the owner¡¯s wish. All terms were listed on the Indenture of Sale.

    Feng Yang thought for a moment and said, ¡°Please find a few ones who are acquainted with Wu Jiu, and a painter. So, they can paint his portrait together for me. Then I can find him on the basis of it.¡±

    Just a portrayal? Ding Rong¡¯s wife responded immediately, ¡°This is easy. I¡¯ll order those people right away.¡±

    At the moment, Pan Jingyang came with 7 or 8 doctors, including Doctor Ma and Doctor Song. These doctors were almost fully armed. All of them wore handkerchiefs on their faces, gloves on their hands, and uniform smocks with gray clothes, as if they hade to some terrible affected area.

    These doctors dug out Luo Chuangu who buried half in the stone powder. Each of them, with 3yers of gauze, took turns to feel his pulse, and checked the whites of his eyes and the coating on his tongue. After a long-time consultation, there was no conclusion.

    Thereupon, Doctor Ma asked Sun Meiniang, who also stuck with stone powder, that what abnormal feeling and difort she had, but he got a sneer as an answer. He had no choice but to ask He Danggui. He Danggui kindly reminded him that in terms ofmon sense, the incubation of leprosy and smallpox was half a month after infection. Now even immortals couldn¡¯t tell. Then she suggested him to give Luo Chuangu some menthol until he woke up. Pan Jingyang put forth his strength and let Luo Chuangu sleep for so long time.

    Doctor Ma and others were so concerned, and messed up. When hearing it, they were suddenly enlightened. They found the most refreshing medicine in medical kits. After a while, Luo Chuangu was awakened sessfully.

    Luo Chuangu didn¡¯t get rid of previous violent emotions. With a scowling face, he drummed out the group of masked doctors who were so solicitous of him. No matter how many deadly diseases there were in the stone powder, he causally swept them on a wing chair, and sprawled in the chair. His dark eyes gazing at He Danggui who was sitting in the chair.

    Luo Chuangu nodded and said, ¡°Go ahead! Who actually hurt Concubine Hua? Tell us everything you know without any concealing!¡±

    He Danggui didn¡¯t care about his attitude. She smiled and said, ¡°Madam Luo and Second Uncle, please be perspicacious! Administrator Ding said that I am an ¡®outsider¡¯, and I shouldn¡¯t interfere with the matter of Second Branch. So, why should I, ¡®an outsider¡¯, murder Second Uncle¡¯s child? Neither distributing the interests of Second Branch, nor transferring hatred, it doesn¡¯t matter to me, an ¡®outsider¡¯, right?¡±

    All evidence of Concubine Hua was not on He Danggui¡¯s side. She waspletely ambushed by Sun Meiniang, who had been preparing it for at least 2 months. There are both witnesses and physical evidence. The witnesses included Concubine Hua who had ¡®submitted¡¯ to Sun Meiniang. The physical evidence included the jade pendant that disappeared a month ago, which was a pretty sufficient testimony. She couldn¡¯t quibble. Even if she told the truth that Sun Meiniang hurt Concubine Hua, and she saved Concubine Hua, no one would believe her.

    Therefore, she simply took the opposite ways. She pretended to be an innocent person who had been framed entirely and denied everything rascally. Anyhow, Madam Luo had lost her trust in Sun Meiniang. And the witnesses Sun Meiniang brought up were no longer reliable. With that hyper and sullen state, Luo Chuangu couldn¡¯t wait to hear more tenebrous truth.

    He Danggui tried to make her expression look honest and innocent. She speciously exined, ¡°Madam Luo, you asked young Misses to be less idle, but to enrich ourselves and to learn more pharmacology. So, I responded to the call and studied in Medicine Pavilion. Every day I stayed there from morning till night, and I have touched countless medicines. How could I know whether there is Concubine Hua¡¯s medicinal pack among them? How could I know that the medicinal pack was not deliberately put to my hand by someone ulterior? How could I know how many ill-disposed people were spying on me while I was learning how to make up a prescription?¡±

    Sun Meiniang scoffed and raised her eyebrows. She said, ¡°You mean, all those maids misread you blindly and wronged you collectively? You probably don¡¯t know that some of these maids are doing manual work in Medicine Pavilion, but some are maids of First Branch and Third Branch. Will they be arranged to spy on you together? He Danggui, don¡¯t quibble anymore!¡±

    Feng Yang raised his eyebrows and said, ¡°Money makes the mare to go. What can¡¯t they do if they get back-up by someone powerful in the family?¡±

    ¡°Well, Madam Luo, I¡¯m ¡®unaware¡¯ of all this, but someone is ¡®prophetic¡¯.¡± He Danggui shrugged and said ironically, ¡°That¡¯s so weird! More than 10 maids all remember what kind of medicines I have touched in the past 2 months! Ah, Madam Luo, you may as well ask them whether they remember what they had for lunch the day before yesterday, or what color of clothes they wore three days ago. Let¡¯s see how many people can answer them. If they can¡¯t remember anything about themselves, why do they remember my things as maids of Medicine Pavilion, First Branch and Third Branch? Before today, no one expected that Concubine Hua would bleed, and no one thought the pleasant Luo¡¯s Mansion could appear so insidious abortifacient. You say, do those witnesses all foresee? They know that Concubine Hua¡¯s medicine will go wrong sooner orter, so they keep in mind who has been near.¡±

    Madam Luo repeatedly nodded and said, ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. It¡¯s possible that 1 or 2 maids see this matter by chance. Why is it that a dozen peoplee out to testify against you as soon as the matter of abortifacient happened?¡±

    Sun Meiniang was anxious. He Danggui actually confused right and wrong! In fact, those maids weren¡¯t all her arrangements. Some of them were real witnesses, who had seen He Danggui sneakily changing the medicine, so they came to snitch. Then Sun Meiniang roughly figured out that He Danggui changed Concubine Hua¡¯s medicine. Sun Meiniang carefully prepared that medicine for Concubine Hua. If Concubine Hua ate 3 months continuously, she would miscarry quietly. Even the doctor could only sign that Concubine Hua was too weak to save the baby.

    At that time, Sun Meiniang guessed that He Danggui must find the secret of antiabortifacient and changed Concubine Hua¡¯s medicine furtively. Hum, what a meddler! It was to court death that He Danggui wanted to be a good person. Sun Meiniang was worrying that she couldn¡¯t pull He Danggui down. In this way, Sun Meiniang often sent different status of maids in each yard to take turns to Medicine Pavilion, and let them witness the scene that He Danggui changed the medicine.

    At first, Sun Meiniang thought that the more witnesses she had, the stronger the testimony would be, which could send He Danggui to hellpletely. However, Sun Meiniang didn¡¯t expect that He Danggui put it as a ¡°doubt¡±, and Madam Luo believed in He Danggui unexpectedly! It was a hell of the day. The situation had been reversed gradually since that entric Biddy Wen appeared. By this time, He Danggui actually turned the tables on the attackers and bit her back.

    How detestable! It was not a good time. But how could anyone know her opium poppy? This was her deepest secret, which her closest maid didn¡¯t know except Luo Chuangu. She always drove out her maids and only let Luo Chuangu wipe her back when having a bath. Who found her secret?

    But she was not a kind woman. Look at you, He Danggui, did you think that you could bring the dead to life with your more than 10 years of life experience, a little pretty trick, and the gift of gab?

    Sun Meiniang took off all her jewelry on her head and hands, and knelt forward. She said to Madam Luo frankly, ¡°I¡¯ve really been badly wronged today. All sorts of strange things happened. Now if you doubt me, I have nothing to say. He Danggui said those witnesses are suspicious. How about Biddy Wen? She didn¡¯t show up early orte, but appeared tonight when He Danggui was interrogated. Since she knew the secret of my tattoo, why didn¡¯t she inform it as soon as possible? In my opinion, Biddy Wen is definitely an ill-disposed culprit, and she was even at the behest of someone!¡±

    He Danggui reminded her, ¡°Biddy Wen is the one Administrator Ding got. Who knew beforehand that I would be destined to get shackled today? And no matter how suspicious her background is, she¡¯s dead. Could it be that someone chased her with a knife, so she wrote out her deepest secret in a moment of grief?¡±

    Sun Meiniang ignored He Danggui and only stared at Madam Luo. She said, ¡°We have been peaceful for too many years, and a little bit of bad things aren¡¯t seen. Madam Luo,st time our whole family was grieved because of the death of my father-inw. It was not long after Chuanxiong took He Danggui to Luo¡¯s Family. Then He Danggui was sent away, and we had good days. No bad luck all years around, which was the best time for our family. Qian of First Branch and his wife, are a devoted couple. They have twins and a lovely, snow-white baby named Yan. Our Second Branch¡¯s Qiong is beautiful and good-natured, who is the greatest pride of our family. Shao is also a lovable child. Whoever sees her will smile from the bottom of the heart. However, 3 years ago, He Danggui suddenly crawled out of the coffin in Taoist temple. Hearing this, Qian¡¯s wife and I both felt creepy. We found lots of fortune-tellers. Each of them shook his head and said that the bane and dun hade. I also mentioned to you before...¡±

    ¡°Eh-hem!¡±

    Feng Yang made a loud cough, which suddenly interrupted Sun Meiniang¡¯s emotional reminiscing and drew everyone to see him. His left arm put on the back of He Danggui¡¯s chair, and his right hand was shaking the fan. He smiled and said, ¡°Second Mistress Luo, first, I most hate that other people oppress somebody with some strange stuff of numerology, just like my aunt Jiugu, who is a such kind woman. But because of a fortune-teller¡¯s nonsense, she is lonely all her life, living with others¡¯ criticism. Second, Sister He¡¯s physiognomy and birth chart are beyondpare. These wordse from me, the famous Taoist Sage, Master Bai Yangbai¡¯s second disciple. I guarantee I won¡¯t lie to you. I haven¡¯t seen such a good birth chart for more than 10 years. Luo¡¯s Family will count on herter.¡±

 Chapter 197 - I could give you a lot of help

    <h4>Chapter 197 I could give you a lot of help</h4>

    He Danggui was surprised. When did Feng Yang also take Bai Yangbai as the teacher? Even though these 2 men were the right-hand men of Zhu Quan, it seemed that there was no connection between them. Feng Yang was like an eagle in the sky, who was not only brilliant, but also capable and ambitious. On the contrary, Bai Yangbai was like a young phoenix on the ground. He had no ambition, no integrity and no fetters. Feng Yang was a genius with true skill and knowledge. How could he be willing to bow his head to Bai Yangbai, who looked like a conman? He Danggui suddenly thought that Bai Yangbai was her disciple. Well, she became Feng Yang¡¯s ¡°grand-master¡± by ident, didn¡¯t she?

    After hearing what Feng Yang said, Sun Meiniangughed exaggeratedly and said, ¡°He Danggui has good fortune? Ha-ha, good fortune! If she had good fortune, we would all be immortals in heaven. Will Luo¡¯s Family count on her in the future? Hasn¡¯t she been bleeding and dying because of being poisoned? Ha-ha, does she have a future?¡±

    Feng Yang was angry secretly. Ah! He thought, ¡°Sun Meiniang didn¡¯t even show respect for the Taoist Sage. How heaven-daring she was! Well, Sister He was right. The woman who always stayed in her messuage was so ignorant that she didn¡¯t hear about the ¡®dragon king on the earth¡¯. If there is a rainstorm flooding her backyard another day, would she still be arrogant?¡±

    Whereupon, Feng Yang also responded with the respect and smile, ¡°A hero doesn¡¯t depend on his family background. For the so-called ¡°Wife depends on her husband¡±, it means that as long as her husband is a gentleman, she will be a high-profile figure. Compared with a person¡¯s whole life, these years at her grandmother¡¯s house are very short. Will she still care temporary disappointment? Besides, I won¡¯t let her die.¡± While saying, Feng Yang hit He Danggui¡¯s head with his bronze fan and encouraged her, ¡°Don¡¯t be discouraged. In addition to your future husband, you will meet many people who can give you a lot of help in your life. Girl, I can help you, too.¡±

    Madam Luo was a little confused. Yang proposed a marriage with Yi just now, but in a twinkling of an eye, he took the initiative to cancel the proposal. Now, what he meant was even more puzzling. Did he really want to marry Yi as a concubine? Well, Madam Luo thought that she should send a matchmaker to Feng¡¯s Family to ask about it after several days. Yi and Shao, which one would they rather marry into their family? Or, both of them?

    He Danggui rubbed her head and pouted. She said, ¡°Thank you for your kindness, but I don¡¯t feel frustrated now. And I dare not dream of marrying a ¡®gentleman¡¯. I am who I am. I can live in the Luo¡¯s Family and spend every day with Madam Luo. What else can I ask for?¡± She was surprisingly in agreement with Sun Meiniang this time. Was her life good? Good luck to her! It made peopleugh their heads off. Not to mention her previous life¡¯s tragic situation, was her destiny good in this life?

    First, she met Duan Xiaolou and owed him a debt of gratitude that she couldn¡¯t afford. Then she met Zhu Quan and got into trouble that she couldn¡¯t deal with. Next, she originally thought Meng Xuan could save her from dilemma, but she could not ovee her own demons.

    She couldn¡¯t trust anyone easily because of her demons. Even if Qing¡¯er experienced a life and death with her together, and even blocked the arrow for her, she also couldn¡¯t bepletely honest for her. After being alone for a long time, she didn¡¯t want to go out to deal with the people outside. Bai Yangbai was the best tool at that time, but the rtionship between Zhu Quan and him was deeper than the rtionship between her and him. So, she must watch out for Bai Yangbai when she made use of him. What noble destiny could such a lonely and calcting person have?

    Feng Yang waved his fan disapprovingly and said, ¡°You are wrong, Sister He. If you turn around and look at the scenery elsewhere, you will find that your beautiful life has just begun. For beautiful women who are ethereal like you, whatever you¡¯re looking for, you can look forward to it. You put yourself in this corner and spend your days hunting mice and cockroaches. Don¡¯t you think that you¡¯re hiding your talent? You¡¯re good enough to shoot lions and tigers.¡±

    He Danggui sneered in her heart. Oh, another lobbyist of Zhu Quan showed up. They wanted her to go to Wuying Tower to help ¡°shoot lions and tigers¡±, right? She shook her head immediately and declined politely, ¡°Thank you for your advice. But Childe Feng, you can¡¯t see it because you stand so high. The most abundant and most deadly on the ground are not lions and tigers, but mice and cockroaches. There are mice and cockroaches in this ce. Maybe there are more in the other ces. And even under the splendid prosperity, there are full of mice and cockroaches.¡±

    Feng Yang frowned and said, ¡°If you have your way, won¡¯t is be impossible to kill all the mice and cockroaches? So, why do you kill them? Why don¡¯t you fly to the sky like me and look down from above? Then you can only see lions and tigers instead of mice and cockroaches.¡±

    ¡°But I can¡¯t fly.¡± He Danggui said and clenched her hands under her sleeves. Her hands sweated and almost soaked her clothed. She said, ¡°Although there are so many mice and cockroaches that I can¡¯t kill all of them, I have never nned to kill all the mice and cockroaches in the world. I just must kill a few mice and cockroaches. Childe Feng, you said that you can¡¯t see mice and cockroaches if you fly high, but that¡¯s just not true. They do not disappear. They peep at you in the dark and waited. When you are rxed, they will bite you. And at that time, you will understand that the fierce lions and tigers in the distance may not kill you, but likely, a mouse close at your hand can kill you sessfully.¡±

    Suddenly, Feng Yang folded his fan and leaned back in chair. He moved his head close to the pretty face of He Danggui, and whispered, ¡°Although you can¡¯t fly, I can take you fly. Girl,e away with me, and we will have a good time.¡±

    He Danggui turned her heard and said dryly, ¡°You are a man of great deeds, so you don¡¯t understand the mind of us who always stay in the boudoir and embroider every day. We don¡¯t like to fly in the sky. Instead, we like to live a down-to-earth life; we like to keep our yard clean and free of mice and cockroaches; we like to have some quiet and busy days. As for whether it is windy or snowy on Changbai Mount today, and whether the king of beasts is a lion or a tiger, it has little to do with us. I¡¯m just an ordinary person. I can¡¯t be your assistant to fight a tiger.¡±

    Feng Yang sighed, ¡°You misunderstand me, girl. In fact, I just suddenly feel a little distressed for you. I want to help you get rid of your current troubles and live a carefree life. Although I don¡¯t know much about the women, I probably know that women all hope to marry a good husband who is handsome and talented. You hope your husbands to hold up a piece of sky for you, so that you can see only the clear sky and not the wind and rain, don¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°Perhaps, the other women may need a piece of sky.¡± There was no curve in thebial angles of He Danggui, but it felt like she was smiling. She said, ¡°But I just want an umbre. I can borrow it to take shelter from rain when it rains. And if I can¡¯t borrow it, I can run in the rain.¡±

    Feng Yang asked after a silence, ¡°What about me? Could I be your umbre?¡± There was a faint sweat in his hand holding the fan.

    He Danggui nced strangely at him. He? Wasn¡¯t he in league with Zhu Quan? Was he a double agent? Or was he helping Zhu Quan sound herself out? Or both?

    Instead of dwelling on this question, He Danggui looked up at Madam Luo and asked, ¡°Madam, should our ¡®case¡¯ be still on trial? After my discussion with Childe Feng, I find a new clue that can lead to new progress in our case.¡±

    Listening to their conversation, Madam Luo and others had been confused a long time ago. Lions and tigers? Mice and cockroaches? What were they talking about? Sun Meiniang and Ding Rong¡¯s wife couldn¡¯t help matching up. Mice? Cockroaches? Shit! The wicked girl dared to make oblique usation openly!

    Sun Meiniang didn¡¯t care about what Feng Yang said about the fate. Besides, the drugs which Luo Baiqiong used to conk Peng Shi out were stolen from Jiugu. Later, Luo Baiqiong did not hook up with Peng Shi, but lost her own reputation. Her face was all gone. It was like going for wool anding home shorn. Thus, in addition to her love for her daughter, Sun Meiniang turned her anger on Jiugu. She hated that Jiugu shouldn¡¯t have collected those forbidden things such as knockout drops. And Jiugu shouldn¡¯t have gone out without locking the door, so that Qiong easily stole the bottle of knockout drugs.

    In this way, Jiugu was hated by Sun Meiniang, and even Feng Yang, Jiugu¡¯s nephew, was hated by Sun Meiniang, too. Sun Meiniang thought that the so-called little master of Caobang Organization was a kid. Her younger brother was one of the Eldest Legitimate Grandson¡¯s superior consultants. In the future, her brother would be very powerful. At that time, didn¡¯t she have to be afraid of others?¡±

    So, Sun Meiniang ignored Feng Yang¡¯s interruption and continued toin to Madam Luo, ¡°At that year, you insisted to allow He Dangguie back and said that she was the most sensible girl. Qian¡¯s wife and I couldn¡¯t stop you, but obeyed. But after He Danggui came into our house, there were no more peaceful days in our house, and there was no end of misfortunes. Zhu had been alive, and he could eat and sleep as before. But the day after He Danggui came in, he was unconscious again. I didn¡¯t know by what means He Danggui bewitched you and carried Zhu away to her house. I had heard that she secretly withheld the medicine which the doctor had prescribed for Zhu. I couldn¡¯t help saying angrily, ¡®You are a cruel girl. Even if his mother had offended you, how could you hurt a child?¡¯ She didn¡¯t even let a 3-year-old child go. Madam Luo, she¡¯s a ghost thates to ask for payment of debt and takes our lives! She mes our family for being unkind to her and wants our whole family to pay for it! She is exactly a devil!¡±

    Hearing this, Madam Luo and Luo Chuangu frowned. Madam Luo of course knew the secret of Zhu¡¯s resurrection and falling ina again. But when she heard that Sun Meiniang associated this with the theory of ghosts, she couldn¡¯t help feeling a little frightened.

    He Danggui said calmly, ¡°I can walk, sit, breathe and eat. I have a chin and a shadow. What kind of a ghost am I? Besides, I¡¯ve exined that the matter about Zhu many times. I dreamed of an old man with a white beard. He told me that Zhu couldn¡¯t take those pills, or Zhu wouldn¡¯t wake up. I put myself in Zhu¡¯s shoes so that I kept back his medicine at the risk of being misunderstood by others, until Doctor Wu said that Zhu was getting better day by day since he was in Tao Yao Yard. So, it made me be more convinced that I was doing the right thing. And that¡¯s why I keep withholding or recing those pills with ck rice soups.¡±

    Hearing this, Sun Meiniang sneered and turned to Madam Luo. She squinted at He Danggui and said in a sharp tone, ¡°Look, Madam Luo, she¡¯s used to doing this kind of thing. 3 years ago, she stole Zhu¡¯s life-saving medicine; 3 yearster, she poisoned Concubine Hua¡¯s antiabortifacient, which are the same things. Does she think that we are easy to be deceived by saying it¡¯s ¡®a dream¡¯? Madam Luo, have you forgotten? On the third day, Zhu woke up after we took him away, and he was as live as before. It must be because we saved him from the evil girl. Isn¡¯t that clear enough? She¡¯s the devil who ys tricks behind the scenes!¡±

    He Danggui raised her eyebrows and said, ¡°Isn¡¯t it a proof of my innocence that Zhu awakes and is as lively as before? If I had harmed him and given him something poisonous, how could he be so lively now that nothing has happened to him? As you say, doesn¡¯t he lose half his life as a little boy right away? Why don¡¯t you think the other way around? If I haven¡¯t stopped him from taking those pills, he probably wouldn¡¯t have recovered so quickly. Actually, Zhu was very weak at the beginning. He lived in my yard for a few months, and moved out for only 3 days. He woke up and was healthy as before. Is the credit to be given only for those 3 days?¡±

    Feng Yang also felt very unfair. He knocked on the back of He Danggui¡¯s chair with his fan and shouted, ¡°Unexpectedly, there is such a thing that you do not distinguish between right and wrong, and do not know good or evil! The childy motionlessly in her house. If she wanted to harm him, she only would need to cover the quilt in a short while. Why should she toil so hard to change the medicine for several months? At the risk of being found out and not being able to argue, what did she want? Then the child woke up and recovered, why not prove her innocence without thanking her for her work? Second Mistress, this is like a hungry person is full after eating ten steamed buns. Do you mean that the tenth one works and the first nine are useless?¡±

 Chapter 198 - Died from murder

    <h4>Chapter 198 Died from murder</h4>

    Sun Meiniang frowned and said, ¡°Childe Feng, we think you are Jiugu¡¯s nephew, so we are all polite to you. But you¡¯ve made a mess of our family. There are scatter poisonous stone powder all over the room, and you still interrupt our housework here. You are way out of line! Our family is a decent family. Youe to visit but don¡¯t take the right path. What is the difference between you and a burr? What¡¯s your position to help He Danggui? ...¡±

    ¡°Eh-hem!¡± Madam Luo interrupted Sun Meiniang¡¯s words with a severe cough and thought, ¡°Duh, now Shao still keeps thinking about Feng Yang. Maybe he is your future son-inw. How could it be so awkward?¡±

    Sun Meiniang didn¡¯t know that her daughter had recently be fascinated by Feng Yang. She just thought Madam Luo was taking sides in He Danggui, so she said unhappily at once, ¡°Madam Luo, He Danggui is a hoodoo and a demon. We don¡¯t know what she has done to Zhu, and hooks his soul so that he doesn¡¯t get close to his own mother. His heart seems to be obsessed. He only follows the demon. In the house of Qian¡¯s First Branch, there are 5plete people, but suddenly one is missing. That is not the end of it. Qian has 4 kids from his concubine living outside. Although they are out of dignity, they are also descendants of our Luo¡¯s Family. Those women are good health and good luck after apanied with Qian for several years. But when He Danggui came back a few months, they all died tragically. It can be seen that He Danggui is a hoodoo totally. If Shao hasn¡¯t yed with her, Shao would not have made the messy powder and been sent to the Taoist temple for training by you. What¡¯s more, she would not burn the Taoist temple on fire, and her left hand would not have been burned. He Danggui is really harmful! It is a heinous crime!¡±

    Before He Danggui reacted, Feng Yang was furious. He smashed a wooden table on his right side and said threateningly, ¡°Second Mistress Luo, you have seen it. I am not weak in martial arts and have a bad temper. I also like to be a burr. If you continue to turn ck and white, and spill the sewage on others, I don¡¯t guarantee that one day you won¡¯t die identally and die from Jianghu revenge.¡±

    He Danggui frowned. Although Feng Yang helped her with kindness, Sun Meiniang had close business transactions with the presbyter of the Beggars¡¯ Organization, and had a lot of money to buy killers. Why should he argue with Sun Meiniang, a person who refused to suffer losses, and use cruel words to threaten her? If he really wanted to kill her, he wouldn¡¯t yell out in advance.

    Seeing the fragmented wooden table, Sun Meiniang turned pale with fear, and unconsciously stepped back. Ding Rong¡¯s wife rushed forward to protect her and shouted, ¡°Kill me!¡± But Luo Chuangu frowned. Suddenly, he looked at He Danggui and asked, ¡°Yi, you said that you have thought of a new clue? What is the new clue?¡±

    He Danggui blinked and said, ¡°Yes, a new clue. I don¡¯t know the whole story of Concubine Hua¡¯s bleeding, but I am inexplicably charged with poisoning. I really have a lot of doubts in my heart. This evening, when my maid Bo He came to see me, she said that Dr. Ma diagnosed Concubine Hua¡¯s fetal instability because there was something wrong with the antiabortifacient she took. Until taking out a stack of prescriptions that had been prescribed to Concubine Hua before, Madam Luo and Dr. Ma were sure that there was no problem with the prescriptions, but there was a problem with the antiabortifacient. So, Concubine Hua¡¯s maid took out the medicine that haven¡¯t yet been decocted, and asked everyone to check it. Then they found out that there was ¡®parturifacient¡¯ inside. Is it true or not? Second Uncle, do I make a mistake or miss something?¡±

    Luo Chuangu nodded and said, ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. So what?¡±

    ¡°Later, when Second Aunt convicted me, what she told to Madam Luo was as same as Dr. Ma said. Concubine Hua had a male child. Now that she has eaten parturifacient for many days. Even if we keep it, that will be likely born as an idiot in the future.¡± He Danggui said slowly, ¡°Madam Luo and Second Uncle, you are both doctors who are familiar with pharmacology. You have seen the medicine taken by Concubine Hua and the symptom after Concubine Hua taken medicine. I want to ask that what kind of medicine is Concubine Hua taking? Is it the ¡®parturifacient¡¯ or the ¡®abortifacient¡¯?¡±

    Sun Meiniang was confused and couldn¡¯t help blurting out, ¡°The parturifacient is abortifacient. There is no question about this. Stop quibbling!¡±

    However, Madam Luo wrinkled a pair of distant eyebrows, and slowly recalled, ¡°Among the packets of medicines found out from the cab, there are sunflower seeds, talc, musk, cinnabar and red pea, which are all used in the parturifacient. s, Hua Yu is really careless. The smell of musk is so strong, but she drinks it for so long¡­ Huh? Wrong!¡±

    Luo Chuangu also showed an incredible look and asked Madam Luo, ¡°Mother, did you see clearly that there is really musk and cinnabar in the antiabortifacient?¡± His voice was high and fierce, which made Sun Meiniang and Ding Rong¡¯s wife feel a little unconsciously guilty and look at each other.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter with musk and cinnabar?¡± Feng Yang looked at He Danggui and expressed curiosity.

    He Danggui said with a smile, ¡°I am originally ayman. But some time ago, following the teachings of Madam Luo, I spent all day reading medical books in South Yard Medicine House. And I barely understood some of them. Originally, ¡®parturifacient¡¯ and ¡®abortifacient¡¯ belong to 2 different categories. Parturifacient, as its name implies, is a drug that is taken only in small quantities when the parturient is about to give birth and the fetal position is not correct or the fetal head is in trouble. It is an essential medicine in the hands of a midwife. Since the parturifacient contains musk and cinnabar, the parturient should take it carefully, or keep it in the mouth without swallowing it. Once the baby is sessfully given birth, the parturient should immediately spit out and gargle with water, just because the parturifacient is very powerful. The efficacy is also immediate and fast.¡±

    Feng Yang scratched his chin and asked with his tilted head, ¡°Can¡¯t she take the parturifacient with musk? Could it be poisonous?¡±

    He Danggui exined, ¡°It¡¯s not necessarily poisonous, but for women, musk is a taboo thing to avoid. For some women with cold body constitution, they can only take 2 or 3 drops, and it is hard to get pregnant in the future. For pregnant women, especially when the fetus was unstable in the previous few months, if they take a bit of the parturifacient, which contains sunflower seeds, talc, musk, cinnabar and red pea, the fetus in the abdomen will tremble several times. So, when I heard Bo He talked about it, I immediately felt strange. Concubine Hua¡¯s body is so strong. After taking a few pieces of parturifacient, it only showed bleeding. If others, that could lose a child with a small bowl of medicine.¡±

    Madam Luo and Luo Chuangu were gloomy. They had high hopes for Concubine Hua¡¯s fetus and expected her to give birth to an heir to San Qing Tang. So, when they heard that something had happened to Concubine Hua, they were shocked by the news. Later, it was found out that someone poisoned Concubine Hua¡¯s male fetus. The anger diluted the sense. They only thought about how to punish the murderer, but ignored such a big w¡ªthe property of the medicine found in the cupboard was too strong. It definitely wouldn¡¯t be the kind of medicine that harmed Concubine Hua. If this medicine really caused the result, Concubine Hua didn¡¯t even have to eat it. As long as a packet of medicine hanged on the bedside, and she smelled it for 2 months, her lower part of body would bleed!

    Sun Meiniang and Ding Rong¡¯s wife didn¡¯t know pharmacology. They didn¡¯t have muchmon sense in this area, and even parturifacient and abortifacient couldn¡¯t be distinguished. Although they didn¡¯t quite understand it, they also knew that a part of the matter might had made mistakes, which led to it. They couldn¡¯t help but feel anxious, but they couldn¡¯t think of countermeasures at the moment.

    Feng Yang was still curious. He tirelessly asked, ¡°Is it possible that the Concubine Hua doesn¡¯t take the medicine and she is too weak to have an unstable fetus?¡±

    ¡°No, there are many manifestations of instability of the fetus, and the instability of the fetus caused by improper medication is the most menacing one. As long as there is a doctor with pulse experience, it is impossible to confuse this.¡± He Danggui looked at Madam Luo, and said clearly and slowly, ¡°The smell of musk is special. It is hard to imagine that Concubine Hua waspletely unaware when taking the medicine. And the property if that parturifacient was so strong like a tiger, and it¡¯s also hard to image that the Concubine Hua could rest for a few months after taking the medicine, Madam Luo, I heard that Dr. Ma is the one who diagnosed Concubine Hua at the time, and now he is just waiting outside the hall. So, I want to him toe in and ask 2 questions.¡±

    Madam Luo asked Shi Liu to call Dr. Ma toe in. There was a moment of suffocating silence, while the people in the house were waiting. Sun Meiniang frowned and exchanged nces with Ding Rong¡¯s wife. This scene fell in the eyes of Luo Chuangu, and his doubts deepened. He could figure out it, but he was unwilling to ept from his heart. His wife, whom he had always loved and cherished, not only lost her virginity, but also secretly poisoned his concubine and children. Was this woman, who was ahead of her mother in his heart, really that kind of person?

    After a short while, the masked Dr. Ma came in again. When Luo Chuangu saw it, he was angry and shouted, ¡°Show your face when you are talking! None of us have avoided stone dust. Is your life more precious than us?¡±

    Dr. Ma slowly took off the towel. He nced at Luo Chuangu and then at Madam Luo. It seemed that he wanted to say something.

    He Danggui dragged the cloak and paced. She asked, ¡°Dr. Ma, I heard that you are a national master of the gynecology, so I want to ask you. Which pulse is slippery, astringent, or through in Concubine Hua¡¯s pulse? After you determine that her unstable fetus caused by the medication, have you put the needle on her Sanyin channel and Shaoyang channel to figure out which medicine is poisonous in her?¡±

    Dr. Ma thought for a while with his mouth open, and 2 medicine names popped out dryly, ¡°Cattail pollen, and caulis akebiae.¡±

    ¡°Oh? It turns out to be cattail pollen and caulis akebiae.¡± He Danggui smiled slightly and said, ¡°I read in a book some time ago. These 2 medicines are both belong to cold medicines, and have the effects of draining and stranguria. They aremon in all kinds of abortifacients. In this way, it seems that Concubine Hua is indeed caused by the medication, not by her own weakness.¡±

    Dr. Ma subconsciously wiped the absence of sweat on the forehead, and said, ¡°Well, she is weak, and poor sleep has certain effects... Oh, she seems to have eaten crabs a lot in the past 2 months.¡±

    ¡°Crabs?¡± Madam Luo looked at Dr. Ma strangely, and couldn¡¯t help asking, ¡°Why don¡¯t you mention these things when you got your pulse in the afternoon?¡± Dr. Ma hesitated and couldn¡¯t answer.

    Feng Yang consulted the He Danggui, an encyclopedia, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with crabs? I also ate arge te yesterday. Are they poisonous?¡±

    He Danggui smiled and said, ¡°Ordinary people don¡¯t have much taboo when eating crabs. Just be careful not eat it cold and too much. When you eat it, you can enjoy the food with ginger and spirit. But, for pregnant women, crabs are something as cold as caulis akebiae. If she eats too much, she can even achieve the same result as taking a bowl of abortifacients.¡±

    ¡°But, what¡¯s the difference between abortifacient and parturifacient?¡± Feng Yang was a little puzzled and asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t they all things that can cause pregnant women to abort? Why did Madam Luo and others suddenly show a stunned expression when they recalled the medicine found by Concubine Hua is a parturifacient, instead of abortifacient?¡±

    He Danggui looked at Sun Meiniang¡¯s pale face, and answered Feng Yang with a clear voice, ¡°The abortifacient is a much milder medicine than the parturifacient. The effective time ranges from 10 days to several months. Although it doesn¡¯t sound like a good thing, it is also a kind of serious medicine. It is used to kill some 3-month-old stillbirths and blood fetuses. After some elderly women are pregnant, if they don¡¯t want the fetus, they can take a few. The mild abortifacient will not cause too much damage to the pregnant women¡¯s body even if they miscarry. Second Aunt must know this very well. I heard that she has also taken it.¡±

 Chapter 199 - Protecting the daughter incapably

    <h4>Chapter 199 Protecting the daughter incapably</h4>

    Before Sun Meiniang replied, Ding Rong¡¯s wife shouted, ¡°What nonsense are you talking about? You don¡¯t sling mud at me!¡± Damn, where exactly did the girl hear about it!

    Madam Luo nced at Ding Rong¡¯s wife and said in a deep voice, ¡°Ding Rong¡¯s wife, I have already said that Yi is one of the masters of Luo¡¯s Family. Don¡¯t rely on your condescending position and think nothing of her. No matter how young and helpless she is, she is the master. While no matter how old you are and how many backers you have, you are a servant. If you don¡¯t know the difference between the master and the servant, and call Third Miss¡¯s name directly or speak to her disrespectfully next time, you¡¯ll be sent to your son¡¯s home to enjoy your retired life. There is not short of a servant like you in Luo¡¯s Mansion!¡±

    Sun Meiniang¡¯s eyebrows throbbed. Madam Luo had not managed everything of Luo¡¯s Mansion in the past two years, and handed over all of power to Sun Meiniang. Most of Sun Meiniang¡¯s orders were sent by Ding Rong¡¯s wife. Madam Luo intentionally dismissed Ding Rong¡¯s wife now. Did it mean that Madam Luo also wanted to weaken Sun Meiniang¡¯s power? Madam Luo mentioned ¡°backers¡±. Wasn¡¯t it an insinuation to Sun Meiniang? Sun Meiniang red at Luo Chuangu. Before today, if Madam Luo had little disagreement with Sun Meiniang, Luo Chuangu always supported Sun Meiniang. But this time, Luo Chuangu didn¡¯t even lift his eyelids.

    Ding Rong¡¯s wife turned red in the face. She bowed and pleaded, ¡°I got a good lesson from you, Madam. I will pay more attention to this etiquette, but I really can¡¯t stand to hear that Third Miss always makes insinuating remarks about Second Mistress Luo. Third Miss is the master, and I will treat her with respect in the future. However, she is too impolite andcking in self-respect. Second Mistress is her elder, and there are many rules in Instructions of Luo¡¯s Family showing that juniors should respect elders¡¯ disciplines. But Third Miss said that Second Mistress took abortifacient. Isn¡¯t a scandalous remark about Second Mistress?¡±

    He Danggui looked surprised and asked Luo Chuangu, ¡°Second Uncle, don¡¯t you know that Second Aunt took abortifacient? In fact, Second Aunt inquired my mom about what kind of abortifacient could not hurt the body and could deal with the fetus quickly. So, I know that Second Aunt turned out to take medicine to miscarry her fetus. I remember she telling my mom that you let her have an abortion!¡± Luo Chuangu hesitated and opened his mouth. But he didn¡¯t answer.

    Madam Luo immediately asked in a deep voice, ¡°When did this happen?¡± She thought, ¡°Sun Meiniang also had an abortion. Why have I never heard about it?¡±

    He Danggui looked up and recalled for a moment. Then she answered, ¡°It maybe happened four years ago. I was just taken back to my mother¡¯s side from a farm and lived in the ¡®He¡¯s House¡¯ which was outside Luo¡¯s Mansion. One day, I heard that some rtives of Luo¡¯s Mansion came to visit from maids. And I saw a middle-aged woman who dressed up as a servant through a crack in the door. She kept holding my mother¡¯s hands and muttering. As you know, I was less than five years old when I left Luo¡¯s Mansion. I just had a vague impression of family members except this middle-aged woman. I immediately recognized her as my Second Aunt and heard a conversation between her and my mother.¡±

    Feng Yang snorted with his nose. He said, ¡°Is that impressive? It¡¯s just an ordinary middle-aged aunt with her wrinkled face after taking off makeup.¡± Although he hummed quickly, he was heard by Sun Meiniang. Sun Meiniang was so angry and nearly lost her temper.

    He Danggui said with a smile, ¡°I am deeply impressed with Second Aunt not because of her appearance, but for her unusual style. ¡®Madness¡¯ is the most appropriate word to describe her. When I was three years old, Fourth Sister and I were carried by our wet nurses to let the elders watch. Halfway through the watching, some guests came to visit. Then the adults went to greet guests and put Fourth Sister and I on the same bed for a nap. There was no reason that two small cuts on the face of Fourth Sister after waking up. The wet nurse of Fourth Sister didn¡¯t know what happened, and she was afraid that the master would me her. So, she took Fourth Sister and got her first to Second Aunt forining. She said that I scratched the face of Fourth Sister. Do you still have an impression of what happened afterwards, Madam Luo?¡±

    Madam Luo nodded, and she did have little impression on it. It had made a pretty big racket at home at that time, and almost everyone was talking about it during that time. Actually, the two small cuts on Shao¡¯s face had been examined by herself. They were so light and shallow small cuts that would be healed in recent two days, and wouldn¡¯t leave scars.

    At that time, Sun Meiniang and Chuanxiong were still good friends. Although they were not as good as when they went to school in the past, they were also friendly sisters who often drank tea and embroidered together. And the ¡°murderer¡± was a three-year-old child who knew nothing. So, after hearing about this matter, many people advised Sun Meiniang that children were inevitably naughty. Fortunately, the consequence was not so serious. Just let it go and didn¡¯t put the children together to y in the future. Sun Meiniang usually didn¡¯t pay more attention to her little daughter, Shao. Most of the time, she left the baby to the wet nurse. But this time, Sun Meiniang¡¯s mother¡¯s love suddenly burst out. She went crazy and med Chuanxiong, the mother of Yi. She said she must seek justice for her daughter.

    Madam Luo remembered that Sun Meiniang went to Chuanxiong¡¯s room with a pair of scissors next day. Sun Meiniang had disheveling hair and bathing tears on her face. She wild cut for a while in Chuanxiong¡¯s room. She cut the door curtains, tablecloths, bed curtains, and clothes in the cab into pieces of waste, leaving the ground covered with rags. Chuanxiong was a person who was cowardly and silent. She apologized slowly. When she realized that Sun Meiniang was too angry to receive apology, she run away in a hurry and even had no time to care about Yi in the cradle of the inner room.

    Yi¡¯s wet nurse had never seen anything like it, and she ran out with a scream. The scream woke up sleeping Yi and made her cry. The cry attracted the attention of Sun Meiniang, who was taking a sharp scissors with red eyes. She walked to the inner room step by step.

    Things were going to develop in an unexpected direction. But at this time, Miss Ji, who was visiting other maids to take flowers, ran into this scene exactly. She cleverly designed to attract attention of Sun Meiniang, and then waited for a chance to hold Yi. Then, she turned and ran quickly to Fu Shou Yard. Sun Meiniang seemed to be possessed. She was holding a scissors to run after Miss Ji, until they were in front of Madam Luo. Chuanxiong was taking refuge andining to Madam Luo. And she hid behind Madam Luo for shelter when she saw Sun Meiniang and her scissors appearing again.

    Finally, Madam Luo stood up to conciliate and asked Chuanxiong to made amends with pouring tea. This matter was even, no one was allowed to mention it again. Sun Meiniang was still angry. She took a sip of tea which was offered by Chuanxiong, but still wasn¡¯t satisfied. So, she thrown the scissors at the foot of Chuanxiong and ordered Chuanxiong to cut Yi¡¯s nails. Then Yi would stop scratching all around. Chuanxiong picked up scissors and took over Yi, who was crying, from Miss Ji¡¯s arms. She caught her young hands and cut those little nails that were almost impossible to cut one by one.

    However, after cutting carefully, Sun Meiniang, who was in charge of the work beside them, was still not satisfied. Sun Meiniang insisted on cutting again, so honest Chuanxiong did it again. After cutting nails, Chuanxiong took them to Sun Meiniang for examination. But Sun Meiniang still thought those little nails which were weaker than the petals of plum blossom were too long. She scolded Chuanxiong for cutting too carelessly and without sincerity to apologize. She ordered Chuanxiong to cut it again. If Chuanxiong could not cut well, she would do it by herself to repair those cheap ws that scratched others.

    Chuanxiong tremblingly began to cut for the third time, but what else could be cut off when the broad and thick de of scissors brushed the tender and bare little fingers? Under the strict eyes of Sun Meiniang, Chuanxiong cut down deeply... Chuanxiong thought that she had been abandoned by her husband and had no future. She would spend the rest of life in natal family. Her father died one year ago, and her mother was mean and ungrateful. It would be better for her aunt to treat her. She would inevitably have to ask for a living with Second Sister-inw, so she couldn¡¯t offend Sun Meiniang. She had to calm Sun Meiniang¡¯s anger. Sun Meiniang¡¯s daughter was ¡°disfigured¡±. It was her daughter who started all the trouble.

    Thinking of this, Chuanxiong cut the flesh where was joint of a pink nail deeply. After she cut, the fingertip began to ooze out of blood slowly. Chuanxiong was extremely distressed. But she found that Sun Meiniang was satisfied when she looked up. Chuanxiong suddenly had a moment of enlightenment that Sun Meiniang was not afraid that Yi¡¯s nails were too long to scratch other peopleter. Instead, Sun Meiniang wanted Yi to get ¡°corporal punishment¡±!

    Chuanxiong thought for a while. The face of Sun Meiniang¡¯s daughter was hurt, and now they wanted her daughter topensate with hands. Although it was too much to force a baby, Sun Meiniang was still angry. And Sun Meiniang was the mother of a little daughter who was ¡°disfigured¡±. The feeling could be understood that the murderer must be punished in any ways. What¡¯s more, she and her daughter were going to live in Luo¡¯s Family in the future. They all counted on Second Sister-inw to deal with their basic necessities of life in every aspect. And even Yi¡¯s future marriage would have to go through Second Sister-inw... Now that she just needed to cut a little bit of Yi¡¯s skin, and Sun Meiniang would calm her anger...

    Chuanxiong bit her teeth and cut her daughter¡¯s nails again. Just cut a little skin, cut a little skin¡­ Clicks...

    After cutting four times, the lovely snow-white little hands of Yi were cut out of five small fingers that oozed out of blood. In a nce, the bloody one was particrly shocking. Yi burst into tears in pain and cried out loud, which made Chuanxiong¡¯s heart pained. But Chuanxiong still loosed her little hand which had been soaked in blood, and gritted her teeth to grab the other little hand.

    Madam Luo couldn¡¯t stand it anymore firstly. She stopped Chuanxiong from cutting the other hand, and then she snapped at Sun Meiniang. She asked Sun Meiniang not to mention it again. Just turn this page over. The family made for a good life together and didn¡¯t allowed to leave any problem in everybody¡¯s hearts. Sun Meiniang simply tied up her loose hair, and became the elegant young woman as usual. She bowed to Madam Luo and left.

    Under the eyes of Madam Luo¡¯s slight apology and Miss Ji¡¯s sympathy, Chuanxiong held the little hand of her daughter, which was too painful to curl or straight, and gurgled out blood, she burst into tears. She med herself that she had a bby character. Since she couldn¡¯t protect her daughter, she should not act rashly to take her daughter out of He¡¯s Family. At least, her daughter was a miss there, and the only one in He¡¯s Family. Her daughter¡¯s life wouldn¡¯t be too bad even if she lived without her mother. Unlike now, many other people in Luo¡¯s Family always said that Yi had dyed her mother¡¯s future; Yi was a burden and a person with bad luck; Yi was not as good as a first-ss maid with status and dignity. Luo Chuanxiong thought, she brought all of the hurt to her daughter! She was a miserable person, and even her daughter had be a miserable person!

    Yi heard the crying of her mother, so she cried even more. The scene of mother and daughter cried together made Madam Luo shake her head and sigh. Since then, there had been irreparable cracks between Chuanxiong and Sun Meiniang, the former friends. Apart from the greetings in public, they would almost say nothing.

    Madam Luo doubted that Sun Meiniang and Chuanxiong already had nothing to say at home. How could Sun Meiniang go to Chuanxiong and He Fu¡¯s house privately?

    Feng Yang was very interested in the ¡°scratching face incident¡±, which was mentioned by He Danggui. He asked, ¡°Sister He, what happened after you scratched her face? Ha-ha, I didn¡¯t expect that you were so fierce when you were just more than three years old. No wonder you treat me, well, nothing.¡±

    He Danggui rolled her eyes to Feng Yang and said, ¡°I never said that I scratched the face of my Fourth Sister. My story has the next set.¡±

    ¡°The next set?¡± Feng Yang smiled and said, ¡°Go ahead. I¡¯m all ears.¡±

    He Danggui put up an index finger and yfully said, ¡°The next set is called ¡®The real murderer came out, who concealed the truth and chased the wet nurse¡¯.¡±

 Chapter 200 - Stingy Sister He

    <h4>Chapter 200 Stingy Sister He</h4>

    Luo Chuangu suddenly jumped up from the chair and grabbed Doctor Ma¡¯s cor. He asked, ¡°Concubine Hua is weak? She couldn¡¯t sleep well? She often ate crabs? Why didn¡¯t you mention a word this afternoon?¡±

    He was very clear about the fact that Sun Meiniang had aborted for three times. The first time was because she had believed the words of the fortune-teller, who said that the fetus would be an unfilial and rebellious son when he was born and raised. Sun Meiniang was confused for a moment and had abortions. Thest two times happened after she gave birth to Shao. She found that fetus would die in her lower abdomen when she was pregnant at the beginning of the second month. The stillbirth was very ominous. If stillbirth happened in arge family like them, the whole family would gather together to worship ancestors and beg for protection. So, Sun Meiniang told him that since the matter of pregnancy hadn¡¯t been spread out, she had better to abort stealthily and conceal the matter of pregnancy.

    Therefore, at the first time, Luo Chuangu personally decocted abortifacient for Sun Meiniang. But at the second time, Luo Chuangu was not at home coincidentally when Sun Meiniang had an excruciating pain in the belly because of stillbirth. After he returned home, Sun Meiniang told him that she secretly asked Chuanxiong for help and asked a bowl of abortifacient. Luo Chuangu knew this detailly, so he didn¡¯t have any surprising reaction while He Danggui said it. Besides, he didn¡¯t care about those problems now. It didn¡¯t matter who scratched his daughter¡¯s face. Anyway, there was no scar left on her face. He had heard that Sun Meiniang forced Chuanxiong to cut his niece¡¯s nails, but it was the usual fighting among women. The most favorite thing for women was to make noise. It was not suitable for men to interrupt them.

    Seeing Doctor Ma¡¯s hesitant look on his face, Luo Chuangu was anxious. He asked, ¡°Did you hide anything from us? Make it clear, or you will be punished!¡±

    Doctor Ma gritted his teeth and said ruthlessly, ¡°Second Lord, I¡¯m sorry. I charged Concubine Hua 100 liang silver and promised to help her tell a lie.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Luo Chuangu¡¯s eyes looked like bells. He shouted, ¡°You help Concubine Hua to lie?!¡±

    ¡°What?¡± At the same time, Feng Yang yelled on the other side, ¡°You meant that the middle-aged woman cut your five fingers for two small cuts, but when she came back to see her daughter after revenge, she found that there were more wounds on her daughter¡¯s face. After investigation, she found that there was a thorn in the cuff of her daughter¡¯s wet nurse. All the wounds were pulled out by that thorn. It was none of your business. But instead of apologizing to you, the middle-aged woman dismissed the wet nurse back home?!¡± Feng Yang spoke the whole sentence in one shot, which sessfully attracted people¡¯s attention. Then he asked He Danggui, ¡°How did you know the truth? The middle-aged woman was sure to keep her mouth shut!¡±

    The middle-aged woman, Sun Meiniang, pointed at Feng Yang and He Danggui with shivering hands. She said in a shrill voice, ¡°If you talk nonsense there again, I¡¯ll blow you all out of Luo¡¯s Mansion! He Danggui, you¡¯re a bad gossip girl. You don¡¯t belong to our family at all!¡±

    Feeling that Madam Luo and others were looking at her, He Danggui told Feng Yang slowly, ¡°The wet nurse who did wrong things went back to her hometown with a severance payment of 5 liang silver. After a few years, her family had been destitute because the money had run out. She thought it would be better to go back to Luo¡¯s Family again, rather than to work hard. If they could get a sum of money from those rich people, they would make their family have no worries about food and clothing.¡±

    Feng Yang chuckled and said, ¡°But your Second Aunt was so stingy, right? Only 5 liang severance pay? If the wet nurse got 50 liang silver, she would be honest and would note back to look for your Second Aunt in the future.¡±

    ¡°Oh, you couldn¡¯t say that. The wet nurse scratched a lot of wounds on my Fourth Sister¡¯s face. She was sent away because she had made a mistake, not as a meritorious official returning home. In fact, it is more appropriate to call it ¡®hush money¡¯.¡± He Danggui exined patiently, ¡°What¡¯s more, although my Second Aunt had a lot of money, she was born as a daughter of the concubine. Maybe she didn¡¯t see much money when she was a child. So, she was very good at calcting and got used to it. It¡¯s easy to change rivers and mountains but hard to change a person¡¯s nature. Just like my mother, now she only relies on her dowry money. Although she won¡¯t spend all her property, she earns less and spends more. The more money she spends, the less she will leave. In spite of this, she still doesn¡¯t know how to save money. I am toozy to talk with her. Ah, my mother was born as a legitimate daughter. Since she was a child, she has been used tovish money and lived a happy life. It¡¯s probably the most direct expression of the difference between the legitimate daughter and the daughter of the concubine.¡±

    Sun Meiniang red at He Danggui, and her eyes seemed to bleed. But Feng Yang lowered his voice and asked, ¡°What about you? Sister He, you are so rich but so stingy. Is it because you were too short of money when you were a child?¡±

    He Danggui looked at Feng Yang suspiciously and asked, ¡°How do you know I¡¯m rich? Do I look like a rich person?¡±

    Feng Yang froze for a moment. Then he waved his hand and smiled. He said, ¡°Ha, I said it casually. Don¡¯t mind it!¡± He Danggui stared at his face for a long time, and then she lowered her eyshes to think something.

    Madam Luo couldn¡¯t help asking, ¡°Yi, did the wet nurse who named Jiane back again? Why had I never saw her in Luo¡¯s Mansion?¡± Madam Luo suddenly remembered that Shao¡¯s wet nurse had already changed when she went to see her granddaughter Shao, a few days after the scratching face incident subsiding. In all likelihood, what Yi said was true!

    He Danggui said with a smile, ¡°Well, the wet nurse Jian had been to Yangzhou City twice. She firstly came to East Yard to find her old master. She said that her son in her hometown had a terminal illness and needed money to cure. However, Second Aunt only helped her with a little money, which could just support their family for 3 months except the fee of round-trip. It was too much different from the amount expected before wet nurse Jian came. She had to went back to her hometown, but she found that she cursed her son. Her son had a strange disease. The barefoot doctor in the country said that it could be cured only in the city. So, she took her son into Yangzhou City again with anding truck. She went directly to He¡¯s House to find my mother. When they met, she began to kowtow. After her head was bleeding, she lifted up and spoke. She told the truth of that case and made amends to my mother. She begged my mother to give her life-saving money since she has been working in Luo family for decades.¡±

    He Danggui¡¯s soft and shallow voice fascinated everyone. Feng Yang was the first to return his mind and interrupted, ¡°Your mother had been greatly wronged because of this provocative wet nurse, and she was not the master of the wet nurse. It was not up to her to reward the money, was it?¡±

    He Danggui shook her head and said, ¡°My mother was not only soft-natured, but also lenient. She immediately took out 50 liang silver to cure the son of wet nurse Jian. She also wrote a letter to ask her to find Doctor Ma, and gave a privilege for them to see the doctor without queuing up. Later, they used the 50 liang for medical treatment, food and amodation. After her son cured, they went back to their hometown.¡±

    Madam Luo looked at Doctor Ma and asked, ¡°Do you remember this, Ma Sanliang?¡±

    Doctor Ma nodded and said, ¡°Yes, there was such a thing. A few years ago, a woman named Jian came to see me with the Mrs. Luo¡¯s letter. As the letter told me, I only charged her medicine without the cost of treatment. And I cured the woman¡¯s son for three months.¡±

    Feng Yang rubbed his chin and muttered in a low voice, ¡°She left her daughter alone, but she was kind and generous to others. Is there something wrong with your mother¡¯s brain? She is overly nice.¡±

    He Danggui sighed and said, ¡°Yes, my mother¡¯s brain is really a bit stupid. There is no such a fool as her among 10 women, but there are also blessings for overly nice people. After returning to her hometown, the wet nurse Jian always remembered my mother¡¯s kindness. Three years ago, when she visited my mother with local products, she realized that my mother had gone to Sanqing Temple as an idle hermit. So, she went all the way to Sanqing Temple, and stayed with my mother for half a month. Then she went back to Yangzhou City for Qingming Festival with my mother¡¯s carriage. They didn¡¯t expect that they met robbers on the road. Those robbers robbed their property and also wanted to kill them. The wet nurse Jian blocked a knife for my mother and died instantly.¡±

    ¡°Oh? I didn¡¯t expect that the loyal servant who saved Chuanxiong¡¯s life was the wet nurse Jian!¡± Madam Luo also heard that Chuanxiong talked about meeting robbers on her way home. She recalled, ¡°It seemed that she ran into Shizi Duanter and was saved by him?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± He Danggui said with a smile. ¡°I heard from the students in the academy. Master Duan assaulted the Marquisst month, and now he has be Marquis Duan.¡±

    ¡°Marquis?¡± Madam Luo opened her eyes and blurted out in surprise, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t Guan Yun be an imperial mandate madam? Wouldn¡¯t Guan Mo be Marquis¡¯s brother-inw? Yi, aren¡¯t you really willing to consider about Guan Mo? If you marry him, you will be rted to Marquis Ning¡¯s Mansion!¡± Madam Luo thought, if she used this rtionship to help Qian find an official job and let him rx in a different environment, he might get out from the shadow of the massacre!

    He Danggui didn¡¯t expect that Madam Luo was a so fast thinker who had a wealth of association. She choked for a moment and spoke nothing. Feng Yang immediately replied for her, ¡°She would rather be a nun than marry Guan Mo. If you force her to ept this marriage, maybe she will murder her husband after they get married. In fact, Madam Luo, you don¡¯t have to worry about her marriage. I have calcted that her future husband would be 10 times or 100 times well than Guan Mo. And it will be a naturally good marriage. You won¡¯t have to ask for anything.¡±

    Sun Meiniang sneered and said, ¡°Childe Feng does deserve to be a businessman in Jianghu. You did talk shop. Those you said are what warlocks on the overpass often say.¡±

    Feng Yang suddenly waved the fan, which scared Sun Meiniang. He stared at He Danggui with a stic smile, ¡°Sister He, what your mother did was in line with the saying that one good turn deserves another. It was no wonder that your Second Aunt badly treated you and had the face to enquire something about abortifacient from your mother. It turns out that your mother is a lenient person.¡±

    He Danggui agreed, ¡°Yes, my mother epted knowledge when she was young. And she also learned some pharmacology, especially good at women¡¯s prescriptions. So, Second Aunt went to ask her what abortifacient could bring no harm to body. At that time, I had nothing to do but squat beside the door and listened to them. At first, my mother suggested that she could use the medicine named Mutong Sanhefen. But Second Aunt was not satisfied with it. She said that it was sold in the ordinary herbal medicine shops. She thought that it was not as useful as the ancient prescriptions of famous doctors. How could she take the same medicine as civilian? My mother had no choice but to diagnose her pulse and prescribe like a doctor. However, my mother eximed, ¡®Meiniang, wasn¡¯t this your first abortion? You should be more cautious after this time. You can¡¯t abort any more, otherwise your body will be harmed!¡¯ Second Aunt replied, ¡®Do you think that I was willing to abort? Every time I discovered that I had been pregnant at the beginning of the month, it would turn into stillbirth at the end of the month. I have experienced that for 4 times. Your heartless Second Elder Brother was still pestering me to give birth to a son for him!¡¯¡±

    ¡°4 times?!¡± Madam Luo jumped up from her seat and said, ¡°Has she had abortions for 4 times?¡±

    ¡°4 times?¡± Luo Chuangu, who did not care about that at the beginning, was so anxious immediately. He asked, ¡°Didn¡¯t she abort for 3 times? How could it turn into 4 times?¡±

    ¡°What nonsense are you talking about?¡± Sun Meiniang rushed forward in a great hurry and tried to scratch the face of He Danggui. But she was separated by the folding fan of Feng Yang. And then Feng Yang shouted at everyone, ¡°A cornered dog will leap over the wall. She is going to kill someone in full view!¡±

    Sun Meiniang screamed, ¡°Don¡¯t believe her. I¡¯ve never told Luo Chuanxiong that how many times I had abortions, and I haven¡¯t had abortions for 4 times!¡± Sun Meiniang thought, ¡°Damn, how can He Danggui know how many times I¡¯d had?¡± The first time she was aborted was for He Jingxian before she got married. This was the top of secret absolutely. She survived by taking medicine in the small dark room without anyone. Even Ding Rong¡¯s wife didn¡¯t know that she had done it before she got married. How could the wicked girl know?!

    He Danggui recalled that she had looked up Sun Meiniang¡¯s twisted face in the cold-Water Dungeon in the previous life. She listened to one amazing secret after another from Sun Meiniang. He Danggui couldn¡¯t help smiling in her heart. When Sun Meiniang told her everything, Sun Meiniang had never expected that she, He Danggui, would have a day of renascence and take revenge!

    Facing with Luo Chuangu¡¯s question, He Danggui replied slowly, ¡°Maybe I didn¡¯t hear it clearly. And there is no clear distinction between 3 and 4. Well, anyway, as a child, my words were full of childish, and no one would believe what I said. And my mother is known as a good person, she has already agreed with Second Aunt to keep her secret. If I haven¡¯t been wronged today to put abortifacient, I wouldn¡¯t tell it. Anyway, I¡¯ve never done anything about Concubine Hua¡¯s medicine. I¡¯m just defending myself, and I didn¡¯t have any intention to revenge others.¡±

    ¡°I understand you.¡± Feng Yang nodded and sighed, ¡°You are the person who respects the old and loves the young most in this family. You always worry about all the things of the family, from the tea of Madam Luo to the bed where your little nephew wets. So, how can you frame others?¡±

    He Danggui looked at Luo Chuangu and concluded, ¡°Second Uncle, that¡¯s all what I know, and my argument has finished. Now you can judge whether what I said is right or not. Anyway, I have a clear conscience.¡± Suddenly, she thought of something and added, ¡°By the way, I also have a witness, Shu Qin, who was suddenly pregnant in my yard. Since she was pregnant, I have been taking antiabortifacient from Medicine Pavilion for her to eat. And she has taken it for some time. The children in Medicine Pavilion had no idea how to prepare antiabortifacient. After receiving my silver, they all directly took a few packs from the pile of medicinal packs of Concubine Hua and gave to me. Then I took them back to Shu Qin, and she has always been in a good health. The medicinal materials she has eaten were thrown in the trash basket in back yard, and everyone here can check them out.¡±

    Ding Rong¡¯s wife snorted coldly and said, ¡°Didn¡¯t that cheap maid miscarry? Third Miss, don¡¯t you remember what you have said?¡±

    ¡°Oh, I was just amused with Guan Mo,¡± He Danggui tilted her head and said with a smile, ¡°Didn¡¯t you see how anxious he was after listening to it? He went to look for Shu Qin without paying attention to the bustle of our family. He refused to admit it. I think he has brought Shu Qin back to Guan Mansion by now.¡±

    Ding Rong¡¯s wife wanted to say something more, but she saw Sun Meiniang suddenly fall on the ground. She rushed to catch Sun Meiniang and called out in a sad voice, ¡°What¡¯s the matter with you, Second Mistress Luo? You can¡¯t break your body and let those viins have their ambition.¡±

    Luo Chuangu suspected that Sun Meiniang was pretending to be dizzy to evade the me. He didn¡¯t move with cold face. Doctor Ma went forward to feel the pulse. He looked up and said, ¡°Madam Luo, Second Lord, Second Mistress Luo has been pregnant.¡±

    Before people in the room reacted, Liu Quan, the steward of the outer courtyard, put his head forward and cried in a low voice, ¡°Madam Luo, Second Lord, Madam Xiong of West Yard is dying. Master Tang is looking for Dr. Ma all over the world. Will you let them go for checking?¡±

    Doctor Ma said in surprise, ¡°OK, I¡¯m going to have a look.¡± However, after he had just taken 2 steps, Luo Chuangu grabbed his sleeve and said gloomily, ¡°If you don¡¯t exin clearly about Concubine Hua today, you cannot go anywhere! Even if Buddha and Yama call you together, it¡¯s useless!¡±

    Seeing this, He Danggui couldn¡¯t help but feel strange. She asked, ¡°Second Uncle, since Concubine Hua has colluded with Doctor Ma to lie. Let¡¯s call Concubine Hua out and ask her. Isn¡¯t this a solution? Where is Concubine Hua?¡±

    Shi Liu told her in a low voice, ¡°When Concubine Hua heard that there was such a problem with her fetus, she was stimted for a moment and then went crazy.¡±

    ¡°Crazy?!¡± He Danggui was shock, and her eyes widened.

    Madam Luo said decisively, ¡°Ma Sanliang, you and other doctors will go to West Yard to see Madam Xiong. When the matter is solved, you cane back and exin everything clearly. You can¡¯t get away with it. Chuangu, stop being angry and loose Doctor Ma¡¯s sleeve.¡± Luo Chuangu had to let Doctor Ma go reluctantly.

    Shi Liu looked at the back of a group of doctors who had left in a hurry. Then she took a look at He Danggui. She quickly called out to Madam Luo, ¡°Third Miss is still seriously injured. She has lost too much blood. Won¡¯t you leave a doctor treating her?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t bother!¡± Feng Yang put the folding fan sideways, and pushed He Danggui out of the door. He turned his head and waved hand to Madam Luo and others with a smile. He said, ¡°I¡¯ll cure her. I¡¯m good at healing. Then we¡¯ll leave first. I¡¯lle to pay respects to Madam Luo and you all another day, goodbye!¡±

    He Danggui walked out of the main hall gate and stepped out of the Fu Shou Yard with a big stride. She snorted to the person behind her and said, ¡°Bai Yangbai, you¡¯re acting well this time and almost cheated me. What did you mean by those words just now? Do you want to be my ¡®umbre¡¯?¡±

 Chapter 201 - The man who fettered Zhu Quan

    <h4>Chapter 201 The man who fettered Zhu Quan</h4>

    Feng Yang waved the folding fan and then paused. Blinking his innocent eyes, he asked, ¡°Ha? Bai Yangbai? Sister He, how can you call Taoist Sage by his first name? Be careful that your backyard will be flooded with rain as soon as he gets angry. Please show a bit of respect for him in the future.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± He Danggui raised her eyebrows and hanged up her lips. She said, ¡°Do you mean that I misunderstood you? In that way, the man who is a little interested to me and wants to be my ¡®umbre¡¯ is not Taoist Sage, but you, Childe Feng? It¡¯s a great pleasure. So, Childe Feng, when do you be interested in me? I don¡¯t even know.¡±

    Feng Yang was stunned again. He didn¡¯t expect to pass the test by this way. Really? Did Girl He really regard him as Feng Yang? He thought, ¡°Whatever, let me find out whether her attitude towards Feng Yang is theplex feelings of ambivalence at first.¡±

    She had just regarded him as Feng Yang. And when she heard that he was going to take her away, her attitude towards friends turned into the attitude towards enemies immediately. And she was on a state ofbat! Then she said, ¡°You won¡¯t get what you want. You can only take my body away.¡± It was so exciting about what kind of entanglement between her and Feng Yang. Was Feng Yang¡¯s feeling towards her the same as Duan Xiaolou¡¯s feeling? Feng Yang pursued but failed, and then he tossed and turned. Maybe she had admired Feng Yang for a long time, but she couldn¡¯t lower her noble head. Then she caused the hate instead of love and avoided Feng Yang until she heard that he was a gay man.

    Bai Yangbai thought, ¡°Girl, don¡¯t me me for my strong curiosity. Just because you have multiple mysteries, people around you will like to explore the mystery one by one. Then I will explore immodestly!¡±

    ¡°Eh-hem!¡± Bai Yangbai cleared his throat with the face of Feng Yang. ¡°Sister He, I¡¯ve been loving you actually for a long time. I heard that you were also interested in me, so I proposed to the Madam Luo. However, your reaction was not very good, and I suspended the proposal temporarily. I want to ask you privately. What¡¯s your opinion of me?¡± While saying, he thought, ¡°Come on. Go ahead. What¡¯s your opinion of Feng Yang?¡±

    Holding her chin with forefinger, He Danggui thought and said in the meantime, ¡°Let me think, Childe Feng. You are young, promising, generous and full of justice. Your family have so much money, and you have so many sisters. You are the person who makes all men with envy and the object of all the womenpeting for marriage. But then, I have never told you about my thoughts. How do you know that I have been interested in you implicitly?¡± Since Bai Yangbai liked to y, she could y with him.

    Bai Yangbai was surprised. It was so fast to confess! He didn¡¯t expect that Girl He liked Feng Yang who was a marked man. Although Chang Nuo under the mask was not inferior to Feng Yang, Chang Nuo had been hanged out with Zhu Quan all these years and was not cute at all. Chang Nuo¡¯s real temperament in the childhood was covered by that mask. Now, Chang Nuo couldn¡¯t find himself either. Well, in short, Chang Nuo had gradually be the second Zhu Quan. And all his head and heart were full of ambition.

    Bai Yangbai still felt a bit of guilty when he thought of Zhu Quan. When he saw the Seventeenth Prince of Zhu Yuanzhang for the first time, he found that Quan¡¯s outline and brown eyes were much alike Prince Ji. So, he suspected that Quan had the same Mongolian noble blood as himself.

    Taking advantage of the opportunity that Zhu Yuanzhang called him into the pce, he ran to see Consort Yang, who was the mother of Seventeenth Prince. Ha, his cousin Yang Hua who was the Infanta Xiye in those years had be the favorite consort of Emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang! She could not leave the extravagant pce life, or she wanted to hide around Zhu Yuanzhang and waited for the opportunity to avenge the country¡¯s destruction?

    He didn¡¯t know the answer. His mood was tooplicated, so he didn¡¯t go to ask her. When he wanted to ask her, Consort Yang had offended Zhu Yuanzhang and been cut off her beautiful head. As a result, he could no longer get the answer. So, he had to train the Seventeenth Prince with great care, instilling in Quan the political strategies that he had learned and seen from the imperial pce of the Yuan Dynasty and passing on to him all kinds of ingenious skills that he had learned from the marketces and Jianghu of the Ming Dynasty. Then the Seventeenth Prince could be an independent man and not lose the face of their Mongolian aristocratic men.

    Seeing that the Seventeenth Prince had bing more and more interested in imperial skills, Bai Yangbai had aplicated feeling. He didn¡¯t know when Quan was more like his father who was a kind of person living in a cover. Had this natural noble blood wakened up so that Quan yearned for the supreme position? Was the learning from him and his deep hatred for Zhu Yuanzhang, infected and assimted Quan? And it finally put Quan into that cover?

    At the beginning, Bai Yangbai couldn¡¯t help but give his nephew a hand when he saw his nephew was living too hard in the capital. He helped his nephew go further and stand on a higher position. In this way, people who treated Quan with tease would be fewer. Later, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered Quan as Lord Ning and let him be in charge of the 40,000 cavalries of Daning. However, Quan asked him for some advice about how to go further and gain more power to master more troops. Quan also wanted to know how to make more civil and military ministers attach to him, and let Zhu Yuanzhang trust him more and rely on him.

    At that time, Bai Yangbai had a thought. Was there anything wrong when he originally wanted to help Quan ¡°go further¡±?

    Since Quan was a prince, did the power of ¡°going further¡± and temptation of killingpletely change him? He went further and then went further again. He would face the struggle for the crown prince and the throne in the future. Although Quan was a prince, he was the seventeenth in the family. How many obstacles did he have to clear to take the throne? Those obstacles were all his siblings. Wouldn¡¯t he care about them?

    However, no matter whether Bai Yangbai regretted or not, he couldn¡¯t correct and control Quan anymore. As soon as Quan was put into the sky like a former paper kite, he became an eagle on the prairie. ¡°The vast sea leaps by fish and the sky is high enough for birds to fly.¡± Left him to pursue his power ambition and the desire to kill. There was nothing could fetter him anymore on the earth. Even his only mother who was always in his heart, was taken away by Zhu Yuanzhang. What should he have to worry about? Could it be said that one day, the young man in white who used to lute by the sidewalk in the capital, would really follow a road that full of blood and directly split a road of king?

    Well, it¡¯s toote to repent. Now there had no choice in this matter. Even as his little Uncle and also his teacher, had no idea of him. A demon went into Quan¡¯s heart, but he confused the world with a perfect mask of Immortal. All the civil and military officials in the court as well as little girls who dreamed of love in their boudoirs admired him. Even the Girl He, who was as hard as stones, also interested in him... s...

    Oh? Girl He liked Chang Nuo who disguised himself as Feng Yang. Was it because Chang Nuo and Quan had a simr temperament? The people Girl He actually liked were a kind of figures as domineering as Quan, who trampled all women under the feet, right?

    Bai Yangbai nced at the beautiful calm face and said something in the heart. She required all the men who pursued her to achieve monogamy in all her life. In fact, she was afraid that the other could not control such a queen like her. It was a way of gentle refusal! When Quan came to her one day, she would change from a crow which pecked everywhere to a gentle little canary and jump into Quan¡¯s cage obediently.

    Tut-tut, he didn¡¯t expect that she was a masochist... But when did she fall in love with Quan?

    As he thought it, he blurted out, ¡°Well, Sister He, although I like you a little bit, but I still think I prefer a man rather a woman. So, I have to think about it carefully for your admiration.¡± Bai Yangbai shamelessly brought shame on Feng Yang with the face of Feng Yang. He thought that Feng Yang always chased after him and asked for studies. Maybe there was really something about impure love. Bai Yangbai asked tentatively while ying a fan, ¡°I also heard that you had a little admiration for Zhu Quan, the Lord Ning. When did you meet and fall in love with him? I¡¯m so curious!¡±

    Bai Yangbai didn¡¯t know that he had thoroughly exposed himself because of hisst words.

    As early as the day when Feng Yang brought the rare pearl and blood coral to He Danggui as the ¡°love token¡± of Zhu Quan for the first time, He Danggui was forced to receive the gift, but she also took the opportunity to make some rules with Feng Yang. The first rule was that he should not mention ¡°Lord Ning¡± or ¡°Zhu Quan¡± casually in front of her. And if he had to mention, he should use the pseudonym ¡°Ning Yuan¡± to rece it.

    Although this request was a bit of deceiving herself, He Danggui could not stand the disgust from her heart when the name rang around her ears. She disgusted the utilitarian and selfish Zhu Quan, and also deeply disliked herself who was deceived and confused by Zhu Quan in the previous life. She had made up her mind to say goodbye to herself who had no self in the previous life. She had started again in a new body. Why not let her go? She did not understand why the Immortal made such an arrangement. Since she was given a new life, why did she suffer in the fog of the previous life?

    The second rule was that Feng Yang could not mention that some bigwigs were interested in her in front of the Madam Luo. At the same time, he should be so cautious in his words. Otherwise, Madam Luo may think that there was something between Feng Yang and her, and then discussed the marriage with Ms. Feng. She did not want to be sold at a low price unconsciously.

    What He Danggui had nned in the heart was that as long as she seized opportunities at the end of Hongwu Period, she could pick up some treasures in the gap of the power center and get a new identity. She would no longer be criticized in her life, and she could benefit her mother as well. Her mother did not have to hide in Taoist temple all her life. The most important thing was that she could find a person who liked her and get married as his wife with her gorgeous identity. Then she could refuse him to marry concubines with the status of wife, so as to achieve her wonderful wish of monogamy.

    At that time, Feng Yang casually agreed to her in first two requests, and thenforted her with soft words. He said that she didn¡¯t have to be too nervous or afraid. ¡°Lord¡± was also the human being instead of a kind of monster which ate people. Ning Yuan just appreciated her temperament which was different from the ordinary girl from a pure man¡¯s point of view. At the same time, he pitied her deste life experience and wanted to help her live a better life. And then he would let those snobs of Luo¡¯s Family look up to her.

    He Danggui jeered. Ho-ho. If she were still herself in previous life, maybe she would be really deluded by his words. It was so attractive and infectious! However, she had a deepmon sense since she had already spent two lives. It was that there was no free lunch in the world. Any attractive foods couldn¡¯t be put on her mouth in vain, because all the good appearances were exchanged for the interests behind it equivalently.

    She was ¡°appreciated¡± by Zhu Quan just because she had aroused his interest in a wrong way, which made him feel that she was a person who could help his great cause of kingship. At that time when Zhu Quan¡¯s Zhenqi was so frenzied that almost led Zhu Quan to be possessed by the devil, if she had behaved like a normal woman after she woke up from his bed, he would have not been interested in her. She would kneel down in tears and pester him repeatedly when she heard that he would let her be his concubine. She would ask him not to leave her and take her together. Then he must have a disgust for her and avoid her, as if avoiding a snake or a scorpion.

    If she could reborn again, she would not offend Zhu Quan and hurt Duan Xiaolou.

 Chapter 202 - It was good to be a woman

    <h4>Chapter 202 It was good to be a woman</h4>

    He Danggui asked Feng Yang to help her hide it from Madam Luo that ¡°a Lord has taken a fancy to her¡±. Although Feng Yang immediately agreed to her, he also kindly reminded her that she could hide it for a while, but could not for a lifetime. The Lord would ask someone to propose a marriage to her sooner orter. Feng Yang saw He Danggui¡¯s facial expression as rigid as a stone statue. He wondered whether this was the way that all women react to men¡¯s affection. So, he described Lord Ning¡¯s appearance and talent in detail. He said that even if Lord Ning didn¡¯t have the status of a Lord, he was also a handsome figure like a banished immortal. With his identity and power, as well as his bright future, his women would be the most promising women definitely.

    He Danggui wanted tough at these words. Up to now, she still wanted tough at the thought of these words. So, sheughed at Bai Yangbai, who worn a mask of Feng Yang. She said softly, ¡°How could we as grassroots and women who are humble to survive have anything to do with great personages like Lord Ning. In fact, the matter was like this. One year, Lord Ning came to Yangzhou for a private visit. I didn¡¯t know that he was a high-ranking man who I could not offend, and I offended him once. At that time, he had a chance to kill me, but he said that killing me with a knife would be too boring. Before I tasted the fear of death, I should be driven half-crazy by the fear of hanging a sword on my head and the desperation that apanies me. Then, he¡¯ll take my life.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Bai Yangbai eximed, ¡°When has he be so shameless? Even the little girl was also frightened by him. What repulsive addiction he has!¡± Because Bai Yangbai was so surprised, he even forgot to imitate the voice of Feng Yang with the ventriloquism. After saying this, he reacted and raised his hand to cover the mouth, but he could not hold back the words he said.

    He Danggui sneered and asked, ¡°Brother Qianjun, what¡¯s going on? No more acting? I¡¯m still waiting to y with you.¡±

    Bai Yangbai opened his eyes in surprise, and said in a low voice, ¡°You have recognized that I am not Feng Yang, and you are making fun of me. No wonder you are so enthusiastic and active. You show your love to me as soon as youe up. It¡¯s not your usual character. When you were good with Duan, if you had half of the present initiative, you two would have lived happily ever after.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s clear that you made fun of me first. Of course, I¡¯m very grateful that you dressed up as Feng Yang to help me out.¡± He Danggui snorted and said, ¡°However, you did not give me a hint in the first ce. Then, you disguised as Feng Yang and talked to me. You even asked if you can be my umbre. I¡¯m confused. I think that Feng Yang may be insane. Unexpectedly, he loved women instead of men.¡±

    Bai Yangbai touched his nose embarrassedly and then argued, ¡°But Feng Yang didn¡¯t say that he didn¡¯t love women. Maybe the women his mother gave to him were not good. He must be reluctant to leave someone like you in the ice cer, and he will be very fond of you. How about that, girl? I helped you all night, ying the role of an old woman, a servant girl, and a romantic brother. And I only charged you 20 liang silver for my performance. You should tell me the truth to satisfy my curiosity that why do you tremble unconsciously when you hear the names of Feng Yang and Quan. Did Quan really threaten you like that? How did you offend him? I¡¯m curious!¡±

    He Danggui shrugged her shoulders and told him a brief progress about how she had offended Lord Ning. Then she said, ¡°He has already been offended, and it is meaningless to investigate the past again. After I offended Lord Ning, I thought he would kill me. But he left Yangzhou on the next day. I was secretly d that I survived. However, after a period of time, Feng Yang found me and said that it was not so easy to let me go. Lord Ning is a very vengeful person. He just thought that killing me directly was not enjoyable, so he saved my life. When I grew up, he would put me in his pce and torture me to death. I¡¯m scared to death by such threats. So, as soon as I heard the names of those two people, I couldn¡¯t help but shake.¡±

    Bai Yangbai¡¯s mouth was widely opened, as if he could not understand the meaning of He Danggui¡¯s words. After a long time, he said, ¡°You mean, you have been ordered by Quan, haven¡¯t you? No wonder! No wonder you are indifferent to other men. But how did you seduce Quan? He has critical eyes!¡± Then his tone suddenly became sour and sarcastic in his sharp voice, ¡°I suddenly have a feeling that the top men in the Ming Dynasty will all like you. Tut-tut, you let the heroes of the world bend down for you. It¡¯s really envious. I want to be a woman, too.¡±

    He Danggui was speechless about Bai Yangbai¡¯s understanding ability, so she told him in the most solemn tone, ¡°I¡¯m very sure that the Lord Ning doesn¡¯t even have affection between man and women for me. Even if he likes Luo Baiqiong, Sun Meiniang, and Biddy Wen, he won¡¯t like me. I really offended him several times by my words, and identally showed a little talent of mine, so he wanted me to work for him and be a female killer. Brother Qian, you know the Lord Ning well. You must understand that a big shot like him would ever take little girls seriously, right? I¡¯m just a little Go stone on the Go board.¡±

    ¡°You...¡± Bai Yangbai hesitantly asked, ¡°Do you know the rtionship between Quan and me?¡± Otherwise, how could she repeatedly mention the enemy with him and ¡°bribe¡± him with a lot of money to help her deal with the enemy. He originally thought that the enemy was someone like Guan Mo or Sun Meiniang¡¯s younger brother Sun Yanbin. It turned out that the enemy was Quan!

    He Danggui didn¡¯t know how to exin that she knew the teacher-student rtionship between Bai Yangbai and Zhu Quan, so she had to make a perfunctory remark for the time being, ¡°Well, Feng Yang mentioned something to me. After analysis and spection, I thought you might be a teacher of Lord Ning. In my heart, since the Lord Ning has been quite polite to you, why don¡¯t you help me to mediate the rtionship with Lord Ning? Then we can bury the hatchet, forget each other in Jianghu and not visit each other all our lives.¡±

    Hearing this, Bai Yangbai felt funny. He frowned and said, ¡°Girl, since you want me to be your lobbyist, you should tell me about the cause and effect. How can I help you if you refuse to tell me the truth?¡±

    He Danggui blinked her eyes in doubt and asked, ¡°Is what I said not clear enough? Here is the truth. Three years ago, I escaped from the clutches of the Lord Ning. After that, Feng Yang, the emissary of the Lord Ning, came to me and sent me a threatening letter from the Lord Ning. Then, Lord Ning sent threatening letters at set intervals. That¡¯s why I¡¯m so afraid of him.¡±

    Bai Yangbai raised eyebrows and asked, ¡°Threatening letter? Do you mean that Quan wrote you a threatening letter?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± He Danggui nodded sincerely. In her eyes, those luminous pearls and blood corals were not different from threatening letters. She continued, ¡°Originally, I wanted to go to Meng¡¯s Family to avoid the limelight, but you could see Meng Xuan¡¯s attitude. It seemed that once I get the name of his concubine, I have to lock myself in his house all my life, and I can¡¯t deal with anyone any more. Besides, I don¡¯t have such a good friendship with Meng Xuan, and I don¡¯t want him to incur hatred with the Lord Ning for me. Therefore, you are the most suitable person to rescue me.¡±

    Bai Yangbai looked at He Danggui¡¯s face and asked slowly, ¡°How can I help you as ¡®the best candidate¡¯? Although I¡¯m the teacher of Quan in name, he is a Lord in the high position. I¡¯m just a grass-roots person. A ¡®teacher¡¯ sounds good, but to put it bluntly, I¡¯m a senior aide and an invisible retainer. Can you understand that? I don¡¯t have the ability to dictate to him about what to do or not to do. Girl, I also want to help you. But if you want me to be your lobbyist, you have to give me a specific speech, right? I have no idea about the past of you two, so it¡¯s useless to intercede for you.¡± He said with a bit of demagogic at the end of the sentence. And he thought, ¡°Go ahead. What is my value for you?¡±

    Oh, he thought this girl was the only one who didn¡¯t make friends with him because he was the Taoist Sage. It turned out that she was making friends for the sake of making use of it. Her warm, natural, and intimate attitude towards him were quite different from those towards other men, which was just for the sake of an old feud with the Lord Ning three years ago. It turned out that the girl who was full of stories and lies was still aplete mystery to him.

    He Danggui hesitated for a moment and muttered, ¡°Well, if it doesn¡¯t work, you can go and tell Lord Ning¡­that you¡¯re going to marry me... And I heard from Feng Yang that Lord Ning still respected you. Naturally, he can¡¯t rob a woman from his teacher. Besides, he also took advantage of me. If you tell him that you want to marry me, he may think that I have be a member of his faction, so he won¡¯t distress me. Do you think whether this will work?¡± He Danggui felt that Bai Yangbai looked at her strangely, so she added, ¡°If you are willing to help me with this, I will certainly thank you. I will never refuse whatever you want. Silver or other, I promise you all!¡±

    Atst, Bai Yangbai couldn¡¯t help to sneer. He said, ¡°What a girl! How difficult is it if you want to bribe me into working for you? Why didn¡¯t you say it three years ago? As long as the price is right, I will help you do this, and be your cheap husband. Do you have to take so long time to tell me?¡±

    He Danggui was stunned and told the truth, ¡°Three years ago, I didn¡¯t think it. I didn¡¯t expect to ask you to help me. This countermeasure is also my temporary thought. What¡¯s the matter? You were willing to run errands for me three years ago, but not after three years, weren¡¯t you? Are you afraid that I can¡¯t offer the price, or that I¡¯ll fail? If you can¡¯t believe me, I can make a document for you. As long as you help me get rid of Lord Ning, I¡¯ll be willing to pay as much as you want.¡±

    Bai Yangbai chuckled and said, ¡°Girl, sometimes silver is very useful, but sometimes it¡¯s not as effective as you think. Originally, I still wanted to eat and drink with you for a period of time, and then I would like to ask for your money. But now I don¡¯t want your silver again.¡± Seeing that He Danggui showed a little anxious expression, Bai Yangbaiforted her, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I didn¡¯t say that I couldn¡¯t help you. I just wanted to change the reward. Since you don¡¯t want to marry Duan Xiaolou, Meng Xuan, or Zhu Quan, are you going to be a Taoist nun? Why don¡¯t we be a couple and practice together?¡±

    ¡°Well, what practice? I have already been your master.¡± He Danggui didn¡¯t understand Bai Yangbai¡¯s meaning. She asked, ¡°Do you mean that you¡¯re willing to help me only if I have to be a Taoist nun in your Daguomen Sect?¡±

    ¡°No, I mean, if you really want to marry me, I¡¯ll tell Zhu Quan that his master will have a wife.¡±

    Hearing this, He Danggui carefully studied Bai Yangbai¡¯s look. Then she tilted and said, ¡°Uncle Bai, what are you angry about? Do you me me for pulling you into my own mess? Or do you think I hurt your feelings by talking about money? What I do is for your own good. You are the neediest person I have ever met. We are good master and disciple. We should settle ounts clearly. Isn¡¯t this the kindest to you? Do you really mind about that?¡±

    ¡°Well, you can think that I care about the matter.¡± Bai Yangbai nodded his head and said, ¡°I think you don¡¯t want to marry anyone. You asked monogamy to Meng Xuan and Duan Xiaolou but failed. And you also look down on those who are inferior to them. It¡¯s futile to wait for ten years. You just give them hope and make themnguish for you. But I suddenly feel that you are a girl who is more ¡®tender sweet¡¯ than silver. I want to be your umbre that can be used at any time. If I marry you, I can also cut off Duan Xiaolou¡¯s expectation. It¡¯s a good thing to achieve many things at one stroke. What do you think, girl?¡±

 Chapter 203 - Coveting her Yunqi Acupuncture

    <h4>Chapter 203 Coveting her Yunqi Acupuncture</h4>

    ¡°Making the world better?¡± He Danggui sneered and said, ¡°It¡¯s like I am a scourge. What the hell are you doing, Bai Yangbai? It¡¯s irrational. When have I ever said that I don¡¯t want to get married? I don¡¯t want myself to regret, so I don¡¯t want to marry anyone at random. Besides, I will be 14-year-old not 24-year-old after the new year. Even if I am 34-year-old, I will still choose not to marry until my Mr. Right appears. You are just my friend, not my father. It¡¯s none of your business.¡± It was weird that Bai Yangbai said it. It seemed that she asked too much on Duan Meng and others, and felt sorry for them. She should marry with someone immediately in order to cut off their thoughts since she rejected them. What a weird thought!

    Bai Yangbai felt a little puzzled. Indeed, why did he suddenly get angry? He was not one of ¡°the admirers¡± of He Danggui. But he asked, ¡°Why are you making such an exception to me? Why are you guarding all man except me? Don¡¯t tell me that it because of eyes-affinity. You intertwined with me at Qunxianlou Restaurant when you firstly see me. At that time, I looked terrible.¡±

    He Danggui asked, ¡°So, why are you making an exception to me? You don¡¯t spend more than three days at a ce when you travel Jianghu. But you¡¯ve been keeping appearance around me for three years. Even if you like to have fun, there is a lot of fun in the world, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    Seeing that Bai Yangbai couldn¡¯t answer, she answered for him, ¡°First of all, you are trying to find out my secrets. Because you think that I am young but sophisticated, even more experienced than you and know your Agerasia Soup and Yingying Powder. So, you suspect that I am a weirdo who has the method of keeping my appearance just like you. But if you spend a few days in Luo¡¯s Family, inquiring about my life experience and watching the cold reception I got, you should understand that you are much better than me. You are like the dragon that has fun in the world, but I am just like a snake in the mud. Therefore, my mysterious mask was broken, and I am not as mysterious as you think. Why don¡¯t you stay by my side rather than leaving?¡±

    With the copper fan, Bai Yangbai hit the tree beside him, which left a deep scar on the tree. He murmured, ¡°With your cleverness, what can I hide from you? You got me from the very beginning, and I never have the chance to push you to the wall. Besides, I have been your disciple. ording to Daguomen Sect¡¯s rules, a teacher for day is a father for life. Now, are you still worried that I am going to do something bad to you?¡±

    He Danggui was surprised and looked at the injured trunk of the tree. She shouted, ¡°Bai Yangbai, have you made progress of your kung fu? Don¡¯t you say that it¡¯s enough for you to fight the local bullies and loafers? You said that it¡¯s useless to have too much of it.¡± Because of two stunts he showed, she regarded him as Feng Yang just now. He just came by the air and turned the stone into powder. Then he broke the wooden table by his fan. All of them were amazing External Boxing Arts. Even if the stone lock was fake, but the wooden table was genuine and weighted dozens of jin. Even with the use of seniors¡¯ internal force, it was impossible for her to cut it up like that with a broadsword.

    Bai Yangbai snorted and said icily, ¡°All is fake. It¡¯s an acrobatic show, and no one can see clearly in the depth of night. The stone lock on your neck is made of flour and lime, which I can break by using a small bomb. And I put a few small snakes around Sun Meiniang, which were dug out in the garden. As for two strokes to the wooden table and trunk, it¡¯s because I have the fan. This copper fan is one of my defensive weapons. It has gunpowder inside, which is a treasure made in the underground ammunition yard of Quan,¡± Bai Yangbai suddenly waved off a branch with his fan and said, ¡°Ah, I was totally wrong for such a long time. It is not you who admire Quan, but he is obsessed with you! I have been confused about Duan Xiaolou, that kind of fool, who has been deeply captivated by you. I don¡¯t know the second Duan Xiaolou is not Meng Xuan, not Feng Yang. It turns out to be Quan, who is the most keen-witted and capable man.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t talk nonsense,¡± He Danggui gnashed her teeth and said, ¡°Am I not making myself clear? Why are you so sure that Lord Ning has something with me? As his closest teacher, you ought to know that all things are nothing to him except power and wealth. Person like me is worth less than the soil on his feet. Just because I have offended......¡±

    ¡°Ha-ha!¡± Bai Yangbai burst intoughing. He said, ¡°Little girl, you seem to know him well too, but how could you not know that he is such a busy and important man. How could a man like him let his henchmen send ¡®threatening letters¡¯ to a person for three years in a row just because that person cursed him? Zhu Quan in my mind is not so boring. In his eyes, people can only be divided into ¡®useful¡¯ or ¡®useless¡¯. The former can upy a small amount of his time, such as me. I can have tea with him in his spare time. Thetter is a mass of gas to him and will be ignored when walking in front of him. You said that he had written you threatening letters, didn¡¯t you? How many words does the letters have? I remembered that he could not write more than 100 words to his father.¡±

    He Danggui paused for a moment and then said, ¡°Well, you can think that I am also the former, who is ¡®useful¡¯ to him. Anyway, I just want to be thetter, who is ¡®useless¡¯ in his mind. Bai Yangbai, would you like to help me? The remuneration is negotiable.¡±

    Bai Yangbai narrowed his eyes and thought for a moment. He said, ¡°Option one, you marry me. Option two, you teach me all your Yunqi Acupuncture. Choose one.¡±

    Hearing that, He Danggui felt angry, but she didn¡¯t show it. She just gave him a sneer and said, ¡°So, the reason why you are lurking in the Luo¡¯s Family and the academy is to learn my Yunqi Acupuncture. Why don¡¯t you say it earlier? Unexpectedly, there is something that has been kept in your mind for three years. And it¡¯s my honor to have that.¡± She didn¡¯t expect that Bai Yangbai, the Taoist Sage, wanted her Yunqi Acupuncture. When did it happen?

    Oh, she remembered that she didn¡¯t avoid him when she used the acupuncture to sessfully save the little sparrow that a vulture had killed. Seeing that, he shocked for a moment, and then he just kept silent and contemted. So, it turned out that he treated her differently just because she got the Yunqi Acupuncture. And he nned to get it three years ago. For her, she wanted to continue their friendship of the previous life, but he had been coveting her Yunqi Acupuncture. As the saying went, ¡°An innocent man gets into trouble because of his wealth.¡± Even if an immortal figure like Bai Yangbai couldn¡¯t escape from themon customs.

    Bai Yangbai nodded his head frankly and said, ¡°I am very curious about your acupuncture technique, and I am very fond of the result which can bring the dead back to life of this acupuncture. So, by your side, I have more chances to see that. But in these three years, I couldn¡¯t know anything about that, even now, nothing. Speaking of this, the Yunqi Acupuncture is the first thing that I am dying to figure out in the ten decades. As for you, girl, I am curious about you, and I appreciate you. Sometimes I feel a little sorry for you, which is all true. Seeing that you are clever and transparent but are trapped in the strange circle of obsessiveness, I feel deeply sorry and want to pull you out. Didn¡¯t you ask me to pretend as a rich businessman to make a proposal? Why don¡¯t we get married by taking advantage of this opportunity and let me help you out of the misery?¡±

    He Danggui stepped onto the grass and pinched up a green foxtail with dew. She stretched out her hand to Bai Yangbai and said, ¡°Let¡¯s sit down and have our talk. My legs are sore for standing so long. It seems that although you and I looked like intimate and tacit three years ago, but all of that is superficial. We have a lot of misunderstandings between us.¡± If those words were said by Meng Xuan or any of others, instead of Bai Yangbai, she would be badly mad and then broke with the person. But it was Bai Yangbai, the kind of person without any burden that she most wants to be. He was the closest person to her heart. If she had alienated him, would she have be a loner?

    Bai Yangbai sprawled on the grass and asked, ¡°Talk about what? Do you think that I¡¯m asking too much? But sorry, this time, I won¡¯t ept any changes. If you don¡¯t like to talk with me about business, you can also go to find Meng Xuan. You said that you are afraid of troubling him, but actually, you don¡¯t trust him anymore. I suggest you to ask him for help. I know a little about him, and he is not as bad as you think.¡±

    ¡°Oh? How much do you know about him?¡± He Danggui dropped the dew off the green foxtail, and her face also felt a little coolness. She said, ¡°I do not believe that you know him better than me.¡±

    Bai Yangbai yawned and half squinted his eyes. He said, ¡°Although your rtionship is close, you may be not a patch on me about understanding Meng Xuan. But it doesn¡¯t matter. It will be not interesting if a man and a woman understand each other too clearly. How about the two options about my rewards? Which one do you prefer?¡±

    He Danggui said in a dull nasal voice, ¡°Do you have to talk to me in anger? I don¡¯t even get angry that you want my Yunqi Acupuncture and have been lurking around me for three years. Are you going to be indifferent with me just because I want to hire you to make peace with Lord Ning? You are a smart person. Can¡¯t you distinguish it whether I made use of you or truly treated you?¡± Everyone had secrets. Bai Yangbai hid his secret recipe, and she also needed to be careful to keep her secret. It had nothing to do with generous or petty. It was because there was a great secret in her acupuncture which her grandfather had discovered. She could not easily show it to others, otherwise sooner orter she would be killed.

    ¡°Girl, no matter how wise a person is, he would make mistakes,¡± Bai Yangbai smiled bitterly and said, ¡°From my perspective, you often got confused, especially on love. It seems that you know almost everything but love. I don¡¯t know what is going on between you and Quan. But if you are really disgusted with him and would rather die than be his woman, in that way, there are only a few people who can help you at present. And even if there is one can help you, the person also needs to take a lot of risks. The probability of sess is only 50%...¡±

    ¡°How did you figure that out?¡± He Danggui interrupted, ¡°I think it¡¯s 90%.¡±

    Bai Yangbai lowered his voice on purpose and said, ¡°Here is the most important thing. No matter who you are going to find, Meng Xuan or me, it¡¯s absolutely useless to pretend propose. ording to my understanding of the Quan, he is determined to own you, even if you got married. If your husband is not strong enough, and he was given an opportunity, he would try to get you. He is the man¨Cwho wouldn¡¯t give up until he reaches his goal.¡±

    He Danggui frowned and said, ¡°Don¡¯t frighten me with your nonsense. I have been very afraid, so that¡¯s why I need your help. Can¡¯t you take my side this time? I am only an insignificant person, and that couldn¡¯t influence on Lord Ning¡¯s great cause, nor will it be a betrayal of him. Why don¡¯t you trust me after what I am saying to you? Zhu Quan doesn¡¯t love me at all, nor care for me. It is a definite sess with your assistance!¡±

    Scratching his eyelids, Bai Yangbai recalled, ¡°A year ago£¬I went to Daning and stayed in Quan¡¯s mansion for a couple of days. I saw his several fair-haired concubines. At first nce, I think one was you, because the figure is so simr with you. Ah, not only did they wear the same clothes, but they also wore camellias without gold or silver on their hair. Because I just left the Luo¡¯s Mansion, I could clearly remember that they were dressed exactly like thest time I saw you. At that time, I sighed that women just liked to follow the fashion and all liked a certain style of fashion at a certain period of time. Then when I came near to see their faces, I was slightly surprised. They all looked more or less like you, and one of them was 60 or 70 percent like you.¡±

 Chapter 204 - A female ghost in erotic dream

    <h4>Chapter 204 A female ghost in erotic dream</h4>

    He Danggui felt cold and shivered. The same dress as her? Did Zhu Quan send someone to monitor her? Was there Zhu Quan¡¯s spy around her?

    Bai Yangbai found that she kept silence, so he continued to say slowly, ¡°At that time, I thought that you had nothing to do with Quan. Although all the women he dotes on have the same dress, simr looks and also look like you, I didn¡¯t doubt it. Because I just think pretty women all look alike, with a sharp chin, warped nose tip, petals-like lips and a pair of limpid eyes. Which man doesn¡¯t love them? Those people just don¡¯t have unforgettable eyes like yours. They are meek, and I think they always have less vitality. Hey, girl, why don¡¯t you talk? Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s strange that there are so many women who look simr to you in Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion? Do you know the reason?¡±

    He Danggui broke the green foxtail and said sullenly, ¡°How do I know? Maybe Lord Ning likes women with that kind of appearance, just like drinking tea. Some people just like to drink frozen Oolong tea all their life, and they don¡¯t drink others. It may be the aesthetic and taste matters of that person.¡±

    Bai Yangbai stared at her face and remained silence for a moment, then asked, ¡°Is your nickname called ¡®Qing Yi¡¯? Do you like steamed chestnut buns best? Did you give him a lock of hair?¡±

    ¡°Hair?¡± He Danggui remembered that Zhu Quan indeed had taken a lock of hair from her. She couldn¡¯t help but anxiously say, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you know nothing between he and me? How do you know that he has a lock of my hair? How did you hear that!¡±

    Bai Yangbai studied He Danggui¡¯s expression and said with a smile, ¡°Very good. You have admitted that you have ¡®something¡¯ to do with him. Otherwise, I still think that he dreamed of a female ghost in his erotic dream, so he takes out a lock of hair to smooth it every day. He braids it into its and then scatters it. I asked him whose hair it was, and he said it is his mother¡¯s hair. I asked him why I didn¡¯t see him y with it before. He said he didn¡¯t like it so much, but now he likes it more and more. The house where he lived was called ¡®Qing Yi Yard¡¯. He ordered two tes of steamed chestnut buns for every afternoon tea. He ate one and kept one. While I went to eat another one, he even stopped me and asked me to eat something else. I asked him what kind of trick it was. He said that after divination, he found that there would be a day-wandering immortal visiting his mansion at that month. So, the te of chestnuts was reserved for the day-wandering immortal to eat. Ha!¡±

    He Danggui suddenly covered her ears and frowned. She said, ¡°Enough. Don¡¯t talk about these things. I am so scared when I hear them. Bai Yangbai, don¡¯t do anything. Go to Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion in the next morning and ask him whether the hair is mine. If it is mine, you can grab it and burn it. And tell him that I am going to marry you, so I will return these gifts which he gave me. What¡¯s more, please ask him not to fuss about the matter that I have offended him before, just as if he has never seen me.¡±

    Bai Yangbai looked He Danggui up and down judgingly. He didn¡¯t answer yes or no to her almost imperative request, but suddenly said, ¡°You are too young.¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡± He Danggui tilted her head and looked at Bai Yangbai. She found that he was staring at her...chest? Suddenly, she said unhappily, ¡°What are you looking?¡±

    Bai Yangbai sighed, ¡°He is really strange. How can he like immature girls? You have no idea about that he has a Princess Xie Qiaofeng, who is four years older than him, and also has a Senior Concubine Zhou Jinn, who is two years older than him. They are much more eye-catching in clothing, and their figures are especially pretty, which exactly is the ultimate dream of men. Compared with two of them, you are really inferior. Why does Zhu Quan never forget you for a moment? What happened between you and him?¡±

    He Danggui was anxious. She stretched out a palm and counted it to him with fingers, ¡°There is a man named Ning Yuan who lives in Luo¡¯s Mansion for healing. I met him once in the bamboo grove, and we said just three words to each other. But we had nothing inmon, so we went our own way respectively. At the second time I saw him, I was a little hurt. He took me in his room and let me have a rest. He said that since he has seen my bare feet, he should take me as a concubine, which made me be angry. So, I scolded him. Then, I scolded him again when I met him the next day. Because I found that he might be a seignior who left the fief privately, I lied that I was a member of an intelligence organization. If he was restless and still mentioned something about concubine, I would expose his secret. He wanted to kill me, so I poisoned him and then waited for an opportunity to escape. That¡¯s all. I have only met him a few times. Although I met him in public, we don¡¯t talk anything to each other.¡±

    Bai Yangbai sighed, ¡°I am confused. You seem to be his passer-by. Anyway, I recall his affection of ying a section of hair. Girl, what I mean is that you are really not suitable for someone like Zhu Quan. No matter what kind of feelings he has for you, and no matter how helpful your abilities for him, you can¡¯t be together with him. Otherwise, you will get hurt, and he will have trouble too. What do you think?¡±

    He Danggui nodded hard and said, ¡°I totally agree.¡±

    Then Bai Yangbai analyzed, ¡°But he is also a stubborn person. He has the temperament that he won¡¯t let his things go. If you want to get rid of him, you must get married. You¡¯d better choose the best one to you. Of course, it is Meng Xuan. You can¡¯t get married with Duan Xiaolou. His mother may take the responsibility of two lives of their family on your head now. Even Duan Xiaolou can¡¯t feel nothing in his heart. After all, the one is his father, and the others is his son. And the matter happened because of your excessive demands. Why do you stare at me? I am analyzing their mentalities. Meng Xuan is strong enough to carry the conspiracy of Zhu Quan. As long as you stay in Meng¡¯s Family properly, you can sleep well at night. So, what do you think of Meng Xuan?¡±

    He Danggui was afflicted, and she didn¡¯t expect that Zhu Quan had done too many things that she did not know. He was so obsessed with her, but he didn¡¯te to meet her for three years, and he doted on some women who looked simr to her. What was his idea? No way. If she didn¡¯t solve this problem early, she would not even have a good sleep, like what Bai Yangbai said. Meng Xuan? He Danggui shook her head and said, ¡°Meng Xuan is not a proper man. I don¡¯t like his overbearing and arbitrary. I can¡¯t live with him for a lifetime.¡±

    Bai Yangbai stared at He Danggui while rubbing his chin with his thumb. He said, ¡°Well, the second one is me. As you said, Quan will treat me politely and will not rub my woman, but the premise is that you must be my woman. How can you fool someone as smart as him if you get married in to a fake way and do a y? Why are you staring at me? I don¡¯t mean to take advantage of you.¡± When Bai Yangbai saw her dark eyes turning around, he immediately guessed out her thoughts. Then he shook his head and rejected, ¡°If you leave home with bags, you have to take away the people you concern at one time and never show up. Otherwise, Quan will use his way to force you out.¡±

    He Danggui looked upset. She realized that Bai Yangbai was right. She had to take at least five people to run away, and they had to hide their names and change their faces. She shook her head and sighed, ¡°No, it is unrealistic and not safe...¡± When she felt that Bai Yangbai was staring straight at her, she also looked at him. Looking at his eyes which was as clear as a child¡¯s, she couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Old man, how old are you?¡±

    Bai Yangbai dug his nose and said, ¡°35 or 36? I can¡¯t remember clearly. I am a loner, and no one celebrate my birthday for me. It is really sad.¡±

    ¡°Although you are not a nuisance, it seems that someone can live with you for a lifetime. However, old man, your ¡®whole life¡¯ is 21-22 years ahead of me.¡± He Danggui tilted her head to consider and said, ¡°Even if you live ten years longer than me, I still have ten years to live alone. Qianjun, we are intimate friends. Can you bear to leave me alone for thest ten years? At that time, I will be too old to remarry. In fact, both of us can be regarded as powerful actors. As long as we cooperate well, we can y a loving couple and deceive that person. As for the reward, apart from my Yunqi Acupuncture, you can ask what you want casually, and I can afford the amount of 1000 or 2000 liang silver. Just y with me for a few years, and this matter will fade away in a few years, Okay?¡±

    Bai Yangbai showed a look of listening carefully. Then he smiled and showed dimples, like Feng Yang. He told He Danggui word by word, ¡°Girl, you are always interested on my secret, so I will tell you something about me. If you worry about me that I will die early, I will tell something secret to you. Now I have reached the realm of spiritual practiced. I can live for at least 200 years, so I will not die before you.¡±

    ¡°200 years old?¡± He Danggui unbelievably stared at Bai Yangbai. Then she remembered that she couldn¡¯t believe anything about the old liar¡¯s words, so she just said with relief, ¡°I am discussing something serious with you, so don¡¯t be ridiculous. If you can live 200 years, you will be an immortal. Besides, how can people know how long their life is? I¡¯m serious with you. Your beauty-preserving prescription is your top secret. You refuse to disclose, and I also don¡¯t force you too much, right? My Yunqi Acupuncture is the same secret. It is not a fact that I don¡¯t believe you. I have my own unspeakable difficulties that I don¡¯t talk about. You can have some consideration for me. So, don¡¯t pry into my secret anymore, okay? In exchange, I won¡¯t search for your secret in the future, as long as you burn bath water for me every month. How about it?¡±

    Bai Yangbai couldn¡¯t helpughing. He said, ¡°Girl, you are not at a disadvantage at all. Now that you are so interested in my beauty-preserving prescription, I can tell you. My prescription is not only for external use to bath, but also for internal use. By doing both, the effect is not only to look young, but also to prolong life. And it can prolong life for decades or even hundreds of years. So, what I said that I can live for two hundred years is not cheating on you. How is it going? Girl, are you excited? Do you want my prescription or not? Marry me, and this prescription will be ours.¡±

    He Danggui looked suspiciously at Bai Yangbai, considering whether his words were true or not. No, she could not trust him. She remembered that his nickname was old liar...

    He Danggui remembered that there was a secret book left by her grandfather under the green g of the ancestral hall in Luo¡¯s Mansion. It said that many years ago, he met a Taoist priest who was stammering. They chatted very spectively, andpared notes about medical skills. Later, they talked about the topic of keeping in good health, and discussed that which way of health maintenance could bebined with medicinal materials in order to keep fit and prolong life to the greatest extent. They also talked about the extreme problem. How could a person¡¯s life be prolonged by taking the best medicine and keeping in good health from childhood to the end?

    Later, her grandfather identally discovered the identity document of stuttering Taoist priest, which was from the early Southern Song Dynasty. And the name on it was really his name. He counted that the Taoist priest was 150 years old but looked like an ordinary old man in his early sixties. At that time, her grandfather didn¡¯t believe that the identity document was true. Once the Taoist priest had a backache. When her grandfather touched the Taoist priest¡¯s bones and massaged for him, he was found that the Taoist priest¡¯s age might be over 100-year-old...

    He Danggui was thinking something while pulling out the grass one by one. Suddenly, a sh urred on her mind. She looked at the calm face of Bai Yangbai and asked, ¡°I remember that your master was a stammer. Is this true? How old is he?¡±

 Chapter 205 - What was dual cultivation?

    <h4>Chapter 205 What was dual cultivation?</h4>

    ¡°Oh, you mean my real master in Daguomen Sect? Yes, he is a man who stammers and likes chatting.¡± Bai Yangbai answered doubtfully, ¡°Did I ever mention him to you? No. How did you know he was a stutterer?¡±

    Bai Yangbai said it casually in the previous life that his master was a stutterer. He Danggui remembered vaguely that Bai Yangbai said that his master was a man who lived longer than a tortoise. Because Bai Yangbai often spoke in a frivolous way, He Danggui always ignored his abnormal words.

    The master outlived a tortoise, so how old was he? He Danggui looked at Bai Yangbai with full of expectations. She asked, ¡°How old is your master?¡±

    Bai Yangbai didn¡¯t know why He Danggui was suddenly interested in his master. He guessed, ¡°Oh, you want to judge how long I can live by how long my master lived, but these can¡¯t bepared. He¡¯s my master, but not my father. And I can¡¯t inherit from my master. Besides, if the father lives a long life, maybe the son doesn¡¯t live a long life. Your grandfather and your father are the perfect examples, right? Although my master died of a sudden illness in his early years, it doesn¡¯t mean that I will die at the age of fifty like him. The secret of longevity is indeed the secret of Daguomen Sect, which was passed down from my master. The master, however, was an idle geezer. He only bathed for three times all the year round. And once he bathed on a New Year¡¯s Day, which counted for both the previous year and the next year. So, no amount of the soup of retaining youthful looks was no use to him...¡±

    He Danggui said involuntarily, ¡°You said that he died at fifty? No, I remember that you said differentlyst time (in the previous life)!¡±

    Bai Yangbai was recalling his master¡¯s appearance and voice. After being interrupted, he said unhappily, ¡°All right, girl, do not talk about unimportant things. Let¡¯s talk about how to let Quan give up on you. You marry me, and we can be an immortal couple. Isn¡¯t that good? What do you think of my proposal?¡±

    Of course, He Danggui disagreed. She said, ¡°If you really have a prescription to prolong your life, how can we get married? Well, regardless of age, we clearly better to be friends than a couple. Don¡¯t you think so? You never thought to do that before. How can you ask for such an unreasonable and overwhelming demand when I need you at such a critical moment? You are an otherworldly monk, while I am a philistine. And you have no feelings for me. How could we be an immortal couple? The longer we live, the more boring we will be. Right?¡±

    Bai Yangbai shook his head and said, ¡°Since there is no affection between us, we can be a couple for more than a hundred years. If we have love as soulful as Mr. Duan, we can¡¯t live together. We maymit suicide in the middle of our life. You couldn¡¯t stand him hugging other women, so you leave him frequently. He can¡¯t bear to lose you, and he got mad when you left him. But he couldn¡¯t push away other women who courted him. Is it like a knot that can¡¯t be untied? But I am different. I am more than 30 years old, and do not like to hug a woman. I went to the brothel a few times because I had too much money. I paid at high stakes on a courtesan, but she was too fragrant that I could not enjoy. So, if you do not mind my sexual capacity problem, you can consider marrying me. There will be many advantages if we get married. I won¡¯t hold a woman, and you won¡¯t be jealous. Also, we can do dual cultivation to enhance the effect of prolonging life. It¡¯s definitely possible that we can live together for three or four hundred years.¡±

    ¡°So, you, had the sexual capacity problem. No wonder you don¡¯t return to themon life and marry a wife when you are old enough.¡± He Danggui felt a little confused and asked, ¡°What is the dual cultivation? Do you mean the cultivation of the Taoist? Have a lifespan of 400 years old? Don¡¯t talk nonsense.¡± Since Bai Yangbai¡¯s master died early, his master wasn¡¯t an invulnerable, me-resistant, and long-lived old man that He Danggui¡¯s grandfather had encountered. The elixir mentioned in her grandfather¡¯s letter was different from Bai Yangbai¡¯s longevity medicine, wasn¡¯t it?

    Bai Yangbai despised He Danggui and repeatedly shook his head. He sighed, ¡°You cannot believe living for only 400 years old? Girl, you are really a person without dreams. Don¡¯t you heard that Peng Zu had lived for 800 years! In those days, the First Emperor of Qin heard from an alchemist named Xu Fu that there were three immortals living on the three celestial mountains in Bohai Bay. These mountains named Peni, Fangzhang and Yingzhou respectively. Three immortals lived on each of the three mountains, and they all have the elixir of life. Hearing this, the First Emperor of Qin was seduced, so he asked Xu Fu and a thousand children to find the elixir. Xu Fu¡¯s vast fleet set out, leaving the Bohai Sea, and nevere back. Many people said that Xu Fu did not find the elixir, so he didn¡¯t dare to go back. But they do not know that Xu Fu actually found Peni mountain and also met the immortal. And he got some benefits. I heard a rumor that Xu Fu is still alive.¡±

    He Danggui raised her eyebrows and said, ¡°Is this a fairy tale? I have also heard stories about the Cowherd and the Weaver Maid, and about Dong Yong and the Seventh Fairy. If they are all true, everyone will go to cultivate immortals by inhaling wind and drinking dew, instead of eating grains. Gradually, everyone will obtain the immortal.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t believe it? Look, I am a living example. There is no fake since you have witnessed, right?¡± Bai Yangbai stood up from the grass as he patted his chest. He walked toward the outer court and waved his hands. ¡°What I want are getting married, doing the dual cultivation and living for four hundred years,¡± he said. ¡°I have something to do. Please take time to consider. If you think it is okay, kick your little white wolf and let him howl. I will find you.¡±

    He Danggui grabbed his sleeve and said eagerly, ¡°I can take time to consider about the dual cultivation and longevity. But it is impossible to get married. However, I really don¡¯t want to drag on the matter of Lord Ning. You made me be so nervous, and I can¡¯t sleep well tonight. Could you put everything else aside and run to Daning for me? Good Bai, be a good boy and help me out of that big trouble. You¡¯ll be my benefactor and my second father, and I¡¯ll take care of you till you are old. Okay?¡±

    Bai Yangbai cackled and said, ¡°Queen, although it sounds beautiful, you still don¡¯t change the robber¡¯s nature. I have to do things first and then talk about the payment. In that way, you will have the initiative in your hands. I will have no security at all, won¡¯t I? Oh, dual cultivation and longevity can be considered, except for getting married? Only husband and wife can do dual cultivation. If you don¡¯t marry me, why should I do dual cultivation with you? Let me go. I¡¯m in a hurry.¡±

    He Danggui was angry. She said, ¡°You are idle. What are you going to do in a hurry? I didn¡¯t expect that you are not loyal to friends. Well, I considered you as the life-saving straws, but I didn¡¯t expect that you were so ruthless. If I unfortunately fall into Zhu Quan¡¯s clutches someday, I will be a bane of his whole family, giving each of his women a bowl of sterilization soup. And I will tell him that you instigated me to do this.¡±

    Bai Yangbai tugged his sleeve back and shrugged helplessly. He said, ¡°Am I cruel? I¡¯m running errands for you. I just asked Ding Rong¡¯s wife for the portrayal of her master¡¯s ¡®adulterer¡¯, Wu Jiu. I am going to urge her. The mask on my face was made few months ago, and I wore it to visit Feng¡¯s Family. It had been already over the usage period. This time it will not be sticky after being taken off. I can¡¯t continue to y Feng Yang tomorrow. If you are so reluctant to leave me, I will visit you tomorrow.¡±

    He Danggui was still angry. She grabbed Bai Yangbai¡¯s wrist and exposed him. She said, ¡°You can do eight masks of Feng Yang a day. Sun Meiniang¡¯s adulterer is not a big deal to you. Why did you want portrayal of her adulterer? You are clearly looking for an excuse to escape. If I let you go this time, I will not see your real face for years.¡±

    ¡°It is very troublesome to make a new mask. Ayman does not understand the trouble of a disguise master like me. In my heart, every mask is a living thing with feelings. Before the production, I need a few months to prepare my emotion, otherwise the things I made will be slightly stiff,¡± Bai Yangbai said bombastically, ¡°How could the affair of the adulterer be a trifle? Didn¡¯t you want to defeat this poisonous women Sun Meiniang? How could you miss this crucial step? Didn¡¯t you hear that she was pregnant again? If she gives birth to a health boy and strengthens her position, won¡¯t your life in Luo¡¯s Family be even more oppressed and wronged? I am helping you to the end, just like sending Buddha to the West. If that touches you, you can consider about marrying me. Let¡¯s live for four hundred years hand in hand.¡±

    He Danggui felt angry and funny after hearing what he said. She frowned and said, ¡°What a bad day! Meng Xuan said about getting married, and you are also like him. Meng Xuan said he likes me, but he has disappeared without a trace for three years. And he was so angry just when he came back, which made me shock. While you are more peculiar. You do not like me but want to get married with me. You said that you areck ofpetence, but you still want to do dual cultivation. And how to do that? What do you like about me? Aren¡¯t you full of praise for the women with beautiful figures like Xie Qiaofeng?¡±

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll tell you the truth.¡± Standing straight and crossing his hands, Bai Yangbai said, ¡°Three years ago, I saw your acupuncture therapy that could bring one back from the dead. So, I wanted to do dual cultivation with you. I can live for four hundred with you, instead of living for two hundred years alone. What a good deal. But at that time, you were in love with Duan Xiaolou. How could I separate the two lovers? Besides, you were so young, exceedingly beautiful and also insidious. How could you like an old man like me? So, I pretended to leave. In fact, I turned to secret ce in order to get your Yunqi Acupuncture. After I study it and integrate it into my longevity medicine, I can live for four hundred years alone.¡±

    He Danggui said hesitantly, ¡°It turned out that you just want to get my Yunqi Acupuncture, so you have ambushed around me for three years.¡± She thought Bai Yangbai was mainly interested in her, so he followed her all the time. It turned out that she was too narcissistic.

    Bai Yangbai nodded honestly and said, ¡°Yes, I just want your Yunqi Acupuncture. But in the past three years, I looked through all the medical manuscripts around you and even read Duan Xiaolou¡¯s love letters in the hiddenpartment of your room briefly.¡± Under He Danggui¡¯s ferocious gaze, he hastened to remedy the words, ¡°Actually, I only read a few words of the first letter. When I found it was a love letter, I stopped reading. Really. I swear to Lord Buddha!¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you a Taoist priest?¡± He Danggui said angrily, ¡°I never thought that you would be so wicked. As a monk, you really ruined your way by reading a girl¡¯s private messages secretly. Why are you so interested in my acupuncture therapy? Live for 400 years? The body¡¯s blood will be exhausted. As the identity of the number one magic doctor, I tell you that no one can live so long in the world. People can¡¯t live for 150 years no matter how strong he is and how deep his internal energy is. If you live a long time, you will only have a mummified body. Do you know it? You would be like a living dead, as if you were not living. You can¡¯t act for yourself. Do you want to be that?¡± Actually, He Danggui was not so sure. But in order to eliminate Bai Yangbai¡¯s strange idea, she must describe it more seriously. Otherwise, he would never stop thinking about her acupuncture therapy.

    Bai Yangbai was gooseflesh and stamped his feet. He said, ¡°Could you not talk about the mummies and corpses at night? As soon as you said that, I thought of the Biddy Wen, who was burned so miserably. People who hear t will feel sad. I felt the fine hair standing on my back as I moved Biddy Wen in the wheelbarrow. And I often felt the charred old woman opening her eyes behind me. Girl, you see, I sacrifice for you so much. Why can¡¯t you tell me your acupuncture therapy? In fact, we are from the same n, and your acupuncture is also from our Daguomen Sect. But we lost it over long periods of time while your pulse has been inherited...¡±

    ¡°You...killed a person!¡± He Danggui¡¯s eyes were widened in disbelief. She asked, ¡°Why did you kill the Biddy Wen? Did you skin her to make the mask?¡±

 Chapter 206 - Spare my life

    <h4>Chapter 206 Spare my life</h4>

    Bai Yangbai chuckled and said, ¡°Only inferior sects will skin a person who is still alive to make a mask in Jianghu. Even if I make a temporary mask for only 10 minutes, the mask will be still better than theirs. Of course, I was worried about the ws of the temporary mask, so I fell into a coal mine in front of Ding Rong¡¯s wife and dyed my face ck. However, it really scared me. The Biddy Wen who had been taken away by me for an excuse was strangled to death in the coal mine, rolling her eyes like a dead fish and spitting out her tongue. After that, when I pretended to be Huai Hua and wanted to go to the loo, I went to the coal mine to see Biddy Wen. She had already been burnt, which was really miserable. Therefore, I moved her and wrote herst words.¡±

    He Danggui bit her lips and said, ¡°Who is this cruel person, killing the person and destroying the corpse? And it was done in Luo¡¯s Mansion. So, we are living with the murderer in the same mansion.¡±

    Bai Yangbai shook his head and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know. But when I pretended to be Huai Hua and said to Biddy Wen that someone was looking for her, her attitude was really bad. She spoke with vicious voice while spitting. I guess she probably offended too many people, so she was killed for revenge. It¡¯s really hateful to work in the torture room. I will go to the outer yard to find the portrait of Sun Meiniang¡¯s adulterer. You can think about slowly. Getting married with me or giving me Yunqi Acupuncture will worth me to go to Daning. Of course, I prefer the former, because it¡¯s too lonely to live alone for 400 years.¡±

    He Danggui said angrily, ¡°No way. I won¡¯t tell you the secret of Yunqi Acupuncture even if I marry you. You¡¯re really obsessed with the cultivation of Taoism. If anyone in the world can live beyond 200 years old, I¡¯ll give you my head as a stool!¡±

    Bai Yangbai didn¡¯t care. He said, ¡°But when I¡¯m 200 years old, you can¡¯t fulfill your promise. At that time, I¡¯ll take a jar of wine to sit on your grave. If you are willing to marry me, I will tell you all the secrets of keeping appearance. And then you can tell me about your Yunqi Acupuncture in order to cultivate together. What other secrets do our couple need to keep from each other?¡± Then, Bai Yangbai waved his hand and said, ¡°Well, I¡¯ll stay in Yangzhou City for a while and wait for your reply. See you again. Our friendship won¡¯t change. Oh! Why do you throw mud at me?¡±

    Bai Yangbai, who disguised himself as Feng Yang, looked back and got angry.

    He Danggui dug up arge piece of mud with green grass from the ground and threw it on his face one after another. As she threw it, she scolded, ¡°Why? You are a wicked old man without principle. You are disrespectful and heartless. Nobody wants to marry you or enjoy a long life with you! I reply to you now. Go to hell!¡±

    Bai Yangbai cried as a wolf. He covered his face and ran away. But He Danggui didn¡¯t work off her anger. She dug out more mud and small stones from the ground and chased him.

    Bai Yangbai held his head and scurried to beg for mercy, ¡°Stones! No! Spare my life! The strength of your hands is strong. If you throw stones at me, I can¡¯t disguise myself as your Second Aunt¡¯s adulterer tomorrow and visit the baby in her belly! Oh! Quan, help! Take this enchantress away!¡± Seeing that He Danggui was so angry and refused to stop, Bai Yangbai, who was covered with mud, suddenly got an idea. He looked up to the sky and cried, ¡°I¡¯ve peeked at the official documents in the stronghold of imperial guard. Duan Xiaolou is going to Yangzhou City on January 10th!¡± Seeing that she stopped and was a little stunned, Bai Yangbai took the opportunity to run away. He cackled and said, ¡°Sister He, you poisoned me and refused to give me the antidote. Where did you hide it? Ha-ha-ha!¡±

    He Danggui was so angry. Bai Yangbai really peeked at Duan Xiaolou¡¯s letter which she received in the concealed box. Shameless! Hateful!

    Seeing that Bai Yangbai ran out of the outer yard, she didn¡¯t want to catch up. After listening to Bai Yangbai¡¯s experience in the Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion, she was shocked and in a cold sweat. Over the past 3 years, she pretended to care about nothing. But now, it seemed that the man, Zhu Quan, was a haunting debt collector. She must have owed him a lot in the previous life of her previous life. Therefore, he collected his debt both in her previous life and in this life. However, she would never use the method of her previous life to ¡°pay off the debt¡±. She would rather teach Bai Yangbai the Yunqi Acupuncture that be forced to do ¡°pay off the debt¡±. She had to get rid of the entanglement of Zhu Quan.

    It was so hateful that he had harmed her all her previous life, killed her and her rtives, but he was still collecting debts from her. She had to bear a deep grudge against him and live like a frightened bird. Was this the gap because of their different strengths and levels? Was it the natural fear and submission of the lower ss to the superior?

    How unfair the rules! How weak she was!

    He Danggui hit the banyan with mud which had just been destroyed by Bai Yangbai. Every time she threw the mud, some leaves would drop on the ground. After more than a dozen times, she looked at the big banyan which had be bald. The grievance and panic in her heart decreased a little. She could not help but feel sorry for the tree. At this time, behind the tree, a snow-white rabbit appeared and went towards He Danggui with hesitation.

    He Danggui wanted to catch and hold it for a while, so she took 2 steps toward the rabbit. Unexpectedly, the rabbit was immediately frightened. It turned around and ran away. In a sh, it disappeared. He Danggui felt a little upset, so she threw thest piece of mud at the banyan. She used a lot of strength, but it was in a nting direction. The mud obliquely wiped the old tree trunk and flew over. Crack! The mud suddenly changed the direction. It was thrown straight toward at He Danggui¡¯s face at a great lick!

    He Danggui could have dodged, but she forgot to move. Looking at the mud that was about to hit her nose, she had an idea in her mind. Even the trees knew how to fight back. Why should people always avoid the trouble instead of fighting back?

    Before the mud hit her nose, she felt something cold on her neck. It was powerful that pushed her unprepared. She opened her eyes and watched the mud flying out of her forehead. The moment of rubbing brought hot touch, which made her eyes stare bigger. What a terrible force! If it hit her face, the bridge of her nose would be broken at once! Was the big banyan fighting back?

    Her body fell back and down, but she stopped before she fell to the ground. There was a red silver whip around her waist. It stopped her falling and then pulled her back. Until she was in a standing position, the whip released her waist. Swished. It went back like a snake and disappeared behind the banyan. The next moment, a young man in white with a gold crown and jade boots stepped out.

    After standing steadily, He Danggui nced at the man and said angrily, ¡°Bai Yangbai, what are you doing? Have you got the portrait of Wu Jiu? I thought about it for a moment, and I found that this n won¡¯t work at all. Even if you are a master of disguise, how can you deceive a group of servants who lived with him day and night by disguising yourself as Wu Jiu?¡± Before the man answered, she further questioned, ¡°You have brought shame on Sun Meiniang. But if they find the real Wu Jiu to rify everything, won¡¯t your trick be uncovered? Maybe Sun Meiniang will say that there are people with ulterior motives wanting to frame her. In a few words, she will rify herself and frame me up!¡±

    ¡°...¡± The man, who was called Bai Yangbai by He Danggui, was somehow silent. He shook the paper fan and came to her slowly.

    ¡°I know you¡¯re so warm-hearted that you want to help me, but it is not easy to defeat Sun Meiniang.¡± He Danggui tried to persuade him, ¡°Although you did a good job tonight, you also made several mistakes. One is the flour and stone powder there. Madam Luo will ask Feng Jiugu to sample and study the ingredients to see if there is any virus definitely. Then, our plot will be revealed!¡±

    The man approached her. First, he looked at her face strangely. Then, he took a silk scarf from his sleeve and handed it to her. He said with Feng Yang¡¯s voice, ¡°There is some mud on your forehead. Wipe it.¡±

    He Danggui grabbed the silk scarf and wiped carelessly. Feeling it with faint fragrance, she reached up to her nose and sniffed it carefully. Then, she frowned and said, ¡°It¡¯s the smell of lc. Why do you use it? My silk scarf has never got such a strong fragrance of flowers.¡± She handed it back and looked him up and down doubtfully. She asked, ¡°Where did you get a new suit in a short time? Did you steal it from my First Cousin¡¯s room?¡± The color and style of his robe was simr to that of the previous one. Since she made the previous one be full of mud, how could it be so clear? Hum, when Bai Yangbai didn¡¯t speak, he looked a little handsome, which madedies like Luo Baishao get lovesickness. However, once his oily voice sounded and his signature move of picking his nose disyed, thosedies might be stunned.

    The man nodded and said in a strange voice, ¡°Yes, I borrowed a robe from Childe Luo.¡±

    The more He Danggui thought about what had happened in the main hall, the more she felt that there were mistakes. She continued to analyze, ¡°After knowing that ¡®the poisonous powder¡¯ is flour, Sun Meiniang will pull a cart of these powder to Tao Yao Yard and knead dough with her hands in front of me surely. The most important thing is that since the stone lock was discovered to be false, all the words of Biddy Wen will no longer be believable. Sun Meiniang will restore her innocent reputation. At that time, I, who was carrying a few kilograms of flour but keptining about the weight, will be put on thebel of a suspect again. Oh, will Sun Meiniang ask Madam Luo to check the wound on my shoulder? Well, even if they find out that Concubine Hua¡¯s affair has nothing to do with me, the charges of ¡®disrespect to the elders, framing up aunt and stirring up the rtionship between my uncle and aunt¡¯ are enough bad for me.¡±

    Bai Yangbai frowned and asked, ¡°What should I do? Should I intercede for you?¡± Then, he waved the fan and was ready to leave.

    He Danggui stopped him in a hurry and said, ¡°Are you stupid? I¡¯m assuming the worst situation, and now it hasn¡¯t developed to that stage. Don¡¯t you take the initiative to expose me if you intercede for me? Besides, if it really develops to that stage, it is useless even if Feng Yang himself intercedes for me. In the past 2 years, since Sun Meiniang¡¯s younger brother bes more powerful, Sun Meiniang bes more confident and doesn¡¯t pay attention to ordinary people. As long as she knows my mistakes, she will never give up. Didn¡¯t you see that even if a few charges were put on her just now, she still sophisticated confidently. So, I think this is a mistake that you show up again as Wu Jiu.¡±

    ¡°Ok.¡± Bai Yangbai nodded and agreed.

    He Danggui sighed, ¡°The second biggest mistake is that you disguised yourself as Feng Yang to help me. Your attitude towards me was intimate. And your behavior and words were always sticking up for me. The most exasperating thing is that you have made a proposal to Madam Luo. She must have some ideas in her mind now. I¡¯m afraid she will talk to Ms. Fengter and let me or Luo Baishao marry into Feng¡¯s Family as a concubine of Feng Yang. Bai Yangbai, this is a problem you have made. You should be responsible for solving it.¡±

    The man, who was called Bai Yangbai by her, blinked his eyes honestly and asked, ¡°What do you want me to do, Sister He?¡±

 Chapter 207 - He Dangguiâ€™s inner thoughts

    <h4>Chapter 207 He Danggui¡¯s inner thoughts</h4>

    He Danggui felt that this man, Bai Yangbai, was a little weird, but she didn¡¯t know why. She decided to consider itter and continued, ¡°You dared to show yourself as ¡®Feng Yang¡¯ in public, which means that you are close friends. You should tell him the whole situation and ask him to pay more attention to Mrs. Feng. Once Madam Luo bring this up in Feng¡¯s Family, ask him to stop Madam Luo or agree to marry Luo Baishao instead of me. Tomorrow will be nice.¡±

    The man, called Bai Yangbai by her, replied slowly, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Actually, we are not very close. I¡¯m afraid that I may blow up your n. How about I bring him to Tao Yao Yard? Then, you can serve a cup of tea and tell him the whole story. Feng Yang is a tenderhearted man. If a beautiful woman like you serves him a cup of tea, he would bring back you the moon if you want it. Am I right?¡±

    He Danggui shook her head and said, ¡°First, I don¡¯t want to make contact with him. It cost me much energy every time to deal with him. So, as long as he doesn¡¯te to me, which would be great, I will never take the initiative to see him. Second, we are enemies, but you are in the same line with him. Besides, you are also Lord Ning¡¯s master. It would be more effective for you to ask Feng Yang to stop this marriage. But I¡¯m worried that he will ept Madam Luo¡¯s proposal first, and then he will take me out of Luo¡¯s Family as a concubine and lock me up. Then he will give me to Lord Ning as a gift.¡±

    Listening to He Danggui¡¯s words, the man frowned deeply, and he said immediately, ¡°No, he would never do such thing. He is not a bad person as you thought!¡±

    He Danggui rolled her eyes and exined to the man, ¡°I¡¯m aware that he is a nice person, but he is Lord Ning¡¯s best assistant. Whatever Lord Ning wants, he would get them for Lord Ning. He even gave his family¡¯s huge industry to Lord Ning, not to mention me, a negligible woman. He knows Lord Ning wants me, so it¡¯s not strange for him to kidnap me and give me away as a gift.¡±

    The man shook his head and said, ¡°You underestimate yourself too much. Neither he or Lord Ning would do this to you. If they have desired to get you by this way, they would have done it 3 years ago.¡±

    He Danggui analyzed calmly, ¡°3 years ago, I was too small and tiny to be treated as a beauty and given to Lord Ning as a present. There is something you don¡¯t know. The person who used the name ¡®Ning Yuan¡¯ left a painting three years ago when he left Luo¡¯s Mansion. Few days ago, the painting was broken because of my maid. Then, when I was cleaning the mess, I found a letter hid inside the scroll, which was said to rest myself well in Luo¡¯s Mansion. To me, the person who wrote the letter wanted to raise me like a pig. And when I¡¯m fed well, they would kill and eat me.¡±

    The man couldn¡¯t helpughing and showed the same dimples just like Feng Yang. He shook his head and sighed, ¡°What a good metaphor.¡±

    ¡°I originally thought that since Feng Yang didn¡¯t show himself in public for a year, he and Lord Ning could have already forgotten who I was. But when I found the letter, I always have a feeling that something bad is going to happen to me. So, it was unlucky for me to see that kind of letter on New Year¡¯s Eve.¡±

    He Danggui looked into the man¡¯s eyes in puzzle, but she suddenly felt those eyes were not as familiar as before. Normally, when she was staring at Bai Yangbai¡¯s eyes, he would look her back in the same way. However, this time, he was avoiding her eye contact ufortably. She was confused a lot and asked, ¡°Bai Yangbai, you¡¯ve been acting strange since I met you again. Is there something you would like to tell me?¡± Seeing that the man was hesitated to say something, He Danggui couldn¡¯t help being angry. She said, ¡°Did you really do something bad enough that you couldn¡¯t tell me? I told you to behave yourself in Luo¡¯s Mansion, but you treated other people like some idiots. What exactly did you do?¡±

    The man remained silence for a while and didn¡¯t answer the question. He asked, ¡°Do you really hate Feng Yang so much that you would not like to see him for the rest of your life?¡±

    He Danggui raised her eyebrows and said honestly, ¡°The person I dislike is not Feng Yang, but the person behind him. Of course, for someone as ambitious as Feng Yang, I would try my best to stay away before the rain beneath the umbre drop on my body.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± The man asked in curiosity. Chang Nuo, the man under the mask of Feng Yang, thought, ¡°This is the first time that this girl has told me her true feelings. I must take advantage of this opportunity to know her more. It turns out that she is also a person lives under the mask. This girl, He Danggui, seems to have kept so much secrets.¡±

    He Danggui exined, ¡°I used to work in farms. In June, the weather changes just in seconds. Then one day came the storm, and there was no shelter for me to block the rain. I was a small girl back then, so a narrow edge would be enough for me. But the person who was holding the umbre was already kind enough to keep me close. There was no way that he could pay more attention to me. So, from once in a while, the rain just flew on my body through the edge of the umbre like a waterfall. The next day, I would be sick badly.¡±

    Chang Nuo was confused and asked, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you use your own umbre?¡±

    He Danggui was more confused on such a question. She replied, ¡°I told you before. The family I used to lodge was the poorest one in the vige. An umbre could be called a luxury.¡±

    Chang Nuo said, ¡°Sorry, I forgot. Please go ahead.¡±

    He Danggui recalled and said slowly, ¡°Other poor families made their own straw capes and wore them on their shoulders to keep the rain out. So, I made one of my own, but uglier. And I found a bowl with cracks in my house. Then, I bring those two together to the fields. When the rain came, I wouldn¡¯t need to hide under others¡¯ umbres. Instead, I used my simply-made straw cape and the bowl to keep myself from the cold rain. Although the bowl would always slip to the ground and the straw cape couldn¡¯t block the rain one hundred percent, the days when I was sick because of the rain beneath the umbre are gone.¡±

    Hearing the story, Chang Nuo thought for a moment and then asked, ¡°What does that mean? You mean Feng Yang is the person who is holding the umbre, and you are the person without the umbre. So, you decide to stay away from him, right? What kind of logic is that? If both he and Lord Ning wants to be the one holding the umbre for you, you can even block the storm. Women all want someone strong to protect them, right?¡±

    It was the first time for He Danggui to talk about such a deep topic with Bai Yangbai. She was curious on this serious Bai Yangbai in front of her. She exined in patience, ¡°I agree with you, partially. If the situation is under control, people like Feng Yang may allow me to under his umbre. But if the real stormes, I¡¯m sure, without hesitation, they will leave me in the rain alone. Qianjun, you have experienced in Jianghu for many years. You should know there is no free meal in the world. They are willing to hold the umbre for me is only because I am useful to them at the moment. And one day, I will be put in use by them, as if candles burning their lives into the light and be a pile of oil at the end. If I did what Lord Ning wants, death would be the only thing waiting for me.¡±

    Chang Nuo frowned and sighed, ¡°Howe you being so critical of this world? Shouldn¡¯t you be cheerful when a perfect and noble man like Lord Ning fell in love with you? Girl, he really loves you, and I promise that you will be the happiest woman on the earth if you get married with him.¡±

    Hearing this, He Danggui stared at Feng Yang as if she was looking at a ghost. She took few steps back quickly and asked coldly, ¡°Who are you? You are not Bai Yangbai!¡± When she realized this man had just heard so many secrets about her, she began to tremble with heavy breath.

    Chang Nuo said calmly, ¡°Rx. I am Feng Yang. Trust me. I didn¡¯t mean to mislead you. You were talking nonstop, and I would like to know more about you, so I didn¡¯t stop you. I apologize. I mean no offense to you. I only wanted to hear your inner thoughts. Rest assure, I will not tell any other one the disrespectful words you just said about Lord Ning.¡±

    Early this night, Chang Nuo came here in Luo¡¯s Mansion disguised as Feng Yang. And his purpose was merely to find He Danggui. So, he chose to do it in the dark in case run into Madam Luo and others. But unluckily, he was seen by Pan Jingyang, a guard of Luo¡¯s Mansion.

    Pan Jingyang saw a ck shadow was moving underneath the stars, so he became alert and yelled, ¡°Who¡¯s there!¡± When Chang Nuo was about to make up an excuse such as taking a walk and enjoying the moon, Pan Jingyang identified the shadow was Feng Yang. So, he put away his right hand which was holding on the handle of his sword and apologized with a relief, ¡°The death of Biddy Wen was a tragedy, so Madam Luo asked everyone to be cautious.¡±

    Chang Nuo replied casually. Then, Pan Jingyang suddenly said in deep voice, ¡°Childe Feng, wasn¡¯t Third Miss hurt at all? I have some medicine that can heal cut wounds, but it¡¯s not appropriate to give these to her in middle of the night. Since you have the duty to cure her wounds, maybe you can deliver these for me.¡± Then, Pan Jingyang took out a dark-red brocade box. It was obvious that he prepared it early.

    ¡°I have the duty to take care of Sister He?¡± Chang Nuo thought and opened the brocade box. He studied the method of these four blue bottles while he analyzed the situation in his heart. In seconds, he reached to a conclusion¨Cit must be the Taoist Sage, who disguised as him and caused troubles everywhere.

    Not long ago, Taoist Sage was really interested in making fun of Chang Nuo. Taoist Sage made a ¡®¡®Feng Yang¡¯¡¯ mask as the same as the mask Chang Nuo was wearing. And then, Taoist Sage caused lots of problems in the name of Feng Yang, which made Chang Nuo be exhausted and tired. Last few months were peaceful. There were no events like ¡°arranged dates¡± or ¡°broke arms¡±. So, Chang Nuo thought Taoist Sage had already left Yangzhou City. However, Taoist Sage just left for another city, causing troubles in Luo¡¯s Mansion. What an old child.

    Thinking of this, Chang Nuo received this brocade box. He smiled and said, ¡°Sister He¡¯s wounds are better than before now, and I¡¯m going to find her medicines. Now there will be need of it then. Pan, thanks for the medicines. These should be enough.¡±

    Sister He was wounded? What happened? Chang Nuo used to find that she possessed strong internal force. And he taught her his Mysterious Footwork. He believed that since she was smart, she would live some nice days instead of getting hurt. So, he didn¡¯te to see her this year because of his busy schedule. Every time he came, she looked unhappy. After they got connected because of the matchmaker, the atmosphere between them became distant and awkward.

    Yuan liked this girl very much and was determined to marry her. One yearter, Chang Nuo came to see her only to find she was hurt. Why was she wounded? And how bad the wound was?

    Chang Nuo wanted to find out, but he couldn¡¯t ask, because he should be the person who was in charge of Sister He¡¯s wounds.

    At this moment, Chang Nuo was so worried about He Danggui that he desired to be by her side right away. But Pan Jingyang suddenly asked, ¡°Childe Feng, will you treat Third Miss well? Will you cure all her wounds and take care of her for the rest of your life?¡±

 Chapter 208 - That guest coming from afar

    <h4>Chapter 208 That guesting from afar</h4>

    ¡°Take care of her...forever?¡± Chang Nuo repeated in his heart. He was stunned for a moment. What did Pan Jingyang mean? Damn it, did it mean that Taoist Sage, who disguised as Feng Yang, actually molested Sister He?

    Thinking of it, Chang Nuo was very anxious. Although Taoist Sage was old, he was still a man, and he handled things without a sense of propriety. Chang Nuo hoped that Taoist Sage hadn¡¯t gone too far and didn¡¯t ruin the reputation of Sister He by using Feng Yang¡¯s identity. That girl was very cherished for Ning Yuan. And Ning Yuan was seeking a decent identity for her, so that she could be his princess at Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion. If there was anything wrong, how could Chang Nuo exin to Ning Yuan?

    After replying Pan Jingyang perfunctorily, Chang Nuo went to the inner courtyard quickly. When he was about to rush to the direction of Tao Yao Yard, he saw a prettydy in red standing on thewn not far away. She was Sister He, whom he hadn¡¯t seen for one year.

    After looking at her carefully, he noticed that she was much taller thanst year, and she also had the delicate line of a maiden. Seeing that she threw a tantrum with vivid expressions and hit the tree with mud, Chang Nuo couldn¡¯t help but sigh with emotion. Time was really a magical good stuff. A girl became a maiden unconsciously.

    As such a beautiful and elegant maiden, even if she stood next to the dashing Ning Yuan, she would not look inferior. Ning Yuan indeed had a unique vision for the beauty.

    However, no matter how beautiful she was, she was just a woman. She would be kept in Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion like a flower. Her existence was the icing on the cake among many beauties in the mansion. And without her, it would not look much bleak. Why was Ning Yuan so obsessed with her? What was the special about her? The biggest use of a woman was to procreate. As long as she had a decent appearance, wasn¡¯t it all the same that no matter which woman procreated?

    Ning Yuan said that every time he thought of her, there was always a strange tingling sensation in his heart. Was this feeling ¡°love¡±? Did ¡°love¡± equal to ¡°pain¡±? Chang Nuo shook his head, and he really couldn¡¯t figure out why Ning Yuan bewitched her. Every time Ning Yuan mentioned her, Ning Yuan seemed to be a different man at once. His eyes became dull, and his hands unconsciously touched the sachet hanging around his waist. Chang Nuo knew that there was a strand of Sister He¡¯s hair inside.

    Looking at thedy in red with a cloak on the grass, Chang Nuo shook his head and sighed. What kind of love poison did she poison Yuan?

    Thedy in red did not notice him approaching. She pouted lovably, as if she had suffered a great grievance. She was constantly throwing mud to a banyan to vent her anger. Under her continuous attack, most of the leaves had fallen sparsely. Chang Nuo was a little shocked. It was terrible when a woman got angry.

    Suddenly, the girl stopped. She stared at a snow-white bunny on the ground intently. There was a look of yearning on her face. And she walked slowly towards that bunny. Unexpectedly, the little bunny ignored her. It turned head and got into the dense grass. The girl immediately showed some childish sulks, which made Chang Nuo smile involuntarily. When he visited her in the past, she was always estranged and polite, acting like a little adult. He had never seen such a childish her.

    Who was she mad at? And what was she upset about? Her action of throwing mud was so agile and swift, so she didn¡¯t seem to get injured. It was a sharp contrast to the scene in which he thought that she was bedridden. Chang Nuo breathed a sigh of relief. If she had any misfortune, he really didn¡¯t know how to face Ning Yuan¡¯s eyes, which would suddenly brighten when she was mentioned.

    Chang Nuo walked several steps closer and hid behind the banyan to check the situation. He wanted to see whether the fake Feng Yang, who was pretended by Taoist Sage, was there or not. Chang Nuo thought if Taoist Sage was there, Sister He would be frightened when he suddenly appeared. When Chang Nuo was pondering, he felt that something would hit him. His hands moved faster than his brain, and reflexively waved away that ck object, making it bounce back. But after swiping it out, he realized that the thing he hit just now was the mud ball thrown by Sister He. And the direction he hit back was aiming straight at Sister He!

    Chang Nuo was anxious because he used 50 percent or 60 percent of his strength. If he hit her, she would be wounded! Although she had internal force and Zhenqi for protecting the body, she was still a girl who was more fragile than a begonia in nature. Her bones must be the kind of weak bones that could be easily broken!

    Chang Nuo took out the long whip wrapped around his waist, and thrillingly pushed her away before the mud hit her. After she saw Chang Nuo, she actually mistook him for Taoist Sage. And she just harangued something that he couldn¡¯t understand. However, it seemed that she was very familiar with Taoist Sage, and she also knew that Taoist Sage wasn¡¯t the true Feng Yang, just wearing Feng Yang¡¯s mask. It was weird. How could Sister He, who was a girl staying in boudoir, have such a good friendship with the world-renowned Taoist Sage? This was really unexpected.

    In the next conversation with her, her strange remarks surprised him too much, and her coldness made him feel a little sullen. Ning Yuan was already obsessed with her, but she was so offish. She didn¡¯t be delighted or touched. And she even said, ¡°One day, I will be put in use by them, as if candles burning their lives into the light and be a pile of oil at the end. If I did what Lord Ning wants, death would be the only thing waiting for me.¡±

    Just because Chang Nuo was carried away by anger, he couldn¡¯t help but speak out to defend Ning Yuan. However, she immediately realized that he was not Bai Yangbai, but ¡°the real Feng Yang¡±. As she stepped back away from him, she asked coldly, ¡°Who are you? You are not Bai Yangbai!¡±

    In this way, the first open-hearted conversation between him and the girl was stopped. Looking at the girl¡¯s trembling shoulders and panic-stricken eyes, Chang Nuo exined, ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to pretend to be Taoist Sage, and I have no malice towards you. You don¡¯t have to be so panicked. I just want to hear your heartfelt words. Those words you just said are quite disrespectful to Lord Ning. Those words will hide in my heart. I will never tell anyone.¡±

    He Danggui sneered after hearing that. She said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Childe Feng. I won¡¯t care if you pass these words back to Lord Ning. Anyway, I will never follow his will to be his woman, and I don¡¯t care if I will offend him. At first, I was still worried about how to rify the matter with you. Now, under such a misunderstanding, you know my truest view towards Lord Ning and you. This is a good thing, huh. It saves me a lot of energy on getting up the courage, and I make myself clear to you with muddle.¡±

    ¡°Well, but I can¡¯t understand,¡± Chang Nuo frowned and asked, ¡°He is the lord with a perfect physiognomy, and he is so crazy about you. Don¡¯t you even have the shyness and joy which a normal woman should have? What does his performance make you think that he is an unreliable man so that you rejected him immediately?¡±

    He Danggui looked up at the stars. On the dark curtain, the shining stars were so beautiful. However, they were remote and ruthless, without a hint of warmth. Even if she didn¡¯t like walking under the dazzling sun, she didn¡¯t want to sign a dark pact with the cold star in the dark night. In this life, she could no longer let herself down, and could no longer sell herself worthless to a demon who didn¡¯t even cherish the life of his own daughter.

    Zhu Quan hated his father Zhu Yuanzhang. She told herself that it was because Zhu Yuanzhang killed his mother. It was not because Zhu Quan couldn¡¯t understand the blood rtionship. He just didn¡¯t know how to choose between love and hate. She just watched this quietly.

    Zhu Quan attacked his brothers. She told herself that it was because they attacked Zhu Quan first, and he was just for self-protection. Since ancient times, many people had been forced to participate in the battle for power and status. She just watched this silently.

    Zhu Quan was cruel and ruthless towards his concubines. She told herself that it was because they were greedy and vainglorious women. They married into Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion for their wealth and rights, without any sincerity to Zhu Quan. So, he gave them false feelings. Some women were unwilling to be lonely, so they were thrown by him to the Mongolian soldiers in the barracks; some used extreme methods to fight for favor, so they were given to guests from afar at the banquet; some sneaked into the study to steal military secret drawing, so they died silently. She just watched this silently.

    Zhu Quan threw her and her daughter into Water Dungeon. Her daughter¡¯s forehead became hotter and hotter, and her daughter¡¯s cry became weaker and weaker. Her daughter died, and in the end she died. Everyone just watched this silently.

    This time, she would no longer remain silent, so she raised her head and said resolutely, ¡°Feng Yang, you and I are not on the same road. I can only describe Lord Ning as venomous serpents and wild beasts, so I will never ept the proposal you brought for him. Besides, I hope to return all the betrothal gifts you sent before. You can bring them back and tell him that between ¡®being his woman¡¯ and ¡®death¡¯, I prefer thetter. If he does constrain me, use his identity to suppress me, or use violence to detain me forcibly, I will have nothing to say and only send him my cold corpse as the answer.¡±

    Chang Nuo was shocked by her words. Death? Corpse? Why was she so resolute? Wasn¡¯t it just a chase between a man and a woman? Sweetness and affection between each other ought to be the main theme of this chase. Even if he, a matchmaker, used a threatening way to force her to ept the tokens, how could she be unmoved as a woman who was courted by the best man in the world?

    Chang Nuo didn¡¯t know how to talk to this young girl who threatened with death. But there were some things he had to say. If she was still indifferent after understanding Ning Yuan¡¯s affection, he would do nothing but sigh that she was so ungrateful. And she failed to live up to Lord Ning¡¯s heart.

    ¡°Sister He, since you have read the letter left by Lord Ning, you should understand that his affection to you is not a whim definitely. It won¡¯t be done just with a sedan chair into Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion,¡± Chang Nuo sighed, ¡°He really values and cherishes you. And he can¡¯t bear to wrong you with the status of a concubine. So, unless you can be his princess, he will nevere to get you.¡± Zhu Quan had so many women, but who could be so favored and cherished by him?

    He Danggui blinked and asked, ¡°So, do I have the right to refuse? The vital thing about marriage is loving each other. Now, I not only feel unhappy, but also have a strong sense of dislike for him. If he does respect me, he should immediately take back his self-righteous tokens and let me live my own life from now on. Otherwise, his so-called love is fake. And it is his self-righteous plunder and possession.¡± If Zhu Quan knew how to love someone, how could she have hated him from the bottom of her heart?

    Chang Nuo slowly closed his eyes and remained silence for a long time. When he opened eyes again, he stared at her coldly and said in a deep voice, ¡°Lord Ning ising to Yangzhou. If you have something to say, just tell him face to face. As a messenger, I am too disappointed in you, so I don¡¯t want to help spread your words anymore.¡±

    He Danggui was shocked at first when she heard it. Then she smiled, like a begonia in the wind, and said sarcastically, ¡°You have always been Lord Ning¡¯s only messenger, passing down the noble orders of him. Have you ever been my messenger once? I told you that I don¡¯t want his shit tokens; I don¡¯t deserve that kind of superior man like him; I don¡¯t want him to send you again. However, you didn¡¯t tell him these words, did you? After all, you have always brought those damn tokens, appearing in Tao Yao Yard like a ghost.¡±

    The anger in Chang Nuo¡¯s heart suddenly rose from the tiny mes into a white ze, and a strange light appeared in Chang Nuo¡¯s eyes. He waved his wooden fan and hit the dying big banyan ten meters away which was hurt by He Danggui before. The tree immediately turned into so many sawdust, and was drifted into the endless sky with the night breeze.

    He Danggui stood here firmly with her hands in sleeves. That decisive and delicate posture had a strange charm that tempted others to conquer and destroy.

    Chang Nuo was tempted, and he suddenly stretched out his hand to her. His hand approached her neck slowly. When it touched her neck, he squeezed.

 Chapter 209 - Torturing the beauty in bamboo grove

    <h4>Chapter 209 Torturing the beauty in bamboo grove</h4>

    He Danggui felt that the hand squeezed on her neck was getting tighter and tighter, gradually depriving the cool air that people could notck for a moment. Was this the true face of Zhu Quan, who took Feng Yang as the emissary? They kept talking about love all the time. But once she disobeyed their will, even one of Zhu Quan¡¯s subordinates had the right to take her life, which even didn¡¯t have to get Zhu Quan¡¯s permission. Oh, what a great love. What a noble and sacred man.

    Chang Nuo¡¯s murderous intent vanished as quickly as it urred. Although he did not move his hand on her neck, he had removed the force and just wrapped around her smooth skin. Looking at her cid face, he asked with anger, ¡°What is wrong with Lord Ning? Why don¡¯t you beg for mercy? Are you not afraid of death?¡±

    He Danggui lifted her eyes and stared at his eyes, which were full of violent emotion. Then she said slowly, ¡°It¡¯s not about being afraid or not. I¡¯m only 14 years old, and I still have a lot prime time. So, why should I ask to die if I have a chance to live? However, Zhu Quan is the person I hate the most in this world. And it feels like swallowing flies when his name was mentioned, not to mention to get involved with him. Don¡¯t ask me the reason. I was born to hate the man named Zhu Quan. I hate him very much.¡± It was better to put everything on the table rather than expend her energy to deal with them in vain. And she was fed up with the coercion from Zhu Quan.

    Chang Nuo slowly exhaled and loosened her neck, leaving a deep pink scar on her delicate neck. The sweet smell of blood wafted up his nose. He suddenly found that He Danggui was not wearing a dark red dress, but wearing a bloodstained dress! Whose blood?

    Chang Nuo pulled her close, trying to undo her cloak to check her dress. But he did so quickly that she misunderstood him, so she raised her snow-white hand pping on his face. He hastily sped her tiny wrist, clipped it behind her, and exined, ¡°I just want to see your wound. And I have the medicine for sword wound that Pan Jingyang gave me. Who hurt you with a sword? Where are you hurt? Let me see.¡± It didn¡¯t matter to let a girl¡¯s cute hand hit him several times, but He Danggui¡¯s hand strength was too strong. And it would be bad if she broke his mask.

    He Danggui couldn¡¯t shake off his hand. Then she snorted and said, ¡°I haven¡¯t get hurt. So, Childe Feng, let me go.¡±

    Chang Nuo released her obediently, and then unexpectedly hit at her Jianjing acupoint. There was no warning, and his hand was fast as a sh. So, before she was about to dodge, she suddenly lost the strength to support the body and fell forward softly. Chang Nuo caught her body, carried her horizontally and then ran. He Danggui eximed, ¡°Where are you taking me to? Are you kidnaping me?¡±

    Chang Nuo threatened, ¡°Don¡¯t shout so loud. And if you do that again, I will block your mute acupoint.¡± As he said, his feet were like the wind and ran faster.

    She was kidnapped? A hundred ideas of saving herself shed through He Danggui¡¯s mind, but no one could solve her current difficulty. So, they finally tore off the mask of hypocrisy and revealed the true faces of the robbers? Was Feng Yang going to take her away and send her to Zhu Quan after Zhu Quan came to Yangzhou?

    She closed her eyes and thought for a moment. Then she negotiated with him, ¡°In fact, I have a slight knowledge of astrology and hydrology. I can predict the water situation of the Grand Canal, the Yangtze River and Yellow River in the following year. I can tell which part has the dark whirlpool under water, which part has the hurricane, and which part is unimpeded. And what I say can be the truth. Is it the most first-hand information that your Caobang Organization¡¯s shipping fleets want to get?¡±

    Chang Nuo did not answer, but put the hood on her head. Then he pressed her little head on his shoulder and flied over the ground like the wind. At the moment, even if someone saw this scene, he could only see a white whirlwind-like thing shing past. And it was difficult to distinguish whether it was a man or a ghost, not to mention to recognize that he was the kidnapper Childe Feng.

    He Danggui moved her nose out of the white robe, which was full of clove smell. Then she continued to lobby, ¡°You are all great men with ambitions. It¡¯s not necessary to care about a little girl like me, and I am nothing in your eyes. As long as you give me a peaceful life, I can provide you with the hydrological data of Ming¡¯s waterways for three consecutive years. How about that? Oh, you must think I¡¯m bragging, don¡¯t you? Why don¡¯t you give it a try? You will get nothing to lose. In 2 months, you¡¯ll know how good my prediction is after trying it. And then you and I can make other deals.¡±

    In her previous life, she read the mansion¡¯s books without understanding. Although they were all memorized by her, there was not much that could be used in practice. But rote memorization had its advantages. For example, for the hundreds of millions of data in that set of Qianshui Records, she could write them down. That set of records was written by one of Zhu Quan¡¯s followers, Li Wei. It was a masterpiece. To write it, Li Wei had guarded the Yangtze River and the Yellow River for more than ten years. And it had arge number of first-hand information, which has recorded weather and hydrological regime of major river channels from the 19th year of Hongwu to the 3rd year of Yongle.

    At that time, it could only be regarded as a rigorous academic work. However, if it was written more than ten years ago, it would be regarded as a divination book. Even ten people like Bai Yangbai added up couldn¡¯t be more magical than this book. If Bai Yangbai was the dragon king, He Danggui could hold that set of Qianshui Records to y a role as the dragon mother.

    Chang Nuo finally spoke to her, ¡°A deal? Ah, Miss He, you are not afraid. You are already in trouble, and you should quickly change your mind to my lord. And then you should beg me to cover up this part of your disobedient words. But you are lying through your teeth, and you even want to bargain with me. You ndered Lord Ning like that. Are you sure you can save your life tonight and make a deal with me?¡± The way of getting along with a dozen younger sisters of Feng¡¯s Family told him that when he dealt with those difficult women, beating or coaxing didn¡¯t work. And the most effective way was to frighten them. Even if He Danggui was a little bolder, not afraid of strangling and suffocating, there were too many ways to frighten a delicate girl, and there was always a way to make her sumb.

    He Danggui felt puzzled and said, ¡°Butpared to the attractive terms I promised, the offensive words were nothing. You don¡¯t look so petty, and don¡¯t you even have that kind of magnanimity? Besides, what I offended was Zhu Quan, not you.¡± Where was he going to take her? Wouldn¡¯t it be more convenient for him to kill her and dump her just now if he really wanted to kill her? And Zhu Quan kept thinking about her. Since he was a good friend of Zhu Quan, why didn¡¯t he leave this precious opportunity to Zhu Quan?

    Chang Nuo sighed, ¡°I really regret that I sent Ning Yuan to Luo¡¯s Mansion for healing on that year. If I hadn¡¯t done that, Ning Yuan would not have met you. He would not have been captivated by you. And he would not have overtaxed his nerves for you. However, you are so heartless. What happened between you in that year? What did you do to him?¡± By this time, he had run into a dark ce with no lights, and his pace slowed.

    There was utter darkness and silent. When the wind blew, there was the rustle of millions of leaves. Although He Danggui could not move and could only see from the kidnapper Feng Yang¡¯s chin to his belt. But she immediately realized where they came to.

    ¡°Bitter Bamboo Grove?!¡± He Danggui whispered, ¡°Why do youe to this ce in the middle of the night? Behind this forest are deep mountains and old forests. You can¡¯t reach the outer wall of Luo¡¯s Mansion. Are you going to the wrong way?¡±

    Chang Nuo looked down the beauty in his arms. Although the night was so dark that normal people could not see, the night couldn¡¯t affect his sight. Hershes curled upwards, and she rolled her eyes as hard as she could, trying to look for his eyes and expression. There was still only surprise but no any fear on her face as she followed a fierce man to a haunted bamboo grove in the middle of nowhere. Wasn¡¯t she worried about what might happen next? Was she really not afraid?

    She is a perfect woman with wonderful eyebrows, ck eyes, small nose and lips. To be honest, he even couldn¡¯t find a woman who couldpete with her on the delicate features from the Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion, which was full of beauties. She was the creator¡¯s proudest work. ¡°Ning Yuan, the beauty you have missed for three years and you couldn¡¯t get is lying in my arms without struggling right now.¡± Chang Nuo thought.

    Chang Nuo put his face close to the puzzled face and curled his lips maliciously. He said, ¡°I don¡¯t go to the wrong way. I am looking for the Bitter Bamboo Grove. You know, it is one of the best soundproof forests. In this, no matter what sad and shrill cryes out, it will be covered by the rustle of bamboo leaves and the sound of crows¡¯ pping wings. Do you know the feeling that no one can hear you?¡± When he said thest sentence, he imitated Zhu Quan¡¯s voice and whispered it ambiguously.

    ¡°Don¡¯t talk to me in that voice,¡± He Danggui sneered and said, ¡°Feng Yang, I underestimate you. It seems that you have learned a lot since you have followed Zhu Quan for 2 years. You, a big man and a famous swordsman in Jianghu, tease and intimidate a little girl with your strong kung fu, which really let me widen my vision. I have known what is hypocritical and what is brute!¡±

    Chang Nuo frowned and asked, ¡°Girl, aren¡¯t you afraid? Won¡¯t you beg for mercy? As soon as I enter the depths of the bamboo grove, I am about to find a good ce to torture you.¡± He stepped on the path buried by the fallen leaves and walked towards the depths of the bamboo grove.

    This small path was where He Danggui and Zhu Quan, who disguised himself as Lu Jiangbei, first met. It was also the ce where Zhu Quan started to be interest in He Danggui and determined to get her.

    Three years ago, a malevolent incident called ¡°Fire Burn a Hundred Crows¡± happened here. Now there were still scorched marks on the ground, as if they were an ugly scar of the magnificent East Yard of Luo¡¯s Mansion. The noise of crows in the forest and the sound of their wings pping in groups indicated that the scar had been sealed by time, and even the ¡°victim¡± crows had forgotten the scar. However, the encounter between her and Zhu Quan three years ago had caused great harm, which had be the scar of her regretful and angry memory.

    He Danggui closed her eyes and said with her nasal voice, ¡°The Feng Yang I knew three years ago could not do such a thing. But after all, things have changed. Fine, let me see how much you have learned from Zhu Quan, and how much you have improved after three years.¡± At the same time, He Danggui thought in her heart, ¡°Bai Yangbai, you wretch. Where did you go when I was in danger!¡±

    Chang Nuo still kept going to the depths of the bamboo forest. At the same time, he lowered his head to scrutinize her expression and reiterated, ¡°Hey, I will not be humane. If you want to beg for mercy, it¡¯s the time. I will be brute with eyes red in a while, and I can hear nothing at that time. I would be very brutal.¡±

    ¡°That sounds terrifying and scares me, but we¡¯ll see whether you can actually do it.¡± He Danggui yawned and said, ¡°When you get there, wake me up. Let me take a nap first.¡±

    ¡°Hell!¡± Chang Nuo shook the sleeping girl. With an expression of his stepmother, he said insidiously, ¡°Do you have anyst words? I can meet yourst wish, but you will have to pay a price. You are not going to get out alive anyway, let alone other things, right?¡±

    He Danggui lifted her eyelids and nced at this ¡°stepmother¡±. Then she snorted and said, ¡°Childe Feng, I really don¡¯t want to expose you and embarrass you, but your acting is not perfect, and your lines areck of innovation. I really don¡¯t understand why you are taking me into Bitter Bamboo Grove. Where are you taking me to?¡±

 Chapter 210 - The wounds could not be healed with clothes on

    <h4>Chapter 210 The wounds could not be healed with clothes on</h4>

    Chang Nuo was surprised. As a famous killer, he didn¡¯t believe that he couldn¡¯t scare a little girl. So, he said raucously with his face twisted, ¡°You don¡¯t know about my means. I am the notorious rapist¨C ¡®butterfly¡¯, whose favorites are thedies of the rich families. The number of thedies who were harmed by me are countless, and most of them hanged themselves. Miss He, they have lost the confidence to live because of my heartless torture. And that is what you need to keep in mind.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± He Danggui just said, ¡°Childe Feng, would you mind holding me in a morefortable position? I¡¯m about to fall to the ground.¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± Chang Nuo blinked his eyes in confusion and then looked down. One of his arms was around He Danggui¡¯s neck and the other arm was hooking her legs, which left a huge space in the middle. And because he was walking, He Danggui¡¯s body could almost touch the ground. But the middle part belong to Yuan, how could he touch that part? So, he moved He Danggui¡¯s soft body on his shoulder and walked like he was carrying a big sack.

    He Danggui¡¯s nose idently made contact with Chang Nuo¡¯s rock-hard back and then a warm stream flew out of her nose. She resisted, ¡°My nose is bleeding! You¡¯ve hurt me!¡± Red blood dropped on Chang Nuo¡¯s white robe like flowers.

    Chang Nuo was surprised, so he sped up his pace and yelled with a low voice, ¡°Just get over it. We will be there soon.¡±

    ¡°Where¡¯re we going?¡± He Danggui felt dizzy because of the shaking, so she got all the blood on Chang Nuo¡¯s elegant robe and shouted, ¡°Hey! I think you should hold me like before! Now you¡¯re making my head towards the ground, and more blood ising out! I¡¯ve already been hurt badly, and I¡¯m lucky just to be able to talk right now. But now with all these bloodsing out from my nose, I may be dead in minutes. Feng Yang, I will never spare your life even when I¡¯m dead!¡±

    Chang Nuo¡¯s body shook because of He Danggui¡¯s yelling. He immediately carried her down into the original holding position. However, in the process, he mistakenly touched the middle part of He Danggui¡¯s body, causing a high and piercing sound.

    ¡°Ah!¡± He Danggui yelled as loud as she could, ¡°Harassment! Help!¡±

    Chang Nuo quickly poked He Danggui¡¯s mute acupoint and exined while wiping the blood, ¡°That was just an ident! Also, I didn¡¯t touch you with my palm. It was my fist. Please, calm down. I meat no disrespect¡­¡± At this moment, he realized that he began to feel less angry. Then he continued, ¡°You¡¯re Yuan¡¯s woman. I can¡¯ty my hands on you. But if you continue being so ruthless to him, in order to make him forget you, I would kill you tonight right here in these woods and then bury you under those rocks. I mean it. You can choose to not believe me, but that would be underestimating me, who held the Fuliu Sword.

    He Danggui was chocked by Chang Nuo¡¯s words and thought maliciously, ¡°Yuan? What an intimate way to call. What¡¯s his connection with Zhu Quan? If Feng Yang and Zhu Quan were together, it will be clear why Zhu Quan treated all his women so cold¨Cbecause he likes man! Feng Yang and Zhu Quan have known each other since they were both teenagers. And Feng Yang always calls Zhu Quan ¡®Yuan¡¯, which proves that Zhu Quan has been used ¡®Ning Yuan¡¯ as his fake name for a long time. In previous life, I gave all my life to Zhu Quan. However, I never heard the name, ¡®Ning Yuan¡¯. How ridiculous! What was the truth about the man she has slept with for decades?¡±

    Chang Nuo tried to negotiate, ¡°If you won¡¯t scream just like before and can forget about my idental touch, I will relieve your mute acupoint, ok? Blink once if you agree.¡±

    He Danggui blinked twice, which made Chang Nuo be wondered. So, he reminded her, ¡°If you agree with me, blink once; if not, just keep your eyes open.¡±

    However, He Danggui still blinked twice, which made Chang Nuo be more confused. He had to relieve her mute acupoint and asked, ¡°Could you just forget my small act of rudeness before? You know I didn¡¯t mean that. It was you who were yelling you are about to dead, so I got scared and touched you in the wrong ce inadvertently.¡±

    He Danggui became angrier and said with her teeth grinning up and down, ¡°You bastard! Pervert! Liar! You touched me and you chose to deny it. Shameless! People who wicked as you didn¡¯t deserve to be Lord Ning¡¯s friend. There is a saying goes, ¡®Friend¡¯s wife, your taboo.¡¯ But now your dared to harass me. Then do you dare to see Lord Ning again? You said he wille to Yangzhou City very soon, and you asked me to see him. Fine, I am sure I will go to see him. And when I meet him, I will expose the real you to him, a false, cunning and shameless man! Then, he will no longer be your friend!¡±

    Hearing this, Chang Nuo was angry and shocked. He said with anger, ¡°What nonsense are you talking about? Why would I be interested in your body when I have dozens of beautiful concubines at home? You have been Lord Ning¡¯s woman 3 years ago. I have been behaved myself and didn¡¯t even touch one of your fingers until now. That was truly an ident! Could you just forgive me?¡±

    With a half-smiling face, He Danggui said, ¡°You can¡¯t judge a book only by its cover. The more a person looks like gentle, the more he might be evil. Based on my judgement, you are that wolf with the skin of a sheep. Otherwise, you wouldn¡¯t have poked my mute acupoint and brought me to such dark and quiet woods. You pervert! Ah!¡± Again, she made a piercing sound.

    Chang Nuo felt headache because of the sound, so he immediately put He Danggui on the ground and relieved her Jianjing acupoint. But then he patted once on her scap and said, ¡°I¡¯m afraid that you may try to escape, so I have to seal your internal force right now. This is a palm method called Heart Crushing. You will find out when you try to use your Zhenqi. Miss He, trust me, it would be the worst nightmare of your life.¡± Then he took out a wooden fan and said, ¡°Hold the other end and don¡¯t let it go. I will take you to a ce and you will understand that Lord Ning have fell in love with you 3 years ago when we get there. Here, take it!¡±

    He Danggui slowly took the fan and said, ¡°Since I can¡¯t use my internal force, I am now only a powerlessdy who are also severely wounded. I can¡¯t hold tight to anything now, and I feel that my body is aching so much. If you don¡¯t want me to die right now, just bring me back to Tao Yao Yard. I don¡¯t have the intention to go anywhere else or see how much love Lord Ning has for me now. The more he likes me, the more I hate him. I want to go home.¡±

    Chang Nuo was furious. He held He Danggui in his arms and jumped on the high bamboo. In seconds, they were standing in front of a dark cave and entered right away. After running deeply in the cave for a while, He Danggui began to see clearly that the cave was like a karst cave with small caves inside big caves. After a time, they stopped at a dry and cold stone cave. In the darkness, He Danggui could only see that there was a round futon on the ground.

    Chang Nuo took out a Huo Zhe Zi (a tight roll of rough paper keeping in an airtight tube box, which could be carried around and was easy to rekindle once it was exposed into the air again) and made it widely open like a small torch. Suddenly, the cave was filled with light. The futon on the ground was dark-red surrounded by a few dolls of different materials. Chang Nuo noticed that there were some oilmps inside the hollows on the stone wall. So, he lighted them up with Huo Zhe Zi, which made the cave be brighter.

    Chang Nuo took Huo Zhe Zi back and let He Danggui sit on the futon. While trying to unclothe her cape, he said, ¡°Let me see your wounds. I have some medicines, and my Zhenqi is soft and gentle which is benefit for normal wounds.¡± After he undressed He Danggui¡¯s robe, he continued to undress her dress. He Danggui immediately yelled, ¡°Pervert! Harassment!¡±

    Chang Nuo hesitated for seconds and then continued. He said, ¡°I believe even if Lord Ning knew, he would never want you to die. As for the current situation, he will understand. Where did you hurt exactly? Who did this to you?¡± It was weird that her clothes were covered in blood but still in whole without a slight damage. Weren¡¯t all these bloods caused by sword? Could it be internal injury?

    Before He Danggui realized what happened, there were only middle clothes left on her body. Seeing Chang Nuo¡¯s evil hands reaching towards her again, she believed more firmly that Chang Nuo¡¯s true desire was to take advantage of her, so she covered her clothes tightly and said, ¡°Actually, my wounds are not that severe, and I will be fine if I go home and rest for two days. Most of the bloods on my clothes belong to someone else. Just give me the medicine. I can do it myself!¡±

    Chang Nuo thought He Danggui was too shy to show her wounds, so he couldn¡¯t help scolding, ¡°It¡¯s a matter of life and death! Don¡¯t be shy. You would have no chance to enjoy anything if you¡¯re dead. Rest assure, I just want to see your wounds so that I can cure them. I will only pay attention to the wounds. Just let your hands go!¡± Then he tried to move He Danggui¡¯s hands.

    He Danggui shook her head firmly and said, ¡°Childe Feng, you¡¯re a man, so you don¡¯t know for women, reputation and virginity are everything! Even if I have to die today because of bleeding, I can¡¯t let you look at my wounds. And you can heal wounds even with clothes on, can¡¯t you?¡± She didn¡¯t want to tell Chang Nuo that her wounds were fake, because if so, he would do worse things. Now the best n was to pretend to be almost dying, so Chang Nuo wouldn¡¯t dare to do something. In this way, they could make a perfect deal.

    Chang Nuo stopped his actions. He frowned and said, ¡°Healing a person with clothes on is used when the patient has inner injury. Even so, you should let me see where your wounds are, right?¡± Then he tried to remove her clothes again.

    He Danggui suddenly thought of something and nodded hardly. She said, ¡°Correct! My wounds are inner injuries! There was an assassin in my house. He hit me pretty hard, so I had severe inner injuries. I spat so much blood on my clothes. Look, there¡¯s nothing damaged on my outermost skirt. Childe Feng, you should heal me with your method when you deal with inner injuries.¡±

    Chang Nuo began to believe He Danggui¡¯s words a little, but on second thoughts, he questioned, ¡°No. It¡¯s normal the front of your clothes was covered in blood, but what about the back of your clothes? It¡¯s clear that you were wounded on your skin. Don¡¯t force yourself right now. You would kill yourself! Sister He, I mean no harm to you. Since you were so ruthless to Lord Ning, I wanted to scare you by those words so that you could change your mind. I know that you must have outer injuries, otherwise Pan Jingyang couldn¡¯t give me so much medicines that are used to cure sword wounds. If you¡¯re worried about your reputation and virginity, we can solve this by Jianghu rules after I heal you, ok?¡±

    ¡°Jianghu rules?¡± He Danggui was curious and asked, ¡°What is it?¡± Would Feng Yang marry her? Suddenly, she felt this was a good idea. If so, she could get rid of Zhu Quan. Bai Yangbai once said before that Feng Yang never paid attention to any of his concubines. After the marriage, she could purposely make a mass to get the divorce letter and then left.

    But Chang Nuo¡¯s words broke her beautiful fantasy coldly. ¡°Jianghu rules mean that you can stab me in the same ce where Iy my eyes on your body. Well, that¡¯s settled then. Let¡¯s just get started. Rx, I will not regret.¡±

    Chang Nuo wanted to undress He Danggui¡¯s middle clothes again, but He Danggui still held tightly on her clothes. Chang Nuo got impatient and threatened, ¡°Take off your clothes now, or I will poke your acupoint and do it myself!¡±

 Chapter 211 - An inoffensive posture

    <h4>Chapter 211 An inoffensive posture</h4>

    Watching that the close hand was about to seal her acupoint again, He Danggui yelled, ¡°Stop! You can¡¯t do that! Why should I stab you for no reason?It¡¯s better to give me money. Stop! If you seal my acupoint once again, I will kill myself!¡± Thest sentence was what Dong Xin often yelled at Luo Baiqian, when they quarreled in Tao Yao Yard. Therefore, He Danggui learned these words unconsciously, and now she shouted out in a hurry.

    She didn¡¯t expect Chang Nuo to stop immediately. Not only did he stop, but he also stepped back in a panic and waved his hands. He persuaded, ¡°Your mother and Lord Ning are by your side. How can you keep saying death? We can talk about it! I won¡¯t move!¡± It was as if there were explosives on her body and a dagger in her hands. As soon as he got close, she would kill herself at once.

    He Danggui felt a little embarrassed. She didn¡¯t expect the sentence to work, after all Luo Baiqian didn¡¯t go for it. She grabbed her dress on the ground and put it on. She said, ¡°I don¡¯t have any trauma, no need to check. Uncle Pan is a warmhearted man. Every time I cough, he will give me some medicine the next day. The vulnerary he sent for me was just in case. To be honest, I just suffered a very serious and strange internal injury, and it cannot be found by feeling my pulse. As long as I am not irritated, I will not be in danger temporarily. Childe Feng, if you have extra Zhenqi, you can give me some.¡± She learned this cheeky trick from Bai Yangbai, which could weaken the enemy¡¯s power while strengthening hers. In this way, she was more confident to confront them.

    Looking at He Danggui¡¯s dress dyed red with blood, Chang Nuo still didn¡¯t believe her words. He pointed to the blood on her back and said, ¡°Why is there blood? Are you injured?¡±

    He Danggui lied, ¡°I told you that a killer came to Luo¡¯s Mansion, who was a rare master in Wulin. He cruelly hit everyone he saw. I was pped by him, so I vomited blood on my chest, and others were bleeding after being hit. Thus, my dress was dyed red with blood. But I didn¡¯t suffer any trauma. It will be great if there is some Zhenqi to relieve my viscera. Well, I¡¯m usually busy studying so that I don¡¯t have many opportunities to practice martial arts. For the past 3 years, my internal force hasn¡¯t improved.¡± She lowered head in a mncholy state.

    Chang Nuo was shocked by the scene, which He Danggui described as ¡°the killer hit people, and all of them were bloody.¡± So, he asked, ¡°What¡¯s his background? Do you have any clue? How many people did he kill? And have you notified the local yamen?¡± No wonder Pan Jingyang looked so vignt when he saw Chang Nuo before. It turned out that such a vicious murder took ce in Luo¡¯s Mansion.

    Since Chang Nuo was so gullible, He Danggui remembered the good deal. She smiled and said, ¡°Fortunately, it was just a close call because Bai Yangbai came unexpectedly and fought off the killer. You must be curious that why I am so close to Bai Yangbai, right?¡±

    Talking of Bai Yangbai, Chang Nuo showed an admiring expression, and recalled, ¡°Yeah. I admired Taoist Sage very much. I wanted to be his student and learned his prowess since I was a child. Later I heard that Ning Yuan had be his student, so I asked him to rmend me to Taoist Sage. Although I met him, no matter how I begged, he refused to ept any student except Ning Yuan, but agreed that I could learn some confidential skills of Daguomen Sect from Ning Yuan. Those skills are amazing, but what I do want to learn is his rainfall magic. He has not even taught his only disciple the magic at all.¡±

    He Danggui sat cross-legged on a futon. She pointed at the ground and told him to sit down with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s boring just talking. We can talk while healing, and it can be warmer. This cave is too cold.¡±

    Chang Nuo nodded and said, ¡°Wait a minute. I¡¯ll be right back.¡±

    Then he left and entered a dark hole not far away, fading away in the darkness. A rustling sound came from the next cave, and then Chang Nuo came back with arge bunch of firewood. He dumped the firewood next to He Danggui, and took an oilmp from the stone wall to light them. The firewood burned up immediately with high mes, not only driving the cold away, but illuminating the small cave as bright as day.

    Chang Nuo sat by her side. He looked at the blood on her chest and asked, ¡°Where did the killer hit you? I can heal where you are injured, and you will recover fast.¡±

    He Danggui smiled and reached out her right hand. She said, ¡°You can use your hand and pass Zhenqi slowly, otherwise I have no time to absorb.¡± She pointed at her chest and said, ¡°The killer hit my chest. If you pass Zhenqi from here, won¡¯t you poke your chest? Actually, I have Zhenqi for protecting the body, and the injury isn¡¯t serious. But it is better to heal me by a master, right?¡±

    Chang Nuo held her slender hand. He felt that it was so warm and soft, so that he let it go at once ufortably. He didn¡¯t think it was good to hold her hand because it would take a few hours to pass Zhenqi. So, he looked at her carefully, trying to find an appropriate and inoffensive part to pass Zhenqi. Finally, he pointed at the Zusanli acupoint on the outside of her calf and said, ¡°How about here?¡±

    He Danggui nodded and said, ¡°Okay, thank you.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re wee.¡± Chang Nuo answered and sat face to face with her. He grabbed one of her calves and passed the pure and mild Zhenqi to her body. He looked at her chest and said, ¡°Since the killer hurt your cardiac vein, how about I pass Zhenqi into your pericardium channel?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t bother,¡± He Danggui waved hand and said, ¡°You can pass it into my Dantian. If I feel ufortable, I can use it to heal. Thank you again!¡±

    ¡°Nothing.¡± Chang Nuo began to concentrate on passing Zhenqi.

    No one spoke. After the spark in the oilmp cracked for the fifth, He Danggui began to speak, ¡°Childe Feng, you are so talented. Why are you so believe in Bai Yangbai? Do you really think that he is omnipotent? Don¡¯t you think that he is nothing but a mystical conman?¡±

    Chang Nuo was wide-eyed. He said unhappily, ¡°Miss He, how can you discredit Taoist Sage? You are so close with him, so haven¡¯t you ever seen him show his rainfall magic?¡±

    He Danggui shook her head and said, ¡°Not once. I¡¯ve never seen with my own eyes. Even if he did seed in praying for rain in public, that was because he knew in advance that it was going to rain, and went to prepare. When it was overcast, he went to say something mysterious, pretending to be an immortal. Wind, rain, thunder and lightning are all natural. How can mortals control those?¡±

    Chang Nuo retorted, ¡°But he is not a mortal. He is the reincarnation of the Dragon King, and the immortaling with the dragon! To be honest, I saw him do.¡±

    ¡°All right, fine.¡± He Danggui was not interested. It was just Bai Yangbai¡¯s little trick.

    Chang Nuo insisted, ¡°Once the Emperor feted all officials, and also invited Taoist Sage. At that time, Taoist Sage didn¡¯t say anything about rainfall magic. But an official surnamed Peng spoke recklessly during the banquet, implying that Taoist Sage was a deceiver, and the so-called magic was just a stupid trick. Then some officials believing in Taoism began to refute. The 2 groups quarreled word by word. In the end, they looked at Taoist Sage together and asked him to pray for rain on the spot to prove. However, Taoist Sage did not agree at the beginning. He said that the magic was used to benefit people in the world, instead of gambling. So, he couldn¡¯t do it, or he would offend immortal. Besides, he was indifferent to fame and wealth. What other people thought of him was none of his business.¡±

    He Dangguiughed and said, ¡°He is a good poser. I can image his awe-inspiring but funny look.¡±

    ¡°Just when many people were a little disappointed, a news came from outside the pce. People who heard that Taoist Sage hade to the capital and entered Imperial Pce all gathered at the gate of the pce and bowed down. They begged Taoist Sage to pray for rain because they all heard that the rain from him could turn wastnd and sand into fertile soil.¡± Chang Nuo changed to a cross-legged posture and put her slender calves on his knees to pass Zhenqi. When he was recalling, there was a yearning look on his face. He said, ¡°So, Taoist Sage had no reason to refuse. Even the Emperor also asked him to pray for rain. Many people were suspicious, worried, or gloating. He walked to the center of the pce courtyard. Then he pointed to the sky and made a circle. While murmuring, he did a few magic gestures. After a while, the cloudless sky was full of dark clouds. And then he shouted, ¡®Here is the rain!¡¯ The pouring rain fell down immediately.¡±

    He Danggui scratched her nose and tilted head. She said, ¡°Sounds very amazing.¡± How did he do it?

    In retrospect, Chang Nuo was still thrilled, ¡°That¡¯s right. This is what he has. Watching the heavy rain, the people outside the pce cheered and the officials in the pce burst into an uproar. The Emperor was overjoyed and asked Taoist Sage how long the rain couldst. Taoist Sage said the rain was from the Yellow River. Because the Yellow River was in the flood season, it would rain for 4 whole days, and the color of the rain was yellowish with silt. 4 dayster, everything was as he said! Who can have such magic tricks in the world? Taoist Sage, Bai Yangbai!¡±

    He Danggui wanted tough. It turned out that Feng Yang, Young Lord of Yangzhou Caobang Organization, was an admirer of Bai Yangbai. It was unexpected. She thought that someone who was outstanding and powerful like him should trust his own strength more. And people who reaped without sowing liked to fantasize those weird things of immortals, monsters and ghosts most... Wait, there was a problem!

    He Danggui smiled and scrutinized the young man in front of her who was passing Zhenqi to her. Then she asked slowly, ¡°Childe Feng, how could you witness that scene? When did you go to the Imperial Pce? I remember that you haven¡¯t participated in the imperial examination, and you have no official rank, right?¡±

    Chang Nuo¡¯s dumbfounded expressionsted for so long. Right, he was now speaking to her as Feng Yang, not Chang Nuo, the Major General of Chang¡¯s Mansion! What should he do?

    ¡°Ahem,¡± Chang Nuo cleared his throat and said, ¡°Here is the thing. All I heard were from Ning Yuan. I admire Taoist Sage all the time, so I said I had seen them with my own eyes.¡±

    When he mentioned Zhu Quan, He Danggui¡¯s good mood of being passing Zhenqi was destroyed. She said coldly, ¡°Since you heard from Lord Ning, I think it has something to do with him. Maybe this is a trap he set, in order to make Bai Yangbai be famous. And then he could use the name of Bai Yangbai to do his own things.¡±

    Chang Nuo red at her, ¡°Don¡¯t be full of nonsense. At that time, Ning Yuan went to Nihon. How could he n such a big event when he was not in the capital? This is what Taoist Sage has. And he is omnipotent!¡±

    He Danggui nodded with a smile and said, ¡°Lord Ning went to Nihon, and he could tell you what he saw in the Imperial Pce. How funny you are.¡±

 Chapter 212 - Alongside the river, beneath the pale moonlight

    <h4>Chapter 212 Alongside the river, beneath the pale moonlight</h4>

    Chang Nuo realized that he made an indiscreet remark again. When he tried to patch up the lie, the words on the stone wall attracted He Danggui unexpectedly. She asked in a trance, ¡°Who wrote these?¡±

    Chang Nuo nced at it and replied, ¡°Lord Ning. The cave was discovered by him, and the words as well.¡± Picking up a puppet on the ground, he exined, ¡°3 years ago, Lord Ning healed in Luo¡¯s Mansion. He has already put his life on the line, but his internal injury was aggravated after conveying Zhenqi to you for 2 sessive days. Ming Yue told me these. Lord Ning had toe into the Bitter Bamboo Grove, a secluded ce, and cured himself for several days in these caves. And these puppets were left by him at that time.¡±

    He Danggui contemted the poem on the wall. It said, ¡°Alongside the river, beneath the pale moonlight, the withered winter lotus makes the loneliness more bitter.¡±

    Chang Nuo thought that she was moved and about to change her mind. So, he persuaded like a merciful Buddhist abbot guiding people to perform good deeds, ¡°Miss He, I feel sorry for your hard life. But you are beautiful and talented, like a fine pearl. To be honest, I am unwilling to see that you are unacknowledged. But now, please have the patience with my words whether it¡¯s eptable or not.¡±

    He Danggui poked the puppets of varying size in the same face lying on the ground. They were carved out of stones, woods or bamboos. Even one was made from saponins.

    Chang Nuo looked at her with kind eyes, and said, ¡°We have investigated your origin. And we feel pitiful for it because it is your sole defect. If you own the status of thedy like Luo Baishao and others, at least you will have the possibility of marrying in a marquis¡¯s family and being an elected Xiunv (women in the Imperial Harem). But now, your mother has remarried in an unhappy marriage. Unavoidably, those not in the know would question her conducts and further your family education. I guess that when most of men choose concubines, they will choose a pretty girl of a humble family, instead of not a well-educated and abandoned girl from a respectable family. Do you think so?¡±

    He Danggui had no words to retort his acid remarks. After all, the heads of puppets on the ground had frightened her. So, she didn¡¯t take anything to heart.

    Staring at her low expression, Chang Nuo had pity for her. He sighed and continued, ¡°You are suffering these consequences caused by the divorcement of your parents. Have you never nursed a grievance? Are you really willing to marry a mediocre man for the rest of your life? Don¡¯t you want to live a wonderful life to amaze people who looked down upon you?¡± Seeing a little hair falling out of her ear, habitually, he put them behind her ears like he did for his sister. Her ears were cute, but her earlobes were too thin, which seemed to symbolize that she was born unlucky.

    He Danggui felt a sense of warmth near her ear, and someonebed her hair. Looking up, she found Chang Nuo staring at her ears. Unconsciously, she covered her ears.

    Chang Nuo smiled and said, ¡°What beautiful ears. Why not get your ears pierced? If you wear the luniform earrings that Lord Ning presented you, you will be more attractive. But if you had white skin, you would be more suitable for that earrings.¡± He studied adult her, and then confused, ¡°You have been fruitier and stronger, but you still looked very haggard and sickly. Did you have a bad time in Luo¡¯s Family?¡±

    However, He Danggui pointed at the puppets on the ground, and asked, ¡°Have these been carved by Lord Ning 3 years ago?¡±

    Chang Nuo nodded and answered, ¡°Yes, these puppets were left here because he had to go in a hurry. Butst year, he once loved tiny sculpture, and memorized these puppets in the cave. Then he told me this position and asked me to take them for him. Look.¡± He stretched out a hand not delivering Zhenqi and picked up a puppet to her. He continued, ¡°All of them were carved in ordance with your look. Girl, since he could sculpture these things like you with his high position, you should know how much he loves you!¡± Then he took the puppet to her hand.

    He Danggui took it and raised it up to her nose. She looked at it carefully, and her eyes looked gloomy.

    Chang Nuo stared at her and made false promises, ¡°I promise. If you are willing to marry him, you will enjoy the best life and can revenge on those people who underestimated you before. He can give all what you want. Girl, as long as you look back, you will find that he is always waiting for you. You have no need to squabble with snobs like Sun Meiniang. You just need to lean on his arms to live a quiet life. And you will be treated well by him. As for those people who you don¡¯t like, he will deal with them and let them prostrate at your feet.¡± Chang Nuo determined to change her mind at all events, so as to meet Ning Yuan meekly. He would help Ning Yuan get whatever Ning Yuan liked and wanted.

    Then He Danggui raised it to the Chang Nuo¡¯s nose, and said, ¡°This old woman is not me.¡±

    Chang Nuo gazed at it doubtfully, which was indeed like a beauty in herte twenties, with a delicate Wuyun hairpin andplicated frontlets, like a married woman. Besides, he judged carefully from it. Even if it was simr with He Danggui, its profile was more mature. It had a woman¡¯s lingering charm, and there was the sense ofint or resentment in its dark eyes. In a word, it should be the look of He Danggui from more than a decadeter!

    Chang Nuo picked up the puppets carved by stones and saponins. They all dressed as married women. He didn¡¯t know the reason, but he still defended Zhu Quan, ¡°These puppets were engraved ording to your look after marrying him, which shows his determination to marry you. They all look like you. There is nothing doubtful about his love.¡±

    He Danggui asked suddenly after a short silence, ¡°Childe Feng, since you know there is firewood in the next cave, it¡¯s not like your first time here.¡±

    ¡°Yep, I got minor injuries some time ago,¡± Chang Nuo smiled and said, ¡°I found this site as looking for the ce for healing, and then I have lived here for days. The firewood was cut by me. This is a rather nice ce that people can live as a recluse.¡±

    ¡°Is there only firewood?¡± He Danggui questioned, ¡°I am so hungry and thirsty. Is there anything to eat?¡±

    Chang Nuo stopped delivering Zhenqi to her. He stood up and said, ¡°It is so convenient to find foods in the bamboo grove, and there is a deep well here. I will be back soon.¡± After taking several steps forward, he turned back and said, ¡°Don¡¯t move. My Heart Crushing still works, and you¡¯d better not use your internal force. You don¡¯t want me to seal your acupoint, and I have followed. So now, you should listen to me.¡±

    He Danggui tried tofort him softly, ¡°You will not be far away from me, and I have no energy to move now. I can¡¯t leave.¡± Chang Nuo nodded and left as quickly as possible.

    Then, He Danggui¡¯s eyes went cold and were full of hatred. She red at those nearly 10 puppets, whose eyes were brimming withint, with resentment for a while. Next, she took the one puppet and broke it with a snap. Then she folded it in half and threw it into the fire. Afterwards, she done so in others made by bamboos and saponins. But for thest 2 stone ones, she unsessfully broke them with bare hands. ring at those despairing puppets, she pounded them with Zhenqi. Then those puppets were crushed...

    Why? Why were there puppets like Concubine He in her previous life? Why was there the poem written in the wall?

    ¡°The summer lotus withers gradually for cold wind and the faint fragrance can¡¯t draw passersby¡¯ attention. Alongside the river, beneath the pale moonlight, the withered autumn lotus makes the loneliness more bitter. The growth of the seed pot cannot maintain her beauty longer for autumn wind in White Drew. The rise and fall of nature and people are as in as daylight in my eyes, so drink, and cherish time.¡±

    This poem The Autumn Lotus belonged to a picture of admiring the lotus drawn by Zhu Quan at herst birthday in her pervious life. Actually, he had determined to kill her when she was pregnant, right?

    She asionally found the exchanged letters between Zhu Quan and Emperor Jianwen and knew a shocking secret that Emperor Jianwen had been still alive. From that time, he was distant and cold to her. He must have schemed numerous ways to kill her, right?

    In her previous life, all concubines tittered as they saw the picture presented by Zhu Quan at her birthday party. They whispered, ¡°The lotus means lowliness. Is it implying that Concubine He¡¯s humble origins? It seems like she will be in disgrace.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right, after all, she has been nearly 30 years old. She is not charming enough, even if she is more delicate. What¡¯s more, there are much more ¡®younger¡¯ pretty girls waiting for Lord¡¯s love.¡± ¡°The pregnant woman also can hog the Lord? Shame on her! Isn¡¯t she worried about her baby?¡±

    He Danggui could hear those low voices clearly because she had slight internal force, let alone Zhu Quan.

    She felt so angry and wronged. In fact, when Zhu Quan went off on some errands secretly, his eunuchs always dered that the Lord was having a rest with Concubine He and would not see anyone. However, in those days when the other charming concubines were alone in their boudoirs and felt resentful, she also suffered the same, sleeping with her unborn baby. She had not seen Zhu Quan for more than 4 months like all the women in the mansion. At first, she had suffered violent morning sickness during pregnancy by herself. Why were those women¡¯s mouths so vicious? They cursed her innocent child secretly!

    Looking at Zhu Quan with a grievance, He Danggui counted on him to rify matters and strike back to those big mouth concubines, so as to live a quiet and peaceful life. However, Zhu Quan pretended not to hear anything with his amazing listening, but drank with his guests warmly, who showed stiff smiles on their faces because they heard all these whispers as well. Her husband, who had been defending her all the time, pretended to be deaf and dumb. He didn¡¯t care about her feelings anymore and whether she would be sleepless all night. In fact, at that time, she had changed from a treasure in his hands to a stepping stone under his feet, right?

    Furthermore, he just scolded Concubine Gu casually when her baby was born prematurely due to Concubine Gu¡¯s collisions. At that time, all people in the mansion had known that the Concubine He¡¯s time hade to an end, and Concubine He was no longer the Lord¡¯s dearest, Amitabha... After the birth of Tian, the maid took Tian out to Zhu Quan, but he just gave a look and left. And the maid told her that the Lord looked very disappointed.

    So that was it. The reason why he had put up with her and not killed her for several months was that he was just waiting for his baby to be born, because the doctor felt the pulse and told him the baby would be a boy before.

    Ha-ha, what a scheme! This exactly was hisst mercy!

    ¡°Alongside the river, beneath the pale moonlight, the withered lotus makes the loneliness more bitter.¡± Why was the poem written by Zhu Quan this life on the wall? Was it because he knew something about his pervious life? Why did he insist on getting her?

 Chapter 213 - The daughter was in dreams

    <h4>Chapter 213 The daughter was in dreams</h4>

    Chang Nuo came back with two fat rabbits and a pheasant. As soon so he entered the cave, he saw the girl in red lying on the ground. She was covering her chest in pain and struggling, which was obviously the symptom of Heart Crushing. Then he dropped what he was holding immediately and went forward to seal her pulse. He pressed her chest and the middle of her back to relieve her pain. Seeing the girl was in pain, sweating and crying, he could not me her for not keeping the promise. After he left, she used Zhenqi without permission. It was clear that she wanted to escape.

    Chang Nuo hurriedly took out a silk handkerchief to wipe her sweat, and said soothingly, ¡°Hold on. It will be fine after the pain passes. Turn your attention to something else, like something happy¡­ Or how about I tell you a story? Well, when I was a kid, I used to climb a tree for fun, but I identally fell out of the tree. Although I was not hurt, I broke my heirloom, a jade pendant into...¡± Suddenly, he stooped. He stared at two small piles of gravel on the ground. Then he looked at the burning fire, and finally looked at the girl¡¯s bleeding palm.

    ¡°Where are the puppets? Where are the puppets carved by Lord Ning!¡± Chang Nuo straightened the girl¡¯s face and asked sharply, ¡°What are those two piles of gravel? Where are the wood puppets and bamboo puppets?¡±

    He asked fiercely and eagerly. He hoped overturn the spection in his mind. However, the girl on the ground could not take the pain of Heart Crushing and fell into a semi-conscious state. Only some fragmentary words came out from her mouth. He came closer and put those words together into a sentence, ¡°Revenge, revenge. He killed Tian. I will avenge for her...¡±

    At this time, Chang Nuo was roughly clear that He Danggui did not use internal force and arts of lightness to escape, but used internal force to smash the stone puppets. So, she was suffered Heart Crushing, and those puppets were gone. Those should be burnt! Why? Why! Listening to the words ¡°revenge¡± she said, he thought that she might not hold her own. Was she saying herst words? Chang Nuo was so anxious. She couldn¡¯t die! It didn¡¯t matter the puppets were gone. But the living girl in front of him must be handed over to Ning Yuan intactly!

    So, he righted the girl¡¯s body. With all of his forces, he passed the Zhenqi into her back heart, so that the moderate Zhenqi could cover her cardiac vein and avoid the pain caused by Heart Crushing. Damn, he had resentment against her just now. And he used a real cruel means to her unconsciously, but he forgot that she was not a robber, a bully or a greedy official. She was just a delicate and stubborn girl. Even if she refused Lord Ning¡¯s love and ignored Lord Ning¡¯s sincerity, there was no reason to kill her. No, she couldn¡¯t die, and she couldn¡¯t die in his hands. Otherwise, he killed Lord Ning¡¯s favorite woman! How could he face his best friend?

    The transmission of the stormy Zhenqisted for more than two hours, and Chang Nuo gradually got weaker. Some time ago, when he was plundering the message in Changye Tower, he was surrounded by Gao Jue and Duan Xiaolou who had set up an ambush here in advance. He tried hard to escape. However, he was seriously injured. He spent half a month recuperating in this cave. Now, He just couldn¡¯t take it anymore since his Zhenqi was overdrawn.

    So, he stopped and put theatose girl by the fire to warm up. Now, what he could do was to wait and leave the rest to fate. He had to attend the Wulin Assembly in Lantern Festival next month. He should preserve his strength. If she died of Heart Crushing, it only meant that the fate determined to stop Lord Ning¡¯s love to her, and to remove this stumbling block in his journey. It would be a pity if such an elegant and beautiful woman was dead. But that was only because she did not know what was good for her.

    He Danggui woke up at the end of the transmission. The pain of Heart Crushing did not seem to bring any severe sequ. Her body was warm andfortable, and her veins were filled with abundant and warm Zhenqi, as if the horrible pain was just a dream without leaving traces. Or, the heartache did note from Heart Crushing, but from her daughter¡¯s cry when she was half-awake. It was sometimes high and sometimes low. And it resounded through the whole Water Dungeon, with echoes of water and walls.

    Although she and the child had been mother and daughter only for a few months, she was unexpected that kind of tie was so deep. Since she got a new life from the Shui Shang Temple and everything was reshuffled, the child also followed.

    The baby lived in her dreams and appeared only twice a month. But her dreams never ceased. And the child was growing up slowly, just like He Danggui, epting the baptism of time. When she changed from a girl to a maiden, the child also broke away from her swaddling clothes and crawled in the white fog with her hands and feet. Later, the child learned to toddle. Sometimes, the child waved and smiled at He Danggui and called He Danggui ¡°Mama¡± sweetly.

    Those extraordinarily real dreams often made He Danggui immerse in sadness all day after she woke up. She wondered maybe it was because the child died very awfully or was poisoned by the Xiaoyao Poison just like her. So far, the child could not reincarnate and could only drift alone in this world,ing into her dream asionally.

    The poem The Autumn Lotus and the pile of puppets like Concubine He, awakened all the hatred in He Danggui¡¯s heart. He Danggui knew that the gap between her and Zhu Quan was quite big. She also understood that it was neither rational nor realistic to ask him for blood debt of his previous life. To kill the powerful Zhu Quan, even if she was lucky enough to make it, she would lose her own life, which was like jumping over a cliff with her enemy.

    She cherished everything she had now. And she was grateful that the immortal gave her the opportunity to restart again, so that she could spend time with Xiaoyou, Chan Yi and Qing¡¯er all day withughter. So, she tried her best to retreat from the edge of the cliff, but there seemed to be an invisible hand pushing her. She took a step back, and the hand pushed her, forcing her to go forward two steps, so that she could get closer to the cliff where Zhu Quan was beside.

    The immortal gave her a chance to start over again. Was it to let her die with Zhu Quan and jump off the cliff with him? She didn¡¯t believe it and ept the fate, so she tried to break free of the invisible hand for three years. Just when she thought that the hand had gone from her, Feng Yang, Zhu Quan¡¯s messenger, appeared again. This time, he brought her an unprecedented and terrifying message. It was not the information that Zhu Quan wasing to Yangzhou. Instead, it was that Zhu Quan was not an ¡°ordinary¡± Zhu Quan. He might have received a ¡°letter¡± from Zhu Quan of his previous life. He might know that she was his Concubine He in the previous life!

    Perhaps such an idea was too ridiculous, but there was no other way could exin his extraordinarily strong interest in her. And ording to his temperament, he would get what he wanted directly. Since he was determined to get her, why not taking her in his hand immediately? Maybe the memory of his previous life appeared in his mind, which made him want to know more about her while he was puzzled. He might think of her resentful eyes before she died in the previous life, so he worried that whether she would do harm to him. Or, he had doubts but could not be sure that she was also a person with the memory of the previous life. In short, he must know something, maybe a little bit, a sh, a fragment, or even more, or even all...

    Otherwise, how could he leave this poem the Autumn Lotus on the stone wall? Or, how could he vividly depict the crescent-shaped frontlet she often wore in her previous life? Or else why did he draw her into the pavilion of the Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion and wrote a poem on it? The poem said, ¡°Ten years, dead and living dim and draw apart. I don¡¯t try to remember, but forgetting is hard.¡±

    What should she do? The voice of the daughter¡¯s ¡°Mama¡± was still lingering in her ears. And the enemy in her previous life chased to this life, who was still determined to kill her!

    Don¡¯t panic! Just try to imagine. If Zhu Quan knew all about the previous life, he would have killed her, the element of instability for him, a long time ago. Perhaps, his situation might be the same as her dreams of her daughter. He might just dream of his Concubine He once or twice, and thought that it was the immortal¡¯s will to let her be his concubine, so he would chase her all the time.

    Don¡¯t panic. He Danggui, you were the one who had lived 2 lifetimes. How could you lose to Zhu Quan, who was only 18 years old now?

    Chang Nuo noticed that the girl¡¯s eyshes moved slightly, so he approached and asked, ¡°Hey, are you awake? How do you feel? Does your chest still hurt?¡± He was not good at feeling the pulse, but he still tried. Unexpectedly, although he knew little about pulse, he could feel that her pulse was strong and powerful, which was even stronger than him whose Zhenqi was overdrawn. However, her heart beat very fast, as if she was immersing in some intense emotion. Chang Nuo frowned and asked, ¡°Miss He, what¡¯s wrong with you? Do you need to see the doctor?¡±

    After saying that, the girl¡¯s eyshes trembled like butterfly wings. Then she opened her beautiful eyes and looked at him straight. She asked, ¡°Childe Feng, did you say that Lord Ning likes me? How much? Can you repeat to me all the words he mentioned about me? I¡¯m very curious about it.¡±

    Chang Nuo was d to hear the words. He helped her sit up first, and then looked at her face. He asked, ¡°How does you feel now? I have a separate courtyard on the outskirts. There are the best doctors. Shall I take you to see the doctor?¡±

    He Danggui shook her head and refused, ¡°I just fainted in pain, but now I wake up as usual. And I still get so many benefits from you. Now I¡¯m full of strength. I suddenly got interested in Lord Ning. Childe Feng, could you tell me all the things I can know? Lord Ning, he stayed in this cave for a few days three years ago, didn¡¯t he? The poem on the wall and the pile of puppets were all left by him at that time, right? But on the night before he left, I met him once. At that time, he didn¡¯t mention how he felt about me. I¡¯m very curious about it. Could you tell me more about it?¡±

    Hearing her mentioning of those puppets, Chang Nuo couldn¡¯t help getting angry. He said in a thick voice, ¡°Why did you destroy those puppets? They were all carved by Lord Ning with deep feelings. And he has asked me two or three times to take these things back to him!¡±

    He Danggui raised her eyebrows and said, ¡°However, you said just now that Lord Ning was obsessed with micro sculpture as early asst year. And he asked you to take his previous sculptures to him. You have been in Yangzhou for a long time. You flied into Luo¡¯s Mansion and has lived in this cave some time ago. Why are those puppets left in this cave till today? Childe Feng, don¡¯t you always answer to Lord Ning¡¯s request and do what he says?¡±

    In a moment of silence, Chang Nuo walked to the pheasant, fat rabbits and two bamboo tubes of water on the ground beside him. While handling the fur of the prey skillfully, he said, ¡°Look at the futon on the ground over there. The dark red color is not the natural color of the cloth, but the color dyed with blood, just like your dress. The blood was dyed on it three years ago. At that time, Lord Ning was seriously injured by one senior. He walked and talked like a normal person because of his strong body. In fact, he should go somewhere quiet and heal his wounds immediately. Ming Yue told me that when he was ready to start his meditation on the night, he found you who was bleeding and unconscious. Since then, he became different from before.¡±

 Chapter 214 - Breaking the Ethic

    <h4>Chapter 214 Breaking the Ethic</h4>

    ¡°Oh?¡± He Danggui picked up the rabbit, which would be ughtered. She asked in an induced way, ¡°What¡¯s the difference? Are there any differences between his daily habits and behaviors in the past? Does he act more mature and steadier?¡±

    ¡°Daily habits? Oh, you took me wrong. I don¡¯t mean that he has changed. But his attitude to the women ispletely different from before.¡± When Chang Nuo saw she taking the rabbit, he stretched out his hands to take away it. He smiled at her and said, ¡°It is the meal. If you want to y with it, I will catch one for youter. Its legs are broken by stones, and it won¡¯t live long. So, give it to me.¡±

    He Danggui snorted. She held the rabbit and walked to the other side of the cave. She asked, ¡°Will it not be living long because of its hurt legs? What a ruthless person! Its eyes tell me that it wants to live. You have killed its friend and a pheasant. Do you really want to make your hands reek with more blood? Please let it go.¡±

    Chang Nuo was vexed and amused. He said, ¡°Miss, you are the one who said you were hungry just now. So, I killed the pheasant and rabbit just for you. What¡¯s ruthlessness? Have you never eaten meat?¡±

    He Danggui was speechless. But as a woman, she could defend herself. So, she said, ¡°I just asked for something to eat, but it doesn¡¯t mean the food is meat. Why don¡¯t you dig some bamboo shoots and bake them for me?¡± She rummaged around the white-robe and found a brocade box. She cleaned the wound in her palm with water from the bamboo tube. Then she took out the medicine in the brocade box and sprinkled it on the wound. Next, she tore off the clean part of the robe to bind up her wound. After that, she tore off more cloths to bind up the hurt legs of the rabbit.

    Chang Nuo could not bear this anymore. He pleaded for the robe, ¡°Do not tear off the clothes on the chest. How can I wear the robe? When it¡¯s daylight, I will wear the robe to visit Madam Luo. Don¡¯t let her think that I have joined the Beggars¡¯ Organization.¡± As he spoke, he washed the rabbit and pheasant with water. Then he sprinkled them with some spices, and put them on a bamboo grill.

    He Danggui was surprised and asked, ¡°Why are you in such a hurry to see Madam Luo? Feng Yang, who was pretended by Bai Yangbai, just appeared tonight. If you show up in such a short time, I am afraid that we will be exposed.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid that you won¡¯t eat after I tell you, so let¡¯s eat first.¡± Chang Nuo said and turned the bamboo sticks. The tender rabbit meat and chicken were roasted very crispy, suffusing an exquisite fragrance all around.

    He Danggui suddenly realized that she didn¡¯t have dinner yet. In the afternoon, she wanted to eat several times when she joined the Feast of Qushui Liushang, but Qing¡¯er let her keep hungry and wait until the Yi Hong Brothel¡¯s dinner. The sound of her stomach seemed to be a protest.

    Chang Nuo told to her provocatively, ¡°I remember you want bamboo shoots, right? So, let me share your worries. After I finish these roasts, I¡¯ll build a new stove to roast bamboo shoots for you. What do you think?¡±

    He Danggui said crossly, ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about me. I will have supper when I go home. My closest maid is a better cooker than you, and her cooking can set my mind at rest. If I were as casual as you, I would have suffered from diarrhea.¡± As a swordsman, he should bully a woman with words. What a shame. Why did he want to meet Madam Luo? Were there any things that prevented her from eating after knowing it?

    Chang Nuo turned the bamboo sticks, and tried to extract more information from her, ¡°Sister He, why do you get so friendly with Taoist Sage? You are a youngdy. How can you know such a great man?¡± Moreover, when she was under the misapprehension that he was the Taoist Sage, she started bossing him around. How could she have such a friendship with Taoist Sage?

    He Danggui winked her eyes and said slowly, ¡°Before I exin the rtionship with Bai Yangbai, I will talk about the deal what I had mentioned to you. In brief, I know a little about the astronomy and geography. And I can urately predict the water potential of the Grand Canal, the Yangtze River and the Yellow River in theing year. Childe Feng, you can mistrust my words, but you must believe Taoist Sage without any doubts. To be honest, Taoist Sage looked at me with new eyes because of my talents in astronomy and geography. So, he took me as his mentor and asked the situations about each river course.¡±

    Chang Nuo didn¡¯t believe a word of it, ¡°You said that Taoist Sage took you as his mentor? Girl, you cannot say such words again. Otherwise, you will be marched through the streets if you ruffle Taoist Sage and his followers.¡±

    He Danggui just kept talking, ¡°I know Yangzhou Caobang Organization is living on water business. As I know that though you are rich in talents and your business is brisk, there are at least 4 minor idents and one big sinking ident in your fleet every year. And it loses more than 50 thousand liang silver every year. Loss money is a slight matter, but more than ten of sailors, who are fostered by a lot of money and time, were drowned into the river every year. This is the tragedy of nature that brings to our life. What I think is that if you give me the 20% of your loss the 50 thousand liang sliver every year, which is 10 thousand liang sliver, I will tell you the information about each river course. You are no longer to worry about which route to take every day. How do you think about it?¡±

    Chang Nuo listened silently to her boasting here and turned over the roasted chicken. When he found a crisp chicken wing, he drew out his saber and cut off the chicken wing. Then he handed it to her and said with a smile, ¡°Aren¡¯t you thirsty? Take a sip of water from the bamboo tube first. It¡¯s clean.¡±

    He Danggui thanked for the chicken wings. When she looked at the water, she frowned and said, ¡°Is its raw water? It is too cold that will make me feel ufortable.¡±

    Chang Nuo thought for a minute, and then caught the bamboo tube with one hand. He straightened his arms and kept it t for a moment. When he was focusing on the bamboo tube, he looked quite affectionate. He Danggui wondered what he was doing. At the same time, the bamboo tube in his hand actually rose a white mist. He Danggui was surprised. She found that the bamboo tube in his hand had turned from green to dark yellow, and the cold water had turned into hot water with small bubbles.

    Chang Nuo handed her the bamboo tube and said, ¡°Be careful. Use your sleeve to take it.¡±

    He Danggui took the bamboo tube and felt a little hot through the sleeve. She was puzzled and asked, ¡°How do you make the cold water turn boiling without fire? Just like a magic.¡±

    ¡°Piece of cake.¡± Chang Nuo said carelessly, ¡°My ability means nothing to you. You can urately predict when the wind blows and when the ship capsizes. No one is better than you, including Taoist Sage.¡±

    He Danggui ignored the sarcasm in his words. She nodded and said, ¡°Yeah. I never boast. As for forecasting the waterway condition, 10 people like Bai Yangbai add up cannot surpass me. Your Caobang mainly takes the Grand Canal route. The Grand Canal was built in the Sui Dynasty. After several hundred years, many stretches of the Grand Canal are out of repair. Especially in the dry season, ships often hit the rocks and sink.¡± She gently blew the water and sipped. Then she bit the chicken wing and praised, ¡°What a delicious food! I will look at you with new respect.¡±

    Chang Nuoughed, ¡°Do I look like someone who can¡¯t cook?¡±

    He Danggui devoured the chicken wing and stared at his face for a long time. Then she said, ¡°You have a baby face. It seems that you have never changed since you were a child. And it seems that your face won¡¯t change though you are 40 or 50 years old in the future. But your eyes are getting older and older. Compared with your eyes three years ago, your eyes give me a cold and heartless impression now. And they look like your good friend¡¯s eyes more.¡±

    When Chang Nuo heard this, he felt a sense of panic that the deepest secret had been dug out. He quickly sidetracked, ¡°You said that you can predict where there will be a water disaster. Why don¡¯t you predict a water disaster that will happen recently?¡±

    He Danggui shook her head and said, ¡°You are wrong. I can only predict where and when the waterway is not suitable for sailing. And I can¡¯t say for sure that there will be a shipwreck, otherwise I would not do the business such like this. If I could really predict that step, I would definitely prevent the ident instead of trading with you here. After all, saving people¡¯s lives is more important than everything.¡±

    Chang Nuo nodded and said, ¡°Which waterway is not suitable for sailingtely?¡± Then he handed her a rabbit leg which smelled good.

    He Danggui thanked and thought for a moment. Then she said, ¡°From what I observed, the recent situation of the canal in Yinma Town, which is outside the capital, beplex. It is the most dangerous section of the waterway. The underwater silt deposition and the strong northwest wind make a big whirlpool underwater. This information is free for you, but next time, you need to pay for it.¡±

    ¡°Do you want me to pay for it?¡± Actually, Chang Nuo didn¡¯t believe her words, ¡°If I remember correctly, what you said before was to provide us three years of waterway information for free in exchange for your peaceful life?¡±

    He Danggui nodded and said, ¡°Do you want to exchange it with me? Can you represent the Lord Ning to make the decision? I am d to exchange it at any time.¡±

    Chang Nuo turned the meat and said with a bitter smile, ¡°Well, I can¡¯t. Yuan treasures you so much and refuses to make you feel sad. And he is going to find a best identity for you before he marries you. So, I guess, whatever your information is true or not, he will not agree with you. He intends to let you pretend as the youngest daughter of Princess Ningguo. And you can marry into the Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion as a princess. It is bound to make the Xie Qiaofeng feel headache.¡±

    He Danggui¡¯s eyes dted with fear and asked, ¡°Princess Ningguo? Is Princess Ningguo his second sister? Is the youngest daughter of Princess Ningguo his niece? The uncle marries his niece? What an unreasonable thing!¡±

    Chang Nuo was annoyed by her evaluation and coldness. What a rare identity Princess¡¯s daughter was! Although it had not been sessful, he could not help saying it. He hoped that He Danggui could understand the Lord Ning¡¯s feelings for her. However, her first reaction was that she thought this identity was too close to Lord Ning!

    Chang Nuo said angrily, ¡°It¡¯s just to cheat outsiders. And you are not the true niece. It¡¯s not incest. Besides, the marriage of close rtives has existed since ancient times, and this kind of things are too many. Don¡¯t you remember that Emperor Hui of the Han Dynasty married his niece Zhang Yan? Anyway, Lord Ning is caring you so much. Aren¡¯t you happy?¡±

    Chang Nuo exined to her because he was afraid that she didn¡¯t know the rank of the identity, ¡°The mother of Princess Ningguo is the Empress Xiaocigao, whose status socially superior to the status of Lord Ning¡¯s birth mother. During the 10th Year of Hongwu, Princess Ningguo was married to Mei Yin, the Huai¡¯anmander in chief. And he is the second son of Runan Marquis Mei Sizu. Princess Ningguo has three daughters. The oldest daughter, Infanta Huaiyang, is 19 years old and has been married for three years. The second daughter died before she titled. The youngest daughter, Infanta Shaochan, is 15 years old. And her name is Mei Yuchan. Because of an ident, she has not been found. Lord Ning is actively negotiating with Princess Ningguo. He wants to help her solve some troubles. In return, Princess Ningguo will ask you to take the name of Infanta Shaochan and marry him.¡±

 Chapter 215 - Lord liked men

    <h4>Chapter 215 Lord liked men</h4>

    After hearing this, He Danggui was even more annoyed than Chang Nuo. She gritted her teeth and sneered, ¡°It was Empress Dowager Lv¡¯s means for power that Empress Zhang Yan was married to her uncle Emperor Hui. It has been known as a joke and a scandal. How can you take it as a role model? Did you all learn in vain? I just don¡¯t want to rece the Infanta Shaochan, Mei Yuchan. Let her do it by herself!¡± Unexpectedly, Zhu Quan wanted her to be the same grade as Xie Qiaofeng. Two wives? He really thought highly of her.

    The roast was sizzling. Chang Nuo also gritted his teeth and said, ¡°If it were not for you, how could Lord Ning marry his nominal niece at such a great risk? A friend of mine persuaded the Chang¡¯s Family in the capital to allow you to take Mrs. Chang as your adoptive mother and get married from the Chang¡¯s Family. But Lord Ning thought that if outsiders knew that you are not Mrs. Chang¡¯s biological child, your status will still be not noble enough. It is inevitable that someone will attack you with this matter in the future. On the other hand, if you and Xie Qiaofeng are both wifies at the same statuses, it will be very difficult for Lord Ning to exin to Earl Yongping, Xie Cheng, and Lord Jin, Zhu Gang. After all, you are nearly 10 years younger than Xie Qiaofeng. Only if you are the infanta could you be perfectly justifiable to be the Consort of Lord Ning. He has arranged these all for your benefit. And he has negotiated several times with family of Princess Ningguo until now. Why are you so ungrateful? Don¡¯t you know how much energy he expends on you?¡±

    He Danggui held a chicken wing in one hand and a fat rabbit leg in the other hand. After she quickly ate them, she threw the bone into the fire. Then she eximed, ¡°He is a fantasist, with a little unsubstantial unrequited love, fabricating a girl who waits day and night for him to marry. You are a political strategist, perverting right and wrong. It is ridiculous to say that the pitiful girl who is forced to marry is an ungrateful evil, but the evil man is innocent and pitiful! There is a nasty person behind me who has done something deliberately, should I be grateful to him and marry him? Why don¡¯t you marry Luo Baishao? I heard that she writes your name every day. Are you touched?¡±

    Chang Nuo was speechless. He had showed the trump card, but it couldn¡¯t bring back any of her gratitude and joy, which made him feel angry and frustrated. He strode over to He Danggui and put the bamboo pole with the roasted chicken on the ground in front of her. And he took a whole roasted rabbit and ate it to vent his anger. He Danggui also took the roast chicken and ate it. While eating, she was wondering, ¡°How can I find out if Zhu Quan know anything about the previous life? How can I escape from Zhu Quan¡¯s entanglement? How can Ind Zhu Quan in serious trouble and give me up for the rest of his life? How can I deal with the troubles about ¡®flour¡¯ and ¡®Feng Yang¡¯ left by Bai Yangbai tonight?¡±

    After eating in silence, they both looked at thest half-bamboo tube of water. He Danggui first took a few sips, and then put back on the ground. And Chang Nuo picked it up and quickly drank the rest of the water from the other side of the bamboo tube. Then Chang Nuo dropped the hollow bamboo tube on the blood-stained futon and emitted a long breath. He said, ¡°I thought it was a good idea to send Lord Ning to Luo¡¯s Mansion for medical treatment three years ago, but he left Luo¡¯s Mansion with a more serious injury. I envy you, Sister He. Lord Ning transferred Zhenqi to you with injuries twice, but he never did this for me.¡±

    ¡°Well, I am ttered for knowing he is Lord Ning.¡± He Danggui coolly smiled. In the previous life, Zhu Quan also never transferred Zhenqi to her, even when she took a sword for him and lost 2 of her children. What a surprise. He even transferred Zhenqi to her as a stranger, and saved her from the masked assassin! Was it possible that fate carelessly shuffled the wrong cards? So, the bad things were shuffled to the previous life, and the good things were happened to this life?

    He Danggui raised her eyebrows and said, ¡°Childe Feng, are you asking me to repay him for his kindness?¡±

    Chang Nuo poked at the fire with a bamboo pole and recalled, ¡°At that time, I pretended to be Lord Ning in Daning and worked for him for a month. After I got the message and went to Zhenjiang, Lord Ning just ended his meditation and looked very haggard. He was furious that Ming Ri and Ming Yue had given him and Xie Qiaofeng a betrothal without authorization. And he broke an arm of Ming Ri, who has been with him for fourteen years.¡±

    Ming Ri? He Danggui stroked the rabbit in her arms and smiled. He was a snob whom she was familiar with. She turned her head aside and asked curiously, ¡°How can they be so bold as to make a decision on their master¡¯s marriage? What if that Xie Qiaofeng is an ugly woman, or Lord Ning is not satisfied?¡±

    Chang Nuo hesitated and said, ¡°Before Lord Ning met you, he intended to make an alliance with the Lord Jin. And he also met Xie Qiaofeng, the Lord Jin¡¯s sister-inw. Although she was four years older than Lord Ning, Lord Ning was not too averse to her. Her beauty, intelligence and mild manner proved that she was qualified to be his princess in both status and appearance.¡±

    He Dangguiughed heartily and felt a little sad for Xie Qiaofeng. It turned out that Xie Qiaofeng became the Princess Ning, marrying the most noble husband, only because she was not a nuisance to Lord Ning? Well... How about herself? When he was tired of dealing with his beautiful concubines, he would go to her room to ask for a cup of tea and fall asleep. Did he sleep in her bed only because the fragrance of her bed did not suffocate him?

    Chang Nuo fixed his eyes on the fire as if it contained a story. He told the story in a deep and low voice, ¡°When first I met Yuan, he was so badly bullied that I couldn¡¯t tell how handsome he was from his badly injured face. The second time I saw him, I was stunned. He dressed in white, and his disposition was totally different. His face was more beautiful than all the girls I have ever met. He also had a good feeling for me, so he began to have an intimate association with me...¡±

    ¡°¡­ Have a love affair?¡± He Danggui had a bit of misapprehension because of Chang Nuo¡¯s tone and expression.

    Chang Nuo nodded his head and said softly, ¡°When I was young, I hated the over-perfumed waiting-maids that my mother found for me. On the contrary, every time I saw... a valiant general in the army, I would be happy from the bottom of my heart. Later, I felt very sad to hear that that general had a wife and children.¡± When Chang Nuo told these secrets, he looked at He Danggui. Her face was calm, and she was not even a little surprised. So, he was relieved and went on, ¡°Then I got to know Yuan. After getting to know him better, I found that he, like me, never touched those women such as Zhou Jinn and others whom the Imperial Noble Consort asked him to marry. He even refused to let them get close to him. So, we were together, and inseparable like shadows.¡±

    He Danggui couldn¡¯t tell what the feeling was in her heart. Even the absurd malicious spection she thought was proved to be true! So, in the previous life, Zhu Quan also liked men? He was really good at pretending. Were all the women in his house used for decoration and reproduction? Well, when she remembered that she had thought of him as her immortal and her life, she really wanted to travel through the space-time tunnel and back to many years ago. She really wanted to push the bewitched Concubine He to the door of the Water Dungeon and kill her.

    Chang Nuo saw her sharp eyes. In case she misunderstood, he quickly exined, ¡°Don¡¯t think too much, Sister He. We were all young at that time. How can there be any reverie to the man¡¯s body? We even don¡¯t understand the matter between men and women. We just slept together, and that¡¯s all.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± He Danggui looked at Chang Nuo and asked sarcastically, ¡°When did you get the hang of things between men?¡±

    Although the girl was young, she was not shy. Chang Nuo frowned and said, ¡°Before we got to that state, I was out. One day I told him that I thought the maid who served me was quiteely and witty. And I think only the contact between men and women can live long and prosper. Otherwise, why there are men and women in the world? After I said these words to him, I was afraid that he would break with me. But he was as good as ever with me, and still don¡¯t like women. He would rather pet two or three painted eunuchs, than pet Zhou Jinn and other several women.¡±

    He Danggui had a big smile on her face, except for her eyes. She asked, ¡°So, Childe Feng, you felt guilty and worried about that your former ¡®lover¡¯ was still unable to get away from that ¡®situation¡¯. So, when he showed interest in me, you couldn¡¯t wait to send me to him, right?¡±

    Chang Nuo carefully looked at the beautiful girl in front of him. He did not know what soulid beneath that beautiful face. And he didn¡¯t know what bad experience she had experienced so that she had none of the meekness and sympathy of an ordinary woman. Her whole body seemed to be covered with sharp and cold thorns. What he did not understand more was why Yuan was so obsessed with such a stone-cold woman. Chang Nuo sighed and said, ¡°Ming Ri said that his master fell in love with a little siren of Luo¡¯s Family, who named He Danggui. And Ming Yue added that the little siren was the one who was not hurt by the horseshoe in the street. Hearing that, I was not happy. Instead, I felt more worried.¡±

    He Danggui held her cheek as she listened to the story. She asked with interest, ¡°Why? Did you already know that I was a bad woman at that time?¡±

    Chang Nuo raised an eyebrow and snorted. He said, ¡°Don¡¯t you remember, girl? At that time, you were only ten years old. I was very worried that he has fallen in love with such a little girl unexpectedly. I was afraid that he would have an abnormal love orientation again, so I made a little trouble in the north, and tried everything I could do to get him out of Zhenjiang. After all, Zhenjiang is only half a day¡¯s drive from Yangzhou. No one knows if he woulde to visit you suddenly. After that, I kept making trouble for several months, making him be too busy to think of you, and even to visit you. Six monthster, I was relieved that he was no longer frequently pulled out and kissed the hair of you.¡±

    He Danggui held the rabbit and grasped its hair tightly. She was disgusted to hear that Zhu Quan had kissed her hair. Suddenly, it became clear why women despairing of the secr world would shave off their hair and be nuns. It turned out that the long ck hair sometimes became an extension of the body, instead her to bear the humiliation of the devil.

    Chang Nuo took a deep breath and smiled. He said, ¡°Later, I realized that for thest six months, I have misunderstood Yuan. What he likes are normal women, instead of little girls. One day I went to the Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion for tea. I found that six months ago, Senior Concubine Zhou, who had beennguishing and haggard, actually became radiant. She flew a kite in the garden, and herughter was as sweet as a silver bell, as if she were not the same person. I went to ask Yuan. He calmly told me that he has made a pet of all his concubines. He thought women were better for him, and he has sent away several young eunuchs. After listening his words, I was very happy for him and Zhou Jinn. Zhou Jinn is a good woman. She has waited for him persistently for many years. Finally, she got his favor.¡±

    Suddenly, the rabbit violently struggled and left several shallow scratch marks on He Danggui¡¯s wrists. He Danggui was startled. She realized that she pulled off a tiny pinch of the rabbit hair. So, she patted its head to apologize quickly.

    Chang Nuo looked at He Danggui and suddenly asked, ¡°Sister He, your stepfather¡¯s name is He Fu, isn¡¯t it? He seems to be a Guarding Commander of the Capital, right?¡±

    ¡°He Fu?¡± He Danggui raised her eyebrows and said, ¡°Why do you mention him all of a sudden? I have no idea what his official position is. It seems to be a small official of Eighth-Grade. He went to the capital to take up his post a few years ago. I don¡¯t know whether he has been promoted or not.¡±

    Chang Nuo shook his head and said, ¡°He has been an official for four years. Not only has he not been promoted, but now he has been found guilty and lost his official position. You must hate him very much, don¡¯t you?¡±

 Chapter 216 - The stepfather changed his mind

    <h4>Chapter 216 The stepfather changed his mind</h4>

    He Danggui didn¡¯t know why he asked this, so she said tactfully, ¡°As a child, I can¡¯t make muchments on the affairs of adults. But my mother is much happier and younger with self-cultivation in Taoist temple in recent years than with my stepfather¡¯s family a few years ago. I¡¯m happy for her. Magistrate He was convicted? What was the charge?¡±

    He Fu lost his official position? He Danggui didn¡¯t remember that when she was in her fourteen in her previous life. At that time, she was weeping for all sorts of people and affairs of Luo¡¯s Family. It was hard to get the outside information. Later, she married into Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion. It was heard a few yearster that He Fu was no longer an official. He made a lot of money by doing shipping work on the sea and bought a house and a piece of farnd in Qingzhou City. Then he picked up He Danggui¡¯s mother, Luo Chuanxiong. Having known that, Luo Chuanxiong immediately began to pack up and was ready to move to Qingzhou City.

    At that time, He Danggui was shocked by that. She rushed back to Yangzhou City from Daning without eating or sleeping for several days. Finally, she stopped Luo Chuanxiong before Luo Chuanxiong left Luo¡¯s Mansion. After questioning Luo Chuanxiong, He Danggui found out that He Fu had lost his job a few years ago. It seemed that He Fu had been in prison for some time. Aftering out, he asked Luo Chuanxiong for money and gave Luo Chuanxiong a debit note on his own responsibility. After importuning for several days, he borrowed more than 3,000 liang silver and a box of pearl hairpins and jewelry from Luo Chuanxiong.

    After He Fu left with a lot of cheques, Luo Chuanxiong began to regret. Therefore, she did not dare to tell Madam Luo and others about it. No one knew that her dowry had been cut nearly half. Her dowry which was totally worth more than 10,000 liang. But after she provided the money for He Fu to find an official position and supported his mother, his old sister and his brother-inw, about 5,000 liang of her dowry had been used in He Fu¡¯s family.

    At that time, Luo Chuangu, Second Lord of Luo¡¯s Family, was doing some mysterious business outside. At first, he used Second Branch¡¯s own money. Later, Sun Meiniang was unwilling to give him money. Then Luo Chuangu tried to get money from the mansion, and even asked Madam Luo for money. When Madam Luo noticed the confused ount of the mansion, she began to doubt him. So, after that, he had designs on his fourth sister, Luo Chuanxiong. When Luo Chuanxiong got married for the first time, Luo¡¯s Family prepared a dowry of 10,000 liang. Although she was sent back by He Jingxian embarrassedly, she brought back all cheques and title deeds for farms of her dowry, which was still 10,000 liang. And although her second marriage was not decent at all, Madam Luo and others gave her some gifts, which were worth nearly 3,000 liang.

    Therefore, Luo Chuangu schemed in his heart. His fourth sister should still have nearly 10,000 liang silver now. It was no use for a woman to hold so much silver. She would better bring a stake in his business. So, he asked Luo Chuanxiong to borrow 8,000 liang at a time.

    Luo Chuanxiong was never thrifty. In order to keep self-esteem, even though she lived in natal family these years, she never took any money from the mansion. And now, she had less than 4,000 liang left. Luo Chuangu said that his business was so good, which made her be excited. She wanted to earn some money for her old age. After all, her only daughter, He Danggui, had just married to the northwest. And she didn¡¯t know if she could see He Danggui in the future. Luo Chuanxiong left only 300 liang and gave the remaining 3,000 liang silver to Luo Chuangu. However, it was far less than Luo Chuangu¡¯s expectation, so he was very angry. He took the cheques and left. Since then, the silver had gone. There was no principal, deed, receipt for a loan, and bonus.

    When He Danggui interrogated Luo Chuanxiong and heard these bad things, He Danggui became more and more annoyed. She could understand why Luo Chuanxiong was not thrifty. Since Luo Chuanxiong¡¯s childhood, Luo Duzhong always spoiled Luo Chuanxiong. The dowry, which was worth 10,000 liang, was enough for Luo Chuanxiong¡¯s whole life, but she didn¡¯t know how to refuse the borrowers. In the end, there was only 300 liang silver left! The only legitimate daughter of East Yard, the beloved daughter of the rich doctor Luo Duzhong, only had 300 liang silver!

    Originally, He Danggui wanted to scold her mother severely. It could be seen that her mother was depressed when hearing these things, which made He Danggui feel distressed. If only she could live with her mother! However, the condition of Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion wasplex. Although she was favored by Lord Ning, she was on thin ice every day. She was very grateful to get Lord Ning¡¯s permission toe back to visit her mother.

    Wiping tears, Luo Chuanxiong told He Danggui that the immortal awarded her. When He Fu left directly after she gave 3,000 liang to him, she thought she did a wrong decision again. However, just a few days ago, several stewards went to Luo¡¯s Mansion. They said with the ent of Qingzhou City that He Fu had made a lot of money by doing shipping work. He bought a house in Qingzhou City and became a local upstart. Now he was very concerned about Luo Chuanxiong. When he recalled all her past kindness, he often wept and sighed, hoping to repay her.

    Hearing this, Luo Chuanxiong was very excited. Firstly, she had spent almost all her private money. Originally, she would not use the money from her natal family. Now she had to earn a living by serving the second sister-inw, Sun Meiniang. When she took the indispensable 30 liang silver from Sun Meiniang every month, she had a feeling of exposing her scalp.

    Secondly, she still had some hope for He Fu. Anyway, she had married him for 10 years. How many 10 years did a woman have? And how many times could a woman remarry? Though He Fu was so heartless, he repented and came back to her. Therefore, as soon as she heard that He Fu became rich and realized her kindness, she immediately began to pack luggage. As if she hoped to own a pair of wings and fly to Qingzhou City to see her new home. Even if the environment was not as good as Luo¡¯s Mansion, she would be the hostess there and no longer have to bear the humiliation.

    Hearing her mother¡¯s story, He Danggui still felt that it was not appropriate. Although she had a vague impression of her stepfather, she would never forget his gloomy and lustful eyes when he jumped out of the window to abduct her ten years ago. It was her nightmare and had buried in her heart for 10 years. No way! She absolutely couldn¡¯t let her mother go to find He Fu. He was morally corrupt!

    But He Danggui didn¡¯t know how to tell Luo Chuanxiong about it. Luo Chuanxiong was looking forward to see He Fu and the new home He Fu prepared. However, He Fu felt He Danggui up when she was only 9 years old. He did not leave quietly for the capital to begin his work, but probably nned to cheat He Danggui out and raise her to be a child bride.

    Seeing her mother¡¯s bright eyes, which represented the longing for a new life, He Danggui couldn¡¯t tell the truth. She said, ¡°Mother, I remember you have no silver, don¡¯t you? In recent years, I have been favored by Lord Ning and has umted a lot of gold, silver and other rewards, which were worth 4,000 or 5,000 liang. But I came in a hurry and didn¡¯t brought anything. It¡¯s better for you to stay in Luo¡¯s Mansion for another 2 months. I¡¯ll go back and bring some money for you. Then I¡¯ll hire some reliable escorts to follow you.¡±

    He Danggui thought that she would try to stop her mother from leaving first. Then she would go to Wuying Tower and ask some spies to go to Qingzhou City to find out details about He Fu. A person who did too many bad things would leave a lot of traces. Then she would go to find He Fu and ask him not to consider about her mother again. Otherwise, her husband, Lord Ning, would not let He Fu go. He Fu, that son of bitch, didn¡¯t deserve to have such a good wife like Luo Chuanxiong. Even if he really repented, Luo Chuanxiong shouldn¡¯t give him any chance. Since he had abandoned Luo Chuanxiong once, he could abandon her again.

    Looking at He Danggui lovingly, Luo Chuanxiong said softly, ¡°My honey, you can save your money for yourself. You should focus everything on Lord Ning. Since you married him, your surname has be Zhu. Yesterday, I went toin with Madam Luo and told her that I had lent my second brother more than 3,000 liang silver to do business. Atst, I lost all my money. Hearing it and He Fu¡¯s news, Madam Luo pitied me and was also happy that I could reap the rewards. She gave me a treasure box which had gold, silver and jewelry. These were worth 2,000 liang silver in total. Madam Luo said that when I went to Qingzhou City, I would be a wife in charge of the family and should be well dressed. I couldn¡¯t lose the face of Luo¡¯s Mansion.¡±

    He Danggui wanted to find a reason to let her mother stay, but those stewards with Qingzhou City ent from He¡¯s Mansion had loaded all the luggage cages into the carriage and urged her mother to leave. Luo Chuanxiong said goodbye to He Danggui in a hurry and told He Danggui to be careful and humble in Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion. And He Danggui should treat her husband as her everything. Then Luo Chuanxiong turned and got into the carriage.

    The coachman raised his whip. With the ttering of the horse¡¯s hooves, Luo Chuanxiong left.

    He Danggui worried a lot. Although her mother was in her thirties and had been practicing in Sanqing Temple for many years, she was always like a young and naive girl without any defensive mind. He Danggui hoped that nothing would happen on the way. It was not safe since her mother took the treasure box which was worth 2,000 liang!

    He Danggui looked at Ming Ri, who rode with her from Daning. This man was Lord Ning¡¯s henchman, who gave orders to Wuying Tower on behalf of Lord Ning. And sometimes he dressed up like Lord Ning tomand the assassination of Wuying Tower. Hearing that He Danggui was going to visit her mother in Yangzhou City, Lord Ning immediately asked Ming Ri toe with her and protect her.

    Thinking that, He Danggui smiled sweetly. Since Lord Ning gave such a heavyweight bodyguard to her, her position in his heart must be different. Ming Ri only obeyed Lord Ning, and even Princess Xie could not order him.

    Seeing Ming Ri¡¯s expressionless face, He Danggui entreated, ¡°I worry about my mother and really want to follow her. But I feel faint at the moment since I came in hurry. Ming Ri, you are good at martial arts. I heard that when you went to the battlefield with Lord, you spent ten days and nights searching for him. It seems that you have great energy. So, please follow the carriage and protect my mother.¡±

    Seeing that Ming Ri didn¡¯t respond to her words with an expressionless face, He Danggui said in a softer tone, ¡°They cannot go fast with a few carriages of luggage. You can take a few naps along the way and then follow up. If you help me this time, I will remember your kindness. If there is any assignment in the future, I won¡¯t refuse. OK?¡±

    Ming Ri nodded cockily and turned over to the horse. Then He Danggui grabbed the reins and pleaded, ¡°Well, when you arrive at Qingzhou City, don¡¯te back in a hurry. Stay outside the mansion and investigate secretly to find out more details of my stepfather He Fu. If he is a vile man or he cheats my mother, you can go directly to see my mother and take her back to Yangzhou City anyway! Please!¡±

    Ming Ri gave a snort and said coldly, ¡°Concubine He, my Lady, I thought you are a smart person. I don¡¯t expect that you can be like this. Once a woman gets married, she will be a man¡¯s essory and can¡¯t get rid of it all her life. No matter whether he cheats her or betrays her, she cannot have other thought but keep silent. This is the right way to be a wife. Since your mother has married He Fu, she belongs to him. Above all, she is his wife. And secondly, she is your mother. You are always in the second ce. You can never tie your mother, because now she is the essory of someone else. Well, what does ¡®if He Fu cheats your mother¡¯ mean? Concubine He, my Lady, I can tell you for sure that there is no man who never cheat women in the world. None.¡±

    Seeing He Danggui¡¯s dazed and bloodshot eyes, Ming Ri waved his whip and said, ¡°As an essory of My Lord, you¡¯d better concentrate on him. You didn¡¯t have to wait for me. Have a good sleep in Luo¡¯s Mansion and then find Lu Feng Escort to send you back to Daning. I¡¯ll go back to Daning directly after dealing with the matter in Qingzhou City. Gee!¡± Then he crouched on his horse and ran away.

 Chapter 217 - Women was like vines

    <h4>Chapter 217 Women was like vines</h4>

    Seeing the back of Ming Ri, He Danggui was nervous. Ming Ri¡¯s words were like cold water in the chilly day. What did that mean? There was no man who never cheat on women. None? Had the Lord deceived her? If he did so, what was the lie?

    He Dangguiforted herself that she was just a frail woman without family background. The Lord far outstripped her even though she had some aptitudes and good medical skill. She was as mediocre as grit on the beach without the Lord¡¯s appreciation. What advantages did the Lord take of her? Like Prince Xie, Senior Concubine Zhou and Senior Concubine Wan, each one¡¯s n could provide the Lord with great support. But the Lord had never preferred any of them, which proved that the Lord was an honest man. He was unwilling to obtain his achievement by favoring women.

    He Danggui, without sleeping for several days, let out a sign andughed at herself that she must be out of mind to suspect the Lord. Her husband was the most immacte man in the world. He was open-minded and heroic. Ming Ri must have frightened her for the drudgery that she arranged him, which kept him awake for days and nights. How could she trust an outsider instead of her husband, her bedmate?

    After her selfforting and self-hypnosis, she went to East Yard.

    Because He Danggui had a high status in Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion now, she was treated as a honored guest in the Luo¡¯s Mansion. And she received a lot of entertaining that almost overwhelmed her. Although she was so sleepy that were to fall in no time, she felt the feeling of kinship that she didn¡¯t felt in her childhood. So, she was no longer agog to sleep. She always envied of other imperial concubines who owned the protections from their ns. Actually, even though Luo¡¯s Mansion was inferior to other aristocratic family, it was her n. The n, namely, was an impregnable shelter and shield that enabled her to rx her vignce, and to sleep soundly.

    The celebration ceremonysted for half a day. Not only did the Lord from West Yard came, but even some wives and concubines from Sun¡¯s family, Guan¡¯s family and Wu¡¯s family came. He Danggui struggled to entertain guests for a while. Finally, Madam Luo noticed her peaky look. Madam Luo held He Danggui¡¯s hands quietly and said to her, ¡°Go to sleep. I will help you greet guests.¡± In fact, everyone could see her weariness. Her bloodshot eyes, dark circles which powder couldn¡¯t cover, white and dry lips and unwittingly trembling fingertips were obvious to anyone with eyes.

    However, everyone came to see her on purpose. And how could they miss this chance? Someone wanted to tter her, the imperial concubine of Lord Ning, and got some profits from her, while others simply came to ¡°see¡± her.

    Those who brought their unmarried daughters along to see her were rting inspiring stories to their daughters. ¡°Look. The woman who dressed in the red satin dress was He Danggui. She is an abandoned girl who was evicted from her father¡¯s house. And she was sent to the countryside to be raised as a child, who remained illiterate and pretty in teens. When Madam Luo asked her to be your brother¡¯s concubine, I thought her virtue was not good. Her mother didn¡¯t have standard virtue, so did the daughter. So, I kindly rejected her. Unexpectedly, this woman was a promising one. She married into Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion, which was surprising enough. What a golden phoenixing out of underss!¡±

    He Danggui calmly listened all these words. She was already numb to people¡¯s usations against her mother. She had changed from ming her mother to loving her mother now. She really wanted to see the true smile on her mother¡¯s face. However, could He Fu, known for ingrate, make her mother smile truly?

    Ming Ri was right. Man was like the towering tree and woman was the vine twining around the tree. The vine could climb as high as the tree grew. But once the vine was separated from the tree, it would be withered. Her mother lived well these years, but basically speaking, she was a twined vine. He Danggui did not realize this point. She also thought that being an elder Lady of Luo¡¯s Family with 30 liang monthly allowance in her mother¡¯s lifetime was the best destiny for her mother.

    Nevertheless, seeing the girlish expression and twinkling eyes of Luo Chuanxiong, He Danggui realized that He Fu was Luo Chuanxiong¡¯s tree! Even if he didn¡¯t put all his heart on Luo Chuanxiong and was only willing to give Luo Chuanxiong a scrap of soup out of his bowl, a spoonful soup from him was much tastier than a pot of broth from her daughter in Luo Chuanxiong¡¯s eyes. Couldn¡¯t women free themselves from men? Could they always serve as the vine for the rest of their lives?

    Although He Danggui was unconvinced, she couldn¡¯t say anything contradictory. She was the same as her mother, relying on the man all her life. If Lord Ning could spare her a nce among others, her heat would be soaked in sweet. Yet she didn¡¯t know that the sweet was poisonous.

    While thinking of this, He Danggui slunk into a tranquil and deluxe room to sleep all day on Madam Luo¡¯s advice. After her woke up, maids stampeded in room to serve her, changing clothes and making up for her. It made her be moved and felt like home.

    After breakfast, Madam Luo came here. Madam Luo inquired about He Danggui¡¯s life in Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion and her health. Then Madam Luo squinted at her abdomen, asking if she was pregnant. He Danggui shook her head dejectedly. She was told by doctors that it was difficult for her to be pregnant on ount of previous injuries in Shui Shang Temple. Madam Luo shook her head and signed. Then they were in silence for a while. Madam Luo thought if she had known this granddaughter would be sessful, she would have treated He Danggui in a distinct way.

    He Danggui was worrying about her mother¡¯s affairs, inquiring the stewards from Qingzhou City. He Fu had abandoned Luo Chuanxiong for 6 or 7 years. And why did he change his mind all of a sudden? What conspiracy was in it? Would such a blunt and easy-going person as Luo Chuanxiong be mistreated in strange Qingzhou City? He Fu must take many concubines after he left Luo Chuanxiong. But Luo Chuanxiong didn¡¯t know how to impeach concubines. Since they hadn¡¯t seen each other for a long time, they must have many misunderstandings. Which side would He Fu incline to, petted concubines or his estranged wife?

    After He Danggui threw all these questions to Madam Luo, Madam Luo patted He Danggui¡¯s hand and reassured her, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. I have asked the people who were out to sea with He Fu. They said that He Fu did rake in money. When He Fu¡¯s family was bankrupt in his early years, one of his aunts was sold to Qingzhou City as a concubine. Nowadays, his shrewd aunt reced the principal wife and was awarded the Mistress of the Senior Governor. Therefore, He Fu settled in Qingzhou City, aiming to rest on his aunt.¡±

    He Danggui frowned and was diposed for her mother¡¯s plight. She always felt that He Fu never loved her mother. In former years, he just wanted to take advantage of her mother or covet her mother¡¯s beauty. However, after He Fu knew her mother could not give birth to children again, he turned his nose up at her mother. He Danggui was clear about that as an outsider. He Fu and his families all always cast cold and disdainful eyes on her mother. Although He Fu¡¯s mother and sisters usually smiled and fawned over her mother, they sneered at her mother underneath. Unfortunately, He Danggui was at inferior status when she was 9 years old and not close to her mother, so she could not speak anything.

    What made He Danggui worried the most was that her mother raised He Fu¡¯s whole family, and it was a great shame that they should look down upon her mother. With the time slipped by, the beauty faded and even the belly plumped. Luo Chuanxiong was unable topare with other young gorgeous concubines. Namely, no one in He¡¯s family liked Luo Chuanxiong. Even if Luo Chuanxiong was the legitimate daughter in Luo¡¯s Mansion and took charge of He¡¯s Family, how long would the harmonious representationst? Luo Chuanxiong was pampered, and she didn¡¯t have much experience in sharing her husband with any other women. As Luo Chuanxiong watched He Fu invariably went into the room of other young and charming maids from day to day, how long could Luo Chuanxiong keep the true smile on her face? Was He Fu really Luo Chuanxiong¡¯s beloved?

    Madam Luo was not Luo Chuanxiong¡¯s natural mother after all. Thus, although Madam Luo sympathized with Luo Chuanxiong¡¯s bitter experience, Madam Luo wasn¡¯t much considerate of Luo Chuanxiong and didn¡¯t have the telepathy that only urred between mothers and daughters. Therefore, Madam Luo didn¡¯t even think about these questions that He Danggui inquired. Madam Luo just kept praising He Fu on his capability and conscience, and sighed with emotion that Luo Chuanxiong had gone through all sorts of ordeal. However, Madam Luo never thought whether an elder and sterile woman could adapt the chilly north from the warm south. Just like a transnted old withered vine, would it sprout and climb that fickle tree named He Fu?

    When He Danggui intended to further issue about her mother with Madam Luo and asked for Madam Luo¡¯s advice, Madam Luo suddenly changed the topic and stammered, ¡°The First Lord Luo Chuanbai in Jinan City has been awaiting a Treasury position for half a year with no news; the Second Lord Luo Chuangu in Huai¡¯an City¡­ the Third Lord Luo Chuanpu in Fengyang City¡­ Qian in the capital... Yan, the daughter of Qian, her marriage¡­ Qiong¡¯s husband... Shao¡¯s fiance¡­¡±

    He Danggui¡¯s ears were humming. The more Madam Luo said, the more eloquent and excited Madam Luo became. It struck He Danggui. The reason why Madam Luo gave her mother the treasure box, which was worth 2,000 liang, was that Madam Luo wanted to ingratiate her. It was not thepensation that her mother was deceived by her Second Uncle. Her mother was seeking for her father, so she had to pay off the bill which was 10 times even 100 times more expensive than that treasure box.

    It was reasonable for a daughter to pay off her mother¡¯s debts. So, He Danggui was neither angry norin at her mother. However, her heart was like out of her chest and went to Qingzhou City with her mother¡¯s carriage. She was reluctant to see or contemte anything. She wanted to know whether her dull mother arrived at Qingzhou City, whether Ming Ri was responsible for protecting her mother, and whether her mother met the handsome husband who existed in name only many years ago.

    Carrying the bill, He Danggui felt dizzy. She went back to Daning without a stop. After she reported back to Lord Ning, she stayed in her room and was worried about the bill. At the same time, she was waiting Ming Ri¡¯s news anxiously. Time was as slow as a snail.

    After He Danggui arranged the ounts of the bill in terms ofplexity, Ming Ri finally came back from Qingzhou City. Ming Ri told He Danggui that her mother had been divorced by He¡¯s Family, and he had escorted her mother back to Luo¡¯s Family.

 Chapter 218 - It was an eternal convention to marry concubine

    <h4>Chapter 218 It was an eternal convention to marry concubine</h4>

    At that time, He Danggui was ying orchid grass in a bored mood. After hearing such news suddenly, He Danggui pulled apart the orchid grass and asked Ming Ri sharply, ¡°What did you say? My mother was divorced? It¡¯s only 10 days, including the days on the road. My mother just stayed 5 days in He¡¯s Family in Qingzhou City. Why did they do this? What did my mother suffer? How is she now?¡±

    He Danggui was so anxious, as if there was a fire burning in her heart. She stared fiercely at Ming Ri¡¯s wooden face, wishing to see Luo Chuanxiong¡¯s face. Although she didn¡¯t want Luo Chuanxiong to marry He Fu, the 5 words ¡°being divorced by He¡¯s Family¡± were so harsh that her eardrums seemed to be perforated. Suddenly, He Danggui remembered the scene that Luo Chuanxiong was pped hard by He Fu. The hairpins and earrings of Luo Chuanxiong fell, and her hair was scattered. ¡°Why did He Fu p her? Why did he divorce her?¡± He Danggui murmured.

    Looking at the scraps of broken orchid grass, Ming Ri said in a steady tone, ¡°I have followed Mrs. He¡¯s carriage for 4 days to He¡¯s Family in Qingzhou City. I don¡¯t know whether He Fu has be rich, but the so-called ¡®He¡¯s Mansion¡¯ is just a small quadrangle courtyard with a front and a back yard. It is merely twice the size of the ordinary people¡¯s home. And there are only 10 servants. My Lady, I said that men are certain to cheat women, just as He Fu cheated your mother. All the 5 decent stewards that He Fu called to pick up your mother are shopkeepers of the tailor shop, dry nuts store and bathhouse on the next street. They epted this long-distance work because of their dull business. He Fu nned to trick your mother into going to He¡¯s Family from the beginning.¡±

    He Danggui said with her eyes wide open, ¡°However, Madam Luo inquired about He Fu that he indeed earned a great deal through shipping work, and he is now a millionaire! So, why did he deceive my mother into going to He¡¯s Family? What the hell did he do?¡±

    Ignoring what she said, Ming Ri continued, ¡°After Mrs. He entered He¡¯s Family, a look of shock and disappointment appeared on her face. The old mammy beside her sced that one should live in harmony with her husband whatever the circumstances. Then Mrs. He¡¯s face looked better somewhat. Next, she sat in the main hall for almost half a day waiting for the host¡¯s reception. However, neither He Fu nor his family members came. Losing her patience, she walked into the internal hall. But there was an empty main room, and there was a pregnant woman who was taking a nap in the side room. Mrs. He stopped a little maid to inquire. Then Mrs. He figured out that He Fu was servicing as a civil servant in Yamen, so his whole family had moved there. And this house was an old one that he bought as he first came to Qingzhou City. And the pregnant woman was He Fu¡¯s waiting-maid (maid in name, concubine in reality), who was forced to live outside. It was because her date of birth and eight characters of a horoscope offended Madam He¡¯s.¡±

    He Danggui couldn¡¯t understand. She asked, ¡°He Fu must be in want of a decent wife to make his family look decent. Now that he picked up my mother there, why didn¡¯t he let her live in Yamen but in the old house? Wasn¡¯t he afraid that my mother would go back to Yangzhou City if she was annoyed?¡±

    Ming Ri sneered and said satirically, ¡°My Lady, you overrated your mother. Even if she was annoyed, she didn¡¯tment on the treatment. She just told her maids to unpack the luggage and tidy up. Well, she lived there without anyint. Then she gave some money reward to the administrator of the house and asked him to say something about He Fu¡¯s recent situation. The administrator began to introduce He Fu¡¯s concubines. As he introduced the tenth concubine, Mrs. He was on the verge of losing her temper. Then he began to introduce He Fu¡¯s children. ording to his words, He Fu has 3 daughters and 1 son. And the eldest daughter is 12 years old. Hearing these, Mrs. He suddenly rose to her feet. She shouted, ¡®It¡¯s not true. You are lying!¡¯¡±

    ¡°12 years old?¡± He Danggui frowned. She recollected and murmured, ¡°I¡¯m 21 years old this year. So, He Fu¡¯s eldest daughter was born when I was picked up from the farm vige at the age of nine. And at that time, my mother was diagnosed as sterility due to the contact with a good deal of musk in her early years. It turned out that He Fu had a mistress at that time and they had a daughter. The bastard deceived my mother!¡±

    ¡°So, what if he marries a concubine tantly?¡± Ming Ri sneered again and said, ¡°Concubine He, my Lady, why are you so angry? If a wife is unable to conceive, she should help her husband marry a concubine, which is an eternal convention. If she can¡¯t do this, she is not eligible to be a wife. The Lord never stays with Princess Xie in our mansion overnight, for she can¡¯t conceive. However, she doesn¡¯t dare toin. It is because women are just like hens. And if the hens are unable to conceive, they are useless.¡± When founding that He Danggui was ck in the face, Ming Ri nudged the subject, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, My Lady. I¡¯m not insinuating that you¡¯re useless. My Lord often praises you as a useful woman.¡±

    He Danggui was confused. She frowned and asked, ¡°My Lord said I¡¯m a useful woman, didn¡¯t he?¡±

    Ming Ri nodded and said, ¡°Yes. He likes your acupuncture skill very much. He said that he felt sofortable after the treatment, and it was more effective than the bone massage of Master Zhang Daxue. So, My Lady, don¡¯t feel self-abased and guilty. There are so many ¡®hens¡¯ in the mansion, so it doesn¡¯t matter to raise one or two that cannot y eggs¡¯.¡±

    He Danggui was so irritated by his irreverent words that she trembled and even wanted to give him a p, but she couldn¡¯t offend him because he was the sole man that could tell her the news about her mother. She breathed deeply and asked, ¡°Did my mother and He Fu divorce with agreement after she became indignant?¡±

    He Danggui remembered that there was an old folk convention. If a husband concealed from his wife that he had a concubine living outside or even had a child with the concubine, not only could the wife require a divorce with agreement, but she could take away the equivalent of her dowry before their marriage. He Danggui also remembered that when Luo Chuanxiong married He Fu, she brought a 10,000 liang dowry. Now that He Fu had a mistress and never cared for Luo Chuanxiong, and it was reasonable for Luo Chuanxiong to im 10,000 liang silver from He Fu as thepensation for her being alone for years. Even though Luo Chuanxiong was too cowardly to ask for that, she should at least im the 3,000 liang silver that He Fu borrowed with the receipt. Luo Chuanxiong had already lost her husband, so she couldn¡¯tck money.

    Ming Ri smiled and said, ¡°People always say there is a connection of mind between mother and daughter, but it seems that you don¡¯t know your mother well. Divorce with agreement? Your mother didn¡¯t want to divorce even after 10 years. Now she went thousands of miles to seek for her husband and hasn¡¯t meet him. How was she willing to divorce with agreement? Even though she heard that He Fu has concubines, waiting-maids, sons and daughters, she thought that he had a conscience. After all, he still kept the wife position for her and picked up her regardless of the long distance. And they were already an old couple, so it didn¡¯t make sense to fuss about that. So, she chose to live in the old house. She embroidered a pair of mandarin ducks during daytime and made Zhuluo (a kind of head wear) at night. And sometimes she chatted with the pregnant waiting-maid. She was waiting for her husband to pick up her to Yamen, since the administrator had told her that He Fu was too busy to spare time.¡±

    He Danggui twisted the plum blossom pattern on her sleeve nervously and asked, ¡°Then why did He¡¯s Family abandon my mother? Did my mother suffer?¡±

    Ming Ri replied slowly and unperturbed, ¡°Mrs. He has lived in the old house for 3 days. And I investigated He Fu¡¯s wrongdoings and collected many evidences on your instructions. As the nephew of the wife of Senior Governor in Qingzhou City, he bullied many people there. I told your mother that I was employed by you to safeguard her and I saw He Fu¡¯s heinous deeds. And I said to her that I could escort her if she wanted to go back to Yangzhou City. Hearing this, Mrs. He became sullen. She said that you were so fussy and you should focus on caring for Lord Ning but not break their harmonious husband-and-wife rtionship. Then she drove me away. I found a ce on the roof for sleeping and nned to return to Daning on the next day. However, something bad happened that night.¡±

    ¡°Ming Ri, tell me straight what happened to my mother. How is she now?¡± He Danggui asked anxiously.

    Ming Ri replied leisurely, ¡°On that night, the waiting-maid miscarried suddenly. The administrator looked for He Fu quickly. And He Fu came in time. While crying, the waiting-maidined that she had a stomachache after having the sweet soup your mother gave her. He Fu became wrathful. Then he fiercely beat your mother and wrote a divorce letter. He threw it to your mother¡¯s face. In the divorce letter, he wrote that your mother disobeyed some of the principles of Seven Reasons for Divorcing the Wife ¨C irreverence to parents, having no child and jealousy. He also wrote that your mother should leave immediately and take away nothing. He would never meet her again.¡±

    ¡°Beat fiercely¡­¡± He Danggui repeated the 2 words as if it was the first time that she had heard them and didn¡¯t know what they meant.

    Suddenly, He Danggui sprang to her feet and gave a p to Ming Ri. She yelled, ¡°Shangguan Ming Ri, why didn¡¯t you help my mother? You just watch that? How was my mother? How did he beat her?¡±

    Ming Ri stood stock-still. He didn¡¯t dodge the p, which broke his lips. Blood streamed down from his lips to his chin and dropped onto his purple garment, which was covered with dust and moss. Ming Ri, who seemed like a viper at that point, red at He Danggui and said one word after another, ¡°I will remember this p, My Lady, and you should also remember it.¡±

    Then Ming Ri became expressionless again before He Danggui could react. He said in a t tone, ¡°My Lady, the first thing you let me do was to escort your mother to Qingzhou City. The second was to investigate He Fu. And if he is indeed a vile man, I should meet your mother and take her back to Yangzhou City. I did well in the 2 assignments. Even My Lord will judge I¡¯m not wrong. But you didn¡¯t let me protect your mother, Concubine He, my Lady.¡±

    He Danggui¡¯s expression was very formidable as if she was going to swallow Ming Ri. Then Ming Ri added, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, My Lady. Your mother is the legitimate daughter of Luo¡¯s Mansion. Therefore, He Fu dared not to go too far, anyway. He just gave your mother some ps and pulled her hair. When your mother fell on the ground, he kicked in her abdomen, not too slightly and not too heavily. He also abused your mother, ¡®Hussy. You¡¯re unable to conceive, but you even harm others¡¯ child.¡¯ Then, your mother was driven out of the house andy on the dark street motionlessly. The maids that she brought from Luo¡¯s Mansion were all frightened away, and the only loyal old mammy was sent to prison.¡±

    Ming Ri licked his injured lips and put his hand on He Danggui¡¯s violently trembled shoulder. Then he moved his face close to hers, which was full of trails of tears. He asked her in a brisk tone, ¡°Does your mother have a treasure box? Is that her pension money?¡±

    Covering her mouth, He Danggui sobbed and asked, ¡°Was my mother hurt badly? Has she returned to Luo¡¯s Mansion?¡±

    Ming Ri smiled, which was a rare sight, and murmured, ¡°The convention of our dynasty is that if a woman offends the Seven Reasons for Divorcing the Wife and gets divorced, the dowry of her should be subject to the husband¡¯s family, and a part of which can be given to her ording to the situation. And if the abandoned woman offends three of it, the husband¡¯s family will have the right to withhold all her dowry. On your mother¡¯s divorce letter, there are irreverence to parents, having no child and jealousy. I remember that ¡®having no child¡¯ refers to ¡®having no child after 50 years old¡¯. But the case of your mother is a special one, so it¡¯s reasonable to say that she offends this item. And it¡¯s also reasonable for He Fu to withhold her treasure box.¡±

    He Danggui looked at Ming Ri and pleaded, ¡°Please tell me. Is my mother hurt badly? Has she returned to Luo¡¯s Mansion?¡±

    Ming Ri shook his head and sighed, ¡°Your mother takes things too hard. She has an obedient andpetent daughter who is willing to subsidize her with the mansion¡¯s money, but she still tried to im the treasure box from He¡¯s Family which doesn¡¯t belong to her. What¡¯s worse, she was sshed with fecal sewage. She is a decent woman. If her daughter can sleep with My Lord several times, she can have a lot of wealth. s, why did she do this? She not only didn¡¯t get the treasure box, but also got her clothes wet, which even froze with wind.¡±

 Chapter 219 - Fell in love with the same man

    <h4>Chapter 219 Fell in love with the same man</h4>

    He Danggui was dumbstruck. When she looked through her tears at the malicious smile on Ming Ri¡¯s face, she was confused that Ming Ri hated her. Why? When did she offend him?

    Both of them had worked for Lord Ning¡¯s Wuying Tower, with a tacit understanding for years. When she just began to get involved in things like intelligence trading and assassinations, she tried hard to y the role of ¡°eager beaver¡± and always took the lead at everything for fear that she couldn¡¯t do well and would drag others¡¯ feet. She thought that she did her jobs very well and helped Ming Ri a lot. So, she really couldn¡¯t understand why he, as her partner, looked at her with such hatred in his eyes, let alone appreciation.

    Ming Ri looked at He Danggui with undisguised hatred. He smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s a pity that your mother is so useless that she gives up just like that. There are ¡®Seven Reasons for Divorcing the Wife¡¯, and ¡®Three Reasons for not Divorcing the Wife¡¯. If a woman is homeless, she cannot be divorced. If a woman has mourned for her husband¡¯s parents for 3 years with her husband together, she cannot be divorced. If a husband was poor before their marriage and bes rich now, his wife cannot be divorced. He Fu was poor when your mother married him. He and his families were dependent on your mother. And then he used your mother¡¯s dowry to get rich. It is exactly the third item of ¡®Three Reasons for not Divorcing the Wife¡¯. In this way, He¡¯s Family actually has no right to divorce your mother, and your mother doesn¡¯t have to tangle with He Fu. She should go to Yamen and hand over a writtenint. And she should take the receipt for the loan from He Fu as the evidence. Then she can change the ¡®divorce by abandoning¡¯ to the ¡®divorce with agreement¡¯ and take her treasure box easily. It¡¯s just because your mother has no knowledge, or even themon sense. It¡¯s ridiculous for her to imitate Meng Jiangnv who searched husband for thousands of miles.¡±

    He Danggui repeated her questions nkly, ¡°Is my mother badly hurt? Does she go back to Luo¡¯s Mansion?¡±

    Ming Ri released her and shrugged his shoulders. He said, ¡°I rode day and night to send your mother back to Luo¡¯s Mansion in Yangzhou City ording to your instruction. I asked her if she wanted to take a shower and change the clothes on the way, but shey in the carriage, as if her soul has been drawn away. So, I had to endure the smell of the fecal sewage while riding. I put her at the gate and knocked on the door when we got to the East Yard of Luo¡¯s Family. A servant in Luo¡¯s Mansion opened the door after a while. He nced down at the floor and said with frowning, ¡®Where does the beggare from? Get out! If you want to beg, wait at the side door. The front gate is not the ce for you to lie down. Oh! How disgusting the smell is!¡¯ Then, he closed the door.¡±

    He Danggui folded her hands and covered her mouth and nose tightly. She tried to stop herself from crying and thought in her mind, ¡°Why? Why is the fate co cruel to my mother? Why can¡¯t I build a safe house for my mother? I hope she can live in it forever and never go out, so she will never be harmed.¡±

    Ming Ri poured a cup of tea on the table and took a sip. Then he continued, ¡°After I repeatedly knocked on the door for several times, the servant was impatient. He found a bare broom to sweep away your mother. When she was swept away the steps, her hair slipped and her face revealed. Then the servant was shocked and said, ¡®Ah! Isn¡¯t this the elder Lady? Didn¡¯t she go to Qingzhou City several days ago? Why does she lie in front of Luo¡¯s Mansion as a beggar?¡¯ Then the servant kept shouting, which attracted many people in Luo¡¯s Mansion. They pointed at her and discussed in a low voice. Atst, Madam Luo came out trembling on her little feet. She didn¡¯t mind the filth on your mother¡¯s clothes and hugged your mother. She cried, ¡®Chuanxiong, what¡¯s wrong with you?¡¯¡±

    He Danggui also cried with trembled shoulders. She asked, ¡°How is my mother now?¡±

    Ming Ri took another sip of tea and spoke slowly, ¡°Your mother¡¯s lips moved, but she can¡¯t speak because she has a so bad cold that her throat was hurt. Madam Luo repeated the question for several times, and your mother spoke in a voice which was worse than a broken bellow. Madam Luo is in her sixties and unable to understand a word with the degradation of hearing. She was hopelessly worried. Seeing that, I had to step out from behind the stone lion and exin everything. Hearing this, your Second Aunt frowned and scolded your mother, ¡®You are a disgrace to women. If I were you, I wouldn¡¯t go back to my natal family. I¡¯d throw myself into the nearest river tomit suicide.¡¯ I quite agree with her. Concubine He, my Lady, what do you think?¡±

    He Danggui cried for a while and felt all her strength was taken away. She wanted to run to Luo¡¯s Mansion at once to pick up her mother. But Princess Xie had just made a terrible scene. Princess Xie told Madam Nanny and Lord Ning on He Danggui. Princess Xie said that He Danggui didn¡¯t obey the rules of Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion. Besides, He Danggui didn¡¯t respect the princess of the mansion and didn¡¯t get along with other concubines. In such the mansion and the situation, how could He Danggui prop up a stretch of sky for her mother?

    Ming Ri drank the tea, and then something came to his mind, ¡°Ah, before I left, Madam Luo drew me aside and said that the matters about your First Uncle and Third Uncle can be put on hold, but she hopes you will take more care about the matters of your Second Uncle and your Second Sister¡¯s husband. And you¡¯d better get those done in this month. In addition, she asked you not to worry about your mother, who seems to be suffering from the apoplexy. The families will take good care of her. Besides, the maidservants found that your mother¡¯s back has probably been struck by her frozen dress during carrying her. And she has pulled the cloth apart perhaps because she felt ufortable. But by ident, she has torn off a piece of skin, which is a frightful bloody mess now. I don¡¯t know what disease is in that fecal sewage, and it¡¯s better for her not to be infected with other diseases.¡±

    Ming Ri looked with delight at He Danggui¡¯s broken lips that she bit. He waved his hands and said goodbye to her, ¡°There will be a big action in Wuying Tower 3 dayster. Don¡¯t bete, My Lady. We will see each other in the small building in the west street after 3 days.¡±

    He Danggui stared at the ¡°bill¡± on the table, and her tears on her face were dry by the wind. Why should she continue to pay for the treasure box that had caused a humiliation for her mother? Why did it go like this? When would she be strong enough to protect her mother?

    By the time everything was settled and the bill had been paid, it was 5 monthster. He Danggui asked for leave to Lord Ning once again. She caught Bai Yangbai rudely and asked him to go to Qingzhou City with her to seek He Fu for revenge.

    Hatred was like in her throat and was about to erupt. But she didn¡¯t know that He Fu had died peacefully in his sleep a month ago until she arrived in Qingzhou City. He was said to suffer from a brain disease. And a few years ago, doctors had asserted that he was likely to fall asleep and couldn¡¯t wake up.

    He Danggui gritted her teeth with hate. It was a great bargain for He Fu, who had ruined her mother¡¯s life, to die like that. He didn¡¯t even deserve to be a man or a person!

    At that time, Bai Yangbaiforted her, ¡°Everything is a cycle, and he will have his retribution. What he owed your mother in this life is not over, and he will continue to pay in his next life. Don¡¯t be sad. Your mother won¡¯t have such bad luck next time. Maybe she¡¯ll marry a good man in her next life. After she dies, I¡¯ll read the Scripture of Feng Qiu Huang (Phoenixes Seeking Mates) for her to release her soul from purgatory for 3 days for free.¡±

    He Danggui raised her eyebrows and asked, ¡°When I die, what rebirth scriptures will you read for me to release my soul from purgatory?¡±

    Bai Yangbai was silent for a moment and then said, ¡°If you die, I¡¯ll resort to magic arts to bring back your soul and revive you. I¡¯m so capable that you¡¯ll never die, girl.¡±

    He Danggui closed her eyes to recall these past events. It was extremely painful for her to think of her mother¡¯s misery and the humiliation her mother had experienced in her previous life. She finally could do things what she couldn¡¯t do in the previous life. ¡°He Fu, you can¡¯t hurt my mother anymore. I¡¯ll make you pay off all debts at once. Are you strong enough and ready to pay your debts?¡± She thought.

    Seeing expressionless He Danggui, Chang Nuo said tentatively, ¡°He Fu got drunk and hurt people in the downtown of the capital. He not only lost his official position, but also was sentenced for a year in prison. Now He Fu is in the prison of the capital, where the weather is rheumy and the environment is very bad. Prisoners are often bitten by snakes, insects, mice and ants, and then they died quietly... Sister He, Lord Ning is going to Yangzhou City on business after 4 days. If you would like to apany him for a few days, He Fu¡¯s name will appear on the list of prisoners killed by snakes and mice attacks. Without He Fu, your mother will be a widow. There is a custom in the Ming Dynasty that widows can marry with their daughters together and be considered as half masters in the husbands¡¯ houses. What do you think?¡±

    He Danggui sneered and said, ¡°Since Lord Ning¡¯s ¡®illness¡¯ has been cured, maybe he doesn¡¯t need me anymore. His Senior Concubine Zhou is noble and virtuous, and they are a perfect match. Childe Feng, you should get them together instead of mismatching Lord Ning and me. And I suppose Lord Ning¡¯s subordinates who called Ming Ri and Ming Yue are strongly against the n that Ning Lord will marry me.¡±

    In her previous life, He Danggui didn¡¯t know why Shangguan Ming Ri hated her so much until she died. His hatred was even without any disguise.

    Since the affair of Qingzhou City, they offended each other openly. Shangguan Ming Ri made her stumble and let her step into the trap at intervals. At first, she thought Shangguan Ming Ri was ordered by Princess Xie, or perhaps he was sent by one of concubines in the mansion, who was jealous of the favor she had received and wanted to kill her. However, every time she crossed swords with Shangguan Ming Ri, she couldn¡¯t help denying that conjecture. It was because every time he looked at her, she felt as if she was in ice water. And his hatred towards her always made her shudder.

    How could a proud man like Shangguan Ming Ri be bought over by the women in the mansion with the gold and silver? How could he be so hostile to her if he only took money and did things for others? Wouldn¡¯t it be better to hide his edge and kill her unexpectedly?

    Suddenly, He Danggui remembered Zhou Jinn¡¯s undisguised and rancorous eyes toward her before she died in her previous life, which were so simr to Shangguan Ming Ri¡¯s eyes that they could ovep. Then she remembered that Feng Yang said Zhu Quan used to like men. Therefore, she suddenly understood why Shangguan Ming Ri hated her so much. It turned out that he took her as a rival in love!

    ¡°Ha-ha...¡± He Danggui was amused by this idea and could not helpughing. She gradually became hysterical and scared away the rabbit in her arms.

    It was so ridiculous. Lord Ning Zhu Quan was really a famous figure in the Ming Dynasty. Not only women but also men liked him. Just because Zhu Quan took her as a shield to cover up his natural ruthless face and pretended to be very affectionate to her in front of everyone, all the women and men who fell in love with Zhu Quan regarded her as a rival in love and wanted to kill her quickly!

    It turned out that Shangguan Ming Ri had designed her mother to suffer the humiliation just because he was in love with her husband. And perhaps, her husband, Zhu Quan, was interested in Ming Ri, too. So, they conspired to y tricks on her!

    Chang Nuo looked puzzled and asked, ¡°Sister He, what makes youugh so happily? Are you sure that you won¡¯t consider my offer? Don¡¯t you want to kill He Fu?¡±

    Wiping her tears ofughter, He Danggui replied, ¡°After listening to you, Childe Feng, it suddenly dawns on me a lot of things that I have never thought of before. And now, I have changed my mind a little bit.¡±

 Chapter 220 - Womenâ€™s thoughts were unpredictable

    <h4>Chapter 220 Women¡¯s thoughts were unpredictable</h4>

    ¡°You changed your mind?¡± Chang Nuo looked at He Danggui expectantly and asked, ¡°So, are you interested in my proposal?¡±

    He Danggui stillughed, neither nodding nor shaking her head. She just said, ¡°We¡¯ll see.¡±

    Chang Nuo asked cautiously, ¡°When Lord Ninges to Yangzhou City, are you willing be with him? Can you guarantee that you will be obedient and never hurt him?¡±

    He Danggui stood up and put on her cloak. She said with a smile, ¡°You worry too much. If I had the ability to hurt Lord Ning, I would nevere to the world from the beginning. I¡¯m not good enough to be with noble Lord Ning, and I may overestimate my abilities. Finally, the higher I climb, the heavier I fall. However, I¡¯m really interested in meeting Lord Ning. When he arrives in Yangzhou City, Childe Feng, you can send an invitation card to Madam Luo and invite me to y for a few days in the name of thedies of Feng¡¯s Family.¡±

    Chang Nuo picked up the robe that had been torn by He Danggui on the ground and put on it. Then he found a small dark green invitation card from the lining and showed it to He Danggui. He said with a smile, ¡°You don¡¯t need to wait for a few days. From now on, you cannot get out of my sight. I will send the invitation card after dawn and tell Madam Luo that my sisters all invite you to live in Feng¡¯s Mansion for half a month and to spend the New Year with them.¡±

    ¡°Spend the New Year in your home? How will you exin that I will have the family reunion dinner with your family?¡± He Danggui felt it would be inappropriate and said, ¡°If I spend the New Year in other¡¯s home, people may think I am homeless.¡±

    ¡°Actually, you werepletely homeless during the New Year every year.¡± Chang Nuo pointed out sharply, ¡°I heard that Luo¡¯s Family had a grand ancestor worship ceremony during the New Year, and you were excluded because of your surname. What¡¯s more, you went to the ancestral hall like all others every year, but you were stopped by the guard at the gate who said, ¡®Strangers are not admitted to the ancestral hall.¡¯ But I¡¯m confused. Since you are smart and haughty, having high self-esteem, why did you still go to the ancestral hall every year?¡±

    He Danggui smiled perfunctorily, ¡°Childe Feng, you really think highly of me. I didn¡¯t expect that you even ced your members spied on me, a little girl without status and threat, and observed all about my daily life. I feel extremely ttered. However, I cannot go with you. I will still spend the New Year in Luo¡¯s Family and go to the ancestral hall this year. They worship inside the ancestral hall, and I worship outside. It¡¯s not a conflict.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Chang Nuo was confused, ¡°Anyone with some cognition will choose to disappear for a while when he or she is undesirable.¡± Chang Nuo didn¡¯t expect that He Danggui was so alert and smart. She guessed that he arranged informants around her only by the clues in his words.

    He Danggui put on her cloak and walked out of the cave. Her voice echoed through the cave, ¡°A person who can take a hint has been smart for a long time, so it is not a big deal to be a stupid person asionally and lose face once. Do you think so?¡±

    Chang Nuo walked behind her and sequentially said, ¡°Anyway, from now on, you have to stay with me until I send you to Lord Ning. Of course, I won¡¯t seal your acupoint and use Heart Crushing on you, as long as you don¡¯t use internal force waywardly. Or I will be unlucky atst. But I still don¡¯t understand why you destroyed those puppets. Do you dislike those because Lord Ning inscribed you as an old woman? What an overbearing woman.¡±

    ¡°Old? Ho-ho. It¡¯s none of my business.¡± He Danggui asked, ¡°My Fourth Sister writes your name all the time. Would you mind if she wrote your name in cursive or regr script?¡±

    Chang Nuo said with eyes wide open, ¡°How noble Lord Ning is! How can youpare him with Luo Baishao, a vicious woman? I heard that she burned the Shui Shang Temple and many Taoist nuns burned to death, right? Luo¡¯s Family used money to suppress this deliberate arson case, which saved her from guilt. Lord Ning, concerning the word, fixes his whole mind on you at all times, but you regard him as an irrelevant person, don¡¯t you? Miss He, do you have any conscience? I have persuaded him to stop worrying about you many times until after the fierce battle inst spring. He was shot by an arrow in his chest in order to protect the sachet containing your hair, andy in bed for more than a month. Otherwise, how could he have time to inscribe these tiny sculptures?¡±

    He Danggui looked into a dark cave in the distance and said, ¡°Oh, for such a busy person, taking a break is also a good thing for him.¡±

    ¡°You...¡± Chang Nuo was momentarily unable to speak with anger.

    He Danggui stopped and tightened her cloak. She turned around and said with a smile, ¡°No wonder that you haven¡¯te to visit me sincest year. Well, tell him not to do that next time. Since he was temporarily silly, I didn¡¯t receive any gifts for a whole year. And I may be hated by Ming Ri and Ming Yue secretly. Please tell Lord Ning that I still have a lot of hair. I can give him 2 jin hair next time as a gift to return for the night-shining jewels that he gave me.¡±

    After Chang Nuo heard that, his veins protruded in anger. This time, he wanted to hit the head of the girl in front of him instead of a banyan tree! He tried his best to refrain while taking a deep breath. Then he said, ¡°Women¡¯s thoughts are unpredictable. Lord Ning said when he met you thest time, you have obeyed him and acupunctured for him. Why do you deny it after he left? Do you me him for not keeping promises and not leaving you the position of Princess? But he did it not of his own free will. Since he married Xie Qiaofeng, he entrusted me to give you all the rewards that should have been given to Princess Xie. And Xie Qiaofeng was left out in the cold. The best courtyard in the mansion is reserved for you. Don¡¯t you be moved?¡±

    He Danggui showed a small plum blossom needle in her fingertips and shook it. She exined, ¡°Acupuncture is my avocation, and I have needles in my hands at any time. I may acupuncture anyone I meet, so it isn¡¯t the token of love.¡±

    ¡°What about He Fu?¡± Chang Nuo stared at her and said, ¡°I don¡¯t believe that you have no resentment against the man who cheated your mother. You probably don¡¯t know. When he went to the capital to be an official, he picked up 2 pretty maids dressed in silk instead of you and your mother. One of them was holding a baby girl. Don¡¯t you feel wronged for your mother? Before He Fu married your mother, he was so poor that he was going to take his whole family to beg! Everything he had was given by your mother, but he left her alone and enjoyed freedom and happiness!¡±

    ¡°Well, Childe Feng, you are going to aplish momentous undertaking like a hero. But you actually inquired so clearly about my trivial matters. It really touched me so much that I am at a loss for words.¡± He Danggui said satirically and walked quickly. She added, ¡°He Fu is just a jerk. How can I gamble my life to make a deal with you for such a nasty person? There is no denying that I hate He Fu, but I don¡¯t have to kill him. To be honest, I hope that my stepfather will be released from prison safely ande back to visit us.¡±

    Chang Nuo inquired clearly about He Danggui¡¯s lot through Wuying Tower. He thought that everything was within his n, and he could control this little girl for helping Lord Ning. However, everything in the world could be conjectured, except for people¡¯s minds. And he didn¡¯t know that the girl in front of him was special, who was the most incalcble unknown mystery in the world¡­

    ¡°Ah!¡±

    Just when Chang Nuo did not know what to say to the weak He Danggui, she yelled in a low voice suddenly and fell forward. Chang Nuo hurriedly sped her waist. He realized that the deep cave was imprable by light, and her eyesight was as good as his. She was easy to be tripped, so he took out a Huo Zhe Zi and asked, ¡°Did you hurt?¡±

    The fire lighted up the road in front of He Danggui. She shook her head and said, ¡°I tripped identally but was saved by you. Thank you.¡± When she looked at the ground, she yelled in a low voice again.

    Chang Nuo looked down at that ce where tripped her just now. It was a half-moon-shaped bone. Ordinary people might think of the bone as an animal bone, but Chang Nuo knew it was from a person¡¯s mandible that had been dismantled integrally! Then he looked forward and found there was a small pile of bones. There might be 20 or 30 bones, or even more! He didn¡¯t pay attention to the situation under his feet when he entered the cave just now. At this moment, he also yelled in a low voice and backed up.

    Although Chang Nuo was ustomed to seeing sanguinary scenes on the battlefield, when he saw such a pile of mandibles, he couldn¡¯t help but get gooseflesh and break out in a cold sweat. A person had only one mandible, so every bone represented a life that was once alive. Who left so many human bones here? Where were these bones taken from, the dead or the living?

    Chang Nuo turned his head to look at He Danggui and found that she was too frightened. She stared nkly at these bones, as if she was thinking about something. He guessed she must have recognized what these bones were. He hurriedly pressed her face to his chest and said in a deep voice, ¡°Close your eyes and stop looking at it. I¡¯ll send you out!¡± Then he picked her up and rushed out of this dark cave as quickly as he could.

    Aftering out, they breathed with a sigh of relief at the same time, especially He Danggui. As soon as they came out of the cave, they felt relieved a lot. He Danggui remembered Qing¡¯er said that everyone was more or less ¡°ustrophobic¡±. If people stayed in an opaque room, they would unconsciously think of the darkest memories and then be deeply tortured by those memories. In the past, she had never been afraid of the dark or ghosts. But this time, she surprisingly believed what Qing¡¯er said. During the four hours in the cave, her most painful memories in the depth of her heart were dug out unexpectedly because of the ¡°ustrophobia¡±.

    Chang Nuo patted her head reassuringly and apologized, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. There weren¡¯t those things in the cave when I camest time. Otherwise, I won¡¯t bring you here.¡± It was frightful. Chang Nuo thought the caves in the bamboo forest of Luo¡¯s Mansion was a rare refuge away the world. However, he didn¡¯t expect that there was a ce with den of iniquity since it was unfrequented.

    He Danggui looked up at him and said, ¡°Do you mean those bones were put there recently?¡± The voice was tinny and high-pitched, which was unlike her voice.

    Chang Nuo nodded and said honestly, ¡°When I was staying here for healing, I wandered into the cave alone when I was so bored. I have walked many times in every ce of these caves. I remember clearly where there is a stone ditch and hidden beautiful spot after the next turn, but I have never seen those things. What¡¯s wrong with you? Are you sick by seeing that? Your eyes are bloodshot.¡± He wanted to check the temperature of her forehead, but there was sweat in his hands without noticing.

    So, he bent down and moved his forehead to test the temperature of her forehead. Then he frowned and said, ¡°You had a feverish brow, and your breath is hot. Don¡¯t worry. There is a highly skilled doctor in my separate courtyard outside the city. I¡¯m going to take you there.¡±

    ¡°Bang!¡± He Danggui smacked Chang Nuo hard on his handsome face. The sound made the birds fly off the bamboo forest.

    ¡°You...¡± Chang Nuo backed away in panic because he felt that the human skin mask on his face seemed to be cracked!

    ¡°Sorry, I saw a mosquito fall on your face.¡± He Danggui slowly apologized and said, ¡°Childe, you don¡¯t know that the mosquitoes in Luo¡¯s Mansion are more venomous than other mosquitoes, and a bite can hurt you!¡±

 Chapter 221 - Got a good-looking guy

    <h4>Chapter 221 Got a good-looking guy</h4>

    Chang Nuo covered his cheeks and ignored his anger at a blow that his mask was broken. He stared at He Danggui in rm and said, ¡°Sister He, are you bitten by the poisonous mosquito in Luo¡¯s Mansion? Your eyes are all bloodshot and red!¡±

    He Danggui covered her forehead and nodded. She said weakly, ¡°To tell you the truth, I¡¯ve been sicktely, and I need to soak in the thermal water in my room every day, or I¡¯ll be like this. After a while, my nose, ears and eyes would bleed all the time, and eventually I would die.¡± Then, she fell feebly and leaned on a bitter bamboo as if she were in aa.

    Chang Nuo felt very worried, so he went up to check her condition. He felt her pulse and her breath. When he was about to give her some Zhenqi to control her condition again, He Danggui, like a boneless fish, suddenly raised her head. The small plum blossom needles in her hands came out together, which were across the back of Chang Nuo¡¯s hands. Then He Danggui beat him seven times continuously, which sealing seven major acupoints of his body quickly. After he was stiff and motionless, all she had to do was to give a little push. Then Feng Yang, the owner of the invincible ¡°Fuliu Sword¡±, was pushed down to the ground.

    Chang Nuo was very surprised, and shouted, ¡°You cheat me! How dear you set me up!¡±

    With innocent eyes, He Danggui crouched beside him and said softly, ¡°You have just had a roast. If you are angry now, you may get a blister on your lip. You just kidnapped me. We are the same.¡±

    Chang Nuo pressed the acupoints vigorously and asked coldly, ¡°Why did you seal my acupoints? Are you going to kill me?¡±

    He Danggui looked at him in surprise and said, ¡°Kill you? That sounds scary. You are Lord Ning¡¯s confidant. I would never dare to hurt you. In addition, my limp palms are not enough to tickle you. I overestimate myself that this acupoint block mayst 5 minutes...¡± She took the handkerchief out of her sleeve and was about to wipe the face of the man on the ground. She said, ¡°I just wanted to wipe the sweat of your face because you were scared by those bones on the ground. But you¡¯re too tall. It¡¯s easier to wipe when you lie down. Don¡¯t be afraid. Let me wipe your sweat.¡±

    Chang Nuo¡¯s mask on the left side of his face had a big crack. Seeing her handkerchief close to his face, he was greatly worried and shouted in a low voice, ¡°Don¡¯t touch me. I¡¯m not sweating!¡± Although the mask on his face was very light and thin, the sweat inside the mask would not permeate out basically. What did this girl want to do? Did she break his mask on purpose? Fortunately, his human skin mask should be removed in a unique way. It required the special Skin Mask Remover to clean the interface of the jaw, so that the mask could be taken off in one piece. Otherwise, the mask would not be peeled off even if it was broken or cracked. She, a little girl, was impossible to y any tricks on the Taoist Sage¡¯s unique skill! He was going to embarrass her soon after!

    ¡°Skin Mask Remover...¡± He Danggui murmured as she searched in her arms. Then her eyes suddenly shed. She said, ¡°Aha! Found it!¡± And she really took out a cdon vial.

    Chang Nuo was very scared. He was surprised to hear her muttering ¡°Skin Mask Remover¡±, but now she actually took out a small bottle from her arms. He thought it was possible that Taoist Sage passed the disguise skill to her when he thought of her intimate rtionship with Taoist Sage. As Chang Nuo tried to unseal the acupoints quickly, he said sharply, ¡°Girl, if you take off my mask today, you¡¯ll be dead.¡±

    He Danggui paused and hesitated for a moment when she opened the stopper of the bottle. Then she said, ¡°It would be a pity not to see your original face on such a fine asion. Even at the risk of my own life, I want to see the real face of the world¡¯s richest man, Childe Feng. The more risk I take, the more reward I get. Besides, you won¡¯t kill me. Don¡¯t you want me to go sightseeing with Lord Ning in Yangzhou City? How can you kill a tour guide like me? Come on, let me put some Skin Mask Remover on your face, so that I can see what your face looks like.¡± As she spoke, she continued to unscrew the bottle stopper. But she could not unscrew it several times. She shook her hands and said with a frown, ¡°It¡¯s tight. Let me rest for a while.¡±

    Chang Nuo rxed for a moment and seized the brief opportunity to negotiate with her, ¡°Dear sister, I have offended you, but I didn¡¯t harm you. How can you use my sympathy against me? This is so immoral. It¡¯s not the work of a gentleman! The face behind it is a secret that only Lord Ning and I know. Even if you are Lord Ning¡¯s favorite woman, he won¡¯t let you go. I promise, once you see my face, you will definitely die! It is no good for you to see my original face, so you should not die in vain to satisfy your curiosity.¡±

    He Danggui stuck her slender finger into the split skin mask of his face and said to herself. ¡°Well, although you have taught me the Mysterious Footwork as my master and you are not bad to me, you are in league with Lord Ning. And Lord Ning is the one I hate. Qing¡¯er said, ¡®The friend of the enemy is our enemy¡¯. So, you are also the enemy, and we don¡¯t need to talk any morality to each other. Besides, I¡¯m not a gentleman. I¡¯m just a spiteful young woman. If you want to kidnap me and send me to Lord Ning, I would rather be dead than be alive. And if Lord Ning has any devious attempt on me, I will probably hit and kill myself on the spot. I¡¯m going to die anyway, so please have mercy and let me satisfy my curiosity before I die.¡± Then she continued to unscrew the bottle stopper of the ¡°Skin Mask Remover¡±.

    Chang Nuo persuaded, ¡°Girl, Lord Ning and I bore you no ill will. We can easily detain you, directly by a bridal sedan chair, or indirectly by a rope. If Lord Ning is flirtatious towards you, why does he keep you here all the time? He¡¯s really good to you. You don¡¯t have to doubt him. I ask you to stay with him for a few days, but it is not what you think. He once told me that you are the best Go yer he has ever seen, and he is fascinated with your tea art. So, he wants to have tea, y Go, and have a chat with you around the fire. In our eyes, you are just an effeminate young woman, so how can we take advantage of you?¡±

    He Danggui was still not satisfied and snorted, ¡°In the past 3 years, I have said to you many times that I am not worthy of Lord Ning, and I have no intention of marrying him. I pour my inner thoughts to you tonight, and tell you how much I hate Lord Ning. I have nothing to say to him. Now you said you want to follow me all the time and threaten me with sealing the acupoint. Isn¡¯t that bullying me and kidnapping me?¡±

    With a bitter face, Chang Nuo told the truth, ¡°I know what you have done to Lord Ning, but the Lord doesn¡¯t know anything about it. In these 3 years, every time he asks about your situation, I just tell him good news that you are very happy when living in Luo¡¯s Mansion. And when you grow up, you will go to his mansion. Otherwise, he would not wait to leave his fief privately to see you again. Sister He, I mean, this opportunity toe to Yangzhou City in the open is not easy for him. Since you are in Yangzhou City, he values this opportunity so much. And he won¡¯t be here for long, maybe 10 days or at most a month. Just do me a favor and pretend to be a nice and gentledy. Treat Lord Ning well, and be a sweet woman by his side to make hime with happiness and leave with satisfaction, ok?¡±

    Because of the sudden reversal of the ¡°strong-weak situation¡±, Chang Nuo not only told the whole truth, but also spoke in a much better tone, from a forced and imperative tone to a consultative tone. However, what he said was still very irritating. He Danggui sneered and said, ¡°To be a sweet woman by his side? This thing only happens between lovers, and why should I dress up as a servant girl to serve himfortably? If I do what you say, and he leaves satisfied, I will never be able to escape from him in the future.¡±

    The man with the mask of Feng Yang was really a good lobbyist. In a few words, he sketched out an affectionate Lord Ning. If she had not known Zhu Quan in the previous life and understood him so well, she might be under the mistaken impression that the Zhu Quan of this life and the Zhu Quan of the previous life were very different people. It was fortunate for her to hear that Ming Ri mentioned Zhu Quan¡¯s opinion of her in the previous life, so she had the experience. Zhu Quan said she was a ¡°useful woman¡±, and she suddenly remembered that in Zhu Quan¡¯s eyes, the people around him were divided into ¡°useful¡± and ¡°useless¡±. Unfortunately, she just became the first kind of people in his eyes!

    Chang Nuo sighed, ¡°Now you can kill me at will, and I can¡¯t force you to do anything. But we have been friends for thest 3 years. You and I have agreed on 3 things. The first is not to mention Lord Ning¡¯s name in front of you. The second is to keep your secret in front of Madam Luo, and not to mention the marriage easily. Third, when the Lordes to Yangzhou City to look for you, or when the bridal sedan-chair of the mansiones to pick up you, you ask me to tell you 3 days in advance. So, you can prepare yourself.¡±

    He Danggui smiled and nodded, ¡°Good memory¡±.

    ¡°I have done all this. But this time I am afraid you will avoid Lord Ning, so I prepare the invitation in advance. I need to pick you up as soon as you get the news. You can stay in the Feng¡¯s Family, or in my separate courtyard, as long as I can control you.¡± Chang Nuo said after a while, ¡°I know I don¡¯t do right by forcing you, an effeminate woman. But I think we are friends, so I am always polite to you. If I were Ming Ri, he would show you no mercy. Why don¡¯t you do your friend a favor and act like a sweetdy for a few days?¡±

    He Danggui touched the cdon vase and said slowly, ¡°There are 2 basic principles of friendship. One is equality. A master and a ve cannot be friends. A fierce tiger and a small rabbit cannot be friends. The other is honesty. You don¡¯t trust me at all. You suspect that I will run away, and then you detain me without any respect for my opinion. I said I want to spend the New Year at Luo¡¯s Family, but you just sneer andugh at me for going to worship in the ancestral hall. If someoneughs at you for offering sacrifices to your rtives, will you still be friends with that person?¡±

    Chang Nuo said after a moment of silence, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I don¡¯t mean tough at you, but I am angry with you since you are so ruthless towards Lord Ning. Don¡¯t you just say that you are interested in him and would like to meet him? If you do as I say, I will give you something in return, aspensation for my misdeeds.¡±

    He Danggui asked with interest, ¡°What can you do for me? Will you be willing to consider the hydrologic intelligence deal I mentioned earlier?¡±

    As soon as she said this, Chang Nuo suddenly moved. He rose from the ground and sat cross-legged. The palm energy made his long hair flutter in the absence of wind. He looked very powerful. Although a piece of the left side of his face was damaged by He Danggui, he still looked so handsome.

    Seeing He Danggui take several steps back with a look of defensiveness, Chang Nuo smiled kindly to her and said, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, Sister He. I treat you badly before, so we call it even now. Come and sit down. I won¡¯t hurt you. And if you agree to my terms, I¡¯ll give you a big present. I will give you all the wealth of He Fu? Do you like it?¡±

 Chapter 222 - Barriers of brother-sister love

    <h4>Chapter 222 Barriers of brother-sister love</h4>

    ¡°Oh?¡± He Danggui pretended to show a strong interest and said, ¡°How much property does He Fu have? Childe Feng, how can you give it to me?¡±

    Chang Nuo smiled and said, ¡°My courtesy name is Zhoushi. You can call me Zhoushiter. I hope you will keep this secret and don¡¯t mention to anyone that I¡¯m not Feng Yang.¡±

    ¡°Zhoushi is a good name¨Cdisappearing by driving a ship and spending the rest of life on the nature.¡± He Danggui chuckled and said, ¡°But it¡¯s a pity that it doesn¡¯t correspond with you. The name ¡®Jianghai¡¯ is suitable for you who is apetent man. You do not have to worry that I will leak the secret. On the one hand, you are more powerful than me in every aspect. You have known more secrets about me and arranged spies to keep a watch on me. How dare I expose you who have the tough material arts? On the other hand, no one is doubtful since you have be Feng Yang for many years by disguise skill. As an unfamiliar person, how can I question you? Who will believe? Who dares to believe? Vivid disguise skill is like a fairy tale in ordinary people¡¯s minds.¡±

    Chang Nuo nodded and said, ¡°Your analysis is so reasonable and thorough. However, Sister He, it is harsh that you called my bodyguards as ¡®spies¡¯. I indeed arranged 4 people around you. But the major job of them is not to inform secretly on you. Instead, it is to protect you. You were always kind to help others, but left evidence to Sun Meiniang, your Second Aunt, because you often slipped out of Luo¡¯s Mansion. Didn¡¯t you feel that someone was helping you secretly? Girl, your friend is not only Pan Jingyang, but also me.¡±

    His real soul seemed to be revealed since his mask was broken. Different from the shrewd Feng Yang, the actual Chang Nuo was calm and introverted. He was spirited and interested in being Feng Yang two years ago. But now, Chang Nuo felt tired and agonized when he became the man who he really was. In those years, he promised to help the true Feng Yang to revenge, killing his legitimate mother, Madam Feng. ording to the words that the true Feng Yang said before he died, he had found out that the person who had killed his mother and arranged people to assassinate him was Madam Feng, who was unkind and grim.

    However, since Chang Nuo had lived in the Feng¡¯s Family for several years, he fell in love with his nominal Eleventh Sister who was the daughter of Mrs. Kong. Now, he couldn¡¯t kill Mrs. Kong or restore his identity to marry the Eleventh Sister, because now it was time for him and Lord Ning to make a profit of the deploy of Caobang Organization. How could he hinder Lord Ning? But some matchmakers produced engagements to the Eleventh Sister who was growing up day by day, which made him anxious and angry. While the Eleventh Sister regarded him as her brother. Although she also liked him, she didn¡¯t dare to say it out and was often jealous of women around him. The rtionship between them was stagnant.

    Chang Nuo quarreled with the Eleventh Sister again beforeing to see He Danggui tonight. Therefore, he gave his vent to He Danggui at the beginning when he came to Luo¡¯s Family angrily. He didn¡¯t expect that he transferred Zhenqi to He Danggui all night without venting his anger, and now he was exposed that he wasn¡¯t the true Feng Yang. Fortunately, she didn¡¯t see his real face. Otherwise, he had to kill this intelligent girl no matter how much Lord Ning liked, in order to make Chang¡¯s Mansion keep away from fighting for the throne.

    He Danggui smiled beautifully, as if she didn¡¯t know that she was dying nearly. She was still holding the bottle of ¡°Skin Mask Remover¡±, and said slowly, ¡°So, I have to thank you for helping me secretly? Actually, it¡¯s not pejorative that I call them ¡®spies¡¯, because their master is you instead of me. Now they help me because of our good rtionship, or they will kill me if we are conflicting. You must know that no king can bear the potential of depriving his authority.¡± There were 4 people to monitor her unexpectedly. She could not remember some suspicious people after thinking for a while.

    Chang Nuo used his energy to impact some acupoints on his legs which were sealed by He Danggui, and smoke was appeared around him. Chang Nuo replied after the smoke cleared, ¡°I understand, but those men can¡¯t withdraw temporarily. They will always be your bodyguards and the most loyal and fearless warriors, as long as you don¡¯t fight with me.¡±

    If only they kept harmony and she listened to him? He Danggui felt a little grouchy. Listening to his spry voice, she guessed that he had relieved the acupoints thoroughly and was no longer restrained by her. Sure enough, he stretched out andid on the groundxly. He looked at the dark sky above and said, ¡°Your courtesy name is Qingyi. Since you call me Zhoushi, I¡¯ll call you Qingyi as you do. My condition is the same as what I said when my acupoints were sealed. I will secretly transfer all the property of He Fu to you, as long as you can stay with Lord Ning for 10 days. Okay? You must want to take those properties back, because they were given He Fu by your mother.¡±

    He Danggui turned the bottle and bowed her head to think. Suddenly, the cork fell, and Chang Nuo immediately found that the cork was not very tight as she said. Obviously, it was a kind of powdered medicine, instead of ¡°Skin Mask Remover¡±.

    Chang Nuo seized the bottle. After he smelled and tasted for a while, he returned it to He Danggui and asked, ¡°What¡¯s this sweet thing? You don¡¯t have the Skin Mask Remover, right? You just scared me.¡±

    He Danggui picked up the cork and corked. She said with a smile, ¡°I have lots of Skin Mask Remover, but I don¡¯t carry it at all times. I didn¡¯t expect that you were so gullible, but it seemed that we didn¡¯t sign any unequal contract when your acupoints were sealed.¡± She took the bottle back to her armhole. Then she looked at him happily and said, ¡°The medicine you have taken is a kind of effectual afrodyn that I have invented recently. I¡¯m worrying about how to find someone to test it. However, you have taken it for yourself. You can tell me how you feel a few dayster.¡±

    ¡°Afrodyn?¡± Chang Nuo was angry and said, ¡°Why do you carry it at all times as a girl? Why does it say that every drop is aromatic?¡± Although he knew that He Danggui opened a shop to sell afrodyn which was called Quan Ji Tang, who would associate this lovely girl with afrodyn? It was detestable that she didn¡¯t stop him when he took it! Was she in revenge for those impolite words he just said?

    He Danggui appreciated his look and couldn¡¯t helpughing. She said, ¡°The words on the bottle were written by Qing¡¯er for fun. I am sorry that you eat it casually because of those words.¡± She took out the bottle again from her armhole and put it into his hand. Sheforted, ¡°This afrodyn can strengthen your body. It is not adverse philter. You don¡¯t have to reject it so much that it won¡¯t be effectual in a short time. Take it gradually and remember to record the effect for me, because it is my most favorite invention. Well, let¡¯se to the point that I promise you to apany Lord Ning for 10 days, but you must be present in these 10 days and stay with me all the time.¡± The bottle had been reced with another one after some actions in her sleeve, while Chang Nuo didn¡¯t notice it.

    Chang Nuo held the bottle and felt it was intractable. He could neither take it nor put it aside. It was the first time for him to receive the gift from a Miss. It was also the first time to receive afrodyn as a gift. However, he was so strong. Did he need to take afrodyn?

    He hesitated for a moment, and then asked, ¡°Why should I stay with you and Lord Ning? He won¡¯t like it.¡±

    ¡°He and you share the same bad habit of sealing others¡¯ acupoints and then scaring others in your own way. I am puzzled by it as a little girl, instead of a lion or tiger.¡± He Danggui shrugged and answered.

    After thinking about it for a moment, Chang Nuo promised, ¡°I will not seal your acupoint in the future. As for Lord Ning, I will persuade him when he arrives in Yangzhou City that he can¡¯t do it again and should keep a distance from you, in order to live in harmony. Okay?¡±

    He Danggui nodded with a smile and said, ¡°You are so kind. It is a deal. Now, I am interested in the property of He Fu and his family. Can you tell me in more details? Did he have an ordinary crime which is hurting people under drunkenness? Shouldn¡¯t he be sentenced to 1 year ording to his official identity? How could he lose his job and property?¡±

    Chang Nuo said continuously, ¡°He Fu was drunk and hurt people in the downtown area. His unruly behavior was watched by 2 censors who wore casual dress to stroll, and then they felt so abhorrent that they reported He Fu to the Emperor. As you know, the Emperor hated greedy officials and bullies very much. He Fu¡¯s position was not high, while he put on quite a show. He was unpopr earlier and several people also med him, so the Emperor gave him a much heavier punishment on the spot. The imprisonment had changed from 2 months to 1 year, and he had been removed from office instead of declining rank.¡±

    ¡°How about the property? Only greedy officials will be confiscated, however, He Fu worked at Yamen which was short of pickings. He didn¡¯t have ways of corruption, right?¡± He Danggui asked.

    Chang Nuo nodded and said, ¡°No one could find his evidence of corruption at first. Although the Emperor wanted to punish officials aswless as He Fu, he could not convict one casually. During the stalemate, Lu Jiangbei who was the imperial guard suddenly offered the evidence that basal officials were exploited by He Fu in the past. It gave the Emperor the chance to confiscate the property of He Fu and aplish this matter naturally.¡±

    ¡°Master Lu?¡± When He Danggui heard this name, what she thought firstly was that Zhu Quan, passing by the name of Ning Yuan, impersonated Lu Jiangbei, instead of the true Lu Jiangbei. Although sometimes she could hear the name of Lu Jiangbei when asking Gao Jue for martial arts, her impression of Lu Jiangbei was blurry because they hadn¡¯t seen and contacted each other for more than 3 years.

    Chang Nuo also felt strange about this. He had a puzzled look and mumbled, ¡°Lu Jiangbei is the person that the Emperor can confide in. His duty is supervising the officials whose positions are higher than Fourth-Grade. And there are many low-level officials in the capital which are the same as He Fu. However, it is inconceivable that Lu Jiangbei noticed He Fu 3 years ago and knew all of He Fu¡¯s crimes. I guess Lu Jiangbei either is a forteller who can predict the case of He Fu, or he had conflicts with He Fu in private. Then Lu Jiangbei had nned to expose He Fu, while 2 censors forestalled. And then Lu Jiangbei made use of the opportunity to offer the evidence.¡±

 Chapter 223 - Little Chiliâ€™s stab in the back

    <h4>Chapter 223 Little Chili¡¯s stab in the back</h4>

    2 years ago, shortly after Duan Xiaolou left Yangzhou City with Ling Miaoyi and returned to the capital, He Danggui and Liao Qing¡¯er went to academy together on one day. As soon as they entered the academy, they heard many noble misses chatting. ¡°He Danggui¡¯s father abandoned her mother and her because her mother had done something immoral.¡±

    ¡°No, I guess He Jingxian is not her biological father, otherwise, why did He¡¯s Family abandon her?¡±

    ¡°Right, her mother got married again soon after being sent back to Luo¡¯s Mansion. It can be confirmed that she is a skittish woman.¡±

    ¡°My Second Aunt has been a widow for 10 years. Every time someone came to fix her up with an appointment, she hung herself next day. She is really a model for us.¡±

    He Danggui and Liao Qing¡¯er heard the key words keenly, such as ¡°He Jingxian¡± and ¡°Luo¡¯s Mansion¡±. They understood that. But He Danggui just ignored them. She went into the musical instrument room to wipe her pentachord as usual under the eyes of the crowd. However, Liao Qing¡¯er could not hold back her anger and ran to the crowd. She stood with her hands akimbo and exposed the scandals of the misses who had gossiped He Danggui. Miss A was the daughter of a concubine who was used of stealing in her husband¡¯s house. Miss B once squatted by the river and cried because her letter to a childe was rejected. And Miss C put a fart in ss one day.

    Although the aggressive counterattack of Liao Qing¡¯er depressed the excitement of the public, it couldn¡¯t slow down the spread of rumors. After all, the topic of ¡°the denunciations of the noble First Miss¡¯s life experience¡± was much more attractive than scandals of those misses.

    This topic spread like the wind in Chengxu Academy, and it was constantly supplemented by Luo Baiqiong and others. They provided people with new talks. Feeling extremely angry, Liao Qing¡¯er vowed to find out the source of rumors and the evil viin. So, she called herself ¡°Sherlock Holmes¡± in a ck cloak, though she was not a veritable expert in reasoning. She also made He Danggui, who wasck of interest, y the role of doctor ¡°Watson¡±, though there was no corpse for her to examine. After a few days of investigation, they caught several reading attendants by chance who were spreading bad tabloids in the academy. Then He Danggui recognized that the script of the tabloid was made of Qingzhu rice paper from Wenzhu Corridor in the capital.

    As soon as they came to the conclusion that the rumor came from the capital, Liao Zhiyuan came to Yangzhou City hurriedly. He apologized to He Danggui that he and Lu Jiangbei made a secret investigation of her life experience, since Duan Xiaolou was interested in her. And they hid the relevant investigation letters in Baisha Mountain Vi in Yinma Town. Later, Ling Miaoyi lived in the vi for a few days and stole those letters, which led to the leakage of the privacy.

    Only then did He Danggui realize that Ling Miaoyi was her cousin, who liked to wear red clothes and was known as ¡°little chili¡± and ¡°liar¡±. He Danggui didn¡¯t know how to react. Although Ling Miaoyi knew the kinship, Ling Miaoyi stabled her in the back. Liao Zhiyuan gave her a letter which was written by Lu Jiangbei and left.

    The letter written in a wild scribble was not in line with He Danggui¡¯s impression to Lu Jiangbei, such a gentle and cultivated man. It said that Lu Jiangbei was very sorry for investigating He Danggui without authorization, and for not keeping the letters properly. He asked scouts to go to He¡¯s Mansion to fish for her life experience because Master Duan, who was regarded as his younger brother, requested him to be a matchmaker in Shui Shang Temple. Though no amount of apology would change the evil consequence, he would try his best topensate He Danggui to show his guilt.

    Since then, He Danggui had never seen any letters from Lu Jiangbei again, let alone he himself. She gradually left the matter behind. Moreover, she was not too angry with Lu Jiangbei and Liao Zhiyuan. After all, they were not the culprits of spreading rumors, and they helped her find a very important gold lock in the past years.

    Rumors came and went quickly. Even He Danggui herself didn¡¯t remember when did people stop staring at her strangely and talking about her in the academy. This affair was running to an end. But now, He Danggui suddenly heard Chang Nuo mentioning Lu Jiangbei, who was rted to the case of her stepfather He Fu. He Danggui couldn¡¯t help doubting that Lu Jiangbei used this affair to frame He Fu. Was this hispensation for her?

    No wonder He Danggui thought so. Lu Jiangbei was themander of imperial guard at the top, and always behaved himself in a good manner. It was hard to imagine what grudges he had with He Fu. Since Lu Jiangbei had investigated her life experience, he must know the past between He Danggui¡¯s mother and He Fu. A woman from a respectable family fell in love with a poor man. However, the poor man cheated the money and left. The woman was so sad that she lived in the Taoist temple as a recluse.

    Under such a background, the poor man, He Fu was regarded as Chen Shimei in real life. And Lu Jiangbei believed that He Danggui also hated He Fu, so he collected all kinds of evidences to prove that He Fu was a corrupted official. He made He Fu in real trouble topensate He Danggui by divulging her life experience.

    Before the exposure of her life experience, He Danggui was identified as a granddaughter of Luo¡¯s Family. Outsiders only knew that her father¡¯s status was not high, so she mentioned the name of her grandparents. People ridiculed her most because her mother remarried after her life experience was exposed, which led to her poor family education. Male students harassed her because they tended to consider her as a concubine who could be kept.

    In this case, Lu Jiangbei did bring her some troubles, so she could ept suchpensation. However, He Danggui had not figured it out thoroughly, and asked Chang Nuo, ¡°He Fu¡¯s property has been confiscated by government. How can you secretly transfer it to me? It¡¯s not for fun. What¡¯s your identity, Brother Zhoushi? Please disclose some ideas. Otherwise, I would not dare take the money and do anything against thew. I do not have the powerful support from a backer as my Fourth Sister¡¯s. She had no fear of anything.¡±

    Chang Nuo couldn¡¯t helpughing and said, ¡°You dare not do anything against thew, but be disrespectful to Lord Ning in front of me. I think you are braver than me. Don¡¯t worry, Sister Qingyi. I will do it without leaving any traces. Even the Emperor can¡¯t find it out. Moreover, your backer is much more powerful than that of Luo Baishao. In due course, you will know that even if you poke a hole in the sky, there is a man determining to shoulder and plug it for you.¡±

    ¡°Come on, you don¡¯t have to speak well of Lord Ning all the time.¡± He Danggui sighed, ¡°It seems that you don¡¯t know about Lord Ning as well as me. In this world, he will not feel heartbroken for the departure of any women. And you think too highly of me. He will only regret meeting such a mediocre woman as me who not only won¡¯t help him make achievements, but also may hold him back.¡±

    Chang Nuo gentlyforted, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Lord Ning won¡¯t ask you to do anything for him. He just wants...¡±

    ¡°In time, you will know whether I am a sail with the wind or water against the current.¡± He Danggui couldn¡¯t hear the nonsense anymore and interrupted him. The person he talked about was not Zhu Quan at all. She asked angrily, ¡°How much is He Fu¡¯s property? How much money can I earn by working hard for you for 10 days? I¡¯m more interested in money.¡±

    ¡°Sister Qingyi, are you short of money?¡± Chang Nuo looked at her narrowly and said, ¡°Howe? Leaving the token of love which is worth no less than 100,000 liang silver given by Lord Ning to you aside, I offer you cheques of 3,000 liang at the end of each year. Why do you refuse those cheques?¡±

    He Danggui said with stiff lips, ¡°I only earn the deserved money. I will help my mother get back her money which was cheated by He Fu as much as possible. As for Lord Ning¡¯s gifts, I¡¯m afraid they will be damaged in my yard one day, so I store them all in the treasure chest of Qibao Money Shop. The key is kept of me. The annual storage fee of 56 liang is really expensive. I wonder if you can afford half of it.¡±

    Chang Nuo couldn¡¯t help eximing in his mind that women¡¯s hearts were unexinable. His Eleventh Sister had already made him annoyed. Now the very principled Sister Qingyi was going to drive him nuts. He didn¡¯t understand the significance of her persistence and stubbornness. Lord Ning had offered her wealth, but she insisted on earning money by herself. Though saying that she was more interested in money, she impressed people as a money immune. Once his Eleventh Sister said she was hungry, so he hurriedly cooked a fancy meal for her. To his surprise, she stopped after only a couple of bites. Both of them shared a strange sense of inconsistency.

    Chang Nuo didn¡¯t know what women really wanted. He thought even if women were not as straightforward as men, they couldn¡¯t be too different from each other. But the girl in front of him seemed to throw him into the sea. Finally, he had to give up the topic of ¡°finding women for the Lord¡± and started to help her calcte the funny cost of keeping the gift. ¡°I will pay 300 liang to you for the annual storage fee of 56 liang, plus the travel and tea allowance over the 3 years. How do you think?¡±

    He Danggui said with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s always exhrating to talk about business with a rich guy. I shouldn¡¯t have taken so much money, but it¡¯s a two-way street. With the good beginning, I will also give you a pleasant price next time. But then again, how much is He Fu¡¯s family poverty? Haven¡¯t you found out yet?¡±

    ¡°20,000 liang.¡± Chang Nuo answered.

    ¡°20,000 liang?¡± He Danggui¡¯s first reaction was doubt. She asked, ¡°Are you looking for any excuse to give Lord Ning¡¯s money to me again?¡±

    20,000 liang?! Though her business with Qing¡¯er was very popr, which even caused quite a stir in the field of aphrodisiac and brothel throughout Yangzhou City, it took them 3 years to make a profit of more than 20,000 liang silver.

    He Danggui and Liao Qing¡¯er were gifted merchants. With the money to buy a fragrant wooden coffin, Madam Luo¡¯s family heirloom, cheques of more than 6,000 liang that Liao Qing¡¯er brought from her family, and a sum of Sister Zhenzhu¡¯s private money, they bought several potential shops and expanded the business wisely. Now Liao Qing¡¯er had a wealth of 20,000 liang. He Danggui had a wealth of 15,000 liang, and Sister Zhen Zhu had a wealth of 8,000 liang.

    He Fu, an ignorant man, got nearly 2,000 liang silver from He Danggui¡¯s mother by coaxing and cheating 4 years ago, and then he went to the capital to be an unpromising official. How could he turn 2,000 liang into 20,000 liang in just 4 years? Anyway, it was impossible.

    ¡°I¡¯m really not cheating you. The 20,000 liang did belong to He Fu.¡± Chang Nuo said in a deep voice, ¡°I asked the warders to torture He Fu and inquire about the source of the money. He repeatedly said all the money was his wife¡¯s dowry. His wife was a miss from a respectable family in Yangzhou City. I know nothing about your mother¡¯s dowry, but when my aunt got married, my family only prepared a dowry of 14,000 liang for her. How could your mother give 20,000 liang silver to others generously? Our Caobang Organization can even hardly collect 20,000 liang.¡±

    He Danggui stroked the pattern of plum blossom on her sleeve and analyzed ording to his words, ¡°Though you can go in and out of the prison in the capital freely and order warders, and you are from a family which is more respectable than Luo¡¯s Mansion, you even could abandon your noble identity to do business here. I really admire your entrepreneurial spirit.¡±

 Chapter 224 - The meanest man in the world

    <h4>Chapter 224 The meanest man in the world</h4>

    Only then did Chang Nuo realize that Feng Yang had only one aunt, Feng Jiugu, who was a widow. What he said that his aunt got married with a dowry of 14,000 liang silver referred to his real aunt. Damn it, he couldn¡¯t rx for a moment when dealing with He Danggui. She actually found many of his backgrounds. Fortunately, she was not his enemy, otherwise he would worry about whether to kill her.

    He Danggui didn¡¯t know what he thought. She continued, ¡°In consideration of what you said before that you could go to the Emperor¡¯s feast, so you do be a rich man with distinguished status.¡± She breathed a sigh of relief, ¡°You¡¯ve already known many of my secrets, but you are still keeping eyes on me. At least now, I know something about you, or if one day I die, I don¡¯t know how to tell Death.¡±

    Chang Nuo knocked her head and said, ¡°I often scold Yuan as an old man because he is often worrying about nothing. Today I see an olddy, who is you! Why should I kill you for no reason? I¡¯d like to fawn on you, and soon I can get 20,000 liang silver.¡±

    He Danggui rubbed her forehead and suddenly said with wide eyes, ¡°I see. He Fu didn¡¯t lie. The 20,000 liang silver belongs to my mother! He must have stolen my grandfather¡¯s 4 treasures, so he had so much silver and left my mother with a dowry of thousand liang silver without hesitation. Therefore, on the fourth day after he left, my mother knelt in front of my grandfather¡¯s memorial tablet and cried! That¡¯s because He Fu stole the only four things left to her by my grandfather. And those things were privately given to her, so she couldn¡¯t ask Luo¡¯s Family to get things back, nor could she notify the local Yamen. Damn it! He Fu does evil enough!¡±

    Chang Nuo was surprised, ¡°What 4 treasures are worth 20,000 liang silver?¡±

    He Danggui exined, ¡°I read about it from my grandfather¡¯s book. He said that Zhenlong Composition (Go game; global ingenious creation) was kept with my mother and I could study Go skills by using the ancient jade Go stones. But I never see my mother has that. The 4 treasures that represent ¡®Qin, Go, Calligraphy and Painting¡¯ had been stolen by He Fu before I saw my grandfather¡¯s book. ¡®Qin¡¯ is Jiaowei Qin of Three Kingdoms period, which sounds like the cold spring; ¡®Go¡¯ is Zhenlong Go of Northern Song Dynasty, and the Go board is five inches square, which is carved with green emerald; ¡®Calligraphy¡¯ refers to the Four Treasures of the Study. The ink-stone and writing-brush washer are the rarest, who are all from the Master Su Dongpo; and ¡®Painting¡¯ is my grandfather¡¯s copy of the Master Wu Daozi¡¯s painting. It is so vivid, which might be regarded as the authentic painting and stolen by He Fu.¡±

    Chang Nuo frowned and asked, ¡°What can we do? Do I need to send a letter to the capital and let someone ¡®ask¡¯ He Fu to tell where they are?¡±

    He Danggui hesitated for a moment, and said, ¡°I guess He Fu must have pawned those things in the pawnshop. Such the valuable things which are worth so much money must be the unredeemable pawn. No doubt we can¡¯t redeem with money. It¡¯s useless to ¡®ask¡¯ He Fu. I can only me my grandmother for not knowing people clearly. When she first saw He Fu, she regarded him as her son-inw, which caused my mother to be injured for the second time. This is truly retribution.¡± Speaking of her dead grandmother, she gnashed her teeth.

    Chang Nuoforted her, ¡°Fortunately, the silver is back with a total of 21,424 liang. Plus, my 300 liang, and it is a total of 21,724 liang. Well, girl, now you are richer than all my sisters.¡±

    He Danggui smiled and said, ¡°Thanks to that I have a generous friend like you. You don¡¯t even take anymission, and give me the money, which includes whole and change amount. Didn¡¯t the government even leave 1 liang silver to He¡¯s Family when searching the house and confiscating the property? By the way, do you know what happened to He Fu¡¯s mother, sister, brother-inw and his concubines?¡±

    Chang Nuo answered, ¡°I heard that as soon as he was in prison, one of his concubines left his four-year-old daughter and went away with a fellow, but I didn¡¯t know others¡¯ conditions.¡± Suddenly, he smiled and continued, ¡°If you want to know, you can ask Lord Ning in a few days. He ising from the capital, and he is so concerned about you. He will definitely inquire about it clearly.¡±

    He Danggui didn¡¯t know what to say. If Zhu Quan could inquire about those people¡¯s situations, she would use hisst name and write her name upside down.

    At this moment, it was about to dawn. They had spent the whole night in the Bitter Bamboo Grove unknowingly.

    Chang Nuo found a dogskin ster from his sleeve and put it on the crack on his face. Then he turned his face to He Danggui and asked, ¡°Is the wound on my face covered? I¡¯m going to visit Madam Luo. It¡¯s better not to be found.¡± He sorted out the tattered and muddy robe and smiled bitterly, ¡°It¡¯s too embarrassing to meet people like this. Maybe I should steal a clothing from Childe Luo.¡±

    ¡°You carry sters with you. Is your mask often broken?¡± He Danggui teased him, ¡°Zhoushi, are you often pped by others?¡±

    Chang Nuo red at her, ¡°Hey, you did it on purpose, right? When did you find out that I was wearing a human-skin mask?¡±

    He Danggui walked up the bamboo trail leading to the outside, and exined, ¡°When you and me passed the energy face to face in the cave, I found that your facial skin was amazingly good without any pore and more delicate than a woman¡¯s skin. I suspected that it was because the fire was not bright enough, so I ignored it. Later, I almost fell on the dark mountain road, and you lit Huo Zhe Zi. Your face was dazzled by the light of phosphorous fire, so I saw the scene that surprised me the most. Except for the eyebrows, you don¡¯t even have a tiny hair on your face.¡±

    Chang Nuo couldn¡¯t help but touch his face. It was extremely smooth. He remembered the various appearances of Taoist Sage he had ever seen. Each mask was an artwork and wless. The hair and beard all seemed to grow from inside, and eagle-eyed people couldn¡¯t find any shoring. There was a huge difference between him and Taoist Sage.

    The 2 people walked side by side leaving the bamboo grove. He Danggui continued, ¡°Thinking of that Bai Yangbai also acquaints with you, so I guess you also have learned his disguise skill and put on a mask. But your behaviors are indeed Feng Yang I have known for 3 years, so I guess that maybe there is no Feng Yang in the world, but a mysterious man wearing Feng Yang¡¯s mask, right, Zhoushi?¡±

    Chang Nuo nodded with a smile, ¡°You are smart but not wise enough. You¡¯ve already told me all of these, but aren¡¯t you afraid that I¡¯m going to kill you?¡±

    He Danggui patted her chest and nced at him, ¡°It¡¯s really scary to kill all the time. Let¡¯s set one more rule. When you have to kill me, please do it briskly. Don¡¯t be always much cry and little wool. Or before you kill me, you will scare me to death.¡± She took a deep breath of the morning breeze with mist in the bamboo grove. She sighed, ¡°What a bad night. I¡¯ve been frightened a lot with you, and I even saw the human bones. I¡¯m afraid that I¡¯ll have nightmares again in these days.¡±

    Speaking of those dozens of mandibles, Chang Nuo was also a little scared, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect Luo¡¯s Mansion has such a terrible thing. Not only you, even I have to sleep during the day for these days. Qingyi, there is such an evil lurking in Luo¡¯s Mansion. I am really worried about you staying there. Anyway, after dawn, I will invite you to Feng¡¯s Mansion in the name of thedies of Feng¡¯s Family. Why don¡¯t you go with me this morning? There are surprises in my separate courtyard for you. I promise you will be delighted, and never want to return to Luo¡¯s Mansion.¡±

    ¡°Your surprises usually shock me. I have learned about this long time ago,¡± He Danggui said while looking down at the road, ¡°I said that I can¡¯t go during the New Year¡¯s Day. Even if I have to wait upon Lord Ning, I¡¯ll go after these days, and I don¡¯t want to stay overnight there. I¡¯d like to return to Luo¡¯s Mansion at night. As for the human bones, although I don¡¯t know who put them there, I remember a case of extermination 3 years ago. At that time, the government had concealed a lot of the truth about it because the case was too bloody. I heard about it when I visited my Elder Cousin.¡±

    Chang Nuo slowed down and waited for her. He looked down at her and said, ¡°You are talking about the rape and murder case 3 years ago? All the dead people who were raised outside were Luo Baiqian¡¯s concubines and children. What are the hidden secrets in this case?¡±

    He Danggui said quietly, ¡°I heard that female lower jaws are slightly rounded, while male lower jaws are more square and wider. Didn¡¯t you notice? The mandibles in the caves are semicircr without exception, but the edges are very thin.¡±

    Chang Nuo was frightened. He took a breath and almost lost his voice, ¡°You mean... Those all are...¡±

    He Danggui nodded and said, ¡°After the case happened 3 years ago, I heard that my Elder Cousin often had nightmares, waking up in shock. He was spaced-out and didn¡¯t want to take a meal during the day. If such things continued, Zhu might lose his father in early age. So, I visited him and felt his uneven pulse, which was a very serious heart disease. After my several probes, he told me the dark memories hidden in his heart. It turned out that when he heard that his women had an ident, he went to the courtyard and wanted to find out what happened. However, there were several government officials guarding the courtyard gate, and he was not allowed to enter. But he knocked down the few people in anger and rushed in. After only one nce, he understood why the government officials wanted to stop him, and he knew why the government did not encoffin the women but burned them together with the courtyard, as a collective cremation.¡±

    Chang Nuo shivered involuntarily. Regarding the unimed bodies, the government always chose to send them to the mortuary, waiting for the rtives of the deceased to receive or worship. However, if the corpse was iplete, or there was only a part of the corpse, then in order to quell the grievances of those who had no whole corpses as soon as possible, they usually chose cremation, which meant dust to dust, ashes to ashes, and all stared from the beginning.

    He Danggui said after she was silent for a while, ¡°My Elder Cousin told me that after he entered the courtyard, he found that those women... had no chins and eyes, and the parts that were taken away could not be found at the scene. It means after the murderer raped and killed them, he took away their chins and eyes one by one as a souvenir. He kept those things until he passed by Luo¡¯s Mansion recently, and on a whim, he put his ¡®collectibles¡¯ into the caves where he lived in the past.¡±

    Hearing this, Chang Nuo retorted fiercely, ¡°You¡¯re talking nonsense. How could Yuan be a murderer! He hasn¡¯t been to Yangzhou City for 3 years. Now he¡¯s in the capital, and has never been to the caves again, or why are the puppets with your face still there! And as far as I know, he has never beaten women, let alone killing so many women! You misunderstand him so deeply!¡±

    ¡°Well?¡± He Danggui sneered, ¡°Zhu Quan never beats women? How do you know? He will not beat women in front of you!¡±

    Ha, in the several months of her previous life before she died, the most impressive thing was that Zhu Quan kicked her chest violently. At that time, she vomited blood which flew a few feet. Then she got up and hissed to him, ¡°I don¡¯t hate Zhou Jinn, Xu Siniang, or Xie Qiaofeng. I understand what they thought... Zhu Quan, do you know that what I hate the most is the man who beats women! The person I hate the most is you! I am regretful. I have worked for you for more than 10 years and lost my children. What I get is your kick!¡± However, Zhu Quan didn¡¯t say a word. He asked people to burn her throat with hot charcoal, and then throw her into the Water Dungeon inte autumn to soak to death.

    Chang Nuo said with wide eyes, ¡°Of course I know he never beats women. He told me personally! He said, what you hate the most is man who beats women, so in order not to be hated by you, he has never beat women in 3 years!¡±

 Chapter 225 - Being possessed by the Queen of Fairyland

    <h4>Chapter 225 Being possessed by the Queen of Fairnd</h4>

    He Danggui yelled at Chang Nuo as if she saw a ghost, ¡°Are you crazy or am I crazy? Or are all the immortals in the sky crazy to make such the thing happen? You¡¯re talking nonsense, right? I¡¯ve never told him that what I hate the most is the man who beats women.¡±

    Chang Nuo didn¡¯t understand why He Danggui, an even-tempered girl, suddenly became so angry. He was surprised, ¡°That is what he said, which is definitely true! I am sure that he is the one who never does such cruel things, so you can¡¯t misunderstand him!¡±

    He Danggui said coldly, ¡°I¡¯ve never misunderstood him, but the person misunderstanding me is you. Even though the wall in Luo¡¯s Mansion is quite high, it can¡¯t prevent Wulin seniors from climbing over it. And the seniors are not only you and Lord Ning, but also other ones who appreciate the Bitter Bamboo Grove and the caves in this grove, such as the assassin wearing a mask 3 years ago. Have you heard anything from Lord Ning and Ming Yue? That assassin has stayed in Luo¡¯s Mansion for several days. But the crow case and the corpse case respectively havee to here since he lived in. What¡¯s more, someone had witnessed that he flew to the Bitter Bamboo Grove after sucking human blood. So, I inferred that he healed the wounds in the cave at that time.¡±

    It dawned on Chang Nuo, ¡°You mean all the things were done by this assassin who wore a mask?¡± Just like what he said, a fussy person like Yuan would not like others¡¯ concubine. It turned out that he misunderstood.

    Nodding at first, He Danggui then shook her head, and said, ¡°Themon man never kills his sworn enemy by such a cruel mean, let alone my Elder Cousin who has no enmity with others. I heard that from him. Therefore, the murderer is definitely a man of extreme personality. I have only seen 2 or 3 people like that. Although the masked assassin practiced abnormal arts, his words and deeds were still normal. When he robbed me that day, he was not as fierce as I had imagined, so I am not sure if he could remove the dead¡¯s chin and take the baby in the womb. What I said before is just a guess, without any evidence. Zhoushi, tell me, when did Lord Ning tell you personally that what I hate the most is the man who beats woman?¡±

    He Danggui steadily stared at Chang Nuo¡¯s eyes, and thought, ¡°Don¡¯t scare me, please! What does Zhu Quan know on earth? Did he recall the memory of the previous life? How much did he recall? Why didn¡¯t he kill her who was his enemy of the previous life as soon as possible?¡±

    ¡°When I slept with him about 2 years ago, he said it out somehow. But I don¡¯t remember it clearly because I was going to fall asleep at that time.¡± Taking a deep breath, Chang Nuo urged her, ¡°Hurry up. No wonder everyone says the Bitter Bamboo Grove is haunted, now I feel a little scared. Come on, let¡¯s get out of here through arts of lightness. Qingyi, leave Luo¡¯s Mansion with me and wait for Lord Ning in my separate courtyard.¡±

    He Danggui got mad at him, ¡°You have professed to be an old friend of mine for several hours and said you would respect me. But finally, you still force me to do something I don¡¯t want to do, right?¡±

    Chang Nuo hastened to cate her, ¡°I am just worrying about your safety. Moreover, if the Lord can see you as soon as possible after enduring the hardships of a long journey from the capital to Yangzhou City, he will exult! I absolutely respect your idea of ancestor worship in Luo¡¯s Mansion. I will take you back at that day, okay?¡±

    He Danggui pointed at her red eyes, and said, ¡°I have told you that I have a disease, no spa no life. If I don¡¯t take a bath in hot spring, my eyes will be red. After a while, my nose, ears and eyes will bleed all the time. Then, I will die. Zhoushi, is there a hot spring bathing pool in your separate courtyard?¡±

    With the same experience atst time, Chang Nuo was no longer cheated by her. He sneered and said, ¡°Girl, I am an old hand who has seen the world. And your little tricks can¡¯t cheat me...¡±

    Then his eyes suddenly opened wide and his voice stopped abruptly, because the gorgeous girl in front of him was suddenly bleeding while walking. Besides, when she was still bleeding, she said like an ordinary person, ¡°It¡¯s better to go at noon after tomorrow. You can pick me up in the name of Miss Feng. And during these 2 days, you try to find a spring that can stably get hot spring water. Well, you see, I didn¡¯t lie to you.¡± She turned her head and showed her beautiful but scary face to him. ¡°As long as I don¡¯t take a bath in hot spring, I will be like this. Even sometimes I will go crazy and bite people. You don¡¯t want me to bite Lord Ning, right?¡±

    Getting a fright, Chang Nuo frowned and said, ¡°Don¡¯t say anything. I will take you to Tao Yao Yard for hot springs bath!¡± This exactly was a strange disease that he had never seen before!

    He Danggui declined while bleeding, ¡°But, I have to do something else, so I have no spare time to take a bath. You just go, Zhoushi. And give me some time to dress up, so you can take me in 2 days. I haven¡¯t seen Lord Ning yet for 3 years, so I have to primp myself beautifully for him, right?¡± Every time she said a word, the corners of her mouth would spill a little blood, looking so scary.

    Looking at her appearance, Chang Nuo was so anxious, and said, ¡°What haven¡¯t you done yet? I will help you, and you just immediately go back for bathing. And I will take you to a master, whose medical skill is on a par with Senior Lord Luo Maitong. And he deserves to be called the second person at the present age.¡±

    Hearing that, He Danggui thought, ¡°I am the first one at this time. The ranking of the master is behind Senior Lord, so he should be the third. Who is so great as Senior Lord?¡± Then she asked, ¡°Who is the one you called master? I have never heard someone whose medical skill can keep pace with Senior Lord¡¯s.¡±

    ¡°He is Qi Xuanyu, Imperial Astronomer of Qintianjian Celestial Prefecture.¡± Chang Nuo given a brief introduction, ¡°He is a skillful Taoist priest. In his early years, he learned from Maoshan Taoist school. He is proficient in astrology and divination. Moreover, his medical skill is unique, which is quite different from that of ordinary doctors. When you meet him, you will understand. Just because he seldom treats diseases for people, his medical name has not spread. Qingyi, you look so terrible. Everyone who sees you will be scared at dawn. What are you going to do? Let me do it for you. Don¡¯t you trust me?¡±

    Then, He Danggui held up her fingers and said, ¡°First of all, go to the main hall and put on a fire. Burn all the powder inside and then leave. Don¡¯t let others see you set fire. Second, I have reced the bottle of afrodyn in your sleeve with Huaqing Powder. If you touch this powder a little, you will cast off the skin of your face. It will take at least half a month to restore. You sprinkle this powder on the thing shared by my Second Uncle and my Second Aunt. After they touch it, you steal it and throw it away. In this way, they will leave some seque after they touched the powder of the poisonous stone, which can prove my innocence. Third, you lie on the roof of Concubine Hua, the concubine of my Second Uncle, and watch for a while to see if she is really crazy or pretending to be crazy. After you find out, you go directly to Xiaoyou and tell him the truth. Don¡¯t disturb me enjoying a hot spring. Fourth...¡±

    Hearing this, Chang Nuo couldn¡¯t help interrupting her, ¡°Well, you¡¯ve nned to use me for working for you, right? You did steal the afrodyn, and when did you exchange it on earth?¡±

    ¡°I am not using you.¡± Tears of blood was flowing from her eyes. She smiled and said, ¡°For you, it¡¯s just a little bit of help. What¡¯s more, I am looking such an appearance like a ghost all thanks to you. So, it¡¯s reasonable for you to do me a few favors. As for afrodyn, if you like it, I will give you 2 more bottles next time. Well, the fourth thing is, when you give an invitation to Madam Luo, you should exin to her that our rtionship is foster cousin not lover, and ask her not to talk about marriages with Mrs. Feng. You have no idea that Bai Yangbai disguised himself as you caused a lot of troubles in Luo¡¯s Mansionst night. Since you admire him so much, you can clean up the mess for him.¡±

    Chang Nuo got mad at her for he was fooled all night. But he felt sorry for her appearance being full of blood, so he advised her to take care. Then he went to deal with the aftermath of what she and Taoist Sage had donest night as he had been told. Chang Nuo thought since she had engaged to the Lord 3 years ago, she would be the Lord¡¯s princess sooner orter, who was also his master. It was nothing to listen to her once in a while.

    After coaxing Chang Nuo away, He Danggui breathed a long sigh of relief. The high tension and intense emotion of the whole night had seriously overdrawn her physical strength. However, she received a lot of Zhenqi from the man wearing the Feng Yang¡¯s mask, which made her pulses like race now. ording to the experience of bleeding from all the 7 openings of her head 3 years ago, she sealed several acupoints on her body with silver needles, resulting in the same effect as that time when she fell in front of Lord Ning. Sessfully, she cheated the man with the mask of Feng Yang¡¯s face. It was very dangerous. She was almost robbed by him before she could inform anyone and ask for help from anyone!

    After she untied her acupoints and wiped away the blood on her face, she quietly avoided the people who had already got up and started working at dawn, and rushed back to Tao Yao Yard as soon as possible. At this time, the courtyard was as quiet as if there was no one in it. However, when He Danggui approached the door of her boudoir, she heard the sound of a person breathing inside. Then she poked a gap in the door and saw that the person inside was Chan Yi. With a sigh of relief, she pushed the door in and carefully closed it.

    Without waiting for Chan Yi to make any radical reaction to her bloody and untidy appearance, He Danggui made a silent gesture with her left index finger and said, ¡°It is a long story. In short, I haven¡¯t been hurt. And I¡¯ll tell you what happened after I take a bath. Pour me the bath water, my dear Chan Yi!¡±

    However, Chan Yi came to grab He Danggui¡¯s hand and said anxiously, ¡°Something is wrong, Miss. I saw Huai Hua just now, who said that Biddy Ma dered herself to be possessed by the Queen of Fairnd, so she can cure all kinds of diseases if people believe her! We all know that she is a fake witch, but Governor Lu believes her. What should we do now? I¡¯m so worried about Sister Zhen Zhu. It is very dangerous for she is pregnant. Let¡¯s find a way, Miss!¡±

    He Danggui questioned with doubts, ¡°Huai Hua? Which one?¡±

    Chan Yi said, ¡°Huai Hua has went to take care of pregnant Sister Zhen Zhu for 3 months. Miss, have you forgotten her?¡±

    He Danggui asked tentatively, ¡°Are you sure that person is Huai Hua? Is that her voice?¡±

    Chan Yi was so angry and nearly jumped, ¡°My dear Miss, you are still joking at this time,¡± she said ruthlessly, gritting her teeth, ¡°I tell you the truth. That Buddy Ma is not someone else, but my Master Tai Shan! She came to my Sister Zhen Zhu this time and brought Sister Zhen Zhu¡¯s former husband¡¯s family, so she must have no good intention! Miss, my Sister Zhen Zhu is up to you. Please think of a way while taking a bath!¡±

 Chapter 226 - Hot spring bath

    <h4>Chapter 226 Hot spring bath</h4>

    ¡°Tai Shan has be a sorceress? Is that what Huai Hua told you?¡± Taking off her cloak and outermost skirt and throwing them on the ground, He Danggui quickly went into the shower room. She scooped out adle of hot water heated on the stove and washed her hands and face, slightly removing the ufortable smell of blood.

    Chan Yi brought 2 buckets of cold water from outside like a strong man and said with a big breath, ¡°Actually, one day more than 2 years ago, I was going to the medicine pharmacy to send food to you. When I went out of the side door, I met a homeless biddy. She took a look at me. Then she suddenly jumped on me and shouted, ¡®Zhen Jing! Zhen Jing!¡¯ I recognized that she was my master Tai Shan. I wondered why she became a beggar, and she said that it was because of the ungrateful Huai Dong. But she didn¡¯t say more when I asked anything else.¡±

    He Danggui undressed as fast as she could. First, she simply washed herself with warm water. Then she went into the bath and opened the small sluice between the bath and hot spring. As she motioned for Chan Yi to add cold water to the bath, she asked, ¡°Why haven¡¯t you ever told me that you met her? Why did she appear near the side door of Luo¡¯s Mansion? Was she begging?¡±

    Chan Yi lifted the bucket and poured cold water into the bath slowly ording to the inflow speed of hot spring. She said anxiously, ¡°Miss, I gave her all the money you gave me, which was 32 liang in total, at that time. Will you me me?¡±

    In the early spring ofst year, there was a small-scale earthquake in Yangzhou City. After it, a ground crack opened in the backyard of Tao Yao Yard. Large amounts of water vapor rose from the crack and a small hot spring opening gradually formed. Luo¡¯s Mansion already had 3 hot spring openings, but they were all second-ss Ganjiu hot spring. The newly formed one in Tao Yao Yard was the first-ss Zhusha hot spring. Its water was milky white. It was said, ¡°Huangnv Hot Spring in Lushan County is not only used to bath but also steam rice, which can cure all kinds of diseases. If a Taoist priest soak in it 3 times a day for 40 days, he will recover from all his illnesses.¡±

    Everyone in Luo¡¯s Mansion was curious about the Zhusha hot spring in Tao Yao Yard. However, the water yield of this spring was very small. It could save only 2 or 3 barrels a day, so it was impossible for everyone to enjoy it. After hearing the news, Dong Xin was furious. Over the past few years, Madam Luo used to send water from Ganjiu hot spring to Tao Yao Yard alone, which made Dong Xin very angry. Now even the immortal was biased, creating a hot spring eye just right behind He Danggui¡¯s boudoir. It was said that the water of the Zhusha hot spring was as hot as boiled water. People in Tao Yao Yard often used it to cook hot pot, sweet soup balls and tea eggs. Dong Xin secretly scolded them for being too wasteful.

    ¡°You gave 32 liang silver to Tai Shan?¡± He Danggui raised an eyebrow and said, ¡°It¡¯s too wasteful. In my opinion, you should not even give her 3 liang.¡± Looking at the blushing and drooping Chan Yi, she sighed and said, ¡°What a silly girl! Tai Shan isn¡¯t your master, but your enemy! She loaded money to your parents at an exorbitant rate of interest and cheated you into being a childborer in the Taoist temple. Hey, look up and listen to me. I don¡¯t me you this time, but next time, you can¡¯t give her money secretly any more. Giving money to real beggars and poor people is a blessing, while giving money to her can only help her continue to do evil.¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Chan Yi raised her eyes slightly with a red face and said haltingly, ¡°Miss, you are so good-looking that I¡¯m embarrassed to look at you. You...are more beautiful than fairies in the sky...¡±

    He Danggui med gently, ¡°None of your nonsense. If you see Tai Shan again, you must be careful of her.¡± At the same time, the bath had been filled with water.

    Chan Yi pouted and said, ¡°Miss, I¡¯m already an adult. Please do not always treat me as a child. At first, I couldn¡¯t bear to see her in such a poor state, so I gave her my pouch and a basket of food I was going to send to you. But when she saw that there was only several liang silver in the pouch, she asked if I had any more. I was unhappy for her greed. Although I did save some money, I was to send it home. She was very mean in the past. In her eyes, we disciples were even not as good as servants. So, I kept a straight face and told her that was all.¡±

    He Danggui dipped in some powder that Qing¡¯er gave her to wash face and asked, ¡°How did she get 30 liang silver from youter?¡±

    Chan Yi exined, ¡°A few years ago, Fourth Miss burned the Taoist temple. Even Master Tai Xi was frightened and soon died. Taoist nuns took the money sent by Luo¡¯s Family and drifted apart. Since then, Shui Shang Temple has declined. I heard that at that time, Fourth Miss stole oil from the kitchen and spilled it all over the floor, so the fire was very strong when it broke out. All the property in the temple was burned and several nuns trying to save it were also burned to death. One of the most valuable things burned down was the title deed for 100 mu (a unit of area) fertile farnds at the foot of the mountain. Without it, although thends wouldn¡¯t immediately belong to tenants, as long as the tenants nted them for 3 consecutive years, they could go to the government to apply fornd upation.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Lands without title deed for a farm can be regarded as ¡®wastnd¡¯. ording to thend remation regtions, it can really be upied after 3 years of nting.¡± He Danggui scooped a handful of hot water and pped it on her face. The heat was steaming in the room.

    Chan Yi said bitterly, ¡°My family was also nting 4 mund of the Taoist temple, so my master Tai Shan used my family of taking advantage of the Taoist temple. She shook her head and scolded me for having no conscience. ording to what I wore, she insisted that I must have lived a noble life and should not pretend to be poor in front of her. She also said that it costed her lots of money to develop me from a baby to ady. I was defeated. At that time, the market price of farnd was about 8 liang silver per mu, so I had to pay her 32 liang for 4 mu ofnd. In addition to the several liang silver that I had given to her, I went back and collected a total of 32 liang silver for her as the cost of buying thosends. She left with the money and the bucket holding a lot of food. I didn¡¯t see her again until this evening. Huai Hua came to me in a hurry and said that there was a sorceress called Sorceress Ma practicing witchcraft in Lu¡¯s Family. She recognized that the sorceress was Master Tai Shan!¡±

    The water flew down slowly from He Danggui¡¯s fingers and sshed on the surface. She shook her head and sighed, ¡°You were so stupid. How could you buy thosends from Tai Shan with money? You were cheated, Chan Yi! Even if you wanted to buynds, you should go to the government¡¯snd department where you could buy it at the price of wastnd, about 2 liang silver per mu ofnd. After paying money, you could get the title deed fornds, which meant you were the owner of thend. Not only did Tai Shan not have title deed for a farm, but I heard that she was no longer a member of Shui Shang Temple. As early as a few months before the fire, she had been expelled from the temple for having an affair with a man. How could she sell anynd to you?¡±

    ¡°Master... not only had an affair with a man, but also cheated me out of the money that I had saved for more than a year?¡± Chan Yi stood still with an empty bucket in her hand, digesting the amazing news.

    He Danggui couldn¡¯t helpforting the poor girl, ¡°Don¡¯t be sad and regretful any more. I will give you another 32 liang silver, but you really need to be smarter. She got money easily from you this time, and she will probably cheat you again. Now I suspect that she is looking for an opportunity to cheat Sister Zhenzhu. Practicing witchcraft in Lu¡¯s Mansion is just a coincidence? Why did she bring people from Sister Zhenzhu¡¯s ex-husband¡¯s family? It seems that Tai Shan is really well prepared.¡±

    ¡°I was cheated because I was silly. It¡¯s not reasonable for you to make up for it.¡± Chan Yi said in embarrassment, ¡°My sry is as much as that of an administrator, and you pay me out of your own pocket.¡± She was really very remorseful now. Her master cheated her out of her money and also became a famous sorceress with the money. Now Tai Shan was even going to destroy the rtionship between Sister Zhenzhu and her husband Governor Lu.

    He Danggui said with a smile, ¡°I¡¯m very good at earning money, which enables me to hire even 10 or 20 of you. Tell me more details of your talk with Huai Hua.¡±

    Chan Yi squatted down, gently touched the water with her fingertips, and reported, ¡°Sister Zhenzhu had always been in good condition. Although her embryonic breath was not very strong, she seemed to be no different from other pregnant women. But today, Huai Hua told me that Sister Zhenzhu has been feverish since yesterday, and gradually it¡¯s hard to wake her up unless pping her cheeks heavily. Every time Sister Zhenzhu woke up, she just sat up and drank some water, and then fell asleep again. Finally, she didn¡¯t wake up at all.¡±

    He Danggui frowned and asked, ¡°Fever? Somnolence? Did it happen suddenly?¡±

    Chan Yi nodded and said, ¡°It¡¯s said that Sister Zhenzhu enjoyed 2 ys performed by a troupe that usually performed in the street during the day. After rewarding the troupe leader with 2 strings of 1,000 qian, she suddenly fell down, which scared the troupe leader a lot!¡±

    ¡°Was the troupe detained?¡± He Danggui felt that something was wrong and didn¡¯t want to miss any clues.

    ¡°They have left.¡±

    ¡°They have left?¡± He Danggui thought for a moment and then said, ¡°Well, go on. How did Tai Shan find her way to Lu¡¯s Mansion? Did she show her true face?¡±

    Chan Yi shrugged and said, ¡°Anxious Governor Lu invited arge group of doctors, but no one could identify the problem. It¡¯s neither an emergency nor a cold. Later a doctor said that the disease was so urgent that it might be a current epidemic. He heard that some people in several viges in Northern Zhili Area (areas directly administered by the capital) were affected by the current epidemic, and the symptoms are simr.¡±

    Shaking her head, He Danggui didn¡¯t agree with it, ¡°The current epidemic couldn¡¯t fly into governor¡¯s mansion because of the distance. Also, Governor Lu must care for Sister Zhenzhu in every way during the pregnancy. How could shee into contact with dirty things? What¡¯s more, I had a good knowledge of the current epidemic in Northern Zhili Area. A few days ago, I asked someone to bring me a sample of it and found it was a kind of fever. Most of the infected people had rashes. Did Sister Zhenzhu have a rash?¡±

    ¡°Huai Hua didn¡¯t mention it.¡± Chan Yi said anxiously, holding the corner of her clothes, ¡°Ever since Governor Lu heard that Sister Zhenzhu might be infected by the current epidemic, he was totally in a mess. He went to San Qing Tang several times, but Doctor Ma and Doctor Wu didn¡¯t here today. So, he made a rush decision. He brought home a sorceress and a group of Taoist priests and nuns with ghost charms on their face. They said that they would drive away evil spirits. That sorceress is my master who is a half way nun. Before she became a nun, Ma was hermon surname. So now, she¡¯s known as Sorceress Ma. She is a minor celebrity in the North Street. Many people believe that she is controlled by the Queen of Fairnd and can cure all diseases.¡±

    While listening, He Danggui sank herself into the water. She failed to handle with so many things in such a short time. She immersed her whole head in the water, and felt that all her thoughts overflowed and dissolved in the warm and tolerant spring.

    He Danggui immediately feltfortable and thought that, in fact, she didn¡¯t cheat Zhoushi. Hot spring could really cure her. She seemed to be suffering from a disease of trying to hide herself.

    While Chan Yi didn¡¯t realize He Danggui¡¯s sleepiness and tiredness, and was still reporting faithfully, ¡°The worst thing is that as soon as Madam Ji heard that Sister Zhenzhu was infected by the current epidemic, she isted the yard where Sister Zhenzhu lived. At the request of Huai Hua, guards finally allowed her to go in and out. However, the other people, including Governor Lu, are forbidden. That is to say, Sister Zhenzhu and Governor Lu are separated by Madam Ji. They cannot meet each other!¡±

 Chapter 227 - Pregnant women were vulnerable

    <h4>Chapter 227 Pregnant women were vulnerable</h4>

    Like a mermaid, He Danggui suddenly jumped out from under the surface of the water, squinted at Chan Yi in the water curtain and asked, ¡°Who is Madam Ji? Haven¡¯t Governor Lu¡¯s parents already dead? And hasn¡¯t he married another woman?¡± Where did the one who possessed the authority in Lu¡¯s Mansione from? Even Governor Lu had to obey her not to meet his pregnant wife.

    Chan Yi exined, ¡°I just heard it from Huai Hua today. Even though Governor Lu has no parents now, he still has a widowed aunt, Madam Ji, who has a 16-year-old daughter in hometown. Madam Ji is a dowager and has nothing to worry about. More than a month ago, Lu¡¯s Mansion received a letter saying that Madam Ji heard that her nephew¡¯s wife was pregnant and she was going to take care of the baby in Yangzhou City. But a few dayster, Madam Ji and her daughter went to Lu¡¯s Mansion as guests and seized the power of managing the family affairs of Sister Zhenzhu in an impolite way the next day.¡±

    He Danggui, who was closing her eyes meditatively, opened her eyes and said, ¡°What did Governor Lu think?¡±

    ¡°He doesn¡¯t have any ideas. From Huai Hua¡¯s words, it seems that Governor Lu is ignorant of family affairs. When he wasn¡¯t married in his early years, he didn¡¯t have a housekeeper or a cook, and he always crowded into the roadside stands in a purple official robe as he ate. People regarded him as a performer in a costume, but he just smiled and didn¡¯t argued.¡± Chan Yi picked up the bath towel and wiped He Danggui¡¯s back while saying, ¡°After Sister Zhenzhu married him, Lu¡¯s Mansion was run in an orderly way. He wasfortable, so he left everything to Sister Zhenzhu. Hardly had Madam Ji arrived here when she became the head of the family, for Sister Zhenzhu¡¯s humble birth and ignorance of managing affairs. So, she had to take care of family affairs and set an example for Sister Zhenzhu.¡±

    He Danggui also wiped her chest with a fish scale towel, and her shoulders trembled withughter. She said, ¡°So interesting. Madam Ji bothers too much. Now that she values the descendants of the Lu¡¯s Family, how could she make her nephew¡¯s wife unhappy who is pregnant? Although Sister Zhenzhu is an open-minded and tolerant person, women are weak after all. Especially, pregnant women are more vulnerable than before. If they are wronged, they will immediately keep it in mind, which is absolutely not conducive to the safe care of the fetus.¡± He Danggui was the most experienced person in this field. No matter how open-minded a person was, there would be times of getting depressed.

    Chan Yi spread the green tea salt on He Danggui¡¯s back evenly and then spread ayer of fruit honey on it. She massaged He Danggui gently and said in low spirits, ¡°Miss, you are right. Huai Hua said that Sister Zhenzhu felt so depressed at that time that her lips turned white. But she thought that Madam Ji, having her own family, is her husband¡¯s only elder. So, how long can she stay in Lu¡¯s Mansion? She will leave after the Spring Festival at thetest. Whereupon, Sister Zhenzhu didn¡¯t care and felt at ease in her room.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s very wise to avoid its sharpness first and then respond to changes with constancy,¡± He Danggui suddenly asked while pping the water with her instep, ¡°Who invited that troupe? What was the y?¡±

    Chan Yi recalled, ¡°The troupe was seemingly invited by Madam Ji. As for the y, Huai Hua didn¡¯t mention. She rushed here for your help specifically and then hurried to leave. She said that Sister Zhenzhu has been in a trance all the time, but there is nothing wrong with her, and the child in her belly is also peaceful. But now the people who are most restless are Sorceress Ma outside the mansion and Madam Ji in the house!¡±

    He Danggui was a little confused, ¡°So weird. Master Tai Shan made trouble with Sister Zhenzhu¡¯s ex-husband for nothing more than extorting money. Even if Madam Ji didn¡¯t like Sister Zhenzhu¡¯s family background, she had no reason to harm Sister Zhenzhu.¡±

    After washing He Danggui¡¯s back, Chan Yi pulled out He Danggui¡¯s hairpin, scattered her chignon andbed her hair with a wide toothedb.

    As for Tai Shan, Chan Yi was infuriated, ¡°Master cheated me out of more than 30 liang of silver. If she did a small business about tea, she would be able to make ends meet for the rest of her life, but she cheated people again. I guess she heard that Sister Zhenzhu has be the wife of governor, so she waited for an opportunity with the sister¡¯s ex-husband to ckmail. But it is unclear about how they contacted. Because thewsuit of Sister Zhenzhu was too tant that year, everyone knew it in Zhenjiang City and Yangzhou City. s, it¡¯s toote to talk about it now. Huai Hua¡¯s point is that there is a misunderstanding between Governor Lu and Sister Zhenzhu. And Huai Hua is afraid that there will be something wrong with these 2 people and let outsiders have their ways.¡±

    At this time, there was a knock on the outer door. He Danggui squatted into the water and motioned Chan Yi to answer the door. Chan Yi put down the curtain of the shower room and went out. When she opened the door, she muttered to the people outside. After a while, she came back and said, ¡°Madam Luo sent someone to say that there will be a distinguished guest at home, who has already sent out an invitation card saying that he wille today or tomorrow. Madam Luo let you be ready to apany when the banquet is held at home. I asked the messenger who the distinguished guest is, but she said she didn¡¯t know. She just saw Madam Luo¡¯s happy face, as if something great has happened.¡±

    He Danggui didn¡¯t want to think about it for the time being and just said, ¡°I hope the guest will note today, and I just want to sleep.¡± Suddenly, she thought of something and asked, ¡°By the way, what about Shu Qin? Has Second Childe of Guan¡¯s Family ever been at our Tao Yao Yard?¡±

    ¡°Shu Qin? Oh, I forget to tell you,¡± Chan Yi said with a smile, ¡°Last night, Second Childe Guan suddenly ran into our courtyard and looked around for something. When he saw Shu Qin, who was collecting fallen flowers in the grove, he hugged and kissed her. Several people standing next to me and I were shocked. And when we reacted, they had left hand in hand.¡±

    He Danggui cocked an inquisitive eyebrow, ¡°Shu Qin had left? She had nothing to say?¡±

    Chan Yi nodded, ¡°Since you said that Shu Qin is a special person in our yard. She didn¡¯t need to do any work, and she was free to go and stay. So, I just watched them leave without asking. And I guess they will get married. So strange. When did they get together? Once upon a time, Second Childe Guan came to Tao Yao Yard for you.¡±

    He Danggui sneered, ¡°ording to your description, they are the Cowherd and the Weaving Maid who have been in love for many years but can¡¯t meet each other, and I¡¯m probably the Queen of Fairnd who hinders them from being together. If I hadn¡¯t be the ¡®dead person¡¯ in front of Guan Mo tonight, he would have kept his women and children in my yard. There are so many unusual things in the world.¡±

    ¡°There is still something more unusual,¡± Chan Yi continued, ¡°Governor Lu took Sorceress Ma and some Taoist priests and nuns for practicing witchcraft in the room of Sister Zhenzhu. But Governor Lu was stopped by Madam Ji, so the rest of those people ran to dance in front of the sister¡¯s bed. After they left, Sister Zhenzhu immediately opened her eyes and told Huai Hua with trembling body that among the Taoist priests and nuns were her former husband, younger brother-inw and younger sister-inw, and then she went to sleep again. Miss, what did they want to do? Why did they have to cross dress and run to the sister? When the sister¡¯s ex-husband came to see her, would Governor Lu have any conflicts with her?¡±

    He Danggui¡¯s skin had been soaked into pink. She stepped on the steps after washing her long hair. Then she put on a nightdress and went to the inner room. As she sat down on the embroidery couch, she wiped the water from the top of her hair and questioned, ¡°The case of suing her husband was tried by Governor Lu himself. Governor Lu knew exactly what happened to Sister Zhenzhu and her ex-husband. If he cared, he would not marry her. Why didn¡¯t she trust him? Sister Zhenzhu and Huai Hua should tell Governor Lu immediately to detain those clowns.¡±

    Chan Yi shook her head and said, ¡°The problem is Madam Ji in the family now, and Sister Zhenzhu has to keep her mouth shut. At the beginning, Governor Lu was afraid that his aunt and other distant rtives dished the dirt, so he didn¡¯t mention to them that Sister Zhenzhu had married. He only said that she was a merchant¡¯s daughter in a wealthy family. And it¡¯s only one side that Sister Zhenzhu kept the secret from Madam Ji. On the other side, Madam Ji has a 16-year-old daughter, Miss Yingtao, who is Governor Lu¡¯s cousin. She also lives in Lu¡¯s Mansion with her mother. Anyway, she may have dubious rtionship with Governor Lu, which makes Sister Zhenzhu feel ufortable. In addition, Sister Zhenzhu has choked with resentment for the past month, so she gradually doesn¡¯t talk about anything with Governor Lu. She only talks to Huai Hua, but Huai Hua can¡¯t give her any good advice.¡±

    Lying down on the embroidered couch, He Danggui half squinted. It was not suitable to lie down when her hair was still wet, but the posture could make her think better.

    When she discovered that Governor Lu¡¯s love for Sister Zhenzhu was almost as deep as Duan Xiaolou¡¯s love for herself, she thought that a fool like Governor Lu would never change his mind. After she and Qing¡¯er brought them together, the happy life of the 2 made her and Qing¡¯er realize that there was real love in the world. The faithful love could break through the obstacles of the secr world and create a beautiful tree. But they did not expect that such a perfect pair of partners, such unswerving true love, also broke up in real life.

    The experience of Sister Zhenzhu¡¯s first marriage was almost the same as that of her mother in previous life. Her mother was framed by He Fu¡¯s family in Qingzhou City. They were framed by their husbands in an attempt to despoil their valuable dowries. But the difference was that her mother was defeated, while Sister Zhenzhu was a wise woman. Although she didn¡¯t get enough education, she could protest strongly when she was full of grievances. She took back what she deserved and exposed the ugly face of her ex-husband¡¯s family in broad daylight.

    He Danggui thought that in her previous life, she heard about Sister Zhenzhu¡¯s experience of suing her husband in the Taoist temple, but it didn¡¯t surprise her that much. However, a few yearster, when her mother became so miserable for the same thing, she couldn¡¯t help imagining Sister Zhenzhu as her mother and thinking how good it would be if her mother was like Sister Zhenzhu. If that, many misfortunes could be avoided. If her mother had a temperament of Sister Zhenzhu, she would grow up under the protection of her mother. That kind of strong loving mother¡¯s love was what she yearned most in her life. That was why she appreciated Sister Zhenzhu and regarded her as a graven image and a bright light.

    And Sister Zhenzhu¡¯s strong character also won the appreciation and admiration of Governor Lu. At the beginning, she realized the identity gap between them, and perhaps also realized that if they were really together, there might be such a problem today, so she chose to escape. She evaded her pursuers, but Governor Lu¡¯s love was not only not extinguished, but also became deeper and deeper. He didn¡¯t marry a wife or have children in histe 30s just for looking for his beloved woman.

    Perhaps his sincerity moved the immortal, so that they met and got married so hard. Was it because of human nature that after one got it, he or she would not cherish it? Even Governor Lu, who was stubborn and bad-tempered, couldn¡¯t avoid being vulgar. He still wanted to fall in love with a 16-year-old cousin after having a happy family.

    He Danggui sighed and slowly closed her eyes. If she remembered correctly, Sister Zhenzhu was 32 years old, who was twice as old as Miss Yingtao. Governor Lu missed Sister Zhenzhu¡¯s best years.

 Chapter 228 - A misty dream of Miss

    <h4>Chapter 228 A misty dream of Miss</h4>

    Before Zhenzhu married Governor Lu, He Danggui and Liao Qing¡¯er went to see her. They jokingly asked whether the marriage contract included the item that Governor Lu could not have extra concubines and should spend the rest of his life only with her.

    Zhenzhu smiled and said, ¡°A faithful husband and a happy family won¡¯te by a sheet of paper but by a sincere heart. I didn¡¯t realize it and thought that my ex-husband betrayed me because life was not fair. But when I think of him now, I realize that he was not a bad man at the beginning. I just did too much things for him for which he was responsible, which made him be ustomed to reaping without sowing. Besides, he didn¡¯t find the tenderness he yearned for in me, no wonder he sought from others.¡±

    Keeping such marriage experience in mind, Zhenzhu became the little lovable wife of Governor Lu. They did have a sweet time for long.

    However, a problem suddenly came. What if a more lovable woman appeared, and a man wanted to get both of them?

    He Danggui couldn¡¯t think out the answer. Such a thing was intractable for her, too. Certainly, it was easy for a wife to drive away 1 or 2 women, but everything hinged on that man. Which side he was on? And did he deserve such a struggle of his wife?

    Anyway, He Danggui determined to help her Sister Zhenzhu. Although she didn¡¯t know Zhenzhu¡¯s condition, she had a strange and inexpressible feeling. What was it? He Danggui stood on Zhenzhu¡¯s shoes. Outsiders came to her family. The old was in charge of the family. The rtionship between the young woman and her husband was ambiguous, and her husband¡¯s attitude was not clear. And she was conceiving a child. Then, she suddenly fell sick after watching a y. He Danggui still felt there was something strange. ¡°So, what¡¯s the problem?¡± She murmured.

    ¡°Miss, Miss¡­¡± Chan Yi called He Danggui softly but didn¡¯t receive the response. She put another thin quilt on He Danggui. Then she went out quietly and closed the door. They had lived together for 3 years, so she clearly knew that He Danggui was omnipotent. However knotty a problem was, it would be easily dealt with after she reported. No matter He Danggui went to sleep, had meals or did something else, as long as she bore the matter in mind, she would finally solve it. And it was more efficient than those who endeavored hard. This was Miss He, a magical woman.

    In the long dream, He Danggui unexpectedly met Lu Jiangbei who wore an exquisite silver mask covering half of his face and drifted straight towards her. His body was hanging in the air.

    When she was awake, she couldn¡¯t recollect his face clearly and even mixed him up with Ning Yuan. But in the bizarre dream, though the mask covered the upper part of his face, she could doubtlessly recognize him at a nce because of the expression in his eyes.

    Lu Jiangbei drifted towards her in a quirky fashion, and his eyes were lingering on her breast. Looking down, she found she was wearing the gauzy nightdress that she put on randomly before going to bed. She cried in a low voice, covered her bosoms with hands and turned her back to him. ¡°Long time no see, Master Lu. What are you doing in Luo¡¯s Mansion?¡± said He Danggui.

    Eh? It would seem unreasonable for her to ask like that because they were not necessarily at Luo¡¯s Mansion. It was her dream after all. How strange the feeling was! She could clearly realize that it was a dream. However, she could also feel the heat from the figure behind her, which showed a sharp contrast with the chill of her. ¡°What a strange feeling of coldness! On the verge of falling asleep, I was aware that Chan Yi put another quilt on my body. So, why do I still shiver with a feeling of standing in cold water?¡± She contemted.

    She wanted to make her arms hold tightly, but she lost the control of her limbs in the dream. She tried in vain to raise her arms. Thinking about something, she asked, ¡°Master Lu¡­ Er, how is Master Duan? I heard that he wille to Yangzhou City, right?¡±

    Eh? It would seem unreasonable again. The conversation in one¡¯s dream was actually made by himself or herself. He or she didn¡¯t really talk to someone in the flesh. She couldn¡¯t get any useful information from Lu Jiangbei, because he was just a fictitious person. ¡°Master Lu¡±, the first person to teach her martial arts, appeared in her dream must because Zhoushi and she spoke about him today.

    Fictitious Lu Jiangbei, as expected, was unable to answer her question and merely said, ¡°Miss He, we haven¡¯t met for 3 years, which makes me worried and upset. 3 years has passed, and you¡¯ve grown up. You are as gentle and fair as I imagined. And I suddenly find that I miss you more than I thought.¡± While saying, he got closer to her.

    On the one hand, she felt the heat source was closer. On the other hand, it seemed that another He Danggui was separated from her original body in the odd dream, hanging in the air and watching the scene as a bystander.

    Before the maiden on the ground could respond, the man with a silver mask hugged her from behind her. One of his arms stretched to encircle her lower jaw and the other put around her slim waist. With a little of his strength, the maiden was turned to face him. Then, he bent forward and suddenly gave her a kiss.

    As He Danggui watched this in mid-air, she felt the heat on her lips. However, she was not the maiden on the ground, so she didn¡¯t have the sensation of asphyxia caused by the kiss and could breathe smoothly. And she was not enraged by the feeling of being flirted. She, as an onlooker, just watched Lu Jiangbei kissing the ¡°He Danggui¡± who was much like her. What a strange dream. Lu Jiangbei kissed He Danggui? So, how could He Danggui herself just be an onlooker?

    Gradually, kiss couldn¡¯t satisfy Lu Jiangbei. He began to move his hand up from the maiden¡¯s waist, inch by inch, which finally stopped on her delicate-curved bosoms. His long, slender and fair fingers were caressing the two round soft parts. And the maiden in his arms became like a puddle of water with his kiss. With a muffled and low voice, she clutched the clothes of the man behind her with her little white-jade hands rather than struggling free. And then, they were locked in a passionate embrace.

    The He Danggui in mid-air blushed at this but didn¡¯t get angry. She thought, ¡°Lu Jiangbei is almost a stranger for me. Seeing his acts, I could have rushed to separate them wrathfully and beat him up. But why didn¡¯t I have the impulse to do that?¡±

    He Danggui contemted for a while, and then thought of something. First, Lu Jiangbei was a gentleman, so it was impossible for him to do so. Second, the man who liked her was not Lu Jiangbei but Duan Xiaolou, so how could Lu Jiangbei kiss her?

    ¡°Calm down, calm down. This is only a dream. Dream is not real, so the kiss is not real,¡± He Danggui thought carefully and murmured, ¡°And although it is Lu Jiangbei¡¯s voice, the tone is so strange and oily that it sounds nearer Bai Yangbai. Maybe the man is not Lu Jiangbei. It¡¯s just a man whose expression of eyes and voice are much like Lu Jiangbei¡¯s¡­¡±

    At the moment, the man on the ground had turned the maiden¡¯s body to make her front face him for the convenience of his caress. The He Danggui in mid-air could still feel the heat on her lips as if there was someone kissing her. The He Danggui on the ground with her eyes closed, meanwhile, was gripping the clothes on the man¡¯s chest, regardless of his hands reaching through her gauzy nightgown and touching her soft flesh.

    Finally, the He Danggui in mid-air couldn¡¯t tolerate anymore. Whoever the man was, he was a man! And the face of the meek maiden was the same as hers. How could she let it go on? And how could she allow a man do such obscene things to her?

    ¡°Stop! Stop!¡± she cried in mid-air, ¡°If you don¡¯t stop, I¡¯ll throw stones to you!¡± Then, a big stone suddenly appeared in her hand.

    They, however, still clung together. The maiden¡¯s nightgown was gradually slipping off her shoulders, revealing her gem-like flesh under the man¡¯s eyes. Seeing this, the man stopped breathing for a second and then asked huskily, ¡°Miss He, are you ready for this?¡± The maiden blushed and nodded. Then she began to untie the knot before her breast.

    The He Danggui in mid-air couldn¡¯t wait anymore. She drifted towards Lu Jiangbei and hit him on the back of head with the stone. But the man was ¡°Lu Jiangbei¡± at that point, and such a senior couldn¡¯t be affected by a stone. So, out of her expectation, the man didn¡¯t fall and didn¡¯t even look up at her. His zing eyes were focus on the curve of the maiden¡¯s bosoms. The maiden was not interrupted by the ¡°assassin¡± and undid the knot before her breast shyly. Then the band girdling her waist was thrown by her on the ground. Atst, she pulled open her clothes with her little white-jade hands¡­

    Then, He Danggui, with ring eyes, hit the maiden on the head. She hadn¡¯t trained to be indestructible, and thanks to it, the head of the maiden on the ground began to bleed upon being hit. Then she cried sadly and shrilly, and her hands were covering her forehead.

    The man was so anxious that his head sweated all over. He took off his silver mask and said anxiously, ¡°Miaoyi, are you all right? Don¡¯t panic! I¡¯ll take you home.¡±

    Upon hearing this, the He Danggui in mid-air was surprised. She looked at the maiden. It was Ling Miaoyi. ¡°How¡¯s that? Her face was the same as mine just now. And when the man kissed her, I could feel it!¡± the He Danggui in mid-air thought. After she was aware that she hit Ling Miaoyi, she apologized, ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to disturb. I¡¯ll bring some white medicine that can stop the bleeding. You can go on with your business.¡±

    The man, however, turned to look at her with a surprising expression as he heard these words. He cried in a low voice, ¡°Sister He? Youe for me? I miss you so much. I miss you every day, every moment, every time I breathe¡­ Don¡¯t leave me anymore, OK?¡±

    When the man turned his head to look at He Danggui, she was dumbfounded. It was Duan Xiaolou¡¯s face, and there was indeed a shallow scar below his left ear, which was left for her sake. How strange it was. The man didn¡¯t have the scar when wearing the mask. However, after he took off it, not only did he change to another man, but also he had a scar. Although it was in her dream, He Danggui refused rationally. She said, ¡°We have missed each other. It¡¯s no use thinking too much. Let¡¯s forget the past and move forward. Childe Duan, there¡¯s no loss to you missing me, because I am selfish and often let you be sad.¡±

    But missing you is a great loss to me, right?

    Duan Xiaolou shook his head furiously and tried several times to pull her down from the mid-air but failed. Showing pain in his eyes, he said, ¡°Sister He, I love you. I cherish you and I know you. I¡¯ll patiently wait for you to grow up and marry you. OK? I¡¯ll leave Guan Yun and Miss Lian. Don¡¯t leave me anymore. OK?¡±

    Suddenly, Ling Miaoyi, whose head was bleeding, came running and shouted, ¡°She has been abandoned by my uncle. Her mother had a love affair with a beggar stealthily, so she and her mother were thrown out by my uncle. You¡¯ll regret if you like her. Such a woman doesn¡¯t deserve your love!¡±

 Chapter 229 - An erotic dream left trace

    <h4>Chapter 229 An erotic dream left trace</h4>

    ¡°Miss. Miss!¡± He Danggui heard Chan Yi¡¯s voice above her head, and she painfully opened her eyes to look up. Then this strange dream shook and was torn a tiny hole, where Chan Yi¡¯s round face squeezed in.

    Chan Yi held a shallow bowl of water and said, ¡°Take the medicine and then sleep. Take it all in one breath!¡±

    He Danggui looked at Chan Yi and asked in some mystification, ¡°Why should I take the medicine when everything is perfectly all right? What kind of medicine is it?¡± While she was saying, the bowl was stuffed into her mouth, so she was forced to swallow the sweet and sour medicinal soup in the bowl. After that, a small bowl of salt water was passed over, and she gargled with it.

    Chan Yi supported her to move, and then changed her bed sheets and inner clothes. Chan Yi said in a powerful voice, ¡°Miss Qing was here a moment ago, and I told her about Sister Zhenzhu. She said that it didn¡¯t matter, and she would take full charge of it. Then she came to see you and found that you were abnormal. Pouting the squirmy mouth and mumbling something, you are pinned down by us and shouted, ¡®Both of you stop! If you don¡¯t stop, I¡¯ll throw stones to you.¡¯ It sacred us.¡±

    He Danggui seemed to be stuffed with cotton in her head and asked dully, ¡°Did I just drink the ginger soup with radix astragali and wolfberry?¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Chan Yi nodded and continued, ¡°Later, just when there was nothing we could do, Second Master came. Originally, he heard that you were sleeping and was going to leave, but I remembered that he read a lot of medical books in the Medicine Room and often came to borrow books from you. I thought that he must know some medical skills, so I asked him to treat you.¡±

    ¡°Second cousin¡­Luo Baiji?¡± He Danggui was still dull.

    Chan Yi had spread the sheets, helped He Danggui back on the bed and said with a smile, ¡°Second Master knew by touching your pulse that you are suffering from a cold and a period, and the distortion is caused by menstrual colic. And we watched that the sheet indeed went red. Second Master decocted medicinal herbs and left. He told me that you should take ten medicines to get rid of the chill. He also said that he had just learned to make a tonic and medicated diet to treat cold. He will bring it to you in the evening, so you should keep a corner for the medicated food. Anyway, Miss, your menstruation used to be extremely punctual, but this time it is four days earlier. Is it because you were in the hot spring too long this morning?¡±

    Originally, He Danggui didn¡¯t feel any abnormality in her body. But as soon as she heard that she had a cold, she immediately felt that her body was heavy. Her eyes looked dull and her mouth was parched. She frowned deeply and said to herself that since she had internal force, her body was very strong. But she didn¡¯t know if it was a coincidence. Every time she got sick, bad things happened around her.

    Last time when she had a throat disease and coughed for half a month, she heard about her mother encountering robbers on the way home from the Taoist temple. Although she was alright, a wet nurse died, which made her feel sad for a while. There was also a time she got a bad cold, and she became debilitated, so she was attacked by a hidden arrow at the dragon boat meeting. Qing¡¯er who wore a life jacket saved her and was shot by the arrow. This time she was nearly at the gate of hell. Then the rtionship between Qing¡¯er and her made a qualitative progress, and they exchanged their inmost secrets.

    In short, she gradually couldn¡¯t help having the idea that her illness was a signal of misfortune. She fell feebly on the chrysanthemum pillow and was covered with quilts by Chan Yi. She thought for a moment and asked, ¡°Have Madam Luo¡¯s distinguished guests arrived? Has the banquet begun yet?¡±

    Chan Yi smiled and said, ¡°Miss, guess who the distinguished guest of Madam Luo is!¡± Without waiting the cooperation of effectual answer, Chan Yi revealed the mystery, ¡°Do you still remember Earl Baoding? Earl Baoding Meng Shan!¡±

    ¡°Earl Baoding came to Luo¡¯s Mansion again?¡± He Danggui¡¯s nose was overflowing with the fragrance of chrysanthemum from the pillow, but for some reason, she always felt that there was a hint of tea fragrance around her. It was Meng Xuan¡¯s exclusive taste, which she just gave a brush-up yesterday.

    Chan Yi tucked her quilt and said excitedly, ¡°It¡¯s not Earl Baoding but his sons, Third Childe and Seventh Childe. Miss, do you remember Seventh Childe Xuan, the most handsome man? He lived in our mansion twice a few years ago. At that time, he often went to Xi Chang Yard near us to y with Childe Peng. When he passed by our door, the maids in our yard were leaning against the gate and peeking at him. This time he came to Luo¡¯s Mansion again, and I heard from others that wherever he goes, the maids in our mansion will stop their works and run to see him.¡±

    He Danggui¡¯s eyes were tired. She yawned and asked with closed eyes, ¡°Are there other rumors? Why do the two childes of Meng¡¯s Familye to Yangzhou City?¡±

    Chan Yi shook her head, ¡°I never heard of it, but the two childes mentioned you. They also asked toe to see you together, so Madam Luo asked Shi Liu to call you. But seeing you were having a fever, she left.¡±

    He Danggui frowned, ¡°Meng Xuan and Meng Ying both looked for me? Why?¡±

    Chan Yi replied tirelessly, ¡°ording to Shi Liu, three years ago, Seventh Childe came to Luo¡¯s Mansion as a guest. He yed Go with you and drank a cup of tea brewed by you. This time, he revisits the familiar ce and immediately reminds of you. Madam Luo thought that your shoulder was hurt yesterday, and it was inconvenient, so she politely declined. Seventh Childe didn¡¯t mind that, but Third Childe has a fancy for Go, who likes to y Go with all kinds of masters. Third Childe said that most of the time he has difficulty getting a chance to win from Seventh Childe. At this moment, he heard that you have yed Go with Seventh Childe. Besides, you have won once and drawn with Seventh Childe once. In any case, he must y Go with you.¡±

    He Danggui was sleepy. She yawned again and asking vaguely, ¡°Now that Shi Liu went back telling them that I was ill, did Madam Luo¡¯s guests leave?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Chan Yi put down the bed tent and continued, ¡°Later, Shi Liu came back and said that after Third Childe heard that you were sick, he immediately said that he could wait for you to recover. However, Shi Liu revealed that by listening to what he meant, he didn¡¯t believe that you are a person of genuine ability and learning. He thought that you were afraid of ying Go with him, so you pretended to be ill.¡±

    He Danggui snorted, ¡°This is the eldest legitimate son of Earl Baoding with bravery and wit, who was born as a cockfighter. He didn¡¯t even see me, and how could he regard me as an imaginary enemy! Why am I scared? I am an unlearned miss, and losing to a well-educated person like him is not a shame. Well, did Seventh Childe say anything?¡± Then, He Danggui thought, ¡°Why did Meng Xuan bring his brother to Luo¡¯s Mansion? Anyway, it¡¯s not because he specifically came to see me!¡±

    Chan Yi replied, ¡°Seventh Childe didn¡¯t insist on finding you to y Go, but he turned a teacup andined that the tea was tasteless. So, Madam Luo summoned the two masters, who teach Second Miss tea art, to re-brew a pot of tea. However, he drank the tea and was still dissatisfied. He said that the most memorable cup of tea during hisst trip to Yangzhou City was the cup of tea he drank in Luo¡¯s Mansion. It was a pity that he cannot drink it this time.¡±

    He Danggui smiled silently and asked, ¡°Then, the hospitable Madam Luo must couldn¡¯t eat after listening to it, right?¡±

    ¡°Miss, you¡¯re so smart.¡± Chan Yi¡¯s facial expression suddenly became lively and active. Then she was tittering behind her hand and said, ¡°They two didn¡¯t enjoy themselves in today¡¯s visit. Therefore, they said although they had separate courtyard in Yangzhou City, it was a long way to go shopping every day from there. So, during their stay in Yangzhou City, they wanted to stay in our mansion for two days. Madam Luo naturally agreed, lest she neglected them. Whereupon, she called someone to clean up the Senior Lord¡¯s Ting Zhu Yard for them to live. But Seventh Childe said that he preferred Xi Chang Yard where the Peng¡¯s Family Childe had lived. Then Madam Luo readily promised and let people to put in order.¡± Chan Yi seemed to have picked up gold, saying, ¡°Miss! Xi Chang Yard is next door to our house. From now on, we can often see them! I heard that Third Childe is more beautiful than Seventh Childe!¡±

    Chan Yi waited for a long time and couldn¡¯t wait for He Danggui¡¯s response. Thinking she was asleep, Chan Yi was about to light the Pacifying Fragrance and quit, but He Danggui asked suddenly, ¡°Are there any strange people in our yard today? Or, does anyone in our yard look different from usual?¡±

    Chan Yi was confused, ¡°Different? Miss, you are the only one who is different. You suddenly suffer the severe illness, and even your mouth bes swollen.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Upon hearing this, He Danggui opened her eyes and stroked her lips, ¡°What did you say? My mouth is swollen?¡±

    Chan Yi took out the ss mirror from the bedside table and showed it to her while saying, ¡°When Miss Qing and I came in to see you, we saw you pouting your mouth and your lips were red and swollen. Miss Qing also talked nonsense that you were kissed by someone. I told her to stop saying that, and I said you were fine before you went to bed. The swollen mouth must be due to sickness.¡±

    In the melodic voice of Chan Yi, the sparkled mirror showed a small cherry-red mouth, which was all of a glow and swollen. If it hadn¡¯t just been eaten a few kilos of chili, it seemed that it had been sucked before... Was it because that she ate too much barbecue, which led to the excessive internal heat? He Danggui didn¡¯t look at the mirror for long. She put the mirror under the pillow and said, ¡°I¡¯m very sleepy. If there is no meteor hitting me, don¡¯t bother me. Let me have my sleep out.¡± After thinking, she added, ¡°I am not used to sleeping alone during the day. Chan Yi, be with me. And you can knit the Zhuluo (a kind of headwear) in the outer room.¡±

    Chan Yi agreed and went to the wooden table outside. She took out the half-finished crystal Zhuluo from the bamboo basket and then started knitting. She whispered, ¡°Miss, you iled during sleeping. Just now I came to see you, not only was the quilt kicked, but also your sleepwear was half-open. And a window was half-open in the room. If you catch a chill identally, you will yell that your shoulders hurt. In winter, the winds can be quite powerful. I remembered I inserted the window bolt...¡± Hardly had she finished speaking, He Danggui bounced off the bed. Chan Yi was taken aback and covered her mouth to apologize, ¡°Don¡¯t be sullen. I¡¯ll just shut up.¡±

    He Danggui staggered out of the bed curtain, hurriedly put on her shoes and said, ¡°I am going to go to the bathroom. Do your business and leave me alone.¡±

    He Danggui stumbled into the shower room, closed the door and lowered the curtain. She looked at herself in the water mirror in her palms, and saw her red and swollen lips carefully. Then she moved the mirror to reflect other ces that she couldn¡¯t see. The water mirror stopped at the waist behind her, where there was a vague palm-shaped print. She tried to put her hand on the print. The fingers of the print were longer than hers by an inch. That was the trace left by a hand muchrger than hers!

    Under what conditions would others press their hands firmly on her waist?

    Her mind, which was tortured by the high fever, was chilled. She quickly threw away the mirror and quickly took off her panties to take a closer look. After repeatedly confirming that she really had a period, she breathed a sigh of relief. She checked her body carefully again to make sure that apart from the handprint, there were no other simr traces. Besides, her body did not feel strange. She slowly put on her clothes. Then she returned to the embroidered couch in the inner room slowly andy down.

    He Danggui wrapped the quilt tightly around her and looked at Chan Yi who was knitting the Zhuluo through the bed curtain and many bead curtains. She secretly thought whether her brain was burned so that absurd thoughts came up. Luo¡¯s Mansion was well protected, so how could a rapist enter? How could hee to Tao Yao Yard in the depths of the mansion smoothly? What happened between the man with the silver mask and the girl with the same appearance as her was nothing more than an erotic dream, and there was no trace after waking up from the dream. That was all. All the traces were caused by the nightmare pressing on her body. It must be like this.

 Chapter 230 - Healed his pain caused by love

    <h4>Chapter 230 Healed his pain caused by love</h4>

    As the saying went, ¡°What you dream about at night reflects what you think about during the day.¡± So, what she saw in her dream was what she had met in the past, which left a little fuzzy trace in her heart. Although she didn¡¯t think about them so much at first, in fact, those things were in her heart. So, she would have such a dream when she was sick.

    She saw Ning Yuan for the first time on a messy street. At that time, he wore a bamboo hat, and under the heavy veil of the bamboo hat, there was a mask covering the upper part of his face, which was much simr to that of Lu Jiangbei in the dream. She had seldom paid attention to the appearance of men, but when she saw Ning Yuan that time, an unspeakable weirdness suddenly appeared in her heart. In any case, she wanted to look at the face under the mask, but in the end she couldn¡¯t do so. When she met him in Bitter Bamboo Grove again, Ning Yuan had already disguised himself as Lu Jiangbei.

    This feeling of doubt was deeply buried in her heart, and it never faded away, so there was a masked Lu Jiangbei in her dream. This could easily exin why Lu Jiangbei kissed her suddenly, and she was still intoxicated by his kisses. Besides, Meng Xuan suddenly hugged and kissed her yesterday, but at that time, she did not refuse him and told herself that the kiss was just a ¡°kiss of friendship¡± without the affection between men and women. Later, she fell out with Meng Xuan and always regretted in her heart, wondering if she hadn¡¯t woken up in sleepwalking. How could there be a mouth-to-mouth friendship kiss between a man and a woman? No wonder Meng Xuan was angry and incredible. If she didn¡¯t have affection for him, she should have rejected him from the beginning.

    This feeling of remorse and self-me also left a deep impression in her heart. So, it reappeared in her dream. She watched a strange man, Lu Jiangbei, kiss and hug a girl with the same appearance as hers, but she could only watch like a floating ghost and was unable to do anything to stop. This dream was just a punishment by her reason because of her intimate behavior with Meng Xuan. That was right. It was her self-punishment.

    As for the man wearing the mask who suddenly turned into Duan Xiaolou, and the young girl who suddenly turned into Ling Miaoyi, these all stemmed from a heartache after Duan Xiaolou confessed his love to her at the opening ceremony three years ago.

    Whenever she thought of this at night, she was always a little sad, thinking how good it would be if she followed her own heart and agreed to him. Then she could heal his pain caused by love, and he could also take her out of loneliness. They could apany and support each other. In fact, as long as she controlled herself not to fall in love with him, the scene where he kissed Guan Yun was not too piercing. After all, men couldn¡¯t be like women who were born with a little cleanliness and a unique sense of belonging.

    But it was toote to say that. After all, she had let Duan Xiaolou down, which was irreversible. She still had her own life. If she wanted to live more steadily, she must eliminate the hidden danger of Zhu Quan and let himpletely give up on her. So, no matter how much she hated this person, she must go to see him, and she couldn¡¯t just fight against a shadow in her heart day and night¡­

    But then, did Bai Yangbai cause any trouble after leavingst night? Before going to see Zhu Quan, she must reach an agreement with Bai Yangbai to let him stand on her side and deal with Zhu Quan together¡­

    Qing¡¯er voluntarily ran to help Sister Zhenzhu. But He Danggui hoped that Qing¡¯er would not make more trouble¡­

    With theseplicated thoughts, He Danggui, who was in a trance by the high fever, fell asleep. Probably because the Dream Immortal saw that she was so smart that she saw through his true purpose after a few thoughts, the Dream Immortal, who was ashamed of his IQ, did not disturb her in her deep sleep again.

    When she was half-asleep, she seemed to have taken the medicine twice and the medicated food delivered by Luo Baiji as well. It looked delicious, but she couldn¡¯t taste anything. In the end, she went back to sleep undisturbedly. She didn¡¯t know how many days and nights she slept, but she felt that the Zhenqi she collected from Zhoushi had adapted to her body and automatically returned to her Dantian in peace. Then, her sudden illness healed suddenly. She even was not weak and gaunt after a serious illness.

    He Danggui asked the date and found out that it was already five dayster. Three days had passed since the ¡°workday¡± she and Zhoushi agreed upon. She hurriedly asked Chan Yi if Childe Feng had been here. Chan Yi shook her head and said no. Chan Yi said that only Madam Luo sent people to care about He Danggui every day, letting her go out and y Go with the guests when she got better.

    Worrying about Zhenzhu, He Danggui was not in the mood to y Go with Third Childe Meng, and temporarily did not want to meet Meng Xuan, so she feigned illness and stayed in the room. She was eager to meet with Bai Yangbai to discuss the countermeasures, so she, ording to the ¡°contact method¡± provided by Bai Yangbai, grabbed the little white wolf who was eating meat on the ground, pulled its ears and tail rudely. This shaggy little white wolf screamed continuously. Chan Yi couldn¡¯t bear to look at it, so she quickly took the little white wolf back and fed more meat topensate.

    He Danggui waited for another two days. The new year was approaching, but Bai Yangbai never showed up. So, He Danggui was annoyed that he didn¡¯t keep his promise. She had meditated for several consecutive days. As Madam Luo hadn¡¯t sent anyone to watch her in the past two days, she stopped meditating this morning and sat in the inessible peach blossom forest to bask in the winter sun.

    Chan Yi surreptitiously brought a cup of white fungus soup with longan to He Danggui. After she started eating, Chan Yi asked in a low voice, ¡°Miss, why don¡¯t you go to y Go with Third Childe Meng? Are you not good at ying Go and fear beingughed at by them?¡±

    He Danggui, enjoying the food, said with a chuckle, ¡°Even Madam Luo doesn¡¯t urge me to go, so why are you still thinking about it? Maybe they don¡¯t n to y Go with me, and it is just an excuse to live in Luo¡¯s Family. After all, the Luo¡¯s Family had a good scenery, attentive care and convenient transportation. It is more convenient to go to the market from here.¡±

    Chan Yi said disappointedly, ¡°However, Miss, are you not interested in seeing the two childes of the Meng¡¯s Family? The scene that they walk out of the yard together is more beautiful than any other scenery, and you will definitely regret if you not see it. Everyone says that the childes of the Peng¡¯s Family who lived in Xi Chang Yard in the past are already very attractive, butparing to the current childes of Meng¡¯s Family, poeple can only sigh. Miss, Xi Chang Yard is less than a hundred steps away from our yard. It is only separated by our fence and their fence. Are you not going to seize such conveniences? Well, even if you don¡¯t want to get them, it¡¯s good to have a look.¡±

    He Danggui snorted after drinking the white fungus soup, ¡°It seems that everyone loves beauty not only men, but also women. I used to read the story of several beautiful men in ancient times being madly chased by women, and in the end, they got sick and died. I thought those who wrote the book were too exaggerated. Now I think it may be true.¡± Then, she gave Chan Yi a nce and said, ¡°All right, stop pouting. We have to pick time for everything, and we don¡¯t have that leisure time now. Haven¡¯t Qing¡¯er and Huai Huae here again these days?¡±

    Chan Yi packed up the cup, shook her head and said, ¡°No onees, and there is no oral message. It¡¯s really worrying. Whether it¡¯s good or bad, they should write a letter to you.¡±

    He Danggui stayed in her room for the past two days because she was waiting for Bai Yangbai, but he didn¡¯te. She was a little anxious, and she asked the well-informed Bo He if there was any ¡°Second Mistress Luo¡¯s adulterer¡± in Luo¡¯s Mansion in the past few days. After getting the negative answer, He Danggui wondered whether Bai Yangbai felt disappointed and went to other ces to enjoy after she rejected his invitation about marriage and dual cultivation.

    In her previous life, she knew that there were several special channels for contacting Bai Yangbai, but those channels all needed Wuying Tower¡¯s things. It was fine to borrow them quietly in the past. However, ording to the information provided by Zhoushi, Zhu Quan was in Yangzhou City, how dared she use his things at that time! Other things could be done slowly, but she didn¡¯t want to dy Zhu Quan¡¯s matter for a moment. Originally, she thought she was the biggest variable in the world, but now Zhu Quan became a bigger variable.

    ¡°By the way, Chan Yi,¡± He Danggui caught a piece of peach blossom with her palm and ordered, ¡°Ask Xiaoyou if he ever met Childe Feng in the past two days. If he says yes, ask him if Childe Feng mentioned Concubine Hua¡¯s condition.¡± When they parted that day, He Danggui asked Bai Yangbai to help investigate Concubine Hua¡¯s condition, and then told Xiaoyou the result. Now that it had been so long, there should be a result.

    He Danggui heard yesterday that all the ¡°poisonous stone powder¡± in the main hall had been incinerated. In the previous two days, Luo Chuangu and Sun Meiniang¡¯s faces and limbs began to peel off. Madam Luo was so scared that she did not care about supervising He Danggui to y Go with Third Childe Meng. Instead, Madam Luo stayed at Bao Qin Ge and looked after Luo Chuangu every day.

    He Danggui also heard that Sun Meiniang¡¯s fetus was very stable. If it was maintained, a baby boy would be born in a few months. It was incredible that at this time in her previous life, Sun Meiniang had never been pregnant.

    Although there was an adulterer incident, Sun Meiniang still controlled her husband Luo Chuangu.

    That night, the couple had a quarrel after they returned to the room. It was really that lovers¡¯ quarrels were soon mended. The next morning, Luo Chuangu, who had just shown his masculinity, became Sun Meiniang¡¯s obedient husband again. He lost his temper at all, and never mentioned the incident about Sun Meiniang¡¯s adulterer and abortion. No matter what Madam Luo asked, he just kept silence and didn¡¯t say anything bad about Sun Meiniang. The incident that Concubine Hua almost miscarried caused a stir that night, but now it was temporarily set aside.

    Of course, the most wronged person who had nowhere to redress was Sun Meiniang¡¯s main maid, Run Xiang. Originally, Run Xiang also had a lover who was doing a reselling of private salt outside the mansion, and he was able to make a lot of money. But it was a very risky business that could die at any time. The lover came to have a private meeting with Run Xiang once a month and spent the rest of the time doing business. He was waiting to take Run Xiang away from the mansion and live a happy life together after he earned a lot of money.

    However, since a few months ago, Run Xiang¡¯s lover disappeared from the world, and there was no figure and no news. Run Xiang didn¡¯t know whether her lover abandoned her, or lost his head when doing business. In short, in the month when she didn¡¯t see her lover, she spent the whole day as if she lost her soul, so Luo Chuangu took advantage of it. He covered her mouth and nose, dragged her to a ce where no one was there and raped her. But Run Xiang still kept her lover on her mind. So, after losing her chastity, she still disobeyed Luo Chuangu and avoided him, regarding him as a snake.

    However, her behavior inspired Luo Chuangu¡¯s desire to conquer, and he paid special attention to Run Xiang who had a mediocre appearance. After all, a woman regarded her chastity more than anything else. Generally, after being raped for the first time, she would be obedient in the future, but this was not case with Run Xiang. Every time they made love, she would struggle like the first time and cry afterwards. The sound of her struggles and cries was so high that they were noticed by a maid who had a rift with Run Xiang. Then, the maid reported to Sun Meiniang. At first, Sun Meiniang stayed calm and was collected, but she tortured Run Xiang when Luo Chuangu was not at home.

    The most wronged thing about Run Xiang was that the child she conceived was not Luo Chuangu¡¯s, but her lover¡¯s. However, Sun Meiniang didn¡¯t give her a chance to argue and pulled out her teeth. Then Sun Meiniang took off her clothes and hung her into the woodshed to be blown by cold wind. Both the adult and the child were about to die.

    And it happened that He Danggui walked over the wall and walked to the woodshed of Bao Qin Ge. She learned the truth from Run Xiang and epted Run Xiang¡¯s request, but she didn¡¯t know whether she could win. Judging from Luo Chuangu¡¯s attitude, she could know that he didn¡¯t care about Run Xiang and her child at all. Did he probably know that the child was not his?

    He Danggui started to think about these issues after letting Chan Yi leave. Chan Yi left with the cup, but she returned after a while and screamed helter-skelter, ¡°Look, Miss, the two childes of Meng¡¯s Family areing here! Would you like to avoid for a moment and dress up in the room?¡±

 Chapter 231 - Heavenly handsome Childes

    <h4>Chapter 231 Heavenly handsome Childes</h4>

    He Danggui looked up at the 2 uninvited guests, and couldn¡¯t help sighing that all the people of Meng¡¯s Family were good-looking. From the Earl Baoding Meng Shan who was more than 50 years old to his sons, Meng Ying and Meng Xuan, they were all outstanding people. However, why didn¡¯t they do their own things but came to her yard for a stroll?

    Seeing that they were approaching, He Danggui stood up and told Chan Yi to make tea. She took down the silk handkerchief from her robe, and twisted it into a flower. Then she saluted them and said with a smile, ¡°I have heard that you 2 childes have lived in Luo¡¯s Mansion. I don¡¯t expect that youe to the Tao Yao Yard today. Are you here to enjoy the peach blossom? Should I make a ce for you?¡±

    The 2 men walked in tandem to the stone table where He Danggui was sitting. Meng Ying lifted his robe and sat down, while Meng Xuan stood with his hands sped behind his back. They were dressed in white round cor robes with same styles, but they had different temperament. Since Meng Xuan probably stayed with the army all the year round, he had the same rhythm in his leisure time and busy time. So, in the eyes of others, he was too strict in his leisure time. He could stand like a pine tree and sit like a bell. Besides, he was too rxed in his busy time, as if he was confident to do everything.

    Earl Baoding Meng Shan had 11 sons. 4 of them were legitimate sons, and 7 of them were the sons of the concubines. The two eldest sons were the sons of the concubines. The third son Meng Ying was the eldest legitimate son, and the seventh son Meng Xuan was the second legitimate son. Although He Danggui had never met any other childes of Meng¡¯s Family, she could guess that Meng Xuan must be the most outstanding son of Earl Baoding. Compared with Meng Ying, Meng Xuan was more distinguished.

    Chan Yi said before that many maids secretly evaluated that Meng Ying was more handsome than Meng Xuan. That was true. He Danggui looked at this young man in a long robe with embroidered edges of golden thread and chrysanthemum. He was the most handsome man that she had ever seen in her 2 lives, and he was full of masculinity without any smell of rouge.

    But his bearing was a little bit worse than his younger brother Meng Xuan. Anyway, Meng Xuan¡¯s eyes were bright and mild. People could know that Meng Xuan was a first-rate senior after seeing him, but could not know how powerful he was. Although Meng Ying had a pair of bright piercing eyes, he only gave He Danggui the impression of being uninhibited, which showed that his martial arts were limited. Of course, this was also the result ofparison with Meng Xuan. If he waspared with other childes, he could still be set off by contrast like the sun.

    He Danggui thought that the men of the Meng¡¯s Family were really outstanding. No wonder the women were not afraid of the Instructions of Meng¡¯s Family and wanted to be their daughter-inw one after another. She heard from Qing¡¯er that many matchmakers went to the Meng¡¯s Family, which could almost tread down the threshold of their house. And the criteria for the Meng¡¯s Family to choose their daughter-inw were also increasing day by day, which tested all kinds of knowledge. As long as someone could pass the test, maybe she had the power to be a female Jinshi.

    While He Danggui wasmenting on Meng Xuan and Meng Ying in her heart, they also looked at her face. Meng Ying looked at her silently for a while, then suddenly grinned, ¡°Third Miss, you are not only beautiful, but also kind. I have seen 7 or 8 women who looks like you in a Lord¡¯s mansion.¡±

    When He Danggui heard this, she didn¡¯t understand what he meant. Did Meng Ying know something so that he said such words to ridicule her? What he said ¡°a Lord¡¯s mansion¡± referred to the Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion. She was in doubt. But when she saw Meng Ying¡¯s beautiful face was facing her direction with a big yawn, this beautiful man¡¯s image in her heart fell dramatically because of his extremely deformed face.

    Meng Ying finished yawning, and umted tears in his eyes. He touched all over the body but could not find a handkerchief. All of a sudden, he stretched his long arm to the chest of He Danggui who was on the opposite side of the stone table. He impolitely took away the handkerchief on her button, wiped the tears and gave it back to her. He said thanks and praised, ¡°Your handkerchief smells good. It smells like my brother¡¯s handkerchief.¡± It was a low voice, and was a little bit silly like Xiaoyou. Was this his true appearance? Or was he defending himself and making a deceptive appearance?

    He Danggui took the handkerchief and put it into her sleeve. At the same time, she looked up at Meng Xuan, but she could not read any useful information from his poker face. Looking at Meng Ying, who had been demoted from ¡°immortal brother¡± to ¡°silly brother¡±, she said with a smile, ¡°I¡¯ll ask the maid to make a pot of scented tea for you and bring you some dessert. Please enjoy the flowers.¡± Then she stood up and wanted to leave. Now everything wasplicated. She had no spare time to y riddles with the 2 young masters.

    Meng Ying immediately bounced up from his seat. He pressed her shoulder with his hand without hesitation and pushed her back to the seat. He smiled and said, ¡°I see that you are in good spirits. You don¡¯t look like ill. Since we all have the spare time today, let¡¯s y 20 or 30 games of Go. Duke it out.¡±

    He Danggui was not satisfied with Meng Ying¡¯s unconventional behavior. Was he so unruly to strange women? When she heard the words like ¡°spare time¡±, she was even beat his head with a club in her heart. He was free and had nothing to do, so he asked her to apany him. And his words and deeds went too far. What did he want to do? He Danggui looked up at Meng Xuan and hoped that he could be normal and take this problem child to go to other ce to have fun. Meng Xuan felt her line of sight, but his eyes were staring at a relief pattern on the stone table. Obviously, he didn¡¯t want to have any eye contact with her.

    He Danggui was angry in her heart. How dare Meng Xuan ignore her?

    What made he feel sulk? She was embarrassed by the ¡°bamboo forest incident¡± on that day, so she hid in the yard every day to avoid meeting Meng Xuan. She didn¡¯t want to review the things she had done. But Meng Xuan brought his brother to Luo¡¯s Mansion, and then lived next door to her. Now he came to her uninvited. If it was said that he didn¡¯t appear purposely in front of her, she would not believe it. Now that he had taken the initiative to this point, it was obvious that he wanted to make up with her and be a master and apprentice again. Why did he assume airs and y a role of iceberg king? She was full of troubles, and he made her annoyed more. And that time in the bamboo forest, although it was her fault to ept his kiss, he was the one who took the initiative!

    He Danggui pursed her lips and said to Meng Ying, ¡°I had a fever a few days ago. It made me have a headache so that I can¡¯t even remember how to y Go. I¡¯m afraid I will spoil your interest, Childe Ying. After all, how dare I pretend to know? And if I remember correctly, your brother is a senior Go yer. You don¡¯t want topete with a senior yer, but you want topete with me. You are really doing a trouble thing.¡±

    Meng Ying propped his chin with both hands and looked at her face. He smiled and said, ¡°What a clever girl! With your posture, I think you are a senior Go yer. What¡¯s more, Meng Xuan is full of praise for your Go skills. He said that you are the only genius he has ever seen in his life. You are born with the talent to y Go.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± He Danggui looked up at Meng Xuan who stood behind Meng Ying, and said confusedly, ¡°I remember someone once said that there is no genius in this world. Genius pays a great effort and pays for dozens of times more than others. Childe Xuan, how can you suddenly admit that I am a talent? It really makes me surprised.¡± Meng Xuan didn¡¯t look at her and regarded her as the air just now. Now she asked the question to him directly. He could not avoid answering it any more. What an unpredictable person! If Meng Xuan wanted to avoid her, why did hee to her and meet with her?

    Unexpectedly, Meng Xuan didn¡¯t say anything. Instead, Meng Ying answered for him, ¡°Third Miss, you are too modest. What we mean is that even if others have genius, they are only improving by high-intensity training and hard work. Otherwise, they can¡¯t be a talent. But there are some differences in ying Go. It needs to use tactics. The more careful the mind is, the more skillful the yer is.¡±

    Did she have the gift of using tactics? Was her mind careful? He Danggui smiled. The 2 man didn¡¯te to y Go with her at all, but came to quarrel with her.

    This was really strange. Although she had offended Meng Xuan once, she had never met Third Childe Meng Ying. How could he always talk to her with an aggressive attitude? It was hard to imagine that Meng Xuan, who was young but mature, would tell the story about her and him to Meng Ying and ask Meng Ying for help. Meng Xuan was more than 30 years old actually. He should have been out of this childish stage for a long time.

    Meng Ying raised his left eyebrow. He stared at He Danggui¡¯s face and said aggressively, ¡°Do you think my words are ridiculous? Do you have any other opinions? I¡¯m all ears.¡±

    ¡°I am ttered.¡± He Danggui turned the white jade bracelet on her wrist and said calmly, ¡°When ites to ying Go, I am not proficient. But I have some acquaintance about it. I think there are 2 kinds of people in the world who can y Go well. The first kind of people is knowledgeable and can memorize 10 million of Go manuals andpositions. It¡¯s true that if they have read a hundred times, they will be a Go master. Another kind of person is Meng Xuan who is standing behind you. He is a gifted Go yer. Because he can keep himself freely and show no mood on his face. And his opponent can¡¯t guess his mind. Therefore, he is the kind of person who is called ¡®Go genius and born with talent¡¯. As for me, I think I should be the first kind.¡±

    Meng Ying smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯m so sorry I was wrong. The person who called you are a talent Go yer is Lord Ning, not my brother Meng Xuan. Lord Ning not only praised you have superb Go skills but also said that you were the most perfect goddess in his mind, just like the goddess in the moon. After listening to his words, I only believed rare. But today I meet you, and I believe all. Anyway, Lord Ning really takes you as his goddess. He looks for women ording to your standards and gives them the simr name like yours.¡±

    When He Danggui heard this, she was anger and said with a sneer, ¡°You are really joking. I live in Yangzhou city and grow up in my boudoir. I never meet a great man such as a Lord. And you, a Shizi of the Earl Mansion, are also a noble man for Luo¡¯s Family. Although I am not familiar with Lord Ning, I know that his fief is in Daning. The north military is about thousands of miles away from here. In the past few years, I have never heard that the County Government in Yangzhou City set up a guard of honor to wee any seignior. It can be seen that Lord Ning has never been to Yangzhou City. So, how could I earn his praise if he has nevere to here and met me? What¡¯s more, it¡¯s the first time that I have met with you. You said many strange words that I can¡¯t understand. Do you reveal yourself too much before we get closed?¡±

    ¡°Too much? How could you feel that?¡± Meng Ying looked at her and said, ¡°If you enter Meng¡¯s Family in the future, everyone will be very close. So, today I have to exin to you that I should say. Whether my words are strange or deceptive, whether you¡¯re pretending to be confused or not, whether you are every body¡¯s darling, and whether you twist others around your little finger, you and I are both well aware.¡±

 Chapter 232 - Teaching his wife

    <h4>Chapter 232 Teaching his wife</h4>

    He Danggui gently smiled and said, ¡°Third Childe, didn¡¯t you get poisoned by poisonous rats when you were in jail a few days ago? You are talking nonsense now. Meng¡¯s Family¡¯s threshold is higher than me, and I can¡¯te inside even if I can fly. When I first saw you, I hated on you, let alone being a family in the future. I¡¯m tired and don¡¯t want to entertain you honored guests. If you don¡¯t have anything else, please leave me alone or I¡¯ll drive you out.¡± What was wrong with Meng Ying? He even said that she was everybody¡¯s treasure and got them wrapped around her finger. Was he implying that she yed with his younger brother Meng Xuan?

    Before Meng Ying and Meng Xuan could answer, Chan Yi came over with a small cart from a distance. She happily filled the table with tea, dessert, Go board and Go bowls. Then she stood with her hands down behind He Danggui and enjoyed the two childes¡¯ handsome appearances.

    Ignoring that He Danggui showed them the door, Meng Ying poured tea and ate dessert on his own. Heined as he bit the crispy peach kernel cake, ¡°Such a sweet dessert is only enjoyed by girls, and the tea is normal, which is not as good as Meng Xuan said.¡±

    He Danggui looked back at Chan Yi who was a little abashed, and said, ¡°Didn¡¯t I ask you to find Xiaoyou and ask ¡®that matter¡¯? Go ahead, and then move out the 40 jin bolt in the backyard. Tomorrow is the Chinese New Year¡¯s Eve. Even though it is quite hrious during the Chinese New Year, it¡¯s none of our business. We will be jealous. So, it is better to close the gate and spend a quiet New Year. We will bolt the door when all irrelevant people are gone.¡±

    Chan Yi couldn¡¯t figure out why He Danggui¡¯s face was so bad as if being covered by ck clouds. She said in a low voice, ¡°But Madam Luo has already known that they hade, and asked Third Childe to y Go with you. She also invited him to have dinner with you in Tao Yao Yard and asked the kitchen to make more food...¡±

    He Danggui nced at Meng Ying¡¯s proud face that said ¡°I already knew¡±, and gritted her teeth, ¡°Do as I say. I guess he won¡¯t stay till night. He is very busy.¡± Chan Yi pushed the small cart away hesitantly.

    The 3 people around the stone table were silent for a moment, and then Meng Ying, who had wiped out half of the dessert, spoke again, ¡°Miss He, you must be wondering why I am so familiar with you, right? In fact, there is nothing special. Your 2 admirers, Zhu Quan and Duan Xiaolou, happen to be my friends, so I know a little bit about what happened between you and them. You must be ming me for having a finger in every pie, right? The love things have nothing to do with me, but a few days ago, I suddenly knew that my Brother Xuan actually falls in love with you, and he wants to marry you, so now it¡¯s my affairs and I have to step in.¡±

    He Danggui started to set the Go board when he was halfway through his words, and then asked coldly, ¡°Third Childe, have the people around you ever mentioned to you that you have a problem of believing all what you heard? Are you sure the words you heard are true?¡±

    Meng Ying nodded unexpectedly, ¡°Lord Ning has scolded me several times that I¡¯m stupid in doing things, and I believe all others¡¯ words. But as for the matter about you, I not only heard, but I have seen with my own eyes.¡± He took a sip of scented tea and said, ¡°I was a guest at Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion 2 months ago. I saw Lord Ning and a beauty making out in the plum forest. He kept saying ¡®Yiyi¡¯. Later, I knew that ¡®Yiyi¡¯ is the name of his beloved woman, and all of his concubines have the word ¡®Yi¡¯ in their names. An indifferent person like him can love a woman like this. I doubted that it was weird. Then when I visited Duan¡¯s Mansion a month ago, I saw that the former thriving house was all covered with white curtains. I found out that it was also because of you. And I realized that the fairy in Lord Ning¡¯s eyes is a fairy fox, which can kill people.¡± He took the Go bowls with white Go stones and yed the first move.

    The unhurried male voice made He Danggui feel particrly harsh. She pped a ck Go stone on the Go board and sneered, ¡°Since you have seen through my true colors, why did you stille to Luo¡¯s Mansion with your younger brother? If you are worried that I will take his life, you shouldn¡¯te. It is not toote to regret it now, or I may not control myself and kill one more person.¡±

    After they yed 20 or 30 moves, Meng Ying slowly said, ¡°A lot of pretty women admire my younger brother, and they won¡¯t let you seed.¡± Meng Xuan behind him like a backdrop finally spoke after hearing that, ¡°Brother, stop taking.¡±

    He Danggui worried that ¡°Yiyi¡± was a name that Zhu Quan made in estrus, or he was taken by the memory of his previous life. In the previous life, Zhu Quan called her ¡°Yiyi¡± when he liked her the most. Later he began to guard against her because she was too capable and knew too many secrets from him. Then he changed to call her ¡°Concubine He¡±. Damn it, he was really lingering... Many pretty women admired Meng Xuan?

    He Danggui pped a ck Go stone and won many of his white Go stones, saying with a smile, ¡°Third Childe, your Go skill is not so good. Even a little girl like me can beat you. If I were you, I would stay at home and concentrate on studying Go manual. It¡¯s better not to visit others and avoid seeing something that you shouldn¡¯t see.¡±

    Meng Ying stared at the Go board and was stunned for a moment. It was wrong. His white Go stones still had the advantage 3 moves ago. How could he bepletely defeated in an instant? He was unwilling to submit, ¡°I was just talking, so I didn¡¯t take it seriously. Let¡¯s y another round, and I will beat you hard!¡± Meng Xuan behind him said again, ¡°Brother, you are not her opponent. And be polite. She is a girl.¡±

    Meng Ying hummed and reset the Go stones. He spontaneously took the first move again. Before He Danggui could y her move, he shamelessly put 3 white Go stones on the Go board. Then he nodded to her and said, ¡°It¡¯s fair now, and it¡¯s your turn.¡±

    He Danggui yed a ck Go stone among the 4 white Go stones without thinking, and said with a smile, ¡°I don¡¯t know that you look rude but have such a wide range of friendships. You get along well with the Commander of Imperial Guard and Lord Ning who ownsrge military forces and is in charge of Northwest Army. I heard that your father, Earl Baoding, is a royalist for 40 years. He never forms a clique, intrigues selfish interest and contacts privately with the Princes. Therefore, the Emperor regards him as a confidant, and he bes a rare ¡®evergreen¡¯ in the Imperial Court... I wonder if the spy of the Emperor will go to indict that Earl Baoding¡¯s eldest legitimate son is friendly with Lord Ning. Does Earl Baoding privately instruct? I¡¯m curious if the Emperor will be suspicious that Earl Baoding abandons him and finds a new promising master because of his old age?¡±

    Hearing that, Meng Ying¡¯s face was livid, and he did not speak for a few rounds. Suddenly, he looked back at Meng Xuan andined, ¡°Your wife is good at talking, and I¡¯m not her opponent. You should teach her carefully.¡± Meng Xuan rebuked in a low voice, ¡°Stop talking.¡±

    He Danggui clenched the ss Go stone in her hand and suppressed the urge to hit it on the handsome man¡¯s forehead. He was a rascal. When he thought he was right, he aggressively asked her, and when not, he kept talking nonsense. He could even act more shamelessly than a woman! She angrily yed 3 Go stones in session, and went straight to his white Go stones team. She shattered his upletedyout, and defeated himpletely for the second time.

    Meng Ying reset the Go stones angrily while muttering, ¡°Girl, your trick to deal with Duan Xiaolou doesn¡¯t work in my family. There is a stiption in Instructions of Meng¡¯s Family that the sons of Meng¡¯s Family must marry at least 7 women to prosper the family, and Meng Xuan¡¯s concubine also gave birth to a son for him. After you get married, you should treat them well, and you can¡¯t trick...¡± His voice stopped abruptly, and his eyelids rolled over. He became unconscious, and his jade-like face fell into a te of crunchy pumpkin sugar. His right arm hung down and flicked half of the Go stones to the ground. Those Go stones rolled around with cracking sound.

    Meng Xuan withdrew his hand and apologized to He Danggui, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. He drank 2 more sses during breakfast, and then shouted that he woulde to Tao Yao Yard to see you. I couldn¡¯t stop him.¡±

    He Danggui poured a cup of tea and held it in hand. But she didn¡¯t drink it. She just smiled at the cup of tea and said, ¡°I was still a little puzzled why the legendary most educated Childe Meng is misbehaving. It turns out that he is confused by the alcohol andes to my ce roaring drunk, which is too unreasonable. Meng Xuan, when did I say I want to marry you?¡±

    Meng Xuan pulled his brother¡¯s face out of the te, and cleaned it briefly with the kerchief. Then he exined in a low voice, ¡°I told Yi Tong to prepare the bride-price and the matchmaker so that I can go to Luo¡¯s Family to propose a fake marriage. But my brother heard it. He doesn¡¯t usually act like that. He just came over from Duan¡¯s Family in the capital and witnessed the depression there, so he was so angry that he said those words to you... I apologize on behalf of him.¡±

    He Danggui raised her eyelids and nced at Meng Xuan, asking, ¡°The depression in Duan¡¯s Family? Why... it was depressed? Didn¡¯t it change from Earl Mansion to Marquis Mansion...¡± Could it be that 2 funerals made it, a Marquis Mansion, devastated?

    Meng Xuan hugged his unconscious brother and shook his head, ¡°I don¡¯t know too much. It seems that Duan Xiaolou dismissed all the people in the mansion. When people are gone, it will naturally be depressed.¡± Seeing her slender hand holding the teacup tightly, he couldn¡¯t help but persuade, ¡°It¡¯s none of your business. Don¡¯t worry about it. You and Duan Xiaolou haven¡¯t seen each other for 2 years. You don¡¯t have to be responsible for what happened to him, and you don¡¯t need to feel guilty. My brother is a little confused these days, and I will find a way to wake him up.¡±

    After Meng Xuan waited for some time, He Danggui still didn¡¯t speak. So, he nodded at her and said, ¡°See you.¡± He hugged Meng Ying who was like a body and walked away. After walking a few steps, he didn¡¯t hear the farewell of her, and he stopped to say, ¡°Actually, I live in Luo¡¯s Mansion this time in order to manage the marriage proposal. Don¡¯t worry. I will do it right so you can avoid troubles from your ¡®enemy¡¯.¡±

    He Danggui¡¯s heart was bittersweet. She neither refused his self-assertion kindness, nor thanked him for his help. She just stared nkly at the bright tea in the cup in her hand. Unconsciously, she, a debt collector from the previous life, also owed a huge debt. Meng Ying hade to ask for it.

    Meng Xuan stood in silence for a while, but He Danggui still didn¡¯t answer. So, he couldn¡¯t help but ask the doubts in heart, ¡°Your... ¡®enemy¡¯, isn¡¯t it Lord Ning, Zhu Quan?¡±

    He Danggui looked at him and calmly said, ¡°Sort of. I regard him as an enemy, but I am just a nonentity in his eyes and not worthy of being his opponent. Seventh Childe, how do you know about this? Are you afraid of Lord Ning and refuse to help me anymore?¡±

 Chapter 233 - You were his woman

    <h4>Chapter 233 You were his woman</h4>

    Meng Xuan looked at the girl¡¯s calm face silently and then replied with a smile, ¡°If the opponent is Lord Ning, everyone will be afraid of him. However, I guess that some people are also willing to help, if the person who needs help is you.¡±

    ¡°I have stated my feeling about you clearly. Aren¡¯t you angry with me? Do you still want to help me against Lord Ning?¡± He Danggui asked smoothly.

    Meng Xuan lifted Meng Ying slightly in his hands. He looked down and recalled, ¡°My brother and I came to Luo¡¯s Mansion to visit you a few days ago. We asked to stay here after knowing you were ill, and then I moved to see you for the first time. I saw Miss Liao chatting with your maid in the yard, so I avoided them and went straight to the back hall. I approached your bedroom from the window in the west as usual. You know the window is facing your bed, so I have already seen it.¡±

    ¡°I was sleeping because of violent sickness, when Qing¡¯er arrived. After waking up, I took medicine and went to sleep again. What did you see?¡± He Danggui asked with puzzlement.

    Meng Xuan sighed softly with deep eyes, ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry because I am so cautious that I won¡¯t talk to anyone. Girl, Lord Ning is an outstanding person who can deserve you, and I¡¯m also happy for you. However, he is the person who ns to do great things, and he has to worry about so many things. As for the things he can give to you will be unstable. I just hope that you can take care of yourself and keep your temper, learning how to be a wife.¡±

    He Danggui became more and more surprised at those words. She red at Meng Xuan and rebuked, ¡°You are talking nonsense! I have already said that Lord Ning is my enemy, so I invite you to help me get rid of him. It¡¯s okay that you are unwilling to help me, but why do you say such sarcastic words?¡± She wondered why Meng Xuan and Bai Yangbai both had the same reaction that they thought she had an affair with Zhu Quan, when they heard that Zhu Quan was her enemy. It was said that women liked to imagine unrealistic things, however, men had the problem that they were far-fetched. Enemy was equal to lover? What sort of logic was that!

    Meng Xuan turned his head to look at the sparse peach blossoms, and answered sadly, ¡°Although I don¡¯t know what happened between you, you are already his woman and there is no room for repentance. You have to adapt to theplex environment of Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion. Of course, we are still friends after you get married. I won¡¯t hesitate to do anything for you, and I am at your service.¡± He nced at her furtively and guessed, ¡°You ask me to pretend to propose you, so you must n to make Lord Ning anxious and take more care about you. Don¡¯t be so shocked. I just guess a little from my brother¡¯s words. Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m not angry with you. I hope you can find your own happiness.¡±

    He Danggui rose from her seat suddenly and said coldly, ¡°I can¡¯t understand your ravings, even a word. Is there anguage barrier between us? Why do you think that I have an affair with Lord Ning? What do you mean that I am already his woman? Does it speak by your brother? Where did he heard about it?¡± She spoke fast and directly, gasping for air.

    Meng Xuan frowned and looked at her. He didn¡¯t understand why she was still stubborn, ¡°I have told you that I saw everything outside the window. You and Lord Ning...¡± Gritting his teeth, he continued to say with violent pains, ¡°He kissed and pressed you tightly on the bed, and then you were disrobed half with writhing under him. You can¡¯t deny that you have done this. Don¡¯t worry. I am not going to underestimate you, and I won¡¯t tell anyone about it.¡±

    Meng Xuan looked at stupefied He Danggui and shook his head. He sighed, ¡°I take my brother back to sober up now. You can summon me if you have any problems. You may rest assured that I am obedient to you like 3 years ago. Until the Wulin Assembly of the Lantern Festival, my brother and I will both live in Xi Chang Yard which is next to you. If you want to find me, please...¡± He thought for a while and continued, ¡°Please set off blue fireworks. I have seen that Luo¡¯s Mansion is delivering them one by one.¡±

    Then Meng Xuan hugged his brother and left Tao Yao Yard, a yard with full of peach blossoms. It once made him obsessed, and let him know what was love and feel the jealousy.

    This time Meng Xuan left without any hesitation, and didn¡¯t look back at the wordless girl who was exposed. His resolute figure disappeared behind the bend of the wall, revealing his sadness in the ce where she could not see. He clenched his fist andforted himself repeatedly, ¡°She actually isn¡¯t so good, and I didn¡¯t like her 3 years ago. Maybe I can imitate Lord Ning to find a girl who looks simr to He Danggui, and name the girl Xiaoyi which is the same as her.¡±

    After hearing the footsteps behind the wall fade away, He Danggui waved sleeve and threw all the things on the stone table to the ground. Then she picked up the stone stool which was 70 or 80 jin and smashed the peach tree in front of her. After smashing, she picked up the stone stool to smash again and made the stone table crooked. She finally stopped until the scene was disordered.

    Zhu Quan!

    You were my sworn enemy!

    Lunar New Year¡¯s Eve, Lunar New Year, and the second day of Lunar New Year were the liveliest days of Luo¡¯s Mansion. However, Tao Yao Yard was like a lifeless well water without any sshes. It had no not only atmosphere for the Spring Festival, but also erstwhile brightness and noise. The reason just was the Miss fell ill again!

    Chan Yi stitched sole in the main hall and sighed. Miss had a strange disease which waspletely different from the past. She refused to see anyone and locked herself in the room. Every day she only ate a small bowl of porridge which was passed through the window. After finishing, she immediately closed the window and locked the roompletely. Miss was unwilling to open the door to see a doctor, no matter what Chan Yi persuaded. Madam Luo had asked person to invite Miss to have New Year¡¯s Eve dinner several times, but Miss replied in the room that she had suffered from the same peeling illness as Second Lord, and she couldn¡¯t get in a draught ore out to greet.

    After hearing this, Second Master Luo Baiji was so anxious that he came to see Miss with a small medical kit. Since he knocked at the door for a while without responses, he continued to knock on the 8 windows around Miss¡¯s bedroom 3 or 4 times. However, Miss still didn¡¯t appear. Second Master sat at a small campstool in front of her room, and persuaded patiently, ¡°You should see a doctor. Don¡¯t be afraid of it. When Bian Que (a famous doctor in ancient China) greeted Duke Huan of Qi, he once said that the superficial disease could be cured by applying hot water or medicine. The disease which appeared in the muscle and skin could be cured by acupuncture. The disease which appeared in the stomach could be cured by medical soup. But the disease in the marrow was decided by destiny, and doctors had no means about it. Now you are just peeling and the disease is showed with your skin, so you should not give up early.¡±

    On the morning of Lunar New Year, Chan Yi took Zhu in her left hand and the little white wolf in her right hand to pay New Year¡¯s greetings to Miss. But today they couldn¡¯t even enter Miss¡¯s bedroom, who always made Miss happy in the past. Zhu cried in a loud voice, and the howl of the little white wolf scared 2 short-lived chickens in the kitchen. But they couldn¡¯t let Miss open the door.

    Chan Yi would have called someone to open the door with an axe, if she had not heard the voice of Miss asionally. She had looked after Miss for 3 years. Although she regarded Miss as an enigmatic and wiser person, she got on well with Miss and never hadmunication barriers. But now she really didn¡¯t understand the mind of Miss. In other words, she had conjectured several versions of Miss¡¯s thoughts.

    Chan Yi watched clearly that Miss was energetic and her face was not peeling when she sent her porridge. That was to say, Miss was malingering!

    When did Miss start to feign illness? After the 2 childes of Meng¡¯s Family yed Go and left on that day, Miss entered the room in sadness and never came out. Maids in the next-door Xi Chang Yard also spread an astonishing news soon that Third Childe Meng walked to y Go with Third Miss but came back in aa! What kind of Go did they y? What fierce fighting happened between them to cause an illness and aa? People were searching for answers among the chaotic peach trees, and imagined various sentimental stories.

    Chan Yi sighed, ¡°Miss Qing has nevere to Tao Yao Yard since she promised to help Sister Zhenzhu. It¡¯s also an unusual thing because Miss Qing came to Tao Yao Yard to have dinner frequently in the past. Besides, there is no fresh news from Lu¡¯s Family. Is Sister Zhenzhu cured? Is Master Tai Shan who is a ckmailer dismissed? Are Sister Zhenzhu and Governor Lu reconciled?¡±

    Chan Yi would feel unperturbed before even if it was hail and knives outside, because Miss was smart. But this time she was restless when she felt depressed before a storm, because the omnipotent Miss was also helpless and overburdened.

    Today was the second day of Lunar New Year in 31th year of Hongwu Period, and it was an inauspicious start.

    Sewing soles in the middle of the night, Chan Yi asked Miss how she was feeling. Miss replied in a grunt, as if it showed that there was a living creature in the room who could breathe. Chan Yi went to sleep at a loss, ¡°Why is Miss depressed suddenly? Is what servants discussed privately true that she fell in love with Third Master Meng at first sight? Then she imitated Second Miss¡¯s method, which was dealt with Master Peng Shi, and did something bad to Third Master Meng. So, she is as ashamed as Second Miss now...¡±

    After imagining and sleeping hazily for two hours or more, Chan Yi was shaken up by Shi Liu. Seeing it was at dawn, she asked Shi Liu in amazement, whose nose was in red because of cold, ¡°You are so early that it¡¯s just 5 o¡¯clock in the morning. Does Madam Luo ask you to care for Miss again?¡±

    Shi Liu breathed out the warm air to her frozen fingers and answered in a hurry, ¡°No. Today when I sorted the bundle of invitations of Madam Luo, I found a very exquisite one with copper side. I opened it, and it says, ¡®I have admired He Danggui for a long time, who is a famous and aplished girl in Chengxu Academy, so I hope to marry her as my wife and we can meet for details.¡¯ The signature is Bai Yang from Fuzhou City, a Jinshi in the 29th year of Hongwu Period.¡±

    ¡°Bai Yang?¡± Chan Yi put on the warm quilted jacket by the fire and frowned. ¡°Miss and Miss Qing often chat about the interesting things in academy, and they also talk about childes who have written to Miss. But I¡¯ve never heard an admire named Childe Bai. Sister Shi Liu, you can warm yourself by the fire and wait for me. I¡¯ll ask Miss now.¡± She said while putting on her cotton-padded trousers. Then she put a small stool on the side of the fire and used a hook to make the fire zing.

    Shi Liu approached the stove for warm but didn¡¯t sit down. She said in anxiety, ¡°The thing hasn¡¯t finished yet. Bai Yang, a strange and unrted man, came to make a proposal. However, Feng Yang, a Master of Feng¡¯s Family, ismanding servants to carry many riveted boxes in front of the gate now. The scene is so lively! Go to ask Third Miss what¡¯s her thought!¡±

    Chan Yi asked curiously, ¡°Does Miss have rtion with the boxes of Master Feng?¡±

    Shi Liu red at her, ¡°Hey! It is bride-price for Third Miss!¡±

 Chapter 234 - Peeled the orange with delicate hands

    <h4>Chapter 234 Peeled the orange with delicate hands</h4>

    Chan Yi covered her mouth and eximed, ¡°Does Childe Feng also want to marry my Miss? No way. She seems to hate others mentioning Childe Feng in front of her. And every time people mentioned him, she frowned.¡±

    Shi Liu shook her head and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know exactly, but it seems that Childe Feng doesn¡¯t propose marriage for him, but acts as a matchmaker for one of his friends. The invitation says, ¡®I¡¯d like to be a matchmaker for a unique marriage.¡¯ I don¡¯t know who his friend is. Before the marriage is consented, he sends so much bride-price and gives away a lot of copper cash to the footboys that served him, and they all held a basket of it. Everyone said that Third Miss is lucky, and she is chosen by a plutocrat!¡±

    Chan Yi did not look happy, and said anxiously, ¡°Miss is an independent person. She certainly doesn¡¯t want Madam Luo to choose a family for her without her consent. Sister Shi Liu, you stay here and warm yourself first. I¡¯ll see if Miss is awake...¡± When she turned around, she saw that He Danggui stood silently at the door with a light green coat skirt and a feather cloak. Chan Yi was taken aback. If He Danggui just showed up in silence, Chan Yi would not be so surprised. The reason was¡­

    ¡°Miss! Your face!¡±

    Shi Liu also felt surprised and eximed, ¡°Miss! Why are you so white and beautiful all of a sudden?¡±

    He Danggui looked at them and asked, ¡°What did Feng Yang say? Is he the only one to give gifts? Aren¡¯t his friends here?¡±

    Shi Liu shook her head and said, ¡°The gate is surrounded by people. I¡¯m small and can¡¯t see the specific situation clearly. I just vaguely heard someone said that honored guests areing, and that Third Miss is lucky, and maybe have a better marriage than Second Miss and Fourth Miss.¡±

    Chan Yi hadn¡¯t seen He Danggui for several days. As soon as she saw He Danggui, she immediately held He Danggui¡¯s hands and asked in a low voice, ¡°Miss, why don¡¯t you put on the beauty powder to make yourself ugly? Do you want to go out to see guests since you dress so ceremoniously?¡±

    He Danggui dropped her eyes and raised her lips. The long and dense eyshes reflected out a touching shadow under her eyes. She said, ¡°Since I was tanned 3 years ago, I¡¯ve been looking forward to bing white one day, but I still can¡¯t make it. I suffered from excessive internal heat because of improper diet, and ayer of skin was removed. Now I am as white as before, and it¡¯s time to meet guests.¡±

    When Chan Yi saw He Danggui was refreshed, she slightly felt relieved and asked, ¡°So, Miss, do you want to eat something? Shall I cook you a pot of sweet dumplings with sesame filling by the hot spring water? I made a lot of sweet dumplings yesterday.¡±

    He Danggui nodded and said with a smile, ¡°Northern people eat dumplings, and southern people eat sweet dumplings. It is ufortable if there are not sweet dumplings in Chinese New Year.¡±

    Then, Chan Yi rushed to the kitchen to cook. After greeting He Danggui, Shi Liu also went to the kitchen to help, only leaving He Danggui alone to y with fire. When He Danggui saw a big orange beside Chan Yi¡¯s pillow, she grabbed it and roasted it on the fire until it was warm. She peeled the orange with her delicate hands and threw the orange peel into the fire one by one. Then she threw the orange flesh into the fire one by one. All of a sudden, the room was full of fragrant orange vor.

    Just a momentter, Chan Yi and Shi Liu came in with 2 big bowls of steaming sweet dumplings. They both said with a smile, ¡°If you eat a bowl of sweet dumplings in the Chinese New Year, you will be happy all the year and your dream wille true. Miss, you grow up one year old. And after eating these, you are 14 years old, a real adult.¡±

    He Danggui, holding a fire hook, poked the orange flesh in the stove and said with a smile, ¡°Then I¡¯ll do the same and return your auspicious words to you. Come on. Let¡¯s have ate New Year¡¯s dinner.¡±

    At the moment, the 3 people set out their dishes and ate hot spring sweet dumplings with a dish of waxberry and a cup of sour vedo. They were looking forward to theing year while eating the sweet and glutinous food. With this sweet beginning, the next process and ending would not be bitter. 14 was the beginning of the most beautiful chapter in a woman¡¯s life. When the future of Miss got brighter and brighter, her maids could also benefit a lot.

    Chan Yi looked at her Miss, whose face made the room full of splendor, and asked with a smile, ¡°Miss, who is Bai Yang that is going to marry you as his wife? Why haven¡¯t I heard you and Miss Qing talk about this guy?¡±

    Talking about He Danggui¡¯s husband candidate was one of the most favorite topics for Chan Yi, Huai Hua and Bo He. Every time when He Danggui and Liao Qing¡¯er mentioned one childe, who Chan Yi and others knew, they would talk about this topic for a whole day.

    Usually, the 2 maids who were most close to their miss were the persons who were most concerned about the miss¡¯s marriage, because the person the miss married was basically the husband of the 2 maids. This was an unwritten rule, especially popr in the south in recent years. The maids as a part of the miss¡¯s dowry were equivalent to waiting-maids.

    In the early years, before this rule came into being, many of the maids apanying the miss to her husband¡¯s home often had secret affection for her handsome husband, but they were afraid that the miss would be angry. Therefore, most of the maids were afraid to show their feelings and hid in their hearts. The open-minded miss would let it go and share her husband with them, which indirectly suppressed the concubines below. But most newly marrieddies couldn¡¯t understand this. If they found that their maid had a sign of liking her husband, they would immediately find a footboy to marry her and reduced a rival for themselves.

    This was the case when Madam Luo married into Luo¡¯s Mansion with Mammy Tang followed. Mammy Tang fell in love with Madam Luo¡¯s husband Luo Duzhong, which made Madam Luo feel ufortable, so she began to find a spouse for Mammy Tang. However, their friendship was more than a master-servant rtionship and more like sisters, so they didn¡¯t fall out because of a man. However, Mammy Tang had a little meaning of ¡°One who has been the oceans thinks nothing of mere rivers¡±, and resolutely refused to find an ordinary man to marry. Since she was born to be a humble servant, she would be lonely all her life and look up to the happy marriage between her miss and her miss¡¯s husband.

    When Dong Xin married Luo Baiqian, she also brought some close maids with her. At that time, the custom that the maids as a part of the miss¡¯s dowry were equivalent to waiting-maids had spread. But Dong Xin was a possessive woman. When she saw that Qin, one of her maids, had eye contact with Luo Baiqian twice, she immediately felt the threat. So, she threatened Qin with her several rtives in Dong¡¯s Family and forced Qin to jump into the lotus pond. It also immediately scared other maids, so they didn¡¯t dare to have any fantasy for Luo Baiqian.

    As for He Danggui, Chan Yi was a silly elder sister who didn¡¯t have such thoughts at all and was only enthusiastic about the miss¡¯s marriage, but Huai Hua was different. 3 years ago, when Huai Hua was 17 years old, He Danggui found a good footboy for her. But she thought about it for 2 days and didn¡¯t response. In the days after that, He Danggui rmended several good husband candidates for her. Many of them were people that He Danggui had the impression that they would have a bright future, but she refused all of them.

    Untilst year, when He Danggui was 13 years old, Huai Hua showed great enthusiasm for He Danggui¡¯s marriage affairs. She asked about the childes who were nice to He Danggui, and then reported to He Danggui in details. As a result, He Danggui gradually found out what was on Huai Hua¡¯s mind. Huai Hua didn¡¯t get married until she was 20 years old. She hoped to apany He Danggui as the maid of dowry, so that she could be a waiting-maid.

    At that time, although He Danggui had not put the discussion of marriage on the agenda, she felt ufortable when she thought that someone was waiting for her before a bass was caught. In her previous life, she got married in a hurry, and there was no maid of her dowry. So, she had never had such experience. Now, when she knew Huai Hua¡¯s situation, she began to understand why Madam Luo and Mammy Tang couldn¡¯t share the same husband even if they had such a strong rtionship.

    It was because in the eyes of women, no matter they were affectionate or indifferent, all the women who shared their husbands with them were enemies. No matter they were close as sisters or real sisters, as long as they were involved in such a rtionship, they won¡¯t be sisters any longer. This was a strange circle that no one could break away from. Even He Danggui, who had umted the wisdom and experience of life for 2 lives, was not sure that whether she would have the cruel idea like Dong Xin and strangle all threats in the cradle after getting married.

    Huai Hua was pure and good in nature. Since she came out of Shui Shang Temple and followed He Danggui, she had been working hard as the maid. She had been through in good and bad, and had never made any mistakes or betrayed He Danggui. Huai Hua was such a loyal and hardworking girl, but she emerged with an idea to marry He Danggui¡¯s husband as a waiting-maid and then became a concubine in the future. It was not Huai Hua¡¯s fault, but it was that environment had affected her mate choice. As the saying went, ¡°Better be the head of a dog than the tail of a lion.¡± It meant that when choosing a job, being a poordy¡¯s main maid was more promising than being a richdy¡¯smon maid, because they would have different marriages in the future.

    Women worked for a few years, but marriage was a lifelong event. Women from poor families had no choice but to find the men who were also poor. In the future, they would have a group of poor children who would continue to do poor jobs and serve the rich and noble. However, if a poor woman could be the main maid of a miss who could marry well, it was equal that she would have a good marriage. No matter the miss married an excellent young childe as a wife or concubine, the maid as a part of the miss¡¯s dowry could live well as long as the miss found favor in the childe¡¯s eyes. After 3 or 5 years, as long as the maid was lucky, she could give birth to a child and be a concubine. At that time, she became half a master. The children she gave birth to were real masters. They were born to be served by others.

    He Danggui guessed that Huai Hua should think like this. This idea was not so excessive and selfish, but He Danggui felt ufortable from the bottom of her heart. Even if she was going to marry her personal enemy Zhu Quan, not her lover, she would not like the feeling of sharing her husband with her maid. After several years¡¯ being together, Chan Yi, Huai Hua and Bo He were like her folks, rtives, friends andrades in arms. How warm and sweet this rtionship was. She really didn¡¯t want to make this rtionship go bad.

    Therefore, as soon as she heard that Sister Zhenzhu was pregnant, she immediately asked Huai Hua to take care of Sister Zhenzhu. Then she gradually turned short-term work into long-term work, sending Huai Hua to Sister Zhenzhu naturally.

    At the beginning, Huai Hua went to Lu¡¯s Mansion to take care of Sister Zhenzhu just because of her missing and friendship for Sister Zhenzhu. She just treated the job as visiting rtives, and nned to leave after the period of confinement in childbirth. But during the period of serving Sister Zhenzhu, she moved and envied Sister Zhenzhu when watching Governor Lu¡¯s taking good care of Sister Zhenzhu. Then she got new ideas.

    Since Huai Hua¡¯s ultimate goal was to be a waiting-maid, it was better to follow Sister Zhenzhu than Miss He Danggui. Miss He was still young, so she would wait another year or more to get married. After 1 or 2 years, she would be more beautiful. But Huai Hua was 2 years older than Miss He, and her beauty would fade. Even if the beauty didn¡¯t fade,paring with Miss He, her light would be dimmer than the firefly under the bright moon. And although Miss He was young, she gave people the feeling of unfathomable. When Huai Hua stood with Miss He and fought against Second Mistress Luo and others, Miss He was Huai Hua¡¯s most reassuring support and the pronoun of ¡°invincibility¡±. But one day, if Huai Hua wanted to share Miss He¡¯s husband, could the powerful He Danggui adopt her?

    Sister Zhenzhu was different. She was tolerant and gentle. She treated Huai Hua well. In addition, Huai Hua was more than 10 years younger than the Sister Zhenzhu. She had a natural advantage. When the Sister Zhenzhu gave birth to this baby, her youth would almoste to an end. How could Governor Lu, an excellent man under 30 years old, live a lifetime with only Sister Zhenzhu and one child? If the child was a girl, wouldn¡¯t the family line be carried on?

    Governor Lu and Sister Zhenzhu were deeply attached to each other. He probably won¡¯t take the initiative to bring up the issue of concubine, but Sister Zhenzhu must not have the heart to let her husband have no offspring in the family, right? At that time, the continuation of family line would be put on the agenda. Instead of looking for someone outside, it was better to choose someone who was clear. Now Huai Hua was in her twenties, which was the best age to have children...

    After such a consideration, Huai Hua no longer thought about going back to Luo¡¯s Mansion, but took Lu¡¯s Mansion as her new home. She lived in peace, took Sister Zhenzhu as her new master, and served her wholeheartedly. Finally, she also regarded Governor Lu as her future husband. Although she strictly abided by the etiquette and didn¡¯t mean to take her husband while the Sister Zhenzhu was pregnant, but after all, there was love in her eyes and eyebrows. When she handed something and touched Governor Lu¡¯s fingers asionally, her cheeks would turn red.

    In the past 30 years, Zhenzhu had read all kinds of things in the world. She was such a transparent person. Several times after the same situation, the bottom of her heart was already clear and cold.

 Chapter 235 - Unusual beauty without any makeup

    <h4>Chapter 235 Unusual beauty without any makeup</h4>

    When He Danggui sent Huai Hua to Lu¡¯s Mansion, she only considered her current problems, but ignored Zhenzhu¡¯s situation. Moreover, He Danggui thought that she and Huai Hua were just master and maid. But Zhenzhu and Huai Hua used to have the same master, so their rtionship was closer. Naturally, they would have less misunderstanding and more tolerance.

    During the past few days of meditation, He Danggui recalled that in the past 3 months, every time she could see the bright and radiant face of Huai Hua. He Danggui seemed to suddenly understand something. Besides Master Tai Shan, Zhenzhu¡¯s ex-husband, Madam Ji and her daughter, who troubled Zhenzhu included Huai Hua. It was too bad. Maybe her negligence made trouble for Zhenzhu!

    When He Danggui drank sweet soup, she wondered whether she missed any important part in these days because she did note out. After 2 bowls of hot sweet dumplings, her pale face had a little blood color. But Chan Yi still frowned and said anxiously, ¡°Miss, do you want to put some rouge on before you go out? Your face is very beautiful, but I think it is too white to bear to see, not to mention the young men who came to ask you for marriage.¡±

    He Danggui sent Shi Liu away to tell Madam Luo the magic story that Third Miss turned white and beautiful after peeling, so Shi Liu hopped away.

    Shi Liu ate uncooked meat in her early years and had a serious illness. She had a fever after the illness and had some brain problems. Others took her as a fool, but He Danggui appreciated her transparent and careless nature. Later, He Danggui secretly looked for a chance to feel the pulse of Shi Liu, and found that her ¡°silly disease¡± could be cured. Then she sneaked into the servant¡¯s room at night and pricked Shi Liu with silver needles several times.

    After several treatments by silver needles, Shi Liu¡¯s expression was less vacant and smarter. She was more liked by Madam Luo. Now, like Miss Ji, Shi Liu became an administrative maid. She was now in charge of the dowry key of Madam Luo. In East Yard of Luo¡¯s Mansion, where the Madam Luo was the most respected, a maid who could speak up to Madam Luo was more valued than other true masters such as Dong Xin and Ms. Liang, so Shi Liu became the object of ttery.

    He Danggui secretly treated Shi Liu, and even Shi Liu didn¡¯t realize it. But it was strange that Shi Liu felt kind when she saw Third Miss¡¯s face. Shi Liu unconsciously wanted to make friends with her, so they gradually became closer than the direct master and maid. Many of thetest news of Luo¡¯s Family came from Shi Liu.

    After Shi Liu left, He Danggui said with a smile to Chan Yi, ¡°Why should I apply rouge? What I want is this effect, which is to make them dare not look at me. These 2 days, I have been adjusted the breath and sat in meditation with simple diet. That is why I have such a sick healthy face.¡±

    Chan Yi didn¡¯t understand. She only felt that the resourceful miss appeared again, so she pped her hands happily and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go out and see for whom Childe Feng is here to act as a matchmaker!¡±

    He Danggui looked at her with a smile, ¡°Young girl, have you ever seen a miss who rushed out when she heard someoneing to propose a marriage? It is going to make peopleugh.¡±

    Chan Yi looked up and down at He Danggui delusively, ¡°Miss, you are so ceremoniously dressed today. But you only wear this feather coat when you go to worship your grandfather in the Spring Festival. Why do you wear this one today?¡± Chan Yi made a sudden pause, and then her eyes immediately widened. She continued, ¡°Miss, are you going to worship the deceased master? But today is the third day of a lunar month. The ancestral temple is not open. Even if it is open, they will not let us in.¡±

    He Danggui took the fire hook to poke the fire again and broke the orange, which was burnt into a lump of coke. She said, ¡°Instead of fighting my Second Aunt on a small scale, we¡¯d better takeprehensive measures to put her out of favor for Madam Luo, so that we won¡¯t feel uneasy. I still remember that she hit you with a board before. Today I invite you to see a good y.¡±

    Then, Chan Yi hesitated and said, ¡°The old scores with Second Mistress can be solved at any time, but today handsome Childe Feng acts as the matchmaker. And in Luo¡¯s Mansion, there are 2 extraordinary young men of Meng¡¯s Family.¡± While saying, she squinted at He Danggui¡¯s expression, which was normal. Then she continued, ¡°Miss, don¡¯t ruin your image in their eyes. In my opinion, Third Childe Meng is a good person. After he heard that you get ill, he brought a lot of food to visit you. But you said you wouldn¡¯t see anyone and eat, so I shared it with Bo He.¡±

    When He Danggui recalled Meng Ying¡¯s hostile eyes, she could not help but feel strange, ¡°He came to visit me? What did he give me? Don¡¯t eat what others bring. Be careful of your stomach.¡±

    ¡°Well, I think it is sweet and delicious,¡± Chan Yi counted one by one with her fingers, ¡°Sweet lotus and chrysanthemum cake£¬lotus and longan porridge, lotus cake, lotus seed and almond shortbread, lotus shortbread, preserved lotus seed paste, lotus seed egg rolls, fried crispy lotus seed ball, fried sweet dumplings with lotus seed stuffing.¡±

    ¡°Lotus seeds?¡± He Danggui looked at her and said, ¡°It is impossible to have so many lotus seeds in winter. The seedpods of the lotus only grow in summer.¡±

    Chan Yi narrowed her eyes and said with a smile, ¡°Third Childe Meng asked the doctor that your disease is suitable for eating lotus seeds. It can control your internal heat and cool your blood. After regting, your face will not peel. So, he asked someone to bring a few of fresh lotus seeds from the south. He asked the dim sum master to make them overnight and then sent them to you in person. It is very nice of him.¡±

    He Danggui looked down and thought for a moment. Then she said with a smile, ¡°An unmarried woman is like a lotus seed. Only she could understand the hardship of relying on others for a living. He isughing at me for being dependent on others and suffering from it. I heard that Meng Ying is also a hero who often goes to the battlefield to kill the enemy. But why does he talk and do things so roundabout?¡± She had such an enemy for no reason, and was hated by him suddenly.

    Chan Yi covered her mouth and whispered, ¡°Is that a fact? Those lotus seeds are sweet and juicy. They are not bitter at all.¡± Besides, the smile on Third Childe Meng¡¯s face was more dazzling than the sun in winter, which attracted the young maids in the yard. He is full of kindness to you.¡±

    When they said these words, it was already daybreak. Maids and mammies began to walk back and forth in the yard. They swept the floor and opened the door. After a while, Bo He came in. She half closed the door and said in a low voice, ¡°Miss, Third Mistress of Third Branch asked the maid to send you the sour plum soup again. As you usually told me, I gave the maid 2 strings of 2,000 qian while saying that you got upte, and if you wake up, I will supervise you to drink it. Seeing that she took the money and left, I poured the sour plum soup into the little cat bowl at the corner of the south wall.¡± At this time, He Danggui just turned back. Her extremely pale face startled Bo He. Bo He opened her mouth, which used to be talkative, but now she did not know what to say.

    He Danggui stretched herself and recalled, ¡°Thest time Third Mistress gave me soup was 5 months ago. Just like this time, she asked her maid to give me the soup personally and watch me drink it. Under the pretext of changing clothes, I turned around and blew a wisp of smoke in the crack of the window, which made the maid faint. After a while, she woke up. All she knew was that she took a nap and went back with an empty bowl. I haven¡¯t received the sour plum soup with nominal mother¡¯s love in the past 6 months. I thought she has forgotten me.¡±

    Chan Yi also asked in a low voice, ¡°Miss, what did she add to the soup? Why does Third Mistress want to harm you? She harmed you when you met her for the first time and recognized her as your nominal mother.¡±

    He Danggui shook her head and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know what it is, so I let the little cat taste it for me. Now I still don¡¯t know what she added.¡± It scared her most. With her insight and knowledge of thousands of herbal medicines in the world, she thought except Bai Yangbai, who traveled around the world and knew more about different herbal medicines, no one knew herbal medicines more than she knew. But her Third Uncle¡¯s second wife gave her a difficult problem. Moreover, the Third Mistress, Ms. Liang, had unknown origin, motive and attitude. Up to now, Ms. Liang was still quietly peeping at the ce not far from her.

    Soon, it was noon. Chan Yi asked He Danggui what she wanted to eat. He Danggui didn¡¯t want to eat too much. But after she ended her meditation, she could smell the fragrance of the fooding from the kitchen, which attracted her. In order not to let the efforts of these 2 days be in vain, she decided to go out for a walk for a while. She calcted the time. It was still early for Sun Meiniang to find that thing. If she spent time in the yard, she might meet some people who came to visit from other yards. So, it was just right to go out and avoid them.

    In order to avoid the people in the yard, He Danggui slipped away through the side door with her veil on. Then she deliberately walked in the path where there was no one instead of the main road. There were 2 quietest ces in Luo¡¯s Mansion during the Spring Festival. One was Senior Lord Luo Maitong¡¯s Ting Zhu Yard, and the other was Luo Baiqian¡¯s Qi Lu Yard. A few days ago, He Danggui got scared in the Bitter Bamboo Grove behind the Ting Zhu Yard, so she didn¡¯t want to go there. Then she cut corners to Qi Lu Yard and wanted to see if Luo Baiqian¡¯s mental state was well.

    Luo Baiqian suffered from ¡°Heart disease caused by convulsion¡±. This disease was very rare. He Danggui only read about it in the book. She never saw anyone get this disease. Luo Baiqian was the first one. And once, when He Danggui talked to Liao Qing¡¯er about Luo Baiqian¡¯s symptoms, Liao Qing¡¯er looked very professional and said that the disease was basically incurable and would only be more and more serious. In her hometown, the disease was called ¡°Dissociative identity disorder¡±.

    As Qing¡¯er was a jack of all trades and master of none, He Danggui was also dubious. So, she didn¡¯t regard Luo Baiqian as a terminally ill patient. She often snuck into the library to search for treatment methods that she had read about in various ancient books.

    To put it simply, Luo Baiqian sometimes was himself, but sometimes he said he was Qi Chuan, a young monk in an ancient temple in the mountains. When he was Qi Chuan, his voice became much younger and his eyes became bright. However, no one thought that the changed Luo Baiqian was very cute. On the contrary, there was an indescribable and frightening feeling. Therefore, every time Luo Baiqian became another person, people in Luo¡¯s Mansion would panic and avoid him.

    He Danggui had no special feelings towards her cousin Luo Baiqian. She neither hated nor liked him. But sometimes, Zhu, who lived in her courtyard, asked to see his father with her every time. If Luo Baiqian suddenly fell ill, Zhu would always be scared to cry. When Zhu cried, the young monk Qi Chuan also cried. These 2 men wiped tears in front of He Danggui, which made her feel helpless.

    In addition, although Luo Baiqian had a noble status in Luo¡¯s Mansion, no one cared for him. His biological mother died early and miserably. And his nominal mother Ms. Zhao didn¡¯t care for him. His wife Ms. Dong avoided him immediately every time he was ill. She also sneered at him that he was driven by passion and stewed in his own juice. First Lord and Madam Luo were helpless about Luo Baiqian¡¯s illness, and they all pinned their hopes on Senior Lord Luo Maitong, a highly skilled doctor. But Luo Maitong hadn¡¯t been back for 3 years. They sent nearly 100 people to look for him in various ces. So far, no news hade. They didn¡¯t even know whether Senior Lord Luo Maitong was alive or dead.

    Therefore, He Danggui sympathized with Luo Baiqian, who was suffering from ¡°Dissociative identity disorder¡±. She was very worried about his illness. She had furtively treated him for 3 years. However, she didn¡¯t show up when he was normal. Only when he became the little monk, Qi Chuan, did she show up as an elder sister and know his condition when talking with him.

    When He Danggui went to the back door of Qi Lu Yard, she leaned on the doorframe and listened for a moment to make sure that there were no other people. But she heard a very amazing sentence.

    ¡°My Lord, He Danggui is so weird. Do you really want her to be your wife?¡±

 Chapter 236 - The dessert of Sister Qingyi

    <h4>Chapter 236 The dessert of Sister Qingyi</h4>

    The string in He Danggui¡¯s mind snapped. The terms of ¡°My Lord¡± and ¡°wife¡± reverberated in her ears repeatedly. She realized that Zhu Quan must be in Qi Lu Yard. Although she couldn¡¯t connect ¡°Zhu Quan¡± and ¡°Luo Baiqian¡¯s residence¡±, she sealed her 13 channels with silver needles immediately to minimize her pulse, breath and vital signs.

    She really wanted to eavesdrop on the conversation of the people inside, but she was afraid of making any noise. In fact, with her current level of internal force, her breath had grown to apletely silent level, so she could sneak in the dark to eavesdrop on the conversation of various seniors without being found. However, if this one was Zhu Quan, she should be too careful.

    After sealing the channels, she carefully floated into a bush without touching the ground while the leaves made a lot of rustle in a gust of wind. In the past, she couldn¡¯t even do such a half degree of difficult movements, but today she almost perfectly finished it before the rustle of leaves ended. Now she made such a sessrgely due to the environment, though she had just collected arge amount of Zhenqi from Zhoushi and practiced for a few days.

    While she hated Zhu Quan, she was very afraid of him. She really wanted to know how much Zhu Quan knew about her secret and what he was going to do with her.

    Last time, she inquired with Zhu Quan¡¯s trusted subordinate Zhoushi, fake Feng Yang, but she didn¡¯t hear much useful information. Zhoushi just told Zhu Quan¡¯s deep love repeatedly, describing him as a lovestruck man. But she never believed it. She could only say that unless Zhu Quan was not Zhu Quan, he was an ambitious schemer and would not love anyone. Everything he did smelled of intrigue that she could smell it from 10 miles away.

    The energy of He Danggui was operated on her ears, so her listening became better than ever that she could hear 3 people¡¯s breathing and heartbeat clearly. For the question just now, He Danggui felt slightly disappointed by Zhu Quan¡¯s silence. At the same time, she continued to hold her breath and listen attentively.

    After a burst of tea pouring, a strange man¡¯s voice rang out. The voice was warm and maic. It was the one that just asked, ¡°My Lord, He Danggui is so strange. Do you really want her to be your wife?¡± He Danggui carefully identified that the voice did not belong to Luo Baiqian, Zhoushi or Zhu Quan. It was a strange voice she had never heard.

    The strange man said, ¡°My Lord, this is not my first time to Luo¡¯s Mansion. I came here once 3 years ago and have lived in Luo¡¯s Mansion for nearly a month. At that time, I have contacted with He Danggui.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡±

    Although it was just a monotonous and low ¡°Oh¡±, this voice was familiar to He Danggui. It was Zhu Quan¡¯s voice. 3 years ago, Ning Yuan was in the period of changing sound, and he also covered up the real voice, so that He Danggui didn¡¯t recognize the part of Zhu Quan¡¯s voice for a long time. Now hearing Zhu Quan¡¯s voice without covering up, she couldn¡¯t help squatting deeper into the bush to better hide herself.

    At the same time, she was very confused. The strange man said that he had dealt with her. How was that possible? She had never heard of that person¡¯s voice. The outsiders she had met in Luo¡¯s Mansion 3 years ago were Ning Yuan, fake Feng Yang, Meng Xuan, Peng Shi, Peng Jian and the masked assassin. Except them, were there any other outsiders?

    Then, Zhu Quan¡¯s voice sounded again. ¡°Well, when did you live in Luo¡¯s Mansion?¡±

    The strange man said, ¡°As early as 4 years ago, I met Senior Lord Luo Maitong of Luo¡¯s Family in the mountains of Lingnan. He absorbed wind and dew there and devoted himself to the pursuit of the longevity skill. I¡¯ve always been fascinated by him. After all, we are both doctors. Although I don¡¯t approve that he is ¡°the best master in the world¡± and I don¡¯t think I am inferior to him, I don¡¯t deny that he is really outstanding. So, I catered to his pleasures and talked a lot about health preservation of Taoist. Then I won his favor and made friends with him. Then, 3 years ago, I came to Yangzhou City to discuss affairs with Feng Yang on your order. Originally, I intended to live on the flower boat of the Grand Canal and enjoy the tenderness of Jiangnan women. But on the night when I arrived in Yangzhou City, I saw a dark blue thorn star in the northmost sky when watching astronomical phenomena on the Zhinv Bridge.¡±

    ¡°Thorn star?¡± Zhu Quan was confused and asked, ¡°Is the thorn star called ¡®the source of troubled times¡¯ by astrologers of different dynasties?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± said the strange man, ¡°Here begins our tale. The empire, long divided, must unite, and that long united must divide. ording to the records of famous astrologers in the past dynasties, there were more than 1 thorn star respectively in thete Shang Dynasty, the Spring and Autumn and the Warring States Period, thete Qin Dynasty, the Three Kingdoms Period and the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. At the end of the Southern Song Dynasty, when the Imperial Family Zhao was unable to protect the Central ins and threw the great rivers and mountains to the Mongols, there were 2 thorn stars. These can be found in historical materials, and I have read them in my father¡¯s copy. ording to his conjecture, the Ming Dynasty will soon usher in its first thorn star since its founding.¡±

    There was a moment of silence in the yard, and then suddenly a rattling sound came out. ¡°Brother, My Lord, why don¡¯t you eat this almond cake? This is from Zhu, Luo Baiqian¡¯s son. My Lord, it is from Sister Qingyi¡¯s yard. Don¡¯t you try it?¡±

    He Danggui drooped her eyes. She wouldn¡¯t mistake the young voice of Luo Baiqian. But he said that Zhu, Luo Baiqian¡¯s son. The implication was that he did not regard himself as Luo Baiqian. Although He Danggui knew that Luo Baiqian¡¯s ¡°Dissociative identity disorder¡± attacked again, she still felt very strange, and a chill passed on her back. What was the situation? Luo Baiqian¡¯s second personality, a little monk Qi Chuan, was entertaining his ¡°brother¡± and Lord Ning Zhu Quan at his home?

    He Danggui had treated Luo Baiqian for 3 years, and sometimes she was forced to dress, feed, wash,b and shave Luo Baiqian, who became a child after his illness, so she was very familiar with his face. If she hadn¡¯t done those things, she would have suspected that Luo Baiqian was a fake just like Feng Yang. But for the care and treatment of Luo Baiqian in the past 3 years, He Danggui could be absolutely sure that this Luo Baiqian was real Luo Baiqian. At least, his face did not wear any human skin mask, which was the real face of Luo Baiqian.

    Therefore, for this situation, He Danggui could only temporarily understand that Luo Baiqian¡¯s body was ¡°invaded¡± by evil and foreign objects. It was because she also affirmed that Luo Baiqian had no friendship with Zhu Quan in his previous life.

    A thing that impressed her most was that once she came back to Luo¡¯s Mansion from Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion for a short stay in her pervious life. The next night, Zhu Quan suddenly appeared in her room. She was surprised and happy. And she asked him why he came. He said he missed her and wanted to enjoy the moon with her. So, they went to the garden to watch the moon. When Luo Baiqian came back awkwardly because of drinking, he bumped into Zhu Quan and yelled at him, which made her so scared. It could be seen that Luo Baiqian, who was not suffering from ¡°Dissociative identity disorder¡±, did not know Zhu Quan, Lord Ning, at all.

    Why did Luo Baiqian and Zhu Quan be familiar that they could sit together to drink tea and eat desserts after his illness? Young Luo Baiqian also called the man who talked about the thorn star ¡°brother¡±. What kind of confused rtionship was this?

    In the silent Qi Lu Yard, there was a sound of drinking tea and eating desserts. Then, the innocent voice of Luo Baiqian, which made He Danggui get goose bumps, sounded again, ¡°What¡¯s the matter, My Lord? Is the dessert made in Sister Qingyi¡¯s kitchen delicious? Is it better than the food in the Imperial Kitchen of the Imperial Pce?¡±

    Zhu Quan snorted and asked, ¡°Xuanyu, you said that you saw the thorn star in Yangzhou City 3 years ago. Do you mean there will be unrest in the Ming Dynasty? But I asked Mr. Bai several times if there was any chance ording to the astronomical phenomena. He told me that in the next 20 years, the world would not change hands, and it would smoothly usher in the second prosperous era after the founding. Was Mr. Bai lying to me?¡±

    Xuanyu? He Danggui suddenly realized. Zhoushi had told her that he would take her to visit Qi Xuanyu, a master whose medical skills were not under Senior Lord Luo Maitong. It turned out that Qi Xuanyu was also under Zhu Quan¡¯s hands. No wonder Qi Xuanyu was a loose official that he was absent for 8 months in a year, he had gone to work for Zhu Quan. Zhu Quan used to win over the people¡¯s support. He won over Bai Yangbai, Zhoushi, Meng Ying and Qi Xuanyu, the Emperor¡¯s favorite minister! They all were talented people, especially Bai Yangbai and Qi Xuanyu. Couldn¡¯t they see the true face of Zhu Quan? Why did they work for him?

    Luo Baiqian¡¯s ¡°second personality¡± was Qi Chuan, a young monk. His surname was Qi, and he called Qi Xuanyu brother. What was the matter? Was not Qi Xuanyu the only son of Royal Prophet Qi Jing? Where did he get a younger brother? What did he want his brother to do in Luo¡¯s Mansion? It couldn¡¯t be understood.

    Moreover, a medicine family with no official future like Luo¡¯s Mansion and a dandy whocked in both learning and skill like Luo Baiqian couldn¡¯tpete with high-level figures like Zhu Quan and Qi Xuanyu, and had no value in use. It made no sense that Zhu Quan found a man who looked exactly like Luo Baiqian and took him in Luo¡¯s Mansion. What happened every day here was nothing to Zhu Quan¡¯s great cause. Even if Zhu Quan wanted to set eyes on her, he did not need to change Luo Baiqian. He just needed to send some maids and manservants to Tao Yao Yard. Besides, why did Zhu Quan send spies to her? She still couldn¡¯t figure it out.

    He Danggui, who was full of doubts, continued to listen attentively. Qi Xuanyu said, ¡°Bai Yangbai reaches a deep state in practicing Taoism, and even my father can¡¯t match him. Therefore, I¡¯m not qualified to deny what he said. I just tell the facts I have seen and known. I saw with my own eyes a dark blue thorn star rising in the northmost sky. In less than an hour, it moved around half the sky and finally fell to the southwest of Zhinv Bridge. What I know is that the star is a sign of troubled times, and the blue thorn star is one of the most dangerous of the 18 colors. My Lord, the thorn star fell in the southwest, where Luo¡¯s Mansion is.¡±

    Zhu Quan was silent for a moment and asked, ¡°How dangerous is the blue thorn star?¡±

    Qi Xuanyu replied, ¡°As far as I know, thest time the blue thorn star appeared was when the Shang Dynasty destroyed ording to historical data, and several astrologers all said that the blue thorn star came out when enchantress Daji came.¡±

 Chapter 237 - A best mystical conman

    <h4>Chapter 237 A best mystical conman</h4>

    He Danggui was full of confusion. She remembered that Qi Xuanyu did get along well with Senior Lord Luo Maitong and live in Luo¡¯s Mansion for some time. But at that time, she had not returned to Luo¡¯s Mansion, and she might have just been reborn or not. However, Qi Xuanyu said that he had dealt with her. How could it be?

    She only had a look at the Royal Prophet, Qing Jing, and Imperial Astronomer of Qintianjian Celestial Prefecture, Qi Xuanyu, from a distance when all the officials worshiped heaven in her previous life. Now she had never seen Qi Xuanyu before. Did he deceive Zhu Quan?

    It was so weird. Qi Xuanyu and Zhu Quan discussed about her at first. Now why did they talk about the stars and the history? What did the stars and Daji (the Queen of Emperor Zhou of the Shang Dynasty) have to do with her?

    He Danggui sat cross-legged on the ground while the leaves and grass were shaking with a wind. Since she was squatting for a long time, her calves were numb. She got more doubtful. There were Zhu Quan, Qi Xuanyu and the little guy named Qi Chuan who was ¡°divided¡± from Luo Baiqian. What were they doing exactly?

    Zhu Quan slowly said, ¡°You mean, a thorn star representing an enchantress who brings cmity to the country and the people fell into Luo¡¯s Mansion, right?¡±

    He Danggui held her cheeks and blinked. The enchantress Daji came into Luo¡¯s Mansion? Well, this time she understood. What Qi Xuanyu beat around the bush was insinuating that she was evil, and he told Zhu Quan not to marry an evil woman like her. But Qi Xuanyu was over the top much. He even likened her to Daji.

    Ho-ho, how could she deserve such reputation? Daji was a well-known woman whopletely made the Emperor Zhou of the Shang Dynasty a mere figurehead, and she was a female emperor for a long time. She was also proficient in military strategy and was able tomand the army to fight against the Great Zhou Army led by Prime Minister, Jiang Ziya. She could be called heroine. As for herself... He Danggui thought, she just farmed in her own little yard. Master Qi was talking nonsense! Sure enough, as long as one lived by divination and fortune-telling, no matter how professional he was, he was a liar and mystical conman. Taoist Sage, Bai Yangbai, and Master Prophet, Qi Xuanyu, were all liars. Master Prophet, the one who leaked destinies, was a best mystical conman.

    Qi Xuanyu didn¡¯t know that someone was scolding him as a mystical conman. He kept saying solemnly, ¡°At first, I didn¡¯t want to live in Luo¡¯s Mansion. I am restrained in the capital, and it is difficult for me to hang out. Who wants toe this old and boring mansion? But watching the thorn star falling above the East Yard of Luo¡¯s Mansion, I felt unbelievable. So, I came here as a guest by my friendship with Luo Maitong. I wandered around the mansion every day, looking for clues.¡±

    The tender Luo Baiqian asked, ¡°So brother, what did you find out? By the way, was that Luo Baiqian concupiscent all the time? I always feel that this body is not as strong as the previous one.¡±

    That body was not as strong as the previous one... It made He Danggui flesh creep. When she recalled that she used to feel the tender Luo Baiqian¡¯s pulse and prepared medicine for him, she wished to hang a string of garlics around her neck to exorcise evil spirits like Chanyi.

    What happened to the man? Did he revive in a new guise? Was the real Luo Baiqian dead? No. She heard that most of the time, Luo Baiqian was still normal, otherwise Dong Xin would have packed her things and returned to her natal family in Fuzhou City. Even if the tender Luo Baiqian pretended to be mature, how could he fool his wife?

    Qi Xuanyu reproached, ¡°Chuan, you should be content. Luo Baiqian is pretty handsome in his twenties. You are sharing a body with him, and you can live 63 years longer. So, you should be grateful. As long as you are ascetic and take more exercise when you are in charge of this body, you can do things with facility after using this body for a long time.¡±

    The tender Luo Baiqian murmured, ¡°Not at all. I have used it for 3 years and often stumble. The most horrible thing was that I woke up from his woman¡¯s bed. Brother, can you understand my feeling? I am less than 10 years old, but I slept with a naked woman who was in her twenties. I was scared to cry! If there was no the interesting Sister Qingyi in Luo¡¯s Family, I would go back to my home in the capital with Luo Baiqian¡¯s body.¡±

    ¡°No. You can¡¯t go back to the capital!¡± Qi Xuanyu said sternly, ¡°I have already divined that you must stay in Luo¡¯s Mansion for 10 years and then you can leave with his body and soul. In 10 years, you¡¯d better convey your thoughts to Luo Baiqian and tell him to get along well with Dong Xin. He should not divorce his wife!¡±

    The tender Luo Baiqian got confused, ¡°He should not divorce his wife? Why?¡± He Danggui under the bushes was also curious.

    Qi Xuanyu said seriously, ¡°I have divined. Dong Xin has a good-luck face, and she brings good luck to Luo Baiqian, which means she brings to you. Chuan, you are a nine-year-old child. Don¡¯t act like a child.¡±

    He Danggui ndered that he was indeed a best mystical conman. It seemed that he could divine everything. If he was really capable, why didn¡¯t he divine if anyone outside the yard was eavesdropping?

    The tender Luo Baiqian chewed on dessert while muttering, ¡°I don¡¯t care. If Dong Xin is lying on my bed with bare butt when I wake up someday, I will use Foshan Shadowless Kick, kicking her to the street. Then I will give her a divorce letter and ask her to go back to her hometown, Fuzhou City, to go fishing, so as to avoid her troubles towards Sister Qingyi every day.¡±

    Qi Xuanyu said in angry, ¡°How do you be so stubborn in a few years? After you died 3 years ago, it took me so much to divine that your date of birth and eight characters of a horoscope totally match with Luo Baiqian¡¯s. Do you know that? And it took me a lot of efforts to sessfully use the Taoist forbidden magic to recall your 3 parts of your soul and share the same body with Luo Baiqian! Besides, I have always been suspicious that Luo Baiqian¡¯s vitality got hurt. The tragedy happened to him, killing lots of his women and kids, because the forbidden magic¡¯s effect vites the nature. Therefore, you should cherish the chance which is not easy to have.¡±

    The tender Luo Baiqian didn¡¯t give a shit, ¡°His woman and kids were all killed by the evildoer, which was done by human not Immortal. If a meteorite falls from the sky and kills them, it will be done by Immortal.¡±

    Qi Xuanyu said in a low voice, ¡°I don¡¯t know anything else. But before using the forbidden magic, I gave Luo Baiqian a divination that he was in luxury and wealth, and blessed with many offspring. After the magic, I gave him a divination again. However, I found that his numerology became a dead end, and there is no any chance of life in Eight-diagrams, which means he will have no offspring. Don¡¯t make any more trouble, Chuan.¡±

    The tender Luo Baiqian said in a huff, ¡°That¡¯s impossible. Luo Baiqian has 2 sons. Wei has a sharp mouth and monkey-cheek, and Zhu whom Sister Qingyi is looking after is plump like a piglet. Sister Qingyi has superb medical skills and can cure any disease. Being with her, Zhu can grow up healthily, so can I. It is impossible for Luo Baiqian and I to have no offspring. Brother, do you know why?¡±

    Qi Xuanyu asked, ¡°Why?¡±

    The tender Luo Baiqian proudly announced, ¡°Because I will marry Sister Qingyi when I grow up and have 10 sons with her. Each son will have 10 sons, and then we will have 100 grandchildren. So, I will have offspring definitely!¡±

    There was deathly choking atmosphere around the yard. Imagining his innocent and childish face, He Danggui was scared.

    The forbidden magic? Was it the same with the forbidden magic that Bai Yangbai prayed for her fraternal twins in her previous life? Qi Chuan and Luo Baiqian was sharing the same body. This was really weird, and it almost like reviving in a new guise. Fortunately, today she finally figured out why Luo Baiqian had ¡°Dissociative identity disorder¡±, and she would nevere to Qi Lu Yard to cure him. She must stay away from himpletely in the future.

    Zhu Quan did not take the tender Luo Baiqian¡¯s words seriously. He questioned Qi Xuanyu, ¡°What do you find out in Luo¡¯s Mansion? Why do you prevent me from marrying He Danggui?¡±

    Qi Xuanyu recalled, ¡°I searched the whole Luo¡¯s Mansion and did not find the meteorites formed after the thorn star fell. However, I found some caves in the Bitter Bamboo Grove in Luo¡¯s Mansion. Those caves are really weird!¡±

    Zhu Quan was puzzled, ¡°I¡¯ve been to the caves. I have stayed there for a few days to sit in meditation, but I didn¡¯t find out what was wrong. Why are the caves weird?¡±

    ¡°Qi Xuanyu is right.¡± He Danggui said in heart. Those caves were indeed a bit weird, because they were not the caves that ¡°grew¡± in the mountains, but stood barely in the bamboo grove.

    In short, there was no ¡°mountains¡±, but some stone ¡°caves¡± popped up. Although those caves were natural and did not look like being carved, theyout and specifications of the caves were quite different from those of the caves that she had seen. On the contrary, they were surprisingly simr to theyout of the wing-room in back hall of Ting Zhu Yard. One was surrounded by another, and they were ventted. Even the wine could blow through the innermost cave from time to time, so it wasn¡¯t stuffy at all. And there was enough air to burn campfire. An ordinary cave or coal mine was full of methane or fog, so how could people live?

    Qi Xuanyu kept saying, ¡°The first time I saw the caves in the Bitter Bamboo Grove, I didn¡¯t think too much. But when I went there again with a Fengshuipass, I was surprised that ording to thepass, 10 days ago, it was still an open space. No caves at all! So, I doubted, or guessed, that the blue thorn star fell into Luo¡¯s Mansion and turned into a huge ¡®porous meteorite¡¯. And those caves are the embodiment of the thorn star.¡±

    Zhu Quan questioned, ¡°If something big had fallen from the sky to the ground and be caves covering a few miles around, Luo¡¯s Mansion and Yangzhou City would have been shaken heavily. In fact, you can¡¯t get information of the abnormality, right?¡±

    Qi Xuanyu continued, ¡°I was surprised by my own deduction. So, in order to find out the truth, I purchased the mottled bamboo and then secretly nted them in the outer edge of the Bitter Bamboo Grove. The mottled bamboo is sacred to Xiaozhu Sect. It is said that it can be psychic. I sacrificed the altar with the mottled bamboo, burned the yellow paper, and conducted a religious ritual for 3 days and nights. Finally, the images of the trigrams showed that the blue thorn star didn¡¯t belong to our world. It was something thrown by a person with supreme magical power from another world, and it contained fragments of a soul from another world.¡±

 Chapter 238 - The beautiful girl behind the rockery

    <h4>Chapter 238 The beautiful girl behind the rockery</h4>

    ¡°For another world?¡± Zhu Quan and Qi Chuan did not understand, ¡°What is that?¡± He Danggui was shocked. Qi Xuanyu was a pretty smart mystical conman. She couldn¡¯t believe that he divulged her biggest secret. What should she do? Would they burn her with a fire, just like the medieval witch that Qing¡¯er said?

    Qi Xuanyu exined, ¡°It was because the hexagram-records in the 64 hexagrams of the I Ching were very vague. My Lord, since you used to study the Book of Changes, you know that there are many possible exnations for those concise ssical Chinese. So, even I can¡¯t give an exact answer. However, I am absolutely sure that the blue thorn star is not a natural star, and it should be condensed by a Taoist priest. Since he could use the ¡®Forbidden magic of binding the soul for 3 lives¡¯, he must have supernatural power.¡±

    Qi Chuan¡¯s voice was full of confusion, ¡°Who can summon the star? How can there be such a person in the world? Brother, are you talking about the immortal in the heaven?¡±

    ¡°It is still unknown whether the immortal is in the heaven,¡± Qi Xuanyu said, ¡°However, if I join hands with my father, grandfather and great-grandfather, we can also start the ¡®Forbidden magic of binding the soul for 3 lives¡¯ from Taoists. But it will take a lot of sacrifice. Each of us will live 7 years less.¡±

    Qi Chuan said naively, ¡°Brother, our grandfather and great-grandfather have been dead for many years. How can they help you?¡±

    Qi Xuanyu reproached unhappily, ¡°I¡¯m just making an analogy. You can¡¯t be so rude to your elders. That is why I said that the person who sent the thorn star must be very powerful. He is probably much stronger than my father. As you know, My Lord, the reason why the forbidden magic is the name is that only immortal can do those things, but the mortal can¡¯t. If mortal do it out of the ordinary way, they will have to pay the corresponding price. I guess the soul fragments in the thorn star are probably the price for them to send that thing.¡±

    Zhu Quan pondered and said, ¡°Although there are many people in the world who are addicted to Taoism, there are few people who really get it. Your father is one, and Mr. Bai is one. In addition, at most, there is Meng Xi, the Lord of Qi Yang. Is there a man who is much better than them in another world that you called and can make such a change? It is really desirable that there is such a master in that world.¡±

    Qi Xuanyu seemed to smile and said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to look elsewhere. I think if Taoist Sage is willing to pay the price of death, he can do such a thing. Then Taoist Sage must be the most brilliant person around My Lord.¡±

    Zhu Quan shook his head and rejected, ¡°Mr. Bai has nothing to worry about. He will never summon any forbidden magic. When he mentioned the forbidden magic to me, he once said that the most important rule of Daguomen Sect is to prohibit the use of forbidden magic forever. Once someone uses the forbidden magic, he will be expelled from the sect and fall into reincarnation forever.¡±

    Qi Xuanyuughed and said, ¡°I¡¯m just making an analogy. After all, the master is a person of another time and space, which has nothing to do with us. It is just theyout of the cave in the Bitter Bamboo Grove¡­ Is it the same structure as the wing-room in Ting Zhu Yard?¡±

    Zhu Quan said, ¡°Yes. I noticed this 3 years ago. At first, I thought a skillful craftsman with aplete stone chiseled this cave out. But when I looked at it again, I thought it was impossible. Not to mention Luo¡¯s Mansion, even if the emperor summoned all the masons in the world, they can¡¯t make that kind of exquisite and lifelike cave in 10 years. Maybe it¡¯s just a coincidence. ording to you, Xuanyu, a meteorite fell in the Bitter Bamboo Grove in Luo¡¯s Mansion and turned into a pile of caves, and the structure was the same as that of the house in Ting Zhu Yard. What does that mean?¡±

    He Danggui listened to Qi Xuanyu¡¯s answer nervously. It was the first time that she was deeply afraid of this person. How could he know so much? Did he mean that the meteorite brought her soul into this world?

    Qi Chuan suddenly said, ¡°Hey, I smell a kind of Datura stramonium. It is the exclusive smell of Sister Qingyi!¡±

    Qi Chuan¡¯s words surprised the people inside and outside the Qi Lu Yard. He Danggui felt very scared, and her heart beat very fast.

    Zhu Quan asked sharply, ¡°Where is it? Where does that smelle from?¡±

    He Danggui felt very flustered, but she heard Qi Chuan say happily, ¡°It is on this te of ice skin jujube paste cake. I guess Sister Qingyi¡¯s delicate hands must have grasped this te.¡±

    He Danggui¡¯s eyes widened. She did take a te of jujube paste cake from the window yesterday. She saw that it was fried food, and she was avoiding eating grains. So, she handed it back to Chan Yi and told her to give herself a bowl of millet congee. Qi Chuan¡¯s nose was so sensitive. In fact, she was not enthusiastic about incense. She didn¡¯t add it for a long time after she ran out of the Carefree Fragrance in the incense box with a golden lock. She couldn¡¯t smell it on her own. Besides, she just grabbed the te. Qi Chuan¡¯s nose was as sensible as a dog¡¯s nose.

    Qi Xuanyu went over the conversation and continued to recall, ¡°2 dayster, after conducting a religious ritual in the Bitter Bamboo Grove, I passed by the rockery of Luo¡¯s Mansion. I heard a girl¡¯s weeping in a low voice behind the rockery. It was pitiful, so I went up to check the situation. I saw a girl in a pink and white dress squatting in a clump of grass with head on her knees and crying very sadly. After I looked at her carefully, I found that her clothes were not only wet, but also covered with mud. I guess she was bullied, so she was crying. Then I went up and asked what I could do for her.¡±

    A girl in a pink and white dress was bullied? He Danggui listened to the past event and felt a little familiar. In her previous life, when she just came to Luo¡¯s Mansion, almost all her clothes made by embroidered women in West Lateral court were pink and white. Luo Baishao and others always bullied her. As long as she was wronged, she hid behind the rockery and cried. But the difference was that in her previous life, when she was crying, no one ever approached and asked, ¡°What can I do for you?¡±

    ¡°The girl heard my question, but she refused to look up. Instead, she hid herself in the denser grass,¡± Qi Xuanyu said with a smile, ¡°I guess she thought she was embarrassed and ugly, so she didn¡¯t want to see strangers. Then, Iforted her and said that I didn¡¯tugh at her. I was just attracted by her cry and tried to get her out of pain. I asked her what happened, and she replied that she identally sprained her foot, so she cried. I told her that I was a doctor, and I was good at treating foot injuries. I asked to see her foot injuries.¡±

    He Danggui¡¯s hand unconsciously stroked her right ankle. When she climbed out of the coffin of Taoist temple, the most painful part of her body was her ankle. She treated it with acupuncture for half a month.

    Qi Xuanyu¡¯s voice was calm, like the music yed by a Guqin. He said slowly, recalling those unknown past events, ¡°When the girl saw me approaching, she immediately curled up in a panic and stopped me from approaching. She said that she fell into the water and lost her shoes. She told me to go away and leave her alone. I thought she was as cute as a chick, so I couldn¡¯t help bantering with her. I said that as a noble guest of Luo¡¯s Mansion, I was a rich childe with a lot of assets. If she wanted, I could take her as a personal maid. She didn¡¯t have shoes, so it was convenient for me to treat her foot injury.¡±

    ¡°Chick?¡± Qi Chuan yelled, ¡°How dare you say that Sister Qingyi is like a chick? I¡¯m going to hit you!¡±

    Qi Xuanyu asked, ¡°Did I say the girl is He Danggui? No.¡±

    ¡°Who is the girl?¡± Zhu Quan asked.

    ¡°Yes, she is He Danggui,¡± Qi Xuanyu admitted, ¡°At that time, after listening to my words, she not only did not raise her head to thank me, but also shrunk more tightly. She stammered that she was the Third Miss of Luo¡¯s Mansion, not a maid, and could not leave with others. I heard that she was a young Miss, so I lost interest in bantering with her. I asked her if she really didn¡¯t need my help. She didn¡¯t reply, so I turned and left. When I walked a long way away from the rockery, the desperately sad cry appeared again. I couldn¡¯t help but go back and ask her how big her feet were. She told me that her feet were about 2.9 inches, so I flew out of Luo¡¯s Mansion to find a tailor shop. I bought a pair of embroidered shoes, a set of dresses and hairpins. Then I went back to the rockery, put these things not far away from her and walked away. After walking far away, I heard the low voice of thanksing from behind the rockery and the voice of changing clothes. Then I left there.¡±

    Qi Chuan was surprised and said, ¡°Is the girl you are talking about really Sister Qingyi? How could she cry like that when she was a child? I don¡¯t believe it!¡±

    Qi Xuanyu said, ¡°Later, I passed the rockery twice. I went around to the back, but there was no one. Another day, I saw some maids of Luo¡¯s Mansion with white paper flowers in their hair. When I asked them what had happened, they replied that the Third Miss had died of a sudden illness, and a funeral was held in Luo¡¯s Mansion. At that time, I learned a little about her life. She was a neglected Miss in Luo¡¯s Mansion. She just lived in Luo¡¯s Mansion for half a year and then died. I couldn¡¯t help sighing. Although she had a pretty face, her fate was bad.¡±

    ¡°What? Is Sister Qingyi dead?¡± Qi Chuan asked in surprise, ¡°Who is the Sister Qingyi in Luo¡¯s Mansion now?¡±

    There was a sound of pouring tea in the yard. After a while, Qi Xuanyu said again, ¡°Then I didn¡¯t care about it. I went out of Luo¡¯s Mansion to do some errands delivered by My Lord. 10 dayster, I went back to Luo¡¯s Mansion to have a rest. Suddenly, a maid came to me and said that Madam Luo wanted to see me. Since I lived and ate free at Luo¡¯s Mansion, I should be on call at all times. I didn¡¯t know until I met Madam Luo that she wanted me to analyze a person¡¯s eight characters of a horoscope. I took the paper and read it. Then I found that it was a good eight characters. The exnation of the meaning of different diagrams in the I Ching showed, ¡®When adversity reaches its peak, it will transform into prosperity and never stop¡¯. It means that good things will happenter, and theter the better. I was a little surprised that although the status of Luo¡¯s Mansion was not low, no one should have such a good eight characters. So, I asked Madam Luo what she wanted to know about the eight characters. She told me that one of her granddaughters died unexpectedly 10 days ago, but it was not convenient for Luo¡¯s Family to handle the funeral for her. So, her granddaughter was sent to Shui Shang Temple outside the city. But a biddy suddenly reported that her granddaughter was alive again. Besides, her granddaughter still vaguely remembered that she woke up after taking the medicine given by an old immortal.¡±

    Zhu Quan pondered and said, ¡°Xuanyu, I¡¯m perfect match for her date of birth and eight characters of a horoscope. It is a good marriagees by destiny, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    Qi Xuanyu was nomittal and continued, ¡°Madam Luo said that after her granddaughter being alive again, another child in the family had a serious illness. She thought there was something strange, so she let me see if He Danggui¡¯s eight characters are evil.¡±

    ¡°Evil?¡± Qi Chuan blurted out, ¡°Is that old woman crazy? Sister Qingyi is like a fairy. Is she envious of Sister Qingyi? How could she say that?¡±

 Chapter 239 - Fate at the age of 14

    <h4>Chapter 239 Fate at the age of 14</h4>

    Qi Xuanyu smiled and said, ¡°I alsoughed after hearing that. I only heard that if someone¡¯s house is not peaceful, they would invite the monk to subdue the evil. I have never heard anyone who thinks his or her family is evil. However, when I thought of Miss He¡¯s situation in Luo¡¯s Mansion, I could also imagine that she was not wee in her rtives. So, I became a good person and said a few good words for her. I said that ¡®Hard life and harm of parents¡¯ was referred to children would let their parents die unintentionally. Since her mother was in good health, she was definitely not an ominous person to harm her parents. I also said that her future husband was a great man, and they were good matched couple.¡±

    Qi Chuan praised, ¡°Great. I will be a great man and then ride a colorful dragon to marry her!¡±

    Zhu Quan said with more certainty, ¡°My eight characters of a horoscope ord with hers. She and I are destined to be husband and wife for 3 lifetimes. Xuanyu, you also said that her husband is a noble man, so it must be me!¡±

    Qi Xuanyu dispelled their enthusiasm. He smiled and said, ¡°You 2 are also proficient in divination of the Book of Changes. Don¡¯t you forget that divination of marriage is decided when you grow up? Men begin to foreknow marriage at the age of 15, while women begin to calcte eight characters of a horoscope at the age of 14. Moreover, the divination of marriage needs to burn incense and pray, and then set up a marriage te, so as to take a man¡¯s eight characters to check with a woman¡¯s eight characters. At that time, what I said was just for the tearful little sister, so Madam Luo could remember that Miss He would have a husband who would love her, and then treat her better in the years ahead before she got married.¡±

    When Qi Chuan heard that, he immediately squinted at his elder brother, ¡°When did you be sopassionate? I remember you often say that you are apathetic to save. There are a lot of people you can save easily but you pretend not to see them. You don¡¯t have any medical ethics. You can¡¯tpare with Sister Qingyi at all.¡±

    ¡°I always think that we should save people indiscriminately. Not everyone is worth saving. Some people are better dead than alive.¡± Qi Xuanyu frowned and said loftily, ¡°As a wizard, my medical skills are the best in the world. Chuan, you can¡¯tpare my medical skills with those mediocre little girls¡¯!¡±

    Qi Chuan said obstinately, ¡°Sister Qingyi has excellent medical skills and noble medical ethics. You can¡¯tpare with Sister Qingyi at all!¡±

    Qi Xuanyu was not happy and said coldly, ¡°Now that you have a nominal sister and don¡¯t like me, your biological elder brother. So, I¡¯ll retire after sess and won¡¯t disturb you.¡±

    Zhu Quan interrupted, ¡°Xuanyu, do you prepare well to set up the Wu Yi Tang? In Yangzhou City, you can find Feng Yang if you have any trouble. He has been very efficient in the past 2 years and can help you get things done as soon as possible.¡±

    Qi Xuanyu replied tly, ¡°I visited him in Caobang Organization the day before yesterday, but he was busy checking the property list of He Danggui¡¯s stepfather. He had no time to care about me. He didn¡¯t even give me a cup of tea and just gave me a big pear. Then he said that the list was wrong and left in a hurry. Darn!¡± The more he said, the more he angered.

    Wu Yi Tang? He Danggui widened her eyes. It turned out that the Wu Yi Tang was opened by Qi Xuanyu!

    She remembered clearly that after Zhu Yuanzhang died, the Luo¡¯s Family was in a state of panic. They worried about losing their lifelong job for providing medicine to officials, so they went to the Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion to discuss with her. But she didn¡¯t have a foothold in Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion at that time. She couldn¡¯t even take care of herself, let alone help them. However, after Emperor Jianwen, Zhu Yunwen, was enthroned, he did not cancel the Luo¡¯s families¡¯ errands for the royal family. However, he just set up a Wu Yi Tang to offer the medicine such as pills. San Qing Tang, Yao Shi Tang, Ren Shu Tang and Wu Yi Tang were specialized in providing official medicine. Among them, San Qing Tang was still the leader.

    Later, the Emperor Jianwen didn¡¯tst long. Then his fourth uncle Zhu Di became Emperor Yongle. As soon as he became emperor, he promoted Yao Shi Tang of He¡¯s Family and the ¡°anonymous¡± Wu Yi Tang. Although Luo¡¯s Family still have their lifelong job for providing official medicine, Yao Shi Tang and Wu Yi Tang had taken all the good business. San Qing Tang could only get a little benefit, and gradually they were not as good as Ren Shu Tang of Guan¡¯s Family.

    Of course, ordinary people thought a bit of benefit awarded by the royal family was already the best, and it could be rich for 3 generations with one time. But the Luo¡¯s Family was the veteran in 2 dynasties and used to the days of fame. They fell down from a high position suddenly. Even if they didn¡¯tck in money and the warehouse was full of gold, silver and emeralds, the psychological gap was huge. They always felt that they couldn¡¯t look up in front of others, and others wereughing at them. Those people secretly said that once Senior Lord Luo Maitong died, Luo¡¯s family¡¯s happy life woulde to an end.

    If Luo¡¯s Family was not good, the Concubine He in the Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion would not be good, too. It was because after her mother, Luo Chuanxiong, was abandoned by He Fu in Qingzhou City, she had a serious head disease. After she got well, she couldn¡¯t speak very fluently and thought about things very slowly. Even He Danggui couldn¡¯t eradicate the source of the disease. Besides, Luo Chuanxiong¡¯s money was taken away by He Fu and Luo Chuangu, and she stubbornly refused to ept her daughter¡¯s money. All her foods, housing and expenses were offered by Luo¡¯s Family. Whether she was good or bad, it depended on the mood of those people in Luo¡¯s Family.

    As a result, He Danggui actively helped San Qing Tang stage aeback. If she had not gotten married, she would have gone to San Qing Tang to diagnose the patients. Later, she carefully improved a prescription left by her grandfather, which was marked ¡°The treatment of old postpartum diseases for his beloved wife Chai Dan¡±. Combining the dispensing methods of several ancient prescriptions, she developed the ¡°lifesaving prescription¡± with amazing curative effect. In addition topletely curing Madam Luo¡¯s wandering arthritis, she also treated the apoplexy and hemiplegia. After nearly 100 case tests, the effect of the lifesaving prescription was almost immediate. Both of the proudest Lifesaving Pill and Zhiming Sticking ster of Yao Shi Tang of He¡¯s Family couldn¡¯tpare with it.

    When He Danggui went to Yangzhou City to visit her rtives, she took the lifesaving prescription to her mother. She told her mother quietly that the lifesaving prescription, which was popr all over the country, was developed by her. It was a precious prescription in the pharmaceutical industry. The good prescription should public to benefit the world. But since the new Emperor ascended the throne, San Qing Tang had been suppressed by Yao Shi Tang, Wu Yi Tang and Ren Shu Tang. It was no longer brilliant than before. Her First Uncle and Second Uncle almost went to Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion to talk some countermeasures with her every month. They even encouraged her to poison in the Yao Shi Tang. She was really tired of dealing with them. ¡°Mother, in my opinion, it is better to give this prescription to the Luo¡¯s Family as the unique secret prescription of San Qing Tang and let it pass on from generation to generation. With this prescription, no matter how the country change, it can ensure that the Luo¡¯s Family, a famous family of medicine, will be rich and prosperous for hundreds of generations.¡± He Danggui said.

    Luo Chuanxiong¡¯s slightly dull face showed a little smile. She said word by word, ¡°My daughter is really capable. Our Senior Lord cannot make the Luo¡¯s Family rich, but my daughter can.¡±

    He Danggui smiled and asked her, ¡°Was Madam Luo still in charge of the Third Branch? Could I directly give this prescription to her?¡±

    Luo Chuanxiong thought silently for a while. Then she said, ¡°You haven¡¯t been home for several years, so you don¡¯t know. In the past 2 years, the First Branch was at odds with the Second Branch, and gradually their rtionship has be worse. Now they are still arguing to divide up family property. It is better to give the prescription to your first uncle directly to avoid trouble.¡± Luo Chuanxiong knew that only her elder brother was her biological brother. After the First Branch and Second Branch separated, there was no doubt that she would follow the First Branch.

    He Danggui also understood the implication of her mother¡¯s words. So, she found her first uncle Luo Chuanbai, exined the cause and effect, and gave the lifesaving prescription to him. Luo Chuanbai repeatedly praised her filial piety and her mother¡¯s virtuous and sensible. He said that the Luo¡¯s Family had umted virtue for 3 generations, so that He Danggui, such a promising and conscientious niece, was born. Then he epted the prescription.

    He Danggui went back to the Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion with satisfaction. After a while, she was surprised to hear that Second Branch had known the matter of lifesaving prescription for some reason. The Second Lord Luo Chuangu was angry at once and went to Luo Chuanxiong¡¯s room to make trouble. But Luo Chuanxiong just came up with the idea. She didn¡¯t know the specific content of the prescription. Even if her second brother, Luo Chuangu, demolished her room and put her on the fire, she still didn¡¯t know.

    So, Luo Chuangu went to the eldest Luo Chuanbai and asked him to share the prescription. But Luo Chuanbai told him that the lifesaving prescription had been sold to the real boss of Wu Yi Tang and signed an agreement. Now even he couldn¡¯t sell it in San Qing Tang, otherwise he would lose money ording to the agreement.

    Luo Chuangu was so angry that he ran to Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion to find He Danggui. He Danggui had already received the news from her mother¡¯s maid. She knew why Luo Chuangu hade in advance. So, she treated him a big meal. After that, she sent him away.

    At that time, He Danggui thought that she had done a good job. She didn¡¯t disclose the lifesaving prescription or offend her Second Uncle. However, when Luo Chuangu was invited to dinner, Zhou Jinn and Xu Siniang, who ¡°had a good rtionship¡± with He Danggui at that time, were also present. After Luo Chuangu left, Zhou Jinn and her maid also left as usual. Then they got in touch with Luo Chuangu and said that they knew where Concubine He hid the lifesaving prescription. As long as he was willing to defeat Concubine He together, the prescription would be his.

    Luo Chuangu didn¡¯t refuse at that time. He told them that he needed time to think about it. When he got back to Luo¡¯s Family, he had a lot of worries on his face. Sun Meiniang immediately realized something was wrong. She asked the truth in a few words. Sun Meiniang mentioned again that He Danggui poisoned the male fetus in the womb of his concubine living outside. Luo Chuangu was angry as soon as he heard it. If there was no such a cruel niece, he would have a nine-year-old son now. He Danggui cut off his male offspring.

    Luo Chuangu and his wife knew that He Danggui was Luo Chuanbai¡¯s biological niece, and they were unrted to He Danggui by blood. People in Luo¡¯s Family could feel clearly that He Danggui¡¯s attitude towards them. She treated the First Branch enthusiastically but treated the Second Branch indifferently. She was willing to help the First Branch but was very offhand with the Second Branch. Now that the Luo¡¯s Family was divided, the rtionship between He Danggui and the Second Branch was bound to be more distant. Instead of always relying on that heartless niece, it was better to get the lifesaving prescription at one time. If they had the lifesaving prescription, they would have everything. And they didn¡¯t have to let Sun Meiniang and their daughter, Luo Baiqiong, go to Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion to tter He Danggui anymore!

    In fact, people in Luo¡¯s Family all knew the reason why He Danggui couldn¡¯t refuse First Branch¡¯s requests. It was that the Ms. Zhao and the Dong Xin of First Branch med Zhu¡¯s slight body and Wei¡¯s abnormal sexual orientation on her. Every time they asked He Danggui to do something, they would first mention that He Danggui¡¯s poisonous mice ruined Zhu¡¯s life. When He Danggui was angry and wronged, she thought that her mother had been living in the Luo¡¯s family all the year round and could only count on Luo Chuanbai. Therefore, she was very concerned about First Branch¡¯s things.

    However, He Danggui also treated the Second Branch well. For example, she asked for a job for Luo Chuangu, helped Luo Baiqiong¡¯s husband Liang Yizhou to be promoted, adjusted registered residence of Luo Baishao¡¯s husband Xue Ji and revealed the examination questions of imperial examination to Xue Ji. But just like the saying went, ¡°It is notck but inequality that causes troubles.¡± He Danggui was more enthusiastic about First Branch, which aroused Luo Chuangu¡¯s jealousy and also caused He Danggui¡¯s death. Finally, Zhou Jinnbined Luo Chuangu, Sun Meiniang and Luo Baiqiong to kill her.

    When He Danggui was imprisoned in the Water Dungeon, Sun Meiniang exined all these facts to her. He Danggui also thought that Zhou Jinn, Luo Chuangu, Sun Meiniang and Luo Baiqiong were the killers of her and her daughter, and Xu Siniang was added at most. But Zhu Quan, the Lord Ning, just watched her being wronged and then put her in the Water Dungeon. He was just a ruthless judge and ruled the case ¡°fairly¡±. He Danggui always thought that he was just a bystander, not even an aplice.

    He Danggui¡¯s various resentments against Zhu Quan were all because Zhu Quan was her husband, her pir and her lord who she had supported for 13 years regardless of her life and death. But he didn¡¯t help her when she needed him most. That was all.

    However, now she heard that Qi Xuanyu was the ¡°real boss behind Wu Yi Tang¡± who bought the lifesaving prescription in the previous life, and Qi Xuanyu was Zhu Quan¡¯s subordinate. He Danggui couldn¡¯t help thinking deeply. Who inspired Qi Xuanyu to buy the lifesaving prescription? He Danggui, of course, had told her husband, Lord Ning, about her research of the lifesaving prescription. She had mentioned the miraculous effect of the lifesaving prescription to him more than once with great excitement, but he was always indifferent and even didn¡¯t ask to have a look at it.

    However, after a while, his good subordinate Qi Xuanyu spent a lot of money buying the lifesaving prescription from Luo Chuanbai!

    He Danggui suddenly felt sad. At the beginning, the Second Branch suddenly learned about the lifesaving prescription and knew it clearly. They knew that the lifesaving prescription was her masterpiece and that she gave it to her uncle Luo Chuanbai at the suggestion of her mother. Who leaked it to them?

    She thought it must be Zhu Quan! It was because she didn¡¯t hide anything from him. He knew all the details of it and everything about her. The information in his hand was enough to kill her many times!

    Thinking of this, He Danggui unconsciously broke a branch of holly. Snap!

    When Zhu Quan heard the sound, he immediately flew up to the ce where the sound of the broken branch came out. He shouted, ¡°Who is eavesdropping there?¡±

 Chapter 240 - The brocade quilt of Su Mei Yard

    <h4>Chapter 240 The brocade quilt of Su Mei Yard</h4>

    He Danggui was transfixed immediately, and she even lost the desire to escape at the very thought of Zhu Quan¡¯s Dun Shu (a kind of Kungfu that is unique and popr in Nihon, specializing on escaping or attacking others with the fully use of the surroundings materials) originated in Nihon and Ning Yuan¡¯s arts of lightness which was as swift as a sh of lightning. The depressing thought that she was doomed to die whether she struggled or not came to her mind. She even closed her eyes, thinking that Zhu Quan must be the catastrophe in her life, by whom she was destined to be killed for 2 consecutive lives.

    She didn¡¯t run, waiting for the death.

    She closed her eyes andid her head down on her knees. Quietly, she was waiting for the death.

    In a while, she was encircled by warmth. She heard the wind howling, smelled the fragrant and mild aroma of green tea and felt the warm and soft cloth touching her cheek under the veil. Before she opened her eyes, she recognized who came with her sense of smell. She closed her eyes and inhaled the aroma, enjoying everything at that moment.

    The man who held her in his arms was not her friend anymore because she had just fallen out with him several days ago. He believed that she had lost her virginity, and she had no intention of exining because it was not the first time that he had mistaken her, and he knew less about her than Chan Yi did. She used to take him as a confidant, so she didn¡¯t want to open her eyes to quarrel.

    Holding He Danggui in his arms, Meng Xuan evacuated from Qi Lu Yard as quickly as he could. He didn¡¯t know how long had he flied, but he felt that he, embracing her, could fly all the time, to the end of time and space, and to the next life and then the next. He might have flied as long as the duration of a burning joss stick, or as short as one dropping in the water clock. All of a sudden, he was unable to reckon the time urately. When he saw a tranquil yard with no one chasing after, he took her to a wing-room and raised thetch to close the door.

    As they entered, Meng Xuan found that it was a bedroom. So, he lifted He Danggui onto the bed, unfastened her feathered cloak, and dragged a brocade quilt to wrap around her.

    At this point, He Danggui had to open her eyes. She wriggled in the quilt, asking with doubt, ¡°Why do you wrap me in the quilt? It¡¯s not time for a nap. Besides, this is not my bedroom. Where I am?¡± When saying these, she felt an excitement ofing from the hell to the earth, as if she suddenly walked into a log cabin with a stove after having been numb with cold in a snowy day.

    Meng Xuan turned to drag another brocade quilt from a closet and put it on the one wrapping her. ¡°I don¡¯t know either,¡± he said, ¡°It¡¯s just an abandoned yard. Don¡¯t worry. Keep lying.¡±

    Although He Danggui believed that facing the former friend with lying on the bed was a little out of ce, the warm quilt was a magical thing to rely on, especially for a person like her who had sat on the cold ground for long in the icy wind.

    She heard about many astounding news. The Elder Cousin with Dissociative identity disorder she had been curing for 3 years was not only a strange kid, but also the young brother of her enemy¡¯s subordinate. Her enemy Zhu Quan recruited a capable subordinate, who said out her secret! Atst, she even doubted that the person who killed her in the previous life was her husband, for whom she had worked herself to the bone!

    Numb with cold on the ground, she heard about these, which sent shivers down her spine. Now, she liked being wrapped in the quilts, so she left everything aside. As an adult, she felt it improper to get along with grown Meng Xuan in this way. Besides, Meng Xuan¡¯s brother said that Meng Xuan and his concubine had a son, and she couldn¡¯t tolerate it as she required monogamy. So, Meng Xuan no longer belonged to her. And he had forsaken her at the thought that she had an affair with Zhu Quan, although it was an utter misunderstanding.

    Looking around the yard, she found that it was Su Mei Yard.

    The yard belonged to the first wife of Third Lord Luo Chuanpu, and it had been locked since she passed away and was nned to give their son Luo Baiji when he grew up. Since the whole family of Third Branch went to the north running business, it was abandoned. Andter Luo Baiqiong got its key from the Sun Meiniang and forcibly upied it for a long time because she liked the sea of Su Mei flowers in it. She didn¡¯t move away until Luo Baiji returned to Luo¡¯s Mansion for half a year. Su Mei Yard was locked and deserted again, and it was not worthy of its name anymore as all Su Mei flowers withered and fell.

    All of a sudden, He Danggui shuddered with cold in the quilts and wanted to absorb every inch of warmth from the cotton above her. A moment ago, an astonishing thought shed through her mind which exhausted almost all her breath in an instant.

    Did Bai Yangbai in the previous life¡­ fall in love with her?

    Did he send her to the present life with ¡°Forbidden magic of binding the soul for 3 lives¡±, while he himself pay for it?

    When Zhou Jinn harmed He Danggui by Xiaoyao Poison, she exined clearly, ¡°After using the Xiaoyao Poison, the pain willst for an hour at first, and the next pain will start after an interval of an hour. In addition, each time the duration of the pain will increase. On the third day, the person using it will die from the pain, and it¡¯s said that this person will lose his or her soul, thereby losing the chance of reincarnation.¡±

    Even though the Xiaoyao Poison was not as awful as Zhou Jinn described, He Danggui, after being killed, would at best start her new life after reincarnation, without memory, gratitude, grudge and knowledge of the previous life. But why could she avoid the reincarnation after the previous life, being exiled to the Ming Dynasty 18 years ago withplete memory?

    Qing¡¯er conjectured that she could have Time Travelrgely because she had read too many books about Time Travel in the previous life. And she had a Buddha bead said toe from a temple in Tibet, which could draw souls. As to Meng Xuan, he died in the battlefield, who said that 3 days before he died, an elder of him gave him a yellow shining amulet which would turn cmities into blessings if he carried it.

    But He Danggui died miserably without any amulet and protection. ording to Zhou Jinn, Xiaoyao Poison would make her soul vanish. So, how did she survive? Seeing the appalling symptoms of Qian Mudan affected by Shi Hua Poison and the surprising scene of Qian Mudan¡¯s walking and speaking after death, He Danggui was in awe of things like ¡°venomous insect¡± and believed somewhat that what Zhou Jinn had said was not rmist but true. At that time, He Danggui had already hit the lowest point in her life, so it was unnecessary to frighten her.

    Didn¡¯t¡­ Bai Yangbai save her? ording to Qi Xuanyu, Bai Yangbai was able to use that forbidden magic!

    It was reasonable for her to have such thoughts. She suddenly recalled that when Bai Yangbai and she went to Qingzhou City to take revenge on He Fu, she heard that He Fu had died from disease. But she was not happy andined that it was not fair as she couldn¡¯t kill her enemy herself.

    Then, Bai Yangbaiforted her with saying, ¡°This is cause-and-effect transmigration. He owes your mother too much, and he has to repay from this life to the next. Don¡¯t be sad, girl. Your mother will be lucky in the next life. Maybe she will marry a good man the first time. When she passes away, I will read the Scripture of Feng Qiu Huang (Phoenixes Seeking Mates) for your mother for 3 days to expiate her sins.¡±

    She asked Bai Yangbai what scripture he would read for her when she died. After a period of silence, he said, ¡°If you die, I will conduct a religious ritual to call back your soul and save you. I can do it, so you will never die, girl.¡±

    In the previous life, she felt many times that Bai Yangbai liked her or even loved her.

    Though, several years ago, she found Bai Yangbai¡¯s secret, he didn¡¯t kill her and just asked her to keep the secret. Moreover, he promised to endow her with the capability of agerasia. Then, Bai Yangbai found that she often hid a small bottle of herb soup used for having a shower, conducting undercover investigations into his secret recipe, and rummaged around in his study stealthily. Although he was angry and murmured that he would stop helping her have the capability of agerasia, he still heated up the bath water for her. He only told her about Yingying Powder, a unique prescription in the world.

    His secret was extremely shocking, and even his good student, Zhu Quan, knew nothing about it. If the message of ¡°Taoist Sage¡¯s agerasia of 30 years¡± was spread, Bai Yangbai would be caught up in endless troubles, and at the very worst, he would be killed. She had his secret in hand, so she had his life in hand. Why didn¡¯t he kill her, the possible threat to him?

    Only the dead could keep a secret forever. He had many chances to kill her, or if he didn¡¯t save her, she would die. However, he didn¡¯t do that. He saved her at least 10 times during the years she served in Wuying Tower. He was also hit by a poisoned dart in order to keep her safe and sound. Even, because of her, he was badly wounded by a group of assassins. And then she knew the stunning secret he had kept for decades.

    In the light of this, she was more convinced that, in the previous life, Bai Yangbai fell in love with her. Bai Yangbai was Zhu Quan¡¯s teacher, so he had to take great responsibility for having turned Zhu Quan to such a bully. How could Bai Yangbai be virtuous with having such a vicious student! Most of the time, she was deceived by his outward appearance and forgot his great power and experiences of killing. Not only did she take him as an unskilled chatan, but she often showed irreverence for him.

    How could he allow his student¡¯s concubine to take control of him? Just now Zhu Quan said that Bai Yangbai would never use any forbidden magic, and that the biggest rule of Daguomen Sect was prohibiting the forbidden magic. Anyone who used the forbidden magic should leave Daguomen Sect initiatively and would not be reincarnated. However, in the previous life, Bai Yangbai was deceived into using the forbidden magic with her little tricks, which endowed her, who was not suitable to be pregnant due to her cold physical characteristic, with a pigeon pair.

    Now she realized that the little tricks she used to threaten Bai Yangbai were childish. How could he be threatened? It was clear that he humored her. Every time she reached out for a yard after taking an inch, he would humor her unwillingly. And it raised suspicion as he was abnormally good to the concubine of his student.

 Chapter 241 - A fantasy dream because of Jinfeng Yulu Powder

    <h4>Chapter 241 A fantasy dream because of Jinfeng Yulu Powder</h4>

    In most of the time in the previous life, He Danggui listened to Bai Yangbai¡¯s words as jokes. He said that the prescription for preserving youthful looks was top-secret and could only be passed on to his wife and daughter. And if she wanted to get it, she had to have ¡°the same surname¡± as his.

    She heard this, but she didn¡¯t understand the meaning at all. She just frowned with embarrassment. It was not difficult to take him as an adoptive father, but her name was recorded in the genealogy of Luo¡¯s Family. So, changing her name was not easy. And Bai Danggui sounded very strange, right?

    Bai Yangbai obliquely said that there was no need to change the name on the genealogy, and she could just go to the second house on the left hand of the official household registration department and then add the character ¡°Bai¡± before her original name. Bai He Danggui was homophonic to lily and angelica, meaning life-long happiness and perfect harmony. It was a nice name!

    Hearing this, He Danggui understood that he took advantage of her in word. What he had said that ¡°the same surname as his¡± meant a ¡°wife¡± instead of an ¡°adopted daughter¡±!

    In that event, He Danggui doubted about the meaning behind Bai Yangbai¡¯s unscrupulous joke. When she first met him, he disguised himself as a gant man with a sword. He killed Master Tai Shan by the sword and cut off the four fingers of the rich man who intended to ravish her. Every time she thought of the scene, she wouldfort herself that Bai Yangbai always liked to make jokes, which was his personal characteristic. In fact, he had a high level of morality and had broken off his seven emotions and the six sensory pleasures, so he would never fall in love with her.

    After putting the sword into the scabbard, he condescendingly looked down at her, who was panting slightly after taking the philter on the couch with a thin quilt. He said that he had been observing the poisonous woman Tai Shan for days. She abducted and sold people in the name of a nun, and she sold women into brothels. Many innocent girls were harmed by her. Therefore, it was indeed a good act to kill her to save more people. He told He Danggui not to be afraid, saying that he never hurt defenseless women and was not inclined to lust after women, so he would not harm her innocence.

    True to his word, he was really indifferent to the naked He Danggui at the time. Even though he didn¡¯t know that she was his student¡¯s concubine, he only regarded her as a pretty daughter of humble family. He examined her body condition with thin quilt covering her and diagnosed that she had been attacked by Jinfeng Yulu Powder. Then he figured out that she was still a virgin. And no one could help her solve the dilemma.

    So, Bai Yangbai exined in detail that there was no antidote for Jinfeng Yulu Powder but solutions. The first solution was to soak the whole body in the fiery depths of cold blood medicine soup until the properties of the Jinfeng Yulu Powder were dissipated, but this method was bad for energy. Only a strong man could survive. As for He Danggui, she would run out of blood and die in the middle of the soak. The second solution was the orthodox solution that she should have sex with a man, and then the effect of the Jinfeng Yulu Powder would wear away in the next morning. Therefore, if she had a boyfriend or fianc¨¦, Bai Yangbai was willing to bring that person for her as an antidote.

    He Danggui blushed when she heard it. She wondered whether she should tell this hero that she was not unmarried, and she had a husband. But only because the identity of him was too noble, she didn¡¯t have a chance to speak to him yet although they had got married for more than 1 year. As for ¡°bringing him to her as an antidote¡±, it was absolutely impossible. Her husband was so noble and busy, so how could he rescue a little girl? Thinking of this, she felt sorry for herself and couldn¡¯t help shedding a few tears.

    Seeing He Danggui¡¯s red face, like a cooked shrimp, and her pitiful look with tears, Bai Yangbai guessed that she was a girl with no boyfriend, fianc¨¦ or husband, so he sighed and said that he had skills that could help her to find out the third solution. The effect was as good as the second solution, and it would not make her lose her innocence, depending on whether she believed him or not.

    After hearing the words, He Danggui hung down her head and thought. She absolutely dared not to think about her husband. As long as she could talk to him a few words in her lifetime, she would be able to walk the road of the dead with those sentences. She felt hot all over after drinking tea of Tai Shan and was stripped of clothes by Tai Shan. When she saw a man, who was much older than her uncle with drool, approach her, she immediately wanted to die. The hero in front of her could be regarded as her savior. If he really wanted to harm her, why did he talk so much with her? Why not try this hero¡¯s method? If she was deceived or bullied, she would die to show her resolution for her husband with whom she hadn¡¯t say a word.

    When she thought about this, she could no longer resist the medicinal properties of the concentrated herbal tea. Lying on the soft bed, she struggled like a drowning fish and called for help from the hero, ¡°Please help me. Use the third solution!¡±

    Then Bai Yangbai, who was dressed as a hero, approached her pillow. He fed her on half a cup of herbal tea with slightly sweet yellow powder and poked her sleepy acupoint. At thest moment before she lost consciousness, he told her that what would happen next was fake. If she had a liker, she could imagine the man who yed with her as him. Hero Bai Yangbai clicked his mouth and said that if she didn¡¯t have a secret lover, he would sacrifice himself once and act as her antidote.

    He Danggui was puzzled and fell asleep in panic. In the misty dream, her ears were hot, her knees were limp, and the hot feeling between breathing almost burned the skin of her upper lip. She tried hard to call for help but couldn¡¯t get a reply. After walking a few steps, she fell to the ground and shed tears of despair.

    After a while, the fog gradually dissipated. When she saw the surrounding scenery andyout, she was more rmed. It was because here was not elsewhere but Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion! Looking at the style of the building, theyers of roof tiles with genuine gold paint on the eaves, and the exquisite pcenterns in front of the corridor, she immediately guessed that this was the center of the Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion, which only belonged to Lord Ning and his Princess. It was a precious ce she should avoid!

    But her breath was getting heavier and heavier, as if every breath was herst time so that she didn¡¯t have the strength to retreat to her corner.

    ¡°Squeak¡±. With a sound, the gorgeous and exquisite door opened. A man with a misty face walked out, who was wearing a gorgeous silk garment, jade buckle belts and elegance boots. The boots kept walking and stopped before He Danggui.

    At this moment, He Danggui knelt on the ground, and she could only saw the hem of the man¡¯s brocade robe. It exuded an unknown fragrance, such as the aroma of orchid or musk. She wanted to open her mouth to call for help, but in the next moment, he had already taken off the jacquard embroidered gown and wrapped it around her upper body. When she looked down, she was so scared that she almost fainted. It turned out that she, in the dream, was not dressed in any clothes as the same as in the real world!

    She was naked sitting in the middle of the mansion and was seen by a strange man! What face did she have to carry on living? So, she wrapped up the embroidered gown tightly, covered her face and wept. The tears wet the skin of her legs, and then she quickly recoiled her legs into the embroidered gown.

    The strange man squatted down to inspect her situation and then calmly said, ¡°Looking at your appearance, you must have been given an aphrodisiac by a rapist. This aphrodisiac is like a raging fire. If it stays in the body for a long time, all your internal organs will be burned out. As for the way to relieve the property of the medicine... I don¡¯t have any problem. After all, you are extremely beautiful though you are a little younger. Did you have any problem? Would you like to let me save you?¡±

    Hearing it, He Danggui continued to cry in despair. Didn¡¯t the hero say that there was a ¡°third solution¡± that could save her life without destroying her innocence? Why did she still be tortured by the Jinfeng Yulu Powder in her dream after drinking the herbal tea of the hero. And why she met a man who wanted to use the ¡°second solution¡± to save her? Why was she always deceived? Tai Shan was like this, so was the hero. Everyone was the same!

    The strange man frowned. Although his face was covered with the fog, He Danggui could feel that he said with frowning. He said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to be so coy. Just drop the matter if you don¡¯t agree to do it. I just want to help you. After all, saving one life is better than building a seven-tiered pagoda. I have never been short of women and don¡¯t have much interest in a woman like you with small breasts. You can go in the room and lie down, and I will call for a doctor to see you.¡± While saying, he got up and walked away.

    He Danggui stopped crying. She struggled to get up and enter the house, but her legs were too weak to move.

    Suddenly, a ¡°voice of Immortal¡± came out in the air and shouted in a sharp voice, ¡°Hey girl, why do you get him away? He is the ¡®antidote¡¯ I summoned for you with a lot of work! If you let him go, who will detoxify you?¡±

    He Danggui recognized that it was the voice of the hero. She looked up at the sky, but it was a vast and chaotic sky. She wiped her tears and said, ¡°I don¡¯t even know who that person is, how could Imit myself to him? I would rather hit the stone steps to die than lose my innocence and stay alive. At least, in that case, my tombstone can be written on the sentence thating from the sky to the earth and to the afterlife, keeping clean in human world.¡±

    ¡°Voice of Immortal¡± said reproachfully, ¡°Innocence has no use for you! I am an old man who have lived for most of my life and don¡¯t want to die. You are so young, so why do you want to die? How silly you are! This is the ¡®third solution¡¯ I said ¨C summoning a man to detoxify you in a dream! You can just treat it as a transient joy, and it will have no effect on your innocence! Quickly! Call that boy back! Hey, boy, pleasee back.¡±

    The ¡°voice of Immortal¡± was as loud as a ghost crying, but the man with a misty face turned a deaf ear and went further and further away.

    He Danggui was still crying, ¡°The immortal, tell you the truth, I am already married, but I have not seen my husband. I am still waiting for him toe to find me, so whether it is in my dream or outside my dream, I never do anything betraying him. I appreciate your kindness, the immortal, but life and death are small matters, while losing innocence is a big thing!¡±

    ¡°Bah!¡± ¡°Voice of Immortal¡± said angrily, ¡°How could there be such a blockhead like you in the world? You just look smart! I tell you that what happen in the dream is fake. It is a fantasy dream created by me who is an old man with great magic power. As long as you obediently obey the property of the Jinfeng Yulu Powder, making out with this man, your internal heat will disappear and you will naturally not feel ufortable anymore! And in fact, no one have ever touched your body, so it isn¡¯t disloyal at all. You don¡¯t have to get into a blind alley and feel shy. Women will go through this test sooner orter, so you should take a ss in advance!¡±

    He Danggui was affected by the medicinal properties. Her body was burning like a fire, and she felt stuffy. So, she said disturbingly, ¡°Since you have boundless supernatural power, can you call my husband into this dream to detoxify me? Apart from him, I don¡¯t want anyone, even in my dream!¡±

    ¡°Voice of Immortal¡± said strangely, ¡°Little girl, what high requests you have! Hum, so tell me, which man is worthy that you keep yourself wless? Is he better than Quan?¡±

 Chapter 242 - Beautiful dream

    <h4>Chapter 242 Beautiful dream</h4>

    He Danggui wanted to say ¡°Lord Ning Zhu Quan¡±, but she held it back. She asked haltingly after some hesitation, ¡°Old immortal, will my husband know that you summon him to my dream? Will he have any impression afterwards?¡±

    The old immortal cackled and said, ¡°You are such an inexperienced girl that you have so many questions which even stump me. Well, let me see... Everything you see and hear is the same as that in his dream, so it is fair to say that you will have transient joy with him.¡±

    He Danggui immediately shook her head and waved her hands. She refused, ¡°If so, don¡¯t summon him. I am not ready yet, old immortal. Please leave me alone for a while.¡± Then she moved with great difficulty, trying to find a piece of clothing to cover her body. She thought to herself, ¡°When I was in Luo¡¯s Family, Fourth Sister always sprinkled itching powder on me. Although that kind of strange itch made me feel 100 times worse than the philter, I got it through. As long as I hold on a little longer, I will wake up when the internal heat in my abdomen disappears.¡±

    The old immortal doubled up withughter while repeating He Danggui¡¯s words, ¡°You are not ready? Ha-ha, you are not ready! Girl, take it easy. You do not need to prepare for this kind of thing, as long as the man is prepared!¡±

    He seemed to have guessed what He Danggui was thinking. He kindly advised, ¡°Girl, don¡¯t be bashful any more. The Jinfeng Yulu Powder is a very strong philter. If you insist on holding on by yourself, it will poison your brain and make you be a fool! This kind of thing is really beyond your perseverance and self-control. I have not gained that deep concentration in my ages, so how can you bear it? Follow your heart and look for your ¡®antidote¡¯! Having transient joy can save your life, which is quite worthwhile!¡±

    At the moment, He Danggui struggled to move to the room. She stopped crying, but tears streaked her face. She gritted her teeth and said, ¡°I never know if I can get it through until I try it. Although I am in a dream now, I can walk and speak as when I am awake. I also have consciousness. Since I can make my own decisions, I am not going to detoxify! Old immortal, I appreciate your kindness, but I can only repay you in the next life. Please show mercy and leave me to my fate.¡±

    He Danggui said in a more and more firm voice. It seemed that she was Wen Tianxiang who would like to sacrifice life for righteousness, and she almost said his well-known verse, ¡°Everyone must die; let me but leave a loyal heart shining in the pages of history.¡±

    The old immortal in the air sighed, ¡°Girl, you should cherish your life. Do you know what a chance and a blessing it is for you to be a human being? Most souls are reincarnated seven or eight times before they have the chance to be human beings. Most of the time, they can only be a cow, a bird or a weed. In my opinion, maybe you were a cow in yourst life, otherwise how can you be so stubborn? For you, death pays all debts; but for your parents, hope for the rest of their life is dashed. Are you worthy of their upbringing? Do you know how many people will cry if you die?¡±

    The more the old immortal said, the more excited he was. In the end, he was even touched by himself. He raved, ¡°I am a millennium old demon leading people to be good, much better than those baldies on Shaoshi Mountain! Girl, you would better surrender and make out with my Zhu Quan!¡±

    However, the old immortal¡¯s words not only failed to move He Danggui, but also touched her nerve. Would her mom and dad be sad for her death? Was she worthy of their upbringing? Her father gave birth to her but did not raise her. So far, she had lived for 15 years but never met him. And she lived with her mother only for two or three years.

    Under the torment of the strong philter, He Danggui thought bitterly. Would anyone shed a few tears for her if she died? She guessed that she was ranked behind her stepfather, Madam Luo, and even Second Sister and Fourth Sister in terms of importance in her mother¡¯s mind. Her mother moved into Sanqing Temple for the sake of her stepfather and left her in Luo¡¯s Family year in year out. Every time her mother came back, her mother talked with Madam Luo in the room from day to night but said nothing to her except hello.

    On one asion, when her mother heard that Second Sister had e on her face, she was very concerned about it. She spent a lot of money to buy precious herbs that were not avable in ordinary pharmacies, such as snow lotus and borneol. She also worked in the Medicine Room in South Yard for several days and made three bottles of skin care cream in ancient records sessfully. It was said that the cream was specially used to treat the e on girls¡¯ faces, leaving no scar after healing. He Danggui was a little envious when she heard about it, because she also had e on her forehead as she always ate supper sent by Fourth Sister at that time.

    So, she ran to her mother and asked for some skin care cream, but her mother told her that she had given all the cream to Second Sister and there were not enough raw materials left. Looking at the e on her forehead, her motherforted that her e was not as serious as Second Sister¡¯s. She could wash her face with saponin before going to bed every night. Seeing her unhappy, her mother added, ¡°I hear that you do not have a good rtionship with your Second Aunt and Second Sister. Is it right? Don¡¯t do that. We Fourth Branch live in Luo¡¯s Mansion and owe a lot of favor to the Second Branch, so you should be smart and tolerate your Second Sister and others. You will have to rely on your Second Aunt to prepare a dowry worth 3,000 liang when you marry.¡±

    As He Danggui recalled these sad memories, she moved slowly to the gorgeous house. However, when she was about to reach the threshold, she was hit by a burning pain in her abdomen and fell down.

    She thought bitterly that she was a burden to her father and mother, and now superfluous in the mansion. Her mother would not be sad if she died. When she lived in the countryside, her mother never asked anyone to see how she was doing. Her mother did not want to let anyone know her, treating her as an ugly scar that needed to be hidden. Besides, her mother never paid her support. Her mother could generously give 50 liang silver to Wet Nurse Jian who once insulted herself in Luo¡¯s Family, but why couldn¡¯t her mother secretly send 10 liang silver to improve her life?

    He Danggui exhaled thest breath of warmth and came to the conclusion that she must be adopted, so nobody loved her and cared whether she was alive or dead. In that case, she chose to die. Then not only did she no longer need to be despised by others, but she might reincarnate into a normal family with the yearning for her noble and perfect husband.

    ¡°Hey!¡± The voice of the old immortal suddenly came from the distant sky. He patted her face anxiously, ¡°Girl, hold on. How can you be so depressed and suicidal? If you die, your parents will be inconsble.¡±

    He Danggui awoke from her dream and gave him a weak look. She thought, ¡°The immortal is really not good atforting others. He always rubs it in.¡± She said dully, ¡°You don¡¯t know, old immortal. I must have done too much evil in thest life, so I am so unlucky in this life. Misfortunees to me one after another, and it seems that it will never end. There is no point in living any longer. Let me die in peace. If you really want to help me, please recite Mantra of Rebirth in Purnd for me, so that I will not be the unwanted stone on the Go board in the next life.¡±

    Bai Yangbai said angrily, ¡°Girl, how can you be so pessimistic in your ages? You do not want to live just because of some philters? Do you know how long I have to sit in meditation in order to live longer? You are pretty, if you are an unwanted stone on the Go board, what will those ugly women be? If you do not like the cool guy in your dream, I can look for another one for you!¡±

    He Danggui turned over in the thin quilt and found that she had put on middle clothes and socks, so she opened the quilt to look at herself.

    ¡°I dressed you with eyes closed and saw nothing!¡± Bai Yangbai exined, ¡°Having traveled the world for so many years, I have made friends with heroes all over the world. I collected more than twenty heroes¡¯ nails to make items called ¡°Hun Yin¡± that can summon soul, with which I can summon anyone to my dream whenever I want to y Go with him. Some of them are romantic, and some of them are handsome. Of course, there are some middle-aged heroes that are tender and considerate. They are all very excellent. If you do not like the cool guy, how about the nice Chang Nuo?¡±

    After He Danggui awoke from the dream, her burning feeling did not abate at all. On the contrary, she felt even more suffocated. She turned her back to the nonsense immortal, waiting for death.

    Bai Yangbai happily introduced, ¡°My little nephew Chang Nuo is enthusiastic about girls. He will never walk away like that cold guy! Do you cry suddenly and want to die in your dream because you are embarrassed? The guy is indeed so cocky that he should leave you when you are tortured by philter ande to him without clothes! Don¡¯t take it seriously. He does not have much interest in women. Besides, he is very popr. You are not the first one to run to him without clothes. Girl, do not doubt your charm. You are only 14 or 15 years old. Although your breasts are not satisfactory now, you are a woman with great potential. You should have confidence in yourself. A girl¡¯s breasts will grow bigger after she gets married...¡±

    ¡°Old man, go away!¡± He Danggui couldn¡¯t stand him anymore, and interrupted, ¡°I just want to die! Can you leave me alone?¡±

    ¡°Humph!¡± Bai Yangbai shrank his neck and said, ¡°I touch a nerve! You do not have the courage to face the next romantic and handsome man because your breasts are small.¡±

    He Danggui covered her head with the quilt and said, ¡°You are so noisy. If you are kind, you should go to a coffin shop and order a coffin for me.¡±

    Wearing a cheeky smile, Bai Yangbai pped his hands and said, ¡°In addition to Chang Nuo, I can also summon some childes of Meng¡¯s Family. What kind of man do you like, girl?¡±

 Chapter 243 - An imaginary dream in the jade mansion

    <h4>Chapter 243 An imaginary dream in the jade mansion</h4>

    Hearing the noise overhead, He Danggui felt a burning sensation around her heart. She asked, ¡°When will Jinfeng Yulu Powder poison me? Can¡¯t you kill me like what you did to Taishan?¡±

    Bai Yangbai shook his head and sighed, ¡°What a stupid girl! This is the philter but not poison. It can make you fool but can¡¯t kill you. If you don¡¯t have sex with someone, you will be a blockhead. You know how gorgeous you are, girl, but what will happen if you don¡¯t have intelligence? I can¡¯t imagine what awaits you. I know nothing other than the gambler who lives next door and owes a great deal of money. Maybe he will sell you to a brothel and use the money to rake in huge profits.¡±

    Terrified by his words, He Danggui opened her eyes and looked at the swordsman in cloak beside the bed to verify his statements. Since he was unsmiling, she gnashed her teeth and rushed to the bed to bump her head. A surprised expression appeared on the swordsman¡¯s face. And then she fell into the web of death.

    However, the web was broken a hole all of a sudden. She came down from the hole, unwittingly entering in a dream haze. ¡°Damn it! I have hit my head. Why don¡¯t I die? Don¡¯t I have the right to die?¡± She thought.

    This time, in the dream, she had clothes, so she was able to walk erectly. But her legs kept trembling. She walked one step or two, and then she was caught by someone when she was about to fall. It was the man with haze on his face again, and this time he lifted her up without hesitation and said, ¡°Oh? When did you put on the clothes?¡±

    He Danggui answered him in a panic voice, ¡°I was locked by an evil Taoist priest. I don¡¯t want to be trapped here, however, I have nothing to do but pace up and down in the dream. You must be a young swordsman prisoned by him as well. Why don¡¯t we figure out the way to break this dream and ruin his ruse?¡±

    The man turned a deaf ear to her words. He just lifted her up and kept walking until they arrived at a ce distinct from the previous gorgeous room in the Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion. This was a stretch of stark field, but there was a three-floor bamboo building with tens of zhang (a unit of length in ancient China). He Danggui realized in surprise that the banisters and many parts of the bamboo building were notpletely made of bamboo but also inset with shiny gems.

    Although He Danggui was not familiar with the gems and didn¡¯t know the quality of them, she felt it was mind-boggling that half of the building materials of the bamboo building were gems. She tried her best to open her eyes to appreciate this supernatural building, and, at the same time, she was lifted upstairs to the bedroom by the man, who then made a beeline for the inner room.

    The man put her on the bed with thick curtain, took off his clothes and said, ¡°Although I don¡¯t like to force someone to do something, I think I know you. I remember your father is Gu Fang, the minister of the Ministry of Official Personnel Affairs, isn¡¯t he? If you die in Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion, I will feel very guilty and sorry for him. So¡­¡±

    He Danggui gazed at this huge bed and felt giddy. The strangest part was the water mirror embedded in the headboard. Yet the woman in the water mirror was¡­ Concubine Gu!

    ¡°Golly!¡± she eximed in surprise. Indeed, the charming woman with pink face was Concubine Gu who lived beside her. She stared at the figure in the mirror with a skeptical expression, so did the figure in the mirror. She couldn¡¯t believe the fact that she had be another person.

    The strangest thing she thought was that she was almost identical to Concubine Gu with her face, while her body was still hers. She didn¡¯t have the long legs and plump breasts which Concubine Gu had.

    He Danggui cried again, ¡°What¡¯s going on? Why do I be another woman? Why can¡¯t I break this odd dream? Why this dream is so real?¡±

    The man who was taking off the clothes didn¡¯t care about her crying and just said, ¡°Hey, I am a busy man. I don¡¯t have time to listen to your crying, and I have some business to do¡­ Is this your first time? I am not very impressed with you. We didn¡¯t meet before, did we?¡± The girl, quivering, held the front area of the quilt sewed with mandarin ducks and then got in the quilt. After seeing this, he frowned and said, ¡°Rx or I will not take the rap if I hurt you. This thing is not that scary. All you need to do is to rx and enjoy.¡±

    He Danggui was fraught with thoughts, which was like a pot of porridge on the fire; it became thick as it boiled. No! She didn¡¯t want to be Concubine Gu and rely herself on such a faceless man. She didn¡¯t want to use n C. It basically had no difference from n B! She wouldn¡¯t be happy even if she was saved.

    Thus, she cried and shrieked, ¡°Immortal! Please let me go and recover my face. Please wake me up!¡±

    In the old days, she could only pray for immortal by a statue made of y with no response, but the so-called old swordman she ran into was a weird immortal. Now she realized that he was watching her from the distance. He Danggui shouted at him, and he answered immediately, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid¡­ Girl¡­I am on my way to rescue you¡­¡±

    He Danggui breathed a sigh of relief when she got the reaction from the immortal. She said to the man who took off his clothes at a stretch, kicked off his boots, only had an ivory pants, ¡°Listen! The swindler¡­ old immortal who brought us here is watching us from the distance. Let¡¯s beseech him to pull us out of this dream, OK?¡± While a mighty arm was approaching, she squeezed the quilt, shook her head vigorously and said, ¡°No! Get away from me! Old immortal! Save me!¡±

    The man said sullenly, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you? You keep saying odd words from the beginning. You don¡¯t need to call the immortal but call husband!¡± His voice was full of anger and a bit of desire. His authority was vited by this little girl, so that he felt a surge of desire to conquer.

    He Danggui¡¯s tears were blossomed on the cover. She said in a low voice, ¡°There is an old immortal above talking to us. Don¡¯t you hear? He must hide somewhere to spy on us!¡± The man snatched the quilt from her as she was saying. He dragged her delicate ankle, ttened her and sat on her body with a manly body distinct from her slim body. Maybe he was afraid of squashing her, so he put his elbows on beside her shoulders to release the weight.

    The man snorted, ¡°Where is the immortal? Are you losing your mind or just nervous? So, you made a joke to cheer up the atmosphere? That is an abysmal one.¡± He used his right elbow to support the head of the bed and used his left hand to undress her while saying, ¡°Be rx or I can¡¯t get inside. Legs. I mean your legs. You need to spread your legs before having sex.¡±

    He Danggui just felt a sensation of cold on her shoulders, and there was a bellyband and a pair of pants on her body. The skin exposed to the air was chilling. Yet there was a fire of lust burning inside her belly and heart, dispelling her cold, and there was a great deal of the sense of hoting from the man, indicating his terrifying body temperature.

    Hearing the man¡¯s order, she not only disobeyed themand but also mped her legs. Her head went nk and she was unable to talk, so she continued shaking her head. She thought, ¡°Where is the old immortal? Didn¡¯t he say that he woulde to save her?¡±

    The man hadn¡¯t met this situation before, and his novelty was aroused, so he tried to be patient and wielded the means usually used on his princess to cope with He Danggui. He put his palm on her delicate waist, stoked her back from up to down and passed scalding streams of Zhenqi to her, which made her tremble from time to time. She closed her eyes tightly and grasped the cover enjoyably. But she was still reluctant to spread her legs, so the man brought the Zhenqi to her legs, mainly on Xuehai acupoint situated at inner side of kneels. Gradually, he moved his fingers to upward side.

    He Danggui just felt that she was falling into a den of monsters, and a feeling of happiness that surpassed everything on earth was too strong. She started to wobble between the happiness and dignity, and then she exerted all her strength to shout at the sky, ¡°Please save me, old immortal! Or I will bite my tongue tomit suicide!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t do it! He is saving you. Aren¡¯t you satisfied with him? Who else do you want? He is responsible enough. Just obey him, girl.¡± The gay voice of the old immortal came from the bedside. He said it with a leisurely tone as if he was being a looker-on at the scene with eating sunflower seeds. Then, the sound of eating sunflower seeds dide from the bedside.

    He Danggui¡¯s eyes were brimming with tears. She thundered, ¡°Damn old man, you eat your words! You said you would help me. Help me drag him away. He is a demon. I am so scared!¡±

    At this point, the man ignored the ¡°voice of immortal¡± and was just engrossed in fondling the maiden. Seeing that she gradually fell into his hands, he asked with a satisfied smile, ¡°You say I am a demon. So, do you fear the demon or like it? And who are you talking to? Who is the ¡®damn old man¡¯?¡±

    He Danggui didn¡¯t know why the man couldn¡¯t hear the damn old man¡¯s voice. Anyway, she couldn¡¯t tolerate his touching anymore, so she, with herst consciousness, hit her head on a Ruyi (a Chinese jade ware) beside the pillow. With the feeling that a stream of warm fluid shed from her forehead, she got into the boundless web of death again.

    At the end of her dream, she felt she was falling down and finally to the hard bed in the Inn. Opening her eyes, she saw the timeworn beams and the cobwebs suspended from them, which showed a sharp contrast with the scene she had just seen in her dream. That room was teeming with jades, and a big water mirror was embedded in the headboard. It must be the best demonstration of illusion. The transient joy was so vivid that she could even feel the remaining delight of being fondled. However, as she looked down, she found she was not as naked as she was in the dream.

    And the most inconceivable thing was that after the awful experience in the dream, she, who was tortured by Jinfeng Yulu Powder, became morefortable, and the effect of it weakened a lot.

    Bai Yangbai bandaged the forehead wound of He Danggui andined, ¡°The wound just stopped bleeding, but now it bleeds again. Can you hit other parts next time? Or you can bite your tongue. You said just now that you wouldmit suicide by biting your tongue, so why did you hit your head?¡± Seeing the maiden weeping, he asked with a sigh, ¡°How do you feel, girl? Do you feel any better? My therapy of dream works, doesn¡¯t it? Do you want one more? You just had half the course of it. This can¡¯t detoxify. At least, you should have a full course once more.¡±

 Chapter 244 - The first experience of making out in the dream

    <h4>Chapter 244 The first experience of making out in the dream</h4>

    He Dangguiined in tears, ¡°You are not a good person and worse than Tai Shan. Old goat, you don¡¯t know respect!¡±

    Bai Yangbai bandaged her wound with disdain. Heughed at her and said, ¡°Your forehead is really hard, and you are still so energetic after hitting it twice. It can be seen that even if you are yelling about death, you still want to stay alive. Don¡¯t you want to bite your tongue andmit suicide? Your voice is so loud, and it seems that you don¡¯tck the strength to bite your tongue. Why don¡¯t you bite it to show your determination? Admit that you enjoyed it just now. Do you want to do it again? I¡¯ll bring another man for you.¡±

    He Danggui didn¡¯t expect that there were all demons in and outside of the dream. Besides, she was angry and ashamed of what happened in the dream, so she bit her tongue cruelly. The force she used while biting the tongue was greater than that she used while hitting her head twice. She preferred death to humiliation.

    Bai Yangbai was startled. Before she closed her mouth, he quickly blocked her with one hand and sped her chin with the other. He only felt a sharp pain in his finger and he pulled back a bloody index finger. Meanwhile, he was really angry and sternly rebuked, ¡°Are you going to die? A person has only one life; no one has a second life. Do you bite your tongue andmit suicide just because you are angry with a stranger like me? Life is so worthless in your eyes!¡±

    He Danggui covered her head with the quilt and said sullenly, ¡°I didn¡¯t bite my tongue, because without my tongue, I can¡¯tin to the King of Hell and tell him the name of the person who harms me. But it¡¯s useless toin, and my life is extremely worthless. No one cares whether I live or die.¡± These words were originally buried in the bottom of her heart, but at this moment, under the effect of Jinfeng Yulu Powder, she suddenly told a stranger what she had never told to anyone.

    Bai Yangbai frowned and looked at her, ¡°It¡¯s useless to be sad alone, except to get your own sympathy. Others treat you badly, so why don¡¯t you treat yourself better?¡± He tore a piece of cloth and wrapped his bloody fingers, sighing slightly, ¡°What a stubborn girl. You are not actually what you look like. Well, since I take care of your business, I will help you till the end whether you like it or not. You must take the ¡®antidote¡¯!¡±

    Saying that, he came up to pull He Danggui¡¯s quilt, while He Danggui pressed on the quilt and didn¡¯t let it go. With a thought, he went to the end of the bed and scratched her feet, and then he found a chance to take her quilt away. Finally, with a sinister smile on his face, he went back to the head of the bed and was about to poke her sleepy acupoint to send her into the fantasy dream for the third time.

    Seeing He Danggui¡¯s clear eyes showing panic, he took a pity on her, and exined to her in detail, ¡°This kind of fantasy dream can make your dreame true. Ordinary people¡¯s greatest wish in their life is to have such a dream, in which they can get everything they want. And this dream is neither random nor fabricated by me. You have a thought in your heart, and the corresponding scene will be formed in front of your eyes in the dream. In other words, those are the deepest desires in your heart, and only you can see them. In your dream, I can see nothing but a white mist. And in your dreams, you will be the person you envy most and appear as her. Of course, if you do not feel inferior and are very satisfied with your current situation, you are still yourself in your dream.¡±

    He Danggui listened silently. She thought, ¡°Will I be the person I envy most? That¡¯s it.¡± Of course, she was jealous of the beautiful and proud woman, Concubine Gu, who lived next door and was blessed by heaven. Concubine Gu¡¯s splendor was in stark contrast to her bleakness, so how could she not be envious?

    He Danggui thought of the man in the dream who gave her a terrible feeling with his evil hands and asked hesitantly, ¡°Who is that man? Why can¡¯t I see his face? And why can he hear me but can¡¯t hear you?¡± Why did he know Concubine Gu and treat He Danggui, who had the same face as Concubine Gu, in that way? He spoke in a definite tone, so was that person¡­ Impossible! He couldn¡¯t be My Lord. How could such a big shot like My Lord run into her dream?

    Bai Yangbai smiled and said, ¡°I can understand that you want to know him, but I can¡¯t reveal his identity to you. These Hun Yin in my hands are all famous young heroes. Of course, their faces must be covered when they do such secret things, or otherwise I will be guilty of exposing their lewdness. The reason he couldn¡¯t hear me may be that he was in your dream just now, so he could only hear your voice. When I called him into my dream before, I could talk to him normally.¡±

    He Danggui opened her mouth twice, trying to ask something, but she was controlled by the second attack of the medicinal properties. Since she had experienced those things in the jade mansion just now, she knew exactly what she wanted this time. After a sigh, she began to cry and asked the old man in pain, ¡°Are there really no other solutions? I don¡¯t like this.¡± Her breathing was rapid and urgent, and there was a fire moring in her body.

    ¡°You don¡¯t like this?¡± Bai Yangbai scratched his chin and said to himself, ¡°Was it because he had bad skills and was disliked before starting to make out? Or was he too good at it and scared you? Um, let me think about it. Virgins like you have a spiritual cleanliness and don¡¯t like experienced men who have met too many women. You can only ept a virgin like you, right? This kind of men can only be found in a barracks where there are no women, and I must find a handsome one for you. Aha, I get it! Today, I will kindly use the magic power once, and I will send him back from Shanhaiguan into your dream to save you. I promise that he is worthy of you. He is more beautiful than you!¡±

    ¡°Ha, I will make a good match today. You and him are really a good match!¡± He talked happily, but he didn¡¯t notice that the person on the bed had started to talk in sleep and fallen into aa. ¡°Just forget about making out with Zhu Quan. I will find you a man who is more suitable for you! Speaking of what happened just now, it¡¯s you who are to me, for you didn¡¯t cooperate with me to burn the amulet paper and summon the Hun Yin. You knocked your head into the dream, which made me be toote to pick a good man for you. Do you think good men are so easy to summon? Everyone is busy. But this time you don¡¯t have to worry. I must...¡± He lowered his head and finally noticed the abnormality of the girl on the bed, ¡°Hey, girl, hold on! Are you satisfied with the candidate I proposed? Don¡¯t you object? Well, I will burn the amulet paper to summon him!¡±

    ¡­

    He Danggui first woke up from the colorful jade mansion. When she moved, she felt that her skeleton was like disassembled. She opened her eyes, looked at the water mirror on the top of the bed and burst into tears. The woman in the mirror with the face of Concubine Gu was lying there with a face full of disbelief. Her body was densely covered withrge and small love bites, and her knee-length hair was spread out on the big bed like a ck satin sheet. The pain from her vagina and the messy red reflected in the mirror made her immediately understand what had happened, so she started crying loudly at once.

    Then, she woke up from the fantasy dream crying loudly. The sky was already dark. She was still sleeping in the dpidated room of that small inn with a bean-like oilmp. She was the only one in the room.

    She struggled to sit up from the bed. After the medicinal properties of Jinfeng Yulu Powder faded, she became saner than any time before. After checking her neat and undamaged clothes inside and outside, she opened her underwear and took a closer look at her white skin without any love bite. She had mixed feelings.

    That was a dream. It was really just a dream. The only trace left was another deep scar added after hitting the Ruyi (a Chinese jade ware) next to her forehead wound from the first hit. What a weird fantasy dream. The scar she had got in the dream also appeared on her head, but the raped Concubine Gu she saw before waking up was not replicated to her.

    She struggled to get down the bed, and the pain from her vagina made her feel puzzled. Didn¡¯t those things happen to her?

    When she was about to take a closer inspection, the door was opened. Bai Yangbai came in with arge bag of things andughed loudly, ¡°You¡¯re awake, girl. How do you feel? After making out like this, there is nothing to worry about. In the future, you will still be a virgin when you make out with your husband, and nothing would be affected!¡±

    He Danggui stared at him without speaking. He opened a slender paper bag, took out a few candles and lit them. Then the room was filled with swaying candle shadows and bright warmth. He opened another oil-paper bag and said with a smile, ¡°Girl,e and eat roast chicken. Your vitality is sapped, so eat something good to make up for it! You say that nobody treats you well, so you don¡¯t want to live. Then in order to help you build the confidence to live, I will be the first person to treat you well! This roast chicken is bought with the precious silver that I originally nned to use in the gambling house to win money. Now I¡¯m very poor!¡± As he was talking, he washed his hands, twisted a chicken wing and handed it to her, ¡°Eat it. It¡¯s so delicious!¡±

    The strange feeling in the private parts between her legs was so clear. He Danggui stared straight at the brilliant smiling face, and then knocked off the chicken wing in his hand. She jumped up, grabbed his cor and yelled, ¡°You are a liar, a shameless liar, an old liar! I told you not to save me, why did you save me? Why didn¡¯t you let me die! What kind of man did you find? I am the concubine of Lord Ning Zhu Quan of the Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion. How can you ruin my reputation and let me face My Lord shamelessly!¡±

    Bai Yangbai was grasped by her and shaken violently. He opened his mouth in surprise, ¡°You are Quan¡¯s concubine? Why don¡¯t you say it earlier? The first man I just found for you is Quan. Why didn¡¯t you recognize him? Isn¡¯t he your husband? Oh, you¡¯ve never made out with him, right? This is normal, because there are too many beauties in his mansion. It is not your turn!¡±

    ¡°The ¡®first¡¯ man you found for me?¡± He Danggui repeated fiercely, ¡°You mean, you found me ¡®another¡¯ man again?¡± She stretched out her hand to pinch his neck fiercely, trying to die with him, but the warm neck in her hand suddenly turned into cold bark. She immediately let it go with a cry and stepped back, ¡°Are you a man or a ghost?!¡±

    Bai Yangbai turned his neck proudly and smiled, ¡°I¡¯m sorry to scare you. I have a lot of skills, and it¡¯s easy for me to bluff a little girl like you.¡± As he said, he put away his smile, scratched his chin in annoyance. Then he continued as if he was apologizing or talking to himself, ¡°Oh, I actually paired Quan¡¯s concubine with someone else! Originally, I nned to pair you with him. If you dream together and sleep together, you will fall in love with each other. What a beautiful story! Unexpectedly, your husband is Quan, which is difficult to handle. Although he has not discovered you so far, you are his belongings once you married into his mansion. He absolutely does not allow others to touch his women. For those women who dare to cuckold him, he has always been cruel and merciless. He will make her take turns to be a military prostitute, an official prostitute, a geisha and so on!¡±

    He Danggui was dumbfounded and said uneasily, ¡°Old monster, don¡¯t talk nonsense. My Lord is not as bad as you said! Why do you know My Lord?¡±

 Chapter 245 - Forecasting the fate of the man and the woman in the dream

    <h4>Chapter 245 Forecasting the fate of the man and the woman in the dream</h4>

    Bai Yangbai kept his head up and unted, ¡°I¡¯m your husband¡¯s teacher and your elder. You should be polite to me. You can¡¯t call me ¡®old goat¡¯ or ¡®old monster¡¯ again!¡±

    ¡°Teacher?¡± He Danggui repeated it nkly and covered her face, crying with regret, ¡°How did that happen? I... I am tarnished, and I no longer deserve the noble Lord Ning. You old goat, why do you save me? I¡¯d rather die for being abused by other men!¡±

    Bai Yangbai came to her and patted her head,forting her, ¡°Don¡¯t be like this. I have told you many times that it is just a dream. The man in a ce far away just had a dream the same as yours. After you wake up, nothing has changed. No man has ever really touched a finger of you. To be precise, you haven¡¯t lost your reputation, so you¡¯d better rx and forget it.¡±

    He Danggui also wanted to forget it as a dream, but as soon as she closed eyes, she could see the unsightly scene in the water mirror, and the sense of weakness of her body showed that it was definitely not a simple dream. Besides, a strange man in the world had the same dream as her. Wasn¡¯t that cheating on the Lord?

    Bai Yangbai helplessly looked at the crying girl and said with a head tilt, ¡°Why are you so serious? Are you not worthy of Quan? No, you are pretty good, and better than all the women he often sleeps with! You are not pure? You are clean from head to toe, and I didn¡¯t watch your body when I dressed you. But Quan had women being at his side in his fifteen. Now five years on, there are at least 80 or 100 women he has hugged. You don¡¯t frown upon him, so what right has he to be disgusted with you?¡±

    He Danggui sobbed, ¡°He is the superior lord and a man. I am as lowly as an ant and a woman. How can we be equal?¡±

    Bai Yangbai kept shaking his head, ¡°Who did you learn it from? Nonsense! Don¡¯t say anything like that again. You are spoiling yourself, so what will others do to you? s, although we meet by chance, I take pity on you because you are as stubborn as the younger me. Well, it is my fault. If you can¡¯t take what happened in the dream, I¡¯ll ask Quan to give you to me. He won¡¯t give others his concubine, but he will give me. And I¡¯ll ask him to give you a divorce letter, so that you will be free. Then I will take you to Shanhaiguan to find ¡®the man in your dream¡¯, okay?¡±

    ¡°A divorce letter?¡± He Danggui stopped crying and muttered nkly, ¡°The divorce letter...¡± Was it the same as the letter of divorce with agreement that her mother got in those days?

    Bai Yangbai thought his advice was epted, so he kept saying, ¡°If you like, I can be the matchmaker to help you find your lover. The guy who took advantage of you in the dream is really nice. His talent probably is only after Quan, and he is not a yboy like Quan. How do you feel, girl?¡± He Danggui didn¡¯t answer, so he rubbed hands awkwardly and continued, ¡°Um... I don¡¯t mean to peep at you. I am afraid that both of you are virgins and don¡¯t know how to make out, so I quietly peeped at you in the dream... Well, he is a bit rude, but you have to be considerate. This is the first time that he has touched a woman in 16 years. Moreover, he also took the philter¡­¡±

    ¡°What? You mean he also took...¡± He Danggui raised her watery eyes, looking at the wretched immortal.

    ¡°Yep.¡± Bai Yangbai affectedly came to her with his face, exining, ¡°I found him hard with the magic of Hun Yin in a long distance, and talked to him for a long time. I told him to save a girl who was suffering from the philter. Anyway, men don¡¯t lose out. But he just disagreed. He said that he didn¡¯t know how to make out and he was busy. He told me to go to his brothers for help. So, I failed. When my mind came back, I saw you writhing on the bed with weak cry. That was so charming. I almost lost control... Well, focus! I found you were on yourst legs, so I immediately burned the amulet paper and used Hun Yin to summon the pure guy into your dream. But he resolutely refused to be your antidote.¡±

    He Danggui looked at him and asked angrily, ¡°Since he was unwilling, why did you use the philter to coerce him? Didn¡¯t you say that he was just a phantom in my dream? So, why could you use the philter to him? He is a living person, right? In fact, everything happened in the dream is real, right?¡±

    Bai Yangbai became angry. He stared at her breasts and said, ¡°It is because your breasts are too small to attract men. The long-faced woman you turned into because of envy is much uglier than you. Of course, you can¡¯t evoke a young man¡¯s flutter like him with an ugly face and a skinny body! After he went to the jade mansion and saw you who was with only a bellyband left by Quan, he turned away at once. I was so worried and yelled at him, but he ignored me and ran out of the jade mansion. With heartlessness, I poured all the Jinfeng Yulu Powder I got from Tai Shan into his mouth. For sure, this cost me a lot of power, and I can¡¯t get my power back after eating ten chickens. And he took the philter in dream, so it only worked in dream. If he wakes up thousand miles away, the philter won¡¯t work.¡±

    He Danggui bit her lips with eyes down, ¡°Who¡­is he?¡±

    Bai Yangbai didn¡¯t answer her but kept saying, ¡°I was very nervous, for fear that he would knock down half of the jade mansion like you and force his way out the dream. But I didn¡¯t expect that the powder was so strong that made him crazy at once. He ran upstairs to find you like a rutting bull. Actually, he got the skill by himself and did even better than Quan. So, what do you think? If you like, I will ask Quan to divorce you, and I will take you to the east to find him. I can¡¯t tell you his name until you agree. After all, I am a little bit sorry for him. If I tell you his name and destroy his image, it will be worse.¡±

    He Danggui rubbed her clothes, looked down and thought. But her mind was twisted like her clothes, and she had no idea about this matter.

    Bai Yangbai took another chicken wing and handed it to her. He said with a smile, ¡°It is the most suffering to think about the problem with hungry. You are so thin that you can be blown away by wind. You should eat more.¡± He Danggui took the chicken wing. He saw her eating delicately, and said with a sigh of relief, ¡°That¡¯s right. Chastity and men are all bullshit. What can be more important than your own life? You want to die for your husband who actually doesn¡¯t know you? How did your parents teach you?¡±

    He Danggui paused and then kept eating the chicken wing. Bai Yangbai suddenly recalled her words and realized that she might have no parents, so he quickly moved to another subject.

    A roast chicken and a few sesame seed cakes were eaten by them. Bai Yangbai served her to gargle, wash hands and drink tea like a little maid. Seeing her unhappy look and confused eyes, he patted his thigh and said through gritted teeth, ¡°Well, let me show you my specialty, the unique Marriage te for 3 Lives.¡±

    Bai Yangbai took out a rough porcin te with two gaps from his arms. Although its name was good, it looked really bad. So, He Danggui just nced at it out of the corner of her eyes and then stayed in a daze. She slept with a strange man and had a wonderful story with her unfamiliar husband, Lord Ning Zhu Quan. Now, the old bogeyman suggested that she should take Lord Ning¡¯s divorce letter and then go thousand miles in search of her husband, the man in her dream. How should she choose?

    Bai Yangbai didn¡¯t mind her indifference. He cleaned the table and set aside the ¡°Marriage te for 3 Lives¡± uprightly. Then he muttered solemnly for some time.

    He Danggui used to see Taoist nun being deliberately mystifying in Shui Shang Temple when she was young, so she had no respect for what he was doing. Even if he was a master, he was not an immortal. How could he forecast her marriage? When she first saw the middle-aged man dressed as a Knight, she thought he was handsome and energetic. When he killed Tai Shan with a sword, he was cool. But now, she treated him as a wretched mystical conman.

    Suddenly, a violent wind howled outside the window. The window secured with a lock blew open. Then all candles blew out, and only a bean-like oilmp was on. The ugly ¡°Marriage te for 3 Lives¡± suddenly turned and jumped on its own. It even asked, ¡°This beautifuldy, what do you want to forecast? Your marriage and luck in love?¡± Its voice was deep and raspy.

    He Danggui looked at the talking te in surprise and considered for a moment. She red at Bai Yangbai, ¡°It is you who spoke, right? You said in a different voice to scare me as a te.¡± That kind of oily tone was clearly his.

    With his mouth closed, Bai Yangbai blinked to her, and then the raspy voice came again, ¡°Little girl, you don¡¯t have to doubt. The world is so big that nothing is to be surprised at. It is not impossible that a te can speak. Besides, I am the unique ¡®Marriage te for 3 Lives¡¯. So, beautifuldy, what can I do for you? I can answer your questions for free.¡±

    He Danggui was stunned. She looked at his unmoved mouth and Adam¡¯s apple, and then looked at the te that was jumping around on the table. She asked in surprise, ¡°Old goat, are you... an immortal? Is the te a magic subject?¡±

    He blinked and pursed his lips, ¡°Although I call myself an ¡®old master¡¯, it is just my personal hobby. I am a debonair gentleman and only 20 years older than you. Can you stop calling me old goat? Even if you are young and beautiful, you can¡¯t discriminate against me! Or you can call me ¡®nice uncle¡¯ter. How about it, young sister?¡±

    He Danggui was still stunned. She didn¡¯t expect to meet an immortal in her lifetime, and the so-called immortal was totally not a sage-like type, but a slovenly slicker!

    She didn¡¯t respond him. Bai Yangbai scratched his face boringly, and then the te jumped and said again, ¡°Little girl, as long as you give me your date of birth and eight characters of a horoscope, I can forecast your marriage in your previous life, this life, and next life. You are so beautiful, so it is for free. After the divination, you can give me a kiss in return. As a te, I rarely get sweet kisses from beauties. Is that OK, little girl?¡±

 Chapter 246 - Colorful dress pleased her stepfather

    <h4>Chapter 246 Colorful dress pleased her stepfather</h4>

    She was molested by a te! He Danggui squeezed the corner of her clothes and stared nkly. Could this te really help her determine her marriage? Should she take the divorce letter from the Lord?

    There was no response. The te rolled around two times before it stopped. It said in a low voice, ¡°I know it¡¯s a bit unreasonable to let you kiss a cold te. Besides, I haven¡¯t taken a shower for a long time. But you can kiss my master¡¯s face. He washes his face every day.¡±

    He Danggui nced at Bai Yangbai, who made fun of her, and asked angrily, ¡°It costs ten liang each time, right? I can afford it. Will you predict it once for me? Are you really good at it?¡±

    ¡°Huh, OK, ten liang,¡± said the te disappointingly, ¡°It¡¯s okay to take a gamble. If I earn twenty liang, I can buy a thousand roasted chicken wings. If I earn a hundred liang, I can buy many beautifuldies! So, beautifuldy, what is your date of birth and eight characters of a horoscope?¡±

    After He Danggui carefully said that, the tey on the table without saying a word. Then its owner, Bai Yangbai, took out a string of copper cash to divine and ced it on the table pretentiously.

    He Danggui couldn¡¯t help wondering, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that the ¡®Marriage te for 3 lives¡¯ would divine the marriage for me? Why do you divine?¡±

    Bai Yangbai exined, ¡°It just revealed the answer to me with its own words, but I¡¯m afraid that you cannot understand it, so I divine it for you. Anyway, it and me belong to the same family. You can treat me as its spokesperson! Ha-ha.¡± He pushed the copper cash on the table and put out a few trigrams. Then he muttered, ¡°Quan¡¯s eight characters of a horoscope¡­¡± ¡°That guy¡¯s eight characters of a horoscope...¡± ¡°Huh? My eight characters of a horoscope can also be checked, ha-ha¡±. Finally, he raised his head and announced the answer, ¡°You are still Quan¡¯s concubine in this life.¡±

    He Danggui felt relieved. This was the best. She actually didn¡¯t intend to take the divorce letter. This result was just what she wanted. After she saw her mother marrying a second time and being ridiculed by someone, the ¡°divorce letter¡± and the ¡°letter of divorce with agreement¡± had be taboo words in her mind.

    Although she had not spoken to Lord Ning so far, she was actually his concubine in name. Once she was abandoned, the whole Luo¡¯s Mansion would re up first, and various new gossip would be created by the servants. She and her mother would be ndered. And the people of Third Branch headed by Madam Luo would treat them badly. Although she, the Third Miss, had not brought them any benefits since she was married into the Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion, they had shown it off in front of outsiders, ¡°The niece was married into Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion!¡± They also got words of congrattion from outsiders. How could they allow her to lose the identity of Lord Ning¡¯s concubine?

    Therefore, from the very beginning, after knowing that she had been poisoned by Jinfeng Yulu Powder, she immediately wanted to die. Since she thought of the faces of the Luo Family¡¯s uncles and aunts, and her mother¡¯s helpless and resentful face, she wanted to die to protect her reputation and avoid causing trouble to her mother.

    A year ago, before she got married, Madam Luo called her into the room for a long talk. It was the longest talk that Madam Luo had ever said to her in her life.

    Madam Luo said, ¡°Yi, I know that you me the Luo¡¯s Family for treating you badly, but you have grown up to fourteen years old safely. Is that true? The nasty guy He Jingxian is the culprit! He is so ruthless. He is under a whore¡¯s spell and marries her as his wife. He has nevere to see you and your mother in these years. He Fu is worse. He upies your mother¡¯s dowry, farnd, house, gold, silver and jewelry. He is such an ungrateful person...¡±

    At that time, He Danggui frowned. Every time she heard these things, she was anxious. She was just a child and never made any mistakes. Why did everyone mention this to her repeatedly? It seemed that the person who cheated her mother¡¯s dowry was her! Obviously, it was her mother who didn¡¯t meet reliable people, and it was her grandmother who forced her mother to remarry. She was also a victim of these old things! She neverined about anything. Why did Madam Luo and others alwaysin to her!

    When Madam Luo saw He Danggui¡¯s expression of grievance, she shook her head and sighed, ¡°Oh, I also know that you are a miserable child and can¡¯t bear to ask you more. But the people of Luo¡¯s Family are all your close rtives, and you are tied by blood. You have to keep in mind that you are highly interdependent. If Luo¡¯s Family is glorified, you will have a say in Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion, right? How do you know that you will not rely on the Luo¡¯s Family in the future?¡±

    He Danggui gritted her teeth secretly. Close rtives? Close rtives! During these years she had lived in the Luo¡¯s Mansion, who did regard her as a close rtive? Just a few days ago, before the people of Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion came to propose marriage to her, the First Aunt said that the whole family should not let ¡°strangers¡± serve the table during the reunion dinner, and none of the ¡°close rtives¡± opened their mouths to say a word for her. Finally, at the ¡°Reunion Dinner of Luo¡¯s Family¡± that everyone in the three branches rarely attended, the whole family ate lively, but she squatted on the small bench next to them and held a wooden bowl in her hand, eating a bowl of rice under their supercilious looks. Now that she finally atoned for her sin and could escape from the sea of suffering, why should she still rely on Luo¡¯s Family? She would never return to this home again! She wanted to go far, get rid of this impersonal ice cer-like home, cut off all rtions with this home, and live her own beautiful new life!

    Madam Luo took off the prayer beads on her wrist and turned it. She said, ¡°Yi, a woman at home obeys her father¡¯s order. After she is married, she obeys her husband¡¯s order. After her husband dies, she obeys her son¡¯s order. This is the iron rule that has never changed. You did suffer for two years when you were a child, but that can only be med on you for not having a ¡®father¡¯ when you should ¡®follow your father at home¡¯. You shouldn¡¯t me the Luo¡¯s Family. Although the Luo¡¯s Family has treated you harshly, you have been supported for more than ten years.¡±

    He Danggui gritted her teeth tightly and stopped the trembling of her jaw. She had never med anyone. On the contrary, everyone ¡°thought¡± that she was ming them and resenting them. She didn¡¯t want to argue with them. She just wanted to escape from this ce and stay away from these rtives.

    Madam Luo kindly took her hand and put the prayer beads that she had worn for many years on her snow wrist. She finally persuaded, ¡°Don¡¯t leave your close rtives because of little disputes. And don¡¯t forget great vors of others because of insignificant grudges. In any case, you still have a mother who lives in Luo¡¯s Family. Yi, you are a filial child. Think about your mother before doing anything. You should be grateful. Even if you can¡¯t bring benefits to your close rtives when you are honorable, don¡¯t involve your maternal rtives when you are unfortunately convicted one day.¡±

    Her mother? Her mother... These two words were like the tip of a small needle. After it poked lightly, the anger she had umted for several years was disappear. Well, she had a weak and uninspiring biological mother. Her mother was relying on the Luo¡¯s Family to make decisions about everything.

    But she had a grievance with her mother and hoped to cut off the rtionship with her mother. Before the people of Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion came to propose marriage, everyone all said that she could not get married or could only marry into a poor family. She was just the shame and air in the eyes of her mother, and the love her mother gave her was notparable to that of Luo Baiqiong and others. After the people of Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion came to propose marriage, everyone praised that she was blessed and had a promising future. Her mother could not lift her head in Luo¡¯s Family for more than ten years. Because of her, her mother suddenly raised her head and chest. Then her mother looked at her with expectation and sky-high hope.

    He Danggui saw that kind of look a few years ago. At that time, her mother put a colorful dress on her and asked her to learn singing and dancing to please the family of He Fu. Her mother let her ¡°please her rtives in colorful clothes¡±. Her mother wanted to make full use of a beautiful and well-behaved daughter to win her stepfather¡¯s heart back. It was an eager, anticipated, and exploiting look.

    That kind of look made He Danggui feel wronged, ufortable, and sad, but that was the look of her own mother. That beautiful woman with a round face who always looked sad was her mother. She had a mother who lived in Luo¡¯s Mansion. With such an unforgettable sentence, she moved from the misty and rainy Jiangnan to the cold suburb of the border, where the northwest wind blew all the year round, and became a nominal concubine of Lord Ning.

    The Luo¡¯s Family would not allow her to lose the identity of Lord Ning¡¯s concubine, which was her mother¡¯s amulet and pass in Luo¡¯s Mansion.

    Therefore, when the immortal te announced that she was still Quan¡¯s concubine in this life, she immediately breathed a sigh of relief. And at the same time, sheughed to herself. How could she even consider the issue that whether she could ask for the divorce letter of Lord Ning? No woman went to ask her husband for a divorce letter. Besides, her husband was such a perfect man. Even if he was just a mediocre person, she couldn¡¯t think anything else. She learned from the situation of her mother. He Fu was so ruthless to her mother, but her mother still be loyal to the nominal husband.

    A woman at home obeyed her father¡¯s order. After she was married, she obeyed her husband¡¯s order. After her husband died, she obeyed her son¡¯s order. That was the iron rule that had never changed through the ages! He Danggui used these words to hypnotize herself. As long as she followed this rule, sooner orter, she would have her own good life, and live the life of a normal woman with a husband and sons. Immortal was watching from above. Her perseverance and loyalty could be seen by immortal. Even if she was temporarily unlucky and ill-fated, immortal would not disappoint a good person ultimately.

    Bai Yangbai divined by the copper cash and then said, ¡°Your previous life...well, you died at the age of ten. It¡¯s so short-lived. It seems that you have died quite unjustly. It is an abnormal death, so there is no marriage rtionship. In this life, you have only one marriage rtionship. It¡¯s with Quan. As for the next life... Atishoo!¡± A cool breeze poured into the room from outside the window, and thest bean-like oilmp was also extinguished. Darkness and silence were shrouded the room.

    He Danggui stared at those eyes that were still clear in the darkness, and asked in a low voice, ¡°I... those things happened in the jade building... Is it really just a dream?¡±

    Those eyes smiled, and he said, ¡°Rx, little sister, you will understand it when you and your husband make out. I can¡¯t exin it to you now.¡±

    Sneaking back to Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion at night, He Danggui fell asleep until dawn. After opening her eyes in the morning, she felt like she had a weird dream that was awake from beginning to end. Every detail was vivid in her eyes, but the process was more bizarre than her total experience of the past fifteen years. She and her long-awaited husband made a little progress in the dream. And a strange man ¡°detoxified¡± with insensible her in the fantasy dream. Then, she met the noble and elegant husband¡¯s vulgar teacher Bai Yangbai, who was a swordsman. In the end, she finally didn¡¯t have to live under the extortion and coercion of Tai Shan. She could walk out of the room freely and walk in the warm sun.

    So, she wandered out of her yard and walked into the garden of the mansion. Then she heard thetest news that Concubine Gu was named by the Lord to sleep with himst night, and she had note out of the Lord¡¯s room until now. He Danggui was upset and crushed two begonias. Then she tried to find Bai Yangbai by using the contact method that he left to her. When he partedst night, he said that he was willing to help her get her husband¡¯s love. She didn¡¯t know if she could believe him, but she wanted to try and seize this opportunity to give it a go.

    As a woman, she could lose everything except the love of her husband, otherwise she would be a rootless begonia, which was beautiful and fragile. And the life was so short that she could only go through a flowering period under the sun.

 Chapter 247 - Wife in the Next Life

    <h4>Chapter 247 Wife in the Next Life</h4>

    Half a yearter, with the help of Bai Yangbai, He Danggui got refined internally and externally, and became Zhu Quan¡¯s favorite concubine and assistant in one fell swoop. Besides, together with Bai Yangbai, she became the ¡°shadow¡± of Gezhu (the head of an organization) of Wuying Tower. In addition, she identally discovered the agerasia secret of Bai Yangbai and asked him to help her maintain appearance. In those days going like the water, she engaged in the battle of wit, bravery and eloquence with Bai Yangbai, and was never tired of it.

    Suddenly one day, Bai Yangbai said, ¡°Girl, follow my surname.¡± She sneered at it and thought his was joking again.

    Suddenly one day, Bai Yangbai said, ¡°Girl, the thing I regret the most in my life is what I did when I first met you.¡± She thought he regretted saving her, so she punched him and said, ¡°It¡¯s toote to regret. I don¡¯t want to die anymore.¡± She also tentatively asked the identity of the strange man in the dream, but when he mentioned the matter, his face was cold. Even if she was insensitive, she could feel his unhappiness. She guessed that his friendship with that person had deteriorated, so he didn¡¯t want to mention that person.

    Suddenly one day, Bai Yangbai said, ¡°Girl, let¡¯s run away together after finishing this mission. Although you are Quan¡¯s concubine, he will not fall out with me for you. I am sorry for him, so I will try to make up for him. He has hundreds of women, and you are not so important for him. But I can¡¯t live without you.¡± She touched his forehead and said, ¡°Old man, you are drunk. What kind of drama do your beautiful linese from?¡± He beat the wall and cursed, ¡°I am a lunatic., I am a fool. I am the biggest fool in the world. Why am I still alive? I want to live again. I want to start living ten years ago.¡± She panicked and asked, ¡°Old man, what bothers you? Are you short of money?¡±

    Suddenly one day, Bai Yangbai said, ¡°Girl, I haven¡¯t finished the marriage divination that year. In fact, we will have a marriage rtionship in the next life. It is better to die together.¡± She nodded and said, ¡°Okay, you die first and I will follow.¡± He yelled fiercely, ¡°What I said is true, and I figure it out by my knowledge. It¡¯s okay that you don¡¯t believe me, but don¡¯t you even believe Marriage te?¡± She sneered and said, ¡°How can a broken te speak? At that time, you used ventriloquism, right? You hang the te with colorless silk thread beforehand and then pull it in your hand. The room was so dark that you could do whatever you wanted. These tricks are not new anymore. Old man, you are outdated.¡± Bai Yangbai jumped angrily and said, ¡°Girl, I am not old. I am strong and longevous. I definitely live longer than you. Believe me this time. This time I really do not lie to you.¡± Sheforted him, ¡°I know that you have a long life. Don¡¯t get angry. Anger hurts your liver and liver injury reduces life expectancy.¡±

    Suddenly one day, Bai Yangbai said, ¡°Girl, you are pregnant again, right? Then I can¡¯t help you maintain appearance in the future. That bath is forbidden for pregnant women. Don¡¯te to my house to find me again in the future. I¡¯m going out.¡± She hurriedly asked, ¡°What about Yingying Powder? Can¡¯t pregnant women also use it?¡± He said slowly, ¡°That is avable. Girl, you love Quan, right? You are very nervous about your child, right?¡± With the splendor of ¡°future mother¡±, she chuckled and said, ¡°Originally, I thought that there will be no more children in my early 30s. There was no child in the past when I prayed for it, but now when I don¡¯t pray, I suddenly have it. Master Bai, help me predict that whether this baby can be delivered smoothly.¡± Bai Yangbai nodded and then shook his head. He finally said, ¡°I can see you holding a baby on the banquet when the baby is one month old, but I can¡¯t see you on the baby¡¯s first birthday banquet.¡± She asked nervously, ¡°What does that mean? Bai Yangbai, don¡¯t scare me.¡± Bai Yangbai shook his head and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know what that means. Maybe I have been drinking too much wine recently, which has affected my third eye.¡± She expressed her concern, ¡°Old man, drink less. Beware of the joint pain in old age.¡±

    ...

    After giving birth to her daughter a few monthster, He Danggui felt a little uneasy because her husband showed less special favor to her. He hadn¡¯t rested in her room for more than a month and was obsessed with a 16-year-old girl from Jiangnan recently, who used to be a maid.

    He Danggui thought that her beauty was declining. When she took the mirror to look at it, the person in the mirror was youthful and beautiful, but her eyes became old and unfamiliar. As a result, she began to think of Bai Yangbai¡¯s agerasia bath again. So, she ran to his house to find it, where he had disappeared and everything was empty. And the huge luxury house was full of dpidated dust. She used Wuying Tower¡¯s special channel to contact him repeatedly and asked him to send her some medicinal materials for agerasia. After waiting for a long time, she received only a thin letter. She hurriedly opened the envelope and only found a nk sheet and a piece of air-dried mulberry leaf inside.

    He Danggui studied the nk sheet but didn¡¯t find any prescriptions. After realizing that Bai Yangbai was so mean that he only sent a real nk sheet to her, she was so angry that she ran to his house and smashed it. For a moment, she felt that someone was peeking at her in the crack of the door. Those bright eyes were as familiar as her own eyes that she saw in the mirror. That person must be Bai Yangbai, but after she kicked the door open, it was empty outside the door and there was no one.

    Three monthster, He Danggui was framed by Consort Zhou and Luo¡¯s Family. Zhu Quan ordered her to be imprisoned in a dark and cold water dungeon. Her throat was burned by hot coals, and she became a mute. Her daughter was bitten to death by a poisonous snake, which was set by Sun Meiniang and Luo Baiqiong. She dipped in the well water with frostbitten fingers to divine on the stone wall. However, the result showed it was a dead end. But she didn¡¯t want to die. If such a bloody grudge was buried in a water prison and sealed in the ground, she would not have the intention to reincarnate and continue her next life. Since there was no joy in her life, she wasn¡¯t afraid of death.

    She was not afraid of death because death was liberation. But she was afraid of death, because death was the end, the end of enmity and vengeance. She could not die because she wanted to revenge!

    He Danggui suddenly thought of Bai Yangbai. She suddenly remembered that many years ago, when she participated in leading the assassination for the first time, she hid behind Bai Yangbai in a panic and said, ¡°If we fight like this, I may be killed in the end. I don¡¯t want to die. I just found the joy of being alive.¡±

    Then Bai Yangbaiforted and said, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, girl. As long as I am here, you will never die. You can live as long as I live.¡±

    She was still very scared. She shook her head and said, ¡°The arrow has no eyes. If I¡¯m shot to death by an arrow shot from hiding ce suddenly, you will be powerless, won¡¯t you?¡±

    Bai Yangbai¡¯s voice became rarely gentle. He said, ¡°You still don¡¯t know what I am capable of. In any case, I always have a way to prevent you from dying, and I can save you if you die, because you are my wife in my next life. If you are dead, am I going to be a bachelor for two lives?¡±

    He Danggui was amused. She smiled and said, ¡°It doesn¡¯t make sense. How can I be your wife in the next life if I don¡¯t die?¡±

    Bai Yangbai pulled up her sleeves and walked into the arrow formation. He said in a casual way, ¡°Come on, girl. Let¡¯s die in love and reborn as childhood sweethearts together.¡±

    He Danggui in the water dungeon remembered these past events, so she looked forward to Bai Yangbai¡¯s rescue. She hoped that he could take her out of the mansion, heal her throat, frostbite and joint pain, and then make ns to avenge her. However, after several months of suffering in the ice water, she did not see Bai Yangbai. She was worried about whether his news was blocked, and he still didn¡¯t know that something happened to her. Besides, she also thought pessimistically that Zhu Quan¡¯s rtionship with him was closer. Although he and her were friends, some friends were close and some were distant. In order to help his good student, Zhu Quan, keep the shocking secrets, he would note to save her.

    In the end, Bai Yangbai really did not show up until she breathed out thest warm breath and closed her desperate and angry eyes. At thest moment, she hated many people, including Bai Yangbai. Therefore, when she first saw him in this life, she treated him as a half enemy, coveting his secret recipe of agerasia. However, after she got along with him, her resentment towards him was dispelled by his gag, and then she treated him as the best friend again like previous life. She was close and defenseless to him.

    In Qi Lu Yard, she heard something that shocked her-

    Qi Xuanyu spoke like telling a story. Since it was called the forbidden magic, it could do what the immortal could do but mortals could not. A corresponding price must be paid if mortals did it. The soul fragments entrapped in the thorn star were probably the price they paid for sending that thing. If Taoist Sage was willing to pay the price of losing his soul, he could do such a thing.

    He Danggui anxiously recalled her previous life with Bai Yangbai. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that he might really like her. He might hear about her death after she died, and he couldn¡¯t ept it. Therefore, he used that Forbidden magic of binding the soul for 3 lives at ¡°the price of losing soul¡± to make her reborn and go back to eighteen years ago. Right?

    He Danggui¡¯s chest was stuffed like a lump of cotton crammed. She wanted to go back to Qi Lu Yard to eavesdrop on more news, but she didn¡¯t want to deal with Zhu Quan and others. After the eavesdropping was discovered by Zhu Quan just now, they must be vignt. What should she do? Did she really owe Bai Yangbai a soul and a life? Did she really have a marriage rtionship with him in this life? Should she be his wife to pay off her debts? But she only regarded him as a genderless friend, and he obviously didn¡¯t love her in this life.

    ¡°sh. sh.¡± There were two muffled noises suddenly sounding beside the bed. He Danggui raised her eyes and saw that Meng Xuan also took off his boots and crawled onto the bed. She was surprised, ¡°What are you going to do?¡±

    Meng Xuan crawled with his head down over and theny down. He politely asked, ¡°Share the pillow with me, thank you.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± He Danggui shrank back and said while frowning, ¡°Meng Xuan, I told you clearlyst time. Since we were both children in those years, it didn¡¯t matter if wey together. But now...¡±

    ¡°Xiaoyi,¡± Meng Xuan interrupted her gently while looking at her gently, ¡°Even if there is some displeasure between you and me, we are still friends, right? So, please don¡¯t hide from me. I am the only person in the world who won¡¯t hurt you. Don¡¯t be afraid. I just want to help you.¡± He approached while she was dazed. Then he pulled half of her pillow away andy down facing her.

    Although Meng Xuan showed her a favor ¡°regardless of the previous things¡±, He Danggui still didn¡¯t get used to that handsome face with a man¡¯s tough lines, which was infinitely magnified before her eyes. She turned her face away and said, ¡°Even if I think of you as a friend like Bai Yangbai, you and I are different and we shouldn¡¯t get along like this. Meng Xuan, get out of bed quickly. Now is different from the past.¡±

    Meng Xuan found her left hand under the brocade quilt and held her hand. He smiled slightly and said, ¡°It¡¯s different from when we were kids. When I was a kid, I had to share half of your quilt. Now I just lie outside the quilt and pass on the energy for you.¡±

    He Danggui took back her hand and declined, ¡°I don¡¯t use it urgently. Pay me back when you leave Yangzhou City. Aren¡¯t you going to participate in the Wulin Assembly? More energy provides more guarantee. Zhenqi I received will not hatch an egg.¡±

    Meng Xuan sped her left hand tightly and searched for her another hand in the quilt. He gently exined to her, ¡°I don¡¯t want to pay back your energy, but I want to show you a fun trick. I guarantee that you will like it. Hurry up, give me your hand!¡±

    He Danggui handed her right hand suspiciously and muttered, ¡°I am not a kid, and I have long lost interest in those tricks for fun. I still have things I haven¡¯t finished waiting for me.¡±

    Meng Xuan didn¡¯t mind her attitude. He wrapped her snow-white and smooth small hands with a pair of big hands. He closed his eyes and was silent for a long moment. Then he asked with closed eyes, ¡°How do you feel? Is there a hot and tingling sensation in Yongquan acupoint?¡± His tone was inducing, as if he was coaxing a child.

    He Danggui didn¡¯t know what he was doing. She couldn¡¯t help but pout under the veil, ¡°Did you make a mistake, man? You are holding my hand, not my foot. Why does my Yongquan acupoint burn? Even if you give me Zhenqi and iron all my eight meridians, it won¡¯t reach that far.¡± After ayer of dryness gradually appeared in her heart, she began to regret that she just shouldn¡¯t be excited to break the branch just now. Otherwise, she could continue to eavesdrop on the secret conversations between Zhu Quan and the brothers of Qi¡¯s Family. There must be the information she wanted most in the conversation between the three of them. The information about thorn star, Bai Yangbai and the exnations for Zhu Quan¡¯s abnormal behaviors were all what she wanted to know urgently.

    In such an impetuous mood, she gradually felt that the Yongquan acupoint on the soles of her feet became hot, as if she was soaking in a boiling hot spring. She couldn¡¯t help but exim at Meng Xuan, ¡°What have you done? My feet are hot. It¡¯s so limp and numb!¡±

    Before Meng Xuan answered, Qi Xuanyu¡¯s voice suddenly sounded in He Danggui¡¯s ears, ¡°My lord, have you found the eavesdropper? Do we need to summon our people and search the Qi Lu Yard?¡±

 Chapter 248 - Master Prophet declared the natureâ€™s mystery

    <h4>Chapter 248 Master Prophet dered the nature¡¯s mystery</h4>

    He Danggui was very shocked. She unconsciously wrapped in the quilt and moved towards Meng Xuan¡¯s arms. After a while, she heard Zhu Quan¡¯s voice again, ¡°No. I¡¯ve searched inside and outside of Qi Lu Yard. And I am pretty sure that apart from the three of us, there is no living person within 50 zhang (a unit of length in ancient China) of the yard. I just rushed out as soon as I heard the sound. There is no one in the world that I can¡¯t chase. Therefore, the noise outside the yard is probably caused by birds and beasts, instead of someone eavesdropping.¡±

    After He Danggui quietly listened to these words, she suddenly breathed a sigh of relief, because she found that the voices of Qi Xuanyu and Zhu Quan were clearly sounding in her ears, but not in the Su Mei Yard! In other words, the two speakers were far away from Su Mei Yard, and they were even in Qi Lu Yard on the other side of Luo¡¯s Mansion, but their voices appeared in Su Mei Yard, which was 3 miles apart!

    What was going on? Thousand Miles of Sound Transmission?!

    He Danggui raised her eyes to look at Meng Xuan¡¯s smiling eyes. She wanted to speak, but she was afraid that her voice would ¡°pass to¡± Zhu Quan¡¯s ears, so she opened her mouth under the veil and stopped. However, Meng Xuan immediately read her thoughts, so he took the lead in saying, ¡°It¡¯s okay. We can talk as usual here. Lord Ning and others will never hear. Xiaoyi, why are you wearing a veil? I see that the skin on your forehead is pale. Are you sick?¡±

    He Danggui opened her eyes curiously, ignoring Meng Xuan¡¯s question, and eagerly asked, ¡°What kind of trick is this? Why can I hear Zhu Quan¡¯s voice? Is he still in Qi Lu Yard now? He didn¡¯t catch and find us just now, did he?¡± At this moment, Zhu Quan and Qi Xuanyu¡¯s conversation could still be heard. Judging from the conversation, the two thought the passing birds and beasts made noises. It was because Zhu Quan believed that no one in the world was faster than him. He Danggui breathed a sigh of relief. Arrogance was Zhu Quan¡¯s biggest shoring. He missed the throne back then in the previous life, and now his arrogance enabled her to escape.

    Meng Xuan exined to her, ¡°In the past, I learned this skill from a stranger. I can hear the sound of a designated ce within a five-mile radius. Although it doesn¡¯t work sometimes and it is not as convenient as a senior to use the ear to listen directly, its advantage is that it can reach the long distance. Even a senior of my uncle¡¯s level can¡¯t catch the voices of people three miles away, but this skill can do it.¡±

    He Danggui asked curiously, ¡°What is the name of this skill? Is it difficult to learn? Why can I share the sounds I hear with others?¡±

    Meng Xuan vaguely said, ¡°I was in a hurry to learn back then. When I only learned half of it, the person who taught me left, and even didn¡¯t reveal the name of this skill to me. If you are interested, I can try to teach you in the future. However, I haven¡¯t fully mastered it. It only worked once out of ten times. This time I was with you and I was very focused, so I seeded once.¡± This ¡°One-Way Soul Search Method¡± was learned from Bai Yangbai in the previous life. It was also the unique secret skill of Bai Yangbai, and Bai Yangbai had never taught him these in this life, so he couldn¡¯t show it off grandiosely. And especially, the rtionship between He Danggui and Bai Yangbai was special.

    He Danggui only felt that the heat from the soles of her feet hit one after another, and the sensation of limpness and numbness quickly spread to her whole body, causing her to groan. After groaning with a low voice, she met Meng Xuan¡¯s smiling eyes. She clenched her teeth shyly, closed her eyes tightly, and distracted by listening to Zhu Quan and the others.

    This time it was Qi Chuan¡¯s voice, ¡°Brother, since you have helped Sister Qingyi twice, howe you are so hostile to her now and speak ill of her?¡±

    Meng Xuan whisperedfortingly, ¡°I didn¡¯t mean tough at you. I just think this moan is a bit familiar, as if I¡¯ve heard it before. You don¡¯t have to resist it, just call it out if you want. There are no outsiders in this yard anyway.¡± While speaking, he changed to a lying position and guided the continuous flow of air into the veins of the pair of thin arms. He closed his eyes and said, ¡°I can¡¯t hear anything. You just treat me as if I don¡¯t exist.¡±

    He Danggui snorted twice, and then asked with a trembling voice, ¡°Will the heat flow continue? Can it be sealed with a silver needle?¡±

    Meng Xuan vetoed her proposal, ¡°No. You won¡¯t be able to hear it if you seal the acupoint. There is always a price to pay for eavesdropping on other people¡¯s speech, and the heat is not too unbearable. In fact, I feel the same in my Yongquan acupoint. I have gotten used to it. It is your first time, so you react so strongly. Just yell a few times to relieve it. I will neverugh at you. Like this.¡± Then he yelled to give her a demonstration.

    ¡°Hush¡ª¡± He Danggui frowned, ¡°Be quiet. I can¡¯t hear them.¡±

    ¡°... Mencius said,passion is the beginning of benevolence. Everyone haspassion.¡± This was Qi Xuanyu¡¯s voice. He said, ¡°I gave her clothes and socks at the beginning, and I praised her in front of Madam Luo, because I sympathized with a weak person like her, and found her beautiful. I expected that if she grew up, she would make a huge sess in the future. But what I did not expect is that her sess will have to be supplemented by the Lord, so there are some things I have to say, even if the divulgence of the nature¡¯s mystery will lead to misfortune.¡±

    ¡°Say it.¡± This was Zhu Quan¡¯s voice.

    The strong strange sensation of limpness and numbness spread all over the body like running water. He Danggui gritted her teeth and stifled groans, listening to ¡°Master Prophet¡±, Qi Xuanyu, to reveal the nature¡¯s mystery, ¡°That time I praised He Danggui for her good destiny, which caused a fat woman¡¯s dissatisfaction.¡± Qi Chuan interrupted and said, ¡°That fat woman is Luo Baiqian¡¯s stepmother.¡± Qi Xuanyu said in a deep voice, ¡°Seeing that they still didn¡¯t believe that He Danggui¡¯s fate had no bed impact on her rtives, I took out the copper cash to make a serious divination. This time I was shocked. Then I took her eight characters of a horoscope and divined it twice. I was wondering how the Luo¡¯s Family could have such a precious eight characters. It turns out that He Danggui is not an ordinary person. She is a reincarnation of the royal family member!¡±

    He Danggui was confused and didn¡¯t understand what Qi Xuanyu was talking about. She was herself, a lonely soul who came with memories of her previous life, and not one¡¯s reincarnation. Qi Xuanyu might be a deceitful mystical conman.

    Meng Xuan suddenly leaned his face close, pressed against her forehead with his forehead, and asked in a low voice, ¡°Your forehead is cold and pale. What is wrong with you?¡±

    ¡°It is you who are sick. Your forehead is hot,¡± He Danggui displeased his intimacy and snorted coldly, ¡°Why did you save me? Why did you take me out of Qi Lu Yard? You think that there is an improper rtionship between me and Lord Ning, Zhu Quan, don¡¯t you? Then why don¡¯t you throw me at him!¡±

    Under the curious questioning of Zhu Quan and Qi Chuan, Qi Xuanyu¡¯s elegant and maic voice spread out, ¡°My hexagram of the nature¡¯s mystery is learned from my father. It is unique in the world. Such a skill is superior to the Taoist sage. So, after a few consecutive divinations, I¡¯m almostpletely certain that He Danggui in the previous life is definitely a member of royal family. Then, by inferring her age, it can be calcted that she died ten years ago in her previous life. Since I live in the capital for a long time and oftene in and go out of the Imperial Pce, there is no royal member that I don¡¯t recognize. And I may also know the royal member who died ten years ago. Therefore, I asked Madam Luo for a portrait of He Danggui.¡±

    Meng Xuan said dully, ¡°As soon as you left Tao Yao Yard, I saw you and unconsciously followed you until outside of Qi Lu Yard. I saw you hiding in the grass and eavesdropping on the conversations of the people inside, so I also hid behind a tree not far away and eavesdropped together. I don¡¯t know what trouble you have with Lord Ning, but you choose to eavesdrop. It means that you don¡¯t n to meet him for the time being. Therefore, seeing you make a move and disturb Lord Ning, I naturally wanted to cover for you. Don¡¯t you remember? Girl, I just told you a few days ago. I always treat you the same.¡±

    He Danggui continued to snort coldly with her nostrils and said, ¡°It¡¯s difficult to distinguish your words are true or false, and your attitude is sometimes enthusiastic and sometimes indifferent. I am really ttered and at a loss. Didn¡¯t your brother say that you already have a concubine and a son? Treat them well as always. I don¡¯t need your affection.¡± But while saying that, she still let him hold her hand and listened to Qi Xuanyu¡¯s nonsense with his magical skills, ¡°The Luo¡¯s Family did not ask the painter to draw her, but there was a maid who collected a self-cut portrait of He Danggui...¡±

    Meng Xuan said anxiously, ¡°I have never lied to you, nor have I had a son with another woman. My brother made up those words to lie to you...¡±

    ¡°Hush!¡± He Danggui red at him and said, ¡°Your voice is so loud that it covers Qi Xuanyu¡¯s voice!¡± But after hearing Meng Xuan¡¯s words, a part of her heart suddenly rxed a little. She felt puzzled, meanwhile, groans escaped from her mouth. What on earth was the strange method of eavesdropping? While eavesdropping, she even must endure the sensation of limpness and numbness.

    Qi Xuanyu said, ¡°Lord, there are many precious books about Daoist magic and misceneous theories in your mansion, and you may have read it. Some books about reincarnation have a saying that more than 90% of a person¡¯s appearance is determined by the soul. The appearance of the reincarnated person is basically the same as that of the previous life. Therefore, when I got the portrait of He Danggui and fixed my eyes, I recognized who she was and took away the portrait from Madam Luo. I visited openly and investigated secretly for many days. Finally, I hid this secret deep in my heart until today. Lord, I am very sure that He Danggui is the reincarnation of the Tenth Princess. She is the reincarnation of your Tenth Sister, so you can not marry her. Lord, He Danggui looks exactly like the Tenth Princess!¡±

    As soon as this remark came out, Qi Lu Yard fell into silence. He Danggui and Meng Xuan at Su Mei Yard also stared at each other for a while. He Danggui did not expect that Qi Xuanyu talked such nonsense. She was so angry that she forgot all ufortable symptoms. She reprimanded Meng Xuan in an angry voice, ¡°Why do you stare? If I am the reincarnation of a princess, you may be some kind of immortal who has reincarnated. Qi Xuanyu is a visionary at all. He should write drama.¡±

    Meng Xuan shook his head thoughtfully, ¡°Tenth Princess died in the spring fourteen years ago. You were born in June, right? The emperor¡¯s Tenth Princess died in mid-April. From the perspective of time, two persons can bepletely matched. Qi Xuanyu has frequently wandered between Imperial Court and Imperial Harem since he was thirteen years old. It is not surprising that he has seen Tenth Princess, and his hexagram of the nature¡¯s mystery is mysterious...¡±

    Since Meng Xuan¡¯s words were also unrealistic like Qi Xuanyu¡¯s, He Danggui couldn¡¯t help being funny and angry, ¡°I¡¯m very very very sure that I am myself. I¡¯m just He Danggui, not a princess¡¯s reincarnation. No matter how magical Qi Xuanyu¡¯s hexagrams are, he really makes a mistake this time.¡± She had been with Zhu Quan for more than ten years in her previous life. Could it be that Zhu Quan could not recognize his own emperor sister? And she had lived in the Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion for more than a year without a name. If she had the face of Tenth Princess, Zhu Quan should notice her for the first time.

    Meng Xuan said to himself, ¡°By the way, I remember that Tenth Princess was only eleven years old when she died. Xiaoyi, your little portrait three years ago was also about ten years old. No wonder Qi Xuanyu can draw the conclusion only with a small portrait.¡±

    He Danggui stared at him with wide eyes, ¡°I didn¡¯t die so early in myst life. I lived to...¡± The words stopped abruptly here, and her heartbeat suddenly quickened!

    It was only because she suddenly remembered that in her previous life, when Bai Yangbai divined for her by her eight characters of a horoscope, he said, ¡°In your previous life, you died at the age of ten. You were so short-lived. It seems that you have died quite unjustly. It is an abnormal death, so there is no marriage rtionship. But...¡± Could the ¡°previous life¡± divined by Qi Xuanyu actually be the ¡°previous life¡± of the ¡°previous life¡±?

 Chapter 249 - Encounters behind the rockery

    <h4>Chapter 249 Encounters behind the rockery</h4>

    He Danggui took a deep breath and thenughed secretly whether she lost her head. She even believed that Bai Yangbai and Qi Xuanyu, Taoist priests who imed to know the fate. She studied carefully about the I Ching and the Eight Diagrams, but in the end, she didn¡¯t divine her death. Even the divination master Bai Yangbai couldn¡¯t help her make the divination. Whatever previous and present lives, immortals and ghosts, people were born in heaven and earth and couldn¡¯t even grasp the fate of this life. How could they divine the previous life of the previous life? It was still unknown that how many previous lives a person had.

    At the very moment, there was a voice showing fright from Qi Lu Yard, and the voice came from Zhu Quan, who always didn¡¯t show his emotion!

    He said in confusion, ¡°Xuanyu, do you mean my Tenth Sister? But she...was disfigured in the fire of the pce in the 14th year of Hongwu. How do you know that she looks the same as He Danggui? In the 14th year of Hongwu, my Tenth Sister was only eight years old, and I was only three years old. I had no impression of her original appearance, and the painter in the pce had never painted her portrait. Xuanyu, before she was disfigured, you didn¡¯t enter the pce!¡±

    He Danggui was so frightened. She couldn¡¯t help but tremble twice. Originally, it was a bit weird to mention the ¡°previous life of the previous life¡±, but now she heard that the girl that might be her was disfigured in the fire. She felt a little scared.

    Meng Xuan seized the chance to free up an arm to pass on the energy, and took her wrapped in a quilt into his arms. Heforted her, ¡°Tenth Princess passed away three years after she was disfigured. She didn¡¯t suffer much. This is the matter of previous life. Never mind it.¡± Just remember it in your head.

    In fact, after listening to Qi Xuanyu¡¯s argument, Meng Xuan only believed less than 30%, but he immediately pretended to believe all. It was just because he thought that even if it was rted to the previous life, as long as Xiaoyi and Zhu Quan were siblings, she might not marry Zhu Quan. So, he suddenly was in the same group with Qi Xuanyu and tried his best to support every word that Qi Xuanyu said, even though he himself felt that those words were a bit nonsense.

    He Danggui straightened her ears and listened to Qi Xuanyu¡¯s words, ¡°My Lord, you don¡¯t need to doubt. I will not lie to you for an unimportant He Danggui. You are right. I entered the pce at the age of thirteen when Tenth Princess died at that year. She was eleven years old at that time and already disfigured. My Lord, you may not know that our Xiaozhu Sect has a kind of ¡®natural eye skill¡¯. We can see the original face of the person whose appearance has been destroyed. Moreover, I didn¡¯t have much impression at first, butter I suspected that He Danggui was the reincarnation of Tenth Princess. When I connected with the scene that I first met the Tenth Princess, I was amazed at the simrities between them. They even said the same thing!¡±

    Zhu Quan said in a puzzled way, ¡°Xuanyu, what are you talking about? I don¡¯t understand what you are saying.¡±

    Qi Xuanyu¡¯s voice was tense like a string and strummed tightly, ¡°I just told you that when I met He Danggui, she was bullied. Her clothes were wet and her shoes were lost. I helped her once. My Lord, do you know? It was exactly the same when I first met Tenth Princess. When I was out of the pce, I passed the rockery and heard the sound of weeping from the back of the rockery. Out of curiosity, I went over to look over, and then I saw a girl in the pink suit squatting there and crying, with her face buried on her knees. I saw her clothes soaked, so I went up and cared. But when she raised her head and revealed a burnt face, I was frightened and yelled. She cried more sadly. I was very sorry, so I used the natural eye skill to look at her. Then I marveled at her original appearance, which was pure and refined, and pitied her even more in my heart. I persuaded her to go out of the pce with me and said that I was willing to take care of her and find her a good home. My Lord, do you know what she said?¡±

    ¡°What did she say?¡± Zhu Quan, Qi Chuan, He Danggui and Meng Xuan were all curious.

    Qi Xuanyu sighed and recalled, ¡°At that time, after listening to my words, she not only did not raise her head to thank me, but also hid her face. She stammered that she was not a maid, but Tenth Princess, so she could not casually follow others. Then she told me to stay away from her. She said that she identally fell into the water and lost her shoes. She didn¡¯t let mee closer so as not to see her bare feet. As soon as I heard that she was a princess, I said sorry and walked away. I heard her still crying after walking far. Then I turned back and asked her the size of her feet. Her response was 2.9 inches, so I ran to a pce and found her a clean dress and a pair of 2.9-inch embroidered shoes. I gave them to her, and she silently took them. After I left, she started to change clothes. Then ten dayster, white banners were hung in several pce rooms in the pce. I inquired and found out that it was because Tenth Princess died.¡±

    He Danggui listened to this story silently. Whether Qi Xuanyu helped her behind the rockery three years ago, or he helped Tenth Princess behind the rockery fourteen years ago, it sounded like they were all old things rted to her. However, in fact, she never experienced either of them. The two encounters behind the rockery were surprisingly simr, but what did this show?

    Qi Xuanyu seemed to beughing, ¡°I met the beauty twice behind the rockery, and the situation was surprisingly simr. After I met He Danggui, I didn¡¯t feel anything. But after seeing He Danggui¡¯s portrait, which was exactly the same as the Tenth Princess¡¯s, I recalled the past. I was shocked to remember that Tenth Princess and He Danggui not only have the same voice, but also have extremely simr temperaments. They are both soft and tough like bulrush with weird temperament. At first sight, she could only cry. I wanted to cherish and help her, but she didn¡¯t ept my pity and me me for being troublesome. She is really a stubborn, proud and stupid girl...¡±

    Qi Xuanyu¡¯s voice was full of aftertaste and even contained a little bit of pain. But He Danggui felt that she would never be ¡°proud¡± when she was ten years old before rebirth, because at that time she had no proud and her dignity was trampled. Therefore, He Danggui guessed that the person who Qi Xuanyu recalled and hurt him should be the Tenth Princess who died young.

    ¡°Humph,¡± Qi Xuanyu said with slight mockery, ¡°Why did she have to be a princess in the pce? In the end, she lost her life. It¡¯s better to go home with me and be my concubine. Then she can be still alive.¡±

    After He Danggui heard these words, she thought it seemed that Qi Xuanyu and Tenth Princess still had some affair. Even if Tenth Princess was disfigured and bullied, after all, she was still Zhu Yuanzhang¡¯s daughter. How dare Qi Xuanyu wanted to abduct the princess and made her be a concubine, not even the junior wife?

    Qi Chuan helped He Danggui to ask her question, ¡°Brother, you are too haughty. You even want the princess to be your concubine? Be careful that her father may cut your head off!¡±

    Qi Xuanyu smiled lightly, ¡°If her father cared for her, how could she die so miserably! After death, she didn¡¯t even have a title!¡± Probably considering Zhu Quan¡¯s presence, Qi Xuanyu changed topic, ¡°My lord, when I saw the portrait of He Danggui and suspected that she was the reincarnation of the princess, I conducted a thorough investigation about her life experience. At that time, Chuan had entered into Luo Baiqian¡¯s body and knew everything about Luo Baiqian, so I learned from him that Luo Baiqian had an affair with his uncle Luo Chuanwu¡¯s concubine, Qi Sanniang. Then I took this soft spot to ckmail him. I asked him to secretly mediate and let Luo¡¯s Family take He Danggui back to Luo¡¯s mansion.¡±

    He Danggui didn¡¯t expect that there would be such an old story. She didn¡¯t expect that she would still benefit from the Tenth Princess and get the help from Qi Xuanyu and Luo Baiqian.

    Zhu Quan¡¯s voice sounded, ¡°Even if there is some truth in what you said, the things in the previous and this life are too mysterious. I am really unconvinced. Besides, I have never seen the appearance of my Tenth Sister, and I can¡¯t find a portrait topare. Even if they have simr looks and voices, and the time of death and birth can be connected, these cannot be used as evidences. Xuanyu, you may not know that I have a strange disease in the past two years. As long as I don¡¯t see the portrait of He Danggui very often, there will be a pain in my chest. Later, looking at the portrait was no longer useful. I sent people to visit the world to find women who look exactly like her and brought them back to my mansion. Among them, one is the most simr to her, with simrity reaching 60 to 70%. If she dresses up carefully, I can hardly tell her difference from He Danggui when viewing at a distance. I use her very well. Therefore, there are so many people in the world who look the same, but it¡¯s just a coincidence.¡±

    He Danggui heard from Zhoushi about Zhu Quan¡¯s feelings for her, and heard from Bai Yangbai¡¯s description about Zhu Quan¡¯s favorite concubine¡¯s appearance. But at this moment, when Zhu Quan himself spoke it out with a calm and unfeeling tone, she felt like those women were just a group of mice, and they were caught by Zhu Quan to do evil experiments to study the final conclusion. And then Zhu Quan used that conclusion to kill her, a big tabby cat. This feeling made her nauseous. At this time, the heat of the transmission had faded. Her body suddenly felt cold, and she couldn¡¯t help but shiver.

    Meng Xuan was also ufortable with Zhu Quan¡¯s tone when he talked about Xiaoyi, and when Zhu Quan talked to Qi Xuanyu about her, he called her ¡°He Danggui¡±, without the tender affection between lovers. It was not as cordial and affectionate as that sojourn soul Qi Chuan¡¯s call.

    Meng Xuan was displeased. Did Zhu Quan really love Xiaoyi? Or he just treated her as a ything? Xiaoyi was only fourteen years old, unmarried, and waited in the boudoir to be betrothed. Zhu Quan did not take the right path and propose marriage to Luo¡¯s Mansion with Sanmei Liupin (also known as Sanshu Liuli, a traditional marriage custom etiquette in China), but ran over the wall and the window to her embroidered bed. He got her without giving her a title. Did Zhu Quan really have the sincerity to marry her? When did Zhu Quan and Xiaoyi begin to maintain this rtionship? That bastard Zhu Quan, what did he take Xiaoyi for!

    Feeling the trembling of the person in his arms, Meng Xuan tightened his arms again, pressing her into his chest. He suddenly felt that the sense of upset was alleviated.

    In the past few years, he also suffered from a strange disease. He often dreamed about things in his previous life. All the parts rted to Yangzhou City were repeated in his dreams, capturing any fragments of Xiaoyi¡¯s figure in the previous life. And then, the dream maker filled the episodes of suspected Xiaoyi¡¯s figure andpiled them into long stories. In those stories, he and Xiaoyi married and lived in a bamboo building iid with jasper. They made out with their fingers intertwining on a wide and gorgeous bed.

    Meng Xuan didn¡¯t understand why he would repeatedly have such absurd transient joy, and he was sorry for sullying Xiaoyi like that in his dreams. But no matter what he felt in his heart, such dreams were repeated every once in a while. When he was awake, he could control himself not to think about her and pretend to forget her posturepletely. He could eat, practice martial arts, and handle official duties as usual. But when he fell asleep, he couldn¡¯t control what kind of dreams he had.

    Meng Xuan had vaguely seen that jade building. In his previous life, he was dragged by Bai Yangbai into an inexplicable dream. There was a jade building made up of jasper jade. In the building, there was a girl said to be ¡°tortured by philter¡± in the mouth of Bai Yangbai. He was hurt badly by Bai Yangbai that time, and he still dreamed of the jade building in this life, which showed that it was the retribution of helping the girl detoxify in the dream. As for why the girl¡¯s face changed to Xiaoyi¡¯s appearance, he guessed that it was probably because that collecting Zhenqi of Xiaoyi at that time was all done on the bed, and over time it formed an impression. When he dreamed of the bed, he could dream of Xiaoyi.

    Meng Xuan hugged the person in his arms tightly andforted her, ¡°Don¡¯t be sad. If Zhu Quan is not good to you, I will help you punish him severely. If you don¡¯t want to marry him, you can marry me. In my dream, we are already a couple.¡±

 Chapter 250 - Phoenix flowers blossomed

    <h4>Chapter 250 Phoenix flowers blossomed</h4>

    Hearing arrogant Meng Xuan lumping her and Zhu Quan together again, He Danggui didn¡¯t want to exin. Some misunderstandings could be exined in a few words, while some feelings were beyond words. She once regarded Meng Xuan as the kind of person who had a tacit understanding with her. With just one eye, instead of too many words, they could read minds with each other by the same temperament and same temperature.

    Now, she became a little colder, while he became a little hotter. There wasn¡¯t the same temperature anymore. So, He Danggui simply rejected his kindness, ¡°This matter bothers you. I have asked a new one to help me. There is no need for the fake proposal. Thank you very much.¡±

    ¡°A new one?¡± Meng Xuan squinted, ¡°You mean, you called another man to propose a fake marriage, and you even prepare to marry that person? Why? Why not me?¡±

    He Danggui heard his bad tone and didn¡¯t intend to talk too much with him. She just said, ¡°You have a courtyard in the suburbs, right? I walked past your house once I went on an outing. I remember that there was not a que on your door. After some time, I will send a que inscribed with ¡®Bai¡¯s Mansion¡¯ to your home. If you are willing to hang the que for two or three years, I will be grateful to you.¡±

    Meng Xuan¡¯s gaze was going to prate the veil on the face of the person in his arms. He asked again, ¡°Why not me? Am I not even an ideal candidate for a fake marriage? The Bai¡¯s Mansion? It¡¯s Bai Yangbai, right?¡± The expression in his eyes was abnormal.

    He Danggui looked at him strangely and asked, ¡°What strange questions are you asking? A fake marriage means I don¡¯t need to marry anyone. Since that, why should I choose carefully? I think it is more convenient to ask Bai Yangbai for help, so I just pick him.¡± Seeing Meng Xuan¡¯s slightly trembling lips, He Danggui thought this guy got a one-track mind again. Did men have this universal feature that driven by their pride? They could not bear a refusal after a confession. She took the quilt to free herself from his arms, but had to stop after a few failed tries.

    Meng Xuan closed his eyes and then opened them again. His eyes became a little normal, and he resolutely said, ¡°I will keep staring at you until you marry a man who really loves you. If you dare to let yourself down, I will definitely not let you go, as long as you give me the chance.¡± With this, he removed his arms that shackled her, and even his big hands, holding her small hands to pass energy, were removed. He slipped off the bed and put on his boots, saying, ¡°I take your pulse. It seems that you haven¡¯t eaten for a long time. I¡¯ll find something to eat for you. Take your time to eavesdrop.¡±

    He Danggui founded that after the energy was withdrawn, the voices of the three people from Qi Lu Yard continued to be heard. She asked surprisingly, ¡°Don¡¯t we have to keep holding hands? Why didn¡¯t you say it earlier? Huh? the heat flow ispletely gone when you withdraw the energy.¡±

    Meng Xuan walked out and exined, ¡°It is said that this method canst two hours at a time when activated. I did a worse job, and it onlysted less than an hour. After activation, we don¡¯t have to hold hands. I helped you warm your hands just now. However, the heat flow is not my trick. Ites with the method.¡± When Bai Yangbai taught him in that old days, he suffered an electric shock by himself while he was teaching, and screamed thrillingly and endlessly, causing countless sergeants to run out of tents to hear his erotic scream. The next day there was also a rumor that Major General Meng was homosexual.

    He Danggui thought for a while and then said, ¡°Meng Xuan, I will take your kindness in my heart, and I will listen to your words. But I don¡¯t want to eat now. If you really want to help me, just allow me to put a que on your door. Besides that, I have nothing to ask for your help for the time being. You and Childe Ying can leave Luo¡¯s Mansion at any time.¡±

    Meng Xuan stopped and then continued to walk outside, saying, ¡°You should eat something, and I wille back soon.¡± Upon saying this, he left.

    He Danggui sighed silently and then tried to figure out Zhu Quan¡¯s intentions in her mind. She heard Qi Xuanyu asked, ¡°My Lord, since you miss He Danggui, why didn¡¯t you take her in the mansion before? No matter how simr the woman is, she is still different with her. Why did you ignore what is near and seek what is far away? After all, it¡¯s easy for you to get that little girl, right?¡±

    This was also an issue that quite concerned He Danggui. Of course, she did not believe the so-called ¡°affectionate Zhu Quan¡± said by Zhoushi. If Zhu Quan really respected her, how could hee into her boudoir with ill intentions. If Qing¡¯er and Chan Yi hadn¡¯te in time, the consequence would have been unimaginable. At that time, she was locked in the strange dream where she met Lu Jiangbei. The dream was very different from the ordinary one. But it was somewhat simr to the fantasy dream created by Bai Yangbai of her previous life. So, she had to suspect that the strange dream was Zhu Quan¡¯s trick. He had learned a lot about Bai Yangbai¡¯s skills, and he had the ability to perform such ghostly tricks.

    Being silent for a moment, Zhu Quan didn¡¯t answer but asked instead, ¡°Xuanyu, there is no real evidence at all for you to say that she is the reincarnation of Tenth Princess. It is all your guesswork used to mark your remembrance of my Tenth Sister, right?¡±

    Qi Xuanyu slowly said, ¡°Three years ago, I have not yet taken refuge in Lord. Therefore, for investigating He Danggui¡¯s origin, I could only find imperial guard¡¯s Changye Tower. Somehow, imperial guard Liao Zhiyuan and others also sent an informant to investigate He Danggui¡¯s origin at that time. But they just made a superficial investigation that as the daughter of the legitimate son and the legitimate daughter of the He¡¯s family and Luo¡¯s family, why she became the daughter of the concubine, and why she was abandoned by her father¡¯s family. But I investigated more deeply. I found a strange thing happened in He¡¯s Mansion when He Danggui was born. In that dark rainy night, all the oilmps and candles in the mansion suddenly light up together, and somemps not containing a drop of oil even zed brighter than former days. The strangest thing was all the flowers in He¡¯s Mansion were suddenly in full bloom, perfuming the whole He¡¯s Mansion. It was already June 15th, and flowering was not strange, while the strangest thing was that no matter peony or jasmine, were all blossom into phoenix flowers.¡±

    Zhu Quan¡¯s voice was tense, ¡°How did you hear about this? My investigation is not less than yours. Isn¡¯t my intelligenceworkparable to your own investigation?¡±

    Qi Xuanyu replied, ¡°I lurked into He¡¯s Mansion in disguise and worked as a servant for more than half a month. Finally, I got the opportunity to approach Madam He alone. I used the nightmare method on her and gained that thing from her mouth directly. She is He Danggui¡¯s grandmother. Aren¡¯t her words more credible than anyone¡¯s guess?¡±

    Zhu Quan murmured repeatedly, ¡°So, she is really... my Tenth Sister. She is really the reincarnation of my Tenth Sister. She is really the reincarnation of my Tenth Sister¡­¡±

    Although He Danggui was surprised at such strange things happened when she was born, what was the connection did it have with her being the reincarnation of Tenth Princess? At this time, the well-behaved Qi Chuan helped He Danggui ask her doubts.

    Qi Xuanyu replied, ¡°I heard that when Tenth Princess were born, the courtyard was full of blooming phoenix flowers, and the fragrant of orchids perfumed a few miles around. However, when she was killed by a wicked person, the candles in her bedroom suddenly burst into mes. The dazzling white mes could not be blown out by several people taking turns. The most surprising thing was that the candles did not be shorter after burning for a few days and nights. After hearing this, the person who killed her was frightened to get sick. After that, the person only lighted oilmps and never used a candle. These were all the secrets of the Imperial Harem. Once a few maids in an imperial pce came over and wanted to make out with me. I agreed with them since I was bored. Then I heard their small talk while I was half asleep, and then I just learned about it.¡±

    He Danggui was confused. Was she really Zhu Yuanzhang¡¯s Tenth Princess in the previous life of the previous life?

    If she remembered rightly, Zhu Yuanzhang had sixteen daughters. Except for Thirteenth Princess who died as soon as she were born and didn¡¯t have a title, the remaining fifteen princesses, Eldest Princess Lin¡¯an, Second Princess Ningguo, Third Princess Chongning, Fourth Princess An¡¯qing, Fifth Princess Runing, and Sixteenth Princess Baoqing who was born this year, all had titles. Although the birth mother of Sixteenth Princess was just a humble Beauty Zhang, the princess was also deeply loved by Zhu Yuanzhang. Zhu Yuanzhang was extremely vicious to his women, but he was good to his daughters, except for Tenth Princess who lived for a full eleven years but didn¡¯t get a title during her entire life.

    She might be the reincarnation of such a sad princess. Was it her honor or misfortune? In her three lives, she nearly had no fate with her parents. Who was the birth mother of Tenth Princess? Was she still alive today?

    Qi Xuanyu continued, ¡°The scene when He Danggui was born shocked everyone in He¡¯s Mansion. He Jinpeng, the Lord of He¡¯s Mansion, walked in the dark rainy night withnterns, and did not use an umbre. He checked all the flowers in the courtyards of the mansion, and whispered what others didn¡¯t understand. Finally, he fell down and became unconscious. Since then, Lord He¡¯s condition got worse and worse, and he was often ill in bed. Madam He med on He Danggui and her mother, especially her mother. Madam He took the eight characters of many youngdies from rich families in the capital, and wanted to choose a few noble concubines for her son He Jingxian. But He Jingxian resolutely refused, making the mother of He Danggui particrly moved.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Qi Chuan asked with a smile, ¡°Since Sister Qingyi¡¯s parents had such a good rtionship, why did they separate and abandon Sister Qingyi?¡±

    All of these things were unheard of in He Danggui¡¯s two lives. All her knowledge of the He¡¯s Family was overheard from Madam Luo and Mammy Tang, while Madam Luo knew that from her mother and several mammies that apanied her mother to her father¡¯s house. In their tirades, they never mentioned the strange thing that happened when she was born. Although she managed to get closer to her mother in this life, her mother never revealed this thing to her.

    He Danggui silently listened to Qi Xuanyu¡¯s statement, ¡°Danggui, Angelica in literally, is a medicine name, while He Danggui is not named after it. I heard Madam He said that at the party celebrating for the one-month-old He Danggui, He Jingxian should invite Lord Yan to the party. During the dinner, Lord Yan recited a poem of Li Shangyin. ¡®You ask me when I aming. I do not know. I dream of your mountains and autumn pools brimming all night with the rain. Oh, when shall we be trimming wicks again, together in your western window? When shall I be hearing your voice again, all night in the rain?¡¯ Hence, the baby girl got the name ¡®He Danggui¡¯ (whening back in literally).¡±

    Qi Chuan smiled and said, ¡°I still like to call her Sister Qingyi!¡±

    ¡°During the dinner, He Jingxian firstly took down a thumb-sized jade from the baby girl¡¯s neck and presented it to Lord Yan to appreciate. He said it was brought by his daughter when she was born.¡± He Danggui frowned. Jade? Qi Xuanyu said unhurriedly, ¡°ording to Madam He, she even didn¡¯t know it before the party. She saw the jade from a distance at the party, and it was greenish, clear and beautiful. Only one look at the jade, Lord Yan did love it. He was willing to pay a lot of money to buy the jade. He said that it was suitable for the daughter of Eldest Princess Lin¡¯an, who was one year old. He Jingxian immediately said that since the Lord liked it, just took it with no need for money. This was also a blessing for his little daughter. As soon as he said, the swaddling He Danggui immediately burst into tears. Her mother and the wet nurse couldn¡¯t coax her no matter how hard they were, which made the scene very embarrassing.¡±

    Qi Chuan interrupted and said, ¡°The anecdote of jade in the fetus is asionally mentioned. It is said that it is one with that baby. The jade contains the baby¡¯s life¡¯s happiness, luckiness and longevity. How can give it away at will? He Jingxian, a hateful old man!¡±

    Qi Xuanyu poured out many old things he found, even the things He Danggui didn¡¯t know, ¡°At this moment, the gold lock (representing wealth and longevity) that He Danggui¡¯s mother asked a Persia¡¯s best craftsman Da Jieli to make was delivered in advance. He Danggui¡¯s mother put it on her in a hurry, and then sang a ditty. Everyone saw that the golden lock turned with the song. Soon little He Danggui stopped crying and giggled. The lock caught the eyes of few rich women. And they wanted to pay a lot of money to buy it. He Jingxian nodded again and agreed. This time, He Danggui¡¯s mother firmly disagreed. He Jingxian stayed calm at the time. But when the party was over and the guests left, he pped He Danggui¡¯s mother. Since then, the rtionship between He Danggui¡¯s parents had deteriorated.¡±

    He Danggui listened silently. However, a heavy gasp and babble sounded suddenly in her ears. She did not respond to it immediately. When she caught on, Luo Baiqian¡¯s normal voice suddenly sounded in Qi Lu Yard, ¡°Who are you? Ah! Qi Xuanyu, it¡¯s you! What are you doing in my yard! Who is he!¡±

 Chapter 251 - Falling in love with a heart pain

    <h4>Chapter 251 Falling in love with a heart pain</h4>

    After a muffled plop, Zhu Quan¡¯s voice sounded, ¡°Is it okay to leave him here? Will he remember that we have been in his courtyard and gossip everywhere after he wakes up?¡±

    Qi Xuanyu pondered, ¡°Chuan has already had the ability to control Luo Baiqian¡¯s words, acts and thinking ability to a certain extent and can keep his mouth shut. Let¡¯s go, My Lord. Let¡¯s sit in the main hall of the outer courtyard. Madam Luo will hold a banquet. Do you intend to disclose your identity?¡±

    Zhu Quan paused and said, ¡°My Eldest Sister has three daughters. Her second daughter, Xiancao, is about the same age as Yiyi. Did Lord Yan give Yiyi¡¯s jade to Xiancao?¡± He Danggui frowned for the title ¡°Yiyi¡±. Zhu Quan called her at random.

    ¡°What?¡± Qi Xuanyu was surprised, ¡°Are you going to help He Danggui get her jade back? What reason are you going to use to ask for it? Or will you go to Princess Lin¡¯an¡¯s Mansion to steal it in the middle of the night?¡± He Danggui didn¡¯t know whether Zhu Quan nodded or appeared positive expression on his face. Anyway, Qi Xuanyu raised his voice, ¡°My Lord, you must be crazy. It has not been figured out that you and the Second Princess Ningguo belong to one family yet. Now you even want to go to Princess Lin¡¯an¡¯s Mansion to be a thief? Moreover, it¡¯s just an excuse for Lord Yan to ask for jade. He may think the jade is a treasure and want to keep it for himself. He might not really intent to give it to Infanta Xiancao as a birthday gift. How duplicitous Lord Yan is. Don¡¯t you know the most?¡±

    There was silence for a while, which made He Danggui suspect if they had left Qi Lu Yard. He Danggui did not know whether Meng Xuan¡¯s ¡°eavesdropping skill¡± was practiced on people or ces. Could the skill only let her eavesdrop on the conversations in the Lu Qi Yard? Or could it follow Zhu Quan to conduct ¡°mobile eavesdropping¡±? Why Meng Xuan had note back yet? She was so anxious, because she hadn¡¯t heard enough yet.

    Getting up from the bed and tiding up her clothes, He Danggui thought about whether she would wait outside Qi Lu Yard for prying into information or not.

    Suddenly, Qi Xuanyu spoke again, ¡°The emperor handed over the ear and eye of the Imperial Court in Jianghu, ¡®Changye Tower¡¯, to Lord Yan to take care of, which showed how much the emperor likes Lord Yan. As far as I know, at the beginning, the emperor¡¯s favorite Gezhu (the head of an organization) of the Changye Tower was the emperor¡¯s eldest grandson. After all, it was more reassuring to hand over the organization directly under the emperor power to the heir to the throne. We all know that the emperor¡¯s ideal sessor is his eldest grandson Zhu Yunwen. However, Lord Yan could find a way to poach Changye Tower¡¯s force, as well as the rted Imperial Guard, Dongchang organization and Xichang organization. So, in my opinion, our most difficult opponent is not the young phoenix Zhu Yunwen, but the old phoenix Zhu Di. My Lord, the emperor¡¯s condition is getting worse and worse recently. Should you consider carefully to take Wuying Tower¡¯s power back to the capital partially?¡±

    ¡°Little¡­ little portrait!!!¡± Zhu Quan, who had not spoken, suddenly shouted, ¡°Xuanyu, you have the little portrait of Yiyi, right? You must be carrying it with you all the time to miss my Tenth Sister!¡±

    Qi Xuanyu gasped in a startled voice, as if he was grabbed by his cor and unable to breathe. He cried, ¡°My Lord, loose me and let me talk. What¡¯s wrong with you!¡± Then, He Danggui heard sounds of puffing and the rustling of clothes. Qi Xuanyu said, ¡°Here, I just take it with me. It can¡¯t be given to you. You need to give it back to me after you see it, or I won¡¯t listen to your instructions to open a Wu Yi Tang.¡±

    He Danggui was surprised by Qi Xuanyu¡¯s attitude towards Zhu Quan. His attitude was not like the respect that the subordinates showed to the higher authority. She didn¡¯t notice it originally, but it was very obvious when Qi Xuanyu just mentioned the Tenth Princess and satirized Zhu Yuanzhang. It seemed that Qi Xuanyu and Zhoushi were different from others, and Qi Xuanyu was not purely loyal to Zhu Quan.

    In the silence, Zhu Quan¡¯s breathing changed from heavy to light. And then Qi Xuanyu said in a doubtful voice, ¡°What the hell is wrong with you? You said you had a lovesickness that as long as you don¡¯t see the portrait of He Danggui, there will be a pain in your chest. Is it true? Are you confused by her attractive appearance so that you will only marry her? But what a strange illness it is!¡±

    Zhu Quan¡¯s muffled voice sounded, ¡°This is a problem that I suffered from three years ago. At first, I was not used to it. I still tried to treat the chest pain, to be precise, the heart pain. Later, I found out that how painful I felt every time when the illness attacks, and then howfortable I would feel after the illness. Even the exchange of internal force was much smoother. Gradually, I got used to this kind of pain, and even slightly enjoyed the sweet feeling of nervousness. Moreover, my internal force can nearly reach the limit, and I need to thank He Danggui to some extent.¡±

    His voice gradually changed from repression to calm, and what he called He Danggui also changed to her full name again, which was totally different from just now.

    While He Danggui was thinking, Meng Xuan also stood at the door with a food box, wondering, ¡°What is going on with Lord Ning? Xiaoyi, do you know why he has a heart pain? Why does this happen? Hasn¡¯t he been already with you?¡± Wasn¡¯t the heart pain just for a loser like him?

    He Danggui shook her head and didn¡¯t speak. She remembered the words Ning Yuan said to the assassin three years ago, ¡°She is my woman.¡± Then she thought of the painting he left behind, as well as the poems and dolls in the cave. She was still at a loss.

    Meng Xuan put tes of dishes and steamed buns on the table, took out a soup cup from the bottomyer of the food box, poured out a small bowl, and called He Danggui, ¡°Come over and taste the soup. Other dishes are all found in kitchen, while the soup is what I made for you. It is appetizing and refreshing, not greasy. It is suitable for a person with weak spleen and stomach. I make it for my grandmother every year when I go home during the holidays.¡±

    He Danggui shook her head and did not speak. Originally, she thought that Zhu Quan might take a little pity on her. Therefore, she wanted to be on hunger strike so that he could not bear it and could ease the coercion against her. Then he would ask Zhoushi to leave with his bride price. In this way, she could get a chance to let Bai Yangbai propose a marriage. But now, it seemed that when Zhu Quan mentioned her, he gritted teeth in exasperation. He was not as friendly as Ning Yuan, and also not as affectionate as Bai Yangbai and Zhoushi described. Could it be that not only did she hate Zhu Quan, but Zhu Quan also regarded her as an enemy?

    Meng Xuan ripped off He Danggui¡¯s veil and wanted to take her to eat something. But when the veil was uncovered, he was shocked. It was not because of her beauty, but the pale and bloodless cheeks and lips. He blurted out, ¡°The reason why you have been smearing the yellow powder is to cover your pale face. Xiaoyi, what¡¯s wrong with you?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± Qi Xuanyu asked in a puzzled tone, ¡°Give the little portrait back to me, and I will take your pulse.¡±

    Zhu Quan¡¯s voice was also puzzled. ¡°Why are you so nervous? Isn¡¯t it just a piece of paper?¡± Without a response, he sneered, ¡°My Tenth Sister has been dead for more than ten years. She was already a useless person. However, Xuanyu, you kept her reincarnation portrait for three years. This is not a good sign. In my impression, you are not so stubborn. To avoid you coveting the beauty and forgetting your ambition, I will tear the portrait.¡± Then, he teared it up.

    Qi Xuanyu yelled. ¡°Whoosh!¡± ¡°sh!¡± The voices of fighting with internal force sounded for a while. Then... there was no sound.

    He Danggui listened anxiously for a long time. There was really no sound! She asked Meng Xuan in haste, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Why does it break off all of a sudden! I could hear nothing!¡±

    Meng Xuan said innocently, ¡°That¡¯s it. The eavesdropping skill has the defect. Come on, have some soup!¡±

    He Danggui stamped her feet and said, ¡°Quickly! Practice the eavesdropping skill again! I haven¡¯t heard enough yet!¡±

    Meng Xuan pointed to the table with food and said, ¡°If you eat half of it, and I will practice it again. Anyway, they will fight for a long time. Taste my soup. If you like it, I will make it every day.¡±

    He Danggui sat down anxiously and took a sip with a spoon. Certainly, the soup was refreshing, but was not brackish. She guessed that Meng Xuan had forgotten to add salt. But she didn¡¯t want to ruin his kindness, so sheplimented, ¡°It¡¯s delicious. It¡¯s the most delicious soup that I¡¯ve ever drunk. Can you practice the eavesdropping skill again now?¡±

    Meng Xuan sat down to prepare dishes for her, and exined with a smile, ¡°When I took the pulse for you just now, I found that you are fire excess from yin deficiency, including stomach-fire and heart-fire hyperactivity. Yin is water, and yin deficiency means the shortage of water, which leads to fire excess. At this time, whether thinking about things or doing things, you are very sluggish and get half the result with half the effort. Salt is mild for normal people, but it is hot for people with stomach fire. If you eat too much, it will be just like adding fuel to the fire. Therefore, I didn¡¯t add it in the soup. Just drink it and I will make salted soup when you get better. How is my pulse? Master He, please correct me!¡±

    The gentle and rational voice made He Danggui calm down gradually. She drank more and said with a smile, ¡°The physician cannot treat himself or herself, no matter how excellent he or she is. The physician cannot tell what disease he or she gets by taking pulse for himself or herself when he or she is sick. Seventh Childe, although your pulse is slow, you figure out my disease this time. The soup can be regarded as the right medicine. Thank you. But I am very anxious. Can you practice the eavesdropping skill quickly? What Lord Ning and others said are very important to me.¡±

    Meng Xuan didn¡¯t tell her until she drank half bowl of soup, ¡°Sorry, there is a restriction on the use of it. It can be used once a month only, and the today¡¯s quota has been used up.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± He Danggui loosened the spoon, ¡°Then I will go back to Qi Lu Yard to eavesdrop!¡±

    Meng Xuan calmed her, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I will take you there as long as you eat more. Then I will help you with my internal force. We could hear their voice thirty zhang (a unit of length in ancient China) away from them. They will never discover it. Xiaoyi, are you really the reincarnation of the princess? What do you n to do with... Lord Ning?¡±

    He Danggui ate as fast as she could, and said vaguely, ¡°What can I do? You have heard how abnormal he is. He is a big shot who can¡¯t be offended. I am his prey now. What can I say confidently?¡±

    ¡°Abnormal?¡± Meng Xuan raised his eyebrows, ¡°What does it mean?¡±

    The word ¡°abnormal¡± was Qing¡¯er¡¯s specialnguage. Qing¡¯er usually said the word all the year round. So now, not only He Danggui but even many people in Luo¡¯s Mansion all learned to use this word. For example¡ª

    ¡°Ah, you are abnormal. Do not touch it. Do not do that in such a hurry. At least enter the yard!¡±

    ¡°What are you afraid of? Let alone the Su Mei Yard, no one even dare to approach the neighborhood. Didn¡¯t you heard that there was a maid hanging there yesterday morning? It¡¯s Gan Cao, serving Madam Luo.¡±

 Chapter 252 - Stir up trouble

    <h4>Chapter 252 Stir up trouble</h4>

    He Danggui was choked with the soup. She wanted to cough, but she didn¡¯t dare to. Listening to this conversation, she wondered if someone had gotten into the Su Mei Yard and had a love affair... Did Madam Luo¡¯s maid Gan Cao hang herself yesterday? What was going on? The voice of the man in the affair sounded familiar to her, but she couldn¡¯t remember it for a while. She held back her cough and whispered, ¡°Shall we leave quickly? Make room for them.¡±

    Meng Xuan still took the chopsticks to serve He Danggui and said slowly, ¡°There are so many rooms in the yard. How could it be such a coincidence that they would choose this one? You just had a few mouthfuls. How can you be disturbed by strangers and wasted a table of delicacies? Come on, have some more.¡±

    There were so many dishes on the table. He Danggui didn¡¯t want to disappoint Meng Xuan for his good intention to cook the soup himself, so she immersed herself in the dishes. She wanted to eavesdrop on Zhu Quan and Qi Xuanyu after having a quick meal. Their conversations really shocked her. In addition to suspecting that Zhu Quan was the culprit who killed her in her previous life, she also heard Qi Xuanyu say that she was the Tenth Princess in the Imperial Pce in her previous life of the previous life. And her fetal jade was taken away by Lord Yan!

    She seemed to have a vague impression about her fetal jade. It was her mother who said to her when she was three or four years old, ¡°Jade has a spirit, and gold has a soul. Sooner orter, they wille back to find the owner. Your fetal jade belongs to you. You took it for ten months during my pregnancy, but it lost when you were born. The fetal jade would cry...¡± She had never understood these words, but nowbining with the old story that Qi Xuanyu heard from Madam He, she probably understood the ins and outs of this matter.

    But these were not the issues she cared most. What she wanted to find out was whether it was a masterpiece of Bai Yangbai that she could be reborn eighteen years ago.

    ¡°Take it easy,¡± Meng Xuan corrected, ¡°Don¡¯t be distracted when you eat. My mother said that it is bad for your spleen and stomach.¡±

    He Danggui squinted at him, ¡°Some men in their thirties often spout off ¡®my mother said¡¯. Could it be that...you¡¯re a ¡®mommy¡¯s boy¡¯ as Qing¡¯er said?¡±

    Meng Xuan was puzzled, ¡°What is that?¡± Liao Qing¡¯er always had countless strange words.

    ¡°Mommy¡¯s boy means mother¡¯s treasure. It is said that such men keep saying ¡®my mother said¡¯ no matter how old he is. They have high demands on women, and hope women are gentle and virtuous both internally and externally. This is also one characteristic of mommy¡¯s boy. I think you are likely to be such a man.¡± He Danggui continued to squint at Meng Xuan, ¡°Listen, one day, you encounter a marriage problem. Your wife is not at fault, but given the Instructions of Meng¡¯s Family, she inadvertently vited your mother. If your mother ordered you to divorce your wife, what would you do?¡±

    Hearing this, Meng Xuan looked at her with his eyes full of affection, and asked, ¡°Would you like to marry me? Are you worried that someone will bully you when you marry into Meng¡¯s Family?¡±

    He Danggui shook her head, ¡°No. Seventh Childe, you are so talented and handsome. You have stayed in Luo¡¯s Mansion in Yangzhou City for more than a month, and there must be many youngdies admiring you. Just in case, I help them to inquire you. If your mother wanted you to divorce your wife without negotiation, what would you do?¡±

    Meng Xuan thought for a moment and shook his head, ¡°My mother is reasonable. She treats wives and concubines of my eldest brother and second brother very gently. When implementing the family instructions, she always guided first, and punished as a supplement. You will know that if you meet her.¡± Seeing that He Danggui frowned and was obviously dissatisfied with his roundabout answer, he gave a clear answer, ¡°If my mother orders me to divorce my wife, I will put my mother¡¯s opinion above everything else. But... if you are my wife, I will follow Duan Xiaolou to leave Meng¡¯s Mansion, and build a small Meng¡¯s Mansion to live a good life with you. Then we go back to apologize to my mother when she calms down.¡±

    He Danggui pondered his answer, but still felt that he was like a mommy¡¯s boy, so she said seriously, ¡°But the premise I said is that your wife is innocent. Why should she go back to apologize to your mother in the end?¡±

    ¡°Because we should respect the elder,¡± Meng Xuan blurted out, ¡°As long as my wife upsets my mother, she will be wrong to disrespect elders, and is notpletely innocent. Moreover, the younger apologizing to the elder is not losing face, is it? Why should the family make such a stalemate?¡±

    Hearing Meng Xuan¡¯s remarks, He Danggui drank a bowl of soup, and expressed her thoughts, ¡°I must ask your mother for advice if I have a son. A filial son is more reliable than ten affectionate mates.¡±

    Just as Meng Xuan wanted to say something, the man and woman who had just sneaked into Su Mei Yard had done enough forey and began to make out. In this secluded courtyard, it was hard not to listen to it.

    When He Danggui eavesdropped on Zhu Quan just now, she really hoped that her hearing could not be better. But now, she began to regret that her hearing was too good. After an awkward moment with Meng Xuan, she suggested, ¡°Let¡¯s go now?¡±

    Meng Xuan was not in a hurry. He admired the pretty look of the person in front of him and persuaded, ¡°Drink another bowl of soup. You be thinner because of hunger.¡±

    He Danggui forced herself to drink two more sips. Until seeing Meng Xuan¡¯s smiling eyes, she realized that he was teasing her. Tossing the table and chopsticks quickly, she pulled Meng Xuan towards the courtyard gate. She could barely endure the shouts if she listened alone. But with Meng Xuan beside her, she was so constrained. While Meng Xuan dragged his feet. She pulled him two steps, but he walked only half a step. When passing by the man and woman¡¯s room, she still felt that the man¡¯s voice was a bit familiar to her. Then she turned to look and saw it clear because of the good viewpoint.

    Unconsciously, Meng Xuan raised his hand to cover her eyes. He took a big step and quickly pulled her out of Su Mei Yard. He Danggui thought, ¡°Oh, it turns out to be him... Isn¡¯t the woman with him...¡±

    They walked in the direction of Qi Lu Yard, while Third Childe Meng Ying walked towards them. He hurriedly stepped forward to stop Meng Xuan and asked, ¡°May I talk something to him?¡±

    Meng Ying was directed at He Danggui, so she replied, ¡°Go ahead.¡± It was herself who was the outsider.

    Seeing Meng Ying¡¯s expression of confidentiality, Meng Xuan turned back to warn He Danggui, ¡°You can¡¯t go to that ce alone, unless you go together with me. Go home and have a rest first. I will go to meet you whenever I am free.¡±

    He Danggui didn¡¯t say anything, but Meng Ying snorted, ¡°It¡¯s not a farewell to life. Humph, why are you being so mushy?¡±

    He Danggui didn¡¯t have something to say at first, so she simply stopped and saw Meng Ying to pull his brother into the corridor. Meng Xuan finally said, ¡°You should not go back to that ce again!¡± She raised her handkerchief to say goodbye to them. Then, she showed her Mysterious Footwork, walking on the trails, and soon approached Qi Lu Yard. She slowed down and carefully explored the way forward. After two steps, she stopped again. Meng Xuan¡¯s clear and concerned eyes swayed in front of her eyes. She was rescued once, but now she didn¡¯t listen to his advice and went her own way. Was it not good? She would not be lucky forever.

    She hesitated for a while, and finally decided to go on. She walked a hundred steps forward, approaching the back door of Qi Lu Yard. Listening attentively, she heard only the sound of a person¡¯s breathing. She looked inside, and there was only Luo Baiqian lying on the ground under the stone table with a good dream. While she was disappointed, she was relieved that the man she wanted to see was not there. There would always be a chance to hear more secret conversations from Zhu Quan in theing days. She was alone this time, so just let it go. Therefore, she turned around and left.

    At the moment when she left, two people turned out from behind a pir in Qi Lu Yard. Zhu Quan asked, ¡°You saw her in person. Does she really look the same as my Tenth Sister before the disfigurement?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s true.¡± Qi Xuanyu teased, ¡°If you don¡¯t believe me, you can take her into the pce. Although Tenth Princess have been dead for many years, there are many people in the pce recognized her. Especially, our emperor must recognize his short-lived daughter.¡± Suddenly, he questioned, ¡°Why did He Danggui approach Qi Lu Yard so alertly? Why didn¡¯t shee in to see Luo Baiqian? Why did she run like a ghost chasing her behind?¡±

    Zhu Quan looked at Luo Baiqian on the ground thoughtfully and asked, ¡°What do you mean? You are implying that she knows we are talking in the yard, and maybe she even heard our conversation, right?¡±

    Qi Xuanyu further analyzed, ¡°When there was a sound of breaking branches outside the yard, we chased it out and found the broken branches on the ground, but did not find the birds or beasts that broke the branches. The branches of holly wood are extremely tough and can¡¯t be broken easily, but the broken branches on the ground are trimmed. Was she the one who broke the branches just now?¡±

    Zhu Quan shook his head, ¡°If that person is really her, she will never escape my pursuit. But in fact, I didn¡¯t chase the figure. Maybe she just happened to pass by and took a look at the yard at will. There is nothing strange for she ignoring Luo Baiqian, because she has always been indifferent.¡±

    ¡°Impossible!¡± Qi Chuan, who was lying beside Luo Baiqian on the ground, woke up again. He rubbed his eyes and said, ¡°Sister Qingyi has never left me alone. This is the first time! Will she notice something? Will she ignore me forever?¡±

    He Danggui didn¡¯t know what happened after she left. She returned to Tao Yao Yard. Now it was in thete afternoon. The clouds threatened rain. After she entered the room, she gave Chan Yi a few words and cleansed her hands and face. Then she took the baggage that she had prepared beforehand, and went to the back door again.

    Chan Yi suddenly chased her out, and reported two pieces oftest news to He Danggui, ¡°Miss He, Madam Luo¡¯s maid Gan Cao hanged herself. Someone saw her being pressed to the ground and undressed by Second Lord. That happened half day before she died. Besides, Madam Luo left Childe Feng for a banquet and said that she would find a good fortune-teller to match Childe Ning¡¯s date of birth and eight characters of a horoscope and yours. Miss He, do you know Childe Ning? He lived in our mansion for several days, and he was the one who gave you the painting that you hate.¡±

    Hearing the second piece of news, He Danggui was shocked, ¡°Where¡¯s Bai Yang? Is the person called Bai Yanging?¡±

    Chan Yi shook her head, ¡°I heard Shi Liu say that a teenage boy from outside the mansion came to ask for Bai Yang¡¯s invitation card. He said that Childe Bai broke his leg unfortunately and seemed to have no predestined rtionship with you, so Childe Bai wouldn¡¯te awkwardly.¡± Looking at the dumb face of the youngdy, Chan Yi asked suspiciously, ¡°Miss He, where are you going to go? It¡¯s getting dark and it¡¯s going to rain.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to stir up trouble.¡± He Danggui stepped forward and said without looking back, ¡°After the fire starts, my Second Aunt will definitely go to Tao Yao Yard to visit us. You don¡¯t have to be polite with her and ask Xiaoyou to drive them all away. Then lock our mansion gate and rest early.¡±

    Chan Yi asked in a panic, ¡°Miss He, are you going to set fire? Where are you going to burn?¡±

    ¡°It must be the ce where is the easiest to fire.¡± He Danggui tightened the tie of her feathery fur cloak, and said before walking away, ¡°This time if Sun Meinianges to my door, I must stay with her to the end and teach her a lesson.¡±

 Chapter 253 - We were all cursed

    <h4>Chapter 253 We were all cursed</h4>

    When it was dark in thete afternoon, the maids in Luo¡¯s Mansion ran back and forth between Xin Rong Hall and the kitchen with joy. Madam Luo entertained distinguished guests today, including Third Childe Meng Ying of the Meng¡¯s Family, Childe Feng Yang of Feng¡¯s Family and Childe Ning Yuan. The three handsome and noble childes were all honored guests. It was most suitable to describe the scene that humble house was honored by their presence. It was the third day of the Lunar New Year. With the asional sound of firecrackers on the street and the aroma of cooking food in the air, it had already been filled with strong festival atmosphere, though people had not eaten the food.

    Two maids walked over with the fruit tes. Oneforted the other, ¡°It is the Spring Festival now. Even if you want to burn joss paper for Gan Cao, you should wait until the tenth day of the Lunar New Year. These things are taboos during the New Year and even should not be mentioned.¡± It was Pu Gongying that was speaking, the first-ss maid of Madam Luo.

    The other was Deng Cao, the newly appointed maid to serve tea. She gloomily said, ¡°The tenth day of the Lunar New Year? Then it will past the first seventh night. I hear that the soul of the suicide will dissipate without performing a religious rite during the seven days.¡±

    Pu Gongying frowned, ¡°When we serve in the hallter, you should not mention a word. Gan Cao took it too hard, and who else could she me? Since Second Lord made out with her on the corridor where someone passed by, he could not deny with the evidence. However, Gan Cao didn¡¯t fight for a concubine, but choose to suicide. Who else could she me?¡±

    Deng Cao was upset with experience of her peer, ¡°It¡¯s easy for you to say that. If it happened to you, would you like to be a concubine under Second Mistress Luo?¡± Second Mistress Luo¡¯s most intimate maid, Run Xiang, came to no good end, let alone someone else.

    Pu Gongying didn¡¯t know how to response. They brought the fruit tes into the hall and waited on the guests. First Master Luo Baiqian, Second Master Luo Baiji and First Miss Luo Baiying were apanied in the hall. Originally, other misses were also invited, while they all made excuses to opt out of the banquet. Madam Luo looked much better when she saw her first grandson Luo Baiqian alsoe over who hardly left his yard. And she also did not care about other misses who didn¡¯te.

    Madam Luo was talking happily with Meng Ying, Feng Yang and Ning Yuan. Halfway through the banquet, Second Mistress Luo, Sun Meiniang, rushed into the hall and dragged the drunk Second Lord Luo Chuangu. They rushed at Madam Luo. Then Sun Meiniang said, ¡°Madam, something bad happened in our yard. Please go and see! You have to intervene in this matter!¡±

    Madam Luo was talking high-spiritedly before, while Sun Meiniang disturbed it. Besides, Madam Luo did not want to see Sun Meiniang recently, so Madam Luo was unhappy. She lowered her voice and said, ¡°Don¡¯t you see who today¡¯s guest is? Third Childe of Meng¡¯s Family! What an honored thing for us since he is willing to celebrate the New Year together! However, you just make trouble at this time. Do you do it on purpose!¡±

    Although Sun Meiniang had expected that Madam Luo disliked her since the matter that she drank abortifacient more than once was exposed, she could not help being chilled while thinking of Madam Luo¡¯s tender love for her before. However, that was the reason why she deliberately brought drunk Luo Chuangu with her. He coulde in handy at this time. Sure enough, when Sun Meiniang cast a nce at him who breathed alcohol fumes with red cheeks, he said immediately, ¡°Mother, something serious really happened in Bao Qin Ge. You can¡¯t leave it alone.¡±

    Gan Cao, Madam Luo¡¯s maid for serving tea for nearly ten years,mitted suicide because of Luo Chuangu. If he weren¡¯t her son, Madam Luo must have punished him. Right now, seeing her son shrinking behind Sun Meiniang like a timid rabbit, Madam Luo was so angry that she cursed in a low voice, ¡°Look, what do you look like now! The nearly 40-year-old master ran to the outer hall. There are guests and young members of the family, while you just wore an old cotton coat and soft shoes. Even the little administrators outside wear more formal than you!¡±

    When she looked at Luo Chuangu¡¯s head, there were also straws on his untidy hair, which made the Madam Luo think of the suicide Gan Cao. She suddenly burst with anger and scolded him, ¡°Where are you going to fool around ande back with straws on your head? Don¡¯t you want to be a Lord but a beggar instead? I really don¡¯t understand what I have done so that I give birth to you, a good-for-nothing son!¡±

    This rebuke immediately reached the ears of everybody in the banquet. Although everyone was eating and drinking as usual, they all focused on this episode actually.

    Meng Ying said, ¡°Ha-ha, Madam Luo, don¡¯t be angry. It¡¯s good to be happy during the New Year, and there is no need to worry about your son, as long as your daughter or granddaughter make good.¡±

    The remark didn¡¯t make any sense. Her daughter made good? Luo Chuanxiong was born to be coward. Her granddaughter made good? Luo Baiqiong, who was the most promising, still didn¡¯t want to go out to meet people. However, Madam Luo immediately realized that the person he was talking about was her granddaughter, Yi. Today, Feng Yang came as a matchmaker to talk about marrying Yi to Ning Yuan as a Junior Wife. Although they still unanimously said that Ning Yuan was a jeweler and Madam Luo only got along with the neen-year-old Ning Yuan for a moment, she concluded that Childe Ning was not simple and was at least a Seventh-Grade magistrate.

    When Madam Luo thought that her granddaughter would marry such an outstanding man as a Junior Wife, she didn¡¯t anger any more. She just waved her hands impatiently to drove the couple, ¡°Don¡¯t disgrace yourselves. Go out! Don¡¯t damp our spirits!¡± Originally, everyone was waiting for Fortune-teller Li to foretell marriages for the young people with a marriage te, which was disturbed by them.

    It was the first time that Sun Meiniang had lost her face in public. She was awkward with red face. Then she said decisively in public that she should have avoided everyone, ¡°Madam, it¡¯s incredible. Something horrible is found in our yard. Someone hates our Second Branch and wants us to die without a buried ce!¡±

    The first reaction of Madam Luo was to bang on the desk, ¡°Bah, bah, bah! Whoops, what you say is what is forbidden. You are cursed, aren¡¯t you!¡± How could the word ¡°die¡± be spoken during the Chinese New Year!

    Unexpectedly, Sun Meiniang and Luo Chuangu nodded together and said, ¡°Madam, we are cursed truly. Not only we, but Qiong and Shao are also cursed. Someone curses our whole family to death!¡±

    Whole family to death? Madam Luo was irritated so that she almost vomited blood. Such words were taboos. They should be decent but even said those words in such an asion. Madam Luo decisively left the table and said to Luo Baiqian who sat beside her, ¡°Qian, apany the guests. Make sure to let everyone have fun. No unsatisfactory thing could happen.¡±

    Then Madam Luo looked sullen and took the them out of the side door. Walking for some distance, she turned around to face them. She suppressed her anger and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? What¡¯s dug out of the yard? When did this happen?¡±

    Sun Meiniang moved close and said, ¡°There are many things, like dolls used for witchcraft, joss paper, Taoist magic figures, human bones, and the thing like parts of corpses! All kinds of dirty things!¡±

    Madam Luo stared at Sun Meiniang. Her upper and lower teeth kept shing while she said, ¡°Sun Meiniang! What are you talking about? How it is possible to find these things in the yard? You are crazy! You, a wife in charge of the family, should be morous and decent, but you are even rted to these things!¡±

    Sun Meiniangined in injured tones, ¡°My intelligent Madam, whether I am the wife in charge of the family or not, I am a woman and a mother first. How could I put those things in my yard? Even if I don¡¯t want to live, I can¡¯t take these things to hurt Qiong and Shao!¡±

    There was a folk saying that witchcraft harmed three generations, and if someone collected or was framed with those dirty things, not only the person, but the person¡¯s children would suffer disasters. In Yangzhou city, it was especially believed because of the Governor Wei Hong¡¯s corruption case a few years ago. When he was checked his family property, it was found thatrge amount of joss paper was stered on the walls of his bedroom, and there were a plenty of water with Taoist magic figures. Many people spected that Wei Hong was practiced witchcraft. That was why he changed from an upright official to a corrupt official who embezzled the Imperial Court¡¯s relief funds and harmed his family. When Wei Hong was discovered, his corpse had no head.

    Madam Luo suddenly realized that if someone really hid the dirty things of witchcraft in Bao Qin Ge, she was one of the people who were practiced witchcraft. So, Madam Luo forgot the taboos during the New Year immediately and cried, ¡°Who is so malicious to hide these dirty things? Dolls! Human bones! Parts of corpses! Were there ever been missing people in our Mansion?¡± It was a case of murdering and burying the corpses!

    Luo Chuangu thought Sun Meiniang¡¯s words were a bit exaggerated, so he quickly pulled it back at the right time, ¡°Meiniang is timid. When those things were dug out, she fainted with just one nce, so she didn¡¯t see that clearly. The corpses are just some guts of dead chickens or fishes. However, the joss paper is real thing of witchcraft, and each has a breach in the direction of the Qian Diagram. They are buried in our yard. It is clear that those dirty things will make us lose our vitality and be possessed by misfortunes!¡±

    Sun Meiniang wiped her tears with sleeves, ¡°I have always been physically strong. Qiong and Shao were born smoothly. But since Shao was born and there were other people to move in our house, my lower body gradually became numb. The doctor also could not figure out the reason. Later, I was pregnant for the third time, while the pregnant ended in miscarriage at the second month. Not only me, none of ten concubines has a son, they are young and easy to have children though.¡±

    At this moment, a light rain suddenly began to fall. The cold rain hit on the three people¡¯s faces coldly. With rain hitting on Sun Meiniang¡¯s haggard appearance, she looked very miserable with no need to squeeze tears. She continued to cry, ¡°In the past, we didn¡¯t understand why. So, we prayed to Buddha, gave money to beggars, and often drove a cart of steamed buns to the riverside to help poor family. We have been done that for dozens of years, but it¡¯s still useless. Now the truth hase to light. Someone envies our second Branch in charge of family and secretly curse us to die without descendants, so that we will have no right to take away family property!¡±

    Madam Luo asked hoarsely, ¡°Who? Who are you talking about? Who has cursed you ten years ago so that Second Branch couldn¡¯t have a son?¡±

    When ites to allocating the family property, Third Branch had already set aside northern property which was worth of 40 thousand liang many years ago. Therefore, when the family was separated in the future, Third Branch would basically stay out of the business. They have nothing except a few ancestral houses in East Yard of Luo¡¯s Mansion. Madam Luo had hinted at her third son, and he had no objection to this. Besides, the third son Chuanpu and Chuangu were siblings of the same mother, so how could he harm his own brother and his brother¡¯s families?

    First Branch would divide the family property with Second Branch in the future. But the first son Chuanbai was careless, and often misced his own money. He rarely cared about how much he took away, and he just took as much as he was given. How could he be so malicious? Might it be the eldest daughter-inw Ms. Zhao? Or the eldest granddaughter-inw Dong Xin? Or a dissatisfied servant whoid a curse upon the master out of a private malice but not money?

    ¡°Madam,¡± Sun Meiniang approached and handed a small note, ¡°Please take a look at this! What is honest on the surface but wicked in the heart? I know it today!¡±

    Madam Luo took the note, squinted at it and read the note by the light of the big redntern in the distance, ¡°This is the date of birth and eight characters of a horoscope of Chuangu... This handwriting is very familiar... The words are written by Chuanxiong!¡±

 Chapter 254 - She was indeed her biological daughter

    <h4>Chapter 254 She was indeed her biological daughter</h4>

    Sun Meiniang cried out, ¡°I treat my sister-inw Chuanxiong with kindness. When she was sent back to our house by He¡¯s Family, I was afraid that she was living in another yard and there would be a shortage of food and clothing, so I kept her here. She lived in Bao Qin Ge for a period of time. I didn¡¯t expect that she was such a vicious person. She was jealous of seeing her second brother and I being very much in love, so she harmed our whole family in such a way. She dug and buried evil things in our courtyard! Madam! The note is attached to a cursed puppet. In addition to the horoscope of my husband, there were mine and Qiong¡¯s. Those puppets were stuck by so many needles!¡±

    Madam Luo held the note in meditation for a while, and couldn¡¯t believe it. She walked to a half-person-high standingntern under the porch and looked at it twice. She was the most familiar with Chuanxiong¡¯s characters. When Chuanxiong was a child, she supervised her practice of calligraphy. Later, Chuanxiong lived in Taoist temple all the year round. Every time she went home, she brought tworge boxes of handwritten scriptures to Madam Luo. The date of birth and eight characters of a horoscope on this note were all written by Chuanxiong. Chuanxiong¡¯s handwriting was not something others could imitate, as it was round and neat. All her words were not slightly different, as if they were printed out.

    But Madam Luo was still skeptical about it. Was it done by Chuanxiong? She went to the Taoist temple to escape from the world, so why was she involved in the malicious division of the family property? No matter how the Luo¡¯s Family¡¯s property was divided, she couldn¡¯t share it. How could a divorced daughter return to her natal family to divide the property?

    Seeing that Madam Luo didn¡¯t say a word, Luo Chuangu added a handful of firewood under his wife¡¯s orders and said, ¡°I think of it now. Not long after my Fourth Sister returned to Luo¡¯s Family, I felt very disturbed and puzzled. I couldn¡¯t settle down to read. I originally ranked in top ten for the position of Xiucai in the provincial examination, but after Fourth Sister returned, I failed eight consecutive examinations for the position of Jinshi. I was discouraged and lost confidence to participate in the imperial examination.¡±

    Madam Luo listened to him with her mouth half open, and her lip trembled, ¡°But Chuanxiong is an honest person, not like someone who can do this kind of thing. If she had such an ability to curse others back then, why didn¡¯t she curse the bad guys of He¡¯s Family?¡±

    Sun Meiniang said with sob, ¡°Cats hide their ws. Now there is no need to discuss whether Luo Chuanxiong can do this kind of thing. Anyway, the puppets of me, my husband, and Qiong came out from under the ground in full view. Here are the notes attached to the puppets. It is Luo Chuanxiong¡¯s handwriting. These are irrefutable proof. Madam! What I want to say is that the curse began more than ten years ago, and has not been stopped until today!¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Madam Luo¡¯s eyelids were wet by the cold rain, but she stared at Sun Meiniang without blinking.

    Sun Meiniang presented two other pieces of physical evidence, and said seriously, ¡°The spell paper is a little faded. We asked Fortune-teller Li, who was invited by you, to identify it. He said that the cinnabar has been on it for a long time, and the technique of drawing spell is also popr five years ago, so the spell paper might be buried about five years ago. And the cloth of the three puppets was rotten, so it was buried more than ten years ago. Besides, the most horrible thing is the paper money with hinged gap, all of which are new and white. In other words, some people have buried paper money in my yard recently!¡±

    ¡°Buried recently?¡± Madam Luo frowned. ¡°So, Chuanxiong is clear of all suspicion, isn¡¯t she? She hasn¡¯t been home for half a year. Some time ago, she sent a letter to family, saying that she had typhoid and can¡¯t move for a while. She won¡¯t be back this year during the Chinese New Year.¡±

    Sun Meiniang hissed like a snake, ¡°Madam, Luo Chuanxiong has never been back to Luo¡¯s Family, but she has a daughter here.¡±

    Madam Luo winced as if she was pierced by a needle. She frowned more deeply, ¡°You¡¯re talking nonsense! Yi is a child. How can she be involved in these things? Last time you insisted that she harmed Concubine Hua, but the result showed it was not her. Doctor Ma said that before Concubine Hua went crazy, she gave him money as a false testimony. She lied that her fetal instability was caused by taking medicine, but in fact her fetal position was nothing to do with antiabortifacient. I always think that there is a baby in her belly, and she is a little foolish, so I don¡¯t make a fuss with her. You both wronged Yi and caused her serious illness. She can¡¯t go out yet!¡±

    After what happenedst time, Madam Luo was sensitive to such things. She felt that if Sun Meiniang said He Danggui¡¯s fault, Sun Meiniang must detest He Danggui and deliberately go against her. Besides, now that the person to propose marriage was here, and it was a perfect marriage for He Danggui. As long as their dates of birth and eight characters of a horoscope were matched, and they were satisfied with each other, then they could get engaged. At such a critical moment, how could the Sun Meiniang stir up trouble again?

    Madam Luo was confused that why did Sun Meiniang go against He Danggui. He Danggui was a little girl without making any trouble. It saved more money to raise her than raising a kitten. Since she was quite pretty, it was not hard for her to marry into high society, which was beneficial for Luo¡¯s Family. Besides, Chuanxiong was sterilized. Yi was her only daughter. People in the family all pitied them. Sun Meiniang and Chuanxiong were close friends in the past. Why did Sun Meiniang turn against her old friend?

    Sun Meiniang sneered, ¡°He Danggui can¡¯t go out yet? Madam, let me tell you about it. Later this afternoon, someone saw her sneaking in the yard. She prowled around the garden, dodging people and hiding something in her arms. Her behavior was suspicious. Perhaps she buried something in other yards!¡±

    Luo Chuangu gave a beer hup, ¡°Mom, you have a big heart. You treat my Fourth Sister as your own daughter. We are even jealous of her, but she is shrewd. She and her daughter never treat you as their mother and grandmother. There is a saying that witchcraft harms three generations. Now you are among the cursed people. You can no longer protect outsiders, or our Luo¡¯s Family will be ruined by her!¡±

    ¡°Madam, don¡¯t you know that?¡± Sun Meiniang¡¯s voice changed sharply. ¡°The implied meaning of burying bones in others¡¯ yards is to make their families decrease day by day, and it will eventually be extinct! Under the osmanthus tree in my yard, seven or eight human bones were dug up in one go. I don¡¯t know from which grave the bones were stolen. This kind of thing can only be sold on the ck market. As for paper money, we open the ancestral hall to worship the ancestors on the twelfth day of the first month. Although I purchased arge number of paper money and paper horses, it has not been opened so far. It can be seen that the brand-new paper money buried in our yard is foreign things. Who is the one loves to run out?¡± She implied He Danggui.

    Since Sun Meiniang¡¯s words were logic and justified, Madam Luo believed it a little bit. In addition to the urrence of this kind of witchcraft incident during the New Year, she was afraid that it would take away all the good luck and wealth of Luo¡¯s Mansion for the next whole year. This thought made Madam Luo very irritable, and she couldn¡¯t cool down.

    But with the lessons learned fromst time, Madam Luo would not decide immediately. She muttered, ¡°Today is the third day of the Lunar New Year. It is not suitable to do big things today, not to mention that there are still distinguished guests at home. Well, now that Yi can walk down the ground, let her go to the Depositary of Buddhist Texts in the back hall to copy the scriptures for a few days. You lock the Depositary and give her food every day. After offering sacrifices to ancestors, let¡¯s break this case again. Just take advantage these few days and send someone to Sanqing Temple to pick up Chuanxiong. You have said too much, so you have to give a chance to the people of Fourth Branch to say something.¡± The most important thing was that there were two guests in the house, Childe Meng and Childe Ning, so the family scandal must not be exposed.

    Sun Meiniang did not expect that under such hard evidence, Madam Luo would just ground He Danggui. It seemed that she nned to settle things down. Sun Meiniang framed He Danggui up about the matter of abortifacientst time, but the witch puppets and spells this time were all dug out without her knowledge. At the first sight of the three rotten and moldy rag puppets, Sun Meiniang was also frightened, and even the fetus in her belly twitched twice. Could this such vicious thing be forgotten? They Second Branch had never suffered such a shame!

    Thinking of this, she gritted her posterior teeth and sneered, ¡°Madam, you are wrong. Nowadays, Luo Chuanxiong is not the one who can speak the most in the Fourth Branch. Have you forgotten that we just discovered a female storyteller in our family a few days ago? She is so eloquent. It makes me almost wonder if Chuanxiong was too flustered when she ran out of her husband¡¯s house, so that she held the wrong child. He Danggui is not like Chuanxiong¡¯s child.¡±

    Madam Luo scolded Sun Meiniang in a low voice, ¡°How can you be so big-mouth? How can a mother hold her child by mistake? Yi is like her father He Jingxian. Everybody knows it!¡±

    Sun Meiniang said quietly, ¡°He Jingxian killed my father-inw. We are kind enough to help him raise her daughter. Now he instigated his daughter to harm us. Madam, how could you still help her to hurt your own granddaughters? Not to mention the fact that my fetus was cursed to death, and not to mention that my husband was cursed and failed inpetitive examinations, since He Danggui came into our house, Qiong and Shao changed a lot. Can¡¯t this prove everything?¡±

    Madam Luo was taken aback for a moment and then asked dully, ¡°What does it prove?¡±

    ¡°Qiong, a well-behaved child in the past, abides by the Law of the Ladies. She has never made any mistakes, and she is the greatest pride of our family. But since He Danggui came back from Taoist temple, Qiong has suddenly changed. It seems that she was haunted by the ghost, and obsessed with the bad boy Peng Shi. Peng Shi¡¯s mother Luo Chuanbei is also a viin. She is an apparent good rtive with a smile in front of face, but refused to admit the children¡¯s marriage to hurt my Qiong.¡± Sun Meiniang felt heartbroken when she mentioned this, ¡°As for Shao, she used to be as good as her sister. Would she set on fire if she was not deluded by evil thing? I guess He Danggui learned witchcraft from the Shui Shang Temple. After she came back from the Taoist temple, she became totally different!¡±

    ¡°And I!¡± Luo Chuangu snorted, ¡°I have so many beautiful women, let alone that Meiniang is pregnant. I apany her all the time, so why would I caste eyes at your closest maid? But yesterday, I was like being manipted, and I couldn¡¯t help doing that!¡±

    Luo Chuangu was so cheeky that people rarely saw. He clearly coveted the beauty of Gan Cao and raped her. He didn¡¯t admit that he was lustful, instead, he was so dishonest in front of his mother and pregnant wife. He was so shameless to pass the buck to his niece. Of course, Sun Meiniang knew that he was lying, but she didn¡¯t nail the lie even though she was disgusted. It was in the stage of uniting against the enemy. Such a small ount could be calcted slowly with the door closed. She also had something on Luo Chuangu.

    After hearing this, Madam Luo really believed. She walked down the corridor while muttering, ¡°You both are rmist and scare me. I want to listen to Yi...¡±

    Just at this moment, disheveled Ding Rong¡¯s wife ran over from the other side in a panic while yelling, ¡°Third Miss is killing and setting fire! She is going to rebel!¡±

    There was also a faint voice in the distance, ¡°It¡¯s on fire¡­ Help¡­ It¡¯s on fire¡­¡±

 Chapter 255 - People in Tao Yao Yard were excited

    <h4>Chapter 255 People in Tao Yao Yard were excited</h4>

    Madam Luo was elderly. Although she used lifesaving prescription all the year round to keep her body strong, her spirit was aged. At this moment, upon hearing ¡°rebel¡± and ¡°It¡¯s on fire¡±, her two eyes twitched together immediately. She asked in a panic, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Tell me clearly!¡±

    When Ding Rong¡¯s wife saw that the person standing in front of the corridor was Madam Luo, she immediately changed from running to walking with a limp. She called for help while hobbling, ¡°Help! Madam! Third Miss is nning to rebel! I was ordered by Second Mistress to call her back from Tao Yao Yard. However, as soon as I entered Tao Yao Yard, I was beaten savagely and almost killed half of my life! That¡¯s not enough. The people in Tao Yao Yard also rebelled together. They threw out all the people I took to escort Third Miss, andtched the door. Tao Yao Yard is going to rebel, and be independent from Luo¡¯s Mansion!¡±

    Before Madam Luo made any response, a low chuckle sounded from the side. When Madam Luo turned her head to look, she saw Feng Yang wasughing. Besides Feng Yang, the other side of the corridor was also full of people. There were Meng Ying and Ning Yuan, as well as Luo Baiqian, Luo Baiji and Luo Baiying of their own family. All the people who just attended the banquet were all present. Most of them waited to gloat with bright eyes. What they heard might be not only ¡°rebel¡± and ¡°It¡¯s on fire¡±, but also the previousint of the Second Branch.

    Madam Luo clenched her teeth secretly. These juniors of Luo¡¯s Family all could not took a hint. Not only did they not help cover up the family scandal, but they just rushed out to look on one by one. Wouldn¡¯t they hear of watching other people¡¯s family scandal and honoring their own home?

    Sun Meiniang gave a cold nce at Feng Yang. She knew that he and He Danggui belonged to the same team, so she couldn¡¯t help but snort. She asked, ¡°Well, Childe Feng thinks it¡¯s ridiculous for something happening in our house?¡±

    However, this ¡°Feng Yang¡± is not the other ¡°Feng Yang¡±. For the hatred created by Bai Yangbai¡¯s ¡°Feng Yang¡±st time, Chang Nuo¡¯s ¡°Feng Yang¡± waspletely unaware of it. He only roughly knew that the Sun Meiniang and He Danggui had a quarrel. Later, he also helped He Danggui deal with the aftermath, setting the poison powder on fire and sprinkling powder that made skin peel on Sun Meiniang and Luo Chuangu, which made them frightened by smallpox and leprosy.

    Therefore, Chang Nuo¡¯s ¡°Feng Yang¡± had no hatred for Sun Meiniang, but a little sorry for her. So, he politely said with a smiled, ¡°Second Mistress Luo, don¡¯t be upset. I definitely don¡¯t mean to gloat. I just think that Sister He is so well-behaved that she probably can¡¯t do what you said. Is there any misunderstanding?¡± Did women have the innate potential to treat the same sex as natural enemies? Even if there was no misunderstanding, they would create misunderstandings. Sun Meiniang was aimed at Qingyi. Did she envy thetter¡¯s great prospect?

    Sun Meiniang twitched her upper lip indignantly, and she also knew that Shao practiced to write Feng Yang¡¯s name. However, Feng Yang helped He Danggui twice, and also introduced a good marriage for He Danggui. How could Sun Meiniang marry her daughter to such a person who helped He Danggui?

    Ding Rong¡¯s wife limped over and cried, ¡°Madam, Second Mistress, when I went to Tao Yao Yard, I said it clearly that I was under the order of the Second Mistress to let Third Miss go to Bao Qin Ge. Unexpectedly, I didn¡¯t see Third Miss. Everyone in Tao Yao Yard is so excited, especially He Dangyou. They threw out all of us like sacks one by one and plugged in thetch again. What else could they be if not feeling guilty? In my opinion, the things dug up in Bao Qin Ge must have something to do with the Third Miss!¡±

    This time it was Luo Baiqian who burst in toughter. He said in an innocent voice, ¡°One of our servants has surpassed the guards and masters of the Yamen, not only having the ability to settle the case, but also arresting the prisoner! It¡¯s amazing!¡±

    Madam Luo knew that the eldest grandson was sick again, while she had to ignore him at the moment. She just called Luo Baiji to take care of his cousin. Then Madam Luo pointed at the two servants, Zhang Huan¡¯s wife and Li Jiuguang¡¯s wife who were waiting not far away, and ordered, ¡°Go and see where there¡¯s the fire. I just heard someone shouting that it is on fire, butter there is no sound anymore¡­¡±

    After the two agreed and left, another elderly woman servant hurriedly walked over and whispered a few words in Sun Meiniang¡¯s ear. Then Sun Meiniang¡¯s eyes immediately became bright.

    Madam Luo didn¡¯t like someone whispering in front of her, so she asked gruffly, ¡°What happened again? Or where do you find something again?¡± Sun Meiniang¡¯s posture was like that of thewsuit a few days ago. As soon as she came up, she was aggressive and dominant, making Madam Luo question the authenticity of the dirty things of witchcraft. In addition, even if someone really cursed Second Branch with those stuff, Madam Luo felt that there were also several people who were more motivated than the Chuanxiong and her daughter.

    Sun Meiniang said with a self-satisfied smile, ¡°Madam, please keep your eyes open this time. There is a witness to testify against He Danggui. Not only is this witness closely rted to He Danggui, but also it is the first time that the witness hase here. Thus, what the person say is absolutely fair.¡±

    ¡°Witness?¡± Madam Luo asked, and everyone present were curious.

    Sun Meiniang curled her lips, as if she smugly stole sweet abalone. Just as she was about to speak the witness¡¯s name, Zhang Huan¡¯s wife and Li Jiuguang¡¯s wife had checked it out. Zhang Huan¡¯s wife breathlessly reported, ¡°Something¡¯s wrong. The ck smokees from the direction of the ancestral hall. There is a puff of dense smoke!¡±

    Madam Luo widened her eyes in disbelief and eximed, ¡°This year is the year of fire. I have said repeatedly at the end of the year that you must be careful with fires during the spring, not to mention the important ce of the ancestral hall! Who is responsible for guarding and cleaning the ancestral hall?¡±

    Li Jiuguang¡¯s wife continued to report, ¡°Madam, this time it can¡¯t me the people who guard the ancestral hall. A maid saw that in the evening, Third Miss covered her face and sneaked into the ancestral hall with a small bag! Now the ancestral hall is on fire. Madam, the firees really weirdly!¡±

    Sun Meiniang was exultant when she heard that. What a good day! She managed to frame He Danggui before, but failed again and again. This time when she was just watching the fireworks in her yard, a fluffy object came out of the ground suddenly, which shocked her. When she took a closer look, she found the color of the soil was very new, as if the ground was spaded recently. She stepped forward on the ground, and felt that soil was loose. She questioned it immediately and called for people to dig out. Thus, the three moldy dolls were dug out. The cloth was too old to see the original color, with rusty needles stuck on it. The date of birth and eight characters of a horoscope of Sun Meiniang, her husband and her eldest daughter were attached on it. The handwriting on the note was easy to recognize. It was the handwriting of Luo Chuanxiong.

    At first, Sun Meiniang was so irritated, while on a second thought, sheughed. She didn¡¯t expect Luo Chuanxiong was so stupid to curse them with such a useless trick. If dolls could curse people to death, then why did she bother to frame others? It was enough to just make a hundred rag dolls. Luo Chuanxiong sought trouble for herself. Sun Meiniang just took this opportunity to let Luo Chuanxiong and her daughter fall into the pit, so that He Danggui could not marry because of the infamy!

    Sun Meiniang rolled her eyes and summoned all the hands of Bao Qin Ge to get a shovel and turn the Bao Qin Ge inside out. She did not intend to dig out more things, but just nned to add more evidence to Luo Chuanxiong¡¯s charge. But after finishing searching, she really dug out a small wooden box with a lot of yellowish amulet paper inside. The amulet paper must be something of a certain age.

    Sun Meiniang hated and was also d. What she hated was that Luo Chuanxiong had dealt with her like this behind her back, while she was quite unconscious of it. She always thought that Luo Chuanxiong was a stupid person before. What she was pleased was that with Luo Chuanxiong¡¯s handwriting and the amulet paper, Madam Luo must believe her. Besides, Luo Chuanxiong had been a believer of Taoism for many years, and she liked to take these things. There was no doubt that she did it. In the future, He Danggui could not be protected by her mother and let Madam Luo look at her with quite different eyes anymore.

    But it was not enough to satisfy Sun Meiniang. With such a great opportunity, why not seize it and make the two never get a clean te? So, Sun Meiniang quietly asked Ding Rong¡¯s wife to prepare the joss paper, human bones, and the innards of chickens and fish found in the kitchen garbage, and buried them everywhere in the yard. Then Sun Meiniang asked people to dig them out.

    The joss paper was used for ancestor worship two dayster, and the human bones were quietly bought by Sun Meiniang from the ck market a few days earlier. She attached great importance to her pregnancy, hoping to give birth to a son in one fell swoop, so that Luo Chuangu would be under her control in the future, and she would get more than eighty percent of the family property of East Yard of Luo¡¯s Mansion. The Third Branch had been separated long time ago. Sooner orter, they would not basically get a penny and go back to their small home in the northeast. Luo Baiqian of First Branch had be half a lunatic. Besides, he was the son of the concubine, and Madam Luo was not his biological mother. Giving some property to them was the kindness of the Second Branch and grace for them.

    Sun Meiniang heard from a man that the reason why she always had a stillbirth was that she had an unresolved murder case. The pregnant woman was weak in Yang. In addition, she was entangled in the spirit of one who was wrongly put into death, so she gradually couldn¡¯t keep her baby. After hearing this, Sun Meiniang was puzzled. She didn¡¯t he kill anyone. Where there was a murder case? Later, she thought that she had induced abortion for He Jingxian before she got married. After she got married, she was tricked by He Jingxian to induce abortion of a formed male fetus again. She wondered if the two children, who could have survived, were killed by her and did not know how to reincarnate because of their young age, so they entangled her.

    Then, Sun Meiniang found the man, told him about her thought, and asked for a way to dispel the evil spirits of the two dead children. Therefore, the man told her that there always were dead people in the rich mansion. The Yin was heavy, and it was unrealistic to disperse itpletely. It was better to find some human bones and buried them around the house. Those babies¡¯ souls would attach to the bones, and they would hardly to attach to her.

    So, Sun Meiniang bought the human bones at a high price and tried the method for half a month. It was really effective. The fetus was much more stable than the several times before. If it could keep like this, she would definitely have no problem with giving birth. She made up her mind that no matter whether the child was a son or not, she must make a proper arrangement so that the child was ¡°internally determined¡± to be a son.

    In this way, ready-made human bones were collected in the Sun Meiniang¡¯s Bao Qin Ge. Now they were just used to frame Luo Chuanxiong and her daughter. The joss paper and bloody things such as the innards of chicken and fish were all ominous things. They could also be exined as a curse when being buried in the yard, which could also be used to frame He Danggui. In this way, He Danggui and her mother both had evidence of a crime. They would fall out of favor together and be expelled from the Luo¡¯s Family. How wonderful!

    Therefore, Sun Meiniang pulled the drunk Luo Chuangu toin to Madam Luo. She said a long list of dirty things of witchcraft, including dolls, joss paper, spells, human bones, and corpses. Of course, Luo Chuangu knew that there was something that Sun Meiniang added. But when he dimly saw that his eight characters of a horoscope was attached to the doll with needles, he immediately felt a pricking sensation. Bah! If Luo Chuanxiong stood in front of him, he would definitely fight her desperately! Although Luo Chuangu and Sun Meiniang even didn¡¯t discuss it in advance, they rushed all the way to the Xin Rong Hall and cooperated tacitly in front of Madam Luo.

    Incited by Sun Meiniang, a group of people, headed by Madam Luo and three distinguished guests included, all people marched towards the ancestral hall of Luo¡¯s Family. Sun Meiniang was so happy along the way that she almost burst intoughing. Was He Danggui mad because of the smallpox? In addition to set fire on the ancestral hall during the New Year, even the normal worship of burning paper should be done after the tenth day of the first lunar month. Before the tenth day, it was forbidden to make a fire. If someone didn¡¯t follow this rule, there would be a risk of catching fire in his or her house, which was passed by the people of Yangzhou City by word of mouth. But He Danggui sought trouble for herself. How ridiculous!

    As soon as they entered the ancestral hall, everyone saw a girl in green clothes, who had been pinned to the ground by two or three strong servants, from a distance. Sun Meiniang scolded, ¡°Tie her up and bring her here!¡±

    Therefore, the girl was tied up and escorted to the crowd. Her head bent, and she was crying.

    Without asking Madam Luo, Sun arrogated to give an ordercently once again, ¡°Implement the domestic discipline. Give her thirty ps on the face first!¡±

    Immediately, a servant woman came up to p the girl who was beaten to turn her head to the other side. Her cheek was swollen at once with just one p. But that face immediately made Sun Meiniang freeze her smile. She was distressed to shout, ¡°Qiong, why are you!¡±

 Chapter 256 - I liked Third Sister

    <h4>Chapter 256 I liked Third Sister</h4>

    Luo Baiqiong wanted to say something, but the words wouldn¡¯te out of her mouth. Sun Meiniang came up and moved away the hands of the two servants who were holding her daughter. While untying Luo Baiqiong, she pointed with her polished fair finger at the two servants and the woman servant who beat Luo Baiqiong, and screamed, ¡°You are blind. How dare you be disrespectful to the Miss? Do you want to live or not? Come on, drag them out and throw the book at them!¡±

    The servants were scared and knelt down to beg for mercy. One of them kowtowed and said, ¡°Second Mistress Luo, forgive us. We are all directly under Bao Qin Ge. We have always been diligent and conscientious, and we never made any mistakes. We are innocent! Just now, Administrator Ding ran away and asked us to rush to the ancestral hall. He said that if we see a suspicious woman, we should immediately gag her and pinned her on the spot, so wee here and asked the guardian of the ancestral hall. He said that only Third Miss had been in there before, so we rushed in and got her down. We are just innocent!¡±

    Another servant also pleaded, ¡°Forgive us! We did nothing disrespectful to Second Miss, except for covering her mouth.¡±

    Ding Rong¡¯s wife rushed over, with a bunch of brass keys in her hand. She threw the keys at the two servants¡¯ heads and faces, cursing in hatred, ¡°You do the great wrong thing and want to deny it? There arenterns everywhere in the ancestral hall. How can you not recognize Second Miss? How can you mistake the identity?¡± She hit them even harder when she spoke.

    Seeing that the two servants were bloody, the woman servant was so scared that she screamed and pped herself. At the same time, she defended, ¡°Second Mistress Luo, you just said to enforce the family discipline. I follow your order and p myself thirty times. But even you didn¡¯t recognize Second Miss. How can I see her clearly? Please forgive me!¡±

    Madam Luo was disturbed by their words, so she stopped them, ¡°Enough! Where is the guardian of the ancestral hall? What the hell is going on?¡±

    Some servants who knew the specific situation saw that there was a big trouble, so naturally, they refused to go up to be in trouble. They hesitated, and no one went up to reply Madam Luo. Seeing that, Madam Luo was angry and shouted, ¡°Come on, everyone. Calm down.¡± On the third day of the new year, other families would stay together in happiness and peacefulness, but the Luo¡¯s Family was in chaotic. They even aired the dirtyundry in public. Madam Luo wondered if the marriage would be sessful.

    Sun Meiniang held her daughter¡¯s swollen face, and repeatedly asked her about her condition, but she couldn¡¯t get a reply. She thought it was the wrong of the servant woman who pped her daughter, so she immediately pointed to the servant woman and said against the Madam Luo¡¯s words, ¡°Go on! p her mouth!¡±

    When the servant woman pped herself, Ding Rong¡¯s wife swung a bunch of keys, attacking the heads of the two strong servants. For all this, they didn¡¯t mean to evade. After all, the punishment was much lighter than the family discipline. Madam Luo¡¯s lips trembled with anger, but Luo Baiqian, who was possessed by Qi Chuan, suddenly burst intoughter. Luo Baiji frowned and asked him, ¡°Elder brother, why are youughing? What is wrong with you?¡± Others thought that Luo Baiqian was attacked by insanity, and Luo Baiji also thought so.

    Qi Chuan imitated Ding Rong¡¯s wife¡¯s movement of waving keys with both hands, and said with a smile, ¡°She can y kung fu! Look, she seems to be ying a meteor hammer and a nine-section whip.¡±

    Feng Yang alsoughed, ¡°She¡¯s really good at it. Luo¡¯s Family is full of talents!¡± After that, he skillfully changed the subject, and questioned from a fair standpoint, ¡°Second Mistress Luo, you said that they are disrespectful to the Miss, so they have to be punished severely. But just now, when you recognized Second Miss as Third Sister, your movements were not merciful at all. Second Miss is the master, so what about Third Sister?¡±

    Sun Meiniang held her daughter¡¯s swollen face, and she was wrathful, ¡°He Danggui set fire! He Danggui curse people with witchcraft! Of course, He Danggui should be beaten fiercely! Our family affairs in Luo¡¯s Mansion are none of your business!¡±

    Meng Ying organized the silk ribbon hanging down from the topknot, and said with a vague smile, ¡°Brother Feng, Brother Ning, since the master is unhappy, let¡¯s not make trouble here. I heard that fireworks on Yueyang Tower are very beautiful. Why don¡¯t we see it together?¡± Ning Yuan nodded when he heard that.

    Madam Luo hurriedly kept guests, ¡°It¡¯s rainy outside and it¡¯s after midnight. If you three guests leave like this, our Luo¡¯s Family will be a joke for not treating guests well.¡± Then she turned her head and scolded Sun Meiniang, ¡°Apologize to the guests quickly! Is your entric disease not healed yet!¡±

    Luo Baiji was also outraged after hearing Sun Meiniang¡¯s words, ¡°Second Aunt, don¡¯t nder others! We all know well about the temper of Third Sister and you. Yesterday, I went to visit Third Sister. She has not recovered from the ill until now. How could she run out and set fire? She is the most cautious, most loyal and most harmless person in the family. If she really did what you said, I would not write in the future.¡±

    Sun Meiniang was struggling whether to obey Madam Luo¡¯s words and apologize to Feng Yang. When she heard that Luo Baiji defended He Danggui, she shouted at him, ¡°Baiji, your mother died on the third day of the new year. It¡¯s her death anniversary. You don¡¯t go home to offer sacrifices to her, but mess with us here. As your aunt, I persuade you to go back to your yard and turn over the ground. Maybe there are some evil things buried in your yard that delude you to go to Tao Yao Yard every day.¡±

    Madam Luo was so angry that she wanted to hit the wall. She thought it was terrible. Sun Meiniang actually said such silly words in front of the person who proposed the marriage. This marriage would be over! As expected, she saw Ning Yuan¡¯s sullen look, and Ning Yuan looked at Luo Baiji with a vague expression.

    Before Madam Luo said anything, Luo Baiji flushed and admitted in public, ¡°I like Third Sister and appreciate her temperament. She is different from you. She is the one I admire most in this family.¡± After he spoke, there seemed to be a weight in his heart that was relieved. This morning, when he heard that Madam Luo called Feng Yang and the others to enter the inner hall to talk about Third Sister¡¯s marriage, he felt sad, fearing that it would be toote to show his love to Third Sister.

    At this time, everyone was there. Madam Luo always loved him. Even if she didn¡¯t immediately agree to betroth Third Sister to him, she would seriously consider his opinions and postpone the matchmaking of Third Sister. He knew that Third Sister didn¡¯t like Madam Luo to mess with her marriage. Every time Madam Luo arranged a match for her, Third Sister seemed to be preupied. And after a few days, the marriage would be failed. He probably knew that she was ying tricks on it, and he secretly admired her and rejoiced. But he also med himself for not being able to help her. He couldn¡¯t solve problems for her.

    ¡°Ha!¡± Sun Meiniang patted his thigh happily, ¡°Did you hear him, Madam? Your good granddaughter is so young, but she has learned to seduce men. She even picked her own elder brother!¡±

    Madam Luo gasped with anger after hearing Sun Meiniang¡¯s words, not because her grandson fell in love with her granddaughter, but because Sun Meiniang was disrupting Yi¡¯s marriage on purpose. Luo Baiji didn¡¯t expect that his words would have such a counter-effect, and he didn¡¯t expect Second Aunt to be so vicious. Suddenly, he didn¡¯t know what to say.

    Then Qi Chuan said, ¡°Thedy who can seduce men is here. Sister Qingyi will not be able topete with her even after ten years of practice.¡± Except for the three guests, everyone present knew who he was talking about.

    Luo Baiqiong pulled away from Sun Meiniang when she heard Qi Chuan¡¯s words. She ran over to scratch Qi Chuan¡¯s face. Qi Chuan was also a swordsman when he lived, but now he couldn¡¯t manipte Luo Baiqian¡¯s body freely. He couldn¡¯t even walk smoothly, and sometimes he would fall. At this moment, Luo Baiqiong suddenly came to him, so he had no time to dodge her. Surely, Luo Baiqian¡¯s face was scratched. Qi Chuan pulled Ning Yuan over him as a shield. Ning Yuan didn¡¯t move, building a wall of Zhenqi that separated Luo Baiqiong and caused her to retreat three steps.

    Luo Baiqiong backed up uncertainly, and then rushed towards Luo Baiji. She spoke, ¡°Second Brother! Do you know who is your family? Why did you defend a foreigner?¡± Luo Baiqiong and First Mistress Luo, Mrs. Zhao, liked to call He Danggui as ¡°foreigner¡±. Once Liao Qing¡¯er heard it and chuckled, saying that Xiaoyi was a pretty foreigner.

    Luo Baiji evaded Luo Baiqiong sideways. Luo Baiqiong couldn¡¯t stop and mmed into the arms of her father Luo Chuangu. Her father was trying to suppress the difort in his throat, but under the impact, he felt sick and vomited. The filth fell on Luo Baiqiong¡¯s hairpin, and then dripped further down. Luo Baiqiong cried out loudly. Her father and mother surrounded her to apologize andfort her.

    On the other side, the corporal punishment of the two servants and the servant woman not ended. The three people wailed and begged for forgiveness. Feng Yang couldn¡¯t stand it, and said in a deep voice, ¡°What wrong did theymit? They have be totally unrecognizable but cannot pay off? Why offending Third Sister is a matter of course, and offending Second Miss is a great crime? We just found Second Miss in the ancestral hall, and a servant woman reported that the smoke billowed in the direction of the ancestral hall. Second Mistress Luo, why did you insist that it was Third Sister who set the fire?¡±

    Sun Meiniang swore something, but it was prevailed by Qi Chuan¡¯s loud cry, ¡°Ah! I¡¯m disfigured! Is Luo Baiqiong¡¯s hand poisonous? Ah-ah-ah¡­¡±

    The rain floating in the sky suddenly turned intorge drops of ice water droplets, pouring down towards everyone. Madam Luo also said something, but the howling of the servants and Qi Chuan¡¯s cry were too loud, so others couldn¡¯t hear her. On the other side, Ning Yuan greeted Meng Ying and Feng Yang. Then they turned around and walked out of the ancestral hall.

    Madam Luo looked anxious. She turned around to grab the zedntern in Pu Gongying¡¯s hand and mmed it on the ground. She shouted, like firecrackers exploded from her lungs, ¡°I¡¯m not dead yet, but you start wailing! Sun Meiniang, how dare you make a show of authority? I entertained the distinguished guests all day, but you offended them with a few words! You teach the servants in front of the whole family. What do you mean?¡±

    Madam Luo¡¯s stringency instantly shocked everyone, and the three people who were about to walk out of the ancestral hall also stopped. Feng Yang turned around and smiled, ¡°Madam Luo, don¡¯t worry. We are just looking for a ce to shelter from the rain.¡±

    ¡°Open the middle door of the ancestral hall!¡± Madam Luo hurriedly ordered the servants, ¡°Who has the key to the ancestral hall? Open the door lock of the ancestral hall and invite three distinguished guests to go into it! Come on! Everyone, let¡¯s go. In the face of our ancestors, we settle the deal of Luo¡¯s Family.¡±

    A fat middle-aged man ran up with the key, shouting, ¡°Here¡­ Here is the person who set the fire!¡±

    Following him, some people escorted a tied girl in blue clothes. Everyone could not see the girl¡¯s face clearly because of the lighting and angle, but Sun Meiniangughed proudly, ¡°p her thirty times to teach her a lesson! Set fire? Huh, people who set fire in ancient times would be stripped and paraded!¡±

    Pu Gongying behind Madam Luo suddenly rushed over to stand in front of the girl with open arms, and cried, ¡°Madam Luo, help! Second Mistress Luo, please spare her, for the sake of the dead Gan Cao!¡±

 Chapter 257 - The real arsonist appeared

    <h4>Chapter 257 The real arsonist appeared</h4>

    Across the cold rain, everyone could not see the girl¡¯s face clearly, but could see that she was wearing the uniform of a maid in Luo¡¯s Mansion. It was a maid who set the fire. Some people suddenly lost interest and felt disappointed. Madam Luo walked forward to look at the maid standing behind Pu Gongying. And then, she turned around and walked towards the ancestral hall. She ordered, ¡°Come on! Invite the three guests in and get some tea for them! Let¡¯s go into the hall.¡±

    For a while, everyone flocked into the ancestral hall. The servants opened the cer in the backyard and took out all the tables, chairs and benches inside, but there were still not enough seats, so Luo Baiying and Luo Baiji only got a small futon for worship. After serving the tea, someone took the medicine box to deal with the scratches on Luo Baiqian¡¯s face. Qi Chuan, who possessed the body of Luo Baiqian, grinned with pain. He stared at Luo Baiqiong and said with anger, ¡°You are so fierce and domineering. No one would dare to marry you for a lifetime, and eventually you will be a lonely old woman!¡±

    The ancestral hall was full of lights and candles, and the fire was zing. Luo Baiqiong suspected that the things his father vomited on her head had not been cleaned up, so she hid behind Sun Meiniang and asked her mother to take herself home to change clothes. So far, Sun Meiniang had not caught He Danggui, so she would not give up. Sheforted her daughter and became gentle for a while. Hearing what Madam Luo said just now, she knew that Madam Luo had a lot of grievances for a long time. However, Sun Meiniang was not very panic for she believed that as long as she cultivated good rtions with Madam Luo¡¯s beloved son, Madam Luo would sooner orter be mentally exhausted andpletely decentralized. Madam Luo was getting old every day, but she had a lot of time to wait for her to get old.

    Seeing Sun Meiniang standing aside obediently, Madam Luo was a little gratified. She looked at the bound arson suspect and asked, ¡°Deng Cao, did I give you the wrong name? Your name sounds like a ming object, so you really came to set on fire! How badly are you treated in Luo¡¯s Family? How dare you burn the ancestral hall here to vent your anger?¡±

    Deng Cao shook her head and said with tears, ¡°Madam Luo, please forgive me. I¡¯m innocent. As a maid, I don¡¯t have the courage to set fire to the ancestral hall. I didn¡¯t even enter the ancestral hall. I just burned joss paper for Gan Cao in the forest behind. Suddenly, some people came up to catch me. They yelled to catch the arsonist while tying me. I am really wronged!¡±

    After she spoke, Madam Luo asked the people who caught Deng Cao, ¡°Did she tell the truth?¡±

    They looked at each other, and one of them stepped forward and replied, ¡°We did catch her in the forest behind. There was some ash in front of her at that time, and some joss paper was burned in it.¡±

    Pu Gongying also pleaded, ¡°I beg Madam Luo to forgive her. Deng Cao is in charge of the fire candles in Fu Shou Yard. She has always been diligent and careful. Tonight, she talked to me that the death of Gan Cao is a terribly unfair loss. If she waited until the tenth day of the dead day to worship Gan Cao, she was afraid that Gan Cao¡¯s soul will be gone, so she picked up a deste corner to burn joss paper for Gan Cao to gather her soul. She was wrong to burn rashly on a fire-banned day, but Madam Luo, please spare Deng Cao for the sake of Gan Cao!¡±

    Madam Luo pondered for a moment and nodded, ¡°Well... It¡¯s all right. But before the tenth day of the lunar month, you can¡¯t burn the paper rashly. When the fire day arrives, I will naturally arrange Gan Cao¡¯s funeral properly.¡± Hearing this, Luo Chuangu sobered up, and kept silent with his head lowering. Deng Cao and Pu Gongying thanked Madam Luo for her pardon and left while wiping away tears.

    However, Qi Chuan, or Luo Baiqian, did not go out and did not know what happened in the mansion. He was curious about what they said and asked, ¡°The death of Gan Cao is a terribly unfair loss? How did she die?¡± Nobody answered him, so he asked suspiciously, ¡°The ancestral hall was on fire. You thought Deng Cao did it, but excused her just by a few words. You found Luo Baiqiong, but hid her without asking a question. Who was it that set the fire on?¡±

    Madam Luo didn¡¯t want to mention Gan Cao in front of the guests, so she asked Luo Baiqiong routinely to change the subject, ¡°Baiqiong, did you set the fire? What did you do in the ancestral hall?¡± Of course, she just asked falsely. She surely believed that her granddaughter would not set fire.

    However, Luo Baiqiong was dumbfounded, and suddenly she couldn¡¯t say anything clearly. Sun Meiniang asked anxiously, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you, Baiqiong? Are you sick?¡± Luo Chuangu came over to check his daughter¡¯s pulse but found nothing. Sun Meiniang cried suddenly, ¡°Baiqiong must be bewitched! Look, she can¡¯t even speak well. It¡¯s all caused by Luo Chuanxiong¡¯s rag dolls. Evidently, the fire in the ancestral hall has nothing to do with Baiqiong. Please ask the sorceress to drive her away evil spirits and beat the viins!¡±

    Qi Chuan felt unfair, ¡°Oh, originally, you thought that it was Sister Qingyi who set the fire, so you wanted to p in her face and asked her to walk the streets nakedly. But as soon as you saw that the person who set the fire was your daughter, you gave us the runaround. Later, another maid was arrested as a suspect. Madam Luo pardoned her for viting the rule easily, and you said nothing as well. Second Aunt, why are you so different from before? You are only against Sister Qingyi, aren¡¯t you? Why is she the only suspect who has to be punished so severely? Isn¡¯t she inferior to a maid?¡±

    As Luo Baiqian was very respectful to Sun Meiniang generally, Sun Meiniang passed over his rude remarks at first. But now, Luo Baiqian¡¯s words were clearly structured even though he was sick, so that Sun Meiniang was annoyed with him. She sneered, ¡°As a junior, you openly criticized the elders. Why are you so rude? Madam Luo has spoken out for Deng Cao, so shall I be against her? I let you go for your illness. If you bully your sister any more with nonsense, our Second Branch will not be a pushover!¡±

    First Miss Luo Baiying suddenly said, ¡°I just remembered that the two servants who tied Second Sister said that the gatekeeper only saw Third Sister enter the ancestral hall. Why have we only met Second Sister since we came in?¡±

    Luo Baiji immediately answered, ¡°Maybe the gatekeeper misunderstood the two of them. Third Sister has never been allowed to enter the ancestral hall. Why would the gatekeeper let her in?¡± Only grandchildren and wives of Luo¡¯s Family could enter the ancestral hall. Other people with different surnames and concubines could not approach the ancestral hall. This is an old rule that had been followed for many years. Therefore, even though He Danggui silently burned incense outside the ancestral hall to pay homage to her grandfather every year, and Madam Luo was quite moved, thinking that the most conscientious among the younger generation was her, the rules were invible, and Madam Luo couldn¡¯t allow people of other surnames to enter the ancestral hall. If it weren¡¯t for a fire, the three doors would not be opened to let guestse in to shelter from the rain.

    The servant who guarded the gate happened to be in the house. Hearing that, he stepped forward and replied, ¡°Madam Luo, Second Young Master, I just guarded the door well. Suddenly, I fell to the ground with a bend in my calf. Above my head, a figure shed by. It was indeed Third Miss. She always walks around the entrance of the ancestral hall with arge gray cloak every Spring Festival. Second Miss wears a green dress, so I don¡¯t mistake the identity.¡±

    ¡°Where is she?¡± Luo Baiji tried his best to gain time, ¡°We crowded in the ancestral hall just now, and our people searched the ancestral hall several times. Who found Third Sister?¡± He secretly prayed that Third Sister had run away just now, and had gone back her yard. He guessed that she must have been sad as she couldn¡¯t enter the ancestral hall in previous years, so she sneaked in to worship before anyone saw her.

    The doorman insisted, ¡°I really saw Third Miss, and she walked quickly. She was wearing a thin veil and carrying a cloth-wrapper...¡±

    While this servant was talking, Ning Yuan suddenly took two steps and pulled back the bluish curtains on the side of the ancestral hall. Everyone looked towards it, seeing there was a young girl standing beautifully behind the bluish curtains. Just as the description of the doorman, the girl wore a white veil, draped in a gray cloak, and carried a t cloth-wrapper in her hands. She was He Danggui actually.

    Sun Meiniang immediately hyped up, returning to the arrogant state before being med by Madam Luo. She pointed at He Danggui with one hand on her hip and said, ¡°Look, the real arsonist appeared! She had a guilty conscience and hid behind the curtain! Madam Luo, please call the shots! Shemitted three crimes of witchcraft, arson and incitement of collective reaction in Tao Yao Yard. Even if she is a miss in the mansion, she must be beaten fifty times on her back!¡± Beating on back was a rigorous punishment modified by Sun Meiniang. Although it seemed to be the same punishment as another one, there were actually three kinds of sticks, the upper, the middle and the lower. The most ruthless upper stick was the finest one that had invisible thorns on it. It was the best way to punish disobedient people.

    Luo Baiji was very anxious, ¡°Second Aunt, you can¡¯t convict Third Sister with just a few dolls. Even if the note was written by my aunt, it can¡¯t prove that the doll was made and buried by my aunt, let alone indiscriminately punish the innocent Third Sister. Even if she sneaked into the ancestral hall, she must have nothing to do with the fire. Is it right, Third Sister?¡±

    He Danggui felt stifled as everyone stared at her, but it was not as strong as Ning Yuan¡¯s presence beside her. She tried to stop the difort caused by Ning Yuan¡¯s presence, and replied, ¡°I dreamed about my grandfather while I was sick, so I couldn¡¯t help but walk to the ancestral hall. I threw a silver at the doorman¡¯s feet and sneaked in while he was bent over to pick up money. Then I saw that the door of the ancestral hall was not locked, so I walked in to visit the ancestral tablets. Madam Luo, please forgive me for breaking into the ancestral hall wantonly. As for the witchcraft and incitement mentioned by Second Aunt, I don¡¯t know what those mean.¡±

    Sun Meiniang twisted her lips and sneered, ¡°Don¡¯t indulge in sophistry. The door of this ancestral hall was originally locked. We saw the doorman opened it just now, but you hid in the ancestral hall early in the morning. No matter how you came in, it was suspicious that you got here in the middle of the night. What is in your cloth-wrapper? Come on, take a look at it!¡±

    Ding Rong¡¯s wife immediately took advantage of Sun Meiniang¡¯s power. She stepped forward and took the small cloth-wrapper in He Danggui¡¯s hands. Then she shook off facing the public. Among the things that fell one after another, one of them shocked Madam Luo. She cried, ¡°Rag¡­ Rag doll! It¡¯s a witchcraft rag doll!¡±

 Chapter 258 - Play a trick on Sun Meiniang

    <h4>Chapter 258 y a trick on Sun Meiniang</h4>

    Sun Meiniang wanted to set off fireworks as she was gloating over He Danggui¡¯ embarrassment. Suddenly, she shouted to the servants, ¡°Come on! Tie up this siren!¡± The servants around her gathered immediately, and one of them was holding the rope that had just been untied from Luo Baiqiong.

    Luo Baiji rushed forward to protect He Danggui, and yelled at the crowd in exasperation, ¡°The one who hurts her will be killed!¡± Seeing that the servants were frightened and stopped temporarily, he turned around and said to He Danggui, ¡°Get out of here, Third Sister. Leave Luo¡¯s Mansion and go to find your mother! I¡¯ll send someone to escort you, and I¡¯m here to stop the pursuing forces!¡± As he spoke, he showed his weapon¡ªa pair of silver chopsticks. He said to the servants, ¡°Come on, you all have signed an indenture with Luo¡¯s Family. It stated that there is no me for life or death. Are you ready to die?¡±

    He Danggui knew that his habitual weapon was a pair of Emei Thorns. She also knew that apart from the riding and shooting sses in the academy, he was not interested in martial arts. Since she knew his level, she was so moved by him. His courage and preference for her were more heartwarming than the effective help provided by those who had ability to save her.

    Feng Yang also walked over, shook his fan and said, ¡°Third Sister is as soft as a flower. She will not fly away like a bird, nor will she scratch other¡¯s face like Second Miss. Why are you tying her up? Calm down. I don¡¯t believe she will use witchcraft.¡± Qingyi was intelligent and rational. Even if she was at odds with Second Mistress Luo, how could she pin her hope of killing the enemy on a doll? On the other hand, why did the Lord do that? Even if he heard a movement after the curtain, there was no need to expose it! His beloveddy was right in front of him. How could he remain indifferent like a wooden stake? He just gave the chance to save a beauty to others.

    Madam Luo made her way through the crowd surrounding He Danggui. She stared at He Danggui¡¯s face, and slowly said in pain, ¡°Yi, you are clever and well-behaved. I always treat you well, but you let me down. Why do you carry witchcraft dolls with you? When did you start getting these things?¡± Was it true that, as Sun Meiniang said, He Danggui had a sudden change in her temperament for staying in Shui Shang Temple for a month?

    ¡°Witchcraft dolls?¡± He Danggui raised her eyebrows in surprise. ¡°I don¡¯t know what the witchcraft dolls look like, but my doll is definitely not like those. My doll is called ¡®Sunny Doll¡¯, and it is for blessing.¡±

    ¡°Sunny Doll?¡± Madam Luo frowned. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± She looked at the doll on the ground carefully. The head of the doll was rounded, and a ck ¡°Sunny¡± was embroidered on the doll¡¯s forehead, with a long stick tied on top of its head. The body of the doll was made of long white silk ribbons, and it didn¡¯t look like a lucky thing in any way.

    Sun Meiniang sneered, ¡°I have never heard that the suspect confessed himself. Most people wouldn¡¯t admit their guilt without punishment. As long as the torture is moderately exerted, the truth will naturallye to light. And now there is so much hard evidence that a trial is not needed. Inappropriate use of witchcraft is a capital offense among felony, and setting fire to the ancestral hall is a felony that must be permanently removed from the genealogy. Whether ording to family rules or nationalws, she must be killed unless she kowtows to the whole family to confess her guilt and is hit on her back as punishment.¡±

    He Danggui said slowly, ¡°Madam Luo, I have been wronged. Since that day, I have been ill, and I felt dopey and drowsy. If I hadn¡¯t dreamed of my grandfather, and he hadn¡¯tined to me, how could I struggle toe to the ancestral hall where the souls of our ancestors gathered at midnight?¡±

    ¡°How dare you!¡± Sun Meiniang suddenly popped her eyes and shouted, ¡°The elders and guests are present, but you are hiding your face with white gauze. Could you be more polite? You hide in the bluish curtain sneakily. You are guilty, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    He Danggui lowered her eyes and said, ¡°Well, Second Aunt, I am sick and looked pale. I am afraid that it will be unlucky for you to see my pale face in New Year, so I put on the veil. I am not intentionally disrespectful to you. Just now, I was scared by the noise in the yard, so I was flustered for a while and hid behind the curtain. I have never done anything wrong, so how can I feel guilty? I saw that there is indeed a ¡®sneaky¡¯ person described by you in this room. I don¡¯t know if they are guilty. And there are two suspects of setting fire in the ancestral hall.¡±

    She looked no one with her eyshes lowered, nor did she point the person she implied, but everyone immediately found the sneakiest person in the room¡ªLuo Baiqiong. The crowd just focused on He Danggui and Luo Baiji, so no one paid much attention to Luo Baiqiong. But now, they saw her neck curled, her eyes looked straight to one side, and her head trembled slightly. She pulled the corner of Sun Meiniang¡¯s clothes to block the eyes from all around, and looked very strange.

    Sun Meiniang turned around and hugged her daughter pityingly. After a few soft words, she exined to the crowd, ¡°Baiqiong had a cold from the day before yesterday. She was bedridden and couldn¡¯t be in a draught. Just now, she was startled by the cold wind and rain, and she became sick with typhoid fever! Madam Luo, don¡¯t believe He Danggui¡¯s nonsense. Her words are ridiculous. Baiqiong is a sheltered and good child who can¡¯t even use flint. Will she have something to do with the fire in the ancestral hall?¡±

    ¡°So, you mean that if Second Sister could use flint, she would have something to do with the fire in the ancestral hall.¡± He Danggui chuckled silently under the veil, ¡°Madam Luo, guests from afar, and all the people from four branches in the East Yard are here. Second Aunt, as the wife in charge of the family, you have always been well-known for your fair and impartial conduct. Now, the ancestral hall is on fire, and people have caught two suspects at the scene. As one of the suspects, I have finished defending myself. I don¡¯t know anything about the fire. Second Sister is the other suspect. To be fair, can she say something?¡±

    Sun Meiniang didn¡¯t believe that her daughter had anything to do with the fire. Luo Baiqiong just happened to pass by in time. She loved cleanliness and beauty. When she caught the smell of burnt dishes, she would frown as if she was drinking a bowl of bitter medicine. If she would set a fire, Sun Meiniang would probably have a poisonous snake to bite others. The first one to bite must be He Danggui!

    Sun Meiniang pulled her daughter out of her arms, and said softly, ¡°Baiqiong, don¡¯t bother yourself arguing with the viin. Tell them, what are you doing in the ancestral hall?¡± Sun Meiniang asked her inductively, ¡°Did you miss your grandfather? So, you came to see him specially, right?¡±

    Originally, Luo Baiqiong just needed to answer ¡°yes¡± or nodded. However, for some reason, she popped her eyes. Besides, her mouth was wide open, and her small tongue was stiff. After a while, she said two words vaguely. Although her words were not clear enough, many people recognize the two words as ¡°set fire¡±!

    Everyone was shocked when they heard her words. Luo Baiqiong also showed panic on her face. She shook her head and waved her hands, with a remorse expression that she wanted to take those two words back. Sun Meiniang was ck-jawed for a moment, and after returning to her senses, she immediatelyined to Madam Luo, ¡°Help! Catch that little siren!¡± Raising her hand to point at He Danggui, she sternly said, ¡°Baiqiong must be bewitched by her. That¡¯s why she became like this. When I went to see Baiqiong this afternoon, she was fine, and was throwing sachets and kicking shuttlecocks with the maids!¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Qi Chuan interjected with a smile, ¡°Who just said that Second Sister had a cold and was already bedridden?¡±

    He Danggui stood by with folded arms, and her eyelids drooped. She frowned in a grievance and sighed, ¡°I said that I didn¡¯t set the fire, but Second Aunt didn¡¯t believe me and wanted to convict me. Second Sister said clearly that she ¡®set fire¡¯, while Second Aunt used me of bewitching her. For the sake of the conscience of heaven and earth, how could you say such nonsense? Second Aunt is my elder, I dare not criticize her. However, there are so many judges present today, so I won¡¯t say anything.¡±

    Sun Meiniang was furious and gritted her teeth, ¡°Look at her, Madam Luo. No wonder that everyone said that there is a female storyteller in our family. No one can match with her with a silver tongue! But there is hard evidence and she can¡¯t be forgiven. Compare the witchcraft dolls, burning papers, charms, human bones and corpses found in my yard with the dolls that fell out of He Danggui¡¯s baggage. Then we will know the truth. She can¡¯t get out of the crime even if she has a silver tongue.¡±

    He Danggui took two steps forward and picked up the white doll on the ground. Then she patted the dust on it and walked to the front of the corridor. At this time, Sun Meiniang said, ¡°She¡¯s going to escape!¡± And also, Luo Baiji said, ¡°Sister, run away!¡± However, He Danggui carried her skirt and stepped on the steps. Then she hung the white doll on a small wind chime hanging from the roof of the corridor. Next, she closed her eyes and bowed silently for a moment.

    As if she had discovered the new world, Sun Meiniang pointed at He Danggui and said to everyone, ¡°Look, she¡¯s cursing again. She¡¯s cursing us all!¡±

    However, He Danggui went back down the steps, turned back indoors, and chose a corner far away from Ning Yuan to stand. She looked at Madam Luo and said, ¡°Madam Luo, I don¡¯t know the witchcraft dolls and other things mentioned by Second Aunt. What does they have to do with me? My knowledge of witchcraft is not as good as that of Second Aunt. The matter of Concubine Hua is not so long ago, and now nobody wants to make trouble at the New Year¡¯s Day. If someone avenges a personal wrong in the name of public interests, they will turn the facts upside down. They hid unclean things to frame others, but on the contrary, the evil spirit of the things will harm their own family... Madam Luo, now you can no longer connive in such behavior in front of the ancestors.¡±

    ¡°Bad girl, you are basically bullshitting!¡± Sun Meiniang¡¯s face was clouded over with anger, and before Madam Luo said something, she ordered the servants waiting outside the ancestral hall, ¡°Bring in all the things dug up in Bao Qin Ge and let everyone have a look. Luo Chuanxiong has only learned these ghostly tricks after staying in the Taoist temple these years, and passed them on to her daughter!¡±

    After a short while, people filed in, and after presenting the exhibits, they retired neatly. The witchcraft dolls, charms, burning papers, and human bones were all ced in the holy ancestral hall. Only the ¡°corpse¡± was too fake, so Sun Meiniang left it there when she checked the evidence. The other four pieces of evidence were enough to prove Luo Chuanxiong and He Danggui¡¯s crime. The witchcraft dolls were more than ten years old, and the charms were five years ago. Besides, there were the brand-new burning papers, as well as the shocking breast ribs and thigh bones of the dead, which were enough to confirm their crime.

    He Danggui approached and bent over to study these things for a moment. Suddenly, sheughed, ¡°Second Aunt, these things are full of ws. Maybe you drank too much New Year wine and was hallucinated. This is the paper money to be sacrificed to the ancestors in two days. You actually take it as evidence.¡± She pointed to the paper money as she said. Hearing that, Feng Yang and Luo Baiji came up to have a look. They both gave out a low voice and chuckled.

    Sun Meiniang rushed forward, followed the direction He Danggui pointed, and shouted, ¡°You trick me! You are deliberately tricking me!¡±

    He Danggui flickered her long eyshes innocently. Heh, why bother to trick her? People like Sun Meiniang were easily to trick without deliberate scheming, just because they had too many desires. In the final analysis, Sun Meiniang just hurt herself by her own doing, which was nothing to do with others.

 Chapter 259 - Danggui was unable to continue fighting

    <h4>Chapter 259 Danggui was unable to continue fighting</h4>

    Seeing Sun Meiniang¡¯s look of surprise, the others didn¡¯t understand what had happened, so they also came to look at it.

    Previously, Sun Meiniang ordered people to take out a pile of joss paper used to worship ancestors as a proof to frame He Danggui. She also asked maids to cut a gap of the joss paper, which meant to leak wealth and yang, and the top stack was printed with cinnabar ¡°Luo¡¯s Mansion Ancestor Worship¡±, which was the superb joss paper made for Luo¡¯s Mansion by joss paper shop. Sun Meiniang threw the two above into the trash basket and hurried out to direct the treasure digging action.

    He Danggui on the roof caught the opportunity. While no one was there as maids were looking for paper to wrap the joss paper, she put the joss paper with the word written on it back into the pile of joss paper.

    Therefore, Madam Luo, Luo Baiying, Luo Baiji, Meng Ying and others who were looking closer now all saw a piece of paper printed with red letters in the stack of joss paper, and those four words were ¡°Luo¡¯s Mansion Ancestor Worship¡±.

    Sun Meiniang¡¯s face turned dark. This kind of things didn¡¯t happen the first time. She clearly remembered personally throwing away or putting away the most important thing. However, after a while, the thing appeared before everyone, as a proof to help He Danggui be acquitted of a charge. Therefore, she had always suspected someone of secretly helping He Danggui. Sun Meiniang did not know that He Danggui practiced martial arts. She saw the Guard Pan Jingyang help He Danggui exin a few days ago, so she regarded him as the suspect. And she bought off several guards to monitor his whereabouts and report to her if he disappeared. Now that she had not received the report, howe such a ¡°haunted incident¡± happened again?

    Madam Luo¡¯s face was even darker. Sun Meiniang made such a trouble at third night of the New Year. It turned out to be an unfortunate script written by herself. She disgraced Luo¡¯s Mansion in front of the guests and took a bunch of dirty things to the sacred ce of the ancestral hall. Qiong was also hit, and she was deceived by evil things to set fire in the ancestral hall.

    Madam Luo asked bitterly, ¡°Sun Meiniang, what do you want to say? Are these the things that you as a wife in charge of the family keep to injure others all day? A good daughter taught by Sun¡¯s Family! You even harm your own daughter. Sun Meiniang, do you confess the crime?¡±

    Hearing this, Sun Meiniang¡¯s face turned pale, and everyone had different expressions.

    Unlike his elder brother Qi Xuanyu, Qi Chuan was so naive, and was not good at concealing the emotion. He Danggui was actually much happier than him, but she still had a sullen face. On the contrary, after hearing what Madam Luo said, Qi Chuan smirked before Sun Meiniang confessed her crime. Luo Baiying was displeased because Qi Chuan was provoking the discord between the First Branch and the Second Branch.

    So, Luo Baiying made a remedy and helped Sun Meiniang to exin, ¡°Even if Second Aunt lost reason for a while after digging the doll, and added a pile of joss paper to convict Third Sister, which can¡¯t bepletely regarded as Second Aunt¡¯s fault. Who doesn¡¯t feel angry after seeing the doll that has her own eight characters of a horoscope and is full of needles?¡±

    Sun Meiniang was overjoyed. Luo Baiying was basically talking about the truth, but she could no longer be hated by Madam Luo, so she cast a nce at her husband Luo Chuangu. Luo Chuangu immediately pleaded guilty, ¡°Mother, I came up with the idea of using joss paper as evidence. I made friends with a Taoist priest from Maoshan Mountain, Qinba, a few days ago. I learned from him that the gap in joss paper has the effect of a curse. He can be summoned to confront. Meiniang has no knowledge of this matter. I secretly hide it in the backyard.¡±

    Qi Chuan immediately questioned, ¡°Second Aunt just yelled, ¡®You trick me. You are deliberately tricking me.¡¯ This is clearly the voice of despair made by a viin when her trickery is saw through by a good person.¡±

    Luo Baiying frowned, and decisively ordered two maids to move First Master away. The 26-year-old Luo Baiqian, who was also the nine-year-old Qi Chuan, was only as powerful as a three or four-year-old child. Then, while being taken away, this older child turned around to ask for Ning Yuan¡¯s help, ¡°Brother Ning, help. I didn¡¯t want to leave!¡±

    Ning Yuan didn¡¯t even lift his eyelids. Qi Chuan¡¯sst voice came from afar, ¡°Brother Ning, you have to protect Sister Qingyi, otherwise I will make trouble on you¡ª¡±

    Everyone didn¡¯t understand when Luo Baiqian had such a good rtionship with Ning Yuan. When they were puzzled, most of them breathed a sigh of relief. One of shames of the Luo¡¯s Family was finally sent away, and they felt ashamed of staying with mad Luo Baiqian. Sun Meiniang and Luo Baiying exchanged a look, meaning that she remembered this favor.

    Luo Baiying was overjoyed. She fell out of favor with Madam Luo three years ago. Now she lived in Luo¡¯s Mansion at the age of 27 and did not marry. She was not as good as before. Before the separation of property, she would make a good rtionship with Sun Meiniang. After the separation, she would make a good rtionship with Dong Xin. These were her basic survival strategies. Just now, Luo Baiqian yelled ¡°Aunt Tigress¡±. It was not Luo Baiqiong who felt the most embarrassed, but Luo Baiying. She was the real Aunt Tigress who could never marry anyone.

    He Danggui knew a little bit about Luo Baiying¡¯s hidden illness. They usually didn¡¯t care about the business of each other, and she put up with Luo Baiying out of sympathy. But judging from the situation now, it seemed that Luo Baiying had supported Sun Meiniang.

    Sun Meiniang took advantage of this momentum to say while wiping her tears, ¡°Even if the joss paper was addedter, the other three were actually dug out from my yard. They are used to curse our whole family! Madam, those three things were dug out before dozens of people. The witchcraft doll may have been buried for more than ten years. Could it be that I start cursing myself ten years ago?¡±

    Madam Luo was persuaded. Therefore, it seemed that the Second Branch was still a victim. Then she looked at He Danggui and asked, ¡°Do you have any exnation for this, Yi?¡±

    Just when Feng Yang and a few others thought He Danggui could reverse the situation again, she was unable to continue fighting and fell silent. Seeing this situation, Madam Luo sighed, ¡°Although this is your mother¡¯s sin, before your mother is taken back to Luo¡¯s Family, I have to shut you in the Depositary of Buddhist Texts, and you need to reflect on the fault on behalf of your mother. s, Chuangu is in the prime of life, but his body is weak, and he has no children so far. Several businesses run by him are not doing well. I don¡¯t expect the truth to be like this. Even if I prefer you and your mother, this time I will use the domestic discipline to establish the majesty.¡± Sun Meiniang smiled.

    Luo Baiji was anxious when he heard it. Grandmother really became more confused when she got older. She was easier to be persuaded than thest two years. She believed whatever others said. Mammy Tang and Miss Ji who could slightly correct her were still in charge of ancestor worship on the twelfth lunar month at ancestral grave in the outskirts of the city. What was meant by ¡°I didn¡¯t expect the truth to be like this¡±? If the doll could kill people, wouldn¡¯t many people be able to kill people at will?

    Thinking about this, Luo Baiji blurted out, ¡°I will make ten dolls that paste my eight characters of a horoscope, and see if I will have a nosebleed!¡±

    ¡°Quickly shut up, you can¡¯t talk nonsense!¡± Madam Luo was anxious. It seemed that Sun Meiniang¡¯s words were right that Ji was really bewitched by Yi. Madam Luo raised her chin at He Danggui and instructed maids around her, ¡°Lock Third Miss in the Depositary of Buddhist Texts. She breaks into the ancestral hall and should be punished more severely. Starve her for two days.¡±

    Although Sun Meiniang thought the punishment was light, she thought that the main target was behind. When Luo Chuanxiong came back, she would take the revenge to ruin the woman! When did Luo Chuanxiong bury the thing of curse in Bao Qin Ge? Did Luo Chuanxiong do it after she forced her to cut little He Danggui¡¯s fingers? Luo Chuanxiong knew that she couldn¡¯t beat her fairly, so she took this kind of shameless means. Shame on her.

    When Feng Yang saw a few servants go up and detain He Danggui, he couldn¡¯t help but cast a nce at Ning Yuan anxiously. Why didn¡¯t he make a move? His beloved woman was going to be imprisoned and abused! Seeing that Ning Yuan still had an irrelevant expression on his face, Feng Yang couldn¡¯t understand his thoughts, so he had to do it for him. He stood up and said, ¡°Wait, Madam Luo, Third Sister¡¯s mother has lived in the mountain, unlike someone who can use witchcraft skills. Besides, even if this is true, Third Sister did not do anything wrong. Brother Ning and I are very sincere to propose to marry her. If your mansion cannot amodate her, Brother Ning can marry her in advance. Please forgive her for our sake.¡±

    Madam Luo was incredulous, ¡°Even if something like this happens, Childe Ning is still willing to marry Yi?¡± She thought that the marriage would definitely be impossible.

    Under the oppressive eyes of the Feng Yang, Ning Yuan finally spoke slowly, ¡°I haven¡¯t checked the eight characters of a horoscope, so I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s suitable for marriage. But I have always had a good impression of Miss He. This time I see the beautiful woman again, and I feel even more moved. As long as she is willing to marry, there is nothing wrong with me. It is okay for me to marry her tonight.¡±

    Madam Luo didn¡¯t expect her granddaughter to have such a charm. After taking a look at the ¡°beauty shadow¡± with face covered by veil, the man was willing to marry her as a junior wife. Although Ning Yuan¡¯s true identity had not been inquired so far, a piece of jade pendant with Azure Dragon had already revealed his noble status. It was good for Luo¡¯s Mansion to be his rtives by marriage. If he was willing to marry Yi, maybe the witchcraft incident would not involve Yi...

    ¡°Yi, Childe Ning is a talented person. You have to catch the opportunity.¡± Madam Luo¡¯s tone was extremely gentle, but this still couldn¡¯t hide the coercion and temptation in it. ¡°If you say yes to this marriage, I can lessen the severity of your and your mother¡¯s punishment or even forgive you.¡±

    Luo Baiji was anxious after hearing the words, and his gaze flowed towards He Danggui like running water. He Danggui¡¯s answer was very simple, ¡°It is out of my league. I want to go to the Depositary of Buddhist Texts to copy the scriptures.¡±

    Madam Luo¡¯s eyes widened, ¡°You are insane! Don¡¯t talk about the status. It¡¯s your honor to be liked by this childe. You deserve this, and you are destined to be together. You are not allowed to be childish like this!¡± Then she said with a smile to Ning Yuan, ¡°The little girl is ignorant, and she is spoiled by me. But marriage has always been decided by the parents and the matchmaker. I can decide it. I absolutely agree with this marriage!¡±

    Ning Yuan said with a slight disappointment, ¡°Doesn¡¯t Miss He agree? Then, I also don¡¯t want to force others...¡± The voice turned softer and gradually disappeared, hanging Madam Luo¡¯s heart in the air. She asked aloud, ¡°Childe Ning, do you regret it?¡± Ning Yuan shook his head and said, ¡°I¡¯m just afraid that Miss He would be wronged. I don¡¯t want to impose the marriage on her. If she agrees, my original intention will not change.¡±

    After hearing the words, Madam Luo scowled at He Danggui, ¡°Among a few children in the family, you are the one who I love the most. Now I have found you a good marriage like this, but you don¡¯t nod and agree. Do you n to never marry and go to the mountain to apany your mother? Yi, if you marry Childe Ning as his junior wife, your mother will be happy when she knows it. Before you get angry, think about your mother. All her hopes rest on you!¡± Originally, these should be the private conversations between she and her granddaughter, but the rich son-inw was almost gone, so Madam Luo just yelled it out in public regardless of the situation.

    He Danggui hadn¡¯t answered yet, but Ning Yuan interrupted and corrected Madam Luo, ¡°She will not be a junior wife, but a concubine. I originally heard that the family education of Luo¡¯s Family is good, and I admire Miss He¡¯s beauty, so I ask to marry her as a junior wife. But now I know her mother¡¯s bad deeds. When the parents don¡¯t set a good example, the children cannot be expected to behave well. It is necessary to marry a virtuous wife. I am reluctant to marry such a woman. However, after seeing beauties of the world, I find few can beparable to Miss He. Therefore, if Madam Luo is willing to give Miss He to me as a concubine, I am willing to give ten thousand gold as bride-price to buy this stunning beauty. What about it, Madam Luo? Miss He, what do you think?¡±

 Chapter 260 - One thousand liang silver per night

    <h4>Chapter 260 One thousand liang silver per night</h4>

    The scene became embarrassing for a while. Although it didn¡¯t matter what to do with an insignificant foster granddaughter and Madam Luo could sell her if the price was reasonable, Luo¡¯s Family was a schrly family, and now everyone was in Luo¡¯s Family¡¯s ancestral hall. How could the poption transaction be conducted? Madam Luo secretly med Ning Yuan for speaking regardless of the asion, and guessed that he might be disappointed with her granddaughter¡¯s conduct, so that he treated them in this way. Madam Luo was in a dilemma. She didn¡¯t know whether to make this deal or make another appointment to discuss the matter.

    Maybe it was because that Ning Yuan wore a mask that covered his face, he was so shameless. He said, ¡°I haven¡¯t seen Miss He for three years. She has grown into a big girl. I can see her beauty through a veil. Ie here this time unapanied by my wife and concubines. I feel lonely during these days. If Madam Luo is not satisfied with selling Miss He to me at the price of ten thousand gold, you can choose to let Miss He stay with me for a few nights. I will pay you one thousand liang silver per night. We can make a deal. In this way, after ten nights, your mansion will earn ten thousand liang silver. And Miss He will be back and still be the Third Miss in the mansion. What do you think?¡±

    These t words shocked everyone. They didn¡¯t even respond to it for a while, and all of them opened their mouths as if they were letting Ning Yuan check their teeth.

    Luo Baiji was really angry, and wanted to beat Ning Yuan up, but he was stopped by He Danggui. He looked down at her with confusion. Her eyes showed calmness and she just shook her head, motioning him not to go there. When Madam Luo understood Ning Yuan¡¯s meaning, she was angry but didn¡¯t dare to show it. What was the identity of Ning Yuan? He was so arrogant. He even wanted to use the miss in the Luo¡¯s Mansion to warm his bed, and then brought her back after using her.

    Feng Yang was the most surprised one in the entire ancestral hall. He nced at He Danggui anxiously, and then ran out while taking Ning Yuan by his neckline. He hurriedly told everyone, ¡°Sorry, he drank too much. It doesn¡¯t count. We will leave first, and you can continue to settle the case!¡±

    Luo Baiji strongly suppressed his anger, and asked He Danggui in a low voice, ¡°Why don¡¯t you let me beat him?¡±

    He Danggui¡¯s voice was as calm as the look in her eyes, and she said indifferently, ¡°Just beating him is too kind. Even if I want to beat him, I want to do it by myself.¡± Ning Yuan was moody, and it was unnecessary for Luo Baiji to offend him.

    Luo Baiji was silent for a moment, and asked in a volume that only the two of them could hear, ¡°Do you hear¡­what I said just now?¡±

    Of course, He Danggui heard it. Even though when she met Bai Yangbai in Chengxu that day, he regarded Luo Baiji and Peng Jian as silly boys who were in their bloom of youth and adored young girls, she didn¡¯t care about it and knew that Luo Baiji would fall in love with a swordswoman and run off with the swordswoman two yearster. She and Luo Baiji weren¡¯t meant for each other. But just now in the ancestral hall, when she heard Luo Baiji telling everyone, ¡°I like Third Sister¡±, she was speechless. She didn¡¯t know if Bai Yangbai was too clever or her reaction was too slow.

    Forgot it. It didn¡¯t matter that he admitted it. Anyway, he had his true love, and the matchmaker had arranged the marriage for him. He Danggui nodded and said, ¡°Thank you for helping me, Second Brother. I also appreciate your simplicity and straightforwardness. I am very happy to be your sister.¡±

    When the two were whispering, Sun Meiniang also talked with Madam Luo, ¡°He Danggui is not made of gold, but Ning Yuan actually pays her one thousand liang silver per night. He is so generous, so I think that person enjoys a high status. Among tens of millions of wealthy businessmen in the world, such spender is few. He is even connected with the imperial court. It is only good for us to fawn on him, not to mention that the reward is so generous. Even if we don¡¯t ept his money, it is worthwhile to win the favor of the guest.¡±

    Madam Luo frowned, ¡°If he sends the betrothal gifts to our mansion, even if he marries Yi as a concubine, I might promise him. However, he actually makes this request. He looks down upon Luo¡¯s Family and speaks for granted. I don¡¯t like this person.¡± If this matter spread, wouldn¡¯t the East Yard be the joke of others?

    Sun said evilly, ¡°The custom of treating guests with their daughters and their wives has existed since ancient times. It prevailed in the Spring and Autumn Period, and was popr in the Wei and Jin Dynasties. How could it be a joke? This is actually a verymon way of hospitality, which is popr in the north. Childe Ninges from the north, and he is used to this way, so he has this request. Moreover, this childe is a fine-looking man, so Yi and him are a good match.¡±

    Meng Ying, who was holding an empty teacup to drink water next to them, frowned secretly. How could there be such a weird character in Luo¡¯s Mansion, who said such weird things? Since it was so reasonable for the daughter to sleep with the guests, why didn¡¯t she let her daughter do it? People in the north treated guests with the women in the family, such as singing girls and maids. Who offered their daughters? What the hell was wrong with My Lord? Wasn¡¯t he so obsessed with He Danggui? Why did he embarrass her in public?

    Madam Luo shook her head and denied, ¡°My original intention is to let Yi marry in the local area. In the future, when her mother is old, it will be convenient for her to return home to take care of her mother. But Feng Yang, who I prefer, refuses to marry her, saying that he only regards her as his sister. I don¡¯t find a good candidate for a while, so I am moved by the proposal of marrying a junior wife from the foreign merchant Ning Yuan. I think that everything should be based on the good marriage of Yi. If the marriage is good, the problem of distance can be ignored. But now that the marriage is over, I can only me Chuanxiong for being foolish, who yed with witchcraft and damaged Yi¡¯s reputation. s, I¡¯ve known thoughts of Ji a long time ago. If Yi really can¡¯t get married, she can marry him as a concubine. Then she is still at home, and I don¡¯t have to worry about distance.¡±

    Sun Meiniang didn¡¯t understand why Madam Luo attached importance to the issue of distance so much. She just followed her words and continued to nder, ¡°Because of the bad conduct of Yi¡¯s mother, Yi can¡¯t get married anymore. And Ji will marry a wife and concubines in the future. It¡¯s fine to add Yi as a concubine. She can stay with Childe Ning for a few days, and then it is okay to give her to Jiter. In this way, Luo¡¯s Mansion can build rtionship with Childe Ning.¡±

    Meng Ying was angry about the shit logic. If the miss slept with the guest, the family would have rtionship with the guest? Wasn¡¯t that nonsense... Brother Xuan really liked that girl. Should he help Brother Xuan keep that girl?

    As expected, Madam Luo was easier to be persuaded, and she didn¡¯t categorically dismiss Sun Meiniang¡¯s crazy suggestion. She also said, ¡°Let me think about it.¡± Hearing this, Meng Ying not far away felt depressed in the ancestral hall, and felt that the Luo¡¯s Family was a ce where a bunch of lunatics stayed. He stood up and said goodbye, ¡°I¡¯m sorry to disturb you for a long time, and I¡¯m really upset about it. I¡¯m going to leave. Thank you for your kindness and hospitality.¡±

    Madam Luo hurriedly stood up and said, ¡°Why do you leave sote at night, Childe Ying? Aren¡¯t you waiting for your brother, who is still out for work? When hees back, how do we send him a message? And Childe Ying, where are you going to spend the night?¡±

    Meng Ying looked up at the roof at a forty-five-degree angle and told her where he was going, ¡°I want to go to Yi Hong Brothel to find beauties for pleasure. Your mansion is very thoughtful and considerate in everything, but it¡¯s too in at night.¡±

    ¡°Uh.¡± Madam Luo stared at the young man who was under seventeen. After a pause, she said in a tone of discussion, ¡°Little childe, what kind of beauty do you like? I will let people send her to Xi Chang Yard. Is that okay?¡± Why were young people so dissolute nowadays? They always talked about prostitute. When she was young, everyone regardless of the age blushed when these things were mentioned.

    Meng Ying looked around the room. He firstly nced at He Danggui who talked to Luo Baiji, and then looked at the interested eyes of Madam Luo and Sun Meiniang. Finally, he set his eyes on Luo Baiqiong¡¯s face, who had not recovered the ability to speak, and said maliciously, ¡°I like this younger sister. Second Mistress Luo says that it¡¯s the custom of Ming Dynasty to treat guests with the daughters. I wonder if this younger sister can warm up the bed for me. The weather has been very cold these days, and the quilt is cool.¡±

    The people in the ancestral hall were discussing in twos and threes about the romantic anecdote of the guest named Ning Yuan paying Third Miss one thousand liang silver for one night, and suddenly, they heard the loud voice from a corner of the room. When they went to see it, they saw that Second Miss knocked down four or five round stools, knelt on the ground and wept loudly. The Second Mistress Luo hurriedly supported her while softlyforting her.

    Meng Ying puckered his mouth, said ¡°goodbye¡± to Madam Luo, and rushed out of the ancestral hall. Madam Luo was so angry that she patted her thighs. What kind of evil did she hit tonight? A good marriage was ruined, and the Third Childe of Meng¡¯s Family who lived well in the house was offended. Besides, her granddaughter Qiong was also suspected of being bewitched, and she couldn¡¯t speak up yet. What the hell was going on?

    Meng Ying nced at He Danggui for thest time, and went straight out of the gate of the ancestral hall.

    It turned out that when the woman was asked to sleep with a man, her first reaction was to rush to fight. So, He Danggui was unusually calm, because she liked Ning Yuan, or she didn¡¯t reveal her anger and made up her mind to ask for payment of debt from the Lord in the future? At this time, He Danggui¡¯s eyes turned around like a new moon, and they met his exploring eyes. Looking at her eyes with smile in it, he suspected that she had heard Madam Luo and Sun Meiniang¡¯s dialogue with him. How could it be?

    After Meng Ying walked away, He Danggui smiled slightly under the veil. She didn¡¯t expect that the dull Third Childe of Meng¡¯s Family was so interesting. He actually liked Luo Baiqiong? He was so brave to speak it. Heh, now he had offended half of the people in Luo¡¯s Mansion, and he couldn¡¯t stay any longer.

    Listening to Third Sister¡¯s euphemistic refusal, Luo Baiji sighed, ¡°I know this is impossible for a long time, so I didn¡¯t dare to express my thoughts. I was afraid that this one-sided love will be cut off the moment I said it. Third sister, I like you secretly. Will you still talk to me in the future? Will you be angry with me?¡± Actually, what he really wanted to ask was whether she would go under his umbre to take shelter from the rain.

    He Danggui smiled silently, ¡°Second Brother, you worry too much. I am very grateful to you, and the rtionship between brother and sister is a long and strong rtionship, sometimes longer than the spousal rtionship. Even if there is embarrassment or misunderstanding, long days will dilute everything and bring a sunny day, just like my Sunny Doll.¡±

    ¡°Sunny Doll?¡± Luo Baiji turned his head and looked at the little doll under the porch, and suddenly realized, ¡°Oh, that¡¯s a ¡®Broom Woman for Fine Days¡¯, right?¡± He was in a gloomy mood and wanted to form a piece of frost with this night rain. He forced aughter and said irrelevant words. Although his mouth moved while speaking, the voice did not seem toe from his mouth, ¡°Although it is somewhat different from the popr ¡®Broom Woman for Fine Days¡¯, the usage is the same. I once read that the woman rolls up her sleeve, lifts her clothes and holds a broom in her hand. After people hang the doll in the cloudy sky, she will wave her hand. That is the doll mostmonly hung by people in the northwest. Sister, you have never been to the northwest. How can you know how to make this kind of doll?¡±

 Chapter 261 - The miraculous effect of Broom Woman for Fine Days

    <h4>Chapter 261 The miraculous effect of Broom Woman for Fine Days</h4>

    Feng Yang grabbed Ning Yuan¡¯s cor and pulled him into the forest behind the ancestral hall. Then he shook off Ning Yuan¡¯s cor and asked in a deep voice, ¡°Are you crazy or I¡¯m crazy? How could you say that? You love her, don¡¯t you?¡±

    Ning Yuan slowly smoothed the wrinkles of his cor. Then he chuckled, and looked up at Feng Yang, ¡°That girl is so capable that she gets your support. I just teased her. Why are you angry? Chang Nuo, won¡¯t you like her either?¡±

    Feng Yang waved his fan to make himself sober. He took a deep breath and asked, ¡°You teased her? You asked to buy her as your concubine in front of the Luo¡¯s Family, and then asked her to stay with you for the night. You even offered such a high price. Are you sure that this is a trivial joke? What if the Luo¡¯s Family agrees to you for profit? You said that she is your beloved person and you must marry her. Or Am I wrong about your thoughts? And what I have done for three years is not helping?¡±

    Ning Yuan smiled, picking up a small white flower from the ground, and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I will be responsible for this. Besides, it doesn¡¯t matter if the Luo¡¯s Family sells her to me. It takes a few days to get the position of infanta. During this period, I¡¯m willing to approach a beauty and make up for what was not donest time. In this way, she will not be able to marry someone else, so she can only belong with me and be obedient ever since.¡±

    Feng Yang frowned and asked, ¡°Have you seen her? Are you still ying with her? I have told you that she is very good. She not only epts your gift, but also will go to your yard to serve you. Can¡¯t you just wait?¡± Feng Yang wondered, thest time he saw the prince, his attitude towards Qingyi was not like this. Thest time he mentioned her, his eyes lit up, and he repeatedly listened to the news about her from Yangzhou City. He was even drunk and called out her name. How did he change his attitude so quickly? Or was his true temperament covered by his mask?

    Ning Yuan paced leisurely with his hands crossing behind his back, and debunked, ¡°Although she received the gift, she kept it in a money shop outside, and will return it one day. She resolutely refused my kindness and was not grateful for what I did for her. This woman is not good at all. These are all what I heard from servants of Luo¡¯s Mansion. Don¡¯t forget that they are not only loyal to you, but also obedient to me.¡±

    ¡°I am the one who concealed the truth about this matter. I apologize. I¡¯m just worried that you will feel sad when you hear it. Did you get angry with her just because of this?¡± Feng Yang was puzzled, and subconsciously touched his face, ¡°You always like to train a disobedientdy, don¡¯t you? You... Why do you have such a bad attitude toward her?¡± He couldn¡¯t get his answer, so he whispered, ¡°If your mind changes, let¡¯s leave Luo¡¯s Mansion now. There is no time to waste time to discuss marriage.¡±

    Ning Yuan looked at the sky coldly, and slowly said, ¡°Today I heard something interesting from Xuanyu. He said that three years ago, a blue thorn star fell into Luo¡¯s Mansion from the sky and turned into a cave in the Bitter Bamboo Grove of Luo¡¯s Mansion. He also said that the thorn star was sent from another world by a man with great power, but because the man¡¯s mana was consumed, his soul was scattered, and there were only some fragments of his soul that came to this world with the cave.¡±

    ¡°Bamboo grove and cave?¡± Feng Yang looked at him suspiciously, ¡°What happened to the cave? Was it changed from a star in the sky? Don¡¯t believe Qi Xuanyu¡¯s nonsense! What are you trying to say? I don¡¯t care about anything but this marriage. Do you really want to give it up halfway? Now do you love her or not?¡±

    Ning Yuan put the small white flower on the tip of his nose, staring at it intently, and said, ¡°The first time I met her on the street, and the second time I met her at the entrance of the Bitter Bamboo Grove, I didn¡¯t feel anything strange. I just treated her as a stranger. Then I went into the Bitter Bamboo Grove to find a ce to heal my wounds and found the caves. I stayed there for a day. After I got out, I saw the back of the little woman again, and suddenly, I had a strong desire for her. I have never had any such feelings for any woman. Chang Nuo, do you know the reason for this?¡±

    Feng Yang was confused, so he had to persuade, ¡°Your feeling was the bud of love. Ning Yuan, you grew up, and suddenly started to like women. This is a turning point. The reason why I am so enthusiastic about you and Qingyi is that I know she is the first woman you like.¡± While saying, he thought, ¡°As the man who had a rtionship with you, I go forward but you stay put, so I worry about you.¡±

    Ning Yuan shook his head, ¡°At the time, I thought that mood was very novel. I really thought of it as love. I also wanted to take that girl out of Luo¡¯s Mansion to treat her well. But then, strange things followed one after another. I started dreaming, and the dreams were very realistic and self-conscious. In the past years, I learned a kind of dreaming skill from Mr. Bai. The dreams I had were very simr to the dreams of that dreaming skill. Every time I waked up, I loved her much more, and was more curious about her. I thought that feeling was love, but now I realized that those emotions were foreign and were imposed on me. I have no feelings for that girl... I even have an urge to strangle her with one hand.¡±

    ¡°A dreaming skill? Oh, I know that. Six months ago, Taoist Sage came to ask for my nails. I trimmed my nails while listening to him exin the reason for the dream.¡± Feng Yang recalled with a folding fan against his chin. ¡°It is said that although the skill is about dreams, it is connected to reality. Themunication between dreamers can be regarded as direct dialogues between souls. Later, Taoist Sage also called me into dreams many times and asked me to cook for him. I med him that eating a hundred jin of rice in a dream is in vain, because he was still hungry when he woke up. I said to Taoist Sage, ¡®If you don¡¯t want to eat and sleep in the open, juste to the Caobang Organization, and I will serve food and drink for you¡¯. But he still asked me to go hunting in a forest, and roast chickens and rabbits for him. He said that this dream was half-false and half-true, and it could be treated as a real thing. You can eat in your dreams, and you will be full when you wake up. Have you met Qingyi in the dream?¡±

    Ning Yuan said with a forced smile, ¡°What I had is not an ordinary dream, but it is like another person¡¯s dream. I identally stepped in and felt very strange. I appeared as a bystander. I saw the grievances and hatreds of the people in my dreams. I could hear them speaking, but they couldn¡¯t hear me. They couldn¡¯t see me. I was deeply trapped in those dreams, and sometimes I was dreaming even I was awake. I couldn¡¯t tell the difference between true and false.¡±

    Feng Yang looked at Ning Yuan¡¯s ironic expression, and couldn¡¯t help being curious, ¡°What did you dream about? Even if you fall in love with Qingyi through a dream, it¡¯s not bad. It¡¯s a good story. I think you two have simr temperaments. It¡¯s a long-term rtionship. Don¡¯t miss it now and regret itter. Didn¡¯t you almost lose your life on the battlefield to pick up that little strand of her hair? Now you havee to Luo¡¯s Mansion in Yangzhou City, so why are you so standoffish to her?¡±

    ¡°You have lived in the capital for a long time. You must remember that a new kind of drama called ¡®serial drama¡¯, which emerged in the theater a few years ago. The two-hour drama was filled with plot and was arranged into a long drama of hundreds of hours, and then it was staged every day. People of all ages and both sexes were all interested in it.¡± Ning Yuan twisted the small flowers in his hands into powder with two fingers, spread out the palms downwards, and stated tly, ¡°My dream was also a ¡®serial drama¡¯. I dreamed of that woman for three years and was obsessed with her for three years. But after hearing Xuanyu¡¯s words this afternoon, I went to revisit the old ce of Bitter Bamboo Grove and had a new dream. In that dream, I stopped loving her, and wanted to kill her.¡±

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù

    ¡°Kill her!¡± Sun Meiniang cried, pointing at He Danggui, ¡°She is a little siren, who has cursed all of us. After the curse is cast, everyone will not be able to escape from evil! Just like Baiqiong. Kill her! Only in this way, will Baiqiong¡¯s illness be cured!¡±

    Just now, Luo Baiqiong failed to attack Meng Ying and knocked over a few stools. Then she knelt on the ground and rolled her eyes, with a little foam on the corners of her mouth. Both Madam Luo and Luo Chuangu had top-notch medical skills, but they took turns to see her and couldn¡¯t see what went wrong with her, so they couldn¡¯t do anything.

    Sun Meiniang turned her head and saw He Danggui and Luo Baiji chatting happily on the side. She suddenly became furious. This game was obviously a big victory for her. He Danggui would be grounded and fasted, and her mother Chuanxiong would also be escorted back to the mansion. When the two of them were distinguished the sin of cursing their family members, no one would be able to save their lives. Remembering Luo Chuanxiong was forced to cut her daughter¡¯s nails with silent resentment many years ago, Sun Meiniang felt her heart overflowing with pleasure. She thought that history was about to repeat itself. But why was He Danggui not panicking at all, not kneeling down and begging for mercy?

    Seeing Luo Baiqiong, her daughter, who entrusted all her expectations, writhing on the ground in pain, Sun Meiniang felt distressed and perplexed. She couldn¡¯t help but want to vent her anger with He Danggui. And being grounded was too good for He Danggui, so she must punish He Danggui with family rules and then ground her.

    Madam Luo stopped, ¡°It¡¯s her mother who makes the witchcraft doll. She is a child who nearly never sees her mother. Don¡¯t get her involved with this matter. I will ask Pan Jingyang and Guang Hang to go to Sanqing Temple to pick up Chuanxiong, and then she can solve the curse for Baiqiong. If you have any grievances, settle with Chuanxiongter.¡± The implication was that Madam Luo hadpletely believed that her granddaughter¡¯s symptoms were caused by nightmare. The chief culprit was Luo Chuanxiong who lived a sequestered life in Taoist temple.

    ¡°No!¡± Sun Meiniang screamed, ¡°Luo Chuanxiong is guilty, and her daughter must have something to do with this! We must hit her forty times aspensation for my Baiqiong, otherwise it will not be no over!¡± She raised her hand to point the white doll hanging on the wind chime in front of the porch, bewildering everyone in an rmist manner, ¡°I know the origin of that doll. The doll made of white cloth with only one head was specially used on the battlefield of the Qin Dynasty in ancient times. It was used to wrap up the evil things such as the head of the dead. He Danggui is cursing all of us to be dead. What a vicious scheme! Let¡¯s work together to kill this siren with stone!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t talk nonsense!¡± Luo Baiji took a step forward, isted everyone, and argued, ¡°That doll is called Sunny Doll, also known as Broom Woman for Fine Days. It has a hundred years of history, and it is also recorded in the book. It is a kind of serious blessing object, absolutely not like what Second Aunt said. There are various records about it in the book. A poet in the Yuan Dynasty once wrote a poem for it, ¡®Rolling up sleeves and holding a broom in hand, she waves her hand to bring sunshine¡¯. If you don¡¯t believe me, wait for me to find the book and show it to you!¡±

    Sun Meiniang grinned her teeth while listening. Then she suddenly smirked, ¡°We women are ignorant, and we are not as knowledgeable as a schr like you. It turns out that there is such an allusion. We have never heard of it. Why don¡¯t you show us that book?¡±

    Luo Baiji immediately nodded and rushed out of the ancestral hall. Suddenly, he returned and hurried back to protect He Danggui again. He stood in front of a group of Sun Meiniang¡¯s minions, and sternly shouted, ¡°Who dares to hurt her? Step on my corpse!¡±

    Sun Meiniangmanded the servants, ¡°Second Young Master has also been bewitched. He is not sober now. Don¡¯t have to worry about him. Tie him up and put him aside, so that he can wake up and regain his nerve!¡±

    The servants looked at each other, wondering if Third Lord would get even with themter, and did not act immediately. Madam Luo only cared about the condition of her granddaughter Luo Baiqiong and was too busy to do so. There was a stalemate between the two sides, and the atmosphere was spooky. Suddenly, the night sky turned bright as bright as day, and it was sunny in an instant!

    He Danggui smoothed her hair on her ears and said with a smile, ¡°Look, my Sunny Doll has summoned sunny day. Can I get rid of the suspicion of witchcraft?¡±

 Chapter 262 - Ruthless natural disaster with blood and tears

    <h4>Chapter 262 Ruthless natural disaster with blood and tears</h4>

    This abnormal celestial phenomenon shocked everyone, and Madam Luo could not care about Luo Baiqiong. She left her on the ground and ran up to ask He Danggui in a panic, ¡°Yi, what¡¯s the matter? How is the sky clearing up? Is this celestial phenomenon good or bad?¡±

    Although Sun Meiniang was frightened, she reminded Madam Luo, ¡°How does she know? She is only a young girl. Fortune-teller Li is waiting in the outer courtyard, let¡¯s ask him to make a divination!¡±

    Luo Baiying looked at the bright white sky outside. Although it was no different from daylight, it was more dazzling than the normal daytime sun. She expressed a more sensible thought, ¡°Look at the sky. The sun suddenly brightened is not only in Luo¡¯s Mansion, but the whole Yangzhou City. We don¡¯t have to panic. This strange astronomical phenomenon will definitely attract the astronomy master of the Imperial Court to Yangzhou City and give an official statement. As for the sunny doll in front of the corridor,¡± she let out a sneer, ¡°It¡¯s just a coincidence. Don¡¯t believe her.¡±

    Madam Luo asked He Danggui for proof, ¡°Is that so, Yi? You don¡¯t know the changes of the astronomical phenomenon. Your doll is just a coincidence, isn¡¯t it?¡± For some reason, she suddenly had a bad feeling, as her two eyelids twitching together.

    He Danggui blinked her eyes innocently, ¡°Whatever you say. Anyway, nobody trusts me, and I will soon be unjustly sentenced to death.¡± Then she bypassed the stunned servants and walked to her doll under the porch of the house. She took off the little white doll and put it in her sleeve. Then she came back and stood obediently. She said, ¡°In my dream, my grandfather said that I have a catastrophe. Now it is confirmed. I know that it¡¯s useless to resist. Madam Luo, you can punish me if you want.¡±

    ¡°You dreamed your grandfather?¡± Madam Luo was surprised, ¡°When was it? Don¡¯t scare me!¡±

    Luo Chuangu was the most intense one, ¡°Yiyi, if you talk nonsense anymore, there will be no ce for your Fourth Branch in this house! Don¡¯t even think about living in Sanqing Temple!¡± He suddenly waved his hand in annoyance and pointed at the people in the house, ¡°Go! Go away! Go to sleep!¡±

    Looking at her husband, Sun Meiniang thought that it was enough tonight, so she directed the servant Li Jiuguang¡¯s wife, ¡°Tie He Danggui and take her to the Depositary of Buddhist Texts. Ask the guard to be closely guarded. No one should be allowed to approach the depositary and give her water and food!¡±

    He Dangguiforted Luo Baiji with a few words, and then obediently followed Li Jiuguang¡¯s wife out of the ancestral hall. She lowered her head and waited to be bound.

    The people in the ancestral hall were discussing what this unusual celestial phenomenon showed. They felt it suddenly went dark. Compared to the glorious sky before, there was only a faint candlelight in front of them, and they were dumbfounded. Suddenly, they heard a terrifying scream from the courtyard. They didn¡¯t know what happened and looked at each other in fear. They wanted to take a look at the situation outside the house, but didn¡¯t dare to go alone. Finally, some people went out hand in hand.

    When the scene was illuminated by thentern, several people backed away in amazement. It turned out that Li Jiuguang¡¯s wife was rolling her bleeding and tearing eyes, and she rolled on the ground holding her left calf. She yelled so hard that people could not bear to listen, as if it was not her who was screaming, but her curved calf was screaming! However, Third Miss stood aside quietly with her face covered in white gauze. Her eyes were half-closed, as if everything around her had nothing to do with her.

    Madam Luo and others waited anxiously in the ancestral hall. Luo Baiji wanted to rush out for the first time, but was stopped by Madam Luo. With a nervous gaze, the investigator came back carrying Li Jiuguang¡¯s wife. Although her eyes did not seem to have suffered any trauma, a person who knew medical treatment would understand at a nce, that she was undoubtedly blind. Her calf bended out a big arc from the middle part. She wasme and fractured!

    When all the people entered the door, He Danggui followed them in with her skirt floating like a lotus. When she looked up the people in the room, her clean and watery eyes were shining with cold light, ncing at everyone¡¯s faces, like a real sword. But this kind of gaze was only for a moment, which made everyone wonder whether they had blurred vision... What kind of gaze was that! That was a ghostly look!

    The room was silent for a long moment. Tick, tick, tick¡­ It seemed that there was a clock in everyone¡¯s heart.

    Finally, Madam Luo spoke first, ¡°Yi, Yi, what¡¯s the matter? What happened to Li Jiuguang¡¯s wife? And the sky, why is it suddenly dark again? This sunny and cloudy sky has nothing to do with your sunny doll, right?¡±

    He Danggui drooped her eyelids and replied, ¡°Madam Luo, the Sunny Doll is just a doll used to pray for blessings. I used it to pray for the Luo¡¯s Family, grandfather and families, and it is not a magical tool for the immortal in the sky. How can it have anything to do with the darkness and the dawn? As for Aunt Li... just now she was going to tie me with the rope down the steps, but the sky suddenly got dark. I was frightened, holding my head and squatting on the side. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on. When everyone lit thentern, I was as surprised as everyone. How did Aunt Li¡¯s leg break? Why did she go blind? It frightened me!¡± Her voice was calm and smooth, as if Aunt Li was the name of a bug, and it was okay for Aunt Li to be blind with a broken leg.

    After that, there was another long silence. Sun Meiniang suddenly opened her eyes and shouted with one hand on her hip, ¡°You are the murderer! You have a personal grievance with Li Jiuguang¡¯s wife, so you made her eyes blind and crippled her leg under the cover of the sky darkened. You are inflicting bodily injury, and I will send you to the government for punishment!¡±

    He Danggui smiled silently. People could not see her smiling lips, but only saw the white veil rolling over the ripples like wrinkled spring water. Luo Baiji came out again to defend her, ¡°Second Aunt, how can you frame her up? What grudge does Third Sister have with Li Jiuguang¡¯s wife? Last time, Li Jiuguang¡¯s wife dropped a flower pot from the second floor, and almost killed Third Sister. I ordered the old servant to apologize to Third Sister, but she was so arrogant that she would not even kowtow to apologize. Third Sister just passed over her.¡±

    Sun Meiniang gave a shrillugh and pped her hands, ¡°Isn¡¯t this a grudge? This is simply a deep grudge! This is her motive for the murder!¡± As she said, she had already regarded Li Jiuguang¡¯s wife who was wailing as a dead body.

    Ding Rong¡¯s wife also immediately stood up to help, ¡°Last year, Second Young Master Peng sent a batch of high-quality silk to Third Miss. There was so much silk in the Tao Yao Yard at night, and some silk was stolen by a theft. The theft was exactly Li Jiuguang¡¯s wife. Third Miss, are you so forgetful?¡±

    He Dangguiughed out loud, ¡°How can I forget it? Qing¡¯er asked Young Master Peng Jian to purchase it from the capital, but it was ced in my courtyard. If it is lost, I really don¡¯t know how to exin to my friend. During the day, Bo He told me that there was a familiar aunt who was walking around the entrance of the courtyard and kept looking inside. I was afraid that there was something wrong, so I asked the girls who guarded at night to stay alert. Then they caught the theft, Li Jiuguang¡¯s wife. I heard that Second Aunt treated her servants generously. Why did the servant in her yard steal things from my Tao Yao Yard? I¡¯m just a youngdy and have no money.¡±

    Ding Rong¡¯s wife choked for a while, and snorted, ¡°Third Miss, don¡¯t divert the topic. This is a sign of your grudge against Li Jiuguang¡¯s wife. If the above two things are not enough, do you remember that Second Mistress Luo bound your feet? It was also Li Jiuguang¡¯s wife who bound the cloth on your feet. Later, you could not walk on the ground for a few days and go to school. Didn¡¯t you hate her? You are obviously retaliating and blinding her. You are so vicious!¡±

    He Danggui was silent for a moment. Grudge? Of course, she had a grudge against the old servant. Vicious? Not vicious enough.

    Li Jiuguang¡¯s wife did have a life-long feud with her. In her previous life, before she married and was living in the West Lateral court, Li Jiuguang¡¯s wife often came to steal things. She even stole the clothes hanging in the sun. When she was caught on the spot, Li Jiuguang¡¯s wife cried and pleaded for mercy, saying that her son was a gambler, and the family was deep in debt before she did this deception. At that time, she kindly let go of this woman, and did not take her to Madam Luo for punishment.

    Later, she was framed by the Sun Meiniang and punished to kneel. After a few hours, she couldn¡¯t hold it anymore, begging Li Jiuguang¡¯s wife to help her, but only to get a mouthful of sputum. That was not a big deal. After a while, she heard from the maid that Li Jiuguang¡¯s wife sold her stolen dress and bellybands to the servants and grands.

    If these were just old grudges, then the old feud in the previous life between her and this woman couldn¡¯t be settled. During thest few years when her mother lived in Luo¡¯s Mansion, this woman was the steward in her mother¡¯s yard. Later, Sun Meiniang came into her mother¡¯s house with a bowl of poisonous medicine, which was also provided by this woman... The blind eyes and broken leg were good for this woman, not to mention that blindness was caused by herself, so it was none of her business.

    When Luo Baiji saw He Danggui not answering, he helped her, ¡°Administrator Ding, how could you have the nerve to mention the matter of bounding feet? I identally heard about you soaking Third Sister¡¯s feet cloth in lime water. I came to Li Jiuguang¡¯s wife, who was responsible for this matter, and secretly gave her ten liang silver to let her change the cloth into a clean cloth. She promised me and epted the silver, but she went back on her words. She wrapped the cloth soaked in thick lime water around Third Sister¡¯s feet. Third Sister felt pain, but Madam Luo oversaw said that it was natural to feel pain at the first time, and it would be better afterwards, forcing Third Sister to wrap the cloth. You are always bullying Third Sister. How has she ever provoked you!¡±

    Ding Rong¡¯s wifeughed loudly, ¡°Because she has umted a lot of resentment in the past, she will kill Li Jiuguang¡¯s wife in a dark ce! This matter has been proved. Madam Luo and Second Mistress Luo, it¡¯s time to report Third Miss to the government!¡±

    Madam Luo didn¡¯t expect that there were so many inside stories behind the foot-binding. She couldn¡¯t help but frown, as her impression of Li Jiuguang¡¯s wife got worse, and she was angry that Sun Meiniang was not sensible to bully Yi, a poor girl who had no care of her mother. Madam Luo nced at Li Jiuguang¡¯s wife, who was wailing on the ground. She didn¡¯t want to be fair to this woman as a servant¡¯s life was not valuable. Besides, Li Jiuguang¡¯s wife was a treacherous woman who disrespected the master and had sticky fingers. However, Madam Luo still asked as usual, ¡°Yi, what do you want to say? Did you hurt her?¡±

    He Danggui nodded and replied, ¡°Well, it depends on how you rule.¡±

 Chapter 263 - Outrageous behavior

    <h4>Chapter 263 Outrageous behavior</h4>

    Everyone had different expressions when they heard what He Danggui said. He Danggui continued, ¡°There is a saying, ¡®I didn¡¯t kill someone, but he died because of me. There is no greater crime than this.¡¯ Mr. Bao from the academy taught me it.¡± She also regarded Li Jiuguang¡¯s wife, who was wailing on the ground, as a dead person. She further argued, ¡°Even the magistrate who settles the case in court would ask the coroner to examine the corpse and see if the suspect is capable ofmitting the crime, in addition to the motive. Madam Luo and Second Uncle are both clever doctors. Why not step forward to see if Aunt Li¡¯s eyes were scratched by external forces? Maybe she was in poor health and blinded her eyes.¡±

    Madam Luo then went forward and looked at Li Jiuguang¡¯s wife for a while, and saw that her eyes had no ck eyeballs. She looked as if she was rolling her eyes. The blood and tears flowed from the corners of her eyes. Madam Luo grabbed her wrist to feel her pulse, and whispered for a while, ¡°This is... photophobia. She has eye disease!¡±

    Sun Meiniang did not understand medical theory, but she argued, ¡°Even if Li Jiuguang¡¯s wife has eye disease, why did it happen when you two went out together? It was dark and no one saw it. Then she suddenly had eye disease?¡±

    He Danggui exined to Sun Meiniang, ¡°You don¡¯t know, Second Aunt. This kind of photophobia was initially caused by improper diet, which made people lose sight at night. Ordinary people would go to bed at dark, but Aunt Li is a person who is eager to seek publicity. She likes to go to others¡¯ yard at night. How can she not see anything? I guess she used an indigenous method to train her eyesight by eating three herbs and staring at the burning incense in the dark room. The three herbs are potent drugs. It works quickly, and the side effectse quickly. Look,¡± she walked around Li Jiuguang¡¯s wife and said, ¡°this is the consequence of not seeing a doctor but using the folk remedy for the illness. Furthermore, that kind of eye training method of staring at the burning incense is for teenagers. Aunt Li, you are so old, and you still stare at the incense burner with your dim eyes. Tsk tsk.¡±

    ¡°One would suddenly be blinded after suffering from photophobia?¡± Luo Baiying asked.

    ¡°Even though the photophobia not necessarily blinds the patient, it is most likely to be.¡± He Danggui exined solemnly, ¡°Of course, if the sky had kept bright, and if she hadn¡¯t looked up at the sky suddenly, she would not have be so terrible with eye disease. In addition, she just happened to be down the steps, walking hurriedly, and tripped by the rope in her hand. She¡¯s bound to break her leg. I didn¡¯t trip her up anyway, believe it or not.¡±

    Sun Meiniang gritted her teeth. She didn¡¯t care about the fate of Li Jiuguang¡¯s wife, but how would she be willing to give up such a good opportunity to defeat He Danggui? She stepped forward, pointed to Li Jiuguang¡¯s wife¡¯s calf and shouted, ¡°How could she fall like that by herself? I don¡¯t believe it!¡±

    Luo Baiying also knew a little about medical science, and then questioned, ¡°Everyone knows that people have a sense of self-protection. She must have some protective actions when she rolled down the steps. This bending angle is also too unusual. It seems not because of falling down, but being trampled by others.¡±

    He Danggui had her valid reasons, ¡°It is true that people have a sense of self-protection, but the problem is that she had eye trouble at the moment she rolled down the steps. Compared with her legs, her eyes were more painful and she couldn¡¯t take care of her legs. Sister, you said her leg was broken by someone stepping on it, right? Are there somebody¡¯s footprints on her skirt? Why don¡¯t you ask her if anyone stepped on her leg?¡± He Danggui came close to Li Jiuguang¡¯s wife and bent over gently, ¡°Aunt Li, did I step on your leg?¡±

    Li Jiuguang¡¯s wife shook and wailed. She called out, ¡°Help me! Heal me¡±! He Danggui asked her three times and promised to heal her. She then shook her head violently and said, ¡°No one stepped on me. I fell down the steps, and then my legs became painful.¡± He Danggui thought, ¡°Of course, I have practiced this kind of stunt for a long time. If I hadn¡¯t received some Zhenqi from Zhoushi, I still couldn¡¯t have made it. It¡¯s the first time that I have used it on you today, and it¡¯s your pleasure.¡±

    Sun Meiniang was a little disappointed when she heard what they said. And Luo Baiji insisted, ¡°Everyone sees that Third Sister is so delicate that she can be blown away by a gust of wind. Then look at Li Jiuguang¡¯s wife, who is tall and sturdy with fat arms and waists. How could Third Sister hurt her? No one will believe it.¡± He Danggui also bowed her head, acting as if she was indeed very delicate.

    Such being the case, Madam Luo thought that there was no need to discuss a cunning and disabled old ve, so she ordered someone to take her away. After that, Madam Luo turned to He Danggui again and asked, ¡°Yi, how could your Sunny Doll be so magical? Soon after it was hung up, the rain stopped, and the sky was overcast when it was taken off. How could there be such a coincidence?¡± But if someone told her a child¡¯s rag doll could change the weather, she would never believe it.

    He Danggui took out the doll from her sleeve, stroked it, and was about to answer. Zhang Huan¡¯s wife hurried into the ancestral hall, and whispered a few words to Sun Meiniang. Sun Meiniang beamed immediately and said to Madam Luo, ¡°Madam Luo, herees the witness who can testify to the evil of He Danggui that I said before!¡±

    ¡°Witness?¡± Not only He Danggui, but also many people were curious. He Dangguiughed at herself, ¡°Second Aunt has got a witness again! Do evil? If I have the ability to do evil, how can I be taught by you twice in a month?¡±

    Sun Meiniang twisted her lips triumphantly, ¡°Believe it or not, this witness is your rtive and best friend. She saw your evil deeds with her own eyes. Her testimony is more effective than what ten ordinary people said.¡±

    Hearing what Sun Meiniang said, everyone expressed curiosity about the identity of this witness. He Danggui thought that she only had two best friends, Qing¡¯er and Sister Zhenzhu. Who was so thick-skinned and came to pretend to be her best friend? As for rtives, apart from the Luo¡¯s Family, she only had...

    There was a sound of footsteps in the distance, and everyone turned to look. Here came a petite girl, who was about eighteen years old, and her exquisite body was wrapped in a set of tattered clothes. She looked very embarrassed, but she wore a gorgeous half-length cloak made of corduroy over the tattered clothes.

    The cloak looked familiar, like the one that Luo Baiqiong had worn before. As for the girl, He Danggui was no stranger to her. She had an oval face with a delicate nose, and her skin was fair. Her eyebrows were curved, and her eyes were dark. This girl was Ling Miaoyi. After two years of absence, she looked prettier, and was as charming as the red plum blossoms in the twelfth month of the lunar year. Her beauty couldn¡¯t be concealed by the tattered clothes.

    He Danggui raised her eyebrows. Ling Miaoyi was the niece of Commander He, and she was the biological daughter of Commander He. In this way, she and Ling Miaoyi were indeed rtives. As for best friends, it was impossible. She didn¡¯t regard Ling Miaoyi as an opponent, and she was forbearing and conciliatory to Ling Miaoyi. However, Ling Miaoyi recognized her as an enemy from their first meeting.

    Ling Miaoyi strode in, and came to the point when she entered the door, ¡°My name is Ling Miaoyi, and I am the Third Miss of Ling¡¯s Family in the capital. After I tell you who I am, your family will definitely not wee me. But Ie here for only one thing. I¡¯ll leave when I¡¯m done.¡±

    ¡°Who is she?¡± Luo Baiji asked He Danggui quietly.

    He Danggui whispered to him, ¡°She¡¯s Ling Miaoyi. She has studied at the Chengxu Academy for a year. Second Brother, you are oblivious about the outside world. It¡¯s not surprising that you don¡¯t know her.¡±

    Luo Baiji frowned and looked at the beautiful girl with dirty face. After looking at her for a while, he suddenly said, ¡°She looks a little like you, especially her face shape and chin... What rtive is she?¡± Luo Baiji regretted it after asking. Most of the people from the capital were rtives of He¡¯s Family. Madam Luo said that all the people living in He¡¯s Mansion were scum.

    At this time, Luo Baiqiong recovered from her ¡°epilepsy¡±. Looking at Miss Ling, her former ssmate, she grinned. That girl was the nemesis of He Danggui. As long as she appeared, He Danggui would be unlucky.

    He Danggui raised her jaw and looked at the beggar girl in a calm manner. She said, ¡°Let her speak for herself. I am also very curious about my rtionship with her.¡±

    Ling Miaoyi also looked towards He Danggui, and her dark eyes were showing undisguised hatred. She announced, ¡°My mother is the eldest daughter of He¡¯s Family in the capital, and He Jingxian is my uncle.¡± Sure enough, after hearing what she said, Madam Luo seemed irritated immediately, and the corners of her eyes twitched unconsciously. Ling Miaoyi said indifferently, ¡°When I was studying at Chengxu Academy, I had friendship with He Danggui. She had expressed her yearning for He¡¯s Family more than once, and I also told her all about my uncle¡¯s family. In this way, we became good friends. Originally, I didn¡¯t want toe here to expose her, but her behavior is so outrageous. I can¡¯t just turn a blind eye, and I must testify against her.¡±

    After hearing her words, Madam Luo suddenly put on a serious face. No matter what the girl was nning to expose, the sentence that Yi yearned for He¡¯s Family sounded really harsh for her. As Yi¡¯s grandmother, didn¡¯t she treat Yi well? Why did Yi miss He¡¯s Family?

    Well, even if Yi¡¯s Second Aunt Sun was mean, her Eldest Aunt Zhao was big-mouth, and her Third Aunt Liang, who was also her adoptive mother, was cold to her, her grandmother treated her well. At this time, Madam Luo remembered what her son Chuangu said before, ¡°Mum, you are generous and treat the Fourth Sister and her daughter as your own daughter and granddaughter, but they never treat you as a family! Sometimes I feel jealous of her...¡±

    Madam Luo was so gloomy that anyone who knew her could feel it. Sun Meiniang was secretly pleased that the girl surnamed Ling came out to testify against He Danggui today at this critical moment. Tonight, she just found the witchcraft doll and used He Danggui and Luo Chuanxiong.

    Luo Baiji nced at He Danggui worriedly, and couldn¡¯t help but rify for her, ¡°First of all, I have never heard of Third Sister having such a cousin and best friend. Third sister is introverted, and she has only one best friend, Liao Qing¡¯er. Miss Ling suddenly imed to be the best friend of Third Sister, and attacked Third Sister with words. It is hard to believe that your rtionship is good enough to talk about such a private topic. Third Sister never likes to discuss her life experience with others. To say the least, even if Third Sister asks you about the situation in He¡¯s Family, it¡¯s understandable. Is this her crime?¡±

    Ling Miaoyi raised her arched eyebrows, nced at the audience, and said, ¡°Of course she had evil deeds! I saw He Danggui ordered her subordinate, the man named He Dangyou, to the ancestral grave of Luo¡¯s Family on the outskirts of the city to do some evil things. I don¡¯t know what he did actually, but it¡¯s not a good thing anyway. Besides, there is a bunch of dead mice hanging in the woods not far from the ancestral grave!¡±

 Chapter 264 - The noble lady became a beggar

    <h4>Chapter 264 The nobledy became a beggar</h4>

    ¡°Dead mice?¡± Madam Luo was pop-eyed with surprise, ¡°Yi, did you put dead mice in the ancestral grave?¡±

    He Danggui did not deny it, but corrected it, ¡°It was not me who did it. I asked Xiaoyou to put them. They were not ced in the ancestral grave, but hung in the grove behind the ancestral grave. And most importantly, they were not dead mice, but dead minks, specifically, golden minks.¡±

    ¡°You...¡± Madam Luo was so angry that she couldn¡¯t speak. She finallyined, ¡°What¡¯s the difference?¡±

    He Danggui patiently exined to her, ¡°A dead mouse is worth 0.5 wen, while a dead golden mink is worth over 1.4 liang silver. This is the difference. There are twelve small golden minks in total, and they are worth one month of my monthly allowance.¡±

    Ling Miaoyi didn¡¯t expect that before she provided more evidence, He Danggui admitted her guilty forthrightly. Therefore, she kept silent for a while, watching what Luo¡¯s Family would do with He Danggui. And the people of Luo¡¯s Family were shocked by such a reversal. Sun Meiniang couldn¡¯t believe that good luck came upon her. He Danggui admitted to putting dead mice in the ancestral grave of Luo¡¯s Family!

    Just at this time, someone from outside came to report that Mammy Tang in the suburbs sent a letter saying that the Luo¡¯s Family¡¯s ancestral grave copsed, as if it was destroyed by the heavy rain.

    Sun Meiniang happily looked at Madam Luo, who looked annoyed. The ancestral grave copsed! Sun Meiniang cast a look at her daughter Luo Baiqiong, who was able to speak properly. Thetter immediately understood her mother¡¯s intention, and pulled Madam Luo¡¯s arm with tears and said, ¡°Grandma, I¡¯ve been numb and unable to speak since this afternoon. I was afraid that it would disturb your good mood for the New Year, so I didn¡¯t dare to tell others. I nned toe to the ancestral hall and ask ancestors to help me get rid of the pain. After arriving at the ancestral hall, I suddenly fainted, and I don¡¯t know what happened then. I didn¡¯t set fire!¡±

    Sun Meiniang was still dissatisfied and asked Luo Baiqiong inductively, ¡°Did you see or hear anything unusual before you passed out?¡±

    Luo Baiqiong was straightforward and unable to make up a story, so she went straight to the subject, ¡°I saw He Danggui. I heard she said that she was going to set fire!¡±

    Luo Baiji said angrily, ¡°We just heard you said that you set the fire. How can you just frame Third Sister indiscriminately in order to escape crime? No one will be fooled by you!¡±

    However, Madam Luo was easy to be fooled. Her fragile nerves could no longer sustain the whole night of torment. She looked at He Danggui with disappointment and asked, ¡°Do you have any excuses? If you don¡¯t say it now, you will talk about it after your mother gets home.¡±

    He Danggui shook her head, ¡°Grandma, you¡¯re tired, and I¡¯m tired, too. Why don¡¯t we settle the case tomorrow morning? Several physical evidences are kept in the ancestral hall, and won¡¯t be lost as our ancestors will guard them. What do you think, Second Aunt?¡±

    Sun Meiniang became furious, and thenmanded the servants, ¡°Come on, tie her up and lock her in the Depositary of Buddhist Texts. The most severe punishment of the Luo¡¯s Family will be exerted on her tomorrow morning!¡±

    Subconsciously, Luo Baiji wanted to argue with Sun Meiniang, but he was stopped by He Danggui. He turned around and saw that she was a little tired, so he turned to Madam Luo and said, ¡°Grandma, let me send Third Sister to the Depositary. She was seriously ill and has not healed yet. Don¡¯t tie her up, okay?¡± His soft tone was simr to that of Luo Baiqiong. This trick always worked for Madam Luo. It was a privilege for grandchildren. Madam Luo nodded, and asked some servants to ¡°assist¡± the Second Master Luo Baiji to send the Third Miss He Danggui to the Depositary.

    As a result, it was settled that night. When there was further news about the ancestral grave the next morning, He Danggui would be sentenced.

    When He Danggui passed by the gate and saw Ling Miaoyi standing in the corner in a beggar¡¯s suit, she couldn¡¯t help smiling. Then she whispered, ¡°I heard that Ling¡¯s Family in the capital is one of the richest households. How could you be a beggar, Miss Ling? It will be justifiable if you beg in the street, but you are pathetic and disgraced. How could youe to other people¡¯s house for a half-old cloak by ying as a clown? How pitiful.¡±

    Ling Miaoyi had never seen He Danggui being so domineering. She couldn¡¯t recover form shock for a while. She just said, ¡°You¡¯d better sympathize yourself. When you are driven out by the Luo¡¯s Family, you are truly homeless. You will be a real beggar.¡±

    He Danggui was not angry, and just said, ¡°Is the leftover in Luo¡¯s Family so yummy? Thest time I saw youing here to beg, you were so frustrated that you borrow money from the manservant. This time you went to Luo¡¯s Family again. You even wear Second Miss¡¯s old clothes. Originally, I was really curious about He¡¯s Family in the capital and thought about writing to Miss Ling for more information, but now that you are so abject, I have no interest in exploring it.¡±

    Unexpectedly, He Danggui saw her embarrassed look three years ago. Ling Miaoyi got angry, ¡°I didn¡¯te here on purpose. I followed Chang Yan and Chang Yu to find their master. I borrowed money from my old friend Chang Nuo and didn¡¯t take away anything from Luo¡¯s Mansion. Why are youughing at me? Mind your own business!¡±

    When Ling Miaoyi ran away from homest time, she was still a nobledy of Ling¡¯s Family. She carried much luggage and went out very beautifully. However, she didn¡¯t have any experience in wealth management, so she finally spent all the money and became a beggar. But this time, she broke up with her family and ran out empty-handed. She went to Gao¡¯s Family to find her brother-inw Gao Jue, but she was told that Gao Jue was working in Yangzhou City. Ling Miaoyi hated her legitimate mother Li, and her second sister Ling Miaoqi was Li¡¯s daughter. She didn¡¯t know this when she was young, so she was close to Ling Miaoqi as her dead eldest sister, Ling Miaochun. But now she knew it and fell out with Ling Miaoqi, so she wouldn¡¯t seek refuge with Ling Miaoqi who was in the Gao¡¯s Mansion.

    The poor Ling Miaoyi then went to Duan¡¯s Family to find Duan Xiaolou, but the servants of Duan¡¯s Family told her that the Marquis had gone to Yangzhou City for business and had just left for three days. Ling Miaoyi had no choice but to find her uncle He Jingxian, who had rarely been in contact with her, and stayed in his house for two days. With some money, she went to Yangzhou City to find her brother-inw. However, she didn¡¯t find her brother-inw, and her money was robbed. As a result, she once again thought of Chang Nuo, who had not returned to Chang¡¯s Mansion so far, and thought that he might still be living in Luo¡¯s Mansion. She believed she could find him to borrow money, so she waited at the side door.

    Unexpectedly, she didn¡¯t see Chang Nuo, Chang Yan or Chang Yu, but she saw He Dangyou, the strong subordinate of He Danggui. After following him for half a day, she got a lot of secrets. Ling Miaoyi had heard from Luo Baiqiong in the past that He Danggui was in a bad situation in Luo¡¯s Family. He Danggui and Baiqiong¡¯s mother Sun were at daggers drawn. As the saying went, ¡°The enemy of an enemy is a friend.¡± Ling Miaoyi then came to Sun Meiniang¡¯s subordinates and said that she was willing toe forward to expose He Danggui¡¯s crimes. She demanded 200 liang silver as a reward and guaranteed that it would be difficult to keep a foothold for He Danggui. Therefore, she was in league with Sun Meiniang.

    ¡­Chang Yan and Chang Yu? He Danggui was taken aback.

    ...Chang Nuo? He Danggui walked out of the ancestral hall in a daze, digesting this unusual information.

    She didn¡¯t know who was Chang Yan or Chang Yu, but she witnessed the manservant called Feng Yan or Feng Yu handing Ling Miaoyi a bundle of something on the side door. Afterwards, the manservant found her very anxiously and asked her to keep the secret. Besides, he told her not to speak to the ¡°dangerous person¡± Ling Miaoyi...

    So that was it!

    He Danggui smiled. The one under Feng Yang¡¯s mask was Chang Nuo, who would be famous as the top schr in martial arts of the capital two yearster. He was the childe of Chang¡¯s Family in the capital, and the grandson of Chang Yuchun. Looking back on her previous life, He Danggui found that Bai Yangbai had mentioned the name Chang Nuo many times, as if he had a good personal rtionship with Chang Nuo. It turned out that the outstanding talent that Zhu Quan recruited was Chang Nuo. No wonder that they had a lot of time to know each other and fall in love. They had all lived in the circle of power and wealth in the capital since they were young.

    This news was really pleasing. The three generations of Chang¡¯s Family were royalists. Like the Meng¡¯s Family, they were valued by Zhu Yuanzhang. Chang¡¯s Family was responsible for the inside, and Meng¡¯s Family was responsible for the outside. Meng¡¯s Family guarded the frontier for Zhu Yuanzhang, and Chang¡¯s Family guarded on the doorstep of Zhu¡¯s Family. Chang Nuo had authority over more than half of the capital guards, so he had great power to deal with almost everything, needless to say He Fu, the Guarding Commander of the Capital. If Zhu Yuanzhang knew that the sharpest Qingfeng Sword in the capital was in the hands of his seventeenth son, Zhu Quan, would he fall asleep tonight?

    He Dangguiughed as she walked, feeling a little grateful for Ling Miaoyi¡¯s visit. That was her good fortune. It turned out that Ling Miaoyi came here not for Sun Meiniang, but for her. Luo Baiji was walking next to He Danggui and heard herugh. He didn¡¯t know what she wasughing, but he was relieved, thinking it was better for her tough.

    Luo Baiji asked the servants following them to be a little further, and thenforted He Danggui softly, ¡°There are enough people questioning you, so I won¡¯t ask you why you hung mice at the ancestral grave. I know, you always have your reason for what you do, and you will not do unnecessary things just to vent your anger. But now you are in the bad situation, and I don¡¯t know how to help you, well... Let¡¯s elope?¡± We could escape from this disgusting house.

    ¡°Elope?¡± He Danggui thought, ¡°Second Brother, it was not me who would elope with you.¡±

    Turning back, she saw Luo Baiji¡¯s anxious and tired look, so she couldn¡¯t help but console him, ¡°It¡¯s inconvenient for me to talk too much. I don¡¯t want to talk about some things absolutely. After all, there are too many changes in the world. It¡¯smon for a single move to change the game, but...¡± She told Luo Baiji, ¡°This time, I am an angler on the shore, and Sun Meiniang is the fish in the water. But she is too fat. In order to pull this big fish out of the water, I have to put the fishing line longer. Second Brother, you don¡¯t need to worry about me. Go back and sleep well. Wait for the good information tomorrow morning.¡±

    Luo Baiji stiffened as soon as He Danggui approached him and whispered. He felt her soft voice was like the breeze of the summer morning and her delicate fragrance lingered on the tip of his nose. Her soft whisper only reached his ears, but did not reach his brain immediately. After a short while, he realized what she meant, and said, ¡°The fishing line you put...¡± His voice suddenly turned low, ¡°What happened tonight is all your tricks, right? But, it¡¯s impossible to control the weather because you can¡¯t know it in advance. Third Sister, what have you got up in your sleeve?¡±

    He Danggui looked up at the night sky, elerated her steps, and said, ¡°You will know, and everyone will know.¡±

    Luo Baiji did not force her to tell. He turned around and took a box from the manservant. As they approaching the Depositary of Buddhist Texts, he handed the box to He Danggui and said, ¡°There arerge quantities of dessert and dried meat in it. You keep it in the secret ce of the Depositary. It is enough for you to eat for three or four days, and then I will find a way to send you much more. The following servants are bribed by me, so they will not talk about it. But the person who guards the Depositary is a trusted subordinate of Second Aunt. I¡¯m sorry that you will feel wronged temporarily.¡±

    He Danggui said gratefully, ¡°Thank you. I¡¯m really hungry. It¡¯s good to have a midnight snack for studying at night. But I don¡¯t need three or four days of serving. It will be someone else¡¯s turn to be locked in the Depositary tomorrow. Why do you prepare food for her?¡±

    Luo Baiji was puzzled. After thinking about it, he asked, ¡°Do you have anything to talk to the people in Tao Yao Yard? Xiaoyou and Chan Yi will definitely be anxious if they knew what happened, right? Moreover, Second Aunt and Ding Rong¡¯s wife are all viins. I heard that many people in Tao Yao Yard beat Ding Rong¡¯s wife tonight, and threw away the Second Aunt¡¯s subordinates from the courtyard. If any ident happens to you, Second Aunt will never let them go.¡±

    As Luo Baiji said, He Danggui had already stepped on the threshold of the Depositary. She stretched out and said with a chuckle, ¡°With so many people helping me, I have to work harder to defeat Sun Meiniang, so that she can¡¯t make trouble for us anymore. Because I made up my mind that Sun Meiniang will never have a chance to trouble us, I then let everyone in Tao Yao Yard revenge on Sun Meiniang¡¯s subordinates in the new year. I asked them to beat Ding Rong¡¯s wife, but they were too kind. Ding Rong¡¯s wife could still walk unexpectedly. I¡¯m disappointed.¡±

 Chapter 265 - A beauty in the simple but elegant bamboo house

    <h4>Chapter 265 A beauty in the simple but elegant bamboo house</h4>

    The door was locked with a snap, and a vermilion wooden door separated the two. Hearing Luo Baiji leaving, He Danggui took the food box and went to the second floor. She knew that there was no bed in the Depositary of Buddhist Texts, so she nned to find a futon, sitting in meditation and rxing until dawn. The foreign Zhenqi in her channel had not yet been refined into her own. She was not very good at this, and could only absorb one or two drops of the essence into her Dantian a day. Her efforts seemed puny.

    She had to admit that, as a man-made master, she was so different from a real master, and there was a huge gap between her and her enemy Zhu Quan. To avenge herself on the man was so difficult that she wouldn¡¯t be sessful without perseverance.

    On the second floor, there was a person sitting quietly in the ottoman in the corner. He Danggui had expected that he mighte to meet her privately, but when she saw him at first sight, she felt a little ufortable. She greeted him, ¡°Zhoushi, what are you doing here? It¡¯ste.¡±

    Chang Nuo closed the folding fan and sighed, ¡°He asked me toe here. He asked you to go to Xinyuan Yard to serve him. I told your grandmother that my sister asked you to go to Feng¡¯s Family for a few days, and she agreed. Now, as long as your mother returns to Luo¡¯s Family and confesses her crimes, Luo¡¯s Family will allow you to visit Feng¡¯s Family. It doesn¡¯t matter how long you live there.¡±

    ¡°Xinyuan Yard?¡± He Danggui asked, ¡°Childe Feng¡¯s another courtyard in the suburbs? Didn¡¯t you say that you would pick me up to live there before the New Year? Why did you show up until today and make me wait so hard? You cheated me. Why don¡¯t you send me a letter after you break the appointment? Didn¡¯t you arrange a bodyguard for me?¡± She ced the food box on the scripture table, and took out the dishes one by one.

    Chang Nuo didn¡¯t expect that she would have such a kind attitude. He was taken aback, and then apologized, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I was busy the other day. I forgot this matter. After I finished the things that youmissioned me on the night we parted, I received a letter from the Lord. He asked me to build a bamboo house for him in Xinyuan Yard and invite you to stay in it. The house is only half built so far, so it is dyed to pick you up...¡± At this point, he felt there was something wrong, and asked He Danggui, ¡°Aren¡¯t you angry with him? He just treated you like that in the ancestral hall.¡±

    ¡°Bamboo house?¡± He Danggui hesitated for a second when she held the te, ¡°What kind of bamboo house?¡±

    Chang Nuo smiled and described, ¡°A bamboo house over 30 meters is made of green fresh bamboo. This is not the fanciest. The fanciest is that the handrails and decorations of the bamboo house are made of jade. The green jade and green bamboo are shining each other. You will love it. It is simple but elegant, and it suits you best.¡± Even through a veil, he could feel her surprised expression. He thought she was so happy after hearing what he said, so he further described, ¡°There are three floors in the house. The first floor is provided with a bathing pool. The second floor is used as a bedroom, and the third floor is set with a cradle, uh, a baby room. He said that your children will sleep there. There is a water mirror above the bed in the bedroom, which is also one of his special requests. I told him that it is ominous to make the mirror directly face the bedroom, which is not conducive to sleep, but he insisted on making such a decoration.¡±

    He Danggui slowly wiped the cold sweat in her hands with a kerchief, and asked, ¡°I am only a guest for half a month. Why should you go to this expense to build a new building for me? It really makes me uneasy. How can I be lucky enough to live in such a splendid building?¡±

    Chang Nuo walked to the scripture table and sat down. Her spontaneously took a pair of bamboo chopsticks to eat desserts. After taking a bite, he was surprised, ¡°Meat filling!¡± He tasted other two dishes, which were chicken and pork desserts and mutton dumplings. Looking at the box again, he found two tes of crispy dried meat slice with sesames, a famous staple in Zhenjiang City. Chang Nuo couldn¡¯t help butugh, ¡°Your cousin is so sweet to prepare so much for you with such a short time. Meat is the best food for a hungry person.¡±

    He Danggui had dealt with this man many times in her previous life, mainly to propose marriage for Luo Baiqian¡¯s youngest daughter, Luo Shiyan. Chang Nuo was a very serious person in her impression, and heughed rarely. Ever since she learned that this young man was the General Chang, she felt that the disguise skill was really wonderful, as it could not only help people change their faces, but also change their minds.

    She sat down and picked up a crystal-clearmb dumpling. She didn¡¯t eat it, but she could smell the tempting aroma through the veil. She was silent for a moment, and asked, ¡°How are He Fu and his families? Have you received his family property?¡±

    Chang Nuo took something from his arms while eating, and said vaguely, ¡°I almost forgot it. I added more than 1,000 liang to make it a round number. Here you are. 24,000 liang silver. You can take it as an apology of the Lord for what he done and said before. Don¡¯t be annoyed by his rudeness. I promise that he won¡¯t be like that.¡±

    He Danggui was nomittal, flipping through the thick stack of cheques. Although 20,000 liang silver were the silver of her grandfather¡¯s antiques in pawn, she had to sigh that power was really something good. It could bring convenience and wealth that beyond the imagination of ordinary people. After three years of hard work, she saved only 15,000 liang silver. But now, she had so many cheques and title deeds for a farm in her hands, equal to the wealth of the Third Branch in Luo¡¯s Family. Once she defeated Sun Meiniang, she could abscond with the money.

    Chang Nuo mentioned He Fu¡¯s family again, ¡°As soon as He Fu was arrested, his two concubines eloped with the servants. After the government confiscated his property, his 60-year-old mother and 4-year-old daughter were left in the house. Besides, his sister and brother-inw also lived with him all year round. The Lord told me about these. Look, he really cares about you, and even manages to know the condition of your stepfather¡¯s family.¡± Chang Nuo teased her, ¡°If you reconcile with the Lord, I will tell you the whole story.¡±

    Reconcile? He Dangguiughed out loud, and said, ¡°I don¡¯t dare to get angry with a big shot like him. Whether we will reconcile is up to him. Go ahead, I¡¯ll not take it serious.¡± As she said, she brought two tes of desserts, walked to the screen, and said while she taking off her veil, ¡°I¡¯m afraid my appearance because of the illness will scare you, so don¡¯te close.¡±

    Chang Nuo suddenly remembered that she was ill when they partedst time, and he had promised to take her to see the doctor Qi Xuanyu, but he totally forgot about it as he got busy. He apologized to her, ¡°I will bring Qi Xuanyu to see you tomorrow night. He is an excellent doctor, and he will surely cure you.¡±

    He Danggui really wanted to meet that Imperial Astronomer of Qintianjian Celestial Prefecture, so she didn¡¯t refuse him. She suddenly remembered Qing¡¯er once said that Qi Xuanyu¡¯s father, the Royal Prophet, Qi Jing, had ¡°identally¡± appeared at her side repeatedly. On one asion, Qing¡¯er was almost hit by a rushing carriage and was pulled by Qi Jing at the very moment. At that time, Qing¡¯er, who was frightened and closed her eyes, heard a male voice sound above her head, and couldn¡¯t help being moved. She thought the man must be her Mr. Right, but she was disillusioned when she opened her eyes. The Royal Prophet was twenty years older than her father.

    Since Qi Xuanyu had the ability to divine the pervious live, Qi Jing was definitely better at it. He had been interested in Qing¡¯er. Was it because of the divination? After all, Qing¡¯er always regarded herself as the unique person in this world, speaking unscrupulously with those exotic and novel words. She always did something unusual, all of which could be used as evidence of her life experience.

    Qi Jing studied Qing¡¯er several times. Was he only out of curiosity and not malicious? Or did he have an unknown purpose? She must discuss the matter with Qing¡¯er when she met her.

    Chang Nuo looked at the shadowy slender figure on the screen and smiled, ¡°You must have a good appetite after hearing this. He Fu¡¯s sister and brother-inw don¡¯t work all year round, and live on the money He Fu cheated from your mother. His brother-inw opened a chateau with others, but defrauded the partner of 2,000 liang silver on the pretext that thend lease required cash turnover. And the partner was afraid toe to recover debts due to He Fu¡¯s arrogance. It happened that the He¡¯s Family has spent almost 2,000 liang silver over the past few years in the capital. I will take away the silver together as He Fu¡¯s repayment to your mother as the dowry. In this way, you and that bastard will be square.¡±

    He Danggui nibbled at the chicken rolls and thought, ¡°No, it¡¯s not over.¡±

    Chang Nuo continued, ¡°However, when He Fu was arrested, the debt collector came to his house immediately. The He¡¯s Family has long been utterly destitute. Even if they sell his families, they can¡¯t get 100 liang silver, let alone 2,000 liang silver.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± He Danggui asked caringly, ¡°What should they do? They have never known how to make money, but only know how to spend money. They have lived in the capital where they are unfamiliar for more than four years. Have they got a new cash cow?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible.¡± Chang Nuo smiled. He poured a cup of clear water from the white porcin pointed-mouth jug, and savored it as if tasting a good wine. ¡°For He Fu¡¯s brother-inw, to work with his inhumane partner was like asking a tiger for its skin. What¡¯s more, he swindled the partner¡¯s money. Now, the tiger is wielding his power. He brought He Fu¡¯s mother, daughter, sister, and brother-inw with virus. The adults areme, and the kid has an ear off. He makes the four people beg in the downtown area of the capital, and won¡¯t let them go until they get 3,000 liang silver with the interest.¡±

    He Danggui frowned, ¡°So ruthless! He even hurt the child. Who is his partner?¡± There were really different kinds of people in the capital. Such weird and brutal behavior was beyond her imagination.

    Chang Nuo thought for a moment and said, ¡°He is the nephew of the cousin of the brother-inw of the housekeeper of Princess Lin¡¯an Mansion¡­ A man having a backer. He is so unrighteous. He asked the servants to lead the four people with iron chains through the city like walking dogs. It should have aroused public indignation, and people should have scolded the man for his brutal behavior. But in the past few years when the He¡¯s Family lived in the capital, they boasted themselves as the richest celebrities in the south, acting rampantly in the streets, and bullying the people in the neighborhood. People suffered a lot. He¡¯s Family didn¡¯t know that there are more powerful people in the capital, and if these powerful people were serious, He¡¯s Family would not have a good end. They all looked at He¡¯s Family like watching a y.¡±

    He Danggui fiddled with the food in the te with her chopsticks, and asked, ¡°So, He¡¯s Family did all kinds of evil, and no one will help and defend them although they are miserable, right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, no one sympathizes with them,¡± Chang Nuo looked at the shadow on the screen and asked with a smile, ¡°Qingyi, are you happy after hearing this? If you want to take revenge on these people, it¡¯s easy right now. They pick up food from the trash baskets, and eat everything they can find. If there are one or two poisonous buns, they can only me themselves for bad luck.¡±

    He Danggui asked, ¡°Yangzhou City is not far from the capital. Will theye to Yangzhou City for begging? We haven¡¯t seen each other for years, and I almost forget what Madam He looks like.¡±

 Chapter 266 - To scare playboy

    <h4>Chapter 266 To scare yboy</h4>

    Chang Nuo was surprised, ¡°Do you miss He Fu¡¯s mother? Was she kind to you back then?¡±

    He Danggui smiled, ¡°Since they were not nice to their neighbors, how could they be nice to me? I¡¯m just her young stepdaughter. But Zhoushi, after hearing what you said, I really want to see her face to face. If when I drink tea in the Yi Hong Brothel and look downstairs, I can see her running around for a living, I will be really delighted.¡±

    Chang Nuo thought for a while, ¡°It¡¯s not difficult. I will ask someone to give money to the servants taking charge of the shackles, and ask them to take the four people to Yangzhou City. In this way, you can have a good look at them.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡± He Danggui smiled at the shadow on the other side of the screen.

    Chang Nuo added, ¡°Just look at them from a distance. They are attacked by the epidemic disease, and their whole bodies are covered with red rashes. It¡¯s terrifying. The outbreak of the epidemic was in the winter. Although it is less liable to spread, and will be contagious only through close contact, it is extremely difficult to cure. Even Xuanyu has no way of that kind of disease.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± He Danggui tilted her head, ¡°Doctor Qi is as effective as Immortal, but couldn¡¯t he do anything about the disease?¡± While she asked, she suddenly took out the small cloth bag from the cloak lining. Fortunately, she took her makeup box with her, so she could change her look anytime and anywhere. Otherwise, as she was locked in the Depositary, Chang Nuo or Zhu Quan might forcibly remove her veil, revealing her true colors.

    Chang Nuo looked curiously at the wiggling figure behind the screen. He couldn¡¯t help standing up and approaching. Then he asked, ¡°Qingyi, what¡¯s wrong with you? Let me see your face, so I can go back and ask Xuanyu for advice on your weird disease.¡±

    ¡°Stay back,¡± He Danggui hurriedly shouted, ¡°I was undressing because I suddenly felt hot. I even took off my shoes and socks. Are you sure you want to see me? ording to your ¡®way of Jianghu¡¯, won¡¯t you pierce your feet with a knife?¡± Seeing that the man on the other side of the screen stopped, He Danggui gave a sigh of relief. She turned her back to the screen and began to make up. At the same time, she said to herself, ¡°Is there anyone obeying the ¡®way of Jianghu¡¯ that Chang Nuo mentioned? When a man sees a woman naked, will he apologize for an offence by self-harming? Well, men in the world usually choose to marry an extra concubine.¡±

    She opened the dazzling ss mirror, and there was a beautiful but pale face in it. Several red pimples appeared on her face covered by the veil, which looked so real that couldn¡¯t be found out even if they were so close to the mirror. She suddenly came up with this great idea of make-up when she hid in the secret ce in the yard of Sun Meiniang and watched the scene of people lifting the hoes and picking the ground. She originally intended to pretend to be ill, so that Zhu Quan could rx his vignce or give her a little pity and give her a little time to turn the tables, which was very important to her.

    But such a strategy was based on the affectionate Zhu Quan that Chang Nuo said. Although she didn¡¯t believe it, she still wanted tomand his sympathy and take a try. Anyway, she was much weaker than Zhu Quan, and it was not shameful for her to asionally keep a low profile. However, this afternoon, when Zhu Quan mentioned her in front of Qi Xuanyu, he gnawed his teeth in hatred, and he said in an indifferent and cold manner. Such a man would definitely not be ¡°affectionate¡±.

    When He Danggui also reminisced about Zhu Quan¡¯s act of manipting herself in dreams and nning to do bad things to her that day, she suddenly realized that Zhu Quan had very high demands on women¡¯s appearance. For him, women should not be old, fat, ugly, blowsy and untidy. At that time, many concubines in his mansion were abandoned for this reason, and a few others were because they were at an age when their face was greasy. In addition to improper diet, they washed their faces in a wrong method, resulting in e. e was not an incurable disease and was very likely to be cured in a few days, but Zhu Quan sent all concubines with e to the South Mansion and never met them again.

    What a sorrow! Just a few pimples ruined the lives of those women, and they were kept under house arrest for the rest of their lives. He Danggui thought of this when she was staying in Bao Qin Ge to join in the fun. While sighing for the women¡¯s fates, she couldn¡¯t helpughing. She ran to Sun Meiniang¡¯s dressing table, took some cosmetics, and put on a vivid makeup for herself. Compared with Luo Baiqiong¡¯s face when she had the most serious e, He Danggui had a lot of makeup on her fair face.

    She smiled when she thought that the lustful Zhu Quan would be shocked after lifting her veil. Her make-up skills were learned from Bai Yangbai¡¯s disguise skill, which was simr to a mask. Even if someone touch it, he or she couldn¡¯t find any ws. She must scare away Zhu Quan at the first time he saw her face, so that he would never dare toe Yangzhou City again. Even if he remembered Concubine He from the previous life, he couldn¡¯t find any simr point from He Danggui.

    In addition, when she heard that the highly skilled doctor Qi Xuanyu had nothing to do with the epidemic in the north, she immediately thought of a better idea, so that Zhu Quan would not even dare to touch her anymore. As long as she pretended to be infected with the epidemic disease, Zhu Quan would no longer have any intimate behavior with her even if she recoveredter. He was such a cautious person.

    Chang Nuo was not good at dealing with women. Looking at the shadow of the girl on the screen, he said worriedly, ¡°How could you take off your clothes? You may catch cold. Wait. I¡¯ll find some quilts for you.¡± As he said, he left the room from the transom window quickly.

    He Danggui thought that Chang Nuo was such a simple and warm-hearted person, but he was deceived by Zhu Quan and apanied Zhu Quan in dreams of hegemony. In the end, they didn¡¯t get what they wanted. Zhu Quan ruined the lives of many people.

    She was a skillful make-up girl. With a very short time, she had a face covered in e and rash, and even her arms and chest were covered with rash. After she put on her clothes and the veil, she began to think about defeating Sun Meiniang. And after that, she might continue to stay in Luo¡¯s Family and wait for the imperial decree of the capital to call Grandpa Luo into the pce, or take her mother to leave Luo¡¯s Family and live in another ce in the capital.

    A rustling rang into her ears, and it sounded like someone was creeping here. She was about to get up to check the situation when a ball-like object wrapped in bright green brocade had even climbed onto her knees.

    ¡°Aunt! Aunt!¡±

    While yelling, Zhu crawled on her knees, trying to get into her arms.

    He Danggui sighed. The boy was more than 10 jin when he was three years old. At that time, he stretched his arms and asked her to embrace him. She did it because the little boy was fat and cute. But the kid was seven years old now. Since he ate well, he was even fatter 40 jin. He still wanted her to embrace him all day long. He Danggui felt tired to hold such a fat nephew.

    She pulled him into her arms. Seeing that the fat boy was wearing a streak of snot, she took out the handkerchief and covered his nose reddened from the cold, asking him, ¡°How could you find the Depositary? How did youe in?¡±

    Zhu wiped his nose, twisting like a silkworm in her arms to warm himself. When he turned around and saw the snacks on the desk, he yed cute and said, ¡°Auntie, I want to eat that. You feed me!¡± He stretched out his short arms, wrapped around the waist of He Danggui, andughed, ¡°Auntie, you are finally willing to see me. I don¡¯t want to eat anymore without you. I¡¯ve been so hungry for the past few days.¡±

    He Danggui also embraced him and adjusted his sitting posture. For the first time, she found that this kid¡¯s waist was thicker than her own. If he ate like this, he would be regarded as the grandson of the First Madam Zhao... Compared with Wei, whose mouth sticked out and who had a chin like an ape¡¯s, Zhu was really chubby. Zhu and Wei were indistinguishable twins when they were babies, but there was a huge difference in their body size when they grew up. It seemed that He Danggui was their biological mother who loved them, while Dong Xin was a mean stepmother.

    ¡°Chubby Zhu, how did you enter the Depositary?¡± He Danggui fed him a snack, and repeated her question. ¡°Chubby Zhu¡± was the name she used when they were alone with each other. He Danggui gave him this infant name on a whim.

    Then Zhu narrated his winter night adventures carefully, including how to escape from Tao Yao Yard, how to came here with difficulty, and how to enter the room through the narrow window¡­ Finally, he spread his white palm and handed her a crumpled note. He said that it was delivered by Aunt Qing¡¯er¡¯s personal maid tonight, and she repeatedly said that it must be handed over to her.

    He Danggui opened the note and frowned immediately, ¡°All the writing is illegible! I can¡¯t read a word clearly. What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± Zhu chewed a mouthful of snacks with a smirk. He looked up at the note, and said a little apologetically, ¡°The words are illegible! It must have been blurred by my sweaty hands. I¡¯m sorry, aunt! I met some big cats on the way. Those cats are as big as tigers and as tall as me. I was so scared.¡±

    He Danggui was concerned about Qing¡¯er and Sister Zhenzhu these days. She had sent the servants to Lu¡¯s Mansion twice, but they could not find the master. It was said that Lu¡¯s Mansion was very chaotic, and it was as lively as a market day. He Danggui was puzzled and worried about that. Now, she finally received a note from Qing¡¯er, with three lines of tiny characters written on it, but it was wet by the sweat of Zhu¡¯s hands!

    He Danggui looked angrily at Zhu who was choking on the chicken roll and rolled his eyes. How could she have such an unreliable nephew? How could Qing¡¯er¡¯s maid hand over such a crucial note to this little fat boy? She was very worried about Sister Zhenzhu.

    He Danggui asked patiently, ¡°Chubby Zhu, have Chan Yi and Xiaoyou read this note? Have you read it yourself?¡± The chubby boy nodded and said, ¡°I saw it.¡± She was then relieved, ¡°Come on, tell me!¡±

    Zhu continued to apologize, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, aunt. I was too frightened along the way, so I have forgotten everything.¡±

    He Danggui saw there was a sh of shrewd light in Zhu¡¯s ck eyes, so she wondered if this kid was on purpose, but why?

    Just at this moment, He Danggui heard footsteps outside, so she immediately covered Zhu¡¯s mouth, and raised her voice and asked, ¡°Well, Childe Feng, He Fu is now being arrested in jail. He doesn¡¯t know how his families are going, right?¡± She heard a muffled grunt as a reply. Then she couldn¡¯t help but smile, biting her lip, and slowly said, ¡°Would you mind disclosing this information to him? He must be worried about his family.¡±

    The male voice outside the screen was elegant and low, but it wasn¡¯t Chang Nuo¡¯s voice, ¡°Okay. My pleasure.¡±

 Chapter 267 - The two persons suffering the heartache

    <h4>Chapter 267 The two persons suffering the heartache</h4>

    It was as if a venomous snake suddenly appeared in front of her. He Danggui felt her blood was suddenly frozen, which was tightly attached to her body, confining her heartbeat and breathing. It was Zhu Quan who talked to her outside!

    He Danggui took a deep breath. She poked Zhu and signaled to him to be quiet and hide somewhere. After she put him on the ground, she adjusted the buckles of the clothes and veil. Then she took a deep breath, and walked out of the screen that obscured the line of sight.

    It was really Zhu Quan, the neen-year-old Lord Ning Zhu Quan, without a mask and close at hand. He stood beside her with his hands behind, and his whole body was like an unsheathed Qingfeng Sword, full of danger.

    He Danggui was no stranger to such a dangerous Zhu Quan. Three years ago, when she revealed that he was a seignior who had left the fief privately, he wanted to kill her. And now she recalled that Zhu Quan in her previous life was in simr situations at least four times, and he wanted to kill her, the master of his many secrets, to eliminate the troubles forever. She was so naive to think dully about how to maintain her appearance and how to attract his attention. What a stupid girl!

    He Danggui acted as innocent and asked in confusion, ¡°Who are you? Why do youe here?¡±

    Zhu Quan turned to her, staring sharply at her, and asked in a deep voice, ¡°He Danggui, where did youe from? What is your purpose? Why did you do those things to me?¡±

    ¡°You?¡± He Danggui continued to be perplexed, ¡°Childe Feng has just left, and you appear. At a nce, I know that you are an extraordinary man. Could it be...you are the famous Lord Ning mentioned by Childe Feng? And the person under the mask of Childe Ning three years ago?¡±

    Zhu Quan didn¡¯t answer her. He walked around her in a semicircle with his hands behind. Suddenly, he gripped her slender neck and pinched it slightly. There was a red mark on her fair neck then. He gnashed his teeth in hatred and said with a faint trembling sound, ¡°You said that you were from Qiyanggong Sect. I didn¡¯t believe you at the time, but afterwards, I was trapped in your dreams, and often unable to extricate myself. I expect that it¡¯s not surprising that there are such ghostly tricks in the Qiyanggong Sect, a pce with misceneous witchcraft... Why did you do these things to me? Did you aim for the position of Princess Ning? Who sent you here?¡±

    He Danggui was almost suffocated. She knew that she couldn¡¯t contend against Zhu Quan in military force. Therefore, she did not do a futile struggle. She clenched fists in the sleeves, and repeatedly recited the Heart Sutra silently, driving the Zhenqi in the channel to help herself breathe. What nonsense Zhu Quan was talking about. What dreams did she weave? She coveted the position of Princess Ning? Bah, she wanted to kill him!

    Zhu Quan stared fiercely at the girl who didn¡¯t struggle, cry, or beg for mercy, and if he used a bit of true force, he could kill her. What did her attitude mean? Didn¡¯t she dare to die? Then go to hell! His eyes were cold and filled with anger. As long as this woman died, the dreams that haunted him for three years would all disappear, and he could be as free as before.

    Thinking of this, he added another force. Yes, just like that, he wanted to kill her in one go. Those feelings were all imposed on him by the ¡°Zhu Quan¡± in the dreams. He himself didn¡¯t love He Danggui who had the same appearance and the same name as ¡°Concubine He¡±. He detested meeting her in Yangzhou City. He hated that she had cursed him, and even more hated that he had been at the mercy of the person in his dreams and done stupid things for three full years. Who was that besotted fool? How dared he manipte his mind for three years! Why did that fool love this little woman? There was nothing really special about her!

    Seeing the slender girl gradually suffering from shock, he slowly closed his chilly eyes. Instantly, he turned his five iron fingers into a steel w. He wanted to take off her beautiful head and hang it on his white horse, aspensation for his adventurous experience of being invaded by a dream on the battlefieldst time. He wanted to hang her head for forty-nine days, so that she could not reincarnate and would deeply regret what she did... Her warm blood poured down from his fingers...

    Suddenly, he had a sharp pain in his heart. The tearing pain spread from his heart to the entire chest, and flowed through his body. He cried out in pain, and was overwhelmed with despair and sadness. The pain took away all his strength and also made him rx his grip to stopmitting murder.

    He Danggui had a narrow escape then. She looked coldly at Zhu Quan, who curled up on the wooden floor. Was he bewitched? Or was he suffering from some strange disease? Sweat dripped from his face, and he seemed to be very painful. He had better die because of the pain. He Danggui thought. Was he really another ¡°Duan Xiaolou¡± who had a deep love for her mentioned by Chang Nuo and Bai Yangbai?

    As she tore off her sleeves to bind up the wound on her neck, sheughed. It turned out that Zhu Quan didn¡¯t want to take advantage of her because of her ability, but was mad and sent his trusted subordinate to take the jewels to her yard frequently.

    He was rarely sober now. After he watched the witchcraft incident in Luo¡¯s Family, he regarded her as a witch, and suspected that she used witchcraft to force him to like her and give her supreme glory and status. He must believe that he could get rid of this plight by killing her. Hmph, since he did too much evil on his own and his hands were soaked with blood of innocent people, he would be punished by the evil immortal. That was nothing to do with her. She just wanted to stay away from him.

    Zhu Quan struggled on the ground for a long time with his hands touching his chest. After that, he looked up at He Danggui and saw gloating and cynicism in her clear and bright eyes. He was annoyed and snorted. Then he turned over to fling He Danggui to the ground, kissed her through the veil, and shared all his heartache and sorrow with her through a skill of Fantasy Dream. He wanted her to be as painful as him.

    He Danggui stopped struggling, only because she realized that she was pushed into a weird dream by a hand behind her.

    The dream seemed to happen in the mansion where she was very familiar with. The door in front led directly to Zhu Quan¡¯s study, Wu Xiang Ge.

    This dream was strange because there were many peopleing in and out through that door, but no one of them looked up at her. When she got in the way of those people, they automatically walked around, but they didn¡¯t seem to see her at all, as if she were just a tree growing in the middle of the road. In addition, it looked like snowy winter here, but when the snowkes fell on the ground, they turned into pale pink. It was not cold at all, and it was very pleasant when the gentle breeze blew on the face.

    He Danggui knew that she was in a dream. This dream must be designed by Zhu Quan. He must have wanted to lock her in a nightmare likest time, and then killed her silently. He Danggui vaguely remembered that Bai Yangbai once said that this kind of dream was a variant made ording to the Eight-diagrams tactics. In other words, in ordance with the principle of ¡°live and let live¡±, there must be an emergency exit in the dream. As long as she found the exit, she would wake up from the dream.

    While she was encouraging herself, she looked around, looking for every seam or hole. The dream was an illusory world, so it couldn¡¯t be wless. She could definitely find it...

    ¡°Stop fooling!¡± There was a shout not far away, ¡°Be reasonable, okay? Look at what the hell you look like now!¡±

    He Danggui looked in the direction of the yell. It was...Zhu Quan¡¯s study, Wu Xiang Ge. After a short hesitation, she walked towards there, wondering what happened, and the yell sounded familiar. When she started walking, she suddenly discovered that as long as she wanted to, even if she didn¡¯t move her feet, she would move to the ce where she wanted to go.

    Arriving at the door of Wu Xiang Ge, she curiously looked inside from the window. The profile of that person... He was Qi Xuanyu. She saw him pacing back and forth quickly. Then he pointed at the person sitting on the ground and shouted in anger, ¡°All is ready except what is crucial. We are almost there through years of efforts. Why do you quit at thest minute? After we seeded, you will be the emperor and can have all kinds of women. When did you be immersed in love?¡±

    He Danggui moved two steps to the left, and changed an angle to look at the man on the ground. With her eyes wide open, she realized that the man sitting on the ground was Zhu Quan.

    She had never seen Zhu Quan in such an awkward position. He had beard all over his chin with hair disheveled. His eyes were sunken and his face was pale, as if he hadn¡¯t slept in a long time. There were so many wine pots spreading all over the floor around him. She thought that Zhu Quan¡¯s ambitions must have been severely frustrated.

    When did it happen? From Zhu Quan¡¯s appearance, he seemed to be in his thirties. From the style of decoration in the house, it looked like the Green Chrysanthemum for Water Absorption that she designed for him before she was imprisoned in the Water Dungeon. There was only a handful of dry branches and leaves in the corner where the green chrysanthemum was ced, and it could no longer absorb water... Could it be in the previous life? She frowned and wondered whose dream was this, and who passed it on to this life?

    Suddenly, a eunuch in gray ran in from outside and reported, ¡°My Lord, Concubine He is dead, and Consort Zhou ordered me to scatter her ashes!¡±

    Hearing this, Zhu Quan jumped from the ground. His long hair wrapped him like arge ck, and then he disappeared in an instant. He Danggui knew that he used Dun Shu, a kind of Kungfu that was unique and popr in Nihon, specializing on escaping or attacking others with the fully use of the surroundings materials. After listening to the eunuch, she guessed that these were all things that happened after her death. She was curious, so she followed Zhu Quan to watch the scene of her body being cremated. On the way, she though that Zhou Jinn must be extremely guilty of conscience to destroy her corpse.

    Zhu Quan came to the Water Dungeon in the back garden of the Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion, and was just in time for Concubine He¡¯s body to be salvaged from the water. The body was terrifying, but as the book said, the person who was poisoned by Xiaoyao Poison would look lifelike after death. In addition, there was a weird smile on her face, as if she died very peacefully andfortably.

    Looking at herselfing to a sticky end, He Danggui was calm. She had a thorough understanding, which was that the woman who fell in love was blind. A wise man would never fall in love, but a fool would be trapped by his feelings.

    Zhu Quan yelled like a thunderstorm, which made He Danggui shook with fright. He made a sudden dive for Concubine He¡¯s body and cried. His tears fell on Concubine He¡¯s face, as if she was smiling and crying.

    He Danggui didn¡¯t know what was going on, but seeing Zhu Quan wailing, she couldn¡¯t help being amused. She smiled and watched... But the next moment, a tearing pain hit her chest. She was in great grief, and suddenly trembled with cold.

 Chapter 268 - Let go of that girl

    <h4>Chapter 268 Let go of that girl</h4>

    With great grief, He Danggui clutched at her bosom, watching the scene of Zhu Quan embracing Concubine He and crying not far away. She saw Zhu Quan¡¯s long hair falling on Concubine He¡¯s body, like a ck curtain separating them into an independent world, which looked very poignant.

    Of course, this was just the opinion of the onlooking eunuchs and maids. He Danggui knew that must be something she hadn¡¯t done for Zhu Quan before she died that made Zhu Quan so sad and frustrated.

    Zhu Quan mourned for Concubine He for a moment. Under his long ck hair, he was vaguely seen lowering his head slowly, and the two faces were very close. Seeing him holding this position for a long time, He Danggui realized that he might be kissing her body. She couldn¡¯t help being ashamed and annoyed. She picked up a stone on the ground and was about to hit Zhu Quan¡¯s head, but her wrist was restrained. When she looked back, she saw the 19-year-old Zhu Quan!

    He Danggui swung her arms and shouted, ¡°Let me go, you are a devil! Why did you lock me in this strange dream? Let me go!¡±

    Juvenile Zhu Quan snorted, ¡°Don¡¯t y the fool! It¡¯s clear that you are making these strange dreams in secret, making me believe that you and I were a couple in the previous life, and I lost my beloved woman. The emotions imposed on me made me deeply infatuated with you. Now the truthes out. I know who you are in the previous life, so you are definitely not my beloved person, and you can no longer cheat me!¡±

    He Danggui heard it clearly, but she continued to y the fool, ¡°Lord Ning, you got me wrong. I have heard from Taoist Sage Bai Yangbai that you are his student and master all his techniques, including the skill of Fantasy Dream. The other day, it was you who locked me in dreams, right? You are so shameless to take advantage of another¡¯s perilous state. Fantasy Dream is a profound technique in Eight-diagrams tactics. If I have the ability to create fantasy dreams, how can I be trapped in your dreams and be taken advantage of by you?¡±

    ¡°So, you knew what I did to you that day.¡± Juvenile Zhu Quan said shamelessly, ¡°You were trapped by me because of my superb ability that prevented you from breaking free, and you didn¡¯t want to break free. So, did you feel it very enjoyable? One more time? We can do it now. Anyway, they can¡¯t see us. I will please you before killing you.¡±

    When he said that, he stretched out his hand to hold He Danggui. He Danggui panicked and shunned him. In a twinkling, she had alreadye to the lotus pond. She looked in the mirror by the water, only to find that she did not have the colorful makeup in the dream. It was a fair face full of panic. She thought that Zhu Quan was a self-proimed hypocrite, but did not expect that he tore off his mask of hypocrisy in the dream. He turned out to be such a viin and rogue who bullied a weak woman. What could she do?

    At this time, the middle-aged Zhu Quan at the Water Dungeon finished kissing Concubine He. He got up, picked up Concubine He and staggered away stiffly. Some eunuchs salvaged the small body of Tian, and waved in the back while calling out, ¡°My Lord, what should we do with the body of the little infanta?¡± The middle-aged Zhu Quan walked away without response. His feet were numb for squatting too long, and he limped like an old man, sad and miserable.

    He Danggui wanted to see how middle-aged Zhu Quan handled her corpse. He was so perverted that he kissed the dead. Would he do other excessive things? However, she herself was still running for her life. Juvenile Zhu Quan was hunting her. She didn¡¯t know that if she was killed by him in the dream, would she die in reality?

    Thinking about this, she suddenly felt someone holding her wrist. When she looked up, she saw the gloomy and dangerous eyes of juvenile Zhu Quan. He looked at her with an evil leer, and she screamed in her heart, ¡°Oh, I¡¯m doomed!¡±

    Juvenile Zhu Quan pinched her cute jawcently, rubbed her cold and smooth cheek with rough fingertips, and kept his other hand around her waist. Finally, he shook his head and sneered, ¡°You haven¡¯t grown up yet. Such a green fruit makes people feel disinterested at a nce.¡± He said in a benevolent tone, ¡°Well, I will let you go for the time being. You must grow up quickly, be a beautiful woman like Concubine He, and try your best to serve me.¡±

    He Danggui escaped death, looking resentfully at the extremely arrogant juvenile Zhu Quan. It might be that people in the dream distained to disguise and didn¡¯t know how to weigh the pros and cons. She wanted to beat him up, and then she did it. She punched Zhu Quan on his shameless evil face.

    With a dull sound, juvenile Zhu Quan looked at her unbelievably. Her heavy punch sessfully hit his left cheek, deflected half of his handsome face, and cracked the corners of his lips. A drop of blood flowed down to the ground.

    He Danggui was shocked by herself. She didn¡¯t expect to be able to beat Zhu Quan sessfully in her lifetime. Although this punch was a drop in the bucketpared to the deep hurt that he caused to her, she was relieved as she lived under the pressure of Zhu Quan all the year round.

    With this rare bravery, she punched his lower abdomen again, and sessfully hit it. Then she repeatedly punched, punching every part of Zhu Quan she could reach. Seeing the juvenile Zhu Quan stepping back because of her fists, vomiting blood and falling to the ground finally, she was convinced that Zhu Quan in the dream was weak and not her opponent at all!

    Was there such a good thing in the world? Could she hit the wicked Zhu Quan at will? Why not kill him in one breath? From time to time, she waved her fists bravely, stretched her leg to kick him, and beat the man on the ground to vomit blood again and again.

    He Danggui further thought that if she beat Zhu Quan to death in this dream, would Zhu Quan in real life also die? As soon as Zhu Quan died, would she get rid of the shadow of death and fear? There was no trauma if Zhu Quan died in a dream, so she wouldn¡¯t be to me. Chang Nuo and others knew her martial arts and Zhu Quan¡¯s, so they would never think that she would be able to kill Zhu Quan.

    Zhu Quan owed her so much. He killed her three children, Xiaoyou and her mother. He also killed her, and Bai Yangbai might need to call back the spirit for her. After the spell was cast, his vitality would be greatly damaged, and maybe it was really gone as Qi Xuanyu said. In the previous life, Zhu Quan had killed so many people, not even caring about the corpse of his biological daughter. He was extremely cold-blooded. In this life, she was cautious, didn¡¯t provoke him, and had no intention of killing him, but he who first offended firstined... She had a good reason to kill him!

    Thinking of this, He Danggui really intended to kill him. Zhu Quan was also aware of it for the first time. He covered the bleeding wound and said coldly and calmly, ¡°First, I just need to bite the tip of my tongue to get out of this dream. The reason why I don¡¯t go out is to take you around the Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion, which is your future home. Second, I am not here alone. Apart from Feng Yang, I also brought Ming Ri with me. If he didn¡¯t see me for a long time, he would definitely find me here. If there was anything wrong with me, he would kill everyone present. I just heard the sound of breathing behind the screen. I guess, there must be someone hiding there.¡±

    He Danggui was dumbfounded, and secretly talked to herself that she got dizzy with sess. How could she be able to kill Zhu Quan, the great demon? A foxy person had more than one hideout. If he didn¡¯t have n B, how could he face her with such a weak posture in the dream? He was always prudent and would not show the weak point to the enemy.

    Looking at Zhu Quan, who had been badly battered around the head and face by her, she didn¡¯t know whether an apology would be useful, but for the lives of herself and Chubby Zhu, she yielded to him, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m too impulsive to beat you. Please forgive me, forgive me for being rude.¡±

    Juvenile Zhu Quan with a bruised nose and a swollen face got up from the ground, stepped forward to hold her veins, raised his chin, and said, ¡°Come with me. I will show you a good y. As for whether or not to forgive you, it depends on my mood.¡±

    After speaking, he took her to the door of Wu Xiang Ge again. She was worried about the bodyguard Ming Ri he mentioned, so she had to temporarily obey him, and followed him without resisting. Then, juvenile Zhu Quan closed his eyes slightly, muttering incantations. After a while, the sky suddenly darkened, brightened, and then darkened again. Repeated this way four or five times, the sky finally settled into a misty gray. The color was like the one the sun had just set.

    He Danggui had also heard Bai Yangbai talk about Fantasy Dream before. She roughly understood that this was the fantasy dream of another person that existed in Zhu Quan¡¯s mind. He was able to freely control it just because he had seen it countless times. In time, he could dial forward or backward. He said he would show a good y. What did he mean?

    He Danggui looked up suspiciously, and found that theyout of the outside of Wu Xiang Ge waspletely different. The entire attic was sealed with zed bricks and the windows didn¡¯t let the sunlight in, which looked very strange.

    Juvenile Zhu Quan smiled unclearly, and pulled her to the door. After entering the door, he found a corner with a brocade stool, asked He Danggui to sit down with him, and then looked at the beam in a daze. He Danggui was even more stunned. How could Wu Xiang Ge, Zhu Quan¡¯s study, be a dim icehouse? When did it happen? Anyway, she had never seen such a Wu Xiang Ge when she was alive.

    He Danggui couldn¡¯t help asking the juvenile Zhu Quan, ¡°My Lord Ning, what are you doing? I have already exined it. I can¡¯t use the Fantasy Dream. That year, I lied to you that I was a member of the Qiyanggong Sect. I didn¡¯t know that you are Lord Ning, and did rude things to you. I apologize for that. Since you don¡¯t like me at all, it¡¯s better to take your thousands of gold gifts with you and...leave Yangzhou City.¡±

    Juvenile Zhu Quan snorted, ¡°That was easy for you. It¡¯s true that I didn¡¯t like you, but I¡¯m tortured by the continuous fantasy dreams imposed on me by the evil. If I let you go, I will continue to suffer from lovesickness. Did you feel that kind of heartache just now? That is the trouble that I have often encountered in the past three years. I guess as long as you stay with me, I won¡¯t have that painful feeling.¡±

    He Danggui was panicked and disgusted. She hurriedly said, ¡°Haven¡¯t you told Taoist Sage yet? He is a very capable man. He will definitely help you solve this predicament. There is no more sophisticated user of Fantasy Dream than him in this world. Ask him for help!¡± At the same time, she thought, to be precise, except for Bai Yangbai, there was no second Fantasy Dream user in this world. Even Zhu Quan did not learn it well from him. Who created this messy and inverted dream?

    Juvenile Zhu Quan sneered, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to know Mr. Bai so much, but I¡¯ve changed my mind. No matter whether these dreams are your tricks or not, and no matter whether there is a way to erase these damned memories of love, I can¡¯t let you go. You must follow me to my mansion.¡±

 Chapter 269 - He did that to her

    <h4>Chapter 269 He did that to her</h4>

    He Danggui was even more panicked when she heard this, and sternly said, ¡°What a shame! As a member of royal family, how could you bully a weak civilian girl like this? Are you not afraid of being used by the public? I will expose your crime to everyone!¡±

    Juvenile Zhu Quan squinted at her, and said nonchntly, ¡°You are resisting now, just because you have not yet be my woman. Once you marry into my mansion and be my concubine, you will never be like this. On the contrary, you will do your best to protect my reputation because I¡¯m your husband.¡±

    He Danggui had an impulse to beat him again, but she hadn¡¯t been forgiven for what she did just now. As long as she couldn¡¯t kill him, she couldn¡¯t offend him. She took a deep breath and talked with Zhu Quan in a kind manner, ¡°I heard from Bai Yangbai that you are a noble talent like an immortal. You love cleanliness and hate dirt most. Besides, you attach great importance to women¡¯s appearance. To be honest, I have been living in a farm since I was a child. I have never paid attention to cleanliness. I get bored with things like bathing and washing. I have a lot of pimples on my face because of clogged pores, but you just can¡¯t see in the dreams. As a noble lord, why do you let me enter your noble mansion?¡±

    Juvenile Zhu Quan frowned upon hearing it and thought for a moment. Then he muttered to himself, ¡°Since I was troubled by the heartache in the fantasy dream, every time I hurt, my skill was improved. It can be seen that you are very useful to me. From this point of view, you can be regarded as my lucky star, so even if you are dirty and make me uninterested, I will let you stay in my mansion and help me improve martial arts.¡±

    He Danggui gritted her teeth secretly, thinking that Zhu Quan¡¯s martial arts had improved a lot, and sure enough, she could only kill him in the dream. But if she killed him, she wouldn¡¯t escape. Was she worth perishing together with him? Damn, she didn¡¯t expect that Bai Yangbai would escape. After he heard that Feng Yang proposed a marriage to Zhu Quan, he left her without a word. What a heartless guy!

    Zhu Quan stretched out his hand to nip her chin, looked closer, and sighed, ¡°Sure enough, you look exactly like Concubine He in the dream. She was so holy and perfect, but I didn¡¯t expect she has a twin sister who doesn¡¯t like to take a bath.¡±

    Twin sister? He Danggui did not know what he was talking about. When she was about to further belittled her own value to make Zhu Quan hate her and let her go, the heavy footsteps came from the icehouse of Wu Xiang Ge. From far to near, He Danggui had an ominous and ufortable feeling.

    Soon after, the sound of footsteps came to this room. The bead curtain was lifted with a crash, and someone who was wrapped in arge cloak walked in. That person was...the middle-aged Zhu Quan?

    No, it should be the even older Zhu Quan, because the hair at his temples were already grey. Even if he didn¡¯t look old in other ces, the grey hair at his temples aged him.

    Juvenile Zhu Quan exined beside her, ¡°This is Lord Ning, and now is two monthster after Concubine He¡¯s death.¡±

    ¡°Two months?¡± He Danggui blurted out in surprise, ¡°Then he is only thirty¡­¡± She didn¡¯t finish that sentence and said, ¡°How could it be!¡±

    Juvenile Zhu Quan nced at her angrily and said, ¡°It was your twin sister Concubine He who harmed him. She first made him love her so much. Then she made an unforgivable mistake and forced him to kill her, letting him suffer from loss of beloved one. Therefore, he had grey hair in the prime of his life.¡±

    He Danggui was speechless at his thorough misunderstanding. She stared at the middle-aged Zhu Quan with grey hair. It was hard to believe that he was so grieved because of Concubine He¡¯s death. If he was still sentimentally attached to Concubine He, how could he have the heart to soak her in the cold Water Dungeon for three months? He didn¡¯t even let go of his biological daughter. He was an inhuman devil, and the devil had no emotions.

    Middle-aged Zhu Quan walked to the soft couch with the cloak. Then, he took something out of it. When he turned his body sideways, He Danggui could see clearly that the thing was...Concubine He¡¯s corpse! He Danggui frowned deeply. She had been dead for two months. Even if he didn¡¯t have her bones buried, she should be cremated. Why did he keep her body?

    Next, an astonishing scene appeared. The middle-aged Zhu Quan put his hands on Concubine He¡¯s corpse, peeled off her dress in a few seconds, and then came close to her body, kissing her from her smooth forehead to her lower abdomen. From time to time, he called out, ¡°Yiyi. Yiyi.¡± From time to time, one or tworge teardrops slid down from his half-closed eyes andnded on Concubine He¡¯s bare skin.

    He Danggui stood up suddenly,ining that he would not let her go even if she died. How could he do that? What did he mean? Didn¡¯t he be tired of Concubine He a long time ago and kill her?

    Juvenile Zhu Quan pressed her shoulders to push her back on the brocade stool and calmlyforted her, ¡°Lord Ning bought the world¡¯s coldest treasure, Snow Lotus Bead, to prevent the body from dposing forever, so the study was converted into an icehouse to ce Concubine He¡¯s body. But the body was already stiff, even stiffer than wood. He couldn¡¯t do anything. He just carried it out and kissed her once a day.¡± Seeing that He Danggui slightly rxed, he whispered in her ear, ¡°However, when Concubine He just died, they were really romantic on this couch for several days and nights. Since you are young, and I was afraid that you cannot stand that situation, I made my own choice and set aside that period.¡±

    He Danggui was silent for a moment before she realized what he meant. Her lips trembled two or three times, and then she said, ¡°That beast.¡±

    Juvenile Zhu Quan was displeased and said, ¡°What are you talking about? They are lovers. Now that they are separated, Lord Ning is still emotionally attached. He dismissed all the pretty concubines in the mansion, and apanies Concubine He who would not wake up again day and night. Isn¡¯t it very touching that he is so obsessed and affectionate?¡±

    He Danggui clenched her teeth to control the trembling of her chin. That beast actually treated her like this.

    Juvenile Zhu Quan said to himself, ¡°I have the same minds with the Lord Ning in my dream. Until a month ago, when I walked through this dream, I was still infected with his strong sense of grief. When I couldn¡¯t stand the pain, I must hug someone who looks simr to Concubine He to get a little relief. It¡¯s strange to say that since I came to Yangzhou City, such symptoms have been significantly reduced. I will not be so ufortable just by taking a look at Concubine He¡¯s portrait. It can be seen that Lord Ning loves Concubine He deeply, and all he did is out of love.¡±

    He Dangguiughed sharply, ¡°Love? If Lord Ning had understood what love is, why wouldn¡¯t he have treated her better while she was alive? She died so miserably, but he still treats her like this. He is a beast!¡±

    At this moment, Zhu Quan kissed Concubine He¡¯s whole body, and his eyes gradually stopped shedding tears, showing a little erotogenic luster. But Concubine He, who was stiller than an ice cube, could no longer meet his needs, so he had to rely on himself.

    Juvenile Zhu Quan frowned and red at her, ¡°Nonsense! Was he not good enough for her? Concubine He was just a courtesan, but he didn¡¯t care about her origin. He ransomed her and took her to the mansion to take care of her. Unexpectedly, Concubine He eventually not only betrayed him, but also intended to assassinate him. He waspelled against his will to put her in the Water Dungeon and was hurt deeply by Concubine He, so he drowned his sorrows every day, and all his ambitions were abandoned. He locked himself up tomemorate this rtionship. In fact, he nned to forgive Concubine He in two days and release her. However, Concubine He was weak and died soon, so he felt heartbroken. Thest scene you saw was when Concubine He just died.¡±

    After listening his words, He Danggui sneered, ¡°Is it possible? Do you think this dream is true? Isn¡¯t Lord Ning the same as you? Ask yourself, will you do any one of what Lord Ning did in this fantasy dream?¡±

    Juvenile Zhu Quan scratched his swollen nose with his thumb, and said thoughtfully, ¡°Although that woman Concubine He was really good and helped Lord Ning do a lot of things, in the end, she was lured by other men to lose her virginity. She even conspired with the adulterer to harm Lord Ning. Fortunately, Senior Concubine Zhou Jinn exposed their tricks, so that Lord Ning was not deceived. In this case, if I were Lord Ning, I would use the cruellest method to kill these two people and let them know the fate of the betrayers. But Lord Ning in the dream actually let go of the adulterer, and only took Concubine He into custody without punishing her. He was so soft-hearted, not like me.¡±

    He Danggui felt it very harsh when she heard the word ¡°adulterer¡±. What a messy dream it was! And what kind of lunatic made it up? She was a courtesan? She had an adulterer? She murdered Zhu Quan? The virtuous and clever Zhou Jinn wittily exposed her? And Zhu Quan was so affectionate that he would spheme her body after she died?

    She smiled and nodded. Then she asked, ¡°Who was the adulterer? Why did she not love the perfect Lord Ning but n to murder her husband?¡± No matter in the real world or the fantasy dream, Concubine He was always the one who was wronged and framed. She could not even keep her reputation clear, and she did not even have a rest after death!

    At this time, the perfect Lord Ning let out a muffled sound, and a white stream hit Concubine He¡¯s naked abdomen. Lord Ning closed his eyes contentedly, and held Concubine He, who had no consciousness long ago, into his arms, muttering, ¡°Yiyi, Yiyi... Are you happy?¡±

    Juvenile Zhu Quan suddenly shed tears, and the crystal tears rolled down, whichsted for quite a while. He searched in his sleeve for a while. It seemed that he wanted to find a kerchief to wipe his tears, but he couldn¡¯t find it, so he had to wipe the tears with his sleeves. There were many wounds on his face that were beaten by He Danggui, and some of them were still oozing blood. This rubbing immediately made a mess of his white sleeves. He frowned and tore off the piece of cloth. He squinted at He Danggui and told her, ¡°It wasn¡¯t that I was crying just now, but Lord Ning was infecting me with his mood again. He has no tears today, so I have to shed some tears for him to relieve his emotions, otherwise he would feel very ufortable for not relieving his emotions for a few hours.¡±

    He Danggui picked up a vase at her hand and mmed it at Lord Ning who tarnished Concubine He¡¯s body. The vase went straight through Lord Ning¡¯s head and rolled onto the other side of the soft couch, as if Lord Ning was just a ghost with no substance. He Danggui¡¯s eyes widened in surprise, and a scene that made her even more astonished appeared. Juvenile Zhu Quan held his bleeding head and called out, ¡°Damn it, He Danggui, don¡¯t think that I can¡¯t kill you. Don¡¯t push the envelope!¡±

 Chapter 270 - Twin sisters or not

    <h4>Chapter 270 Twin sisters or not</h4>

    He Danggui didn¡¯t believe that there was such a supernatural thing in the world, so she threw everything she could get to the middle-aged Zhu Quan on the bed one after another. However, she saw that all things ¡°went through¡± the middle-aged Zhu Quan, and at the same time, the juvenile Zhu Quan, who sat quietly, bled suddenly, covered the wounds and yelled, which gave her a littlefort.

    Since this fantasy dream was artificially created and the plot was so fictitious, Lord Ning¡¯s phndering of Concubine He¡¯s body was almost false. After all, she knew that Lord Ning Zhu Quan had a trauma in his childhood, which made him have a strong and uncorrectable fetish about cleanliness. It was impossible for him to kiss the corpse. Thinking of this, He Danggui rxed a little, and slowed down throwing objects to the middle-age Zhu Quan.

    Juvenile Zhu Quan on the side seized the moment, jumped up and threw her down. He strangled her slender neck with his right hand and roared, ¡°Damn it, you are just like your twin sister. You want to murder your husband!¡±

    Juvenile Zhu Quan in the dream was not terrible at all. It didn¡¯t hurt her to pinch her neck. When He Danggui fell to the ground, her hairpin was broken and her hair was scattered. Shey on her waterfall-like long hair, looking at the juvenile Zhu Quan with a sneer, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that Lord Ning, who has always been domineering and murderous, would be so weak that he would have no strength to kill me.¡±

    Juvenile Zhu Quan blushed at once. When he was about to refute, a drop of blood flowed from his face, and it just fell on He Danggui¡¯s lips, like a coquettish red plum, beautifying her clear and pretty face. He was tempted to lower his head and slowly kept the red plum in his mouth. Then he moved to her cherry red lips, invading thend he did not upy three years ago.

    He Danggui strenuously turned her face away, and asked in a panic, ¡°Did you poke my acupoint? Why can¡¯t I move suddenly?¡± Damn, didn¡¯t she just defeat Zhu Quan from the beginning? How could he reverse the situation in such a short time?

    Juvenile Zhu Quan propped himself up and looked down at He Danggui, with a triumphant smile on his horribly wounded face, ¡°I have experienced this fantasy dream for three years, plus I have learned from Mr. Bai the technique of Fantasy Dream, so it¡¯s easy for me to deal with a little girl like you in the dream. Don¡¯t think I love you and I am reluctant to hurt you. I humor you just because I want to take advantage of the opportunity of the dream, treating you as a furnace tripod to practice a marvelous skill. After the achievement ispleted, even if you pester me, I will disdain to look at you.¡±

    He Danggui struggled to move her body. She felt that when her strength was used to the maximum, the invisible shackles on her body were loosened, but as long as she couldn¡¯t put forth her strength, she was tightened again. She asked angrily, ¡°What evil skill do you want to practice? I have nothing against you. Why do you want to use me as a furnace tripod?¡±

    Juvenile Zhu Quan¡¯s handsome face was twisted. He pointed to the bleeding wounds on his face and body, and said angrily, ¡°You have nothing against me? Then what do you think of these wounds?¡±

    He Danggui immediately made an apology, ¡°Sorry, I will ask the best doctor in Yangzhou City for you, and will not charge you for medical expenses.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s toote!¡± Juvenile Zhu Quan snorted, ¡°I thought you were too young, and I didn¡¯t n to sleep with you so early, but you really irritated me today. I must teach you a lesson!¡± As he said, he took off his belt and threw it aside. Then he took off his robe and also threw it away.

    He Danggui was furious, ¡°You are a damn pervert! Arge number of women in your mansion are waiting for your favor. You actuallye to bully a twelve-year-old girl. You are out of order!¡±

    ¡°A fourteen-year-old girl,¡± Juvenile Zhu Quan corrected her, and at the same time, he took off a cotton sleeved over-dress. Then he put his hands on her waist whileining, ¡°But you look like twelve years old. You damp my spirits.¡± Throwing her corset, he leaned down to kiss her, and was not discouraged after being avoided by her. He whispered ambiguously in her ear, ¡°You are so fragrant. We can do things that they can¡¯t do. Your sister owed Lord Ning, so you should pay for her.¡±

    He Danggui tried her best to break free from the invisible shackles. When she got rid of his tactical deployment, she pped juvenile Zhu Quan, and kicked him in the lower abdomen. Hearing his painful moan, she picked up her corset and quickly ran to another corner of the room. Then she announced loudly, ¡°I am my mother¡¯s only daughter. Trust me. This is based on facts. Lord Ning, you are so powerful. Don¡¯t you even know my origin?¡±

    Juvenile Zhu Quan muttered a curse, got up and dressed. After a long while, he said, ¡°I can only find things in this life. He Qingyi is your twin sister in the previous life. There is no doubt about this, believe it or not.¡± His tone was mocking, as if mocking her ignorance.

    ¡°He Qingyi? I don¡¯t believe you!¡± He Danggui dressed herself quickly while cursing, ¡°Are you silly? Qingyi is my courtesy name, and I am He Qingyi. Where is the twin sister from?¡±

    At this time, the middle-aged Zhu Quan on the couch began to kiss Concubine He¡¯s breast, and shouted dismally and eagerly, ¡°Yiyi! Yiyi! Wake up! Open your eyes and look at me! Look at me again!¡± Concubine He still smiled as she took Xiaoyao Poison before her death. Her face was lifelike, as if she would open her eyes next moment.

    Juvenile Zhu Quan said stubbornly, ¡°You are an only daughter in this life. You are both called He Danggui and He Qingyi. But in the previous life, your parents gave birth to twin sisters. The older was He Qingyi and the younger was He Danggui. Later, your parents abandoned you. You were the lucky one. After living in the farm for two years, you returned to Luo¡¯s Family to enjoy a happy life. However, Qingyi was abducted by human traders on the way to look for food for you, and she was sold to the brothel. She did not prostitute herself, but was forcibly assaulted by a wealthy businessman who coveted her beauty. Lord Ning passed by and rescued her. She begged Lord Ning to take her away, so Lord Ning redeemed her and took her as a concubine.¡±

    He Danggui was speechless for a moment. Who made up this hell story and turned it into Zhu Quan¡¯s fantasy dream? It was a really boring story. She retorted, ¡°Didn¡¯t you just say that you were tortured by the continuous fantasy dreams imposed by the devil? So, you know that these are artificial dreams and not true, right?¡± After a pause, she remembered Qi Xuanyu said that she was Tenth Princess in previous life of the previous life, so she added, ¡°You said that now that the truth came out, you already know who I was in the previous life. Why did you contradict yourself and regard this dream as a matter of the previous life?¡±

    Juvenile Zhu Quan turned his head and nced at the two people on the couch. He brashly told the ¡°facts¡± that he analyzed, ¡°You are my distant rtive in previous life of the previous life. You died a bit wronged, and partly because of me, so you appeared in the previous life as a dun. Your soul was divided into two, like a wick split into two. One of them had a romance with me, and perished in the end, leaving inconsble me alone. So, this life I meet you again to recover the love debt owed to me by half of your soul in the previous life.¡±

    He Danggui was lost for words. He had it backwards, because she was the one who was deeply let down. The affectionate Zhu Quan in this dream was obviously false.

    At this time, the middle-aged Zhu Quan, who had vented out, began to dress Concubine He while heined, ¡°Yiyi, do you want to punish me with your death? Congrattions, you won this life-and-death bet. I have lost my life to you. But don¡¯t be proud. I won¡¯t let you go like this. I will chase you and haunt you in the next life andter. I will never give up!¡±

    Juvenile Zhu Quan grinned, ¡°His wordse true, and I really found you. I will chase you, haunt you and never give up!¡± Seeing her pale face, he added, ¡°However, although I have restored the memories of my previous life, I don¡¯t have the emotions of the previous life. I don¡¯t like you at all. So, as long as youe back to my mansion with me and help me practice a magical skill aspensation for me, I can let you go. You can leave my mansion, and we will be strangers since then.¡±

    He Danggui looked at him vigntly and asked, ¡°What kind of skill? How can I help you? Although I have a weak foundation in martial arts, I almost know nothing about it. You have a master like Feng Yang by your side, so why do you ask me to do it?¡± She thought, ¡°Does he want to suck my internal force, just like Meng Xuan did before?¡±

    Juvenile Zhu Quan shook his head and said, ¡°No one else can do it. Only you can help me.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± He Danggui had a bad premonition.

    Juvenile Zhu Quan pointed to the middle-aged Zhu Quan, who was holding an eyebrow pencil and drawing eyebrows for Concubine He, and exined, ¡°He loves Concubine He so much, and he also delivers this emotion to me, so that I have feelings for you, the reincarnation of Concubine He. Of course, this feeling is a false love, but it is of great benefit to my magical skill, so, to some extent, you are the most and only woman I love in this life. Only by being with you can I break through the barriers and sessfully advance to the realm of real martial arts.¡±

    ¡°Being¡­what?¡± He Danggui stuttered.

    ¡°Being with me,¡± Juvenile Zhu Quan answered her question gently and clearly, ¡°It is to sleep with me, to make out. Don¡¯t worry. I will not take advantage of you. I have ten barriers to break through, so you just have to sleep with me ten times. Afterwards, you will be paid a lot. In addition to the identity of Mei Yuchan, whose title is Infanta Shaochan, the youngest daughter of Princess Ningguo, I will arrange a good marriage for you. For the rest of your life, you have nothing to worry about.¡±

    He Danggui picked up a stool and smashed it against the middle-aged Zhu Quan on the soft couch. Then, she heard the angry shout of juvenile Zhu Quan with satisfaction, and she announced with a grim smile, ¡°You will die in this dream. If you want to survive, you must make an oath. From then on, you will not know me and never have that idea anymore. Say it!¡±

    ¡°I would rather never know you before.¡± The middle-aged Zhu Quan on the other side muttered with Concubine He in his arms, ¡°Yiyi, you killed yourself cruelly, and you killed me cruelly. We will not separate generation after generation.¡±

    Hearing that, He Danggui frowned to look at the middle-aged Zhu Quan on the couch. She was shocked to see that the middle-aged Zhu Quan took out a dagger from under the pillow... He slowly took it out of the scabbard, and the sharp edge of the dagger was shining like the autumn moon. Suddenly, he stabbed himself in his chest! The dark red blood sshed out, instantly dyeing his in forged shirt red, and then flowed all over the soft couch. A few drops of blood even sshed on Concubine He¡¯s pale face and lips.

    Lord Ning¡¯s martial arts were outstanding, and he had the essential energy to protect him. Of course, a single stab wound will not kill him, so he stabbed himself repeatedly. In an instant, he stabbed himself more than ten or twenty times. After suffering such a heavy injury, he could not survive. Lord Ning thrust at himself with the knife andughed, ¡°Yiyi, you won¡¯t escape. You always belong to me! You are mine!¡± When he spoke, his white teeth were all dyed red.

    He Danggui stared at this scene nkly, and did not know what to think about. The tragic scene indeed gave her somewhat pathetic feeling. As long as Lord Ning was reced by any other man, she would be moved by this scene of martyrdom, but this person was Zhu Quan. Consequently, this dream must be fake, and all of this did not deserve sympathy.

 Chapter 271 - Who was the most highly skilled doctor?

    <h4>Chapter 271 Who was the most highly skilled doctor?</h4>

    While the middle-aged Zhu Quanmitted suicide, juvenile Zhu Quan also vomited blood and fell, covering his chest with one hand. He looked painful. Arge amount of blood flowed from his chest and instantly reddened the frosty carpet, tragic and decisive.

    He Danggui took an almost gleeful delight in seeing that both the young and old Zhu Quan were in aa. While moving to a corner of the room to watch them from a distance, she thought about how to convince Chang Nuo and others that Zhu Quan was suicide, so that she would not be involved. She was so calm to see the dying Zhu Quan, which surprised herself. It was only then that she was finally convinced that she no longer had any hatred toward Zhu Quan. Hatred was a variant of love, and he was not worthy of her hatred. He only made her feel disgusted.

    Seeing that they seemed to die, she walked to the bed and grabbed a quilt to wrap the body of Concubine He. When she touched it, she felt the physical object all at once. It was weird to be able to touch her own corpse.

    She dragged Concubine He to a corner of the room, took out a Huo Zhe Zi from her purse, ignited a bright me, and then threw it on the quilt that wrapped Concubine He. It was time for her to rest in peace. Whether it was in the previous life or in a fabricated fantasy dream, Concubine He experienced a thrilling nightmare, and now she should go to the end of the world to sleep deeply. Concubine He didn¡¯t live a wonderful life, but she would live well for her.

    ¡°My Lord!¡± A panic voice sounded, and a figure in blue rushed to the bed, ¡°You can¡¯t die! You can¡¯t die!¡± He Danggui turned around and saw it was Shangguan Ming Ri, who looked old, too.

    ¡°Don¡¯t touch him!¡± A gentle and maic voice sounded, and then a figure in purple walked to the door of Wu Xiang Ge, ¡°Move over. I can save him!¡± He Danggui frowned and looked at the man¡­ He was Qi Xuanyu. She only saw him once or twice many years ago, and now she had a vague impression on him, but she recognized his voice. It seemed that he was an immortal character, but she didn¡¯t expect that he was friendly with people since he worked with Zhu Quan.

    ¡°Here!¡± A warm and panic voice sounded, and a figure in green rushed over with a pile of paper parcels, ¡°Royal Prophet Qi, I have brought all the things you need!¡± He Danggui looked at him. This man was Sima Ming Yue, who was not too different from the one in her impression. It was a pity that she didn¡¯t recognize the voice of the fake Feng Yang. She talked with him many times three years ago, but she didn¡¯t know that the fake Feng Yang was the Sima Ming Yue who was around Zhu Quan every day.

    Qi Xuanyu opened the paper parcels one by one, revealing all kinds of brightly colored powders. Then he took off a piece of ck satin on his left wrist, and unfolded it. It turned out to be a row of silver needles. He Danggui frowned when she saw that Qi Xuanyu also used acupuncture and put the needle sleeve on the wrist like her.

    Each time Qi Xuanyu took out a silver needle, it was stained with powder of one color. The needle seemed to have a belly hidden inside. Each time it was stained, a pack of about 0.5 liang of powder would be consumed less than half. Then the silver needle filled with powder was pierced into the wound of middle-aged Zhu Quan. The bleeding stopped at first, and then the blood scattered, revealing the horrible flesh and blood. Finally, the wound was healed rapidly. Qi Xuanyu gave an acupuncture treatment to all the wounds unhurriedly. Some wounds healed faster, while others rebounded after half-healing, bing bloody again.

    In general, the middle-aged Zhu Quan was observably recovering. Seeing this, Ming Ri and Ming Yue looked at each other happily and gratefully. He Danggui was astonished for a while, wondering what kind of acupuncture therapy and medical skill Qi Xuanyu used. The skill looked much powerful than hers! It didn¡¯t seem to be a technique that humans could master. Who was this Qi Xuanyu? Was he a human being?

    He Danggui walked to the bed and watched Qi Xuanyu¡¯s acupuncture at close quarters. She also looked carefully when he was sucking powder with the needle. How did he do it? By internal force? Witchcraft? Or Taoist spell?

    ¡°Don¡¯t get too close! It is a little dangerous when using a needle to collect powder.¡± Qi Xuanyu¡¯s gentle voice sounded, ¡°Be careful to avoid it sshing into your eyes.¡±

    He Danggui shrank her head in fright. What happened? Could Qi Xuanyu see her? Looking up at him, she saw that he was talking to Ming Ri and Ming Yue. She sighed in relief and calmed herself. Bai Yangbai said that when someone entered the fantasy dreams of others, no one else could see him or her except the dreamer. How could Qi Xuanyu see her? If he really saw her, he would believe that Concubine He was resurrected and immediately take her to the middle-aged Zhu Quan.

    Next, Qi Xuanyu continued the acupuncture treatment, repeatedly demonstrating the acupuncture technique and giving a detailed exnation. He Danggui was originally a little surprised, but when she saw Qi Xuanyu exined to the two people, Ming Ri and Ming Yue, she thought that Qi Xuanyu probably wanted to teach them something, so that they would give their Lord first aid when encountering the same ident.

    She had rarely seen Qi Xuanyu¡¯s acupuncture therapy, choice of needle cement, and the pioneering work of sucking powder with needles. She was notpletely sure about the treatment of such injuries with her own acupuncture therapy, and it was impossible to get effect instantly. Hence, she didn¡¯t want to let go of this great opportunity to study. She sat on the side of the bed and watched carefully, remembering every word Qi Xuanyu said. Then she took off her needle sleeve from her wrist and imitated his skill on a brocade quilt.

    The more she learned, the more she felt that Qi Xuanyu¡¯s acupuncture was superior. She wondered where he learnt such a magical acupuncture.

    As far as she knew, from the Southern Song Dynasty to the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the first universally acknowledged medical expert famous for acupuncture in the world was Dou Mo, the ¡°Master of Jin Zhen¡±. No one was better qualified than him. In the medical dialectical contest for 30 consecutive years, Dou Mo was always the chief doctor.

    Dou Mo, whose courtesy name was Hanqing, was said to be able to prate a bronze man easily with a golden needle. When soldiers of Yuan fell in De¡¯an, the emperor Kui Khan was still a seignior. He once summoned Dou Mo to ask him about the way to govern the country, and ordered all the princes to learn from him. Later, Dou Mo served as a lecturer of the Hanlin Academy, a grand academician of the Institute for the Glorification of Literature, and a senior official of justice. He was given the title of imperial tutor and Duke Wei. His posthumous name was Wenzheng. He was extremely glorious throughout his life. It could be said that he reached themanding heights of doctors. He made a lot of contribution to the world and was respected by ordinary people. Besides, he had six or seven ssic acupuncture works.

    Luo Bi, the ancestor of the Luo¡¯s Family, learned the ¡°San Qing Acupuncture¡± from Dou Mo. Luo Tianyi, Luo Bi¡¯s father, was also a famous doctor and imperial doctor of the same era as the Doctor Dou, but his medical skills were inherited from Jie Gu, focusing on the application of viscera syndrome differentiation, spleen and stomach theory, and medicinal properties. Acupuncture cured diseases at the surface, while decoction focused on internal diseases. The Luo¡¯s Family was originally specialized in the use of decoction and was famous for its good treatment of sores. It was highly praised by military doctors and soldiers in the Yuan Dynasty. However, Luo Bi was longing for the ingenious acupuncture therapy of the miracle-working Doctor Dou, so he went to Dou Mo behind his father¡¯s back, and took a lot of effort to be the disciple of Doctor Dou.

    In addition to the disciple Luo Bi, the old Doctor Dou only passed on his magic skills to his son Dou Huanran. That was to say, in the past 100 years, the most profound golden needle acupuncture in the world was only been inherited from two families, Dou¡¯s Family and Luo¡¯s Family. Dou¡¯s Family had a bad luck in official career, and they did not have friendship with the founding emperor Zhu Yuanzhang at a time when the general situation of the world changed. Therefore, they gradually fell into decline. Thest descendant was Dou Haizhen, He Danggui¡¯s master and Dou Huanran¡¯s great-great-grandson.

    He Danggui met Dou Haizhen when she was farming at an early age. At that time, Dou Haizhen was already a disabled man, unable to take care of himself. Since he was betrayed by his rtives and friends, he refused to cure patients. Dou Haizhen¡¯s medical skills were more excellent than that of Grandpa Luo Maitong. He Danggui was still an ignorant child at the time, so she only learned a little from him. When Dou Haizhen died, she knew that he hid behind a false identity because of being framed, saying that he was involved in the ¡°Treason Case of Lan Yu¡± and almost lost his life. He didn¡¯t pass on his special skills to anyone.

    He Danggui was no stranger to Lan Yu. He was also a famous founding general and conferred the title of Duke Liang. He was the brother of Chang Yuchun¡¯s wife, and Chang Nuo¡¯s uncle. Not to mention how serious the crime Lan Yumitted, but when Zhu Yuanzhang killed the meritorious statesman Lan Yu, more than 15,000 people were involved, equivalent to the total poption of three prosperous towns. Zhu Yuanzhang was really an unscrupulous tyrant, no wonder his children and grandchildren were not blessed by the immortal.

    Although Dou Haizhen and He Danggui had a teacher-student friendship, it was a pity that Mr. Dou Haizhen was a stubborn old man. He preferred boys to girls, even though he liked the clever and well-behaved He Danggui. He taught her the golden needle acupuncture, but resolutely refused to recognize her as a female disciple, and only allowed her to call him ¡°Blind Grandpa¡± until his death.

    In this way, the peerless Doctor Dou Mo really had no offspring. His special skill was only passed on to He Danggui and Grandpa Luo Maitong. No one else of the descendants of Luo¡¯s Family learned the acupuncture therapy from Luo Maitong. It was not that Luo Maitong refused to teach his children and grandchildren, but the ¡°San Qing Acupuncture¡± was easy to learn but difficult to master. It was extremely difficult and boring to master it. If people were a little careless when they used it, there would be a danger of death.

    When He Danggui learned from the ¡°Blind Grandpa¡±, she didn¡¯t feel that way, probably because the ¡°Blind Grandpa¡± had a more thorough research on acupuncture than Luo Maitong.

    The only person in Luo¡¯s Family who learned Senior Lord Luo Maitong¡¯s acupuncture was Peng Shi, the grandson of Luo Dusong in Luo¡¯s Family in the capital. Three years ago, he came to Yangzhou City to study at Chengxu Academy. A few monthster, Mr. Bao of the Academy had a sudden illness. His symptoms looked a bit like epilepsy. Peng Shi suddenly took out his needle box for treatment, and he quickly cured Mr. Bao.

    Later, Madam Luo heard this incident. After she asked Peng Shi, she knew that he ran into Senior Lord Luo Maitong on outings, and learned San Qing Acupuncture from him for more than four months. ording to Senior Lord Luo Maitong¡¯s instructions, he did not tell others about this matter. After hearing this, Madam Luo couldn¡¯t help eximing over his good luck, and sighed that her two grandchildren didn¡¯t have this luck. She didn¡¯t know that she had a granddaughter He Danggui whose technique was better than that of Luo Maitong. At that time, He Danggui was sitting on the footrest to massage her leg, serving as a maid.

    At this time, He Danggui followed the middle-aged Qi Xuanyu in the fantasy dream to learn his acupuncture therapy, and practiced on a bed of brocade quilt. Based on her two lives of wisdom and in-depth research on her own original ¡°Yunqi Acupuncture¡±, she couldn¡¯t figure out the rationale of Qi Xuanyu¡¯s acupuncture therapy. Qi Xuanyu shouldn¡¯t be the descendant of Dou Mo, so where did he learn such a magic skill? Could it be that there was another acupuncture master in this world who was better than Dou Mo, Luo Maitong, Qi Xuanyu and He Danggui?

    ¡°Huh?¡± Ming Yue said suddenly, ¡°Look, there are many small holes on the quilt! And the holes are still increasing. What¡¯s going on? Is there a living thing in the quilt?¡±

    He Danggui stopped what she was doing when she heard that.

    ¡°Hey!¡± Ming Yue was even more surprised, ¡°Could the thing that pierced the holes understand what I said? It stopped immediately!¡±

    ¡°The thing?¡± He Danggui got angry and gave Ming Yue a kick. She originally thought that he could not be kicked. Just like the vase passed through Zhu Quan¡¯s head, her feet would pass directly through Ming Yue¡¯s body, but¡­

    ¡°Oh!¡± Ming Yue stepped back abruptly, with his eyes wide open. He eximed, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? I seemed to be kicked suddenly! Who?¡±

 Chapter 272 - It was time to revenge

    <h4>Chapter 272 It was time to revenge</h4>

    He Danggui was frightened, and subconsciously shrank back. What was going on? Qi Xuanyu, Ming Ri and Ming Yue couldn¡¯t see her, but they could be hit by her, couldn¡¯t they?

    At this moment, Ming Ri was extremely dissatisfied with Ming Yue¡¯s bluffing sound. He pouted and picked up the brocade quilt with countless small pinholes pierced by He Danggui. Then he walked a few steps and threw it on the ashes of Concubine He. He Danggui looked at this nasty man, and remembered that this person often obstructed her on the surface during those years. She wondered if he had framed her secretly. She died tragically in prison, and did he get involved in it?

    Ming Ri turned around and scolded Ming Yue sternly, ¡°The Lord is at death¡¯s door. He needs a rest. How can you shout loudly? The holes on the quilt are probably caused by worms. After all, there is a corpse in this room.¡± He Danggui was bullied by Shangguan Ming Ri in her previous life, but Zhu Quan thought highly of this person. Even if Ming Ri excluded He Danggui in public, he would not be punished. Now she met him again in the Fantasy Dream, and felt that his voice sounded really harsh.

    Ming Yue was in a daze, and suddenly shouted again, ¡°Concubine He was cremated! Who did it? The Lord would be mad if he couldn¡¯t see her after waking up!¡±

    ¡°She was cremated when I came in. Maybe the Lord did it.¡± said Ming Ri nonchntly, ¡°Just a dead person. All that fuss about a dead person! At the worst, we can find someone with simr looks for the Lord.¡±

    At this time, Qi Xuanyu was still giving Zhu Quan an acupuncture treatment, while at the same time exining how to put the needle, how to change the needle, and how to retract it.

    Ming Ri looked back at Qi Xuanyu with a sullen look, ¡°Royal Prophet Qi, neither of us understands medicine. We can only kill people with knives but not save people with needles. There are no others in this room. Who are you talking to?¡±

    He Danggui was shocked when she heard that. She took a close look at Qi Xuanyu¡¯s expression, but didn¡¯t perceive anything unusual. Qi Xuanyu smiled and looked down. He replied casually, ¡°It is my habit to exin acupuncture when giving a treatment. Ignore me, just as I am talking to myself.¡±

    He Danggui looked at this unpredictable Qi Xuanyu wonderingly. He used to be the Imperial Astronomer of Qintianjian Celestial Prefecture and was now the Royal Prophet. He seemed to have some true skills. He Danggui suddenly became anxious and fearful, as if Qi Xuanyu could see her.

    At this time, the young Zhu Quan on the ground gradually became conscious. He let out a muffled humph and twisted his neck to the left, as if he would wake up in the next moment. He Danggui didn¡¯t want to get entangled with him in the dream anymore, so she stepped forward and repeatedly pierced his sleepy acupoint with a silver needle. Seeing him snoring asleep, she kicked him again. It was such a good and hard-won opportunity to vent her anger. If it weren¡¯t for Shangguan Ming Ri, the apanying bodyguard outside of Fantasy Dream, she would really like to kill him, an ambitious person, for the world.

    Shangguan Ming Ri? He Danggui suddenly looked back at him and squinted dangerously. Since he couldn¡¯t see her, could she attack him?

    He Danggui picked up a piece of white jade paperweight that had broken in two, which she had just used to hit the middle-aged Zhu Quan. She aimed one piece at Shangguan Ming Ri¡¯s head, raised her hand and threw it out in the air. A beautiful arc streaked across¡­

    ¡°Boom!¡± Shangguan Ming Ri clutched the back of his head and turned around. When he saw the paperweight falling on the ground, he couldn¡¯t help asking angrily, ¡°Who? Who hit me with this?¡±

    ¡°Hush, hold it down! The Lord is sleeping.¡± Ming Yue replied Ming Ri what he had just said, ¡°I was kicked,¡± Ming Yue pointed to the bedside where He Danggui was in. ¡°From that direction, someone kicked me, like a cow hoof!¡±

    He Danggui was annoyed at the moment, and threw the other half of the paperweight at Ming Yue¡¯s forehead. The always agile Ming Yue became dull somehow, and watched the white objecte to him from far to near. Finally, he saw it in cross-eyed eyes, but was smashed into the face without moving. ¡°Boom!¡± Ming Yue covered his forehead, and shouted, ¡°Ghost! There is a ghost in this house! It must be Concubine He¡¯s ghost! Well, it hurts. Concubine He is good at martial arts! What should I do? She is back for revenge!¡±

    He Danggui was speechless, Concubine He¡¯s ghost? Ming Yue was right. She said more than once before she died, ¡°I will revenge. I will go on chasing you even after I die and be a ghost. I will definitelye back to you.¡± However, when she was really born again, she cherished the hard-won chance, so she did not want to repeat the same mistakes and step into the Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion. Therefore, she decided never to see Zhou Jinn, Xu Siniang, Xie Qiaofeng, Shangguan Ming Ri and other enemies of her previous life again.

    However, in this weird dream that she was forced to enter, she suddenly had a chance for revenge! It was time for her to revenge.

    He Danggui was excited, ignoring the danger that suddenly appeared from the other side. It turned out that when she hit Ming Yue for the second time, Shangguan Ming Ri had already seen the direction the paperweight was flying from, which was from the air 10 zhang away.

    Shangguan Ming Ri used to follow Lord Ning to go to Nihon, and he had seen the magical Dun Shu (a kind of Kungfu that is unique and popr in Nihon, specializing on escaping or attacking others with the fully use of the surroundings materials) and ninjutsu, as well as invisibility. Therefore, seeing this situation, he immediately spected that an assassin from Nihon sneaked in and assassinated the Lord, making it look like hemitted suicide. Now, the assassin saw that the Lord was rescued, so he made trouble with the treatment. Thinking of this, Ming Ri touched the nine-section whip on his waist, and he looked murderous.

    Instantly, Shangguan Ming Ri took actions. Centered on where He Danggui was standing, he swung his nine-section whip wildly in the space of the icehouse of the study. The tip of the nine-segment whip made of stainless steel was highly toxic. Each whip contained an overbearing force. The airtight whip shadow formed a of death, trying to wrap He Danggui in it and kill her.

    He Danggui was attacked by Shangguan Ming Ri. Then she hurriedly used the Mysterious Footwork which she learned from Chang Nuo to dodge the steel whip. She didn¡¯t know how powerful the steel whip was, but every time she avoided the waving whip shadow, her face was hot and a little painful. Shangguan Ming Ri was so terrible. When did he have such powerful martial arts?

    He Danggui remembered that Ming Ri¡¯s martial arts level was only slightly higher than that of Zhu Quan, who was hiding his strength. Even if the time was pushed back, and their strength both increased, he should not have such a powerful skill. His internal strength seemed to be no less than hers, and his actualbat experience was even richer. Inparison with him, she was almost certainly defeated. She further thought that her attack was effective on them, and vice versa!

    She escaped several times in the shadow of the whip. After a long time, she was exhausted. She did not expect that the enemy Shangguan Ming Ri was a diamond in the rough. Returning from rebirth with all the Zhenqi she received from the heroes, she still could not fight him and could only escape. But now it seemed that she couldn¡¯t escape, because the door of the study was locked by Ming Yue!

    He Danggui couldn¡¯t help regretting it. She shouldn¡¯t get dizzy with sess and attacked these two guys who were born as killers. They probably killed more people than she had saved by practicing medicine in the two lives. Suddenly, a sentence that Qing¡¯er often said came into her mind, ¡°Yuck! Am I the Tyrant Zhou of Shang Dynasty?¡± Was she so arrogant that she would be killed?

    ¡°Will you be naughty again?¡± Qi Xuanyu suddenly spoke with a smile, ¡°Now, are you regretting? Behave yourself in the future.¡±

    He Danggui¡¯sst line of defense supported by perseverance was broken by this voice, and her footwork was stagnant, so she could not avoid Shangguan Ming Ri¡¯s fierce attack. When the whip shadow that was as dazzling as the noon sun fell and mmed on the top of her head precisely, what she thought was that the name Shangguan Ming Ri was really correct, because the steel whip filled with Zhenqi was as powerful as the sun.

    Hit by the steel whip, she slowly fell backwards, but didn¡¯t felt painful. She still remembered that it was extremely painfulst time in her pervious life.

    She closed her eyes and waited for death. Recalling her own life, she felt that it was a failure. It was at hand that she could defeat her enemy Sun Meiniang, but she died at this time. She had not yet said goodbye to her mother, Qing¡¯er, Zhenzhu, Xiaoyou, Chan Yi and Zhu. She also hurt Duan Xiaolou¡¯s feelings, and maybe she owed her life to Bai Yangbai in the previous life. She didn¡¯t cherish her life again this time. Everyone, sorry...

    The dark corridor in front of her seemed to lead to the other side of the world. She couldn¡¯t see the road clearly and didn¡¯t want to go any further. Her legs were weak. But when she fell slowly, someone caught her. Looking up, she saw a bright smile. This smile belonged to Meng Xuan, and it was the young Meng Xuan three years ago. She immediately felt hopeful and stood up straight, but she was surprised to find her body thin and slender, and her hands were incredibly small. She looked like a girl of seven or eight, even younger.

    She asked, ¡°Meng Xuan, why did youe into this dream? When did youe?¡± Did he see what the middle-aged Zhu Quan did to Concubine He? Would he look down on her and ignored her since then?

    The young Meng Xuan rubbed her hair, and sighed, ¡°It turns out that you were so weak and cute when you were a kid, like a yellow and fluffy little chick. It would be great if I knew you earlier. I will give you a home, protect you and raise you little by little. Finally, you will be my little hen.¡±

    She lowered her head regretfully, ¡°It¡¯s toote to say these. I¡¯m going to walk the cycle of reincarnation. Thank you for giving me thest ride. If you can help me take care of my mother, Qing¡¯er, Zhenzhu, Xiaoyou, Chan Yi, and Zhu asionally, then I¡¯ll promise you a marriage in the next life.¡± After thinking about it, she added, ¡°Sun Meiniang in the Second Branch of Luo¡¯s Family is heartless and cruel. If you don¡¯t defeat her, she will harm you sooner orter. I have a way to ruin her. Can you help me deal with her?¡±

    The young Meng Xuan patted her head andughed. He said loudly, ¡°Girl, we are in the second life now. I missed you in the previous life, and you didn¡¯t go to Shanhaiguan to find me, so that we lost a great marriage. We were separated and passed the whole life alone. In this life, you are my destiny. I swear by the sword that I will never let you go this time.¡±

    As he said, he slowly drew out a long sword from his waist. He cut his long hair with it. Then a strand of ck hair fell in his hand.

 Chapter 273 - The Emperor had donkeyâ€™s ears

    <h4>Chapter 273 The Emperor had donkey¡¯s ears</h4>

    He Danggui didn¡¯t understand what Meng Xuan meant, and she didn¡¯t know why he said in such a positive tone that he and her were destined in this life. However, ording to the hints in his words, it seemed that she hadn¡¯tpletely died yet, and might survive. So, she hugged Meng Xuan¡¯s arms, who looked very high from her point of view, like a life-saving straw, and asked him, ¡°You can save me, right? Save me please, I don¡¯t want to die!¡±

    Meng Xuan stopped smiling, and asked rhetorically, ¡°Why should I save you? You are so ruthless to me. You never want to look at me. Do you hate me so much?¡± His voice was no longer as warm as before.

    He Danggui was stunned for a moment. Yes, she unreasonably asked Meng Xuan to do everything for her. Why should she ask him to help her? Was there any reason for him to help her? But...

    ¡°But,¡± He Danggui raised her head and pleaded, ¡°I still have a lot of wishes left. Now I only meet you, one of my acquaintances, so please help me. One good turn deserves another. You will definitely have good luck.¡± Was this reason not good enough? Could she think of a better reason?

    ¡°An acquaintance?¡± Meng Xuan was disappointed immediately, ¡°In your mind, am I just an acquaintance? You have mentioned so many people, including your mother, Qing¡¯er, Zhenzhu, Xiaoyou, Chan Yi, and seven-year-old Zhu, but not including me. May I ask you what you take me for? What do you think of me?¡±

    He Danggui replied, ¡°You are already standing in front of me, so why should I mention your name? In my heart...¡± Her seven-year-old body was petite and cute. She looked up at the eleven-year-old Meng Xuan, tilted her head and said, ¡°You are like both elder brother and younger brother.¡±

    ¡°Elder brother? Younger brother!¡± Meng Xuan raised his voice, ¡°Do you never treat me as a man?¡±

    ¡°Ah, rest assured.¡± She raised her arm and patted Meng Xuan¡¯s chest. Then sheughed, ¡°Although you were more beautiful than a girl when you were a child, you still looked a bit masculine!¡± Thinking that she might have been killed by Shangguan Ming Ri and be unable to survive, she lowered her head gloomily, ¡°It seems that you and I are destined to be missed. A good man like you will definitely meet a good girl who can match you, and then you can make up a perfect circle.¡±

    Meng Xuan gritted his teeth and said, ¡°Xiaoyi, you are my exclusive circle. Why do you ask me to find the other half circle? As long as you are willing to try to like me, I will agree to your request. I won¡¯t marry with other women.¡±

    ¡°Would you like to marry me?¡± He Danggui covered her mouth with her small hand, and said with a slight self-abasement, ¡°Since I have died, I will no longer hide it from you. Actually, I am in the same situation as you. We are all people who came to this life with the memories of the previous life. Although I ask you to be monogamous, in fact, I have been married in the previous life. I am afraid I am not worthy of you.¡± After all, she thought that she was dying.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Meng Xuan was not very surprised. ¡°It turns out that you are also reborn. No wonder you are so different and talented. Your wisdom is greater than your age. Great! What a good match we are! Have you been married? Who is he? Is he in this life?¡±

    As a saying went, ¡°When a man is near death, he speaks from his heart.¡± He Danggui no longer hid it. She simply spoke out her deepest secrets and her previous life experience. It was bad for health to keep a secret for too long.

    When sleeping together, Qing¡¯er told her a fairy tale. Once upon a time there was an emperor who wore a big hat and hid his ugly long donkey¡¯s ears. Every time he had a haircut, his secret would be discovered by a barber. Therefore, every time he finished the haircut, he killed the barber. In this way, the emperor killed a barber every time he cut his hair, until a clever little barber said that he didn¡¯t see anything. Then, the little barber escaped the killing, and received a reward.

    But the little barber clearly saw the emperor¡¯s secret. He was ufortable to hold the secret in his heart, so he ran into the field in the middle of the night, dug a hole in the ground, and said softly toward the entrance of the hole, ¡°Earth, earth, let me tell you, the emperor has donkey¡¯s ears.¡± He felt very happy after telling the secret, and went back to sleep well. The earth could not speak, so the secret was left in the cave.

    A few dayster, a tree grew in the ce where the little barber had dug a hole. A child walked by and picked a leaf to make a whistle. Oddly enough, the whistle made a sound, ¡°The emperor has donkey¡¯s ears!¡± This news spread, and people all over the country knew that the emperor had donkey ears within a few days.

    The emperor wanted to kill the little barber. But the little barber said, ¡°I never told anyone. I only told the earth.¡± He led the emperor to blow the whistle made of leaves, and the emperor was surprised. It really said, ¡°The emperor has donkey¡¯s ears!¡±

    When the emperor saw that the secret had been got abroad, he thought, ¡°Anyway, people all over the country knew that I have donkey¡¯s ears. Why do I need this hat?¡± So, he took off his hat and showed his true colors.

    After Qing¡¯er told the story, she sighed with emotion, ¡°The secrets that we were reborn with memories of the previous life are our donkey¡¯s ears, right? Fortunately, we ancient people don¡¯t need to have a haircut. You are my entrance of the hole, and I am yours. If we confide our secrets to each other, we won¡¯t be suffocated from mental illness.¡±

    He Danggui was silent after hearing it. In fact, she did not fully show her donkey¡¯s ears to Qing¡¯er. It was not that she did not trust her, but that some words were like a gust of wind blowing on the tip of the tongue. Once it passed, she felt happy, but after that, she couldn¡¯t help worrying about it. Would the hole she talked about also sprout and grow a tree? Would the leaves on that tree disturb her peaceful life?

    Although Qing¡¯er was clever and sensible, sometimes she seemed a little stupid, and disasters might emanate from her careless talk. Therefore, He Danggui always hid some secrets, including the blood feud between the family of Sun Meiniang and herself, the future of the world, the next emperor, the reign period, and her saddest secret that all her three children were killed by Zhu Quan¡­ She never revealed anything above to Qing¡¯er.

    Now, she was going to die, and this time she would not be so lucky to be reborn with memories. Of course, in a sense, recalling too much hurt the mind and was not conducive to keep in good health. Memories were actually a kind of injury, a thing that brought misfortune. Before she died, she couldn¡¯t help showing her donkey¡¯s ears, which no one had seen before, to the third person with donkey¡¯s ears, Meng Xuan.

    So, under Meng Xuan¡¯s clear and bright gaze, she spoke hesitantly.

    She started from the beginning and talked about her pitiful life experience. She lived in the vige since she was a child. She was ignorant and worked hard in the farm, but she was happy all day long. Later, she lived with her mother and had a good life. She took off her bup skirt and put on clothes made of silk and satin. In fact, she was still ignorant, but she had some desire and self-abasement. She loved the days when she could eat steamed rice without nting rice seedlings in the ground. She liked the taste of fish and meat. She worried that her mother would send her back to the farm again when her mother would recover and give birth to a young brother or sister for her.

    The time when she felt inferior most was when she had juste to Luo¡¯s Family. She was amazed and rejoiced all the way from the middle gate of East Yard to Madam Luo¡¯s Fu Shou Yard, just like Granny Liu visited the Grand View Garden in a story called ¡°The Story of the Stone¡± told by Qing¡¯er. However, when she really stayed in that Grand View Garden, she discovered that there were owners everywhere in this garden, and even the slightly crude West Lateral Court she lived in did not belong to her. She was an outsider. When the family was eating, she was superfluous and looked ridiculous.

    The ¡°families¡±ughed at her just likeughing at a harlequin on a stage. Sheughed with everyone at a loss. However, when she recalled the malice and ridicule in everyone¡¯sughter, she became angry. Over and over again, she umted a lot of grievances, and lived all day long like a prematurely senile irritated daughter-inw. By the lotus pond, she became maudlin and felt that she was the most unfortunate person in the world.

    Sometimes, she sat on the edge of the lotus pond in a posture that she would fall into the water as soon as she moved, thinking would there be any ¡°families¡±, guests or kind maids to admonish her not to sit like that when seeing her sitting in such a dangerous situation. When they saw the tears on her face, they would ask her about her condition and what was on her mind. Then, she could find someone to pour out her troubles.

    Anyone was okay, even a stranger. However, even if she sat like that day after day, no one had evere to care about her and asked her whether she was happy or not. Sometimes she really had the idea of identally falling into the water and being drowned. The reason why she not jumped was that she had more hope in life than despair. She knew that the future would be bright, and she also felt hopeful because of her beautiful reflection in the water. She was so pretty, even if she was not dressed up like her second sister. She would look much better than her second sister only with a pink white dress of the same quality as the maids¡¯ clothes.

    She oftenforted herself with this when she was wearing old clothes and saw her second sister walking towards her from a distance with the colorful clothes and essories.

    Meng Xuan looked at her gently and kindly, which rxed He Danggui gradually. She analyzed herself from the perspective of a bystander, and sighed that human always had an insatiable appetite for secrity. Originally, she was satisfied with a cotton skirt when she took off the sackcloth. But when she put on silk and satin one day, and saw that others¡¯ clothes were more beautiful, she would dislike her old silk and satin dress.

    So, she identally ¡°married into the purple¡± as a concubine. In order to put on more gorgeous and lighter clothes, she began to work hard to please her husband, study the Go, and fight with his wife and other concubines.

    Meng Xuan immediately asked, ¡°Girl, who was your husband in the previous life? Do I know him?¡±

    He Danggui twisted the corners of her clothes and thought that Meng Xuan must have not seen what Lord Ning did to Concubine He. Should she keep this secret and leave a more perfect impression on him? Would Zhu Quan haunt her to the end of her life? Would she really tell Meng Xuan all the humiliations of marrying Lord Ning?

    Seeing her suddenly stop talking, Meng Xuan couldn¡¯t help but guess and ask, ¡°Since you said you ¡®married into the purple¡¯, you must not marry an ordinary family. Was he...Duan Xiaolou?¡±

 Chapter 274 - He came from the future

    <h4>Chapter 274 He came from the future</h4>

    ¡°Duan Xiaolou?¡± He Danggui was dumbfounded for a while. She suddenly thought that since she was going to die anyway, she could lie to Meng Xuan. In this way, he would not think of the evil Zhu Quan when he remembered her, and he would not revenge her on Zhu Quan... Oddly, why would Meng Xuan revenge her? He and her were obviously two strange souls met by chance. They had different identities, and he was out of her reach.

    He Danggui lowered her head and lied, ¡°Yes, in my previous life, I inadvertently saved Duan Xiaolou¡¯s mother who was lost and injured. She was grateful to me and asked her son Duan Xiaolou to ept me as a concubine. However, Duan Xiaolou was very busy with work, and there were so many pretty women in his mansion, so he didn¡¯t notice me.¡±

    ¡°What happenedter?¡± Meng Xuan asked.

    He Danggui lowered her head more. She made up her mind to show Meng Xuan her ¡°donkey¡¯s ears¡± at first. How could she give up halfway? She murmured, ¡°Later, I ran into Duan Xiaolou in the mansion and we left a very good impression on each other, but I didn¡¯t know that he was my husband at that time. A monthter, I became seriously ill due to unrequited love. When I was dying, I finally met my husband, and I realized that he was the man I secretly admired. He and I felt sorry for this and we agreed to continue our rtionship in the next life.¡±

    Meng Xuan was silent for a while, and said, ¡°Xiaoyi, your rtionship with him was over in your previous life. It is impossible for you to be together in this life. You will get it in the near future.¡± He raised his hand to stroke her little hairy head, and said softly, ¡°You and I will be a couple in this life, and I will always treat you well.¡±

    Hearing that, He Danggui asked in amazement, ¡°I have been killed by Shangguan Ming Ri with steel whip, haven¡¯t I? There is no future for me.¡± These should be herst words.

    Meng Xuan exined to her, ¡°Your spirit has entered the ¡®Qizhen Fantasy Dream¡¯ of others. It refers to the old story that happened many years ago. Although the characters in the dream are real and lively, they are just in people¡¯s memories. How can a person in the memory really kill you? In the ¡®Qizhen Fantasy Dream¡¯, others can¡¯t see you, but you can see them. Besides, they can¡¯t hit you, but you can hit them.¡±

    He Danggui thought for a while and questioned, ¡°Not everyone can be hit. There was one person I want to hit the most. I threw something at my hand, but the object always directly passed through his body, and he didn¡¯t even notice it.¡±

    Meng Xuan thought about it and spected, ¡°Probably because his spirit is in the same dream. Although you didn¡¯t hit him, you could damage his spirit with the same strength. Xiaoyi, who do you want to hit? Tell me, I¡¯ll help you.¡±

    ¡°Meng Xuan, are you not lying to me? Am I still alive?¡± He Danggui suddenly regretted to tell him her secrets. The deepest secret should be hidden in her heart. Now, she suspected that Meng Xuan... Was he a trustworthy friend?

    Moreover, she questioned, ¡°I could clearly feel the strong wind blowing from the enemy¡¯s whip just now, and it hurt my face. Finally, the steel whip hit me head-on, and I fell into aa. People in ¡®Qizhen Fantasy Dream¡¯ can beat me. I felt it. How can I be alive now?¡±

    Meng Xuan looked at her immature and serious face. He suddenly held her like holding a child. He lifted her to the same height as him, and stared at her thoughtful ck eyes. He said softly, ¡°Girl, after this dream, youe to me quickly. No matter what you want to do, just tell me, I will do everything for you. I¡¯m sure. As early as six years ago, I thought the same thing.¡±

    ¡°Six years ago?¡± It was weird that the small He Danggui was sitting on Meng Xuan¡¯s forearm. She stretched out a small hand to touch Meng Xuan¡¯s forehead, and said with a smile, ¡°Ha, nonsense! We knew each other only three years ago. When we first met, I thought you was a robber of Zhenqi, and dealt with you with poisonous needles. Don¡¯t you remember?¡±

    Suddenly, Meng Xuan held her tightly in his arms. He rubbed her tender face with his cheek and closed his eyes to feel her sweet and tempting smell. Then he said quickly, ¡°Girl, now I am just a wisp of spirit. I won¡¯t stay here long. I¡¯ll make a long story short. Listen carefully. I¡¯m not who I am now. Ie from the future. I am Meng Xuan, or Meng Shenshi three yearster. I was sent back by a man with great magic power.¡±

    ¡°Meng Shenshi?¡± He Danggui tilted her head, and her pigtail fell on Meng Xuan¡¯s face. This name seemed to be familiar to her. Then she reacted slowly and eximed, ¡°From the future? Meng Xuan three yearster?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Meng Xuan said while pulling her pigtail away. Then he moved closer to her, ¡°My courtesy name was ¡®Shenshyr¡¯ originally, but in order to match your courtesy name ¡®Qingyi¡¯, I changed it. I¡¯m ¡®Shenshi¡¯ now. Of course, these are things that happened three yearster. I know it¡¯s difficult to convince you, but the time we meet is very short and may be interrupted at any time. Just now, you said so many things that you have never told me before. I really want to know everything about you, so I didn¡¯t interrupt you and spent a lot of time. Xiaoyi, we are now in the seventh stage of Qizhen Fantasy Dream. Only people who are destined in the past can meet here. I hope you will keep this in mind. Remember, I am your destined man.¡±

    ¡°The seventh stage?¡± He Danggui frowned, because she seemed to hear it from Bai Yangbai.

    Meng Xuan gently stroked her eyebrows and smiled, ¡°In the seventh stage, we will change our original appearance and be what we were in a certain stage of childhood. The seventh stage is also called the ¡®happy stage¡¯, and we will be what we were in our happiest age of childhood. You went back to seven years old. It can be seen that you are happiest and most carefree at this time, and I became eleven because I met you this year. Xiaoyi, I have fallen in love with you since I was eleven, and I have never changed my mind.¡±

    He Danggui lowered her small head and asked softly, ¡°Why do you like me? I have more shorings than strengths. I have a lot of troubles. Sometimes even I hate myself a little bit, and I don¡¯t like you at all. I only regard you as a trustworthy friend.¡±

    ¡°You do,¡± said Meng Xuan affirmatively, ¡°you have been in rtionship with me in three years. If you have no affection for me, how can you be my woman?¡±

    ¡°You and me?¡± He Danggui looked at Meng Xuan suspiciously with her eyes opened wide. ¡°You trick me. How can youe from the future? And three yearster? You¡¯re joking.¡± How could there be such a miracle in the world? In the fantasy dream, Meng Xuan from three yearster told her that they were together in three years. How could it be?

    Meng Xuan said sternly, ¡°I went through many hardships to go back three years ago and reach the seventh stage. How could I do these only for lying to you? Xiaoyi, you know, I never lie to you. I tell everything to you. I live only for you in this life.¡±

    He whispered honey words in her ears, which made her a little ufortable. She pushed his head away, turned her face and asked, ¡°Why don¡¯t you just stay in three years? What are you going to do? Since we are together in three years, then you should say these things to me in three years.¡± She did not go through the process and was suddenly told that she had married Meng Xuan. Even if it was true, she couldn¡¯t ept it for a while.

    Meng Xuan sighed and exined the whole story, ¡°After two and a half years, you will be my concubine. We are inseparable and enviable. I n to ask my mother to allow you to be my wedded wife after we have a baby. However, I was plotted against by a woman, er, and had a child with her. When she was in the fourth month of pregnancy, my mother heard about it and took her to Meng¡¯s Mansion as my concubine. In addition to you and her, I have three other concubines, all of whom were arranged by my families before I met you. At that time, the Emperor decreed to have me marry Infanta Xiancao, who is from the Mansion of Princess Lin¡¯an, as my wedded wife. The Emperor¡¯s order can¡¯t be vited, so I married with Infanta Xiancao.¡±

    He Danggui quietly heard the story that would happen in the future. Then she counted with her fingers and said, ¡°Five concubines and one wife... You only need one more concubine to achieve your life goal. You live so well, huh? Why do youe to me and tell me about these?¡± He Danggui thought, ¡°Is he not afraid that after hearing these things, she won¡¯t marry him from the beginning?¡±

    Meng Xuan¡¯s voice suddenly became sad, ¡°Xiaoyi, you are special, and your temperament will not change at any time.¡®Five concubines and one wife... You only need one more concubine to achieve your life goal. You live so well, huh? Why do youe to me and tell me about these?¡¯ These are thest sentences you said to me. The next day I got married with Infanta Xiancao, I went to the attic to see you early in the morning, but you had gone. I looked for you madly, using all my strength to inquire about your whereabouts, and trying my best to force you toe to me, but you contested with me for three months, and refused to meet me.¡±

    He Danggui lowered her head and said nothing. That seemed to be something she would do. Based on this, Meng Xuan might reallye from three yearster. She rolled her eyes and asked, ¡°Three yearster, how many people in the Second Branch of Luo¡¯s Family have died?¡±

    Meng Xuan was immersed in endless sorrow. When he suddenly heard such an insignificant question, he was stunned for a moment before answering honestly, ¡°None is dead. They are all alive.¡±

    ¡°What? Are all of them alive?¡± He Danggui was a little disappointed. Three yearster, she had not killed them yet unexpectedly.

    Meng Xuan straightened her small face and leaned close to her. He ttened his nose against hers, and said sadly, ¡°Xiaoyi, I don¡¯t believe you have never loved me. When we were passionately in love, you did not separate from me all the time. When I went to war, you dressed up as a dogface, followed me and packed up my tent. But you are so heartless to suddenly turn hostile. I can¡¯t find you in three years, so I came here to ask you. Why do you treat me this way? Do you love me or not?¡±

 Chapter 275 - Meng Xuan was desperate

    <h4>Chapter 275 Meng Xuan was desperate</h4>

    He Danggui was angry and amused. She waved her little hand to Meng Xuan and said, ¡°Uncle Meng, you will be eighteen or neen years old in three years. Are you ashamed to ask me, a seven-year-old kid, such questions? The person who turned against you is me in three years. I don¡¯t know anything about it now. Are you unreasonable to do this?¡± Feeling the tighter arms around her, she became helpless. She nodded and said, ¡°Well, if you want an answer, I¡¯ll tell you. You are nice and treat me very well, but I don¡¯t love you. What should I do?¡±

    Meng Xuan didn¡¯t believe it, and shook his head. ¡°Don¡¯t be angry with me on purpose. If you didn¡¯t fall in love with me, you would not marry me. Xiaoyi, our time is precious, so don¡¯t be angry with me. Let¡¯s talk it over.¡±

    He Danggui asked, ¡°Talk it over? Do you want me to follow you to persuade myself in three years? No way.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t go three yearster.¡± Meng Xuan opened his neckline and motioned her to look inside. ¡°Traveling through time and space cost me dearly. I can¡¯t bear to make you suffer like that. I just want toe back and change history, so that you can marry me from now on. Be my wife, and we...¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± He Danggui screamed and interrupted him when looking at the deep blood-red hole in his chest that didn¡¯t bleed outward. The hole was as big as a fist and ced in the center of his heart and lungs. He Danggui quickly patted his head with her little hand and eximed, ¡°You have suffered such a serious injury, and why are you still holding me? Put me down quickly, and I will treat you!¡± With this, she touched the needle sleeve on her left wrist. She was surprised to find that as her body became smaller, the needle sleeve and the silver needles inside also became three or four times smaller, bing ¡°child-specific¡± needles.

    Meng Xuan took away the little hand that patted his eyes and looked at her softly with a smile, ¡°You never say uncle. Obviously, you care about me so much, and you love me. Xiaoyi, look at my eyes.¡±

    He Danggui was anxious, ¡°Stop it. I will heal your injury first. If you die, what is the point of whether I like you or not?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, this injury won¡¯t kill me. It¡¯s just that I was hit by a small stone while passing through a long ck tunnel. It will be fine in a few months.¡± Meng Xuan calmed her and said, ¡°Besides, although I was injured in spirit, it¡¯s my body that really hurts and bleeds. The spirit cannot heal, and it isn¡¯t painful.¡±

    He Danggui did not give up, ¡°My Yunqi Acupuncture can bring the dying back to life. How can you know if you don¡¯t try it? Maybe I can heal your spirit, so your body will heal. You see, I can touch you with my hand, so the silver needle will definitely pierce you. Let¡¯s try it!¡±

    As she spoke, she twisted and tried to get down, so Meng Xuan had to obey her and sat on the ground as she ordered. Then He Danggui drew out a silver needle of thergest size and pierced it on him. A strange thing happened. The body of the real Meng Xuan could not be pierced with the silver needle. Wherever she pierced, his body became transparent. She could see the ck paved path behind him. The transparent part of his body maintained for a while. After only a few attempts, Meng Xuan¡¯s body ¡°disappeared¡± partly, which looked very strange.

    He Danggui frowned and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Did you feel my silver needle prick you, Meng Xuan?¡±

    Meng Xuan nodded and wanted to say something, but the blood had already flowed out before he said. When he saw that she was frightened, he wanted tofort her, but he vomited more blood when he opened the mouth. He Danggui was shocked, and stretched out her hand to touch him. She felt as if she went into a pool of autumn water. The coldness prated into her skin, but she couldn¡¯t touch Meng Xuan at the end of the pool, as if there was a long distance between him and her.

    Meng Xuan closed his eyes and adjusted his breath for a moment. Then he finally could speak. His voice became far away, as if he and she were really separated by mountains and rivers, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, Xiaoyi. My time is used up, and I get in touch with the reality, so I feel pain gradually. My fourth uncle and... Qi Xuanyu worked together to send my spirit back three years ago. Fourth Uncle told me that once there was an invisible water curtain covering me, I would go back after a while.¡±

    He Danggui was dumbfounded. She felt that her head was suddenly immersed in the cold water. Was Meng Xuan, who came from three yearster, about to leave? She didn¡¯t know what to say. With such precious time, what questions did she want to ask Meng Xuan in three years?

    Meng Xuan seemed to have guessed what she was thinking, and said, ¡°Xiaoyi, if you have any questions, just ask me. I will tell you anything I know.¡± He coughed up blood and said, ¡°Three Yearster, the San Qing Tang of your Luo¡¯s Mansion is still for the official medicine. Your elder cousins Luo Baiqian and Qi Chuan...¡±

    ¡°Okay, stop it!¡± He Danggui interrupted him, feeling a little bit sorrow. Somehow, tears streamed down her cheeks in an instant. She took off her handkerchief and covered her face. Then she sobbed and med him, ¡°You fool, why do youe to see me? It¡¯s so dangerous to go through time and space. Youe back in vain, and I waste your time¡­¡± She blew her nose and asked, ¡°What do you want to say?¡±

    She roughly estimated that Meng Xuan was one of the best among the young masters in martial arts in the world, and he was so diligent that his martial arts would be even higher in three years. Even so, he suffered a serious injury, which showed how dangerous the actual situation of ¡°being hit by a small stone while passing through a long ck tunnel¡± was. He paid such a painful price to see her. Why?

    With her eyes wide open, she looked across the flowing water curtain to see the sword that Meng Xuan had just used to shave his hair. The stainless-steel scabbard was worn and there were many deep pits on it. It could be seen that he arrived here after a fierce battle with the ¡°killing flying stones¡±. Damn it, how could she not notice it at all just now?

    Meng Xuan smiled andforted her, ¡°My injury is not serious. It will be healed in a few months, and there will be no future troubles. If you are willing to forgive me ande back to me, then you will rejuvenate me. I want to be with you to be a hundred years old and watch the beauty of the world together. As long as you are willing toe back to me, I am absolutely reluctant to die. Xiaoyi, you will forgive me, right? Are you willing to marry me from now on and never leave me?¡±

    He Danggui blew her nose and was stunned. Meng Xuan sacrificed so much for her. Would she like to marry him when she finished the dream, and be one of his five concubines? Would she like to share a husband with other women? She instinctively rejected this idea. She just wanted to shook her head to refuse. Suddenly, she saw Meng Xuan¡¯s always energetic face pale as white paper, with big cold sweat oozing out, as if he was going to die. She cried out loud, and shouted, ¡°Your heart pulse has been beaten! Your heart pulse must have been beaten! When you go back, look for me. I will help you heal your wounds, oh!¡±

    Meng Xuan vomited blood, and asked unwillingly, ¡°Will you marry me now... Don¡¯t leave me, okay?¡±

    He Danggui covered her mouth with a handkerchief and nodded twice. If she didn¡¯t leave him, he wouldn¡¯t return to look for her three years ago, and he wouldn¡¯t suffer so much... Qi Xuanyu was good at acupuncture, and he brought Zhu Quan back to life... He Danggui stared suddenly and shouted, ¡°Qi Xuanyu has excellent medical skills. Ask him to save you!¡± Sixteen yearster, Qi Xuanyu was able to save Zhu Quan. Then, three yearster, Qi Xuanyu might also be able to save Meng Xuan!

    Meng Xuan grinned. After he thought for a moment, he exined to her, ¡°I don¡¯t like the three concubines I married before. One is the daughter of an assistant director chosen by my mother, and married me an as a maid. Then, when I went back to the capital to report on work during the Spring Festival, my mother hosted a flower viewing banquet at home and deliberately let me see the bare feet of a miss. I originally refused to ept the miss. But that year, I missed you so much and didn¡¯t dare to go to Yangzhou City to see that you have fallen in love with Childe Duan. And that miss, by coincidence, looks a bit simr to you, so I was obsessed for a while. And thest one...¡±

    Just at this moment, he coughed violently, and a lot of blood sprayed on the water curtain on his side. He Danggui cried, shook her head and said, ¡°Stop talking. I don¡¯t want to listen. I don¡¯t care how many women you married. I will marry you as soon as I get out of the dream.¡± She was rescued by Meng Xuan twice, so she decided to marry him just as gratitude. After all, he loved her so much.

    Meng Xuan¡¯s white teeth were reddened by blood. He clutched his chest and added, ¡°Thest one is Huai Yi who masqueraded as you back then. I didn¡¯t find it for a while and recognized her as my savior. She changed her name as Zi Xiao after she resumed secr life. I asked my family retainer to take her back to Meng¡¯s Mansion in the capital and sent a letter to my mother. I said that she was my concubine in Yangzhou City, and her family was innocent. I asked my mother to treat her well. Later, I found some clues in the report of the Qiyanggong Sect. Until then I knew that you lived in Shui Shang Temple for a period of time. Then I took the Carefree Fragrance you gave me to the rouge shop and asked, only to realize that the fragrance is really unique.¡±

    He Danggui lowered her head and said nothing. Was she self-defeating? However, she had never expected three years ago that the lively boy Meng Xuan would be her beloved husband.

    ¡°After discovering that I was deceived, I immediately went back to Meng¡¯s Mansion and questioned Zi Xiao. She couldn¡¯t stand it and admitted that she lied to me. She was crying and begging me to forgive her at that time.¡± Meng Xuan said with a frown. ¡°I was about to drive her away, but my mother suddenly appeared and didn¡¯t allow me to do that. Then I knew that during the two years when Zi Xiao came to Meng¡¯s Mansion, she dedicated herself to serving my mother, making my mother happy during illness, and my mother favors her... In this way, Zi Xiao is still my concubine. I saw my mother was happy when being served by her, so I gradually dispelled the idea of sending her away secretly.¡±

    He Danggui sighed, ¡°Okay, I know. I don¡¯t haggle with you over this. I will not say anything about ¡®monogamy¡¯ from now on.¡± Qing¡¯er once told her that monogamy was also difficult to do in her time. Rich men would inevitably have other thoughts. As the old saying went, ¡°This has been going on since ancient times.¡±

    Meng Xuan waved his hand weakly and said, ¡°No. The reason why I¡¯ming back this time is to ask you to marry me in advance and try to like me. I don¡¯t mean to make youpromise. I¡¯m very sure of my intentions. In this life andter lives, I only love you, and I never want to have rtionship with other women. I have never touched those three concubines in the mansion, nor have I slept with the Infanta Xiancao. As long as you give me some time, I will definitely send them away one by one!¡±

    ¡°Women are the most persistent animals in the world. Once they are married, they will take root there. It is not easy to send them away.¡± He Danggui shook her head. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that one of them was pregnant and your mother took her to Meng¡¯s Mansion?¡± She took the handkerchief and wiped the tears on her face.

    Meng Xuan frowned when he heard her words, and a trace of hatred and regret showed in his eyes. He gritted his teeth and said, ¡°I was plotted against by someone just before I went back to find you. I just found a clue about the person who plotted against me. It may be Lord Ning, Zhu Quan.¡±

    ¡°Zhu Quan?!¡± He Danggui stopped wiping her tears.

 Chapter 276 - Monogamy

    <h4>Chapter 276 Monogamy</h4>

    ¡°Zhu Quan?¡± He Danggui was amazed, ¡°Don¡¯t you know that Qi Xuanyu is on the same side with Zhu Quan? Why did you ask him to help you! What if he tries to harm you?¡± After a few seconds, she continued, ¡°Do you remember thatst time Qi Xuanyu dared to fight with Zhu Quan because thetter tore my little portrait? This is the proof of Qi Xuanyu¡¯s high skill in Kungfu!¡±

    Meng Xuan consoled her, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. No one can defeat my fourth uncle, and there will be no troubles.¡±

    Suddenly, the water curtain in front of him started to flow sharply, and his voice became urgent and painful, ¡°Xiaoyi, it feels like three hundred years have passed since you refused to see me three months ago. I can¡¯t find you. I can¡¯t tell you that I miss you. You are so smart yet ruthless. You do know the method that hurts mepletely. Is your heart made of ice? You didn¡¯t even leave me a chance to exin. For three months, I guess I have suffered from my punishment long enough. However, you are about to marry someone else! Compared to that, I wish you could kill me outright!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± She apologized for the cruel and heartless woman three yearster.

    ¡°It took me so long to marry you. I thought I had found the greatest happiness in the world. But I didn¡¯t expect to lose you so easily within half a year. I hate myself!¡± Meng Xuan suddenly plunged his hands into the water curtain and whispered, ¡°Let me feel you, please. I don¡¯t know when I will see you again.¡±

    He Danggui had no time to figure out how Meng Xuan could cross the water curtain, and she hurriedly stepped forward to put his hand on her teary cheek. Seeing Meng Xuan, she was extremely distressed about insisting on that damn ¡°monogamy.¡±

    A soft light appeared in Meng Xuan¡¯s eyes, ¡°I didn¡¯t like to sleep before. I felt that it was a waste of time. I only needed to sit in meditation for two hours each day. But since I lost you, I started to like sleeping, a way in which I can be with you. Sometimes, I really want to sleep for a long time. I just want to see you when I close my eyes every time. In my dreams, you are not as ruthless as you are in reality at all. You will rush into my arms and rub your warm face against my chest, saying that we will never be apart.¡±

    He Danggui cried, ¡°We won¡¯t! We will be together forever.¡±

    Meng Xuan exhaled a warm breath. Then he panted andughed, ¡°Thank you, it is very heartwarming. Xiaoyi, I just hope that if I make any mistakes in the future, or I let you be sad or disappointed, you would go straight to tell me and correct my problems. The Meng Xuan three years ago doesn¡¯t know how to be a good lover, but I hope you could teach him and don¡¯t abandon him, okay?¡±

    He Danggui cried and nodded, ¡°Of course! I promise!¡±

    Meng Xuan¡¯s hands were as cold as ice. He stroked her cheeks and said with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s a really valuable trip. I have gotten the heart of the seven-year-old Xiaoyi. I wish I had met you earlier. My life was so dull before I met you. Xiaoyi, before I knew you, I didn¡¯t know what was loneliness. However, now, I am afraid to be alone. Yingtian Prefecturewithout you is like in ruins!¡±

    ¡°Oh!¡± He Danggui said suddenly, ¡°Qi Xuanyu has a high level of medical skills, but you are still vomiting blood. He doesn¡¯t give an acupuncture treatment, does he? Meng Xuan, he may want to hurt you. What should we do?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. He is conducting a ritual to help me. I will let him heal my injuries when I go back.¡± Meng Xuan looked at her through the water curtain tenderly and affectionately. ¡°Three years ago, Zhu Quan said that he had a kind of disease. If he didn¡¯t saw you, his heart would hurt. But he didn¡¯t love you. It was only because of the Love Poison. However, I am totally different. Ever since I drank your cloud tea, I have been drunk for six years, and I have been missing you every single day. When I left Yangzhou City that year, I sneaked into the tea room of Fu Shou Yardof Luo¡¯s Mansion and stole the pot of half-seeded red fruit tea you made. I put it on my countertop and ate one slice every day. ording to Yi Tong, the taste of the tea was too sweet, but I could only sense bitterness in my mouth. Yi Tong said that my tongue didn¡¯t work...¡±

    ¡°Stop!¡± He Danggui shook her head. Looking at the red stain on Meng Xuan¡¯s chest, she said sadly, ¡°Why are you torturing yourself like this? If you survive this time, don¡¯t be so stupid again in the future. I don¡¯t deserve you to do this!¡±

    But Meng Xuan was so stubborn that he insisted on telling Xiaoyi about his theft, ¡°I also stole a strand of your hair. I have always smelled the Carefree Fragrance on it for the past years. My worries dissipated with the fragrance as well. But Yi Tong told me that the hair had no fragrance at all, and my nose didn¡¯t work. The cambric waistband and leggings you entrusted to your mother were secretly reced by me. I bought them in a cloth shop. I took the waistband and leggings you made and put them on every night. Yi Tong said that my waist and legs were also in some trouble. Xiaoyi, only you can cure these problems. Are you willing to treat me?¡±

    He Danggui nodded her head twice, but then shook it, ¡°I lied to you. I didn¡¯t die of illness after I married Duan Xiaolou.¡± Meng Xuan was a stupid fool of love. He would kill himself if he continued to act like this. She wanted to break her image as the fairy and wake him up from his love fantasy.

    Thinking of this, she said cruelly, ¡°I couldn¡¯t bear the loneliness of the Marquis¡¯ Mansion in my previous life. So, I eloped with a man and gave birth to three children. I am no longer a virgin. In this life, I took a liking to Zhu Quan¡¯s position and power, so I seduced him when he was in Luo¡¯s Mansion. Later, I found that I overestimated my abilities, so I turned to you for help and wanted to marry you for shelter!¡±

    Meng Xuan was silent for a moment and said, ¡°It¡¯s not you. If you wanted to cling to the rich and powerful childes, you had no need to seduce Zhu Quan. I¡¯m not less powerful than him. Besides, I am obedient to you. Why didn¡¯t you seduce me? On the night of our marriage, you were still a virgin, and you were so gentle to me back then. Xiaoyi, I am no longer who I was three years ago. Now I trust you wholeheartedly. Such lies cannot deceive me anymore. I know that you don¡¯t want me to be crazy, but I can¡¯t control myself. You made me like this. When I wanted to marry you as my concubine, I took ount of your reputation. If you had agreed immediately, I might not have been so obsessed with you.¡±

    He Danggui was silent, and then she sighed, ¡°It¡¯s predestined. These is no escape from our fates.¡±

    She warmed Meng Xuan¡¯s hands with her cheek and made up her mind to find Meng Xuan as soon as she got out of Fantasy Dream. She would treat him well, dispel his bad luck, and let him live happily for the rest of his life. She would return his affectionateness. She had already ruined Duan Xiaolou, but she couldn¡¯t ruin Meng Xuan as well. Otherwise, she would be a sinner in this life. In addition, it was not difficult for her to love an outstanding and righteous man like Meng Xuan if she tried to open her heart...

    ¡°I need to tell you something.¡± Meng Xuan felt there was a suction above his head, trying to pull his spirit from this ce, so he said with the fastest speed, ¡°The name of the woman who identally had my child is Xiao Suxin. Her real name is Su Xiaoxiao. She was a friend of mine in my previous life, but we didn¡¯t have emotional entanglement. However, before I was rescued by you on the mountain, I saved her once at Tu¡¯er Town, where she started to have crush on me. I don¡¯t know how to deal with it. She has never shown her feelings to me, and I have no chance to refuse her. I hope that she will meet her lover of previous life soon.¡±

    ¡°Lover of previous life?¡± He Danggui frowned, ¡°but she has fallen in love with you in this life. That man may not be helpful. Once a woman falls in love, she won¡¯t let it go easily. Don¡¯t underestimate a woman¡¯s determination.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why I exin. I want you to help your future husband solve this problem,¡± Meng Xuan even said yfully at a crisis, ¡°If you change her predestined marriage, I won¡¯t have a child with her. As long as you help me, I can swear that I will be faithful to you in the future, and I would rather lose my life than lose my chastity, okay?¡±

    Meng Xuan¡¯s long hair was floating because of the suction. He Danggui hurriedly said, ¡°Tell me what to do! I will follow your instructions!¡± Every message from Meng Xuan was at a cost to his health. She couldn¡¯t let him down anymore.

    Meng Xuan told her, ¡°Her lover in the previous life was your second cousin, Luo Baiji. Destiny brought them together. Su Xiaoxiao lived in a house on the back street of Luo¡¯s Mansion, and she even gave birth to a son. That was a lovely period. But Luo¡¯s Family broke the sweetness by introducing Luo Baiji a formal wife. What was even worse was that their son was stolen one night; only a note was left, saying that the thief knew Su Xiaoxiao¡¯s true identity, and if she didn¡¯t want her husband¡¯s family to be killed, she had to leave Yangzhou City forever.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s her true identity?¡±

    Meng Xuan, sitting cross-legged, gradually moved away from the ground, and his voice was getting more and more distant. He said, ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have revealed my friend¡¯s secrets, but she has invaded our lives. I must vite my principle this time. Xiaoyi, she is a friend of my previous life. I hope you will show mercy to her.¡±

    He Danggui felt so angry andughable. The man¡¯s time was running out, but he had the mood to intercede for others? She red at him, ¡°She is a heroine. I don¡¯t think I can help her. You are acting like I am a human-eating monster.¡±

    Meng Xuan flew higher, and his voice became distant and vague, ¡°Three yearster, everyone will take you seriously. Your name will be more shocking than ten cannibalistic monsters. Su Xiaoxiao is the culprit pursued by imperial order. She is Hu Weiyong¡¯s adopted daughter. Although Hu Weiyong died when she was only three years old, she and the nurse fled with an important legacy of Hu Weiyong. That¡¯s why she is the felon.¡±

    Hu Weiyong¡¯s adopted daughter? But He Danggui had no time to think about it. She continued to ask, ¡°Anything else?¡±

    Meng Xuan¡¯s voice was almost inaudible. He Danggui could only hear a vaguely faint sound. ¡°¡­ Fantasy Dream ¡­ form ties of affection ¡­ predestined ¡­¡± In the next moment, he was drawn away by a huge force and disappeared. Only the word ¡°monogamy¡± echoed in the ck paved path.

    Click! Something fell on the ground not far away. He Danggui hurried over to see what it was.

 Chapter 277 - The shadow walls in the Seventh Stage

    <h4>Chapter 277 The shadow walls in the Seventh Stage</h4>

    He Danggui ran towards the bulging stuff on the ground and picked it up. With the help of the light of the sky, she found that it was an octagonal cedar box. The box was asrge as a cattail leaf fan with words written on the lid. At that time, it was dim and unclear. He Danggui felt anxious, so she lit up Huo Zhe Zi (a tight roll of rough paper keeping in an airtight tube box, which could be carried around and was easy to rekindle once it was exposed into the air again).

    It did not take long before the sky turned bright. The gray sky at dawn had been gradually fulfilled with sunlight. Now, He Danggui could see the ck corridor where she was in. The left and right walls even reflected people¡¯s shadows. Upon an inspection, she found the shadows were like courtdies and eunuchs. She was alert at first, but then her alert turned into confusion. Those shadows were just colored reflections on the white walls, far from real people. Besides, they were moving with faint voices from the walls.

    This kind of scene was like the ¡°television¡± or ¡°screen¡± described by Qing¡¯er. It was quite novel to He Danggui, so she carefully put the cedar box in her arms and walked down the corridor. There were plenty of moving shadows on the walls, and they had triggered He Danggui¡¯s curiosity. Although the voice from the people in the wall was far away, her ears were good enough to collect even the weakest sound.

    The shadows on the left wall had surprised her, which looked like the Imperial Pce in her previous life. She had pretended to be a little eunuch and followed Zhu Quan into the pce, so she could confirm that these were all the pces for unmarried princesses. When she went down further, a shrill voice from a eunuch was heard, ¡°A shameless princess. If I were her, I would alreadymit suicide. But she is still singing in the yard. Her squeaky voice is terrible enough, not to mention her burnt face!¡±

    Then He Danggui went further and saw that in a courtyard, a teenage girl wearing a bamboo hat was singing while wiping her tears. After a while, a young man suddenly showed up, and he seemed to be the juvenile Qi Xuanyu. The girl must be the Tenth Princess.

    ¡°Tenth Princess,¡± Qi Xuanyu smiled and approached the girl, ¡°Are you looking for me?¡±

    ¡°You are here!¡± The girl stood up in surprise, ¡°You said that once I sang, you would walk down from the sky to see me. My angel, you didn¡¯t lie to me!¡±

    Angel? He Danggui snorted disdainfully. This man was just a liar. He even started to fool a little girl when he was so young.

    Qi Xuanyu took out a brass argyle mirror from his sleeve, and then handed it to the girl with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s for you. Try it.¡±

    The girl immediately cried, ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    Qi Xuanyu took out a white folded paper object and said, ¡°This is a precious stuff I asked for from other immortals. Let me put it on for you.¡± No matter whether the girl agreed or not, he grabbed her to take off her bamboo hat. Ignoring her elusion and scream, he held her cheeks and carefully wiped her tears. Then he said in a gentle tone, ¡°You don¡¯t need to feel ashamed. It¡¯s not your fault to be like this. Besides, I have a third eye. I can see your true appearance. You are beautiful.¡±

    Up to now, the girl was back on to He Danggui, making her even more curious about how bad the girl¡¯s face was hurt. As far as she knew, if survivors of fire got their faces burnt, then the most fragile eyes would be damaged as well in most cases. Was the girl blind?

    Qi Xuanyu entered his official career at the age of 14. He won the trust of the emperor through divination when he went to the Imperial Pce for the first time. With a promising future, he could have any kind of beauties. Why should he be soisant to a disfigured princess? He was a friend of Zhu Quan, so he couldn¡¯t be a benevolent person. Was it because of a little sympathy that he ventured into the princess¡¯s residence and yed pretend with a little girl?

    He Danggui walked around the shadow several times, wanting to take a look at the girl¡¯s face from another angle, but these shadows were t, so she couldn¡¯t see the girl¡¯s face at all. When she was disappointed, the view of the wall spontaneously turned around. It showed the back of Qi Xuanyu and the girl¡¯s face.

    He Danggui¡¯s face was close to the wall. As a result, when the girl¡¯s face suddenly appeared on the wall, it almost touched the nose of He Danggui. She was shocked to scream and stepped backward. The girl¡¯s face was densely covered with dozens of old scars of various depths. It was too horrible to look at it... Was her face burned by fire? No! it was cut by a knife! Who dared to hurt Zhu Yuanzhang¡¯s daughter!

    He Danggui leaned against the wall on the right and took a deep breath. Just at the moment when she wanted to check how simr the girl was to her, a bloodcurdling sound came from the wall behind her. That was Zhu Quan¡¯s voice.

    ¡°Do we really have to kill her? I... I can¡¯t do it.¡±

    Another voice answered, ¡°She peeked at the correspondence between you and Zhu Yunwen. Besides, she knows your hesitation between Zhu Yunwen and Zhu Di in those years. In addition, she put forward the idea that you pretended to be kidnapped by Zhu Di so that you can send your troops to Zhu Di. Once she betrays you, you will be powerless! Do you want to put yourself at risk regardless of your emperor dream?¡± That voice was low and hoarse with an ufortable retroflex consonant.

    ¡°However, Concubine He is loyal to my Lord. She has not made any disobedience in the past ten years. What¡¯s more, she is pregnant with the Lord¡¯s child.¡± That was the voice of Ming Yue. When He Danggui slowly turned around, she indeed saw Zhu Quan! The man in ck beside Zhu Quan wore a transparent ice mask. The mask was pressed closely against his face and deformed his face, so she couldn¡¯t see his real appearance at all.

    Ming Yue squatted in the corner of the room, managing some colored marbles. He Danggui knew those were intelligence beads from Wuying Tower. The color and size of the beads represented the category and importance of intelligence. The lowest level was Yellow; the highest level was purple. He Danggui had also participated in work of intelligence concentration and distribution. Ming Yue was rubbing a marble in his hand and said, ¡°Since a woman is pregnant, she is like a tree rooting here. How could she betray my Lord? Mr. Gao, you said Concubine He is cheating on my Lord, but you don¡¯t have any evidence. I think you are just sowing discord.¡±

    The man in ckughed and said, ¡°A ve dares to talk to me? Lord, you don¡¯t have any rules here, huh?¡±

    Zhu Quan snorted and took off an orange from a mini citrus tree on the case, ¡°Apart from booking a room at Yui Inn, does she have any other unusual behaviors? Did you saw that a man met her covertly?¡±

    He Danggui was looking at this Zhu Quan on the wall. Ming Yue mentioned that she was pregnant with a child. Then, this scenario was half a year before she was killed. This Zhu Quan was very young, and he was 20 years younger than the one in Wu Xiang Ge. This proved that everything that happened in Wu Xiang Ge was fake!

    The man in ckughed out in a terrible sound and said arrogantly, ¡°She is the concubine of you. She should have been embroidering in her room. What would she do in a room of the inn in disguise? I knew I should have caught them red-handed. The reason why I didn¡¯t is that I wanted to take care of your reputation. Lord, you should trust me. I have no grudge against her. Why would I trap her?¡±

    He Danggui frowned. She had a vague memory about sneaking out when she was pregnant, but that was for...

    Zhu Quan raised his hand and told Ming Yue, who was watching and listening in the corner, ¡°I want to have tea and y Go with Mr. Song. Go to Jiu Lan Yard and prepare them.¡± Ming Yue reluctantly left, muttering in his mouth, ¡°Mr. Song has been dead for many years. What¡¯s wrong with my Lord?¡±

    He Danggui knew that Mr. Song was Song You, the best tea artist in the world, known as ¡°Senior Lu Yu¡±. When Zhu Quan was on his way to Daning after being conferred Lord Ning, he brought Song You with him, who could not walk because of the punishment, removal of the kneecaps. After their arrival, Zhu Quan ced him in the Jiu Lan Yard of Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion. Whenever he was free, he would have tea and y Go with Song You. Song You was He Danggui¡¯s teacher of tea art. He had taught her for two years and died of illness in the 3rd year of Jianwen Period.

    After his death, Zhu Quan was sad and regretful, sighing that he had lost a confidant. Though He Danggui would make tea for him, Zhu Quan stillined that he would never taste the Cloud tea again. He Danggui heard that Zhu Quan often went to Jiu Lan Yard to recall the past with Song You and y Go by himself. She was very dissatisfied, so she practiced tea art and Go skills day and night, and finally, she was able topare with Song You.

    However, Song You was an ascetic monk and was careless about everything. His Go skills and tea art contained leisure without desire, not like He Danggui¡¯s. Although He Danggui had caught up with Song You¡¯s skills, she was too eager to win and was far from Song You¡¯s understanding. Thesements on herself were made in this life after she restudied tea art and Go skills. She was blinded by her superb skills in her previous life.

    Qin, Go, Calligraphy, Painting, Poetry, Wine, Tea, and Flowers were all graceful objects. However, once they became tools to win the favor of others, there would be no difference between them and the vulgar tricks. No matter how good a Go yer was, he or she would be nothing more than a Go stone on others¡¯ Go board, and his or her life and death were not under his or her own control. He Danggui looked at the shadow on the wall and smiled sarcastically. Zhu Quan couldn¡¯t do this to her? But when he finally killed her, he showed no mercy at all.

    After Ming Yue left, Zhu Quan turned to the man in ck, ¡°Let¡¯s pass this topic. If she really betrays me or cheats on me, I will not spare her. Gao Shenjun, what have you gained from the sea journey? Are Fang Qi¡¯s troops avable?¡±

    ¡°Why should we pass this? I¡¯m here for this! Why don¡¯t you deal with it?¡± The man in ck snorted coldly, ¡°Lord, don¡¯t be immersed in love and forget our pride of Mongols, and the shame of our conquered nation. Which is more important, the annoying woman or your great cause?¡±

 Chapter 278 - Concubine He must die

    <h4>Chapter 278 Concubine He must die</h4>

    He Danggui¡¯s round eyes widened because of the words from the man in ck. Pride of Mongols? The shame of their conquered nation?

    Zhu Quan was a Mongolian? How could it be possible? There was no doubt that Zhu Quan wasZhu Yuanzhang¡¯s son. He hadplicated feelings for Zhu Yuanzhang, and he was as ruthless as Zhu Yuanzhang.Moreover, they both scorned women and killed women easily. How could Zhu Quan be a Mongolian?

    Zhu Quan frowned, ¡°Gao Shenjun, be careful what you say! I know you are an old minister of the previous dynasty, but you have crossed the line. I know how to choose between power and women at the age of three. I don¡¯t need your lecture!¡±

    The man named Gao Shenjun sneered, ¡°Fine! Since you don¡¯t need me anymore, I will just leave here and return to my hometown. However, I want to ask you for a thing so that I can leave without concerns.¡±

    ¡°What do you want?¡± Zhu Quan was looking out the window with his hands sped behind his back.

    Gao Shenjun looked through the window. There was a green-haired and red-billed parrot with a hanging gold rod. Then, he shouted in a deep voice, ¡°Concubine He¡¯s head! She must die!¡±

    That parrot was so smart that it immediately yelled, ¡°Concubine He¡¯s head! She must die!¡±

    Zhu Quan frowned and asked, ¡°For what? Did you just say that you never meet her? Why do you want to kill her? I will make final conclusion. There is no need to say more. Besides, I have no intention of abandoning you. I need you in many areas to achieve our great cause!¡±

    Gao Shenjun¡¯s voice was sarcastic, ¡°My Lord, admit it! You don¡¯t want to kill her. Nine years ago, you were a ruthless man who acted decisively, so you wouldn¡¯t get into any trouble. Do you remember that one of your subordinates ughtered a vige in order to find the traitor? You pretended to sentence him to death but secretly reced him with another condemned prisoner and hid him in Wuying Tower. You were a decisive person who appreciated people like you. But why can¡¯t you kill Concubine He now?¡±

    Zhu Quan was silent for a while, ¡°She is pregnant with my child. Even a vicious tiger will not eat its cubs, so I can¡¯t kill her and my child.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not clear that she is pregnant with your child.¡± Gao Shenjun said sinisterly, ¡°She will give birth to the child soon, right? Okay, I will stay here for a few more days. After she gives birth to that child, I will ask you for her head.¡±

    The parrot outside the window was still moring, ¡°Quack! Quack! Concubine He¡¯s head! She must die!¡±

    Zhu Quan still refused, ¡°My child needs his mother to grow up. I can¡¯t give you my promise.¡± However, feeling the anger that burst from the man in ck, Zhu Quan continued to say, ¡°However, if she really betrays me, I will eradicate this woman and prevent her from ruining our n. By then, you will be satisfied. Just cutting off her head is too easy for her.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Gao Shenjun asked curiously, ¡°Anything special? I want to learn from you so that I can show off when I go back to the Department of Imperial Guard.¡± He Danggui raised her eyes and stared at this man. Was he an imperial guard?

    Zhu Quan put the orange on the tip of his nose and sniffed it, ¡°I said that my child needs a mother, so she could survive. Capital crime can be forgiven but punishment is inevitable. If she betrays me, I will burn her throat with hot charcoal, blind her eyes with smoke, and damage her muscle tendon personally. Thus, she won¡¯t speak, read, nor write, and our secrets will never be leaked by her.¡±

    He Danggui felt resentful when she heard the words. She still remembered the pain of hot coal filling her throat. That memory made her shudder. What a vicious man! She had risked her life for Zhu Quan. Did she do a disservice to him?!

    But Gao Shenjun was dissatisfied, ¡°Is that all? I thought you would have some new ideas. I am disappointed. Lord, you are still merciful to her. You still keep her attractive appearance and wonderful body. And you let her continue to live in the mansion. Do you still want to make out with her? I just want her head, but you always refuse!¡±

    ¡°Concubine He¡¯s head! She must die!¡± The parrot was jumping and shouting again.

    Zhu Quan¡¯s eyes shrank suddenly. He threw out the orange in his hand to the parrot. Before even seeing the trajectory of the orange, that green-haired parrot had lost his head and fell from the gold rod. It was hung in the air with a thin anklet. Zhu Quan gritted his teeth and said, ¡°Do not be insatiable and forget how to spell ¡®respect¡¯. You are just a dog of my mother. How dare you want my beloved concubine¡¯s head!¡±

    Gao Shenjun let out a sharpugh, which sounded like a cry of an animal. He nodded and said, ¡°Surprised! My Lord, you still remember Infanta Xiye, Yang Hua. With the bad name of wanton, she abandoned her husband to serve that old bastard Zhu Yuanzhang, and in order to save you, she was killed in the end. She ced her hope of restoration of state on you. Now, can you tell me that Concubine He is more important than your mother?¡± He Danggui was stunned. Infanta Xiye? Hope of restoration of state? Was Zhu Quan¡¯s mother a Mongolian?

    Zhu Quan said coldly, ¡°Why did you mention my mother? You are not allowed to call her name!¡±

    ¡°That will never match Concubine He¡¯s evildoing,¡± Gao Shenjun smiled and said, ¡°she has made a witchcraft doll against your mother, making your mother¡¯s soul restless forever! I bet your mother is so pleased for you favoring such a vicious woman!¡±

    Zhu Quan rushed to grab Gao Shenjun¡¯s cor and shouted out, ¡°Nonsense! Concubine Hehas never met my mother. Why did she curse my mother! Ming Yue is right. You are here to sow discord between us! What do you want! Who sent you!¡±

    Gao Shenjun shook off Zhu Quan¡¯s hands. While he smoothed his cor, he said unhurriedly, ¡°Heroes are always attached to beauties. It is really disappointing that you are one of them. Now, you even prefer to trust that bitch instead of me?¡± He threw a doll on the case and sneered, ¡°My Lord, look. What¡¯s this?¡±

    Zhu Quan took up the doll for a close inspection. It had fine stitches, which was simr to He Danggui¡¯s craftsmanship. The birth date written on it was exactly that of his mother. More incredibly, that was even He Danggui¡¯s handwriting!

    Zhu Quan pulled out dozens of fine silver needles in the doll and smashed them into powders with his martial arts. He grabbed the doll and then walked out the room while saying, ¡°I don¡¯t believe it. I will ask her!¡±

    ¡°Hold on!¡± Gao Shenjun stopped Zhu Quan, ¡°If you ask her holding this doll, she will not confess her crime. Instead, she will deny it because of your fierce look.¡±

    ¡°Then what am I supposed to do?¡± Zhu Quan frowned and turned around, ¡°Any suggestions?¡±

    Gao Shenjun whispered a n in Zhu Quan¡¯s ear. Zhu Quan nodded, ¡°Fine, so be it.¡± At this moment, all the shadows on the right wall disappeared.

    However, shadows on the left wall continued. The silhouettes of the girl and the boy were beautifully reflected under the sunset. A leaf fell on the girl¡¯s hair. The boy, Qi Xuanyu, raised his hand to take it off. He passed her an argyle mirror and smiled, ¡°I have put on the magic mask for you. Take a look. Did your appearance look like this before?¡±

    The girl sat back on to He Danggui, but the face with the magic mask reflected in the mirror was really He Danggui¡¯s face. It couldn¡¯t go wrong!

    The girl froze for a long time and then stroked her face in surprise. She cried out and stammered, ¡°I¡­ It is my face! How¡­ Angel, what¡¯s going on?¡±

    Qi Xuanyu smiled gently and said proudly, ¡°I have told you about my third eye. I can sense your true face through the scars, and I have drawn it down. After that, I found an immortal to forge this mask ording to your true face. With the mask, you will never have to wear that bamboo hat. Tenth Princess, if you don¡¯t believe me, you can go outside and see if someone willugh at you.¡±

    He Danggui got closer to the wall. It was a perfectly vivid skin mask. The only immortal in the world who could make this thing was Bai Yangbai.

    The girl smiled happily, and then she cried again, ¡°Do I have to wear this mask for the rest of my life?¡±

    Qi Xuanyu consoled her, ¡°It is light, warm, and breathable. You won¡¯t even feel it! It can be used for more than six months. Besides, it is your own face, and you don¡¯t need to feel ashamed.¡±

    The girl was still crying sadly, ¡°What shall I do after half a year? A mask will sooner orter be broken. Even if you could give me tens of them, they will eventually run out. When that dayes, I still have to face the world without the mask. Falling from a high position will be worse than never reaching that height. I don¡¯t want to taste feelings of being ridiculed by others again. Angel, please just let me stay ugly and leave me alone. I don¡¯t want to meet people.¡±

    Qi Xuanyu was silent for a moment, and then he said, ¡°Give me some time. I will find many famous doctors and learn the best medical skills to heal your face. In the future, you will be as beautiful as before. One year at most! I will heal you. After two masks, you can regain your true face.¡±

    The girl believed and smiled through tears, ¡°Thank you. I will sing to you every day after I recover.¡±

    Qi Xuanyu pressed the girl¡¯s head into his arms and said with a smile, ¡°Finally, you stop crying. You are really a cry baby.¡±

    The scene was indeed sweet, but He Danggui was not in the mood to appreciate that. She was thinking of the witchcraft doll that Gao Shenjun just took out. Indeed, she made that doll when she was 19 years old. That was the fourth year after she became the concubine of Zhu Quan. At that time, Ming Ri told her to make a doll for a special action. He also exined the details and asked her to follow them. Why did Gao Shenjun have this doll? Was Ming Ri on his side?

    That was terrible. When she was 19 years old, Ming Ri took one thing from her, which was enough to kill her, in the name of the business. He hated her very much but he had even kept that doll for nine years before framing her up. That was chilling. But why had he kept it so long? Why did Gao Shenjun want her head?

    It turned out that Gao Shenjun and Ming Ri were among those people who murdered her.

 Chapter 279 - The uncovered truth

    <h4>Chapter 279 The uncovered truth</h4>

    On the left wall, Qi Xuanyu began tob the girl¡¯s hair, so He Danggui turned to see the right wall. Then she suddenly saw herself at the age of 28. The pregnant woman who was ying on a swing was really Concubine He.

    ¡°My Lord, won¡¯t you go in?¡± Ming Yue asked.

    Zhu Quan was watching the woman in the courtyard. He turned his head slowly after a while and asked, ¡°Any messages from Yui Inn?¡±

    Ming Yue replied, ¡°Yes. They said that the pregnant woman who booked the room told the shopkeeper to fly the carrier pigeon in the backyard if a man in gray cloth checked in. After that, she paid 10 liang silver as a tip to the shopkeeper for looking after the pigeon and sending messages.¡±

    Zhu Quan frowned and analyzed, ¡°If she is cheating on me, there will be many ways for her to pass on information about their rendezvous location. Why did she choose a strange shopkeeper? This is neither safe nor reliable. What did she want to do?¡±

    Recalling the past, He Danggui couldn¡¯t help being silent. Booking a room at Yui Innwas a contact method told by Bai Yangbai. Zhu Quan embarrassed her at her birthday banquet a few days ago by showing indifference to those malicious remarks on her and her child. Those concubines censured her for seizing Zhu Quan after pregnancy. They also said that she was not getting old because she made out with Zhu Quan frequently. As a result, she was upset and felt that Zhu Quan was giving her the cold shoulder. So, she wanted to ask Bai Yangbai for some opinions.

    Ming Yue suggested, ¡°You are overthinking, My Lord. This will not help you understand Concubine He¡¯s thoughts. She is not a woman ying by the rules, and no one can guess her thoughts. Maybe you should go and ask her directly.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s it. Why didn¡¯t you juste in and ask me?¡± He Danggui thought, ¡°I wasn¡¯t cheating on you! I could confront Bai Yangbai with it.¡±

    Zhu Quan hesitated for a moment and looked at the woman swinging in the courtyard. But he finally left there.

    The scene on the wall changed to a time before Concubine He giving birth. At that time, she hadn¡¯t seen Zhu Quan for many days. She was even blocked when she went to Zhu Quan¡¯s study room. She had something assigned by Luo¡¯s Family for Zhu Quan¡¯s help. However, the eunuch at the entrance of Wu Xiang Ge said that the lord had military matters to handle and didn¡¯t want to see anyone.

    Looking at her protruding belly, Concubine He didn¡¯t know what to say. Since when did she be one of ¡°anyone¡±? Didn¡¯t she have a permanent pass to Wu Xiang Ge? Didn¡¯t Zhu Quan often send other people away at night and tell her to go to Wu Xiang Ge to read with him?

    A woman¡¯s obscene cry came from the study room, ¡°My Lord. Please be gentle with me. I can¡¯t take your huge strength!¡±

    He Danggui had sensitive ears, and Zhu Quan had even better ones. He must have heard her negotiating with the eunuch, and these sounds were deliberately made for her. He had never let other women in his study room. He also said that it was a secret base for only him and her.

    Concubine He immediately left there. Holding her belly, she couldn¡¯t help but cry. When she passed the garden, she was pushed by Concubine Gu. Thanks to her Kungfu foundation, she stabilized after two steps backward. However, Concubine Gu pushed her again. This time, she tripped on a stone and fell heavily to the ground. Then, she was taken away for treatment. Her baby was born prematurely, and she almost died.

    Unexpectedly, Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion was beaming with joy. After Zhu Quan heard about the incident, especially after hearing that Concubine Gu had pushed pregnant Concubine Hetwice, he still didn¡¯t even have a hint of anger. He just rebuked Concubine Gu. Even Concubine Gu herself felt incredible about her slight punishment.

    As a result, everyone in the mansion felt that something had changed. Concubine He was no longer the lord¡¯s treasure. Everyone was cursing her. ¡°Her era was finally over!¡± ¡°Go to hell and stop upying our lord!¡± ¡°She had too much love!¡± ¡°Before today, how many beautiful women were turned old because of her!¡±

    And the canny Concubine Zhou even started nning how to kill her ¡°good sister¡±, Concubine He.

    The shadows continued to change. Concubine He visited Bai Yangbai for the decoction of agerasia, but she didn¡¯t meet him. When she walked down a path alone in the garden in a bad mood, she met his husband. She was rejoiced and ran to her husband, who was attracted by a ¡°siren¡± from the south recently. She asked happily, ¡°Why are you walking alone?¡± And she thought, ¡°Do you feel that the siren is too noisy so you want to be with me?¡±

    Zhu Quan¡¯s hands were ovepped behind him. He turned his side towards Concubine He and half raised his graceful chin as if he didn¡¯t see her. He smiled and said, ¡°You are in a good mood. Are you taking a walk under such a scorching sun?¡±

    Concubine He didn¡¯t get his point. She nodded, ¡°I¡¯m bored after lunch, so I just wander around.¡±

    Zhu Quan said, ¡°Although the scenery in the mansion is gorgeous, it is a bit dull. In my opinion, views outside the mansion will be better. Why don¡¯t you go outside?¡±

    Concubine He was still confused. She only felt that her husband was strange and a little angry today. So, she replied cautiously, ¡°Without the permission of my husband, how can I leave here? In addition, the scenery in the mansion is interesting enough for me.¡±

    Zhu Quan paused and then said, ¡°Well, I hope you enjoy it. Now leave me alone.¡±

    Concubine He was a little disappointed and depressed. She left sorrowfully. After she walked away, Gao Shenjun immediately walked to Zhu Quan and said with a smile, ¡°My Lord, you know she lied to you. We both know that she has juste back from the outside. My Lord, do you remember? She was wearing a light-yellow skirt with a cyan belt when she sneaked out. But she was wearing a dark yellow skirt and a blue belt just now. You are an intelligent man, so you should know why she changed her clothes, right?¡±

    Zhu Quan was silent for a moment and then said, ¡°She must have a reason. She is not such a girl.¡± His voice was trembling without confidence.

    ¡°Ha-ha!¡± Gao Shenjunughed out. ¡°You really love to deceive yourself! She is cheating on you unscrupulously! Yet you are still not taking it seriously and are still defending her. Aren¡¯t you obsessed with chastity to women? I haven¡¯t seen you in few years, and you have changed your mind that you are now willing to sharing your woman with other man.¡±

    Just as Zhu Quan was about to get angry, Shangguan Ming Ri appeared and said sternly, ¡°My Lord, I followed her to an inn where she met a man in gray. I know that man. He is the son of your wet nurse.¡±

    Seeing that Zhu Quan was puzzled, Ming Ri exined, ¡°Madam Nanny had a love child, Wang Ke. I have never told you about it because I don¡¯t think it is necessary to reveal it for the sake of her reputation. Madam Nanny relied heavily on Concubine He¡¯s service and asked her to help take care of Mu Yuan Tang. Besides, she let Wang Ke be the shopkeeper of Mu Yuan Tang. Then, it didn¡¯t take long for them to hook up. Madam Nanny had stopped them many times, but they won¡¯t part. They even embezzled a sum of money from the mansion to buy aphrodisiac such as Wushi Powder.¡±

    Zhu Quan stared at Ming Ri like a snake, ¡°How did you know this? Why did you not tell me that until today! You have always been at odds with her. I don¡¯t believe you!¡±

    Ming Ri continued regardless of Zhu Quan¡¯s words, ¡°After Madam Nanny passed away, they went even further. Apart from Mu Yuan Tang, several inns have also be their love nests. They always ate Wushi Powder for fun while making out. Wang Ke always tore Concubine He¡¯s dress into pieces. That¡¯s why Concubine He had to bring spare dresses in advance. Her daughter¡¯s father is Wang Ke. Because of harmful Wushi Powder, that baby girl was born with a congenital deficiency. In addition, the baby girl was born at full term, but Concubine He lied that her daughter was a prematurely born baby. She dared not let the wet nurse take the baby and kept the baby with her all the time.¡±

    Hearing this, Zhu Quan¡¯s eyes turned red. He fiercely picked up Ming Ri¡¯s cor and snarled, ¡°When did you find these? Are you lying to me? Are you!¡±

    Ming Ri continued his bull shit without any shame, ¡°I am not lying. If you don¡¯t believe it, you can send Wuying Tower¡¯s informers for further investigation.¡± Then he vowed, ¡°If any of my words are not true, I will suffer from the pain of hell forever.¡±

    He Danggui smiled when she heard this. People always liked to cover up lies with vows. What Ming Ri said was not half-truth. In fact, every word of him was not true. Although she worked with Wang Ke, they were clean. Besides, Wang Ke had a wife and children, and he had never taken her seriously. She only learned the thing of love child when Madam Nannywas about to die.

    Madam Nannyasked her to take care of her love child¡¯s family. Therefore, after Madam Nanny died, He Danggui immediately guessed that Madam Nanny wanted to give her son money when she heard that Madam Nanny had allocated arge sum of money to Mu Yuan Tang before her death.

    Although she was called ¡°Madam¡± with a transcendent status in the mansion, she was only Zhu Quan¡¯s wet nurse and had no financial rights. It was reasonable for a mother to leave money for her son by taking advantage. When people are about to die, their selfishness would stand out. Transferring some money from the ¡°rich son¡± Zhu Quan to the ¡°poor son¡± Wang Ke was Madam Nanny¡¯s selfishness. Maybe she was a bit guilty to the ¡°poor son¡± because she had never raised him. Madam Nanny had devoted all her time to the ¡°rich son¡± in exchange for the rest of her extravagant life.

    He Danggui figured out all about this. She didn¡¯t say anything when she discovered that there was a problem with the ounts of Mu Yuan Tang because Madam Nanny was good to her. Later, when Concubine Zhou sent Xu Siniang to ask her about the problem with the ounts of the mansion, she also said nothing. She was even grateful for Concubine Zhou when she heard that Concubine Zhou was willing to cover it up for Madam Nanny as well. Therefore, she promised to be the scapegoat in consideration of protecting Madam Nanny¡¯s reputation.

    It turned out that this was the truth of her death¡­ He Danggui smiled dumbly. Should she me herself for being kind and losing her life because of helping a dead olddy? Should she me Zhu Quan for not asking her if she betrayed him? Should she me Shangguan Ming Ri and Gao Shenjun for being too vicious and set her up with such a poisonous scheme?

    No wonder there was a fresh inkstone on the door of Bai Yangbai¡¯s house, which had been left unupied for a long time, so that her skirt was disdained by ink when she opened the door. It turned out that Ming Ri did this. It was her fault to ce some of her dresses in the closet at Bai Yangbai¡¯s house for recement because she used to take a bath for agerasia in Bai Yangbai¡¯s house.

    Was that also infidelity for a woman to put her dress in another man¡¯s house? If she hadn¡¯t changed her dress that day and worn the one with ink to meet Zhu Quan, would they have made up other lies? For example, they would have made up a story that Wang Ke and she were making out in the study room, so that there was ink on her dress.

    It was impossible to prevent. If two lovers didn¡¯t trust each other, their rtionship would be easily shaken by provocation from others.

    Apart from that, her rtionship with Zhu Quan was not that simple. Zhu Quan valued her ability and loyalty. Once she lost one of them, she would be useless for Zhu Quan. As for her ¡°love at first sight¡± for Zhu Quan, that was just because he was her husband and she had no other choices. Even if Zhu Quan were an ugly and mediocre old man, she would also beautify him in her heart.

    Apart from nning for herself, the most important reason why she fought for favor was Luo¡¯s Family,which had kept forcing her. She couldn¡¯t give what they wanted, but Zhu Quan could. So, she had to make Zhu Quan love her more than others so that she could give those bastard rtives what they wanted. Therefore, Zhu Quan and she were only utilizing each other.

    Moreover, her death was formed by Shangguan Ming Ri and Gao Shenjun. Zhu Quan was not a participator but a deceived fool. From this point of view, she had made a mistake for ming Zhu Quan. He was not one of her enemies but a breaking partner and a stranger who had long been irrelevant to her.

    Zhu Quan grabbed Ming Ri and yelled, ¡°You are a liar! Bring Wang Ke to me! I want to ask him!¡± He Danggui thought, ¡°Concubine Hewas in front of you just now. Why didn¡¯t you ask her directly? Why didn¡¯t you listen to her?¡±

    Ming Ri calmly answered, ¡°Wang Ke rushed into the street and was hit to death by a galloping carriage because of an overdose of Wushi Powder. If you don¡¯t believe me, you can let Wuying Tower lead the investigation. You will find out whether I am lying to you.¡±

    Ridiculous! He Dangguiughed out. What a rascally excuse! The entire Wuying Tower was under the control of Shangguan Ming Ri, and more than 10,000 informers were at his beck and call. How could theye out with a different result!

 Chapter 280 - Truth of death

    <h4>Chapter 280 Truth of death</h4>

    Gao Shenjun said, ¡°That woman will leak our secrets sooner orter. My Lord, you should make up your mind to get rid of this hidden danger. Kill this wanton woman to give vent to our anger!¡±

    Zhu Quan turned his back, ¡°I want to think about it.¡±

    Shangguan Ming Ri approached and said in a whisper, ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about this. Consort Zhou has already discovered that Concubine He often goes outte at night and frequently meets with Wang Ke. Consort Zhou pretended to maintain a good rtionship with Concubine He, but in fact, hatred has been long in her heart because of Concubine He pretending to be lofty. So, Consort Zhou will certainly not let go of this great opportunity to get rid of Concubine He. We don¡¯t have to do anything. We just sit here and watch a y.¡±

    Zhu Quan repeated, ¡°I have to think about it. Leave me alone.¡±

    Gao Shenjun said in the end, ¡°I like her charming eyes. If you want the white jademander¡¯s seal of Zuowei Guarding of the Capital, trade her eyes for it.¡±

    He Danggui was puzzled. When did she offend this imperial guard Gao Shenjun? Why did he hate her so much? The imperial guards were Wuying Tower¡¯s bitter rivals, but they had a tacit understanding that they could avoid each other and had never caused head-to-head confliction between their main forces. It turned out that Zhu Quan had arranged a spy in the imperial guards. Gao Shenjun must be of high status because he could influence imperial guards¡¯ operation n. In addition, he was even a minister of the Yuan Dynasty.

    Powerful as he was, he could send someone to assassinate her if he wanted her to die. Shangguan Ming Ri was also the same. He could kill her like an ant. Why would they go all the way around? When Shangguan Ming Ri told her to make that witchcraft doll, she had just arrived at the mansion. She didn¡¯t have a presence back then. If she was killed by someone at that time, Zhu Quan might not even me the killer. Thus, why did they set such a trap?

    Suddenly, a voice from the shadow wall caught He Danggui¡¯s ears. ¡°Huo Xiang, does your master get up yet?¡± ¡°Yes, but she hasn¡¯t cleaned up. Is something wrong?¡±

    Hatred dripped out from He Danggui¡¯s eyes. That voice was from double-faced Xu Siniang! This woman had disguised herself as an honest person. How many people were deceived by her! In the previous life, Zhou Jinn and her servant Xu Siniang ¡°helped¡± He Danggui a lot, so she wanted to give Xu Siniang gold and silver in return, but Xu Siniang rejected. Therefore, she thought Xu Siniang was a broad-minded personand had no desires. However, she was wrong. Xu Siniang wanted more than just gold and silver¡ªher life!

    After that, He Danggui had learned a lesson that the person who could be bought off was easy to deal with. Besides, she should be vignt on those people who treated her well but didn¡¯t want money in return. What did they want from her? What did she deserve to be treated well by them?

    Xu Siniang smiled, ¡°No. I just want to pay my respects.¡± Concubine He in the room heard their conversation and called her in. She walked into the room and asked with a smile, ¡°My Lady, how do you feel today?¡±

    At that time, Concubine He was too sluggish to wear makeup because she had got a lot on her mind. She felt that something bad was about to happen. Therefore, when she saw an acquaintance, she would love to talk. In this conversation, Xu Siniang threw Madam Nanny¡¯s problem to Concubine He, but this stupid woman epted.

    Why didn¡¯t she think about it? If Zhou Jinn wanted to maintain Madam Nanny¡¯s reputation, why didn¡¯t she solve the problem on her own? One person¡¯s secret was safest, but two people¡¯s secret was not. Zhou Jinn was in charge of the mansion¡¯s finance, so she could easily solve the problem.

    Then, Concubine He took Xu Siniang to see her daughter, Tian. When she happily held her daughter in her arms, Xu Siniang showed a look of jealousy at an invisible corner. However, Concubine He had no idea about what happened. Death had already raised his sickle behind her.

    After that, the plot flowed as smooth as a stream of sweet springs falling from the top of the mountain, which softened the faces of Princess Xie, Senior Concubine Zhou, Senior Concubine Wan, Concubine Gu, Xu Siniang, and so on. Then, Concubine He was used that she had an affair with the other man and used the Mansion¡¯s money to supplement her adulterer. Everyone on site presented a contemptuous look. On the other hand, Shangguan Ming Ri and Gao Shenjun had already made Zhu Quan believe it. Therefore, Zhu Quan closed the case without even seeing the adulterer.

    ¡°Enough!¡± Zhu Quan turned angry suddenly. He grabbed a teacup beside him and mmed it to the ground, ¡°Out! All of you!¡±

    Senior Concubine Zhou and Senior Concubine Wan left obediently, but Princess Xie stayed. Her husband had been upied by Concubine He for more than ten years, now she wanted to witness the downfall of Concubine He. Otherwise, even the most delicious food would be tasteless to her. Therefore, Princess Xie ignored Zhu Quan¡¯s deportation order. Her expression was like saying, ¡°I am privileged.¡± She looked on and stirred up trouble in order to prevent the siren from seducing the lord and mitigating the punishment.

    Zhu Quan¡¯s expression was fierce andpelling, ¡°Do you plead guilty?¡±

    Concubine He was extremely disappointed. She screamed andughed, ¡°How vicious the means are! Ha-ha! Zhu Quan, if you are afraid that I will reveal your secrets, I am willing to die for my daughter if you order me to do so! However, you even dare to put shame on your own daughter! What a monster!¡±

    Princess Xie was puzzled. The secret of Concubine He helping Zhu Quan with Wuying Tower¡¯s affairs was not revealed by Concubine He except a little relevant information to Consort Zhou. In the eyes of the people in the mansion, the lord was just fascinated by Taoism and entertainment. He had never done anything illegal. What were the secrets of him?

    Zhu Quan¡¯s face changed drastically so that he stepped forward and kicked Concubine He¡¯s chest.

    Concubine He vomited blood as she flew away. Then, she struggled to stand up and stared at Zhu Quan with a viper-like gaze, ¡°I don¡¯t hate Zhou Jinn, Xu Siniang, or Xie Qiaofeng. I understand them. Zhu Quan, I hate you! I didn¡¯t expect you would be a man who beats a woman! I have worked for you for more than ten years! I lost a pair of twins because of you! Now, this is the way you treat me!¡±

    Zhu Quan¡¯s eyes turned into a bloody red color. He gritted his teeth and said, ¡°Burn out her throat with hot charcoal and throw her into the Water Dungeon!¡±

    Princess Xie asked, ¡°What about that bastard she gave birth to?¡±

    ¡°Throw them together!¡± Zhu Quan turned around indifferently.

    Princess Xie immediately looked at the servants behind her, and then they hurriedly dragged Concubine He out of the room.

    With no joy or sorrow on his face, Zhu Quan whispered, ¡°Forget what you have heard until you die.¡±

    Princess Xie lowered her head in trepidation, ¡°As you required.¡±

    After Princess Xie left, a man in ck jumped off the roof. He was Gao Shenjun. He asked, ¡°Why don¡¯t you damage her muscle tendon? What if she can write down our secrets? What about her eyeballs I want? I said that she must die. Why don¡¯t you just kill her?¡±

    ¡°She can¡¯t.¡± Zhu Quan walked into the inner room andy down on Concubine He¡¯s couch. After a long time, he said, ¡°You go back to the capital to monitor the situation. Fly me a pigeon if something happens. I¡¯m tired, and I don¡¯t want to see anyone this month.¡±

    ¡°Xie Qiaofeng is also a threat,¡± Gao Shenjun paused and continued, ¡°Since Lord Jin died, his northern forces have been gradually incorporated into ours. Xie Qiaofeng¡¯s father Xie Cheng has long been useless. So, not only Xie Qiaofeng must die, but also Xie Qian, the widow of Lord Jin. They both must die!¡±

    Zhu Quan covered his head with a quilt, and a muffled mutter came from inside, ¡°Suit yourself.¡± Several people¡¯s death was determined by the two words.

    He Danggui smiled with sarcasm. Gao Shenjun was like a demon. He seemed to hate women innately. When he mentioned women¡¯s names, he usually gnashed his teeth. But when he mentioned killing women, his tone was full of pleasure. However, Xie Qiaofeng was also her enemy. When she was in the Water Dungeon and heard people talking that Xie Qiaofeng was burned to death, she was also pleased. Unexpectedly, this mysterious behind-the-scenes culprit helped her solve an enemy.

    After He Danggui learned the causes of her death, she couldn¡¯t tell her feelings. She couldn¡¯t understand those men who killed their wives and children for the sake of power. They sacrificed everything to fight for that supremacy position. But so what? Zhu Yuanzhang spent half a lifetime in the army. Though he enjoyed wealth and glory for decades when he was old, his energy exhausted by the tedious state affairs which were dozens of times more than what he gained from his power. What fun was left for him?

    A sound from the left wall attracted He Danggui¡¯s attention. A woman¡¯s bedroom came into view. The girl with the skin mask was grabbing everything beside the bed and throwing them at the man in front of her. When there was nothing left, she even threw her embroidered shoes out.

    However, such an attack obviously couldn¡¯t scare the man. The embroidered shoes were even caught by him, and they were taken into his arms. He turned his back to He Danggui, so she could not see his face. Only a presumptuous male voice sounded, ¡°They said that your face has been recovered. I didn¡¯t expect it to be true. Tenth Sister, you are even more beautiful than before. Come here. I want to look at you.¡±

    ¡°Ah¡ª¡± The girl was still screaming. She scratched her mask and yelled, ¡°My face is fake! I¡¯m as ugly as before. Leave me alone!¡±

    It seemed that the mask on her face was made from the finest ice silk. Scratch couldn¡¯t hurt it at all. Only Skin Mask Remover could take it off, but Qi Xuanyu didn¡¯t give her one. She didn¡¯t know how to take off the mask. She was crying desperately, ¡°Why can¡¯t I take it off? I don¡¯t want this mask. I want my own face!¡±

    ¡°Tenth Sister, what are you talking about?¡± That man staggered as if he was drunk too much. He smiled as he approached her, ¡°Do you have a fever? Come here, let me hug you. I know how to treat you.¡±

    The girl shook her head in tears and whimpered, ¡°Third Brother, you cannot do this to me. I will tell our father¡­¡±

    Third Brother? Father? He Danggui frowned and squinted. Just at this moment, the ¡°camera¡± turned its angle, and the man¡¯s face was revealed. He was about 25 years old, and he was¡­Lord Jin, Zhu Gang! Although he was very young, He Danggui still recognized him because she used to help Zhu Quan against him.

    Zhu Gang sneered, ¡°Tell our father? Then you have to see him first. You haven¡¯t seen him for four years, right? But I can see him every day and even speak ill of you to him.¡± Seeing that the girl was stunned, he took the opportunity to take a few steps forward and threatened, ¡°If you are not obedient, I will let our father send you to the wildnd and make you marry those barbarians. People there eat raw meat and drink blood. Their women are inferior to cattle. One woman will be used by several brothers in turn. Do you want to try?¡± Then the girl cried out in fright and called for help.

    Seeing that Zhu Gang had sessfully captured the girl, covered her mouth, and acted indecently towards her on the bed, He Danggui felt disgusted. She thought that Luo Chuangu was disgusting enough, but Zhu Gangwas worse. He even wanted to rape his half-blooded sister. As a royal, he could have any women he wanted. Seeing the girl with the same face as her give up and close her eyes tightly, He Danggui was even angrier. No matter whether it was useful or not, she went up and hit the wall. She hoped that Zhu Gang would let go of the girl.

    However, her efforts were useless. So, He Danggui shouted sharply and prepared to break this wall. But she was in a child¡¯s body and couldn¡¯t use her Kungfu. She was getting more and more furious as Zhu Gang slowly undressed the girl. At this time, Zhu Gang suddenly stopped, saying that he needed to leave the room because he drank too much. He warned the girl not to move. Otherwise, she would face more punishments. After that, he tied the girl to the bedpost before leaving.

    The girl broke free immediately after he left. She ran to the door but was driven back by two eunuchs. They smiled maliciously and told her to serve Zhu Gang with her best skills. The girl wandered around the room like a headless fly, and finally, she found a red candle. He Danggui was stunned because the girl lit her mask with the candle and then threw away the candle with a cry. The girl didn¡¯t go to the washbasin to put on the fire before the fire spread.

    When Zhu Gang returned, he thought the burned-out girl would bring bad luck, so he left immediately. The girl writhed on the ground in pain, and the carpet was wet with her tears. At this moment, a man in a pair of boots with gold thread stopped in front of her. He was tall and wore a cloak.

    The girl called for help with difficulty, ¡°Gao Jun, you¡¯re here! I¡¯ll promise you. I want to go with you. I don¡¯t want to stay here anymore. Lord Jin will send me to the wildnd!¡±

    The man didn¡¯t bend his waist, ignoring the girl¡¯s pain. He asked her, ¡°Why do you want to go with me?¡±

    The girl gasped, ¡°Gao Jun, you told me that we Mongolians should live on the prairie under the guidance of nature. We should live there freely...¡±

    The man squatted down and said slowly, ¡°But you are no longer fit to be a Mongolian princess. You show Mongolians up. In fact, you are no longer worthy of living.¡±

    As he said, he picked up a dress on the ground, wrapped it around the girl¡¯s neck, and tightened it with the girl¡¯s whimpers. Finally, the girl fell asleep forever. She would no longer suffer and cry with pain. She would not need to cry for mercy anymore.

    As the plot advanced, white banners were hung outside the pces. The young Qi Xuanyu ran over to ask what happened. A servant replied that Tenth Princess was dead, and this was her funeral. The porcin bottle in Qi Xuanyu¡¯s hand fell to the ground, and the blue liquid in it went all over the floor. He Danggui recognized that it was a bottle of Skin Mask Remover.

    He Danggui quietly stared at this picture full of white banners. Was this her previous life of the previous life? A Mongolian princess? Zhu Yuanzhang¡¯s daughter? What a tragedy.

    At this moment, a sinister voice came from the right wall, ¡°My Lord, there is no need to hide it from you anymore. Everything about Concubine He was just a y made by Shangguan Ming Ri and me. They are all fake. She didn¡¯t betray you. That baby was really your daughter. But I heard that your daughter died within a few days in the Water Dungeon. Surprisingly, Concubine He is still breathing.¡±

 Chapter 281 - Astonishing words from the person with ice mask

    <h4>Chapter 281 Astonishing words from the person with ice mask</h4>

    ¡°Gao Shenjun!¡± Zhu Quan red and asked sternly, ¡°Why did you do that! I trust you so much. Why did you hurt my woman and my child! Why did you trick me!¡±

    Gao Shenjunughed, ¡°It is you who hurt them, not me. I am here to help you. A man who has the ambition to be the emperor can never be impeded by his women and children, nor can he be vulnerable.¡± Then, he turned his head to Shangguan Ming Ri, who was standing next to them angrily, and then said sarcastically, ¡°These ideas of setting up Concubine He all came from your loyal servant, Ming Ri. He was afraid he couldn¡¯t persuade you, so he wanted my help. When I came here and met Concubine He, I found that she was just an ordinary woman. However, I really didn¡¯t like her eyes... I always felt that I have seen her eyes before. In a word, they are eyesores.¡±

    Zhu Quan turned to Ming Ri and asked word by word, ¡°Why? Why did you do it?¡±

    Shangguan Ming Ri seemed to sense the murderous intent from Zhu Quan, so he quickly knelt on one knee to defend himself, ¡°She may not have an affair with Wang Ke, but she is not innocent as well! Maybe she sneaked out to meet other men!¡±

    ¡°Maybe?¡± Zhu Quan¡¯s handsome face was distorted. ¡°You killed my beloved concubine because of an unwarranted charge!¡±

    Shangguan Ming Ri quickly lowered his head and changed his excuses, ¡°My Lord, I have to tell you something. The rtionship between Concubine He and the Taoist Sage was by no means simple. Last time, you saw her walking out of the mansion secretly, and she went to the Taoist Sage¡¯s home. She was looking around for something there. Maybe she wanted to find the evidence of adultery. I stained her dress with ink, but she immediately found a change in the Taoist Sage¡¯s home. If they were clean, why would she ce her dresses there? Maybe...¡±

    Shangguan Ming Ri¡¯s words ended abruptly because Zhu Quan punched his head. That handsome head flew into the air. Then Zhu Quan made another attack, which immediately broke it into blood rains and brains. The body without the head still maintained a kneeling posture. His right fist was still touching the palm of his left hand. Everything happened in a sh. He Danggui hadn¡¯t caught on yet, and she just stared at the headless body of Shangguan Ming Ri.

    Instantly, He Danggui breathed a sigh of relief. Since Shangguan Ming Ri died before her in the previous life, everything she saw in Fantasy Dream was fake. She couldn¡¯t be raped by Zhu Quan after death. That was not true.

    Gao Shenjun let out a hoarseugh. Heughed for a long time before speaking, ¡°He has been following you for nearly 30 years. My Lord, you are cold-blooded enough to be entrusted with the great cause.¡±

    Zhu Quan¡¯s eyes were crimson, and he yelled at Gao Shenjun while rushing toward him. He missed a hit, but he continued his move one after another, crying, ¡°Go to revitalize your country by yourself! I quit! I will cut you an arm for my daughter!¡± Just an arm? He Danggui frowned. What was Gao Shenjun¡¯s story? Why was he able to dodge Zhu Quan¡¯s angry attacks?

    Gao Shenjun said sarcastically while he was unhurriedly dodging Zhu Quan¡¯s attacks, ¡°If you can touch me, I would love to give it to you as a gift. Come on, show me your ability. I want to see what Yang Hua¡¯s son can do.¡±

    Zhu Quan shouted and pointed to the sky with his right hand. After a while, a blue sword suddenly appeared in his hand. Of course, it was not a substantive sword but one made of his Zhenqi. He Danggui had never seen this kind of sword. She only read it once in a book. She didn¡¯t expect that someone in the world could use it. However, that person, by coincidence, was once her husband.

    It was clear that Gao Shenjun was much stronger than Zhu Quan in Kungfu. Although his eyes under the ice mask showed surprise, he continued to take strange steps to dodge attacks without fighting back. Wherever Zhu Quan¡¯s sword came, houses copsed in pieces and trees fell. But, after two hundred rounds, Zhu Quan didn¡¯t even cut a piece of Gao Shenjun¡¯s clothes.

    That sword was fierce, but its consumption was so huge that it was unimaginable. After another hundred rounds, even Zhu Quan gradually couldn¡¯t support it. He panted heavily and fell to the ground on one knee. Gao Shenjun watched him from a distance for a moment, and then continued to persuade him to focus on his great cause and not to be so obsessed with a woman. As thest descendant of the Mongolian royal family, he should shoulder the responsibility of rebuilding his country and not let down his mother¡¯sst wish. Zhu Quan said nothing. The next moment, he took out an unsheathed knife from his sleeve and raised it to his neck. He shouted in a deep voice, ¡°I will kill thest descendant. You and Zhu Di should go to hell!¡±

    Gao Shenjun was shocked and flew to save him, but the red blood had already sshed out. Gao Shenjun lowered his head to check Zhu Quan¡¯s wound. However, Zhu Quan raised his head and thrust the knife into Gao Shenjun¡¯s heart. Gao Shenjun stepped back three steps, looking at him in disbelief, ¡°Why?¡±

    Zhu Quan proudly showed his left wrist. The blood there was already soaking in the cuff. He smiled, ¡°I only cut my wrist. After you die, I will make good use of your resources to continue our great cause. When I be the emperor, and my Yiyi bes the empress, I will miss you and give you a supreme posthumous title. Mr. Gao, you can continue to be a ve for my mother and confess to my daughter down below. By the way, my knife is poisonous without any antidote. You are dying.¡±

    Gao Shenjun threw back his head andughed. Then while vomiting blood, he shouted, ¡°Fabulous! Yang Hua, our son has grown up. He can kill me already! Now I can die in peace! Hahaha!¡±

    Zhu Quan¡¯s expression changed drastically. He looked at Gao Shenjun and cursed, ¡°Nonsense! I am not your son! Don¡¯t involve my mother!¡±

    Gao Shenjun smiled and asked, ¡°If you weren¡¯t my son, why would I work so hard to let you be the emperor? With my ability, why don¡¯t I kill Zhu Yuanzhang and take the throne myself? Zhu Quan, I am very pleased to see you be so excellent, and you even know how to use both schemes and deceptions. Although I am worried that you are not as good as Zhu Di yet, and I can¡¯t see you be the emperor myself, I¡¯m still proud of you. Besides, I am extremely happy to see Yang Hua.¡± As he said, he slowly closed his eyes and died.

    The maniptor and conspirator behind the scenes, a minister of the Yuan Dynasty, died standing up, even straighter than the living.

    He Danggui was as stunned as Zhu Quan. Zhu Quan was not Zhu Yuanzhang¡¯s son? But he had the same temperament as Zhu Yuanzhang! Or was it a lie made up by Gao Shenjun to make Zhu Quan regret it? But why did Gao Shenjun hate her and want her eyes?

    Who was ¡°Gao Jun¡± who killed Tenth Princess many years ago? He could enter and go freely in the Imperial Pce with a night suit and a long cloak. He must have sneaked into the Imperial Pce, so he was a master of Kungfu.

    They had the same level of Kungfu, the same surname ¡°Gao¡±, the same word ¡°Jun¡± in their names, the same murderous disposition and the same identity of Mongolians. Were Gao Jun and Gao Shenjun the same person? Gao Jun killed Tenth Princess, and Gao Shenjun nned to kill Concubine He. He Danggui frowned, her previous two lives might have been ended by the same person. In addition, that person was possibly Zhu Quan¡¯s father?!

    Zhu Quan stepped back and sat down on the ground, watching Gao Shenjun in a daze for four hours. At the same time, He Danggui also leaned against the wall and waited to see if Gao Shenjun¡¯s ice mask would melt. This man might have killed her twice, but she didn¡¯t even know what he looked like.

    The world inside the wall began to flutter heavy snow. Zhu Quan and Gao Shenjun with the ice mask became two snowmen before long. He Danggui was a little disappointed. However, she remembered that she died in the coldest time of the year when dripping water would turn into ice. No wonder that ice mask did not melt.

    ¡°My Lord.¡± A little eunuch poked his head out of the ruins and called with great care. Zhu Quan turned his head slightly to prove that he was alive. Then, the little eunuch continued, ¡°Concubine He is...¡±

    Zhu Quan put his sharp ck eyes at the eunuch, but he couldn¡¯t sweep the hidden fatigue in the sharpness, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with her?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s gone.¡±

    Zhu Quan quickly stood up, ¡°Impossible!¡± He had just checked the Water Dungeon yesterday, and he even locked it himself!

    ¡°Maybe she died and sank to the bottom¡­¡±

    Zhu Quan¡¯s eyes darkened, and his figure suddenly disappeared. The eunuch who had never seen Zhu Quan show his arts of lightness was struck dumb.

    The sky was full of snowkes. Zhu Quan appeared outside the Water Dungeon in the back garden. He broke the meteoriciron railing and jumped inside to find Concubine He. No matter how cold it was outside, the water in the dungeon would never freeze. It was strange. Zhu Quan had searched for a long time. ording to He Danggui¡¯s memory, Zhu Quan was never a good swimmer, and it might be difficult for him to dive underwater. Of course, that could be another disguise for him. After all, he was a man living under masks.

    He Danggui sneered. If he couldn¡¯t find her, then she must have died and sunk to the bottom of the water. Why did he want to find her? Zhu Quan, your daughter was still lying on the bottom.

    The Water Dungeon was rebuilt twice, covering a veryrge area. Zhu Quan had tried hard but found nothing. Then, he waved his hand and pped the water violently. After that, the water in the dungeon turned into columns and shot out of the door above his head. Freezing rains was falling outside. Soon, the water in the dungeon was drained, and there was only a small ck object in the corner. He Danggui shed tears because that was her daughter.

    ¡°Yiyi! Yiyi!¡± Zhu Quan shouted. His voice echoed in the Water Dungeon. He only saw an empty cell. His Concubine He was not there. A special power controlled him so that he forgot to breathe at this certain moment.

    Where was her? Where was her body? This was a question shared by Zhu Quan and He Danggui.

    Zhu Quan jumped out of the Water Dungeon and quickly walked to the front yard. He ordered everyone in the mansion to look for her, and sealed the gate of the mansion and the gate of the city. Concubine He was so tricky. She must have thought of a way to escape from here! Zhu Quan walked so fast that he overlooked the road. He stepped on a soft object by ident. When he looked down, he saw a pale face buried under the newly fallen snow. That was Concubine He, but her eyes closed tight. Except for her hair, the entire face was the same color as the snow.

    Zhu Quan squatted down next to her, trying to wake her up. However, every inch of her skin was cold, with no warmth left. ¡°Wake up!¡± He patted her face.

    No response from her. She seemed to be asleep.

    ¡°Damn it. Concubine He, wake up!¡± Zhu Quan gritted his teeth and shouted with a low voice, ¡°I have something to ask you. Wake up now!¡± He still got no response. He suddenly reached out to try her snort and then let out a sigh of relief. He Danggui frowned suspiciously. She was not dead yet? When did she get out of the Water Dungeon? Thest impression she had when she passed out was the sharp pain and the endless cold.

    Knowing that Concubine He was wronged, Zhu Quan still arrogantly and sternlymanded, ¡°Wake up! Now! I will forgive you and treat you as usual!¡± He Danggui was speechless. How could she ept him after she suffered these?

    Suddenly, Zhu Quan became smarter, knowing to feel the pulse and protect Concubine He¡¯s heart with his Zhenqi. However, the battle just now consumed his Zhenqi too much. It was also possible that he was too stingy to use his Zhenqi on Concubine He. After a few minutes, he took back his hand and shook Concubine He¡¯s shoulders sharply. He shouted, ¡°I have forgiven you. Wake up! Wake up!¡±

    He Dangguiughed sarcastically and thought, ¡°Zhu Quan, why did you think that you had the right to forgive me? Why did you think I could wake up? I was locked in the Water Dungeon for three months. I had to eat the raw fish and shrimp asionally rushing over from the moat for a living. I was not an immortal. I couldn¡¯t survive! The reason why I didn¡¯t die soon was that I wanted to see your punishments! I¡¯m so happy to see you kill your true father today.¡±

    Zhu Quan picked skinny Concubine He and stumbled to the nearest house. Chunks of snow were falling from her hair and her tattered clothes, leaving a winding white trace, almost undetectable on the snow-covered ground.

    ¡°Anybody here!¡± Zhu Quan yelled while he was panting, ¡°Are you deaf? Bring me the stove and hot water!¡± He walked to the door of a house and kicked it open. Then, he put Concubine He on the bed, tore away her mmy and tattered clothes, and wrapped her in a quilt. He yelled at the door again, ¡°Stove and hot water!¡±

    The stove and hot water were delivered immediately. After Zhu Quan drove away those people and closed the door, he soaked the naked Concubine He in a bucket of hot water.

    He Danggui thought that Zhu Quan was really a fool. People who suffered frostbite couldn¡¯t immediately get warmed or touch the hot water. Zhu Quan called himself the schr knowing everything, but he didn¡¯t know this most basicmon sense?

    ¡°Stop!¡± Someone kicked in and shouted like a thunderstorm, ¡°You can¡¯t warm her up! You are killing her! She is poisoned!¡±

 Chapter 282 - Let her go

    <h4>Chapter 282 Let her go</h4>

    The personing into the house was Bai Yangbai. Zhu Quan immediately beamed with joy and shouted, ¡°Uncle, it¡¯s you! Please save her! Please!¡±

    Bai Yangbai didn¡¯t wear a mask. He showed his true face. He was fifty years old but still looked like a teenager, at least ten years younger than Zhu Quan by then. He cursed with an angry face, ¡°I wrapped her in the snow before finding a cure. But you threw her into the hot water. Do you want to kill her?¡±

    He Danggui was shocked by how Zhu Quan had just called Bai Yangbai¡ªUncle! Bai Yangbai was Zhu Quan¡¯s uncle! Zhu Quan¡¯s mother, Consort Yang, was the infanta of the Yuan Dynasty. That was to say, Bai Yangbai was the brother of Zhu Quan¡¯s mother, and he was also a Mongolian, even a Mongolian aristocrat! He Danggui was dumbfounded. No wonder Bai Yangbai hated Zhu Yuanzhang so much and resolutely refused to work for him.

    Zhu Quan was stunned for a moment, and then he pulled the naked Concubine He out of the water and ced her on the bed. Bai Yangbai was a little surprised, so he turned his back against them quickly and asked, ¡°I told you to treat her well. Why did she be like this?¡±

    Zhu Quan picked up the sheet indiscriminately and wiped Concubine He. Then, he threw the sheet on the ground and wrapped her in the quilt. He replied, ¡°Someone set her up. It¡¯s my fault because I didn¡¯t figure that out. But, Uncle, I know you must have a way to save her, right?¡±

    Bai Yangbai slightly turned his head. After confirming that Concubine He was wrapped in the quilt, he turned around and pouted his mouth, ¡°I have thought of a way. But I don¡¯t know how to do now.¡±

    He Danggui frowned when she noticed that Zhu Quan put his hand into the quilt and fumbled. What was that pervert doing?

    Zhu Quan, the pervert, asked Bai Yangbai with trembling lips, ¡°Her body temperature is decreasing. Is...she dying? She has no pulse now!¡±

    Bai Yangbai pushed him away and sat down on the bed. He lifted the quilt and also put his hand into it like a pervert. After a while, he said in a deep voice, ¡°Her poison is attacking again. It must be painful, but she even has no strength to feel that pain. In addition, the most terrifying thing about this poison is that it can postpone her death point. She won¡¯t die before that time, even if her heart is broken or her mouth and nose are blocked.¡±

    Zhu Quan was shocked and asked, ¡°What should we do? I only heard that this kind of poison is from a venomous insect in the south. Why did she get infected with it? Was the water in the Water Dungeon contaminated?¡±

    He Danggui thought Zhu Quan was really an idiot. The venomous insect was raised by humans. Of course, it might be distributed throughout the country. In terms of the water, how would the water in the dungeon be clean? Besides, she thought, ¡°Zhu Quan, your daughter is still in the Water Dungeon. Couldn¡¯t you take her out first?¡±

    Bai Yangbai pondered for a moment and asked, ¡°Do you have any concubines who are southerners, particrly those whoe from Western Hunan Prefecture or Yunnan Prefecture?¡±

    Zhu Quan was stunned, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± He impatiently pushed Bai Yangbai¡¯s shoulder, ¡°Don¡¯t bullshit me! Please be serious and use all your skills to save her. She is my favorite one. I can¡¯t live without her.¡±

    ¡°Favorite?¡± Bai Yangbai said angrily, ¡°You treat your favorite one in this way. What would you do to those you don¡¯t like? Every poison caused by venomous insects can only be cured by its maker. I¡¯m not an expert in this poison. I had a way to suppress her poison, but you threw her into the hot water and waked up those venomous insects in her body. What do you expect me to do? She is a goner.¡±

    Zhu Quan was stunned again. He pushed Bai Yangbai away and sat on the side of the bed. Then he swayed Concubine He while roaring, ¡°Wake up! You are mine! I don¡¯t allow you to die!¡± This woman was the most stoic person he had ever seen. She could endure any pain and poison. If he waked her up, she would surely be able to push those venomous insects out of her body!

    Bai Yangbai hurriedly stopped him, ¡°You will speed up the poison. Stop killing her! Moreover, she was frozen for three months, so her body is brittle. You may break it!¡±

    Zhu Quan stopped and looked back at Bai Yangbai, ¡°What¡¯s your n? Where are your spells?¡± Suddenly, he stared and cried, ¡°Qi Xuanyu! Where is Qi Xuanyu!¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t count on him. Qi Xuanyu has gone to Nihon and won¡¯te back until three or four monthster¡­¡± Bai Yangbai shook his head and sighed, ¡°Even the immortals can¡¯t save her now. Her only daughter is dead, and she was poisoned painfully. You should just let her go, because she has lost all her supports.¡±

    ¡°Daughter?¡± Zhu Quan finally remembered that tiny creature in the dungeon, but he immediately uttered some creepy words, ¡°We will have more children. Uncle, save her please.¡±

    Bai Yangbai stared and pointed to Concubine He, who was covered by the quilt on the bed without any movements. He shouted, ¡°Do you still think she can be pregnant? I¡¯ve divined that she could only have one child in her life, and she will die in one hour!¡±

    Zhu Quan froze as if he could not understand human words. Then, he continued his request, ¡°We will have more children. Uncle, save her please.¡±

    Bai Yangbai spread his hand, ¡°I can¡¯t do anything more. I rushed over here from another prefecture. My boots were worn out. I hitchhiked and got kicked out. I¡¯m so sleepy¡­ I need sleep. I wille back to bury her body in an hour. You know what? This kind of corpse killed by the poison of venomous insects must be disposed by professionals. Otherwise, there will be a risk of spreading the disease. She is a poor girl. Do not torture her, and just let her go. s, may she rest in peace...¡± Then, he waved his hand and walked out of the room.

    He Danggui breathed a sigh of relief. It turned out that Bai Yangbai didn¡¯t have a crush on her, and he was not nning to save her at any cost. Well, she was too self-sentimental. She thought that Bai Yangbai would be very emotional... But this was the best news for her. She never wanted to see the destruction of Bai Yangbai¡¯s decades of power because of her. In fact, after she saw the death of the evil backstage maniptor, she didn¡¯t have anything to worry about. She didn¡¯t care neither renascence nor reincarnation. Even if she vanished forever, she would be satisfied with what she had gained. Suffering was the eternal theme of humans; happiness was only the firework among sufferings. This was the truth of life.

    Zhu Quan stared nkly at Bai Yangbai¡¯s back, and then turned to look at the breathless Concubine He. She was dying!

    Fear grabbed Zhu Quan. His whole body was stiff. When he stared at the pale and weak woman in front of him, he suddenly realized he couldn¡¯t ept the fact that she was about to die.

    Why? As early as three months ago, didn¡¯t he treat her as a dead person? Although he once admired and relied heavily on this woman, there were many better assistants than her. Women who were more beautiful and younger than her were all over his mansion. But, why was he suddenly out of breath when watching her die before him?

    No, she couldn¡¯t die! She owed him a lot, and she needed to wake up to pay her debts.

    Zhu Quan yelled at the door again, ¡°Ginger tea with brown sugar! Bring me that!¡± She used to drink it to warm herself up. If she could wake up, she would cure herself because she was the best doctor in the world! Why did his heart shrink so intensely? What did she do to him?

    The ginger tea with brown sugar was delivered instantly. This time, that servant left automatically before Zhu Quan ordered him. Then, Zhu Quan grabbed the spoon and scooped the hot ginger tea. Then he savagely opened Concubine He¡¯s closed mouth and poured the hot ginger tea into it. It seemed that he wanted to burn Concubine He alive instead of saving her life.

    He Danggui sneered. Concubine He wouldn¡¯tst for an hour if Zhu Quan treated her this way. Besides, she was not able to swallow anything. In the next moment, she coughed up the ginger tea.

    Zhu Quan paused as if he didn¡¯t know it before. He had not expected that Concubine He would cough up the ginger tea. He took a deep breath and scooped again. This time, he became a little smart, knowing to blow it.

    Concubine He trembled and coughed intensely. The ginger tea was spat out again with a little blood.

    Both her body and her will were already on the verge of copse. Even if the Xiaoyao Poison didn¡¯t attack again, that terrible pain of the poison was enough to take her life. He Danggui breathed a sigh of relief and thought, ¡°Let her go.¡± Now she finally learned what happened before her death. Her renascence was just a coincidence. That was not because of Bai Yangbai, and she did not owe him any favor. Therefore, she could calmly face the Bai Yangbai in this life.

    ¡°No!¡± He Danggui was taken aback by the thunder-like voice.

    Zhu Quan suddenly lifted Concubine He from the bed. Staring at her face, he suspected that she was pretending to be dead. So, he shook her shoulders violently and roared, ¡°Wake up! You said you love me. If you don¡¯t wake up, I will kill everyone in Luo¡¯s Family!¡±

    ¡°Help yourself please. Kill as many as you want.¡± He Danggui thought. Everyone in that family did something evil. If they were all sent to jail, only one out of a hundred would be wronged. Most of them were wicked, and they deserved to die.

    ¡°Concubine He, I forgive you! Wake up! You should thank me!¡± Zhu Quan took a sip of the hot ginger tea and fed her with his mouth. After that, he continued his nonsense, ¡°I know you are grateful. Why not wake up now and thank me? If you do, I will give you rewards. Besides, you are likely to be an empress in the future. By then, you can make your families be nobles if you like. Are you happy now? Just wake up!¡± Zhu Quan was like a beast. His mind was driven by his fear and anxiety.

    Concubine He¡¯s answer was a mouthful of ginger tea mixed with blood. It dyed the quilt into red.

    The fire-like eyes of Zhu Quan nced at her thin yellow and fragile hair, which used to be glossy ck. She refused to open her eyes for him. She had morbid lips and skin. Her arms were so skinny that were about to break. Compared to describing her as dying, maybe she was dead now. This thin woman had long turned into a lifeless doll. She could no longer open her eyes and smile at him. Even if she could, she would not be willing to do so because he had killed her and her child. She hated him!

    Lying there quietly, she was like a delicate crabapple that had been ravaged by a storm. There were no beautiful and transparent petals left. Now, her roots were also cut off. She was going to be blown away by the wind!

    Zhu Quan, sitting in front of the bed, was watching the delicate woman in front of him. His heart was burning like a fire. He buried his face in his hands, roaring in pain like a beast in a trap.

    Why? In the past, she could get rid of her injuries and strange poisons. Then she would proudly announce that these couldn¡¯t hurt her. With her medical skills, she could recover soon. Why couldn¡¯t she obey him as before? In the past, she would immediately wake up once he called her. And then she would ask, ¡°My Lord, it¡¯s sote. Why don¡¯t you sleep? Do you have any problems?¡±

    The most unpleasant thing for him now was that his Concubine He didn¡¯t love him anymore. She was going to reincarnate, and she would love others in her afterlife. She abandoned him. He lost her forever! Why did this happen? He used to treat her well, and he only treated her badly in recent days. Why couldn¡¯t she skip over what happened these days and love him again? Why couldn¡¯t they restart?

    He thought that she should not die so easily. He thought that she was just mad at him, so she ignored his call. Therefore, he lightly poked her sunken cheek and whispered his apology for the first time, ¡°Yiyi, it was my fault for wronging you and our daughter. I should have trusted you. As long as you forgive me, we can start over, and I will treat you better than ever before. I will give you whatever you want. Is it okay? You used to listen to me. But in the future, I¡¯ll listen to you. Okay?¡±

    ¡°No Way.¡± He Danggui answered for the unconscious Concubine He. She thought, ¡°You have lost her forever. You have no right to ask for anything.¡±

    Zhu Quan felt that Concubine He seemed to move slightly. He was so pleased. Then he continued softly, ¡°Don¡¯t hate me for being ruthless. Think about our old times when we read a book together and appreciated the moon together. You even fed me a mooncake, and...¡± After a pause, he began to count his kindness to her, ¡°Yiyi, I have never refused any of your requests. On the contrary, I have never said yes to those of Xie Qiaofeng and Zhou Jinn. If you liked something, I always tried my best to find it for you. I¡­¡±

    His voice stopped abruptly because Concubine He suddenly opened her eyes, wide and round.

    He Danggui was also astonished outside the wall. How could that be possible? Concubine He waked? Why didn¡¯t she remember that? Was this Concubine He¡­her?

 Chapter 283 - No need to drink poisonous wine with a smile

    <h4>Chapter 283 No need to drink poisonous wine with a smile</h4>

    Concubine He¡¯s eyes turned into the golden brown, more exotic than Zhu Quan¡¯s brown eyes. When she saw Zhu Quan next to the bed, her flower-liked lips moved softly. She could only mouth words because she had lost her voice long ago.

    Zhu Quan suddenly remembered that he had burnt her throat with hot charcoal. Without the clear and sweet voice, she could no longerfort him when he was frustrated. Besides, she must hate him. Could they start over? Zhu Quan let out a painful sob and threw himself on the bed. He stroked her lips with his fingers and promised, ¡°I know a lot of good doctors. You will be fine soon. Every man would be mad at that thing, and I have been merciful enough to you.¡±

    Concubine He mouthed the two words several times. He Danggui instantly got it¡ªSun Meiniang. However, although Zhu Quan knew a bit of lipnguage, he didn¡¯t understand what Concubine He was trying to say. He didn¡¯t know Sun Meiniang. In short, the current Zhu Quan only had the IQ of a child. He grabbed a needle from the sewing box next to him and put it in Concubine He¡¯s hand. He ordered, ¡°Hurry up and heal yourself! I know you can!¡±

    The pale hand was too weak to hold the round needle. Concubine He repeated the name of ¡°Sun Meiniang¡± for onest time, and then her eyes froze forever. He Danggui breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, it was momentary recovery of consciousness just before death. Concubine He would have no pain finally. It was the best ending for her.

    But Zhu Quan didn¡¯t think so. He jumped up with great anger and cursed her, ¡°No one cares about your death! So do I! My favorite woman now is Xi Bao. She is much better than you! I will go to her if you die!¡±

    Xi Bao was the new ything found by Zhu Quan after Concubine He, who was also from the south. She was intelligent and talented. However, Concubine He was dead, but Xi Bao had just begun her promising life.

    Concubine He¡¯s body, like a withered flower, angered Zhu Quan. He stepped onto the bed and grabbed her thin shoulders. Then he shook them vigorously while eximing, ¡°Retaliation, right? It¡¯s useless. I don¡¯t care about you at all! I won¡¯t be sad!¡± With no response, Zhu Quan was drowned in pain. Then he shook her even harder, ¡°Look at me! Don¡¯t you like to see me? Don¡¯t you always peek at me every night? Now look at me as you wish!¡±

    The sound shook the dust off the beams, echoing in the room and the mansion. From noon to dusk, from day to night, that sound kept reverberating uninterruptedly and became hoarse gradually. It was like a desperate beast repeating a monotonous syble shrilly, and people couldn¡¯t help listening to it.

    The face of Bai Yangbai appeared next to the window. He hesitated for a moment but left in the end. Zhou Jinn¡¯s resentful eyes also appeared there, which only flickered for a while before disappearing.

    Later, a woman in a yellow dress with a delicate look walked into the room. She went to Zhu Quan and boldly said, ¡°My Lord, let her go. You should care about yourself. You haven¡¯t eaten anything for so long. I am worried about you. What¡¯s more, she deserves this. My Lord, you have treated her so well, but she dared to cheat on you.¡± This woman was Xi Bao, a clever woman. When Concubine He was wronged, many women in the mansion ran to watch, but she was not among them.

    ¡°Damn it. Wake up!¡± Zhu Quan turned a deaf ear to Xi Bao¡¯s advice. He continued to shout hoarsely, ¡°I know you hate me. If you wake up, I will let you do anything you want to me!¡± He Danggui thought it turned out that he had self-knowledge.

    Xi Bao took a step closer. She frowned and whispered, ¡°Just let her go. My Lord, I¡¯m here with you. You are so tired. You should go to bed.¡±

    ¡°Ah¡ª¡¯¡¯ Zhu Quan looked at Xi Bao with a grim face. Xi Bao was frightened and began to shed tears. Zhu Quan pressed the skinny Concubine He into his arms and eximed in despair, ¡°Where is she going? She can¡¯t go anywhere. She is mine! Ah¡ª¡±

    He Danggui doubted whether this man was the real Zhu Quan. If he was so affectionate, why would he immerse his beloved Concubine He in the ice water? Qing¡¯er said that Zhu Quan was like ¡°Yamamura Sadako¡¯s father¡±. She didn¡¯t understand what it meant. Qing¡¯er exined that it meant the worst sinner in the world. She thought, ¡°Zhu Quan, you have killed Concubine He. You cannot erase the hatred, because you were so ruthless at the time.¡±

    Zhu Quan trembled intensely. He finally was aware of the irreversibility of the death. In just half a day, the morous Lord Ning in the morning was reced by a decadent man with a beard now. He shook Concubine He over and over again, repeating nonsense, ¡°If you leave me alone, I will kill everyone in your family, including your mother. I will sacrifice them for you! You lied to me. You have said that you would never leave me alone! I will not let you go!¡±

    He Danggui pouted. When a man was out of mind, he would be ten times more irrational than a woman. He killed her, but he med her for breaking her promises. She thought, ¡°Zhu Quan, why don¡¯t you count how many promises were broken by you? You have no right to use others.¡±

    Although Concubine He was dead, she also left a sarcastic smile, seeming tough at Zhu Quan¡¯s ridiculousness.

    The ridiculous Zhu Quan wailed. Hot tears slid down his face, and then soaked Concubine He¡¯s hair. He held the body numbly, roared, shouted, threatened, cursed, ordered, criticized, apologized, entreated and used, ¡°Don¡¯t you say that you will always forgive me? Don¡¯t you say that you will always be with me? Don¡¯t you say that you are mine? You¡­you love me so much, but why can¡¯t you give me one more chance?¡±

    His tears dripped on her chest, where there was no heartbeat. He buried his face in her hair and wailed vaguely. After losing her, he suddenly realized that he could not continue his great cause. Without her, the throne was less attractive. But it was toote. She was gone.

    When she liked him, he didn¡¯t like her; When she loved him, he liked her; When she was gone finally, he loved her.

    Did she leave too early? Or was it because her love was too early and his love was toote?

    Concubine He said something many years ago, ¡°If I didn¡¯t love you, I wouldn¡¯t miss you, wouldn¡¯t be jealous of the woman next to you, wouldn¡¯t lose my confidence and fight, and wouldn¡¯t be in pain. That would be great if I didn¡¯t love you.¡± Love turned out to be the pain of losing confidence and fight.

    Their Love began with hope and ended in despair. No hopes and requirements were left for him from her. If he did not love her, everything would be fine.

    Love turned out to be drinking poisonous wine with a smile.

    Xi Bao suddenly let out a scream. She pointed at Concubine He¡¯s chest with her white slim finger. She was too shocked to speak. He Danggui was also surprised because of this amazing scene. Some changes suddenly happened to Concubine He.

    Her shriveled chest bulged and became full, showing a crystal luster. It was like two cherry blossoms had fallen on the top of a snowy ridge. This change quickly spread to her whole body. Her face became more youthful and fresher than Qian Bao. Besides, her slender waist was like a blooming flower branch, and her skin was like snow and jade.

    Her appearance returned to the past when she was eighteen years old. She was like a breathless painting. He Danggui thought, ¡°Is this the terrifying power of Xiaoyao Poison?¡± The prices were the pain and the disappearing of the soul, and the reward was the return of beauty. What was the use of being beautiful if people were dead?

    Zhu Quan was shocked by the change. He muttered, ¡°She is a fairy! Now she has gone back to her pce¡­ Is this thest gift she left to me?¡± He immersed himself in her breasts. When he raised his headter, his eyes were already stained with sexual desire. He raised his hand, and then the silver hook hanging on the curtain broke automatically, covering the scenery on the bed. Heughed hoarsely, ¡°You left this gift and abandoned me. You went back to the heaven as a fairy. You are heartless woman¡­ I will give you a lesson¡­ and let you beg for my mercy¡­¡±

    Looking at the two shadows on the bed, Xi Bao understood Zhu Quan¡¯s intention and eximed, ¡°My Lord, she is dead. You can¡¯t do this! Besides, she is not clean!¡±

    Zhu Quan half raised his head and yelled, ¡°Get out of here! Get out! Get out!¡±

    Xi Bao shed tears, and then rushed out of the room. She sobbed while covering her mouth. But she even did not forget to close the door.

    Zhu Quan let out a crazyugh and yelled, ¡°I¡¯m so nice to you. I will only be with you from now on. We will never be apart again. Yiyi, are you satisfied? I want nothing but to hold you to sleep. Are you satisfied? You just want it, right?¡± He climbed on her, reviewing the familiar dance between them.

    He Danggui outside the wall took out the cedar box and smashed it onto the wall, trying to destroy everything, especially that mad Zhu Quan. If he wanted sex, he had better find another woman! Scram! Scram!

    The cedar box was knocked into pieces soon, and a ck double-ring jade pendant fell out with a strand of ck hair wrapped around it. That was Meng Xuan¡¯s hair cut with a sword before. There were also several letters tightly sealed in an envelope. She picked up the jade pendant, crying and remembering that she had Meng Xuan loving her now. That Meng Xuan from three yearster might have died because of her. So, she needed to protect the current Meng Xuan to make him safe until three yearster. If she did this, would those things in three yearster be gone away with the wind like dust?

    She slid to the ground, leaning her back against the wall. Zhu Quan¡¯s horny whispers went clearly into her ears, ¡°Yiyi, do you like this? Do you miss it? We have not made out for more than one year, and I know you can¡¯t wait for it. Don¡¯t worry, I willpensate you¡­¡±

    Tears soaked the ck jade pendant. She asked silently, ¡°Meng Xuan, what should I do? Zhu Quan is insane now.¡±

    At the same time, there were panting and groansing from the wall intermittently, apanied by some shortughs. However, someone kicked open the door and lifted the curtain. That was Bai Yangbai, and he shouted angrily, ¡°What are you doing? Are you crazy?!¡±

    He Danggui turned back with teary eyes. She saw Zhu Quan slip out of the quilt in a white coat with pink cheeks. Then, He drunkenly got out of the bed, staggering and muttering, ¡°We are making out. Why are you here? She is my concubine. She loves me. She was afraid that I would be lonely in the future, so she left her body to me for diversion¡­ What am I doing? I¡¯m doing what a couple will do naturally.¡±

    Bai Yangbai opened the quilt and took a look at it angrily. Then, He wrapped Concubine He tightly with the quilt and took it to leave.

    Zhu Quan, who was changing his clothes, rushed out to snatch the quilt. He shouted angrily, ¡°Why are you stealing my woman? Ming Ri said you have a dubious rtionship, but I didn¡¯t believe it. But it turns out to be true! You can¡¯t take her!¡±

    Bai Yangbai sneered with hatred, ¡°I hate that I didn¡¯t take her away sooner. I hate myself so much. I can never forgive myself!¡±

    ¡°She belongs to me. You can¡¯t take her. She is mine.¡± Zhu Quan grabbed the quilt like a child snatching his candy, ¡°Give her back to me. She is mine! Mine!¡± As long as he kept her body carefully, sooner orter, she woulde back to him. She was a gentle person, and she would forgive him soon.

    Bai Yangbai was not Zhu Quan¡¯s opponent, but he resisted letting her go. He shouted, ¡°She should have been mine long ago. When I met her, you didn¡¯t even know her. I should have taken her at that time. You don¡¯t deserve her at all!¡±

    Zhu Quan pped Bai Yangbai¡¯s shoulder heavily and took back the quilt. He said coldly, ¡°I don¡¯t care what happened between you and her, nor kill you. Don¡¯t ruin our lives. Since you like disguise so much, just go to Wu Xiang Ge and be Lord Ning. I want to be a happy couple with Yiyi. I will never leave this room from now on, and I will go to the heaven to find her if she doesn¡¯te to me.¡± The blood dripped out from his mouth, but he didn¡¯t feel it. ¡°She said that she was waiting for me in the heaven. She loves me, not you.¡±

    Bai Yangbai vomited blood and felt a sharp pain in his left shoulder. His shoulder de had been shattered. He shouted angrily, ¡°Damn it! If you hurt me, I will not be able to gather her soul! Within six hours, her soul would disperse forever! The poison in her body is so vicious that it will swallow her soul!¡±

 Chapter 284 - Love Poison or love deeply

    <h4>Chapter 284 Love Poison or love deeply</h4>

    Zhu Quan red at Bai Yangbai, ¡°Nonsense. You must be trying to take her away, so you lie to me with such words! There is always no truth in your mouth, and even the devil won¡¯t believe you!¡±

    He tightened the quilt in his arms and looked around, as if he was finding whether there was any soul about to dissipate. Then, he coughed violently with blood spurting out of his mouth, and identally sprayed the blood on Concubine He, whose forehead was stained red. He scrambled to wipe it with his sleeve, but the more he wiped, the redder it became, and he finally scratched her skin a little.

    Zhu Quan shouted in distress, ¡°Scratched!¡± He ran to Bai Yangbai, begging him, ¡°Uncle, I know you can fix it. I can give you my position. Look, it¡¯s a bit broken here!¡± With every word he spoke, a little blood spurted outwards, some of it dripping down onto Concubine He¡¯s cheek, but he didn¡¯t dare to wipe it again, only to hold up Concubine He¡¯s head, which was covered in a cascade of ck hair, to Bai Yangbai.

    Bai Yangbai opened her eyelids to check. At this time, her eyes had turned ck again, a kind of deadly ck. Bai Yangbai sighed, and put his uninjured right hand into the quilt to check her. While coughing up blood, he asked Zhu Quan, ¡°Why have you been coughing up blood since a while ago? Are you injured, too?¡±

    Zhu Quan replied carelessly, ¡°I don¡¯t know. I might be injured by Gao Shenjun. Uncle, can you fix this skin? Do you know how to preserve her body for a long time?¡±

    Zhu Quan¡¯s cheeks grew redder and redder, almost turning into a bright peach color. Bai Yangbai was stunned when he raised his head, pondering something with a puzzled expression. Zhu Quan impatiently fanned himself with his hand, and then took the quilt into his arms. Then he turned to walk towards the bed and said, ¡°You go outside and take your time to think. Yiyi and I haven¡¯t had enough pleasure yet, and I heard her calling me again. Come and help her again when you think of a way to cure her. She would be angry with me if shees down from heaven and finds that her body is broken.¡±

    Bai Yangbai took a few steps after him, which made the pain of his left shoulder onset. He fell to his knees with a cold breath. Then he suddenly raised his head and shouted, ¡°Quan, check your pericardium channel. Hurry up!¡±

    Zhu Quan pouted unpleasantly. He put the quilt back on the bed,y down with the quilt, and said, ¡°Yiyi said that if you don¡¯t leave, you will be locked in the Water Dungeon! I don¡¯t mind making out in front of you, but Yiyi is very shy.¡± Zhu Quan then touched the pale face exposed in the quilt with his peachy cheeks and stretched out his tongue to lick a drop of blood from her face. Then he suddenly said, ¡°Yes, I should wipe it with water. It won¡¯t break with water...¡±

    Bai Yangbai was so angry that he eximed, ¡°You are infected by a venomous insect! It¡¯s Love Poison, an uncurable poison! Look at your pericardium channel!¡±

    Zhu Quan looked down impatiently and saw that a golden thread grew from his precordium, winding his upper left arm along the meridian of the pericardium channel, and slowly climbing towards the palm of his left hand and fingertips. He asked in surprise, ¡°What is this?¡±

    Bai Yangbai shook his head and sighed, ¡°I can¡¯t find out what kind of poison she has been infected with. I can only find that the poison is extremely powerful, and will eventually consume her soul, making it impossible for her to reincarnate. I was angry and hated you when I saw how haggard she looked. I couldn¡¯t help being selfish and lied that she was dying soon. I wanted to take her body away to gather her soul. After saving her... I will take her away. But seeing your great sadness, I thought of giving you a little more time for farewell out of my sympathy. Unexpectedly, you made out with her... Quan, you are infected in Love Poison now, and you will not live long.¡±

    Zhu Quan¡¯s eyelids drooped, and he rested his jaw against the top of Concubine He¡¯s head. A line of blood slowly flowed into her ck hair and then disappeared. He saidzily, ¡°This demonstrated that Yiyi has changed her mind and wants to pick me up to heaven. Uncle, you can leave now. There¡¯s no need for you to treat her injuries. We are going to heaven to enjoy ourselves.¡±

    Bai Yangbai said in exasperation, ¡°Wake up! You must have been controlled by the fire poison of Love Poison, and even lose the ability to think normally! Seal the meridians and use force to suppress the spread of toxins. Perhaps I can still think of a way to save you! Don¡¯t lose your mind!¡±

    Zhu Quan replied slowly, ¡°I can¡¯t be awake anymore. Yiyi and I both don¡¯t like you. You¡¯re interfering with our sleep. Get away from here!¡±

    Bai Yangbai struggled towards the bed and said coldly, ¡°I must save her. Love Poison will only make you go to reincarnation after you die, but she even can¡¯t be reincarnated because her soul scattered. I promised before that I would protect her from death and save her even if she has been dead. I must save her.¡±

    Zhu Quan frowned at Bai Yangbai and asked, ¡°Are you telling the truth? Didn¡¯t you lie to us?¡±

    Bai Yangbai calcted with his fingers and said in a deep voice, ¡°There are two hours left. After that, she will bepletely melted. Then even the paper you burn in front of her memorial tablet will not be lighted. I¡¯m not lying this time. Although I don¡¯t know what kind of poison is in her body, I heard that the people in Miao Territory have a saying of ¡®feeding a poison with another poison¡¯. It¡¯s using a lower level of poison to feed a more poisonous and powerful poison. I guess, the person who raises the poison must feed Love Poison to another kind of poison as food. It is easy to imagine that how poisonous that poison is since you can¡¯t withstand it and want to die with her!¡±

    After hearing this, Zhu Quan frowned and retorted, ¡°I¡¯m not controlled by Love Poison. It¡¯s just a kind of insect. How could I be manipted by it? I just suddenly realized that Yiyi is the best person in this world. I¡¯m going to find her. When she is happy, she will treat me as well as before. Uncle, could you please save her and let us be a joyful couple? I know you can do it.¡±

    Bai Yangbai coughed up another mouthful of blood, red at him and said, ¡°You have lost your mind by Love Poison. I can¡¯t believe you. Seal the meridians quickly. Go to the door and blow a cool breeze. I need to save her!¡±

    Zhu Quan got out of bed obediently. After he took two steps, he turned around and said, ¡°Don¡¯t peek at her and touch her.¡±

    Bai Yangbai straddled on the quilt like Zhu Quan just now. He took out a bright yellow amulet paper from his sleeve, and pped it on Concubine He¡¯s forehead, muttering something in his mouth. Then he lifted the quilt, but he was stopped by Zhu Quan. He handed another piece of amulet paper to Zhu Quan and said, ¡°Post it on her belly button quickly and precisely while reading the Bai Tong Can I Ching-Volume II silently in your heart!¡±

    Bai Yangbai turned his back. Then Zhu Quan opened the quilt carelessly, posted the amulet paper and covered the quilt. Then he asked Bai Yangbai to turn around. Bai Yangbai poured something smoking into Concubine He¡¯s mouth. After a while, a small red me came out of it. Bai Yangbai stared at Zhu Quan and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Why isn¡¯t it a blue me?¡±

    Zhu Quan yawned, lying aside the quilt, and replied indifferently, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    Bai Yangbai continued to stare at him and asked, ¡°Did you recite the Bai Tong Can I Ching?¡±

    Zhu Quan closed his eyes and muttered dreamily, ¡°Who remembers that?¡±

    When Bai Yangbai was about to ask more, there was an explosion of light outside the house, apanied by a loud bang and smoke, and the house shook as if a huge earthquake urred, shaking all the hanging objects inside. All the candles,mps andnterns in front of the porch and inside and outside the house, regardless of the existence ofmp oil, burned with zing white. Several pots of withered chrysanthemums in the room were instantly revived, and the green leaves made people a creepy feeling. The next moment, all the buds came out in full bloom with big phoenix flowers.

    He Danggui outside the wall was also shocked. She saw that a bottle of winter plum with dead branches in the corner of the room was also blossoming with several buds though without roots, inteced on the purple plum branches, seemingly about to spit out flowers. What was this strange scene? Was it brought by Bai Yangbai¡¯s skills?

    Bai Yangbai was equally surprised, staring at therge house that suddenly appeared outside the window, and asked, ¡°What are those things?¡±

    Zhu Quan clung to the quilt and replied in a daze, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    He Danggui stared at the scene out of the window with an unbelievable expression. The house... Could it be the house in the Ting Zhu Yard of Luo¡¯s Mansion in Yangzhou City? However, most of the houses were teetering. How did the house thousands of miles away get here? That was a cloud of houses, beyond the power of humans!

    Bai Yangbai said to Zhu Quan, ¡°The tactical matrix that I made outside the mansion was destroyed. I don¡¯t know if someone deliberately destroyed it to prevent me from saving her, or this is her destiny that someone unintentionally touched the joint. Now that the tactical matrix has been destroyed, there is no possibility of reversal. I don¡¯t know where this house is going to take us, but as long as there is a chance to save her, I will try it. It¡¯s my promise to her. Let her go. I will take her into the house!¡±

    Zhu Quan clung to the quilt and refused to let it go. He snorted coldly, ¡°This is clearly a show you are putting on to scare me into handing over Yiyi. You can¡¯t fool me. She is mine.¡± When he said this, two lines of bloody tears flowed out of his eyes with deeper color, and finally turned into dark thick blood, which looked very terrifying.

    Bai Yangbai punched the bedpost, and shouted with hatred, ¡°It¡¯s toote! Your Love Poison attacks. I asked you to seal the meridians. Why didn¡¯t you listen to me? You could have been saved!¡±

    Zhu Quan¡¯s hand grasped forward vainly and asked questioningly, ¡°Yiyi, have you covered my eyes? Why did it suddenly turn ck?¡±

    Bai Yangbai shed a tear, and asked, ¡°Do you have anyst words?¡±

    Zhu Quan was silent for a moment, and said, ¡°If you don¡¯t want to be Lord Ning, go find Chang Nuo to do it. I have 30,000 fearless warriors, and once I die, Zhu Di will not let them go. Let Lord Ning continue to live in the mansion.¡±

    Bai Yangbai shook his head and sighed, ¡°If you had listened to me, gave up those unrealistic things far from you and cherished the person who apanied you, you wouldn¡¯t have had such a tragic ending. Love Poison has revealed your true temperament, but now it¡¯s toote to say anything...¡±

    Zhu Quan yelled violently, ¡°It¡¯s none of the poison¡¯s business. I have always had such a good rtionship with Yiyi. You must be jealous!¡±

    Bai Yangbai was also anxious, ¡°Let her go. She doesn¡¯t belong here anymore. I will perform the tactical matrix again after a while and see if there is a chance to save her. I will write a letter for you, and you wait here for the rescuer. I will take her into the house...¡±

    Bai Yangbai was interrupted because the quilt in Zhu Quan¡¯s arms flew straight out towards the dark ruins outside the room, which happened in an instant. The whole quilt, like an arrow from the string, disappeared into the unknown existence in a blink of an eye.

    Bai Yangbai grabbed the quilt vainly, which affected his injury. Then he sprayed another blood mist. He pressed his injured left shoulder, step by step towards the outside of the room, saying, ¡°Sorry, I can¡¯t write a letter for you, but you can write one for me. You just write that the skills of Daguomen Sect disappear from now on, and all the relics of our school are in the outskirts of Yangzhou City. Ask the Seventh Childe of the Meng¡¯s Family to look for them.¡± While saying, he approached the weird house.

    The blind Zhu Quan fumbled on the bed and said angrily, ¡°Bai Yangbai, you cheated me again! You stole my Yiyi. Return her to me, and no one can snatch her away!¡±

    Zhu Quan flew out and struck Bai Yangbai aside with a palm. Then he rushed straight into the ruins. The harsh voice of Bai Yangbai who was about to recite Bai Tong Can I Ching-Volume III, and the sound of the explosion sounded in the sky at the same time. The whole house rose from the ground and disappeared into the dark void instantly. No one knew whether it had flown into the boundless starry sky, or into the cliff far below the ground.

    There was red flesh and blood that had turned into numerous points suspending in the sky, which might belong to one of them, or both of them.

    ¡°Pop!¡± Something fell at the feet of Bai Yangbai.

    He picked up the broken transparent green jade and recognized that as the ring sp on Zhu Quan¡¯s crown, which made him have a mixed feeling.

    He Danggui stared nkly at the tragic scene on the wall, feeling unbelievable. Those ¡°soul fragments¡± mixed in the blue thorn stars, and pieces of memories making Zhu Quan be extremely weird, turned out to be Zhu Quan from the previous life!

    It turned out that the sacrifice that traveled through time and space was not Bai Yangbai, but the Zhu Quan with Love Poison!

 Chapter 285 - Guide to Qizhen Fantasy Dream

    <h4>Chapter 285 Guide to Qizhen Fantasy Dream</h4>

    Just as He Danggui was dizzy and thinking wildly, suddenly, the tall walls on both sides quickly sank deep underground. The light above her head was bright or dark from time to time. The next moment, the ground shook and He Danggui¡¯s small body had nothing to hold on to. She subconsciously closed her eyes, and squatted on the ground with her head in her arms.

    When she opened her eyes, the scene in front of her made her realize that she was once again in the Wu Xiang Ge of Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion.

    She got up from the ground, checked her body and found that there was no injury at all. Shangguan Ming Ri¡¯s whip seemed to have hit the top of her skull, and she was knocked down and fainted despite feeling no pain. However, it was so strange that there was no injury left. She remembered what Meng Xuan said that in ¡°Qizhen Fantasy Dream¡±, others couldn¡¯t see and hit her, but she was able to see and hit them... Was it true?

    What a real dream. Were the images she saw on the walls of the ¡°seventh stage¡± the real ones? Zhu Quan of the previous life died at that time, so who was the middle-aged Zhu Quan lying in the Wu Xiang Ge in this fantasy dream?

    Love Poison... It turned out that Zhu Quan was controlled by Love Poison, so he was very abnormal, calling her nickname from time to time...

    She remembered Bai Yangbai said that he had a way to cure Love Poison, which was said by the fifty-year-old Bai Yangbai. Now the thirty-five-year-old Bai Yangbai might also have a way to cure Love Poison. As long as the poison was cured for young Zhu Quan, she would be able topletely get rid of him in this life. She couldn¡¯t bear the suffocating feeling when she was with him for a second. It was time to end the entanglement between them.

    She looked back at the ground on the left. The young Zhu Quan, who was supposed to be lying there, had disappeared. On the other side, Qi Xuanyu and others were still standing next to the soft couch to treat the middle-aged Zhu Quan.

    Most of the deep wounds of the Zhu Quan¡¯s naked chest had almost healed. She looked at the calm Qi Xuanyu in a puzzled expression. Who on earth was he? His acupuncture skills were superior to any other people, which was insurmountable even by the old Dr. Dou Haiqin!

    At this time, Sima Ming Yue was still muttering something like ¡°the ghost manifestation of Concubine He¡±, which was sneered by Shangguan Ming Ri, ¡°Nonsense. A dead person won¡¯t have a ghost!¡±

    The middle-aged Zhu Quan on the bed suddenly opened his eyes and propped up weakly. He looked around and asked anxiously, ¡°Yiyi¡¯s ghost? Where is it! Where is it!¡±

    Qi Xuanyu smiled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t take it seriously. They were just teasing. You need to stay in bed due to bad injury.¡± He pressed Zhu Quan¡¯s shoulders to make him lie down, and told Shangguan Ming Ri and Sima Ming Yue to bring hot water and bandages to clean and bandage their master¡¯s wounds.

    He Danggui felt very ufortable after seeing what happened on the wall of the seventh stage and didn¡¯t want to confront the middle-aged Zhu Quan with a weird temperament in this room. Thinking about this, her soul floated out towards a bare mulberry tree with a bluestone beneath it. She packed up her skirt and sat down, taking out the ink-colored jade pendant and letters left by Meng Xuan to have a look.

    She took the jade pendant in her hand and looked at it for a while. Then she untied the hair on it to sniff the scent. It was the green tea scent that Meng Xuan had, and it hadn¡¯t changed after three years. Thinking of the miserable look when she saw him thest time, she felt sorrow in her heart. How could she be worthy of a good man treating her like that? Perhaps it was wrong for her to make an agreement with Qing¡¯er about finding a husband who agreed monogamy. If she didn¡¯t leave him so willfully after three years, he wouldn¡¯t meet her in the fantasy dream in such a dangerous way.

    ording to Meng Xuan, the so-called ¡°Qizhen Fantasy Dream¡± was an event that happened many years ago. The characters, though real and lively, were just people from the past.

    Incredibly, Zhu Quan of the previous life killed Shangguan Ming Ri before Concubine He died. However, in this fantasy dream, he was still alive. Zhu Quan of the previous life was subjected to Love Poison on the night Concubine He died, and then fell into this life with her following the thorn star. Concubine He¡¯s soul returned to the Shui Shang Temple, where all the stories began. In this fantasy dream, Zhu Quan was still alive.

    He Danggui guessed that Zhu Quan in the previous life was blown to pieces due to the tactical matrix, and then was refined in the spatio-temporal tunnel. In this life, there are only some sporadic soul fragments, which had been sealed in the depths of the cave. But by chance, they were caught by Zhu Quan in this life. The same maic field allowed them to quickly absorb and integrate with each other, resulting in a young Zhu Quan who was infected with a trace of the ¡°Soul Love Poison¡± and infatuated with Concubine He from time to time.

    In this afternoon, after hearing Qi Xuanyu¡¯s story about the thorn star and the strange story of the ¡°reincarnation of the Tenth Princesses¡±, that Zhu Quan, curious and disgusted by his asional onset, revisited the old ce with the intention of curing his illness and tried to find the truth in the cave of the Bitter Bamboo Grove where he had first fallen in love with Concubine He. As a result, he was really absorbed by a few soul fragments left over from thest time. Then he found more memories, and felt more ¡°hatred¡± for Concubine He beyond his ¡°love¡±. Therefore, he humiliated her in public in the ancestral hall, followed bymitting the murder in the Depositary of Buddhist Texts, wanting to kill her to relieve from the curse of the previous life.

    Zhu Quan said that every time he felt ¡°heartache¡± in the past three years, his martial skills would increase by a few points, and now he had reached the Ninth Stage of internal force. He Danggui still didn¡¯t know much about the internal force and how powerful the Ninth Stage of internal force was, but she guessed that in addition to Love Poison and memories carried in the soul fragments of the Zhu Quan in the previous life, there might also be some internal force. And the so-called ¡°heartache¡± was probably the pain when the souls of the Zhu Quan in both previous and this life were fused into one. As for the internal force, it was the legacy from the previous Zhu Quan to this one through time and space.

    However, Zhu Quan in this life didn¡¯t have aplete memory of his previous life. He was also confused by the story in the fantasy dream, mistakenly thinking that Concubine He could help him improve his martial skills. Therefore, he wanted to kill her not only to get rid of the curse but also to leverage her to have more powerful kungfu. ording to Zhu Quan¡¯s temperament of acting ruthlessly without leaving any opportunity, after he used her, he would kill her, instead of creating a happy ending for her without worrying about food and clothing. Many years of working with Zhu Quan made her know this person¡¯s temper. She also heard him tell some Wuying Tower informers many times with such a promise, but once the confidential matter was done, no matter whether it was sessful or not, he would kill that person to keep it secretly.

    Even if she understood the various truths of her previous life, and no longer treated Zhu Quan as an enemy, Zhu Quan in this life had no intention of letting her go. As an old saying went, ¡°humans didn¡¯t mean to hurt tigers but they did¡±. It seemed that she must continue to treat Zhu Quan in this life as an enemy. She should always be on guard and counterattack if necessary, otherwise, she would repeat the tragic ending of the previous life, and there would not be a righteous Bai Yangbai who came to rescue her.

    Now, the thing that puzzled her most was that since her soul and Zhu Quan¡¯s soul fragments came along with the thorn star, who made this ¡°Qizhen Fantasy Dream¡±? She only knew of one expert who could create the fantasy dream, Bai Yangbai, but when Shangguan Ming Ri was fighting with her, she suddenly heard Qi Xuanyu say, ¡°Your naughty has made you big trouble.¡± It seemed to be said to her. He also exined the acupuncture method in detail to Shangguan Ming Ri and Sima Ming Yue who didn¡¯t understand it at all. Didn¡¯t he...tell it to her, who intended to learn the method with bright eyes?

    Moreover, Bai Yangbai said that only the creator of the dream could see the dreamer when entering other¡¯s dreams.

    If Qi Xuanyu could see her, could it be...he was the creator of the dream? And this ¡°Qizhen Fantasy Dream¡± was made by him. Since Qi Xuanyu had such superb medical skills, it was not surprising to have superb dream-making skills. After all, the master was good at everything. But what was the point of doing this? Was it to deceive Zhu Quan in this life?

    If the dream maker was Qi Xuanyu, then...was it the ¡°elder Qi Xuanyu¡± who was said to be far away in Nihon in the previous life, or the ¡°young Qi Xuanyu¡± who had spoken out all kinds of secrets in this life?

    Meng Xuan said that the ¡°Qizhen Fantasy Dream¡± was an event that had happened many years ago, but the ¡°Zhu Quan¡¯s suicide¡± in this fantasy dream had never happened before, so how could it be an old event in the past? He Danggui shook her head and exined to herself that Meng Xuan didn¡¯t know Taoism. He probably heard some from Bai Yangbai about fantasy dreams. The personal rtionship between Bai Yangbai and Meng Xuan seemed to be good, so Meng Xuan¡¯s words were not necessarily credible.

    It was only then that He Danggui began to observe the envelopes in her hands. There were threerge greased paper envelopes stacked together. The greased paper¡¯s surface was too smooth to be written on, so she couldn¡¯t know the contents and who sent the letter to whom. Since they were all left to her by Meng Xuan, she should real all of them.

    She used her nails like a knife and opened the first envelope, which wrote, ¡°Guide to Qizhen Fantasy Dream. Read carefully before entering the dream, and then you can travel freely in the seven stages ¡ª to pick up hot chicks and tease with little sisters. There is nothing impossible, only unexpected ¡ª yes! Qizhen Fantasy Dream is what men like most and women hate most, which will lead you to the most exciting journey. Take actions, boy!¡±

    He Danggui was sweating as she read it. She knew this was written by Bai Yangbai. The font was scribbled with a bit round corner, and the strokes of the writing were stretched very long, as if trying to show the inner unrest... But these were not the key points. The point was since Bai Yangbai gave this envelope to Meng Xuan three yearster and asked him to bring it here to her, why didn¡¯t Bai Yangbai help Meng Xuane here with his skills? Instead, he asked Meng Xuan to find someone like Qi Xuanyu who waspletely imprable.

    Meng Xuan knew clearly that Qi Xuanyu was affiliated with Zhu Quan, and Zhu Quan was secretly involved in making Su Xiaoxiao pregnant with Meng Xuan¡¯s child, destroying Meng Xuan¡¯s rtionship with her. Then why did Meng Xuan asked Qi Xuanyu for help instead of Bai Yangbai? Regarding the cultivation of the Taoist School of Metaphysics, Bai Yangbai must be more powerful... Meng Xuan was badly injured when he traveled through time and space. Couldn¡¯t it be Qi Xuanyu that was making trouble?

    He Danggui frowned and shook her head. She couldn¡¯t figure it out. If she continued thinking like this, everyone would be suspicious, and she would not find the answer anyway. She only hoped that Meng Xuan was okay and could find herself to treat his injuries.

    He Danggui continued to read the letter. The exnation of ¡°Qi Zhen Fantasy Dream¡± above was simr to that of Meng Xuan, showing that ording to Meng Xuan, in the seventh stage, people would lose their original appearance and changed back to the way they were when they were children. Therefore, the seventh stage was also called the ¡°happy stage¡±, where people would be the year when they were joyful.

    ording to the description in the letter, she was now at the ¡°first stage¡±, where there were some ¡°projected people¡± who were actually living in reality. They would do things that they wanted to do in reality but couldn¡¯t do it in time. They would tear off the mask of hypocrisy to be their true selves. Thus, the ¡°first stage¡± was also known as the stage of returning to nature. People in it, whether men or women, would boldly speak and act, and be the truest selves in their hearts...

    He Danggui paused when she read it, and she couldn¡¯t help sweating. Bai Yangbai carelessly wrote, ¡°Rape often urs in the ¡®first stage¡¯, sodies, please beware of perverts. And boys, please don¡¯t feel ashamed and guilty. Follow your mind to do everything you want to do! Go!¡±

 Chapter 286 - A particular place for man

    <h4>Chapter 286 A particr ce for man</h4>

    At the end of The Guidance on Qizhen Fantasy Dream, Bai Yangbai wrote, ¡°The most tempting feature of the Dream is its time passes slower than that in the outside world. One year in the Dream equals two hours of the outside world. In other words, you can pick up as many girls as you want regardless of time limits! The Dream is a particr ce for man. Just try it!¡±

    What the hell? Since those words were written to Meng Xuan, maybe Bai Yangbai also had a Qizhen Fantasy Dreamwhere he often invited a variety of teenagers to y, and Bai Yangbai would charge them. She shook her head to get rid of this unpleasant scene. Anyway, Meng Xuan was not a bored man, and he wouldn¡¯t like this ¡°particr ce for man.¡± But would he want to such a ce as a man?

    Suddenly she felt headache, so she took out a mirror. That was a blue bruise caused by Shangguan Mingri. It turned out that one¡¯s body would as well get hurt if the spirit was hit, though it was not as serious as the body injury. She was stunned because she thought of Meng Xuan. A full-strength attack from Shangguan Mingri could only leave a bruise, and how did he suffer from what caused the deep hole in his chest? Didn¡¯t his uncle and Qi Xuanyu warn him of the dangerousness?

    She sighed. When did Meng Xuan be such a fool? She thought people would get smarter as they grew up. Now, Meng Xuan seemed not to be one of them.

    At the same time, she didn¡¯t notice a beautiful woman wasing close to her. Before He Danggui could make a response, that beautiful woman had turned around elegantly and sat on her!

    When He Danggui was about to me her, she surprisedly found that the woman just sat through her body on the bluestone beneath. After sitting down, the woman¡¯s body ovepped with He Danggui¡¯s spirit. However, He Danggui could not feel her weight or her fragrance.

    She suddenly realized that she was nothing more than a strand of Qi with self-consciousness in the Dream. As long as she did not suffer a strong attack, the Dream would not impose any impact on her. Besides, that exined why the young Zhu Quan did not wake up when Shangguan Mingri stepped on his face in that fight. The strength was too light to wake him up.

    Anyway, she did not see Zhu Qian since she recovered. Where did he go? Leaving her alone was not his choice. Why didn¡¯t he tie her up with a rope so that he could revenge her? Why did he be so weak and had no internal force at all in the Dream?

    The beautiful woman suddenly burst into tears. He Danggui stood up through her body to look at her face. Coincidently, she was Xi Bao, Zhu Quan¡¯s new favorite concubine.

    It was strange enough for her to cry here. Her enemy Concubine He was already dead. Why didn¡¯t she take care of the sick Zhu Quan? Maybe she was lucky enough, not like the miserable Concubine He, to have a happy life in the future.

    He Danggui suddenly remembered that her maid Lv Pingin her previous life had a deep blood scar in her hand. Lv Ping said that Xi Bao used a hairpin to scratch her hand, ndering Lv Ping for stealing the hairpin. Lv Ping felt wronged, and she pleaded with He Danggui to get justice for her. At that time, He Danggui was right in a jealous mood because of Xi Bao, so she nodded. However, when she got there and started to ask Xi Bao, Zhu Quan came out and scolded her jealousy.

    She didn¡¯t get justice for Lv Ping in the end. Instead, she left inconsbly, leaving Zhu Quan and Xi Bao embraced each other. But now ...

    He Danggui softly picked off a golden hairpin from Xi Bao, and then used its tip to scratch across Xi Bao¡¯s hand. Hearing the scream and seeing the scar, He Danggui smiled. She threw away the hairpin and left full of joy.

    After a while, she suddenly felt great pleasure. Bai Yangbai was right. This ce was full of magic, not only for men, but also for women!

    People here couldn¡¯t see you while you could see them; they couldn¡¯t hurt you, but you were free to touch them. Interestingly, her most enemies were here. Thanks to the slow passage of time, she had enough time to revenge.

    Zhou Jinn, Xu Siniang, Shangguan Mingri...

    Shangguan Mingri was so good at Kungfu that he could knock her out without seeing her. However, she was looking forward to fighting with a top master. Now, it was really a good opportunity for her. Shangguan Mingri¡¯s fatal attack only let her fainted for a while. Who would be a better practice partner than he was? Maybe, if she was a lucky dog, she could kill him for revenge.

    Therefore, she decided to stay in the Dream for some time. She could practice her Kungfu and further explore Qi Xuanyu¡¯s secrets, his Xuanmiao Acupuncture in particr. She also could give Zhou Jinn and her other enemies some trouble.

    Zhou Jinn bit the hand that fed her. She was vicious and calcting enough, but she was still a sentimental woman. A sentimental woman would always be afraid of night and ghosts. Yes, she was the ghost of Concubine He, looking for revenge. Although they were in the Dream and He Danggui didn¡¯t know the rtionship between the Dream and the true world, she was very enjoyable to make a little revenge. This must be the ¡°Paradise¡± told by Qing¡¯er.

    At the moment, a well-dressed woman came here. She brushed past He Danggui and smiled, ¡°My sister, what¡¯s wrong with you? What happened to your hand? Do you want to make the Lord sad?¡±

    He Danggui paused. That woman was ... Lv Ping?

    She remembered that Lv Ping was detained by Zhou Jinn to use He Danggui of sneaking out of the Mansion with a sedan.

    She still remembered the testimony from that porter, ¡°I live outside Beicheng City and serve as a porter. One year ago, a maid called Lv Ping hired us to carry a sedan at a great price. Since then, we would wait at Qipi Alley every night. Lv Ping sometimes would take a person in a cloak out. If no one appeared by 1¡¯oclok in the night, we could go home then.¡±

    That person in a cloakobviously referred to He Danggui. Later, Lv Ping ¡°hit the wall and died¡± before making her statements in front of everyone. However, she was standing here right now, wearing silky clothes and fancy jewelry. Besides, she called Xi Bao ¡°sister¡±. Did she also be Zhu Quan¡¯s concubine now?

    Xi Bao raised her head, and her eyes were full of hatred. She cursed, ¡°Don¡¯t show off in front of me! How could you 22-year-old bitch win the Lord¡¯s heart without my assistance? You have no conscience!¡±

    Lv Ping snorted, ¡°We are both concubines promoted from maids. Now you tell me who is nobler than the other? In addition, I was a high-level maid to Concubine He. But you? You were just a bitch to wash Concubine Gu¡¯s feet!¡± Seeing the angry Xi Bao, she added, ¡°Although you are 5 years younger than me, waiting will devour your youth soon. It is just a few months that the Lord has not seen you, but you¡¯ve got wrinkles around your eyes. Several monthster, you will not be able topete with Xu Siniang.¡±

    Xi Bao stood up and counterattacked, ¡°Fuck yourself. Everybody knows that you sold out your master to be a concubine. How shameful you dare to mention her!¡±

    Lv Ping smoothed her hair and smiled, ¡°You know what? I learned the gesture from Concubine He. I have learned her every gesture. This is why the Lord is attracted by me. You don¡¯t have such an opportunity. Xi Bao, you¡¯d better beg Concubine Gu to re-ept you. Otherwise, if the Lord finds your father¡¯s embezzlement, you will be a dead person.¡±

    Xi Bao smirked, ¡°We are on the same boat. We havemitted those crimes together! Don¡¯t you forget your contribution to Concubine He¡¯s death? You are just a shadow of Concubine He. Before I die, I will be the first to show the evidence that you fabricated a charge against Concubine He. You¡¯d better show some respect to me.¡±

    Lv Ping¡¯s expression changed and she pped Xi Bao, leaving 5 red finger marks on Xi Bao¡¯s white face. She shouted, ¡°I am Concubine Cai! I am higher than you in status. How dare you threaten me in this way? You are not sinless. If you disclose everything, your father and you will die! The Lord is utterly infatuated with Concubine He. As long as I follow her gestures, the Lord will spare me and even love me more.¡±

    He Danggui was silent. She did know Lv Ping¡¯s surnamed was Cai by now. And Lv Ping didn¡¯t mention it as her maid for so many years.

    Xi Bao covered her face with her white palm. She cried, ¡°You are vicious! You hit the wall because you were afraid of getting involved in that usation. You bitch will never have a good end!¡±

    Lv Ping did not notice the four men walking toward them because she was back to them. But, Xi Bao and He Danggui saw them. They were Zhu Quan, Qi Xuanyu, Shangguan Mingri, and Sima Mingyue. They came out from Wu Xiang Ge.

    Before He Danggui had time to appraise Qi Xuanyu¡¯s medical skills, Lv Ping continued, ¡°Indeed, I served her for many years. But why? Why would she be a concubine? She did note from a powerful family! Let me tell you, it was me who told Zhou Jinn about Concubine He¡¯s trace. I did it!¡±

 Chapter 287 - Conversation with a ghost

    <h4>Chapter 287 Conversation with a ghost</h4>

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Xi Bao asked with tears on her face, ¡°Are you the one behind?¡±

    Lu Ping raised her head and smirked, ¡°Yes! To be honest, Zhou Jinn is just a piece on my chessboard. Didn¡¯t you notice that something is different in the Mansion? The Lord has been away from her for a long time. You know? I have once reminded the Lord that it was Zhou Jinn to set Concubine He up only because of her jealousy. As a result, the Lord doesn¡¯t trust her though there was not solid evidence.¡±

    Zhu Quan, Qi Xuanyu, Shangguan Mingri, and Sima Mingyue came over at this time. The hair of the middle-aged Zhu Quan turned whitepletely. He was holding a white porcin jar, inside which may be Concubine He¡¯s ashes.

    Suddenly, Zhu Quan gave the jar to Sima Mingyue and then strode ahead. Under the unbelievable gaze of Lv Ping, he squeezed her neck with one hand, making her be at death¡¯s door. Lv Ping was shivering and tried to exin something. However, no one could hear her words. She tried to release his hand, but it was in vain.

    This scene suddenly stirred He Danggui¡¯s sorrows. Everyone in the Mansion was in the same tragedy. She didn¡¯t want to stay here anymore. So, she released her spirit to a corner. Dry branches in winter cut the sky into a lot of small pieces. She leaned on the tree, wondering if the numbers of men and women were exactly the same, would a man only marry one woman? Would wars between women be gone forever?

    ¡°Miss He?¡± A voice came behind a tree, gentle and maic.

    It was Qi Xuanyu, the middle-aged Qi Xuanyu. He Danggui asked puzzledly, ¡°Are you the one in the fantasy or the real one?¡±

    Qi Xuanyu smiled as if his smile was the answer. He stepped forward, ¡°Actually, you are different from the tenth princess, though you are prettier. However, she has one thing that you don¡¯t possess.¡±

    He Danggui frowned. Why did he mention the tenth princess? What else did he know? She considered for a moment and then asked, ¡°Did you make the Dream? Why?¡± Indeed, Bai Yangbai was an expert in Fantasy Dream. He even wrote guidance on it. However, only the one who made the Dream could see ¡°intruders¡±. A wild guess suddenly hit her. Perhaps three yearster, the reason for Meng Xuan asking Qi Xuanyu to send him here was that the Dream was made by Qi Xuanyu.

    Qi Xuanyu stepped forward and covered her eyes with two fingers. He sighed, ¡°Her eyes are simr to yours, but they were surprisingly pure and crystal, carrying no worries at all. Yours are sharp and sad. Most importantly, you are not as inclusive as her. I can see your aggressiveness through your eyes. What happened to you?¡±

    She tilted her head to the side and said coldly, ¡°I was in a jar. Shouldn¡¯t I be aggressive? What would you do if you were in my shoes?¡±

    Qi Xuanyu continued gently, ¡°Yes, you died, but you are luckier than any other woman in the Mansion. When you died, you also took away the most precious treasure ¨C Zhu Quan¡¯s heart. Since then, their beauty and youth had lost the value because the Lord would never see them anymore.¡± Seeing He Danggui¡¯s expression, Qi Xuanyu added, ¡°He did be responsible for your death. However, you did see his overwhelming grief. You know him. A man who never cared about women became a nut because of you.¡±

    ¡°Save it! We both know it is not true.¡± He Danggui looked at the swing in distance, ¡°Maybe you should check whether he was infected by diseases, poisons or venomous insects. If an ambitious man suddenly gives up all his fame and interest, then he must be invaded by the evil.¡±

    Qi Xuanyu smiled, ¡°You are special. You could melt a man if you love him; you could also be ruthless enough to destroy a man if you don¡¯t love him. Anyway, you don¡¯t have to worry. The Dream is just a reflection of your mind. I used my Qi to build it based on reality. I can¡¯t create a world from nil.¡± Qi Xuanyu whispered, ¡°As the Dream maker, I can assure you that everything you seees from people¡¯s true aspiration. They may not be the reality, yet they are people¡¯s obsessiveness. That is to say, Zhu Quan really regretted what he did to you. He is even willing to die for his fault.¡±

    He Danggui stepped back to get away from him, ¡°Are you his persuader? What do you want?¡±

    Her body indicated her nervousness: stiff back and clenched fists. It seemed that she was ready to fight with him. He stepped back andughed, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid. I am just a shadow in the Dream. I have no connection with the outside world. I am not malicious to you.¡±

    ¡°A shadow in the Dream?¡± Looking at him, He Danggui spected, ¡°You are from the previous life, and you came here with that thorn star?¡±

    Qi Xuanyu paused and then admitted, ¡°Yes, I came here with you and Zhu Quan¡¯s spirit fragments. We parted in the air. You went to Shui Shang Temple for your reincarnation. However, we were trapped in a stone cave. That was just a tragedy for two men being together. Except for your name, he couldn¡¯t even say aplete word. Later, when the young Zhu Quan went into the cave, we certainly would follow him.¡±

    He Danggui couldn¡¯t help thinking of a scene that young Zhu Quan was haunted by two ghosts in a cave. It seemed that people should always keep away from those ominous ces. Sayings like ¡°There is no ghost¡± and ¡°I am not afraid of ghosts¡± were not true. She determined that she would never go to Bitter Bamboo Grove in the future.

    He Danggui continued, ¡°You are the dream maker, and you must know those shadow walls of the seventh stage. I saw what happened after my death, and you weren¡¯t there. When that thorn star flew away, Bai Yangbai was the only person present!¡±

    Qi Xuanyu nodded, ¡°You are right. These scenes were all true. I deliberately showed them to you. As for why you didn¡¯t see me, that was because I was dead at that time. I died in a worse way than Zhu Quan. I couldn¡¯t even keep my spirit intact. I just attached my memory to an eagle, so I witnessed everything.¡±

    ¡°You...you are a ghost!¡± He Danggui felt creepy, so she stepped backwards.

    ¡°Well, I am close to a ghost,¡± Qi Xuanyu smiled, ¡°Please calm down. You are in the Dream where I cannot hurt you while you can hurt me. In addition, I mean no harm to you. I just want to tell you the truth because we were best friends back to the life before the previous life.¡±

    However, the real Qi Xuanyu was a calcting person. Back at Qi Lu Yard, he tried to infuse Zhu Qian with ¡°He Danggui is a siren, and you can¡¯t marry her.¡± He was hostile to her. In short, that man was totally not as kind as this ghost. So, she remained vignt, ¡°To be frank, why did you show me the memories? What is your purpose?¡±

    Qi Xuanyu recalled, ¡°I have never loved somebody. But I can¡¯t forget the Tenth Princess who I met when I was young. I wanted to find out who killed her and revenge for her. Later, I met a Taoist friend. He was more powerful than me. I didn¡¯t know his identity. But I had to count on him. I showed him my base card in trade for his help to initiate Time Traceback, which revealed the truth of the Tenth Princess¡¯ death. After a few years, Lord Jin died. That is to say, there was only one man left ¨C Gao Jun. I have been looking for him, but there is no progress.¡±

    ¡°Revenge for a girl you haven¡¯t known each other for a long time? And at a cost of several years?¡± He Danggui questioned, ¡°It is not your style. Don¡¯t you love her?¡± That princess was never a simple character. She had so many secrets. Well, from a certain aspect, she was against herself.

    Qi Xuanyu smiled, ¡°I didn¡¯t deliberately revenge for her. I just would think of her asionally. That¡¯s why I wanted to help her. I had lovers nationwide, and I would never love a disfigured girl. A woman¡¯s face is her most valuable asset. No one will care about a girl without a beautiful face.¡± Then he lowered his tone to exin his death, ¡°That Taoist friendter invited me to Nihon for a Tao forum. I didn¡¯t want to go at first. However, somebody told me that Xu Fu, who found the immortal medicine there, was still alive. He lived more than a thousand years! Besides, he could calcte one¡¯s past and future. I wanted to know where my princess was in this life, so I went there.¡±

    Listening to his story, He Dangguiughed and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the end? Did you find Xu Fu?¡±

    Qi Xuanyu didn¡¯t answer her but continued his story, ¡°Later, I heard that you married Zhu Quan and moved to his mansion. So I decided to visit you immediately. But I fell into a long-plotted trap, which was the most ruthless one I had seen in my life. It would drain people¡¯s blood and Qi. And then I knew his intent. He wanted my power.¡±

    He Danggui asked, ¡°I guess you escaped, right?¡±

    Qi Xuanyu shook his head. He showed his chest to her, ¡°As you see, I was killed and sucked dry. Even my spirit was dispersed.¡±

 Chapter 288 - Story about a ghost

    <h4>Chapter 288 Story about a ghost</h4>

    His chest was empty and transparent.

    ¡°Dispersed?¡± He Danggui was surprised. If he was dispersed, who was she talking with? She asked, ¡°What are you?¡±

    Regardless of her rudeness, Qi Xuanyu replied after dressing himself, ¡°I was a memory. You can see me as the reflection of my resentment. Resentment will not easily dissipate after one¡¯s death.¡±

    He Danggui agreed with him. She squinted Qi Xuanyu and asked, ¡°That Taoist guy is in Nihon now. Why don¡¯t you go there to kill him?¡±

    Qi Xuanyu smiled, ¡°I have my reasons. However, the point is that you are connected with Zhu Quan this life. You will be his wife eventually.¡± Seeing her unbelievable expression, he added, ¡°When my memory was attached to that eagle, I flew to Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion three monthster. I saw a dying woman in the water dungeon. I was so anxious, but I was unable to save you. I controlled that eagle to peck the lock, but it didn¡¯t work. Just at this point, Bai Yangbai arrived. He cast a spell to transform you out of the dungeon without opening the lock. He covered you with the snow before arranging a tactical matrix and finding the antidote for you. Later, Zhu Quan got there and destroyed the fence to find you. Soon, I realized that I was too weak to do anything for you. I knew you are the reincarnation of my princess, but I couldn¡¯t save you.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to me yourself.¡± He Dangguiforted him, ¡°You have a happy life now. You can feel free and easy to live in the Mansion without worrying about the passage of time. You are unfettered.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Qi Xuanyu answered, ¡°We followed the young Zhu Quan toe to the mansion, and then I still live in the eagle¡¯s body. However, the spirit of the middle-aged Zhu Quan kept lingering the young Zhu Quan around. He spared no effort to influence the young buddy to make him fall in love with you. He wanted the kid to marry you as soon as possible so that he could correct his fault. But things did not go as he wished. The young one started to hate you. He thought you were the cause of his nightmares.¡±

    He Danggui got his point. She said, ¡°No wonder I didn¡¯t see him in the past three years. It is not his style to give up his favorite thing.¡±

    Qi Xuanyuughed, ¡°Miss He, Zhu Quan is not that bad. He is a reasonable person. You can try tomunicate with him. I believe you will fall in love with him again.¡±

    He Danggui became angry, ¡°You are his lobbyist.¡±

    Qi Xuanyu waved his hands, ¡°Hold your horses. Today, the spirit debris of the middle-aged Zhu Quan has been fused with the young Zhu Quan. But that debris is too little to manipte the young one. In other words, he ispletely gone. So, the young buddy does not love you at all for now. In the previous life, we were only partners in small cooperation. Therefore, I¡¯m not in a position to help him.¡±

    ¡°Then why did you say that we will marry?¡± He Danggui angrily said, ¡°Don¡¯t you see my sufferings? Why do you want me to marry him? You should at least have a little heart!¡±

    Qi Xuanyu, as a reflection of resentment, showed his calmness after experiencing a lot. He did not take He Danggui¡¯s usation seriously. Instead, he answered slowly, ¡°In the course of their fusion, I also did something. I made this Qizhen Fantasy Dream ording to what I learned from Bai Yangbai in my previous life. On the one hand, I find myself a ce to live in; on the other hand, I duplicate these figures in the Mansion for Zhu Quan to recall your love under my guidance. If he could love you again, you two will have a happy ending.¡±

    He Danggui was so angry that she stamped her feet, ¡°None of my business! I don¡¯t care who he is, nor who he loves. I only have one thing for sure that I won¡¯t connect with him. I will try my best to keep away from him.¡±

    Qi Xuanyu was slightly surprised, ¡°I thought you were touched by the memories. A person like Zhu Quan became a nut and even got his spirit dispersed. Don¡¯t you have any feelings?¡±

    He Danggui sneered, ¡°Why don¡¯t you use your third eye to see how much I have paid? He deserved that a terrible ending because he did so many bad things. By the way, I didn¡¯t make him die in that way, and I will never marry him in this life for that stupid reason.¡±

    ¡°What about for Meng Xuan?¡± Qi Xuanyu asked.

    ¡°Excuse me?¡± He Danggui froze there. How dared this fucking ghost-like thing threaten her with Meng Xuan?

    Qi Xuanyu held his hands behind andughed, ¡°I am the Master Prophet. I can predict people¡¯s future. You are one of the most important persons to me, so I¡¯ve been watching you since I came here. I predicted your future several days ago when you were fourteen-year-old. You and Meng Xuan had a predestined rtionship. However, after the spirit fragments of Zhu Quan came into this life, your rtionship was broken. What¡¯s more, his resentment even threatened Meng Xuan¡¯s life.¡±

    ¡°You mean that Zhu Quan wants to kill Meng Xuan?¡±

    Qi Xuanyu shook his head, ¡°I don¡¯t know. No trigram could make such a detailed prediction. I only know that Zhu Quan will be angry about your marriage, and he will try to take you away from him. Besides, Meng Xuan will die at the age of twenty, and¡­¡±

    ¡°Stop it!¡± He Danggui interrupted him. ¡°What kind of Master Prophet are you? You even didn¡¯t know when you will die, and how dare you to define ours?¡±

    ¡°How do you know I didn¡¯t?¡± Qi Xuanyu asked. ¡°If the trigram told a 10% chance to live, I would hide in the mountains to avoid dangerousness. However, my trigram showed a 100% chance to die, and what could I do? I preferred to travel abroad before my death. Maybe I could learn where was the Tenth Princess if I was lucky.¡± Seeing He Danggui was stunned, he smiled and added, ¡°Presumably, you don¡¯t need love anymore. Don¡¯t worry. After Meng Xuan¡¯s death, you will remarry Bai Yangbai, and have a happy life.¡±

    He Danggui continued to ridicule Qi Xuanyu, ¡°I am done with your nonsense. If you feel bored, go chatting with Zhu Quan¡¯s concubines right now. They love gossiping with a fortune-teller.¡±

    But Qi Xuanyu continued his talking, ¡°Well, Bai Yangbai is also not your destination. A few yearster, you will leave him to marry Zhu Quan. Bai Yangbai will be sad because of your abandonment. He will die in an explosion of the pill furnace. After that, you will be Zhu Quan¡¯s exclusive domain. I don¡¯t know how he will treat you, but you will be the princess after Xie Qiaofeng¡¯s death.¡±

    He Danggui tried to exin, but she could finally say nothing but a promise, ¡°I will prove you are wrong.¡± Anyway, she would never marry Zhu Quan even if he was thest man alive. Qi Xuanyu was a liar.

    Qi Xuanyu sighed, ¡°I wish you to skip the two marriages and marry Zhu Quan directly. If you do, Meng Xuan and Bai Yangbai may not die, and you will avoid two heart breakings. I will utilize the Dream to guide Zhu Quan to love you.¡±

    ¡°Where is he?¡± He Danggui interrupted him, ¡°I mean the young Zhu Quan. I remember he was here just now.¡±

    ¡°I moved him to another ce.¡± Qi Xuanyu smiled, ¡°This is my ce. I have a lot of useful matrixes and traps. Even if Zhu Quan is the apprentice of Bai Yangbai, he is not as strong as me here. By the way, his Kungfu doesn¡¯t work here, because he wants to kill that Concubine He to stop Lord Ning from loving her in the Dream. If I don¡¯t do that, he would destroy the Dream.¡±

    He Danggui was silent for a long while before concluding, ¡°You are good at prophecy, but I believe that man can conquer nature. Nothing is doomed. You cannot tell my life with several shells. If I believe what you said, to be a nun will be the best solution for me, because nobody will die for that.¡±

    Qi Xuanyu was also silent. Then, he turned around, ¡°The Dream is funny. Take your time to enjoy it. If you want to ask me for advice next time, it will be difficult for you toe here.¡±

    ¡°For what?¡± Though He Danggui did not want toe here again, she was eager to know the reasons in case of some emergencies. She asked, ¡°How can Ie back?¡±

    Qi Xuanyu flew away instantly, leaving a lingering sound, ¡°How did youe here this time?¡±

    He Danggui frowned. She remembered that she entered the Dream when Zhu Quan bit her lip against the veil, because he wanted her to feel the pain in her heart.

    So, Zhu Quan¡¯s kiss was the key¡­

    Damn it! She wouldn¡¯t do it again! Anyway, she had gotten the information, but she would note back again.

    Qi Xuanyu must talk with her for some reason. She had never seen any selfless saints. She thought Bai Yangbai was her close friend, yet it turned out that he was only curious about her Yunqi Acupuncture. She used to ask him to help her deal with Zhu Quan, but he slipped away quickly as soon as Zhu Quan arrived at Luo¡¯s Mansion. Apparently, he didn¡¯t want to offend Zhu Quan. Moreover, Bai Yangbai was Zhu Quan¡¯s uncle. No wonder he taught all his skills to Zhu Quan unreservedly, even though he hated Zhu Yuanzhang that much!

    She should never believe a fortune teller wholeheartedly. Qi Xuanyu was a big mystery. If he loved the Tenth Princess, he should have wished to continue their story in this life. Why did he want her to marry that repulsive Zhu Quan?

    If she didn¡¯t want Meng Xuan to get hurt, maybe she should not marry him. If so, he would not be sad when she left, and he would not be hurt in the Dream. Thinking of that, she relieved and took a deep breath. She decided to fight Shangguan Mingri for another round.

 Chapter 289 - You were pregnant

    <h4>Chapter 289 You were pregnant</h4>

    Two hours in the Dream equaled one year in reality. In others words, she could wander freely in the Mansion for a year with only two hours. If she wanted, she could secretly observe and learn skills from Shangguan Ming Ri and Qi Xuanyu. And also, she could let Zhou Jinn be scared to death.

    Therefore, He Danggui settled in the Mansion of the Dream. In fact, to be more specific, she ¡°stayed¡± here because she was a spirit. She didn¡¯t need food for her sustenance and couldn¡¯t be seen by people here. Besides, she was able to sh to anywhere instantly as she wanted.

    She often threw Shangguan Ming Ri¡¯s head with a handful of pebbles. After being angry, Shangguan Ming Ri would locate her with his amazing sensory ability, and covered her with ferocious attacks. In the first few months, she often fainted as soon as she was beaten by him. But she gradually gained the confidence to fight against a senior. At least, she gradually became a passing challenger.

    Even the most stupid apprentice would learn something after months of training, not to mention the responsible teacher Shangguan Ming Ri, who always treated her the most harshly no matter how many times she poked him. He Danggui gradually got used to her status, and she could even sh during the battle. In addition, she found a pair of daggers from her former residence, and sometimes, she could cut off a piece of Shangguan Ming Ri¡¯s clothes with them.

    Recently, people in the Mansion said that Shangguan Ming Ri had lost his mind because he seldom went to bed except for meditating. When he was awake, his eyes were turning around all the time. He was always in the preparation to kill somebody. Damn scary!

    More interestingly, Senior Concubine Zhou was entangled by a ghost. She had invited many monks and Taoist priests to make special rituals, but nothing worked. In every noon, as long as Senior Concubine Zhou and her maid Xu Siniang didn¡¯t p each other¡¯s faces 50 times under the hot sun, her eight-year-old son would jump into the dungeon as if he was manipted by a ghost. Who was that ghost? Everybody knew the answer.

    Later, the Lord heard this. Then, he set up a spirit-seeking station in the Mansion and slept on it after the daily ritual. Sometimes, several thin quilts were blown by the wind on the Lord¡¯s body, causing him to believe in the existence of ghosts more firmly. Sima Ming Yue and other servants tried to persuade him, but it was in vain. After a few months, the Lord even got praised by the Emperor because of upholding Taoism.

    When it was the eleventh month in the Dream, He Danggui was able to tie the 35-year-old Shangguan Ming Ri with the advantages of ¡°invisibility¡± and ¡°shing¡±. She had made great progress in practice. Before, she didn¡¯t know how to use her great internal force. There was even an unexpected fruit that she was getting better and better at hidden weapons after practicing throwing at Shangguan Ming Ri¡¯s nose with small stones every day. She even could control the weaponnding on the left side or the right side of his nose. The truth proved that she couldn¡¯t use hidden weapons well because she did not have an attractive target.

    She had never seen Qi Xuanyu nor Zhu Quan again. In the Dream where her previous-life-enemies gathered, she became an outlier.

    ording to Bai Yangbai¡¯s description, the Dream was a variant from the Eight-diagrams tactics, divided into eight gates: Sheng (birth), Shang (injury), Du (clumsy), Jing (prospect), Si (cken), Jiing (surprise), Kai (rx), and Xiu. (rest). She had already found the Sheng gate of the Dream in the fifth month since she got here. However, thinking that she would nevere back, she really wanted to stay longer tomunicate with that expert Qi Xuanyu, but he had not shown up for a whole year, and it had been almost two hours in reality.

    The high intensity of her Kungfu practice throughout the year had made her taller, showing that the experience in the Dream would also leave traces in reality. Being alone in an isted environment enabled her to rx from the inside out, and she had more time to think about things that she couldn¡¯t figure out before. However, theck ofmunication also made her feel incredibly lonely.

    Finally, the time hade when the fight with Shangguan Ming Ri and the begging sound from Zhou Jinn and her maids could not amuse her anymore. So, she decided to leave the Dream ande back to reality.

    A warm light wrapped her. She felt she was falling all the way. When she opened her eyes again, she saw a bright green figure rushed towards her. Her vision blurred for a moment. After blinking, she recognized that it was Zhu.

    ¡°Aunt, are you okay? Did he force you?¡± Zhu asked a weird question.

    He Danggui picked herself up from the ground and grabbed Zhu¡¯s pinky cheeks, ¡°What does the note from Qing¡¯er say? Why did you bring me a nk paper? I am nervous!¡±

    Zhu didn¡¯t answer the question. He covered his mouth in surprise and eximed, ¡°Are you going to have a baby, too? Do you know your baby¡¯s gender?¡±

    He Danggui was puzzled, ¡°I am not really following you.¡± Zhu confused her. She was having a baby after two hours? She found that she was still in the Depositary of Buddhist Texts, and the scene outside the window was dark. Did she miss anything?

    Zhu pointed at the man on the ground with his hand, ¡°I saw your movements.¡±

    He Danggui suddenly turned her head to look at the man on the ground. Zhu Quan! He was in aa with a strange green hat. She was puzzled.

    ¡°That is my hat,¡± said Zhu, ¡°because his eyes are open when he sleeps. Creepy!¡±

    He Danggui checked Zhu Quan and confirmed that he was really sleeping. Perhaps his spirit was still in the Dream, so his eyes were half open. She made a quiet gesture to Zhu and warned him solemnly, ¡°He is a wicked man, and I have nothing to do with him. I am not pregnant at all.¡±

    ¡°But,¡± Chubby Zhu whispered proudly, ¡°what are you worrying about? He should take the responsibility.¡± Seeing He Danggui¡¯s frantic expression, he used his chubby hand to pat her chest and said, ¡°You get fat. This is the sign of having a baby.¡±

    He Danggui lowered her head in shock. Her breasts were bigger! She even touched them to confirm their existence.

    What the hell! She wondered in confusion. The Dream could help her body grow! However, her breasts were not big like this in the Dream. What happened? In her previous life, she did not have breasts of this size until she was 16 years old. It was so weird¡­

    She stood up and checked her body. She found that she had grown taller, the same as in the Dream. Then, she unraveled the cloth around her neck. Surprisingly, the wound made by Zhu Quan had healed. She took out a small mirror and found that there was not even a scar left. The power of time was amazing.

    After checking her body changes, she preached to the little one with her hands on her hips, ¡°Like I said, I have nothing to do with him, and I don¡¯t have a baby.¡± However, Zhu was still wearing an unbelievable expression, so she angrily kneaded his face and continued her preaching, ¡°A pregnant woman will gain weight in her belly, not her breasts. Therefore, I have nothing to do with him. You should never talk about it again.¡±

    ¡°Aunt, you are wrong.¡± Zhu guarded his cheeks with his hands and corrected her in an educational tone, ¡°When women are pregnant, their breasts will get bigger firstly, and their bellies will get bigger next. In one or two months, your belly will start to be round. You have to ask him to be responsible.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± He Danggui thought she was an idiot. Maybe she had been in the Dream for so long that she lost her ability tomunicate with people. What was this boy talking about?

    Zhu waved his chubby hand to make He Dangguie closer. He whispered, ¡°I know it. Women¡¯s breasts are all small at first, but they will get bigger and bigger once a man touches them. And after a period of time, their bellies will also get bigger. You shouldn¡¯t tell anyone now. Otherwise, they willugh at you so that you can¡¯t get married!¡±

    He Danggui¡¯s mouth opened wide. Was he really a seven-year-old boy? Where did he learn it? She didn¡¯t even know it! She asked, ¡°Who taught you these things?¡±

    ¡°Nobody. I just know it.¡± Zhu answered. He considered with his chin on his hand, ¡°Your case is special. It took a short while before your breasts get bigger. Therefore, your belly must be growing up earlier than others. Maybe tomorrow. We must be quick. Find a daddy for the baby before dawn. Why don¡¯t you two hold a wedding right now!¡±

    He Danggui felt helpless. Though she was not a mother, she raised Zhu into a strong and healthy boy. She had watched him do his homework and listened to him reading those saint articles. She really didn¡¯t know whom he learnt from.

    ¡°A baby?¡± Chang Nuo¡¯s voice echoed, ¡°Whose baby?¡±

    ¡°The baby of that man and my aunt.¡± Zhu pointed at Zhu Quan, who wore a green hat. And he was not afraid of the stranger, ¡°Tie him up. I will help them marry.¡±

    He Danggui turned her head. When she saw that Chang Nuo was wearing a servant uniform, she knew that Zhu must have regarded him as a servant. However, the man behind Chang Nuo was¡­

    Third Childe Meng, Meng Ying, scratched his chin and asked, ¡°Hold a wedding? Who approved it?¡±

 Chapter 290 - Night was the best time

    <h4>Chapter 290 Night was the best time</h4>

    Chang Nuo and Meng Ying were both in servant clothes, which raised He Danggui¡¯s curiosity. She asked, ¡°What are you doing? You are honored guests of Luo¡¯s Mansion. Why are you wearing these clothes?¡± When seeing the quilt in Chang Nuo¡¯s arms, she suddenly remembered that Chang Nuo was to bring her quilt ¡°one year ago.¡± That was a long time.

    Chang Nuo went to inspect Zhu Quan¡¯s situation and took off the green hat. He might have seen that Zhu Quan slept with his eyes half open before. He closed Zhu Quan¡¯s eyes, as if he was handling a dead man. Then he picked Zhu Quan up sideways and turned around to ask He Danggui, ¡°Did he scare you?¡±

    Finally, there was a reasonable guy who did not use her! He Danggui shook her head and said, ¡°Not at all. But I am very tired and want to be alone.¡±

    Before Chang Nuo spoke, Meng Ying cut in, ¡°Miss He, who are you going to marry? Are you pregnant?¡±

    ¡°That man. Tie him...¡± Zhu¡¯s mouth was covered by He Danggui¡¯s hand, and the following words turned into a string of snorts.

    He Danggui calmly exined, ¡°My nephew has had a bad brain since he was born. We are still working on healing him. You don¡¯t have to listen to him.¡± Then, before they questioned her, she showed them the door, ¡°This is my bedroom for the time being. I don¡¯t like people vising here at night without knocking.¡±

    Chang Nuo and Meng Ying looked at each other. Then, Chang Nuo nodded to He Danggui, ¡°Good night.¡± When they were about to leave, Zhu Quan suddenly woke up. He struggled to jump out of Chang Nuo¡¯s arms and asked, ¡°What happened to me?¡±

    Chang Nuo whispered a few words to him. Though He Danggui couldn¡¯t hear the conversation, she saw Chang Nuo glimpse at her.

    Seeing that Zhu Quan was silent, Chang Nuo whispered again. This time, He Danggui heard Chang Nuo¡¯s question, ¡°Did you make her pregnantst time?¡± He Danggui flew into a rage. What a jerk! Zhu Quan sexually harassed her and even showed it off to others! Who else knew that?

    Zhu Quan was also confused. Last time he suddenly became ¡°addicted¡± as soon as he arrived in Yangzhou City. That feeling was like a drug addict without drugs. He was out of breath and lost his bnce. His world was spinning around. At that time, he didn¡¯t bring a portrait of Concubine He. By the way, a simple portrait was no longer useful to him. So, he immediately thought of the woman who caused his addiction, and Luo¡¯s Mansion was not far away from him.

    Soon, he sneaked into Tao Yao Yard and saw a beautiful woman lying on the bed. That was a silent invitation to him! His addiction was even relieved a little bit. He took off the boots and went to bed. Her cheeks were pale pink, and her nose was cute. She was even prettier than Concubine He in the Dream, but she was a bit thinner. Her ck hair was still a little damp, and it seemed that she had just bathed. Leaning face on her shoulders, he felt the sweet fragrance lingering around the tip of his nose. He could no longer suppress his frenzied emotions. This woman belonged to him!

    Just at this moment, the beautiful woman groaned and wrinkled her crescent eyebrows into two small bumps, as if she had known someone was smelling her fragrance on the sly and was about to wake up at any time. Therefore, Zhu Quan took out a sachet with the scent of green tea and hung it around her neck. He didn¡¯t want to see her sharp eyes. He still remembered that her eyes were sharp as a knife as if she wanted to cut two holes in him three years ago.

    The sachet came from his teacher Bai Yangbai. If he wanted to do something with a miss at night, the sachet would be necessary. It was more effective than any aphrodisiac. All women who smelled the sachet would be proactive and wouldn¡¯t attempt suicide afterwards.

    This was the first time he had used it, so he was skeptical about its efficiency. However, it didn¡¯t take long before her jade-like arms wrapped around his neck. Her small hands ovepped at the back side of his head. Her fragrance and her half-opened lips were tempting him. So, he quickly removed his clothes and enjoyed her beauty.

    He thought that she must want to be his wife, so she imprisoned his heart with some sorceries. Well, it was the right time for him to inspect the goods first.

    Memory fragments were shing in his mind constantly, including their tea tasting by the furnace, the depression of her betrayal, and the grief of losing her. Everything turned into a me. The Concubine He that he once lost was actually lying under him, like a puddle of water¡­ His mind had entered a crazy state, and he couldn¡¯t realize what he was doing. However, he heard two womening over, and he had to stop his work. What bad luck!

    He looked at the woman under him. It seemed that he hadn¡¯t done a full process. And the other parts of her body that he didn¡¯t touch were still tempting him heavily¡­ Then he took off the sachet on her neck, hurriedly got out of bed to dress up, and flew out of the window before the door was opened. That was his first crime, and he concluded that night was the best time for him. There was much interference in the daytime.

    He Danggui¡¯s eyes were covered by glooms. Zhu Quan remembered that he didn¡¯t do a full process. However, he was not sober at that time¡­ Maybe he was wrong? Chang Nuo said that she was pregnant and was trying to solve this problem. And the little boy said that he, Zhu Quan, was the baby¡¯s father. Chang Nuo asked him whether he made her pregnantst time, and he was confused. Maybe he did make her pregnant? He was going to be a father?

    He was going to be a father!

    As soon as the thought jumped into his mind, a strong feeling of joy suddenly appeared in Zhu Quan¡¯s heart. It was strange and creepy. Then, his body seemed to be out of his control. He pushed away Chang Nuo, who was whispering to him, and walked to He Danggui. He held her hands andughed happily, ¡°Ha-ha! Yiyi, we have a child again! Again! We can be together forever!¡±

    He Danggui was frightened and angry. She wanted to take her hands back, but she failed because Zhu Quan held them so tight. So, she said in a deep voice, ¡°Let go of my hands.¡±

    Zhu Quan was conscious, but he felt there was another person in his body. That person shook ¡°his head¡± vigorously and squeezed out two damn drops of ¡°his tears¡±. ¡°His mouth¡± made a painful voice, ¡°Yiyi, I will never let you go again. I¡¯m back for you. Please, look at me.¡± However, the real Zhu Quan was annoyed. Who was manipting him?

    He Danggui partly understood that the person speaking now was the spirit of Zhu Quan from the previous life. However, Qi Xuanyu in the Dream told her that the spirit fragments of the Zhu Quan in the previous life had all fused with the Zhu Quan in this life, and those fragments could not influence the Zhu Quan in this life. Therefore, the Zhu Quan in the previous life had lost his independent consciousness and the memory. And the Zhu Quan in this life did not love her at all. But now, things were not like Qi Xuanyu¡¯s description.

    He Danggui was disgusted. How long would he keep bothering her? She gritted her teeth and replied, ¡°You maniac! Leave me alone. I don¡¯t want to see you again.¡±

    ¡°Zhu Quan¡± begged again, ¡°Yiyi, look at me, please. I am a different man now. This time, I will marry you, only you! Come back to me.¡±

    He Danggui avoided his eyes and frowned, ¡°I am also a different woman. Now you should leave.¡±

    ¡°Zhu Quan¡± continued, ¡°Impossible, you are you! Are you still mad at me? My time is running out. Could you calm down? We have a child now, so we can work this problem out. Yiyi, look at my eyes.¡±

    He Danggui frowned and nced at his eyes. The eyes were like... She turned her face away and said coldly, ¡°If you don¡¯t let my hands go, I swear I will kick your ass.¡±

    ¡°Zhu Quan¡± shed a lot of tears and let out a whimper, which immediately frightened the two men behind him. The cold-faced Lord Ning confessed to a woman? He was even crying like a child after being rejected?

    ¡°Yiyi. I really don¡¯t have much time, and I won¡¯t be able to see you again in the future,¡± Zhu Quan¡¯s lips trembled, ¡°For the sake of the old love, can¡¯t you give me another chance?¡±

    ¡°Sorry. I don¡¯t know you at all, and I can¡¯t help you.¡± He Danggui tried hard to withdraw her hands.

    Chang Nuo thought that it was because she saw the real face under Zhu Quan¡¯s mask for the first time, so he stepped forward to introduce, ¡°Qingyi, this is Lord Ning, and also Ning Yuan three years ago. He brought the bride-price here to propose marriage for you.¡±

    Every time Chang Nuo went to Daning Prefecture to see Zhu Quan, Zhu Quan was more or less influenced by the Zhu Quan in the previous life. Therefore, Chang Nuo had always thought that Zhu Quan was obsessed with He Danggui. However, when they were in the ancestral hall earlier today, Zhu Quan humiliated He Danggui, which confused Chang Nuo very much. What was wrong with Zhu Quan? And why did he treat his ¡°fairy¡± in such an attitude? In fact, those spirit fragments had melted down at that time. The Zhu Quan in this life had regained his body. Therefore, he hated He Danggui at first sight of her.

    Both He Danggui and Zhu Quan ignored Chang Nuo¡¯s introduction, and their stalemate continued.

    ¡°Zhu Quan¡± begged, ¡°One chance. Only one chance. Please try to like me again. I promise I will treat you well this time.¡±

    He Danggui mocked him, ¡°You are running out of time. How could you guarantee that?¡±

    After a pause, ¡°Zhu Quan¡± answered, ¡°He will treat you well. He is me. Yiyi, I know you like me, and I also know that you are the kindest person. Give me one more chance, please. Let¡¯s be together again, okay?¡± He thought, ¡°I chased you here. I am begging you. I am not Lord Ning anymore, and I just want you.¡±

    ¡°No.¡± He Danggui finally withdrew her hands. She stepped back and said, ¡°I don¡¯t want to see you anymore.¡±

    ¡°Zhu Quan¡± entreated, ¡°I am going to vanish. Are these yourst words for me? You said you liked me, and you even peeked at me when I was asleep. Are they all my illusions?¡±

    ¡°You are really insane.¡± She had heard these words in the Dream, but Zhu Quan said these words again in reality. He Danggui felt breathless because of anger, and she said coldly, ¡°Nonsense. When did those happen? Dead is dead. You don¡¯t belong to this ce. Just go.¡±

    ¡°Zhu Quan¡¯s eyes¡± were full of sorrow. He repeated his words, ¡°I am vanishing. Yiyi, why are you so cruel?¡±

    He Danggui took out the jade pendant with Azure Dragon and handed it over without looking at him, ¡°This is yours. I tore your painting off. Check it. If you have time, send a carriage to take your night pearl and blood-red coral away.¡±

 Chapter 291 - A heartless woman

    <h4>Chapter 291 A heartless woman</h4>

    At the moment of He Danggui handing over the jade pendant with Azure Dragon, it slipped through Zhu Quan¡¯s fingers because he refused to take it. Luckily, it was quickly intercepted by Chang Nuo.

    Chang Nuo looked at these two people suspiciously. Were they ying some games? Zhu Quan seemed to be very familiar with He Danggui, and he was acting like a woman who had been abandoned by a man. Chang Nuo had never seen him perform this way before. And He Danggui was like a man who refused to admit their rtionship. Did they exchange their characters?

    Zhu Quan begged, ¡°Let ¡®me¡¯ love you again. Yiyi, I know you can make it. Please be good to me. ¡®I¡¯ will never leave you in this life. Let¡¯s start over.¡±

    He Danggui repeated her words, ¡°I tore your painting off. If you have time, send a carriage to take you night pearl and blood-red coral away.¡± The nightmare of Zhu Quan in the previous life was over now. After she returned his stuff, they would be strangerspletely. There would be no bond between them in the future.

    Zhu Quan whimpered and stretched out his arms to try to embrace He Danggui. But his feet seemed to be pinned there. He begged, ¡°Yiyi, let me hug you for thest time. Let me hug you.¡± His consciousness was vanishing gradually, and he couldn¡¯t control this body as he wanted.

    He Danggui stepped back again and said, ¡°No need. Please respect yourself and me.¡±

    Zhu Quan cried and looked at her sadly. He waved his arms like a swimmer in the water. He repeated stubbornly, ¡°Let me hug you. Let me hug you.¡±

    He Danggui still stayed where she was. Chang Nuo didn¡¯t know why Zhu Quan made such a low gesture to hug a woman. ording to his style, he would poke her acupoint and carry her to a room. But now, Chang Nuo was puzzled with a little anger, so he stepped forward and pushed He Danggui into Zhu Quan¡¯s arms. He said in a deep voice, ¡°You should obey such an affectionate man.¡±

    ¡°Yiyi, Yiyi¡­¡± Zhu Quan mumbled like a drowning man who finally caught the driftwood. He held the woman tightly with his chin resting on her head, ¡°What else do you want to say to me, Yiyi?¡±

    He Danggui couldn¡¯t get rid of him, so she stood there like a piece of wood. She said quickly, ¡°The venomous insect is really powerful. It turns one person into another. Even I couldn¡¯t do it after years of efforts. Amazing!¡±

    Zhu Quan squeezed the person in his arms, repeating her name, ¡°Yiyi, Yiyi...¡± But he could not feel the softening of the woman in his arms. For the moment of his frustration appearing, the Zhu Quan in this life found a gap and chipped in, ¡°Chang Nuo! Save me!¡± The Zhu Quan in the previous life felt that thest bit of his energy was burned out. He sobbed and said hisst words, ¡°Yiyi, you are so cruel. You will regret it in the future. Just as I do.¡± Then, the Zhu Quan in this life felt that he could control his body again, and he immediately pushed He Danggui away.

    Coincidentally, his hand swung off her veil, revealing the ¡°anti-satyr makeup¡± she painted. In addition to red and swollen e, there were alsorge and small rashes covering up the once beautiful face. It was terrifying. If she were born so, no one would be surprised. But her exquisite face was so beautiful before that it caused a shock because of this sharp contrast.

    Sure enough, this ghost-like appearance immediately scared the three handsome men here. What an ugly woman! Among the three, Zhu Quan had the deepest dislike. Thinking of him holding her in his arms, he just wanted to take off his clothes and take a bath to drive away the bad luck from her.

    Zhu Quan furiously said, ¡°What the hell did you do? Why were you in my arms?¡± He was a bit worried when he said those words because he didn¡¯t want to feel the kind of heartache that appeared when he attacked He Dangguist time. That pain would spread from the heart to the whole body like flowing water. But this time, he was so lucky that the feeling didn¡¯t show up again. On the contrary, he was rxed though he felt a little bit upset¡­

    Chang Nuo immediately yed the role of peacemaker again. He dragged away Zhu Quan, who was making threatening gestures, and said, ¡°She is pregnant. You should behave yourself. I pushed her to you just because you asked to do so. What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± Chang Nuo waspletely confused this time. How could Zhu Quan change his face so fast? He was totally two different people in a short moment!

    Zhu Quan sneered, ¡°Pregnant? I don¡¯t care! It¡¯s not my child. I have to wash my eyes because I see this ugly woman.¡±

    Chang Nuo looked at He Danggui¡¯s terrifying face and apologized to her, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. He means no offence. There is a reason for his cleanliness. In fact, he was...¡±

    Zhu Quan pushed Chang Nuo angrily, ¡°Shut your mouth! Let¡¯s leave this ce. I can¡¯t stay here for even one second longer!¡±

    Chang Nuo scratched his ears. Just a minute ago, Zhu Quan was still a heartbroken man who wanted to marry He Danggui. But now, he thought she was disgusting. Though He Danggui¡¯s face was truly ugly¡­ Chang Nuo had to admit that every man preferred the beauties, and even he didn¡¯t want to look at her face. She was still a beauty a few days ago. What happened to her?

    Chang Nuo tried his best to look directly at her face and asked, ¡°Qingyi, have you seen the doctor?¡±

    He Danggui stooped to pick up the veil and slowly put it on. She calmly replied, ¡°Yes, I do. I have eaten too much spicy pepper, which caused the e. Just as the old saying goes that it never rains but it pours. I was infected with the seasonal epidemic from Northern Zhili Area. I heard that the epidemic is very powerful, and I may suffer from its impact for a lifetime. I suggest you take a medicine bath to protect you from the disease.¡±

    ¡°Seasonal epidemic?¡± Chang Nuo looked back at Zhu Quan and asked, ¡°What should we do? There is no cure for the epidemic yet, and I heard that once you get infected, you will not be able to get rid of the root forever.¡±

    Zhu Quan showed a look of disdain, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with Luo¡¯s Family? How can they negotiate a marriage for this kind of woman?¡± Then, he turned around and left instantly from the window, ¡°I¡¯m going to take a shower, and you guys should leave here as soon as possible.¡±

    He Danggui¡¯s was a little joyful, and she smiled slightly under the veil. Yes! That was the real Zhu Quan ording to her memory. He used to be her world, but now she just wanted to keep away from him. She only wanted to see him act like this.

    Chang Nuo sighed, ¡°Don¡¯t feel bothered. He has been abnormal these days. Anyway, I will find Qi Xuanyu for you, and he may have a way...¡±

    ¡°No, thank you.¡± He Danggui declined, ¡°Childe Feng, everyone in our family is a doctor. If there is really no cure for the seasonal epidemic, then it¡¯s no need to find other doctors. You should save your time. To be honest, I am tired now. Could you leave me some room so I can rest?¡±

    When Chang Nuo was about to say something more, a person dropped from the skylight. When He Danggui looked at him, she couldn¡¯t help being stunned. That was Shangguan Ming Ri! He was much younger than he looked in the Dream with less arrogance and violence. His left sleeve was empty. She vaguely remembered Chang Nuo had mentioned that Zhu Quan broke Shangguan Ming Ri¡¯s left arm as a punishment because Ming Ri set the marriage with Xie Qiaofeng on behalf of Zhu Quan during Zhu Quan¡¯s recovery period¡­

    Most surprisingly, there were a few small pieces of quack medicines on Shangguan Ming Ri¡¯s nose, just the same ce as in the Dream. Moreover, his handsome straight nose was broken!

    Chang Nuo nced at Shangguan Ming Ri and asked in amazement, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with your nose? You were fine just now.¡±

    Shangguan Ming Ri was also confused, ¡°I don¡¯t understand. I am a master in the art of lightness, but I suddenly fell off the wall and broke my nose just now. I don¡¯t know what happened.¡±

    ¡°You fell off the wall?¡± Chang Nuo couldn¡¯t believe it and looked at Ming Ri up and down. What bad luck tonight! Everyone around him was weird, and he was about to go insane. The bond between Zhu Quan and He Danggui that hadsted for three years broke with no sign, and the two were both ruthless enough. s! Maybe he should terminate the construction of that bamboo house in the Xinyuan Yard.

    Shangguan Ming Ri didn¡¯t know that the woman with beautiful eyes in front of him was the ¡°siren from Luo¡¯s family¡± told by Ming Yue. He also didn¡¯t know that he lost his left hand because of her. Therefore, he didn¡¯t even look at her. Looking at the roof, he said coldly, ¡°I received a letter brought by a pigeon. Something went wrong with ouryout. Someone has the same n as we do. But now they are ahead of us. I am here to report it to the Lord. However, when I met him on the road, he told me toe to you. He also said that he didn¡¯t want to talk to anyone before finishing his shower.¡±

    Thest sentence embarrassed Chang Nuo, so he apologized to He Danggui again, ¡°He is not a rude person. He just hates the dirty thing, not you.¡± Then he felt that ¡°dirty¡± was also a rude word to describe He Danggui, so he remedied, ¡°When you get better, he won¡¯t treat you this way again.¡± Although he still didn¡¯t know their stories, he should help take care of Zhu Quan¡¯s child. The royal offspring shall stay in Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion.

    He Dangguiughed and said, ¡°Since you are busy, maybe we should negotiate our business next time. What do you say, Childe Feng?¡±

    ¡°Our business?¡± Chang Nuo paused.

    He Danggui patted her pouch to remind him, ¡°That payment of more than 20,000 liang silver is made, and I have no intention of refunding. However, you are not satisfied with the goods. Shouldn¡¯t we find out a solution?¡±

    ¡°No need.¡± Chang Nuo waved his hand. ¡°The money is yours. I just gave it to you. You can regard it as an apology for the reckless words from the Lord. Just take it.¡±

    Shangguan Ming Ri was unhappy about Chang Nuo¡¯s neglect of him. So, he interrupted, ¡°Childe Feng, our business is imminent. We will never have such a good opportunity in the future. Since the Lord is in the shower, you should attach importance to it.¡±

    Hearing the word ¡°shower¡± again, Chang Nuo felt that his effort to rebuild the rtionship between He Danggui and Zhu Quan was destroyed. He couldn¡¯t help but scold Shangguan Ming Ri in irritation, ¡°Do you have to be so garrulous? What the hell do you want to say in the middle of the night?¡±

    Shangguan Ming Ri was also pissed off, and then he shouted angrily, ¡°Of course I know it is the time to sleep with a woman, but the Lord is seduced by a siren. You are also acting irresponsibly. I¡¯m really lost. Childe Feng, isn¡¯t Yangzhou City your ce? You should manage every operation here. That devil mask man is causing us troubles. Why are you still hooking up with a woman here? You may make us disappointed!¡±

 Chapter 292 - Big breasts, big difficulties

    <h4>Chapter 292 Big breasts, big difficulties</h4>

    Chang Nuo became very frightened when he heard the words. However, He Danggui kept a calm attitude, showing no surprise nor anger. Therefore, his apology was blocked in his mouth.

    Shangguan Ming Ri clearly heard from Chang Nuo that He Danggui was that ¡°siren¡± who seduced the Lord. But he said those aggressive words in front of He Danggui. That was a humiliation.

    In fact, He Danggui wanted to fight back at first because she knew his weakness. However, looking at his broken nose and thinking of the man who waved the whip insanely in the Dream, she didn¡¯t want to waste her time to do so. To deal with the viin who stabbed the knife in the back, she should retaliate against him in the same way.

    Chang Nuo pulled Shangguan Ming Ri aside, and He Danggui also pulled Zhu aside for some education.

    ¡°Bad boy!¡± He Danggui poked at his fat chin and yelled at him strictly, ¡°If you don¡¯t behave, I will give you back to your mom!¡±

    Zhu¡¯s watery eyes were full of grievances. He argued, ¡°It is not fair! You can¡¯t lose your temper on me because you lost your baby¡¯s daddy!¡±

    ¡°Fair?¡± He Danggui pinched his white face and left red finger marks on it. She asked in an angry voice, ¡°What exactly was written on the note sent by Qing¡¯er? If you don¡¯t tell me the truth, I¡¯m going to hit you on the palm with a ruler!¡±

    Zhu took out an envelope from his shirt and said slowly, ¡°I gave you the wrong one just now. This is the right letter. Auntie, don¡¯t be angry. I won¡¯t tell anyone about your baby.¡± After that, he pushed away a stack of scriptures on the ground, and a hole appeared. Then he squeezed out.

    He Danggui opened the envelope and did a quick scan. Suddenly, she felt a shadow above her head. When she looked up, she found that Meng Ying was trying to read her letter. She asked in surprise, ¡°What the hell are you doing?¡± She felt strange when seeing Meng Ying with the servant clothes.

    Before Meng Ying could say something, Shangguan Ming Ri jumped onto the beam and then used it to jump out of the skylight. Maybe he intentionally raised a cloud of dust, and people inside almost chocked. However, Meng Ying opened his fan to keep He Danggui from the dust. He Danggui was ttered. Why did he protect her?

    Chang Nuo raised his head and cursed, ¡°Nasty guy.¡± Then, he pushed Meng Ying away and leaned over to He Danggui, ¡°I have something to cope with, and I need to leave here for a few days. Stay rxed. I will shoulder the responsibility for the Lord. You don¡¯t have to worry about you and your baby.¡± Zhu Quan was really a fickle man. If he abandoned He Danggui and her baby now, he would be unlikely to get them back in the future. Therefore, Chang Nuo thought that he must continue the marriage proposal and take He Danggui to Xinyuan Yard. When she was recovered, he would hand her over to Zhu Quan.

    He Danggui solemnly said, ¡°I have nothing to do with your Lord, and I am not pregnant. Once you take over his stuff, we will be strangers ever since.¡±

    Yet Chang Nuo had made his final decision, ¡°I will make the marriage proposal as soon as Ie back. Don¡¯t be worried and wait for me.¡±

    Then, he also jumped out of the skylight. He Danggui squinted at Meng Ying, who was watching this show aside, and asked him, ¡°Why don¡¯t you leave with your friend?¡±

    Meng Ying was fiddling with his small lignaloes fan. He stared at her veil and answered, ¡°I left here at first, but Meng Xuan sent me a letter to call me back to protect you. He said he was busy these days.¡± Meng Ying patted his servant clothes with his fan, ¡°Since I have walked out of here, I would nevere back in my true identity. That would be awkward. Therefore, I dressed up in this outfit so that I could be your bodyguard.¡±

    ¡°Bodyguard?¡± He Danggui blinked. ¡°It doesn¡¯t sound like a kind character. Well, I don¡¯t need a bodyguard, and I don¡¯t like a follower. Third Childe, you have seen that I am not a gooddy. Are you sure you want to protect me for your brother?¡±

    Meng Ying nodded, ¡°You are pregnant, aren¡¯t you? Then I have to protect you well. When my brotheres back, he will have an arrangement for you. Miss He, you don¡¯t need to care about me, and you won¡¯t even feel my existence.¡± To be honest, he was just like a shadow.

    Meng Ying took a quilt and two tes of desserts and went to the second floor of the attic. The second floor was as high as the beam and was connected to the first floor. Meng Ying could monitor the first floor from here. That was a perfect spot for a bodyguard. However, the second floor had always been used as the utility room for brooms and mops. It was not a proper ce for sleeping.

    He Danggui was not happy because of this spy from Meng Xuan. But she didn¡¯t refuse. She picked up the letter from Qing¡¯er and read it carefully. After a while, she wrote a reply. She wanted to send the letter as soon as possible. However, servants were patrolling outside the door, and she couldn¡¯t show her art of lightness when somebody was watching her.

    So, she walked to the small hole where Zhu had just left through. She took a deep breath. In her opinion, she was thinner than that boy. If Zhu could pass through, she would as well.

    After getting in there, she found that she was stuck. Actually¡­ her breasts were stuck, but she believed that she could definitely get out if she didn¡¯t give up! After struggling so hard for a while, she finally reached the most bulging part. She was about to make it!

    When she was breathing the free air from the outside and squeezing the wood to squeak, two huge palms held her hip and pulled her back into the room.

    Damn! It hurt! She almost burst into tears because of the pain. Her breasts probably abraded! Looking up at Meng Ying¡¯s haughty nostrils, she shook the fist at him. How dared he be so rude!

    Meng Ying wrapped her small fist with one hand and said in surprise, ¡°Good strength! My fingers are numb now. You are like a tigress.¡±

    He Danggui withdrew her hand and said coldly, ¡°You are a rude man, uninvited and frivolous! Just get out of here. I don¡¯t want to see you now.¡±

    ¡°Give me your letter.¡± Meng Ying reached out his hand, ¡°I will listen to you to get out of here and deliver the letter for you.¡±

    He Danggui didn¡¯t trust him. Meng Ying was not a gentleman, and maybe he would peek at her letter. So, she refused, ¡°I don¡¯t want to bother you. Getting out of my sight will be helpful enough.¡±

    Meng Ying began to be a scoundrel, ¡°If you don¡¯t let me send your letter, I will not only stay here but also sing aloud in front of your door. When peoplee here, I will give them a wonderful story.¡±

    He Danggui was silent. Meng Xuan¡¯s brother was a jerk, and this jerk was her bodyguard. Fine! Since her letter meant nothing to others except for Qing¡¯er, let him deliver the letter! If something went wrong, she would send another one tomorrow. So, she handed the envelope to Meng Ying and told him the location of Lu¡¯s Mansion. After Meng Ying left, she could eventually enjoy the tranquility of being alone.

    She could only feel being alive outside the Dream. The smell of food, the warmth of the bed, the contact with all kinds of people, and the emotions in her chest all showed that she was alive.

    She had really gained a lot from this night, or ¡°this year¡±. Not only did she gain more than 20,000 liang silver in her ount, injecting a sum of money into her mercial n¡±, but also she got rid of a big trouble. After seeing her face under the veil, Zhu Quan would never want to see her again. This thought made her delighted, as if she was walking on a cloud and her bright future was waiting for her.

    Moreover, she had not seen Meng Xuan for ¡°a whole year¡±. She really missed him. When she met him next time, she might fulfil her promise to him in the Dream, leaving Luo¡¯s Family and marrying him. She would love him forever. Although that confession was from the Meng Xuan of three yearster, and he might not be as affectionate as he would be in the future for now, she was willing to teach him how to love her. It was her promise.

    Flicking the cotton wick of thentern with a scissor, she smiled slightly and blew out the light. Then she slipped into the warm quilt and gradually fell into a deep sleep.

    The next morning, she wore light makeup after getting up. She took the remaining snacks as breakfast and put on a veil before hearing the knocks. She opened the door to let in the winter sunlight, filling the entire room. Dust was floating vigorously in the bright light, reflecting her beautiful eyes.

    Miss Ji was standing at the door. She had been supervising the repair of Luo¡¯s Family¡¯s ancestral tomb in the suburbs. At the end ofst year, several fortune-tellers had predicted the same result that this year, for Luo¡¯s Family, was proper for sacrifice, luck seeking, offspring, building, construction, marriage, and puberty rite. Therefore, Madam Luo decided to hold a great sacrifice ceremony this year. She sent Miss Ji to recruit some craftsmen to build a ¡°Nian Zu Pavilion¡± outside the town. They even used the stones to repair the ancestral tomb.

    Moreover, Luo Baiqiong, Luo Baiji and He Danggui had all passed their marriageable age, which coincided with the prediction. So, Madam Luo had already started picking up a husband for He Danggui since the third day of the Lunar New Year. However, early this morning, the servant came to report that Childe Feng and Childe Ning had both left, but there was a letter for her. Madam Luo opened the letter, which said that they left because of an emergency so that they could not continue the marriage proposal. Madam Luo didn¡¯t need to return the bride-price, and she could just take it as the new year gift. After reading the letter, Madam Luo sighed. She thought the marriage was failed.

    At the moment, Miss Ji, who sent the messagest night that the ancestral tomb copsed, came back. She entered the inner hall and told Madam Luo something, which surprised Madam Luo greatly. When Madam Luo thought of the words He Danggui said yesterday that she met her grandfather, Madam Luo guessed various possibilities in her heart. So, she hurriedly sent Miss Ji to take He Danggui to her. She had a few questions for He Danggui.

    ¡°Morning.¡± He Danggui stood up and smiled. ¡°I heard that something happened in the suburbsst night and worry about you and Mommy Tang. Do you have breakfast?¡±

    Miss Ji was a little bit fatter than three years ago, and she even had double chins. She first asked He Danggui about her veil and then asked about her disease. Finally, she approached and whispered to her, ¡°Third Miss, something strange indeed happened to our ancestral tomb. Madam Luo thinks it might be something good. She has called Fortune-teller Li to make a prediction. She wants to know what your grandfather saidst night in your dream.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t remember it clearly.¡± He Dangguibed her hair with her hand and said with a smile, ¡°Could you tell me what happened in our ancestral tomb in detail so that I know how to answer Madam Luo?¡±

    Miss Ji lowered her voice and said, ¡°There was heavy rain in the suburbsst night. The rain even washed away severalyers of the dirt. Later, light alternated with darkness, even apanied by an earthquake. Everybody was terrified. Mammy said that the ancestral tomb had copsed. The rain was so heavy, so we didn¡¯t check the situation before reporting to Madam Luo. That is why she wronged you. I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± He Danggui chuckled, ¡°I am confused. Why?¡±

 Chapter 293 - Apparition

    <h4>Chapter 293 Apparition</h4>

    Miss Ji said, ¡°Dozens of families set their tombs in the suburbs, most of which are fromrge local wealthy and influential families. Among them, ours cover thergest area. A few hours after the earthquakest night, Mommy and I went to inspect the damage. Unexpectedly, our tombs were intact, but all of the others were copsed.¡±

    He Danggui blinked her eyes and asked, ¡°How strong the earthquake was? We didn¡¯t feel anything herest night.¡±

    ¡°No. We all felt it.¡± Miss Ji told her, ¡°You didn¡¯t feel anything because you were locked in the Depositary of Buddhist Texts. Everyone in Luo¡¯s Mansion is talking about it now.¡± Seeing He Danggui¡¯s confused look, Miss Ji took her hand and sat down at the table. She exined in a low voice, ¡°In fact, the whole Yangzhou City has gone through the earthquakest night. We haven¡¯t heard any casualties, only a bunch of copsed tombs. But two ces survived. One is our ancestral tombs in the suburbs, and the other is the ancestral temple in the Mansion. Most incredibly, people who were in the ancestral temple didn¡¯t feel the slightest vibration. Therefore, Madam Luo viewed it as a miracle and asked me toe to you.¡±

    He Danggui tried her best to make a surprised face and then cried, ¡°What a miracle! I know you are an honest person, so I believe you. If other people said it to me, I would not trust even a single word. In my opinion, it was because our ancestors showed their power to protect Luo¡¯s Family from the earthquake. Why did grandma let you ask me?¡±

    Miss Ji took out a stack of white silk from her sleeve and then handed it to He Danggui. She told He Danggui to open it and exined, ¡°This is the copy of the handwriting from the first stele of the ancestral tombs. Check it.¡±

    Now, He Danggui was really curious because she didn¡¯t let Xiaoyou write any words. When she unfolded the white silk, the familiar fonts came into her eyes. The handwriting was not clear andplete, and she could only read an ambiguous sentence, ¡°My descendant, a young girl, has saved Luo¡¯s Family from disasters. Therefore, as your ancestor, I herebymend her achievements...¡±

    He Danggui almostughed out when she saw the words ¡°as your ancestor¡±. Bai Yangbai! When did he y tricks on people in ancestral tombs? He Danggui thought he had already left Yangzhou City.

    ¡°My descendant, a young girl.¡± Miss Ji exined it to her in case she didn¡¯t get the point, ¡°In both the East and West Yard of Luo¡¯s Family in Yangzhou City, except for Ma Baoqian, the daughter of Mistress Luo Chuanjiao from the West Yard, you are the only one who matches the description. But, Ma Baoqian¡¯s marriage was canceled because of her bad fortelling results. Therefore, Madam Luo said she was definitely not the right one. Since she is not the one, then it must be you!¡±

    He Danggui smiled, ¡°I am ttered. How would a 14-year-old girl be able to save Luo¡¯s Family? Our family is blessed by the grace of the emperor. I don¡¯t see any signs of disasters. Besides, are the words really from the ancestor? Maybe it was just a prank?¡± Even if she didn¡¯t raise this question, people like Sun Meiniang would also bring it up when this news went public. It was better for her to be the first to say that out.

    Miss Ji answered with a mysterious look, ¡°This is even more magical. Those words were not written on the tombstone. Instead, it just showed up. Many people were on-site, including me.¡±

    ¡°Showed up?¡± He Danggui was surprised, ¡°The ancestor showed his apparition?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Miss Ji nodded.

    He Danggui opened his eyes wide and asked, ¡°What did he look like?¡±

    ¡°We servants are not worthy of being met the ancestor.¡± Miss Ji said in a gloomy voice, ¡°However, we saw it in the flesh that he wrote these words on the tombstone with an invisible hand.¡± She was afraid that He Danggui would not believe her, so she added, ¡°Trust me. Dozens of people witnessed that scene. What¡¯s more, Mommy found that the words were written by gold powders! And then we all knelt down to worship.¡±

    He Danggui folded the white silk and returned it to Miss Ji. Sheplimented, ¡°It is lucky enough that our ancestral tombs and ancestral temple are safe and sound after the earthquake. Moreover, once this information is delivered to the emperor by Senior Governor Han, we may have more good news. Now that we are so lucky in the opening of the year, Madam Luo must be overjoyed.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Miss Ji didn¡¯t know much about politics. Therefore, she hurriedly asked, ¡°Why do you say that?¡±

    He Danggui answered conservatively, ¡°Actually, I can¡¯t say it for sure. But my uncles are all well-educated people. If they hear the news, maybe they will have some conclusions.¡± Then, she sighed, ¡°Poor me! I was wrongly used of hurting people with witchcraft! There was ady who dressed as a beggar saying that I was longing for the He¡¯s Family in the capital so that I didn¡¯t like Luo¡¯s Family. Therefore, Madam Luo turned mad at me, and I am still worried now. Miss Ji, you are a busy person, and I have no reason to keep you here. They may hold a celebrating banquet in the Mansion at any time. I am going to continue my confession now.¡± She stood up and was about to leave.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t go.¡± Miss Ji grabbed her, ¡°You haven¡¯t exined what happened. How could I report to Madam Luo?¡±

    ¡°s, I¡¯m a youth. I heard that message from grandpa.¡± He Danggui was holding her forehead. ¡°I met him several times in my dreams. He told me something about the family¡¯s future. However, after being frightened by my aunt Sun Meiniangst night, I can¡¯t remember anything because of the condition aggravation. I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t help you.¡±

    He Danggui¡¯splexion was pale with sweat. So, Miss Ji immediately believed her words and asked worriedly, ¡°What kind of illness do you have? What does the doctor say?¡±

    He Danggui walked into the inner hall and then sat in a chair, ¡°In fact, it is an illness in my heart, not on my body. Time is the only cure for me¡­ I am sorry, but I really need to take some rest now. You can leave¡­ So hungry¡­ s, I can¡¯t sleep on the bed. So sleepy¡­¡± Then, she closed her eyes, pretending to sleep.

    Miss Ji had no other choice but to leave. Seeing that the gatekeeper locked the door, she wondered why He Danggui was treated so harshly. So, she asked the gatekeeper. It turned out that he was selected by the Second Branch. Of course, he favored them, and he told Miss Ji all aboutst night. He also said that since He Danggui was found guilty, even Madam Luo couldn¡¯t continue to indulge her, and she had ordered to detain He Danggui until her mother came back from the Taoist Temple. By then, every one of the Fourth Branch would be punished.

    Miss Ji had an answer in her heart. He Danggui and her mother were never vicious people to hurt someone, and they must be wronged. Madam Luo asked her to know the meanings of the golden mink hanging in the woods next to the ancestral tombs, the Broom Woman for Fine Days under the corridor, and the words from He Danggui¡¯s grandfather. But she hadn¡¯t done her tasks at all. She thought for a while and then went to Fu Shou Yard to report to Madam Luo.

    In Fu Shou Yard, Madam Luo was talking to Fortune-teller Li. She wanted to know what the light anomaliesst night represented.

    Although Fortune-teller Li was also a swindler, he still had a bit of knowledge because he had been in this industry for many years. He introduced Madam Luo the star movements, good omens, and evil omens. Usually, the brighter stars were in the hosting pce, indicating a stronger fortune of the world. In this case, the world was likely to remain in peace. The color of the stars also exined the fortune. Brightly colored stars, such as red, purple, and blue, usually were signs of something bad.

    Madam Luo asked, ¡°The star ofst night was brighter than the noon sun, and the color was white. Was it a sign of prosperity?¡±

    Fortune-teller Li shook his head, ¡°No. On the contrary, that represents something evil.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Madam Luo was trembling, ¡°A bad omen?¡±

    ¡°Indeed.¡± Fortune-teller Li nodded, ¡°ording to my observation, although this star was bright, it only illuminated Yangzhou City. Technically, there are only two kinds of stars that fit this phenomenon. One is the thorn star, and the other is theet. I cannot confirm its name, but both kinds are signs of bad luck. The earthquakest night just proved what I said.¡±

    Madam Luo frowned and murmured, ¡°Yangzhou City is the only ce infected? Why did that star show in New Year?¡±

    Fortune-teller Li exined, ¡°This morning, I heard that not only the light but also the earthquake only affected Yangzhou City. Over the boundary of Yangzhou City, nothing happened.¡±

    ¡°Is something bad going to happen?¡± Madam Luo sighed with anxiety, ¡°Bad luck this year.¡±

    ¡°You are right.¡± Fortune-teller Li also sighed, ¡°The emperor values the natural phenomenon very much. Since that star has shown up here, his majesty will call all great fortune-tellers to find a solution. Maybe people in Yangzhou City will be med as well.¡±

    ¡°For what?¡± Madam Luo was anxious and eximed, ¡°We are the victims!¡±

    Fortune-teller Li sighed, ¡°It is a strange disaster that only showed in Yangzhou City. Maybe his majesty will think that we are not behaved so that the nature is mad at us.¡±

    Madam Luo lowered her head. Would his majesty punish all people in Yangzhou City because of a natural disaster? No. Who would be the scapegoat?

    At this moment, Miss Ji hurriedly walked in and said to Madam Luo, ¡°Madam, please forgive me. I didn¡¯t finish the tasks. Third Miss is sick, and she couldn¡¯t answer my question. The Depositary of Buddhist Texts is cold and damp. How could a youngdy live there? Now she has no water and food. She may die at any time!¡±

 Chapter 294 - Rip them off

    <h4>Chapter 294 Rip them off</h4>

    Madam Luo was worrying about Fortune-teller Li¡¯s words. She raised her head listlessly and asked, ¡°What happened to Yi? Couldn¡¯t she stand it for just one night?¡±

    Miss Ji hurriedly pointed that He Danggui had no bed, quilt, stove, and everything else she needed. She also reported that He Danggui looked very weak and should immediately move out of that ce. More importantly, He Danggui needed to see the doctor as soon as possible.

    Madam Luo paused. She only said, ¡°I¡¯ll talk about thister. I don¡¯t mean to punish her. But if I let her out so soon, Sun Meiniang willin about it. She will me me for being partial. Plus, there is a bad omen waiting for us. I am so upset that I don¡¯t want to hear them yelling in front of me.¡±

    Miss Ji could do nothing more but stand aside to listen to their conversation about pursuing good fortune and avoiding disaster.

    Fortune-teller Li introduced a Fengshui matrix to Madam Luo, which could ensure the safety of the family. Of course, this was the time when he made a fortune. Every keyponent in the matrix must be purchased from him. For a wealthy family like Luo¡¯s Family, he would be a fool if he didn¡¯t rip them off. So, he proposed that he would conduct a religious ritual for Luo¡¯s Family to drive away bad luck and ensure safety.

    Madam Luo believed in Fengshui theory so much that she was willing to spend money for safety. Therefore, she not only epted Fortune-teller Li¡¯s offer but also adopted his opinion that she should buy thousands liang worth of sesame oil to worship Heaven and Earth. For the reason that they couldn¡¯t burn so much oil at one time, Luo¡¯s Family had to choose a proper ce to build a Taoist temple first. And Fortune-teller Li would be its master in charge of worship.

    Fortune-teller Li did not expect Madam Luo to be so gullible. What a fool. How could a strange star in the sky influence the people on the ground? It was so easy to make money from rich people.

    His joyful face was caught by Miss Ji. Obviously, he was ripping Madam Luo off. Miss Ji was irritated, and she couldn¡¯t help but blurt out, ¡°Madam, I have just talked to Third Miss. She said that something good will happen to us, and you will be overjoyed!¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Madam Luo looked up at Miss Ji in confusion, ¡°The whole Yangzhou City is under the fury of his majesty. What kind of good things will happen to us?¡±

    Miss Ji reminded her, ¡°Our ancestral tombs and ancestral temple are all intact. Isn¡¯t it the good news? As for the other good things, I can¡¯t guarantee that because I don¡¯t understand Third Miss¡¯s words. Anyway, ording to her implication, we should have a wonderful celebration.¡±

    Fortune-teller Li did not know that information. He was angry because Miss Ji disturbed his business. He snorted, ¡°Ridiculous! The prophecy neither depends on you nor me! I am not bragging, and everything I said is from divination books! Later, the emperor will draw a conclusion on this matter, and the Qintianjian Celestial Prefecture will tell the world about it. We shall see that!¡±

    Natural disasters could make somebody rich. Now, this one might be Fortune-teller Li, and nobody could step in his way. He said in an rmist tone, ¡°When the immortal sends the power to the world, it will be a sign of the sinful world. Among all kinds of sins, disrespect for the heaven is the most serious one. Girl, your words might have already angered the immortal. If you don¡¯t apologize, you and the people around you will be punished!¡±

    Madam Luo was convinced by his words, so she reprimanded Miss Ji, ¡°How dare you! Apologize now! Fortune-teller Ji might have a way to save you!¡±

    However, Miss Ji was not convinced. She stretched her right hand and said, ¡°I have never given birth to a son since I have married. All my three children are girls. Could you make a prediction for me? I want to know when I will have a son.¡± Madam Luo immediately red at Miss Ji, who was deceiving Fortune-teller Li. Miss Ji had never married and given birth to a child. Why did she lie?

    Miss Ji was under 30 years old. She had no wrinkles on her face, and she wore a hairstyle of the married woman. Therefore, Fortune-teller Li was not suspicious at all. He casually looked at her palm and shook his head, ¡°Girl, you will never have a son, but you will have two more daughters in the future.¡±

    Miss Ji smiled and looked at Madam Luo, ¡°Madam, you see it. I have persuaded you early not to listen to Fortune-teller Li.¡±

    Madam Luo was a soft touch. She was convinced by Miss Ji, ¡°So, he doesn¡¯t know the divination and is deceiving me, right? The phenomenon yesterday is not a bad omen at all?¡±

    Fortune-teller Li was annoyed. There was no reason to give up the uing money. He was not a liar, and he did have learned something in Daguomen Sect. Therefore, he took out the fortune-telling tools and seriously made a prediction. Then, he corrected, ¡°I have to make a revision. You have married twice. Now you have two sons. In the future, you will have two daughters.¡±

    Miss Ji was stunned because Fortune-teller Li split out her secrets. However, Madam Luo didn¡¯t know the secrets, and she only knew that Miss Ji had two adopted sons. So, Madam Luo waved to Fortune-teller Li and said, ¡°I am tired. We can talk about your offerster. Now you can leave.¡±

    Fortune-teller Li muttered incredulously, ¡°I divined right...¡± Then, he walked away dejectedly.

    Miss Ji came to her senses and continued to report to Madam Luo, ¡°In the morning, Third Miss told me that if the information about our ancestral tombs and ancestral temple goes to his majesty, more good things will happen to us, and you will be happier.¡±

    Madam Luo raised her head and became more energetic. She asked, ¡°How would a girl at her age know prophecy?¡±

    Miss Ji answered, ¡°It seems that the information was from her grandfather.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Madam Luo opened her eyes wide.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Miss Ji nodded, ¡°Some of them are rted to the fortune of our family.¡±

    Madam Luo showed a longing expression.

    ¡°But...¡± Miss Ji faltered, ¡°Third Miss was seriously ill with shockst night because of Second Mistress Luo. As a result, she couldn¡¯t remember anything in her dreams.¡±

    When He Danggui was looking in the mirror to wear makeup, augh came from behind. She looked back and found that Meng Ying was standing there, dressed in servant clothes. She asked, ¡°What about my letter?¡±

    ¡°Humph.¡± Meng Ying was displeased, ¡°After you marry my brother, you should call me Third Brother. Pay attention to your attitude. I am not your servant.¡±

    ¡°Please tell me what the reply is.¡± He Danggui asked word by word.

    Meng Ying said, ¡°Only an oral message. The fat girl said that your approach is clever, but she will not give up so quickly. She must fight the two viins of Ji¡¯s Family again. If she fails, then she will try your way.¡±

    He Danggui looked in the mirror again to put on her veil, ¡°Thank you. ¡®Please¡¯ have a rest.¡±

    ¡°Are the rashes painted?¡± Meng Ying expressed his curiosity, ¡°They are so vivid like growing on your face. Could you do that on mine? I wanted to put on some incense ash. But yours are more realistic.¡±

    Looking at Meng Ying¡¯s attractive face, He Danggui asked, ¡°Why? Could you stop following me? I don¡¯t need a bodyguard.¡±

    ¡°You have to.¡± Meng Ying sneered and threatened, ¡°If you don¡¯t, I will follow you in my true appearance. If your family asks me, I will give them a wonderful story.¡±

    He Danggui frowned and asked, ¡°I am highly doubting whether you are sent by Meng Xuan really.¡±

    ¡°Not sent! He ¡®begged¡¯ me!¡± Meng Ying picked his nose and said in a stagy voice, ¡°You are a funny girl, and I am willing to stay by your side. You don¡¯t need to pay attention to me at all.¡±

    He Danggui considered for a while. Then she opened her dressing case and picked out the disguise materials. She gritted her teeth and asked, ¡°What do you want to disguise?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡± Meng Ying picked up a small clip and yed with it curiously, ¡°You are the master. I will listen to you. I want to keep my handsome face, but I don¡¯t want to attract unnecessary attention.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    After a while, some intermittent groans came from the room, ¡°Ah... Please be gentle. It hurts... My queen, please¡­¡±

    He Danggui warned him solemnly, ¡°The guard is at the door. If you don¡¯t shut up, I will mp your eyelids.¡±

    Meng Ying spilt out a teardrop out of pain and then asked, ¡°Why do you disguise yourself easily? Why do you use scissors, knives and mps to disguise me?¡±

    ¡°Because you are demanding.¡± He Danggui told him, ¡°Besides, you are Meng Xuan¡¯s elder brother, so I will give you my special cares.¡±

    Watching a small needle approaching his eyebrows, Meng Ying closed his eyes and asked, ¡°Does it really have to hurt so much? Why could Lord Ning and the others get it done smoothly? Hiss! Did you fail? Am I disfigured?¡± He gasped.

    He Danggui enhanced her strength and replied, ¡°You feel the hurt only in the first time. You are fine. I am helping you make a mask. A mask canst for three months, and you will be satisfied.¡±

    Meng Ying was sweating in pain and regretted his decision. He muttered, ¡°Women nowadays are not gentle. You are just like Su Niang.¡±

    ¡°Who is Su Niang?¡± He Danggui caught the keyword.

    ¡°Su Niang...¡± Meng Ying replied triumphantly, ¡°She is the woman of Brother Xuan, and she even gave birth to a son.¡±

    ¡°Seriously?¡±

    ¡°Of course! If you don¡¯t believe me, you can ask Brother Xuan when hees back. That baby is three months old now.¡±

 Chapter 295 - Meng Ying became an old man

    <h4>Chapter 295 Meng Ying became an old man</h4>

    Meng Ying¡¯s serious expression almost made He Danggui believe him. Maybe, it was a supernatural power that arranged him. Meng Xuan came to see her from the future to reveal something that she shouldn¡¯t have known. In case she would change the ending, the power arranged a child for Meng Xuan? Just likest time when she wanted to rescue Luo Baiqian¡¯s concubines, they were killed in advance¡­

    Looking at her gloomy eyes, Meng Ying thought she was jealous. So, heforted her, ¡°The more women and children a man has, the more happiness he will enjoy. Besides, my brother is outstanding. If you love him, you should be happy for him. Even if you are not willing to do so, you should never intervene in his happiness from other women.¡±

    ¡°Who tell you I like him?¡± He Danggui asked stiffly.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you like him?¡± Meng Ying raised his eyebrows. ¡°Then why do you make the sad face when you heard that child?¡±

    He Danggui¡¯s response was mping Meng Ying¡¯s eyelids with the tightest clip. After a while, she threw a small mirror to Meng Ying when she was packing things. She said, ¡°Keep the mask on your face for three days and then peel it off with a special liquid. After that, you can use it at any time.¡±

    ¡°This face is...¡± Meng Ying looked at the person in the mirror in astonishment, ¡°Still mine!¡±

    ¡°In fifty yearster.¡± He Danggui corrected him, ¡°Just as your request, it is handsome but won¡¯t get no necessary attention. Do you think you will not be handsome after fifty years? And you don¡¯t have to worry about the people in Luo¡¯s Family. They don¡¯t care about an old man in servant clothes, and you won¡¯t draw any attention at all.¡± She raised her head to look at the stunned Meng Ying and added, ¡°Keep your distance from me. If someone asks you, tell them you are the sweeper Ma San from Tao Yao Yard.¡±

    Looking in a mirror, Meng Ying made two expressions and was unconvinced, ¡°I can¡¯t be this old fifty yearster. This must be what I will look like in a hundred years.¡±

    He Danggui picked up the incense ash container and poured some ashes on his head and face. Then, she put the container in front of him and mocked, ¡°This is how you will look a hundred yearster, Third Childe.¡±

    ¡°How dare you!¡± Meng Ying brushed the ashes off angrily.

    ¡°You are too good-looking. I have to cover your face. Now you look like the sweeper in my yard.¡± He Danggui suddenly heard the footsteps of a group of people in the distance. So, she quickly pushed Meng Ying into an empty bookcase and told him in a deep voice, ¡°Don¡¯te out until they leave, Ma San. If you make sounds, I won¡¯t give you the special liquid. And you have to go back to the capital with the mask.¡±

    After closing the bookcase door, He Danggui used a silver needle to poke an acupuncture point on the right arm and then bent over the scripture table, pretending to be sick.

    There was a strange noise from the bookcase. She yelled to make Meng Ying quiet. Then, she buried her face in her arms.

    ¡°Squeak¡ª¡± The door of the Depositary opened. Madam Luo came in and asked, ¡°Yi, are you better now? What did your grandfather tell you?¡±

    He Danggui raised her headboriously and said, ¡°I am dizzy. Weird! There are two grandmas in front of me.¡± Madam Luo reached her hand to check her pulse. He Danggui also obediently took out her right hand.

    Madam Luo felt the pulse after a while. Then, she shook her head and said, ¡°You...are dying!¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Miss Ji didn¡¯t expect it to be so serious, and she couldn¡¯t help but let out a cry in a low voice.

    Madam Luo shook her head and sighed, ¡°ording to your pulse, I¡¯m afraid that you won¡¯t be able to see your mother¡¯s return. Do you have something to say for her?¡±

    He Danggui dropped her head and handed a folded letter, ¡°I found this letter several days ago. I dared not show it to you at that time. However, today, I found that the font of the letter is the same as that of the tombstone. So, I guess I have to give it to you.¡±

    ¡°A letter?¡± Madam Luo took over the letter and read it, ¡°A daughter-inw of the Luo¡¯s Family is an evil-minded woman. It¡¯s a misfortune for the family. She should kowtow to me a thousand times at the ancestral temple and then be imprisoned in the Depositary of Buddhist Texts. In the 31st year of Hongwu Period, Luo¡¯s Family will meet terrible suffering. If you want to avoid it, you should change the ancient well deep in the Bitter Bamboo Grove into a water prison and imprison the evil-minded woman in it for ten years. If you don¡¯t, the whole family will die! In addition, my descendant, a young girl, has saved Luo¡¯s Family from disasters. I know she is dying. Put her in the ancestral temple, and I will save her.¡±

    Miss Ji nced at Madam Luo and took out the white silk from her sleeves. She handed it to Madam Luo forparison.

    Miss Ji and Madam Luopared the letter and the silk word by word. They found that the simrity between them was over 80%. But that made sense. One was written with a pen while the other was written on the standing stele. Many ces of the writing on the tombstone were intermittent and disjointed. In other words, they could be viewed as the same.

    He Danggui guessed that the words on the tombstone were probably written by Bai Yangbai in advance, and then he used some special potion to turn them invisible. When Mommy Tang and the others walked there, the potion was air-dried. Then, the words appeared one by one ording to the concentration of the potion. That exined the rusty marks on the silk. This trick could be done by many fraudulent warlocks, but only Bai Yangbai could make them show at the exact time.

    Just now, after Miss Ji left, He Danggui thought for a while before writing the letter that ¡°written by the ancestor¡±. Although she was familiar with Bai Yangbai¡¯s handwriting, the best she could do was imitating it to 60%. Fortunately, she had something from the Dream, Guidance on Qizhen Fantasy Dreamwritten by Bai Yangbai. Some words on it could be used directly. Soon, a ¡°judgement¡± to Sun Meiniang was done, though with some slight differences. However, no one would suspect that she forged the letter because she had only read the silk once from Miss Ji. She couldn¡¯t write a letter unless she was familiar with the ancestor.

    After the appraisal by Madam Luo and Miss Ji, the letter was confirmed genuine. Looking at the content of ¡°In the 31st year of Hongwu Period, Luo¡¯s Family will meet a big suffering,¡± Madam Luo showed a solemn look. She stared at He Danggui¡¯s pale forehead and asked, ¡°Where did you get this letter?¡±

    He Danggui answered, ¡°From my dream.¡± Then she passed out. Madam Luo was anxious and wanted to take off her veil, but the veil was tied with four ropes. At this time, Miss Ji reminded Madam Luo that she could follow the instructions of the letter to put He Danggui in the ancestral temple and let the ancestor save her. Therefore, under Madam Luo¡¯s direction, they all went to the ancestral temple immediately.

    Inside the temple, the evidencest night had not been withdrawn so far. The pile of things dug up from Sun Meiniang¡¯s yard was still there, which reminded Madam Luo of the ¡°evil-minded woman¡± mentioned in the letter. Sun Meiniang just matched the description.

    In addition, Run Xiang¡¯s death also added to the proof that Sun Meiniang was really an evil-minded woman ording to a servant¡¯s testimony. Now, the letter was saying that Luo¡¯s Family would be affected by an evil-minded woman. Madam Luo went through all women in the family, but only Sun Meiniang met the ¡°evil-minded woman¡±. However, she didn¡¯t have evidence. She could not convict Sun Meiniang with a letter. Moreover, her second son might contradict her to protect his wife.

    The servants efficiently set up a simple bed under the incense table. Considering that He Danggui was a youngdy, they hung a curtain. After moving the unconscious He Danggui inside, Miss Ji ordered every servant to leave and apanied Madam Luo to wait there.

    Soon, He Danggui woke up. Madam Luo was overjoyed and screamed, ¡°Amitabha, the ancestor showed his power.¡± After helping He Danggui sit up, Madam Luo couldn¡¯t wait to ask, ¡°What¡¯s going on? What did your grandfather tell you? Why we are going to have good news when Yangzhou City has gone through the earthquake?¡±

    He Danggui pretended to be so weak that she couldn¡¯t speak. Seeing that, Miss Ji hurriedly asked the maid to bring jujube tea with wolfberries and sent away all the other people. They were going to discuss something confidential.

    He Danggui lifted her veil a little and took a sip. The more anxious Madam Luo was, the slower she drank the tea. The veil was a bit in the way. If she did not wear the veil, she would be more leisurely now. In fact, she didn¡¯t want to wear this cumbersome veil, but she had to put on the makeup and the veil until Zhu Quan left Yangzhou City.

    After drinking half a cup of tea, she finally opened her mouth, ¡°I have suffered inexplicable injustice not long ago and was seriously injured. After that, I got sick and had to recuperate at home. A few days ago, I felt that I was going to die, so I wept to sleep by reading my grandfather¡¯s name, because he loved me. As a result, I saw him in my dream.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Madam Luo asked surprisedly. She held He Danggui¡¯s hand tightly, ¡°What did your grandfather look like?¡±

    In fact, He Danggui didn¡¯t have any impression of the appearance of her grandfather, but she admired him very much in her previous life and inquired many stories about her grandfather from her mother. Therefore, she described it vividly as requested.

    When Luo Duzhong, He Danggui¡¯s grandfather, died, He Danggui was only less than three years old and she had not seen him many times. So, Madam Luo immediately believed He Danggui¡¯s words. But, why did Luo Duzhong go to his granddaughter¡¯s dream instead of Madam Luo¡¯s dream?

    He Danggui guessed Madam Luo¡¯s question and exined thoughtfully, ¡°My grandfather said that my deadline was approaching and I was the closest one to that ce, so he coulde into my dream and talk to me. Grandma, you will live a long life, and you are only half way there now. As a result, my grandfather couldn¡¯t go to your dream.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡± Madam Luo wiped her eye with a handkerchief, ¡°What did he say? Was it because of his blessing that we didn¡¯t suffer from the earthquake?¡±

    He Danggui took out a Sunny Doll from her sleeve. She stroked its little bald head and said, ¡°Grandfather brought me a message, saying that...¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°He said that our family has a vicious person. If we don¡¯t get rid of the person, our family would go extinct!¡±

 Chapter 296 - A single immortal of the land

    <h4>Chapter 296 A single immortal of thend</h4>

    He Danggui was rmist, ¡°If we don¡¯t get rid of this person, Luo¡¯s Family won¡¯t have descendants!¡±

    ¡°Seriously?¡± Madam Luo asked in a panic, ¡°Didn¡¯t you just say that we will have some good news soon?¡±

    He Danggui nodded solemnly and said, ¡°Yes, I did under one condition. Grandfather told me that once the person is dealt with, a happy event will happen soon. However, if we cannot handle it, the family won¡¯t have descendants and my grandfather won¡¯t rest in peace in the other world.¡±

    Madam Luo was shocked and asked immediately, ¡°Who is that person?¡±

    He Danggui poked the face of the Sunny Doll and said, ¡°I made this doll following the order from my grandfather. People said that in the northwestern region of ancient times, the wife would hang one doll under the eaves of the house, and let her husband bring another doll with him to wars. The dolls represented the blessings and cares from the wife to the husband. Grandfather missed you very much. He said that he med himself for letting you live in Sanqing Temple for a year after giving birth, which caused you a chronic disease. Now, since your disease has been cured, he is very pleased.¡±

    Madam Luo whimpered and took out a handkerchief to wipe her teardrops. By now, she had no doubts at all about He Danggui¡¯s words. Except for the old generations, nobody else knew these histories, including her sons.

    In the old days, she and her sister were fighting for one mate, and they did many nasty things. Luo Duzhong was only hers at first. However, her mother was partial and shoved her grumpy and notorious elder sister between the sweet couple. Later, after she gave birth to her sons, her sister hated her and bullied her. In addition, her husband was deceived and couldn¡¯t figure out the truth. As a result, she went to Sanqing Temple alone in a fit of pique. The living conditions there were so difficult that she developed a lifetime disease. Her disease was not relieved until she ate the magic jujubes. In the next three years, without taking any other medicines, her disease gradually recovered.

    Madam Luo asked with tears, ¡°How is he doing there? Why hasn¡¯t he been reincarnated yet?¡±

    ¡°My grandfather said that he didn¡¯t need to experience the suffering of reincarnation anymore,¡± He Danggui said softly, ¡°He is an immortal of thend now. He just gave me a dream because he can¡¯t let go of a concern, and the Sunny Doll is a gift from the immortals that can bless our family.¡±

    ¡°An immortal ofnd?¡± Madam Luo suddenly interrupted and asked, ¡°Is he with someone now?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± He Danggui didn¡¯t get the point.

    Madam Luo hesitated and asked, ¡°Is he single?¡±

    ¡°Uh...¡± He Danggui was speechless. It turned out that no matter how old a woman was, she couldn¡¯t help being jealous and asking her man to be loyal. So, He Danggui quicklyforted her, ¡°He is! He is waiting for you.¡± Seeing that Madam Luo still bit back what she wanted to say, He Danggui guessed her thoughts and added, ¡°My grandmother has already reincarnated. Grandfather also told me that in my dreams.¡±

    Madam Luo was relieved, but she was a little bit embarrassed and nodded, ¡°Go ahead.¡±

    ¡°Grandfather told me to give you this doll because he wants to bless our family.¡± He Danggui put the Sunny Doll in the hands of Madam Luo. ¡°He said that the viin in our house would get us all killed. If you are still soft-hearted and indulge the viin, the luck of our family that has been umted for hundreds of years would be consumed soon!¡±

    Grabbing the bald-headed doll, Madam Luo asked, ¡°Who is that person? Why would the viin harm us?¡±

    He Danggui was silent for a moment before ¡°struggling¡± to get up from the bed to pick up a witchcraft doll dug out by Sun Meiniang at Bao Qin Ge. After looking at it carefully for a long time, she sighed, ¡°When I saw this witchcraft dollst night, although I knew my mother did not make this thing, I couldn¡¯t find any shreds of evidences. But I was pretty sure that my mother would never use the date of birth and eight characters of a horoscope to do evil things against Buddhism and Taoism. After taking a closer look now, I am sure it is not made by my mother.¡± As saying, He Danggui handed over the note on the doll to Madam Luo.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Madam Luo took over the note and checked it carefully. Then, she asked out of confusion, ¡°It is indeed your mother¡¯s handwriting. Why?¡±

    ¡°Madam, you may not have noticed the difference because you always read my mother¡¯s written scriptures. My mother¡¯s handwriting has actually changed a lot in the past ten years.¡± He Danggui pointed at one of the characters and exined, ¡°Her handwriting was not this round ten years ago. If you have any questions, you couldpare it with the scripture written by my mother ten years ago.¡± After a pause, she added with a smile, ¡°A yellow, scorched, and crisp note from ten years ago has my mother¡¯s recent handwriting. Isn¡¯t it weird enough?¡±

    Madam Luo held the note in silence, recalling Luo Chuanxiong¡¯s previous fonts. However, she was still suspicious of He Danggui¡¯s statements.

    He Danggui said confidently, ¡°Mr. Bao from the academy once taught us that people were like the characters from their hands, and the fonts revealed a person¡¯s temperament, attitude, and mood. My mother had bad days at that time, and her handwriting was also dry. In recent years, it was not until she has enjoyed leisure times in the mountain that her characters became free and round. I have read my mother¡¯s handwriting, so I am absolutely sure that the note was written by herst year.¡±

    Madam Luo nodded. That was true. The handwriting on the note was free and round.

    ¡°If this is not enough,¡± He Danggui said with a smile under the veil, ¡°please use this magnifying ss.¡± She put a small convex lens above the note and exined, ¡°It is sent by Qing¡¯er, which can see the tings erged. Look, these two characters here are exactly the same! They seem to be stamped. No, they are really stamped.¡±

    ¡°Stamped?¡± Madam Luo and Miss Ji repeated at the same time. However, after they checked the two characters through the lens, they found what He Danggui said was true.

    Miss Ji pointed at the characters and said in surprise, ¡°Madam, the two words bulge a little on the same crook. Incredible!¡± Madam Luo nodded to show her approval.

    ¡°Please look at these two notes.¡± He Danggui passed the notes with Sun Meiniang and Luo Baiqiong¡¯s date of birth and eight characters of a horoscope. ¡°There are three characters which are exactly the same.¡±

    ¡°Sure enough!¡± Madam Luo shouted, ¡°How could it be?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a clever, patient, but vicious plot.¡± He Danggui sighed, ¡°I don¡¯t know who my mother has offended. She has already lived in the Taoist temple to escape the world. Why somebody still wants to frame her of making that witchcraft doll? In my opinion, someone invited a master craftsman who is proficient in seal engraving, and then stamped the words on an old paper.¡±

    Miss Ji couldn¡¯t believe the fact and eximed, ¡°It is troublesome to engrave ording to someone¡¯s fonts. These small characters and the original fonts are exactly alike. What a lot of effort and patience.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it is close to the micro-carving. I don¡¯t know who is rich enough to get such a master.¡± Of course, He Danggui would not tell them that she was this ¡°master craftsman¡±. She had locked herself up in the room for several days before carving out those words. Her eyes were even dazed.

    She pinched the paper on the edge with her nails. The paper was so fragile that it immediately shattered. He Danggui smiled, ¡°The paper is strange as well. A ten-year-old paper won¡¯t be this fragile. It must have been baked on a hot iron te.¡±

    Madam Luo and Miss Ji nodded convincingly. The note was really ridiculous.

    He Danggui pointed to the charms and human bones on the ground, and then eximed, ¡°I don¡¯t have the knowledge about those two things. But, given the current situation, I bet they are both faked as well.¡±

    Madam Luo thought for a moment before instructing Miss Ji, ¡°Go to the outer courtyard and let Fortune-teller Lie here. What¡¯s more, invite several more Taoist priests toe and check those charms.¡±

    As soon as Miss Ji left, He Danggui rubbed the corner of her clothes and stammered, ¡°Madam, I¡¯ve got something to tell you. I know that I shouldn¡¯t gossip about an elder. But it is high time to tell you. Besides, I have listened to grandfather¡¯s warnings these days and was urged by him to tell you everything. Please, forgive my offense!¡±

    Madam Luo nodded and said solemnly, ¡°Go ahead. I am listening.¡±

    He Danggui said with a cold voice, ¡°In my opinion, both the letter from the ancestor and the description from my grandfather refer to one person, Second Aunt! Nobody else could be that vicious!¡±

    Madam Luo had long been suspicious that the ¡°vicious woman¡± was Sun Meiniang, but she couldn¡¯t make the conclusion. However, after He Danggui said it out, Madam Luo became confused again. Sun Meiniang had always been bad-mouthing He Danggui, but thetter had never said something bad against Sun Meiniang. This time, could it be Danggui¡¯s retaliation for Sun Meiniang¡¯s persecution?

    However, Madam Luo immediately denied that possibility. From yesterday to today, how could such a series of strange things be conducted by He Danggui, a child? In fact, many of them were miracles that could not be achieved by manpower. No, it must be the blessing from ancestors! Madam Luo slowly grasped the doll in her hand, and said in a deep voice, ¡°Well, I will listen to you. What has she done that will get us all killed?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand the details. Grandfather told me that a big family like ours was hard to break from the outside. It would only break and gradually copse from the inside.¡± He Danggui exined, ¡°Grandfather mentioned that there is a corrupting source in our family, who is constantly harming the people around. But grandfather didn¡¯t give me a name. I wondered that Second Aunt matched the description greatly. Maybe she is the person?¡±

    Madam Luo said nothing.

    ¡°Of course, no one can frame others out of thin air.¡± He Danggui blinked. ¡°ming everything to the hated one is the Second Aunt¡¯s favorite, and I won¡¯t follow her. Look at these fake witchcraft dolls! Since they weren¡¯t made by my mother, who made them with such a lot of work? The witchcraft stuff was always scary. However, Second Aunt was excited after she dug out these things. Shouldn¡¯t she be afraid?¡±

    Madam Luo nodded slightly, ¡°She was indeed over-excitedst night.¡±

    He Danggui continued, ¡°Apart from that, I heard rumors that Second Uncle didn¡¯t have a son because Second Aunt did something. It was not my uncle¡¯s problem, nor his concubine¡¯s problem.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Madam Luo stared at He Danggui straightly, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with her?¡±

    ¡°I heard that Bao Qin Ge has a secret warehouse which is full of harmful poisons, and there are medicines that can prevent women from being pregnant among them. Even the poison, Mute Drug, and the itching powder used by Fourth Sister a few years ago were taken from there.¡±

 Chapter 297 - Jiu Cao Soup

    <h4>Chapter 297 Jiu Cao Soup</h4>

    Madam Luo was shocked when she heard the words. She stared at He Danggui and asked, ¡°Who told you that?¡±

    ¡°All servants said so, and I can¡¯t remember who was the first. They said that Bao Qin Ge is a poison storehouse with countless harmful things and torturing instruments.¡± He Danggui learned the trick of ¡°rumors¡± from Sun Meiniang. At least, she didn¡¯t wrong Sun Meiniang. Moreover, it was done to eliminate the viin of Luo¡¯s Family. Without the vermin Sun Meiniang, the whole family could be refreshed.

    He Danggui smiled and said, ¡°The proudest medicine of Second Aunt is called ¡®Jiu Cao Soup¡¯. Whoever drinks it would be sterilized. No one would even notice it.¡±

    ¡°Jiu Cao Soup?¡± Madam Luo was pale, ¡°What is that?¡±

    He Danggui exined, ¡°It is a medicine soup made from nine kinds of non-toxic herbs with contradictory medicinal properties. Though the soup is tested non-toxic, it will cause terrible consequences once it gets into the stomach. Second Aunt got the soup¡¯s form from Sun¡¯s Family, and the principal wives of Sun¡¯s Family usually use it on the concubines.¡±

    ¡°How could that be? Why have I never heard of it?¡± Madam Luo asked with trembling lips, ¡°That is to say, my son¡¯s concubines have all drunk that soup, right? Why didn¡¯t theyin to me!¡± Madam Luo didn¡¯t want to believe it, but her second son was healthy and concupiscent. No other reasons could exin why he didn¡¯t have a son. The fact made her suspicion towards Sun Meiniang even deeper.

    He Danggui returned to the bed and sat down, ¡°For one thing, not all of them could detect it. Many of them only realized something was wrong after drinking the soup, but they were already powerless. How dared them toe to you? Without fertility, no matter how beautiful they are, they have no value at all. In addition, they are not sure of whom would you believe, your daughter-inw or them? If you don¡¯t help them, they would have no way to live.¡±

    Observing the face of Madam Luo, He Danggui further exined, ¡°Don¡¯t you feel weird? Even if Second Aunt is so generous, there is no need to find concubines for Second Uncle from the brothel! We have so many maids in our house. Most of them are the daughters of domestic servants, but Second Aunt never picks up concubines among them, and she prefers to buy concubines outside the house. Madam, do you know the reason?¡±

    ¡°No. Why?¡± Madam Luo was led by the nose.

    ¡°Because all the servants in our family know her evil nature, and they refuse to contribute their daughters. For another, Second Aunt does not want to find a girl having parents and brothers here. Once she pisses them off, they may cause trouble to her. People with nothing to lose are the most horrible creatures. Therefore, Second Uncle¡¯s concubines must be the women without rtives from other ces. Some of them are even maids from Sun¡¯s Family and Guan¡¯s Family. None of them are from our family.¡±

    Madam Luo was silent for a while. Then, she narrowed her eyes and nced at He Danggui¡¯s face with suspicion, ¡°All the servants know it? Impossible! I am not deaf nor blind. Though Sun Meiniang is in charge of the house, they should know who is the most honorable person! How dare them to help Sun Meiniang deceive me?¡±

    ¡°Interesting.¡± He Danggui chuckled, ¡°Madam, they are not helping Second Aunt but helping themselves. Now she is in full swing, who would dare to confront her? When someday the situation changes, they will naturally rush to report it to you. Of course, this is just my opinion. I dare to say so because of your approval. Time will approve the truth sooner orter.¡±

    Seeing that Madam Luo was still full of doubts, He Danggui sighed softly. Her sorrowful voice was blown to Madam Luo¡¯s heart directly. ¡°Madam, do you still think those servants know who the ¡®honorable person¡¯ is? Last night, a lot of them from the outer courtyard rushed in with knives and forks. Under themand of Ding Rong¡¯s wife, they instantly tried to kill Biddy Wen under your eyes. I wondered at the time that maybe they were blinded by the darkness so that they did not recognize you. Otherwise, why did they listen to Ding Rong¡¯s wife instead of you?¡±

    ¡°That bunch of reckless people,¡± Madam Luo frowned and said, ¡°maybe they didn¡¯t understand the rules.¡±

    ¡°Tut-tut.¡± He Danggui curled her lips. ¡°Fortunately, they all had clean backgrounds. Otherwise, the inner courtyard is full of gold and silver...¡± Looking at Madam Luo¡¯s opened mouth, she slowly added, ¡°If they were mingled in with a few rapists, how could the women who only knew to cry do? The consequences might be unimaginable! Madam, Yangzhou City is not as peaceful as in the past. I can still remember the case of my cousin¡¯s concubines, which makes me shudder¡­¡±

    Madam Luo was scared. She reprimanded He Danggui in a low voice, ¡°Stop it! This is the ancestral temple. Ancestors don¡¯t like that.¡±

    He Danggui sorted out the corners of the veil and said, ¡°If you don¡¯t see it, you will not be upset. However, you have witnessed what happened yesterday. Everybody saw that! Second Aunt no longer took you seriously. The more you called to stop, the fiercer she let her servants beat. Somebody may feel that she was venting the anger for my second sister. But, for somebody else, this was a signal for transmitting powers. Those servants who bullied my second sister were all Second Aunt¡¯s people. If she killed them all in her yard, no one would even know it. Why did she bother to do that in front of the whole family and the guests?¡±

    The corner of Madam Luo¡¯s left eye twitched. Before she could say something, Miss Ji came in from the outside and said, ¡°Yesterday, Deng Cao saw that a girl from Bao Qin Ge gave Fortune-teller Li a stuffed bag and talked to him for a long time. I thought that Fortune-teller Li is unreliable, so I didn¡¯t go to him. Instead, I called two other Taoist priests. After somebody teaches them rules, I will let them check the charms.¡±

    In fact, the bribery of Bao Qin Ge was not something special. Sun Meiniang heard that Fortune-teller Li had some powers, so she wanted to ask him to cast a spell to help her pregnancy. But, just now, Fortune-teller Li guessed Miss Ji¡¯s secret, which made her worried. As a result, she didn¡¯t want this man to have more conversations with Madam Luo. So, she found this reason to change him.

    However, that aroused Madam Luo¡¯s suspicion. Yesterday, Sun Meiniang said that the charms were brought home by Luo Chuanxiong from the temple five years ago and were buried in the courtyard of Bao Qin Ge. She also said Fortune-teller Li had identified them. Now that someone saw Sun Meiniang tried to bribe Fortune-teller Li, what was she plotting? Apart from sterilizing those concubines, how many evil things did she do?

    Was there even a poison storehouse in Bao Qin Ge? Even the vicious poisons of Luo Baishao were taken from there? At that time, Luo Baishao was young and didn¡¯t know the function of itching powder and Mute Drug. And as the head of the house, Sun Meiniang had to manage the money and food. Her works had been done well and no one in the family had opinions on her. However, she still collected those poisons. What did she want?

    Madam Luo thought that her second son was now close to his 40s, and he had achieved nothing. For worse, he didn¡¯t even have a son who could inherit the family¡¯s name. It turned out to be Sun Meiniang! This damn vicious woman! She couldn¡¯t get pregnant, and she even prevented others from giving birth. The Luo¡¯s Family¡¯s business, together with the famous San Qing Tang, was likely to pass to the Second Branch. Sun Meiniang wanted to let her own child be the inheritor and make her husband obedient to her. In this case, she wanted to turn San Qing Tang into her private property!

    He Danggui noticed Madam Luo¡¯s bad expression. She mentioned the Jiu Cao Soup again, ¡°Second Aunt has been preventing the concubines from pregnant, but some of them still wants to fight against her. Concubine Hua was an ambitious person. She thought that as long as she gave birth to a son, her status would be greatly different in the future. So, she concealed her pregnancy a few months ago until the fetus became stable. At this time, even if Second Aunt wanted to do something, she would face difficulties. Everyone in this family is staring at Concubine Hua¡¯s belly.¡±

    Miss Ji had just returned home from the suburbs and had not heard of this case. But she still knew a little bit about Concubine Hua¡¯s story. After hearing He Danggui¡¯s words, she couldn¡¯t help telling Madam Luo what she knew, ¡°I have also heard about this. They also bet how many months Concubine Hua could keep her child. Most people said that she would not only fail to give birth but also get herself killed. I was angry about theirments, so I went to argue with them. However, all of them looked mysterious as if they were holding some unbelievable secrets, and I was the only fool who didn¡¯t know that.¡±

    Madam Luo immediately thought that the secret must be the sterilization with Jiu Cao Soup of all concubines of the Second Branch. They knew everything, but none of them came to tell her! Therefore, she could imagine how deep Sun Meiniang¡¯s authority had umted in past years! Sun Meiniang had even already climbed onto her head!

    He Danggui nodded, ¡°Not only the servants paid attention to Concubine Hua, but even you and Second Uncle both paid attention to her. So, Second Aunt was uneasy. Considering the current situation, once Concubine Hua gave birth to a son, she thought the child would threaten her status.¡± He Danggui preached vividly as if she had seen the scene in flesh. ¡°That was why Second Aunt did something to the antiabortifacient secretly but she med me for it. Of course, Concubine Hua wisely avoided the antiabortifacient as she did to the Jiu Cao Soupst time. What¡¯s more, she even bought doctor Ma to lie for her, saying that the fetus in her belly was affected by the poison and turned into a fool.¡±

    Madam Luo¡¯s heart was heavy. She even didn¡¯t feel strange about how He Danggui knew the whole story that Concubine Hua bribed Doctor Ma. After all, the secret of bribe came from the secret interrogation of Doctor Ma.

    He Danggui¡¯s story wasposed of some truth and most conjecture, and the story was full of bad points against Sun Meiniang, ¡°Second Aunt was deceived by Concubine Hua, thinking that the baby was no longer a threat to her. So, she wanted to me this on me. She threatened Concubine Hua that she hasmitted a felony to get pregnant without permission. If she wanted to be safe with her idiot kid, she must cooperate with her to frame me. Then, they reached an agreement to conduct the next events. They have arranged all the shreds of evidence and the witnesses.¡±

    Madam Luo suddenly asked, ¡°Why did she insist on framing you?¡± She found this granddaughter was too smart these days. She knew so many things, including Sun Meiniang¡¯s dead fetus and secret abortion. Why did she keep silent until today?

    ¡°...¡± He Danggui was stunned. She soon continued, ¡°I am a child. How can I know the thoughts of the adults? Madam, you are the most honorable person in this family, and you know everything and everyone of this house. I also see everything in my eyes. If you don¡¯t understand her thought, whom should I ask?¡± He Danggui lowered her head, ¡°I am also confused about why she hates me so much and why she always wants to frame me.¡±

    Miss Ji added, ¡°That¡¯s true. Madam, how could you me her? When she was still in the cradle, knowing nothing about the world, Second Mistress wanted to cut her fingers.¡±

    Madam Luo remembered that and nodded, ¡°Sun Meiniang is really a vicious woman. No wonder her daughter is so nasty. I am pissed off. Concubine Hua is also a fool. If it wasn¡¯t for the boy in her belly, I will not spare her!¡±

    He Dangguiughed silently under the veil. As her ages grew up, Madam Luo became more convincible than a few years ago. Everyone could move her. In the past, Sun Meiniang could easily wrong her. Now, it was Sun Meiniang¡¯s turn to taste it. Sun Meiniang, together with her pair of good daughters, would embrace the sour fruit this time.

    ording to Bai Yangbai, the weird celestial phenomenon in the 27th year of the Hongwu Period in Yangzhou City was a sign of turbulent days. However, from her perspective, it was also a turning point between the old and the new.

    Sun Meiniang was old, and she should go to the well to rest. If Luo¡¯s Family met a crisis which Grandpa Luo couldn¡¯t handle, how would a wife in charge of the family like Sun Meiniang control the situation? Instead of being scared to run away overnight, she should better take the burden off now and let the capable ones take it.

    The new head of the family? What an interesting recement!

    ¡°Concubine Hua wronged me to protect herself and the child in her belly. Although I was annoyed, I could also understand her. After all, she needed to suck up to Second Aunt to survive.¡± He Danggui said sternly, ¡°But now, you must call her out to reveal her crime.¡±

    ¡°But, isn¡¯t Concubine Hua insane?¡± Madam Luo asked strangely.

    ¡°Is she?¡± He Danggui asked.

 Chapter 298 - Lying skill

    <h4>Chapter 298 Lying skill</h4>

    ¡°Isn¡¯t she?¡± Miss Ji was surprised.

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Madam Luo looked at He Danggui.

    ¡°Well, why not let her answer the question?¡± He Danggui suggested, ¡°I guess that she was forced by Second Aunt. Once Second Aunt loses her power, Concubine Hua will definitelye out to testify, because she is also a victim.¡±

    A few days ago, when He Danggui was in her meditation, Xiaoyou told her through the window that Childe Feng hade to him and told him that Concubine Hua was smirking and talking nonsense in front of people. She even knocked over a table filled with delicacies. However, when everyone was gone, she opened the bed sheets and ate the food hidden in them. She also squashed leftover food and threw it among the dishes on the floor.

    He Danggui immediately concluded that Concubine Hua was not insane. On the contrary, she was a very smart person. She wanted to reduce her threats to Sun Meiniang and made thetter be less wary of her and her son. She overturned the foreign food using madness and only ate the food prepared by herself. That was really clever!

    Miss Ji did not expect that so many things happened during her absence these days. She couldn¡¯t help but exim, ¡°Second Mistress turns out to be such a vicious person!¡±

    Madam Luo shook her head and sighed, ¡°Unfortunately, she is one of us. It was my fault! I didn¡¯t see her nature. Luo Duzhong didn¡¯t approve of this marriage, nor did Sun¡¯s Family. But I wanted to find my son a capable and clever wife, so I approved their marriage. Unexpectedly, it turned out that I gave my son a trouble. He is now a man with no brain.¡±

    He Dangguiforted Madam Luo, ¡°People say that a woman is like a shirt. If one¡¯s shirt doesn¡¯t fit, he can just get a new one. Second Uncle is in his prime and can start over at any time. Besides, Second Aunt has done something over the years. She gave birth to two beautiful daughters.¡± He Danggui didn¡¯t like this offensiveparison. However, that was perfect for Sun Meiniang. Without their armor-like clothes, Luo Chuangu and Luo Baiqiong of the Second Branch were just two stupid pigs.

    Miss Ji suddenly said, ¡°So, the ¡®vicious woman¡¯ mentioned in the letter refers to Second Mistress?¡±

    He Danggui nodded, ¡°I guess so. Madam should make a decision.¡±

    Madam Luo squeezed the Sunny Doll in her hand. She was hesitating.

    He Danggui knew her concerns. So, she added some fuel to the fire, ¡°Are you afraid of Sun¡¯s Family? Don¡¯t worry. In my dream, grandfather asked me to bring you a message. He said you couldn¡¯t have your cake and eat it. I did not understand, so he revealed to me that a great change was going to happen in Yangzhou City soon. After that, the Four Families of Yangzhou City would be med for being rich yet unkind by his majesty. At that time, our family would meet bad luck.¡±

    ¡°Being rich yet unkind?¡± Madam Luo was stunned. ¡°Our family is known for the kindness. How could that be possible? San Qing Tang sets free clinics every year and also gives free medicines. When it is close to Lunar New Year, we will even run rent reductions to tenant peasants and distribute rice to the poor. We¡¯re the first good people around here.¡±

    He Danggui shook her head, ¡°My dear madam. Don¡¯t you know that the high position is liable to be attacked? Amidst the deceived sight of his majesty, our family¡¯s good deeds are not enough for him. On the contrary, they will be used against us. Yes, San Qing Tang sets free clinics annually, but we only set seven or eight times a year, and the total amount of medicines is usually less than one thousand liang of silver. In most cases, the poor people who cannot get a free diagnose will cry at the entrance of the hall. The scene might have fallen into the eyes of some people. On the other hand, Quan Ji Tang, the other clinic in town, regardless of its small scale, has two full-time free clinics every month. All of their storesbined are not as big as one of ours. In such aparison, someone may say that our San Qing Tang has fake kindness.¡±

    ¡°Quan Ji Tang? The one that sells afrodyn?¡± Madam Luo had heard about it.

    ¡°Yes. Not only the afrodyn, but they also sell other medicines.¡± He Danggui rectified her Quan Ji Tang while continuing to scare Madam Luo, ¡°In terms of distributing rice to the poor, we only do that a few times a year. However, that does not equal the food we have wasted. Once the news spread, our family will not only lose its reputation umted in a hundred years but also lose his majesty¡¯s trust.¡±

    ¡°Wasted food?¡± Madam Luo was shocked, ¡°What are you talking about? Who did that?¡±

    ¡°My second aunt.¡± He Danggui was a little surprised, ¡°Don¡¯t you know that? Since more than ten years ago, Second Aunt has been sending steamed buns every day to feed the fish in the Grand Canal. Even the fishermen would gather there to catch the carp attracted by steamed buns from Second Aunt. Those buns have indeed prospered the fishing industry on both sides of the canal. Amazing!¡±

    Madam Luo looked at Miss Ji, and thetter nodded, ¡°It¡¯s true.¡±

    Madam Luo thumped her legs when she heard the words, and yelled, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect her to be such an arrogant and extravagant prodigal! She even has been doing such a thing for more than ten years? This crazy woman!¡±

    ¡°No, she¡¯s not crazy, and she did it for a reason.¡± He Danggui reminded Madam Luo, ¡°Do you remember that she had four stillborn babies? She didn¡¯t let Second Uncle¡¯s concubines have children and wanted to have her own. But she suffered from the death of a baby every time. So, she used this method to alleviate her sin of poisoning other people¡¯s kids so that she could have a living one. Then, the good reputation of our family in Yangzhou City has already been consumed out. If his majesty punishes this city, we will be the first target!¡±

    ¡°How could this happen?¡± Madam Luo panicked all of a sudden, ¡°By the way, didn¡¯t your grandfather say that we will have good news?¡±

    ¡°Of course! Grandfather has managed the schedule for you.¡± He Danggui spared no efforts and yed the lying tricks she learned from Bai Yangbai. ¡°Second Aunt is the only viin in our family. If we take her to justice, our reputation will remain. As a result, good news will naturallye to us.¡±

    Madam Luo¡¯s eyes lighted for a moment but then became gloomy again, ¡°However, her brother Sun Yanbin is a senior consultant of the Eldest Legitimate Grandson. How dare we offend Sun¡¯s Family?¡±

    Miss Ji also added, ¡°I saw Ding Rong¡¯s wife send someone to the capital with letters and Yangzhou City¡¯s native products. I heard that Second Mistress and her brother are very close. They are not like half-siblings at all. In the entire Sun¡¯s Family, they have the closest rtionship.¡±

    He Danggui continued, ¡°Madam, think about it! Although Sun¡¯s Family is rted inws with us, this connection is limited. She was born from a concubine and had no status there. In the past few years, many people of Sun¡¯s Family became officials and joined the court. Why didn¡¯t they give us some help? I heard that even a servant¡¯s sons were given a job in the court, but none of them have thought of us.¡±

    Seeing Madam Luo¡¯s beating eyebrows, He Danggui knew that she had hit her weakness. So, she continued, ¡°When days are peaceful, they won¡¯t give us help. When his majesty condemns us for wasting food, can they save us? You took a great of efforts to get a concubine-born daughter of them to marry Second Uncle. This has proved that Sun¡¯s Family does not value us at all. They only focus on the canal business and have always valued Guan¡¯s Family and Feng¡¯s Family more than ours. They evenughed at my uncles and called them useless idiots. This information came from the big cousin when he was in a state of unconsciousness. Madam, do you think it is worth to bear the risk of being condemned by his majesty instead of disposing of Second Aunt?¡±

    The more Madam Luo listened, the more she hated Sun Meiniang. She took a look at the Sunny Doll ¡°sent from Luo Duzhong¡±, thinking of those several unborn grandchildren because of Sun Meiniang, and then said, ¡°I cannot keep her any longer.¡±

    Miss Ji widened her eyes, ¡°But she is pregnant now, and Second Lord is cherishing her very much. What about the child in her belly?¡±

    Madam Luo took out the ancestors¡¯ letter from her sleeve, ¡°Ancestor had already provided us with a solution. ¡®You should change the ancient well deep in the Bitter Bamboo Grove into a water prison and imprison the vicious woman in it for ten years.¡¯ If one day his majesty learns of the food-wasting thing, we will put this woman to justice. That is her sin.¡±

    He Danggui eximed, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect our ancestor to be so responsive and wise. No wonder our family¡¯s ancestral tomb and ancestral temple survived the earthquake covering the whole Yangzhou City.¡±

    Thinking of this miracle, Madam Luo immediately gained more confidence in her conclusion. She ordered in a deep voice, ¡°Okay, let¡¯s do it! This time, we won¡¯t care about Sun¡¯s name. We will lock up Sun Meiniang first, and then summon the craftsmen to change the water well into a prison. After she gives birth to that kid, I will throw her into that prison! Besides, write a letter to Luo Shuisheng. If Sun¡¯s Familyes to us, we will need his help.¡±

    ¡°One more thing.¡± He Danggui smiled, ¡°Grandfather has a better idea to make Sun¡¯s Family ashamed of this daughter. They will not ask for an exnation, and even break off rtions with her. In this way, we will have the righteous reason to lock her up.¡±

    ¡°Go on.¡± Madam Luo said.

    He Danggui blinked, ¡°Do you remember Run Xiang? The maid who was pregnant with Second Uncle¡¯s child.¡±

    ¡°Huh,¡± Madam Luo was angry when she heard the name, ¡°I do. After listening to this story, I even had nightmares. How many Luo Chuangu¡¯s children were killed by her. Luo Baishao has also learned bad things from her mother.¡±

    He Danggui sighed, ¡°Since Second Uncle has taken Run Xiang into his bed, and Run Xiang had a child at that time, then she should keep behaved. Maybe a few monthster, she would be a concubine. Second Uncle has been eager to have a son. If Run Xiang gave birth to a son, then she would be a hero of our family. By then, she would have a great chance to be a Junior Wife. With such a promising future, she was having an affair with a servant? That doesn¡¯t make sense, but she died with the truth.¡± Then, He Danggui suggested, ¡°Why not y a ghost game? Therefore, we could give the dead justice and find a reason for Sun¡¯s Family to get their hands off.¡±

    ¡°A ghost game.¡± Madam Luo was considering, ¡°That is a good strategy.¡±

 Chapter 299 - The lesson of death

    <h4>Chapter 299 The lesson of death</h4>

    Sun Meiniang was in a nap at Bao Qin Ge when Luo Chuangu went to the kitchen to check the tonic. Suddenly, a maid came to report that Luo Chuanxiong had been ¡°escorted¡± back from Sanqing Temple, and Madam Luo wanted Sun Meiniang to watch the interrogation. So, Sun Meiniang¡¯s closest maid awakened her master. Sun Meiniang was still drowsy yet and was a bit strange about the reason why Luo Chuanxiong came back so quickly. However, the excitement finally diluted the suspicion. Before waiting for Luo Chuangu toe back, she hurriedly put on an outer garment and rushed to the ancestral hall.

    As soon as she entered the hall, Sun Meiniang became confused. The hall was empty! Usually, the interrogation would convene arge number of listeners. She slowed down and walked into it, and the door suddenly closed automatically. All windows were sealed and were covered with tents. The room was immersed in darkness. It was weird and creepy. Sun Meiniang was frightened. What happened? She called her two closest maids aloud, and then suddenly remembered that both of them happened to be caught by some incidents halfway.

    Sun Meiniang had always disliked

    the darkness. What was more, this was the ancestral hall, which was filled with the memorial tablets. She was shuddering for staying here alone. So, she pushed the door but the door wouldn¡¯t open. As time went by, she became anxious and shouted, ¡°Somebody! Let me out!¡± However, no one responded to her. Sun Meiniang cursed, ¡°Are you all dead!¡±

    Thest word reverberated around the beams, ¡°Dead! Dead! Dead!¡±

    ¡°Die¡­¡±

    Sun Meiniang felt creepy. She wasn¡¯t sure if it was her illusion or not. A girl¡¯s voice was mixed into the echoes, ¡°Die...¡±

    ¡°Die..die...¡±

    The voice got louder and whirled in the hall. Sun Meiniang¡¯s eyes widened in the dark with a little horror. She said angrily, ¡°Who¡¯s there? Show yourself! Or, I will peel you off!¡± Her trembling voice revealed her fear.

    ¡°Die¡ª¡±

    The voice became slower and slower and changed from a female into a male. That was a rough and harsh sound, which almost scared Sun Meiniang to death.

    This time, the unknown female voice got closer with erratic and sharpughter, ¡°Ha-ha...peel¡­off...¡±

    Sun Meiniang was pregnant and was more sensitive than usual. In the past few days, she often got furious and was overjoyed. As a result, she couldn¡¯t sleep well at night. During the daytime, she usually needed extra rest to supplement her sleep shortage. At this moment, listening to the scary words, Sun Meiniang almost passed out. Holding on to a column, she tried to cheer up and cursed, ¡°Who dares to scare me! If I catch you, I will dig out your eyes and cut off your tongue! Bitch!¡±

    As soon as she finished her words, the room appeared a spark of fire. Sun Meiniang was immediately attracted by it. When she came closer to check that, an illuminated woman¡¯s face shed by. Then, the fire faded away.

    Although it was just a glimpse, the shock to Sun Meiniang was huge. ¡°Ah-ah-ah!¡± She rushed to the door and banged on it frightenedly, ¡°Open the door! This ce is haunted! I am Second Mistress!¡±

    ¡°Second Mistress, you wronged and killed me! You...you...you...¡± A floating voice was above Sun Meiniang¡¯s head, shrilling and miserable.

    ¡°Second Mistress...¡± The voice approached sharply. At the same time, a cold hand stretched out from behind and touched Sun Meiniang¡¯s cheek.

    Sun Meiniang had always believed in ghosts and immortals. At this moment, she was sure that she met a ghost. Under the huge panic, she had wielded her potential and yelled, ¡°Bitch! I was not afraid of you while you were alive. How will you scare me when you are dead! You slut with your bastard son!¡± The moment she felt the cold hand, Sun Meiniang immediately turned around to catch it. However, nothing was there. She was terrified and was soaked in sweat.

    Suddenly, the hand touched her from another direction, and she immediately rushed to grab it again. She didn¡¯t want to surrender!

    This time, she caught something round, slippery, and wet. She looked at the things in her palm, but she couldn¡¯t see anything in this dark room. She could only smell a hint of sweet aroma. That smell was familiar to her, which was the smell of blood!

    Sun Meiniang had panicked to the limit. Suddenly, the fire had jumped out again, and the faint blue light had lightened a face and the things in Sun Meiniang¡¯s hand¡ªa pair of fresh and bloody eyes which was looking at her as they did when Run Xiang was alive. The eyes were extremely cold and reminded Sun Meiniang of Run Xiang¡¯sst expression!

    ¡°Ah!¡± Sun Meiniang fell to the ground with a scream and then became unconscious.

    Shuttling and rustling sounds came from the darkness mixed with murmured conversations. ¡°Will anything happen to her baby?¡±

    ¡°Madam, just rest assured. Grandfather¡¯s strategy is perfect. After you see what will happenter, you won¡¯t feel sorry for her anymore.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s next?¡± Madam Luo¡¯s voice was tense as if she couldn¡¯t breathe. ¡°The scene is too realistic, and even I was scared. My limbs are shaking and I have difficulty breathing now.¡±

    He Danggui¡¯s voice was thoughtful and calm, ¡°Open your mouth and take this. The hall is full of ancestors¡¯ spirits, and they will bless us.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s bitter. What is this?¡±

    ¡°It is Zhengqi pill, a medicine made by me. Just take it. I followed my grandfather¡¯s instructions and lit the fragrance. The smell can make one nervous and uneasy. Second Aunt is a clever person. We must use some special means to scare her.¡±

    ¡°This woman is extremely vicious and disgusting. I will deprive her title of this family today. From now on, she is not Luo Chuangu¡¯s wife. Never call her aunt again!¡±

    ¡°I see. How should I call her then?¡±

    ¡°Just call the name!¡±

    ¡°As you say.¡±

    Sun Meiniang felt that she was immersed in icy water vapor. She shuddered as she saw Run Xiang¡¯s horrible eyeless face again in her dreams. That face was full of blood and tears. When she looked at that face, it opened its mouth to reveal the empty gums inside and the scarlet tongue, much of which was missing.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Sun Meiniang was frightened once again. She suddenly sat up with cold sweat all over her body.

    She gasped hard, recalling thest time she saw the living Run Xiang. Run Xiang¡¯s toothless mouth was bleeding and her eyes were spiteful. Sun Meiniang felt that the face was behind her all the time.

    Sun Meiniang had been angry since thest time somebody told her the affair about Luo Chuangu and Run Xiang. She hated their shameless behavior but could not lose her anger on Luo Chuangu. So, she turned to Run Xiang. Run Xiang pleaded sincerely at the time, saying that she was wronged and was forced by Luo Chuangu. Luo Chuangu was not the father of the child in her belly. However, Sun Meiniang refused to believe her words. She ordered to pull out her teeth, strip her clothes, and hang her upside down in the woodshed.

    Later, He Danggui said this in front of Madam Luo. Madam Luo asked to release Run Xiang, but the person sent there came back empty-handed and whispered to Madam Luo. Madam Luo¡¯s face suddenly became angry. Sun Meiniang had guessed that Run Xiang was probably frozen to death with her baby. So,ter, she hurriedly came back to Bao Qin Ge to check the situation. However, she almost vomited after entering the woodshed.

    Bah¡­

    That damn bitch was crazy. Run Xiang dug her eyes out before she died. Besides, she cut off half of her tongue with a hatchet and wrote a line of words with it on the wall, ¡°Sun Meiniang, my child and I will stare at you forever until you die.¡±

    Sun Meiniang was numb. She felt that the embryo in her belly had shrunk into a ball like a dead meatball. Ding Rong¡¯s wife quickly helped her to leave there and ordered to dismantle the woodshed. Later then on, she burned folium artemisiae argyi in Bao Qin Ge to wipe out Run Xiang¡¯s spirit.

    When Luo Chuangu heard about this, he was terrified as well. The smooth, white, and tender face of Run Xiang immediately turned terrifying. After that, he slept with Sun Meiniang every night with lights on. However, the two still felt uneasy. Sun Meiniang, who saw the scene in person, had been keeping recalling it in her dreams.

    Sometimes in the daytime, Sun Meiniang often felt that Run Xiang was following her like a shadow. Whenever she had that feeling, her lower abdomen would catch great pain. This baby was very important to her. She was worried that the fetus would die again. So, she asked for every protecting spell from various fortune-tellers and Taoist priests.

    She did a lot of bad things, and sometimes she would face retaliation. The more vicious she was, the tighter the noose around her neck would be.

    At this moment, Sun Meiniang had seen Run Xiang¡¯s dead face. As a result, she suffered a serious mental shock. After waking up again, she couldn¡¯t wipe the scene in her head, and the feeling of the pair of wet eyeballs was still in her palm. Sun Meiniang took a deep breath, but it was unable to help her settle down. Sniffing the scent of incense, she knew that she was still in the ancestral hall. She fumbled to stand up and moved forward tremblingly. Suddenly, another voice sounded behind her head. That was a high pitch from a kid¡ª

    ¡°Mom, your floral skirt is torn!¡±

 Chapter 300 - A child with eight feet

    <h4>Chapter 300 A child with eight feet</h4>

    Sun Meiniang turned her head in horror, but something covered her face. She quickly ripped it away and shouted to the sky, ¡°Somebody! Free me! I will reward you!¡±

    But at the moment when she raised her face, another thing fell on her face. That was a piece of fabric with milky fragrance. She let out a short scream and rushed forward. Her face was constantly bumping into all kinds of stuff. She held her head and jumped up. However, something underneath was pulling her skirt from every direction. She struggled to get off but failed. Then, a baby¡¯s voice sounded, ¡°Mom, he tore your skirt!¡±

    Another baby¡¯s voice said, ¡°No, it was him!¡±

    ¡°Waa¡ª¡± A baby¡¯s crying came from the left.

    ¡°Ahh¡ª¡± Another baby¡¯s scream came from the right.

    A voice in the front said, ¡°Your skirt is torn!¡±

    A voice behind said, ¡°Mom, your tummy is warm. I want to lie in there!¡±

    Sun Meiniang almost passed out.

    The scent lingering around her nose did not calm her at all. She was sweatier. They were the four little babies she had aborted before! This thought made her horrified and desperate. At the moment, the child in front of her said, ¡°Mom, I am the eldest. Hug me!¡±

    This one was He Jingxian¡¯s son! Sun Meiniang felt resentful and kicked forward fiercely, but she only hit something immovable, like a stone. This move got her toe hurt. She screamed in pain. The childughed and said, ¡°Mom, dad is a master of Kung fu. I was born with a protecting skill. If I were alive, I would be eighteen years old now. I would be taller than you!¡± The childughed sharply, ¡°Mother, touch me! I have two heads and I am smarter than others!¡±

    Sun Meiniang almost got crazy. Except for her, nobody else knew the secret that she was once with He Jingxian¡¯s child! More shockingly, she really picked out a two head embryo in that mass of flesh and blood after aborticide in that year. She didn¡¯t know if it was a freak or twins that had not separated. It turned out to be a true freak!

    ¡°Please!¡± Sun Meiniang cried, ¡°Spare me. It was your father¡¯s fault. You should go find him in the capital!¡±

    That voice disappeared. However, theughter of other babies echoed from other directions, ¡°Mom. Touch me as well! My father is better! I have four heads!¡± ¡°I have six legs, six!¡± ¡°I have eight feet, eight!¡±

    Sun Meiniang felt that she was surrounded by a group of monsters. She couldn¡¯t do anything but lowered her head to scream. Suddenly, her face got itchy. She realized that the ¡°peeling syndrome¡± caused by the poisonous stone powder had recurred. The only cure for it was water, and she had to immerse her face in the water. The scratching wouldn¡¯t work at all. She vaguely remembered that a basin of water was ced at the entrance of the hall, so she rushed there. When she fumbled the basin, she quickly bent over and dipped her face in it.

    When she touched the liquid in the basin, she realized that it was not water at all. It was sticky, slippery, and smelly. It was blood! Just at this moment, the children¡¯sughter rang behind her with pleasure.

    Sun Meiniang screamed. She poured the basin of blood backward at those things. After that, the room had turned silent. Sun Meiniangughed breathlessly, ¡°Ha-ha!¡± Gradually, sheughed even more insanely, ¡°Hahaha...¡± She had killed all those freaks. She was safe!

    As sheughed, Sun Meiniang moved all the way to the incense table. The ancestral hall must have Huo Zhe Zi. As long as she lit the fire, those evil things would not dare to get close to her again! She would burn everything that touched her skirt! After a while, she really found a small Huo Zhe Zi. She held it in her hand as if she had found her life support. When she opened it, a bunch of yellow mes leaped in front of her.

    However, the light brought her the horror of death instead of the hope of life!

    The scene in front of her was like a real purgatory, engulfing her with bloody horror. This ce was not the ancestral hall at all and nobody would bless her. Of course, how would the ancestors of Luo¡¯s Family bless her? She had killed at least six unborn children of Luo Chuangu. She had even sterilized all his concubines. Those beautiful concubines must hate her very much.

    This ce was a small stone house with no windows nor doors. The small piece of Huo Zhe Zi illuminated the house. It was full of blood, intestines, flesh, broken limbs, and corpses! These things were scattered among the children¡¯s clothing, shoes, and hats, and they were covered with smelly and ck blood, which made people nauseous. When Sun Meiniang saw it, her hands couldn¡¯t help but tremble, and most of Huo Zhe Zi fell to the ground. It was soaked in blood and couldn¡¯t be used.

    As a result, the rest in her hand was thest light source. Although what she saw was the scariest scene that she had ever seen, she still wanted more light. It was better to see those unknown fears. She turned around and walked to the table where she had just found the Huo Zhe Zi. She wanted to find more, but nothing was left there. When she turned around again, a broken palm on the ground seemed to move slightly, which might be her illusion.

    Protecting the light tremblingly, Sun Meiniang illuminated there. The palm stood up and swayed to respond to her concern.

    Sun Meiniang screamed, and her voice echoed in the room, which evoked Run Xiang¡¯s crazy sound and various children¡¯s calling. ¡°Die¡­die¡­¡± ¡°Mother... mother...¡± ¡°Second Mistress¡­¡± ¡°Murderer...¡± ¡°Sun Meiniang...¡± ¡°I will kill you¡­¡±

    Sun Meiniang was terribly scared, and a trace of blood oozed from her mouth. Suddenly, he saw a thick human leg bone on the ground, which was from her yard. She let out a sharpughter as spiting blood, ¡°That Taoist priest told me that human bones could drive away ghosts and evil spirits. It is my amulet!¡± She rushed to pick it up and waved it as a weapon, ¡°I will kill you all! I will kill you all! You died because you are weak! All of you!¡±

    Thest sh was thrown out by her. It immediately extinguished in the blood. The next moment, a noose looped her neck from above and got tighter and tighter. Run Xiang¡¯s voice sounded in Sun Meiniang¡¯s ears, ¡°Sun Meiniang, my child and I will stare at you forever until you die.¡±

    Sun Meiniang cried, ¡°Let me go, please! I will give you whatever you want! I will do everything for you! I will burn gold and silver for you!¡±

    Run Xiang¡¯s voice sounded near Sun Meiniang¡¯s ear. The voice was sinister and slow, ¡°Tongue. I want your tongue!¡±

    Sun Meiniang clenched the noose around her neck with both hands. She cried and begged, ¡°Please let me go! I am sorry! I will burn all my money for you. I will build you a temple and a sculpture!¡±

    The noose tightened and rose higher and higher like a fishing line, and Sun Meiniang was like a fish. The smell of death was full of the room. Sun Meiniang screamed and her feet thrashed in the air. However, Run Xiang¡¯s voice continued, ¡°I want your tongue! Otherwise, you will die.¡±

    Sun Meiniang was almost strangled by the noose to death. Her eyes, ears, and brains had almost lost their functions. Therefore, she finally bit off a small part of her tongue. Then, sheughed and vaguely said, ¡°Let...me...ah...go...ha-ha!¡±

    Run Xiang¡¯s spirit was very trustworthy and immediately loosened the noose to drop her on the ground. After that, thentern was lit up. Sun Meiniang was painful and had lost a lot of blood. Therefore, she passed out in a sh. Thest scene she remembered was the sound of footsteps and a cyan skirt wafting in front of her.

    Madam Luo outside the room was trembling with anger. She couldn¡¯t even say aplete sentence, ¡°Bitch... She... murdered Chuangu¡¯s children¡­ She was once with other people¡¯s children¡­¡±

    He Dangguiforted Madam Luo, ¡°Madam, calm your anger please. Fortunately, we know her true nature now. Besides, those human bones in her yard were prepared by herself. She tried to frame me! Amitabha Buddha!¡±

    Miss Ji delivered a ¡°confession of guilt¡± with bloody handprints, stating that Sun Meiniang hadmitted three major crimes of Seven Reasons for Divorcing the Wife. She was unfilial, obscene and jealous. ¡°Being obscene¡± was the most unforgivable crime among them. Sun Meiniang had illicit intercourse with other men and had induced abortions for more than four times! Moreover, He Danggui imitated the voice of the first child, and imed that he was ¡°eighteen years old¡±, but Sun Meiniang did not refute it at all. She had not married Eighteen years ago! How would she have a child!

    Madam Luo was shaking and speechless because of anger. A man in white asked, ¡°Miss He, how did you know that she had an abortion 18 years ago?¡±

    He Danggui exined, ¡°Back then, Sun Meiniang asked my mother for abortifacient. She also told my mother that it was her fourth abortion. She was afraid that she would not be able to take it. Therefore, she asked my mother to give her some supplements. When I learned these secrets, I was only a nine-year-old child. Nobody would believe me, so I kept that to myself.¡± Then He Danggui lowered her head and sighed.

    Miss Ji helped Madam Luo smooth her chest. Then, Madam Luo said, ¡°Third Uncle, Master Guan, both of you have witnessed the words and deeds of this bitch. Please sign your name on this certificate. In the future, I will send a copy to Sun¡¯s Family. They gave me a good daughter!¡±

    Luo Duheng, the master of West Yard of Luo¡¯s Family, was the third younger brother of Luo Duzhong. He was 58 years old and had a thin figure and a thin face. He had just lost his wife, Madam Xiong, and was invited by Madam Luo to be a witness during the period of mourning. He nodded and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. After I sign it, I will also write a letter with everything I have seen today. I bet that they have no face toe to us!¡±

    His voice was hoarse with a slight pant. He Danggui had only met him twice in her previous life. People said that he was in poor health and had lost the ability to have sex. He had a daughter, Luo Chuanjiao, and an adopted son Luo Chuanwu. However, regardless of his illness, he had over 30 beautiful concubines, more than his son. However, He Danggui could see righteousness and integrity from his eyes. He looked like a gentleman.

    Guan Bai also nodded and said, ¡°I will do the same. Madam, you should take care of your body.¡± He was a guest of West Yard and had a close rtion with East Yard, so he came here as well. A man from another family would be more convincible.

    Madam Luo shook her head and sighed, ¡°Thank you. I really hate myself! I gave this bitch a high position for more than ten years!¡± After taking a few breaths, she told Guan Bai not to publicize the matter in case the family¡¯s name would be damaged. Guan Bai solemnly assured that he would never reveal a word to others.

    After Luo Duheng and Guan Bai left, Miss Ji asked, ¡°Madam, what should we do with¡­Mrs. Sun?¡±

    Before Madam Luo said something, He Danggui suddenly fell to the ground and was caught by a maid behind her. However, her eyes closed tightly and her forehead was covered by sweat. Miss Ji asked anxiously, ¡°What should I do? She is sick. The Depositary of Buddhist Texts was so coldst night!¡±

    Madam Luo answered, ¡°Just follow the instructions in the letter! Move her to the ancestral hall!¡±

    As she said, Madam Luo moved towards the hall. Suddenly, she turned around and added, ¡°Bring that bitch with us.¡± She waved the letter, ¡°A daughter-inw of the Luo¡¯s Family is an evil-minded woman. It¡¯s a misfortune for the family. She should kowtow to me a thousand times at the ancestral hall and then be imprisoned in the Depositary of Buddhist Texts.¡± Madam Luo exined, ¡°Move her to the door of the ancestral hall and let her kowtow a thousand times!¡±

 Chapter 301 - The debt was paid off

    <h4>Chapter 301 The debt was paid off</h4>

    Volume 7 Long may the love live

    Sun Meiniang woke from aa. There was still severe pain in the broken tongue. She looked up and saw the que above the ancestral hall. Before she could figure out the situation, two maids knocked her head to the threshold. Sun Meiniang was frightened and terrified. She wanted to curse loudly but couldn¡¯t say aplete sentence. Those babbling sounds made Madam Luo upset, so she ordered, ¡°Gag her!¡±

    Therefore, Sun Meiniang was forced by two sturdy maids to kowtow on the threshold. After only a dozen strokes, her forehead turned red and swollen. After twenty strokes, her head started to bleeding, ¡°Boom! Boom! Boom!¡± The blood was sshing, and Madam Luo was disgusted when she saw it. So, she turned her back and only listened to the sound.

    However, He Danggui was unwilling to only listen to the sound. Lying on a temporary bed, she silently turned around to face the door and saw Sun Meiniang knocking head at her.

    Deng Cao saw He Danggui wake up. She quickly came up and asked, ¡°How are you feeling? Would you like a cup of jujube tea to warm your body?¡±

    He Danggui nodded, so Deng Cao served the tea immediately. He Danggui lifted the veil of the bed to thank Deng Cao. At the moment, Sun Meiniang was just making the move to get up, and her beautiful face was half-covered with blood. He Danggui was next to the incense table in the hall and was having the jujube tea on a soft cushion, while Sun Meiniang was in front of the threshold outside the hall and was forced to knock her head on the threshold.

    When they had eye contact, Sun Meiniang was full of resentment as if she was about to eat He Danggui alive. She suddenly stood up and rushed toward He Danggui, but a maid behind her hurriedly kicked her on knees to prevent her from entering the hall.

    Even the most stupid one now was knowing that Sun Meiniang, who was still a master a few hours ago, had been now inferior to a poor beggar on the street. Nobody would care about her anymore. Although they didn¡¯t know the details, they were clear that Madam Luo was angry and hated her extremely. No matter who was the wife in charge of the family, her power came from Madam Luo. Only if Madam Luo allowed her to be decent, she was a master. Otherwise, she was just a dog of this family.

    ¡°Bitch!¡± The maid behind Sun Meiniang scolded, ¡°If you don¡¯t behave, I will p you in the face!¡± As she said, she really pped Sun Meiniang several times.

    As a result, Sun Meiniang¡¯s forehead and the white cloth in her mouth were stained with blood, and her cheeks were swollen to a high extent. But, instead of the maid behind her, she stared at He Danggui resentfully. The daughter of He Jingxian! A demon girl! A bitch! It was all because of her tricks!

    The face behind the veil pouted slightly. He Danggui blew the tea in her hands when she looked over at Sun Meiniang. Her eyes were as dark as night and deeper than an abyss. The eyes showed no light and made people frightened.

    Sun Meiniang shivered. Yes! It must be her. It must be her! This girl was a ghost!

    The veil slowly fell off, and the girl behind it sipped the tea. At the same time, the two maids outside the door did not give Sun Meiniang a chance to breathe and continued to press her to the threshold, ¡°Boom! Boom! Boom!¡± The blood sshed as the punishments went on. After another hundred times, Sun Meiniang finally fainted. However, Madam Luo didn¡¯t call to stop, and the two maids had to continue it.

    Although Sun Meiniang was now pregnant, Madam Luo did not show any mercy to her after knowing that she had four babies of other men. Even if this was Luo Chuangu¡¯s child, she couldn¡¯t allow the baby toe out. A dirty and indecent woman didn¡¯t deserve to give birth to an offspring of the Luo¡¯s Family! If Sun Meiniang died, plenty of women would give birth to kids for Luo Chuangu! Thinking of this, Madam Luo ordered, ¡°Go to the Medicine Room and get an abortifacient!¡±

    He Danggui guessed Madam Luo¡¯s thoughts and said, ¡°Madam, we are celebrating the Lunar New Year, and killing is ominous. Besides, the baby in her belly is innocent. We¡¯d better spare the baby.¡±

    Madam Luo disagreed, and she retorted with hatred, ¡°People willugh at us if this baby is born. No, I won¡¯t allow it to happen!¡±

    He Danggui lowered her voice and continued to persuade, ¡°For one thing, Sun Meiniang has done so many evil things. As a result, whether this baby canst for ten months is still unknown. Why should you get your hands dirty? For another, if we keep Sun Meiniang and her child, it will demonstrate our mercy and kindness. I believe that Sun¡¯s Family and Sun Yanbin will have no reason to me us.¡±

    Madam Luo pondered, and Miss Ji added, ¡°That¡¯s right! If we keep them alive, then Sun¡¯s Family will not seek revenge on us.¡±

    Therefore, Madam Luo temporarily gave up the idea of letting Sun Meiniang abort her child. Then Madam Luo said, ¡°Wake her up with ice water! Recount, as long as she faints! The punishment must be one thousand times!¡±

    The maids waked up Sun Meiniang with ice water as ordered and then made her kowtow again. After repeating it several times, Sun Meiniang had done 700 times and her forehead was badly mutted. Her gagged mouth sent out painful groans. However, the punishment must be going on.

    Seeing Madam Luo¡¯s badplexion, Miss Ji suggested taking her to the inner hall to rest. In the ancestral hall, He Danggui was drinking tea behind the veil, because she insisted on watching theplete show.

    Three hundred times for her dead daughter; three hundred times for her mother; three hundred times for those people who had been harmed by Sun Meiniang.

    The initiator, maker, and maniptor of her unfortunate childhood, Sun Meiniang! This was the debt to her and also to all those people who had been bullied. The rest of kowtowing hundred times were the interests for her two lives! That tongue was for Run Xiang, and Sun Meiniang would finally close her vicious mouth. As for Run Xiang¡¯s eyes, Sun Meiniang didn¡¯t have to pay that yet. Otherwise, how could He Danggui read her feelings?

    That night, He Danggui practiced arts of lightness on the roof of Bao Qin Ge and went to the woodshed where she happened to encounter Run Xiang, who was hung upside down and was dying. Run Xiang¡¯s naked body was purple because of the cold air. Of course, her baby had already died in her belly without bleeding a drop of blood.

    In the past, Run Xiang also helped Sun Meiniang to do evil things. But, when she was dying, her words became good as well. After He Danggui untied her from the beam, Run Xiang said with her toothless mouth, ¡°Third Miss, I¡¯m sorry for what I have done.¡± He Danggui immediately forgave her and wanted to rescue her. But Run Xiang refused to move. She told He Danggui that her child¡¯s father was not Luo Chuangu, but her lover Zhang Xian.

    Run Xiang continued intermittently that Zhang Xian was a trader who was doing salt smuggling. He was able to get a lot of money, but it was a very risky business. Zhang Xian came to Luo¡¯s Mansion to have a private meeting with her once a month and spent the rest of the time trading outside. He once said that he would take her out of the mansion once he had earned enough money. However, a few months ago, Zhang Xian had no information for her anymore. She didn¡¯t know if Zhang Xian abandoned her or died outside, and she was worried about it all time. Therefore, Luo Chuangu took advantage of her worries and she was raped by him.

    The blood in Run Xiang¡¯s mouth had dried up long ago. She continued that the thing happened when Sun Meiniang went to Sun¡¯s Mansion because of her mother¡¯s illness. Later, after Sun Meiniang returned, Luo Chuangu still refused to leave her alone. Every time Sun Meiniang was not paying attention, he would drag her away and forced her to obey him. However, she tried her best to resist him, and her crying drew Dong Mei¡¯s attention. Dong Mei had always disliked her and was jealous of her job. So, sheined to Sun Meiniang. Sun Meiniang didn¡¯t say anything in the beginning but attacked her when Luo Chuangu was not at home.

    He Danggui felt that Run Xiang could still be saved and wanted to get her out of Bao Qin Ge for treatment. But Run Xiang told her that Luo Baiqiong had an unnamed female guard who was a master of Kung fu. She followed and protected Luo Baiqiong during the day. At night, she lived in Bao Qin Ge and nothing could escape her ears. It was impossible for He Danggui to drag Run Xiang leaving here. What was more, Run Xiang had lost her lover Zhang Xian, her baby, and her teeth. She had no reason to live. She just hated Sun Meiniang after years of working for her.

    Run Xiang firmly grasped He Danggui¡¯s arm and pleaded, ¡°Miss He, I know you are a capable person who can give me justice. Besides, Sun Meiniang hates you very, very much, and she will kill you sooner orter. When you want to handle her someday, please tell Madam Luo my grievances. If Zhang Xianes to me someday, tell him it, too!¡±

    He Danggui promised. She took off her cotton-padded clothes and gave it to Run Xiang. Then, she sealed Run Xiang¡¯s acupuncture points with a silver needle to relieve the pain. The next night, He Danggui brought winter clothes and medicine soup to see Run Xiang, but she was noticed by that female guard and could not enter Bao Qin Ge. Later, when she told Madam Luo Run Xiang¡¯s story, everything was toote.

    However, He Danggui did not see the tragic scene of Run Xiang¡¯s death. She read it from a small note, saying that Run Xiang had dug out her eyes and cut off her tongue. The note also recorded Run Xiang¡¯sst words, ¡°Sun Meiniang, my child and I will stare at you forever until you die!¡±

 Chapter 302 - Do you have a big grudge?

    <h4>Chapter 302 Do you have a big grudge?</h4>

    The note with Run Xiang¡¯s death scene and herst words fell off from a window when He Danggui opened it to call Chan Yi to bring her some porridge. She didn¡¯t know who put it there, nor did she know the person¡¯s intention. However, she was deeply sad for Run Xiang and intended to seek justice for her.

    She heard that Run Xiang was an orphan and had a bad rtionship with other servants and maids. Run Xiang¡¯s lover, Zhang Xian, was the only one close to Run Xiang. He Danggui wondered who sent her the note. Did the person want to redress an injustice for Run Xiang or set up her?

    He Danggui was still confused, but it was not important anymore. Anyway, Sun Meiniang¡¯s life was almost over. Even if she could survive, in the long years toe, except for the water well in Bitter Bamboo Grove, she couldn¡¯t go anywhere. Without Sun Meiniang¡¯s protection, Luo Baiqiong would soon meet her sad fate. That would be exciting!

    ¡°Boom! Boom! Boom!¡± The constant sounds had made He Danggui happy enough. For the sounds, she had rushed over here from another time and space three years ago. Now, her long-cherished wish was fulfilled. She just felt that she had nothing to worry about even if she left the Luo¡¯s Family right away.

    ¡°Crack!¡± A corner of the bed copsed. A servant immediately rushed out to repair it.

    That servant was very old with incense ashes on his face. He Danggui made that face this morning. She frowned and asked in a low voice, ¡°Ma San, what the hell are you doing here? Why did you break my bed?¡±

    Meng Ying cushioned the foot of the bed with a brick and muttered, ¡°Isn¡¯t this too much? Do you have a big grudgeagainst her?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I do.¡±

    ¡°Hey! She¡¯s a pregnant woman and your aunt.¡± Meng Ying, of course, did not believe that He Danggui¡¯s words. He persuaded, ¡°I don¡¯t like this woman as well, but you have done too much. I¡¯ve never seen a crueler method than yours! Maybe you should stop now?¡± He raised his face to look at her.

    He Danggui had to get out from the joyful mood and looked at Meng Ying¡¯s charming eyes. She said word by word, ¡°She deserves this. The punishment even doesn¡¯t match her evil-doings. If you don¡¯t like it, just leave here.¡±

    Meng Ying gritted his teeth, ¡°I¡¯m doing this for you. I¡¯m afraid that you take the wrong path and have no way back.¡±

    He Danggui said coldly, ¡°Childe Meng, I don¡¯t know why you insist on staying at Luo¡¯s Mansion, nor do I understand how you are like a woman who likes gossiping. However, if you want to restore your beautiful face, don¡¯t get in the way of my n. The great show is only halfway through.¡±

    Meng Ying stared at He Danggui¡¯s eyes and blurted out, ¡°You are a ruthless woman.¡±

    ¡°Go away! I won¡¯t say it a third time.¡± He Danggui said impatiently.

    Meng Ying said angrily, ¡°How would Duan Xiaolou love you? Even Luo Baiqiong is better than you! He Danggui, I will tell him what you have done to reveal your true face!¡±

    He Danggui¡¯s face changed sharply as she heard it. She immediately rushed out and rolled her eyes on Meng Ying. Then, she walked through the side door and got to the small woods behind the ancestral hall. Meng Ying also followed her regardless of the ¡°show¡± in the hall. In the end, they stopped in the woods. There was no one else around.

    He Danggui suddenly turned around and looked at Meng Ying. She asked, ¡°Did Meng Xuan really send you to protect me? When was thest time you saw Duan Xiaolou? In the capital? Or Yangzhou City?¡±

    Meng Ying judged her emotional eyes and the heaving of her chest, and then he came to his conclusion, ¡°When I mentioned Master Duan, you suddenly changed your face. When I mentioned Brother Xuan, you were always calm. Besides, you treat me, Meng Xuan¡¯s elder brother, so rudely. You don¡¯t like Meng Xuan at all! Your love belongs to Master Duan.¡±

    He Danggui avoided Meng Ying¡¯s gaze and looked at a bare branch in the distance. She repeated, ¡°Did Meng Xuan send you?¡±

    Last night, Meng Ying insisted on staying in the Depositary of Buddhist Texts even at the expense of putting on the servant¡¯s clothes. He Danggui felt a little weird. Why would Meng Xuan send the idiot Meng Ying to protect her?

    Thest time they met, she and Meng Ying had some conflicts. Meng Ying picked a hole in her and also believed that the abnormal behavior of Duan Xiaolou and Zhu Quan was caused by her. The second time they met, Meng Ying pulled Meng Xuan away impolitely and left her alone. After that, she didn¡¯t have more contact with Meng Ying. They were almost two strangers. Therefore, how would Meng Xuan send Meng Ying here?

    However, she thought of another exnation. Maybe Meng Xuan was worried about Zhu Quan who lived in Luo¡¯s Mansion. So, he asked his brother to monitor her in case she would risk her life to spy on Zhu Quan. After all, no one would rescue her every time.

    As a result, He Danggui kept him without much resistance. In the ¡°one-year¡± long dream, she met the Meng Xuan from three yearster and received his jade pendant and a letter. Since that, she had secretly made up her mind to keep her promise to Meng Xuan in the seventh stage of Qizhen Fantasy Dream. She would be nice to the current Meng Xuan, marry him and protect him. Since Meng Xuan had his arrangement, she should just obey his wishes. She had no need to bother him.

    But now, Meng Ying suddenly mentioned Duan Xiaolou and said that he would tell Duan Xiaolou what she had done. Hadn¡¯t Duan Xiaolou given up yet? Was he in Yangzhou City? Did Meng Ying meet him? Or, the person who wanted to know her information was not Meng Xuan but Duan Xiaolou?

    That was a possible assumption! Last night, those three people thought that she was a ¡°pregnant woman.¡± After seeing the red spots on her face, Zhu Quan ran away immediately in disgust. Zhu Quan¡¯s friend Chang Nuo couldn¡¯t understand Zhu Quan¡¯s thoughts and was afraid that Zhu Quan would regret it afterward. So, he stayed andforted her. He said that Zhu Quan would be responsible before he left.

    However, Meng Ying¡¯s attitude was the strangest. He didn¡¯t even ask a single question, nor did he care if she was really pregnant or who was the father. He used Meng Xuan as an excuse to stay here for a night. Wouldn¡¯t a qualified brother identify whether she was a virgin for Meng¡¯s Family? Or, Meng Ying did not intend to let his brother marry her at all. Instead, he was entrusted by others to do something by her side?

    Under He Danggui¡¯s suspicious gaze, Meng Ying stroked his gray beard and said, ¡°Yes! Before Brother Xuan left yesterday afternoon, he did ask me to stay here to take care of you. If Lord Ning proposes a marriage, I will try to sabotage it. However, before that, I wasmissioned by Master Duan. He begged me to see if you are doing well now and if you like any other man.¡±

    Now, He Danggui had heard the truth, but she was at a loss.

    Was she doing well?

    ¡­Fine.

    Did she like any other man?

    ¡­No for now. However, she was working hard to love Meng Xuan and nned to marry him.

    Thest time when she parted with Bai Yangbai, he told her that he had peeped at the official document of the imperial guard at their stronghold in Yangzhou City. The document said that Duan Xiaolou was about to go to Yangzhou City on the 10th of January. It was January 4th. Was Duan Xiaolou already here? After hearing about Duan Xiaolou¡¯s misfortune, she nned in her heart topensate Duan Xiaolou and help him avoid the trap from his boss, Geng Bingxiu. If possible, she would love to help him do something more. However, would he ept thispensation? Did he hate her very much?

    Looking at He Danggui, who was not as calm as usual but pretended to be cool, Meng Ying opened his mouth in surprise, ¡°I knew it! You really like Master Duan!¡±

    He Danggui wanted to refute, but she felt that it was unnecessary. Did her guilt towards Duan Xiaolou plus the crush on him three years ago equal love? In fact, it was a stronger and moreplicated emotion than love. She couldn¡¯t say it to a stranger. To be more specific, she once loved Duan Xiaolou.

    He Danggui asked bitterly, ¡°How is he doing?¡±

    Meng Ying opened his fan and closed it immediately. After repeating the action several times, he asked reluctantly, ¡°If you like him¡­ why don¡¯t you marry him?¡±

    He Danggui was silent. To marry¡­Duan Xiaolou? Meng Xuan¡¯s elder brother asked her to marry Duan Xiaolou?

    Meng Ying fiddled with his funny pointed beard with the fan and said in a muffled voice, ¡°Compared to Lord Ning, I have a better rtionship with Master Duan. However, I have spent most of the time in the north in the past two years, and I have less contact with him. When I saw him again, he almost became another pathetic person. It was hard to imagine that he did that for a woman. When I first met him, he didn¡¯t know what was love. He thought love was a game and didn¡¯t give a shit to the women arranged by his mom¡­¡±

    He Danggui listened to him in silence. In fact, she had already known that.

    Meng Ying fanned himself and continued, ¡°So, if you still like him, why not consider marrying him? I can help you tell him about your situation. Though you are pregnant and abandoned by Lord Ning, I guess he will immediatelye here to marry you.¡±

    Looking at He Danggui who was stunned, Meng Ying persuaded, ¡°Miss He, it is never toote to be a good woman. If you do now, I will help you marry Master Duan.¡±

 Chapter 303 - The Desperate Love

    <h4>Chapter 303 The Desperate Love</h4>

    To be a good woman? He Danggui was silent for a moment when she heard the words. After she revenged herself on Sun Meiniang, should she stop? Luo Chuangu and Luo Baiqiong were her grandfather¡¯s offspring. Should she forget the grudges in her previous life? Would she go astray by giving her enemies what they deserved?

    Meng Ying, as an offspring of 56th generation of Mencius, really liked to preach benevolence and righteousness. She almost shook her faith a little. He didn¡¯t know anything at all! How dared he judge her? He only knew the oue instead of the cause.

    Meng Ying asked, ¡°Miss He, what do you think? Master Duan will take care of your kid and you.¡±

    He Danggui sighed and then put her right hand on her left wrist, trying to feel the pulse. She said seriously, ¡°The qi and blood circted normally in pericardium channel, lung channel, and galldder channel. The pulse is smooth without any signs of pregnancy. Instead of a nonexistent son, my nonsense nephew is really a problem for me. How would a seven-year-old boy deceive all of you guys who are arrogant and smart? I told you the truth, but no one believed me.¡± Then, she punched her lower abdomen several times, ¡°Look, you should believe it now.¡±

    Meng Ying stepped forward in a panic to grab her ¡°assertive¡± arm and saidfortingly, ¡°Fine! I believe in you. No need to lose your temper. We never have had this conversation, okay?¡±

    He Danggui shook off his hand. At first, she didn¡¯t understand why Meng Ying and Chang Nuo both believed that she had a child of Zhu Quan. Later, she remembered that her look when she had the dialogue with Zhu Quan previously might make Meng Ying and Chang Nuo misunderstand. After all, she and Zhu Quan used to be a ¡°couple¡±. They couldn¡¯t control their expressions.

    He Danggui gave up exining. Meng Ying had already had an established impression of her. No matter what he would tell Meng Xuan and Duan Xiaolou, she couldn¡¯t stop him. Let him be! Time would eventually prove her words.

    She turned back to the ancestral hall, and Meng Ying hurriedly stopped her, ¡°What do you say about Master Duan? He is still waiting for my letter.¡±

    He Danggui asked, ¡°Is he here?¡±

    ¡°Yes, indeed.¡±

    ¡°Then why doesn¡¯t hee to see me himself but send you here?¡±

    ¡°How do I know?¡± Meng Ying frowned, and the ash on his face fell off, ¡°I sympathize with him! He has been loving a girl for three years. In the end, she only calls him ¡®Mr. Duan¡¯. It is really desperate.¡±

    He Danggui lowered her head and said slowly, ¡°Then tell him that I am fine. I am very sorry for his father and his son. My condolences.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± Meng Ying asked, ¡°Do you want to marry him?¡±

    ¡°¡­I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± Meng Ying snorted, ¡°Should I tell him just like this?¡± Maybe she had too many choices.

    He Danggui lowered her head, ¡°I need to think about it...¡± Then, she walked away.

    Meng Ying asked behind her, ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°The ancestral hall. Don¡¯t follow me.¡± Meng Ying was speechless after hearing it. A narrow-minded, brutal, and incorrigible woman! Why did Duan Xiaolou set up such a trick to capture her? She was the most stubborn stone he had ever seen, with no tenderness of a woman. He gave her the opportunity, but she didn¡¯t cherish it at all. In that case, he did not have to care about his brother¡¯s affection¡­

    In the ancestral hall, Madam Luo had returned and was watching the execution with a string of prayer beads in her hands. He Danggui sat back to her bed and listened to the counting. The joy that had just been washed away by Meng Ying reemerged in her heart. How could she doubt her righteous revenge? If Sun Meiniang had not done the evil things, how would she be frightened by darkness and sound? No one forced her but she killed herself. She was always on the road to death.

    Luo Chuangu killed Run Xiang and Gan Cao casually. What two pitiful girls! Luo Chuangu could go back to his room to enjoy drinking and wait for the next innocent girl, but why?

    Luo Baiqiong looked weak and delicate in this life. However, it was only because He Danggui became stronger after her rebirth. Therefore, she could use Peng Shi as bait to lead Luo Baiqiong to the ancestral hall. Then she poked Luo Baiqiong¡¯s acupoint and fed the medicine. Luo Baiqiong¡¯s white and tender hands that threw the snake to kill her daughter in the previous life might also have this potential in this life. Even if Luo Baiqiong was not guilty enough to die now, He Danggui must break her wings in advance before the demon in her heart came out.

    As for Luo Baishao, she didn¡¯t need to be punished because of Sun Meiniang and Luo Baiqiong, but He Danggui would observe her¡­

    He Danggui smiled happily under the veil, which was captured by Meng Ying who was looking at her through the window. Meng Ying thought that Brother Xuan was captivated by He Danggui because he was so young and had spent too much time in the army. He didn¡¯t know many women. Fortunately, he was a smart one. Even if He Danggui married another man, he would not go crazy as Master Duan did. A hero would have a wife sooner orter. On the other hand, Brother Xuan might not like her so much. Maybe she attracted his curiosity with her unfathomable image¡­ Well, using Master Duan¡¯s method to pick this poisonous flower away might be a good choice¡­ Except for Master Duan, no one deemed her as their destiny¡­ Besides, Brother Meng would not be angry for too long because she was not the right one for him.

    At the same time, someone was observing He Danggui as she did that to Sun Meiniang. When she gave the verdict to Luo Chuangu and Luo Baiqiong, somebody also held the idea of ¡°saving the sufferings¡± and wanted to eliminate every evil soul. Setting up a trap for her, this good guy treated her like a fish in the. Maybe this guy looked down on her too much; maybe she forgot the painful scars because of being carefree for a long time. What was the reason for breaking up with Duan Xiaolou three years ago?

    ¡°Boom! Boom! Boom!¡±

    ¡°Nine hundred and thirty-one, nine hundred and thirty-two... nine hundred and fifty-five...¡±

    In front of the spectators, Sun Meiniang¡¯s head hit the threshold repeatedly. That sturdy mahogany threshold had been knocked crooked. Sun Meiniang¡¯s once beautiful face was now horrible and terrifying. Even the maid who was executing stopped cursing and softened her act. People usually felt deste when they saw a person reaching the end of the road, although the person was heinous. Even when the y that Cao Cao was put to rout in Battle of the Red Cliffs was performed on the stage, the audience would also feel sad.

    He Dangguibed her hair. The tragedy of her mother and herself perhaps all started when Sun Meiniang sent her cousin Ms. Zeng to He¡¯s Mansion to do bad things. Although Sun Meiniang climbed to the position of the wife in charge of Luo¡¯s Family, she had always been nostalgic for her old lover. Dissatisfied with the rich days, she always took pleasure in hurting and destroying people. The most unreasonable thing was that Sun Meiniang did not go to her old lover for revenge but set the target on He Danggui, who was also the victim. In the end, she led herself to the dead end.

    ¡°Boom!Boom! Boom!¡±

    This hatred had finally cleared up now. If Sun Meiniang had any opinion, she should go to the instigator of all tragedies, He Jingxian, and ask for an exnation. Why did he agree to his father¡¯s marriage appointment? Why did he seduce two women who he didn¡¯t love when going to Yangzhou City for a blind date? Why did he marry one of them and abandon the other? Why did he abandon the woman he married and his daughter? ¡°Humph, Sun Meiniang, you should make divination at the bottom of the well!¡± He Danggui thought.

    ¡°Meiniang!¡± Luo Chuangu rushed in fiercely, apparently having heard that Sun Meiniang angered Madam Luo and was punished by her. He was very satisfied with his ¡°virtuous¡± wife. He had long regarded her as his second mother. Now, since she was pregnant and was about to see theing of a child, Luo Chuangu had served her more thoughtfully, hoping that she would give birth to a son.

    He just went to the kitchen to get a lot of tonics back to Bao Qin Ge. When he came back, servants told him that Sun Meiniang went to the ancestral hall to punish He Danggui and Luo Chuanxiong. He didn¡¯t really care at the moment. His wife could do everything she liked! If she got something to do, she would not be so suspicious about Run Xianging to her.

    Unexpectedly, as soon as a table of exquisite food was set up, he was shocked by the news that his wife pissed Madam Luo off and was detained to kowtow in front of the ancestral hall for a thousand times!

    So, Luo Chuangu lost his bowl and chopsticks and trotted to the ancestral hall, trying to help his wife.

    Before Luo Chuangu interfered with the execution, Miss Ji stopped him at the gate, telling him the whole story. Previously, hearing about the death of Gan Cao as soon as she returned to Luo¡¯s Mansion, Miss Ji hated and feared Luo Chuangu very much. At this moment, speaking to him, she was still scared. However, as she spoke, she gradually let go of her words smoothly and even added something new to what had just happened. Anyway, only a few people knew the truth and he dared not to ask Madam Luo. She was Luo Chuangu¡¯s only source.

    Without the scruple of the master and servant, Miss Ji told Luo Chuangu that Sun Meiniang poisoned his concubines¡¯ babies, had fornication with different men, had been pregnant for four times and had abortions. The most explosive news was that when Sun Meiniang was pregnant with her first child, she was only eighteen years ago. At that time, she had not married Luo Chuangu. After telling all of these, Miss Ji sighed and left there.

    Luo Chuangu instantly thought about the fact that Sun Meiniang did not bleed on the first night. He was so angry that rushed to the dying Sun Meiniang. He punched and kicked at her, adding new injuries. It was terrible. Even the threshold was kicked away by him.

    ¡°Crack!¡±

    After the threshold was broken, several things underneath were immediately revealed, attracting surrounding people¡¯s attention. They were four small dark wooden boxes.

 Chapter 304 - Who was the real Bai Yangbai?

    <h4>Chapter 304 Who was the real Bai Yangbai?</h4>

    ¡°What are you looking at?¡± Madam Luo lifted her drooping eyelids.

    Miss Ji stepped forward to check the boxes. Then, she instructed two servants to take out the four wooden boxes and put them on the ground in a line. Those boxes were outdated in appearance and were in different sizes. The biggest one was three to four inches long, and the smallest one was less than two inches long. People nearby could sense the smell of rot from them.

    At the time, Pu Gongying rushed into the hall and whispered to Madam Luo¡¯s ears. Madam Luo rolled her eyes and then nodded, ¡°Let them in.¡±

    Pu Gongying beckoned, and two people dressed as Taoist priests came in. They stood at the door obediently. Obviously, they had been taught the rules early. Both of them bowed their heads and waited for Madam to ask questions. Miss Ji nced at Sun Meiniang who was lying on the ground in messy clothes and asked Madam Luo in a low voice, ¡°There are twelve kowtows left. Should we spare her and carry her to the Depositary of Buddhist Texts first?¡± If outsiders saw this, the reputation of Luo¡¯s Mansion would be harmed.

    But Madam Luo hadn¡¯t calmed down yet. She didn¡¯t want to spare Sun Meiniang!

    She treated that bitch so well and she was not as harsh and critical as most mothers-inw. She almost regraded Sun Meiniang as her daughter. Sun Meiniang was the most respectable person in the entire Luo¡¯s Family. Luo Chuangu, Madam Luo¡¯s second son, always gave priority to his wife instead of Madam Luo. Sun Meiniang was just the daughter of a concubine in Sun¡¯s Mansion, and back then, the status of Sun¡¯s Family was inferior to the status of Luo¡¯s Family. However, such a humble Sun Meiniang had instantly be a powerful woman once she married into Luo¡¯s Family. She took control of the finances in the second month. Mrs. Zhao, the wife of Madam Luo¡¯s firstborn, felt unfair and provoked conflicts everywhere. Luo¡¯s Family had done everything possible to treat Sun Meiniang well, but she still did the wicked deeds!

    Thinking of this, Madam Luo felt that her chest and lungs were about to explode. She shouted, ¡°Finish her punishment! After that, lock her in the stone room of the western yard!¡±

    Now, Sun Meiniang didn¡¯t even have the qualification to live in the Depositary. She was just a pathetic prisoner. He Danggui didn¡¯t need to say anything more, because Madam Luo had hated Sun Meiniang extremely. That stone room was the spot for the underground casino opened by the former kitchen steward Wang Qi¡¯s wife. In the past two years, the ce served as the ughter of live pigs and chickens where He Danggui interrogated Sun Meiniang. He Danggui wondered if Sun Meiniang would think of Run Xiang after getting there.

    After the twelve left kowtows were over, Sun Meiniang who was in aa was immediately dragged away, leaving a long and scarlet trace on the ground. Meng Ying, dressed in servant¡¯s clothes, didn¡¯t want to stay here any longer when he saw the scene. He Danggui said that she had to think about his proposal. He would give her time to think about it. If her answer was no, he would say sorry and do something.

    Madam Luo nodded to signal the two Taoist priests at the door toe in. The two people took a step forward neatly but still lowered their heads.

    He Danggui took a look at them carefully, and she immediately recognized that the Taoist priest on the right was Bai Yangbai! How could this guy suddenly show up? Not to mention disguising as a Taoist priest to sneak into Luo¡¯s Mansion, he had caused chaos at the ancestral tomb. A few days ago, he ¡°broke his leg¡± and wanted to draw a clear line from her when he proposed to her disguised as Bai Yang.

    Then, He Danggui looked at the Taoist priest on the left. However, this one also seemed to be disguised by Bai Yangbai. Why?

    Although Bai Yangbai¡¯s disguise skill was so exquisite that no one in the world could match it, He Danggui could always find a familiar feeling on that disguised face. Moreover, Bai Yangbai¡¯s eyes could speak. Every time he put on a mask, his exposed eyes would always say, ¡°Girl, look! I will manipte you!¡± In short, the two priests down there were both Bai Yangbai!

    At this moment, the two priests raised their eyebrows slightly and rolled their eyes to see He Danggui. After attracting her attention, they blinked at her yfully at the same time, and both of them blinked their right eyes. The timing and the action were just the same. What the hell? He Danggui couldn¡¯t help being bemused. Did Bai Yangbai have a twin brother like Chubby Zhu?

    Madam Luo asked in a deep voice, ¡°What¡¯s your conclusion on those spells? What are they used to curse?¡± Since Sun Meiniang¡¯s crimes were revealed, Madam Luo had convinced that all the evil objects excavated at Bao Qin Ge were from Sun Meiniang¡¯s hands. ying with those evil objects during the New Year, apart from framing He Danggui and her mother, what else could she do?

    Under He Danggui¡¯s gaze, ¡°Bai Yangbai No.1¡± said in his real voice, which was called as the sound of ¡°Donald Duck¡± by Qing¡¯er, ¡°Madam, the spells are really vicious! Except for the person who holds the spells, almost everyone in your family is cursed! Your ancestors, your servants, even your dogs!¡±

    ¡°Ah?!¡± Madam Luo panicked, ¡°What will happen?¡±

    ¡°Bai Yangbai No. 2¡± replied, ¡°Speaking of this, s, it is even more miserable. Fortunately, you find it in time. If you found it a littleter, not even one living thing would be left! You will be ransacked by the court and then be beheaded by the emperor. Except for¡­¡± With this, he pointed to He Danggui, who was sitting in the middle of the tent, ¡°Except for the beautiful girls! The old and ugly ones still have to be beheaded.¡±

    Madam Luo believed in Taoists. After hearing the conclusion of the two Taoist priests, she immediately believed their words. She shouted, ¡°How could it be? Is there any way to resolve it?¡±

    ¡°Bai Yangbai No.1¡± sighed, ¡°s, we have one method originally. But we came all the way from the capital to here, which has consumed up our energy. If you want us to save you, we will consume more energy. Then, we may die!¡±

    ¡°Bai Yangbai No. 2¡± quickly added, ¡°Of course, it is not difficult to solve this problem. We could gain energy from the food. However, this kind of food is expensive, and we may need a little economic help.¡±

    Then, the two people gave two fingers at the same time.

    Miss Ji couldn¡¯t help but frown. The Taoist priests of unknown origin were unreliable. They were taught the rules in advance, but their words were still so vulgar. Were they worried that Luo¡¯s Family would repudiate the debt? Two hundred liang silver was not a big number.

    Madam Luo might be confused by her anger. She added four fingers together and asked, ¡°Four hundred liang?¡±

    As soon as Miss Ji was about to correct Madam Luo, the two Taoist priests both shook their heads and said, ¡°Four thousand liang!¡±

    ¡°Four thousand liang?!¡± Everyone opened their mouths when they heard this. What a joke! That was the number of the whole consumption of Luo¡¯s Mansion for one year! He Danggui also frowned. Was Bai Yangbai crazy? His student, who was also his nephew, was now in Yangzhou City. Couldn¡¯t his student afford his gambling?

    Madam Luo was calm. She said slowly, ¡°Don¡¯t fool us! My family donates to several Taoist temples. As long as we wait for a while, countless Taoist priests wille here to serve us. We can¡¯t only listen to you.¡± He Danggui thought, if Bai Yangbai was used to con people for money, no Taoist priest in the world would be an exemption.

    Bai Yangbai No.1 said solemnly, ¡°If you wait, no one could save you!¡± The two people nodded together.

    Being frightened, Madam Luo immediately asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Why?¡±

    Bai Yangbai No. 2 walked to the four small boxes ced in front of the door and kicked them open. Four things fell out from the boxes. Bai Yangbai No.1 tore the three witchcraft dolls dug out from Bao Qin Ge one by one, and then found three wooden ques inside. Bai Yangbai No. 2 muttered some secret words for a while and walked under an old tree in the courtyard, digging a pit with his horsetail whisk. He dug out a small red note with a string of bells hanging on it.

    Everyone¡¯s look was changed, especially Madam Luo and Luo Chuangu. The four small boxes turned out to be four small coffins with dried small corpses. In fact, they were unborn embryos! Where did theye from? Why were they buried under the ancestral hall?!

    What were those wooden ques? What was the red note?

    Bai Yangbai No. 1 continued to ask, ¡°Did it catch fire here yesterday?¡± Everyone nodded. ¡°When you got here, you only saw thick smoke with no open me, and there was no damage to anything. Right?¡± People nodded again. ¡°You found the suspect and she admitted the crime, but then suddenly denied everything she said. But she couldn¡¯t exin why she was herete at night. Right?¡± Everyone nodded.

    Bai Yangbai No.1 shook his head and sighed, ¡°Your family is about to suffer! Someone controlled that arsonist and cursed your family¡¯s ancestral hall!¡±

    ¡°Think about it! Even the most solemn and holiest ancestral hall is defiled and your ancestors¡¯ spirits are almost dispelled!¡± Bai Yangbai No. 2 warned, ¡°What your fate will be? No eggs can remain unbroken when the nest is upset!¡±

    Madam Luo opened her mouth wide, ¡°Ancestors¡¯ spirits are almost dispelled?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Bai Yangbai No.1 nodded, ¡°Your ancestral hall is haunted by an evil Fengshui matrix, which is very harmful to your ancestors¡¯ spirits. I guess, your ancestors must be under pressure so that they can¡¯t breathe.¡±

    ¡°What should we do?¡± Madam Luo frowned.

    ¡°Follow their instructions!¡± Bai Yangbai No. 2 said, ¡°The letter has made it clear. ¡®My descendant, a young girl, has saved Luo¡¯s Family from disasters. Therefore, as your ancestor, I herebymend her achievements.¡¯ Do you have a granddaughter who saved the fire and stopped the rain, preventing the heavy rain from washing away the ancestral tomb? Did she even help your family find the evil person?¡±

 Chapter 305 - The dust had settled

    <h4>Chapter 305 The dust had settled</h4>

    Madam Luo hurriedly pulled He Danggui out and said, ¡°This is my granddaughter. Last night, she hung out a Broom Woman for Fine Days that my husband, who has been dead, taught her to make. The rain stopped suddenly. However, she did not save the fire.¡± Madam Luo turned her head to look at He Danggui.

    He Danggui had to admit, ¡°I did. After I was entrusted by my grandfather in the dream, I came to the ancestral hall, where I saw Second Sister setting fire on something. I called her to stop, but she seemed to be unable to hear nor see me. However, the thing that was buried by her did not catch fire at all. There was only thick smoke there. It went up strangely. Later, with a lot of effort, I managed to draw her away before I watered out the smoke. Then, you and everyone arrived at the ancestral hall and caught her. However, she med it on me when she became sober. Madam, I didn¡¯t set the fire.¡±

    The smokest night was a trap for Luo Baiqiong. However, after seeing the fate of Sun Meiniang, she was persuaded by Meng Ying to ¡°be a good woman.¡± She asked herself if she overdid it. Luo Baiqiong in this life had not set the poisonous snake for now. Should Luo Baiqiong bear the name of burning the ancestral hall and disturbing the ancestors¡¯ spirits? After such a hesitation, she wanted to stop her vengeance.

    The strange thing was how Bai Yangbai learned about these things and revealed them all. The me of her revenge was almost extinguished, but Bai Yangbai added fuel to the fire. Maybe it was destiny that Luo Baiqiong was going to fall from the position of Second Miss of Luo¡¯s Family. In other words, since Sun Meiniang¡¯s reputation was ruined, even Luo Baiqiong¡¯s birth was suspicious now.

    Those wooden ques in the dolls were sewed by her, but the four small coffins under the threshold were not her masterpieces. It looked like the remnants of the four unborn babies, but why were they buried here? How did Bai Yangbai know that? Did hee here to help sharpen her butcher knife?

    He Danggui looked at the two people. The four bright and smiling eyes aimed at her together and then blinked at the same time.

    ¡°Since my granddaughter can save us, shall we worry about anything else? The whole Yangzhou City was affected by natural disasters except for our family. Is it a good thing or a bad thing?¡±

    Hearing this, He Danggui grabbed the opportunity to defend herself, ¡°Last night, Miss Ling, who was dressed in a beggar¡¯s clothes and Second Sister¡¯s cloak, is not familiar with me. In fact, she was closer to Second Sister and Fourth Sister. So, what she saidst night that I asked her about He¡¯s Family in the capital was out of thin air. When she was studying at Chengxu Academy, she ran away from home. When she ran out of money, she went to Luo¡¯s Family to borrow money from Second Sister. Somehow, Miss Ling is once again a beggar. I guess she must have been paid to lie. Plenty of my ssmates can prove that Miss Ling is a famous liar.¡±

    ¡°What about the dead mouses in the ancestral grave?¡± Madam Luo asked, ¡°Why did you admit that?¡±

    He Danggui smiled and said, ¡°Madam, you are wrong again. They are golden mink in the guard matrix taught by my grandfather. The golden mink implied the golden immortal protectors. Didn¡¯t you witness its effectiveness? Other families¡¯ tombs have all copsed. I have never done anything that is not good for the family. You know it.¡±

    That was right. Madam Luo suddenly remembered that He Danggui had turned in all lifesaving jujubes. If she really wanted to join He¡¯s Family, why didn¡¯t she give the jujubes to He¡¯s Family? Besides, in recent years, among the juniors in the family, she was the most caring and filial one.

    Miss Ji also emphatically said, ¡°Yes, that¡¯s true! I didn¡¯t expect it to be the credit of her. This matrix is amazing!¡±

    Madam Luo reassured, ¡°Good girl, you helped our family guard the ancestral tomb. It is a great achievement, and I will reward youter.¡± She then added, ¡°I made you wrongedst night.¡±

    He Danggui said, ¡°I just did what I should do.¡±

    Madam Luo nodded with satisfaction and asked the two people, ¡°My ancestors¡¯ spirits are still there. They entrusted my granddaughter in her dreams and blessed our ancestral hall. Can you remove the evil matrix in it? I will give you a high reward.¡± Madam Luo was not afraid of spending money. She was afraid that the problem couldn¡¯t be solved with money.

    Bai Yangbai No.1 shook his head and said, ¡°Toote! It has been activated and something bad will happen to your family soon!¡± Madam Luo froze.

    At the time, someone came to report in panic, ¡°Madam! Fourth Miss¡¯s Xi Hua Ge was suddenly on fire and now it is in a mess. The cause is still unknown!¡±

    Madam Luo¡¯s expression was even more rmed. She quickly looked at Bai Yangbai and asked, ¡°What should I do now?¡±

    Bai Yangbai No. 2 whistled and looked at the sky. Bai Yangbai No. 1 said shamelessly while picking his nostril, ¡°Now the price has risen to five thousand liang. My service is worth it! It takes five days and five nights to conduct a religious ritual.¡±

    This time, as soon as Madam Luo heard that there was a solution, she agreed immediately. The two people asked for various kits for the ritual, and then asked to rest for a day to restore their energy. Then, all the evil crafts in the ancestral hall as well as the four small coffins were all burned in public. As for the red note tied with the bell, Madam Luo threw the thing into the fire immediately after looking at it.

    He Danggui lowered her head and smiled. She imed that she had recovered after being treated by her grandfather. She hoped to go back to her yard to take a rest. After getting permission, she left the ancestral hall alone through the side door. When she looked up at the sky, which was blue and filled with clouds, the wind blew the clouds into various shapes. Things had changed.

    Three years! She finally came to this day when Sun Meiniang fell from power as well as her daughter Luo Baiqiong. Luo Baiqiong set fire to the ancestral hall because she wanted to use the secret method that she heard from ¡°somebody¡± to steal the blessings from Luo¡¯s Family and put it on the marriage link between her and Peng Shi. In the past, Madam Luo indulged Luo Baiqiong because she was Luo Chuangu¡¯s daughter. However, her birth was suspicious now. Even if Madam Luo had a deep affection for this granddaughter, she would still be grounded at home for two years in ordance with the familyw.

    Now that the dust had settled, should she consider an end of the big revenge except for the interest? She let out a sigh of relief, feeling rxed as if she was about to leap up to a branch and fly to the sky.

    ¡°Girl, how is it feeling?¡± Bai Yangbai chased after her with a smile, ¡°Are you very touched? Do you want to marry me?¡±

    He Danggui frowned and looked at the ¡°single¡± Bai Yangbai, ¡°Where did you find a twin brother?¡±

    Bai Yangbai spread his hands, ¡°Girl, keep your eyes open and see. I am the Taoist Sage. That is just a skill called bilocation. The other person is a dummy without the shadow. You mortals can¡¯t tell with clumsy eyes.¡±

    ¡°Bilocation? It sounds terrific.¡± He Danggui asked surprisedly, ¡°But why? You are irritating enough.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Bai Yangbai said with a smile, ¡°Who hates money? One for two thousand liang, and two will cost four thousand liang. If it weren¡¯t for the limit of bilocation, I will create ten dummies. It¡¯s easy money!¡±

    He Danggui curled her lips and continued to move forward. Bai Yangbai followed her, ¡°If you marry me, I will let you watch all my stunts for free! What do you say?¡±

    He Danggui had now got rid of Zhu Quan, so how could she marry Zhu Quan¡¯s uncle? Although she was curious about Bai Yangbai¡¯s skill of preserving beauty, it was not a bargaining chip for marriage. Bai Yangbai couldn¡¯t use it to seduce her revealing the secret of Yunqi Acupuncture. So, she turned the subject away and asked, ¡°Why did Luo Baishao¡¯s house suddenly catch fire again? You did that?¡±

    Bai Yangbai blinked his innocent eyes and exined, ¡°I didn¡¯t. That is an ident.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± He Danggui asked curiously.

    ¡°Well,¡± Bai Yangbai scratched his chin, ¡°I found a drunk and crying man outside the gate of Luo¡¯s Mansion. I couldn¡¯t help cursing him that he was weeping like a woman. So, he told me the details. His name was Zhang Xian and had a lover working for Sun Meiniang. Some time ago, he went on a dangerous trip. After making big money, he went to pick his lover out of here. However, he learned that his lover was locked up and tortured by Sun Meiniang. He sneaked into the Mansion to find her, but he only heard herst words. That was why he was crying there.¡±

    ¡°¡­Zhang Xian?¡± He Danggui recalled, ¡°He is Run Xiang¡¯s lover! It turns out that he doesn¡¯t abandon Run Xiang! If Run Xiang¡¯s spirit knows this, she will be happy. What a pity! Sun Meiniang and Luo Chuangu separated them.¡±

    ¡°Unfortunately,¡± Bai Yangbai shook his head, ¡°I guess he has followed Run Xiang now.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± He Danggui opened her eyes incredibly. Did hemit suicide for love?

    ¡°That¡¯s why I said it was an ident.¡± Bai Yangbai was a little regretful, but he was not sad at all. ¡°I didn¡¯t care about this matter very much at first. I just persuaded the young man not to fall in love with only one woman. However, when I heard him telling thest words of his lover Run Xiang, he mentioned you, so...¡±

    ¡°He did?¡± He Danggui was a little surprised and guessed, ¡°The note clipped on my window with Run Xiang¡¯sst words prompted me to keep the promise to a dying person, and I must avenge for Run Xiang. Was that from Zhang Xian?¡±

    Bai Yangbai reached out and patted He Danggui¡¯s forehead. He praised, ¡°Smart girl! That note was written by Zhang Xian and then I put that into your window. I want to help you get rid of Sun Meiniang. Without her, you must be willing to marry someone, right?¡±

    He Danggui suddenly realized, ¡°It turns out to be you who was helping me secretly these days. No wonder that everything went so smoothly. Why did Zhang Xian die? He saw the revenge.¡±

    Bai Yangbai expressed helplessness over her ignoring his ¡°showing love¡± behavior. He temporarily stopped showing love and shrugged, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that he would do it. If I knew it, I wouldn¡¯t change his appearance into Wu Jiu.¡± After a pause, he exined to He Danggui, who was full of doubts. ¡°Wu Jiu was the fake paramour of Sun Meiniang. I also got a portrait of him. But the portrait was so ugly, so I didn¡¯t disguise myself as him. However, Zhang Xian wanted to participate in the revenge. So, I disguised him as Wu Jiu. Unexpectedly, he had the same temper as Run Xiang. He followed Run Xiang to burn him to death after Run Xiang dug out her eyes!¡±

 Chapter 306 - Tao Yao Yard, her home

    <h4>Chapter 306 Tao Yao Yard, her home</h4>

    Run Xiang died with her baby, and Zhang Xianmitted suicide for love. He Danggui sighed, ¡°How could the loving couple end like this...¡±

    The silence remained for a long while before Bai Yangbai ced his hand on He Danggui¡¯s shoulder. However, she suddenly widened her eyes and screamed, frightening Bai Yangbai to take off his hand.

    ¡°That¡¯s not right.¡± He Danggui frowned, ¡°Since Zhang Xian determined tomit suicide, why did he pretend to be the paramour of Sun Meiniang? What¡¯s more, Luo Baishao¡¯s yard caught fire. Did Zhang Xian burn himself there? Why?¡±

    Bai Yangbai scratched his cheek in curiosity, ¡°I don¡¯t understand it as well. He was a good man, and he could find prostitutes in the brothel. Why did he choose to follow Run Xiang? I can¡¯t imagine his behavior. I will never be as sad as him because of someone¡¯s death.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡± He Danggui stared at him, wondering about his plot with Zhang Xian.

    Under herpelling stare, Bai Yangbai reluctantly exined, ¡°Well, I disguise himself as Wu Jiu. Then I let him sing a folk song while going to Xi Hua Ge to see his ¡®biological daughter¡¯ Luo Baishao with a fruit basket. I told him to yell, ¡®My dear daughter, your dad is here.¡¯ That¡¯s all.¡±

    He Danggui was speechless. Zhang Xian used this method to take revenge on Sun Meiniang¡¯s daughter?

    Bai Yangbai added, ¡°Since the portrait is not exact and I don¡¯t know the appearance of Wu Jiu, I specifically instructed Zhang Xian not to show his front to others. As long as about five people saw him, he could shout out the words I taught him and retreat. However, the divination told me that Zhang Xian had burned himself alive. Think of the expression he had when he took the Huo Zhe Zi from me, I realized that he had already made up his mind to die for love.¡±

    He Danggui had mixed feelings, because she didn¡¯t expect that things got out of hand. Even Luo Baishao came a cropper. ¡°My dear daughter, your dad is here.¡± These words must have been delivered to Madam Luo and Luo Chuangu. How would they react? Sun Meiniang killed the child in Run Xiang¡¯s belly, and Zhang Xian retaliated against Sun Meiniang¡¯s daughter. It was even. However, it was still a little unbelievable that a salt smuggler and a maid had a love beyond death. Love dwelled in everyone yet no distinction shall prevail among sses. In this case, the poor had the purest love.

    Bai Yangbai again patted the back of the mncholic girl andforted, ¡°Now, all those who have bullied you have been punished. You can live happily in the future. A few days ago, I saw Xiaoyou being followed by Ling Miaoyi, so I also followed them to the suburb. I was attracted to Xiaoyou¡¯s matrix, wondering when it would be activated. Later, strange things happened. Girl, I didn¡¯t expect that you are familiar with the Eight-diagrams tactics, and your matrix skill is not under mine. We are meant to be together.¡±

    He Danggui rolled her eyes at him, ¡°As your teacher, I do have some skills. It turns out that you want to marry a woman who is able to set a matrix, right?¡± No wonder he was single in the previous life¡­

    However, she didn¡¯t know much about the Eight-diagrams tactics, and she learned a few simple matrixes from Bai Yangbai in the previous life. Of course, he liked this work because he invented it. As for those astronomical phenomena, she also learned them from Bai Yangbai in her previous life. He once said that the astronomical phenomena portended that a new emperor woulde to the throne.

    Later, Zhu Yuanzhang really died, and Zhu Yunwen eded to the throne. From then on, Zhu Di and Zhu Quan started to reveal their ambition to be the emperor. She had already experienced the troubled times once, so she didn¡¯t feel any panic at all. Anyway, the fights would all be among the royal family members, and it would have little to do with ordinary people like them, especially after she got rid of Zhu Quan.

    ¡°Not at all.¡± Bai Yangbai rubbed his hands, ¡°I hear it from Feng Yang¡­that you broke up with Zhu Quan, and he had no intention of epting you as a concubine. Feng Yang also said that you are pregnant with his kid. Therefore, I am here to clean up this mess for him. You know how to use the Yunqi Acupuncture, and I¡¯m good at the skills of agerasia. It¡¯s perfect for us to be a couple. You also yearn for longevity, right?¡±

    ¡°Chang¡­ Feng Yang was talking nonsense!¡± He Danggui angrily stretched out her hand to let Bai Yangbai get her pulse and test whether she was pregnant. Chubby Zhu¡¯s words were really harmful. Pregnancy was never a good joke.

    After Bai Yangbai tried the pulse, he was still insisting, ¡°I think we are really a good match. I am not a bad man. If you think I am poor, then I will quit gambling in the future and save all the money for you. That five thousand liang silver will be used as the bride-price, okay? I will follow our previous agreement and pretend to be Bai Yang, the businessman, to propose to you. Our kids can follow your family name. After you get tired of living here, we will go back to Daguomen Sect. What do you say?¡± Was it his illusion? Her breasts grew after several days¡­

    ¡°When Zhen Quan came here, you ran away immediately. It¡¯s not a righteous man¡¯s behavior. When Zhu Quan left, you showed up and said these.¡± He Danggui patted Bai Yangbai¡¯s forehead, ¡°My enemy is no longer going to marry me. What is your value to me? Take your dirty money, go out and turn right to the gambling house. I don¡¯t have the luck to enjoy your money.¡±

    Then, she left Bai Yangbai alone and returned to Tao Yao Yard. The breath of the family surrounded her. It was warmer and more at ease than usual. Sun Meiniang would never appear in front of her again. She could live in peace for theing years.

    He Danggui didn¡¯t know what Madam Luo would do with Ding Rong¡¯s wife. Though Ding Rong¡¯s wife had a son who was an official, Luo Chuangu would not spare her. After all, she was an aplice who helped Sun Meiniang fornicate with other men. Back then, Ding Rong¡¯s wife wronged Run Xiang for having an affair with Wu Jiu. Now, Wu Jiu had be Sun Meiniang¡¯s adulterer. This was Karma!

    ¡°Oh! Miss!¡± Chan Yi gave a skip and smiled, ¡°Guess what strange thing happened because of the earthquake?¡±

    He Danggui thought for a moment and said, ¡°We have a new hot spring.¡±

    ¡°Ah?! How do you know it?¡± Chan Yi widened her eyes because her miss did an incredible thing once again.

    He Danggui was also surprised, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect it to be right. Is there really a new hot spring? Where?¡±

    Chan Yi pulled her into the bedroom and smiled, ¡°Actually, it is not the new hot spring. The mouth of our old hot spring became bigger, and the water flows more smoothly than before. Bo He, Zhu, and I are taking a bath in it. That¡¯s sofortable!¡± Chan Yi said so while undressing He Danggui, ¡°I guess you are tired now. Why not soak in the hot spring to relieve your fatigue? Why do you take a veil? Let me help you take it off.¡± However, He Danggui evaded her hand.

    ¡°Three of you?¡± He Danggui was shocked. ¡°You three took a bath together?¡± After Chan Yi nodded, He Danggui stared at her, ¡°But Zhu is a boy!¡±

    ¡°He is also a kid. I¡¯ve bathed him since he was very young.¡± Chan Yi said carelessly. She stripped He Danggui quickly and pushed her into the shower room, saying, ¡°Zhu is addicted to hot spring, wanting to take a bath in it every day. Be quick, he is waiting for you to rub his back!¡±

    He Danggui stood suddenly and drew a piece of white cloth outside the shower room to wrap her body. She eximed, ¡°What the hell! How can I shower with a boy!¡± Chan Yi acted like a silly girl. She scratched her head and thought, ¡°Isn¡¯t it okay? Does the miss dislike Zhu because he is so fat and takes up too much space?¡±

    Looking at Chan Yi¡¯s bewildered expression, He Danggui walked into the shower room angrily to observe the situation. Was it possible that a person¡¯s intelligence will go backward? Back then at Shui Shang Temple, Chan Yi knew to keep her distance from men and prevented her from undressing in front of unconscious Meng Xuan. How could Chan Yi now be so stupid to bathe with Zhu and even let her do the same thing? Were the people in Tao Yao Yard crazy in one night?

    ¡°Ha-ha, aunt!¡± Zhu was so chubby like a pink pig in the hot spring. He was sshing water in the pool and smiling, ¡°Aunt! Aunt! Come and rub my back! Hug me!¡±

    He Danggui looked at Zhu. As long as he had a pig snout, he was no different from a little pig. No wonder Chan Yi¡¯s attitude towards him was so different from that towards Meng Xuan, because the two people couldn¡¯t bepared at all. Even though Meng Xuan was seriously injured and unconscious, he gave people a dangerous and mysterious feeling. But Zhu was a little fat pig¡­ Who fed him and made him be so fat!

    He Danggui wrapped the white cloth on her body tighter and sternly told Chan Yi, ¡°I am a teenager now, and he is not a kid anymore. From now on, you can¡¯t put him into my room, nor can you let him sleep and bathe with me. If you and Bo He don¡¯t want to be his concubines, do not take a bath with him as well.¡± Then, she picked up Zhu from the water, covered him with a cloth, and gave him to Chan Yi. She ordered, ¡°Tomorrow, I will get some craftsmen to build a bathroom for man. Let him go there in the future. He can¡¯t go here anymore.¡±

    Then, ignoring Zhu¡¯s half-truth crying, she pushed Chan Yi and Zhu who was staring at her chest out of the room. She said coldly, ¡°Remember to lock all the doors and windows for me! I want to rest!¡±

    Unreasonable! A 7-year-old boy had started to be interested in women¡¯s bodies. He was indeed Luo Baiqian¡¯s son! As he grew bigger and fatter, it was time to give him back to First Branch. However, Zhu¡¯s father was a weird existence now. Even she would feel creepy when she approached Luo Baiqian¡­ Zhu¡¯s mother cared about her son more than the authority of the family. Since now Sun Meiniang was doomed, Mrs. Dong would fight for power crazily. With such considerations, He Danggui couldn¡¯t bear to throw Zhu back. She had a foreboding that Zhu would be so thin like Wei¡­

    With such thoughts in mind, He Danggui finished the bath. She wrung the water out of her hair and put on cotton pajamas embroidered withrge green lotus. She wanted to have a good sleep before going to Lu¡¯s Mansion to see Sister Zhenzhu and Qing¡¯er. However, she bumped into a man¡¯s chest at the door. Covered in his tea fragrance, she was tightly held by a pair of arms.

    ¡°Meng Xuan?¡± She had known his identity through the smell. She got out a little bit from his arms and asked in surprise, ¡°Why are you here? Your brother told me that you needed to leave here for some days.¡±

    Meng Xuan looked at her eyes straightly with a mncholy light. Then he put his jaw on her forehead and whispered, ¡°I had a bad dreamst night. Once I think of you, both of my eyelids will jump at the same time. I can¡¯t do anything. Therefore, Ie here to check whether you are fine.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine! Better than ever!¡± She rubbed his cor with her nose. Then, she suddenly found something and chuckled, ¡°Meng Xuan, our clothes are the same color. I remember when I saw you for the first time, you wore a white robe embroidered with a green lotus.¡± However, when she looked at the left, she was shocked and shouted, ¡°Blood! You are injured!¡±

 Chapter 307 - Whispers of love

    <h4>Chapter 307 Whispers of love</h4>

    Meng Xuanforted her, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, it is just a little injury. I was going to change my robe, but I didn¡¯t want to dy it for even one second. I have a feeling that I won¡¯t see you again if I don¡¯t do it now.¡±

    ¡°Let me go first.¡± He Danggui got out of his arms and said anxiously, ¡°I need to check your wound.¡± She pushed Meng Xuan to the bed and undressed him to examine the injury on his left arm. That was a deep sword cut and was bloody red. Then, He Danggui brought warm water, bandages, and medicine to clean up the wound.

    After confirming He Dangguiwas fine, Meng Xuan gradually calmed down. Yes, dreams were not reality and nothing happened to her. No one could harm this smart and powerful girl. She would always be fine and warm. A drop of water was still on her eyshes. Living in this garden full of peach blossoms, spending her days peacefully and counting the colorful falling flowers, she must be happy¡­ However, when would she like to live in his house?

    He Danggui¡¯s movements were gentle for fear of hurting him. The cautious expression had touched Meng Xuan very much, ¡°It turns out that Xiaoyi also will worry about someone. If you can take care of me like this for more times, I am willing to be injured every day.¡±

    ¡°Stop it!¡± He Danggui reprimanded him. She then asked, ¡°Who can hurt you? You are powerful.¡± Meng Xuan was strong enough three years ago. Although she hadn¡¯t seen him show his skills, she could tell from some details. At least, Meng Xuan was at the same level as Gao Jue. Plus, Meng Xuan was a Kungfu junkie. With the experience from his previous life, he must be at an unimaginable level.

    Meng Xuan smiled, ¡°I am powerful, but I am not invincible. I can be hurt and I do bleed. Is it disappointing?¡± He couldn¡¯t help raising his hand to brush her eyshes, worrying that the drop of water on them would fall down and get into her eye.

    He Danggui sighed softly and said in a persuasive tone, ¡°You are right. You are also a human being. You should take care of yourself! Meng Xuan, I feel that you are a totally different person now, and I don¡¯t know what you are busy with. I understand that men have their ambitions. With the advantage of the memories of previous life, you surely want to do something. However, if you lose your life this time, you may nevere back.¡±

    When she helped him change his clothes after she bandaged the wound, Meng Xuan smelled her fragrance. Meng Xuan didn¡¯t want the fragrance to escape, so he hugged her around her waist and begged, ¡°Stay here, just for a while.¡± Meng Xuan became a different man because of He Danggui. Her indifference and ruthlessness three years ago made him feel inferior and let him yearn for power. He thought that he could have He Danggui forever if he had power. However, when he saw her, he couldn¡¯t bear to y tricks on her. He wished that he could tell his girl these feelings.

    He Danggui snuggled obediently on his chest and continued to say, ¡°Aren¡¯t you a filial son? In your mother¡¯s eyes, no merit or wealth is as important as her son¡¯s health. If she knows that you are injured, she will be sad very much. Even for her, you should be more careful in the future. Try your best not to get hurt.¡±

    ¡°I promise.¡± Meng Xuan agreed casually and tightened his arms. ¡°If you don¡¯t want me to be injured, then I won¡¯t dare to get myself hurt forever.¡± In fact, it was just a minor injury for him. Only his Xiaoyi could really get him hurt.

    He Danggui lightly punched his chest in disapproval. That was not a proper attitude for a promise. He surely would forget it soon. Relying on his good Kungfu, he always took the risk. What dangerous business was he doing? Killing, robbing, or human trafficking? But these things didn¡¯t match his character¡­ However, the killing intent on him could not be concealed, which showed that he might have killed a lot of people. She had experienced this feeling from several men, including Zhu Quan, Chang Nuo, Gao Jue, and that masked assassin.

    She sighed silently. Meng Xuan! Meng Xuan! Seeing that he was bleeding, she immediately reminded herself of the seriously injured and dying Meng Xuan in the Fantasy Dream. That Meng Xuan was almost a dead person, but he kept expressing his love to her. What an idiot!

    A burst of sorrow suddenly appeared in her heart. Leaning against his chest, she asked softly, ¡°Meng Xuan, do you love me? How much do you love me?¡± The future Meng Xuan said that he had fallen in love with her six years ago. He even stole her things for collection.

    In other words, the current Meng Xuan had a strand of her hair and the over-sweet Hawthorn tea she made three years ago. Besides, he slept every night with the waist protector and the leg protector that she made for her mother. He had done so many things for her, but she didn¡¯t know what exactly was the point of attracting him.

    When they met each other for the first time, they both disguised themselves. He concealed his talents and even wanted to rob her Zhenqi to increase his strength to assassinate someone. Later, he came to return it, teaching her Kungfu. When did he start to have this thought? He also followed her and secretly spied on her words and deeds with other men, such as Duan Xiaolou, Gao Jue, Bai Yangbai, and even Peng Jian. Until now, she couldn¡¯t believe that Meng Xuan, who didn¡¯t care about anything, actually did those things.

    Thest time when she met him in Chengxu Academy, he grabbed her into the bamboo forest and her kiss first. Then, he poured out his thoughts. He did have a lot of words for her. In fact, she never gave him a chance to say, nor did she give him the courage. She didn¡¯t have a crush on him, but she asked him for a promise of monogamy as if this guarantee could let her show her secrets. Sometimes, from a critic¡¯s point of view, she was really a selfish woman. She couldn¡¯t give him the perfect love, and how dared she to ask for it from someone else?

    Meng Xuan hugged her tightly with the uninjured right arm and muffled, ¡°I thought you had already known that. Xiaoyi, what do you doubt? I love you! Only you!¡± He spoke in a choked voice, and there was a quaver in his voice.

    He Danggui raised her head in surprise and saw the two lines of tears on his face. She asked anxiously, ¡°Why are crying? I was just wondering.¡± Did she make him sad?

    Meng Xuan raised his injured left arm and stroked her face. He touched her eyebrows and eyshes repeatedly, trying to find a trace of love. However, her eyes were as clear as water. Now, the girl still asked him how much he loved her.

    He would lose his breath and his life would stop shining once he thought of her. It was because she had said that she didn¡¯t have affection for him. How to measure this feeling?

    Should he tell her about his affection? She loved someone else and only regarded him as a temporary safe haven. Now, he was not even the candidate for the false proposal, because he had been absent for three years.

    ¡°Damn it!¡±

    Meng Xuan let out a low growl, and he immediately frightened He Danggui. She asked anxiously, ¡°Do I hurt you? Put your arm down!¡± As she said, she drew down his left hand and pushed him into the bed, intending to let the wounded sleep on it. However, he did not loosen his right arm and brought her into the bed as well.

    Surrounded by warm and soft senses, He Danggui was entangled by tiredness. She struggled against her will, ¡°I am not sleepy, and you sleep by yourself. Let me treat your wound before you go.¡±

    ¡°Treat my wound?!¡± Meng Xuan caught her slender hand and pressed it against his chest. The action was so intense that the snow-white bandage was stained with redness. He put his forehead against her, and the big teardrops came out again, rolling off on her earlobes. He wailed and asked, ¡°The only wound is in my heart. Doctor, are you willing to help me?¡±

    He Danggui saw the blood on the bandage and said anxiously, ¡°Stop it! Considering that you are wounded, I let you hug me. Why do you have to hurt yourself?¡±

    ¡°I just hate myself!¡± Meng Xuan¡¯s tears continued to drop down, but he looked at her without blinking, ¡°I hate myself. Why did I avoid you even if I knew my affection for you? Why didn¡¯t Ie to see you and let others take the lead? What I hate the most is that I only saw you at Chengxu Academy that day for once, but I can¡¯t wipe you out of my mind. I¡¯m about to make myself unable to breathe, eat, and live. Xiaoyi, why am I still living? I really want to live my life over again! I want to go back to three years ago when I saw you the first time!¡±

    He Danggui was stunned. She suddenly remembered the conversation between her and Bai Yangbai in the previous life.

    ¡°Girl, let¡¯s run away together after we finish this mission. Although you are Zhu Quan¡¯s concubine, he will not me me. I willpensate him someday. He has hundreds of women, but I only have you!¡± Bai Yangbai¡¯s eyes were fixed on her.

    But she didn¡¯t believe him at all. She patted his forehead and asked with a smile, ¡°Are you drunk? Which drama does ite from? It¡¯s touching.¡±

    Bai Yangbai widened his eyes, and her eyes were bloodshot. In the end, Bai Yangbai thumped the wall and cursed, ¡°I¡¯m a lunatic. I¡¯m an idiot. I am the stupidest person in the word! I want to live my life over again! I want to go back to ten years ago!¡±

    She didn¡¯t understand the meaning of the words at that time. Now, she finally realized that Bai Yangbai loved her and was willing to pay the price of soul-vanishing for her, though he was pushed away by Zhu Quan with Love Poison. It turned out that in the previous life, Bai Yangbai loved her so much but she didn¡¯t know it. Later, she finally understood the meaning of his words. Bai Yangbai hated himself because when he first saw her who was poisoned by Jinfeng Yulu Powder, he handed her to other men to detoxify it and then pushed her to Zhu Quan afterward. By the time Bai Yangbai fell in love with her, everything was toote.

    It turned out that Meng Xuan also loved her just as Bai Yangbai did. It turned out that a man would hate himself for missing a girl. And the most undeniable thing was that what Meng Xuan said must be his heartfelt words because he not only said that but also did it. He came to see her from three yearster risking his life. He begged her to marry him immediately and never leave him. She cried and agreed to him.

    Was now the time to fulfill this promise? She looked up at Meng Xuan¡¯s face.

 Chapter 308 - The endless yearning

    <h4>Chapter 308 The endless yearning</h4>

    ¡°Meng Xuan, can you rx your arm a little bit? I am out of breath.¡± He Danggui asked while holding Meng Xuan¡¯s shoulders and frowning.

    ¡°That is my point!¡± Meng Xuan said unreasonably. ¡°You are always calm and peaceful when you face me. You never blush or get excited. Why? I want you to feel something special!¡± It was not toote! She hadn¡¯t married yet. From now on, he wanted to let her feel his presence all the time.

    Meng Xuan suddenly kissed her. However, he found that she was trembling slightly but did not refuse his kiss like thest time. There was a burst of ecstasy in his heart, wanting to taste her sweetness more deeply. She flinched slightly, but he sped the back of her neck to prevent her from escaping. He just wanted her to see him only.

    Sure enough, his figure was reflected in her ck pupils. In that reflection, he was also looking at her affectionately. Was his wish finally fulfilled?

    She seemed to be a little embarrassed and closed her moving eyes. Her eyshes quivered like butterfly wings, and her snow-white cheeks also blushed slightly. He suddenly found that his Xiaoyi was incredibly beautiful. Her skin was so transparent. Did she have to cover her beauty with that yellow gouache?

    Most importantly, she was in his arms without the slightest resistance. There was even a hint of invitation in her expression¡­ Was that an implication that Xiaoyi wanted topensate for his harsh lovesickness in the past three years?

    Xiaoyi belonged to him¡­ If he slept with her, she would be his woman forever. If so, his regrets would disappear¡­ This crazy thought bewitched him and made him sp her tightly for fear that she might run away. More blood oozed from the bandage, but he didn¡¯t feel any pain. His nose was filled with her Carefree Fragrance that could heal all the pain. She was his cure for everything.

    So, he deepened this kiss and tried to pry open her teeth, wanting more sweetness. She seemed to have sensed his potential intentions, so she opened her eyes immediately in panic. She began to hit his chest and also hit his injury. However, he didn¡¯t care about pain and felt happy.

    He finally opened her teeth and wrapped her tongue. She gradually gave up resistance and closed her eyes again. He grabbed the opportunity to gain more sweetness.

    As if the missing half of the moon was filled in an instant, he suddenly understood why he always had transient joy with Xiaoyi in his dreams. It turned out that hecked her in reality. In this life, Meng Xuan had got almost everything he wanted except for his Xiaoyi. He only wanted his Xiaoyi. Only Xiaoyi. Xiaoyi¡­

    This grieved but happy feeling was conveyed to her from his lips. He said nothing, but absorbed energy from her. He was the stranded fish, and she was the clear spring controlling his life and death. Feeling a strong love, He Danggui immediately gave up all struggles. It turned out that he was looking for the lost air stolen by her. She would steal his life three yearster, and now she only had to give him a sip of air. That was fair.

    However, he wanted more. His hands slid down her shoulders, stroked her back and slender waist, and entered into her nightgown. The delicate and soft skin, and the rough and powerful fingers had formed a strong contrast. The fusion of masculinity and femininity made both bodies tremble.

    Happiness filled Meng Xuan¡¯s heart. The soft sense in his palm was like the most beautiful and delicate silk. It was also the truest dream that he had ever had in his life. If it were really a dream, he would be willing to stay here forever.

    He explored up inch by inch, but herpassion was suddenly exhausted. He Danggui used all her strength to push him away and put on the nightgown. While retreating to the corner of the bed, she shook her head and said, ¡°No, we can¡¯t do this.¡±

    Meng Xuan sat up and moved to her, ¡°Why? I have locked all the doors and windows. If someonees to this ce, I will know it.¡± His injury was torn open again. Blood oozed out of the bandage and fell on the silk quilt. Seeing the worries in her eyes, he blinked innocently ¡°Xiaoyi,e here.¡±

    He Danggui clutched her chest and shook her head sharply, ¡°No. Not now. I didn¡¯t expect it.¡±

    She did want to make up him for the things she did three yearster¡ªshe left him because he had other concubines, and he risked his life to retrieve the situation. She owed him, so she wanted to be nice to him. But this was too fast. She hadn¡¯t fallen in love with him yet and she had not married him. How could she be his woman now? Even if he was affectionate and serious, she could not ept such a sudden behavior.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t expect it?¡± Meng Xuanughed, ¡°Xiaoyi, you pushed me into your bed and let me kiss and touch you. Now you tell me that you are not ready? It¡¯s your attitude that has aroused my desire. Xiaoyi, I have been waiting for too long and it hurts too much. I can no longer condone your excuse. You have no way to escape this time.¡± He crawled towards her on his knees regardless of the blood dripped from his wound, which looked like blossoms on the snow-colored sheets.

    Blocking her in a corner with no backway, he leaned close to her and whispered, ¡°You know what? This has happened more than a thousand times in my dreams. Xiaoyi, we are already a couple in my dreams. Let¡¯s be a real couple, okay?¡±

    He Danggui was speechless. Dreams were only dreams. Meng Xuan was really superstitious. A nightmare made him feel that she was in danger, and a dream about sex made him feel that she was going to be his wife?

    ¡°But you should follow the procedures.¡± He Danggui corrected him, ¡°You shoulde to propose. After we get married, we can do this...¡±

    ¡°Really?!¡± Meng Xuan¡¯s voice exploded in this small room with ecstasy. He Danggui was frightened by him. Meng Xuan was abnormal today. He acted like a drunk guy. He was screaming all the time and craving sex. Wasn¡¯t he a gentleman?

    Meng Xuan grabbed her slender shoulders and shook her back and forth. He smiled wildly so that two rows of white teeth were revealed. He repeatedly asked, ¡°Will you marry me? Xiaoyi! Seriously? Are you sure?¡±

    He Danggui remembered that she only asked Meng Xuan about his feelings for her. He loved her very much. She had never expressed herself to him. He treated her so sincerely, but she still didn¡¯t believe himpletely. Therefore, he could be curious why she changed her attitude to him suddenly since she didn¡¯t like him before.

    So, she began to state her ¡°feelings¡± for him. She took a deep breath and said, ¡°Meng Xuan, even though I am a cold person, I can still feel your sincerity. Maybe my affection is not as strong as yours, but I feel safe when I am with you, as if I am standing on solid ground. I am willing to marry you if you want.¡±

    Meng Xuan froze for a while, and then touched his nose tip while asking, ¡°You¡­ You¡­ Are you really willing to marry me?¡±

    He Danggui nodded and continued to ¡°confess¡±. She wanted to give Meng Xuan confidence and encourage herself. She took another breath and said, ¡°You are such a perfect and affectionate man. I believe that every woman wants to marry you. I always have a good impression of you. Three years ago, I wanted to confess to you, but I was afraid that I didn¡¯t match your requirements. I remember all the things you have done to me. However, I was too young back then, so I chose to hide my feelings. I did not reply to your letter out of shyness. But I regret it now. Since you stopped writing to me, I have started to miss you.¡±

    ¡°Did you also miss me?¡± Meng Xuan was full of doubts. Why did she suddenly change her attitude?

    ¡°Yes, I did!¡± He Danggui nodded and lied, ¡°I missed you day and night. I missed you so much that I took out the handkerchief with which you wiped my bloody nosebefore as well as the Cultivation Method for Internal Energy. I read it while wiping my tears. At the same time, I chanted your name. Meng Xuan¡­Meng Xuan¡­¡± She felt that it was too much, so she made a revision, ¡°Er, not very often. It happened twice or thrice.¡±

    ¡°Really...¡± Meng Xuan opened his mouth wide like a five-year-old ignorant child. ¡°Really? Xiaoyi, please don¡¯t be kidding.¡± In that extravagant dreand, he didn¡¯t even see this happen. She missed him so much that she held his stuff, chanted his name and shed tears for him? Thinking that he had left her alone for three years, he wanted to p himself to death.

    ¡°Yeah, I have no reason to fool you.¡± He Danggui had gradually be a good liar. She almost believed in herself, ¡°I like your natural and unrestrained demeanor very much, as well as your warm smile. Every time you show up, I will look at you secretly. As soon as you leave, I will feel lost. Meng Xuan, I love you unconsciously. When I heard that you also love me, I was very happy. I didn¡¯t expect that you have affection for me. That is the best award for me¡­ Er, I want to marry you, too.¡± She blinked and looked at the few red drops on the bedsheet with a guilty conscience.

    ¡°In that case, what are we waiting for?¡± Meng Xuan hugged her and stared at her eyes which were dodging. He smiled, ¡°Let us taste the fruit of love.¡±

 Chapter 309 - Maybe next time?

    <h4>Chapter 309 Maybe next time?</h4>

    ¡°Now?¡± He Danggui asked nervously, ¡°Maybe next time?¡±

    ¡°Anytime.¡± Meng Xuan put her on the thin satin quilt, moved close to her face and said in her ear, ¡°I won¡¯t stop my movements until you call it stop.¡± His breath blew on her half-dry hair next to her ear, making her tremble out of itching.

    She hurriedly pushed his chest and pleaded shyly, ¡°I mean we can¡¯t do this now. Let me go!¡± She patted away his hand, but exacerbated his wound on the arm. A few drops of blood slid down his wheat-colored arm and turned into small red flowers on the bedsheet.

    Seeing that she not only failed to heal his injury but also hurt him, she couldn¡¯t help but feel self-condemned. However, that dirty hand stretched out again to snap the tie of her nightdress. Without the restraint of the tie, her nightdress was only connected by three buttons. As a result, her body were barely visible. She was very annoyed and cried, ¡°If you don¡¯t stop now, I will be mad at you!¡±

    Meng Xuan, who was wearing a shirt loosely, came over her body. His handsome face with a grin and shiny eyes approached her. Strangely, he didn¡¯t look like the Lothario but a little child. That was right! Now Meng Xuan seemed to have be a kiding to her for candies.

    Now, he regarded her lips as delicious candy. He wanted more sweets. But this time, she gritted her teeth firmly and he failed to gain his rewards. So, he raised his head and pouted, ¡°Xiaoyi, open your mouth. I want more.¡±

    He Danggui reiterated, ¡°I said no! Don¡¯t you understand my words?¡± She shoved his chest, which was only covered by a thinyer of cloth. His astonishing heat spread through the fabric and burned her palm. She sternly said, ¡°I have always regarded you as a gentleman, and I even opened the door of my room to you. Why do you force me to do this? Or is this your true face?¡±

    ¡°Xiaoyi.¡± Meng Xuan said with a little grievance, ¡°We will be married right away. Why can¡¯t we do it? Call my courtesy name Shenshyr. Only in this way can we show an extraordinary rtionship. Come on, let me hear it, Shenshyr.¡±

    She had heard about this name from Meng Xuan who was in three yearster. When she thought of him, she felt sorrow and grief. In this case, Meng Xuan, who was above her longing for rewards, didn¡¯t look so nasty. She said with a better attitude, ¡°Meng Xuan, I am grateful for your considerate care for me. I do want to repay you, but not in this way...¡±

    ¡°Shenshyr.¡±

    He Danggui continued after a pause, ¡°Shenshyr, I am not as good as you think. If you get alone with more girls, you will find plenty of them deserve your love.¡± If he fell in love with another woman, he might not do that stupid thing three yearster.

    Meng Xuan¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up after hearing his name. But his smile turned cold immediately. He sped her wrists and pressed her head against the bead, ¡°What do you mean? Didn¡¯t you ask me to only marry youst time? Why do you now tell me to find another woman? Are you leaving me?¡± The strength in his hands increased a little, leaving red marks on her wrists. He said bitterly, ¡°Xiaoyi, you want to leave me!¡±

    He Danggui couldn¡¯t understand what was wrong with him. She tried to soothe him, but her mouth was blocked by him. Since he didn¡¯t need to open her teeth this time, his tongue intruded her mouth aggressively again, seducing her to surrender.

    His kiss was crazy and daunting, yet he didn¡¯t seem to have much kissing experience. His straight nose kept hitting the tip of hers. She felt a pain in her nose and wanted to push him away. However, her wrists were restrained and her kicks wouldn¡¯t help. He was like a crazy vampire trying to suck her dry.

    Encountering her resistance, he gave more intense bites and collisions as the response. He was like a monster in a fairy tale wanting to suck people into his abdomen. He Danggui panicked. Why did Meng Xuan suddenly be like this? This Meng Xuan was so strange that she was afraid of him. Didn¡¯t he love her and risk his life to see her? Did he want to kill her now? She struggled to resist him, but he was insane. He ignored her struggle and just wanted to devour her.

    ¡°Humm¡­Um...Meng...You...Help¡­¡±

    Her vague sobbing disappeared in his deep kiss. Her panicky eyes and painful tears could no longer arouse his conscience. He didn¡¯t leave her any pity. He wanted to kill her with this kiss, which was in revenge for her many debts owed to him.

    ¡°Humm! Um! Humm!!!¡±

    Just before He Danggui was about to give up, she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her nose. The pain recalled her groggy mind and made her shed tears. Meng Xuan was stillmitting the crime. His two iron-like hands almost broke her wrists. She was both painful and afraid, but her physical strength, Kung fu, and momentum were all inferior to him. He could easily take her life. She couldn¡¯t even make a sound except for the crying. So, she burst into tears.

    Her desperate voice also disappeared in his deep kiss. And he sucked her bitter tears. After a while, he finally ended this horrible kiss and let go of her.

    Meng Xuan was stunned because Xiaoyi was crying like a child in his arms. It turned out that she could cry like this. He remembered that he had almost never seen her crying loudly and¡­ugly.

    What was wrong with her? Was his kiss terrible? He just...wanted to eat the candy in her mouth. Did he hurt her?

    Listening to her ear-splitting cry, Meng Xuan turned his body sideways and hurriedly helped her up. He asked anxiously, ¡°Xiaoyi? Xiaoyi? What¡¯s wrong with you? Did I press you too hard? Well¡­ I¡¯ll let you on the top. Would it be fair enough?¡±

    His soft inquiry only made her cry louder and more aggrieved. Her beautiful face screwed up. She cried out of breath apanied by coughs. He pulled the pillow towel to wipe her tears, but it was knocked off by her. The pillow towel flew to the other end of the bed.

    Meng Xuan was also distressed. Did he do something wrong? Didn¡¯t every couple start making out with a kiss?

    Although it was his first time to practice, in his previous life, he had experienced it in Fantasy Dream thanks to Bai Yangbai¡¯s philter. Besides, in this life, he had made out with Xiaoyi many times in his dreams. Xiaoyi was satisfied with his skills and was very cooperative with him. His second brother once said that he had no need to learn it because he would know it when the time came.

    He just wanted to put his own mark on Xiaoyi¡¯s lips and tongue, so that she would never forget him. Why did she burst into tears?

    Unable to understand her thoughts, Meng Xuan folded his hands in a gesture of worshipping Buddha and bowed twice to He Danggui, who was crying loudly. Meng Xuan whispered, ¡°Stop crying, Xiaoyi. Calm down. Just tell me what I did wrong, and I will follow your instructions.¡± Seeing that she was still crying fiercely, he suddenly thought of something and reminded her, ¡°If you don¡¯t stop now, you will attract all the people in your yard including your maids, your brothers and your nephew. Do you want them to see us? I seem to hear footstepsing over here.¡±

    That worked and He Danggui stopped crying immediately, but she still sobbed quietly and shrugged. Meng Xuan was helpless and anxious. Was his skill so bad? The first time he kissed Xiaoyi was in the bamboo forest in Chengxu Academy. Everything went so fastst time that he could not enjoy her sweetness. This time he finally had tasted her kiss thoroughly, but she burst into tears! What did he do wrong?

    At this time, He Danggui raised her eyes to look at him. Meng Xuan opened his eyes wide and eximed, ¡°Xiaoyi, why did your nose be crooked?¡±

    ¡°Boohoo...¡± Her tears immediately doubled when she heard it.

    ¡°Did I¡­bump your nose?¡± Meng Xuan guessed. How could this be possible! How could a person¡¯s nose be so fragile? Maybe she didn¡¯t have a straight nose at first...

    ¡°Humm¡­¡± She nodded and shed tears.

    Meng Xuan was stunned for a while and then apologized with a good attitude, ¡°I¡¯m sorry! I don¡¯t know that women¡¯s noses are so brittle. This is the first time that I have kissed a woman. Men¡¯s noses are usually tough...¡± He was afraid that the divergence in the words would let her misunderstand, so he quickly corrected, ¡°Xiaoyi, don¡¯t worry. I have never kissed a man! I only have punched them with my fists, so I know that their noses are tough. I¡­ I¡¯m really sorry!¡±

    He Danggui had never seen him act this way before. Any adult man from a noble family would be familiar with women, not to mention that he had lived for two lives. However, Meng Xuan said that it was his first time to kiss a girl. His expression was flustered like a child who had made a big mistake¡­ He did make a big mistake. She originally thought that Meng Xuan had no good intentions and wanted to take revenge on her or humiliate her. However, facing a man who was worshiping her as an immortal in the temple, she found that her grievance and anger suddenly disappeared.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I won¡¯t do it anymore!¡± Meng Xuan bowed again and then proposed, ¡°I¡¯m good at bone-setting. Xiaoyi, let me help you. I promise your nose will be recovered!¡±

    Regardless of whether He Danggui agreed or not, he held the back of her head with one hand and held her nose with the index finger and middle finger of the other hand. After a second, he straightened her nose smoothly. Meng Xuan let out a sigh of relief with a smile. It was as upright as before! Even better! If he ignored the killing gaze of He Danggui, the bone-setting he made this time was the most sessful. However, in the next moment¡ª

    ¡°Blood!¡± Meng Xuan suddenly eximed, ¡°Xiaoyi, you are bleeding!¡±

 Chapter 310 - Xiaoyi were bleeding

    <h4>Chapter 310 Xiaoyi were bleeding</h4>

    Xiaoyi were bleeding!

    Meng Xuan first broke her nose, and then set it back violently. Now, he even shouted to frighten her, ¡°Xiaoyi, you are bleeding!¡±

    He Danggui only felt that her anger burst out of her eyes, mouth, ears, and bleeding nostrils. Shut up! What an idiot! How could she not know that she was bleeding? He didn¡¯t have to emphasize that!

    The pain in her nose made her mad. What bad luck she had today! She had just punished Sun Meiniang and was in a good mood. She tried to find a solution for Chubby Zhu after taking a hot bath. At the time, Meng Xuan suddenly showed up. She kindly helped him handle his wound, but she was thrown onto the bed by him. Thinking of his foolish behavior three yearster, she felt touched and wanted to fulfill her promise. She was kind to him and even said that she loved him¡­

    However, he broke her nose by ident because of that crazy kiss. He was never a good doctor but he insisted on setting her nose back. As a result, he got her nose bled! Damn it!

    Meng Xuan crawled to retrieve the pillow towel and used it to wipe her blood. Then, he went to the shower room and fetched water for her. He even used ice to stop the bleeding. Seeing her ¡°injury¡± was healed, he made tea to show his apology. He was so clumsy that he forgot to put the shoes on. For He Danggui, she just needed to enjoy his kindness. This Meng Xuan was the person she was familiar with, and she could always handle this one.

    However, He Danggui was shocked to find that the wound on his left arm had been torn up again, and the blood had soaked through the newly changed bandage. She sat up and threw away the ice towel on her forehead. As long as she saw him bleeding, she would think of that Meng Xuan who risked his life to see her in the Fantasy Dream. In this case, she had no mood to enjoy at all.

    So, she rushed to stop Meng Xuan and pushed him back to the inner room. She took out the white gauze and ointment to redress his wound. She ordered coldly, ¡°Lie down! If you let your wound dehisce again, I won¡¯t care about you anymore. I mean business.¡± Then, she went to the outer room to find a container to make tea by herself. She walked so fast that the hem of her dress drew a curve and blew her smell.

    Meng Xuan didn¡¯t expect to receive such a ¡°gentle¡± treatment after making a big mistake. Looking at the girl who was busy making tea, Meng Xuan was attracted by herpletely. After taking the tea utensils, she turned and went to the hot spring to pick up the water. Apanied by water steam, her movements were so smooth that people would view the scene as a perfect painting¡­

    Her face was pure and delicate; her lips curled into a pleasant shape; her nose was still a little red, adding a bit of cuteness to her solemn and invible look¡­

    The girl¡¯s beautiful curve was wrapped in her loose nightdress. He had not seen her for just several days, but her busts had be bigger a lot. The tie of her nightdress was torn off by him. Now, she found another one and tied it up, which could be broken by him with one finger¡­

    Under his gaze, He Danggui quickly made a pot of tea and carried it back to the inner room. After cing the tea tray on the bedside table, she looked at Meng Xuan with her gentle eyes and asked softly, ¡°Meng Xuan, how do you feel now? Does the wound hurt?¡± Since Meng Xuan didn¡¯t answer, she was apologetic, ¡°Although I am good at treating disease, I am not good at treating traumatic injuries. I am a master in acupuncture, but my favorite silver needles were taken away by you, and you have not returned them to me. Now, I only have some small needles, which are not suitable for your condition. Well, I will go to Ting Zhu Yardter to check if there are any good needles in the study of my grandfather.¡±

    Meng Xuan waved his uninjured arm and said, ¡°Come on, sit here.¡±

    He Danggui hesitated for a while, but she was moved by his bright eyes and then sat next to him. However, his arm grabbed her as soon as she sat there. She just struggled slightly before leaning against his chest obediently. She then raised her small chin and looked at him, ¡°Don¡¯t mess it up again. If you don¡¯t listen to me, I will drive you out.¡±

    He nodded and raised his left hand, trying to touch her face. However, her warning gaze had reminded him of his wound, so he switched to his right hand to stroke her cheek. He kept tracing her face outline with his slender fingers tirelessly. At the same time, she was leaning against him like a docile animal.

    At this moment, sweetness had filled Meng Xuan¡¯s heart. He wanted to cry, but he didn¡¯t want her to see him shed tears. So, he took deep breaths secretly to take back the tears.

    Before he came to see her, he had had a nightmare covered in dark clouds, dreaming that he would lose her forever. He just wanted to confirm that she was fine, and that was all. Since she said that she had no more feelings than friendship to him, he had been ying the role of a friend. But her soft skin covered in a thinyer of nightdress was seducing him. The room was warm because of the stove. This ce now was so tempting.

    He just wanted a kiss at first, but then gradually wanted more. She almost surrendered to his touch just now, but she finally remained her sense. She was always rational. However, she was willing to marry him! Marry him! Him!

    Because of his absence, he could not even be an alternate. But now, he could be her husband! He was so happy that he almost went crazy. Whether this was a dream or reality, he just wanted to check it through the most direct way.

    Holding the beautiful woman, who made him crazy, he suddenly felt that this world was divided into two parts: the room and the outside. The tea, the fragrance, the bedsheet, and the quilt were everything to him. Meanwhile, everything else, including Qiyanggong Sect, his position as amander, his brothers and his friends, couldn¡¯tpare to a cup of tea made by her.

    At this time, she struggled slightly and exined, ¡°Let me pour you a cup of tea.¡± He reluctantly let her go, watching her every movement.

    If he could, he really wanted to stay here to watch her forever. However, how long could Xiaoyi be nice to him? She definitely didn¡¯t want him to be so needy. She was meek because he was injured. As a doctor, she was just taking care of a wounded person¡­ She did it out of her sympathy¡­ He suddenly thought that Xiaoyi was really tenderhearted. The weaker he was, the softer she would be.

    This thought had made Meng Xuan feel happy. He thought that he had caught her weakness. No matter how cold and ruthless she was on the surface, she would immediately change her attitude and be nice to him as long as he came to her with wounds¡­ He had finally found a way to retain her forever¡­

    ¡°Have some tea.¡± He Danggui turned around and handed him the teacup. Seeing his weird expression, she asked suspiciously, ¡°What are you looking at? Do I still have a red nose?¡±

    Meng Xuan took a sip of the tea and smiled, ¡°Even if have a red nose, you are still the most beautiful woman in my heart.¡±

    He Danggui rolled her eyes and warned, ¡°If you dare to be so rude in the future, I will¡­pierce you with the poisonous silver needle!¡± Well, she usually used the words to frighten Chubby Zhu. Would that work on Meng Xuan?

    Of course not. Meng Xuan put the teacup on the table andy back on the bed. He made a careless look and sighed with emotion, ¡°That would be wonderful if I die of your needle on your bed. It is the mostfortable way to die.¡± Then, he even invited, ¡°Come on, pierce me! I want to stay here forever.¡±

    ¡°Are you crazy? What are you talking about!¡±

    He Danggui crawled to the side of Meng Xuan. She touched his forehead but found that he did not get a fever. Then she let his back hair down. Looking at Meng Xuan whozily squinted at her, she sighed and said helplessly, ¡°Stay here. I¡¯ll get you something to eat. Don¡¯t make any sound!¡±

    Meng Xuanughed, ¡°We made sounds loud enough just now, but no onees here. How could I make such a sound by myself?¡±

    He Danggui blushed. She pointed at Meng Xuan¡¯s forehead and said sternly, ¡°If you bring it up again in the future, I will pierce you as well!¡± Her threat sounded useless. Should she think of more words to threaten Meng Xuan in the future?

    Meng Xuan took advantage of the moment she was in a trance to grab her again. He begged softly, ¡°I am not hungry but a little sleepy. I don¡¯t like to sleep alone in strange beds. Stay here, okay?¡±

    He Danggui was a little confused. Did he have this problem? Strange beds? Was her bed strange to him?

    But she soon stopped wondering, because Meng Xuan put his hands on her. Not only did he stroke her body, but also he broke the tie and untied the buttons. He buried his face¡­on her naked chest¡­and rubbed her breasts with his face. In the end, he showed a satisfied smile.

    ¡°Yah-ah-ah!¡±

    He Danggui finally couldn¡¯t bear it. She pped Meng Xuan¡¯s forehead and yelled. How dared he rub her chest with his face! A man who was actually thirty years old rubbed her chest with his face!

    Meng Xuan happily enjoyed the beating of He Danggui. He turned his face to savor the sweetness of her breasts and said with a smile, ¡°They are sweet, but unfortunately, you can¡¯t taste them. They are more delicious than anything else. I haven¡¯t seen you for a few days, but you grow up quickly and almost be a woman.¡±

    He Danggui was in a mess and continued to scream and beat him. At the time, Bo He knocked at the door and asked, ¡°Miss, what¡¯s wrong with you? Have you finished the shower? May Ie in?¡±

 Chapter 311 - Catch adultery in the act

    <h4>Chapter 311 Catch adultery in the act</h4>

    Someone was here!

    He Danggui¡¯s violent beating on Meng Xuan¡¯s forehead immediately froze. However, this man didn¡¯t stop his movement at all!! When her angry gaze met Meng Xuan¡¯s satisfied and warm smile, she failed. Why did he look at her with such a smile? She was not his mom, and he was not a baby.

    The knocks continued. Bo He asked anxiously, ¡°Miss? Miss! What¡¯s going on? Could you please open the door?¡±

    He Danggui was about to answer her, but Meng Xuan deliberately sucked her breast as if he had known she would not beat him in this situation. The unspeakable feeling almost made He Danggui cry. She pulled Meng Xuan¡¯s hair, trying to stop him. However, as long as she pulled him, he would bite her. And he continued to lick her as soon as she let him go!

    Goodness! What a bastard! He was not the polite and friendly gentleman three years ago, who once slept on her bed for several months. Was he always pretending? Was he actually a satyr?

    Bo He continued to knock on the door, but no one answered her. She was even more anxious, and the knocks had attracted others.

    ¡°Bo He, what are you doing?¡± It was Chan Yi¡¯s voice, ¡°Miss is bathing, and no one shall disturb her. Just now, Zhu and I were thrown out by her! Why do you want to see her?¡±

    Bo He replied, ¡°Miss kept making strange noises, like crying and screaming. That¡¯s weird because she never did that before! So, Da Tou and I came to see her. However, when I knocked on the door, her sound disappeared.¡±

    Da Tou was a thirteen-year-old gardener. He also said, ¡°That¡¯s right! I heard it, too! After that, she seemed to mutter something. The scream after that was even scarier!¡±

    He Danggui was embarrassed. She pulled Meng Xuan¡¯s face out of her breasts, and then scolded him in a low voice while facing his bleary eyes, ¡°Meng Xuan! You said you would know anybodying here! Why don¡¯t you hear theming whereas they hear my sound?!¡±

    ¡°Shenshyr.¡± Meng Xuan said.

    ¡°What?!¡± She looked like a little idiotic.

    ¡°My courtesy name is Shenshyr.¡± Meng Xuan put his chin on her chest again and solemnly demanded, ¡°I call you Xiaoyi, and you should call me Shenshyr so that we are like a couple. If you always call me Meng Xuan, people won¡¯t feel our close rtionship.¡±

    He Danggui frowned, ¡°I don¡¯t like it. I feel cozier to call you Meng Xuan.¡±

    Meng Xuan shook his head, ¡°No. A wife shouldn¡¯t call her husband by his name ording to the etiquette, nor could it show our intimacy.¡± He rubbed her soft white skin with his chin, reminding her that they were intimate enough. Before she came to pinch his face, he said quickly, ¡°You now call me Shenshyr when we are in the bed. Then when you call me Shenshyr in public, you will always recall the sweetness of this night!¡±

    Hearing this, He Danggui used her nails to leave a few red marks on his face, ¡°Dammit, move your head away!¡±

    At the same time, more people gathered outside the room. Bo He and Da Tou were describing the strange noises in the room to everyone. Xiaoyou guessed, ¡°Maybe Sister Qingyi was singing while bathing. Her singing is always like crying. You must have heard it wrong.¡±

    He Danggui froze. Was her singing that terrible?

    Meng Xuan was interested. He climbed up a bit and pressed his cheek against hers. He chuckled, ¡°I want to hear you sing. Since you have a good voice, why does he say that your singing is like crying?¡±

    ¡°Xiaoyou has a problem with his ears!¡±

    He Danggui moved her head, but Meng Xuan followed her as well. After repeating it several times, she was toozy to continue it. However, Meng Xuan¡¯s hands...were heading for somewhere even more private!

    After Xiaoyou finished his words, another two people echoed his words outside the door, ¡°Yes! We used to hear Miss crying while singing. Since there is no sound inside, maybe she is embarrassed because we are gathering here. I suggest we go away and let Chan Yie to check itter.¡± Therefore, the people there dispersed.

    He Danggui breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, the people in Tao Yao Yard knew her temperament that she didn¡¯t like to be disturbed, because she often had to meditate in her room and should not be disturbed at all. Otherwise, her situation might be dangerous while she circled Zhenqi. So, she set several rules for everyone. Nobody shall enter her room except for the clean personnel under her permission. She always treated her maids and servants well, so everyone was willing to follow this instruction.

    However, Meng Xuan came to provoke her again¡ªhe not only held her breasts but also pinched them!

    ¡°Ah!¡± He Danggui red at Meng Xuan angrily and reprimanded him, ¡°Stop! We have not married yet! Are you really a schr!¡± For the sake of his serious injury, she didn¡¯t want to argue with him. But he was insatiable and so unscrupulous!

    ¡°Call me Shenshyr...¡± Meng Xuan shed his long eyshes and smiled, ¡°Please, I want to hear that.¡± His actions continued as he asked, ¡°Xiaoyi, why did you cry while bathing? Who made you sad? I will teach him a lesson!¡± Was the person her enemy Zhu Quan?

    Seeing that his hands were gradually exploring below, she couldn¡¯t help feeling a little panicked. Could it be that her affectionate confession of love was too touching that Meng Xuan thought they could do it now? She frowned and exined cautiously, ¡°Meng Xuan, what I said to you...is notpletely correct. I do n to marry you and I always think of you. However, that is because you are the only one who treats me wholeheartedly. When I get frustrated, I will think of you immediately.¡±

    ¡°I know it.¡± Meng Xuan¡¯s answer was beyond her expectation. ¡°I don¡¯t believe that you missed me day and night. You said that you cried while reading the manual, but I don¡¯t believe it at all. Xiaoyi, I know you lied to me.¡±

    ¡°What? You know it?!¡± He Danggui was surprised. He nailed her lie to the counter. She opened her eyes wide and asked, ¡°Since you know I¡¯m lying, then why do you still treat me intimately?¡± She hurriedly pressed his hands sliding onto herp. The heat in his palm was high and was burning her skin.

    Suddenly, Meng Xuan hugged her tightly. He sighed and said, ¡°No matter if it is true or false, and no matter how long your tenderness and consideration for me willst, I will take it as long as you are good to me at this moment. I volunteer to be a fool.¡± His bright and clear eyes stared at her. Then, Meng Xuan said sincerely, ¡°Xiaoyi, as long as you don¡¯t leave me, I am willing to be your silly Meng Xuan and follow your orders forever. Will you stay with me?¡±

    He Danggui was attracted by his gaze, and she nodded subconsciously, ¡°Of course. Where can I go?¡±

    Meng Xuan let out a sigh of relief and said, ¡°You know what? I had a bad dreamst night, in which you were kidnapped by a wicked man and he made you be his wife. Then, you were raped and tortured by him, but I couldn¡¯t do anything. What worried me most was that you could have killed him with the knife in your hand, but you showed mercy to him and let him bully you.¡± His voice was suppressed and painful as if the nightmare ofst night was still there.

    Oh? That was a weird dream.

    He Danggui blinked and asked, ¡°Who was that man? The most wicked person I have ever seen is you!¡± In the future, no other wicked people would harass her. Zhu Quan now disliked her very much. He only liked beautiful women. Once he lost interest in a woman, he would never see her forever. Without his coercion, He Danggui was as rxed as a magpie. No other bad guy could hurt her.

    Meng Xuan sullenly said, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± He thought in his heart that the wicked person was undoubtedly Zhu Quan. Not long ago, Zhu Quan had done ¡°something¡± with Xiaoyi. At that time, Xiaoyi had been a hundred times more active than she was now. She used her snow-white arms to hug Zhu Quan, and she even let out a pleasant cry...

    Zhu Quan¡¯s attitude was still unclear now. It seemed that he liked Xiaoyi but also hated her. Meng Xuan was joyful that Xiaoyi was willing to marry him. However, he could notpletely ignore her previous experience. He hadforted himself that she must be forced by Zhu Quan. As long as he loved her more than everyone else, he would endure her everything including her past... As long as she stayed with him, he would be happy. As long as she stayed with him...

    However, the scene he saw that day could not get out of his mind, which kept torturing him. Xiaoyi screamed so happily under Zhu Quan¡¯s body, but why wouldn¡¯t she make such a sound to him?

    Meng Xuan was stunned for a while, and he pinched her a little harder unknowingly. She eximed, ¡°Ah! What are you doing!¡±

    Meng Xuan came back to his sense, and there was red light showing in his eyes. He pressed her body to continue kissing her body. But at this moment, somebody knocked at the door heavily. Regardless of the annoying sound, Meng Xuan buried his face deeply in her slender neck, shoulders, vicles, and chest to enjoy her warm skin. He wanted to hear that amazing sound!

 Chapter 312 - Never had a woman

    <h4>Chapter 312 Never had a woman</h4>

    The people outside the door were about to break in. He Danggui was toote to get up and change clothes, but Meng Xuan still didn¡¯t let her go as if he had never had a woman. He held her shoulders and chest so tightly that she couldn¡¯t push him away. He didn¡¯t pay the slightest attention to the noise outside the room.

    The rough fingertips brushed her corbone to depict the outline of the girl¡¯s breasts over and over again until her skin was stained with a blushing color. At the same time, the other hand focused on her smooth lower abdomen, tempting to lick the edge of her panties maliciously. Finally, the index finger and the middle finger slipped in a little bit to explore the mysterious ce. Meng Xuan was shaking as if he was the nervous one.

    He Danggui had tried beating, punching and hitting, but none of them worked. Dominated by his desire, he got nothing to fear at all! Therefore, she scratched his left cheek with her nails and left him four deep cuts. However! Meng Xuan still didn¡¯t stop his movements. Maybe he was retaliating, or maybe he was so firm that he wanted to finish this work.

    Suddenly, the sound of clothes being torn apart echoed.

    The two people froze at the same time. He Danggui was angry, and Meng Xuan was in ecstasy.

    Those people were still outside the door. He Danggui lowered her voice and demanded in a dangerous tone,

    ¡°Get off your hands and bring me the quilt. I won¡¯t say it again!¡±

    Meng Xuan obeyed her, but he covered them together. He acted like a harmless sheep lying down on the soft cotton core pillow next to her, and even winked his eyes.

    He Danggui demanded again, ¡°Get out of bed, immediately!¡±

    Meng Xuan shook his head, ¡°I have lost too much blood and my whole body is cold. You are the one who should get out of bed.¡± He turned his handsome face to one side, revealing the scratches on his left face, where tiny blood beads were oozing out. He added, ¡°My wound is cracked again and it hurts. In fact, I am also suffering a very serious internal injury. It takes half a year to recover. Xiaoyi, do you want to drive me out of bed?¡±

    He Danggui lifted the quilt a bit. Unexpectedly, his bandage was soaked in blood again. She stared at Meng Xuan in annoyance and rebuked him, ¡°Do you want to die? I told you to stay still and do not move!¡± Then, she checked his pulse to see his internal injury.

    ¡°I don¡¯t care¡± Meng Xuan moved closer to her, ¡°Xiaoyi, I will give you my life. I am your private property now! Can you...let me have a look at it?¡±

    He Danggui kept her distance from him. After finishing pulsing, she shook off his wrist and said coldly, ¡°You have no internal injury. Get off now.¡±

    Meng Xuan moved a little closer towards her. He put her hand on his chest and said softly, ¡°The injury is in here. You can feel it. If you don¡¯t treat it, I will die. Xiaoyi, you caused the injury.¡±

    His star-like pupils contained strong affection to her as if she was the only person he could see. That was sweet. However, people outside the door were mming loudly. Chan Yi yelled, ¡°Miss! Open the door!¡± Inside the quilt, Meng Xuan aimed at her with verbal attack and stretched out his hands to approach her panties which was tore. He murmured in a low voice, ¡°Xiaoyi, let me see your body before I die.¡±

    He Danggui moved his hands away and then shouted at the door, ¡°What is the matter!!!¡±

    The mming sound vanished, and then Chan Yi exined in a low voice while knocking gently, ¡°We have a visitor, First Childe Peng. He brought you more than 20 exquisite snacks from the capital, including the loquat leaf extract with candied jujubes and egg rolls with sesame!¡±

    Peng Shi was here? He Danggui frowned and shouted at the door again, ¡°I¡¯m sleeping, and don¡¯t disturb me now. You can have those snacks!¡± Then, she added sharply, ¡°Go away! Whoever gets close to my room, I will deduct his or her wages for two months!¡±

    Chan Yi whispered as she went away, ¡°Singing while sleeping. That is strange!¡± He Danggui was relieved, but a man said from a distance, ¡°Is she sleeping? But her voice is energetic.¡± He Danggui immediately recognized that the tight and cold voice was from Peng Shi. How long had he been here? What did he hear?

    Chan Yi exined, ¡°Miss likes to sing while sleeping.¡± He Danggui was speechless. That was how they thought of her!

    In a moment of silence, Peng Shi asked, ¡°I have to see her for something special. When can I see her?¡±

    Chan Yi replied honestly, ¡°When she wakes up.¡±

    ¡°It is not even noon now.¡± Peng Shi then asked, ¡°When will she wake up?¡± His voice was higher a little bit, and obviously, he wanted He Danggui in the room to hear it. He came to visit her with gifts, but she refused to see him and even give the gifts to her servants. Peng Shi was deeply displeased. He Danggui became so arrogant now!

    ¡°She will be the most energetic at night.¡± Chan Yi suggested kindly, ¡°You cane here tonight.¡±

    Then, there was a long silence outside. After a while, He Danggui whispered to Meng Xuan, ¡°Are they all gone? Have Peng Shi and the others left here?¡±

    Meng Xuan now could finally take her in his arms. He smiled, ¡°They all left. No one will disturb us.¡± Looking at her red nose, Meng Xuan approached her small face, wanting to taste the sweetness again... If he avoided her nose, would everything be alright?

    He Danggui angrily blocked him and asked, ¡°Don¡¯t you im to have excellent ears that you can hear anyoneing within ten feet? How did you miss so many people? When did Peng Shie here?¡±

    ¡°That is not the limit! I can hear from one hundred feet and even two hundred feet!¡± Meng Xuan pouted his mouth and kissed her delicate palm, not letting go of any chance to appreciate her. That was a pity that he had only kissed her once before she drew her hand out. He smacked his mouth regretfully and the luster in his eyes turned dark. He peeped into the quilt and found that the jade-like body of the beautiful girl had been wrapped in the nightdress again. Therefore, he let out a long regretful sigh. He Danggui seriously suspected that he had never slept with a woman. At the time, he smirked at her, ¡°I heard it, but you are so attractive that I can¡¯t stop.¡±

    He Danggui asked angrily, ¡°How long has Peng Shi been there? How far away did he stand? Did he hear us?¡±

    ¡°Peng Shi, Peng Shi,¡± Meng Xuan muttered twice and then frowned, ¡°Whammy! His name sounds like my courtesy name. I didn¡¯t notice it! I have to change mine.¡±

    ¡°You do?¡± He Danggui was puzzled, ¡°It is just a name!¡±

    Meng Xuan exined to her, ¡°When we make out, you will call my name. I don¡¯t like you to call someone else, at least it sounds like someone else.¡± He Danggui was speechless. Meng Xuan thought for a while and then said slowly, ¡°Since your courtesy name is Qingyi, I will change my name to Shenshi. Qingyi and Shenshi. Qingyi and Shenshi.¡± He repeated with a smile. Then he nodded, ¡°That¡¯s it. My courtesy name is Shenshi. Our courtesy names sound like a couple.¡±

    Shenshi? Changing the courtesy name? He Danggui once heard it from the Meng Xuan from three yearster in Fantasy Dream. However, she didn¡¯t expect the reason why he changed his courtesy name was so... She was speechless.

    Since ancient times, the rule had always been that the wife should follow the husband¡¯s surname. However, Meng Xuan, who was a male chauvinist, changed his courtesy name because of an absurd reason. Usually, women¡¯s courtesy names were named causally. And men¡¯s courtesy names were really formal. However, Meng Xuan changed his courtesy name causally. If they wouldn¡¯t get married in the future, wouldn¡¯t he be awkward to use a courtesy name changed because of her?

    Meng Xuan didn¡¯t know her thoughts. He was touched by himself. His handsome face showed an obscene look, and pleaded, ¡°Xiaoyi, please take off your clothes. Let me see your lower body.¡±

    This sentence distracted He Danggui¡¯s feelings. She angrily pushed Meng Xuan¡¯s astonishingly hot chest and said, ¡°You hypocrite! You are not a gentleman! You are nothing more than a pervert! Find other women! Don¡¯t pretend that you have never had one!¡± Meng Ying had told her that Meng Xuan even had a son!

    Meng Xuan showed an aggrieved expression and argued, ¡°I¡¯m not! Even if I am, I am only horny for you! We are going to be husband and wife. Can¡¯t you give me some rewards for mying to you with an injury?¡± He sprayed the hot breath on her forehead, using her weakness that he newly found to beg her, ¡°Xiaoyi, sooner orter, you will be mine. You can give yourself to me earlier. What do you say?¡±

    He Danggui shook her head and said toughly, ¡°If you don¡¯t stop, I will never marry you! You must propose marriage first! This is my bottom line!¡± Then, she slid out of the bed with a thin quilt on her. She wanted to find proper clothes, otherwise, Meng Xuan would not stop it at all, and he would not be able to take care of his wounds at ease.

    Meng Xuan suddenly lost the warmth in his arms, and the coolness was inhaled in his heart and lungs. Therefore, he couldn¡¯t help but blurt out, ¡°Proposal, right? Why didn¡¯t Zhu Quan do that? Was he an exception?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± He Danggui looked back at him coldly wearing the quilt.

    ¡°You gave yourself to him, but you won¡¯t give yourself to me?¡± Meng Xuan was full of jealousy and dissatisfaction. He turned away his face and stared at the veil above his head, ¡°If you don¡¯t give yourself to me today, I will, I will...¡± He mouthed a few words, and He Danggui was astonished when understanding the meaning instantly.

 Chapter 313 - We were done

    <h4>Chapter 313 We were done</h4>

    ¡°If you don¡¯t give yourself to me, I¡¯m going to masturbate in front of you!¡±

    He Danggui didn¡¯t know how to treat Meng Xuan who was like a child. However, she was getting even angrier when she heard Zhu Quan. Why couldn¡¯t she get rid of Zhu Quan?

    ¡°Proposal, right? Why didn¡¯t Zhu Quan do that? Was he an exception?¡±

    It seemed that these words had been held in Meng Xuan¡¯s heart for a long time. That was difficult for him. She was groggy and got a fever that day, so she didn¡¯t know what Zhu Quan did to her. However, there was one thing for sure that she did not lose her virginity. Besides, she was totally innocent. Why did Meng Xuan say that? Zhu Quan, Zhu Quan, she wanted to forget the two words forever!

    He Danggui left there silently and quickly put on her dress. At the same time, Meng Xuan was lying on the bed to look at her. She walked over with the quilt and put it on him. Then, she said in the tone of a doctor, ¡°It will take at least five days for you to see improvement. I will find silver needles in Ting Zhu Yard tonight. After midnight, I wille here to treat you with acupuncture. I will decoct the medicine and put it on the tableter. Remember to drink it.¡± Then she began to clear away the tea cups on the table.

    Meng Xuan regretted it as soon as he said the words. He knew a little about Xiaoyi¡¯s attitude towards Zhu Quan, and he could feel her stiff behavior every time she heard Zhu Quan¡¯s name. However, he already said it. After listening to his words, she immediately changed her look, and her tenderness was disappeared. Meng Xuan wished that he had not said them.

    ¡°Xiaoyi, you...¡± Meng Xuan stared at her cold look while she was cleaning up the table. He said, ¡°I will write a letter tomorrow and ask my parents to agree to our marriage. Then, I will propose to you with the highest courtesy. Okay?

    He Danggui drooped her eyes and said, ¡°Childe Meng, please take profound consideration. I really don¡¯t deserve to be your wife.¡±

    Meng Xuan paused and then slowly begged, ¡°Xiaoyi, my parents are old-fashioned people. They value family level seriously. I can¡¯t persuade them to change for a while. So, I intend to take you as a concubine for now. When we have a son, I will try to get my mother¡¯s permission for you to be my wife. Is that okay?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s it!¡± He Danggui thought. Was this the origin of everything uing?

    Meng Xuan came to her injured. He said that he liked her, and he was willing to take her as his wife. He used his bloody wound to make her feel soft and took advantage of her. Then, when everything was settled, he changed his promise that her family was not powerful enough so that she could only be a concubine first, and she could get promoted in the future. What else could she say? Meng Xuan was loving her so much that she married him as a concubine.

    Then, ording to the Meng Xuan from three yearster, they wanted a kid but they failed. At the time, Zhu Quan used a trick to make Su Xiaoxiao have Meng Xuan¡¯s child¡ªor worse, she already had it now. Then, Meng Xuan¡¯s mother did not want her grandson to be a bastard, so she made Su Xiaoxiao be Meng Xuan¡¯s another concubine. Then Meng Xuan had five concubines, who were He Danggui, Zi Xiao, a rich family¡¯s daughter, a youngdy who looked somewhat simr to He Danggui, and Su Xiaoxiao.

    Then, three yearster, the emperor Zhu Yunwen ordered Meng Xuan to marry his cousin, Infanta Xiancao. The emperor¡¯s order could not be vited, so Meng Xuan took the Infanta Xiancao as his wife. A brave and invincible general and an infanta who was like a flower were really a perfect match.

    ording to that future Meng Xuan¡¯s statement, he only loved He Danggui and did not touch the infanta at all. That was too much! Infanta Xiancao had no right to say no. She was unlucky enough to find an indifferent and unrelenting husband. In this case, the redundant person was He Danggui at that time. No wonder she chose to quit after three years.

    That Meng Xuan said that he used a lot of methods, but he never made it to get her back.

    He said that he would find a way to get rid of Infanta Xiancao and the other three concubines he had never touched. However, Su Xiaoxiao, who already had his children, was exempted. Therefore, he went back to three years ago to let He Danggui prevent pregnancy of Su Xiaoxiao. His tone carried a worry that she might harm Su Xiaoxiao, the adopted daughter of the rebellious prime minister Hu Weiyong. Also, SU Xiaoxiao was the confidante in his previous life. They were another good match.

    He said that he had spent three months trying to find her, but she was like a rock and refused him firmly. She knew the reason. If her husband, Meng Xuan, was really as innocent as he said and treated her wholeheartedly, she would be moved to rush back to him. If Meng Xuan could spend three months to get her back, why didn¡¯t he use that strength to get rid of those women who had forced her to leave?

    On the contrary, they were still being ¡°processed¡±. Did he have a concrete n? Besides, even if he had not touched them in these years, those women would lose everything if they were abandoned. In this era, a woman¡¯s husband was everything to her. Was he really willing to do this because of her? On the other hand, was there another woman who also didn¡¯t want to share her husband with others?

    All the misfortunes all began today, starting from his promise to take her as his wife.

    If she cut the ties with him off from now on, would all the misfortunes disappear? In this case, she didn¡¯t have to adapt to a husband who had other women, and she didn¡¯t have to get alone with those women. Besides, she didn¡¯t have to worry about Qi Xuanyu¡¯s warning in the Fantasy Dream that Meng Xuan and Bai Yangbai will die because of her, and she would finally marry Zhu Quan.

    If she didn¡¯t marry Meng Xuan now, she would not marry Bai Yangbai and Zhu Quan as well. If she married a nobody, would everything be different?

    Looking at Meng Xuan, who was staring at her on the bed, He Danggui made up her mind that this was the best way! Stop Meng Xuan continuing to like her and never marry him! Before everything was toote and before Meng Xuan loved her to an extreme extent, she chose to cut off this rtionship and change the direction of the story!

    Sure enough, no matter how that future Meng Xuan persuaded and impressed her, she was still the selfish girl. She couldn¡¯t make out with Meng Xuan, nor could she ept being one of his concubines. She had experienced two lives, so she was equipped with reason and wisdom. She didn¡¯t want to live in tears again.

    Temporary touching could not make her ept a rtionship that vited her will. She chose to give it up before it even started.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Meng Xuan. I am still the selfish one, just as unfeeling as I will be three yearster. Since I have already known the ending, I have to use another method in order not to let you lose your life because of me. I¡¯m so sorry...¡± She thought in her heart.

    On the bed, Meng Xuan propped his face with his elbows to look at her. Her expressions indicated that she was thinking something. What was that?

    Meng Xuan said again, ¡°Xiaoyi, I know that you deserve more than a concubine because you are well-educated and beautiful. Trust me, I love you! In the future, I will be considerate to make up for your regret that you can¡¯t be my wife. As long as we have a son, I will persuade my mom to allow you to be my wife. What do you say?¡±

    ¡°Yesterday, I heard from your brother that you have a good friend named Xiao Suxin, right?¡±

    ¡°Suxin?¡± Meng Xuan was taken aback and asked, ¡°Yes. What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°She has a son, doesn¡¯t she?¡± He Danggui was skeptical of Meng Ying¡¯s words. Meng Ying said that she could ask Meng Xuan for confirmation, so she did so. He had fallen in love with her three years ago but was absent since then and even stole her things to appreciate. Would this man have a son with another woman?

    Meng Xuan nodded and gave her an affirmative answer, ¡°Yes, she does.¡± As he said, his charming eyebrows knotted. He said in aining tone, ¡°My brother is an unreliable man. We have agreed not to make it public.¡±

    He Danggui got sad enough that she viewed it as the reason to give him up. He should put his love on Xiao Suxin and her son, not a cowardly woman who loved to escape. Compare to love, she was more sensitive to hatred. To love someone was really hard for her now, because love often brought a little sweetness at the beginning, and the bitterness was the forever theme left. She was unable to afford the bitterness.

    ¡°Xiaoyi...¡±

    ¡°Meng Xuan...¡±

    They said at the same time, but they stopped at the same pace. Meng Xuan motioned her to speak first, so He Danggui began to say, ¡°Meng Xuan, I have thought about it...¡±

    ¡°Shenshi.¡± Meng Xuan corrected her, ¡°You forgot to call my courtesy name!¡±

    He Danggui shook her head, stubbornly refusing his courtesy name, ¡°Meng Xuan, I have thought about it. I will not marry you. Don¡¯te to me anymore. Let¡¯s not even be friends anymore. When you are recovered, leave here please.¡±

    Meng Xuan was stunned for a while before he understood the meaning of the words. He jumped up and stared at He Danggui¡¯s cute mouth. He couldn¡¯t believe that the evilest words came out of this mouth.

    ¡°Why?!¡± Meng Xuan cried out in surprise, ¡°You just confessed to me that you wanted to marry me!¡±

    He Danggui¡¯s eyes were so dark that no light could get in there. She calmly exined, ¡°But you also said that you didn¡¯t believe my confession. In fact, it makes sense for you not to believe it. I memorized and recited it. Meng Xuan, I can¡¯t force myself to like you. I¡¯m sorry, we are done.¡±

 Chapter 314 - Pregnant with your child

    <h4>Chapter 314 Pregnant with your child</h4>

    ¡°We are done.¡±

    Meng Xuan stared at the expressionless He Danggui as if she got a pair of devil¡¯s horns. These were such terrifying words that as she said, ¡°I am pregnant with your child.¡±

    Nonsense! Not long ago, she healed him carefully and let him touch her freely when he flung her to the bed. She was more obedient thanst time they were in the bamboo grove. Then, she even confessed to him. Though her confession was not her true words, at least she had affection for him since she made efforts to prepare a script.

    He had already said that he was willing to unconditionally believe every word she said. He said he would never ask her about why she changed her attitude, nor about her past with Zhu Quan... Zhu Quan? Zhu Quan!

    It was Zhu Quan! He just mentioned Zhu Quan¡¯s name and then her expression changed immediately. After she went to change her clothes and came back, she suddenly wanted to break up with him. It was all because of Zhu Quan!

    ¡°Is it because of Zhu Quan?!¡± Meng Xuan felt that there was liquor burning in his throat and blood was repeatedly hitting his head. This feeling was familiar to him, which was a strong feeling of mania and jealousy. Three years ago, he was madly jealous of Duan Xiaolou and every other man around her. In order to prevent the poisonous weeds from growing in his heart, he chose to escape to the military camp.

    He suddenly realized that Xiaoyi really loved Zhu Quan, and sheter got hatred because of this love. That was the reason why she wanted to break up with Zhu Quan and wanted to find another man. So, she came to him because he was obedient to her. However, he was too urgent because he had never seen such a gentle Xiaoyi. All of a sudden, he became greedy and wanted to taste her body, but she couldn¡¯t make out with a ¡°good friend¡±. Therefore, she regretted it! She regretted it!

    He Danggui frowned, but she didn¡¯t refute it. Whatever he thought! After a few years, she will marry a man, and this man would definitely not be Zhu Quan.

    Her attitude caused Meng Xuan¡¯s jealousy to turn into a raging fire, burning out all his sanity. A blizzard was brewing in his eyes, and he uttered angrily, ¡°No, you can¡¯t.¡±

    He Danggui could understand Meng Xuan¡¯s feelings at this moment. They were sweet just now, and even were discussing their future. But suddenly, she overturned everything agreed upon. Meng Xuan must have a feeling of being juggled now. She was also annoyed at herself. She didn¡¯t know why it would happen every time. She had epted Meng Xuan¡¯s hugs and kisses, but then she found the gap between herself and him. As a result, she retracted into her shell like a tortoise. This had happened twice. It seemed that she and Meng Xuan couldn¡¯t even be friends¡­

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Except for the apology, she really didn¡¯t know how to tell her feelings. Meng Xuan was a perfect man. He was good to her and had never refused her requests. But shepletely offended him. She had lost a good friend. She took a deep breath and found more excuses, ¡°I¡¯m really a very bad woman. I¡¯m...greedy for vanity and have unrealistic idea¡­ I have an agreement with Qing¡¯er that we both opt for monogamy. I only want to be the wife of my husband and won¡¯t allow him to marry concubines¡­ Therefore, that¡¯s it. I can¡¯t be your concubine.¡±

    Meng Xuan was stunned for a moment, and his tight body rxed a little. For a moment, he almost could no longer control his body. His subconscious was moring frantically that he should catch this woman to do everything he wanted!

    ¡°Is this the only reason?¡± Meng Xuan asked, ¡°Because I can only give you the status of a concubine?¡± So, it was not because he had just mentioned Zhu Quan¡¯s name?

    He Danggui nodded, ¡°Besides, you said that you already have a concubine. I can¡¯t ept it.¡±

    Meng Xuan was puzzled. He really couldn¡¯t figure it out. He continued to ask, ¡°I only have three concubines, and I was forced to take them. I am nothing more than a stranger to them and I don¡¯t like them at all! Can¡¯t you ept it? Do you still have doubts about my love for you? Not to mention that I am from a noble family, every man from a rich family at my age will have several concubines. If you stick to your standard, do you want to marry amoner?¡±

    Then, he opened his eyes wide and eximed, ¡°Zhu Quan has more than forty concubines. Is this the reason you left him?¡± Even Zhu Quan, who she loved, couldn¡¯t be exempted.

    He Danggui was upset when she heard Zhu Quan¡¯s name. She told Meng Xuan coldly, ¡°Believe it or not, I have nothing to do with Zhu Quan. He is the most disgusting man in the world. So, please don¡¯t spit out these two words from your mouth again.¡±

    Meng Xuan was speechless. Sure enough, she turned to him because she had broken up with Zhu Quan. What a heartless woman! She treated Zhu Quan, who had made out with her, in this ruthless way and even his name became taboo. She said that she would break up with him. Did that mean his name would also be a taboo?

    Meng Xuan confirmed again, ¡°It¡¯s because of an agreement with Liao Qing¡¯er that you don¡¯t want to share your husband, right?¡±

    He Danggui nodded, and then shook her head vigorously. She solemnly exined, ¡°In fact, it is not because of the agreement. This is my personal pursuit. The agreement is the same persistence of us.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡± Meng Xuan understood that all the man liked her were rejected because of this. Duan Xiaolou was the most vivid example.

    ¡°You said you love me, but can you only marry me?¡± He Danggui asked deliberately. Asking him what he couldn¡¯t give and then being rejected by him just likest time would be the perfect reason. Then, she could break up with him. Besides, he would definitely live a happier life without her. Therefore, the tragedy would not happen three yearster.

    ¡°Okay, I promise you.¡± Meng Xuan said.

    He Danggui bewildered, ¡°Do you?¡± Last time, he not only ignored her offer, but alsoughed at her pursuit. Why did he agree this time?

    ¡°Yes.¡± Meng Xuan nodded, and then unexpectedly sealed her acupoint. Then, heid her t on the bed and embraced her in his arms regardless of her astonishment. He sighed, ¡°Xiaoyi, stop it please. If you still torment me, I will die because of you.¡±

    He Danggui was frightened, ¡°What do you want! Why did you do this?!¡±

    ¡°I want...¡± Meng Xuan got closer and kissed her. Then, he ripped her clothes. The clothes she just changed were rags now. Her jade-like shoulders and cute breasts were immediately exposed to the air. He carefully stroked them and then stroked her face. He looked at her re and dered earnestly, ¡°You have started it up, so you can¡¯t regret it now. Xiaoyi, you don¡¯t have right to regret it.¡±

    He Danggui became angry but reluctantly suppressed her anger. She said in an imploring tone, ¡°I know that I shouldn¡¯t give you hope. I didn¡¯t mean to do that. You are a hero and a great general. Could you please forgive me and unseal my acupoint?¡±

    Meng Xuan hugged her in his arms and stroked her eyebrows with his fingers. He refused, ¡°I have been humble in front of you for too long. I am a totally different person when I meet you. That is enough.¡± He suddenly lowered his head and sucked her breasts. At the same time, he tore her skirt with the other hand. Then, he let down the curtain of the bed to create a private space.

    He Danggui had never seen such a tyrannical and terrifying Meng Xuan. His patience with her finally ran out. Did he want to use this method to clear the debts?

    Meng Xuan quickly removed all of his clothes and revealed his smooth wheat-colored chest. There was only a knee-length silk trouser remained. At the same time, He Danggui was only wearing thin underpants, which could be ripped with a gentle pull.

    This was the first time that Meng Xuan had touched a real woman. Besides, this woman was the one he cared about day and night. Her skin was so perfect that he could spend his entire life worshipping it.

    This hateful woman had given him hope and then destroy it several times. Sometimes when he was with her, he almost forgot that he was a battlefield killer and the master of Qiyanggong Sect that could change the whole world at any time.

    ¡°Xiaoyi, did I owe you too much in my previous life so that you have to drive me crazy in this life? You have repeatedly thrown me up to the clouds and then pushed me down. I have epted the fact that you don¡¯t love me and don¡¯t belong to me. However, you have once again shown me your tenderness. Why do you want to take it back again?¡±

    ¡°Not anymore, Xiaoyi.¡± Meng Xuan, like a devout believer, worshiped his only immortal. He stroked every inch of her skin with his lips and fingers from top to her navel and came all the way to her abdomen. Finally, he slowly tore her underpants. The thin fabric was so easy to tear.

    Her uncovered smooth body was exposed to his greedy eyes. This woman was so beautiful that she was not like a mortal on the earth. She was like a white orchid on the Tianshan Mountain, exuding a cold fragrance from her bones. This orchid was soon going to be his¡­

    Meng Xuan kissed her body inch by inch, worshipping the orchid girl he loved.

    ¡°Xiaoyi, Xiaoyi.¡± Meng Xuan happily called her name and at the same time demanded, ¡°Hurry up and call my name. Call me Shenshi. Meng Xuan, Meng Shenshi, is now your husband.¡± He looked up at her small and beautiful chin from below and asked happily, ¡°Xiaoyi, are you happy?¡± The beautiful chin was tight and motionless. So, he asked again, ¡°Xiaoyi, where do you want to have our wedding, here or the capital?¡±

    He Danggui stared at the orange veil above, and said coldly, ¡°Don¡¯t let me hate you.¡± How much did she owe him that she had to repay the debt in this way?

    Meng Xuan¡¯s Adam¡¯s apple slid up and down. Then, tworge teardrops suddenly rolled down, falling on her fair belly. He gritted his teeth and cried, ¡°Why can¡¯t you love me like I love you? Why do you always let me down? Xiaoyi, you are a thief who has stolen my heart. How dare you to hate me?¡±

 Chapter 315 - Virgin boyâ€™s troubles

    <h4>Chapter 315 Virgin boy¡¯s troubles</h4>

    He was crying. Did she make him sad again? He Danggui remained silent for a while and then asked, ¡°Unseal my acupoint, and then we will talk about this.¡±

    Meng Xuan greedily looked at the jade-like body. If he didn¡¯t taste it, he would regret it for the rest of his life¡­ Looked at the little face with a decisive expression, he had determined that it was better for him to be hated than be forgotten¡­ Then, he spread her legs and lowered his head. He moved close to the best part of this girl slowly and whispered, ¡°You are the most obedient. You are much more obedient than her¡­¡± Then he kissed the best part of the girl.

    He Danggui closed her eyes and endured this crazy moment. Finally, he ran out of patience with her, and this was her punishment. Yes! Nobody wanted to give limitlessly yet see no return. Everything had a price. Now, she had to repay the debt, and Meng Xuan was her creditor.

    After a while, feeling that the flower was still not moist enough, Meng Xuan got a thinyer of sweat on his forehead. After a while, he raised his head and asked impatiently, ¡°Xiaoyi, are you ready? Can we start?¡±

    He Danggui said nothing as if she was a piece of dead wood.

    Meng Xuan¡¯s hands were on both sides of her body. He climbed on her and asked for her advice, ¡°Can we¡­start? May I¡­enter your body?¡±

    Hearing this, He Danggui half opened her eyes and reiterated her request, ¡°Unseal my acupoint.¡±

    ¡°Well¡­¡± Meng Xuan considered that she didn¡¯t have the ability to run away and resist. Besides, he could seal her acupoint at any time when she was not obedient. So, he bargained, ¡°You teach me how to get in, and then I will unseal your acupoint.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± He Danggui squinted at him, ¡°You are kidding me.¡±

    More sweat gathered on Meng Xuan¡¯s forehead, and he said with a strong self-esteem, ¡°I know it! But I¡¯m just afraid that I may hurt you. Tell me how should I do to avoid hurting you. I guess you are ready. Right?¡±

    ¡°How do I know it?¡± He Danggui felt that Meng Xuan was like an idiot. Was he really a man who had lived for two lifetimes?

    ¡°You...¡± Meng Xuan was stunned. ¡°You don¡¯t know either?! What should I do?¡±

    He Danggui was silent.

    ¡°Caw¡ª¡± A crow flew past the window and cried, as if it wasughed at the people in the house, ¡°Caw¡ª¡±

    Meng Xuan looked at the girl who was one year younger than him, hoping that she could say something. However, she did not give any guidance and assistance. He had to ask again, ¡°If I get in there directly, will it hurt?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± It was a positive answer.

    Though the answer was not he wanted, Meng Xuan took off his shorts and found a suitable position. He said apologetically, ¡°It hurts only the first time. I will find a proper way in the future!¡± He said and continued.

    ¡°Stop!¡± He Danggui felt the astonishing heat and immediately screamed.

    Meng Xuan paused andforted her, ¡°It may not hurt that much. Xiaoyi, please bear with it. I will use Changfeng Form to heal you with my Zhenqi. I will try to be gentle, so don¡¯t be afraid.¡± At the time, a velvety touch came closer and closer. All best things in his life added were not as good as this moment¡­

    ¡°Stop!¡± He Danggui opened her eyes and shouted, ¡°If you don¡¯t put it right, I will die! Meng Xuan, are you going to kill me?¡±

    Meng Xuan froze and asked incredulously, ¡°How could I kill you? Impossible!¡±

    He Danggui looked at him usingly, ¡°You will kill me if you get one inch deeper. I will revenge myself on you even as a ghost!¡±

    Meng Xuan was half-believing and his eyebrows knotted. He looked at her suspiciously and retorted, ¡°Don¡¯t fool me. I know a little. I don¡¯t do it wrong. It won¡¯t kill you!¡±

    ¡°Of course, it will!¡± He Danggui talked back, ¡°If a man does something wrong, he will kill the woman. Meng Xuan, do you hate me and want me to die?¡±

    Meng Xuan was dumbfounded again. However, he saw a sly light passing through her eyes and realized that he had been deceived. He said angrily, ¡°Xiaoyi, you lied to me again!¡± Coincidently, he sessfully found the incredibly small entrance and said warningly, ¡°I¡¯m going in!¡±

    He Danggui gritted her teeth and closed her eyes, ¡°If you don¡¯t believe me, just do it. Anyway, I have no hope after being raped by you. Meng Xuan! I will revenge myself on you even as a ghost!¡±

    Meng Xuan¡¯s back was tightened into a line, and the blood on his left arm was once again soaked in the bandage. He said bitterly, ¡°Xiaoyi, don¡¯t lie to me. I am not a three-year-old child. Just make out happily, okay? This is our wedding night.¡±

    ¡°Nonsense! It¡¯s daytime! If you continue, I will die! Meng Xuan, you are murderer!¡± He Danggui¡¯s voice was sharp and high-pitched.

    Meng Xuan flinched and then said, ¡°Give me some instructions, and I will listen to you.¡±

    ¡°Unseal my acupoint first!¡± He Danggui squinted at Meng Xuan¡¯s red face with four bloody scratches. She suspected that the son of him and Su Xiaoxiao seemed toe out from a crack in the stone. Did he need a woman to teach him before making out every time? Wasn¡¯t he super smart? She threatened him, ¡°I will bite my tongue andmit suicide if you continue!¡±

    Life was precious and she would not do that. However, Meng Xuan reflexively sealed her mute acupoint. Under her re, he hesitated and unsealed the first acupoint. He said, ¡°I did as you requested. How do you want to repay me?¡±

    After regaining the ability to act, He Danggui tried to unseal the mute acupoint but failed. She stared at Meng Xuan angrily. But Meng Xuan showed a triumphant smile and kissed her. Then, he unsealed her mute acupoint with a smile, ¡°This is a good way. If you don¡¯t open your mouth in the future, I will seal your mute acupoint. Then you will be obedient.¡±

    He Danggui, who had regained her freedom, pulled the thin quilt to cover her body. Thinking of the humiliating experience, she pped Meng Xuan across his face, which made him be stunned. He Danggui felt it was not enough. Then she pped him again. When Meng Xuan looked at her in a daze, she pped him the third time and hit right on his cheek.

    He Danggui angrily asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t you powerful? Why don¡¯t you dodge?¡±

    In addition to scratches, there were more finger marks on his face. He came back to his senses and bitterly smiled, ¡°I am honored to be pped by you. How dare I dodge?¡± He stared at her and poured out his feelings, ¡°Even if you took a knife to stab me, I still wouldn¡¯t dodge you. Sometimes, I really want that to happen so that I don¡¯t have to suffer from lovesickness. To be killed by my favorite woman was an avable option.¡±

    He Danggui looked at his face, his bloody left arm, and the lower part of his body. What should she do with him?

    ¡°Close your eyes.¡± He Danggui ordered.

    Meng Xuan stared at her for a moment, and then closed his eyes.

    Suddenly, He Danggui threw away the thin quilt and repeatedly sealed his 13 main acupoints for 5 consecutive times. In this way, she controlled Meng Xuan, a master of Kung fu and an idiot of making out.

    In fact, when she sealed him the second time, Meng Xuan had opened his eyes. He was not under her control at that time and could stop her easily. However, he couldn¡¯t move his gaze from one ce. Following his gaze, He Danggui found that he was actually looking at her breasts.

    The fire of anger was lit again. She waved her palm heavily to p him. However, when it approached to him, he didn¡¯t even blink his eyelids and even smiled. Therefore, she could not let her hand down.

    She rolled the thin quilt around her body into a tube to block his vision, while Meng Xuan, whose acupoints were unsealed, was still smiling and staring at the flower pattern on the quilt. He Danggui calmed down and asked with a snort, ¡°Meng Xuan, now you are in my hands. What do you want to say?¡±

    Meng Xuan just smiled but not answered, making her wonder if she had hit his mute acupoint.

    Seeing the weirdness of Meng Xuan, she was afraid that there would be more incidents, so she got out of bed and dressed herself properly. After that, she found some small needles and used them to consolidate the state of Meng Xuan¡¯s acupoints. She picked up the clothes on the ground and put them on him hastily. Finally, she covered him with the quilt.

    After seeing He Danggui finish all these things, Meng Xuan remained silent with the same smile. She was afraid of his clingy gaze, so she said angrily, ¡°What are you looking at? You are now my prisoner. I could even secretly kill you!¡±

    Meng Xuan grinned and asked, ¡°Xiaoyi, do you know how long I have been waiting for this day?¡±

    He Danggui was puzzled.

    ¡°Just you and me.¡± Meng Xuan exined, ¡°No one else will disturb us. You will only be mine as well as your anger and sorrow. In this room, on this bed, I belong to you. I... really want to be killed by you.¡±

    He Danggui frowned when she heard the words. Then, her gaze fell on his bloody left arm. So, she fetched the tools to bandage his wound for the third time. When the old bandage was removed, his flesh was inside out, but his look was still peaceful and calm. He was staringzily at her as usual.

    He Danggui finally couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Three years ago, why did you like me? I am an indifferent and selfish person. I showed no respect for you though you are my master. I even said that you were long-winded and dull. Why did you like me?¡±

    Meng Xuan also recalled the teaching situation at that time and agreed, ¡°Yes, you were really the worst apprentice I have ever seen. You were arrogant but clumsy in martial arts. Xiaoyi, you are a terrible woman. But I, Meng Xuan, have been doomed to be manipted by you.¡±

 Chapter 316 - How do you help them?

    <h4>Chapter 316 How do you help them?</h4>

    He Danggui was not convinced and retorted, ¡°What did I do? I was just being rude to you! When we were in Chengxu Academy, plenty of youngdies admired you. Only I and Qing¡¯er met three of them. All of them were beautiful, talented, and gentle. Why didn¡¯t you choose them? They were all the types of your ideal wife.¡±

    She couldn¡¯t figure out the reason why Meng Xuan was so stupid in love with his clever brain. After her renascence, she had decided to live a free and happy life. She wanted to live for herself regardless of the misery of life and not to die with regrets.

    With a simr experience, Meng Xuan should also have this insight. He might want to correct the mistakes of the previous life and be a perfect general. In his mind, men were always the dominators. Following his father Meng Shan, Meng Xuan was also yearning for many concubines, which indicated his imagination of a perfect family. What even more incredible was his basic requirement for a woman, in which a woman must stay at home to do some handicrafts. He hadined many times that she was too sharp and cold, and she was not a well-behaved woman.

    However, she was never a well-behaved person, nor to mention listening to him. In fact, he shouldn¡¯t have fallen in love with her! Even if he had spent most of his two lives in the barracks and almost saw no women, it didn¡¯t make sense for him to love a woman because of the two hugs. Meng Xuan, who pursued perfection, was a mature and smart man. Why would he be captured in love? Moreover, she was not his ideal type at all!

    Suddenly, Meng Xuan coughed violently and shed two lines of tears. He looked at her pitifully and said, ¡°I am ufortable, like burning.¡±

    He Danggui speeded up to bandage his wound. Sheforted, ¡°Be patient! I¡¯ll give you some medicine, and it won¡¯t hurt soon.¡± She tucked the quilt for him and exined, ¡°You won¡¯t be able to move for a few more hours, and I don¡¯t have a solution for unsealing in advance. Don¡¯t try to break it! Rest assured and you will be okay tomorrow¡­¡±

    The voice stopped abruptly. After the quilt was t, a bulge appeared in the center of the quilt. That was...

    Meng Xuan looked up at her in tears andined, ¡°I¡¯m ufortable. You caused this! Xiaoyi, you said that if I put it in, you would die immediately. Therefore, I let you go, but I suffer myself. If you leave me alone, I will really be a dead man because of the fire of desire. After I die, I will be a ghost and make out with you day and night!¡±

    He Dangguiughed at him, ¡°You didn¡¯t seed when you are alive. Why would I be afraid of a ghost? Meng Xuan, you are so funny! I will tell this to Qing¡¯erter. She willugh loudly!¡±

    Meng Xuan remained silent.

    He Danggui slid out of the bed to find her shoes. At the time, Meng Xuan¡¯s angry voice came from behind with an almost visible pressure, ¡°You heartless woman! If you dare to leave now, I will hold you under me all night until you beg for mercy!¡±

    He Danggui nced at the bulge and told Meng Xuan apologetically, ¡°I only know how to help men affected by impotence with acupuncture. As for how to clear this state, I really haven¡¯t studied it. Sleep! You will be fine after waking up. That¡¯s it.¡±

    Meng Xuan got even angrier, ¡°You help men affected by impotence with acupuncture? How? Where do you use silver needles to poke?¡±

    ¡°Their hands.¡± He Danggui replied concisely.

    ¡°Liar!¡± Meng Xuan didn¡¯t believe it. It must be a more secret part! When he thought that she made money by selling afrodyn and helping other men with acupuncture for three years, blue veins stood out on his immobile hands. He wanted to strangle the men who had been treated by her as well as himself. He left her here for three years! Why didn¡¯t he marry her three years ago! Why did he leave her with those men! Why did he let her be insulted by Duan Xiaolou and Zhu Quan!

    ¡°I don¡¯t care.¡± He Danggui put on her shoes and said, ¡°I¡¯m going out to fill the prescription, decoct herbal medicine and make some food for you. I will put them on the table outside. Help yourself when you can move. There is a steamer on the stove by the window and don¡¯t forget to heat them up. Don¡¯t make any sound! I will lock the door and you don¡¯t need to answer any knocks.¡±

    ¡°Take medicine by myself? Seriously?¡± Meng Xuan said with grievance, ¡°It is the most miserable thing to take medicine by myself. If you were on the bed, I would spoon-feed you, or even feed you with my mouth!¡±

    He Danggui said unhappily, ¡°Meng Xuan, don¡¯t push your luck! You broke into my room and did such a rude thing to me. You went too far. I don¡¯t get even with you temporarily just because you are injured and weak now! After you are recovered, you will pay for this.¡± However, how should she do to him? She had no idea about whether it was right or wrong to refuse Meng Xuan now. She wanted to redeem him and protect herself at the same time.

    Meng Xuan yelled, ¡°I went too far? You confessed to me as soon as I saw you. You were with fragrance, and your hair was dripping water. You only wore a thin nightdress to seduce me. Even a saint would take it as an invitation! I just epted. How can you say that I went too far? He Danggui, you go too far!¡±

    He Danggui red at him, ¡°If you don¡¯t shut up, I will seal your mute acupoint. I can kill you with a silver needle secretly.¡± Then, she left the room.

    Meng Xuan yelled, ¡°Not fair! I am injured but you do not spoon-feed me! What else is more important than healing me?¡± Thinking of Peng Shi who visited here just now, he seemed to have discovered a new world. ¡°I see, you are impatient with me so that you want to see Peng Shi! What do you want from him?¡± Meng Xuan gradually felt that he was unreasonable now. Xiaoyi was just three steps away from him, but the scent from her body dissipated soon. Without her, the bed immediately lost its attraction. The lower part of his body was still burning like a fire, and only screaming could relieve his pain.

    He Danggui turned around and put out three plum-blossom needles. She walked back to the bed with a dangerous expression and revealed two rows of white teeth, ¡°Meng Xuan, you make me do this. Just shut up and sleep!¡± A plum-blossom needle approached Yamen acupoint between the first cervical vertebra and the second cervical vertebra. At the same time, she deliberately angered him, ¡°Yes, I don¡¯t want to spoon-feed you. I will chat with Peng Shi and even have dinner with him. At least, he is not as shameless as you!¡±

    Meng Xuan was furious and uttered his final roar, ¡°You, a wanton woman who want to murder your husband. Tell me. Where did you poke for the men affected by impotence? Where?¡±

    He Danggui was also angry. She turned the plum-blossom needle to poke his hand which was outside the quilt. Then she poked it repeatedly.

    The miraculous effect appeared immediately. The Yunqi Acupuncture was indeed the most magic one in the world. It was even more powerful by He Danggui¡¯s skill. Poking at Tri-jiao channel was even more useful than the strongest afrodyn!

    In short...the bulge now stood up directly. Even the most ignorant person in the world now knew what was going on there¡­

    Looking at Meng Xuan, who was sweating profusely, He Danggui said apologetically, ¡°Um, I didn¡¯t expect it to work so well for you. Don¡¯t panic. It will lose efficacy soon. Why are you staring at me? You provoked me first! I told you I only poke their hands! Why don¡¯t you believe me? What should I do? Now you should believe me.¡± Seeing Meng Xuan¡¯s painful expression, she stopped using him andforted, ¡°I am sorry. If you are affected by impotence in the future and want me to heal you, I won¡¯t charge you. Stop staring at me! Your eyes are likely to get out!¡±

    Meng Xuan¡¯s lips trembled, but he couldn¡¯t find any human words that could express his feelings at the moment. So, he let out a low wailing, ¡°Boohoo¡­ Ah! I will die soon! She is killing me!¡± At the time, He Danggui rushed up to cover his mouth and nose with her hands, but he found the chance and sucked her finger fiercely with his tongue and lips.

    He Danggui pulled back her finger in a panic. Seeing Meng Xuan¡¯s horrible look with red eyes, she tried to keep calm and said, ¡°I will find you the medicine for cooling blood. If it still doesn¡¯t work, I will bring you to the brothel on the next street. By the way, you should be abstinent as a swordsman, right? Don¡¯t you know the incantations for clearing heart? Utter them and wait here! I¡¯m going to prepare the medicine.¡±

    ¡°He Danggui!¡± Meng Xuan almost spat out an open me, and his handsome face was like the evening glow. He continued to scream, ¡°Do you think my injury is not serious enough and you want me to die now? If you abandon me today, I will break my channels and die on your bed! It¡¯s better than being tortured to death by you in such a cruel way!¡±

    He Danggui was sweating and her voice was a little weak, ¡°Cruel? Don¡¯t the men affected by impotence like to be helped?¡± So far, among the men she helped, no man was so agitated, excited, and irritable just like him¡­

    Meng Xuan¡¯s extremely painful voice came from his chest, ¡°You are so cruel! Xiaoyi, I¡¯m your master who taught you skills and also the man who love you so much. But you actually treat me like this! You are the most cruel-hearted woman in the world!¡±

    He Danggui tried her best to show sincere apology. Following the example of Meng Xuan previously, she put her hands together over her head and apologized, ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to do it. If you still have unfulfilled wishes, I will try my best to help youplete them. Now you can rest in peace¡­¡±

    ¡°Help me, Xiaoyi, just for once.¡± Meng Xuan¡¯s words were ambiguous. His face was blushing and sweat was dripping from his forehead to his hair.

    He Danggui tried to make herself like an idiot, pretending to not understand his words at all.

    ¡°Use your hand to help me, Xiaoyi.¡± Meng Xuan said more clearly, ¡°I can¡¯t move now. Xiaoyi, please help me.¡±

 Chapter 317 - The real spousal relationship

    <h4>Chapter 317 The real spousal rtionship</h4>

    ¡°Use your hand to help me!¡± Meng Xuan said.

    He Danggui felt that she was burning from the roots of her hair to the tips of her toes. What nonsense did he talk? Was he insane?!

    He actually said such words to her! What rude behavior! He was such a shameless bastard! Thinking that she had allowed him to enter her room and sleep on her bed many times, she almost wanted to pierce this man¡¯s forehead with all her silver needles. She just wanted him to masturbate himself in hell!

    Meng Xuan tirelessly wailed and begged, ¡°I am really dying! The fire is devouring me! Xiaoyi, you are a doctor, and you know the consequences. People usually say that every doctor has a sympathetic heart. Do you really want me to be infertile? Besides, I am your future husband. Help me is helping yourself!¡±

    He Danggui covered her ears and backed away. She shook her head and said, ¡°I don¡¯t understand what you are talking about. Stop tricking me. I won¡¯t do that! I won¡¯t!¡± She was so excited that she was choked by her own saliva. She coughed and told Meng Xuan, ¡°Ahem, I will never marry you. Perish the thought! Ahem, I am going to prepare the medicine now. That¡¯s it!¡± At the time, she began to recall the form of the medicinal bath for cooling blood that she used for Gao Jue and Lu Jiangbei after they were infected by Jinfeng Yulu Powder several years ago. She wanted to let Meng Xuan take the medicinal bath.

    Meng Xuan¡¯s face was flushed, and the sweat kept dripping down. He stared at her inconceivably and asked, ¡°You don¡¯t want to marry me? We are almost like a real couple, but you still refuse to marry me!¡± Either she or he was crazy!

    He Danggui looked at the miserable Meng Xuan coldly. Was this his conspiracy? Hypocritically agreeing to her monogamous request and then poking her acupuncture point to rape her? As for her wishes, they all should go to hell. He still would have many concubines and live a perfect life with a big family.

    She felt breathless and turned her face away. She replied objectively, ¡°You and I are far from the real couple. I have not lost my virginity, and you are not my beloved. I don¡¯t know how other women would react to this situation.¡± She nced at Meng Xuan¡¯s wide-open eyes and continued slowly, ¡°But I will never marry a viin who tried to rape a woman because of fame.¡±

    A viin who tried to rape a woman? Meng Xuan was stunned. He gasped for fresh air to relieve the pain of being in lust. Was this the impression he left to her? Far from a real couple? That was to say that Xiaoyi knew what a couple would do. That¡¯s right! Zhu Quan had already taught her this, and they were a couple theoretically¡­

    Meng Xuan panted heavily, not knowing which me was burning more intensely. The one in his heart? Or the one down there. Looking at He Danggui¡¯s face which liked an ice sculpture, he smiled sadly and asked, ¡°Where is your sympathy? Are you really this cruel enough to see me die here? You once said, ¡®As long as there are diseases, doctors will naturally cure patients. When a patient is sick, he also has no right to choose what kind of disease he wants to or not to get. Can a doctor choose what disease he should diagnose or shouldn¡¯t? You are really naive, Meng Xuan! Doctors who diagnose diseases can be divided into high and low sses. Some are imperial doctors and others are ordinary doctors. But there is no difference between cold and sexual dysfunction. I don¡¯t think thetter is embarrassing.¡¯ In this case, I have no right to choose what kind of disease I want to or not to get, and you caused my problem with your needles. So why don¡¯t you treat me?¡±

    He proficiently recited what He Danggui said to him in the bamboo forest in Chengxu Academy back then. He remembered every word she said. Last time, He Danggui med him for not trusting her enough and doubting her medical ethics and integrity. As a result, he had reflected on himself. In fact, he trusted her too much and regarded her as part of himself. Therefore, he couldn¡¯t help but demand her as strictly as he asked himself. That was a misunderstanding.

    Beforeing to Luo¡¯s Family, he really wanted to talk to her and cleared up the misunderstandings. However, when he arrived here, he heard that she was seriously ill. Therefore, he flew to Tao Yao Yard to see her. But what did he see?! Before his passion was extinguished, it was frozen like an ice sculpture. He watched her making out with another man in the distance. The pain caused by this woman named He Danggui had been hidden in the deepest corner of his heart. He didn¡¯t want to mention it even one more time, but it didn¡¯t mean that his wound was healed.

    His precious girl sprinkled on his wound a handful of salt. He had hated her, and he even had a crazy idea of killing her. However, once he saw her, he would lose himself and just be part of her shadow. He could only move with her movement and only watch her silently.

    As long as she looked back at him, he would be vivid. As long as she was willing to turn around and hug him, he would be alive and embrace spring. All his anger, jealousy, cruelty, and evil intentions would be suppressed. At the moment, he would rather hurt himself than hurt her. He only showed her his tenderness and looked forward to winning her back with it. Finally, she bowed her head today and smiled at the shadow on the ground. Her smile lingered before his eyes for a long time¡­

    He Danggui smiled coldly and said, ¡°Childe Meng, you don¡¯t have to be worried. Of course, I will treat you, but I don¡¯t know the method you said. Be patient. I will find you a solution.¡± This man took this as a universal excuse. She just poked him several times, but he seemed to be crazy. What an unreasonable man. What should she do now? Send him to the brothel?

    Meng Xuan¡¯s willpower copsed for a moment and he spoke without thinking over, ¡°You don¡¯t know? Didn¡¯t Zhu Quan teach you? I saw you helping him that day.¡±

    ...

    After a long pause, He Danggui spoke in a calm tone, ¡°What I have done with Zhu Quan has nothing to do with you. Only couples can do this. You and me are doctor and patient. We can¡¯t do this, and it¡¯s against the principle of feudal moral conduct and the principles of medical science. Since you are in good spirits, I should better leave you space to rest. You should save your strength and not talk too much. Now¡­¡± While saying, she stepped forward to poke his mute acupoint. Then, she closed the curtain and left there.

    She gradually walked far away and wouldn¡¯t go back.

    She had admitted that it should happen between couples. She and Zhu Quan?

    Meng Xuan, who was dumb now, watched her walk away through the curtain. ¡°Squeak¡ª¡± The door was opened and closed. His poisonous words turned the soft-hearted Xiaoyi into a female warrior wearing armor. After hearing his words, his Xiaoyi no longer wanted to look back at that shadow again¡­

    Meng Xuan closed his eyes and meditated incantations to expel the desire and despair.

    After He Danggui went out, she felt everything was ridiculous. The most ridiculous person was herself, followed by Meng Xuan, and thest one was the Meng Xuan from three yearster.

    She told Meng Xuan that she liked him. She was always so indifferent to him before but suddenly confessed to him. Even a fool could tell that it was a lie. However, she thought that Meng Xuan was moved by her and even stupidly dedicated herself to him because of that Meng Xuan from three yearster. Even if they were the same person, they had different attitudes towards her. Sure enough, people were different when they got misunderstanding.

    Three yearster, Meng Xuan would be considerate and gentle just because they would rify the misunderstanding after wedding night. He didn¡¯t respect her and cherish her until he learned that she had not lost her virginity to Zhu Quan. In addition, in the next three years, he would even dig out the secret of Zhu Quan¡¯s Love Poison, which proved that Zhu Quan didn¡¯t love her at all. He went crazy for three years just because of this poison. When he was recovered, he became the reassuring Lord Ning again.

    In other words, although Meng Xuan, who didn¡¯t know the truth now, loved her very much, he didn¡¯t respect her now, and his love came from nowhere. He probably viewed her as an easy girl, who wouldn¡¯t refuse anyoneing to her. He thought that he could also do what Zhu Quan could do. The difference was that Zhu Quan walked away irresponsibly yet Meng Xuan took it on his shoulder. He was willing to give her a name so that she could have a good marriage after sleeping with a man.

    With such affectionate and great spirit of sacrifice, Meng Xuan was really a good man. She had met hundreds of men in her previous life, such as the Taoist Sage Bai Yangbai, the naive Peng Jian and the passionate Duan Xiaolou. None of them would bear to be a cuckold. Meng Xuan was really a good man.

    Now, this man was lying in her room with a serious problem caused by her. As long as she helped him get rid of the fire of desire, the misunderstanding between her and him would bepletely solved. In that case, Zhu Quan would no longer be a problem.

    Meng Xuan, a strange man with a simr experience to her, not only had a strong and gentle personality, but was a generous and inclusive guy. If they got married in the future, he would suppress his anger even if he was told that she had cheated on him. He would protect her in any situation as a strong man and would be a gentleman for her when she needed him. He was really a special gift for her. However, he even said, ¡°You don¡¯t know? Didn¡¯t Zhu Quan teach you? I saw you helping him that day.¡± After she heard those words, the misunderstanding might be hard to eliminate forever.

    Meng Xuan, no, she couldn¡¯t get married with him! His temperature was too scorching! He was crazier and more prudent than Duan Xiaolou. Sooner orter, the people around her would be threatened the safety if she married this man. Therefore, she must stay away from him¡­

    ¡°Xiaoyi, I just hope that if I make any mistakes in the future, or I let you be sad or disappointed, you would go straight to tell me and correct my problems. The Meng Xuan three years ago doesn¡¯t know how to be a good lover, but I hope you could teach him and don¡¯t abandon him, okay?¡± These words suddenly lingered in her ears.

    The request came from the Meng Xuan from the future. At the time, he was almost a dead man. She had promised him, but now she was going back on her words. She turned her back on a dying Meng Xuan and left the living one in the room alone¡­ At this moment, Meng Xuan in the room must be regretful and painful¡­

    She saw his regretful face after he said those words, but she still chose to leave him alone and ran out of the room.

    Not giving someone who had already known his fault the chance to apologize was the harshest punishment¡ªshe thought this way.

    But, why should she punish him? Meng Xuan was just blinded by the misunderstanding¡­

    ¡°Squeak¡ª¡± The door opened again.

    Being depressed, Meng Xuan raised his eyes. Xiaoyi wasing back! Her face showed no emotions; her eyes were as cid as water with no intentions. However, she untied the silk knot around her waist.

    Xiaoyi¡­was walking towards him while¡­undressing her clothes!

 Chapter 318 - Strong Affection

    <h4>Chapter 318 Strong Affection</h4>

    ¡°Xiaoyi...¡± Meng Xuan called her hesitantly, ¡°What do you want to do?¡± Was sheing back because she was sleepy?

    In Qizhen Fantasy Dream, that Meng Xuan begged her, ¡°Xiaoyi, I just hope that if I make any mistakes in the future, or I let you be sad or disappointed, you would go straight to tell me and correct my problems. The Meng Xuan three years ago doesn¡¯t know how to be a good lover, but I hope you could teach him and don¡¯t abandon him, okay?¡±

    Inspired by these words, He Danggui took off the overdress and walked to the table to prepare a bowl of corn syrup soup and a bowl of medicine. Then, she walked to the bed while holding the two bowls steadily. She opened the curtain and then sat on the bed. She said softly, ¡°I¡¯ll spoon-feed you medicine. It¡¯s the emergency medicine for bleeding knife wound. Take a little soup first and then take the medicine. Later, I¡¯ll dispense some pills for you.¡±

    Meng Xuan was overjoyed and even his body regained a little sense. Feeling his fingers under the quilt twitched, Meng Xuan asked, ¡°You spoon-feed me?¡±

    ¡°Of course, you can¡¯t move now.¡± He Danggui squinted at him and then crawled closer. She picked up the spoon full of the soup and blew it slightly, ¡°Open your mouth. Ah¡ª¡±

    ¡°Ah¡ª¡± Meng Xuan opened his greedy mouth.

    A spoonful of hot soup was poured down. It scorched his tongue and choked him a little bit. However, he still smiled while coughing, ¡°Delicious! Did you cook it for me?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have time. I just saw them in the kitchen, so I brought you some.¡± He Danggui did not know that the soup was hot. She took a spoonful of the soup again and exhorted him, ¡°Take it slowly. Be careful not to choke. Ah¡ª¡±

    ¡°Ah¡ª¡± Meng Xuan opened his mouth, revealing his tongue which was burned.

    ¡°Huh? Your tongue is so red. Is the soup too hot?¡± He Danggui tasted the soup and was also scalded. She hurriedly swallowed it and apologized to Meng Xuan, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t expect Qing¡¯er¡¯s design of potholder to be so effective. I didn¡¯t feel the heat of soup. Why don¡¯t you tell me?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care. I want more!¡± Meng Xuan squinted and opened his mouth. ¡°Ah¡ª¡±

    He Danggui stirred the soup for a while before continuing to spoon-feed him. She exhorted, ¡°Slow down. Be careful not to choke¡­¡± After a dozen spoons, all the soup had gone into Meng Xuan¡¯s stomach. Seeing Meng Xuan¡¯s hungry look, she had to say, ¡°Wait here, I¡¯ll bring you some again.¡± She shouldn¡¯t have taken off her overdress.

    Meng Xuan shook his head heavily, ¡°I¡¯m full. Don¡¯t leave me. Feed me the medicine!¡±

    After spoon-feeding him some medicine. He Danggui asked him, ¡°Since you could shake your head, are you able to move now?¡±

    ¡°Only my neck.¡± Meng Xuan replied.

    He Danggui did not doubt him. She exined as she continued to spoon-feed him, ¡°This decoction is called Jiangjun Powder,posed of lime, rhubarb and dragon¡¯s blood. It is just for emergency use. No one in my yard has ever been hurt this badly. Therefore, I don¡¯t have herbs for knife wounds. I will take care of your wound after helping you solve another problem.¡±

    ¡°Another problem?¡± Meng Xuan was looking at her.

    He Danggui nced at the bulge down there and said frankly, ¡°You know what I mean.¡±

    Meng Xuan was choked by the medicine again. He asked while coughing, ¡°Xiaoyi¡­you are willing to help me¡­ Ahem, does it mean that you agree to marry me?¡±

    He Danggui patted at his back to let him calm down and spoon-fed him the rest of the medicine. Then she moved the two bowls and closed the curtain. Wearing a flowered dress and getting into the quilt that was warmed by Meng Xuan, shey down facing him, and Meng Xuan also turned his head to look at her. They stared at each other for a while before Meng Xuan couldn¡¯t help asking, ¡°What will you do to help me?¡±

    He Danggui took a deep breath and climbed onto Meng Xuan¡¯s chest, ¡°This is my first time. If you don¡¯t feel good, please just tell me.¡± Then, her trembled fingers slid across the man¡¯s body all the way to the most secret ce and warped the hottest part finally.

    ¡°Xiaoyi, you...¡± Meng Xuan was too shocked to say aplete sentence. She did it for him! He didn¡¯t expect such a big transformation, and even the fire of desire had dissipated a little bit.

    He Danggui leaned against his chest and slightly moved her hands. She tried to be calm, ¡°Meng Xuan, I know your affection, and I am touched. In fact, you are the best man for me in this world. Last time, I was very happy to see you at Chengxu Academy. However, at that time, I was troubled by Zhu Quan and Feng Yang. I was worried about falling into Zhu Quan¡¯s control again. I have always known how your affection to me. I thought that I may ask you for help.¡±

    ¡°Zhu Quan and Feng Yang?¡± Meng Xuan felt that the half of his body was in the ice and the other half was in the fire. He had to clench his fists to enjoy the most wonderful joy in the world.

    ¡°Exactly.¡± He Danggui determined to tell everything he could know so that he would no longer suffer for an imaginary rival. She started from the beginning, ¡°When Madam Luo and I were on the way home from Shui Shang Temple, the horses of Madam Luo¡¯s carriage were shocked and ran wildly in the street. At the time, an oing carriage of Feng Yang helped to stop our horses and rescued Madam Luo. Therefore, Madam Luo invited Feng Yang and a man on his carriage to our mansion.¡±

    ¡°Was the man Zhu Quan?¡± The beauty¡¯s clean and smooth forehead was so close to him, and he couldn¡¯t help but kiss it.

    Feeling that her forehead was covered by the warm breath, He Danggui half closed her eyes and said, ¡°You know him. He used a fake name Ning Yuan, a friend of Feng Yang and a guest of Luo¡¯s Family. You once sat with him at the same table at the banquet. Didn¡¯t you feel he was familiar to you?¡±

    ¡°I did! I was also taken aback when I first saw him.¡± Meng Xuan changed his posture and drew the girl in his arms up a little bit. He showed a greedy look again, ¡°It¡¯s bitter in my mouth. I want some candy.¡± His eyes were looking at the two cherry-red lips.

    He Danggui¡¯s actions suddenly stiffened, and she asked in amazement, ¡°Can you move now? It¡¯s been less than an hour! I thought you couldn¡¯t move until the evening... Well, I guess you can help yourself now.¡±

    Meng Xuan was anxious and screamed, ¡°Only my arms! My hands are still stiff and numb. How can you stop now? What is the difference between this and not saving me? Please don¡¯t stop!¡± For this girl, he had done everything. After the girl¡¯s little hand moved again, he moaned and puckered his lips shamelessly, ¡°Candy, candy¡­¡±

    He Danggui turned her face in embarrassment and stared at the pattern on the curtain, ¡°Don¡¯t you want to know the rtionship between me and Zhu Quan? Now I¡¯m telling you, but you interrupt me!¡±

    Meng Xuan said happily, ¡°Let him go to hell! I have you in my arms now. I don¡¯t care about him! Come on! Xiaoyi, stop talking about him and let me kiss you. I will do everything for you.¡±

    He Danggui felt that he was about to move, so she stopped him anxiously, ¡°Don¡¯t move! Your wound has been torn up three times! You are not made of steel. Though your wound is not deep or infected by poison, it is still bleeding. That is weird! Who hurt you?¡±

    Meng Xuan did not answer her words but only puckered his lips. He Danggui had to bow her face to him, but Meng Xuan said, ¡°Down there! Don¡¯t stop! It¡¯s more ufortable after you stop.¡± Then, he kissed her lips that came to him as he wished.

    This time, both of them were immersed in the kiss intently. At first, they looked at each other¡¯s eyes to find their figures. Then, they closed their eyes at the same time to enjoy it. When the long kiss was over, He Danggui leaned against Meng Xuan¡¯s chest breathlessly and continued to ask, ¡°Who hurt you? If you don¡¯t tell me the truth, I can¡¯t set a treating n for you.¡±

    Meng Xuan, like a cat catching a fish, showed his teeth and told her, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. You probably recognize the person who hurt me. It¡¯s Lu Jiangbei from the imperial guard who looks exactly like Ning Yuan. He is very powerful, but I won¡¯t lose again. I was hurt by him because of you, Xiaoyi.¡±

    ¡°For what?¡± He Danggui looked at him in surprise, ¡°What does that have to do with me? Why did you fight him? Aren¡¯t you both serving the emperor?¡±

    Tears showed in Meng Xuan¡¯s eyes. He looked at her pitifully and pled, ¡°Don¡¯t stop your hands. Can you exert your strength more?¡± He Danggui followed his request, but Meng Xuan howled again in pain, ¡°Oh! You can¡¯t squeeze it! You are murdering your husband again!¡±

    Seeing his reaction, He Danggui did not dare to move anymore. Meng Xuan sighed and muttered, ¡°You really don¡¯t know how to do.¡± Then, he suddenly could move freely. He moved the girl in his arms with his left hand. Then he removed her little hand and took over her job with his right hand. At the same time, he groaned, ¡°It could have been the sweet memory, but I do it myself. How will youpensate me in the future?¡±

    He Danggui buried her face in his chest speechlessly. This man was her chosen husband!

    The two of them were like small boats on the sea undting along with the waves and ripples. The bed swayed slightly, so did the curtain. After a while, Meng Xuan gave a muffled growl. He said, ¡°Xiaoyi, I love you¡­ We will be together forever¡­¡±

    After a long while, the boats stopped drifting. Meng Xuan calmed down. His cheeks were dyed with pink color, and his eyes brightened. He looked at the girl in his arms and smiledzily, ¡°You can¡¯t regret it this time. Xiaoyi, I¡¯m yours from now on.¡±

    He Danggui curled up on his chest and asked softly, ¡°Shenshi, when will youe to marry me?¡±

 Chapter 319 - Kowtow to Heaven and Earth

    <h4>Chapter 319 Kowtow to Heaven and Earth</h4>

    Meng Xuan was overjoyed and kept shaking the person in his arms. He asked quickly, ¡°You want to marry me? You even call me Shenshi! Are you really willing to marry me immediately? Xiaoyi!¡±

    He Danggui hurriedly held him down and rebuked, ¡°You are injured. Be carefully. Even if you don¡¯t care your body, you should take care of yourself for me!¡±

    Meng Xuan nodded vigorously and his eyes narrowed into a slit. He replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Your husband is strong and healthy. It is just a little blood. You will not be a widow! We will die on the same day!¡±

    He Danggui patted his forehead and scolded him, ¡°If you keep bleeding, I¡¯ll have to keep bandaging you! That will be annoying!¡± Thinking of what Meng Xuan said, she suddenly realized something, ¡°You were injured by the imperial guard? When? Did you infect by some colorless and odorless poisons? I remember you were poisoned three years ago. Or, Lu Jiangbei¡¯s sword power is so strong that it keeps you bleeding?¡± While saying, she wanted to re-examine Meng Xuan¡¯s wound.

    Meng Xuan smiled and stopped her, ¡°I¡¯ve got no poisons. I deliberately pulled the wound and forced the blood out to make you feel distressed. Xiaoyi, your expression of being worried about me is so beautiful. I want to see it one more time.¡±

    He Danggui was frightened and angry, ¡°You¡¯re crazy! You are not the immortal!¡± Her chest rose and fell violently, bringing unspeakable feelings.

    ¡°Deceiving to get the love of a beautiful girl with a little blood is the most cost-effective business in the world.¡± Meng Xuan approached her with a smirk. His expression was seriously inconsistent with the elegant temperament of his handsome face. He demanded, ¡°Candy! Again! Xiaoyi, let¡¯s continue. And I want to hear you call me Shenshi again. Your voice is so fair-sounding.¡±

    He Danggui resolutely shook her head and said, ¡°You are seriously injured. If you don¡¯t take a rest, you will die! If you don¡¯t control yourself, you will lose me. Why don¡¯t you understand that we can do itter?¡± She had never seen such a scious man! He acted as he had never seen a woman.

    Meng Xuan slumped back on the pillow. He stared at He Danggui with her long hair sliding over her shoulders, and confirmed, ¡°Are you really willing to marry me?¡± He acted as if she would go back on her words if he didn¡¯t ask for evidence. However, what would be avable evidence? Meng Xuan thought for a while and decided, ¡°When I am recovered, let¡¯s continue what we should do today, okay?¡±

    No way! He Danggui became angry, but she couldn¡¯t lose her temper on this pale-faced Meng Xuan who had lost too much blood. So, she said perfunctorily, ¡°Let¡¯s talk about itter.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Meng Xuan felt that she was insincere, ¡°We should make an appointment now so that we both can prepare for it.¡±

    ¡°For what?¡± He Danggui asked confusedly.

    Meng Xuan answered seriously, ¡°I am preparing a way to make you feel less painful. In this way, we could purely enjoy it. Xiaoyi, I¡¯m your husband from today.¡± He seemed to be drunk and said everything came to his mind. Suddenly, he bounced out of the bed and shouted, ¡°That¡¯s right. Let¡¯s kowtow to Heaven and Earth! After that, we will formally be a couple!¡± Regardless of He Danggui¡¯s attempt to stop him, he searched every corner of the house, ¡°Do you have red candles? They are necessary!¡±

    He Danggui didn¡¯t know how tomunicate with this idiot Meng Xuan. Taking into ount his wound, sheforted him, ¡°You stay here. I will find you some.¡± She just asked Meng Xuan when he woulde to marry her. He once said that after he got consent from his parents, he would take betrothal presents to Luo¡¯s Mansion and marry her as a concubine. So why did he want to y house now?

    Muttering in her heart, she still took out a pair of thick and long red candles in the cab and lit them on. After fixing them on the cab in the corner, she let Meng Xuane to her, ¡°Here, let¡¯s perform the wedding ceremony.¡± She felt that it was simr to the scene that she coaxed him to y Go when they met for the first time.

    Meng Xuan grinned and tried to smooth down his rumpled clothes. Then he asked, ¡°Do you have red dress and red cloth? Those would be perfect costumes.¡±

    He Danggui shook her head, ¡°No, not even the reddish ones.¡± She didn¡¯t like the cloth with strong color.

    ¡°No?!¡± Meng Xuan was a little disappointed. He smacked his lips, ¡°Are you sure?¡±

    He Danggui shook her head unhappily, ¡°I didn¡¯t know that I am going to perform the wedding ceremony today.¡± Meng Xuan should regard it as a trifling matter. Was he really going to make out with her after his recovery?

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We will use them next time.¡± Meng Xuan grabbed He Danggui¡¯s wrist and pulled two slender leaves from a flowerpot on the windowsill. He folded the two leaves and hooked them together. Then he motioned her to pull the other end and said, ¡°I¡¯ll count to three, and then we pull them together!¡±

    y grass? Holding the thin grass and wondering in her heart, she was getting more confused than ever before. It seemed that he wanted to determine something by ying grass! She couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Why are we ying this game first? What do you want to do next?¡±

    Meng Xuan kindly exined, ¡°I have read a book recording a custom that the bride and the groom should kiss each other in front of everyone. I think we should perform it.¡±

    Well, that was his goal. He Danggui thought that he was really like a man who had never kissed and hugged a woman before.

    Meng Xuan continued, ¡°Since thest time we yed grass, I have liked this game. I even y the game myself with my left hand and my right hand twice a day. I am now a master! You should be careful. Come on. After I count to three, let¡¯s pull it!¡±

    One, two, three, snap! The grass in He Danggui¡¯s hand was intact, but the one in Meng Xuan¡¯s hand was broken. He Dangguiughed at him, ¡°A master, huh? I don¡¯t think so.¡± Seeing Meng Xuan only smiling, she remembered to ask, ¡°You still haven¡¯t told me your purpose. What does it have to do with ying grass?¡±

    Meng Xuan said slowly, ¡°Well, the loser will be punished and the winner will be rewarded.¡±

    ¡°What reward?¡± He Danggui stepped into the trap without knowing it.

    ¡°Since you win, you should punish me.¡± Meng Xuan announced the rules of the game while shaking his head. He sighed, ¡°Bad luck! Come on! I won¡¯t resist.¡±

    He Danggui fluttered her eyshes confusedly.

    Meng Xuan pointed at his lips and said, ¡°The loser will be kissed by the winner until...the candles burn out. I am ready to be punished!¡± At the time, a sly smile showed on his face.

    He Danggui couldn¡¯t help but retort, ¡°Bullshit! You are always the benefited one!¡±

    Meng Xuan shook his head in disapproval, ¡°Not at all. You will understand it in a moment!¡± Then, he dragged her to the cab and knelt there facing the red candles. Meng Xuan said solemnly, ¡°This is official. Xiaoyi, be serious. Say what I say.¡±

    He Danggui knelt and straightened her body as well, but she felt a little embarrassed. Did Meng Xuan ever attend a wedding before? They were not like getting married, but like bing sworn brother and sister...

    She shook her head and drove the thought away. Meng Xuan might be used to bing sworn brothers with men. Anyway, this was not the point. Once she became his concubine, her misery of previous life would be gone forever. She would be able to live a happy life with Meng Xuan in the future.

    She stayed here only because she wanted to be summoned to treat the Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang. In the future, the dying Zhu Yuanzhang would need Senior Lord Luo Maitong to treat him, however, Senior Lord would be heavily ill at that time. Therefore, she could grab the opportunity with her Yunqi Acupuncture and get into the Imperial Pce in rece of Senior Lord. Then, she would use the historical knowledge she knew to ask for a decent and morous identity from Zhu Yuanzhang. Her marriage was in thest ce to consider.

    This was the script she wrote in her heart three years ago. However, seeing her two previous lives in the Fantasy Dream, she learned the ¡°Tenth Princess¡± who was left out in a dpidated pce by his father, Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang. This girl was even inferior to a maid. From the conversation between the Tenth Princess and Gao Jun who killed her, the Ten Princess was also a Mongolian. She was probably like Zhu Quan whose biological mother was a Mongolian noblewoman. That was the reason why she was called the Princess of Mongolia by Gao Jun. It was her lot in previous life of the previous life, which was soplicated and also the reason of her death. Therefore, she really shouldn¡¯t get involved in it rashly.

    Moreover, someone in the capital and the Imperial Pce must have seen the appearance of the Tenth Princess. Before she was disfigured, secretaries, guards, and the imperial guards all might have seen her appearance. He Danggui¡¯s face, exactly the same as the Tenth Princess, was really troublesome. Although she could disguise herself and wear a veil, the risk still existed.

    In fact, the reason why she wanted to change a good identity was to marry a good man. Now, the best man in the world had alreadye to her. So why should she look for someone from elsewhere? She was convinced that Meng Xuan would definitely treat her well even as his concubine. In this way, she would not have to take risks for an uncertain future. Wealth always came with dangers. What if she was appointed to marry someone after having an identity like Infanta Xiancao? She should better stop now and be Meng Xuan¡¯s concubine.

    However, the agreement with Qing¡¯er could not be reached forever. Anyway, their wishes might only belong to fairy tales told by Qing¡¯er. It was too childish to ask a man to only marry one woman. As a powerful general, Meng Xuan naturally had to marry more women and would have more children to prevent one day dying with no offspring... Well, this thought was a little bit vicious. If Meng Xuan died, she would be a widow...

    At the time, Meng Xuan patted her on the shoulder and said solemnly, ¡°Come on, Xiaoyi. It¡¯s time to kowtow. I¡¯ll count to three. Let¡¯s do it together!¡±

 Chapter 320 - The learned groom

    <h4>Chapter 320 The learned groom</h4>

    Meng Xuan was so serious, as if he was saying that she should be loyal to friends. He Danggui was more speechless. She thought that they were now like bing sworn brothers...

    She asked cautiously, ¡°Meng Xuan, have you ever seen the marriage ceremony?¡±

    Meng Xuan told her very proudly, ¡°I have lived two lives and I have read tens of thousands of books. I learned that from a book.¡± Then, he raised his chin proudly.

    He Danggui was dumbfounded. She asked, ¡°You read it from a book? What¡¯s the marriage ceremony like?¡±

    ¡°Like what we are doing now.¡± Meng Xuan said affirmatively.

    He Danggui took a long time to regain her senses, ¡°Then, can you please tell me which book you were reading?¡±

    ¡°The book about getting married.¡±

    Fine! He Danggui closed her eyes helplessly. She decided to listen to Meng Xuan. She changed her kneeling position to a morefortable one and looked up at the red candles above. Then she nodded and said, ¡°Okay, I will count on three. Then let¡¯s kowtow together!¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Meng Xuan refused and stretched out his hand to stop He Danggui.

    He Danggui was stunned, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? You told me to kowtow to the cab and the candles.¡±

    Meng Xuan frowned and raised his chin, ¡°I should count the number.¡±

    He Danggui was speechless and closed her eyes, ¡°Fine! You do it.¡±

    ¡°One, two, three! Kowtow!¡± Meng Xuan shouted loudly and kowtowed with He Danggui at the same time. ¡°Kowtow to Heaven and Earth once. Kowtow to Heaven and Earth twice. Kowtow to Heaven and Earth three times...nine times...ten times...seventeen times...eighteen times...¡±

    He Danggui knocked again and again, and she was gradually feeling dizzy. When she heard that Meng Xuan had counted to twenty-nine times, she finally interrupted him, ¡°Enough! Three times would be enough! This ismon sense!¡±

    Unexpectedly, Meng Xuan was angry. He stared at He Danggui and cried out in disbelief, ¡°One time to thirty! Why did you interrupt me? I told you to be serious!¡± He took a deep breath and said magnanimously, ¡°Forget it. For the sake of your agreement to marry me, I won¡¯t argue with you. Now we have to start over. Focus on it this time. It is about the rest of our life. I will obey you in everything except for this one!¡±

    Start over? Looking at the cab in front of her with a small paper doll cut by Chan Yi, He Danggui thought this cab was so lucky that it could even ept the kowtowing of the two renascent people. She was full of doubts and helplessness, but she couldn¡¯t reject this upright, formal, and awe-inspiring Meng Xuan. Fine, she would listen to him this time.

    So, they went through the process again.

    ¡°Kowtow to Heaven and Earth once. Kowtow to Heaven and Earth twice...seventeen times...eighteen times...twenty-nine times...thirty times...thirty-one times¡­thirty-nine times...¡±

    He Danggui almost cried. She doubted that Meng Xuan was intentional. How much longer would it go on for? Forever? But she didn¡¯t dare to interrupt him, otherwise they would start over again.

    When she heard the number fifty, He Danggui was a little excited. Was it over? However, Meng Xuan continued his counting, ¡°...fifty-one times...sixty-one times...eighty times¡­¡± At the time, He Danggui was worried about Meng Xuan instead of worrying about herself. This man was injured. She hoped that his wound would be fine...

    When Meng Xuan counted to one hundred and twenty, He Danggui thought that this might be the retribution for punishing Sun Meiniang. In a short time, even she herself had to kowtow a thousand times... She nced at Meng Xuan¡¯s side face and had many thoughts. Was he really going to do that? He said he had read ten thousand books. Where did he buy those books? After marrying him, she must burn his study...

    When the number came to one hundred and fifty, Meng Xuan finally stopped. He looked at He Danggui and smiled happily, ¡°Good girl! You have not interrupted me this time. We finally performed it well.¡± However, he still showed a bit of resentment. ¡°The rite is sacred. How can you treat it as a joke? You almost made us unlucky!¡± Then, he let out a sigh of relief and smiled, ¡°From then on, we are a real couple. Xiaoyi, are you happy?¡±

    He Danggui nodded, ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Meng Xuan was startled, ¡°You are also happy? Xiaoyi, are you really happy?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± He Danggui nodded and asked him, ¡°Shall we get up now? I¡¯m worried about your wound. Let me take off the bandage and check it. Lu Jiangbei, Gao Jue, and Liao Zhiyuan are from the same sect. Their icy Zhenqi can even corrode copper and iron. I have seen Gao Jue chop a bamboo forest with a knife. Where his de went, all the bamboos got done. The scene was daunting.¡±

    After she finished her words, Meng Xuan smiled and said, ¡°Xiaoyi, you are distressed about me. I¡¯m your sweetheart, right?¡± He raised his hand to wave away the worry in her eyes andforted, ¡°I know what you mean. Don¡¯t worry. I am okay. No interruption now! We haven¡¯t finished the oath yet. Follow my words! Then, we will continue to be so loving for the fifty lives.¡±

    ¡°Fifty lives?¡± He Danggui was surprised.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Meng Xuan looked at her softly, ¡°Didn¡¯t you also say that three times of kowtowing wouldst the marriage for one life? We have done a hundred and fifty times, so we are going to be a couple in fifty lives. In the beginning, I only nned to kowtow thirty times for the ten lives, but you interrupted me. Then I hope to extend our marriage for a longer period!¡±

    He Danggui didn¡¯t feel touched but only felt that Meng Xuan was like a child. However, his eyes were so clear. When he looked at her, it seemed that she could directly see his heart. She realized that these words came from his heart. He really wanted to be her husband for fifty lives. She was overwhelmed by his gaze and lowered her head slightly. How lucky she was to be loved by such a wonderful man in fifty lives. She wouldn¡¯t need anyone except for him.

    Looking at the shy Xiaoyi, Meng Xuan smiled and said, ¡°Xiaoyi, say what I say. This is an oath that weighs more than gold.¡±

    He Danggui thought she couldn¡¯t afford Meng Xuan¡¯s love so much, but she was willing to take care of him and support him. Was it the bud of love? This feeling would lead her into a happy life, right?

    As for the next forty-nine lives, no one could tell what would happen to them. Would they still be human? ording to Bai Yangbai, in most cases, souls would be all creatures like birds, beasts, flowers and nts, and only a small part of them would be human. However, what if they both be men in the next life? Or women? Would these happen?

    He Danggui wanted to p herself. At such a moment of love and affection, listening to Meng Xuan¡¯s oath, she was thinking about these strange things. She might be overjoyed?

    Meng Xuan, not knowing her strange thoughts, only looked at her affectionately and said word by word, ¡°I, Meng Xuan, on the fourth day of the first month of the 31st year of Hongwu Period, marry He Danggui as my wife. We will be together forever.¡±

    He Danggui also said, ¡°I, He Danggui, on the fourth day of the first month of the 31st year of Hongwu Period, marry Meng Xuan as his wife. We will be together forever.¡±

    Meng Xuan looked at her gently, and suddenly had a sly look, He said quickly, ¡°From now on, I will only love and spoil you. I won¡¯t lie to you, and I will fulfill my promises to you. I won¡¯t bully, beat or scold you. I will always believe in you. I won¡¯t allow anyone to bully you. I will always apany you whether you are happy or not. You are always the most beautiful one for me, and I will always see you in my dreams. You¡¯re the only one in my heart.¡± After he finished speaking, he motioned He Danggui to follow him.

    He Danggui was stunned for a moment. She had heard these words from a woman in a story told by Qing¡¯er. The experience of that woman was quite simr to that of Zhuo Wenjun who married Sima Xiangru. However, after their marriage, her husband fell in love with someone else. Before they got married, this woman had asked her husband, ¡°From now on, you should only love and spoil me. Don¡¯t lie to me. And fulfill your promises to me. You should not bully, beat or scold me. You should always believe in me. And don¡¯t allow anyone to bully me. You should always apany me whether I am happy or not. I¡¯m always the most beautiful one for you, and you should always see me in your dreams. I¡¯m the only one in your heart.¡±

    He Danggui didn¡¯t believe that there was such a man who could keep these promises. Not to mention all of these points, anyone who could achieve one or two of them would be a good man. That woman said so on behalf of all the women in the world. Who didn¡¯t want her husband to treat her in this way?

    It was weird. Meng Xuan¡¯s words were almost the same as the story told by Qing¡¯er. In addition, Meng Xuan said that the bride and groom would kiss each other in front of everyone. This was also like the custom of Qing¡¯er¡¯s hometown. From which book did he learn that?

    She wanted to ask him, but she was worried that Meng Xuan would me her for interruption again. So, under Meng Xuan¡¯s gaze, she repeated the oath, ¡°From now on, I will only love and spoil you. I won¡¯t lie to you, and I will fulfill my promises to you. ... I will always see you in my dreams. You¡¯re the only one in my heart.¡± Were these theirmitments for each other? Were these the same expectations that they both wanted to have?

    Meng Xuan listened quietly. His eyes were clear like the brightest star in the night sky. After she finished, he nodded and sighed, ¡°This time, everything is settled. Xiaoyi, I will never let you go. If you dare to leave me, I will...let you pay for it!¡±

 Chapter 321 - The suicide of the groom

    <h4>Chapter 321 The suicide of the groom</h4>

    He Danggui was taken aback by the fierce meaning in his words. She frowned and asked, ¡°Do I owe you something? I have no idea.¡± Did she ever do something bad to him?

    ¡°If you think what you have done is not counted...¡± Meng Xuan pulled out a silver hairpin on her head and stuck it in his chest. Instantly, a bright red flower appeared in the center of his white shirt. Meng Xuan wascent. He gritted his teeth and sneered, ¡°This time you see it yourself. You can¡¯t ignore it, Xiaoyi.¡±

    He Danggui was shocked. He pushed away Meng Xuan¡¯s hand to examine the injury. She found that the silver hairpin was between his heart and lungs, which was exactly the same ce in the Fantasy Dream! She asked furiously, ¡°Meng Xuan, what does this mean?! Are you crazy?¡±

    Meng Xuanughed andy down on the ground. He said crazily, ¡°I have already been a madman. You just know it today? This time, remember clearly that you owe me a blood debt. Remember it clearly. Don¡¯t forget it...¡± Then, he closed his eyes and whispered something. It seemed that he almost fell into aa.

    He Danggui crawled over nervously. She didn¡¯t understand that why this would happen just after they have finished the rite and was enjoying the sweetness. She had even made up her mind to be his concubine when that day came. However, instead of kissing her or making out with her, the groommitted suicide! What was wrong with him?

    He Danggui carefully unbuttoned his clothes and inspected the injury caused by the silver hairpin. However, Meng Xuan suddenly opened his eyes and put his arms around her waist. He whispered ¡°If you dare to betray me, you will pay ten times for it. Believe me, you don¡¯t want to see it.¡±

    He Danggui felt as if there was a small snake on her ear. She struggled but couldn¡¯t get rid of him. Meng Xuan, who was badly injured, still had brutal strong strength. So, she gave up struggling and fell on his chest. Threatening words like clod ice echoed, ¡°I have lived for two lives, and I understand all the changes that will happen in the future. I can do a lot of things and take away a lot of lives, including Zhu Quan... Xiaoyi, from now on, you can¡¯t care about any other man.¡±

    He Danggui felt funny, but she was also angry. After all, Meng Xuan still regarded Zhu Quan as an imaginary rival. She tried to exin to him, but he refused to listen. This man was really awkward. Kill Zhu Quan? She didn¡¯t care about it at all. She sat up and looked at the wound on Meng Xuan¡¯s chest. She found that the hairpin didn¡¯t hurt any organ. He was fine. She breathed a sigh of relief and wanted to find medicine and cloth for her groom.

    But Meng Xuan sped her waist tightly and said imperiously, ¡°My blood oath has been taken. If I betray you, I will be punished with the death of heart breaking. Now it¡¯s your turn!¡±

    He Danggui¡¯s eyelids twitched. What the hell! It was too ominous. So, she hurriedly told Meng Xuan with the most solemn attitude, ¡°I will be your concubine and will not betray you. We don¡¯t have to make such a terrible oath. Your blood oath will be deemed invalid. Meng Xuan, whether you are a good man or not and no matter how you treat me in the future, I don¡¯t want you to be hurt.¡±

    Meng Xuan refused, ¡°No, no regrets! Xiaoyi, it¡¯s your turn.¡± He put on a gentle mask again, ¡°Make your oath today, the fourth day of the first month of the 31st year of Hongwu Period. It is the day we get married.¡±

    He Danggui only felt that Meng Xuan, who always listened to her, was now uncontroble. In fact, she had to listen to him now. So, she swore, ¡°I will follow you no matter what your lot is. If I betray you in the future, I will¡­¡± She narrowed her eyes, thinking about the appropriate words. Did Meng Xuan really mistrust her? She really chose him from the bottom of her heart.

    Suddenly, Meng Xuan pressed down on the back of her neck with one hand to let her lips touch his. His flexible tongue opened her teeth, dissipating the words she was about to say into a mouthful of heat.

    Regardless of whether she took the initiative or not, she had counterattacked him once. She viewed it as the right of the winner of ying grass. At the same time, the red candles on the cab finally burnt out, but the kisssted longer until someone knocked at the door. Dou Jiang¡¯s voice came, ¡°Miss, are you awake? Madam Luo wants you to see a guest whoes here for you.¡±

    He Danggui ended the long kiss and asked, ¡°Who?¡± Was this guest the annoying Peng Shi?

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. The person who came here didn¡¯t make it clear, and I hurried to go to tell you. The guest seems to be your ssmate. Now Madam Luo and him are having tea, and they both are waiting for you.¡± Dou Jiang said what the maid of Madam Luo told her.

    The ssmate in Chengxu Academy? Male or female? Why did the persone here during New Year? Was it because of the trial of Qian Mudan¡¯s case? Did they want her to testify in court?

    He Danggui nced at the weak Meng Xuan on the ground and replied, ¡°Dou Jiang, go to tell Madam Luo that I caught a cold when I slept in the Depositary of Buddhist Texts and I can¡¯t get off the bed these days. If the guest is in a hurry, let he or she leave me a note. Besides, he or she can go to Guan¡¯s Mansion to find Qing¡¯er. She can help as well.¡± Today was her wedding day. Nothing was more important than looking after her husband. Qian Mudan was dead. How could the dead be more important than the living?

    Dou Jiang remembered what her miss said. Then she replied yes and left.

    Meng Xuan flush because of the raging kiss of this girl. After calming down, he helped her finish the oath, ¡°If you betray me, you will ask me for joy every night and give birth to ten sons. What do you say?¡±

    He Danggui got up with annoyance. She dragged Meng Xuan back to the bed to cure his wound. It didn¡¯t take her much effort to handle the wound on the chest because the stabbing didn¡¯t hurt any organs. However, when she removed the bandage on Meng Xuan¡¯s left arm and looked at the sword wound, she found that it was still bleeding, and the flesh still turned inside out, as if it wouldn¡¯t recover by wrapping with the cloth. He Danggui felt suspicious. This was not a usual cut.

    Meng Xuan leaned on the pillow leisurely and praised her, ¡°You did a good job just now. You will have to act like this when you encounter a simr situation in the future. You shall always put your husband first. Understood, Xiaoyi?¡± Looking at her small face on his arm, he nodded and smiled, ¡°Then, in order to reward you for not seeing your ssmate, you are allowed to serve me ten nights. How is it?¡± His right hand was reaching to her as he said so.

    He Danggui blocked his hand and said angrily, ¡°Be serious! Your left arm must be very painful. You know it is not an ordinary sword injury, but why don¡¯t you tell me!¡±

    Meng Xuan squinted his eyes and yawned, ¡°That¡¯s it. From tonight! We have the target of 10 sons! In other words, we will have one son every two years. Xiaoyi, you will at least meet the target at the age of 35... Of course, daughters are also necessary. We should have three daughters. By then... you would at least be 41years old.¡±

    He Danggui first ignored this nonsense, considering that he was injured. However, after listening all the words, she couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Why don¡¯t you want more daughters? Does Meng¡¯s Family prefer boys to girls seriously?¡±

    Meng Xuan opened one eye and told her, ¡°I¡¯m afraid that all my daughters are like you. You almost got me killed. How many lives do you think your husband has for them to y with?¡±

    ¡°Well, I guess I should say thank you.¡± He Danggui put a silver ke on his wound for a moment. When she took it away, there was no sign of discoloration on it. It was really not poisonous. So, what was keeping this wound from recovering? She intentionally mentioned the most concerned issue, ¡°I don¡¯t want to make you work hard, so I won¡¯t give birth to your children. Don¡¯t you already have a son? I heard that she was a chivalrous girl. Her son must be like handsome and outstanding. You shoulde to her for more sons.¡±

    With his eyes wide open, Meng Xuan asked, ¡°Are you talking about Suxin?¡±

    He Danggui raised her brows, ¡°Are there any other women who had given birth to your children?¡±

    Meng Xuan showed a funny expression and wanted to exin something. However, he rolled his eyes and asked, ¡°Xiaoyi, are you jealous?¡± His Xiaoyi would also be jealous of the women who had given birth to his children.

    ¡°No. I¡¯m only happy for you.¡± He Danggui said reluctantly, ¡°I haven¡¯t been a member of your family, yet you already have a son. I am so lucky to have a free son.¡± In fact, she had a bit of experience in looking after other women¡¯s kids. She had even helped an enemy look after her son. Now she hadplicated feelings when being jealous again.

    Meng Xuan rubbed his chin and looked at her expression. He couldn¡¯t figure out what she was thinking. She had a jealousy tone just now, but in a blink of an eye, she was like a good wife and a good mother. Was she really happy to look after a son of his concubine? Was this her real thought?

    In this way, she was a sensible woman, knowing that once she entered her husband¡¯s family, she would be connected to it. The family members would be all her rtives, and there would be no difference between them. From this point of view, she was actually a very traditional woman. Women would usually learn Law of the Ladies for literacy when they were five years old. Many ofws taught them to follow their husbands and respect their husbands¡¯ other women. Therefore, although she was a little affected by the weirdo Liao Qing¡¯er, she was still a sensible and traditional girl. He was a little relieved because he might have to marry Suxin as his concubine... However, he would still abide by the promises he made. He only needed Xiaoyi.

    At the time, He Danggui suddenly changed her face and showed Meng Xuan the silver ke in panic, ¡°Poisonous! Meng Xuan, you are poisoned!¡±

 Chapter 322 - Who carry on a clandestine love affair

    <h4>Chapter 322 Who carry on a ndestine love affair</h4>

    Meng Xuan took a look at the silver ke that had turned into light gray, and then said calmly, ¡°This is not the usual poison but the cold poison derived from icy Zhenqi. Don¡¯t worry, Xiaoyi. I will be fine soon. Don¡¯t you forget that I was hit by He He Qi Ri Qing three years ago? After taking the antidote, I am not afraid of poisons. Rest assured.¡±

    How could He Danggui feel at ease? She retorted, ¡°Who told you that? If so, those imperial guards would be invincible and He He Qi Ri Qing would be the most precious vine in the world. Meng Xuan, tell me how do you feel. Are you ufortable?¡±

    However, Meng Xuan frightened her again, ¡°I read it from a book. He He Qi Ri Qing is the most poisonous in the world and can restrain other poisons. It can¡¯t be wrong.¡± After a pause, he shamelessly said, ¡°As for the ufortable ce, it¡¯s the low part of my body where you just held. Xiaoyi, your acupuncture is really effective. I am still ufortable. When shall we finish thest step? Tonight? Tonight! Tonight!¡± He was even ying cute like a child.

    He Danggui patted his forehead, trying to disperse his lust. Was he really the fifty-sixth grandson of Mencius? It was hard to imagine that this lecherous man had already been a father. She angrily reminded him, ¡°Your ancestor Mencius once said that it is better to have no book than to believe everything in the book. Will you risk your life because of a sentence in the book? How could you have two lives? What is in your head?¡± He Danggui had determined to find a cure for his wound.

    ¡°You.¡± Meng Xuan told her, ¡°You are the only thing in my head.¡±

    He Danggui sternly told him, ¡°If so, you should take care of yourself for me. Without your life or a healthy body, it would be nothing. Meng Xuan, you need to understand that heroes are also afraid of being injured. Guan Yu, the famous general of Three Kingdoms, was defeated at Maicheng City because of an unhealed poisonous wound made by an arrow. You and I are a couple, and you could just tell me the truth frankly. Why did you fight with Lu Jiangbei? I need the truth to find out an antidote. Your wound won¡¯t get better until the poison is solved.¡±

    She painstakingly persuaded him to value it. However, Meng Xuan pretended to be deaf and kept his gibberish, ¡°Tonight! Tonight! Tonight!¡±

    Unable to talk to Meng Xuan, He Danggui had to temporarily use multiple gauzes to fix the wound that could not recover. She wanted to find rted books in the Depositary of Buddhist Texts. There might be some book of treatments of sores, wounds and rot. Luo Tianyi, the ancestor of Luo¡¯s Family, was a military doctor who focused on this field. If she couldn¡¯t find a solution there, she would find other ways. Fortunately, Gao Jue was now in Yangzhou City. He must know how to deal with the poison...

    Since He Danggui had made up her mind, she calmed Meng Xuan down quickly and reminded him that he should take more rest. Then, she brought everything Meng Xuan might need on the bedside table before leaving there dressed as a maid with a veil. Of course, she didn¡¯t forget to lock the door to prevent people from seeing Meng Xuan. Because time was tight and no one was in the house, she didn¡¯t paint the fake pimples.

    No one in Tao Yao Yard was rmed. She sneaked out quietly through a secret path, heading for the Depositary of Buddhist Texts. When she was passing by the garden, she saw Bai Yangbai who was dressed as a skinny Taoist priest and was holding a long to fish at the pond. He was singing a weird tune, ¡°A couple should love each other...¡± She felt a little speechless so she went around him.

    After walking through the atrium garden and passing three more yards, she heard the groans of a man and a woman inside. She climbed up on a wall to locate the sound. Surprisingly, the man and woman who carried on a ndestine love affair were her acquaintances. Last time, she and Meng Xuan happened to hear about this couple¡¯s affair in Su Mei Yard.

    She jumped off the wall and walked around the yard. Then she found that this ce was the side courtyard of Mu Jin Ge of First Madam Zhao. That man who was nearly 30 years old was an adopted son from First Madam Zhao natal family half a year ago. His real name was Zhao Ganyi. He was the son of the First Madam Zhao¡¯s cousin, and both of his parents had died. After being adopted, his name was changed to Luo Ganyi. Originally, the First Branch had no need to adopt a son from another family because they had an heir. Not to mention the man in his 20s, the members of Luo¡¯s Family and he were all embarrassed. However, he indeed had the courage to call these people father, mother and grandma respectively. Even Luo Baiji didn¡¯t call Madam Luo grandma repeatedly before.

    However, First Master Luo Baiqian used to be able to help First Lord deal with the affairs of San Qing Tang. Since he was haunted by Qi Chuan¡¯s ghost, he would get sick almost every three days. When he didn¡¯t get sick, he was also far from a normal man. After being frightened by the extermination case, he could only sleep with two quilts even in summer, and he couldn¡¯t even get out of his yard. San Qing Tang had a lot of affairs, but all the burden fell upon First Lord Luo Chuanbai alone. Luo Chuangu of Second Branch had his own business, and Third Branch Luo Chuanpu didn¡¯t want to pay attention to San Qing Tang that would never belong to him. He used to deal with some of the affairs two years ago, but he preferred to go to a theater for a famous actress fromst year. Therefore, all the affairs were too much for First Lord Luo Chuanbai.

    So, First Madam Zhao adopted a son from her natal family. Luo Baiqian was the son of the concubine and was not close to her. Her niece Dong Xin only respected her on the surface. In the future, after Madam Luo died, separation of the family would be an inevitable trend. Even if they would not move out, they still had to divide up the property. Luo¡¯s Family had an unwritten rule that all the property would be allocated ording to the number of people in a branch.

    Luo Ganyi was a sophisticated and dutiful person. His words could always let First Madam Zhao be moved. Therefore, she thought Luo Ganyi would be the one to rely on when she was old. He was better than Luo Baiqian and Dong Xin. Anyway, her daughter Luo Baiying would stay single forever. Soon, she got the approval from First Lord Luo Chuanbai, and the thing was settled.

    What impressed them the most was that this adopted son was a Jinshi. He was appointed to be the governor of Yizhou City years ago. But before he took the office, his parents in Zhenjiang City both died in idents, so he went home to keep hisst filial piety for three years. People said that he strictly followed the rules during mourning. He did not touch meat or alcohol, and only drank two bowls of porridge every day. Besides, he cried every morning and evening. And he chanted sutras for his parents every night.

    Such a filial and unmarried talent with some property would be a great helper for Luo Chuanbai. Besides, he could help the First Branch to gain more property in the future. Moreover, more people could do things easily and bring more luck. Therefore, the First Branch epted him first. Not long after, even Madam Luo liked this adopted grandson. She kept praising that he was a caring child, and she would help him find a good marriage.

    However, Luo Ganyi was a strange person. He was nice to everything except for his marriage. He had rejected all the proposals. Later, someone even spected whether Luo Ganyi had some congenital problems that prevented him from getting married? Maybe the members of Zhao¡¯s Family also had this problem.

    He Danggui had seen Luo Ganyi in her previous life. However, Luo Baiqian was not haunted by a ghost and Luo Ganyi was not adopted by First Madam Zhao. He only opened a stationery store in the next street. He originally wanted to buy a house near Luo¡¯s Mansion, but after First Madam Zhao heard it, he was invited to live in Luo¡¯s Mansion. When He Danggui was dead in the previous life, he was still living there.

    In her previous life, He Danggui heard that Luo Ganyi was a vegetarian. He didn¡¯t marry anyone until about forty years old. So, He Danggui thought that Luo Ganyi was affected by impotence, like Luo Duheng in West Yard, so he didn¡¯t want a woman to bother him. However, just a few days ago, in Su Mei Yard, He Danggui saw that Luo Ganyi carried on a ndestine love affair. He did not have a decent and intellectual temperament like before. He Danggui couldn¡¯t help but sigh that she couldn¡¯t judge a book by its cover.

    It was like putting a mouse in the rice jar. That woman was Concubine Mei of Third Lord. They must have maintained this rtionship for a long time ording to their behaviors. Maybe in the previous life, Luo Ganyi did not marry because of Concubine Mei?

    As for Concubine Mei, she had dissolute history. When she first arrived at Luo¡¯s Mansion three years ago, there was a blood-sucking zombie incident, which was unfortunately bumped into by Chan Yi. It waster confirmed that the crime wasmitted by the masked man who practiced the evil martial arts. At the time, there were two people who carried on a ndestine love affair in Yuan Yang Pavilion. One of them was the dead outer courtyard guard Wang Fan, and the other was Concubine Mei.

    That night, Chan Yi saw the face of the woman, but Chan Yi didn¡¯t know her name at the time. However, at a family banquet where all the members appeared, Chan Yi let out a cry because she recognized Concubine Mei. Later, He Danggui learned the fact from Chan Yi.

    So, He Danggui immediately thought of one thing. Concubine Mei had a plum-iid hairpin, which was left at the scene of the crime. Moreover, the hairpin was picked up by Madam Luo¡¯s maid Pu Gongying and was handed to Mammy Li in charge of lost and found.

 Chapter 323 - Be killed when making out with a monster

    <h4>Chapter 323 Be killed when making out with a monster</h4>

    After that, He Danggui sneaked into the ce where Mammy Li collected lost property, and she saw the plum-iid hairpin in the storagepartment. Then, she took the hairpin away as an exhibit to control Concubine Mei.

    At that time, Concubine Mei was a figure of Sun Meiniang¡¯s group. Although Concubine Mei did not help a lot, every time Sun Meiniang asked each Branch to express their opinions, Concubine Mei would always follow her will to vote on behalf of Third Branch. She was, though a concubine, so prestigious. Besides, Third Lord Luo Chuanbai and Third Mistress Liang bothered trifles. As long as it was not a matter of money and food, Concubine Mei would represent Third Branch mostly.

    Thus, He Danggui wanted to restrain Concubine Mei, so that she would be less likely to help Sun Meiniang, and Sun Meiniang¡¯s force could be weakened. Wang Fan, who carried on a ndestine love affair with Concubine Mei, was unfortunately killed by the masked man by sucking his blood. People were shocked by his pale and bloodless face when they found the dead body. While after that, people noticed that he was wearing a suit of fire-fighting fish scale armor that he wore the night before when he put out the fire in the Bitter Bamboo Grove. However, his lower body was only with open shorts, and his privates were still stiff after death.

    Looking at the scattered clothes in Yuan Yang Pavilion not far away, and the stains on his clothes, many people wondered Wang Fan might make out with someone before he died. Even some imaginative people thought that Wang Fan met a monster who sucked human blood for a living. The monster turned into a beautiful woman, seduced Wang Fan to make out, sucked away his blood at the crucial moment, and exhibited the corpse here.

    Although the imagination was ridiculous, many people believed it was true. Anyway, it was undoubted that Wang Fan made out with someone in the garden in the atrium in the inner yard. Later Madam Luo and Mammy Li also knew it. The woman who hadmitted adultery with Wang Fan was probably the maid working in the garden. To correct the inner house, Madam Luo and Mammy Li not only canceled the two hundred liang silver of pensions nned to be given to Wang Fan¡¯s family, but also made restrictive conditions for the bodyguards of the outer yard to enter the inner yard. Last time, Ding Rong¡¯s wife called a group of bodyguards into the hall to kill Biddy Wen, which made Madam Luo so angry. It was because ording to the regtion, bodyguards of the outer yard were not allowed to enter the inner yard at night, unless they were approved by her.

    People all knew for sure that Wang Fan didn¡¯t do anything good before he died, but no one had ever bothered to trace the woman who was. They might think that even if it was the woman of the inner yard, she couldn¡¯t be found as the matter had be significant. No one had ever noticed that just in the morning after Wang Fan died, not far from the crime scene, a maid named Pu Gongying found a woman¡¯s hairpin and handed it over. No one, including Pu Gongying and Mammy Li, connected the two incidents.

    Other people were ignorant, but the perpetrator herself must care about it. Therefore, He Danggui took advantage of her mind and anonymously wrote a letter to Concubine Mei, where the lost hairpin was painted and said that it was found beside Wang Fan¡¯s body, and many people had witnessed it. The condition for secrecy in the letter was that Concubine Mei should stop being in cahoots with Sun Meiniang.

    After Concubine Mei received the letter, she lived a secluded life and no longer assisted Sun Meiniang, which indirectly made He Danggui free from worry. Later, He Danggui secretly delivered letters twice, asking Concubine Mei to take some action rightly to disgrace Sun Meiniang a few times. Even this time, Sun Meiniang lost her force, and Concubine Mei also contributed a little. She sent Ding Rong¡¯s wife, who had always been around Sun Meiniang, away with an excuse, so that Sun Meiniang fell into the trap.

    Originally, He Danggui intended to ignore Concubine Mei¡¯s adultery and return her with the hairpin. After all, Third Lord had ignored her for years, so it was natural for her to do something immoral. Living in the same house was hard to survive. He Danggui thought it was none of her business and didn¡¯t want to make trouble for Concubine Mei. However, this dissolute woman took a fancy to Xiaoyou a year ago. She seduced him secretly a few times, and even gave Xiaoyou her underwear for fun. Interestingly, Xiaoyou, nearly twenty years old, was still a fool. Not only had he not been seduced by the morous Concubine Mei, but he became disgusted with her. He took the bellyband to He Danggui to have a look and told her the whole thing.

    He Danggui kept the bellyband, and wrote another letter to Concubine Mei, asking her not to seduce Xiaoyou. In this way, He Danggui got another piece of evidence in her hand, but Concubine Mei might realize what happened. The person who had been using the hairpin to coerce her to do things was most likely a person from Tao Yao Yard. It might even be He Danggui herself because she had the most trouble with Sun Meiniang among the family members. However, Concubine Mei couldn¡¯t see anything from He Danggui¡¯s face when they met each other several times. Her expression showed Concubine Mei was even unknown to her. Thus, Concubine Mei was less suspected and only kept some doubt in her mind.

    Gradually, no one mentioned Xiaoyou was seduced by Concubine Mei. In addition to calling Concubine Mei to help defeat Sun Meiniang this time, He Danggui didn¡¯t bother her for a whole year. Probably feeling the threat was gone away, Concubine Mei was unwilling to be lonely and then began to seduce Luo Ganyi, the adoptive son of First Branch. They met each other in Su Mei Yard of Third Branch and Mu Jin Ge of First Branch.

    He Danggui did not stay much after she met the scene and walked towards the Depositary of Buddhist Texts in South Yard, thinking that how chaotic the family affairs of Third Lord were. His second wife Ms. Liang was so weird. Although she was known as a well-breddy from a family with declined fortunes, her actions showed it was not like that. As to his concubines, all of them were beautiful but calcting. However, Third Lord was a person who didn¡¯t care about his family. No wonder there were affairs with his family.

    Concubine Mei was unfaithful to him and met her lover in Su Mei Yard, which was the holynd in the hearts of Third Lord and his son Luo Baiji because Luo Baiji¡¯s mother had lived there during her lifetime. Later Luo Baiqiong lived there for half a year, which had caused an estrangement between Second Branch and Third Branch. But they never expected that Su Mei Yard, the sacrednd in their hearts, had long since be a ce for a pair of paramours. How ridiculous!

    He Danggui fixed her hair alongside the ears. Second Cousin Luo Baiji was good to her. Should she tell him about this and let him correct the family? Then Concubine Mei would die because of her words, which needed to be thought twice. But writing a letter like before, to stop Concubine Mei frommitting adultery, might be inefficient.

    After all,st time, Xiaoyou didn¡¯t know he was seduced by Concubine Mei, who had to give up out of his indifference. While this time, Concubine Mei and Luo Ganyi were both active and made a n to have trysts. He Danggui couldn¡¯t stare at her for the whole day to help Third Lord protect the innocence of his concubine... Besides, Concubine Mei was no longer innocent. How long could it be protected? And she would leave Luo¡¯s Mansion soon...

    He Danggui shook her head and thought that she was meddlesome. Third Lord was also a shrewd businessman. He met his concubines all day long. How couldn¡¯t he notice it at all? He probably thought of the face of Luo¡¯s Family and didn¡¯t mention it. After all, they were most concerned about their faces.

    She could also write another letter to Concubine Mei, telling her not to choose Su Mei Yard for trysts, so that she had a sense of panic of being monitored and dared not to act tantly. The most important thing was that Su Mei Yard would not be disturbed and Luo Baiji would be happy for that. He was the only one who had not been contaminated in Luo¡¯s Family. He Danggui hoped that his ending would be better than his previous life. Su Xiaoxiao, who was originally arranged to elope with Luo Baiji, had already given birth to a son for Meng Xuan, so Luo Baiji wouldn¡¯t run away from home... How strange. He Danggui suddenly felt her chest was stuffy. Was it because she was too tired...

    ¡°Master Peng...¡± A trembling voice of a youngdy came and she whispered, ¡°Don¡¯t do that! Oh, no...¡±

    He Danggui was so surprised. What was wrong with today? Which House of thes of gold, wood, water, fire, and earth had gone? Why there were paramours everywhere? Including Meng Xuan and her, both of whom pledged to marry secretly, this was the third pair. Master Peng? ording to Dou Jiang, there was only Peng Shi in the family. He went to Luo¡¯s Mansion to molest a youngdy. What was the matter with his brain? The people in Luo¡¯s Mansion didn¡¯t forget the entanglement between him and Luo Baiqiong. Wasn¡¯t he afraid of being forced to take Luo Baiqiong back to the capital?

    With curiosity, following the woman¡¯s low voice, He Danggui gradually found rocks stacked beside the path, and the sound came behind the rocks. He Danggui stared at the scene in surprise. The rockery was indeed a good ce for rendezvous, but the woman¡¯s voice was clearly...

    ¡°Master Peng, don¡¯t do this. I dare not! Please let me go!¡± The youngdy begged.

    ¡°No. I must finish it. You grin and bear it. It just hurts for a moment... Hey, don¡¯t press your hands on my head. You knock my hair essories crooked!¡±

    This was Peng Shi¡¯s voice. He Danggui frowned. She didn¡¯t expect that he was indifferent on his appearance, but so despicable and shameless in private, making indecent assault and forcing a youngdy to make out with him. Appearances were often deceptive! ording to the voice, thedy was Chai Yutu, who was sent by Madam Luo¡¯s natal family and lived in Luo¡¯ Mansion for more than half a year.

    Miss Chai was softer and gentler than He Danggui in previous life. She suffered wrong in Luo¡¯s Family. Luo Baiqiong liked to bully her the most, probably because Miss Chai was pretty and charming, with the tender style that even He Danggui didn¡¯t have. Miss Chai was sixteen years old, which was the most charming age. As soon as she started studying at Chengxu Academy, she immediately attracted the attention of a group of satyrs, and the attention even surpassed that of the topic of Liao Qing¡¯er and He Danggui. Childes were stretching out the unruly hands to make friends with her wherever she went. Luo Baiqiong was jealous, so she always made trouble for Miss Chai. Of course, Luo Baiqiong also passed all the anger that couldn¡¯t take it out on He Danggui to Miss Chai.

    All in all, He Danggui felt that Chai Yutu¡¯s experience was almost a copy of herself in the previous life. The whole family, including her father and mother, abandoned her. Finally, she had to go to Madam Luo for shelter in Yangzhou City, a totally unfamiliar ce for her. She was bullied and looked down upon in Luo¡¯s Mansion. She wanted toin to Madam Luo, but she couldn¡¯t describe it clearly and people criticized her as a narrow-mindeddy.

    Now Miss Chai was being bullied by Peng Shi. What should He Danggui do, save her or not?

    ¡°Ouch!¡± Miss Chai screamed again. ¡°No! Master Peng! It hurts! Ah!¡±

    He Danggui was shocked. Was shete? What happened behind the rockery?

 Chapter 324 - No amour behind the rockery

    <h4>Chapter 324 No amour behind the rockery</h4>

    ¡°Master Peng, you, can you take it lightly? I can¡¯t stand it¡­¡± Miss Chai said in a trembling voice, ¡°No! It will break!¡±

    Peng Shi answered, ¡°You suffer from your actions. Hey, take your hand away from my head!¡±

    He Danggui became angry when she heard this. It was unforgivable that Peng Shi, a beast in human clothing, bullied a frail woman! He deserved to be hit severely! Chai Yutu was too weak, who had already been raped but still called him ¡°Master Peng¡± or ¡°you¡±. There must be something wrong with her brain! What she should do was to resist and scratch the evil¡¯s face!

    ¡°Ouch...It hurts...No...¡± Chai Yutu only cried, not knowing whether she was poked the acupoint, her hands were disabled, or her fingernails were not sharp enough.

    He Danggui gritted her teeth. Since Chai Yutu couldn¡¯t beat him, she would do it for her. Anyway, she was wearing two veils, and after scratching his face, she would run with Chai Yutu right away. Peng Shi probably couldn¡¯t recognize her. If they ran to a ce with many people, he must dare not run after them. Action spoke louder than words. It was regretful that Chai Yutu had already been raped by Peng Shi. He Danggui thought they had to consider itter to make Peng Shi apologize and bear his responsibility.

    He Danggui slowly approached the rockery to beat Peng Shi and save Chai Yutu. She was nning to scratch Peng Shi¡¯s face and dress Chai Yutu and then take her away. Thinking of it, He Danggui clenched her fists with cold eyes.

    Miss Chai cried in a low voice, ¡°First Master, slow down, please. Ah... Right here. It¡¯s better.¡±

    He Danggui stopped her steps and became astonished. Much better? What did it mean?

    Peng Shi asked, ¡°Do you want to continue?¡±

    Chai Yutu replied, ¡°Please go ahead. Sorry to trouble you, Master Peng.¡± Peng Shi snorted coldly.

    He Danggui was dumbfounded. ¡°Trouble you¡±?

    ¡°Ouch...no, not here,¡± Chai Yutu cried again, ¡°Change somewhere else, Master Peng! It hurts a lot!¡±

    Peng Shi then asked, ¡°What about here?¡±

    Chai Yutu replied in a trembling voice, ¡°Yes, please go on.¡±

    He Danggui was stunned for a while. It turned out that Peng Shi was not forcing Chai Yutu. They were truly a couple who were having a tryst. Miss Chai was inherently weak and tended to cry, which made He Danggui misunderstood. She almost disturbed the couple¡¯s dating and offended them at one time. Chai Yutu was easy-going, but Peng Shi had something on her. If his meeting was disturbed, he might take revenge on her.

    Chai Yutu groaned painfully but joyfully. He Danggui quietly turned back, wondering when did these two people fall in love with each other.

    Chai Yutu had been lived in Luo¡¯s Mansion for eight months, but Peng Shi only seemed to have been to Yangzhou twice during this period. Thest time he went here wasst month. Back then, he was badgered by Sun Meiniang and Luo Baiqiong, and almost couldn¡¯t leave Luo¡¯s Mansion. If it weren¡¯t for Peng Shi¡¯s firm refusal to ept Luo Baiqiong, even as a concubine, he would have to be East Yard¡¯s son-inw. Could it be that he had fallen in love with Chai Yutu at that time, so he hated Luo Baiqiong who bullied Chai Yutu?

    Right. There were simr love triangle plots in stories shared by Qing¡¯er, and it must be true. These two were considered to be good matches. One was handsome with hardness, and another was pretty with softness. But Chai Yutu, born of a concubine and abandoned by her family, probably was not qualified to be Peng Shi¡¯s wife. Moreover, she was so soft and weak. Hope that she would not be as miserable as first entering Luo¡¯s Mansion when she married to the prosperous capital. Hope Peng Shi could take the responsibility, instead of being ruthless out of a moment of freshness.

    ¡°Patter!¡±

    He Danggui wasmenting on the ending of the couple¡¯s tryst and identally stepped on a dry nt under her feet, and made a small noise. She became nervous, not knowing what to do, but thedy was still moaning and was not affected at all, so she thought, Peng Shi¡¯s internal force was inferior to her, and his hearing was not among the best, so he probably didn¡¯t hear it... What if he heard the strange sound? They were too busy to notice the passers-by if you didn¡¯t stretch your head behind the rockery to have a look.

    Thinking of it, she walked quickly, holding her breath. But she only walked a dozen steps before hitting a high wall and was bounced back a few steps backward. He Danggui realized that the ¡°wall¡± must be Peng Shi. But the groans behind the rockery didn¡¯t stop, which made her feel extremely weird. She guessed that Peng Shi probably chased it out after hearing the weird sound. He Danggui was not sure whether his clothes were well dressed. Afraid to see what should not see, she hurriedly turned her back and squinted her eyes.

    ¡°He Danggui! It¡¯s you!¡± Peng Shi¡¯s voice sounded above her head, with great displeasure, ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    It seemed that she underestimated her recognition, thinking wearing a maid suit with two veils was enough, but Peng Shi recognized her immediately as if her name was engraved on her forehead.

    He Danggui opened her eyes and found Peng Shi was right in front of her. He was wearing a blue-washed gown, a vermillion Tang-style cap crown, two headbands with dark brown beads on his forehead, tying a nine-strand purple thread on his waist, and wearing a pair of white boots on his feet. He had slender nting eyebrows, the raised peach blossom eyes, and his pupils of the eyes looked like a superior ck jade. His arrogance and indifference had not changed over the years. The prominent nose made this eighteen-year-old young man more handsome, and the tightened jaw showed that he was not delighted.

    He Danggui thought that Peng Shi had grown into an imposing man, seemingly taller than Meng Xuan and scarier than Meng Xuan when he was unhappy. But why was he angry at her? He Danggui thought she was right. Hearing they were in a tryst, she immediately turned into clouds and drifted away. Even the noise she made was tolerable. If they were reluctant to be disturbed, they shouldn¡¯t have had a tryst outside the house. He Danggui also felt embarrassed to meet them.

    But when did Peng Shi dress him well to stop her as soon as he heard the noise? And dressed so neatly, meticulous, humanlike...

    The groan of Miss Chai didn¡¯t stop. He Danggui waspletely confused. What exactly happened? Was there another one behind the rockery? Why Miss Chai, who was the most bashful one, was still groaning since they were witnessed by others?

    Seeing He Danggui lowered her head silently, with her eyes turning around flexibly, not knowing what she was thinking, Peng Shi raised his eyebrows and became much unhappier. He crossed his arms and asked, ¡°Third Sister, what are you doing here?¡±

    ¡°Nothing.¡± He Danggui answered. Was it necessary to be so blunt as she met their amour? Wasn¡¯t it better for both of them to have a tacit understanding?

    ¡°You...¡± Peng Shi looked at her with cold eyes, ¡°I went to see you at noon today. Why didn¡¯t you want to see me? I heard you weren¡¯t sleeping.¡±

    He Danggui¡¯s eyes wide opened, and she blurted out, ¡°What did you hear?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Peng Shi was puzzled, ¡°I heard you weren¡¯t sleeping.¡± He nced suspiciously at her, and then asked, ¡°Why are you hiding from me? Why do you dress up like this?¡± It seemed that she was going to do something bad. If he hadn¡¯t been too familiar with her eyes, he might have regarded her as a maid of Luo¡¯s Mansion by simply looking her back.

    He Danggui was bored at his questions, and asked, ¡°Why did youe to me, Elder Cousin? I have time to listen now.¡±

    Peng Shi was silent for a moment and suddenly sneered, ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you for years. But your temper is worse than before. You are willing to hear but I¡¯m not willing to share it with you. If it weren¡¯t for my Second Brother asking me toe here, I wouldn¡¯t step in the door of East Yard. Everyone was as annoying as before.¡± He took the message and brought gifts to her, but she sang in her room and he had to stand outside the courtyard. She was even unwilling to open the window. It was extremely unpolite. His Second Brother liked her but he didn¡¯t.

    He Danggui smiled dumbly, raised her chin towards the rockery, and asked with a smile, ¡°What about Cousin Chai? She must be the only person you liked in Luo¡¯s Mansion.¡± She felt annoying to see Peng Shi acting as if he was above everyone. It turned out that both of them disliked each other.

    But Peng Shi replied, ¡°She is also very annoying and troublesome. Since you are here, then you go help her. I¡¯m leaving.¡± After saying that, he turned around and walked a few steps away, and was about to disappear after turning the corner.

    Um?

    He Danggui, who was left behind, was stunned again. Chai Yutu was still groaning behind the rockery, and he left careless of her. He even asked her to help Chai Yutu? How could she help her?

    ¡°Hey, Peng Shi!¡± He Danggui shouted. Seeing he stopped for a moment, she hurriedly asked, ¡°Why are you looking for me? If you have anything to say, let me make it clear now. My spare time is limited. I¡¯m not sure when to see you next time.¡± She didn¡¯t want to make herself above him, but every time she saw Peng Shi, she was always angry and felt even more ufortable thinking about her evidence in his hand. Therefore, every time he came to Luo¡¯s Mansion, she always tried her best to avoid him.

    Peng Shi turned around, gritted his teeth, and sneered, ¡°What I want to tell you is nothing but a small matter to me, but it is important to you. I was nning to tell you, but I find you are more pretty than two years ago and I can feel your beauty even across the veil, so, I changed my mind, thinking that ce must be suitable for you to stay. There is no need for my Second Brother and me to send you the message. Therefore, I will keep it a secret. Anyway, you will know it sooner orter.¡± After saying that, he turned around and was going to leave again.

    He Danggui was confused after hearing his words, but she was sure that what Peng Shi was about to say was something bad, and it had a lot to do with her. Now that he came from the capital, the news he brought must be rted to the people and things in the capital, and she immediately thought of the name ¡°Duan Xiaolou¡±. He Danggui chased after Peng Shi¡¯s back and asked in a soft tone, ¡°Elder Cousin, you are the big shot, the studyingpanion of the Eldest Legitimate Grandson. Why take offence at me? We haven¡¯t seen each other for a long time, so it¡¯s reasonable to estrange from you. You won¡¯t be so stingy, right? Please tell me, what is it? Does it have anything to do with Duan Xiaolou?¡±

    Peng Shi stopped, turned his head, and asked He Danggui, ¡°What can I benefit from telling you?¡±

    Benefits? He Danggui stroked the buckle of the veil, and said with a smile, ¡°I¡¯ll keep it secret for your rtionship with Cousin Chai.¡± He must be waiting for this promise.

    ¡°Chai Yutu?¡± Peng Shi frowned and asked in surprise, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with she and me?¡±

    Hearing the soft voice of the youngdy who was still moaning behind the rockery in the distance, He Danggui thought he couldn¡¯t be innocent.

    ¡°Ouch!¡± Miss Chai¡¯s crying came from the rockery, ¡°Help! Help!¡±

    Both of them did not move and they exchanged with their eyes. After a while, He Danggui asked suspiciously, ¡°Elder Cousin, your beloved is screaming. Don¡¯t you go and see?¡±

 Chapter 325 - A mercenary childe

    <h4>Chapter 325 A mercenary childe</h4>

    Peng Shi immediately realized that He Danggui must have misunderstood his rtionship with Chai Yutu, so he raised his head and said, ¡°This is the second time I have seen her. I¡¯m not familiar with her, and my beloved is not her.¡±

    He Danggui still misunderstood him, and asked, ¡°You are not familiar with Cousin Chai? Fine...I understand.¡± Just flirting with Miss Chai, he was truly a scumbag and a viin!

    Peng Shi stared at her. What did she understand? Then he asked, ¡°What benefit could you bring to me if I tell you that matter?¡±

    He Danggui turned her eyeballs twice, thinking when he became so mercenary. What benefits could the Childe who was from an official family get from her? She was only a little merchant who made a living by selling medicine. Was it possible that he came to Yangzhou City from distance just because of some travel expenses? He Danggui persuaded herself to pay for it in that her curiosity was aroused by him.

    ¡°200 liang!¡± He Danggui presented two fingers in front of Peng Shi.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Peng Shi was puzzled at first, and then he was irritated and became angry after figuring out what did she mean. He rebuked, ¡°I don¡¯t want your money from selling that kind of medicine, which makes me feel dirty.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Fine. He Danggui felt that she had nothing to say to him. She turned around and walked towards the rockery. Chai Yutu was still yelling behind the rock. Peng Shi ignored her and let her go to take a look.

    They hadn¡¯t seen each other for a long time, and He Danggui thought Peng Shi was still as annoying as she remembered. She couldn¡¯t figure out that how this person could have a ce in officialdom. Was he also have a clear distinction between ck and white in front of those officials? Definitely not. He must have been tufthunting when he was the reading attendant of Zhu Yunwen. He was only pleasant to someone who deserved it.

    Noticing He Danggui¡¯s annoyance, Peng Shi shouted at her, but she didn¡¯t turn back at all. Then he realized that she was irritated, and he said, ¡°Hey, I have something you are interested in. You will not regret to see it!¡±

    He Danggui nced back at him. What the hell was Peng Shi doing? He generally knew that her acupuncture therapy was proficient and magical. Could it be that his purpose was simr to that of Bai Yangbai¡ªlearning her Yunqi Acupuncture? What secret did he bring to Yangzhou City and allow him to bargain with her so confidently?He Danggui was walking while thinking and ignoring Peng Shi, thinking this person was calcting andplex. She hated to get on with such a person. Since his younger brother Peng Jian also knew what he was about to say, she could send a letter to Peng¡¯s Mansion in the capital and ask Peng Jian as well.

    Peng Shi caught up to her, lowered his voice, and said, ¡°I¡¯m going to see you tonight, and you prepare the dinner with wine...¡± His voice turned lower, ¡°Wait for me.¡±

    He Danggui avoided his approach, wondering what secret made him speak in such an ambiguous tone.

    Drinking? Of course not. Her future husband, Meng Xuan, who suspected every man around her, was still lyingzily on her bed, and she was busy looking for ways to cure Meng Xuan¡¯s sword wounds. Maybe she had to go out to ask Gao Jue about the solution to the cold poison. In short, she had no time to have dinner with Peng Shi, so she bypassed him and told him, ¡°Sorry, now I¡¯m not interested in it. Elder Cousin, you should go to other ces to have dinner.¡±

    Peng Shi thought she was still angry, and he didn¡¯t go after her right now, nning to find a suitable asion to ost her in another day. A woman turning her face was faster than turning a book. He thought He Danggui was so narrow-minded that she was offended only by a word. There was no way for him to apologize for the words he just blurted out, but¡­ Peng Shi raised his head and saw a line of egrets, thinking that they haven¡¯t seen each other for a long time and she grew up into a beautiful youngdy. And she must be more interesting than before.

    In fact, Peng Shi came to Yangzhou City for official business this time. He took two secret letters from Eldest Legitimate Grandson and informed Yangzhou City Senior Governor Han Fei of attending Wulin Assembly on the 15th day of the first lunar month after ten days. And then he would go to Northern Zhili Area to implement an important task. Last time in Yangzhou City, he was entangled with Luo Baiqiong in East Yard. Therefore, this time, he didn¡¯t intend to have any contact with Luo¡¯s Family.

    But before he left, his grandfather Luo Dusong told him that he had received a letter from Yangzhou City a few days ago, saying that Madam Xiong in West Yard had passed away. The whole family was mourning, particrly his brother Luo Duheng. Grandfather said that he should have gone personally to express his condolences, but recently the Emperor was in poor health, and the Imperial Hospital strictly ordered that no one was allowed to leave the capital without Imperial Edict, and be absent for no reason. Thus, he had no chance to go. Besides, thest time he took Peng Shi to East Yard to enhance their rtionship. However, the rtionship was worse than ever due to the entanglement between his grandson and Second Miss of East Yard.

    Therefore, Luo Dusong specially asked him to live in East Yard for a few days in addition to paying his condolences in East Yard. Rtives of the same n were more reliable than any inws or certified friendships, so they couldn¡¯t estrange from Luo¡¯s Mansion.

    Peng Shi received the assignment from his grandfather. When he was upset and ready to leave, his little brother Peng Jian came to him. Instead of seeing his elder brother off, Peng Jian asked him to bring a variety of snacks in the capital to Third Miss of East Yard He Danggui.

    In addition, Peng Jian said that he heard the news from Eastern Pce thatdies from northern noble families were not allowed to participate in this year¡¯s Xiunv audition. It was said that all the Xiunv would be picked from the southern region, mainly from Huai¡¯an City, Yangzhou City, Suzhou City, Songjiang City, Changzhou City, Zhenjiang City, and other ces.

    The reason was that sincest winter, there had been arge-scale outbreak of the seasonal epidemic cold disease near the Northern Zhili Area. Until now, no case had been cured. This cold disease spread slowly with mild symptoms, which wouldn¡¯t pose a threat to one¡¯s life but couldn¡¯t be radically cured. It would apany the patients for a lifetime. A month ago, the Emperor personally asked the Imperial doctors to think about countermeasures, but they had no n to treat the disease until now.

    This incurable disease should not spread to Yingtian Prefecture in Southern Zhili of the capital. Although the disease wasn¡¯t spreading in all northern areas, and it couldn¡¯t be spread to Misses in a secluded boudoir, for the sake of the Emperor¡¯s health and the safety of the capital, the Xiunv at least for this year wouldn¡¯t be selected from the northerndies.

    Apart from small-scale auditions, private rmendation, and folk selection by Dongchang Organization, the official audition was held every three years, and the number of candidates for each audition fluctuated from 50 to 80,sting about 20 days, from the local screening, selection, choiceness, to the primary selection, second selection, and plum blossom selection in the capital.

    In addition to enriching the Emperor¡¯s harem by rounds of selection, the women selected in the second selection and plum blossom selection were the cream of the crop. Most of the time, they could marry Princes. While thedies who were passed in the capital¡¯s primary selection had to try their luck to decide whether to stay or leave. Some went back home, while some went to the pce to be a maid, and some were lucky enough to marry officials in the capital. All of the above cases were decided by relevant operation staff.

    The audition was both a blessing and a curse for different people. For example, Luo Baiqiong¡¯s mother always wanted her daughter to participate in the audition to be the Emperor¡¯s Concubine or Consort. However, since the Emperor was in poor health and grew older day by day, it was unreliable to be his Concubines or Consorts. Besides, although the Emperor was old enough, who knew how long he would live before he died. Many nobles who were like Sun Meiniang wanted their daughters to attend the audition after Zhu Yuanzhang passed away and the new Emperor ascended the throne, but no one knew for sure when the day woulde. They dared not to tell others, only expecting the old Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang died as quickly as possible. They had no choice but to wait, but they were afraid of their daughter bing older.

    Moreover, the ces of running for the audition were determined per the official position of men in the family, not the family status. After all, no matter how high the family status in the local areas, it was small fry in front of the imperial family.

    Judging by the number and grades of the males who were officials in Imperial Court, the Luo¡¯s Family in Yangzhou City had no opportunity to get the ce. Even the Luo¡¯s Family in the capital had only two ces, while East Yard and West Yard in Yangzhou City could obtain no ce ording to the strict division. If applying nepotism, Luo¡¯s Family in Yangzhou City would probably get a ce, which was targeted by Sun Meiniang. If they weren¡¯t lucky enough, there was another way¡ªfinding Luo¡¯s Family in the capital, or Sun Meiniang¡¯s natal family Sun¡¯s Mansion, or even a distant rtive, Luo Shuisheng¡¯s Branches, to get a ce for free.

    It was easier to do than to say because some people were willing to give this opportunity to others in that most parents were reluctant to send their daughters to the audition. Some of them considered for their daughters themselves, while most people were afraid that their daughters were too lucky to be the Emperor¡¯s Concubines or Consorts. If they lost forces and fell from the high position, the one who bore the brunt of it must be their natal family.

    The reason why selecting Xiunv was considered to be a curse was because the ces wouldn¡¯t be decreased. That was to say, the local rich families could spend money buying ces, but for official families, like Yangzhou City Senior Governor Han¡¯s Family, Sun¡¯s Family in Yangzhou City, where several males were officials with low grades in the capital, and Liao¡¯s Family in the capital where Liao Qing¡¯er had Time Travel to, all had ces. And they had to ¡°turn in¡± thedies ording to the number of ces.

    Taking Liao¡¯s Family as an example, both the father and the elder brother of Liao Qing¡¯er were officials with high grades in Imperial Court, and they had three ces. But they only had one daughter. In addition to ¡°turning in¡± Liao Qing¡¯er, they had to select two legitimate daughters from the same n, preferably from rtives of the same surname.

    Creating their daughters an unknown future, and most likely the blind alley, was as difficult as forcing those officials to eat arsenic. At this time, if any rtivese to ask for a ce, both of them would be so delighted. Therefore, it was not difficult to find a ce for the audition as long as there was a distant rtive or inw of an official family.

    As to Meng Xuan¡¯s family, who had ten ces at one time, there were not enough daughters in his family, and even the Meng n had no ten Misses. Then they had to write a memorial to the throne, followed by the approval of the Ministry of Rites. After the investigation by the relevant officials, the ces could be reduced as appropriate. All in all, sending Xiunv to run for the audition was a must for those who were officials in Imperial Court and enjoying the official¡¯s sry.

    This regtion was implemented before the 14th year of Hongwu Period. Later, many official familiesined about the heavy burden of the ces and wrote a memorial to the throne, asking for revising the regtion. This kind of rigid requirement implemented every three years. Somedies reaching their marriageable age had to wait for the audition, and some worried about how to fulfill the ces. In fact, no family had enough daughters to participate in the audition held every three years.

    As a result, a new regtion, known as the ¡°Evenly Adjusting Method¡±, was issued in the 19th year of Hongwu Period. Xiunv would be selected ording to a specific area that shall be determined a year in advance. The number of candidates outside the area was halved or even reduced to zero. Ladies from the official families over the age of 16 could marry without having to wait for the next audition after three years. In this way, it not only reduced the burden on officials, but also distributed the ¡°welfare¡± of sending Xiunv to attend the audition evenly to more wealthy families who regarded auditions as glory.

    The ¡°Evenly Adjusting Method¡± was not a rigid regtion. Instead, it was changing every year based on the poption and marriage statistics collected by the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Households. Therefore, this year, the 31th year of Hongwu Period, Huai¡¯an City, Yangzhou City, Suzhou City, Songjiang City, Changzhou City, and Zhenjiang City were the key regions for the audition. Such rich families as Luo¡¯s Mansion had obtained more ces, and even the rule, ¡°No daughters of concubines¡±, had been lifted.

    Two months ago, the audition for theing year had been designed as a national audition, so East Yard of Luo¡¯s Mansion had no chance to run for the audition. Even Meng Xuan didn¡¯t expect that one day He Danggui with a humble identity would be lucky enough to get a ce.

    ording to the ¡°Evenly Adjusting Method¡±, Luo¡¯s Mansion in Yangzhou City had plenty of ces, Including Luo Baishao, whose hand was burnt, Luo¡¯s Family stillcked one daughter to be Xiunv. Besides, Luo Shuisheng had got more ces, and he didn¡¯t have any extra daughter to help Luo¡¯s Family. Miss Chai was not close enough to East Yard in terms of the blood rtionship, and her identity was no better than He Danggui. Moreover, Luo Shiyan, the daughter of Luo Baiqian, was only four years old and wasn¡¯t qualified to be Xiunv. Taking the above into consideration, He Danggui had to attend the audition.

 Chapter 326 - The audition

    <h4>Chapter 326 The audition</h4>

    And this time the ¡°leveling method¡± of the audition was finalized at the end of the year, and even the Ministry of Rites did not issue the document. So Meng Xuan, Chang Nuo and even the imperial guard who were so well-informed knew nothing about it. Only the insiders of Eastern Pce who were in charge of the Ministry of Rites knew the details.

    After all, inferior officers and those of humble origins would have no opportunities to participate in the audition. It was none of their business. Meng Xuan never worried about these things, because Meng¡¯s family did not have a legitimate daughter. Three daughters of the concubine also got the special pardon through various ways early, and two elder daughters got married. Meng Xuan considered that He Danggui was not able to participate in the audition, so he never cared about the bustling audition held every three years.

    Peng Jian didn¡¯t care about the audition, too. Peng¡¯s family did not have a daughter, and the n rtives of Peng were of low status. Therefore, Peng¡¯s Family reported to the Ministry of Rites, but was left out in previous auditions. In other words, the audition had nothing to do with Peng¡¯s family.

    Coincidentally, Peng Jian, a little official of Eastern Pce, handled the document of the Ministry of Rites about the audition this time. At first, he casually wrote and drank tea asionally. Later, he noticed that there was ¡°Yangzhou City¡± in the key area of audition.He took a closer look. Yes, it was ¡°Yangzhou City¡± written with regr script in small characters.

    Seeing this, he thought of Luo¡¯s Mansion and the third sister He Danggui. So Peng Jian reviewed the rules and regtions and calcted the quota for East Yard of Luo¡¯s Family. There were three ces. Excluding First Miss Luo Baiying who did not need to participate in the audition, there were exactly three youngdies in Luo¡¯s Family. However, the third sister He Danggui was also included.

    Peng Jian felt a little anxious, and he thought about it again. The third sister was neither surnamed Luo nor a legal daughter of a concubine. Even in He¡¯s Family in the capital, she might not have the opportunity. ording to conventional rules, almost all participants were legitimate daughters or daughters of concubines who participated in the audition as legitimate daughters of legal mothers after some training. In most cases, if there were no legitimate daughters in the family, the legitimate daughters would be selected from rtives of the same n. Daughters of concubines would not be selected. In the past ten years of the Ming Dynasty, there were obvious differences between the legitimate daughter and the daughter of the concubine, even though they had the same father.

    Thinking about this, Peng Jian felt more relieved. He thought that the third sister would not take the ce of East Yard of Luo¡¯s Family. But he didn¡¯t know that there were no suitable legitimate daughters in Luo¡¯s n. The closest family Luo Shuisheng had five branches, and therefore had five ces. So they didn¡¯t need the three ces of East Yard of Luo¡¯s Family. In this case, He Danggui got a ¡°precious¡± ce. The audition would be held in February. The primary selection in Yangzhou City, secondary selection andst selection were all handled by Senior Governor, governor and Country Magistrate. After they drew up the specific process, the selection would begin.

    However, to get ready for any emergency and get He Danggui psyched up, Peng Jian caught up with his elder brother Peng Shi, who was about to go to Yangzhou City for business. Peng Jian asked Peng Shi to inform He Danggui, so that the smart third sister could n ahead.

    Arriving in Yangzhou City, Peng Shi went to West Yard to give condolences, and then went to East Yard. He came to Tao Yao Yard to give bted New Year greetings before visiting Madam Luo. To his surprise, He Danggui didn¡¯t meet him, which upset him. So he didn¡¯t tell He Danggui the news and decided to keep her in suspense. The younger brother Peng Jian would be anxious if he knew this. This event would affect He Danggui¡¯s life. He shouldn¡¯t make jokes about it. Generally speaking, the third sister might not be able to get the chance. But it was good to inform her earlier.

    Even He Danggui herself did not expect that she would face such a rough ride. Out of her inertia in the previous life, she didn¡¯t care about things that did not ur in the previous life. She could only think of Luo Baiqiong¡¯s failure in the audition in her previous life, which was such a joke, and she justughed it off. However, in the 31st year of Hongwu Period in the previous life, the epidemic in the north never urred. Therefore, ording to the original national audition, there was no quota for Luo¡¯s Mansion, which meant that Luo¡¯s Family didn¡¯t have the opportunities.

    However, there was a sudden epidemic in this life. In addition, several blue-blooded men including the emperor¡¯s eldest grandson Zhu Yunwen still had ces for legal wife and concubines. Therefore, it becamerge-scale admission among a small number of participants. At least one hundreddies would be chosen, which showed the infinite royal graciousness. This time, even the rule of ¡°no daughter of the concubine¡± was removed. As long as the family was given the opportunity and had ady between 12 and 21 years old, thedy could participate in the audition.

    For fat girls like Liao Qing¡¯er, the audition was a mere formality, but that was not the case for He Danggui.

    Everyone got the opportunity. One could not identify their family backgrounds from their appearance. A beautiful face and a good figure would make one outstand. The most useful way was to doll up the Xiunv instead of bribing the selection officer. For those bribing the officers, if they gave cheap presents, thedies would not be able to participate in the follow-up primary selection, secondary selection andst selection in the capital.

    He Danggui was a slim girl aged 14. In her previous life, she was skinny because of malnutrition. But in this life, as she practiced martial arts every night, she was in good shape, though still slim. The worst thing was that she spent a whole year in the ghostly floating state in the dream. After that dream, strange things happened. She was as tall as in her dream, with the height of a 15 or 16 years old girl. And she was even as bosomy as a married woman. This time, these positive changes in her body brought troubles to her.

    If she knew that, she would not remove the Yingying Powder on her face so early. Thanks to the application of the Yingying Powder for three years, the moisturizing of Beautifying Soup from Bai Yangbai and bath in the medicinal hot spring for three years, she looked even more beautiful than in the previous life. Free from concern, she was also in good spirits. She looked more confident and calmer, showing a sense of relief and trust to people around her. Her bright and soulful eyes were full of tenderness and gentleness, which made her stand out.

    Before she removed the Yingying Powder on her face and hands, she was already a beautiful girl. But now without makeup, she looked more different. Fortunately, at present, her natural beauty was shown to Meng Xuan alone. In addition, Chan Yi and Shi Liu happened to see her original face. He Danggui asked Shi Liu to tell Madam Luo that she got back her fair skin after peeling. For the rest of the time, she wore a veil and ugly makeup. So far, after three years of maintenance, no one got the chance to see her beautiful face.

    She chose to restore her original appearance at this time because she thought that Sun Meiniang was about to fall from power, who was the most annoying person in the family. She could even take the helm of the family. So why not restore her original appearance for celebration? This would also make Luo Baiqiong and Luo Baishao angrier, who were so jealous of her. Thinking of their shocked look, she felt so pleased.

    That was the reason why He Danggui showed her original appearance to Shi Liu, the maid of Madam Luo several days ago. She wanted Shi Liu to tell Madam Luo firstly so that Madam Luo would not be frightened when she saw her face. However, if He Danggui knew the audition, she would definitely regret it. She shouldn¡¯t wash away the Yingying Powder at this time. She should put on ugly makeup and show her face to more people.

    In previous auditions, many girls who were resistant put on ugly makeup or pretended to be ill. Therefore, several riders were added to the regtions, which provided that those who were suspected of pretending to be ugly or ill would be subject to punishment for those who skipped the audition. Once exposed and verified, the highest punishment was that thedy¡¯s father would be beheaded. It was in line with the ancient rule that ¡°to feed without teaching is the father¡¯s fault¡±. Thedy herself would not be beheaded. Becausedies were all brainless appendages, and their parents were responsible for their behaviors.

    With such regtions, even He Danggui who was so adept in disguise didn¡¯t dare to have a try. She studied in Chengxu Academy every day, and impressed manydies and gentlemen with her appearance. She did not get along well with some of them. If anyone blew the whistle, she would be punished. Moreover, she was selected in the name of the daughter of Luo¡¯s Family and had nothing to do with He¡¯s Family in the capital. If this happened, First Lord Luo Chuanbai would die.

    Therefore, He Danggui didn¡¯t know she would soon participate in the audition with her original appearance. Nobody knew whether she would be selected. The information that Peng Shi brought was very valuable to her. He Danggui would buy this ¡°internal¡± information without hesitation even if spending two thousand liang silver of Meng Xuan.

    The document of the Ministry of Rites was not issued yet. So this was just an ¡°internal¡± decision. Before it was issued in Yangzhou City, those who did not originally have the opportunity, just like He Danggui, could still marry freely.

    There was still fifteen to twenty days left. If Meng Xuan quickly finalized the marriage, gave the bride-price, exchanged the marriage contract and set the specific wedding date in this period, He Danggui would be the daughter-inw of Meng¡¯s family even without a wedding ceremony. Then she would not participate in the audition. If He Danggui or Meng Xuan knew the information, they would definitely think of this method and got married happily.

    But now it was dyed due to Peng Shi. It was just a small verbal error, but He Danggui missed the chance to know that she was going to participate in the audition. No one knew when Peng Shi would visit her again.

    In these few days, if He Danggui took off the veil in public and washed off the Yingying Powder to show her original appearance, and if she couldn¡¯t get married before the issuance of the document, she would have to participate in the audition with such an outstanding appearance. Maybe she would go to the capital, and continue to participate in the following selections. She might be the concubine of the elder emperor, the imperial family, or officials, a female officer, or a court maid. Of course, there was little possibility to go back home.

    She didn¡¯t anticipate such a potential crisis. After all, when she saw Meng Xuan from the future, he said that He Danggui married him as a concubine and he didn¡¯t mention the audition. He Danggui thought that if there were any great danger or ups and downs in the next three years, her beloved husband Meng Xuan would tell her word for word. Since he didn¡¯t say anything, it meant that she would lead a smooth and carefree life in the next three years.

    However, she didn¡¯t realize that she suddenly changed her attitude towards Meng Xuan after knowing things that would happen three yearster. But she shouldn¡¯t have known these things. In the ¡°original¡± storyline, there was no injured Meng Xuan who came to He Danggui. He Danggui did not allow Meng Xuan to treat injuries in her boudoir. Peng Shi arrived as scheduled and informed her of the audition. And Bai Yangbai, who lived in Luo¡¯s Mansion, proposed marriage to her with the false name Bai Yang and resolved the crisis.

    The chain effect was because her behaviors were very different from the ¡°original¡±. It was a blunder, so she might really have a crisis.

 Chapter 327 - No adultery

    <h4>Chapter 327 No adultery</h4>

    Hearing Peng Shi behind her walking away, He Danggui couldn¡¯t help but look back at him again. What information did he bring from the capital? Something big for her but nothing for him? What was that?

    He Danggui shook her head and didn¡¯t believe his words. Now nothing would worry her anymore. Peng Shi must be coveting her Yunqi Acupuncture and she should just ignore him. With such a thought in mind, she went around the rockery to see why Chai Yutu was screaming. ¡°Oh¡­¡±

    ¡°Cousin Chai, what¡¯s the matter with you?¡± He Danggui tilted her head and looked at Chai Yutu who was tearful.

    Chai Yutu wiped away her tears and said, ¡°My foot hurts and I can¡¯t walk. Help! Help! Something scary there! Ah! Ah! Ah!¡±

    He Danggui was shocked by her screaming. She followed her finger¡¯s direction and found a big moth in a hole, sleeping or frozen. That was the ¡°scary thing¡± that terrified her? Just an unmovable moth had scared her like that?

    He Danggui came to check Chai Yutu¡¯s injured foot while thinking about this girl¡¯s ridiculous behavior. She asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with your foot? How did you get hurt?¡± Now she understood that Peng Shi was helping Chai Yutu with her foot. There was no adultery at all.

    Chai Yutu sobbed, ¡°I am so scared! Can you kill that thing for me?¡± She was still pointing to the moth trembly.

    He Danggui sighed, ¡°Although I am not afraid of that moth...¡±

    Before she finished speaking, Chai Yutu suddenly covered her ears, closed her eyes, and screamed loudly with a look of fear as if the word ¡°moth¡± was torture to her. He Danggui had to pick a small stone from the ground and throw it at the hapless moth. The small stone smashed the moth to death and sealed the hole, covering the terrible scene. For goodness¡¯ sake!

    Chai Yutu looked at He Danggui in disbelief and eximed, ¡°That¡¯s it? That was pretty urate!¡±

    He Danggui humbly waved her hand. ¡°Maybe I was lucky! Hahaha.¡± She had gained this skill by throwing Shangguan Ming Ri¡¯s nose in Fantasy Dream every night. And she made use of it by ident. She changed the topic, ¡°How did you hurt your foot?¡± Chai Yutu was wearing an extremely thin sock on her left foot with dozens of fine thorns in her sole.

    Chai Yutu sobbed, ¡°I came here with the second sister. She asked me to go up the rockery to fetch a red leaf for her without my shoes. I did so. However, when I came back to put on my shoes, I stepped on these thorns. Also, she pushed me, and I sprained my ankle. It really hurts.¡± She groaned again as she said. It turned out that Chai Yutu kept screaming because of her injures, not¡­

    He Danggui sighed because of Chai Yutu¡¯s weakness. She asked, ¡°Where is the second sister? She ran away?¡±

    Chai Yutu shook her head and said strangely, ¡°I saw a few mommies sent by Madam Luo take her. She was reluctant but was still forced to leave with them. I don¡¯t know what happened.¡±

    He Danggui knew that Madam Luo wanted to hold Luo Baiqiong ountable for setting fire and burying evil things in the ancestral hall. Luo Baiqiong didn¡¯t know what happened to her mother and she was still bullying Chai Yutu here. This time, Madam Luo wouldn¡¯t show any mercy. Looking at Chai Yutu who was made of tears, He Danggui suggested, ¡°I¡¯ll take you to the Medicine Room. You need a doctor.¡±

    However, Chai Yutu resolutely shook her head, ¡°No, I cannot ask a man to see my foot. An unmarried girl¡¯s feet should never be revealed to a man.¡± She started crying again.

    He Danggui probably understood why Peng Shi felt Chai Yutu annoying. She was weak and clumsy. Saving her would be troublesome. After thinking about it, He Danggui lied to her that a new female doctor hade to the Medicine Room yesterday. Then, she went to the Medicine Room with Chai Yutu on her back. He Danggui suddenly poked her sleeping point in an emptypartment, where she reset Chai Yutu¡¯s injured ankle and applied herbs to her wound.

    With a loud sound, the pain woke up Chai Yutu, causing her to weep again. Just as He Dangguiforted her helplessly, a male voice came from behind with surprise¡ª

    ¡°Mydy, you are here!¡± After a pause, the voice was even more surprised, ¡°Miss Chai is also here! What are you doing?¡±

    He Danggui put Chai Yutu¡¯s foot into her dress. She turned back and found that Zong Qiao and Luo Baiji were standing behind them. Zong Qiao was a talented man from Chengxu Men Institute. He Danggui immediately thought that just now Madam Luo had sent someone to look for her while she was having a ¡°wedding¡± with Meng Xuan. The servant said that one of her Chengxu Academy¡¯s ssmates was waiting for her. Was that ssmate Zong Qiao? Zong Qiao was the one who received the love letter from the deceased Qian Mudan. Did hee to her for the trial of the case?

    Luo Baiji said with concern, ¡°Are you sick? Let me check it.¡± However, he reached out his hands to He Danggui instead of Chai Yutu. After feeling her pulse carefully for a while, Luo Baiji asked, ¡°Can you take off your veil? I want to look at yourplexion in case of wrong diagnosis.¡±

    He Danggui raised her hand to touch the buckle of the veil. However, she noticed Zong Qiao¡¯s lustful gaze at her. She felt a little awkward. Not to mention his gaze, Zong Qiao had even written a love letter to her before. So, He Danggui shook her head and said, ¡°I don¡¯t look good because of illness, and you don¡¯t have to look at my face. Don¡¯t bother with new prescription and I guess I should continue to take my pills. They worked.¡±

    Luo Baiji retorted, ¡°If they worked, you would have already gotten better in these years! I told you to rece that Ginseng Nurturing pills.¡±

    He Danggui took out Madam Luo as an excuse and said, ¡°That was the prescription set by Madam Luo. I feel good anyway. Besides, I need to report to her if I change my prescription. Maybe we should talk about it the other day. We have a guest and Cousin Chai here.¡±

    Since Luo Baiji returned to Yangzhou City from the Northeast to study, he was surprised by a crystal-flower-like girl. When he learned that this girl was his aunt¡¯s daughter He Danggui, he had fallen in love with her. Though she looked pale, she was still a beautiful girl. People told him that she was perfect like a beautiful magnolia flower when she had just moved into Luo¡¯s Mansion. Then she got sick and was sent to a temple for rest. But she never recovered. Luo Baiji pitied her, so he had been studying treatments for her. Until now he was still studying her pale face after the disease, trying to find out a solution for her to get nourished.

    Chai Yutu thought that she was seriously injured, but her doctor cousin didn¡¯t notice her injury at all because she was inferior to others. So, she took out her handkerchief and continued to weep. He Danggui and Luo Baiji were both immune to this girl. They said to themselves inside that she was really made of water, just like the meaning of her name. But, Zong Qiao couldn¡¯t bear it when he saw a girl crying, so he softlyforted this ¡°Miss Water¡±. However, his words only made her cry more loudly. Zong Qiao sweated on his forehead and wondered if he did something wrong.

    He Danggui thought that Chai Yutu was really like the old her when she was just moved into Luo¡¯s Mansion. They were both self-abased and had strong self-esteem. They were fragile paper flowers but they also wanted attention. A hard-tomunicate character. So, she helped Zong Qiao and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. She cried because of her ankle. Mr. Zong, it¡¯s the fourth day since New Year¡¯s Day. Are you here for my cousin Luo Baiji because of your study?¡±

    Zong Qiao wiped his sweat with a handkerchief and then exined, ¡°I am here for you. Unfortunately, you were sick. When I was on my way back disappointedly, I ran into Luo Baiji and he told me that he wasing here. So, I followed him to see how great the Medicine Room of the first medical family is.¡± Then, he wore a smile and said, ¡°No wonder the two magpies leaped and chirped at me this morning. That was a sign of good luck! It turns out to be Miss He and Miss Chai. Lovely!¡±

    This was a bit frivolous. Luo Baiji displeased with his eyes lowered, but He Danggui smiled as usual and said, ¡°Thank you, Mr. Zong. We are ttered. Our Medicine Room is just amon one and has no difference from others¡¯. However, we do have an abundant collection of books. Most of them are introductory books on medicine and pharmacology. You can read them if you are interested.¡±

    Zong Qiao also smiled, ¡°Miss He, do you know, we have a holiday assignment for the calligraphy and painting lesson in our Men Institute. Mr. Xie asked us to paint two beauties who are making embroidery. I am so lucky today to meet the two most beautiful girls in Chengxu Academy. Could you please be my models? With the help of you two, my work will win the first ce!¡±

    He Danggui was doubtful. Did they have this assignment? Let men paint beauties? Mr. Xie was so romantic? She looked at Luo Baiji in doubt.

    Luo Baiji frowned apologetically. A few days ahead of the holiday were near his mother¡¯s death day. He was absent from school and went out of the city to sweep the grave, so he didn¡¯t know what assignment they had.

    He Danggui nced at Zong Qiao¡¯s pretentious look, which could not conceal his lustful nature. Whether or not he had such an assignment, she didn¡¯t like to be painted into his paintings. So, she declined, ¡°Who doesn¡¯t know your nickname of ¡°Great Painter¡±. It will be my honor. However, my cousin sprained her ankle and I don¡¯t have a healthyplexion. I also cannot have any men to be with me when I am making embroidery. We don¡¯t want to be painted in this way.¡±

    Luo Baiji nodded, ¡°Exactly! Don¡¯t you want to see the Medicine Room? I will show you now.¡± Said so, he pulled the reluctant Zong Qiao out of thepartment.

    He Danggui told Chai Yutu to take care of her injury and she would call someone in a moment to take her back to her yard with a sedan. Then, she wanted to leave but was stopped by Chai Yutu, ¡°Why are you treating me so well?¡±

    He Danggui turned around and smiled, ¡°You call me sister whenever we meet. Then we are sisters. It is just a little help from your sister. Just rest assured and take care of yourself.¡±

    Chai Yutu asked cautiously, ¡°What have you heard when I was behind the rockery?¡±

    Well, she was still worried about this problem. He Dangguiforted her, ¡°I only heard you crying, and then Peng Shi ran out from the rockery. That¡¯s all.¡± Hearing what she said, a blush gradually grew on Chai Yutu¡¯s face. She was shy and it seemed that she enjoys what happened! He Danggui was taken aback. Did Chai Yutu like Peng Shi?

 Chapter 328 - Zong Qiao showed his affection

    <h4>Chapter 328 Zong Qiao showed his affection</h4>

    He Danggui sighed and shook her head when she looked at Chai Yutu¡¯s shy and timid face. Peng Shi looked like a cold and ruthless person, who was utilitarian and self-sufficient. Loving him would be a tragedy. Then, after warning Chai Yutu to protect the wound from water, He Danggui said goodbye to her. She took some medicine from the medicine cab for Meng Xuan before leaving the Medicine Room. She called a serving boy to find Miss Ji to pick up Miss Chai by the pnquin.

    She was about to go to the Depositary of Buddhist Texts, but Zong Qiao chased out and stopped her, ¡°Miss He, may I have a minute?¡±

    He Danggui stopped and nodded, ¡°Sure.¡±

    With a twinkle in his eyes, Zong Qiao asked, ¡°Miss He, you didn¡¯t read the letter that I gave youst time, did you?¡±

    Letter? He Danggui blinked and apologized, ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t dare to ept your letter, but Qing¡¯er was so kind and she took the letter for me. Later, the academy was in chaos and we got separated. I didn¡¯t meet Qing¡¯er. I guess she keeps the letter. Do you want to take it back?¡±

    Hearing her words, Zong Qiao smiled and said, ¡°I know. If you have read it, you would have a different attitude towards me.¡± Seeing her confused expression, he exined, ¡°I know you are a straight person. I shouldn¡¯t directly tell you this. But half a month have psed. If I don¡¯t tell you now, I will lose the chance forever.¡±

    He Danggui was puzzled. Wasn¡¯t it a love letter? She was confused by his look. She nodded, ¡°Please tell me.¡±

    Zong Qiao approached and lowered his voice, ¡°My family is based in the capital. My mother is from a prominent family in the capital ¨C Jiang¡¯s Family. Although Zong¡¯s Family is inferior to it, we are also a wealthy family. As the saying goes, if you have rtives in the court, you will have a smooth official career. I will definitely seed in the imperial examination held this autumn. It¡¯s cut and dried. I wrote all these secrets in the letter and gave it to you. What do you think of my sincerity?¡±

    It still turned out to be a love letter. He Danggui turned her head to look at the wildflowers on the roadside and smiled, ¡°You do have great sincerity, and I am ttered. But you are so talented, and I suppose you will definitely seed in the examination without help. You should focus on your study.¡±

    However, Zong Qiao didn¡¯t get her point and continued to ask, ¡°I know you have your requests and I heard from my ssmates that you have rejected dozens of boys. I know I may not be the best, but I am the sincerest one.¡±

    He Danggui smiled and listened quietly. Zong Qiao lowered his voice and said, ¡°I have two cousins in the capital, the elder cousin Jiang Yi and the younger cousin Jiang Pi, both of whom learned martial arts since childhood. They are now both imperial guards. Last month, a servant from my grandfather¡¯s family came here and brought some local products of the capital. He told me that my cousins¡¯ colleague Mr. Duan fell in love with a youngdy when he came to Yangzhou City for business. After returning to the capital, he decided to take her as his wife and insisted on breaking off the previous engagement.¡±

    The smile on He Danggui¡¯s face disappeared when he talked. He was talking about Duan Xiaolou? How did he know that? Her romantic rtionship with Duan Xiaolou was a secret. Except Qing¡¯er, Meng Xuan, Bai Yangbai and Ling Miaoyi who ran across them when Duan Xiaolou confessed his love to her, no one knew it. Duan Xiaolou¡¯s fiancee Guan Yun had some doubt and gradually learned about itter. Besides, Zong Qiao was a transfer student. He transferred to Chengxu Academy more than one year after Duan Xiaolou left Yangzhou City. How did he know Duan Xiaolou?

    Zong Qiao continued, ¡°Mr. Duan¡¯s mother is an irondy. She was a female general and had been on the battlefield with her husband. At that time, she strongly opposed it and neither of them made a concession. Two months ago, Mr. Duan¡¯s father and son passed away. Duan¡¯s mother was sorrowful and angry so she med the tragedy on the girl. She determined to take revenge on her, but she couldn¡¯t kill the girl, which was in breach of thew. So she promised her son that he could marry the girl. But for the first three months after they got married, the girl must stay with her day and night.¡±

    He Danggui looked at Zong Qiao¡¯s face with her dark eyes and asked calmly, ¡°Why do you say these words?¡±

    Zong Qiao looked at her and sighed, ¡°In three months, she will definitely be tortured and humiliated. Aren¡¯t you afraid? If this happens, you will die! Miss He, the servant told me that thedy is named He Danggui, who is a raving beauty. How many beauties in the world are named He Danggui?¡±

    He Danggui smiled sarcastically, ¡°Sounds terrible. I am really scared of this powerfuldy.¡± That was what Zong Qiao wrote in his letter. No wonder he was hesitant and sneaky when he gave the letter to her. Apparently, Qing¡¯er did not read it as well. Otherwise, she woulde to her and yell, ¡°Duan Xiaolou¡¯s mother wants to marry you!¡±

    As she admitted it, Zong Qiao told her everything, ¡°I heard that Mr. Duan also had hatred for that ruthlessdy, so he agreed to make her his concubine and dedicated her to his mother. His family is very powerful. If he wants, he could take you from here tomorrow. I bet that Madam Luo won¡¯t oppose him.¡±

    He Danggui was speechless. She had to admit that Zong Qiao was right. Not long ago, Madam Luo heard that Duan Xiaolou seeded to the marquis title. Her first reaction was to let He Danggui marry Guan Mo because Guan¡¯s Family and Duan¡¯s Family were inws. Ridiculous! However, if that really happened, she would feel so anxious. Fortunately, she already had Meng Xuan.

    So, she must let Meng Xuane to propose marriage as soon as possible. But she didn¡¯t think that Duan Xiaolou hated her. He would not retaliate against her in this way. He was not that sort. However, would his mother force her to marry him?

    Looking at He Danggui¡¯s gloomy face and sniffing her fragrance, Zong Qiao felt pity for her. Then he confessed to her, ¡°I have studied in the north and traveled to the south several times. I have met all kinds of beauties, but they are not as charming as you. You are like snow lotus, orchids and poppies. I cherish and respect you and I can¡¯t bear to see you suffer such bad fortune. For a girl, choosing a good mother-inw is more important than choosing a good husband. My mother is kind and virtuous. If you marry me, she will treat you well as I do. Our n is registered in Jiang¡¯s Family. My father was a matrilocal son-inw before leaving Jiang¡¯s Family with my mother.Jiang¡¯s Family has remained in good rtionship with Duan¡¯s Family for generations. If you marry me, Duan¡¯s mother will spare you considering our rtions.¡±

    Though He Danggui would not consider Zong Qiao¡¯s courtship, the message was very useful. She should thank him and then reject him.

    ¡°This is the content in my letter.¡± Zong Qiao was a little excited. He even came up to grab her hands but she dodged. He licked his lips and stared at her chest, ¡°I feel happy when I see your pretty face. It feels like that a cat is scratching me. You could be my concubine first. After you give birth to a boy, I will ask my mother to make you my wife. I promise I will not take any woman as my wife before that. I promise!¡± He even rushed forward to hug her.

    He Danggui felt it funny. Every man said these things to her. Two years ago, Duan Xiaolou said that Guan Yun would be his wife and He Danggui would be a concubine first, but she could be promoted and even be his wife if she gave birth to a boy. Meng Xuan also said the same words in the bamboo grove at Chengxu Academy. He said that Meng¡¯s Family had strict rules and only tolerated wife and concubines who had children. The more children a woman had, the more merits she obtained, which could even offset her mistakes.

    He Danggui dodged and sneered. Did she look like the kind of woman who was so capable of bearing children? She was too slim. If they wanted to have more children, Qing¡¯er would be the best choice.

    ¡°Zong Qiao!¡± Luo Baiji yelled, ¡°What are you doing?!¡± He was incredibly angry.

    He Danggui and Zong Qiao turned their heads and said in unison, ¡°Nothing.¡± They looked at each other, and He Danggui lied, ¡°Mr. Zong was telling me an interesting story about the academy. But suddenly he slipped and fell over. Considering the courtesy, I didn¡¯t help him up and dodged. Don¡¯t worry. He is a decent person.¡±

    Luo Baiji was still suspicious and came up to question Zong Qiao. He Danggui said she wanted to go back to the room to put on more clothes because it was getting windy in the evening. Then, she took a small path and sneaked into the Depositary of Buddhist Texts. She found a few of Luo Tianyi¡¯s handbooks for sore treatment and quickly thumbed through them. However, she didn¡¯t find anything useful about icy Zhenqi. She wandered around the bookshelves again but still gained nothing. Did this kind of book only exist in schools having icy Zhenqi?

    He Danggui remembered that Liao Zhiyuan once mentioned they were all from the same school. When she saw them fighting, she found that they all used the same martial art skills, which indirectly confirmed it. Except Gao Jue who showed different arts of lightness, they look no different. In other words, Gao Jue should be able to treat the injuries caused by Lu Jiangbei.

    Two schools in the world were famous for Cold Palm. One was the Wujianmen School in De¡¯an, and the other was the Hongmen School in Dali. Although Gao Jue didn¡¯t tell her the schools to which they belonged, but after sounding him out for several times, she believed that they were from Wujianmen School ¨C a mysterious school. Wujianmen School had no connection to the legitimate world or the underworld. Their detoxification recipe was definitely top-secret. How could she get it from Gao Jue?

    In fact, Qing¡¯er would be a better person to ask Gao Jue because they were closer. But Meng Xuan was still reluctant to tell her why he made an enemy of the imperial guards. If she went to ask Gao Jue recklessly, he might know her rtionship with Meng Xuan. Three years ago, Meng Xuan was hunted by the imperial guards because he wanted to save Su Xiaoxiao. He mentioned it in the Fantasy Dream. However, this time he said that he was stabbed by Lu Jiangbei because of her. But she never offended Lu.

 Chapter 329 - Sweet home

    <h4>Chapter 329 Sweet home</h4>

    She couldn¡¯t find the answer in the Depositary of Buddhist Texts, so she had to go back to Tao Yao Yard. She decocted medicinal herbs, and cooked porridge with lotus seed, Rehmannia Glutinosa, and radix angelicae for Meng Xuan. Opening the door, she could see the sleeping teenager on the bed from a distance. Some sentimental words like ¡°sweet home¡± sprang to He Danggui¡¯s mind. Was this the beginning of love? She had forgotten the feeling of love a long time ago. She had been conservative and cautious about love, which had frightened Duan Xiaolou. She guessed that the ending of her and Meng Xuan might be better.

    She put down the tray, took off her veil, and put aside the curtain to see Meng Xuan¡¯s peaceful sleeping face. She wanted to pinch his cheeks. Then she bent down to get closer. However, A trap set by Meng Xuan was waiting for her.

    Meng Xuan grabbed her and held her in his arms. Turning around, he was on top of her. He stared at her ardently, and they both burst intoughter. He Danggui rolled her eyes. She thought he had nothing to be proud of. He woke up when she opened the door, because he was highly vignt. What¡¯s more, she just didn¡¯t bother to horse around with the wounded¡­

    She opened wide her eyes suddenly and eximed, ¡°How can you move? How is your arm?¡±

    Meng Xuan couldn¡¯t help butugh, saying, ¡°Do you really think that I am so weak? Don¡¯t worry. It¡¯s just a small injury, and will heal in two days. Xiaoyi, you cure my broken heart. No one can hurt me anymore.¡± He buried his head in her hair and murmured, ¡°Xiaoyi, I¡¯m so happy to have you. I dare not sleep because I¡¯m afraid that it¡¯s a dream. Xiaoyi, could you sleep with me?¡±

    Hearing such soft words, He Danggui was moved, and just about to say ¡°OK¡± when Meng Xuan added, ¡°I want you. Only you can cure me.¡±

    He Danggui knocked him on the forehead, got out of his arms with a serious expression, and ordered, ¡°Have some porridge, take the medicine, and then go to sleep.¡±

    With the experience of feeding the medicinest time, she served Meng Xuan thoughtfully like a maid. After finishing the porridge and medicine, Meng Xuan looked at her with eyes sparkling. Before he opened his mouth, He Danggui knew what he wanted. As expected, Meng Xuan looked eagerly at her lips, and said, ¡°It¡¯s bitter. I want a sweet kiss.¡±

    Hearing the words, He Danggui wanted to beat him. Had this guy really lived for 30 years in the previous life? Why did he know the pet phrase of Chubby Zhu? However, before she beat him, Meng Xuan¡¯s left arm was bleeding again, perhaps due to his big motions. A stream of blood wetted the gauze, and a few drops dripped on the sheet.

    He Danggui was shocked. Then, she held the restless Meng Xuan, took off the gauze and examined the wound carefully. She found that this wound by a sword was the same as a few hours ago, without any sign of healing at all, just like a new injury. How could it be? What would happen if a wound never heal? And what kind of disease would Meng Xuan have atst?

    Seeing her pale face, Meng Xuanforted her, ¡°It¡¯s OK. I will recover in two days. And I will be full of energy. Making out for three days in a row is no problem¡­¡±

    Touching his forehead with slender hands, He Danggui was even more anxious and eximed, ¡°You have a fever. It is absolutely unusual. The poison of the ice Zhenqi is so powerful that your Zhenqi for protecting the body can¡¯t stop it. Meng Xuan, you have a rest here. I¡¯ll go find a solution!¡±

    Meng Xuan got up immediately and asked, ¡°Where are you going? Don¡¯t leave me. Xiaoyi, we still have something to do.¡±

    All he was thinking about at this moment was his wife and to finish the wedding night. He must do the thing with her as soon as possible. He felt insecure, even though she suddenly came back to him and was more tender and considerate than ever. Sleeping alone on her bed, he could see her being insulted by a man with face being covered with an ice mask as long as he closed his eyes. The nightmare was so real and terrible like an omen. Thus, he must keep her by his side forever.

    He must protect Xiaoyi¡­

    Meng Xuan felt dizzy and slowly fell down on the bed, muttering, ¡°Xiaoyi, please don¡¯t leave me. Only I can protect you. Xiaoyi, I want you¡­Xiaoyi¡­¡±

    He Danggui anxiously felt the pulse for Meng Xuan, checked his inner eyelids and white of his eyes and his tongue coating. She couldn¡¯t help but sigh, ¡°Illnesses like a tidal wave. A strong person like Meng Xuan would be ill.¡± She thought she was to be med for his illness, since she didn¡¯t attach importance to his sword wound at the beginning and dress his wound carefully. Besides, she kept bothering him, scratched his face, and had him hurt himself with a silver hairpin. Healthy people couldn¡¯t bear these, not to mention he got a terrible cold poison. This time, she took a false step. She, a highly-skilled doctor, couldn¡¯t cure her husband.

    In the medicine for detoxification and internal heat reduction that Meng Xuan had taken, she specially added several medicinal materials to soothe his nerves, such as poria cocos, poria with hostwood, ginseng, polyg amflra, acorus tatarinowii and dens draconis. After taking the medicine, Meng Xuan whispered something andpletely fell asleep. However, he didn¡¯t sleep well because of some troubles in his mind. He frowned, and his breathing was heavy but no snoring.

    He Danggui took out some hair-thin needles and inserted them at the acupoints and dder meridian that could help reduce the internal heat, so that Meng Xuan could sleep more deeply. After the acupuncture, Meng Xuan¡¯s breathing was steady. But he still frowned. She rubbed between his eyebrows with her middle finger. Gradually, the wrinkles between his eyebrows were smoothed.

    She decided to go out tonight to find a cure for Meng Xuan¡¯s cold poison. She needed to go to the Ting Zhu Yard first to find the silver needle. She looked back at her sleeping husband Meng Xuan before leaving. She couldn¡¯t help but lean towards him and kiss him. When she got up to cover the curtain, she was surprised to find that there was a smile on Meng Xuan¡¯s face. It turned out that a sweet kiss really worked better than her acupuncture.

    After clearing cups and dishes, it was dark outside. It was probably beyond dinner time. She took out nocturnal clothing from the closet and put on it, wearing a ck mask. She checked windows and locked the door with two locks. Confirming all were safe, she avoided everyone and walked out of Tao Yao Yard to Ting Zhu Yard.

    Bitter Bamboo Grove was behind the Ting Zhu Yard, which had piles of woman¡¯s jawbones in the cave. It was at night now. Even though she was bold, she still felt a little scared when she remembered the scene she saw in the cavest time. However, finding the silver needle was the most important thing. With handy needles, she could treat Meng Xuan with high proficiency. It was all because Meng Xuan detained the silver needle she used to detox Qian Mudan and said that he would help her clean up the poison on it. But he didn¡¯t return it to her for so long. Did he like to collect her things?

    Ting Zhu Yard was originally an ordinary old house for her. Butst time on the shadow walls of the seventh stage, she saw incredible things again. In the previous life, after Bai Yangbai performed conjuring for her, the Ting Zhu Yard of Luo¡¯s Mansion in Yangzhou City, which was thousands of miles away, was moved to Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion. How did that happen? It was very strange. Why was Ting Zhu Yard? What was the special of Ting Zhu Yard?

    He Danggui didn¡¯t dare to think about it anymore. After all, walking alone into such a deserted and creepy yard, she couldn¡¯t keep calm. She began to regret and thought that why didn¡¯t shee here in the daytime. It felt like self-abuse and seeking excitementing here at night.

    In her previous life, she hadn¡¯t believed in ghosts and gods, because she had never seen one. As a wise and rational person, she only believed in what she saw with her own eyes. But now, she had not only seen the ghost Qi Xuanyu, but also had been a ¡°ghost¡± in her dream for a year. Therefore, she not only believed but also confirmed that there were ghosts in the world.

    ording to the ghost Qi Xuanyu, he had lived in the cave with the soul fragments of Zhu Quan¡¯s previous life. Later, when Zhu Quan of this life entered the cave to explore, Qi Xuanyu and Zhu Quan¡¯s soul fragments left with him. However, some of Zhu Quan¡¯s soul fragments were not taken away because the pieces were too small. Thus, the remaining fragments stayed in this cave in Luo¡¯s Mansion for three years.

    Last time, Chang Nuo took her to visit the puppet Concubine He carved by Zhu Quan. Zhu Quan¡¯s soul fragments were likely to hide in a corner of the cave, peeping at her and Chang Nuo in the shadow. So creepy. No wonder she felt ufortable when she entered the cave, and recalled the darkest memories of her previous life. She thought she had ¡°ustrophobia¡± that Qing¡¯er said.

    Fortunately, this time, the souls of the old and the new Zhu Quan merged, and the old one with love poison finally disappeared. She wouldn¡¯t be bothered by Zhu Quan and could totally get rid of the unequal marriage in her previous life.

    As for women¡¯s jawbones in the cave, if they were left by a person who had lived in the cave, as she had analyzed with Chang Nuo at that time, then she could only think of one, the blood-sucking maniac of three years ago, who also was a masked assassin and was about 30 years old by judging from his figure and voice. Could it be him?

    He was dissatisfied with the life in Luo¡¯s Mansion, and he was chased by soldiers. Critically, the man was hit by her Tea Dew. To escape, he bit his tongue and hurt his essential energy. Evil Energy cultivators like him once hurt themselves, they would lose power or their life span would be shortened. Thus, that man must be very angry. He must be the kind of person who was wicked and cruel, and couldn¡¯t suffer any loss. He would definitely take revenge.

    But why didn¡¯t he choose to go back to Luo¡¯s Mansion to take revenge on people who had harmed him, but to take revenge on Luo Baiqian¡¯s mistresses? At that time, when soldiers came to arrest the masked man, Luo Baiqian was not in the mansion. He probably didn¡¯t know the masked man at all. How could the masked man know that Luo Baiqian raised a number of women outside the Chengxu Academy? They had no deep hatred for each other. How cruel was he to do that thing?

    Thinking about this, He Danggui entered Ting Zhu Yard. The rustling of bamboo leaves that sounded like a melody in the daytime now gave her a feeling of terror. She nned to leave here as soon as she found the silver needle, but she had a strong feeling that there was someone in the yard.

    She walked into the yard step by step, breathing heavily and fast. Who was in Ting Zhu Yard at such a dark and quiet night? Was the white shadow in the yard a man or a ghost?

 Chapter 330 - Since first met the beauty

    <h4>Chapter 330 Since first met the beauty</h4>

    It was a starry night.

    He Danggui walked towards the man in white with heart beating fast, staring at him, and then asked, ¡°Who are you? Turn around!¡±

    The man then turned around, recognized the masked woman in ck as He Danggui, and smiled at her in surprise. ¡°Hey,dy, are youing for me?¡± He said. The man had a strange but handsome face. His voice and eyes were very familiar to her. Just by making eye contact, He Danggui realized he was Bai Yangbai.

    He Danggui tilted her head to look at him in surprise, and asked, ¡°Why are you everywhere? What do you want by dressing up so nicely?¡±

    Bai Yangbai smiled and raised his head, ¡°Well, I want to...¡± After tidying his clothes, he gave He Danggui an iplete salute and looked up at her, ¡°Nice to meet you,dy. My name is Bai Yang. It has been more than two months since I moved to Yangzhou City from the north to keep away from the gue. I haven¡¯t forgotten you since we met each other at Chengxu Academy. There¡¯s no such a more beautifuldy than you in the world. Although I¡¯m not a native, my family is running a business and is rtively rich. Thus, I can afford tens of thousands liang silver for bride-price, and I can also buy a house in suburbs for you. What do you think?¡±

    He Danggui looked at him and said, ¡°You look decent, but you have been kicked out. So there is no need to propose marriage. You might as well continue to be a Taoist priest and perform the religious ritual for the Luo¡¯s ancestral hall tomorrow. If you earn money, don¡¯t forget to return to me 10 liang silver you stole from me before. In addition, you should make a tribute to me, no less than 100 liang silver with no ceiling.¡±

    ¡°I was kicked out?¡± Bai Yangbai stared at her in amazement, and said, ¡°Are you sure? It still had leeway this morning. But only half a day passed, you change your mind so quickly. What happened?¡±

    He Danggui didn¡¯t expect him to be so keen. She thought her attitude didn¡¯t change. Then she coughed to cover the embarrassment, unveiled to show him her gorgeous face, and said proudly, ¡°Look, this is the marvelous effect of Beautifying Soup and Yingying Powder. It¡¯s amazing! I¡¯m about to marry and can¡¯t y games with you anymore. Your skincare skill is unbelievable. Why not do it for me once a month? I¡¯ll invite you to the gambling house, okay?¡±

    What a gorgeous face. Bai Yangbai blinked his eyes, and asked, ¡°Are you really going to marry someone or just pretending to marry? Who is that man? Do I know him?¡±

    He Danggui hadn¡¯t meant to tell him at that moment her rtionship with Meng Xuan, but unconsciously, she told him in a unting tone, ¡°It¡¯s Meng Xuan, Seventh Childe of Meng¡¯s Family. He turns out to be my Mr. Right. I will get married soon. After that, you have to go to Meng¡¯s Mansion in the capital if you want to see me.¡±

    Bai Yangbai scratched his chin, stayed silent for a moment, and looked at her for a while, then slowly said, ¡°You both are shrewd and well-matched. You are foxier than him, and he is more ruthless than you. You definitely are a good killer couple¡­Congrattions.¡±

    He Danggui epted hispliments and corrected, ¡°I will be his concubine, not his wife.¡±

    Bai Yangbai was silent again, and then took out turtle shell, Hongwu Tongbao copper cash, and astrpass, and seriously said to He Danggui, ¡°It¡¯s good to know you. I like your temper and character very much. Since you¡¯re going to marry Meng Xuan to be his concubine, you won¡¯tck money. So I¡¯d like to have a fortelling for you. You haven¡¯t done the fortelling on marriage in the past fourteen years, right?¡±

    He Danggui showed a great interest in it, as Bai Yangbai was a great forteller. It was a good idea to foresee her marriage to forget the nonsense that Qi Xuanyu¡¯s soul had told to her that Meng Xuan and Bai Yangbai would die. She squinted her eyes and nodded, saying kindly, ¡°Do it carefully. Recently, I have been more convinced of the divination of the Book of Changes. I think it¡¯s very urate. It would be great to hear a blessing from you before getting married. Please tell me how my marriage with Meng Xuan will be like, whether the living environment of Meng¡¯s Family is better than that of Luo¡¯s Family or not, how many years Meng Xuan and I can live respectively, and whether we can grow old together.¡±

    ¡°When ites to fortelling, a woman as shrewd as you will be ignorant. What kind of fortelling can be so urate? So silly. If you want to grow old with Meng Xuan, you both need to operate marriage attentively¡­¡± Being a little angry, Bai Yangbai murmured and walked towards the house with his fortelling tools.

    He Danggui stopped him, and suggested, ¡°Let¡¯s go to the Shui Xie pavilion. It¡¯s not far from here. This ce is considered an ominous ce and will have an adverse impact on the divination.¡±

    ¡°Nonsense.¡± Bai Yangbai retorted, ¡°In my opinion, Ting Zhu Yard is the most suitable ce to do the fortelling, as it has the strongest aura in the entire Luo¡¯s Mansion, and even in nearly half of Yangzhou City.¡± Bai Yangbai turned around and saw He Danggui stopping with doubts, so he urged her and said, ¡°Hurry up! I have to observe starster, so I don¡¯t have much time to do a fortelling for you.¡±

    He Danggui didn¡¯t expect that one day she had to listen to Bai Yangbai. While following him into the room, she asked with a smile, ¡°Astrologer, so you have the habit of watching the stars at night.¡± She didn¡¯t remember that he had such a normal hobby.

    However, Bai Yangbai replied seriously, ¡°Yes. Since anomalies of asterism and earthquake urred, astrologers across the country came to Yangzhou City. There were numerous people observing stars on Zhinv Bridge tonight. I hate to observe stars in that I don¡¯t want to foresee the suffering of people. But this time, it couldn¡¯t be avoided anymore.¡±

    ¡°Why do you say that?¡± He Danggui asked knowingly.

    ¡°I looked up at the sky and saw stars lining up. Taibai was retrograde between Liu Tu Zhang and Gui Jin Yang, and the streamer shot Dou Mu Xie, Niu Jin Niu, and Xin Yue Hu. Do you know what this means?¡± Bai Yangbai opened the door and walked into the room, put fortelling tools on the table, and continued speaking, ¡°It means that there will be a great turmoil all over the country in three years, and no one can stay out of it, including Quan and Meng Xuan.¡±

    ¡°Woah! Brilliant.¡± He Danggui sat down, and said slowly, ¡°Now, please tell my fortune on marriage.¡±

    Bai Yangbai was stunned. He thought she would be astonished hearing such great news, but he didn¡¯t expect she was so calm and uninterested in it. He looked down at her unhappily, and snorted, ¡°Don¡¯t you believe it? I¡¯m a Taoist Sage, and master of star observation!¡±

    He Danggui held the chin with her hands, and saidzily, ¡°It makes no difference to believe it or not. Compare the question that who will be the Emperor and the question of what to eat for dinner today, it seems that thetter is more closely rted to us. So tell me if there will be any trouble in my marriage with Meng Xuan and whether his mother and wife are easy-going or not?¡±

    Bai Yangbai sat down, lined up the copper cash, and said in a jealous tone, ¡°We haven¡¯t seen each other for only a few days and you have a beloved one. It seems that you are very concerned about him. When did you be so close?¡±

    ¡°Shh.¡± He Danggui raised her eyebrows and said, ¡°Divination requires concentration, or the result won¡¯t be urate.¡± He Danggui then made a wish, to the effect that she wanted a good marriage, and lived a life of peace and joy. Meng Xuan wanted to marry her, and they were in love. He Danggui hoped that the fortelling would reassure her. After that, she asked Bai Yangbai, ¡°Are the dates of birth and eight characters of a horoscope of me and Meng Xuan needed?¡±

    Bai Yangbai squinted at her and said, ¡°No. I know. But for the sake of uracy, all men who have one-sided love for you or want to marry you for a purpose should be involved in the fortelling. I know the birthdates of Meng Xuan, Duan Xiaolou, Quan, and myself, but I don¡¯t know the birthdates of Peng Jian and Luo Baiji. Do you know?¡±

    He Danggui didn¡¯t expect that Bai Yangbai included himself in the list and felt embarrassed. She waved her hand and said, ¡°Peng Jian and my cousin are excluded.¡±

    ¡°Excluded?¡± Bai Yangbai then asked, ¡°What about me? Am I included?¡±

    He Danggui replied, ¡°As you like.¡± She seemed to be close to Bai Yangbai in the previous life, but in fact, their rtionship wasn¡¯t that close. He liked her but he couldn¡¯t tell her, and she waspletely unaware of his love. In this life, they wouldn¡¯t be entangled with each other. However, she couldn¡¯t forget what Qi Xuanyu¡¯s soul said to her. It didn¡¯t hurt to have a fortelling though she didn¡¯t believe it.

    Then, Bai Yangbai began to do it. He repeatedly ced the copper cash in various ways for about 45 minutes, and finally covered the turtle shell on the copper cash, nodded, and said, ¡°The result will show in a few minutes.¡±

    He Danggui held her breath and waited for the result. She realized that she was so nervous about the result. He Danggui took two deep breaths and couldn¡¯t helpughing at herself. She teased Bai Yangbai with a smile, ¡°Your disguise skill is so proficient that it makes you look more handsome than before. If you set up a stall to do fortelling for others at the gate of temples, you will surely attract arge number ofdies and madams.¡±

    Bai Yangbai began to pick his nose, and asked, ¡°Will you be attracted by my handsome face?¡±

    He Danggui didn¡¯t bother to answer his question, so the two were silent. After a while, He Danggui couldn¡¯t help but ask him questions again. After all, talking to him was better than simply waiting for the announcement of her destiny. She asked, ¡°Why do you say Ting Zhu Yard is the best ce in Luo¡¯s Mansion? How do you know that?¡±

    Bai Yangbai pointed towards four directions and exined to her with piles of Fengshui terms for a long time. He Danggui was confused and didn¡¯t understand. He was so impassioned that he was spitting everywhere. He Danggui had to keep out his saliva with her veil. Finally, he said something that Danggui could understand, ¡°I heard that Grandpa Luo lived here. I guess he must have studied Taoism and pursued immortality.¡±

    ¡°No way,¡± He Danggui denied, ¡°His medical skills are inherited from the Yishui School. I have never heard about him refining pills or making mercury. Maybe Ting Zhu Yard just happens to have an advantageous location.¡±

    Bai Yangbai shook his head, ¡°The ce of Xun in this yard is the most suitable ce for the pill furnace, and it is by no means idental. Instead, it must have been deliberately arranged like this. You say Luo Maitong has nothing to do with Taoism. Let me tell you. Ting Zhu Yard was built ording to the specifications of a Taoist temple. You see, right into the door is the Side Pce. There is a big atrium at the turn of the corridor, but it shouldn¡¯t be there. It feels ufortable, right?¡±

    He Danggui was blushed, ¡°Taoist Sage, I¡¯m only fourteen years old and shallow in knowledge, so I don¡¯t understand your harangue.¡±

    Bai Yangbai concluded, ¡°In short, Ting Zhu Yard is like a Taoist temple. Although I didn¡¯t visit every room, I guess that all beds in this yard have no curtains, which not only conforms to theyout of Fengshui but also allows soul to float freely, livable for both living persons and the dead.¡± Bai Yangbai nodded and praised the yard.

    He Danggui did know that all beds in Ting Zhu Yard were not allowed to put up curtains, as instructed by Senior Lord Luo Maitong. But his words sounded terrible. She patted Bai Yangbai on the shoulder and stopped his talking, ¡°Don¡¯t frighten me at midnight. I¡¯m so scared. I can¡¯t help beating someone when I¡¯m scared. Time¡¯s up. Please uncover the turtle shell and take a look at my marriage.¡±

    Bai Yangbai looked at her deeply, uncovered the turtle shell, and muttered in surprise, ¡°How could it be! These four men are not your husband, then who is your husband?¡±

 Chapter 331 - Who is that romantic man?

    <h4>Chapter 331 Who is that romantic man?</h4>

    He Danggui¡¯s eyes widened, and she whispered, too, ¡°What? You must¡¯ve made a mistake. I asked another person to foresee my marriage. He is also a forteller. But what he said ispletely different from you!¡±

    Bai Yangbai asked, ¡°Forteller? I know all of fortellers. There are no more than eight true fortellers in the world. Who are you talking about?¡± He asked sullenly. Except for the displeasure of being questioned, he saw he was the most impossible one to marry He Dangguiparing to other three men: Meng Xuan, Duan Xiaolou, Zhu Quan. So he felt inexplicably upset.

    He Danggui blinked her eyes with her mouth opened, but she didn¡¯t know how to answer him. How would she tell Bai Yangbai that in a dreamlike realm, she met Master Prophet Qi Xuanyu, who was neither a human nor a ghost. Qi Xuanyu imed that his hexagram of nature¡¯s mystery was the greatest fortelling tool in the world, so he could foresee nature¡¯s mystery, and even Bai Yangbai was unable to match him.

    Qi Xuanyu imed that her marriage was rted to three men, Meng Xuan, Bai Yangbai, and Zhu Quan. While Bai Yangbai imed that none of them would be her future husband, including Duan Xiaolou who Qi even didn¡¯t mention. How could it be! She and Meng Xuan had pledged to get married privately, and how could she marry another man... Or maybe Meng Xuan didn¡¯t marry her, and she became a Taoist nun eventually?

    Thinking of this, she asked, ¡°Didn¡¯t I get married in the end and became a Taoist nun?¡± Although she was truly a little interested in the skill of immortality that Bai Yangbai had mentioned a few days ago, it was not enough to induce her to be a Taoist nun!

    Bai Yangbai picked up some pieces of turtle shell and coppers, and shook them up and down. He poured out to have a look, and then put them back to shake. He did that three times. After getting the result, he arranged and deduced with other coppers he prepared as if calcting aplicated math problem, which made He Danggui feel dizzy.

    After a while, the result came out. Bai Yangbai raised his head, looked at her, and said, ¡°Your natal chart has been tampered with by others. I didn¡¯t know what was it like before, but now it says your future husband will not be Meng Xuan, Duan Xiaolou, Zhu Quan, or me. And as for the one you will marry, I guess you¡¯ve never seen him until now.¡± He was unprecedentedly serious, which indicated that what he said was not kidding.

    He Danggui was stunned, and asked inconceivably, ¡°The natal chart can be changed? Wouldn¡¯t the naturalw be messed up? I have never heard of such a thing. Are you bluffing me?¡±

    Bai Yangbai stared at the coppers on the table carefully, and then shook his head with a sigh, ¡°You will suffer a miserable life, poor girl.¡±

    He Danggui became nervous, ¡°How could that be? What misfortune will happen to me?¡±

    Bai Yangbai didn¡¯t answer her question, only repeated, ¡°How poor you are. s, what a miserable girl.¡±

    He Danggui was annoyed. She banged the table and asked, ¡°If you don¡¯t tell me, I will leave!¡± In fact, she was so frightened by this hexagram, so wouldn¡¯t leave unless Bai Yangbai told her the details of her natal chart.

    Bai Yangbai stroked his chin, grinned, showing his white and sharp teeth, and said in a low and ambiguous voice, ¡°Girl, your future husband was originally a gentleman. He wasn¡¯t interested in any loving affairs and didn¡¯t show any feelings to his concubines. But he loved making out only with you after witnessing your beauty.¡± Hearing what he said, He Danggui became expressionless. Seeing that, Bai Yangbai continued gloatingly, ¡°Resign yourself to the fate. You¡¯re going to marry a romantic man. Maybe you won¡¯t want my Beautifying Soup a few months after you get married, and maybe you want yourself to be uglier.¡±

    He Danggui was extremely angry after realizing that she was teased by Bai Yangbai. She threatened, ¡°I will castrate you if you talk nonsense again! Whether your divination is urate or not? Meng Xuan and me... We are scheduled to get married right next month.¡± As long as she asked, Meng Xuan would marry her before next month. After hearing this, he might go to Madam Meng to propose to her tomorrow. Then the established natal chart would be invalid, right?

    Bai Yangbai looked at the hexagram disyed by coppers and muttered, ¡°Your future husband is also a big shot. He is as handsome as me, and his status is equivalent to Quan, even higher than him. Most importantly, his skills on the bed are top-notch.¡±

    He Danggui was embarrassed and angry, and said, ¡°Who is this person you are talking about? Can you foresee something serious? I trust you so much and want you to tell my fortune. Don¡¯t y a joke on me!¡±

    ¡°This hexagram didn¡¯t show who he is, but let me take a look... Well, bronzed face, wide shoulders, narrow waist, tight hips, and leggy. He is at the age with the strongest desire, and he is about half a year older than Quan... In the daytime, he has to suppress himself to be gentle, so he has to release himself in the evening... Well, you are the one who will help him...¡± Bai Yangbai was concentrated on the coppers as if discovering the magical and mysterious man behind it, and he finally came to a conclusion¡ª

    ¡°Poor girl, you will suffer a lot.¡±

    He Danggui was utterly confused. After a few deep breaths, she tried her best to ask him in a calm tone, ¡°I don¡¯t want to marry anyone else except Meng Xuan. There must be a way to change my natal chart, right? A few days ago, I asked a mysterious forteller to have divination for me, and he is also well versed in divination. He told me clearly that Meng Xuan and I are supposed to be together. So, if it is true that someone has tampered with my natal chart, you must know how to correct it, right?¡± Looking at his haughty face, she pleaded, ¡°I know you are a master of Taoism. Qianjun, I believe you can do it with your ability!¡±

    Bai Yangbai sat upright, looking down at her arrogantly, and grinned, ¡°Do you believe in my ability? Sorry, this time you are wrong. I can¡¯t help you because I don¡¯t know what your original natal chart was like, and changing it back should be done in a reasonable way. If the natal chart is misced, and it can be changed by anyone, then I could find a Bai dynasty and be the Emperor myself! So... I¡¯m sorry. I can¡¯t help you.¡±

    ¡°If you can¡¯t help me, who else in this world can help me?¡± He Danggui tugged his sleeve, and said, ¡°The happiness for the rest of my life depends on you. Aren¡¯t you the Taoist Sage helping people in distress? Please try to figure out ways!¡±

    Originally, she only believed in destiny for 30%-40%, but the fortellers around her, Bai Yangbai and Qi Xuanyu, all look like a master of nature¡¯s mystery. Therefore, she gradually believed it for 90%. After all, Bai Yangbai imed in the previous life that she and her daughter would die before her daughter¡¯s first birthday, and it became true. Three years ago, Qi Xuanyu unveiled her life¡¯s experience before her previous life with one time of divination, and it was confirmed in the seventh stage, so she couldn¡¯t help but believe it. Even if she believed that man could conquer nature, it was necessary to take precautions.

    Bai Yangbai had never seen a soft-spoken and submissive He Danggui. Thinking that she kept a low profile to marry Meng Xuan, he was jealous, but said coldly, ¡°I¡¯m not worthy of your trust. How do you know that I won¡¯t change Meng Xuan to Bai Yangbai when I modify your natal chart?¡±

    When He Danggui heard that there was a way to change the natal chart back, she kept shaking his sleeve at once, begging him, ¡°Qianjun, you know how to help me, right? I¡¯m suffering a harsh life, so please help me!¡± Seeing Bai Yangbai holding his head high, He Danggui was so ufortable and confused. Was what Bai Yangbai said true? Who changed her natal chart on earth!

    Bai Yangbai pulled his sleeve away, shrugged, and said, ¡°I¡¯m willing to help but unable to do so. There is something you don¡¯t know. That is, anyone can tell you a fortune with your date of birth and eight characters of a horoscope. After knowing your natal chart, as long as one knows the correct method, a Taoist priest or a forteller, and even the forteller Mr. Li who swindled at your home this morning, can tamper with, smear, or rewrite it. It¡¯s just that the effect is various due to different levels of skills. For example, the forteller Mr. Li would only postpone your wedding by two days with his skills.¡±

    ¡°So you mean, the one who tampered with my natal chart is a person with great supernatural power?¡± said He Danggui dully.

    Bai Yangbai nodded in agreement, ¡°Smart! You¡¯ve figured it out! If it¡¯s really as you said, originally your husband would be Meng Xuan, then someone must have changed your marriage in the past two days, and reced him by another person you¡¯ve never met, so the supernatural power of that person can¡¯t be underestimated.¡±

    He Danggui became anxious. She looked at Bai Yangbai for help, and asked, ¡°Then what should I do?¡±

    Bai Yangbai sighed, and said slowly, ¡°I really can¡¯t help you change it back since I haven¡¯t read the original natal chart. Even an immortal couldn¡¯t figure it out.¡± After a second, he said, ¡°There is indeed a way to help you, but I¡¯m afraid you will think I¡¯m selfish, so never mind.¡±

    He Danggui pushed him lightly, ¡°When did you be so implicit? We are so close. Is there anything else you can¡¯t share with me? Tell me now.¡±

    ¡°Marry me.¡± Bai Yangbai said. Before she overreacted, he exined, ¡°My life is not controlled by my destiny and it couldn¡¯t be easily changed by others. And you know for sure my ability...Anyway, if you don¡¯t want to marry the unknown romantic man, then marrying me is the best choice.¡±

    He Danggui was stunned for a while, and suddenly sighed, and said, ¡°I was almost deceived by you. What other unknown romantic man? My future husband will be Meng Xuan. You liar! I almost believed your nonsense.¡± She stood up and said goodbye, ¡°I don¡¯t want to talk to you anymore. I have something urgent to do. You can tour the Ting Zhu Yard leisurely, and Bitter Bamboo Grove behind the house is full of aura. Live there for several days, and your mind will return to normal.¡±

    All in all, Bai Yangbai still thought about the absurd dream of being immortal, and wanted to learn her Yunqi Acupuncture, but how would she tell him that this skill was also wicked. The more you used the skill, the eviler you would be. Thus, it couldn¡¯t be attempted easily. But even she told him the truth, he wouldn¡¯t believe it. It was useless to exin much. Just let it be. When she got married with Meng Xuan, gave birth to a baby, and lived a harmonious life a few yearster, Bai Yangbai would give up the idea to cultivate the skill with her. At that time, she couldmunicate with him about the exchange of Yunqi Acupuncture and soup bath.

    He Danggui persuaded herself to forget Bai Yangbai¡¯s words and went to Grandpa Luo¡¯s study and found two boxes of silver needles. Afterparing the two boxes, she chose the box of silver needles simr to the awn-like needles that she usually used before. Then she put the needles into the needle sleeve on her wrist one by one.

    However, Meng Xuan¡¯s cold poison was strange and unpredictable. Even He Danggui had seen it for the first time. It was not enough to cure him with silver needles alone. Now it was not midnight, and He Danggui thought she had to go out to see Gao Jue.

 Chapter 332 - Brother-in-law and sister-in-law

    <h4>Chapter 332 Brother-inw and sister-inw</h4>

    After collecting the silver needles and wearing the veil, He Danggui ignored the weird Bai Yangbai who was holding his hands behind him in the courtyard. She left Ting Zhu Yard and took a shortcut to the south sidewall. She saw Pan Jingyang, who was on night patrol and was staring at the sky afar. She jumped over the wall and got out of Luo¡¯s Mansion.

    This time, she didn¡¯t have to worry about being followed by Sun Meiniang¡¯s servants. After leaving the mansion, she found the air was even sweet with a floral smell. After passing two alleys, she walked towards the back door of an inn named the ¡°Vintage Store of Wind¡±. She had farmed out a bay horse here. Yangzhou City was quiterge, and sincest year, her business scale had been expanded. It would take more than half a day to run from south to north in Yangzhou City. Sometimes riding a horse would be more convenient than hiring a carriage. So, she raised a bay horse in this inn.

    She led the horse from the stable, mounted the horse, and drove it out of the inn with soft orders. The horse had run out of the street soon. The wind was whistling by her ears and the scenery in the night quickly receded and the road ahead repeated. Finally, she arrived at the back door of Yi Hong Brothel owned by her and Qing¡¯er. She tied the horse to the wooden stake outside the door. Instead of entering the brothel, she detoured and walked to an isted house at the end of the alley.

    This was Gao Jue¡¯s temporary home. He had been on errands in Yangzhou City several times and each time stayed there two or three months. It was inconvenient for him to live in the courier station. So, he asked Qing¡¯er to find him a quiet and good ce far from the crowd. As a result, Qing¡¯er arranged this house for him near the back door of Yi Hong Brothel.

    Originally, He Danggui thought that Qing¡¯er had affection for Gao Jue and intentionally housed him next to her. However, after watching her for the whole year, she found that Qing¡¯er didn¡¯t take any action and even seldom visited Gao Jue. Every time Qing¡¯er had some ¡°business¡± with him, she would always wait for Gao Jue at the gate of the imperial guard¡¯s stronghold. What a twisted girl! She was not a doer. Once encountered an emotional problem, no matter how bold one was, he/she would be a giant ofnguage and a short of actions.

    While thinking about it, she arrived at the door of Gao Jue¡¯s home. Gao Jue liked quiet, so his servants did not live in this house. They only came to do cleaning,undry, and cooking during the daytime. Gao Jue was the only one living in this house at night. Therefore, He Danggui did not knock at the door but climbed over the wall again. The arts of lightness were useful.

    Since the incident of the ¡°most beautiful girl¡¯s life experience¡± two years ago, apart from various negative effects, He Danggui also learned that she had ate cousin, Ling Miaochun, who was Gao Jue¡¯s beloved. Gao Jue had even married her after she was dead and took her memorial tablet into his family¡¯s ancestral hall. In this case, He Danggui, the same as Ling Miaoyi, was Gao Jue¡¯s sister-inw!

    With this rtionship of brother-inw and sister-inw, He Danggui and Gao Jue got along more naturally than before. She was originally a little suspicious that Gao Jue might like her when she received the expensive Kyanite hairpin from him in Tu¡¯er Town. But, when they met again in Yangzhou City, Gao Jue became indifferent to her. He seemed to be unwilling to talk to her. Whenever she had problems with Kungfu, she thought she had to ask him because he was the most reliable and professional one. Every time she invited him to have dinner or a cup of tea in advance, Gao Jue would bete and leave early.

    After several times, He Danggui not only didn¡¯t feel angry but secretly relieved a lot. She thought that she was self-sentimental. As Qing¡¯er said, ¡°What¡¯s going on recently? Why do I feel every man in the street has a crush on me? Why do they all look at me weirdly?¡± It was ridiculous that she had viewed the hairpin as a token of love and tried her best to reject it. So, she took the advantage to take him as her teacher.

    So, in addition to the rtionship of brother-inw and sister-inw, she and Gao Jue also had a mentoring rtionship. That was true. She not only gained a lot of Zhenqi from Gao Jue but also used his as a ¡°dictionary¡±, asking him for advice if she didn¡¯t understand anything. However, how should she ask him about the method of detoxifying the cold poison caused by Cold Zhenqi?

    It was dark in the house, without one candle on. It was not even midnight. Did Gao Jue go to sleep? That was too early. For top martial artists like them, shouldn¡¯t they dispense with sleeping by meditating for a while? The meditation would make them energetic and refreshed.

    ¡°Ah. You bad boy.¡±

    A woman¡¯s cheerful and soft groan came from a room. It was easy to guess what they were doing. He Danggui was stunned there. It made sense that men were very energetic at night. Gao Jue living alone of course had the right to make himself merry. What should she do? It was not the right time.

    ¡°Oh, honey, you are awesome! Let¡¯s continue!¡±

    He Danggui was confused. Did Gao Jue take a new concubine in Yangzhou City? He looked righteous and serious and was like a rare decent person in the imperial guards. Now it turned out that he was a phndering man! Well, you can¡¯t judge a book from its cover. He Danggui thought she couldn¡¯t let Qing¡¯er marry this man.

    Uh...it seemed that the phrase ¡°you can¡¯t judge a book from its cover¡± had been used by her today to describe the adopted son Luo Qianyi of First Branch and Peng Shi. However, it turned out that she had misunderstood Peng Shi. But, at that time, Miss Chai¡¯s voice really got her wrong. He Danggui just helped Chai Yutu reset her ankle, but her sound made a person dazzled. However, this time, she was right. The female voice from inside was a moan on the bed! What a shameless guy!

    Well, maybe it was too much. Gao Jue boasted money and free time, so why couldn¡¯t he marry a concubine and had a baby with her? There was no shame. He Danggui thought she was the one to me for sneaking into one¡¯s home at midnight. She did not knock on the door but climbed over the wall. How sinful she was! What should she do? Should she still wait here? But the moan of the woman really made her embarrassed.

    ¡°Boom!¡±

    He Danggui identally kicked a bucket or something and made a loud noise. However, she had learned from the ¡°Peng Shi and Chai Yutu incident.¡± She didn¡¯t run away but opened her watery eyes and waited there. When Gao Jue came out to catch her, she would say, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I have been immersed in Kungfu recently and I came to you to ask you a question. But I have noticed that you were busy and I have heard some sounds that I shouldn¡¯t hear. So, I panicked and kicked something mistakenly. I¡¯m really sorry for interrupting you!¡±

    Facing a shy and panicked girl who knew she hadmitted a big mistake, Gao Jue would be embarrassed if he med her. Besides, he didn¡¯t put his bucket in the proper ce.

    However, after waiting there quietly for several minutes, the woman in the room still happily shouted ¡°Honey, go on!¡± The man even grunted as well. Neither of them came out to see what happened. Could it be that Gao Jue was more attentive and less alert than Peng Shi?

    However, Peng Shi was not busy back then, so he ran out to check the situation when he heard something. Now, Gao Jue was so busy that he couldn¡¯t stop even if it was a thief outside his room. Forget it! He Danggui didn¡¯t want to bother him tonight. She should better go to Yi Hong Brothel to rest and find Gao Jue at dawn the next day.

    With this n, He Danggui turned around and was about to leave. The woman in the room seemed to have reached the peak and was making a soft and gentle cry. The man said for the first time, ¡°Honey, call my name, now!¡±

    He Danggui stopped. This voice did note from Gao Jue, but it was also very familiar to her. Who was him?

    ¡°Zhiyuan! Zhiyuan! I can¡¯t bear it anymore!¡± The woman cried.

    Hearing this, He Danggui immediately remembered that the man¡¯s voice seemed toe from Liao Zhiyuan. In other words, the man and the woman in the room were Qing¡¯er¡¯s brother and sister-inw but not Gao Jue and his new concubine?

    He Danggui immediately felt so embarrassed after she got realized that. Eavesdropping on the couple¡¯s private words was very immoral, not to mention that she had made such a loud noise. If Liao Zhiyuan came outter, that would be much more embarrassed than meeting Gao Jue. Besides, Liao Zhiyuan seemed to hate her very much. She dared not predict what would Liao Zhiyuan do to her!

    When she was preparing to escape from there, the door of the house was pushed open from the outside. He Danggui¡¯s first reaction was to jump into the well!

    Exactly! There happened to be a well on her right hand, and it was a suitable hiding ce. If she held the edge of the well with her hands, no one would find her in darkness. The person outside the house must be Gao Jue. Liao Zhiyuan and his concubine lived in Gao Jue¡¯s house, and they wanted to make out with each other while Gao Jue was not home. Now that the master hade back, surely their voices would tone down a bit?¡±

    He Danggui clearly heard the loud footstepsing from outside the door. This guy even kicked the hapless bucket once again. However, Liao Zhiyuan and his concubine didn¡¯t lower their sound but it became even louder. He Danggui¡¯s face turnedpletely red though she thought she was thick-skinned and calm. It was not the conversation of a couple on the bed but more like the dirty words between a client and a prostitute in Yi Hong Brothel. What the hell was going on? Was Liao Zhiyuan with his concubine? Or did he bring a prostitute here?

    Wasn¡¯t Gao Jue outside the door? Why did Liao Zhiyuan dare to be so arrogant? Didn¡¯t he stop in the presence of the owner of the house?

    He Danggui heard that the person outside the door was walking inside. With strong curiosity, she poked her head out a little to check the situation. That figure¡­ That person¡­ She was Ling Miaoyi instead of Gao Jue?

    She remembered that Ling Miaoyi was also in Yangzhou City now. She even went to Luo¡¯s Mansion to make a show days ago. Now she surely would live with her brother-inw. Well, this ce was really crowded. Liao Zhiyuan was having fun with a prostitute, and Ling Miaoyi with a bad temper was also here. In this case, Ling Miaoyi had kicked that bucket intentionally because she had opinions on Liao Zhiyuan¡¯s romantic affairs. Therefore, Liao Zhiyuan¡¯s dirty words were uttered as a counterattack.

    Ling Miaoyi and Liao Zhiyuan were in such a fierce fight, but Gao Jue didn¡¯te out to stop them orin about the noise. The only exnation was that Gao Jue was not here. Therefore, she didn¡¯t need to wait here. Ling Miaoyi walked into her room as the sound of the man and the woman continued from the other room. He Danggui did not want to stay here any longer and jumped out of the wall from the well with her lightness art. She headed for the back door of Yi Hong Brothel.

    Since Gao Jue was not at home, where should she find him? How could she save Meng Xuan? Should she go to the stronghold of the imperial guards?

    Thinking about this dilemma, she arrived at the back door of Yi Hong Brothel. However, she was taken aback by the scene. Her horse was gone! Her horse was stolen!

    When she was angry, a child¡¯s voice came to her happily, ¡°Thedy! You are thedy who saved me!¡±

 Chapter 333 - Give my horse back

    <h4>Chapter 333 Give my horse back</h4>

    He Danggui froze for a moment and then looked back. That was a child in a red jacket and green pants. He was wearing a pair of tiger shoes. His hair was a bit yellow, and he was slightly younger than Chubby Zhu. In He Danggui¡¯s opinion, he was a ¡°colorful¡± child. She bent down and asked, ¡°Kid, did you see anyone take away a bay horse tied here?¡±

    The child nodded and pointed to the north, ¡°A man just left with your horse.¡± He Danggui hurriedly thanked him and ran in that direction. Thief is unforgivable! Stealing her horse in her ce was even worse! The wind blew her ear while the yelling of the child came from behind. However, He Danggui maturely used Mysterious Footwork with full strength, and she even ran several times faster than riding a horse. Therefore, she did not catch the child¡¯s words.

    Children usually asked candies for adults. Next time she could ask Bai Yangbai to sell her some medicated sweetsand send them to that kid.

    At the time, she chased the horse on the street and ran faster and faster. Then, she saw her bay horse with a man riding on it. He was about 30 years old and was wearing a night cloak, moving rapidly with the horse.

    He Danggui slowed down and followed the man far behind. As the speed slowed down, she could better observe the man on the horse. His posture was skillful. While holding the rein with the left hand, he bent his elbow forward to the front-left. However, he didn¡¯t hold a whip in his right hand because He Danggui hung the whip on her nocturnal clothes after she got off the horse. The man¡¯s right arm was as flexible as a whip. He pped the horse to make it run faster.

    He Danggui felt that this posture looked very familiar. It seemed to be used by people in the army. Because in military exercises, the quiver and the hard bow were hung on the left side of the horse¡¯s mane. To take out arrows, cavalries would develop a posture with the left arm tilted on the horse¡¯s back. Besides, the posture of lying low on the horse¡¯s back could make the rider better avoid arrows from all directions. Weird! He did not look like a thief ording to his riding posture and the expensive ck lint cloak. Although she should not judge a book from its cover, this man was not like a thief.

    After chasing him several streets in this way, that man suddenly turned around and nced at her. He stopped but did not dismount. He looked at her condescendingly and asked curiously, ¡°Are you running after me? What do you want?¡±

    He Danggui felt hrious. A thief did not allow the owner to chase her property. She pointed to the horse under him, ¡°It is mine.¡±

    ¡°Yours?¡± The man was stunned before retorting, ¡°No. It¡¯s mine.¡±

    He Danggui did not expect that this man was a rogue. He had been captured by the owner but he still did not admit it. Therefore, she had to point out the characteristics of the horse, ¡°This horse has a brownish-red coat, but there are two clusters of white hairs behind its bell. It loves Zongzi sugar and rice cakes. Besides, it likes to listen to me singing. ¡± Said so, she started to sing, ¡°The night falls, the stars follow, the people you are missing...¡±

    Listening to the song, the front hooves of the horse lifted. The horse started to walk around in a circle like dancing. When its neck was raised, two clusters of white hair behind the bell were different from that of other parts, and it was a kind of snow-white long fur. Now, it was undoubted that who was the owner of the horse.

    However, that rogue insisted, ¡°Girl, this horse is mine.¡± He couldn¡¯t control the horse going around in circles, so he got off it and exined to the masked little girl who was full of usations. ¡°You must be the previous owner of this horse, right? But it is mine now. Your little brother has sold it to me.¡±

    ¡°Little brother?¡± He Danggui frowned, ¡°I don¡¯t have a brother.¡±

    That rogue froze again and finally exined the details to her, ¡°Sorry, this might be a misunderstanding. I was having fun in Yi Hong Brothel, and suddenly I got an emergency to handle. I went to the stable and found that my horse was missing. I was anxious, and then I saw a horse tied to the back door at that time.¡±

    ¡°But that¡¯s my horse.¡± He Danggui added ruthlessly.

    That rogue smiled. He tilted his head and said, ¡°Little girl, let me finish talking. I went out and saw a boy squatting next to the horse. I thought he was watching the horse for his master, so I threw him 20 liang of silver before I left with the horse. I didn¡¯t expect to pay the wrong bill and let the real owner chase me this far. What bad luck!¡±

    He Danggui thought to herself, ¡°I have worse luck!¡± In just one day, she had heard that kind of voice of men and women three times in a row. However, she couldn¡¯t find Gao Jue but bumped into a lot of skunks. Besides, she had even lost her beloved horse. She coldly looked up at the tall man and asked, ¡°Sir, you forced a deal without even knowing who the owner was, nor did you ask whether I agreed to sell my horse. Now, who do you think should be responsible for the result?¡±

    The tall man nced anxiously at the road ahead and replied, ¡°I¡¯m in a hurry. Stop pestering me!¡± He took out two ingots, each of them was ten liang of silver, and handed them over to her. ¡°Twenty plus twenty can afford three horses. Now ask your horse to stop dancing.¡± Anyway, he had no time to spend the money in the brothel, so he would just kindly reward it to her. Besides, this little girl seemed to be a beauty.

    He Danggui refused to ept his money. She tried to persuade him, ¡°Do not do to others what you do not want to be done. Didn¡¯t you feel angry when your horse disappeared from the stable? If it was not a thief but a self-righteous guy ¡®robbed¡¯ your horse with a bag of silver hung on the stable railing, would you be happy because of the money? When you go out, horses are transportation tools. It is inconvenient for anyone without a horse. I don¡¯t want your money, please give me back my horse.¡±

    Although she had not been raising this horse for a long time, she still had feelings for it. Even an object would get important after using it for a long time. This man looked fierce and pped the horse with his hand roughly. He Danggui took a closer look and found the hip the horse had turned to red. How could she entrust a mare to such a vulgar person? He was indeed a beast.

    The man shook his head and reiterated, ¡°I am the owner now.¡±

    He Danggui also shook her head, ¡°The horse is mine because I did not take your money. The best solution now is to go back to the back door of Yi Hong Brothel to find the boy and get your money back. If we couldn¡¯t find him, I can pay you the money. Anyway, I can¡¯t sell you my horse.¡±

    The man said irritably, ¡°I have told you that I am in a hurry! Just take the silver. If you keep pestering me, I will even take you away!¡± Then, he went to lead the horse that was still dancing there.

    However, He Danggui took a step forward to grasp the rein. She negotiated with him in a soft tone, ¡°Sir, you look a decent guy with heroic spirit around you. Are you the man who would rob a horse from a little girl? I have been with my horse for many years, and I can¡¯t give it to someone else. I beg your mercy! Since you are so rich, why don¡¯t you buy a horse from others? As for the money you gave that boy, if you trust me, I will help you get it back, otherwise, I will pay you the money myself. Just leave me an address. I will deliver the money myself.¡±

    She was so earnest and she was also an innocent victim. Therefore, the man could not be so tough anymore. Plus, the girl had watery and touching eyes, which made him feel like drinking the Gaoliang wine.

    The man lowered his head and thought over for a moment and said sincerely, ¡°I¡¯m in a hurry. Otherwise, I won¡¯t mistakenly recognize the horse¡¯s owner. I do have money, but I find nowhere to buy a horse in the middle of the night. Please, lend me your horse tonight, okay? I don¡¯t need you to pay back the money, and I¡¯ll give you another ten liang as a deposit. My name is Du Yao. Tomorrow, you could get your horse back in Binghua Suburb of Shi Li Po. I¡¯ll treat you with candy-wrapped cakes, okay?¡± At the time, he forced the money on her and warned, ¡°Don¡¯t follow me again. Otherwise, you will regret it!¡± He said in an ill-disposed tone.

    Horses were human-like animals. The bay horse felt that the hand holding its rein was strong, so it no longer danced and even lowered its head to be tame. The manughed and muttered, ¡°An untamed horse is still a horse.¡± Then, he unexpectedly took away the horsewhip from He Danggui¡¯s waist, stretched his arms and jumped on the horse, and then waved the whip, ¡°Go! Go!¡± Soon, he got far away.

    He Danggui didn¡¯t chase him anymore. Holding the exquisitely carved silver of ten liang, she thought of something.

    Binghua Suburb of Shi Li Po? Shi Li Po was exactly the ce she nned to go. Binghua Suburb was to the east of Shi Li Po, and Xuehua Suburb to the west. She nned to go to Mocha Mountain Vi in Xuehua Suburb, where the head office of the imperial guards sat in Yangzhou City. Not long ago, Meng Ying told her that Duan Xiaolou hade to Yangzhou City as well. Was he in the Mocha Mountain Vi now? She must go there if she was looking for Gao Jue?

    He Danggui lowered her head to meditate for a while and then walked slowly back to Yi Hong Brothel. The back door was empty, and the boy in a red jacket and green pants had gone. She walked into the brothel as the tranquil backyard exposed the singing andughter of the front yard. Was the theme of Yi Hong Brothel¡¯s New Year party was held under the theme of ¡°Enjoying the Moment¡±, which was another Qing¡¯er¡¯s unique creation.

    Luo¡¯s Family had a strict curfew, so He Danggui seldom could stay over outside. Therefore, she did not have her room here but Qing¡¯er had a weirdly furnished room in the backyard. The decoration style inside, in He Danggui¡¯s words, was ¡°cold and impersonal¡±. However, as Qing¡¯er said, it was called ¡°post-modern metal style¡±. Right now, she had to rest here until dawn. Tomorrow, she would hire a carriage to go to Shi Li Po. Tonight, she still had time to think of a reasonable excuse to ask Gao Jue for a cure of the cold poison.

    She entered the room, lighted the candles, and pulled a strange ¡°Waterwheel powered wind chime¡± twice. Soon, two of Qing¡¯er¡¯s maids Jin Jia, Yin Yi, Man Bing, and Nei Ding appeared together. He Danggui asionally had confused them several times. Later, she found that the four maids seemed to be interested in ¡°role-ying¡± because they often wore others¡¯ clothes and imitate each other¡¯s behavior, and they looked simr. They enjoyed being misrecognized by guests. So, He Danggui gave up remembering their names.

    After a brief cleaning up, she ordered the two maids to send a message to Tao Yao Yard in Luo¡¯s Mansion that Miss Liao invited her to live in Guan¡¯s Mansion today. She would go back home the next day or the day after tomorrow. If Madam Luo came to Tao Yao Yard looking for her, the maids and servants in her yard should reply the same way. Anyway, there were a lot of snacks in her room, and Meng Xuan would not die from starvation. Besides, herpany would affect his rest. She only hoped that his injury would not get worse before she found the antidote.

    Then, she found something to eat andid down on Qing¡¯er¡¯s strange water bed. Her mind was preupied with matters, so she didn¡¯t sleep deeply. She dreamed of many old events. The faces of people were showing in front of her. Everyone¡¯s mouth was moving, but no voice was uttered. She gradually fell asleep, but when she thought that Meng Xuan was waiting for her to treat his wounds, she woke up immediately. She couldn¡¯t remember any of the messy dreams she was having just now.

    She walked to the bronze table in soft slippers and drank tworge sses of water, feeling that she had recovered a lot. She looked at the sky outside the window while eating frosted persimmon cakes. It had not been the dawn. But, when she left the city, the dawn would break.

    Thinking about this, she dressed up and made a haircut simr to that of maids. Then, she cut a half-opened autumn hibiscus flower bud as a hairpin. She should have changed the nocturnal clothes, but Qing¡¯er¡¯s clothes were all toorge for her. The nocturnal clotheswere suitable at night, but it was too striking during the daytime. Therefore, she had to take a shorter silver-grey cloak to wrap her body, and she reced the ck veil that covered her face with a silver-grey ck sateen veil.

    When she left the door, the front yard of Yi Hong Brothel was silent. This was the time when everyone here started sleeping deeply because the day and night in the brothel were reversed. She went to the stable and picked a short brown horse that looked slightly fat. If she remembered it right, the owner of this horse, Lord Wang, had been living there for more than half a month. Besides, he must be sleeping now. She guessed that borrowing his horse would not be a big problem.

    So, she mounted the horse immediately, ¡°Go! Go! Go!¡±

    She rushed to Shi Li Po following the instructions of the man named Du Yao. When she arrived at Binghua Suburb in the east of Shi Li Po, she saw a wild inn, where her horse was tied outside.

    ¡°Stop¡ª!¡±

    She stopped there and got off the horse. After tying the short brown horse next to the bay horse, she went into the inn to return the man¡¯s ten liang deposit. However, just at the time when she was about to lift the thick door curtain made of cotton fiber, a burst of familiarughter came from inside. There was a stranger once the most familiar to her. He shouted, ¡°Haha! Two more jars of the loquat wine. It tastes good! Let¡¯s get drunk today!¡±

    This was... Duan Xiaolou¡¯s voice! She would never mistakenly recognize this clear sound.

 Chapter 334 - Duan Xiaolou wanted to get drunk at the inn Duan Xiaolou was inside the inn!

    <h4>Chapter 334 Duan Xiaolou wanted to get drunk at the inn</h4>

    Duan Xiaolou was inside the inn!

    After realizing that, she quickly retracted her hand from the curtain, just like she was burned. With hesitation, she walked a small circle around the inn and found a back door, and then walked in. It was empty there. So, she sat in a corner at the end of the corridor and tried to listen to the conversation in the room while ying with the whip in her hand. Duan Xiaolou was drinking inside? Was Du Yao also inside? Was anyone else there? At the time, a voice sounded.

    ¡°Du Yao! Why did you take my jar? Give me back my wine!¡±

    ¡°Master Duan, you are drunk. We have important things to do today. What if you get drunk?¡±

    ¡°Ha! You are three levels inferior to me. It is said that one level crushes people to death and I can crush you three times. How dare you interfere with my things? Give my wine back!¡± Duan Xiaolou paused but soon shouted again, ¡°Waiter! Bring me ten more jars of loquat wine!¡±

    He Danggui came to realize that Du Yao was also inside! Besides, Duan Xiaolou¡¯s voice also seemed to be very energetic. That was very nice!

    Du Yao said again, ¡°Boss, you should stop him! He has drunk eight jars! This wine makes people drunk easily!¡±

    ¡°Let him drink.¡± A voice of the third person sounded, ¡°This ce makes him feel sorrow. If you don¡¯t let him drink a few jars, he will be sadder in his heart.¡± This voice was gentle and faint, forming a sharp contrast with the other two sounds. If she expected it right, this man should be Lu Jiangbei.

    Then, the fourth person said, ¡°I heard ady just got off the horse and fastened it before walking to the door. However, when Duan Xiaolou said that he needed more wine, she suddenly stopped and then across the corner walked in through the back door. Now, she is sitting in a corner in the backyard. I don¡¯t know who it is. However, ording to the footsteps, she is a woman who masters kung fu.¡± It was Gao Jue! His voice was sharp and calm, like a knife that could dismember the cattle.

    He Danggui was embarrassed and speechless. What the hell! Gao Jue got sensitive ears! Did he have to maintain such a high level of alertness when he was drinking wine? It seemed that someone wanted to assassinate him at any time. No wonder Qing¡¯er said that he was always unlovable.

    What should she do? Should she go inside and meet those four people? However, now she only wanted to see Du Yao and Gao Jue forpletely two different things. Yangzhou City was so small. She ran into a viin who robbed her horse and found that he was a colleague of Duan Xiaolou. ording to Du Yao¡¯s riding posture, he seemed to be a soldier of the army. As far as she knew, most of the imperial guards¡¯ elites had served in the army. In other words, Du Yao was also likely to be an imperial guard. If she had known that, she would have never tied her horse to the back door of Yi Hong Brothel yesterday. Now, she did not know how to face them. At the time, He Danggui subconsciouslybed her hair.

    But, no one came to the curtain to inspect the situation in the backyard. The situation remained after she waited there for a long time. Suddenly, Lu Jiangbei gently said, ¡°Gao Jue, you don¡¯t have to be so nervous all time. The inn is built for guests from everywhere to rest. It is not strange if someone passed here. Besides, this ce is secretive. They have no way to find us. All of us should take a breath! Come on! Get drunk!¡± He Danggui was confused after hearing what Lu Jiangbei said. They seemed to be avoiding vengeance. Why? They were the imperial guards that scared everyone.

    Gao Jue snorted coldly, ¡°Why should I get drunk with you? I have no reason to be drunk! You, Mr. Lu, why do you need to drink so much wine? You have been weird since yesterday morning.¡±

    Lu Jiangbei scolded him embarrassingly, ¡°Nonsense. I¡¯m fine! I... I like the unique fragrance of this loquat wine. So, I wanted more sses.¡±

    Gao Jue sneered, ¡°Really?¡± Then, someone let out a loud whistle.

    Lu Jiangbei was slightly displeased, ¡°Du Yao, you should be on duty today. Why are you still staying here? There is nomander in Binghua Suburb, and you are still whistling here?¡±

    Du Yao said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, boss. I have something important to do today. You can ask Jiang Pi to cover for me. I will buy you wine at Yi Hong Brothel the other day.¡±

    The fifth man¡¯s voice sounded with anger, ¡°Damn important things! Boss, don¡¯t believe him. He is here waiting for a beautiful girl. He told me that she was a super-hot chick. I won¡¯t help him on duty. I also wanted to see how hot the girl is!¡±

    He Danggui felt disgusted. Who is the ¡°hot chick¡± that Du Yao was waiting for? The fifth man was probably Jiang Pi, who had also been to Shui Shang Temple three years ago. She met him once, but she couldn¡¯t remember his voice and appearance. The reason why she knew him was that Zong Qiao had mentioned to her yesterday that his two cousins, Jiang Yi and Jiang Pi from Jiang¡¯s Family in the capital, were all working in the imperial guards. Therefore, this Jiang Pi should be Zong Qiao¡¯s cousin.

    Lu Jiangbei used his official power and said, ¡°Du Yao, business is important! It is your first travel to Yangzhou City, and I know you want to have fun, so I won¡¯t me you. But you shouldn¡¯t ignore any official business. Hurry now! Go on your duty!¡± Then he said in a low voice, ¡°Duan Xiaolou, you can¡¯t drink too fast! Your body will not bear it!¡±

    Duan Xiaolou poured a bowl of wine in his mouth and said impatiently, ¡°It¡¯s a rare free day! You guys are so annoying. Let us have a toast! Cheers!¡±

    Then, the sound of a swallowing liquid came. He Danggui looked down and yed with the whip in her hands.

    Du Yao said in distress, ¡°Boss, in ancient times, Wei Sheng was willing to die for love. Today, I am being scolded by my boss for absenteeism. However, I am just following the noble spirit of the archaic people. Yesterday, I identally grabbed a little sister¡¯s horse because I wanted to support you guys. At that time, she cried sadly, saying that it was her only horse and they had been apanying each other for a long time. I gave her money but she didn¡¯t take it. Therefore, I made an appointment with her to return her horse here.¡± He Danggui closed her eyes speechlessly. She was that ¡°hot chick¡± said by Du Yao and Jiang Pi.

    There was a moment of silence at the inn, and then Jiang Pi asked in a nasal voice, ¡°Since she was so sad, why didn¡¯t you return the horse to her yesterday? You are a viin who robbed a girl.¡±

    Du Yao was startled and cried out, ¡°I feel wronged! I rushed to support you in a hurry, and I almost stepped into the enemy¡¯s trap. Are you not moved? I came to support you even it was not my work time! Well, shall I apply for having a rest today? Boss?¡±

    Lu Jiangbei judged, ¡°Du Yao, you came promptly yesterday and helped us a lot. Therefore, I will give you an extra break as your reward. As for returning the horse, it is simple. The four of us will wait for her here as we drink. If the girl came here, we will return her horse¡ªHey! Gao Jue! Where are you going? I still have something to tell you!¡±

    Gao Jue said coolly, ¡°Go home and sleep.¡±

    ¡°But...¡± Lu Jiangbei said anxiously, ¡°You haven¡¯t made it clear yet. Miss He, she...¡±

    Gao Jue said impatiently, ¡°I don¡¯t know. You should ask others.¡±

    Then, before He Danggui could react, the door curtain separating the backyard and the front hall violently stirred, and then a tall shadow rushed out. He Danggui subconsciously buried her face into her knees. Although she was looking for Gao Jue, she nned to ask him in private about the antidote to the cold poison. She didn¡¯t n to talk to him in the presence of others.

    With her head buried, He Danggui felt the eyes fall on the back of her head and neck like a poisonous snake. Then, Gao Jue made a cold snort in a loud voice. Soon, silence returned to the yard.

    He Danggui raised her head slightly and found that Gao Jue was gone. She breathed a sigh of relief and heard Lu Jiangbeifort Duan Xiaolou in the room, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Master Duan. Once Liao Zhiyuan came back, I¡¯ll let him ask Miss Liao and let her bring a message to Miss He. Now you are different from the past. I guess you will not face more obstacles.¡±

    ¡°No need.¡± Duan Xiaolou said coldly, ¡°I have already found another person to take the message.¡±

    Already found another person? He Danggui blinked in wonder. Who was it? What message? Was he talking about Third Childe of Meng¡¯s Family Meng Ying? It turned out that Duan Xiaolou had asked Meng Ying to bring those words to her! At the time, she was a little doubtful whether Meng Ying didn¡¯t want her to have contact with his brother Meng Xuan and push her to someone else. Duan Xiaolou was nning to marry her? Was he nning to revenge her as Zong Qiao said?

    Silence showed again in the room. Lu Jiangbei said grimly, ¡°What are you still doing here, Du Yao? Go to Mocha Mountain Vi tomand the action in Xuehua Suburb. Today¡¯s mission is critical. Sess or failure depends on us.¡±

    Du Yao asked slowly, ¡°Then why don¡¯t you guys go, boss?¡±

    Lu Jiangbei told him righteously, ¡°Today is our turn to take a holiday.¡± He Danggui could imagine his righteous face. Hold down a job without doing a stroke of work. No orders and no organization. Was this the working condition of the high levels of imperial guards?

    Du Yao also replied righteously, ¡°However, I caused a youngdy to burst into tears because I rushed to support you on the battlefield. In addition to returning the horse today, I should apologize to her. You can¡¯t do it for me.¡±

    Jiang Piughed sarcastically, ¡°Just go. We will help you ¡®deeply apologize¡¯ to that super-hot chick in any way.¡±

    Du Yao was annoyed, ¡°Is it easy for me to visit Yangzhou City? I spent half a month in the brothel but didn¡¯t meet the kind of southern beauties mentioned in the book. Yesterday I finally met one. But you all want to ruin my luck. Are you really my brothers? Jiang Pi, boss, please cover for me.¡± Then, he added with great pride, ¡°I will help you for two days the other day!¡±

    ¡°One day for two days?¡± Jiang Pi asked, ¡°Boss, shall we help him?¡±

    Lu Jiangbei was silent for a while and then agreed, ¡°Well, it is boring drinking here, and I¡¯m worried about Mocha Mountain Vi. I will go there and supervise the action. You two should take care of Duan Xiaolou. Don¡¯t let him get drunk and end up on the street.¡±

    The door curtain was lifted by someone.

    Before He Danggui could react once again, the door curtain a few steps away from her had been lifted again. This time, the personing out was Lu Jiangbei.

 Chapter 335 - Better not to see him

    <h4>Chapter 335 Better not to see him</h4>

    Lu Jiangbei came out faster than Gao Jue. He Danggui couldn¡¯t hide her face in time, so she closed her eyes without any other choice. Was it called the ¡°ostrich policy¡±? Lu Jiangbei had just made Meng Xuan injured from a sword yesterday. ording to Meng Xuan, he got himself injured ¡°because of her¡±. Although she thought that she had never offended Lu Jiangbei, it was better not to see him in case of any trouble.

    After Lu Jiangbei went out, he paused and then smiled, ¡°Gao Jue was right. There is really a girl sitting here.¡±

    He Danggui lowered her head and closed her eyes under the veil, hoping Lu Jiangbei didn¡¯t recognize her.

    Lu Jiangbei said kindly, ¡°Little girl, since you havee to the inn, why bother sitting in the cold wind? There is a stove inside, and it is warm there. Those people drinking inside are not bad guys. You can get in there to warm yourself.¡±

    He Danggui closed her eyes and nodded. However, she kept muttering in her heart, ¡°He could not recognize me! he could not recognize me!¡±

    Seeing her reaction, Lu Jiangbei thought that she was shy and was afraid to talk to a man. So, he said ¡°please yourself¡± and left the inn.

    Hearing the footsteps drift away, He Danggui opened her eyes in relief. Fortunately, she was wearing a veil and Lu Jiangbei did not recognize her from her forehead. Lu Jiangbei had not changed at all even three years passed. He was a gentleman who grew up reading Confucian books. Although he was at a high rank, he was not arrogant at all. He even politely talked to a strange girl. But, why did he stab Meng Xuan? What were these men thinking about? Did they have to fight if they got nothing to do?

    After Lu Jiangbei left, only Duan Xiaolou, Du Yao, and Jiang Pi were in the room. She could call a servant and let him bring the money to Du Yao.

    Since Gao Jue had gone home, she could just find him at his house. She had already figured out the reason foring to him. She would say that the Zhenqi she received from him three years ago was uncontroble and could not be used smoothly. Therefore, she gradually developed the cold poison, and she did not notice it until several days ago, so she came to ask for a solution. She was not afraid that Gao Jue would check her pulse. She would poke herself with needles to make her shiver for a few hours.

    However, she still wanted to stay here a little longer to listen to that man¡¯s voice.

    ¡°Whom was the boss talking to just now?¡± Jiang Pi questioned, ¡°Why did I only hear his voice. Has he also gone evil?¡±

    Du Yao smiled, ¡°What¡¯s the meaning of ¡®Also¡¯? Who else has gone evil?¡±

    Jiang Pi pouted and pointed to Duan Xiaolou who was still drinking. He exined to Du Yao, ¡°It was so unfortunate that we were ambushed by somebody yesterday and almost lost the important terrain we had upied many days ago. But suddenly, something strange happened and the situation was changed immediately. The leader of the enemy was injured and escaped. We even took advantage of the victory to pursue him and killed some of his men. However, the boss said that it was better not to chase the desperate enemies. So, we let them go.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Du Yao became curious at once, ¡°What happened exactly?¡±

    He Danggui also listened to him carefully. Was the ¡°leader¡± named Meng Xuan? Meng Xuan was injured at that time, and he was also hurt by the imperial guards.

    Jiang Pi recalled the thrilling scene excitedly, ¡°Their leader was a master in kung fu, and he had only brought eighteen people with him. However, all of them had great skills. They marched and retreated rightly and their tactical matrix was as powerful as ours. Though we have many people, at least eight elites were not there, not to mention many of them had just finished drinking, we couldn¡¯t form the tactical matrix. Soon, we were in tatters and were driven out of ournd. To be honest, at the time, I was almost killed because of the hangover.¡±

    Du Yao suddenly realized, ¡°So, Master Duan was injured yesterday?¡±

    He Danggui looked up, Duan Xiaolou was injured? Was his wound serious? Where was the injury? How could he drink regardless of his wound!

    Jiang Pi nodded, ¡°Yes, he was hurt by them. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s my illusion. That leader¡¯s lethal movements were always directed at Duan Xiaolou. Almost every time! Hey, Master Duan, have you offended someone in Jianghu?¡±

    Duan Xiaolou snorted drunkenly, ¡°Who knows.¡±

    Du Yao asked, ¡°What happenedter? How did you turn the tables?¡±

    ¡°Later...¡± Jiang Pi continued to recall, ¡°Later the boss came to rescue us. He drew with their leader, but I think he didn¡¯t y to his full strength. That leader gradually became strenuous. After all, he had consumed a lot of energy on us. How could a kid beparable to us? We have been trained for several years.¡±

    ¡°A kid?¡± Du Yao was surprised, ¡°You mean a bunch of people was beaten up by a kid?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not the point!¡± Jiang Pi said irritably, ¡°Furthermore, he was wearing a silver yarn mask, and I don¡¯t know his age, but judging by his figure, he is about seventeen or eighteen. Well, where did I go? Du Yao!¡± Jiang Pi yelled angrily, ¡°Don¡¯t interrupt me!¡±

    However, Duan Xiaolou suddenly interrupted, ¡°Lu Jiangbei and the young man were in a stalemate, but the enemy still gained the upper hand. They must have spent a lot of time preparing for this attack.¡± After a pause, he said in a much more sober voice, ¡°After the battle, I analyzed with Lu Jiangbei. They suddenly appeared when our defense was weak. This was not an ident. We believe that at least two of the forces currently lurking in Yangzhou City are rted to Imperial Court, but they are not the Emperor¡¯s men.¡±

    Jiang Pi and Du Yao both opened their mouths wide and asked in unison, ¡°You mean there is a traitor in the court?¡±

    Duan Xiaolou did not deny, ¡°We shall wait. Everything will naturallye to light after the Wulin Assembly of the Lantern Festival. A ghost could not hide forever.¡±

    The three people in the room were silent for a while, and He Danggui outside the door was also silent. The ¡°enclosure¡± movement they were talking about was like a gang fighting fornd and she did not understand. She also did not know what those forces in Yangzhou City had to do with the Wulin Assembly. The city seemed to be in peace, but the tide was raging under its peaceful surface. It must have something to do with the recent earthquakes. As for why the Emperor was also interested in the assembly, it was very intriguing.

    However, she still breathed a sigh of relief, because Duan Xiaolou¡¯s voice sounded energetic. It was good to hear that!

    After a while, Duan Xiaolou took the lead to break the silence, ¡°Jiang Pi, Du Yao, I mean you shouldn¡¯t only have fun these days but be more focused on business. I am sure that Yangzhou City now has more than one force under the tranquil water. The various elite forces of the Ming Dynasty have all settled here. Although we represent the Emperor and we can directly control Han Fei and Yangzhou City¡¯s soldiers, we are not the strongest force...¡±

    At the time, Duan Xiaolou started coughing and the coughing grew even worse. The sound made He Danggui feel that her heart was hung up and torn apart because she heard that Duan Xiaolou had coughed up blood in the end!

    ¡°Master Duan!¡± Jiang Pi panicked, ¡°Your injury is serious. Don¡¯t drink more! Du Yao, take away all wine jars now!¡±

    Du Yao acted in response, and the sound of wine jars echoed in the room. Maybe Duan Xiaolou had enough wine, or he was too weak to retort them, he did not say anything to stop them from taking his wine jar. Only a clear sh sound of cups and saucers sounded in the room.

    He Danggui was in chaos. She stood up and walked several steps but then sat down there again. She wanted to see Duan Xiaolou¡¯s injuries, but she dared not face him.

    After a long time, when He Danggui became anxious, she suddenly heard that someone was eating melon seeds in the room. She tilted her head suspiciously and then heard Duan Xiaolou¡¯s voice. He seemed to be good as usual and was smiling with a seed in his mouth, ¡°In conclusion, since we are not the strongest force, we have to be more dutiful and industrious than others. From now on, nobody is allowed to go on duty after hangover until the end of our trip to Yangzhou City. Start with me, and you two are witnesses. I am the first senior general to give up drinking. In the next half month, the military and the local government shall all obey this rule. All amusement will be resumed after the business is done. In addition to being on duty, you two need to help me monitor the local government of Yangzhou City in your spare time. I suspect that the treater is there.¡±

    These words were righteous as if involved with something serious. However, Duan Xiaolou said this while eating melon seeds, which made He Danggui feel unspeakably weird.

    Sure enough, Du Yao said anxiously, ¡°Master Duan, we will drink less in the future as you request. But your mouth is stained with blood. If you don¡¯t drink, you should stop eating the seeds. Just rinse your mouth and take a rest.¡±

    Jiang Pi also pleaded, ¡°That bastard had hurt you badly yesterday. The trauma is easy to heal, and you will be fine within three to five days. However, you shall rest for ten days or half a month to get your internal injuries recovered. Master Duan, you shall be careful. Let me help you go back to your room, okay?¡±

    Duan Xiaolou said slowly, ¡°I want to chat with you more. Since yesterday, I have been upset and can¡¯t sleep at all.¡±

    After a while of pause, Du Yao asked again, ¡°Jiang Pi, why did the bastard who injured Duan Xiaolou suddenly lose? Didn¡¯t he beat your guts out?¡±

    Jiang Pi said angrily, ¡°Du Yao, you are a jerk! I will beat the crap out of you next time! You have such a mean mouth! I have told you that during the fight, a dagger suddenly fell out of our boss¡¯ arms, and the scabbard was shattered by that guy. A girl¡¯s relievo engraved on the knife was exposed. Then, several people were stunned. Among them, the leader of the enemy was stunned most, so boss took the opportunity to attack him with his sword.¡±

    ¡°Several?¡± Du Yao was curious, ¡°Who was stunned? Why they were stunned?¡±

    ¡°That guy, Master Duan, our boss...and me.¡±

 Chapter 336 - Men commented on a chick

    <h4>Chapter 336 Menmented on a chick</h4>

    Du Yao became even more curious and asked with his big eyes blinking, ¡°Ah? You mean, even our boss was stunned? Is there anything that distracts him in a battle? He is the dreadful Lu Jiangbei, known as the ¡®Sword in White, Universe in Sleeve¡¯ in Jianghu!¡±

    Jiang Pi nced at Duan Xiaolou and then said, ¡°Master Duan, then I¡¯ll tell him. It is you that want to stay here to listen to us. Well, the dagger was engraved with ady, and she was no one else but Miss He, whom Duan Xiaolou has a crush on. Three years ago, we went to a Taoist temple to search Rebelling Party, where we unluckily met Miss He Danggui.¡±

    He Danggui outside the door suddenly came to realize that Meng Xuan was hurt because of this! He saw an unrted man having a dagger with her face, and then was stabbed by Lu Jiangbei out of astonishment.

    Back then, she had seen the kind of dagger engraved with her portrait from Duan Xiaolou. She was told that it was made by Liao Zhiyuan. Later, she heard from Qing¡¯er that the viin Liao Zhiyuan had made more than one dagger and sent them to others. He was a jerk. Unexpectedly, Lu Jiangbei was also using this dagger. Sure enough, you couldn¡¯t judge a book from its cover.

    Du Yao was interested in this gossip. He asked while eating melon seeds, ¡°How did that Miss He capture Duan Xiaolou¡¯s heart? Why didn¡¯t she love Duan Xiaolou? Why did you say meeting her was unlucky? Why our boss has a dagger engraved with ady who is loved by Duan Xiaolou?¡±

    Jiang Pi exined in detail to him, ¡°Dear audience, the story started three years ago, when Duan Xiaolou fell in love with a humble chick, but she was very proud and arrogant. She was good at attracting a man and was quite calcting. She gave Duan Xiaolou a bit of sweetness first, saying that she would try to date him. As a result, Duan Xiaolou stayed in Yangzhou City and refused to go back. The official documents from the capital had been sent to him again and again, but he was not willing to return to the capital because of this chick.¡±

    ¡°Try to date?¡± Du Yao grasped the keyword, ¡°How far they had reached?¡±

    Jiang Pi imagined obscenely, ¡°One is a little southern beauty, and the other is a sturdy man. What else could they do?¡± Said so, he looked at the silent Duan Xiaolou, grinned, and then continued, ¡°For the details, you should ask Master Duan. In short, they had been entangled with each other for more than half a year. Duan Xiaolou forgot his home and his mother. Later, his mother was so angry that she made an engagement for him. Duan Xiaolou was filial, so he immediately agreed to the engagement to calm the anger of his mother. But he became anxious when he thought of He Danggui for fear that she would get angry when she learned the fact. So, Duan Xiaolou got a bad idea.¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± Du Yao got more excited, and he even stopped eating melon seeds. ¡°That little girl was very jealous. The engagement was settled by his mother, and thatdy was from a noble family. Why did she have the right to be jealous? Besides, Guan¡¯s Family is also powerful and respectable. I have met Miss Guan, who was a very nice person, perfect to be Duan Xiaolou¡¯s wife.¡±

    Jiang Pi shook his head and sighed, ¡°Toote! Du Yao, just in three months during your staying in Fengyang City, Duan Xiaolou broke the engagement with Guan Yun and deeply hurt her. It is incurable.¡±

    Du Yao turned his head and looked at Duan Xiaolou in shock and asked, ¡°Seriously? Do you want a girl whoes from a humble family to be your wife? Though you cherish her, you can¡¯t take it seriously. Are you crazy?¡±

    Duan Xiaolou started coughing again, which made He Danggui heartbreaking. Jiang Pi poured a cup of tea for him to rinse his mouth while exining for him, ¡°That little beautiful girl was not from a humble family. She was born of a concubine. Her mother was a decent woman from a noble family, but she was demoted to a concubine for bad conduct. Later, she ran away from her husband¡¯s house with her daughter and never came back. In other words, He Danggui is a concubine¡¯s daughter not recognized by her family, and she is considered the taint of her family. Later, her mother remarried, but she was abandoned by her second husband for some reasons.¡±

    He Danggui sneered speechlessly, while Duan Xiaolou picked up the teacup and rinsed his mouth silently. However, Du Yao was very interested, ¡°So many twists and turns! She¡¯s more pathetic than the main character in the script for story-telling. Tribtion creates talents and makes her different from ordinarydies. It is no wonder that she is cleverer than others. She not only made Master Duan fall in love with her but defeated his wife.¡±

    This time, Duan Xiaolou finally corrected him, ¡°I did not take Guan Yun as my wife! Besides, Miss He is not like what you said.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± The two men fond of gossip showed their interests at the same time and asked, ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    Duan Xiaolou rinsed his mouth, closed his eyes, andid down on the deck chair with hides back behind him. He pretended to sleep and saidzily, ¡°I¡¯m tired. You two continue to chat and let me hear your voice. Otherwise, I would feel anxious and think everything is unreal.¡±

    He Danggui worried about him. Duan Xiaolou was hurt by Meng Xuan? Was it an internal injury? Was he injured seriously? Did he get fat or thin?

    Driven by a strong desire to see him, she stood up and went in half a circle around the inn, but she found no windows there. There was only a row of skylights above, where cold winter sunlight shone in. However, the three men in the room were all top kung fu masters and they had been learning kung fu since she was still a baby, so jumping on the roof without being noticed by them was impossible.

    Her moves now might be heard by them. They did not care about her just because this was an inn and people woulde here and go. They did not want to pay attention to her going around a big house without entering it. Indeed! She felt her behavior was very strange as well. Why did she linger around but not get in the room? She should just return the money to Du Yao and greet Duan Xiaolou by the way, saying ¡°Long time no see.¡± She suddenly understood why did Qing¡¯er call her a ¡°little turtle,¡± because she always liked to shrink in her shell.

    She kept going in a circle around the house and searching, and finally found a small gap between two wooden walls. What a precious and lovely gap, she thought. Through it, she can see whether the person got fat or thin, tanned or white.

    She held her breath and leaned closer to the small gap to gain a clearer vision. However, the sight that appeared in front of her shocked her. That was...

    Men with ice-made masks!

    In the lobby on the first floor of the inn, three men sat on a table to the north. One of them was Du Yao who robbed her bay horsest night. He was the only one without the mask. The other two were both wearing transparent ice-made masks. The one leaning against a broad-backed deck chair with hides must be Duan Xiaolou. She was not sure, because he was so far away and was blocked by an ice-made mask.

    How could it be? Were these masks only supplied for the imperial guards? Duan Xiaolou and his fellows all cultivated icy Zhenqi. Maybe this kind of ice-made mask was rted to it?

    She was familiar with this ice-made mask, seemingly transparent but able to hide one¡¯s facepletely. On the shadow walls of the seventh stage, Gao Shenjun who dered himself to be the ¡°prime minister¡± and came from the imperial guards also wore this ice-made mask. He was the yer of her in two lives before. The only difference was that Gao Shenjun wore a mask that covered his entire face, while Duan Xiaolou and Jiang Pi wore half-face masks extended from the forehead to the philtrum.

    Why did he wear a mask? Was Duan Xiaolou okay? Looking at him from a distance, He Danggui felt his figure seemed to be as healthy and strong as before. That was good news!

    After peeping him from a distance for a while, He Danggui returned to the backyard. She wanted to wait for a server of the inning out and let him bring the money to Du Yao. Then, she should leave there. Meng Xuan was suffering from the cold poison and was lying on her bed, waiting for her treatment. Meng Xuan was childish! Why did he have to hurt Duan Xiaolou?

    While she was lingering around and couldn¡¯t get what she wanted, the two gossip mongers in the room were still digging her stories. They even talked about her stepfather He Fu¡¯s life experience.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Du Yao cupped his chin with interest. ¡°It turns out that He Fu, who was sentenced by his majesty, was the second husband of He Danggui¡¯s mother. The world is so small! I have met that guy, a scumbag. Why did her mother choose him? She would never have a happy ending with this man.¡±

    Jiang Pi raised an eyebrow and said, ¡°I¡¯m not her mother. You should better ask her. Maybe it was because of his good look. Women are all superficial animals, but that Miss He is not. However, she is too gloomy and too difficult to deal with. She has hurt Master Duan a lot. He even has done things againstws for her, but she still doesn¡¯t give a shit. Instead, she uses it as an excuse to throw Duan Xiaolou into hell with one sentence.¡±

    ¡°Oh? What is that?¡± Du Yao felt that today¡¯s decision not to be on duty was correct and wise! Even a dismissal would be worth it!¡±

    Jiang Pi picked his nose carelessly and squinted at Duan Xiaolou, who seemed to be asleep under the ice-made mask. Jiang Pi shook his head, ¡°I dare not repeat this in front of Duan Xiaolou. He won¡¯t bear it. Am I right, Master Duan? Are you still in love with Miss He?¡±

    Duan Xiaolou was silent as if he was asleep because his breathing was very light.

    He Danggui wondered if he was in aa due to his severe injuries. She decided to check his wounds while he was in aa. However, when she almost stood up, a terrifying shout came from the room. That was Du Yao¡¯s voice.

    ¡°Hey! Guys! I have a great discovery!¡±

    Jiang Pi was drinking tea and choked on it out of his shouting. He said angrily, ¡°What the hell? Don¡¯t you see Master Duan is sleeping? He hasn¡¯t slept for a few days. Now, he finally could sleep but you want to wake him up?¡± His high-sounding statement was clearly theint because of his choking.

    ¡°No! Jiang Pi, I did make a major discovery! It¡¯s about He Danggui!¡± Du Yao was very excited as if he had taken excessive Wushi Powder. He was even dancing there.

    ¡°What did you find?¡± Duan Xiaolou opened his sleepy eyes after hearing that.

 Chapter 337 - Two ladies looked at each other

    <h4>Chapter 337 Twodies looked at each other</h4>

    He Danggui was as shocked as Jiang Pi by the scream. She thought she was found by them. So, she decided to say hello to them. Well, she only needed to be calm¡­

    At the time she touched the curtain, she heard Du Yaough again, ¡°Guys, then I will just say it! Master Duan, don¡¯t be mad at me! Do you think our boss is also interested in that girl? Does he like that little girl unrequitedly as Duan Xiaolou does?¡±

    After hearing that, Jiang Pi frowned and retorted, ¡°Nonsense! Don¡¯t y a joke on our boss as he is not here. I will tell him when hees back! You are dead meat!¡±

    Du Yao raised his disgruntled head, ¡°I¡¯m not talking nonsense. I have evidence! I am also an admirer of our boss, so why would I speak ill of him? It¡¯s normal for a beautifuldy and a gentleman to pursue each other. Heroes seek beauties, and bosses love chicks. It is not strange! If someday he doesn¡¯t like Miss but Mister. That would be scary.¡±

    Jiang Pi nced at the tired Duan Xiaolou and suggested, ¡°Master Duan, let me take you upstairs to rest? It¡¯s too noisy and you can¡¯t fall asleep here. Du Yao doesn¡¯t know anything. He is talking nonsense.¡±

    Duan Xiaolou moved his neckzily with a smile on his lips, and refused his good intention, ¡°No way! if I leave here, you will speak ill of me. I won¡¯t leave.¡±

    Seeing that Du Yao wanted to exin something, Jiang Pi quickly interrupted him and started a new topic, ¡°Hey, do you think the person outside the inn is a bit weird? I mean the woman that Gao Jue mentioned just now. She has been walking around this inn many times, and she is still there!¡±

    He Danggui stiffened. They really had noticed her? They were so sensitive!

    Unexpectedly, Duan Xiaolou showed no interest at all. He nodded and signaled Du Yao to go on. So, Du Yao told the ¡°big secret¡± he found, ¡°As early as the Winter Solstice Festival three years ago, our boss asked me to deal with some files about the wrongdoing of the viin He Fu. At that time, I was surprised and asked the boss, ¡®He Fu is just a small official. There are hundreds of people like him in the capital. Why do you pay special attention to him? If he has offended you, I will help you put him to death!¡¯ Guess what the boss said?¡±

    He Danggui was also drawn to this story because Chang Nuo had mentioned to her that Lu Jiangbei had contributed to announcing the crime of He Fu. She also wondered how could Lu Jiangbei have so much evidence about He Fu¡¯s crime. Although these two people both lived in Yingtian Prefecture, they had no connections at all.

    Du Yao paused and then went on, ¡°Our boss took out a beautiful small dagger and held it in his palm. He said, ¡®Because of his surname He.¡¯ Then, I said goodbye and walked out of the study. However, I suddenly heard him murmuring from distance, ¡®She looks like her mother so much.¡¯ Have you ever seen her mother? Does He Danggui look like her? Did our boss like both mother and daughter?¡±

    He Danggui outside the house and Duan Xiaolou in the room frowned at the same time. He reprimanded Du Yao in a low voice, ¡°It is not funny. I¡­ I have met her mother several times, and they look different at all.¡±

    Du Yao was not discouraged and talked about another matter, ¡°Later, I was ordered by our boss to investigate the source of He Fu¡¯s massive amount of assets. It turned out that he had pawned four valuable antiques engraved with the golden seal of Luo¡¯s Mansion, and got 19,000 liang of silver. This is a big sum! As soon as the boss heard the news, he immediately ransomed the antiques with his own money. The money was the bonus he would get from Lu Feng Escort the next year. Moreover, He Fu pawned them as a ¡®non-cable¡¯ transaction. The shopkeeper did not take our money though we had the pawn ticket. He imed that the antiques were priceless treasures. Therefore, our boss did one thing that he had never done in his life.¡±

    ¡°What is that?¡± Duan Xiaolou started coughing again. He Danggui couldn¡¯t sit still anymore and impulsively wanted to rush in to check his injuries. However, a hand suddenly stretched out from behind to sp her wrist with great force.

    Before she turned around, another hand stretched out and quickly covered her nose and mouth. Although there was ayer of the veil, she still smelled a burst of fragrance.

    ¡°Xiaolou, don¡¯t be so excited. Have some tea.¡± Du Yao calmed him and then said, ¡°Our boss just took advantage of his power as the imperial guard¡¯smander to threaten the shopkeeper and force him to sell us the antiques at a low price of 23,000 liang of silver. At that time, I was really shocked because our boss had never done that before, not like me.¡±

    After a moment of silence, Duan Xiaolou asked, ¡°What kind of antiques are so expensive? I want some to decorate my study.¡±

    ¡°Guqin, Chinese chess, calligraphy, and Chinese painting.¡± Du Yao was arty, shook his head and said, ¡°The Burned End Guqin from the Three Kingdoms Period with a clear sound; the Chessboard from Northern Song Dynasty with bright and decent sense; the inkstone and brush wash of the famous poet Su Dongpo from Northern Song Dynasty with greatness and elegance. Even a vulgar like me started to practice calligraphy for an hour every day since then. As for the painting by the painting sage Wu Daozi, that was a fake one. But there was an unofficial personal seal printed on the bottom left saying ¡®Recluse Dongguo¡¯, and we found it was the nickname of He Danggui¡¯s grandfather Luo Duzhong. In other words, He Fu sold the legacy of Luo¡¯s elder. how did her mother marry such a man.¡±

    ¡°Are those things kept by Jiangbei now?¡± Duan Xiaolou asked.

    ¡°Yes, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Du Yao blinked innocently.

    ¡°Nothing.¡±

    He Danggui thought she was being held hostage and kidnapped. She was forcibly dragged away from the backyard of the inn by a great force and was wondering whether should fight back until she was dragged out far away from the inn.

    Then her wrists, nose, and mouth were loosened and she was free again. When she looked back, she saw a beautiful woman in red behind her. He Dang realized that the fragrance she smelled came from this woman. When she stared at her, she could not help but praise her in mind, ¡°What a valiant and gracefuldy!¡± She was like a heroine in red who came out of a drama.

    Ling Miaoyi also loved to dress in red. She came from a respectable family. Her temperament made her fitted red dress very well, neither ttering nor vulgar. However,pared to the style of thedy in front of her, Ling Miaoyi would be inferior to her in every aspect.

    Ling Miaoyi, who had grown up now, had gotten rid of her childishnesspared to three years ago. She was already a top-notch beauty, but thedy in red in front of her was more pretty than her. Her delicacy and beauty boasted a charm of a southerndy, and her skin was gentle and soft. While her bearing with a sword made her like a chivalrous woman who came from the north. Her top-tilted nose was a little red because of the cold air, and she exhaled some white fog. There was no headwear but only a hairband used to tie a wisp of hair on top of her head with the rest unravel.

    Thedy in red was tall and slender. She was about twenty years old. She looked down at the little masked girl who was shorter than her. And the little girl¡¯s clear eyes were also aimed at her and deeply impressed her, making her curious about the face under the veil.

    The twodies looked at each other for a long time, and finally, the woman in red took the lead to break the silence, ¡°Sister, it¡¯s not the ce you can stay, leave here now.¡±

    He Danggui asked in puzzlement, ¡°Why? Are you the owner of this inn?¡±

    The woman in red shook her head and repeated, ¡°Leave here now. It is not a good ce. Where do you live? I¡¯ll send one to escort youing home.¡±

    The woman¡¯s voice was a bit hoarse but pleasing. Although she was not polite, He Danggui did not feel offended. She smiled and said, ¡°Heroine, you look like a nice person. To be honest, my brother lives at this inn. I am here to see him. I can¡¯t go back before I see him.¡±

    ¡°Your brother is here?¡± The woman in red looked nervous and defensive and then frowned. She was beautiful, and her frowning expression was also beautiful¡ªHe Danggui couldn¡¯t help bute up with such a thought. The woman in red thought for a while and asked suspiciously, ¡°What¡¯s his name?¡±

    ¡°Luo Baiji.¡± He Danggui lied naturally.

    The woman in red didn¡¯t know the name, so she showed a look of relief. Just as she was about to say something again, someone ran from a distance and shouted anxiously, ¡°Miss Xiao, what are you doing here? It is too dangerous!¡±

    The woman in red looked back and exined, ¡°Yi Tong, I saw this little girl walk into that backyard and lingered there, so I pulled her out. But she said that she had a brother named Luo Bai inside. What should we do? It seems that there are still a lot of irrelevant people inside. Do we have a way to expel the others without disturbing those people?¡±

    Then, the man shouting to her ran to them and said while gasping for breath and pointing to a meadow in the distance, ¡°Miss Xiao, take her to hide there. Don¡¯t approach this ce anymore. Remember!¡±

    The woman in red hesitantly asked, ¡°Is there no other way to handle it? This will hurt many innocent people!¡±

    The man shook his head hurriedly, ¡°We will talk about itter. Just go!¡±

    When He Danggui heard this, she suddenly covered her face and cried, ¡°Brother! Why are you so unlucky? You just came to Binghua Suburb to appreciate the ice flowers. Why will you fall in danger? If you¡¯re dead, what shall I do?¡± She cried very sincerely but with no tears. Therefore, she had to cover her eyes.

    The woman in red and the man looked at each other, and she med, ¡°Look at her! If we do in this way, the suffering people would line up to South Street! Yi Tong, listen to me. Let¡¯s retreat for now and wait for messages from Shenshyr and Cheng Lang!¡±

    ¡°But,¡± the man said anxiously, ¡°my lord has disappeared since yesterday. He left nothing except a note with one sentence on it. I heard that the cold poison is terrible, maybe he has already...¡± He gasped again andined, ¡°Meng Ying is even more irresponsible! He didn¡¯t care about the business, nor my lord¡¯s disappearance. He disguised as an old man and went to the theater to watch the show!¡±

    ¡°Oh? Cheng Lang was disguised as an old man? Weird!¡± The woman in red was surprised. After thinking for a moment, she still insisted, ¡°We should consider itter. Even if those people at the inn are seriously injured, the nine of you are still not their opponents. Maybe Gao Jue and Lu Jiangbei¡¯s leaving is just a trap. Besides, we have not met that man named Du Yao before and we don¡¯t know his Kungfu. If he is a skilled one like the ¡°Sword in White¡± Lu Jiangbei, all of you will be wiped out!¡±

    He Danggui had been listening to them for a long time and had guessed something. She thought of Duan Xiaolou¡¯s injuries with coughing up blood and squeezed out tears. She removed her hand and became a tearful little girl.

    She nodded and said, ¡°Thisdy in red is right. When I just walked to the door, some men inside said rudely, which made me too nervous to enter. I wanted to wait for my brother toe out, so I walked around the inn. However, more than ten of the men inside with ice-made masks had heard me, and they even knew my gender and my age precisely! Are they monsters?¡±

    ¡°More than ten men with ice-made masks?¡± The woman in red and the man opened their eyes wide, ¡°You mean, there are a dozen of them?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± He Danggui nodded firmly, ¡°Even more! The inn was full of those people. I was really scared!¡±

 Chapter 338 - You didnâ€™t know me even if we met

    <h4>Chapter 338 You didn¡¯t know me even if we met</h4>

    Thedy in red didn¡¯t believe what He Danggui said so much. She slightly shook her head and said, ¡°I¡¯ve seen it once through the small gap you were looking at. There are only five men inside, three wearing ice-made masks, and two exposed. Then two people left the room. There are not many men wearing ice-made masks as you said.¡±

    He Danggui blinked innocently, and responded in a soft voice, ¡°Have you ever left halfway, heroine? Just now, arge group of people came down from the second floor, and they all wear ice-made masks and are dressed in official suits. I was frightened. Later, they took a wine jar and went back upstairs. s, I don¡¯t know why my brother chose such an inn to live in. There are many weird people in it. Isn¡¯t the ice-made mask very ufortable to stick on the face? What is that for?¡±

    Thedy in red didn¡¯t think much and replied, ¡°It seems to be used for healing purposes, specifically for Wujianmen School. Could it be that there are a lot of Wujianmen School disciples in the inn... We stayed here for a whole daybut didn¡¯t find there were people upstairs. What a mistake...¡± She looked down at the tearful He Danggui, then looked up at the man and asked, ¡°Yi Tong, what should we do now? Shall we leave here?¡±

    The man named Yi Tong nodded, ¡°We have no choice but to leave here. I didn¡¯t expect them to be so cunning, lying in ambush to throw us into the. Let¡¯s retreat and settle with themter.¡±

    Thedy in red took another look at He Danggui, hesitated, turned her head, and left, but Yi Tong didn¡¯t mean to go. He stared at He Danggui, and said towards the back of thedy in red, ¡°Miss Xiao, this girl has heard our secrets and we can¡¯t leave her here. She might snitch to them at the inn.¡±

    Thedy in red stopped and looked back at He Danggui. Thetter also made eye contact with the former without any fear in her eyes. Except for the innocent expression, there was indifference deeply in her heart.

    Thedy in red squinted her eyes, sighed softly, and said, ¡°She is not a bad guy, but unfortunate to run into our business, and it¡¯s me to get her involved. Besides, she also provided us with important information and indirectly saved our lives, so we shouldn¡¯t catch her, otherwise, what¡¯s the difference between us and the robbers and bandits?¡± She stared at He Danggui¡¯s tearful eyes and tried to persuade her, ¡°Girl, we¡¯d better not make trouble with each other. If you make an oath in the name of your family that you won¡¯t tell our whereabouts and every word we have said, we will pretend we¡¯ve never seen you before.¡±

    He Danggui also squinted with an inexplicable smile on her face covered by the veil. What a reasonable and chivalrous heroine with good looks, gentle temperament, and a blend of delicacy and force. It was no wonder that she can be a confidant with Meng Xuan for two consecutive lives.

    Thedy in red who was called ¡°Miss Xiao¡± by Meng Xuan¡¯s entourage, Yi Tong, was probably Su Xiaoxiao, who was renamed Xiao Suxin to avoid being hunted by the Imperial Court. She was called ¡°Su Xin¡± by Meng Xuan and ¡°Su Niang¡± by Meng Ying.

    As early as when He Danggui was young in her previous life, the name ¡°Su Niang¡± was not unfamiliar. She was scolded by Madam Luo for several years because her only grandson Luo Baijieloped with ¡°Su Niang¡±. No one knew if they were alive or not after many years. However, in this life, Miss Xiao first fell in love with Meng Xuan and didn¡¯t know who Luo Baiji was even the two had a son.

    This was good news for Madam Luo and Luo¡¯s Family in that the sessor of Luo¡¯s Family Luo Baiji would not run away again. From the perspective of an onlooker, Miss Xiao and Meng Xuan were good matches. One was naturally chivalrous and the other was with a tender heart. If a person had both light and dark sides, then Miss Xiao and Meng Xuan must be the kind of people who shone in the sun most of the time, but He Danggui could only walk in the shadow. And she couldn¡¯t give up the peace of mind that the shadow brought to her even she could walk with them by taking a step across.

    In the past, she always felt that Meng Xuan was just a passer-by in her life, but she didn¡¯t know why she had such an idea. She didn¡¯t understand why she couldn¡¯t grow old with Meng Xuan. But now she came to know why until she saw Meng Xuan¡¯s confidante, and understood what kind ofdy was suitable to apany with Meng Xuan. She was still some distance away from them, and couldn¡¯t travel together with them, because the sight of their backs when walking together were too pleasing to gaze at for a long time.

    Xiao Suxin, or Su Xiaoxiao, was already a confidant of Meng Xuan when He Danggui was struggling to survive in Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion. Their rtionship was much closer than the entanglement between herself and Meng Xuan.

    ¡°Girl?¡± Xiao Suxin asked suspiciously at the faraway He Danggui, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t you like to swear?¡±

    Gathering her wits, He Danggui swore with a dull voice even unnoticed by herself, ¡°I promise not to tell others about you, and I will assume that I¡¯ve never seen you before, otherwise my Eldest Uncle, Eldest Aunt, Second Uncle, Second Aunt, Third Uncle, Third Aunt, Elder Cousin, Elder Sister-inw, Second Sister, and Fourth Younger Sister, all won¡¯t live long.¡± After a second, she noticed that Xiao Suxin and Yi Tong were both confused, and then exined, ¡°They are all the ¡°family¡± that we live in the same house. And my stepfather¡¯s family, including my stepfather, grandma, aunt, uncle, and a younger sister born to a concubine mother. Although I haven¡¯t seen each other, we are still the family nominally.¡±

    Xiao Suxin and Yi Tong looked at each other for a while, and then she ¡°approved¡± He Danggui¡¯s oath, and said apologetically, ¡°We are not bad guys, and we didn¡¯t mean to force you. I¡¯m sorry for disturbing you just now, so... Goodbye. You are alone, so it¡¯s better to be careful. The people at the inn are like wild beasts, stay away.¡±

    Xiao Suxin and Yi Tong looked at each other and nodded, and started running one after the other. Xiao Suxin ran a few zhang and leaped on the meadow to fly lowly, and the scene could be urately described as ¡°flying on the meadow¡± that He Danggui had boasted of, while Yi Tong couldn¡¯t fly, he ran after Xiao Suxin, and¡­suddenly disappeared where he was!

    No, it was not urate to describe the scene as ¡°disappearing¡±. To be precise, Yi Tong was like ¡°leaking¡± into the ground, just like the Ginseng Baby in the script for story-telling, a person burrowing into the ground!

    He Danggui walked over in surprise. It was a t, just a normalnd with no tunnels for people to enter and exit. In other words, Yi Tong...had burrowed into the ground! He Danggui breathed a sigh of relief. It was an amazing burrowing technique. She just heard of that in the previous life, ¡°There is a senior with a unique skill in Dongying, who can burrow into the ground.¡± But she didn¡¯t expect such an odd thing to happen. A person dressed up as a manservant subordinate to Meng Xuan had such good skills. She had seen Yi Tong three years ago, but he looked like a girly-looking manservant, leading the horse for his master and helping him mount the horse. It turned out that he was good at burrowing into the ground.

    He Danggui stood there in a trance for a while, and then turned back and walked to the backyard of the inn. She couldn¡¯t but chuckle that she had seen something incredible. She had seen Yi Tong at least fifteen times before, but she had never noticed that he boasted martial arts, but today he was covering his face and met each other as a stranger, and he showed such a fleeing technique. Could it be that he was scaring her in this way that if she dared to reveal their whereabouts, he woulde out of the ground and take revenge on her one day?

    Back in the yard, she listened carefully to the voice at the inn for a long time, only Jiang Pi and Du Yao were joking andughing, no Duan Xiaolou interrupting voice. Had he returned to the guest room to rest? It was too dangerous here. Although it was unclear why Meng Xuan¡¯s subordinate was against the imperial guards, Duan Xiaolou with injury must not stay overnight at this targeted wild inn. There was arge Mocha Vi in Xuehua suburb in the west five miles away from here, morefortable than here. Why did he choose to stay at the inn?

    While thinking about the words to persuade the people inside to leave the inn, the ambiguous lowughter of Jiang Pi and Du Yao came to He Danggui¡¯s ears¡ª

    ¡°Hey, you took a ncest night, and her face was covered with a veil.¡± The rough voice was from Jiang Pi, ¡°How can you be sure that she is a beauty from the south as soft as water? Could it be that you were too drunk to distinguish between pretty and ugly?

    Du Yao smirked with the drunk voice, ¡°She is like... moist pepper, with dewy eyes, and a sweet voice, but she was tough-talking. If it was not... we go in a hurry to support the action, I want to talk more with that little girl. Haha, she is so funny.¡±

    Looking at Du Yao¡¯s silly look, Jiang Pi couldn¡¯t help shaking his head and sighed, ¡°Don¡¯t expect much from her. The greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment. Bro, ording to my years of experience in viewing beauties, thedy covered by the veil with big eyes and a sweet voice is usually ugly after unveiling herself. Since she dares to chase a strange man¡¯s horse at midnight, and is not like an ordinary pretty girl of humble birth who is too shy to say anything, then why she dared not show her true face? I think her nose must be crooked, and her mouth grows bigger than you, haha!¡±

    Du Yao retorted angrily, ¡°She is veiled because she is so beautiful that she is afraid of attracting the evil on the street! Her voice was clear and sweet, even better than this loquat wine. Her mouth couldn¡¯t be as big as mine! It must be as small as it!¡± He was holding something in his hand.

    Jiang Pi guffawed right away, and said out of breath, ¡°Haha, which girl has a mouth as small as a seed shell? It¡¯s impossible even for a baby girl who was just born.¡± Heughed wildly again, and he said with the lowest voice as if spoking with no sound to Du Yao. Only a few words could be recognized, ¡°After she gets married...her husband...ys the flute...¡±

    He Danggui walked away after hearing the vulgar dialogue without any limitation. This was the most real imperial guard. Gentlemen like Lu Jiangbei and good livers like Duan Xiaolou were perceived as different.

    There was no Duan Xiaolou¡¯s voice after listening for such a long time. In fact, it was the most suitable time to go into the room to return Du Yao¡¯s ten liang silver, but the two people inside were too disgusting. Xiao Suxin was right. Most of the imperial guards were the wicked ones. It seemed that they were waiting for her to feast their eyes, so they could makements and provide them with absurd conversations after drinking.

    She walked a few steps away, back to the door curtain leading to the hall, and then, the door curtain suddenly made a sound and someone was breathing behind her.

    His breath was echoing in her ears.

    She slowly turned around, and saw a tall man wearing an ice-made mask and a scarlet round neck gown, with his eyes as dark as the midnight, was staring at her.

    ¡°Are you,¡± the man was puzzled in his voice, and the face under that mask must be full of confusion, ¡°Are you thedy who has been wandering outside the inn? Are you the veileddy from the south said by Du Yao? Are you here to find your horse?¡±

    He Danggui¡¯s heart was overwhelmed by the cold water with these questions. He didn¡¯t recognize her. He didn¡¯t even recognize her!

    Duan Xiaolou with an ice-made mask also looked strange and distant, which made her dare not recognize him, but how could he not recognize her under the veil! Even Peng Shi and Bai Yangbai could recognize her at first nce, but why he couldn¡¯t?

    Was this the situation that ¡°You didn¡¯t know me even if we met¡±?

    Why you didn¡¯t know me even if we met?

    It felt in this way that you didn¡¯t know me even if we met.

 Chapter 339 - A lady caught by the wicked

    <h4>Chapter 339 Ady caught by the wicked</h4>

    With the lips quivered, He Danggui was too stunned to say something. Gazed by Duan Xiaolou with a mask, she could only nod to answer him.

    Duan Xiaolou smiled, ¡°As Du Yao said, you are a gorgeousdy from the southern part. It¡¯s a good ce.¡±

    He Danggui stiffened, lowered her head, andforted herself that it was not his fault that he couldn¡¯t recognize her, because her appearance and dress had changed greatly. Peng Shi and Bai Yangbai could recognize her because it was her that dressed up so differently with a thin figure in Luo¡¯s Mansion. How could a man recognize a woman with a different figure andplexion only by making eye contact on the street?

    Besides, why should she ask him to remember everything about her? Instead, it was better to forget her. Didn¡¯t she always look forward to it like this? It was a good result.

    Duan Xiaolou noticed that He Danggui was shy and silent, instead of a sharp-tongueddy as Du Yao said. He guessed that she was annoyed, ashamed, and also frightened after hearing the conversation between Jiang Pi and Du Yao in the inn, so he reassured her, ¡°They are not viins, so don¡¯t be scared. Men always talk a few drunken words after drinking a few more sses. Your horse is tied at the front door. You don¡¯t have to enter the inn, just go and lead the horse.¡±

    He Danggui nodded, put 10 liang silver on the railing of the corridor, then lowered her head and walked away silently. What was wrong with her? She hadn¡¯t healed Duan Xiaolou yet! Although he looked radiant, he must have been seriously injured!

    Thinking of this, He Danggui forced her to stop walking, but she couldn¡¯t find an excuse.

    ¡°Don¡¯t leave!¡± Du Yao rushed out. He must have heard Duan Xiaolou¡¯s words and wanted to take a look. His drunk eyes were filled with joy, and he smiled, ¡°It¡¯s you! Why don¡¯t youe in, silly girl?¡±

    He Danggui instinctively resisted his intimate greeting, especially in front of Duan Xiaolou. She shook her head, pointed at 10 liang silver on the railing, then turned around and left quickly. She was not ready to ¡°recognize¡± him, or she didn¡¯t expect the scene that ¡°a couple doesn¡¯t know each other face to face¡± will happen to her. She was not a fraildy vulnerable to getting hurt, but now she needed to find a ce to heal her injuries immediately.

    ¡°Hey, why are you leaving?¡± Du Yao was reluctant to let go of the girl he waited all morning, and he rushed to grab her wrist. She looked back and red at him, and then Du Yao let go of her hand and said, ¡°Pleasee in and have a cup of tea. You took 10 liang silver away and I will buy you sugar pudding and croissant honey.¡± After speaking, he dragged her again.

    Duan Xiaolou turned around with his hands held behind him, not knowing he didn¡¯t want to mention it, or he acquiesced to his subordinate to ¡°molest¡± a virtuousdy.

    He Danggui was dragged into the inn by Du Yao. She felt so distant from him when she saw Duan Xiaolou wearing an ice-made mask back to her. She began to wonder if it was not Duan Xiaolou that couldn¡¯t recognize her, but she mistakenly identified a man as him. Because Duan Xiaolou in her memory would stand out to protect the woman when he encountered this situation, no matter whether he knew the woman ¡°robbed¡± by others or not, and whether the woman was ugly or beautiful.

    He was a selfless and lovely man. This man back to her was not Duan Xiaolou, just looked somewhat like him with the same voice. Otherwise, all of this was unreal.

    He Danggui resisted the hand that dragged her, but her power was not enough to get rid of it. She had to show her true ability and punch Du Yao on his face. The imperial guard was the imperial envoy of the Emperor, and how could he rob a girl in broad daylight? It turned out that he let her gost night because he was in a hurry, and today he was free and deliberately waiting here to throw herself into the. This scumbag should be hit severely. The kung fu she learnt shall be applied in such asion, He Danggui thought. Now she felt oppressed and couldn¡¯t help but beat him.

    Thinking of it, He Danggui clenched her fist, raised it, and was about to punch Du Yao¡¯s face...

    ¡°Cracked!¡±

    He Danggui felt a pain in the back of her neck, and she couldn¡¯t see anything right away, and then she didn¡¯t know anything. All sadness disappeared.

    She slowly fell forward to Du Yao¡¯s arms, losing consciousness.

    ...

    ¡°Jiang Yi!¡± Du Yao shouted angrily, ¡°Why did you beat her! You damned Ashura, nothing good cane from meeting you!¡±

    A tall man with blood all around him walked into the inn without looking back. He was wearing genuine blood clothes. Judging by his trail and strong evil spirit, he must have just experienced a fierce battle. However, if taking a close look, it was not his blood, but his enemy¡¯s blood. He was the famous ¡°Bloody Ashura¡± in Jianghu. Together with Lu Jiangbei, known as the ¡°Sword in White, Universe in Sleeve¡±, Gao Shenxin, or his pseudonym Gao Jue, known as the ¡°Thunder Knife¡±, they were praised as the ¡°Three Invincible Killers¡± among the imperial guards. His hands were stained with the blood of the enemy, and he had never been defeated in hundreds of battles.

    Jiang Yi said coldly, ¡°She wants to assassinate you. I noticed her murderous intent.¡± Though with a big and burly figure, his skin was as delicate and white as a woman. Thus, he was once called ¡°Master Lanling¡±.

    Du Yao scooped He Danggui, chased Jiang Yi upstairs in the inn, raised his head, and scolded, ¡°You are the one with murderous intent! How much force did you use? I won¡¯t forgive you if she is dead!¡± Du Yao felt that thedy in his arm was as light as a feather. She was soft with fragrance, which brought him great pleasure.

    He lowered his head to sniff the fragrance. His drunk eyes were full of desire. He was a little annoyed that he didn¡¯t hook up with the beautyst night, but he didn¡¯t expect that he was bestowed such an exquisite gift.

    Jiang Pi sitting in the middle of the lobby left the sk behind, closed to Du Yao, and yelled excitedly, ¡°Unveil her! I guess her nose must be crooked!¡± As expected by He Danggui, Jiang Pi circled her to look up and down, just like watching a monkey show, and he finally looked at her chest, and said, ¡°Thisdy is sexier than thedies in the brothels, but..e on to unveil her, Du Yao! Let me look at her nose!¡± While saying, his hand was stretched out towards the small face, his fingers were crooked and touched her veil¡­

    ¡°Cracked!¡±

    Du Yao said angrily, ¡°Don¡¯t touch her. She is mine and I don¡¯t want to show you!¡± He took off his cloak and wrapped her tightly in his arm, and then quickly went upstairs, warning, ¡°Don¡¯t bother me, or we aren¡¯t brothers!¡± He walked so quickly and leaped over a few wooden steps towards one of the rooms at the end of the corridor.

    Jiang Pi was stunned and smiled after a while, ¡°Just enter the bridal chamber? You¡¯re so anxious! Even the bride has to show her face to guests!¡±

    Duan Xiaolou, who held his hands back, stood in the backyard to sober him up. He came back dispiritedly, nced at the second floor, and asked, ¡°Where is Jiang Yi? Is he injured?¡±

    Jiang Pi replied nonchntly, ¡°Who knows. He has such a bad temper, and who dares to talk to him? Du Yao has gained a beauty, and I have been seated here half a day but even don¡¯t know what she looks like. I hope he unveils her and found that her nose was crooked and her mouth was nted...¡±

    ¡°You will find women are all the same on the bed when you turn off the light and close your eyes.¡± A man in purple robe lifted the curtain, came in, and said, ¡°Last night I spent 500 liang silver sleeping with the most beautifuldy among ten brothels in Yangzhou City, but when I woke up in the morning, I thought she was not as good as Liu Ying I met on the streetst time.

    Jiang Pi squinted at Liao Zhiyuan, and said, ¡°it is because you already have a beautifuldy. Now that you think women are all the same on the bed, do you dare to make out with if I find one for you?¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan asked, ¡°Who?¡±

    Jiang Pi squinted at Duan Xiaolou, who was leaning on a chair with hides, and said to Liao Zhiyuan with no sound, ¡°He Danggui¡¯s mother.¡±

    He didn¡¯t make any sound, but Duan Xiaolou, who seemed to be sleeping, suddenly opened his eyes and punched Jiang Pi on his nose severely. Jiang Pi hurriedly took steps back. Although his nose was not hit, the ice-made mask on his face was torn apart by Duan Xiaolou, revealing his face under the mask. If others were present, they would scream out of fright.

    His clean and pretty face under the mask was covered by twenty or thirty dull red vine patterns, which would make people shocked by such terrible visual effects.

    ¡°Ouch!¡± A scream came from the second floor, and someone said,

    ¡°Damn it!¡±

    ¡°Haha, it serves you right! See, you are in a trap.¡±

    ¡°Damn it!¡±

    ¡°The exciting moment is yet toe. You will suffer it!¡±

    It was a conversation between two men. One was Du Yao, who was scolding,while the other was gloating.

    The fighting downstairs didn¡¯t stop because of this. Instead, it was intensified. Each punch was swung violently as if mixed with rage. It seemed that the person he fought was neither his colleague nor his enemy, but a transparent dummy in the air, an imaginary person, or another imaginary self.

    Duan Xiaolou crazily beat him, not like a person with the internal injury. His kung fu was more mature than Jiang Pi, and his status was higher than him, so thetter couldn¡¯t try his best to fight and was defeated from the bottom of his heart. Jiang Pi was punched on the center of his back and spurted out a mouthful of blood. He couldn¡¯t fight back and had to dodge his fist. Even so, Duan Xiaolou refused to let him go, as if only the blood of the enemy, his colleague, or his own, could calm his inexplicable fidget.

    Liao Zhiyuan didn¡¯t intervene in the battle. He sat at the table, peeling a peach, and persuaded them leisurely, ¡°Take care! We are brothers. It¡¯s no fun if anyone is beaten to death.¡± After a while, he asked, ¡°Is there a new beauty upstairs, and who brought her? Can we sleep with her one after another?¡±

 Chapter 340 - A vastly different person after a sleep

    <h4>Chapter 340 A vastly different person after a sleep</h4>

    Jiang Pi escaped while vomiting blood, turned his head, and saw that Liao Zhiyuan was tasting a peach. He became angry and roared with the blood spitting out of his mouth, ¡°Master Liao, you do nothing to save me! You heartless bastard! I saved your life the day before yesterday. Don¡¯t you know how to repay the kindness?¡± As he said this, he dodged Duan Xiaolou¡¯s fist thrillingly, and felt the burning pain of his cheek swept by the fist.

    Liao Zhiyuan nibbled two more peaches, and responded leisurely, ¡°Young Childe Jiang, have you heard ¡°giving kindness without expecting rewards¡±? Go and ask Master Lanling for help.¡± He bit the peach, and gradually lost in thought.

    Jiang Pi almost couldn¡¯t bear Duan Xiaolou¡¯s fist. He felt that if he didn¡¯t ask for foreign aid, he might be killed. At that time, he was unconscious of his face. He raised his head towards the second floor and shouted, ¡°Brother! Song Fei! Dashing Sky Eagle! Help! Help!¡±

    But no one even responded to the shouts. Jiang Pi originally had the old wounds left by yesterday¡¯s battle, and he was healed with the secret recipe ¡°Ice and Fire Mix¡± of his school. Now he had been recovered a little, but suddenly attacked without knowing the reason. He still couldn¡¯t figure out what he did wrong. They talked much vulgar in the past, even making fun of He Danggui, but Master Duan had never been like this. What was going on?

    Damn it! Didn¡¯t Master Duan suffer more serious internal injuries? Why was his fist more violent than in the past? Who had rattled his cage! Why he was so angry?

    ¡°Dashing Sky Eagle!¡± Jiang Pi shouted towards the second floor again, ¡°I helped you and suffered a palm of the enemy yesterday. I saved your life! Now it¡¯s your turn to save me! Master Duan has gone mad. Later you can only bury my body! Help!¡±

    After a short while, a voice came from upstairs. It was the glib man quarreled with Du Yao just now, ¡°Not free! I¡¯m queuing up for sleeping with the little beauty! I¡¯m next to Du Yao! Ha-ha, she is so pretty!¡±

    Jiang Pi struggled to dodge Duan Xiaolou¡¯s fist, who was so cruel that he seemingly wanted to suck a person¡¯s blood. Jiang Pi cried out in a weird voice, ¡°Master Duan is out of his mind. Go to Luo¡¯s Family and tie He Danggui towards him to calm him down. He is insane!¡± As saying that, a fist punched Jiang Pi¡¯s lower abdomen. The pain caused him to burst into tears and take several steps back, and the bloodstain overflew from his lips.

    Jiang Pi felt that the injury caused by this punch was much severe than the internal injury made by the group of people in purple clothes yesterday. If it was not his Zhenqi for protecting the body, he might have been a corpse at this moment. He stared at Duan Xiaolou incredibly and let out an anguished yell, with his teeth stained bright red, ¡°Duan Xiaolou, I have been in friendship with you for twelve years, but you beat me so violently only for He Danggui!¡±

    The characters ¡°He Danggui¡± were like a spell, suddenly inspiring more potential of Duan Xiaolou. He didn¡¯t say anything, but his fist was several times faster than before, just like the tornado killing anyone once encountered, wreaking havoc in the lobby of the wild inn. As he moved, the tables and chairs around him all turned into debris, drifting everywhere and covering the first floor.

    The two servants behind the counter had already run away, but Liao Zhiyuan on the side of the hall was undisturbed. There was seemingly a natural barrier to iste the sharp sawdust and reject the wind of the fist from everywhere. Liao Zhiyuan threw away the walnut he had eaten, and began to peel a mango, while persuading Duan Xiaolou spitefully, ¡°Xiaolou, leave him alive. He is glib and you just need to unroot his tongue. Then he won¡¯t be able to reopen our old sores.¡±

    Duan Xiaolou seemed to have be a zombie killer controlled by Liao Zhiyuan. After receiving the instruction, Duan Xiaolou stretched out two half-curved fingers from his clenched right fist directly towards Jiang Pi¡¯s eye sockets. When thetter drew back his palm to protect his eyes, a small dagger slipped from the cuff of Duan Xiaolou¡¯s left hand and was inserted between Jiang Pi¡¯s lips relentlessly, intending to pry his gritted teeth.

    Liao Zhiyuan was witnessing the battle and chuckled. He lowered his head and took a bite of the mango flesh. He said with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s for real. It seems that Master Duan is enraged. I have to be more cautious in the future...¡± Suddenly, he raised his head towards upstairs and yelled, ¡°Dashing Sky Eagle, have you finished? Is it my turn?¡±

    After saying that, a dark shadow that looked like a ck bat dashed down from the barrier circle where Liao Zhiyuan was seated inside, with a bird-like posture. The space at the inn was too small to find anything special about the man¡¯s art of lightness, but once in the infinite space outside, that kind of magical skill free from gravity and seemingly allowing birds to fly in the unlimited sky was indeed consistent with the title ¡°Dashing Sky Eagle¡±.

    He was the night crawler with the best art of lightness in the world, known as the ¡°Xue Xiao Thirteenth Gentleman¡±, a senior of Ninja School in Nihon. His art of lightness was more mature than that of Zhu Quan, Chang Nuo, and Meng Xuan as well as other juvenile masters. Even Gao Jue¡¯s Dun Shu, disappearing with a sh, couldn¡¯t match his skills if they battled with each other for three days.

    Xue Xiao Thirteenth Gentleman once said that when he was a teenager, he had carried a sampan in his left hand and dry food in his right hand. He only wore a diving suit and ¡°flew¡± directly from Nihon to the coast of China. When he was tired, he stood on the sampan treading water. If the sampan turned over and was broken by the waves, he paddled with chips. Eating dry food when he was hungry and asking the seabirds in the sky and the fish of the seabed for water to drink when he was thirsty. He traveled for a thousand miles from morning till night and reached the innernd at dusk. He guffawed that Zhuang Zhou, the ancient sage of the middlend China, wrote in Carefree Excursion that ¡°Liehtse could ride upon the wind. Sailing happily in the cool breeze, he would go on for fifteen days before his return.¡± and that ¡°As for one who is charioted upon the eternal fitness of Heaven and Earth, driving before him the changing elements as his team to roam through the realms of the Infinite.¡± He asked how about himparing with the narration.

    Liao Zhiyuan looked at the man in blue, who was nearly 40 years old, falling from mid-air. He let his chest open in the chilly wind. His face was purple, and the belt around his waist was loose. He must have just struggled out of a beauty¡¯s arms.

    The two men in the battle had long ignored life and death. Jiang Pi had shown a pair of bronze square sword breakers, and Duan Xiaolou applied the halberd that he had used to kill the enemy. The two were best friends and always together, but their war turned from the initial trivial battle to a life-and-death fight due to a few words. Both sides suffered internal injuries, but they battled with bloody eyes as if intending to dismantle the small unstable inn. Liao Zhiyuan turned a blind eye to the scene and seemed to have taken it for granted. He smiled and asked Xue Xiao, ¡°Bro, where did you get the girl? Is she beautiful?¡±

    Xue Xiao shook the dozens of pigtails on his head, and said nonchntly, ¡°It wasn¡¯t caught, but she took the initiative to send herself to us. Seeing we didn¡¯t let her go, she began to cry and said that she was a youngdy from a rich family and we couldn¡¯t treat her impolitely. Song Fei attacked her mute acupoint and threw her on the bed. I haven¡¯t touched girls for days because I¡¯m toozy to find one, but a girl delivers herself to me, so there is no reason not to enjoy it. Ady should embroider ducks in her boudoir, and others walking around on the street are considered hookers.¡±

    ¡°Ha! You are right.¡± Liao Zhiyuan plucked a banana and handed it over to him, inquiring, ¡°Is the girl a virgin?¡±

    Xue Xiao replied, ¡°Song Fei is sensible that he let me have a try first, but I find she is a virgin and lose interest at once. You know, I don¡¯t like the blood when I make out with someone, so I leave her to Song Fei. I heard that the two of them have exchanged solemn vows. Ha! Women just like this... A vastly different person after a sleep. She even called him ¡®husband¡¯, not like a girl from a respectable family.¡±

    ¡°Did they vow to each other?¡± Liao Zhiyuan ate thest bite of mango flesh, and sighed regretfully, ¡°So Song Fei is going to marry her? Then I have no chance to sleep with her. He is not a loyal friend, enjoying the beauty alone early in the morning.¡±

    Duan Xiaolou and Jiang Pi on the side had fought for hundreds of rounds. Things in the main hall of the entire inn were all smashed. Apanied by the fierce fighting between the two, there was crying from upstairs. The voice came from the other side of the second floor. But it could be heard that the muffled sound of a female like a songbird shouted ¡°dear¡±, ¡°I¡¯m done¡±, etc.

    With a mocking smile on Liao Zhiyuan¡¯s face, he took out a small dagger from his arms, drew out half of the scabbard, and took the de as a mirror. Then he shook his head and sighed, ¡°Since there is nothing funny here, I will go back to the city. If you want to find me, you can ask Gao Jue, and he knows where to find me.¡±

    Xue Xiao persuaded him to stay, ¡°Why not stay here? There is nothing happening today. You can tell me something interesting about the Northwest Army. I love to hear that. Master Liao, except for Master Duan, I like listening to your story the most. It sounds better than the words of the storyteller.¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan smiled and squinted. Then he shook his head and said, ¡°My speech sounds good? How? I think the shouting of the delicatedy upstairs is more pleasing, and it made me tickled. If I don¡¯t go back to the city to find a girl, I¡¯m going to disturb the tryst of the ¡®couple¡¯ upstairs.¡± The hilt of the dagger turned, and he looked tired and crazy in his cat eyes, not like extremely delighted, but greatly painful.

    Xue Xiao waved his hand and calmed him, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It¡¯s your turn soon after Song Fei gets finished. I go upstairs and talk to him. I promise they both won¡¯t say anything. Even if he is reluctant to share with you, there is a beauty sleeping in Du Yao¡¯s arms in the opposite room.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Liao Zhiyuan was quite interested, ¡°There is another beauty? What¡¯s going on today? Twombs are sent to the pack of the wolves. Is it an extra meal?¡±

    Xue Xiao ate the banana and unscrupulously threw the peel into the center of Duan Xiaolou and Jiang Pi¡¯s battlefield. He took a sip of tea and said, ¡°I¡¯m telling you that the beauty in Du Yao¡¯s arm loves scratching people. At first, she was going tond a punch on Du Yao and was beat senseless by Jiang Yi who passed by. When she woke up, she pierced him with a small needle. Du Yao described her as ¡¯little pepper¡¯, but I think she is the pod pepper, the spiciest one among all pepper. Besides, she is a knockout, even much more beautiful than thedy sleeping with Du Yao. I¡¯m waiting in line. Master Liao, it¡¯s your turn after I¡¯m done. Don¡¯t grab her with me.¡±

    ¡°Oh? An exceedingly beautifuldy in the world?¡± Liao Zhiyuan turned his cat eyes full of curiosity, and asked with a smile, ¡°What kind of exceeding beauty?¡±

    ¡°First-ss, snow-white skin, rosy cheeks, and good looks... Every man wants her after witnessing her beauty.¡±

 Chapter 341 - Ten beauties in the early Ming Dynasty

    <h4>Chapter 341 Ten beauties in the early Ming Dynasty</h4>

    ¡°A woman that every man wants to have?¡± Liao Zhiyuanughed without believing it. He felt that Xue Xiao was too exaggerated, so he shook his head to retort, ¡°You have never seen a real beauty, so you would think she is one of them. One day, if you have the privilege of seeing the group of beautiful women in the Imperial Harem, you will know who real beauties are. No wonder all men in the world want to be the emperor.¡±

    Duan Xiaolou had been immersed in killing, but he did not forget to take the opportunity to remind Liao Zhiyuan to pay attention to his words, ¡°Bro, keep your words only here. If you leave this door, none of them will be allowed to utter! Take care of your mouth!¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan curled his lips and turned his head to educate Xue Xiao, a man who was from Nihon and was more than ten years older than him. He said in a persuasive manner, ¡°What are the standards of a beautifuldy? Smooth jade face, feather-liked eyebrows, water-liked skin, slim shoulders, slender waist, catkin-liked hands, shell-liked teeth, being profound in words, orchids-liked breaths. Her beauty won¡¯t fade as her age grows. However, there are no more than ten people meeting the standards in the world. The rest can only be regarded as fireflies fighting a moon. They only rely on makeups to be beautiful. Don¡¯t you know that even a beauty like Zhao Feiyan had to put on makeup to be alluring? In other words, an ordinary beautiful girl in the world... Well, they don¡¯t deserve the name and their face even couldn¡¯tpare to their bodies.¡±

    Xue Xiao followed him to count the number with his fingers. However, all ten fingers were used up but Liao Zhiyuan¡¯s elegant words had not been finished yet. However, the turn was too abrupt, switching from the great elegant to the most vulgar, which made Xue Xiao feel bored. After evaluating the words, Xue Xiao nodded and smiled, ¡°Master Liao, the woman upstairs not only has everything you mentioned but even surpasses them. Is she a real beauty?¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Liao Zhiyuan observed Xue Xiao¡¯s expression to see if he was joking. ¡°The top ten beauties in the world I said are all famous and married. Except for them, I don¡¯t know any other women can be so beautiful.¡±

    Xue Xiao sincerely remarked, ¡°That girl is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. She is the eleventh one! I think she is only 15 or 16 years old. Maybe she was too young to be discovered by you before. Now she has grown up and is more beautiful than any other beautiful thing in the world. If you don¡¯t believe me, after Du Yao and I taste her, you could be the next!¡± As he said, he waved to the people fighting in the field, ¡°The house is going to fall apart! Don¡¯t shake Du Yao and that girl down! You should take a rest and wait for them. Duan Xiaolou, you are the fourth. Jiang Pi, you are the fifth!¡±

    In fact, Jiang Pi already wanted to give up, but Duan Xiaolou was like having taken the potent medicine newly developed by Dongchang Organization to improve his energy. He was getting stronger as the fight went. Jiang Pi seemed to be the enemy who cut off the head of Duan Xiaolou¡¯s father on the battlefield. Duan Xiaolou wanted to kill him for revenge. Except for halberd in his right hand, he was even using the small dagger with his left hand to raid Jiang Pi¡¯s mouth.

    It turned out that Duan Xiaolou did not forget Liao Zhiyuan¡¯s instigation about cutting off Jiang Pi¡¯s tongue so that he could no longer talk nonsense in the future.

    Jiang Pi was close to being cut several times, and his teeth almost couldn¡¯t bite the sharp de. When he looked down, he saw a woman¡¯s face in the center of the dagger. In a quick nce, he found that she was He Danggui. It turned out that Duan Xiaolou was also using this kind of dagger. He turned against him because he said something bad about her. Duan Xiaolou seemed to want to kill him.

    Jiang Pi was extremely annoyed and yelled at the sky, ¡°Dammit. I swear as long as I can escape from here, I will go to Luo¡¯s Mansion and tie up that chick surnamed He. She won¡¯te home unless be tortured by every means I know!¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan, who was watching the battle aside, said with a smile, ¡°This is a good way. Don¡¯t forget to invite me to watch the whole process when you do it.¡±

    Xue Xiao was transferred to the imperial guards from the army a year ago. He got acquainted with Liao Zhiyuan and others only two months ago. He didn¡¯t know who this ¡°chick surnamed He¡± was and what she had to do with this fight. However, Duan Xiaolou¡¯s furious expression scared him and he didn¡¯t dare to ask Liao Zhiyuan about the details. Xue Xiao¡¯s lightness art was in the first ce of the Hero List, but his kung fu was far weaker than othermanders of the Imperial guards.

    Liao Zhiyuan noticed Xue Xiao¡¯s curiosity, so he kindly exined to him, ¡°The woman with surname He is a beautiful woman. Though her skin was not in a healthy color, she was the eleventh one among the top ten beauties in the early Ming Dynasty which was reviewed by me. More importantly, she has a deep mind and her heart is as cold as the ck ice from a thousand years ago. Her tongue is like a sharp knife. She does not value money at all. There are a lot of men loving her, but none of them could marry her. In my opinion, the difficulty of sleeping with all ten beauties equals sleeping with her. Chasing her is really a blow to a man¡¯s self-esteem. The best man in the world and the most sincere and affectionate motion are worth nothing to her.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Xue Xiao was stunned. ¡°There is such a woman in the world. It is really weird. Since she is so lonely and arrogant, why should men pursue her? They should go to another ten beautiful women. Besides, her skin is not healthy. I don¡¯t like that kind of women. No matter how beautiful their faces are, I feel weird because of their skin.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because you haven¡¯t seen her. When you see her someday, maybe you will be attracted by her.¡± Liao Zhiyuan wanted to find a drink, but not even one jar was next to him. As for the counter over there, the delicious wine on the shelf had already flowed to the earth.

    He sighed. Then he took two bananas and handed one to Xue Xiao. He said sullenly, ¡°This is people¡¯s nature. Duan Xiaolou used to be one of these men, and he deserves it. None of us could stop him. Now he has got out of that abyss and he doesn¡¯t go to Luo¡¯s Mansion after arriving in Yangzhou City. However, his behavior is quite violent since he got here. Last time, he fought with Gao Jue only because Gao Jue said, ¡®I often see her but I don¡¯t want to see her. She is very annoying.¡¯ Of course, that ¡®her¡¯ refers to He Danggui. As a result, Duan Xiaolou took a knife and wanted to hit Gao Jue¡¯s head with it.¡±

    Xue Xiao ate half a banana with two bites and came to the conclusion, ¡°Duan Xiaolou has not let it go. Maybe someday he will go to Luo¡¯s Mansion again.¡± Liao Zhiyuan dared to say Duan Xiaolou deserved it, but Xue Xiao didn¡¯t. Duan Xiaolou was not only murderous, but also eager to fight with others. He was also the marquis with the highest rank among the imperial guards. Everyone was willing to tter him. Who else dared to say he ¡°deserved it.¡± But, Xue Xiao thought in mind that fighting for a woman was indeed a childish behavior.

    Xue Xiao looked at the crumbling wall of the inn and asked worriedly, ¡°The house won¡¯t copseter, right? Shall we ask the people upstairs to go out for their safety? Our brothers are all having good dreams.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, let them sleep.¡± Liao Zhiyuan smiled without worries. ¡°This inn doesn¡¯t look very strong, but its wooden wall shell is made of fine steel that has been refined three times. A hard knife won¡¯t leave any marks. Years ago, when His Majesty came here with the troops, he lived in this dense steel fortress.¡± After eating a banana, he threw the peel into the battlefield like Xue Xiao did, adding challenges to their life and death fight.

    Looking at the furious Duan Xiaolou, Liao Zhiyuanyzily on the animal skin chair and concluded, ¡°The two are high, but the inn is tougher. Duan Xiaolou now is the second Gao Jue, who has lost his beloved wife, but he is more cold-blooded. All his attacks reveal the desperate killing intent without defending at all. He Danggui is a terrible woman. How did she turn Duan Xiaolou into this monster?¡±

    ¡°He Danggui?¡± Xue Xiao tilted his head, ¡°This is the woman¡¯s name? I may have heard this name somewhere. How old is she?¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan yawned, ¡°I don¡¯t know, but she is not too young. She seemed to be rejuvenating from a thirty-year-old woman, but she has shrunk into a teenager¡¯s appearance. Otherwise, how could she y with so many men? I don¡¯t believe she was only fourteen.¡±

    Xue Xiao was shocked by the weird words. He was still full of curiosity, ¡°What has she done that makes you hate her?¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan pointed to Duan Xiaolou who was on the battlefield. He squinted and yawned, ¡°No need to look through the specific process. You should just look at the results. The results can exin everything. Hey! Those two pairs upstairs. Are you done? We are tired!¡±

    Xue Xiao made a silent gesture and listened carefully. Amid the sound of weapon shes, he could hear the joyous shouts between Song Fei and the youngdy he nned to ept as long as he listened carefully. ¡°Brother and sister¡± turned into ¡°husband and wife¡±. ¡°I don¡¯t want it¡± became ¡°I want more.¡± The loving sense was so strong as if they had been together for a long time, though they had met for the first time today. Whether Song Fei was willing to give out her concubine to Master Liao?

    More than a dozen guest rooms were on the second floor with at least 18 people living in. All of them had great hearing ability, but their sleeping ability was even more amazing. The downstairs was noisy, but they could still sleep in this loud noise. Xue Xiao said in his mind that all of the imperial guards were weird people. Among them, Duan Xiaolou and Liao Zhiyuan were the weirdest ones. Gao Jue and Jiang Yi were in the middle. However, even the most gentle, harmless, rational and normalmander Lu Jiangbei was a little bit weird. In short, this ce had gathered all kinds of weird people. Maybe they became weird, depressive, and maverick because they had helped the emperor do too many evil things.

    Right now, Jiang Pi was suffering from several bloody injuries, but his brother Jiang Yi, whose kung fu ranked the top three in the imperial guards, could still sleep there. He even did note out to check the situation. What the hell was this? Liao Zhiyuan moved his neckzily while Duan Xiaolou was waving his weapon near to him. Besides, Jiang Pi was likely to die within 30 strokes. Incredibly, instead of the horror and despair of the dying people, he was wearing a self-sufficient, excited, and bloodthirsty look as if the blood was flowing from others¡¯ bodies. This was so weird.

    Xue Xiao listened to the movements on the second floor again but still could only hear the whispers of Song Fei and his woman. Du Yao and that girl should have made more sounds now, but their room was silent.

    Liao Zhiyuan also heard the screaming of the woman under Song Fei, who was yed in many ways, but he couldn¡¯t tell whether she was crying orughing. Liao Zhiyuan felt that his veins were almost broken because of the sounds. He stood up and stared at Xue Xiao, ¡°Has Du Yao finished? I can¡¯t wait for him anymore. Can I join them?¡±

    Xue Xiao¡¯s ears had almost touched the beam above, but he still couldn¡¯t hear any sound. After a while, he touched his nose sullenly and said, ¡°Master Liao, please be patient. Du Yao likes that girl very much. The girl seems to be made of water and white jade. I have begged him for a long time before he promised to let me try this girl after he finished his job. As for you, you have to go personally to beg him to show you his girl.¡±

    ¡°Ha!¡± Liao Zhiyuanughed contemptuously, ¡°Is she really an incredible beauty? Xue Xiao, you have piqued my interest. I have to see her!¡± He stood up as he said.

    Xue Xiao hurriedly pushed him back to his seat and exined in a low voice, ¡°I yed a prank on him and I have put some philter on a nail which was stepped on by the anxious Du Yao. This kind of medicine is as fierce as a fire, and he won¡¯t spare that girl without a couple of hours... Moreover, even you should follow the order.¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan curled his lips, ¡°I just want to take a look at the woman¡¯s face. I didn¡¯t say that I was going to rob you. You think she is a treasure, but I don¡¯t think so.¡±

    Xue Xiao waved his hand and smiled, ¡°That is because you haven¡¯t seen her yet. If you see her, you will do it.¡±

    ¡°Why? What kind of fairy is she?¡± Liao Zhiyuan¡¯s curiosity waspletely aroused. Regardless of Xue Xiao¡¯s obstruction, he must go up and see her face. But at this moment, a shrill scream sounded from the second floor, ¡°Ahhh!¡± The sound could even terrify ghosts, but it was a unique voice in an inn full of men. The scream sounded throughout the inn, and even Duan Xiaolou and Jiang Pi were slightly affected because they wanted to stop their fight.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Liao Zhiyuan paused.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Xue Xiao guessed, ¡°Maybe that girl has woken up. She was knocked out by Du Yao just now. After waking up, she found a big man was on her body. It makes sense to scream out.¡±

 Chapter 342 - Who is that girl

    <h4>Chapter 342 Who is that girl</h4>

    Liao Zhiyuan still wanted to go upstairs to see the beauty that Xue Xiao had praised with great words. But Xue Xiao was preventing him from going up, ¡°She lost her virginity, and she needs some time to get along with the situation. One man upstairs is enough for her. If we all go up, she mightmit suicide. Master Liao, please be merciful. Wait until everything is settled, I will ask Du Yao if you are allowed to get in there. You know, people should help others before you get help from them.¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan did not give up and said, ¡°Since you said that the girl is one of the most beautiful women in the world, I have to go up and tell Du Yao that he should be gentle because the girl is still young. If she is killed, it would be a great loss for the world. Just now, you also heard the scream of her. Du Yao is a stupid man and doesn¡¯t know how to train a girl. I am going to help him!¡±

    Therefore, Xue Xiao had to sigh, ¡°Then let¡¯s go up together and see what is happening.¡±

    As Liao Zhiyuan promised, he and Xue Xiao bypassed Duan Xiaolou and Jiang Pi, who had been fighting to the point when they were both struggling. When they were just about to step on the shaky stairs to the second floor, a man was staggering to them from the corridor. His cheeks were red like he was drunk, and he was dressed horribly in a women¡¯s chiffon trousers, which was almost to be broken by his strong legs. However, he was wearing a green cloak suitable for snowy weather.

    Xue Xiao blinked at him and asked him with an ambiguous smile, ¡°What a wonderful experience! How does it feel, Song Fei?¡±

    Song Fei, dressed in weird clothes and looked at the ¡°miserable scene¡± in the lobby on the first floor with a stunning look. After a while, he said, ¡°Qiu Si is thirsty. I am finding her something to drink. What¡¯s wrong with you guys? Raid?¡±

    ¡°Qiu Si?¡± Xue Xiao covered his mouth and smiled. He elbowed Liao Zhiyuan¡¯s chest and then raised his head to answer Song Fei, ¡°Enemy attack? Even worse! Duan Xiaolou¡¯s anger is more terrible than a dozen of killers. Everybody has to run from it. Don¡¯t you think, Master Liao?¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan frowned and repeated, ¡°Qiu Si, Qiu Si... What is her surname?¡± His smirk froze and he looked at Xue Xiao and Song Fei with a hint of restless luster.

    Xue Xiao and Song Fei nced at each other. Then, Xue Xiao took the lead and said, ¡°Anyway, she is not your sister. Your sister is a little bit fat, and we all know that.¡± After a pause, he said in detail about the girl, ¡°Seventeen or eighteen years old, delicate and tender, local ent, virgin. So, she is definitely not your wife. She said that a ssmate asked her toe here to view the flowers, but she was lost. That little bitch only cried in the beginning. Later, she stopped crying after she learned Song Fei¡¯s identity and his promise to marry her. Her scream was so obscene. Haven¡¯t you heard that? We didn¡¯t force her. Is Qiu Si your secret lover?¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan looked up at Song Fei, who was slightly cramped on the second floor, and asked, ¡°Her name is Qiu Si? Is it a courtesy name? What is herst name? What is her given name?¡±

    The cloak hung on Song Fei¡¯s wide back was tilted, revealing his strong bronze chest. He scratched his head and said in anguish, ¡°She didn¡¯t say her name, and I didn¡¯t ask. I was only told to call her Qiu Si. Where is tea? We are both thirsty.¡±

    Noticing Liao Zhiyuan¡¯s bad look, Xue Xiao felt uneasy. He patted the back of his head while hinting at Song Fei, ¡°Dammit! Go to ask her name now!¡±

    Song Fei said sincerely, ¡°Just now I asked her if she was okay about making out with me. She said she was not sure because she had never tried it. But I still I got in her. You have all heard her terrible cry. She said she wanted the syrup with three syrup before fainting, and I couldn¡¯t wake her up. Who knows to make this syrup?¡± He watched the endgame a while before asking, ¡°Do we have any fruits left? Peaches? Melons? Grapes? Mix them all together and then add some honey. Qiu Si told me that before she fainted.¡±

    Seeing Liao Zhiyuan¡¯s serious face, Xue Xiao had the urge to hit the floor with his head. However, he still tried his best to suppress this impulse. Instead, he came to the table and grabbed a teapot and some fruits randomly. As walking to the second floor, he said, ¡°No fruit syrup, let her have some tea. Wake her up and ask her name! Master Liao, wait for me! I will help you ask her!¡±

    A silver light shed from Liao Zhiyuan¡¯s sleeves and then fell on the roof beam. It was a silver buckle wire. He flew to the second floor and strode towards Xue Xiao, ¡°I¡¯ll go with you!¡±

    Then, Song Fei chased them. They walked to a concealed ce at the end of the corridor with two wooden doors on the left and right. Xue Xiao put his ear closed to the door on the right. After listening for a while, Liao Zhiyuan asked him impatiently, ¡°What are you doing? Why don¡¯t you go in?¡±

    Xue Xiao waved his hand and whispered, ¡°This room is for Du Yao and that beautiful girl. I couldn¡¯t hear them downstairs just now, but now there is vaguely a man¡¯s groan. It looks like that little beauty hasn¡¯t woken up yet. Terrible... Du Yao almost couldn¡¯t wait to get her. I¡¯m really worried about that girl. Well, let¡¯s go to see Miss Qiu Si first.¡± Said so, he pushed open the door on the left and called Liao Zhiyuan to enter. Then he opened the curtain of the big bed and said, ¡°Master Liao,e and have a look. Is she your lover?¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan approached the big bed and stared at the scenery on the bed from a slit. His tight expression did not change at all. Besides, a sudden chill burst out of his body. He looked down for a long while as if he was thinking about something serious. He paced to the window with his hand on his back. He plucked a winter peony flower and sniffed it lightly at the tip of his nose.

    Xue Xiao and Song Fei looked at each other embarrassedly. ording to Liao Zhiyuan¡¯s expression, he clearly recognized the woman. Did Song Fei really do something wrong? Song Fei asked, ¡°Who is she? A noble?¡±

    ¡°Noble? No, not at all. She is just a daughter of a concubine.¡± Liao Zhiyuan smelled the fragrance of the flower and slowly said, ¡°Guan¡¯s Family in Yangzhou City is a rtive of our family. My aunt is the First Mistress of Guan¡¯s Family. This woman, Guan Zhan, is the Fourth Miss of Guan¡¯s Family. I heard that her nickname was Qiu Si. What a shameless woman! She entrusted her life so easily.¡±

    Xue Xiao dumbly digested the meaning of these words. Then, he said in disbelief, ¡°She is your cousin from Guan¡¯s Family?¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan shook his head and corrected, ¡°Cousin in name. She¡¯s a concubine¡¯s daughter and my aunt has always disliked her and her mother. But the lord of Guan¡¯s Family has always treasured this girl, which made my aunt unhappy.¡± Just as Xue Xiao breathed a sigh of relief, Liao Zhiyuan continued, ¡°When I went to Guan¡¯s Mansion not long ago, my aunt said that Guan Zhan had be more annoying at home since she grew up. She wanted me to take Guan Zhan as my concubine, and she could chat with Guan Yun in the capital.¡±

    Xue Xiao and Song Fei asked in unison, ¡°Is she your unmarried concubine?¡± The four bell-like eyes opened wide.

    Liao Zhiyuan nodded and added, ¡°At present, it¡¯s just an oral agreement between my aunt and me. I haven¡¯t given her any dowry gifts. Maybe my aunt had no time to talk to Guan Zhan about the marriage. Otherwise, she won¡¯t call another man ¡®husband¡¯. The daughter of a concubine! She doesn¡¯t have good education and ethics!¡±

    Song Fei was silent for a while before asking, ¡°Then, what should we do now? You can punish me as you wish!¡±

    In the suffocating and silent environment, a man¡¯s sillyughter suddenly came from the opposite door. Everyone seemed to be able to see Du Yao¡¯s silly face bowing under the beauty¡¯s dress. Du Yao was like a dog who was ttering his master, ¡°Sweetie! Are you getting better? After I knocked you out, I almost hanged myself in regret. You can pierce me with your needle again. I will not even frown! Where do you feel the pain? I will rub it for you. Does this ce hurt? Are you hungry? What do you want to eat? I¡¯ll go into the city to buy it for you. By the way, what¡¯s your name? I¡¯ll write your name on my marriage proposal!¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan listened silently, and suddenly let out loudughter. Then, theughter got louder and louder. Theughter even shook off all the fragile flower petals, which fell down like raindrops.

    Song Fei waited for him to finishughing and heard him continued, ¡°Nowadays, men and women, as long as they have slept once, they would call each other ¡®honey and sweetie¡¯. If the woman loses her temper on the man, she will even get the marriage proposal without getting out of bed! Nowadays, men are so cheap!¡±

    ¡°Then don¡¯t care about them.¡± Xue Xiao asked nervously, ¡°What are you going to do with Song Fei?¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan looked at the woman in the tent and heard a rustling sound inside. It seemed that Guan Zhan had woken up. She must have heard the words ¡°Master Liao¡± and the voice of him, so she cried in the next moment.

    Song Fei gritted his teeth. Then he pulled off his cloak abruptly and the women¡¯s trousers on his legs. He grabbed a saber in the corner of the wall, shook off its scabbard, and then handed it to Liao Zhiyuan. He said gruffly, ¡°Follow the rules, do it!¡± Then, hey down on the floor like a dead fish.

    Liao Zhiyuan grabbed the saber and yed with the flower vines on it. He asked slowly, ¡°I just heard from downstairs that you swore to marry her. Song Fei, are you in love with this woman? Are you nning to marry her? Are you going to be cut because of her?¡±

    People would only say good words before they die. Song Fei answered sincerely, ¡°How could a man¡¯s words in bed be taken seriously? I will say anything to gain her body. Besides, she could only be my concubine. I have no identity to propose marriage to her family. Unless she abandons her identity as ady and elopes with me, we can¡¯t be together.¡±

    When Guan Zhan in the bed heard that her ¡°husband¡± who was going to ¡°be with her until death¡± not long ago had changed in a blink of an eye ruthlessly, she cried and cursed, ¡°Liars, liars! Men are liars.¡±

    The three men listened to her crying in silence for a while. However, a simr scene seemed to be staged in the opposite room. They heard Du Yao say, ¡°When I first met you in the street yesterday, although I was disdainful and my attitude was rude, I couldn¡¯t help to think about you after we parted. Since yesterday night, I have at least thought about this borrowing horses thing 17 or 18 times. Every sentence you have said keeps echoing in my mind. As for today¡¯s thing, I didn¡¯t have any evil intentions in advance but just wanted to ask you toe in for snacks and chats. But, when I saw your face and your unsuspecting sleeping look, I couldn¡¯t suppress my feelings. Considering the situation, sweetie, you should marry me! I am willing to die for you! If you marry me, I will treat you as an immortal!¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan suddenly burst into a sharp smile. He threw the saber on the table and paced to the bed. He shook his head and said to himself, ¡°Is that person Du Yao? He gives up all his pride for just one night¡¯s joy? ... Then now,¡± Liao Zhiyuan bent over and took off his boots. He turned his head with a smile, ¡°Cousin Qiu Si, serve your real husband. We have an oral engagement. Don¡¯t call my name wrong!¡±

 Chapter 343 - Bros before hoes

    <h4>Chapter 343 Bros before hoes</h4>

    Guan Zhan stopped crying, moved back with the quilt, and shook her head repeatedly, ¡°Dear cousin, don¡¯te over, please!¡±

    ¡°No?¡± Liao Zhiyuan took off his boots, opened the green curtain, and smiled at the girl inside, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid. I won¡¯t hurt you. I heard that you told Guan Yun you secretly have a crush on me. Now, I¡¯d like to see how much you likes me.¡±

    Hearing this, Song Fei who was lying naked on the ground, and Xue Xiao looked at each other. The girl was not only Liao Zhiyuan¡¯s cousin and the concubine that he hadn¡¯t married, but was still in love with him secretly? A ¡°good marriage¡± was destroyed by their lust. The girl had a crush on Liao Zhiyuan. What about Liao Zhiyuan to her? If he also liked the girl, they would be grant. Raping one¡¯s wife and burning someone¡¯s ancestral grave were grance that shall be whipped one¡¯s corpse after death.

    Being ashamed and embarrassed, Guan Zhan clutched the quilt and covered her face with her hands, cried, and muttered, ¡°It is all to me Qi Mu¡¯er, and it is all her fault. She said ¡®appreciating ice flowers in winter is a pleasure¡¯, but she didn¡¯te when I got here. It¡¯s not my fault! I am so weak that I can¡¯t struggle with the rapists. Cousin, please help me leave here!¡±

    Song Fei and Xue Xiao were ashamed that they were called rapists. Song Fei sat up and sighed, ¡°Master Liao, it¡¯s me to me. I had a drinking contest with Duan Xiaolou. Then I was drunk and had the lust. I happened to see her standing outside and caught her into the room. I forced her at first. She wanted to suicide by biting her tongue but was made mute acupoint by me. It¡¯s not her fault and I should pay for it. You can take it out on me with the saber on the table.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Liao Zhiyuan smiled again, ¡°You said you were just ying with her, and you didn¡¯t even know her name. Besides, you said that you wouldn¡¯t get married to her. Why do you help her now? Is that called ¡®One night of love is worth a hundred of friendship¡¯?¡± Saying this, he walked towards the saber on the table.

    Hearing the unkindly sneer of Liao Zhiyuan, Xue Xiao was afraid that Song Fei would be killed, so he mediated in the quarrel, ¡°We are brothers, and we have saved each other more than once. There¡¯s no need to quarrel. This was originally a misunderstanding unexpected to happen. We wouldn¡¯t touch her if we knew she is yours. She slept here all day and night and also knew we are imperial guards, but she didn¡¯t mention you or your name.¡± Thinking the matter was weird, he immediately turned his head and reproached Guan Zhan on the bed, ¡°Did you do this on purpose? Are you a spy sent by the enemy?¡±

    Guan Zhan was so frightened by the inexplicable charge that she clutched the quilt and wiped away tears. She exined, ¡°You made me dumb at the beginning. How can I talk? Later... The die is cast and I¡¯m ashamed to tell you my name. You bad guys!¡± Sheined while crying aloud.

    Liao Zhiyuan tipped his head back andughed for a moment, brushing his backhand across the table and holding the hilt tightly in his left hand. He stood up with the hands behind him and walked to Song Fei who was naked and sitting with his eyes closed. He walked in circles around Song Fei slowly, as if thinking about the best ce to kill him. Carrying the sharp saber behind with the icy Zhenqi that summoned death, and bringing up the mist, it was like a prediction of the death and blood.

    Xue Xiao moved a little farther, and even stood by the window unintentionally, still sparing no effort to persuade him, ¡°As a saying goes, women like clothes that can be changed every day, but bros like your hands and feet that are unable to regenerate after cutting them. Song Fei is also a legitimate son of a prominent family in the capital. You can¡¯t get rid of the crime if you killed him. It¡¯s not worth it for a girl. Just now, we all heard clearly downstairs that the girl was dissolute with an ordinary look. She deserves to die.¡±

    Hearing this, Guan Zhan screamed and cried with the quilt on her head, ¡°Don¡¯t kill me! Don¡¯t kill me! I don¡¯t want to die!¡±

    Just at this moment, the man in the next room also yelled in panic, ¡°Please stop, sister! This sword is very sharp, be careful! Don¡¯t hurt yourself! You can take it out on me, and I dare not fight back. Please put it down and give it to me¡­¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan smiled angrily and shook his left wrist. As a result, the two-foot-three-inch short saber broke apart and fell off the ground. The wooden floor was smashed into deep pits where the saber fell out of the icy Zhenqi within it. The most terrifying was that those small pits seemed to be filled with strong acid liquid, and corroded the ground in just a short while. All the debris fell into the floor and the backbone steel support of the inn.

    Song Fei was also the lowest-level disciple of the ¡°extreme cold¡± Wujianmen School, so he was calmed witnessing the scene. Xue Xiao had learned the power of the icy Zhenqi many times in the past half-year, but his lips turned white with fear and he subconsciously went back to the window. While Guan Zhan yelled with fear, ¡°Don¡¯t kill me, Cousin! I¡¯ve been in love with you since I was five years old, so please don¡¯t kill me!¡±

    After breaking the saber, Liao Zhiyuan stripped off his robe and smiled at Song Fei and Xue Xiao, ¡°Brother Eagle is right. Women like clothes that can be changed every day, but bros like hands and feet that are unable to regenerate after cutting them. How could I cut my hands and feet for dirty clothes? It¡¯s over now. Song Fei, don¡¯t catch a cold since you are naked. You can wear the spare robe in my room, but remember to leave me the belt buckle. You are not allowed to wear it¡­¡±

    With the intermittent words, he had already taken off most clothes, only left a pair of short silk pants and a in gown. He went to bed and dragged off the quilt covering Guan Zhan¡¯s body. He caught her delicate ankle and dragged her under his body. Then he separated her legs with one of his knees and rubbed her private part with his knee.

    Guan Zhan was stunned and froze like a puppet. Xue Xiao and Song Fei stared at each other nkly. Song Fei suddenly stood up and walked naked to the bed. He persuaded Liao Zhiyuan with gestures, ¡°Master Liao, please stop it. I will find you a good girl in the city. You will surely hurt her since you are enraged and she is injured now. You can do it when you¡¯re not angry and she¡¯s cured, and I won¡¯t bother you again.¡±

    Xue Xiao hurried to pull Song Fei away, patted his head vigorously, and rebuked, ¡°It¡¯s none of your business. They are a legal couple with a cousin rtionship. Thanks to Master Liao¡¯s generosity, you can live now. Now you should get out and get dressed. I feel ashamed to see such a stark naked man!¡± Saying this, Xue Xiao pulled Song Fei out of the door. He was going to get out but was stopped by Liao Zhiyuan.

    ¡°Xue Xiao, I want to see what the girl looks like in the opposite room. You bring her here, and then return to Du Yao at a nce.¡±

    Xue Xiao closed the door and stopped Song Fei who was pounding at the door outside. He smiled embarrassedly and said, ¡°Master Liao, you also heard that the girl attempts suicide with the sword. Let¡¯s not torture her. Anyway, she can¡¯t escape from here. When she figures it out, I will ask her to talk to you and Master Duan.¡±

    Song Fei shouted outside, ¡°I will bring Du Yao¡¯s girl for you. You let Qiu Si go first. She is injured, and you will kill her!¡± After that, Song Fei turned around and pounded at the next door, ¡°Open the door, Du Yao! I will kick the door if I don¡¯t open it!¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan pressed Guan Zhan on the bed, and couldn¡¯t help but roar withughter. He looked at the pretty girl, just like a cooked shrimp, and said to himself, ¡°It¡¯s true that ¡®one night of love is worth a hundred of friendship¡¯. Not only women but also men are spoonies. Song Fei is more infatuated than me. Is it here that cultivated his strong emotion¡­¡± He fondled her body while talking, which made her shiver and moan.

    Liao Zhiyuan leaned over and kissed the red lips of the beautiful girl. He said softly, ¡°Hey, get ready for me. Don¡¯t believe Song Fei¡¯s nonsense. I won¡¯t hurt you. You¡¯ve been in love with me since five years old, and I was only fifteen that year. Why didn¡¯t you say it earlier? Or I would bring you home to be my child bride. Now we may have three children, right?¡±

    Guan Zhan shook her head and couldn¡¯t help but cry, ¡°It was no use talking about this now. I don¡¯t want to live anymore. Please kill me and I won¡¯t hate you. But my mother who has been bullied and oppressed by the legitimate mother for many years. When I die, she¡­¡± She choked with sobs and couldn¡¯t say a word. Soon, she lost herself and enjoyed the moment.

    Seeing this, Xue Xiao said in a low voice, ¡°Master Liao, I will prepare food and drinks for you downstairs. Take your time and enjoy yourself.¡± Then he opened the door to see what happened to Song Fei and Du Yao, and closed the door when he left.

    Liao Zhiyuan continued unaffectedly. With his two fingers, he made the frightened Guan Zhan give up suicide and wriggle her body on the untidy sheet. Liao Zhiyuan also said honeyed words in her ears, ¡°Zhan, I like you, too. Every time I went to Guan¡¯s Mansion for a banquet, I deliberately arrived a moment earlier to stay with you a little longer. You looked so pretty when you were shy¡­¡±

    Guan Zhan gasped for breath while shedding tears of regret. Why did she go out of the city to see damned ice flowers? Why didn¡¯t she wait any longer? She would marry her cousin that she admired for more than ten years. It turned out that he liked her, too. Why was this happening? He never showed his affection to her, and often looked at her legitimate elder sister Guan Yun. Now she had lost her virginity, and what should she do to save the situation?

    The slim fingers sped up and didn¡¯t withdraw until she got the climax. And then Liao Zhiyuan touched Guan Zhan¡¯s cheeks, and asked softly, ¡°I heard that you are injured on your back. Is it still painful now?¡±

    Guan Zhan moved her head in a daze, not knowing she was nodding or shaking her head. She opened the slightly swollen lips but didn¡¯t say a word. Liao Zhiyuan turned over her body and said gently, ¡°Hush, be quiet. I¡¯ll cure the wound for you. I¡¯m good at healing and you must like it, Zhan...¡±

    Three terrible female screams burst out of the room. Song Fei suddenly frightened and pounded at the door heavily. He shouted, ¡°Hand over that girl, Du Yao. Give her to me!¡±

    It wasn¡¯t long before Xue Xiao closed the door for them. They were joyful just now, but now there was the horrible screams from Guan Zhan. Xue Xiao sighed that it was unnecessary to be so cruel to ady. What did Liao Zhiyuan do to the girl? Was she still alive? She was too miserable.

    ¡°Xue Xiao, what are you doing? Song Fei, why don¡¯t you wear clothes?¡± Duan Xiaolou walked over from the other side of the corridor, ¡°Who is screaming?¡±

 Chapter 344 - Pleasure was bitter

    <h4>Chapter 344 Pleasure was bitter</h4>

    Seeing Duan Xiaolou approaching from a distance, Xue Xiao quickly stopped Song Fei who would break into the room, and rebuked in a low voice, ¡°Marquis is also here. What do you look like now?¡± Turning his head and shouting at Liao Zhiyuan¡¯s room, ¡°Master Liao! Master Duan thinks that we are too noisy. Enough is enough. I will prepare food and drink downstairs for you, okay?¡±

    However, it was silent after the terrible screams of the girl in Liao Zhiyuan¡¯s room, which made Xue Xiao seriously doubt that Liao Zhiyuan killed the dissolute girl in a cruel method. s, a beautiful girl died regretfully, he thought.

    Looking at Xue Xiao pressed naked Song Fei on the wall, Duan Xiaolou approached and asked suspiciously, ¡°What are you doing? Who was screaming just now? Was the girl who came to look for the horse?¡±

    Xue Xiao stopped Song Fei from unrest, turned his head to Duan Xiaolou, and exined with a smile, ¡°We are here to rx. The girls are voluntary, and they liked screaming whether they are happy or unhappy with a loud voice. I promise, no one lynched them.¡± As he said this, he raised three fingers like swearing.

    Duan Xiaolou grasped the keywords and raised an eyebrow, ¡°The ¡®girls¡¯? Xue Xiao, you mean, there are still other girls except the girl looking for the horse? Where did you get them?¡± Duan Xiaolou thought it was more suspicious after thinking. He nced at the two doors on the left and right, and then he thought about the girl in the backyard back then. He shook his head and said, ¡°The girl looking for the horse looked like to be reserved. I don¡¯t believe that she volunteered to do the game with you. I want to hear it from her personally.¡±

    Xue Xiao smiled with embarrassment, ¡°They are all busy. You might wait a while, go downstairs to have a cup of tea, and take a rest. I will ask them to talk to you after dressing them up.¡±

    Duan Xiaolou knew that Xue Xiao was deliberately misinterpreting his words. He hated such slutty games for fun. So he snorted coldly and left waving his sleeves. Regardless of whether the girl in the room was willing or not, now four hours might have passed, and it was toote to save them. It was all in vain.

    Besides, he had long been careless of these things, because someone once told him that there were many girls suffering hardship in the world. They shared different destinies and no one could be immune to it. He also couldn¡¯t save all of them. Saving meant hope, but ¡°hope¡± was the most extravagant and luxurious thing for many girls who were forced to ept it. Keeping alive with ¡°hope¡± could sometimes be worse than before being saved. She only lived a little better than before, but one of the best men she had ever met told her that ¡°tomorrow would be better¡±.

    Where was the better tomorrow? Day after day, hoping that the good day he said woulde upon her, she always opened her eyes with hope but closed with disappointment. Days flew like water, until one day she suddenly realized that it had been nearly three years since she hoped ¡°tomorrow would be better¡±, but she was still a maid cleaning the lotus pond in Duan¡¯s Mansion. Was there still a better tomorrow?

    Those words shed Duan Xiaolou¡¯s heart severely. He sighed and walked to the other end of the corridor. He seemed to hear the cry of that girl, so he told himself that the matter had happened before he could expect it. Now there was no way to save the situation, and it was toote to save her.

    He was notpletely ignorant. He saw that Jiang Yi stunned the girl and Du Yao took her away. He knew for sure what would happen to an unconscious girl being taken to the second floor. He was not a fool. However, he just deliberately pretended to know nothing with deaf ears and blind eyes. He lived two months without hearing, seeing or thinking anything and felt good. He was very happy that he could live in this way in the future.

    However, after taking another two steps, he still heard a girl¡¯s sob. He stopped and thought of the calm and gloomy eyes of the girl he had seen in the courtyard.

    Duan Xiaolou stopped and turned back. To Xue Xiao¡¯s surprise, he strode to the doors of the two guest rooms where the girls suffered. He knocked on the room where the girl was crying, and asked in a deep voice, ¡°Who is there? Answer me! Who is crying?¡±

    The girl stopped crying and groaned with pleasure. Anyone could hear that she was happy rather than in pain. The sound continued for a while, and then the girl moaned in a clear sound like a swan, ¡°Cousin Zhiyuan, hug me!¡± The room was quiet again, leaving only some low voice with a sometimes deep sob that was hard to tell whether it was sad or happy.

    The three men in the aisle heard the sound. Song Fei was a little angry and pushed away Xue Xiao who was pressing on him. Without looking back, he went barefoot and looked for clothes. Xue Xiao looked at the back of the angry Song Fei with his arms akimbo, chuckled, and made self-talk in a low voice, ¡°Is he jealous? Why does a man have to be jealous even if he doesn¡¯t know the girl¡¯s name and is unwilling to marry her?¡±

    Xue Xiao smiled and exined to Duan Xiaolou, ¡°The girl was willing to do with Song Fei before, but now threw herself on Master Liao.¡±

    And Liao Zhiyuan, who was ying with the girl in the room, finally spoke in a drunken voice through the door, ¡°Xiaolou, this is my wife that hasn¡¯t held a wedding. She is Guan Yun¡¯s fourth sister Guan Zhan, and her nickname is Qiu Si. Sisi, say hello to my bro.¡± The girl screamed as if she got a pinch. Then Liao Zhiyuan went on to say, ¡°I am not stingy. Noticing brothers work hard on duty these days, I brought my most lovely cousin here to serve me and our brothers, particrly.¡± With a lowugh, he spoke to the girl¡¯s ear, ¡°Sisi, what kind of man do you like? I will find him for you.¡±

    There was silence inside and outside the room. And then the girl cried loudly with pain and regret as if she had lost her parents. Liao Zhiyuan yelled again, ¡°How about it? Xiaolou, why don¡¯t youe to have fun? It is more funny and useful than drinking wine. You will enjoy it both psychologically and physically. Xue Xiao, when does Du Yao¡¯s woman will be released? Tell him, he will be themander-in-chief if she made Marquis satisfied.¡± At the same time, the girl cried out of breath.

    There was still silence outside the room. Xue Xiao also felt that Liao Zhiyuan had gone too far, but the root cause was the lust of him and Song Fei. It seemed that they hadpelled a decent girl to engage in prostitution.

    Liao Zhiyuan¡¯s cousin was given an aphrodisiac secretly by him before, which made her be a loose woman and forget she was a girl from a respectable family. He didn¡¯t tell the truth out of teasing her. Maybe the girl herself thought that she was slutty by nature. Because of this misunderstanding, Song Fei loved the reserved girl who was passionate in her heart. But Liao Zhiyuan deliberately humiliated her with words because of her dissolute habit. In the end, knowing that the girl was together with Liao Zhiyuan, Song Fei ran away in anger.

    It was a happy thing, but atst, all of them were depressed including Song Fei, Liao Zhiyuan, Liao Zhiyuan¡¯s cousin, and even himself. Thinking of this, Xue Xiao was embarrassed and had no interest in having fun at all. ¡°I should go to Mocha Mountain Vi on duty.¡± Saying this, he spread his wings, jumped away from the transom window, and dashed toward the sky.

    ¡°He left so quickly!¡± Liao Zhiyuan in the roomined boringly, ¡°I¡¯d like to thank Brother Eagle for his kindness. I didn¡¯t expect to find pleasure at such a barren inn in the suburb. It is more interesting than in the brothel. Next time, let brothers have fun here together. Otherwise, others may think that half of the imperial guards are eunuchs, ha-ha!¡±

    ¡°Pleasure is bitter.¡± Duan Xiaolou finally spoke with a dull voice because of a long silence. And he continued bearing the difort, ¡°Pleasure is bitter in the end. I tried it but it was useless. You will get much painter. You should bear the pain that you intend to get rid of it, and it will umte. It will back to you even if you put it into others. Zhiyuan, don¡¯t do it again. I can tell that the girl is involuntary, so let her go and don¡¯t trouble her anymore.¡±

    There was no answer in the room but intermittently crying. A girl cried in a low voice, ¡°I don¡¯t know how I became like this. Dear cousin, begging you to let me go home.¡±

    Duan Xiaolou turned around and knocked on another door. He knocked for a long time, but no one answered. He frowned and asked, ¡°Du Yao, is that you inside? Is that girl still there? Let her go, and I will take her home.¡± After speaking, he pounded at the door hard.

    After a while, Du Yao answered in a deep voice as if he was lying on his back or lying on his stomach, ¡°Master Duan, stop knocking. Don¡¯t disturb the girl. She is sleeping. She is unfamiliar with you and afraid to see you, but she is familiar with me. When she wakes up, I will send her home and won¡¯t hurt her. I promise.¡±

    Duan Xiaolou pounded at the door twice before stopping, and sighed, ¡°Du Yao, don¡¯t do it again. Otherwise, you¡¯ll pay for that.¡± He was a little regretful that he pretended to see nothing when Du Yao holding the girl upstairs.

    Thinking that a good girl was ruined by a man¡¯s curiosity, Duan Xiaolou shook his head and walked downstairs with asionally coughing. There was the bloody sweetness in his mouth as if he missed someone. He couldn¡¯t help but taste it because only blood could calm the unsettled heart as if some lost beauty could asionally be glimpsed from it.

    Gao Jue opened the front door of the inn and strode in. He muttered in wonder, ¡°Why was He Danggui¡¯s horse tied up at the door of this inn?¡±

 Chapter 345 - Losing virginity or losing mind

    <h4>Chapter 345 Losing virginity or losing mind</h4>

    Hearing the words ¡°He Danggui¡±, Duan Xiaolou was stunned until Gao Jue walked to the table and drank a cup of tea. At this time, Duan Xiaolou asked, ¡°What does the horse look like? Where does the horsee from? When was the horse tied up at the door?¡±

    Gao Jue shook his head while drinking the tea and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know. I came here through the secret tunnelst time, and I left from the backyard. So I don¡¯t know when He Danggui¡¯s bay horse was tied up there. She must be here with her horse. Duan Xiaolou, have you seen her? I have something to talk to her.¡±

    ¡°The bay horse.¡±Duan Xiaolou repeated the words as if changing them into other meanings rather than the bay horse. It must not be He Danggui who had lent the bay horse to Du Yao, and it must not be the situation he misunderstood. There must be some misunderstanding.

    However, Jiang Pi, who was lying at the corner of the wall, suddenly opened his eyes, nced at Duan Xiaolou weakly, and grinned, ¡°There is only a bay horse at the entrance of the inn. Du Yao robbed it from a 15-year-old ¡®masked¡¯ girl. Master Duan, this time, you should give up on He Danggui because she belongs to Du Yao now.¡±

    ¡°Crackle!¡±

    The floor in the center of the hall was suddenly sunken, appearing a vertiginous deep dark hole. Two men jumped out of the hole one after another. The first was Xue Xiao, who just rushed toward the sky through the transom window. He heard vaguely under the ground that ¡°He Danggui was Du Yao¡¯s girl¡±, but didn¡¯t understand. He took a tumble when he got out of the tunnel, ¡°That little beauty said she was He Danggui who could use the needle well. It seems that I have heard the name He Danggui somewhere.¡±

    The second one jumping out of the tunnel was Lu Jiangbei. He hurriedly said, ¡°I received a tip-off that there were a few abnormal forces around Shi Li Po, which most likely a sign of an enemy attack. They must have nned to attack us when we are severely injured. In this way, we can¡¯t win them at the formal challengepetition. Dashing Sky Eagle, go upstairs to wake everyone up and ask them to line up. The seriously injured are in the center followed by the people not hurt badly, and the slightly injured were at the outer edge. Master Duan, Master Liao and Jiang Yi, you can assist me. I need to...¡±

    He paused and heard Jiang Pi muttering ¡°He Danggui¡±. He saw Jiang Pi¡¯s scars and shouted in a low voice, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you, Jiang Pi? How did you get hurt? Did Miss He agree to help us?¡± As he said this, he stepped forward, covering Jiang Pi¡¯s face with his right palm, and reproached, ¡°How can you get rid of the ¡®mask¡¯ since you hurt so badly?¡±

    Jiang Pi grinned and said, ¡°It¡¯s just a slight wound. I have gained a lot in the battle. I¡¯m fine, but Master Duan is not well, right?¡± A half of an ice-made crystal-clear mask appeared on Jiang Pi¡¯s face where Lu Jiangbei touched.

    Duan Xiaolou had been stunned since he heard the words ¡°Du Yao¡¯s girl¡±. He suddenly changed from an ice sculpture with no signs of life to an ice sculpture given life, and he jumped butnded. It turned out that a senseless battle of life and death consumed all of his energy. Now, he was like a spent force with little power.

    Since he couldn¡¯t fly, he struggled to climb the iplete wooden steps. There was silence for a while since he climbed the fifth step and went down through the gap.

    Lu Jiangbei turned his head in amazement, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with him? Does he have loose bowels?¡± Lu Jiangbei frowned when he noticed the broken scene at the inn for the first time, and said, ¡°I¡¯ve only been gone for a while, and you made it chaos. When will you grow up?¡±

    Xue Xiao suddenly looked up and shouted, ¡°Ah! I remember it! She is Master Duan¡¯s beloved...¡± Then he said in a lipnguage, ¡°She is called He Danggui, then Du Yao¡­¡±

    Gao Jue opened his eyes and felt rejuvenated on his sleepy face. He came to realize, ¡°It turns out that the person who lent the horse to Du Yao is He Danggui. Is she here? Where is she now? I need to speak to her.¡± He looked at Xue Xiao, who didn¡¯t answer him with an ashen face.

    Jiang Pi, who had also known all the things, coughed fiercely and told the truth withughter, ¡°Du Yao caught a masked girl to have fun with her. It has been more than half a day. They are in the Crystal Pavilion on the second floor. The girl is exactly He Danggui. She was together with Du Yao. Ha-ha! They are upstairs overhead!¡±

    With this scream under the wooden steps, Duan Xiaolou used the arts of lightness again. He bounced from the ground and rushed to the wooden door at the end of the corridor, smashing the doorpletely.

    After the door was shattered, he stood outside the door and didn¡¯t walk inside, turning into an ice sculpture with no signs of life once again. The second one was Lu Jiangbei, who stood still at the door and didn¡¯t move forward even one step. The third one was Gao Jue, with his ck shadow arriving at the back of Lu Jiangbei in a sh. The fourth one was Xue Xiao, who was far behind and afraid to see the scene in the room.

    The atmosphere was depressed like opening the door of hell.

    The ¡°Crystal Pavilion¡± was another name and had nothing to do with crystal. In fact, it was a Depository of Buddhist Texts containing thousands of Buddhist books. There was a big and slightly nted bed in the center, which was putter and different from the style of this room. There was a circle of bead curtains but without a vnce around the bed. The man sleeping on the bed was exactly Du Yao.

    He opened his eyes and looked out the doorzily with a thin quilt covered on his body ntly and sweat on his naked strong chest. With a smile, he was full of contentment, like a dying elder who was weak but content. Why did he show such an expression?

    A young girl, who was in ck nocturnal clothing with long hair, sat on her knees at three feet away from the bed. Herplexion was incredibly white, and only her cheeks were slightly flushed, which made her look a little bit shy in panic. Actually, she was a little rmed but pretended to be calm. She looked ill at ease while watching left and right as rmed as a small animal in the forest.

    Besides, the first button on her clothing was off and the neckline was emptied, so the snow-white neck was faintly visible. The silver-gray ck sateen cloak was torn and thrown a short distance behind her. The goose down was scattered all over the room, with some even on her long hair.

    She was He Danggui with stunning beauty. She deserved to be praised as the ¡°Eleventh beauty in the early Ming Dynasty¡±. Were they toote?

    A deathly hush fell over the room.

    He Danggui pushed the long hair behind her ears, and broke the silence first, ¡°Um, sorry, I identally bumped into the bookshelf, and so many books were dropped from it. I will set it up in the same way as before.¡± Her voice was tense and cramped like a taut string, passing through someone¡¯s heart.

    Listening to her unintelligible words and the pleasing sound, the four people outside the door noticed for the first time that there were several books under her long hair on the ground. However, it had nothing to do with the current situation.

    She waved her hand and exined, ¡°I just identally knocked it off and didn¡¯t read anything. I promise. If you don¡¯t believe me, you can ask him!¡± She pointed to Du Yao who was on the bed. But Du Yao was just staring at her quietly with sweet and gentle eyes.

    As a result, some people who knew He Danggui well came to a preliminary conclusion that she had experienced huge trauma and lost her mind. Du Yao made out with her and was almost crazy with joy. It happened upstairs overhead and could be prevented by a word, but no one stopped him, and they just let it be.

    Duan Xiaolou looked murderous and suddenly moved. Gao Jue and Lu Jiangbei behind him raised their hands to catch him but failed. It was justte. In an instant, Duan Xiaolou rushed to Du Yao with his palm erected like a knife, and the coldness violently skyrocketed. Perhaps the two behind him didn¡¯t really mean to stop him. Xue Xiao closed his eyes tightly, not daring to look.

    ¡°Bang!¡±

    A dull thud was echoed in the Crystal Pavilion.

    Duan Xiaolou took the lead to attack Du Yao, but the person under Duan Xiaolou¡¯s attack turned out to be He Danggui. Duan Xiaolou retreated half a step, staring at the girl who protected Du Yao behind in disbelief. Why did she do this? How could it be!

    He Danggui coughed. She pressed the palm of her left hand on the back of her right hand and was attacked by the seriously injured Duan Xiaolou with both hands to protect motionless Du Yao from being hit by the lethal palm. The thumb-index web on her right hand split immediately and the blood sshed, which stained arge piece of bed sheet. She pressed her chest with the left hand and coughed. Every time she coughed, some blood dripped on her clothes. It was not very conspicuous on the ck nocturnal clothing.

    As she coughed, she insisted on speaking, ¡°Don¡¯t...kill him. He was injured... Please cure his wound.¡± She finished the words while looking at the floor to avoid Duan Xiaolou¡¯s eyes.

    Lu Jiangbei and Gao Jue looked at each other, but no one came forward to help Du Yao to cure his wound. Was Du Yao injured? What kind of injury did he suffer? In fact, they were all shocked by the scene in front of them. He Danggui helped Du Yao to block the attack from Duan Xiaolou, but she was still alive. No matter how badly injured Duan Xiaolou was, she must be killed by his palm with full strength. Why was she still alive and also rescued Du Yao?

    He Danggui pressed tightly on the unsettled chest with her left hand, lying weakly beside Du Yao. She looked at Gao Jue for help and her lips overflowed with blood, ¡°Master Gao, the icy Zhenqi is poisonous¡­ How to detoxify it?¡±

    Gao Jue stepped forward. While Lu Jiangbei was a step ahead, and he took out a green porcin box from his arms. He pulled off the lid, took out a longan-sized dark pill from it, and fed it to the girl who was bleeding. Lu Jiangbei circled Zhenqi between two hands and protected her pulse and heart front and back. He asked softly, ¡°Why? Why did you save him?¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan, who appeared at some point, leaned on the door frame and said with a smile, ¡°She must have lost virginity followed by losing her mind. The person you are going to kill is her mate.¡±

    The imperial guards on the spot and He Danggui were all silent, while only Du Yao was smiling.

    ¡°Is it true?¡± Under the ice-made mask, Duan Xiaolou was a green face, ¡°Is he telling the truth? Actually, there is nothing between you and Du Yao, right?¡±

    He Danggui closed her eyes and said nothing.

 Chapter 346 - Lover with IOU

    <h4>Chapter 346 Lover with IOU</h4>

    He Danggui closed her eyes in silence, and after taking a whole pill, she opened her eyes and said weakly, ¡°It is really a holy medicine for healing the cold poison, the cold current that froze my heart veins has just melted away. Could you please...¡± She nced at the opened green porcin box ced next to the pillow, then looked at Lu Jiangbei¡¯s face and asked, ¡°give me another two pills?¡±

    Among the four people, Lu Jiangbei and Liao Zhiyuan did not wear ice masks, while Gao Jue and Duan Xiaolou wore crystal-clear ice masks that covered the upper half of their faces. The former was easier to identify, as for thetter... He Danggui hadn¡¯t identified them carefully yet. When these four people were outside the inn, Xiao Suxin said that the ice mask was used for healing. Could it be that Gao Jue and Duan Xiaolou were both seriously injured? When Duan Xiaolou suddenly withdrew his palm, did the coldness backfire on him?

    As He Danggui asked for more pills, Lu Jiangbei felt somewhat confused, but he still took out another pill and passed it to her mouth. However, He Danggui¡¯s cherry lips were tightly closed, with no intention of taking the pill¡ªthen, a white empty wax shell was held aloft by her small hand and she murmured with her lips barely moving, ¡°I¡¯ll take itter, please put it in here.¡±

    Lu Jiangbei graciously put the pill into the white wax shell, studied theplexion of the seriously injured girl, and sped her small hand holding the wax shell tightly to feel her pulse. After a while, an obscure and odd look appeared on Lu Jiangbei¡¯s face. Then He Danggui handed over another empty wax shell with the other hand and looked directly at Lu Jiangbei¡¯s eyes earnestly. ¡°One more pill,¡± her eyes seemed to say.

    Even in such a cold and tense moment, Lu Jiangbei still couldn¡¯t help but smile lightly. He closed the green porcin box next to the pillow, handed the box to her, and said, ¡°These are not sugar pills. They¡¯re pungent and slightly toxic. You can take one pill at most a day and stop taking it after three days in a row. Save the rest for yourself. You shouldn¡¯t bear a man¡¯s fist indiscriminately. Keep this in mind. You can¡¯t be that lucky every time.¡± Then, Lu Jiangbei tore off a sheet and simply bandaged theceration on her right hand.

    ¡°Can¡¯t be that lucky? what happened?¡± Gao Jue also came up and sat on the side of the bed, and intended to feel her pulse, ¡°Her channels haven¡¯t been broken yet? How can she still move?¡±

    He Danggui waved her hand to decline Gao Jue¡¯s kindness, and exined, ¡°Master Duan finally withdrew his palm, and I was only hit by a little palm energy, so I am not seriously hurt and do not need further treatment. Please check on Du Yao. I wanted to help him with his injuries, but he refused to let me feel his pulse, and I don¡¯t know how badly he is hurt. Please.¡± He Danggui struggled up from the pillow. Her long hair straightened and dangled down like a waterfall. Some of her hair fell on the face of Du Yao who was lying behind her. Du Yao pushed aside her hair and said, ¡°Miss He, don¡¯t go. Let me take one more look at you.¡± Du Yao¡¯s voice was as hoarse as two rocks rubbing together.

    He Danggui looked back at him. With more hair falling on his face, she said helplessly, ¡°You have to heal your injury.¡± Then added in a whisper, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t mean it. You... I¡¯m really sorry... You must be curable, let Master Gao have a check.¡±

    Du Yao insisted, ¡°It¡¯s the same no matter I am cured or not. I don¡¯t me you. I just want to look at you for some more time. Can¡¯t I?¡± All of the sparkle disappeared in Du Yao¡¯s eyes and his face indicated that he was now in a state of prostration.

    He Danggui turned around and sat on the edge of the bed on her knees. She folded her hands like she was worshipping the dead, bowed her head, and said, ¡°Believe it or not, today is the first time I have encountered such a situation. I didn¡¯t do this on purpose. At that time, I wanted to let you go. But my hands seemed to be glued to you and werepletely out of control. You were passive, so was I. I¡¯m really, really...sorry!¡±

    Du Yao said softly, ¡°I don¡¯t regret it. I have hugged you once, I have no regrets then.¡± After speaking that, he gently closed his eyes.

    Seeing this, He Danggui was full of anxiety, pped his cheek hard with her uninjured left hand and called out, ¡°Du Yao! Du Yao! Please cheer yourself up, you will be fine. You have to be cured first. As soon as I find the master to learn the ¡®reverse transmission¡¯, I will give it back to you immediately. I swear, I will give you an IOUter! I won¡¯t lie to you!¡±

    Du Yao opened his eyes wearily, and protested softly, ¡°I¡¯m already wounded, can you be more gentle with me, Miss? I just want to sleep for a while.¡±

    He Danggui put her palms together and bowed to Du Yao again, saying, ¡°Please take care, I wille back to you soon!¡± Then she turned around and got out from between Lu Jiangbei and Gao Jue. Facing the two person who had been shocked by what happened between her and Du Yao, He Danggui once again put her palms together and pleaded, ¡°Please save him!¡±

    Du Yao was naked to the waist and lying on the bed with a smile on his face. Gao Jue stared at him for a while and refused to save him. Lu Jiangbei sighed, probed his hand under the quilt to find Du Yao¡¯s wrist. Just with one touch, Lu Jiangbei was stunned and opened his eyes in disbelief, ¡°Du Yao, you...¡±

    He Danggui poked half of her head out from Lu Jiangbei¡¯s back to watch Du Yao and asked optimistically, ¡°His injury will definitely be healed within half a year, right?¡± He Danggui said with a little guilty.

    Lu Jiangbei frowned silently and shook his head gently. He opened his mouth but atst said nothing. Seeing this, Gao Jue was suddenly surprised, ¡°What kind of injury it is that can¡¯t be cured in half a year? Dongchang Organization have gathered talents from all over the world. Even broken bones can be renewed, and people with broken muscles and veins can be rescued as long as they still have a breath. What kind of injury is Du Yao suffering that is so severe to be cured? As a Lothario, Du Yao intended to dally with the beauty, but the beauty seem to be safe and sound now. Could it be that Du Yao has been...?¡±

    He Danggui looked at Du Yao, who seemed to have resigned to fate, and felt terribly sorry. But she could do nothing. Since Lu Jiangbei also thought Du Yao was incurable, the matter had to be put aside. He Danggui thought she finally had got a dozen of antidotes to cold poison and as long as Meng Xuan¡¯s sword wound was cured, there would always be a way to cure Du Yao¡¯s injury in the future. And Du Yao shouldn¡¯t have had evil intentions in the first ce. If Du Yao had not done that to her, how would she do that to him, but anyway...she felt sorry...

    He Danggui gripped the green porcin box in her hand with a hint of joy and rxation in her eyes. She did not expect to get the pills so easily. She read the books on the shelf before and learned that the antidote to cold poison was the secret of Wujianmen School, and the form was only passed to the direct descendants. Therefore, she was worried if she only said that she suffered from cold poison when practicing kung fu, Gao Jue would not give her the antidote. She thought at most, he would only help her ¡°cure wounds and detoxify¡±. That would immediately reveal her real condition and her true intention of asking for the antidote to cold poison. And Maybe Gao Jue was smart enough to see straight through this and linked her to the rebel wearing a silver veil mask, Meng Xuan.

    So when Duan Xiaolou hit Du Yao with a Cold Palm, she was somewhat intentional¡ªshe intended to be hit by him. Even if she was injured, as long as she could ask for one or two antidotes to cold poison, it was still a very good deal.

    However, the palm she received was unharmful. It was just that the force was too fierce, and it broke through her hand. Other than that, she didn¡¯t get internal injuries. He Danggui inferred that Duan Xiaolou had withdrawn his palm at thest moment. He probably only used less than 20% of his internal force. Thinking this, she was a little afraid. It seemed that even He Danggui wandered and battled in Fantasy Dream for a year and had great internal force, there was still a big gap between her and real masters. After all, He Danggui had never killed or even injured anyone in real life. She didn¡¯t have any evil spirits in her palms. In contrast, from the terrible look of Duan Xiaolou, who was full of evil spirits at the moment before, he must have experienced the baptism of many bloody battles. If Duan Xiaolou really hit her hard, He Danggui might have vomited lots of blood.

    That¡¯s right, Duan Xiaolou¡¯s palm didn¡¯t hurt He Danggui at all. In fact, she wasn¡¯t supposed to vomit any blood at all. But if she did, the chances of getting the antidotes would be greater. Therefore, she had to hide a needle between her fingers, and quickly pierced it in acupoints such as Tianfu, Hegu, Danzhong, and Shaoshang, to make her blood surge upward ande out from her mouth.

    And then, noticing the couple of people who rushed through the door only focused on the rtionship between her and Du Yao, she immediately understood that they must have misunderstood. Such a misunderstanding diverted their attention and affected their judgments and this was good for her, so she simply didn¡¯t exin it and asked for the antidotes first. And now, she got what she wanted, so she could...

    The slightest hint of joy in He Danggui¡¯s eyes was caught by Liao Zhiyuan, and the act that she subconsciously gripped the medicine box did not escape his eyes as well. Liao Zhiyuan asked immediately, ¡°Boss, did Duan Xiaolou really hurt her? I thought that she didn¡¯t seem to be injured. Instead, Du Yao was lying stiff like a corpse. It seemed that his injuries were much more serious and he was dying. Miss He, why do you want so many antidotes? This was our school¡¯s unique secret antidote. It only cures cold poison. So why do you keep so many of them? Will you take them as snacks?¡±

    He Danggui¡¯s face froze. She calmly put the box into the lining of her nocturnal clothing, and said with a smile, ¡°Master Liao, you may not know that I became a disciple of Master Gao and have been taught by him for the past two years. Thanks to his guidance, I have learned a little bit of your school¡¯s trivial skills. But I have been troubled by the coldness in my channels, andter I discovered that the coldness is toxic. Before I can ask Master Gao for advice, I found the antidote to cold poison. Of course, I have to ask some forter consumption even if it may seem a little bit shameless.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Liao Zhiyuan was full of interest after hearing her words, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that you are also practicing martial arts, and you have practiced for two years? Well, aren¡¯t you supposed to be more powerful now? Let me think, um, Gao Jue started learning early, and he learned from a grandmaster known as ¡®Cultivation Master¡¯. Strictly speaking, Master Gao is considered as my younger master... So, Miss He, aren¡¯t you supposed to be my junior sister? Since you know kung fu, why did you let my little sister, who didn¡¯t know kung fu, to take an arrow for you when you were on the dragon boat? Because of that, she almost lost her life and barely escaped death. And she pulled a long face immediately when I mentioned this!¡±

    Hearing this, He Danggui immediately lowered her head and said with guilty, ¡°Sorry for getting Qing¡¯er into trouble. Such things will never happen again. Even if there is another hidden arrow, I will never allow her to take it again.¡±

    In this matter, He Danggui indeed couldn¡¯t justify herself in front of Liao Zhiyuan and could not speak confidently. But subconsciously,pared to Liao Zhiyuan, a brother in the second life, He Danggui was the one closer to Qing¡¯er. Therefore, sometimes the aura between her and Qing¡¯er, the exclusive and possessive ¡°sisterly love¡±, conflicted with the brother-sister rtionship between Qing¡¯er and Liao Zhiyuan. And in such cases, Qing¡¯er chose to stand by He Danggui¡¯s side. Gradually, Liao Zhiyuan¡¯s animosity toward He Danggui grew. Regarding this strange and peculiar situation, even He Danggui was smart enough, she didn¡¯t know how to solve it.

    As expected, Liao Zhiyuan sneered, ¡°You are popr for both men and women, and you are so charming, Miss He. Since you are a junior, as a senior, I have to give you some tips lest you are not good at kung fu in the future and bring shame on Wujianmen School.¡± Liao Zhiyuan left the door and walked straight to He Danggui.

    Lu Jiangbei shouted in a deep voice, ¡°Lynx, don¡¯t fool around, she is seriously injured.¡±

    He Danggui unconsciously hid behind Gao Jue, and at the same time realized that Lu Jiangbei was helping her lie, because Lu Jiangbei knew she was not injured at all! But, if Lu Jiangbei knew that He Danggui was not injured, why did he so generously give her the whole box of antidotes? Lu Jiangbei wounded Meng Xuan with his sword and give antidotes to her. Should there be any connection between these two things?

    Duan Xiaolou had been standing by the door on the other side, he was silent and lonely. But at this moment, he suddenly asked, ¡°What hidden arrow? Where did the hidden arrowe from? When did this happen? Lynx, why have you never mentioned it to me?¡±

 Chapter 347 - The Four Chides judged Qingyi

    <h4>Chapter 347 The Four Chides judged Qingyi</h4>

    Liao Zhiyuan ignored Duan Xiaolou¡¯s questioning. Instead, Liao Zhiyuan stared at He Danggui with his sparkling catlike eyes and approached her step by step, saying, ¡°Injured? I don¡¯t think so. Boss, are you squared by her, too? I don¡¯t believe you. I have to check it myself.¡± Then Liao Zhiyuan¡¯s left palm turned into the shape of Long Zhua Shou, and reached out his hand to grab He Danggui.

    Lu Jiangbei was healing Du Yao on the bed and couldn¡¯t stop Liao Zhiyuan, so he cried out, ¡°Lynx, save some energy, soon the enemy wille to attack us, you are now the only one to fight with them!¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan didn¡¯t believe it, so he sneered, ¡°Damn enemy attack,¡± and at the same time, he rushed to He Danggui.

    He Danggui shrank behind Gao Jue. She remembered that Liao Zhiyuan was quite afraid of Gao Jue. But Liao Zhiyuan sessfully grabbed her cor and pulled her out, without any hindrance all the time while Gao Jue just sat on the edge of the bed like a stone statue. After Liao Zhiyuan caught He Danggui, heughed happily and said, ¡°Junior Sister, Younger Master Gao is injured and he is impatient to y hide-and-seek with us. Don¡¯t bother him, just y with me.¡± After that, like carrying a small animal, Liao Zhiyuan lifted her up with one hand and shook her, ¡°Pop!¡±

    The button on He Danggui¡¯s cor couldn¡¯t withstand such shaking, and one of them copsed after He Danggui was shook a little. Therefore, He Danggui¡¯s first and second buttons were both gone, the cor of her robe was open, exposing her snow-white beautiful neck. Although He Danggui neatly wore moon-white soft satin middle clothes inside of her nocturnal clothing, the button seemed to copse in someone¡¯s heart, causing Duan Xiaolou who was just standing alone all the time to yell out loudly, ¡°Lynx! You¡¯ve gone too far!¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan curled his lips and put He Danggui back on the ground, but he still grasped her by her cor. Liao Zhiyuan was determined to ¡°publicly judge¡± He Danggui once.

    ¡°I¡¯ve gone too far?¡± Liao Zhiyuan sneered, his face was cold, the corners of his lips curled up, but he didn¡¯t seem to be smiling. Liao Zhiyuan exined, ¡°I just want to see why this girl is so powerful that she could take a palm of yours but remain unharmed. And also she made Boss who never tells a lie fool us, saying that she was seriously injured and that there would be an enemy attack. Where is the enemy? In heaven?¡± When Liao Zhiyuan was about to grab He Danggui¡¯s wrist with the other hand, she managed to avoid it, so he looked up at the others, ¡°See, she¡¯s guilty.¡±

    He Danggui frowned and said calmly, ¡°How can you say that, Master Liao? You are an upper ss who reads poems and knows about manners. Don¡¯t you know that it is improper for men and women to have body contact?¡± With her hands sped behind her back, ayer of cold sweat appeared in her palms. It was unknown whether it was because of the ¡°Du Yao incident¡±. She took a deep breath and continued to say calmly, ¡°Master Liao, believe it or not, I did suffer a slight injury. Now, I want to go home, please let go of me... Ah! you!¡±

    Unexpectedly, Liao Zhiyuan was shameless and bold enough to put his big hand on her chest. Even He Danggui, who was usually calm, was also frightened by such behavior. Liao Zhiyuan had never done such a bad deed before, no matter publicly or privately. In fact, Liao Zhiyuan was even more indifferent to her than strangers. So no one expected that Liao Zhiyuan would do such a shameless thing.

    Duan Xiaolou also shouted at him coldly and took half a step forward. but this time he was almost a spent force. He walked only half a step before falling backward on the door and was supported by the discerning Xue Xiao. Lu Jiangbei and Gao Jue, who was sitting by the bed, both seemed a bit surprised, but did not have any intention to help.

    When it came to He Danggui for being suspicious and strange, Gao Jue would definitely be the first to agree and lodge aint. During his first ¡°close contact¡± with her, Gao Jue discovered that there was arge amount of Zhenqi in He Danggui¡¯s body that did not belong to her. After helping her smooth out those Zhenqi, He Danggui immediately turned from an ordinary person with sluggish feet the night before to a someone who could use the footwork of arts of lightness to run on the mountain pass the next day, and even her footsteps became lighter. Was she a self-learned martial arts genius? Gao Jue didn¡¯t believe that there were such people in the world.

    When Gao Jue and He Danggui met again in Yangzhou City a monthter, He Danggui¡¯s internal force was more than twice as strong asst time when they parted in Tu¡¯er Town. If it weren¡¯t because her moves were superficial and not useful, which suggested she was aplete newbie, Gao Jue would really suspect that this girl had joined some cult and secretly practiced some evil martial arts that could increase a person¡¯s internal force in a short term. Gao Jue repeatedly studied and judged her in secret, and felt that the girl¡¯s kung fu didn¡¯t seem to be practiced, but it seemed to be absorbed from others.

    But the strangest thing was that people who didn¡¯t know kung fu would not benefit a bit even if they got Zhenqi. Instead, it could only backfire on themselves. It¡¯s the same as giving Gao Jue¡¯s wolf dog, Jiang, 100 tael of silver¡ªhe couldn¡¯t take the silver to a restaurant to enjoy wine and meat. On the contrary, it would be robbed by humans. But, unlike Jiang, He Danggui clearly did not even have one copper coin at first. But once she was given a hundred tael of silver, she could immediately swagger into a restaurant and order wine and dishes skillfully, as if she had been a rich person before and fully understood how to spend money like a rich person.

    This was what He Danggui¡¯s martial arts learning process was like in Gao Jue¡¯s mind¡ªshe didn¡¯t know kung fu, but she ¡°used to¡± know kung fu before, or at least ¡°understood¡± kung fu, or had read no less than a hundred martial arts manuals. Gao Jue was amazed that He Danggui had studied arge amount of misceneous martial arts manuals, and he couldn¡¯t deny that she knew even more allusions than him. Moreover, she was indeed talented in martial arts, and her unpractical moves seemed childish and cute.

    ¡°Ah!¡±

    He Danggui watched Liao Zhiyuan¡¯s hand fall on her chest. She couldn¡¯t believe that Gao Jue just stood by and did nothing. And she didn¡¯t understand why Lu Jiangbei didn¡¯t stop his subordinate, either. Finally, He Danggui could no longer calmly hide her hands behind her back and covered her chest with both hands. Then immediately, Liao Zhiyuan caught her right wrist and sped her pulse tightly.

    This humiliating scene made Duan Xiaolou¡¯s blood boil, and his mouth and nose overflowed some blood at the same time. However, Duan Xiaolou could not move his limbs. So, Xue Xiao, who was standing beside him, hurriedly handed over a handkerchief in time. But Lu Jiangbei, who was sitting there, was as steady as Mount Tai and not influenced at all. His right hand was still in the quilt to heal Du Yao, showing no chivalrous spirit to He Danggui. A weak woman was humiliated in front of him, how could he didn¡¯t even bother to ask? What was Lu Jiangbei thinking at the moment?

    But...was He Danggui really a weak woman? This was a question both in the minds of Gao Jue and Lu Jiangbei.

    Under the ice mask, Duan Xiaolou¡¯s face was as white as snow, big beads of sweat appeared from his forehead. His eyes narrowed and his voice was as cold as broken ice, ¡°Liao Zhiyuan, what do you mean? Do you want to go against me?¡±

    ¡°What do I mean...?¡± Liao Zhiyuan bent down, twisted his thin lips in front of He Danggui¡¯s forehead, and his heat sprayed on her sweaty forehead, creating a stimulus of alternating cold and heat. Liao Zhiyuan asked gently, ¡°Did I touch your chest, Junior Sister?¡± He Danggui turned her head away in response, then Liao Zhiyuan asked again, ¡°Where are you hurt and where is the poison? Although I have never helped anyone detoxify the cold poison, today I newly met a junior sister, I have to give her a gift...¡± Liao Zhiyuan took her slender wrist in front of his eyes and checked on her, and marveled, ¡°Three years ago, you didn¡¯t know kung fu at all. But now your internal force is as powerful as mine. You are really an amazing martial arts genius! Where do you feel ufortable? Let me help you.¡±

    He Danggui was extremely disgusted with Liao Zhiyuan now. When He Danggui was in this room just now and heard the voice in the opposite room through the two closed doors, she thought that she had auditory hallucinations. Because thest time He Danggui saw Liao Zhiyuan, he hadn¡¯t turned into this horribly tense state as he was now¡ªhe could be stimted immediately with the slightest noise. What was wrong with Liao Zhiyuan?

    Last time when He Danggui met Liao Zhiyuan with Qing¡¯er, they had parted in discord¡ªLiao Zhiyuan¡¯s face was scratched badly by Qing¡¯er and was beaten by Gao Jue, who was hired by Qing¡¯er. Atst, Liao Zhiyuan ended up getting a ck eye and a bleeding nose, and angrily went back to the capital. Nevertheless, even though Liao Zhiyuan was unfriendly to her at the time, and threatened to use some torture instruments to punish her, he was not as full of malice and resentment as he was now. It seemed that Liao Zhiyuan hated not only her, but all the women in the world. As long as women passed by him, they seemed to vite his taboo as if stepping on a tiger¡¯s tail.

    In just a few months, what happened to Liao Zhiyuan? How did he turn into such a current state that could re up at the slightest provocation? He Danggui really had no time or interest to figure it out. After all, she never considered Liao Zhiyuan as a friend. He was at most an unfriendly brother of her best friend. So, since he couldn¡¯t tolerate a little mistake or turn a blind eye, He Danggui had no choice but to ¡°confess and be lenient¡±¡ª

    ¡°Master Liao, please let go of me. I am not ufortable. But if you let me go, I will feel morefortable,¡± He Danggui said calmly, ¡°Yes, I didn¡¯t know kung fu three years ago. However, after three years of diligent practice, I have made progress and mastered some skills. Of course, it also has something to do with my own talent. I just don¡¯t know, what taboo I¡¯mmitting against by knowing kung fu, Master Liao? Do you think that women are not supposed to practice martial arts? Or am I so gifted that you are jealous?¡±

    Liao Zhiyuanughed above her head; mouth wide open, a hand on his stomach, but without making any noise. For a long while, after he hadughed enough. Liao Zhiyuan shook his head and sighed, ¡°Of course I am jealous, Junior Sister, every time I see you, my eyes are red, and my chest is boiling. If you don¡¯t believe me, touch me.¡± Liao Zhiyuan held her hand and put it on his chest. He Danggui made her hand into a fist and struggled backward. But her pulse gate was restrained, and the result of struggling was that He Danggui¡¯s eyes filled with tears out of pain. Then Duan Xiaolou kept coughing, staring at the big hand holding He Danggui¡¯s wrist.

    ¡°Lynx!¡± Lu Jiangbei finally said, ¡°I really didn¡¯t lie to you. I received a tip-off, saying that there was a strange movement in Ten-mile Slope, and more than one group of people came there. It seems they are all powerful rivals. After yesterday¡¯s battle, we lost more than half of our good fighters. Now among the four of us, only you and I can take the lead. Do you still want to waste your energy on these things?¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan turned a deaf ear to Lu Jiangbei¡¯s words and pressed He Danggui¡¯s little snow-white hand firmly on his chest. He chuckled and teased her, ¡°Come on, I can¡¯t touch yours, but you can touch mine at will. Don¡¯t make yourself feel wronged and innocent. Show us your fierce look, what do you look like when you are alone with Du Yao? Surely you won¡¯t shed tears and try to gain sympathy as you do now, right? Junior Sister, you were really ruthless.¡± When Liao Zhiyuan said this, his other hand grabbed the girl¡¯s knee-long ck hair, twisted it around his wrist for seven or eightps, and then tugged it, making the girl burst into more tears immediately.

    ¡°That¡¯s enough, Lynx, that¡¯s really enough.¡± Lu Jiangbei shouted coldly.

    ¡°Enough?¡± Liao Zhiyuan shook the girl in his hand vigorously and interrogated loudly, ¡°She did something like that to Du Yao, and ruined his happiness for good. Is this enough?!¡±

    The victim, Du Yao, woke up weakly and said, ¡°I volunteered, Lynx, let her go.¡±

    ¡°You volunteered?¡± Liao Zhiyuan stared at Du Yao as if thetter is a lunatic, and even his voice became sharp and high-pitched, ¡°Just for a woman we can barely call beautiful, you volunteered to be a eunuch? Du Yao, don¡¯t you want to take revenge?¡±

 Chapter 348 - He loves the princess mother

    <h4>Chapter 348 He loves the princess¡¯ mother</h4>

    There was a momentary silence in Crystal Tower. Later, Duan Xiaolou said in a deep voice, ¡°Lynx, if you can¡¯t bear it, you can do whatever you want to me. You can just hurt me in the way Du Yao was hurt. You let her go, or I¡¯ll use ¡®that thing¡¯ to you.¡±

    Hearing this, Lu Jiangbei got dissatisfied and said, ¡°Duan, you shouldn¡¯t get emotional like him. ¡®That thing¡¯ is ourst trump card, which should be used at thest gasp. Do you want to waste our precious power on such a ridiculous reason?¡± Then, he said to Liao Zhiyuan word by word, ¡°Lynx, I,mand you to let go of Ms. He. If you still think I¡¯m your boss, you should let her go.¡±

    After hearing this, Liao Zhiyuan pressed He Danggui¡¯s pulse on her right wrist, and meanwhile, grasped her fair neck. He retreated with her slowly to the corner of the room, and said with a faint smile, ¡°If you avenge Du Yao¡¯s pain or let me do that, I¡¯ll still regard you as my boss. If you just fall for this woman like Duan Xiaolou, I¡¯ll solve this in my way.¡± Everyone¡¯s expression became very solemn and then Liao Zhiyuan turned to Gao Jue and said, ¡°Didn¡¯t you just get a new girlfriend? You won¡¯t stop me doing what I¡¯ll do next, will you, Gao?¡±

    Gao Jue was silent for a moment, then, he coughed and said, ¡°You don¡¯t need to kill her now. Look how anxious Duan Xiaolou is. You just, ahem... You can lock her in the dungeon for the time being. After we get rid of the enemies, we can discuss about this.¡± Finishing his words, Gao Jue cast a bunch of keys to Liao Zhiyuan and He Danggui. The keys flew very slowly.

    Liao Zhiyuan didn¡¯t catch the keys himself, instead, he used He Danggui¡¯s hand to take that shiny vicious thing. When her fair hand touched those keys, she seemed to have been bitten by something and threw them twice before getting them off finally. She didn¡¯t cry out, but her face totally turned pale because of the pain. Her hand was clenched weakly, which prevented others from seeing the wound inside. Only the blood dripped off her fair fingers, and made red and white blossoms on the ground.

    ¡°Good,¡± Liao Zhiyuan grasped He Danggui¡¯s neck harder, retreated more backward and said with a big smile, ¡°Very good. I¡¯ve known your answer, Gao. It seems you did admit her as your apprentice. He He Qi Ri Qing? Did you n to use it on me? Huh, I¡¯m very vengeful. You get away from Qing¡¯er from now on. I¡¯m about to marry her off to Master Geng as his concubine.

    In Duan Xiaolou¡¯s roars and Lu Jiangbei¡¯s reproach, He Danggui looked up and shouted angrily, ¡°Are you insane, Liao Zhiyuan? You even want to destroy Qing¡¯er as well! She won¡¯t marry that man, and I won¡¯t let her marry him! You¡¯d better perish the thought!¡± During her shout, the sharp pain spread through her whole body from the wound in her hand. It felt like she was being burned and it hurt so much. He Danggui was familiar with the pain. She had experienced this kind of sobering and severe pain when she suffered a stab for someone in her previous life. It turned out that the poison was called He He Qi Ri Qing. Meng Xuan was poisoned by it that day and became very weak.

    He Danggui¡¯s whole body was overwhelmed by the waves of pain and it is soul-destroying. Too weak to cry out, she just bit her underlip with the upper teeth, which caused the blood flowing out from her mouth quickly. She lost all her strength and fell down backward, but she was still sober. Soberness was herst weapon. She fell into Liao Zhiyuan¡¯s arms, and the man touched her face with his viper-like fingers. He clicked his tongue and sighed, ¡°You didn¡¯t even cry with such strong pain. How tough you are! I wonder if you¡¯re really a woman... How could a woman be like you? Let me teach you about it. Duan must¡¯ve been reluctant to do this to you...¡±

    ¡°Liao Zhiyuan!¡± Lu Jiangbei shouted in a cold voice, ¡°If you keep being such a die-hard, I¡¯ll kill you in person for Imperial Guard¡¯s good!

    Liao Zhiyuan picked a wisp of He Danggui¡¯s hair under his hand, twisted it and stuffed it into her mouth to stop her from biting her underlip again. Heughed and replied, ¡°Master Lu, be patient. You¡¯re not the only one caring about beauties. I also feel sorry about her, but I didn¡¯t poison her. I don¡¯t have the antidote. If I do, I¡¯ll help her drink all of it, right, Duan?¡± Liao Zhiyuan smiled more brightly when he looked at the door, ¡°Xue Xiao, you¡¯re the best. I didn¡¯t expect that for you, a friend you¡¯ve known for just half a year is more reliable than the one you¡¯ve known for 20 years.¡±

    It turned out that Lu Jiangbei tipped Xue Xiao a wink before, and hinted him to hit Duan Xiaolou at some acupoint to make him pass out. Duan Xiaolou was in aa and still frowning. It seemed he was struggling to wake up. Seeing this, Lu Jiangbei shook his head and sighed. He turned to ask Gao Jue who was standing beside the foot of the bed, ¡°Do you have the antidote?¡±

    Gao Jue shook his head and answered, ¡°I left it at home. You sent the signal too suddenly. I left all my baggage at home.¡±

    Lu Jiangbei got angry and frowned, ¡°You don¡¯t have it? Why did you try to poison him, then? If the poison hurts Lynx, what would you do?¡±

    Gao Jue gasped and replied, ¡°Jiang Yi has the antidote, but I saw him flying out from the window when I entered here just now. We could just wait for him toe back.¡± He said slowly like an old man, and looked up and down at Lu Jiangbei who stood beside the head of the bed and seemed to be very anxious. Gao Jue stopped for a moment and kept saying slowly, ¡°I didn¡¯t believe it before, but judging from what I¡¯ve seen, I wonder now if this is really true. Jiangbei, you¡¯re so disappointing.¡±

    Lu Jiangbei asked in astonishment, ¡°What do you mean by that?¡±

    Gao Jue nced at He Danggui who almost passed out, and asked, ¡°Did you fall in love with her as well? Didn¡¯t you say that you wouldn¡¯t love anyone again? Why is she more important to you than your senior brothers?¡±

    Before Lu Jiangbei gave any response, Liao Zhiyuanughed and said, ¡°Gao, you¡¯ve wronged him. There¡¯s a reason you don¡¯t know. It¡¯s a secret between Master Prophet and us.¡± He nced at Xue Xiao who stood at the door and Duan Xiaolou who had passed out, and continued with a smile, ¡°Since there¡¯s no outsider here, we can talk about it. Our boss doesn¡¯t love thedy in my arms or the princess she was in her previous life. He loves the princess¡¯ mother, the world-famous imperial Consort who now is His Majesty¡¯s...¡±

    ¡°Liao Zhiyuan!¡± Lu Jiangbei interrupted him, ¡°I¡¯ll never forgive you if you say that.¡±

    The homicidal intent and anger implied in his voice even shocked Gao Jue, who knew him for the longest time. Even Lu Jiangbei would want to kill someone? The princess¡¯ mother? Which princess? Previous life? What the hell is that? What were Liao Zhiyuan and Lu Jiangbei talking about?

    Liao Zhiyuan tidied up the hair of He Danggui in his arms with his fingers, and said in an unprecedentedly rxed tone, ¡°Boss, it turns out that you have also had internal injuries. It¡¯s caused by the man we saw yesterday, right? You¡¯ve hidden it so well by acting angrily. I¡¯m so frightened...that I almost want to make this woman fall asleep forever.¡± Without looking at Lu Jiangbei¡¯s weird eyes glittering with blue light or Gao Jue¡¯s strange boots covered with frost, Liao Zhiyuan fixed his eyes on the face of the woman in his arms. She bit her ck hair with lips as red as cherries. The cold expression on her fair face kept anyone from tainting her, which brought another kind of temptation that would lure men into breaking her coldness.

    ¡°The man we met yesterday did help me a lot,¡± Liao Zhiyuan held a wisp of He Danggui¡¯s hair and kissed it upward bit by bit, ¡°Our boss was hurt by him and got mad because of me; Gao was so proud that he fell into the man¡¯s trap so easily, and now his condition seems to be bad again; Duan ended up like this. You tell me, who can stop me from touching Ms. He now?¡± Saying this, he pulled slightly with his hand and thest three buttons on He Danggui¡¯s nocturnal clothing were broken. Her plump breasts under the close-fitting clothing amazed Liao Zhiyuan. He eximed, ¡°Sure enough she¡¯s grown up. It¡¯s just been three years... Guys, do you want me to do this in the dungeon, the room over there or right here? Du Yao, which hand did she use to hurt your thing?¡±

    Du Yao punched on the bed, struggled to get up and roared weakly, ¡°Damn it! Who said my private area was injured! You let go of her!¡± He pulled off the quilt slowly, and he had still worn his blue silk pants neatly. There¡¯s no sign of blood. He didn¡¯t look like a person who had just been through castration at all.

    Suddenly, Liao Zhiyuan, Gao Jue and Xue Xiao were all stunned. When they came in, they found that He Danggui was fine but Du Yao was lying on the bed quietly, and He Danggui seemed to be very sorry. Therefore, they immediately drew a conclusion which they thought was closest to the truth: to keep her virginity, He Danggui did castration to Du Yao. But...why would it be like this?

    ¡°How could it be possible?¡± Liao Zhiyuan felt unbelievable, ¡°You...you did look weak because of severe injury, and He Danggui also said you were hurt. Boss also kept shaking his head when treating you. You... Did you...¡±

    Xue Xiao was more stunned, ¡°I found two philters in a box. I gave one to thedy in the next room, and applied another one on a Jin Mai Nail before you stepped on it. It¡¯s been one day and one night and thatdy is still suffering from it. But you, you seem alright. Did you...¡±

    Gao Jue touched it to confirm and said briefly, ¡°It¡¯s still there. Well-behaved.¡±

    ¡°Did you...¡± Liao Zhiyuan and Xue Xiao nced at Du Yao and He Danggui who had passed out, ¡°Did you do that? Have you taken the ¡®antidote¡¯?¡±

    Lu Jiangbei had known the truth, and he nced at Du Yao. Leaning against the head of the bed weakly, Du Yao nodded and smiled bitterly, ¡°I didn¡¯t say it because I have some personal reason. I didn¡¯t want too many people to know about it, and I asked Jiangbei to keep the secret for me. But the situation has been like this. Maybe it can¡¯t be hidden for long. You¡¯ll know it sooner orter... Boss, please exin it to them in order to preserve Ms. He¡¯s reputation.¡±

    Lu Jiangbei said in a deep voice, ¡°About Du Yao¡¯s injury... I took his pulse just now and found all his internal force was gone, which means his kung fu was destroyed. After recuperating for half a month, he may be able to walk again, but he¡¯ll be just the same as any ordinary man. As for whether he can get his kung fu back, we¡¯ll see that after a year or so. Of course, I¡¯ll try my best to help him.¡±

    ¡°You!¡± Liao Zhiyuan shook the woman in his arms that was as soft as a doll, ¡°She destroyed Du Yao¡¯s kung fu? She...¡± He suddenly changed his sharp reproach with a question, ¡°How could that be possible? Although she has great internal force that is even as much as mine, she can¡¯t exert any kung fu at all. How could she do that? Du Yao is not a weakling!¡±

    Lu Jiangbei sighed silently and reminded Liao Zhiyuan, ¡°Ms. He is just a youngdy who always stays at home. She has just learned kung fu for about two or three years, but she has internal force that¡¯s as great as that of a strong man like you who has learned kung fu for 23 years. Didn¡¯t you say she¡¯s suspicious just now? Compared with hers, what do you think of your talent and efforts? She¡¯s worse than you in the two aspects, but why could she skip the practice of more than 20 years?¡±

    An idea shed through Liao Zhiyuan¡¯s mind. He widened his eyes and asked in amazement, ¡°Boss, you mean...?¡±

 Chapter 349 - A hero commented on a young lady

    <h4>Chapter 349 A heromented on a youngdy</h4>

    Liao Zhiyuan looked down and stared at He Danggui in horror, whose face was as pale as a piece of paper in his arms. He threw her on the floor unconsciously. Who on earth was she?

    Master Prophet Qi Xuanyu said firmly that she was Tenth Princess in her previous life. Only this wouldn¡¯t amaze Lu Jiangbei and him. However, Qi Xuanyu told them another lurid thing. He said when He Danggui was born and when Tenth Princess was born and died, weird things happened to candles and phoenix flowers blossomed overnight. It¡¯s said those things had also happened in Qin Dynasty when one of the emperor¡¯s beloved died young.

    When they first met He Danggui on the path to Shui Shang Temple, she didn¡¯t know kung fu at all, but she has made huge progress in these three years. If she kept developing like this, someday she might be a powerful she-devil! No, no way. Such a vicious soul must be killed in the cradle. In retrospect, since they met her, people around her have never been lucky. She¡¯s totally a jinx! As a woman that had always stayed at home, she was chased by Blood Union, the strongest killer union, and almost got Qing¡¯er killed. She caused severe troubles every time, and always needed others to be scapegoats and settle them for her.

    Killing intent was shown on Liao Zhiyuan¡¯s hand. In the corner where neither Lu Jiangbei nor Gao Jue could see, the hand got closer to He Danggui¡¯s most vulnerable part, her throat. As long as it approached her half inch closer, the eleventh prettiestdy in Ming Dynasty would die instantly. A bit closer, just get a bit closer...

    Lu Jiangbei and Gao Jue who were at the other side of the room didn¡¯t see it, but Xue Xiao who was standing at the door saw all that Liao Zhiyuan did. He held Duan Xiaolou with one hand, who was mumbling, ¡°No... Don¡¯t loosen the hand...¡± Even though he was dreaming, Duan Xiaolou still kept struggling. Xue Xiao heard that Duan Xiaolou stopped sleeping two years ago, and only relieved tiredness by sitting in meditation. Was that because He Danggui kept torturing him in dreams? Then...

    Lu Jiangbei had no idea that He Danggui lying with her back to him was about to be killed. He still talked like a pedant with Gao Jue about the progress of He Danggui¡¯s kung fu.

    ¡°Lynx has practiced kung fu for about eighteen years. He said He Danggui has almost the same internal force as he does.¡± Lu Jiangbei was giving a friendly interview to Gao Jue who was a hero as well as He Danggui¡¯s teacher, ¡°Gao Jue, when did you see herst time? Did she have eighteen years of internal force at that time?¡±

    Gao Jue answered in detail, ¡°Last time I saw her, we were in a tea house. We just drank tea and tasted those pastries. I didn¡¯t test her kung fu but just yed chess twice with her because I doubted whether she was really the smartest chess yer I¡¯ve ever met. And she said if I taught her about OOXX, she would give me one of her works called Discussion about Ancient Chess Puzzles as a gift. I agreed to think about it.¡±

    ¡°OOXX?¡± Lu Jiangbei was confused, ¡°What kind of skill is it?¡±

    Gao Jue replied, ¡°That¡¯s a code among us created by Liao Qing¡¯er. About what it is... It¡¯s soplicated that I can¡¯t exin to you at once.¡±

    ¡°Fine.¡± Lu Jiangbei stopped asking about the details, and continued his interview, ¡°Then, when did you test her kung fust time? How far did she go at that time? Do you know what kind of mental training methods she has learned?¡±

    Xue Xiao suddenly coughed loud and stood up with Duan Xiaolou who had passed out in his arms. Liao Zhiyuan¡¯s hand that was about to kill He Danggui almost touched her fair neck. He stopped instantly and looked up to Xue Xiao. Lu Jiangbei and Gao Jue also ended their friendly academic talk for now, and stared at Xue Xiao at the same time.

    Xue Xiao opened his mouth but didn¡¯t say what he originally wanted to say. He changed his mind just because Liao Zhiyuan warned him with his eyes and he didn¡¯t want to piss off such a malefic bully. Therefore, Xue Xiao asked Lu Jiangbei, ¡°Master Lu, didn¡¯t you say the enemies would being soon? Should we prepare for resisting them as soon as possible? People in the guest rooms are still dealing with their injuries or sleeping.¡±

    Lu Jiangbei nodded to praise his loyalty to job, andmanded him, ¡°You go wake up them, and ask them to form the defensive Crescent Moon Sword Ranks I¡¯ve designed before in the hall. We¡¯ll also be there soon.¡±

    Xue Xiao agreed and walked out with Duan Xiaolou in his arms. He thought, ¡°Ms. He, I did want to save you, but you¡¯ve made a big mistake by provoking imperial guards. They¡¯re known as vicious, cruel, and crazy men. When you¡¯re friends, they treat you really well, but if you go against them, they will make you feel life is worse than death. So Ms. He, it may be more peaceful for you to die like this.¡±

    After he took several steps forward, Duan Xiaolou began mumbling again, ¡°Be my bride... Ms. He... I knew that it¡¯s my fault...¡± Xue Xiao stopped and turned around with him. When he looked into the room, Liao Zhiyuan didn¡¯t take the action yet, and He Danggui was still in aa...

    ¡°Why are you still here?¡± Lu Jiangbei urged him.

    Xue Xiao shook the man in his arms once. He forced a smile, and suggested, ¡°Mr. Duan has already been in aa. He can¡¯t fight anymore. If I leave him outside, I¡¯ll have to protect him while fighting. What about just locking him in the dungeon for now? That¡¯s the safest and most hidden ce of the inn.¡±

    Lu Jiangbei nodded to show his agreement, but he added after thinking for a while, ¡°I think Jiang Pi downstairs can¡¯t fight, either. Hide him in the dungeon as well. Whoever feels exhausted can also stay in there.¡± Then, he looked at Gao Jue gently and said, ¡°Why don¡¯t you hide in the dungeon this time? Judging from your shins and feet, I don¡¯t think you can walk well for now.¡±

    Gao Jue looked back at him firmly, and said in a deep voice, ¡°I¡¯ll keep fighting even though I can¡¯t walk well. Just put me on the front door. I¡¯ll see who can break in! What about you? Your internal injury is even more severe than mine, isn¡¯t it? Why didn¡¯t you tell us?¡±

    Lu Jiangbei sighed, ¡°All of you are as immature as children, and always drop the ball at thest minute. As the only mature adult here, if I expose my injury easily, won¡¯t the enemies take advantage of it? Duan and I have the same thought. We suspect that there may be more than one hidden traitor in Yangzhou Government Office or among us. The situation about us must be leaked secretly, but we still argue here about a little girl. Lynx, just let go of her. We can talk about the issue of Du Yaoter. We¡¯ll find the solution.¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan listened to Lu Jiangbei¡¯s voice to analyze his injury. Then, he found that Lu Jiangbei was internally hurt worse than anyone of them. He secretly used the young man they met yesterday of attacking Lu Jiangbei so venomously. The man fought so aggressively as if they had huge grudges against each other just to get a more favorable terrain. That¡¯s so hateful. The man even seemed to be younger than eighteen, but how could he have so good kung fu? Why didn¡¯t they hear about such a master before? Liao Zhiyuan looked at Lu Jiangbei¡¯s glittering blue eyes again. The lighter the blue color was, the more severe his injury would be. This was the only shoring of Qingxin Form created by Lu Jiangbei. Every time he got hurt, he had sixty-four hours to cure the injury. During that period, he could heal himself easily, but after that, it would be much difficult. Damn it! Who was the hidden traitor? He even signaled the enemies at this time, and stopped Lu Jiangbei from healing his injury!

    When Liao Zhiyuan immersed himself in thinking about these things, his hand stopped getting closer to He Danggui¡¯s neck. Seeing this, Xue Xiao suggested again, ¡°Ms. He was poisoned and passed out as well. Since we can¡¯t find the antidote for now, how about hiding her in the dungeon, too? Listening to Mr. Duan¡¯s calling her name makes me feel sorry. Can we just give him what he wants by locking them in the same room?¡±

    Hearing it, Lu Jiangbei didn¡¯t say a word, but Liao Zhiyuan sneered at him instantly and said, ¡°Xue Xiao, you¡¯re so good at ttering Mr. Duan, but you may not know this woman isn¡¯t an ordinary person. She even has...¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s enough!¡± Lu Jiangbei interrupted him impatiently, ¡°Why did you do this again? Just save your energy for resisting enemies, Lynx! Xue Xiao, you go dealing with what I¡¯ve told you before. I¡¯ll find a safe ce for Ms. Heter. Just go. Cover Duan with a quilt.¡±

    After Xue Xiao left, Lu Jiangbei asked Gao Jue again, ¡°When did you test He Danggui¡¯s kung fust time? Did she have eighteen years of internal force at that time? Didn¡¯t you ask about who she learned it from?¡±

    Gao Jue nodded, ¡°Of course I did, but she was like a sly fox. I don¡¯t know if there was even a bit of truth in her long speech, so I¡¯m not sure if she was honest. She said there used to be a guard at her home with the surname Nie. That man was a top-notch martial artist hidden among ordinary people, and he worked at Luo¡¯s Mansion to avoid his foes. He had taught He Danggui some basic kung fu and told her lots of tales when she was a child, which encouraged her to learn more about kung fu. When I tested her three months ago, she only had about six years of internal force, which wasmon for a genius. Judging from her condition now, in just three months, she has made the progress that one person needs to practice for twelve years to grasp. That¡¯s very incredible.¡±

    During the discussion between Lu Jiangbei and Gao Jue, Liao Zhiyuan reached his vicious hand to thedy on the floor again. When he was about to end her life, he hesitated and the hand retreated. But then, he couldn¡¯t bear to miss the opportunity, and was about to take action again. He repeated it three times, but he was still hesitating, and couldn¡¯t make the decision. If he killed He Danggui, Qing¡¯er and Duan Xiaolou would hold grudges against him in the future...

    However, after Liao Zhiyuan heard that in just three months, she had made the progress that one person needed to practice for twelve years to grasp, he looked up angrily at Du Yao¡¯s pale face. He said in indignation, ¡°Du Yao had twelve years of internal force! Isn¡¯t it clear enough? Du Yao! Why don¡¯t you tell us the truth? You just met this woman today. Even if she was as beautiful as the goddess in the moon, would you fall in love with her in only four hours? What on earth are you hiding? Why would you cover for this vicious woman?¡±

    Liao Zhiyuan got more furious as soon as he remembered Du Yao said he was voluntary. Someone easily stole the internal force that he had spent about twenty years of effort to get, but Du Yao didn¡¯t even want to avenge it, and was voluntary to give it to the vicious woman for free! He wouldn¡¯t be so generous even if his father wanted to take it, would he? Did the whole world get insane? Was every man out of his mind? Du Yao was just in his early twenties, but he wouldn¡¯t be able to exert kung fu from now on? He Danggui was so cruel! Couldn¡¯t she hit at Du Yao¡¯s acupoints to stop him, jump out of the window to run away, or use other self-protection methods?

    Du Yao didn¡¯t know what to say. He suddenly went from a master to an ordinary man. How could he feel not painful or resentful? But...

    Seeing him being upset and listless, Liao Zhiyuan felt anger full of his chest. He immediately moved his palm with internal force, and shouted, ¡°I¡¯ll kill her right now! Whoever has a problem with it cane to me to take revenge. She definitely deserves to be killed here today!¡± At the same time, he was about to hit the head of thedy on the floor with his palm. He had no hesitation this time.

    ¡°Stop!¡± Du Yao became panicked right away and roared in a hoarse voice with his eyes widened, ¡°She¡¯s my wife. You can¡¯t kill her!¡±

    In an instance, thedy lying on the floor opened her eyes, which were glittering with cold light that was simr to the coldke water outside the window. It was never her style to be a sitting duck. Now she wasn¡¯t a weakling anymore. Liao Zhiyuan, Mr. Liao, it¡¯s over now!

 Chapter 350 - The engagement was just a fraud

    <h4>Chapter 350 The engagement was just a fraud</h4>

    Suddenly silvery light flew over like rain!

    He Danggui cast thirty-three long and fine needles, each of which was as subtle as her eysh. This was a way to protect herself that she learned in Fantasy Dream. The needles were cast through her fingers. It was her first time using it, and Liao Zhiyuan became her first victim. Those thirty-three fine steel needles all hit on his face at eleven acupoints including Yintang, Tinggong, Yuyao, Shuaigu, Qingming, Ermen, Sukou, Jiache, Renzhong, Chengqi, and Xiaguan. Every one of them as well as their two essory acupoints were pricked by needles. He Danggui had exerted the right amount of strength so that the needles didn¡¯t prick them too deep but still hard to be removed by hand.

    With his face covered with needles, Liao Zhiyuan gave a look of astonishment. Then, he fell backward and closed his eyes reluctantly.

    Now it¡¯s uncertain if Liao Zhiyuan was still alive. He Danggui was poisoned and passed out, but she could even fight back at that stage. As for Lu Jiangbei and Gao Jue, one of them was hurt internally, and the other rpsed. However, Lu Jiangbei cared more about another thing. He asked, ¡°Du Yao, you said Ms. He was your wife? What¡¯s going on? You...¡±

    After shouting, Du Yao became much weak. He replied feebly, ¡°It¡¯s true. I was attracted by her beauty, so I proposed to her. She agreed, but she said she would only be my wife, and I should not marry anyone else in the future. I told her I got several concubines but haven¡¯t had an engagement with anyone yet. If our families are almost of equal rank, I can fulfill all her conditions. Then, she said words alone were no proof, and I should write them down. Thus, I wrote down every word she said. It took me two hours to write the ¡®engagement contract¡¯ that had more than twenty pages. They were on the table before, but...¡±

    ¡°Engagement contract?¡± Lu Jiangbei looked at He Danggui in shock, and continued, ¡°Why would a woman ask a man for an engagement contract? Even though you wrote it down, it had no legal effect.¡±

    He Danggui smiled but said nothing. She bent several needles into the hook shape and pinned up her night suit whose buttons were all gone. She looked calm and did it unhurriedly, instead of being shy or flustered because of those men¡¯s gaze. But Lu Jiangbei and Gao Jue looked away at the same time.

    Du Yao sighed and said, ¡°Right. I was so pleased when she said yes that I would do anything she told me to, but now I understood. She was not asking for an engagement contract to protect her rights because she was afraid of my betrayal. She¡¯s just stalling. Ms. He, you¡¯ve never thought about marrying me, right?¡±

    He Danggui went to the desk and sat down. She flipped the engagement contract at random, and then, threw it into a basin at her feet. She also tossed a part of Huo Zhe Zi into it. After the fire grew big, she nodded and said, ¡°Right. I never thought about being your wife. I just did this to stall and relieve my acupoints that had been blocked. As for this engagement contract, people that have been married or have read the neww enactedst year would know such a personal agreement has no legal effect. Thus, I should just burn it.¡± She reached the ink b on the right side and mocked at Du Yao while rubbing an ink stick, ¡°Master Du, you¡¯re a magistrate of a county and ten years older than me, but you didn¡¯t even readws. You do prefer martial arts to literature and overlook study.¡±

    Du Yao looked sideways and saw the ming paper in the basin. Hearing He Danggui¡¯s cruel words, he felt his heart sinking and turned over on the bed to face inside. He closed his eyes with a grieved look and two teardrops fell on the pillow.

    Seeing this, Gao Jue was angry and shouted at He Danggui, ¡°Why did you cheat him? What kind of vicious trick did you use to take away all his internal force? He Danggui, who on earth are you?¡± When he saw Liao Zhiyuan lying on the floor unconsciously, he continued, ¡°And what did you do to Lynx?¡±

    He Danggui giggled and replied, ¡°Master Gao, are you getting woozy because of the wound on your foot? If you think it over, you¡¯ll see I¡¯m the most innocent and helpless person. Yesterday, I tied my horse at the door of my house, but Master Du took it away. You know how lovely the horse is and how much I cherish it. Therefore, to find my ret horse, I left the city alone before dawn and arrived at this restaurant. I found people drinking inside were big shots. I was flustered and didn¡¯t dare to go in. And I ran into several strangers outside and knew that they were going to attack those guests. I even sensed a smell of gunpowder on one of them. After my sincere persuasion, they finally canceled their n.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Strangers!¡± Lu Jiangbei asked, ¡°What do they look like? What did they say?¡±

    He Danggui acted dumb and said, ¡°They just look like... like humans, and wore clothes that were almost the same. I couldn¡¯t see anything special. As for the details of our conversation, I can tell you in the future when we have time to enjoy tea and melon seeds. These are not important. The point is that I still remember Master Lu and you have helped me a lot three years ago. I often think about it and want to return the favor one day. Thus, when I knew those people were about to attack you with long-range offensive weapons like firearms while you had no preparation, I persuaded and cheated them immediately. I told them there were other ordinary guests inside, and they shouldn¡¯t hurt innocent people. I also frightened them some masters hid in the restaurant as well. Finally, I scared them away.¡±

    At this time, the fire in the basin was out and He Danggui also finished rubbing the ink stick. She extended a piece of paper with her fair hand and dipped a brush in the ink. Then, she began to paint. She keptining at the same time, ¡°After they were gone, I came back right away to tell you about it so that you could keep alert or move to Mo Cha Mountain Vi, but I never thought the imperial guards were so rude. You¡¯re government officers in robes with jade belts, but you¡¯re nothing different from those bandits. You even grabbed a kind woman randomly in broad daylight. I couldn¡¯t have any chance to exin before being knocked out. Then, I was abducted. As for what happened next, could you me me for that? Master Gao, before asking me, shouldn¡¯t you ask Master Du what he has done?¡±

    Gao Jue nced at Du Yao who was as weak as a dried leaf, and used He Danggui again, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you just kill him directly? How could you do this? What weird martial arts are you practicing?¡±

    He nced at He Danggui vigntly while she was focusing on painting. Now Lu Jiangbei and he were a lot weaker than usual. If He Danggui got some evil intents and attacked them in the way she treated Du Yao, the result would be very bad! What¡¯s more, what exactly did she do to Liao Zhiyuan? He saw some silvery light just now and then, Liao Zhiyuan fell, but he remembered she couldn¡¯t use hidden weapons. Did she have some hidden devices in her sleeves which could be used to kill them abruptly? Those weapons must be virulent.

    After thinking about this, Gao Jue roared, ¡°What happened to Liao Zhiyuan? Did you kill him?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Believe it or not, I didn¡¯t mean it. After Master Du¡¯s internal force was taken away, not only he but also I felt pain. I didn¡¯t know how to give it back to him.¡± He Danggui replied slowly while keeping painting, ¡°As for Master Liao, he proved a saying. A tiger always wants to hurt men while men don¡¯t intend to do that. He has never been so vicious before, but today he became an utterly different person. If it weren¡¯t for the sake of Qing¡¯er, I would¡¯ve punished him worse. Last time Qing¡¯er told me you had taken away several jars of wine from her and beaten Mater Liao so bad. Qing¡¯er had also described the situation at that time. You were fighting at Yi Hong Brothel. Master Liao deliberately made chaos and smashed things randomly, but you were a hired guard and you didn¡¯t dare to break the furniture, so you couldn¡¯t fight freely. Later, you attacked Master Liao with your broadsword only at his face. He became panicked immediately and tried to defend himself. Gradually, he lost ground. Therefore, I guessed maybe his fatal weakness was on his face?¡±

    She nced at Liao Zhiyuan who was lying on the ground like a dead body. She said with a smile, ¡°I happened to bring needles today, so I had a try. Judging from his condition now, I seem to be right.¡±

    Seeing He Danggui beingcent and confident, Lu Jiangbei suddenly got angry and asked, ¡°What needles did you use to prick him at his fatal weakness? Now the enemies areing. He should have been the best fighter among us. Since you said you wanted to help us, why did you weaken our power?¡±

    ¡°He? How could he be the best fighter?¡± He Danggui sneered, ¡°He looked like being witched and got so excited. You should feel lucky since he won¡¯t hinder you. Master Lu, don¡¯t worry. Though he wanted to kill me with his palm, I wouldn¡¯t do that to him. My needles are as thin as hairs on an ox and there is only some anesthetic on them. They are just pricked at the surface of his face and haven¡¯t reached his fatal weakness yet. He¡¯ll wake up in less than half a day. Just don¡¯t touch his face when you move him. You can remove all the thirty-three needles with a ma. Make sure all the needles have been removed, or he may feel his face hurts when he¡¯s awake.¡±

    Hearing this silently, Lu Jiangbei kept looking at her. She had a fairplexion and looked indeed charming when she smiled gently, but she was entirely a mystery to anyone. He wondered if there was another person in the world that could read her mind except for herself. If women were like books, he totally believed so far not even a man had understood one page of her.

    ¡°Fine,¡± Lu Jiangbei felt helpless, ¡°Lynx was indeed indocile recently. When he got stubborn, even I couldn¡¯tmand him. He¡¯s passed out. Just put him into the dungeon and help him calm down.¡± It was just that Liao Zhiyuan was the only one that hadn¡¯t been injured and now he couldn¡¯t fight. It might be harder for them to win this defensive battle.

    He Danggui shook her head and said firmly, ¡°Not just him. You should make an order and ask everyone to hide in the dungeon!¡±

    Lu Jiangbei was shocked and refuted right away, ¡°Everyone? Absolutely not! No.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± He Danggui felt strange.

    Lu Jiangbei took a slow breath and exined briefly, ¡°We came to Yangzhou City in batches and we had more than a hundred great martial artists with us. Until now, we¡¯ve almost lost half of them in previous battles, and we still haven¡¯t figured out the identity of the opponents yet. I guess they may want to kill all of us. We may get a chance if we fight back, but if we give up, we¡¯ll be sitting ducks.¡±

    He Danggui heard this confusing speech and couldn¡¯t wait to ask, ¡°Why did you imperial guardse to Yangzhou City? What territory are you fighting for? Or what things?¡±

    Lu Jiangbei smiled and answered her with what she said before while she¡¯s acting dumb, ¡°It¡¯s a long story that is hard to be exined clearly right now. I can tell you about it in the future when we have time to enjoy tea and melon seeds. These are not important. The point is that Ms. He, you have nothing to do with this. You can leave now or go hide in the dungeon with them. And by the way, you can help take care of Mr. Duan. What do you think?¡±

    He Danggui thought for a while and asked, ¡°Is there anything valuable in the restaurant? Master Lu, is the mysterious object you are fighting for here now?¡±

    Lu Jiangbei paused and answered honestly, ¡°No. It¡¯s not. I have never seen it up to now.¡±

    He Danggui nodded and said, ¡°Okay. Please do as I say. I promise none of you will die. Everyone including Guan Zhan in the next room, you all go into the dungeon!¡±

    ¡°All of us?¡± Gao Jue squinted at her, ¡°What about you?¡±

    He Danggui secretly touched the green porcin box with the antidote of cold poison. She was in a slight daze and said, ¡°I have something urgent to do. I can¡¯t stay here.¡±

    ¡°What about Duan Xiaolou?¡± Gao Jue asked, ¡°He¡¯ll look for you after he wakes up. He may not believe what we say. He may think you¡¯re dead and want to find you. At least you should stay and meet with him one more time.¡±

    ¡°Ask him to wait for me. And Du Yao, please wait for me, too. I¡¯lle back for you,¡± He Danggui promised firmly, ¡°All of you hear my words.¡±

 Chapter 351

    <h4>Volume 8 Songs of Courtyard Flowers ¨C Chapter 351 This love remained painful memories</h4>

    After resting for fifteen minutes, the blue light in Lu Jiangbei¡¯s eyes finally faded away and looked more normal and cordial. However, Gao Jue¡¯s boots were still covered with thin frost, which meant he still couldn¡¯t walk upright.

    He Danggui thought it was weird and got some methods that could help relieve his symptom. However, she remembered when Liao Zhiyuan acted rudely to her, she wanted help from Gao Jue who was her master and brother-inw, but he didn¡¯t intend to save her at all. He just let Liao Zhiyuan grab her and insult her frivolously. She almost got killed. Although Gao Jue was injured on feet and couldn¡¯t save her, his cold attitude did hurt her feelings. A vengeful person like her would never cure him unless he apologized to her.

    Looking at He Danggui, Gao Jue raised his eyebrow and asked, ¡°You asked Duan Xiaolou to wait for you? What do you mean by that? borate it so that I can tell him clearly.¡±

    He Danggui kept silent for a while before telling Gao Jue what to say, ¡°I want him to take good care of himself. I have a slight knowledge of medicine so I want to check on his injury. I¡¯lle back for him after I get my medical kit, so... please ask him to take care of himself.¡±

    Gao Jue replied in a cold voice, ¡°That¡¯s all?¡±

    He Danggui tried to make herself look calm. Her hands under the sleeves got sweaty, and it made the wound on her right hand hurt much. She nodded and said, ¡°I have already had an engagement with someone and we¡¯ll get married soon, so that¡¯s it.¡± Meng Xuan was waiting for her at home. She decided to love him. Only him. Thus, that was all.

    Meng Xuan was the one for her and he was waiting for her toe home. She should remember this all her life. Otherwise, she was afraid that sometimes, she might lose control and do something bad that would hurt Meng Xuan or cause some misunderstandings for Duan Xiaolou. Therefore, to nip in the bud, she needed to tell others she had an engagement. And at the same time, she could remind herself that she could only say ¡°I like you¡± to Meng Xuan and her apologies were always for Duan Xiaolou.

    Gao Jue frowned and looked at He Danggui. He sneered and said, ¡°Then, why are youing back to him? You don¡¯t need to. You can just stay at home and wait for the wedding day.¡±

    Lu Jiangbei pushed Gao Jue and denied his words, ¡°Ms. He, you shoulde by. We need you to take care of Duan when he wakes up, and I also want you to help me with something. Actually, after we came to Yangzhou City, I wanted to ask you for a favor, but it was not appropriate to visit you directly. I was afraid that it might disturb your peaceful life. However, after hesitating for long, I still think you¡¯re the best person to do it.¡± Seeing He Danggui staring at him curiously and waiting for him to continue, he smiled and kept her guessing, ¡°It¡¯s still uncertain if we can ovee the current difficulty. We can talk about this in the future. It¡¯s an official affair. I hope you won¡¯t reject it at that time, and I¡¯ll thank youvishly.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m so confused now. Let¡¯s talk about itter, then. I¡¯m also living in the moment, so I don¡¯t want to make a promise easily.¡± He Danggui also smiled, ¡°However, I shoulde by. Honestly, though I had stopped the poison on the key thrown over by Master Gao before with the needle in my palm, I was indeed poisoned slightly. He He Qi Ri Qing is really vicious. Now the poison has been blocked in my right pinkie. If you don¡¯t give me the antidote in 24 hours, I¡¯ll lose a finger. Thus, I hope Master Lu can help me find the antidote.¡±

    Hearing it, Lu Jiangbei came up and checked her right hand immediately. Holding her slender hand, he did find a subtle ck scratch in her palm and some evil gas was around it. Her pinkie got purple. Lu Jiangbei shook his head and disapproved, ¡°It¡¯ll be dangerous. You shouldn¡¯t move at all since you¡¯re poisoned with He He Qi Ri Qing. Go hide in the dungeon, too. As for the medicine you need to cure Duan, I can ask Xue Xiao to find it. It won¡¯t take long.¡±

    He Danggui refused and said, ¡°I made the medicine myself. He won¡¯t find it easily. Moreover, after you all get in the dungeon, I will exert a tactical matrix called ¡°Stone Camouge¡± outside. With it, I guarantee none of the enemies can find the entrance of the dungeon even if they stay here for a whole day. Oh, right. I¡¯ll need some little stones to do that. Please prepare dozens of them. The more you get, the better it¡¯ll be.¡±

    Lu Jiangbei was amazed. Exerting a tactical matrix? She? How could it be possible? There were hundreds of elites of liberal and martial arts among Imperial Guards, but he didn¡¯t hear that any of them knew such a thing!

    But He Danggui looked so serious and it couldn¡¯t be a joke. Thus, Lu Jiangbei chose to trust her this time because he got no better solution now. Before they arrived at this restaurant, at least over one hundred masters had gathered in Ten-mile Slope. He guessed they were waiting for the rain. The sky had been cloudy since the morning. It seemed there must be a torrential rain in the afternoon or at dusk. By virtue of the rain, the surprise attack would work better. If it weren¡¯t for their surveints hiding at the fork in the road that people must pass to enter or leave the city, they might haven¡¯t known it and were still sleeping or fighting.

    Therefore, Lu Jiangbei asked again to confirm it, ¡°You do can exert a tactical matrix? And you need little stones?¡±

    He Danggui nodded and said, ¡°Both big and little stones are good. The more, the better. This is the only one I¡¯ve learned. I learned it from Taoist Sage, Bai Yangbai, in Chengxu Academy three years ago. I¡¯m quite good at it, so you don¡¯t need to doubt it and just stay in the dungeon quietly. Then, those enemies won¡¯t find you even if they have brilliant hearings.¡±

    ¡°Taoist Sage?¡± Lu Jiangbei was more shocked, ¡°You can even have a friendly rtionship with Bai Yangbai and have learned a tactical matrix from him?¡± It was said that Bai Yangbai was very good at exerting tactical matrices and all of them were created by Bai Yangbai alone. If people used them properly, they would allow people to connect to the heaven and spirits, control the forces of nature, and seed in everything. Bai Yangbai even taught a young woman such a profound skill? What rtionship did they have?

    He Danggui nodded again, ¡°I only learned this one. Back then Taoist Sage was a teacher in Chengxu Academy. One day he was short of money and I lent him some, but he failed to return it. He has a virtuous character and didn¡¯t want to be in debt, so he taught me a tactical matrix to pay back before he left the academy.¡± Under the influence of Bai Yangbai, she could tell lies very calmly without a stutter now.

    Lu Jiangbei believed what she said, or maybe he was just like a drowning man who clutched at a straw. Anyway, he smiled and agreed, ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll go out to make some arrangements. Please wait a minute here.¡± Then, he swung the hem of his robe and was about to leave the room.

    He Danggui stopped him immediately and presented him a piece of thin paper with both hands, on which she just finished drawing. She exined, ¡°It¡¯s just a draft of the tactical matrix. I need an empty space that is about fourteen meters long and seven meters wide. The closer it is to the entrance of the dungeon, the better it will be. Please clear such a ce for me, and ssh water on it to make it half wet. Thank you.¡±

    Seeing the draft was drown quite well, Lu Jiangbei looked at her with more admiration and trust. He smiled and corrected her, ¡°You don¡¯t have to be so polite. We did have offended you before. If it were anyone else, they would¡¯ve be our enemies, but you return good for evil. You choose to help us, so I should thank you. If we can ovee this, I¡¯ll do whatever for you as long as you need it.¡±

    These words were so warm that even a hardhearted woman like He Danggui would be moved. Therefore, she also replied in that way, ¡°I said this three years ago. I¡¯m very grateful to all of you not just because of the gold lock. Your approachable personality also encouraged and guided me a lot at that time. The grace of dripping water should be reciprocated by a gushing spring. This is my wish and it will never change. Please forgive my talking wildly. Maybe in the future you will need my help. At that time, I hope you could abandon your stereotypes and cooperate with me. That will be beneficial to both of us.¡±

    After hearing it, Lu Jiangbei put on a tenderer look. He even took a step forward and was about to tell her some secrets at such a life-or-death moment. However, Gao Jue cleared his throat loudly at this time and he said coldly to ruin the moment, ¡°It may be too early for you to thank each other now. Some crises may urter, so you shouldn¡¯t be too positive about the situation. Jiangbei, we¡¯re really short of time. You can catch up on the past next day. Didn¡¯t you say you would enjoy tea together?¡± He said with a nasal voice slowly, which was full of sneers.

    Feeling a bit embarrassed, Lu Jiangbei apologized before walking out. He Danggui also took several steps forward and stuffed two wax pills into his hand. She said, ¡°One of them is the antidote of icy Zhenqi. You gave me the whole box of pills as a ¡°backup¡±, but you didn¡¯t ask me how and why I would use them. I¡¯m very thankful for this, so I gave you an antidote as a ¡°backup¡± as well. Inside another wax pill, there is a brief note that is a ¡°secret master n¡± I made. Please open it when you¡¯re in danger. Maybe it can solve your temporary difficulty. But remember not to open it randomly, or it will be useless.¡±

    Lu Jiangbei epted them, thanked her and walked away. He was very confused. Who on earth was He Danggui? Feeling curious about it, Lu Jiangbei clenched the two wax pills and decided to figure it out in the future.

    Later, He Danggui turned around, walked back into the room and stood beside the bed. She handed another piece of paper to Du Yao and said to him with a serious look, ¡°Mr. Du, believe it or not, I did get hurt internally when you hit me with your palm. I had no evil intent when I asked you to heal me. I didn¡¯t know why it ended up like this. Your internal force just ran into my body suddenly like waves. You couldn¡¯t stop it and I failed to resist it. Now your condition is not good. Master Gao and others feel sad, and I feel very guilty. I promise I¡¯ll ount for this. Master Gao can witness it. This is the IOU I¡¯ve written. I will pay back and never break my promise.¡±

    Du Yao was too weak to raise his arm. Gao Jue who was standing beside immediately took away the ¡°IOU¡±. After reading it, he put on a weird look with a rare faint smile.

 Chapter 352 - A satyr and a lady

    <h4>Chapter 352 A satyr and ady</h4>

    Du Yao asked, ¡°Ms. He, what did you write? Why would you give me that? Even I have be like this after being taken away twelve years of internal force. I don¡¯t want you to risk your life for giving it back to me. After all, you¡¯ve saved my life before.¡±

    Shaking her head, He Danggui replied, ¡°Of course, I should make it up since I did wrong things. Please be patient and wait for me. Take good care of yourself. I will manage to save you. Never give up on yourself or even give up your life.¡±

    Gao Jue was reading the IOU. It wrote, ¡°If I fail to help him recover, I will regard Du Yao as my elder brother and take care of him till the end of my life.¡± Judging from the touching conversation between them, Du Yao was pitying her, and He Danggui looked so righteous. Was it really what a satyr and ady almost hurt by him would say to each other? It¡¯s so strange. Something must have happened between the two. When had He Danggui been so ¡°gentle¡± to a man? Everyone knew how Duan Xiaolou treated her, but she was still very coldblooded. Du Yao only stayed with her in this room once, and her attitude changed rapidly. It was indeed suspicious.

    Du Yao said, ¡°I deserved it. If we had to do that again, I would take the same action. You don¡¯t need to feel guilty. I can ept it.¡±

    He Danggui replied, ¡°Anyway, just trust me. I will also keep this matter in my mind. Whenever you feel sad or unconformable, you can think of me and take a look at the IOU. Then, you may feel hopeful again.¡± She found Du Yao¡¯s hand under the sheet, took it out, and shook it vigorously as if she wanted to pass him some strength in this way, ¡°Where there is life, there is hope. Master Lu and I, all of us will never give up on you. Thus, you shouldn¡¯t give up, either.¡±

    Du Yao forced a smile and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I never said that I would give up my life. There are thousands of people in the world that don¡¯t have kung fu at all. They still live happily, don¡¯t they? If I hadn¡¯t learned kung fu at first and had just grown up as an ordinary person, I would still have been who I am right now.¡±

    He Danggui shook her head and refuted him, ¡°I¡¯ve experienced how happy it was when I became a master from an ordinary person. The happier you were at that time, the more upset you would be after losing all internal force. Du Yao, the IOU will always be valid and there is my fingerprint on it. Even if I fail to repay it, I will ask my master to do it. Thus, you should be positive.¡±

    Hearing their sincere talk, Gao Jue finally couldn¡¯t help interrupting them. He asked, ¡°What charades are you ying? What happened to you in this room before? Du Yao, how did you lose your internal force? I didn¡¯t know she was capable of doing this.¡±

    Gao Jue had chosen to support Du Yao who was injured since the very beginning. No matter if he was ¡°castrated¡± or ¡°robbed¡± of his internal force, he was always on Du Yao¡¯s side. However, Gao Jue couldn¡¯t deny that it¡¯s Du Yao who was in the wrong. He Danggui was innocent and she almost lost her virginity. If she hadn¡¯t been so smart, the situation would have been worse when they entered the room. Therefore, Gao Jue couldn¡¯t help wondering why she kept apologizing to the man that almost raped her after she had gotten away from him. No one could me her hard in any way even if she had mistakenly killed him, because she was the victim and Du Yao asked for it.

    Du Yao asked back, ¡°What does the note say?¡±

    Gao Jue answered, ¡°It says she will definitely give the twelve years of internal force back to you no matter how long it will take or how hard it will be. If she fails to do that, she will regard you as her elder brother, live with you and take care of you till the end.¡±

    Hearing this, Du Yaoughed and said, ¡°That must be a big fortune to me. I gain a sister for nothing.¡± Heughed for a while and then, said to himself, ¡°It¡¯s just internal force. It doesn¡¯t matter a lot to give it to my wife or sister.¡±

    He Dangguiforted him, ¡°It¡¯s not ¡°giving¡± but ¡°borrowing¡±. I know a master who will be able to save you. If you take good care of yourself and wait for the treatment, I will grant you the request you mentioned before after you¡¯re recovered.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Du Yao stared at her in surprise and said, ¡°You¡¯re not lying to me?¡±

    ¡°It can¡¯t be more real,¡± He Danggui replied sincerely, ¡°I¡¯ll be a dog if I¡¯m lying to you. I... I can even do it right now.¡± Then, she puckered up her lips and slowly approached Du Yao¡¯s forehead. She got closer and closer with her eyes closed.

    ¡°Stop! Stop! Don¡¯t do it!¡± Du Yao became flustered and shouted, ¡°I¡¯m not ready yet. Maybe next time. I¡¯ve already seen your sincerity. I trust you!¡±

    Du Yao trusted her, but Gao Jue was shocked. He asked, ¡°What exactly are you doing? Can anyone exin it to me?¡±

    He Danggui turned around and looked at Gao Jue¡¯s boots. The frost was still there. Although she was still mad at him, she thought revenge was a dish best served cold. She could cure his legs first and ask him to pay for it in the future. Thinking about this, she grabbed two needles between her fingers in both hands. She pricked them respectively on the Xuehai acupoints of his left and right knees and massaged the meridians on his calves with bare hands. It could invigorate the cirction of blood and qi and nourish yang.

    Taken care of by a beauty, Gao Jue didn¡¯t feel grateful and kept mumbling as if he was noble. Instead of getting angry, He Danggui squatted beside his feet and said while massaging his calves, ¡°The reason why I don¡¯t hate Master Du and even feel guilty about him is that I find he¡¯s a clumsy good man. He brought me here when I passed out and got ambushed by that Nihon master, but he did nothing bad to me after the drug had taken effect. I¡¯m very grateful to him. But at that time, after being provoked by that Nihon master, I attacked Master Du with needles. He got panicked and hit me with his palm. Then, his internal force ran into my body while he was healing me. This is what happened between us. We made mistakes one after another, so we were even. However, I haven¡¯t been hurt while he has suffered a lot. I must take responsibility for it.¡±

    What He Danggui said was generally true. She was hit at her neck by Jiang Yi in the courtyard and she indeed stayed in aa for about thirty minutes. During that period, Du Yao had been ambushed by Xue Xiao and stepped on the Jin Mai Nail with a strong philter. If he had lost control and assaulted her at that time, she would have been unable to save the situation though she¡¯s smart. But somehow Du Yao suppressed the effect of the philter and didn¡¯t do anything to a youngdy that had passed out. Instead, he just sat at the corner of the room and waited for her to wake up. Xue Xiao just stood there as a looker-on.

    Then, He Danggui woke up and they talked about it. She knew they were imperial guards and she figured out that Xue Xiao was from Nihon. Xue Xiao was nothing different from people in the Central ins on his ent or dressing because he had lived here for many years. However, in the previous life, He Danggui met lots of people from Nihon in Wuying Tower. Actually, the first members of Wuying Tower were dozens of masters brought back by Zhu Quan after he went to Nihon that year. It became a killer group gradually based on that. Thus, with her intuition and experience, He Danggui thought Xue Xiao was from Nihon and Du Yao was a rich man in the capital. And their vicious looks were fixed on her at the same time.

    After asking several more questions, He Danggui got an idea gradually. She would attack Du Yao and pretend to be harmed by him. Then, she would ask him to give her the antidote of the cold poison, fight back and find a chance to run away. But she was wrong on one thing that Du Yao and Gao Jue weren¡¯t from the same school of kung fu. There was no coldness in Du Yao¡¯s palm force, so he didn¡¯t have any antidote of cold poison!

    Feeling disappointed, He Danggui pretended to be weak, leaned against the head of the bed, and asked Du Yao to heal her. Du Yao was a bit delirious. He took off his boots, got on the bed, and held her in his arms. Then, he began to feed Zhenqi to her to do the ¡°treatment¡±. He released all of it and was so generous that the Zhenqi ran into her body like flowing water.

    At this time, He Danggui could have hit him with her palm and controlled him, but Du Yao was so mannered on the bed. He put one hand on her back to feed Zhenqi to her and put his other hand behind his back. He was trying so hard to suppress the philter¡¯s influence that his forehead was sweating. He also recited the Heart Sutra to resist the vicious intents in his mind. All evilness and wildness shown in his eyes before were gone. He Danggui could even see his hand on his back was bleeding because he clenched it so hard that his fingernails hurt his palm. The blood dripped slowly on the bed. Facing such a righteous gentleman, she couldn¡¯t bear to hit him. However, if she could put the clock back, she would rather hit him at that time. Then, things after that would haven¡¯t happened at all.

    Later, He Danggui saw the bookshelf and the old covers of those books on it. She knew they were the only existing copies of lots of ancient books. She was curious, so she got out of bed to read them. Du Yao didn¡¯t stop her and let her read them freely, but he kept feeding Zhenqi to her with his hand on her back. He just followed her everywhere she went.

    He Danggui wanted to stop him, but she didn¡¯t do it. She thought she had been frightened and she could take some of his internal force aspensation. Thinking about gaining petty advantages like this, she read books one after another rapidly and remembered all the content. Gradually, she found that all of them were banned books from Imperial Guards and the imperial pce. There were amazing secret rumors written in almost each of them. The more she read, the more shocked she became. She couldn¡¯t help wondering why Du Yao would let her read these banned books she should never know!

    She turned around to look at Du Yao. He grinned and said, ¡°Miss, after reading these books, you¡¯ll be part of Imperial Guards. Now you have two choices. First, you can marry me. Second, you die. You will lose the chance to choose if I tell others about it.¡±

    He Danggui realized she was tricked. Feeling upset, she asked him, ¡°You had many chances to hurt me just now, but you didn¡¯t. Thus, you must be a good man and a gentleman, or maybe a mediocre woman like me can¡¯t attract you at all. Please show me some mercy and keep the fact that I¡¯ve read books in Crystal Tower as a secret, okay?¡± She looked pitiful while saying this.

    Du Yao shook his head and replied, ¡°No. I must marry you. You get prepared mentally. I¡¯ll visit your families and talk about our marriage tomorrow. Hey, don¡¯t look so wronged and pitiful. I have a good enough family background and personality to marry you. You should feel grateful for being liked and proposed by a man like me.¡±

    He Danggui lowered her head and cried while Du Yao still kept feeding Zhenqi to her. Then, she wiped the tears and said, ¡°Then, you should write an engagement contract now. Just write down whatever I say. I¡¯ll agree if you can fulfill all the requirements I mention.¡±

 Chapter 353 - A mans indenture of selling himself

    <h4>Chapter 353 A man¡¯s indenture of selling himself</h4>

    Seeing such a beauty that was crying, Du Yao couldn¡¯t help being erotogenic and the philter in his body began to get out of control, but he was afraid that she might resist again by pricking him with needles. And he might be overreacting and hurt her again if he couldn¡¯t control himself well. Therefore, he hit her at her acupoint when she was off guard and pushed her against the bookshelf. He ripped off one of the buttons on her clothes and smelled the delicate fragrance on her fair neck. He consulted with her semi-consciously, ¡°You just obey me now and we can finish the engagement contract after this, okay? I¡¯m suffering from the philter prepared by Xue Xiao. I have to do this.¡±

    He Danggui was very scared but she tried hard to stay calm. She said to the excited satyr, ¡°First, I¡¯m menstruating. Second, without the engagement contract, we¡¯re not a couple so we can¡¯t be this intimate. If you dare to take further action, I¡¯ll end my life here!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll end my life here!¡±

    He Danggui thought what she said was a bit feeble, but after she had threatened Chang Nuo with it before, she seeded in scaring Du Yao as well. Hearing it, Du Yao felt his heart was poured with cold water. He loosened her immediately and relieved her acupoint that controlled her upper body. He said in a soft tone, ¡°We can talk. I¡¯m not that impatient. I can wait for half a day. Since your lower body is not convenient, we can solve it with other ces. I won¡¯t require too much. If it¡¯s still ufortable for you, even just holding you will be enough.¡±

    He Danggui soothed his evil intent in a soft tone first and told him the engagement contract was something she had been craving for. She wouldn¡¯t talk about anything unless she got it. However, her real thought was that she should get the acupoint controlling her lower body relieved first and knocked out Du Yao while he was writing. What a shameless satyr, viin, and freak!

    Then, Du Yao was cajoled by her and wrote down many ¡°unequal treaties¡± in the engagement contract, even including monogamy. At first, he tried to refute, but he failed since she was so glib. He could just keep writing one stroke at a time butter, he needed to do it hastily to keep up with her speed. He had written a dozen pages before he realized it. He wrote with one hand and fed Zhenqi to her with another. He actually knew that she just wanted to take more but He Danggui didn¡¯t know he also wanted to gain petty advantages by putting his hand on her back as long as possible.

    He Danggui knew that the contract had no legal force, so she just told him all the expectations and requirements she ever had about her future husband. Seeing Du Yao writing down all she said, she was very amazed. Judging from his appearance, Du Yao was a rude and self-willed man and always called himself arrogantly. He was very simr to those rude northern men. However she looked at him, she still thought he¡¯s utterly different from the ¡°perfect husband¡± she wanted to have. However, when she told Meng Xuan those expectations and requirements, he agreed on nothing. Du Yao was nearly a stranger to her, but he wrote down all of them obediently and even signed with his thumb atst!

    He was serious about it. He agreed those ¡°unequal treaties¡± solemnly.

    He Danggui looked at Du Yao¡¯s face and such a thought shed through her mind. She never thought a tall and strong man like him would be so silly despite his appearance. He even sold himself with some pages just because he was attracted by her for now! Seeing his eyes fixed on her and the saliva almost running out of his mouth, she believed he would do as she said even if she asked him to sign an indenture to sell himself and an IOU for about a hundred thousand taels of silver. She didn¡¯t know there was such an idiot among the calcted imperial guards.

    As she was thinking, she sensed some hotness on her back and it became stronger like fire gradually. She felt numbness all over her body like the continuous waves. She struggled and asked Du Yao to stop feeding Zhenqi to her. She questioned him fiercely if he had done anything vicious to her because she felt she was frozen, and why he was so shabby and malicious and still did it after she had agreed to marry him.

    But Du Yao was also panicked. He said, ¡°There is a kind of suction and your body is absorbing my Zhenqi rapidly and crazily! You said it wrong. You¡¯re the shabby one! Did I irritate you? You even... No! How could a kung fu yer absorb others¡¯ internal force with the back? I¡¯ve never heard of this before. Who on earth are you?¡± While saying it, he tried hard to withdraw his hand and his forehead was covered with sweat, but he failed.

    He Danggui thought Du Yao wasn¡¯t lying or pretending to be panicked. Moreover, she had agreed to marry him so he didn¡¯t need to risk his internal force like this. Such feeding speed was so awful and dangerous that both of them might get mad and explode easily.

    And she felt the situation was a bit simr. That night at the banquet in Luo¡¯s Mansion, Meng Xuan came to take her internal force. She also couldn¡¯t get rid of him no matter how she struggled and beat him. Though she kept moving, one of Meng Xuan¡¯s hands, chest and legs was still sticking to her. It¡¯s not ¡°pressing¡± or ¡°grabbing¡± but ¡°sticking¡± as if there was suction between them. What¡¯s different was that she was the one being absorbed internal force that day and now she was absorbing that of another man. And at that time when Meng Xuan was doing it, he had everything under control and he could decide how much and fast he absorbed it, but now she could do nothing and felt she was suffocated and forced to drink river water!

    Right. She remembered it. Meng Xuan once said, ¡°Sorry. I began ¡®borrowing¡¯ it as soon as I held you just now. There¡¯s a feature about my kung fu. Once I touch someone that is off guard, his or her internal force will keep being absorbed by me unless I take off my hand.¡±

    His kung fu? Was it the kind of kung fu written in the book he left her? Did she grasp that kind of kung fu unconsciously? But how could she stop it? Meng Xuan hadn¡¯t taught her this before!

    While she was thinking about it, Du Yao kept begging for mercy. He said, ¡°You¡¯re about to suck me dry! Although I want you to do so, I didn¡¯t mean it in this way. Are you going to kill your future husband? If you killed me, who would sleep with youter?¡±

    He Danggui became furious. She thought, ¡°How could this satyr still think about that at this time? He deserves to be sucked all internal force by me! I seem to have sensed numbness simr to hot waves inside my body. Does it mean I¡¯m about to explode? What should I do? Help me, Meng Xuan!¡±

    Then, she kept taking away Du Yao¡¯s internal force and nearly two hours had passed. ¡°Bang! Bang! Bang!¡± Suddenly, someone was knocking at the door violently and then, a rude and angry voice of a man sounded, ¡°Give us the woman! Du Yao, give her to us!¡±

    Neither He Danggui nor Du Yao answered him, because at this critical moment of feeding Zhenqi, if they were interfered with by others and the process got interrupted forcibly, today would be their death anniversary next year. What¡¯s more, both of them had good hearing and they were very close to the next room where some people were having sex. They heard it very clearly. Du Yao couldn¡¯t stop his evil intent not just because of the philter. Mostly he was affected by the sound from the next room. How could he still be a gentleman with such a pretty woman beside him?

    He Danggui recognized the female voice in the next room. It belonged to Guan Zhan, the Fourth Miss in Guan¡¯s Mansion, who was always the foe to Qing¡¯er and her when they were in Chengxu Academy. She also heard Liao Zhiyuan¡¯s voice in the room where a dissolute game was going on. She felt sick and confused instantly. Qing¡¯er often mentioned old stories about this half-blooded elder brother. She told He Danggui that Liao Zhiyuan always kept a distance from women before he got married. Thest time Qing¡¯er saw him and his wife was inst month. She praised that they were very close and such a model couple. How would Liao Zhiyuan be like this now? Did anything go wrong in his family?

    As for the man who was knocking at the door violently outside, Du Yao whispered to her, ¡°His name is Song Fei and he¡¯s crazy about sex. One woman a day isn¡¯t enough for him. Now he must have tortured a woman to death and he¡¯sing to you. Ms. He, if you don¡¯t want to be his victim, you should marry me. As the saying goes, a friend¡¯s wife shall be respected. He and I are kind of close. He won¡¯t catch you as long as you be my wife.¡±

    Just after Du Yao finished his words, Guan Zhan in the next room cried out fiercely for some unknown inhumane treatment. He Danggui felt her blood frozen when hearing it. She began to sympathize with Guan Zhan who was weak and seldom left her home. How could she be so unlucky and get in such a dangerous ce? She even met her cousin, Liao Zhiyuan, who wasn¡¯t sober and didn¡¯t save her but tortured her worse.

    At this time, Du Yao almost lost all his internal force. His face turned pale and a bit sweaty. He couldn¡¯t even stand but he kept molesting He Danggui. Hugging her from behind while she was scared by Guan Zhan¡¯s cry and trembled, he grinned weakly and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t be that rude. You won¡¯t feel the pain she felt.¡±

    Before He Danggui could push him away with her elbow, she heard a familiar clear voice not far from the door. ¡°Xue Xiao, what are you doing? Song Fei, where are your clothes? Who is crying?¡± He Danggui trembled again. It¡¯s him! Duan Xiaolou was here!

    Du Yao felt she was trembling, so he asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Do you feel cold?¡± He got no response. Then, he whispered to her again, ¡°That¡¯s Duke Ruting, General Duan, Deputy Fourth-Grade. His Majesty thinks highly of him. Don¡¯t be afraid. He doesn¡¯t like women. The woman he likes doesn¡¯t like him, so he likes men now.¡± Then, Du Yao felt He Danggui shivered even more. He wanted to hold her tight to warm her, but he gradually became powerless. With his eyes closed slowly, he fell backward.

    It turned out that the feeding of Zhenqi was over and he couldn¡¯t hold her anymore... Du Yao thought about this and passed out. His body temperature kept decreasing and his face was almost as pale as He Danggui¡¯s. The ckness under his eyes got worse. It seemed he¡¯s at death¡¯s door.

    He Danggui regained freedom and the acupoint controlling her legs was also relieved, but how could she be happy after seeing the condition of Du Yao? Though he looked evil, he wasn¡¯t a viin at all and he shouldn¡¯t die like this because of her. Thus, she became a strong woman and lifted the man weighing about fifty kilos. She put him on the bed and tuck him in. Then, she gave first aid to him with silver needles on the needle guard wrapping around her wrist. The acupoints she needed to prick were in the middle of his chest. To perform first aid conveniently, she ripped off his shirts without hesitation.

    Since Du Yao was in aa, he didn¡¯t know that he was lucky. A beauty was ¡°ripping off his clothes¡±, ¡°touching his chest¡± and ¡°doing whatever she wanted¡± to him. While He Danggui was giving him first aid, she also listened to what Duan Xiaolou was saying very carefully. His voice was so pleasant that He Danggui felt it had been lifetimes since shest heard his voice up close.

    ¡°What are you two men doing here? Who was crying just now? Is that thedy who was looking for her horse?¡±

    ¡°Xue Xiao, you mean there¡¯s another woman here besides her? Where did you get them? Thatdy looked decent and self-loving. Would she be willing to y this game with you? I don¡¯t believe you. I want to talk to her.¡±

    Decent and self-loving? Was this his impression of her when they met again outside the restaurant? But... he couldn¡¯t recognize her after all.

    ¡°Indulging in pleasure is bitter. In the end, you¡¯ll only find bitterness. I have tried this before, but it¡¯s useless. The pain you got rid of at that time wille back to you in the future and it¡¯ll get worse. All of your sins will ovep. Your pain belongs to yourself and you should endure it. If you let others take it for you, it wille back to you one day.¡±

    Hearing this, He Danggui trembled and felt her nose was sore. The tears burned her face and the needle in her hand quivered as well, which immediately woke up Du Yao who was dying.

 Chapter 354 - Made an agreement with a kiss

    <h4>Chapter 354 Made an agreement with a kiss</h4>

    Du Yao woke up slowly. Before he could say anything, a fair hand covered his mouth. Tears kept running down He Danggui¡¯s face as if she had immersed herself in endless sorrow. Seeing this, Du Yao became soberer and widened his eyes in astonishment. What¡¯s wrong? What happened? She didn¡¯t cry like this even though he abducted her, frightened her, molested her, and hit her on her shoulder before. Did she...?

    His hollow eyes regained some brightness. Was she feeling sorry for his passing out? Did she fall in love with him?

    ¡°Tok, tok, tok.¡± Someone was knocking at the door lightly.

    He Danggui stopped crying immediately and straightened her back tight. Without moving a bit, she listened carefully to what was going on outside. Based on what she had noticed before, she knew among the three men outside, Song Fei that was ¡°crazy about sex¡± had gone with bare feet for a while, and that Nihon man with a blue robe and purple face also flew away from the window just now. It meant the person that was knocking at the door could only be... Duan Xiaolou?

    As expected, Duan Xiaolou¡¯s melodious voice sounded outside the room, ¡°Du Yao? Are you inside? Is thatdy still here? Let her go. I¡¯ll take her home.¡± He began to knock on the door heavily. He Danggui smiled. Duan Xiaolou was such a good man, a born knight that wouldn¡¯t let any innocent girl suffer.

    However, it¡¯s not the time to be emotional or in a daze now. Duan Xiaolou might break in any minute and see this misleading scene on the bed. To give Du Yao first aid quickly, she had exerted more strength than usual and torn his shirt into pieces. She looked not decent, either. Her cloak had been torn in two by Du Yao and her hairpin was gone. With hair disheveled, she looked flustered and messy.

    Du Yao also noticed it. After thinking for a while, to protect the reputation of this witch that could absorb his internal force, he exerted all his strength and lied loudly in a calm tone, ¡°Duan, stop knocking. She¡¯s sleeping now. Don¡¯t disturb her. You¡¯re not familiar with her but I am. She¡¯ll be scared if she sees you. After she rests enough, I will take her home safe and sound. I promise.¡±

    ¡°Du Yao, it shouldn¡¯t happen again. If I know you do such a thing again, I won¡¯t let you get away.¡±

    After saying this, Duan Xiaolou walked away from the door. He Danggui felt relieved and she also found that Du Xiaolou had changed a lot. In the past, he would definitely save thedy who was ¡°suffering¡± in the room before he left. No, he wouldn¡¯t even let such a thing happen at the very beginning. He would never let any woman get into trouble in front of him. He used to be a man that couldn¡¯t bear having grit in his eyes, but now he was able to turn a blind eye. It seemed he had be more mature and could handle things tactfully.

    He Danggui drew such a conclusion in her heart. Meanwhile, Du Yao¡¯s eyes turned hollow again and lost their focus. He said slowly, ¡°It is also romantic to die and be a ghost under peony flowers. Ms. He, you¡¯re the most beautiful peony flower I¡¯ve ever seen.¡± His voice wasn¡¯t as loud as it was when he talked to Duan Xiaolou just now. It became hoarse and t as if not only his internal force but also his soul had been taken away. He continued, ¡°Though you¡¯ve absorbed my internal force, what surprises me is that I don¡¯t me you at all. We¡¯ve even written our engagement contract, so you¡¯re my wife now, right?¡±

    He Danggui was at a loss for word. She thought, ¡°Is he really stupid or just ying dumb? That ridiculous engagement contract is just a trick. Hasn¡¯t he realized it now?¡±

    ¡°Husband and wife are a unit. Giving my internal force to you or leaving it to myself is the same...¡± After saying this, Du Yao slowly closed his eyes. He felt hisst breath vanishing like fog in the clouds. He seemed to have lost all his feelings. Only a kind of inexplicable joy surrounded him like a warm cotton quilt... Was this how humans felt before death? It turned out that death felt sofortable. People always feared death. That was absurd...

    He Danggui sensed something was wrong with him right away. Only people that were dying would have such an expression and breath! It¡¯s abnormal! Although he was weak, he¡¯s not that close to death. He had a strong body after practicing kung fu for dozens of years. No matter how powerful her ¡°internal force absorbing skill¡± was, she wouldn¡¯t take away all of it in only two hours! How could Du Yao die like this? Didn¡¯t it mean she became a killer? She had given him first aid in time, so it should work. Why would he be like this?

    However, a smart person like her figured it out immediately. As a kung fu master and a proud man, Du Yao had lost the thing he was most proud of. Even though the candle of his life didn¡¯t go out, that of his spirit did. Without the will to stay alive, he might really die since he was already very weak!

    He Danggui was panicked. How could she let this happen? Thus, she blurted out, ¡°Du Yao, stay with me. What am I going to do if you die? We¡¯re a unit. I will give the internal force back to you tomorrow. We¡¯ll get married. Don¡¯t leave me, okay?¡±

    The exhaustion on Du Yao¡¯s haggard face was gone suddenly because of her words. He opened his eyes and asked, ¡°Will you marry me? Are you serious?¡± His tone became less t as well.

    He Danggui nodded and replied, ¡°We¡¯ll get married as soon as you recover. I¡¯ll also give your internal force back to you. Please hang on.¡±

    Her head was very close to him and her sweet breath fell on his face. Therefore, he asked, ¡°Kiss me. If you kiss me, I¡¯ll do as you say. I¡¯ll believe you as long as you kiss me.¡±

    She froze and hesitated for a moment. Before she decided whether she should ¡°save¡± him with such a method, it became noisy outside because many people were heading towards the room. Feeling flustered, she immediately stuffed the pieces of Du Yao¡¯s robe into the crevice of the bed. She also noticed many books were scattered on the ground, all of them are banned book. None of the secrets hidden inside should be known by her. Those books were knocked down from the shelf when Du Yao lost control and molested her. If other imperial guards saw this, would they know she had read those books? Would she get killed?

    She acted faster than she thought. She ran to those books swiftly, but before she could put them back to the shelf, the wooden door was broken abruptly. In an instance, it turned into pits of wood all over the floor. When she looked up, she saw a cold face of a human-shaped ice sculpture. She guessed he was Duan Xiaolou.

    The second man appearing at the door was Lu Jiangbei. He looked around the room in shock and guessed what had happened here. Next, it was another man with a cold face, Gao Jue. Then, the Nihon man also came. Huh, they were either absent or appeared en masse. And they came so quickly.

    The atmosphere was very depressing as if they were heading to hell. Everyone was silent, deathly silent.

    Feeling guilty, He Danggui brushed her loose hair with her hand and broke the silence, ¡°Sorry. I identally hit the bookshelf so that they fell. I¡¯ll put them back to their original positions right away.¡±

    No one answered her. Duan Xiaolou, Lu Jiangbei and Gao Jue just stared at her as if she was a ghost. Thus, she became more guilty. Didn¡¯t they believe her? What should she do? Then, she spread her hands and tried to say with more sincerity, ¡°I just hit it identally. I didn¡¯t read them at all. Seriously. You can ask him if you don¡¯t believe me!¡± She pointed at Du Yao who was lying on the bed. She hoped he could be moral and cover it for her. She thought, ¡°Please! Just be a moral man before you die! Amitabha! You¡¯ll be blessed!¡±

    However, Du Yao was too weak to say anything. The only result she got was that Duan Xiaolou widened his eyes in astonishment and ran to Du Yao right away. He raised his palm as a weapon with coldness. He Danggui realized immediately that Duan Xiaolou was going to kill Du Yao!

    Anyone stopped him! Why did no one stop him? Lu Jiangbei? Gao Jue? Why were they still standing at the door? Du Yao was about to be killed!

    He Danggui was frightened and rushed towards him. Bang!

    The strong qi came from Duan Xiaolou¡¯s palm. He Danggui pressed the back of her right hand with her left palm and stopped him with them. She finally blocked this killing attack for Du Yao. The part of her right hand between the thumb and the index finger was ruptured and it hurt so much, but what¡¯s strange was she didn¡¯t get injured internally. The force of Duan Xiaolou¡¯s palm just went across her hand and it retreated instantly. She guessed Duan Xiaolou must have pulled his punches at thest moment... Did he get hurt internally by the coldness? She was worried but she didn¡¯t dare to look into his eyes.

    Then, she thought quickly and forced herself to spit blood, which flew out of her mouth slowly. She pretended to be severely hurt because she felt there was icy Zhenqiing out of Duan Xiaolou¡¯s palm just now. Maybe she could get the antidote if she pretended to be hurt by him? Sure enough, she got a box of antidote. She finally felt relieved after being worried for these two days. She found a solution for Meng Xuan¡¯s sword cut now.

    Later, Lu Jiangbei started to heal Du Yao. His hand was under the sheet, so He Danggui guessed he was feeding Zhenqi to Du Yao. Seeing Du Yao getting a betterplexion and steady breath anding back to life, He Danggui felt relieved and spotted her lie in person. She said, ¡°I never thought about marrying you. I just did this to stall and relieve my acupoints that had been blocked. As for this engagement contract, people that have been married or have read the neww enactedst year would know such a personal agreement has no legal effect. Thus, I should just burn it.¡±

    She burned the engagement contract written by Du Yao sincerely and mocked at him, ¡°Master Du, you¡¯re a magistrate of a county and ten years older than me, but you didn¡¯t even readws. You do prefer arts of war to arts of peace and overlook study.¡±

    Actually, she was just forcing a smile. She didn¡¯t think Du Yao was ignorant or ridiculous. On the contrary, she could see he had a precious quality that should be cherished. Although he looked like a rude man, he respected females much more than not only Meng Xuan and Gao Jue but also Duan Xiaolou in a sense. He was indeed a good man.

    However, she would need more lies to maintain her first lie and it never ended. Thus, she must destroy the flower of lies right away. Seeing Du Yao¡¯s disappointment, she apologized to him in her heart. After she cured Meng Xuan¡¯s injury, she would find the solution to give the internal force back to him, but now she could only give him an ¡°IOU¡±.

    After exining what had happened generally to Gao Jue, He Danggui soothed the frost on his feet with silver needles and stood up. She smiled and said, ¡°So please take care of Master Gao, Master Du, Master Liao and Ms. Guan in the next room. Just go hide in the dungeon with them quickly, or something bad may happen. Remember to help me find the antidote to ¡°He He Qi Ri Qing¡±. I¡¯ll be back within one or two days.¡±

    Then, she went downstairs and waited for all people in the restaurant to get in the dungeon until she was the only one left in the hall. Gao Jue went down quickly with others. He looked into her eyes for a moment and went into the dungeon. Lu Jiangbei also looked at her from a distance and nodded to her. He was ¡°telling¡± her everything was ready and maybe he also wanted to thank her. He gave her a deep look as well in the end and turned around to get into the dungeon.

    At this time, the sun set and night began to fall. Dark clouds spread the sky and the air became dull and depressing as if a storm was about toe. The quietness brought some scary feelings.

    He Danggui paced the hall twice with her hands behind her back. It¡¯s a good time to perform the tactical matrix on such a cloudy day. The atmosphere was also cooperating with her. In fact, ¡°Stone Camouge¡± was not a camouge but a killing matrix, but today she was the only one to decide whether someone would die here or not.

 Chapter 355 - Your mother and I were Together

    <h4>Chapter 355 Your mother and I were Together</h4>

    ¡°Stone Camouge¡± was one of the few matrices that He Danggui learned from Bai Yangbai in her previous life, but it was also the most dangerous one. It needed to be triggered with 125 grams of blood and then, it would have destructive power, but its creator Bai Yangbai didn¡¯t like killing, so there was another simple version of it. That version would cause no death, but it had a defect. Once it¡¯s closed, people outside couldn¡¯t get in and vice versa.

    What¡¯s more, the alternating coldness and hotness must be suffering for those in the dungeon. She hoped they could be patient and don¡¯t cause any trouble, because the sound in the dungeon was possible to be heard outside. The diagram of this tactical matrix looked generally like that of Tai Chi in which Yin and Yang were alternating. At the alternating moment, the sound inside could be heard outside.

    The most torturous thing was that those in the dungeon would feel extremely cold in Yin as if they were in an ice field. This ce was originally in winter and there was ice everywhere so it¡¯s not strange. However, When Yang alternated with Yin, people inside the dungeon would feel hot and fuggy. Would they suspect that she had set a fire outside and tried to roast them to death? Once the chaos began and the enemies heard the noise, the most hidden dungeon would also be exposed.

    She should¡¯ve told Lu Jiangbei all of this, but obviously, they didn¡¯t believe her at all. No matter how much she had said, once any problem appeared, they wouldn¡¯t entrust their lives to an irrelevant person like her for no reason. She could only do her best and leave the rest to God by leaving a note in the wax shell she gave to Lu Jiangbei. Would they use the idea on it or not? That¡¯s not what she could control.

    The original version of ¡°Stone Camouge¡± had no defect and blood sacrifice was also not a very difficult thing to do. Everyone could give 125 grams of blood easily. However, people outside the tactical matrix would die for it. Imperial Guards was a ruthless organization that maintained imperial power. Objectively speaking, they were people havingmitted countless crimes so she couldn¡¯t kill others to save them.

    Although she had no idea who theseing enemies were or what treasure they were scrambling for, she didn¡¯t intend to get involved too much. She just wanted to heal Meng Xuan with the antidote and try to detoxify He He Qi Ri Qing in her body. s, they were both poisoned by imperial guards who were already powerful but still liked using poisons. It¡¯s so unreasonable.

    She hadn¡¯t seen fights or killings for so long that they all sounded like strange dust of the past. She didn¡¯t want to get involved in such things. Only being safe and sound was what she longed for and what she did now was her trying to get this wish realized... Thinking about it, she took off the gold lock, opened the gear, and took out one of those small boxes. She poured some red powder and scattered it on Xun of Eight Trigram in this Stone Camouge. Then, she finished preparing the tactical matrix.

    Her purplish-red horse and short brown horse were still tied at the gate of the restaurant. She should¡¯ve left right away since it¡¯s not the evening yet and the torrential rain and those unknown enemies were still on the way, but she was a bit worried about those people in the dungeon. She had done all she could do, so now she could just... She could emte Bai Yangbai and make divination. Did her best and left the rest to God. What would God do, then?

    She couldn¡¯t makeplex divination, but she was able to recite the hexagram-records of making 64 hexagrams of I Ching... Then, three spluttering sounds came.

    The copper coins fell on the ground. Her faint smile faded. Hexagram Xian? Why would it be?

    Suddenly the sound of hooves was heard in distance. She had no time to figure it out and could just leave this ce of trouble first. She went out of the gate, mounted one horse, and led the other, but she couldn¡¯t find a horsewhip. Thus, she imitated Du Yao and patted the horse on its rump. ¡°Giddyap! Giddyap! Giddyap!¡±

    She rode the horse and ran 1.5 or 2 kilometers. Behind her dust swirled in the air. At this time, it was drizzling so that the dust got wet and fell. He Danggui didn¡¯t feel tired after running for long. It must be because she had adequate internal force now. She wasn¡¯t happy about this. Instead, she thought of Du Yao and felt guilty. She got Hexagram Xian symbolizing entanglements between men and women just now in the restaurant. Was it about someone there, about her, or about other people and things?

    The distant sound of hooves became clearer. There were several ways to enter Ten Mile Slope. It seemed she was unlucky and had chosen the same way with those ¡°viins¡±. Judging from the sound, there were at least ten horses. She didn¡¯t know who these people were, but since they dared to attack government officers, they were probably some desperadoes. She should avoid them first. ¡°Stop¨C¡± She reined in the horse, looked around, and found a low thorn bush in the southeastern side so she hid there with her horses.

    ¡°Giddyap!¡± ¡°Giddyap!¡± ¡°Giddyap!¡± Those viins passed. She stifled her curiosity and didn¡¯t try to look at them. If she knew more, she would need to face countless trouble.

    After they had gone far away, she stood up and turned around. A man with a red robe was standing behind and she got frightened, but when she saw his face, her panic was reced by surprise and shock. ¡°Mr. Nie? It¡¯s you! It¡¯s been so long but you still haven¡¯t changed at all!¡± The man looked down at her while she looked up and kept asking, ¡°Where have you been these years? Why did you leave Luo¡¯s Family without saying goodbye three years ago? Guard Pan said you had paid him for taking care of me. Why would you help me like that?¡±

    Right. This man in his thirties standing about fifteen meters away who was expressionless and looked serious was Nie Chun, a guard in Luo¡¯s Mansion before. He looked at He Danggui in distance with some strange light in his eyes. After a long while, he said, ¡°I¡¯m not a worker in Luo¡¯s Mansion. I just lived there for convenience before and I moved out after I found another ce to live. I often go back to visit Madam Luo and others but you don¡¯t know it. Third Miss, why are you here? It¡¯s not very safe.¡±

    Shaking the two reins in her hand, He Danggui lied, ¡°I went out of the city to walk horses and tried to find which one was easier to ride. But one of them got away and I found it just now. Mr. Nie, where are you going? You...¡± She stopped suddenly because she sensed a smell of blood in the direction of Nie Chun. She looked up and down at him and instantly she found that Nie Chun who used to like wearing red robes had worn a bloodstained garment now!

    This old friend she hadn¡¯t seen for long became not amicable at once. Honestly, Nie Chun had never been amicable. He Danggui also found some killing intent in his eyes. The knife held in his hand looked clean but the handle of it was wrapped with red wet strips of cloth. He was totally a viin that had killed lots of people now! He Danggui stepped back warily and asked, ¡°Are you also here to walk horses? I¡¯ll leave you alone if you¡¯re busy.¡±

    Nie Chun also sensed he looked too murderous and he couldn¡¯t control it well. He could distinguish between friends and foes but his knife didn¡¯t recognize people other than its owner. He nodded to He Danggui and turned around to leave. When he passed this thorn bush just now, he found someone was in it. He suspected it might be an ambush so he stopped to check.

    Seeing him leaving directly, He Danggui felt a bit surprised. She took a step forward and asked behind his back, ¡°I heard you got hurt severely when you left Luo¡¯s Family. Are you all right now? Where are you living? How can I find you?¡± She was worried he wouldn¡¯t answer her so she continued, ¡°You¡¯ve helped me so I should thank you. And I have something to talk to you. I wonder when it¡¯ll be convenient for you?¡± She had been looking for Nie Chun for three years because of a secret that couldn¡¯t be told.

    Taking two more steps forward before stopping, Nie Chun said with his back to her, ¡°It¡¯s your mother¡¯s decision to ask Pan Jingyang to take care of you. You don¡¯t need to thank me for that. You can talk to me now and get straight to the point. I don¡¯t have much time for chatting.¡±

    He Danggui nced left and right. How could she get straight to the point when it came to matchmaking? Thus, she kept asking, ¡°Can you give me your address? Will you stay in Yangzhou City for long?¡± It was strange. He said it was her mother¡¯s decision to let Pan Jingyang take care of her but she never heard about that from her mother. Why would Nie Chun be the intermediary?

    She stopped talking and then, Nie Chun replied, ¡°Third Miss, your mother and I are together. She couldn¡¯t pluck up to tell you so I¡¯ll do it. She doesn¡¯t live in the Taoist temple now.¡±

    He said this in a calm tone but He Danggui screamed after hearing it. She asked, ¡°You are together? When did it happen? My mother doesn¡¯t live there now? Then, where does she live? How can I find her?¡± She had visited her mother in Sanqing Temple three months ago but she didn¡¯t find any hint of it. Her mother was just like a devout Taoist nun and practiced meditation day and night. Why were they together suddenly? She did want to make a match but before she could do anything, they got together already. Why was it different from what happened in her previous life?

    She asked him a battery of questions but Nie Chun neither answered nor turned around. She sighed and said, ¡°The rain wets the bloom as the bride weds the groom. I can¡¯t stop it. Since you are together, I should go visit my mother, right? When will you hold the wedding ceremony? Did you get the divorce agreement from He Fu?¡±

    Nie Chun turned around slightly and squinted at her who was down to his left. He told her the truth frankly, ¡°There won¡¯t be any ceremony or divorce agreement. At first, your mother just didn¡¯t want to get divorced. Later she heard He Fu got in trouble in the capital. She sent someone to inquire and knew he and his family were leading a miserable life. Then, she told me she had practiced abstinence from meat and copied Sutra of Merit and Virtue for many years to produce blessings so that she could live more happily in the next life. If she got divorced with him when He Fu and his families were in the desperate time, she wouldmit more sins instead.¡±

    After hearing it, He Danggui sneered and said, ¡°We should care about virtue when we¡¯re with good people, but it¡¯ll only bring troubles if we are soft-hearted to viins. My mother just can¡¯t understand this, but Mr. Nie, you have an insight into everything and excellent kung fu. Since you¡¯ve been together with my mother, don¡¯t you want to eradicate future troubles and lead a steady as well as peaceful life?¡± If Nie Chun intended to kill He Fu, it would be as easy as to stamp on an ant! However, why did he never try to deal with He Fu and get married to her mother earlier? She had had a vague feeling that Nie Chun liked her mother since her previous life.

    Nie Chun took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. He wanted to exin it more clearly, ¡°Your mother and I are together by ident. I don¡¯t fall for her and she doesn¡¯t intend to have a long rtionship with me. Third Miss, you¡¯re a grown-up now so you must understand what I¡¯m about to say. I don¡¯t need to hide anything from you. Your mother is in her thirties and her husband isn¡¯t by her side all the time. I¡¯m a man of her age and I don¡¯t have a wife or concubine. We¡¯re together just because of our normal needs. We¡¯re like bed partners or illicit lovers to each other. There¡¯s no need to hold a ceremony. It won¡¯tst long.¡±

 Chapter 356 - Illicit lovers

    <h4>Chapter 356 Illicit lovers</h4>

    Bed partners? Illicit lovers? These words were even colder and more desperate than the icy rain. Her mother gave up practicing in the Taoist temple and nning for her future. Instead of divorcing He Fu and finding another good man or just living with her daughter, she chose to be together with a man that wouldn¡¯t marry her?

    He Danggui also took a deep breath. Looking up to let the icy rain hit her face, she regained her nerve and said to Nie Chun, ¡°I got it. Please tell me your address. I want to see my mother.¡±

    Nie Chun replied while shaking his head, ¡°She¡¯s not ready to see you yet. You should wait. And it¡¯ll be no good for her reputation if others know she¡¯s living with me. Just don¡¯t tell the people of Luo¡¯s Family about it, or your mother may always feel ashamed in the future. You¡¯re her daughter so you should consider her. It¡¯s up to you.¡± Finishing his words, he turned around and left. This time, he did leave. He just disappeared from where he was directly. And the next moment, a shadow was seen about thirty meters away and then, it disappeared again. It repeated like this several times. In just a few seconds, he was gone! He Danggui got anxious and tried to catch up, but how could she do that? Nie Chun grasped Phantom Footwork and was known as the ¡°mysterious swift-footed walker¡± while she just started to learn Mysterious Footwork and called herself a ¡°walker over the water and grass¡±. Moreover, there was still the poison named He He Qi Ri Qing in her right pinky. It would be very dangerous to use her zhenqi now. Once the poison was activated by her zhenqi and broke through her resistance to get in her heart, it would be the end of her life. How could Nie Chun just tell her that and leave directly?

    She mounted her horse with a heavy heart and continued to walk toward the city gate. Her mind was full of thoughts and she hadplex feelings. How could things be like that?

    She always regarded Nie Chun as a man of good personality and indomitable will. She remembered in her previous life, he stayed unmarried until he was more than forty years old and he expressed his feelings for her mother several times. That was why He Danggui wanted to do the matchmaking between her mother and Nie Chun, but she just had such a thought and she would consider it for some time before taking action. However, they had already lived together now? Nie Chun just shocked her with the news and said he wouldn¡¯t marry her mother because their rtionship was only about ¡°normal needs¡± and her mother couldn¡¯t see her now as well... She never thought he could be so shameless!

    The icy rain kept falling and got heavier gradually. He Danggui and her horses were all wet. However she thought about it, she didn¡¯t feel right. Then, she had another absurd guess. Maybe her mother and Nie Chun also had such a rtionship in the previous life and Nie Chun abandoned her motherter so that she went to Qingzhou City for He Fu and got heartbroken again? They had kept their rtionship a secret all the time and no one knew it. It was not strange that He Danggui had no idea about it.

    ¡°Giddyap! Giddyap!¡± The sound of hooves and human voices was heard again. Judging from the sound, this group of people was bigger than the previous one. He Danggui wondered who they are.

    Right! It urred to He Danggui that Nie Chun wasing with the previous group of people. He just found someone was following them when he was in front of the thorn bush so he fell behind to deal with it and saw her. Judging from the route they had taken, those people were probably heading to Bing Hua Dian, which meant Nie Chun was also one of the viins that nned to attack the imperial guards there! It didn¡¯t make sense. Nie Chun was a warrior in Jianghu and didn¡¯t work for the government. She never heard that he had ever joined any killer organization. Why would he be rted to this matter?

    She had no time to think about it and just stopped the horse at the roadside. There wasn¡¯t any ce for her to hide nearby, so she had to cover her face with a ck cloth, looked down, and waited for those men to pass by. She just focused on hearing them and then, a man stopped his horse and walked toward her. She looked up and found the man covered his face with a ck cloth even better than she did. He also wore a long and wide headband. He Danggui looked at his eyes and felt familiar, but she couldn¡¯t recognize him. However, the man talked to her directly.

    ¡°Miss He? Why are you here?¡± He asked in a low voice, ¡°It¡¯s dangerous for you to walk in a rainy night in such a deste ce. And you¡¯ll get ill easily. Aren¡¯t you sick now? You must feel cold. Wait a minute!¡±

    The man said a lot, but she still didn¡¯t know who he was by listening to his voice. He seemed to care much about her and could recognize her with just one nce despite the ck cloth on her face. He Danggui quivered because of coldness and produced a bitter smile. Her mother went away with a man and didn¡¯t want to see her at all. She even had to hear about the news from others. How could anyone else in this world worry that she would feel cold or get ill? Where did such a kind persone from?

    The rain made her vision blurry and she heard the man¡¯s footsteps again. He drew her to the horse and said, ¡°Forgive me for this.¡± Before she could make a response, he hit her at an acupoint with one hand and threw her night suit on the ground after tearing it in two with the other hand! She was so frightened that her spirit freed itself from her body, butter it got back because the man helped her put on a cotton-padded coat. What was going on? A warm coat?

    The man did it as if he was getting a kid dressed. He did up each button and tied eachce carefully. After fixing her long hair, he helped her put on the hat attached to the coat as well and tied thece of it into the shape of a four-leaf clover. He didn¡¯t say anything or look at her eyes in the process but just focused on what he was doing. Moreover, he didn¡¯t intend to take off the ck cloth on her face, either.

    Then, she was covered by arge raincape that was taken off by the man from himself. It was still warm when it covered her body. The man continued to tie thece. He Danggui still didn¡¯t recognize him, but after being covered by the warmth, she suddenly found her body had been too cold to feel anything before. She was so moved that the tears just streamed down and made the ck cloth get wet. Why was there someone in the world treating her so well? Who was this man? Why would he be so considerate to her?

    After having tied thece of the cape, the man relieved her acupoint right away and wiped her tears with the back of his fingers. Then, he said, ¡°Miss He, don¡¯t be sad. No matter what you be, I¡¯ll be willing to ept you as my concubine. I¡¯ll provide you with a ce to live and a life without worrying about food or clothing.¡±

    She stopped crying and stared at him. Who was he? Did he know what she was sad about?

    Then, he said something more shocking, ¡°Although I only regard you as a little girl, I kind of like you. It¡¯s not hard to like ady of your personality and beauty, so you don¡¯t need to worry that you¡¯ll be left out after marrying me.¡±

    He Danggui didn¡¯t cry anymore. She took several steps backward and looked at the man. Judging from his build and voice, he might be in his early twenties. She felt familiar with him, but she didn¡¯t have an impression of his voice. Who on earth was he?

    The man walked closer to her and touched her teary eyes gently. He confessed his feelings to her in a low voice, ¡°I don¡¯t get bored of you because your beauty has faded. Instead, I take pity on you. And I like you. These are reasons for me to marry you. Miss He, I¡¯ll regard the baby in your belly as my child and take good care of you in the future. I¡¯ll never deceive or hurt you. After I settle some urgent things these days, I¡¯ll go to Luo¡¯s Family to talk about our marriage at the beginning of the next month. We will get married before you have a baby bump. If you don¡¯t like living in a mansion with high walls, I can prepare for you another yard and let you be its owner. It can also keep you from the disturbance of women in Feng¡¯s Family.¡±

    He Danggui finally knew who he was. She stepped backward and asked in shock, ¡°Are you Feng Yang? You... Where are you going?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m Feng Yang.¡± The man never thought she hadn¡¯t recognized him, so he was in a slight daze before he continued his ¡°confession¡±, ¡°I owned a yard called ¡®Xinyuan Yard¡¯ in the south suburb. I can show you that someday. If you hate the noise and busyness in the city and like the view of Xinyuan Yard, you can settle there. Lots of friends of mine in Jianghu like to take a break there while they are on trips. They often drink tea, have sword dances, y chess, and chat there. You won¡¯t feel lonely in Xinyuan Yard. Therefore, don¡¯t be sad. Just take good care of the baby. I¡¯ll be your man and support from now on.¡±

    His confession was very moving and the promise sounded sincere, but the point was she wasn¡¯t pregnant at all! Why would Chang Nuo have such a misunderstanding?

    She took two more steps backward and wiped her tears with a handkerchief. She asked, ¡°You dress like this. Are you going to rob anyone? I¡¯ve covered my face well, but you still can recognize me. It¡¯s rare.¡± It was so strange. People that should recognize her failed while those who shouldn¡¯t did it with just one nce. So ridiculous. It turned out Chang Nuo¡¯s voice was like this. She seemed to have heard it several times in her previous life. She didn¡¯t remember it very clearly.

    Chang Nuo had thought about this ¡°confession¡± for two days. He thought that at least He Danggui might be a bit moved and thanked him. Even if she rejected him, he had prepared the words to convince her. Anyway, she must take good care of the baby and give birth to it safely. However, why didn¡¯t she react like a normal woman or even a normal human at all when he had shown her all his affection? Although it was his first time confessing his feelings to a girl, he thought he knew women well and he had paid efforts to organize these words. Why would it end like this?

    Feeling helpless, He answered her question, ¡°I just recognize your horse but not you. You picked this purplish-red horse from the stud farm outside the city, right? I wanted it as well and I was about to buy it for my sister as a gift, but I was held up by something at that time. Later when I went back and asked about it, they said a miss from Luo¡¯s Family had bought it. I checked it specially, so I had a deep impression of it. Eh, how¡¯s that? Will you think over what I said just now?¡±

    It turned out he just recognized the horse... He Danggui felt relieved and smiled behind the ck cloth. She replied, ¡°Thank you for your kindness and your cotton-padded coat as well as the cape. They make me feel very warm. Thank you so much. However, I don¡¯t know how to exin to you what has happened in the Depositary of Buddhist Texts of Luo¡¯s Mansion. I do have no rtionship with Lord Ning. We¡¯re even stranger than any strangers. As for the rumor that I¡¯m pregnant, it¡¯s just some nonsense talked by my silly nephew. This will affect my reputation. Childe Feng, I hope you won¡¯t misunderstand it anymore.¡± Seeing the strong suspicion shown in his eyes, she could just sigh and continue, ¡°If you still don¡¯t believe me, you cane for me with a doctor and let him take my pulse. You¡¯ll see whether I¡¯m pregnant or not.¡±

    ¡°The doctor¡¯sing. Let me take your pulse.¡± A voice sounded clearer and clearer behind the horse. The person seemed to be smiling. It wasn¡¯t very familiar, but He Danggui had heard it several times recently. Thus, she recognized the voice belonged to Master Prophet Qi Xuanyu. Even he was here? Was he going to Bing Hua Dian Inn with Chang Nuo and other men?

 Chapter 357 - Two ways to prove the virginity

    <h4>Chapter 357 Two ways to prove the virginity</h4>

    As he spoke, the man showed up at the back of the horse. He dressed as Chang Nuo did by covering well his face with a ck cloth and his head with a big hat of fox fur. Only his bright nted eyes could be seen. Since He Danggui had recognized Qi Xuanyu¡¯s voice, she recognized his eyes immediately as well.

    She was curious. Chang Nuo and Qi Xuanyu dressed the same. It could be seen that they were hiding identities and about to do bad things. Were they heading to the inn to kill those imperial guards? They were on Lord Ning¡¯s side. They just fought against the imperial guards when they had to and had never provoked those men representing the emperor on their own initiative. However, this time they went to kill them. It was so incredible.

    There were several forces hidden in Yangzhou City. Other than imperial guards, there were people led by Lord Ning, Nie Chun, and Meng Xuan respectively. And these are just four forces she had seen in person. Why were they so tacit and came to Yangzhou City to have a gang war? At first, she thought they were just here to see the fun and participated in the Wulin Assembly after the New Year. It was normal to see men drinking and fighting. However, based on what she had seen these days, what Meng Xuan had told her, the conversations among those imperial guards, and what Shangguan Mingri had said to Chang Nuo that day in the Depositary of Buddhist Texts, this Wulin Assembly wouldn¡¯t just be an ordinary assembly of people in Jianghu. There must be a huge conspiracy hidden in it...

    But what did that have to do with her? Why would Nie Chun be together with her mother and not marry her? Why did Chang Nuo who was almost a stranger to her treat her so well? Why did Qi Xuanyu treat her like a close friend when it was their first time meeting each other? He grabbed her hand right away and even put his hand into her sleeve to pinch her forearm with his cold fingers. What absurd method was he using to take her pulse? Was he taking advantage of her? She didn¡¯t expect that Qi Xuanyu was a satyr. As a man cannot be known by his looks, so can the sea not be measured by a bushel!

    Qi Xuanyu checked her for a long while. When He Danggui was about to retreat her hand and wanted to beat him, he finally relieved her and turned his head to look at Chang Nuo. He said while smiling, ¡°Miss He isn¡¯t pregnant at all. She¡¯s still a virgin. Feng Yang, you shouldn¡¯t say that anymore. If you damage her reputation, you¡¯ll need to take the responsibility and marry her.¡±

    ¡°Virgin?¡± Chang Nuo was very curious, ¡°You can tell she¡¯s a virgin by touching her arm randomly like that? How did you do that? Please teach me!¡± He showed his strong thirst for knowledge.

    Qi Xuanyu replied gently with a faint smile, ¡°I can¡¯t tell you this in front of ady. If you¡¯re really curious about it, you can ask me another day.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Chang Nuo became more curious. He nced at He Danggui and Qi Xuanyu as if Qi Xuanyu was a teacher and He Danggui was a walking book. He insisted on grasping this practical skill and then, he would examine his pretty younger sisters one by one when he went back Feng¡¯s Family. In a begging tone, he continued, ¡°Please teach me that. Qingyi is not a stranger. She can hear it. Qi, you don¡¯t need to avoid her.¡±

    He Danggui felt upset and frowned. She could hear it? Who told him that? The two men were very boring. She wanted to leave directly, but she was warm now while Chang Nuo lost his raincape and got his shoulders wet. Wasn¡¯t it too impolite if she just left? She couldn¡¯t do it, so she just turned around and faced the other side to avoid the burning inquiring gaze of Chang Nuo. ncing at thedy who was feeling embarrassed, Qi Xuanyu whispered to Chang Nuo. His voice was already low and it was drowned by Chang Nuo¡¯s clicking of his tongue. Since she couldn¡¯t hear their conversation clearly, He Danggui was curious and confused. Thus, she turned around to look at the two men who were whispering and staring at her together. Chang Nuo¡¯s gaze seemed to be about to burn two holes in her face and then nt two flowers there. Qi Xuanyu¡¯s look was even weirder, which made her feel very ufortable.

    Although she couldn¡¯t hear clearly what they were talking about, she knew that wouldn¡¯t be anything good. Thus, she asked angrily with her back to them, ¡°Since this doctor has proved my virginity, can I go now, Childe Feng? All that you¡¯ve mentioned before is canceled now, right?¡±

    Chang Nuo whispered to Qi Xuanyu again for a while and then, he came up with a smile on his face. He made a bow with hands folded in front and said, ¡°Let me see your arm. I won¡¯t touch it. You can roll up the sleeve yourself, okay?¡±

    He Danggui felt both angry and amused. Did he really think she was a walking book? Of course, she didn¡¯t want to do that, but Chang Nuo bowed to her three times without hesitation and kept begging her to show him her arm. She had to roll up the sleeve on her left arm. What did he want to see? Everyone had hands and forearms and they looked very simr!

    However, even she got shocked as soon as she rolled up her sleeve. On the inner side of her fair forearm and about twelve centimeters below her wrist, a little cinnabar mole of deep red color appeared out of nowhere. It was as big as a mung bean and even more ruddy and lustrous than ordinary moles as if it was alive! She couldn¡¯t help rubbing it, but the cinnabar mole was still there after she had rubbed it hard and its color got more delicate. She looked up to re at Qi Xuanyu and asked, ¡°Did you do this? Why?¡± Was this the so-called Virginity Mark? How could Qi Xuanyu put it there just by pinching her forearm for a second?

    Qi Xuanyuughed and replied, ¡°Miss He, don¡¯t be nervous. It¡¯s a gift for you, which is a kind of ¡®Ya¡¯ specially used by Xuanmen School to prove women¡¯s virginity. People call it Virginity Mark. But this is different from the ordinary ones. You¡¯ll see its beauty in the future. At that time, you will thank me for this.¡±

    He Danggui felt so embarrassed and annoyed that she didn¡¯t know what to say. What was going on? When did he put such a red mark on her arm? She was even unaware of it! What beauty? It sounded very evil! While they were talking, Chang Nuo kept walking around He Danggui and observing her forearm carefully. No one knew if his mouth under the ck cloth was watering. He got excited and asked questions in session, ¡°Can you distinguish virgins and those who are not just by touching arms lightly? What if you put the mark on a man? It won¡¯t work, right?¡±

    Qi Xuanyu took out a delicate ss bottle that was as big as a broad bean and very jade-like. He opened it, poured out some of the thing inside, and dropped it on his thumb ring of the earthy color. Then, he nodded to hint Chang Nuo to show his arm. Rolling up his sleeve, Chang Nuo showed his strong forearm. It was a bit dark and even as big as two of He Danggui¡¯s forearms. The thing on the thumb ring touched Chang Nuo¡¯s forearm. A few momentster, Chang Nuo shouted, ¡°It¡¯s so hot!¡± And that unknown drop even ¡°sizzled¡± and made a strange sound.

    He Danggui was shocked by such a weird view because that strange sound was like shouting ¡°Fake! Fake!¡± She looked down at the mark on her forearm. What on earth was this? Why would it shout like humans? Was it really alive? She scratched it hard several times, but she still couldn¡¯t remove it as if it was on her arm since she was born. Seeing there was no sign of cinnabar on his dark big arm, Chang Nuo was so surprised that he eximed, ¡°It turns out that it can only attach to women¡¯s skins and it won¡¯t work on men.¡±

    Qi Xuanyu took back the ss bottle. He nodded and said with a smile, ¡°Right. ¡®Ya¡¯ only attaches to women¡¯s skins and it can only stay on the fair arms of virgins. If Miss He isn¡¯t a virgin anymore, she will just get burned as you did. Ordinary Virginity Marks should be put on girls when they¡¯re eleven or twelve years old and the results can only be seen a few monthster, which are not always true. However, I can test it as soon as I touch ady¡¯s skin with ¡®Ya¡¯. How awesome it is! Except for the bone-touching method I told you just now, this kind of Virginity Mark is the best way to prove virginity. It works all the time,¡± He fixed his bright nted eyes on He Danggui and continued, ¡°Miss He, does it work for you?¡±

    He Danggui thought he just met her for the first time, but he even tested whether she was a virgin or not with such a weird thing. He was so rude and hateful. If it weren¡¯t for his tragic end many yearster and she got some mental bnce from it, she would have punched him right away. After a hum, she asked, ¡°Since you¡¯ve done your test, what should I do with this red mole? I¡¯m not used to having something strange on my arm. It¡¯s just scary. Could you tell me how to clean it?¡±

    Qi Xuanyu replied calmly, ¡°¡®Ya¡¯ can¡¯t be cleaned. When you get married, the red mole will disappear naturally. If you just can¡¯t bear it, you can find someone to marry you as soon as possible. To be honest, other than treating patients as a doctor, I also like making matches. Currently, I have the information about family backgrounds, appearances, and birthdays of several good childes. If you don¡¯t mind, I can show you that for your research. With the mark, no one will doubt your virginity anymore. And you¡¯re so beautiful. I¡¯m willing to make a good match for you. I can even find someone who is willing to marry you as his concubine.¡±

    He Danggui let out a sharp sneer and replied, ¡°Thank you so much. Doctor, you¡¯re so considerate. I don¡¯t dare to ept your ¡®gift¡¯ anymore.¡± She looked at Chang Nuo and bid farewell, ¡°It seems you¡¯re busy. I don¡¯t want to keep you here. Since the doctor has finished his work and our misunderstanding has also been made clear, let¡¯s say goodbye here. Take care.¡±

    Qi Xuanyu who is standing in front of her now always put his tongue in his cheek and his gazes made her feel very ufortable. He was utterly different from the ghost named Qi Xuanyu in the Fantasy Dream. If the ghost was ¡°good¡±, Qi Xuanyu now would be ¡°evil¡±. She also remembered this evil Taoist priest had ¡°transnted¡± the soul of his brother, Qi Chuan, to the body of Luo Baiqian. He also told Qi Chuan to gain the initiative and take up Luo Baiqian¡¯s body bit by bit. Suddenly He Danggui felt that the red mark on her arm was like a bug biting her skin and intending to get into her body.

    She felt so regretful. Why did she let Qi Xuanyu touch her hand unguardedly? Last time in Qi Lu Yard, she heard him talking to Zhu Quan. Obviously, he was very hostile to her... Would the mark really disappear as long as she got married? Then, would it fall off or get deeper into her body? It was reasonable for her to have such a suspicion. Her intuition told her ¡°Ya¡± was something alive.

    Chang Nuo looked up at the sky and saw that it was gettingte. It was about to be the best time to attack. Thus, he nodded and said, ¡°Qingyi, you can go home, then. Don¡¯t stay outside the city anymore. After I¡¯m done with my work these days, I¡¯ll meet you with the master doctor I¡¯ve mentioned before and ask him to examine you.¡± He deliberately said so in order that they could distance themselves from Qi Xuanyu because they went out of the city just to attack the twenty-three imperial guards in Ten Mile Slope. He traveled freely in Jianghu and could run away anytime so it wasn¡¯t a big deal to let He Danggui guess the reason why he was here, but Qi Xuanyu worked for His Majesty and he couldn¡¯t expose his identity here. Thinking for a while, he said to He Danggui again in a lower voice, ¡°The matter between Lord Ning and you won¡¯t be mentioned again. He insisted on it, so I can do nothing. I don¡¯t know why he changed his mind suddenly.¡±

    It was a piece of good news to He Danggui, so she smiled under the ck cloth. She nodded and replied, ¡°You don¡¯t need to ask the doctor to examine me. I appreciate your kindness. About the gifts you¡¯ve sent to me these two years, I won¡¯t keep them anymore, so please take them away when it¡¯s convenient for you. This is myst request. Please grant it.¡±

    Chang Nuo just nodded and didn¡¯t know what to say. He thought for a while, but yet he was unable to find any appropriate words offort. When He Danggui turned around and was about to leave, Qi Xuanyu stopped her abruptly and asked, ¡°Are you poisoned? How long has it been? What kind of poison is it? Are you feeling bad?¡±

 Chapter 358 - The emperor wasnt hasty but the eunuch was

    <h4>Chapter 358 The emperor wasn¡¯t hasty but the eunuch was</h4>

    He Danggui guessed Qi Xuanyu asked it because he saw the strange color of her right pinky. In fact, since she met them, she had deliberately kept it from them by hiding her right hand under the sleeve. It was because she had been poisoned by imperial guards and it shouldn¡¯t be found by the two of them. She didn¡¯t want them to know that she had something to do with those guards. However, since he still noticed that, she could just say, ¡°Here¡¯s what happened. I came out of the city to walk my horses but identally, I was bitten by a viper. I have blocked the acupoint with needles and I¡¯m fine, so you can go about your own business now. I¡¯ll see a physician myself when I¡¯m back in the city.¡±

    Chang Nuo thought for a moment. Then, he turned his head to look at Qi Xuanyu and asked, ¡°Is the poison deadly? She¡¯s also infected with the gue some time ago. Can it be cured?¡±

    He Danggui felt nervous. She didn¡¯t know how Qi Xuanyu worked as a physician. All she could do was to pray that he wouldn¡¯t give answers she didn¡¯t want to hear. Then, she heard him say, ¡°It won¡¯t be a big deal. Miss He has a full forehead and a clear ophryon. She won¡¯t be a beauty that dies young with a tragic end. Feng Yang, we should go now. Say goodbye to Miss He.¡±

    Then, they bid farewell to each other. He Danggui got a Virginity Mark and a warm cotton-padded coat inexplicably on the way. After having heard about Zhu Quan¡¯s attitude to her from Chang Nuo, she was much relieved. Seeing Chang Nuo and Qi Xuanyu riding away with a dozen of men in ck, she finally felt her nerves rx. She didn¡¯t even notice that one of the men on their horses kept staring at her. That inquiring gaze seemed to almost prate her. He tried to see through her...

    After they were far away, He Danggui thought of something bad. Chang Nuo seemed to have a good rtionship with Bai Yangbai and have learned much from him as well. How much did Chang Nuo know about ¡°Stone Camouge¡±? That tactical matrix wasn¡¯t invincible. It wouldn¡¯t be hard to break it if he knew as much as she did. She had bragged to Lu Jiangbei and others that her n was perfect because, for them, her words carried little weight. They wouldn¡¯t adopt her idea at all if she didn¡¯t guarantee it. But actually, she was overconfident. The odds of sess were less than seventy percent. She didn¡¯t expect that imperial guards had grudges against so many people. Everyone was in a hurry to kill them. She could only hope that they could fend for themselves.

    Thus, she mounted the horse and continued going forward. Presently, she arrived at the city gate. She went in and walked several streets. At this time, it was already dark and the rain got heavier. She gave the short brown horse back to Yi Hong Brothel first and then, asked one of Qing¡¯er¡¯s maids if there was anything wrong when she went to Luo¡¯s Family to ask for leave for her. The maid told her everything was fine. When she was about to leave Yi Hong Brothel and returned to Luo¡¯s Mansion, she saw a man wobbling out and walking toward East Restroom.

    He Danggui recognized him immediately and her eyes became bright. She didn¡¯t usually like him, but now she was pressed for time and so worried about the situation in Bing Hua Dian Inn. If those imperial guards died, she wouldn¡¯t be able to find her antidote. And in that case, she would be indirectly responsible for their death.

    ¡°Third Childe! Third Childe!¡± He Danggui called out to Meng Ying who dressed like an old man, ¡°Third Childe, please wait!¡± Hearing it, Meng Ying stopped and looked back. He had seen He Danggui covering her face with the ck cloth two days ago, so he recognized her at a nce. Then, he asked in confusion, ¡°Miss He, why are you here? Ady like you shouldn¡¯te to such a ce.¡±

    He Danggui thought, ¡°Your seventh youngest brother has been poisoned because of the sword wound but you evene to a brothel to seek pleasure and get drunk. Should you do this? Sons of Meng¡¯s Family are so dissolute.¡±

    As she was thinking, she took out a green porcin square box from the lining of her robe and poured out three pills inside. After putting them into a small box and handing it to Meng Ying, she said, ¡°I¡¯m in a hurry. Third Childe, please sober up and listen to me carefully. Yesterday Meng Xuan ran to Tao Yao Yard with a sword wound that couldn¡¯t get healed in his right arm. I found poison in the wound and I knew what happened after asking him. He was poisoned with icy Zhenqi made by imperial guards. The pills in this box are the antidote to that and they are very precious. Please hold it well and go to my room in Tao Yao Yard. Then, you should feed them to Seventh Childe. The pills are slightly poisonous. One pill at a time, and once a day. There¡¯s no time to dy. Third Childe, please get going now.¡±

    Meng Ying listened to her without saying anything and epted the box as well. Then, he asked slowly, ¡°Since you¡¯ve found the antidote and Meng Xuan is resting in your room, why don¡¯t you feed it to him yourself? You said you were in a hurry? On such a dark rainy night, where is ady like you going?¡±

    ¡°I, uh, I¡¯ll go and find a friend of mine surnamed Liao and live in her ce these days,¡± He Danggui made up this excuse calmly. Seeing Meng Ying still look listless andzy, she suspected he had a hangover. Stamping her feet anxiously, she continued, ¡°Third Childe, it¡¯s okay you¡¯re usually not serious about anything, but now your brother¡¯s life is in danger and you have the antidote that can save him. Could you please be more dependable and take care of Meng Xuan for me for two days?¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Meng Ying caught the point of her words, ¡°Take care of him for you? Does it mean you should do it yourself originally? You look so anxious as if you¡¯re worried about your husband. Are you two a thing?¡±

    He Danggui never thought Meng Ying would talk so rudely. She felt annoyed and replied, ¡°You can think it your own way. I¡¯ve told you all of it. What¡¯s more, no one knows Meng Xuan is resting in my yard. I hope you could send him the antidote secretly and disturb no one. I¡¯ll appreciate that.¡± She thought for a moment and added, ¡°If Meng Xuan asks about me, just tell him I¡¯m with Qing¡¯er recently and he just needs to take good care of himself. Don¡¯t look for me or worry about me.¡±

    Meng Ying heard it and an embarrassed smile appeared on his ¡°old¡± face. He shook his head and said, ¡°How could he not worry about you? Miss He, you said he was poisoned with icy Zhenqi made by imperial guards. Although I haven¡¯t seen Mr. Duan using it and had no idea how powerful it is, as far as I know, poisons made by those people are also part of their main weapons. Many of them are carefully developed by the drug-producing masters around the world in Dongchang Organization. There¡¯s only one antidote to each poison, so they keep them very well. Meng Xuan has been poisoned and his excellent subordinates failed to find the antidote but you, a youngdy, seeded. And considering your rtionship with Mr. Duan, I can figure out how you get the antidote easily. Moreover, you said you wouldn¡¯t go home recently. The antidote is here but you¡¯re gone. How could Meng Xuan take the pills and rest without worrying about you?¡±

    He Danggui thought his analysis was reasonable. She frowned and said, ¡°But I do have something to do. Since you know why, please help me exin it to him. You must ask Meng Xuan to take good care of himself, or everything I do will be meaningless.¡±

    Meng Ying asked, ¡°You just leave like this. Are you really heading to your friend¡¯s ce? You¡¯ve paid much effort to find the antidote and I thank you for Meng Xuan, but what you said is indeed absurd. As far as I know about him, he may already get agitated when I¡¯m still exining it. If he gets it wrong and thinks that you¡¯ve exchanged the antidote with yourself, he may cut off his arm immediately.¡±

    Hearing Meng Ying¡¯s unhurried analysis, He Danggui got anxious and understood what it felt like when people said the emperor wasn¡¯t hasty but the eunuch was. She stamped her feet and asked, ¡°Have you gotten any ideas? Just tell me. Meng Xuan has been poisoned for two days and one night. Aren¡¯t you worried as his elder brother?¡±

    ¡°We can¡¯t say...¡± Shaking the box in his hand, Meng Xuan looked into He Danggui¡¯s eyes and said, ¡°that this antidote is found by you, or he won¡¯t take it unless he sees you. Thus, I can just tell him his subordinates have gone through a lot to rob imperial guards of it. As for you, I¡¯ll say because you don¡¯t want to stay in the same room with a man, you have gone to your friend¡¯s ce and wille back after he leaves. Is it okay for you, Miss He?¡±

    He Danggui felt relieved. She looked away and replied, ¡°I thought you would say something more enlightening. How would it not be okay? It¡¯s not about recording achievements in a war or requesting rewards in front of the emperor. I didn¡¯t do it to make Meng Xuan thank me. It doesn¡¯t matter who has found the antidote. I should thank you instead as long as you can persuade Meng Xuan to take it... Yes. Your exnation is much better than mine. Third Childe, you¡¯re good.¡± It turned out that Meng Ying was just worried Meng Xuan wouldn¡¯t take the antidote because it was ill-gotten and he needed to find someone that could get it ¡°legally¡± to take credit for her ¡°effort¡±. It was not a big deal to her. Anyway, it wasn¡¯t her first time being substituted for. Meng Xuan¡¯s concubine named Zi Xiao existed just because of it.

    ¡°Oh? You can ept it?¡± Meng Ying didn¡¯t expect she would say yes so readily. He asked again to confirm it, ¡°You can¡¯t tell him the truth now or in the future. You just live somewhere else for some days to avoid him. Are you willing to promise it?¡±

    ¡°I promise. I just pretend that I don¡¯t know anything about it. Okay. Cut the crap. Go save Meng Xuan now.¡± He Danggui directly pushed Meng Ying out of the door. She took off her rain cape for him and stood on tiptoe to tie it well. She also gave her purplish-red horse to him and reminded him atst, ¡°Meng Xuan may haven¡¯t had a hot meal for a whole day. You can go to the kitchen and find some food for him. Remember not to disturb others. After he gets a bit better, you should take him away to rest in another ce. Don¡¯t let him wait for me there because I¡¯m not sure when I¡¯ll go back. Right. He also gets hurt slightly on his chest and there are some scratches on his face. You can find vulneraries in the cab in the outbuilding. Just use them to deal with his wounds and remind him to keep the wounds from water, even hot spring water...¡±

    Meng Ying suddenly held her right hand tight to interrupt her. He frowned and stared at her pinky that was cyan and purple and surrounded by some evil gas. There was also a long and thin wound in the palm. Meng Ying observed the wound and asked in a deep voice, ¡°Did you get poisoned? What is it? How did you get it?¡±

    He Danggui moved her lips and smiled bitterly under the ck cloth. She mocked, ¡°Third Childe, how can you get silly suddenly while you¡¯re still smart a momentter? We both know how cruel imperial guards are. They paid lots of effort and lost many men to hurt and poison Meng Xuan. How could they give me the antidote for no reason? I couldn¡¯t rob them of it directly because I didn¡¯t have the great kung fu you had. Here. This is the price I¡¯ve paid to get it. I¡¯m poisoned with another kind of drug that is also very rare. Only imperial guards have the antidote to it so I¡¯m in a hurry to get it and save my life. Can you let go of me now? Can you go save your brother with this antidote quickly, Third Childe?

    ¡°...¡±

 Chapter 359 - A new definition of Helen of Troy

    <h4>Chapter 359 A new definition of Helen of Troy</h4>

    He Danggui retreated her hand and pushed him and the purplish-red horse to leave the brothel. She urged, ¡°It¡¯ll be serious to keep the poison in his body. The earlier you remove it, the better it will be. I know Meng Xuan is strong so you are not worried about him at all, but robust people will also get weak if they are injured. However strong Meng Xuan is, he¡¯s still an ordinary human. You should care more about him and look after him well these days. I¡¯ll thank you for that in the future, okay?¡±

    Meng Xuan asked in suspicion, ¡°Why do you treat him so well now? You not only risked your life to find the antidote for him and requested me to take care of him but also wanted to thank me? Miss He, when did you be so noble?¡± He still remembered how she dealt with her aunt so ruthlessly and would think about it sometimes.

    They could never let such a cold-blooded woman be a member of Meng¡¯s Family. This was what he had thought about firmly while he was witnessing the situation back then. Here was the theory supporting his thought. He had long since heard from Yi Tong that Meng Xuan had always been in unrequited love with He Danggui. It was only his own wishful thinking. Such a rtionship would never end well. It would only bring disasters to Meng¡¯s Family and caused trouble to let her be Meng Xuan¡¯s wife.

    Thus, Meng Ying made that deal with Duan Xiaolou and ¡°sold¡± He Danggui to him in exchange for the rapport between imperial guards and Qiyanggong Sect. It could minimize the casualties and conflict and also help them work together to deal with other forces. However, before Meng Ying could notify Meng Xuan and asked him to cut imperial guards some ck, Meng Xuan hade to them with his subordinates and made their main force suffer a great loss. Meanwhile, he had broken the bnce maintained by various forces as well.

    Instantly, people involved in this matter had all heard that ¡°imperial guards got weak now¡±. Southwest Alliance with Longhu Sect led by Nie Chun as its head, Wuying Tower led by Chang Nuo and Qi Xuanyu, and other forces all intended to take action. They wanted to take advantage of the situation and eliminate a powerful opponent to them in the Wulin Assembly at the Lantern Festival ten dayster. Once imperial guards werepletely annihted in Yangzhou City, the one that had to bear the brunt and take the emperor¡¯s fury would be Han Fei, the Senior Governor of Yangzhou City. He would be ousted even if he didn¡¯t need to die. Then, a new governor couldn¡¯t be appointed in time and there would be no leader for Yangzhou Government Office. At that time, all forces would be able to fish in troubled waters and n their next steps.

    Currently, there were several hidden forces in Yangzhou City. Imperial guards, the imperial envoy, Southwest Alliance, Wuying Tower, and Qiyanggong Sect that was known as ¡°First Xuan Sect¡± and had more than ten thousand followers, none of them belonged to the two biggest forces. The real dragons were still hiding in deeper waters and waiting for opportunities. They watched these people fighting fiercely and brutally. Although the two biggest forces were closely rted to the government and had ties of kinship with the royal family, neither of them was controlled by the emperor.

    That meant under this circumstance when what happened to a small part might affect the whole, the biggest forces and initiative were not under the emperor¡¯s control. Obviously, it was a sign of the birth of great chaos under heaven when the supreme power fell into others¡¯ hands. This happened to coincide with the celestial anomalies seen in Yangzhou City recently. Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang had invited several masters of astrology to analyze those anomalies, but who would dare to be honest with the emperor even if they had understood the implication? As the emperor¡¯s health was deteriorating, he became more and more ruthless and showed the craziness of a dying man.

    Some of the masters even foresaw the falling of Pris and Donglin Star that would take its ce hadn¡¯t been in the position yet and just showed very dim light. Didn¡¯t it mean there would be great chaos and the transfer of imperial power? Thus, those seers chose to remain silent together.

    Things that had happened ¡°once¡± before were happening ¡°again¡± unconsciously around He Danggui. Even she couldn¡¯t help being involved. Moreover, if she thought it over, she would find the source of these things was that based on a celestial anomaly she knew in her previous life, she framed some rtively true cases against Sun Meiniang who had made her suffer a lot in the previous life. Originally, it was just a family affair that had no effect on the overall situation, but when Meng Ying saw what she did, he had a bad impression of her and decided to give her to someone that could handle her. That resulted in a series of things happeningter.

    That was to say, He Danggui inadvertently became a fuse of a historical event. Some would call such a woman ¡°Helen of Troy¡±. Although she had been through these things in her previous life and believed she could handle well theplicated people and matters, take action based on the pace of history, and settle everything with little effort, she never thought ¡°a killing caused by Sun Meiniang¡± would happen.

    Looking at He Danggui¡¯s pale forehead and the pinky surrounded by evil gas, Meng Ying couldn¡¯t help asking, ¡°Please forgive my bluntness. Miss He, you¡¯re the most cold-blooded and selfish woman I¡¯ve ever met. People all say no benefits, no getting up early. What you¡¯re doing now is just like you intend to give up your life in exchange for Meng Xuan¡¯s. What¡¯s your purpose by doing this?¡±

    He Danggui made a sharp sneer and nodded. She replied, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that the person knowing me the best would be you, Third Childe. It¡¯s very amazing that you can see through me like this. Yes, I¡¯m just so selfish and cold-blooded. If I had chosen it again, I would never have gone to find the antidote for Meng Xuan. To be honest, I¡¯ve been regretting it so much on my way back to the city. However, the smartest people will get fooled, and the most cold-blooded ones will be silly sometimes and show some useless mercy. Anyway, the die is cast. Please cherish the rewards of my effort.¡±

    Staring at Meng Ying¡¯s beard and wrinkles that made him look old, He Danggui suddenly had such a thought: he looked more like Meng Xuan¡¯s father than Meng Shan, a ¡°father¡± that was so troublesome. What about she didn¡¯t help him recover and kept him being an old man like this? Then, he wouldn¡¯t be able to seduce girls with his handsome face.

    Meng Ying blinked and didn¡¯t know whether she was telling the truth or just saying so because of anger. Tidying up the emerald ribbons dangling from his bun, he shook his head and sighed before saying, ¡°You¡¯re such a strange woman. I don¡¯t even know you superficially. I¡¯m really curious if somebody in the world can read your mind. Anyway,¡± He kept the box behind his belt buckle and finally said something reasonable, ¡°you¡¯ve saved half of Meng Xuan¡¯s life. I thank you for him. We¡¯ll return the favor and I won¡¯t forget it.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s enough to know me superficially.¡± He Danggui said with a smile, ¡°After all, not everyone has good minds. As for your thanking me, I¡¯ll take it. Maybe someday I will request you some things.¡±

    Walking out of the back alley with the horse for a short distance, Meng Ying looked back and asked, ¡°How can my face recover? I tried to wash it and pull it off with my hands, but this white beard seemed to have grown out of my face. It hurts when I pull it.¡± While saying so, he pulled it again to show He Danggui and tried if he could pull off the hateful beard. He Danggui thought for a while. Meng Ying had an acquaintance with Chang Nuo and his friends. Even if she didn¡¯t give him Skin Mask Remover, he also knew Chang Nuo and Lord Ning had grasped the disguise skill. If he met them with such an old face, they might find that she also grasped that skill instead. No, she shouldn¡¯t fool Meng Ying anymore. There were lots of chances to trick this dandy in the future. Skin Mask Remover... She seemed to haven¡¯t put it in her room. Bai Yangbai lived in Luo¡¯s Mansion now and he must have carried it, but did he know Meng Ying? No, she couldn¡¯t let the two of them meet each other. Bai Yangbai was using a false identity as well and he even had ¡°an improper thought¡± about her. How could she introduce Meng Ying to him?

    After considering it carefully, she said to Meng Ying, ¡°It¡¯s very easy to remove the mask. As long as you wash your face with a kind of special remover, you can peel off the whole mask without damaging it and save it for long-term use in the future. As for the remover, I don¡¯t have it in my house. You can go to Quan Ji Tang and ask the shopkeeper for it by telling him it¡¯s Miss Xue who asks you to go there. Or you can go to Guan¡¯s Mansion or Lu¡¯s Mansion to find a youngdy named Liao Qing¡¯er. Just exin the whole thing to her and she will lend you some of it.¡±

    Meng Ying listened to her carefully and remembered every word. Then, he mounted the horse and bid farewell to her, ¡°Take care of yourself, too. Don¡¯t ride the horse anymore. You can rent a sedan with soft chairs and look for your antidote by it. It¡¯ll be bad if your fetal qi is disturbed.¡± He waved the horsewhip and ran with the horse fast.

    He Danggui¡¯s smile froze immediately and got speechless because of hisst sentence. The cold rain fell on her head and reminded her of what happenedst time in Depositary of Buddhist Texts. Chubby Zhu talked about nonsense at that time and said she was pregnant because her breasts got plumper suddenly. Both Chang Nuo and Meng Ying heard it. Then, Chang Nuo told Bai Yangbai about it. Now, she had exined it to Chang Nuo and Bai Yangbai. Only Meng Ying who was very stubborn still didn¡¯t believe her words no matter how she exined it. It was very annoying. Did he just subconsciously want something like that to happen to her and Meng Xuan could abandon her for it?

    She sighed at this messy situation. Before turning around to go in Yi Hong Brothel, she stood at the entrance of the alley in the rain for a while. She wanted to ¡°borrow¡± a horse from the stable, but she saw two rednterns hanging at the gate of the mansion diagonally across from the brothel. The warm light and cold rain produced a quiet atmosphere. He Danggui suddenly remembered that Gao Jue seemed to have said he forgot the antidote of He Qi Ri Qing at his house... Gao Jue might only have this one house... The owner was not at home now so she could sneak in and look for the antidote...

    It was in the middle of this rainy night. This was the situation in the dungeon of Bing Hua Dian Inn in Ten Mile Slope outside the city.

    ¡°Mr. Duan, are you awake?¡± Xue Xiao helped Duan Xiaolou up from the bed and asked with care, ¡°How are you feeling? Do you want some water?¡±

    Duan Xiaolou came to himself and struggled to get up. Looking around, he failed to recognize the ce instantly because he had never lived in a dungeon and seldom came down to this deserted ce, either. However, he only cared about one thing after waking up. He asked, ¡°Where is she? What did Liao Zhiyuan do to her?¡±

    Xue Xiao immediately replied with the words Lu Jiangbei asked him to recite, ¡°Miss He is amazing. She defeated Mr. Liao quickly and pricked him into aa with needles. She wasn¡¯t hurt at all and had left the inn to find medicine to treat you.¡± Xue Xiao added some new words himself, ¡°But maybe she was just afraid of what¡¯s happening here so she ran away. Mr. Duan, don¡¯t worry. As far as I know, this woman is so smart and cunning. No one can hurt her and it¡¯s always her that makes others suffer instead. You can see it by looking at how Du Yao and Mr. Liao are now.¡±

    ¡°What happened to Liao Zhiyuan?¡± Duan Xiaolou widened his eyes in confusion, ¡°He passed out?¡± How could that be possible?

    ¡°Yes.¡± Xue Xiao nodded and answered, ¡°That woman pricked his face with lots of needles. That looked so hurtful. We¡¯ve removed them with a ma and there are thirty-three needles in total, exactly the number the woman has told us. But we don¡¯t know why Mr. Liao still doesn¡¯t wake up now. Based on what the woman has said, he should¡¯ve long since woken up.¡± Duan Xiaolou felt hot all over his body and even the ice mask on his face seemed to begin melting. He asked weakly, ¡°Why is it so hot? Do we have many stoves in here?¡±

    Xue Xiao made a wild guess again, ¡°I think it is probably done by Miss He. She persuaded us to get in the dungeon and locked it up. Then, she set a fire outside and intended to burn or roast us to death. She must have med us for treating her rudely before.¡±

    Duan Xiaolou didn¡¯tment on it and asked again, ¡°Is Jiangbei also in the dungeon? What did he say?¡±

    Xue Xiao shook his head and sighed. After remaining silent for a long while, he began to tell the whole thing, ¡°It¡¯s also caused by that woman. She left a note in a wax pill and gave it to Master Lu. He opened it and read it. Then, he went out of the dungeon alone and still hasn¡¯te back yet. We don¡¯t even know if he¡¯s still alive and are worried about him very much. He might have been hurt internally so bad and shouldn¡¯t move fiercely. And the two legs of General Gao can¡¯t move now. He looked even worse than he did before that woman gave the treatment. General Jiang has left early. I don¡¯t know if he is out to look for a backup or just has been killed. Now, none of the twenty-one men in this dungeon can fight with enemies. Mr. Duan, maybe we will bepletely annihted this time at the hands of a young woman. It¡¯s so wronged to die like this. I didn¡¯t expect that she would be so ruthless to even sacrifice your life. She is indeed Helen of Troy.¡±

 Chapter 360 - Were they biological father and son?

    <h4>Chapter 360 Were they biological father and son?</h4>

    Meng Ying rode the horse very quickly and identally noticed a familiar figure on the roadside. He pulled the rein to stop the horse and asked in a low voice, ¡°Yi Tong? Why are you sitting on the roadside? Where¡¯s your master?¡± He ran into Yi Tong now so he could find out if He Danggui had told the truth.

    Yi Tong was sitting in a tea-booth on the roadside. She looked up and found it was Meng Ying in disguise. Surprised, she asked, ¡°Third Childe, did you have some news about our Childe? Yi Tiao, Miss Xiao, and I have been looking for him, but we just lost him!¡± Sitting upright on the horseback, Meng Ying asked calmly, ¡°You lost him? How? He¡¯s not a little kid.¡±

    With a sigh, Yi Tong told the whole story slowly, ¡°In fact, our Childe has been strange since the night of the day before yesterday. He shouted and sat up at the midnight and told us he had a nightmare. I helped him drink some convulsion-arresting tea and go to bed again, but he kept staring at a ce the whole night even though he was lying on the bed. Then, on the morning of the next day, he went to do ¡®that thing¡¯. I noticed he was listless and was worried about him. I didn¡¯t expect he would really be in troubleter.¡± Yi Tong said this very implicatively because they were in a busy street.

    ¡°What trouble?¡± Meng Ying asked and touched his beard like an old pedant.

    Yi Tong felt helpless and replied, ¡°Today you went to the theater and I told you about it, didn¡¯t I? Our Childe was injured!¡±

    ¡°Oh? Oh!¡± Meng Ying simpered and apologized, ¡°Back then, I wanted to experience old people¡¯s life so I stuck my ears with cotton wool. Sure enough, that was interesting... As for what you have said, I didn¡¯t hear it clearly. Sorry. Please tell me about that again. Why did you suddenly decide to do ¡®that thing¡¯? Didn¡¯t I ask you to wait for some time? They are not the main enemies. Even if you want to deal with them, you shouldn¡¯t take action now.¡±

    Yi Tong spread her hands and said, ¡°Didn¡¯t I say that our Childe has been strange since the day before yesterday? He became like that and got a new idea now and then. We failed to stop him so we could just do as he said. Fine. We did that. Anyway, the opportunity was quite good. However, he dropped the ball at the most critical moment and became in a daze. I called him again and again but he still didn¡¯t sober up. I just watched a man stabbing our Childe with a sword.¡±

    ¡°Is he hurt badly?¡± Meng Ying finally asked.

    ¡°We didn¡¯t feel anything special at that time because that sword belonged to us and that man just picked it up from the ground. There wouldn¡¯t be any poison on it.¡± Yi Tong recalled her memories and said, ¡°But half a dayter, we noticed that several of our fighters having been hurt by the des or palms of ¡®some men¡¯ found their wounds festered and hurt. Their injuries aggravated much. Thus, we suspected they were poisoned. When we went back to our Childe who was also hurt by that sword to report this, we found he had left the room. There was only a note left on the table. It wrote, ¡®I go out to rx and will be back in three to five days. Don¡¯t worry.¡¯ What was going on? ¡®The matter¡¯ we¡¯ve been expecting for almost a year will happen in ten days, but now our Childe is hurt and gets lost!¡±

    ¡°Have you looked for him everywhere?¡± Meng Ying asked suggestively, ¡°We lived in Luo¡¯s Mansion several days ago. Didn¡¯t you send people there to find him?¡±

    ¡°I went there, but Xi Chang Yard you¡¯ve lived in was empty.¡± Yi Tong answered honestly.

    Meng Ying finished his question and got the answer he wanted. Then, he took out a little medicine bottle behind his belt buckle and poured out one pill. He threw it to Yi Tong and said in a serious tone, ¡°This is the antidote to that kind of cold poison. I don¡¯t have many of it and I still need them to save Meng Xuan. You just distribute half of it to those who have been hurt and give the other half to Su Niang. Let her analyze the ingredients of it as much as she can and then, find and decoct the corresponding medicinal materials for the wounded. Just relieve their condition first. I¡¯ll try finding more of the antidote in one or two days.¡± If he had known there were so many injured people, he would have asked He Danggui for all of the antidotes.

    Yi Tong put the pill in her palm, looked up, and said with a smile on her face, ¡°Third Childe, you¡¯re brilliant. You just settled it so quickly while we got nothing after having wandered in Ten Mile Slope for hours and we were even scared away easily by a young woman. After we went into the city, the more we thought about it, the weirder it felt. We thought we might have been cheated and that woman was probably with those guys!¡±

    ¡°A young woman? What did she look like?¡± Meng Ying became a bit vignt.

    ¡°She may be 15 or 16 and has covered her face with a cloth. Her skin is very fair,¡± Yi Tong described that woman, ¡°and her eyes seem to be able to speak but we couldn¡¯t read a bit of her mind through them at all. We knew she was pretty as soon as we saw her. Right, Third Childe, how did you get the antidote? You didn¡¯t even know our Childe was hurt, did you?¡±

    Meng Ying replied vaguely, ¡°I had my own ways. You don¡¯t need to know about them so well.¡± He already guessed it. About the young woman with her face covered by a cloth Yi Tong ran into outside the city, he was certain that it was He Danggui. He didn¡¯t expect that she indeed had gone through a lot before getting the antidote. What did she want by sacrificing so much? After thinking for a while, Meng Ying said again, ¡°Yi Tong, listen. First, you shouldn¡¯t mention the young woman you met outside the city anymore, especially to your Childe. Second, if my brother asks you about the source of the antidote, you just tell him...¡± He talked to Yi Tong in the lowest voice.

    Yi Tong didn¡¯t even ask him why but just nodded obediently and replied, ¡°Okay. I understand.¡±

    Meng Ying sighed with relief and continued, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t sit on the roadside staring nkly at midnight like this. Go back with the pill now. Your Childe is recovering outside these days so all of you should behave yourselves. Stay in the house to wait and see unless you have to go out.¡±

    ¡°Got it.¡± Yi Tong answered and exined to him, ¡°Young Childe couldn¡¯t fall asleep and kept crying so Miss Xiao asked me to buy him some goat milk paste. The vendor is still boiling it. I need to wait for a while to get it.¡±

    ¡°Meng Xuan has gone too much.¡± Meng Ying heard it and shook his head in dissatisfaction, ¡°He didn¡¯t take care of his son at home but seek pleasure outside. Won¡¯t he break Su Niang¡¯s heart?¡±

    Yi Tong got shocked slightly and replied, ¡°Take care of his son? But Younger Childe is not his son!¡± Meng Ying was amazed this time and asked, ¡°Not his son? Who told you this?¡±

    Yi Tong raised her eyebrow and answered, ¡°Me? Of course, Miss Xiao told me about it. Third Childe, who talked such nonsense with you? Who told you they were biological father and son?¡±

    Meng Ying raised his eyebrow higher and said with a smile, ¡°What a coincidence. I heard it from Su Niang as well. She also said as soon as Meng Xuan came back to the city, they would get married. Moreover, I also sounded out Meng Xuan¡¯s views and he seemed to have implied that he would marry Su Niang as his concubine and admit the child as his son. They¡¯re not biological father and son? How could a servant like you say something absurd like this? Watch your words. I won¡¯t forgive it easily if you say it again.¡±

    Yi Tong tilted her head and said with a grimace, ¡°But they are just not. Third Childe, I didn¡¯t say anything absurd. I definitely have a say in this matter!¡±

    ¡°Really? Are you serious?¡± A young girl was eximing with her sweet voice, ¡°He Danggui¡¯s mother didn¡¯t live in the Taoist temple anymore?¡±

    ¡°Why would I cheat you?¡± Another woman with an older and mature voiceughed and replied, ¡°I saw her in person. Although I¡¯ve never seen He Danggui¡¯s mother before, lots of people know about her because she was the legitimate daughter of East Yard of Luo¡¯s Family with her middle name as Chuan. The two old mammies around me know her. They covered their mouths and talked in low voices when they saw her, ¡®Isn¡¯t she the daughter of East Yard of Luo¡¯s Family? How strange! Why is she buying a fish in the market with a basket in her hand?¡¯ The other mammy replied, ¡®Right! That¡¯s her. Listen. She¡¯s bargaining with the fishmonger for 3 wen off! Gosh. Did East Yard of Luo¡¯s Family go bankrupt?¡¯ Hahaha.¡± The woman that was saying this made a peal ofughter and continued, ¡°Miaoyi, it¡¯s funny, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    The girl talking with her alsoughed and said, ¡°She was buying a fish in the market? He Danggui¡¯s mother was buying a fish? Ha, ha! If you didn¡¯t visit me today, I wouldn¡¯t be able to hear such an interesting thing. She went to the market with a basket today. Will she go begging with a bowl on the street soon?¡±

    Yes. These two women are Ling Miaoyi and Guan Yun. They were talking in a room of Gao Jue¡¯s house when it was alreadyte night and both of them were enjoying the conversation. It was almost 1 am at this time and the rain still didn¡¯t stop. Gao Jue, the owner of the house, and Liao Zhiyuan, the guest, weren¡¯t at home, but Ling Miaoyi who felt lonely was visited by Guan Yun. She brought a fresh funny topic and both of them liked it so they kept talking until midnight.

    In fact, except for Ling Miaoyi and Guan Yun, there¡¯s an uninvited guest in the house now. She just bent over the window and listened to them quietly. This guest was He Danggui. She held her breath and her long eyshes blotted out her gloomy eyes. She listened to theirughter without doing anything.

    Ling Miaoyi asked with interest, ¡°Guan Yun, what does He Danggui¡¯s mother look like? Since she has been abandoned twice by her husbands, she must be ugly, right?¡±

    Guan Yun shook her head and replied with a smile, ¡°She¡¯s not ugly. I think she looks better than He Danggui. If she¡¯s ugly, how could she have a daughter like He Danggui that is so coquettish? But I just feel something strange when I observe her...¡± Guan Yun hissed and said, ¡°I think she is... is too fat. She has a fat belly.¡±

    Ling Miaoyi sneered and replied, ¡°s, it¡¯s not strange at all. It¡¯s very normal to see a woman in her thirties being paunchy. He Danggui might be like this as well when she reaches this age.¡±

    Guan Yun still felt something strange and mumbled as if she was talking to herself, ¡°She put her left hand on her waist from time to time. That makes her look a bit like a pregnant woman... Um, the clothes she wore were more than twice bigger than her usual figure. If she wasn¡¯t too poor to buy clothes that fitted her, Miaoyi, what would be the reason, then?¡±

    Ling Miaoyi¡¯s eyes got bright and she held her sharp chin with her two fair fingers. She became interested and shook her head while asking, ¡°He Danggui¡¯s mother was pregnant? She moved out from the Taoist temple and settled in the city. And she got pregnant now? But didn¡¯t He Fu, He Danggui¡¯s stepfather, get in jail two months ago? Guan Yun, did you mean He Danggui¡¯s mother couldn¡¯t bear loneliness and had an affair again?¡±

    ¡°Again?¡± Guan Yun held her chin with one hand and yawned. She wiped her eyes and asked, ¡°Has her mother done such a thing before?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± Ling Miaoyi answeredcently, ¡°Guan Yun, you¡¯re too ill-informed. This has been talked about frequently in Chengxu Academy. It was just an old story happening during the time when He Danggui¡¯s mother was driven out from He¡¯s Mansion in the capital. I heard it was about extramarital affairs as well and she did that with several dirty beggars. Gosh, so disgusting. Such a mother often gives birth to a daughter like her.¡±

 Chapter 361 - Besties chatted with a lighted candle beside

    <h4>Chapter 361 Besties chatted with a lighted candle beside</h4>

    He Danggui stuck to the window like a shadow and quietly listened to the besties chatting in the room with a lighted candle beside. However, she didn¡¯t want to hear what they were talking about at all. She was just curious about where her mother was. Where on earth did Nie Chun hide her mother? Guan Yun and Ling Miaoyi had chatted for so long while they still didn¡¯t mention what she cared about the most. He Danggui didn¡¯t believe Guan Yun wouldn¡¯t send someone to track or investigate it and keep it as evidence for the future if she found her mother was pregnant. Pregnant? That¡¯s impossible. In all ways, her mother would never get pregnant.

    He Danggui sighed silently. Her mother was indeed beautiful but she was already thirty-three years old and couldn¡¯t give birth to another child anymore. As far as He Danggui was concerned, her mother should stop loving any man and be self-independent. Otherwise, her mother was very softhearted and always thought men were indispensable to families so she kept living like vines spreading on the ground and waited for some man to lift her up.

    Moreover, her mother always thought she should obey her husband after she got married. She kept fantasizing about He Fu and hoped he coulde back to her someday. She might think she must be faithful to her ¡°second¡± husband unto death since she had lost her ¡°first¡± one. As a daughter, she knew these thoughts of her mother very well. Although she didn¡¯t approve of them, she tried to understand. Every woman was different. She couldn¡¯t ask her mother who was used to relying on others to be as independent as her. Thus, if she had to choose a man for her mother, He Danggui would think Nie Chun was good.

    To be honest, her mother was two years older than Nie Chun who was a hero and she didn¡¯t deserve such a man at all. In all senses and judging from the worldly point of view, there was a big gap between them, but what supported He Danggui¡¯s choice was that she knew ¡°in advance¡± Nie Chun remained single until he was more than forty. Since he was destined to be a single chopstick in the future and her mother was another one, they could be together and form a pair.

    If her mother married Nie Chun, it would be her third marriage, and she couldn¡¯t get pregnant. Therefore, if Nie Chun was willing to ept her mother, he just needed to hold a simple ceremony as a courtesy. It was eptable even if he announced that he just got a ¡°concubine¡±. Of course, these were all He Danggui¡¯s absurd thoughts she had when she was idle and they weren¡¯t in line with the reality at all, becausest time she saw her mother, judging from the implication of the words, she felt her mother was still waiting for He Fu to mend his ways. And Nie Chun had gone for three years without sending her any message. When he showed up again, he brought extremely shocking news to He Danggui. He told her that her mother and he had lived together without getting married and they would break up soon after they got tired of each other?

    He Danggui tidied up the hair beside her ear and had mixed feelings as if her heart was cast into a dense fog. She was nervous and wanted to get it back but she was also afraid of getting lost in the fog... She happened to move the wound on her right hand. The burning pain reminded her that she was originally here to find the antidote but she had been eavesdropping on the two women.

    However, where did Gao Jue hide the antidote? What did the box containing it look like? Would Gao Jue be so silly andbel the box ¡°antidote to He He Qi Ri Qing¡±? As for his bedroom, she had been there before but it was very empty. He didn¡¯t even have necessary furniture or bed in it, let alone boxes or ornaments. Qing¡¯er had said this. On the way Gao Jue ¡°escorted¡± her from Changbai Mount to Yangzhou City, he only slept on beams or hemp ropes and that was amazing. Qing¡¯er just felt something for him after seeing a man over fifty kilos like him sleeping on hemp ropes. He Danggui also remembered this. When they were in Shui Shang Temple, Gao Jue still chose to sleep on trees even though there was a warm and soft bed for him... So where on earth did he hide the antidote?

    The two women that were chatting got sleepy gradually but they still kept talking casually. Instead of continuing the topic about He Danggui¡¯s mother¡¯s buying fish and getting pregnant, they began to talk about secrets between females.

    Guan Yun asked, ¡°Miaoyi, how are you and my cousin going? Will he marry you?¡±

    Ling Miaoyi replied sullenly, ¡°Huh, even if he wants to marry me, I may not agree. Any man I pick randomly on the street will be better than this bastard. Last night he even brought home a prostitute. Did he think I¡¯m dead? I¡¯ve made up my mind. After the Lantern Festival, I¡¯ll go back to the capital and get married to the man my family chose for me. He must be a lot better than Liao Zhiyuan.¡±

    He Danggui was already in a daze originally and didn¡¯t want to listen to them anymore, but now she was slightly shocked. What happened? When did Ling Miaoyi and Liao Zhiyuan get together? Hadn¡¯t Liao Zhiyuan gotten engaged long before? She heard from Qing¡¯er that he had gotten married ording to the dictates of his parents and words of the matchmaker and his wife seemed to be Lu Jiangbei¡¯s cousin. Liao Zhiyuan was resistant to it at first and thought such a wife would be too rigid and dull, but after the ceremony, the whole Liao¡¯s Family was satisfied with the woman and even Liao Zhiyuan had changed his views toward her.

    He Danggui and Qing¡¯er just heard all this from others. Qing¡¯er also had stayed in Yangzhou City for three years. She hardly went back home or got along with her new sister-inw, but both He Danggui and she thought a woman who could tame a wild man like Liao Zhiyuan must be very capable. It hadn¡¯t been long since thest time Qing¡¯er¡¯s brother and sister-inw came to Yangzhou City to visit her. It was said that people were all envious of the couple¡¯s felicity. Why did Liao Zhiyuan suddenly be a satyr and monster and even have a dubious rtionship with Ling Miaoyi?

    Judging from Ling Miaoyi¡¯s tone, she seemed to beining or feeling angry. It just sounded like she had fallen in love with Liao Zhiyuan. What was going on? She didn¡¯t like Duan Xiaolou anymore? She had done so many stupid things because of jealousy before and still treated He Danggui as a rival in love until now. Why did she shift her love to another man? It was strange. When did she begin to like Liao Zhiyuan?

    But again, if Ling Miaoyi married Liao Zhiyuan as his concubine, wouldn¡¯t she be Qing¡¯er¡¯s sister-inw? No, Ling¡¯s Family had higher social status than Liao¡¯s Family did, and Ling Miaoyi was a legitimate daughter. She would be wronged even if she became his wife. But Liao Zhiyuan already had a wife. Thus, the position as a co-wife would be the best Ling Miaoyi could get. Did they argue about this? Was it why Liao Zhiyuan was provoked so that he brought trouble wherever he went?

    ¡°Stay calm and don¡¯t do anything stupid.¡± Guan Yun persuaded Ling Miaoyi earnestly, but her caring tone sounded hypocritical to He Danggui. What she saidter, however, was very shocking, ¡°Even though you don¡¯t consider for yourself, you should think about your son. If you obeyed your parents and got married to another man, what about your son you had with Mr. Liao?

    Her son? They even got a son? Feeling shocked, He Danggui couldn¡¯t help poking through the window paper and snooping inside, but she only saw the two women sleeping on the same bed with one pillow and one quilt and chatting with their eyes closed as if they were talking in their dreams.

    ¡°He¡¯s so cold-blooded. He still doesn¡¯t believe it¡¯s his son. What can I do?¡± Ling Miaoyi said with her face blushed, ¡°At that time, he was drunk and kept saying honeyed words. He even called me ¡®Yiyi¡¯. I wouldn¡¯t be cheated and allow that to happen if it weren¡¯t for his badgering me. However, he didn¡¯t admit anything at all when he woke up and had nevere to see me when I was pregnant, gave birth, or sat the month. I¡¯ve beenpletely disappointed at this man while he suddenly came back to me. I wouldn¡¯t even see him if it weren¡¯t for our son. Later, I ran away from Ling¡¯s Mansion and decided to live with him wholeheartedly, but he even yed with several prostitutes the first day I arrived here!¡±

    After hearing it over quietly, He Danggui found something new. The nickname of ¡°Yiyi¡± stimted her memories and reminded her that people including the First and Second Lords of Luo¡¯s Family always called her ¡°Yiyi¡±. She felt awkward now because of knowing another woman with the same name as hers. It was like someone had stolen her name. And she had another wild guess. Maybe Liao Zhiyuan was actually calling another ¡°Yiyi¡± at that time?

    ¡°Yiyi¡± was one word of the courtesy name, ¡°Baoyi¡±, which belonged to Guan Yun. He Danggui had ever heard Duan Xiaolou calling Guan Yun ¡°Baoyi¡±. Besides, Qing¡¯er also hadined that Liao Zhiyuan treated Guan Yun better than her and he cared much about Guan Yun all the time, which made her very jealous. With these memories, He Danggui began to guess boldly. Maybe the person Liao Zhiyuan actually liked was Guan Yun? And he became very hostile to her and even wanted to kill her just because of Guan Yun?

    While thinking about it, He Danggui looked at Guan Yun¡¯s face through the small hole on the window paper. Nothing special could be seen on that face and Guan Yun even yawned indifferently. Thus, He Danggui concluded that although Liao Zhiyuan liked Guan Yun, Guan Yun only loved Duan Xiao and cared nothing about him. When it came to men having unrequited loves for them, women always held a cruel superiorityplex. He Danggui drew this conclusion from her own experience.

    It was alreadyte night. The damp breeze made her clothes wet. He Danggui stopped snooping and began to search secretly every empty room of the house, but she found no box that might contain the antidote. Gao Jue¡¯s house was too clean as if it had just been robbed.

    She pushed thest door open and the room was entirely a mess. There were pieces of women¡¯s clothes all over the ground such as gauzy skirts, stomachers, underwear, and brocade socks... All of them were scattered everywhere. Frowning, He Danggui stepped back and remembered that when she was here yesterday, it seemed the voices of Liao Zhiyuan and that woman were heard in this room. It might be a guest room for Liao Zhiyuan. Since it was very messy, she should not go in. Anyway, a precious thing like the antidote wouldn¡¯t be stored in such a ce.

    Thus, she turned around and left the house without seeing the row of small porcin bottles on the corner of that room or hearing what Ling Miaoyi and Guan Yun said before they fell asleep.

    ¡°Is your son still living with your Sister Xiao?¡± Guan Yun asked.

    ¡°Yes, he is,¡± Ling Miaoyi replied, ¡°but Xiao Suxin isn¡¯t my senior sister. She became a disciple much earlier than I did. I should¡¯ve called her Younger Master Xiao... By the way, He Danggui¡¯s mother got pregnant, and how shameful it is. Why didn¡¯t you make an issue of it?¡±

    ¡°How did you know I didn¡¯t do that?¡± Guan Yun yawned and shed some tears. She continued with a smile, ¡°Before long, I¡¯ll give you a magnificent show. You must witness all of it before leaving Yangzhou City. Haha... When I think about the shocked look He Danggui will have, I¡¯m so happy that I even want to celebrate it by setting off fireworks for three days and nights.¡±

    It was past three in the rainy morning in He Danggui¡¯s room, Tao Yao Yard, East Yard of Luo¡¯s Mansion.

    After taking the antidote, Meng Xuan felt better and regained much spirit. Leaning against a pile of pillows, he smiledzily and asked, ¡°Meng Ying, where did you get the antidote? How did you know I was here? Have you ever seen Xiaoyi? She has been gone for two days. I miss her and want to go out to find her but I¡¯m also worried that she may get anxious if shees back and finds I¡¯m not here.¡±

    ¡°He Danggui? No.¡± Meng Ying shook his head and replied, ¡°I didn¡¯t even need to guess where you¡¯re hiding. I just knew it. But I never thought that He Danggui would allow you to stay here and even sleep on her bed.¡±

    Meng Xuan smiled happily and was in a daze for a while. Aftering to his senses, he kept asking, ¡°Where on earth did you get the antidote? Did you find it yourself?¡±

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t me.¡± Meng Ying answered him in a calm tone, ¡°Ady risked her life to gain it from those men. You should be grateful and thank her sincerely.¡±

    ¡°Um? Who is she?¡± Meng Xuan tilted his head.

    ¡°It¡¯s Su Niang who got it for you.¡± Meng Ying said this while staring at Meng Xuan, ¡°She is indeed an affectionate woman. Uh, have you long since nned to marry her? Then, I¡¯ll go talk to our mother for you. Just marry her as your concubine.¡±

 Chapter 362 - Be responsible for the mother and son

    <h4>Chapter 362 Be responsible for the mother and son</h4>

    Meng Xuan was ying with two des of orchid grass by ovepping them. Then, he pulled them with his two hands. ¡°Snap!¡± This time the left hand won. On the ground there were des of it all over, and the three potted nts at the end of the bed were all bare. Judging from the stems in the soil, they seemed to be three pots of orchid grass before. Unconsciously, he destroyed all the nts He Danggui grew.

    He leaned against the pillows to rx. After a long while, he said, ¡°The left one represents me, and the right one represents Xiaoyi. Her grass broke... Something must have happened to her! I¡¯ll go find her.¡± While saying this, he began to rummage through the cab at the end of the bed to find himself some clothes. Meng Ying saw it and stopped him immediately. He persuaded, ¡°Although the poison in your body has been cleared away, you should rest well to help the wound recover. Don¡¯t look for her. You¡¯d better not get along with her anymore. She¡¯s not a good woman so you should keep a distance from her.¡±

    ring at Meng Ying, Meng Xuan asked, ¡°You¡¯ve met Xiaoyi, haven¡¯t you? The disguise on your face must have been done by her, right?¡± Meng Ying nodded and replied, ¡°Yes, I did meet her before. She said she didn¡¯t want to see you in her room so she hid herself in somewhere and she woulde back after you left. You can stay here for one more day. Then you should go back to the courtyard outside the mansion the day after tomorrow. I¡¯ll send Su Niang there to take care of you.¡±

    Meng Xuan red at him again and suddenly smiled. He said, ¡°Don¡¯t try to sow discord between Xiaoyi and me. She doesn¡¯t want to see me? How could it be possible? I should be the man she wants to see the most. I¡¯m already her husband.¡±

    Meng Ying looked at his blushed face in doubt. He sighed in his heart and thought that Meng Xuan was doing something silly again. He replied calmly, ¡°Why would I sow discord between you? She said that herself. I didn¡¯t tell you before just because I was afraid you would feel sad. If she does care about you, why would she leave you alone here for two days?¡± He pushed Meng Xuan back to the bed and continued, ¡°Stay in bed and don¡¯t move too much. I¡¯ll go get some food for you. After all, you can¡¯t feed yourself with grass.¡± With his long hair spreading on the bed, Meng Xuan slept in the middle and stared at the gauzy bedting above. He asked, ¡°What did she say?¡±

    Meng Ying paused and then, answered, ¡°I¡¯ll tell you that after you¡¯re recovered, or you may never get healed.¡±

    ¡°Tell me now.¡± Meng Xuan asked stubbornly, ¡°I want to know every word she has said.¡±

    Meng Ying felt helpless and could just tell him, ¡°She told me that the man she liked was Duan Xiaolou. She said she found it after having been together with you, so she didn¡¯t know how to face you now. She asked you not to look for her again... Meng Xuan? Meng Xuan?¡± Meng Ying stared at the man lying still on the bed in confusion, ¡°Are you asleep? What do you want to eat? I¡¯ll go get them for you. Uh, don¡¯t think about nonsense. Just sleep.¡± Meng Xuan didn¡¯t move a bit. Obviously, he was already in deep sleep.

    Meng Ying kept saying some cold words to him, ¡°Think it over. Who treats you the best? Who is so cold-blooded all the time? Who should you pay more attention to? To find the antidote, Su Niang has been badly hurt and is still suffering from a high fever now. She calls your name over and over again, but you haven¡¯t even asked about her at all. Your eyes are blind, but is your heart also blinded? It¡¯s hard to meet such a good woman. Except for Su Niang, who else would sacrifice herself for you like this?¡±

    Leaving him on the bed to think alone, Meng Ying went to the kitchen to find some food. It was alreadyte night and the whole Tao Yao Yard was in tranquility, so he didn¡¯t bother to hide his trace but stride as if he was the owner here. It was still the festive time, so there was pot-stewed food, fried food, and steamed buns in the kitchen. The cooking range was still warm and there was sparerib soup with medicinal materials in the pot. Meng Ying wanted to light a fire and heat the food before bringing them to Meng Xuan, but it was his first time doing such a thing, so it didn¡¯t go smoothly and he still failed again and again.

    ¡°Sir, what are you doing?¡± A rough male voice sounded outside the kitchen.

    That sounded a bit simr to Meng Ying¡¯s voice, so he came to his senses after being in a daze for a while. He looked back and saw a man almost of his height standing outside. This man looked less than twenty years old and the curiosity in his bleary eyes made Meng Ying have a guilty conscience. He made up a lie and replied, ¡°I was going to heat some food for Her Ladyship. She said she would start her meditation for two days.¡± Finishing his words, he realized he had made an indiscreet remark. How would a miss let an old man serve her?

    However, that young man even believed it and came over to help him light the fire. He turned around and left after the fire got bigger while he was mumbling, ¡°There are three pots of chrysanthemums in total. Chan Yi¡¯s and mine are still in blossom. Why did the pot of our sister wither so soon? Maybe it was because of the frost.¡±

    After having heated some steamed buns and dishes, Meng Ying brought them into the room and saw Meng Xuan was still sprawling on the bed with his eyes seemingly opened. While asking him to get up and eat, Meng Ying persuaded, ¡°You¡¯re not a kid anymore and should have a concubine. After we go back to the capital, we will prepare for this. You do the most dangerous work in the world and yet sometimes you¡¯re in a daze. How could you not get a wife or a son?¡±

    Meng Xuan had some bites and smiled again. He said, ¡°The food in her kitchen is more delicious than those in others¡¯ home. The tea she makes is also more scented. I¡¯ll never get tired of tasting them all my life... Meng Ying, didn¡¯t Xiaoyi say when she woulde back? Where did you meet her? I¡¯ll go find her.¡±

    Meng Ying answered him in a cold tone, ¡°When I met her, she was with Duan Xiaolou and they had got engaged. You should stop thinking about her from now on. You should care more about Su Niang now. I¡¯ve known the things about your son from Yi Tong. It turns out that the kid is not your biological son. If you allow him to stay in our family, he will be your eldest son. Don¡¯t you mind it? What about we find him another house outside?¡±

    Meng Xuan replied with his eyes looking down as he was eating, ¡°Yi Tong is just so long-tongued. No matter how many times I¡¯ve reminded him, it¡¯s a waste of time. You¡¯ve known it, but you should keep it a secret and not gossip with others about it, or Suxin will be sad. This happened two years ago. Suxin was abducted by some men because of my fault. When I found her, she had been raped. Nine monthster, she gave birth to a boy. I paid much effort to persuade her not tomit suicide and help her pull herself together. Her maternal love to that boy encouraged her to recover from that tragedy gradually. I once promised that I would take care of her son and her. Since she was hurt because of me, it¡¯s my responsibility to look after her. As for that kid, I can ept him as well.¡±

    Touching his beard, Meng Ying nodded and said, ¡°I see. No wonder that Su Niang and you are reticent about it and don¡¯t discuss about your wedding ceremony at all even though you¡¯ve already got a son. Huh, Yi Tong only knows half of the truth and makes me confused... Fine. People in Jianghu don¡¯t think highly of virginity as we do. Since you can ept it, I will cover this for you, but that kid is the son of your foe and we couldn¡¯t ept him. Su Niang can be a member of Meng¡¯s Family, but he can¡¯t. He shouldn¡¯t use your surname, either. I know a master in Shaolin Temple and he is also in Yangzhou City for the Wulin Assembly. Just let the master take away Su Niang¡¯s son.¡±

    Enjoying the food, Meng Xuan replied slowly, ¡°It¡¯ll be so cruel to take away a kid less than one year old from his mother. I¡¯ve told Su Niang before that we could let him be part of Meng¡¯s Family as my eldest son, but she rejected it firmly. She said she had lost her virginity to some culprit and already couldn¡¯t face me. She didn¡¯t want me to have a son that was unrted to me by blood.¡±

    ¡°What is her decision, then?¡± Meng Ying felt confused and asked, ¡°She always wants to marry you, doesn¡¯t she?¡±

    Meng Xuan told him the most appropriate method, ¡°Suxin and her son can live in Meng¡¯s Mansion together, but I will make up a suitable identity for her. She is the legitimate daughter of Xiao¡¯s Family in Yongzhou City, so it won¡¯t be hard to do that. Xiao¡¯s Family, as a well-known kung fu family before, broke down two or three years ago. Thus, no one will see through her fake identity. Then, her son can be introduced to others as her nephew and they can share the same surname as well. It may make up for her regrets in some way. After the kid has been eleven or twelve years old, we can do as you say and send him to Shaolin Temple or Wudang Sect to learn kung fu. Suxin will also agree with us.¡±

    ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll arrange it as soon as I arrive at the capital. Su Niang is twenty-two now, right? If we dy it again and her age gets older, we¡¯ll need to do more to persuade our mother.¡± Seeing Meng Xuan enjoying the food, Meng Ying began to pick up dishes for him. He continued, ¡°Will you marry her as a co-wife or a concubine? Have you decided it?¡±

    Meng Xuan said, ¡°You can decide it for me. You like making matches so much and are more experienced than me.¡±

    Meng Ying was startled and said, ¡°Who told you that I like making matches? What do you mean by that? I¡¯m just helping you.¡±

    Meng Xuan sat cross-legged and finished the dishes one after another. He replied without stopping eating, ¡°I can¡¯t say you¡¯re officious because you¡¯re worried about Suxin and me, but why did you try to sow discord between Xiaoyi and me? You know nothing about us while you keep talking nonsense as a backseat driver here. Tell me now. Where did Xiaoyi go? I didn¡¯t believe even one word of what you said just now.¡±

    Meng Ying took out a tiny wooden folding fan from his sleeve, which was just as big as his palm when it was unfolded. He fanned himself quickly for a while and nced at the wall behind the bronze mirror on the dresser in the inner room when he tilted his head. The color of a small space on the wall was slightly different from that of other parts, and the texture of it looked different as well. That space was about sixty centimeters long and thirty centimeters wide... It was a secretpartment! Meng Ying smiled right away and went to check it with his back bent. Later, he took out a small wooden box from inside. He returned to the bedside and showed it to Meng Xuan. When he opened the box, it was full of Xue Tao Paper. There were about forty or fifty ones in total.

    Meng Ying said happily, ¡°Meng Xuan, don¡¯t you remember it? Last time you got drunk andined to me that Miss He was not strict about keeping a distance from males and any man could enter her room randomly. You said Duan Xiaolou often came here for her in the midnight. Even Taoist Sage Bai Yangbai was often by her side in disguise and rummages through her personal stuff casually. He even knew there were letters written by Duan Xiaolou hidden in the secretpartment of her room. I was shocked back then and didn¡¯t think that would be possible, but ¡®an old man¡¯ like me has walked back and forth in front of her room for long and no one came to drive me away. It can be seen that she is indeed not strict about keeping a distance from males.¡± Meng Xuan finally stopped eating and put the chopsticks down. He red at that small wooden box as if it was his rival in love.

    ¡°See? You said I cheated you, but do you really believe her so much?¡± Meng Ying patted those fragrant Xue Tao Paper and the pile of letters were scattered. He said with a smile, ¡°These are all for her written by Duan Xiaolou. She has hidden them so well and I wonder what they wrote. Do you want to read them?¡±

    After ring at the letters for a while, Meng Xuan took his eyes off them. He picked up the chopsticks and a bun again and continued eating. He replied at the same time, ¡°Xiaoyi asked me to take care of myself, so I will recover as soon as possible. She said she wanted to get married to me, so I would visit her family and talk about our marriage. She told me these in person. Even if she doesn¡¯t want me anymore and wants to go back to Duan Xiaolou, she has to tell me in person as well. I won¡¯t believe anything said by others. I¡¯ll go find her and ask her about it.¡±

 Chapter 363 - Badgered her as a ghost

    <h4>Chapter 363 Badgered her as a ghost</h4>

    Meng Ying sneered and said, ¡°You¡¯re so spoony, but you need to see if she wants you to be like this. You should make a good choice, or it will just be a waste of your love. Aren¡¯t you feeling upset about that?¡± Meng Xuan gobbled all the food and bound up his wound with vulneraries again. The injury on his right arm had recovered a lot,pared with what it looked like two days ago. Zhenqi for protecting the body must have been working on him. The poison in his body would be eliminated naturally if he rested for a couple of more days. He didn¡¯t expect Suxin would be so silly that she even asked Imperial Guards for the antidote. How could he rest assured if anything happened to her? Thinking about it, Meng Xuan suddenly felt flustered as if he had lost something important. What was that?

    After dealing with the wound on the arm, he moved to another wound on his chest. Back then, to frighten Xiaoyi and make her feel sorry for him, he stuck a silver hairpin into his chest and gained her care by shedding some blood. Now, the wound became a cinnabar mole. Applying some cool ointment on the mole, he smiled and replied, ¡°I didn¡¯t know if it was right or wrong to give my all to her before. Seeing her treating others well and being cold to me, I did feel it wasn¡¯t worthy and I got flustered. However, after staying with her the whole day the day before yesterday, I realized I¡¯ve lived my life in vain before and gained rebirth at that moment. Xiaoyi will never leave me because I¡¯ve found her weakness. She feels sorry and treats me very well as soon as I get hurt.¡±

    Rummaging through the letters written by Duan Xiaolou, Meng Ying sneered again and said, ¡°Oh? How well does she treat you? Are you sure you¡¯re the first one treated so well by her? Huh, she treats you well as soon as you get hurt? Then, will you hurt yourself frequently for that?¡± He opened one of the letters and kept shaking his head as he was reading it. He eximed, ¡°It¡¯s amazing. Mr. Duan could even write down such words. If I couldn¡¯t recognize his handwriting, I would¡¯ve thought I was blind.¡± Meng Xuan raised his eyebrow unhappily and asked Meng Ying in a serious tone, ¡°Why do you keep defaming Xiaoyi? She has given me everything and asked me when I would marry her. How could she go for Duan Xiaolou? Tell me. Where did you meet her?¡±

    Meng Ying rummaged through the pile of letters again and picked out one of them. He shook it in front of Meng Xuan and said, ¡°Look at this. You¡¯re not her first man. It was Duan Xiaolou. And Lord Ning was the second one. You are already the third or fourth one but you still regard her as someone very important to yourself. Are you insane? You read all ssics when you were just seven and became the most brilliant one among the eleven sons of our father. How could you be so stupid when it came to love? Why are you so obsessed with her?¡± Meng Xuan took the letter with his face gloomy, but he didn¡¯t read it. He just folded it and put it back into the wooden box with all the letters scattered on the bed. He got out of the bed, put the wooden box back in the secretpartment, and closed it. Then, he turned around and replied, ¡°I don¡¯t care.¡±

    He began to look for clothes everywhere. His robes at the foot of the bed were too wrinkled to be worn. Unconsciously, he slowly opened a small redcquered wooden chest nearby. With the scent of sandalwood, it was full of wide robes for men which were neatly folded. He rummaged through them and found there were brocade robes, cotton robes, neat suits, and riding suits. Several of them looked very familiar which seemed to be the kind of long gowns with round cors and straight backs that Duan Xiaolou loved to wear.

    After rummaging for a while, he picked out the shortest one, put it on hurriedly, and fixed the hem and the belt. He did it so anxiously that even some of his long hair was caught in the belt. Thus, he had to take it off and tried again. After dressing up, he looked into the mirror. The hem was still a bit long for him and it almost touched the floor. It looked like he was a kid who put on an adult¡¯s clothes secretly... He was sixteen this year and Duan Xiaolou was twenty-seven. He still needed two or three more years to grow to be as tall as Duan Xiaolou... Meng Ying just watched him putting on the clothes silently with some mockery in his eyes.

    Meng Xuan felt very ufortable because of his gaze, but suddenly, he smelled a soothing delicate fragrance. It was Carefree Fragrance. Meng Xuan felt at ease immediately and stood upright. He looked down at Meng Ying who was fanning himself on the bedside and said, ¡°Meng Ying, I don¡¯t care about what you¡¯ve said at all. From now on, you should stop badmouthing Xiaoyi. I know her things better than anyone. I don¡¯t care if I¡¯m the third or fourth man for her. Those who meet her earlier than I do can¡¯t stay by her side and I won¡¯t make the same mistake. I will hold her tight and never give her any reason to leave me. If you be one of such reasons, I will have to treat you as my foe. Thus, please don¡¯t make things difficult for Xiaoyi anymore or ce obstacles in the way.¡±

    Meng Ying didn¡¯t judge him this time. He looked around the room of ady that has elegant decoration and replied with a smile after a long while, ¡°Fine. I interfered with these matters before just because I was angry. Since you¡¯ve said so, what else could I say? If you are willing to be blindfolded and live like this, I will just pretend to be a blind man. But I will continue dealing with Su Niang¡¯s matter since I¡¯ve started it. You can¡¯t let her down.¡±

    ¡°You can say whatever you like. As long as I feel happy, let me be blind.¡± Meng Xuan said firmly, ¡°You will feel what I feel when you fall in love with someone one day.¡±

    Meng Ying couldn¡¯t agree with him but just said while touching his beard, ¡°Fine. I know you¡¯re faithful now. Anyway, I won¡¯t be like you. Oh, right. Does He Danggui have a friend named Liao Qing¡¯er? Do you know her? Just go find her and get me some Skin Remover or something like that. I need it to remove the beard and wrinkles. It¡¯s so ufortable to wear them all the time.¡± Meng Xuan put on his boots and bent down to tie them up. He refused without any hesitation, ¡°You can do such a subtle thing yourself. Just tell me when and where you met Xiaoyist time. I¡¯ll go find her.¡±

    Meng Ying answered slowly, ¡°I told you she was with Duan Xiaolou. You can go check it if you don¡¯t believe me. Mo Cha Mountain Vi in Xue Hua Dian of Ten Mile Slope outside the city, the stronghold of Imperial Guards in Yangzhou City, you know it, don¡¯t you? By the way, she is pregnant. I heard the baby¡¯s father was Lord Ning. You also don¡¯t care about it, right? But ording to your arrangement in Su Niang¡¯s case, a baby without the blood of Meng¡¯s Family shouldn¡¯t be part of it. After she gives birth to the baby, she can¡¯t breed it in Meng¡¯s Mansion. I will ask Feng Yang if he wants it. If not, I will send it to a temple.¡±

    While he was saying it slowly, Meng Xuan bent down to tie up the boots and coughed twice slightly. Then, the sound of some liquid dripping down was heard, and suddenly, a pool of blood was seen on the floor. Meng Ying became startled and was in a daze for a moment. After he realized what happened, he rushed to hold up Meng Xuan, but just saw blood dripping from Meng Xuan¡¯s eyes, ears, mouth, and nose. With his face being pale, Meng Xuan looked entirely different from who he was when he had a ruddyplexion before. His seven orifices of his head were bleeding!

    Meng Ying immediately helped him sit on the bedside and asked anxiously, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Is the antidote fake? Or did you get hurt internally? How about I take you to see a doctor?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Meng Xuan panted and red at him. He replied, ¡°I¡¯m just suffering from Qi Deviation because of you! That day Lu Jiangbei hit me at the Danzhong acupoint so that I can¡¯t move freely these days. I failed to release it even until now, but I want to recover more quickly so I¡¯m trying to release the acupoint forcibly. Otherwise, you said those words to make me furious. You¡¯re such a good brother!¡± Meng Ying had never seen Meng Xuan being so weak. He only knew Meng Xuan had unfathomable kung fu but he had no idea about the exact level. However, what he did know was that if a master like Meng Xuan suffered from Qi Deviation, he would at least have paraplegia! Thinking of it, Meng Ying got panicked and tucked Meng Xuan in bed. He said hurriedly, ¡°You hang on. I¡¯ll bring Fourth Uncle here right away. He will save you. Meng Xuan, please hang on!¡±

    With his eyes closed, Meng Xuan sobbed out to himself, ¡°Xiaoyi got pregnant and the baby¡¯s father was Zhu Quan? Was it why she was in a hurry to marry me? Why didn¡¯t she tell me this?¡± Meng Ying felt helpless and replied, ¡°How would I know it? I told you she wasn¡¯t a good woman. Can you believe it now?¡± However, as soon as he finished his words, Meng Xuan tilted his head and spit blood on the pillow. Then, he was unconscious and Meng Ying couldn¡¯t figure out if he was still alive. Meng Ying was frightened and shook him continuously, ¡°Meng Xuan! Meng Xuan! Wake up! You can¡¯t die! How can you die like this? Wake up! I didn¡¯t mean to provoke you! Meng Xuan?¡± There was no response at all. Meng Ying tried to sense his breath but got nothing so he became utterly flustered, ¡°Doctor! I need a doctor! He Danggui is also a doctor, right? Wait for me. I¡¯ll bring her here.¡±

    Hearing this, Meng Xuan lifted his eyelids and stared ahead. His tears were mixed with the blood from his eyes. He choked with sobs and said, ¡°She cheated me. She wasn¡¯t sincere at all. No wonder she suddenly changed her attitude toward me...¡± Closing his eyes slowly, he continued in resentment, ¡°Xiaoyi, I will die on your bed. I want you to dream of me every night in the future.¡± Then, he became unconscious again. Obviously, he was dead.

    Meng Yingy beside the bed and imitated what Meng Xuan had done when he was feeding him Zhenqi. He pressed Meng Xuan¡¯s chest and underbelly clumsily, but after an hour, Meng Xuan still didn¡¯t wake up. He never breathed and his hands got cold as well. Meng Ying copsed to the ground and cried while shaking his head, ¡°How could it be like this? How could it be? You were a strong man. How could you just die like this?¡± He asked this repetitively and after a long while, he said, ¡°It¡¯s all He Danggui¡¯s fault! She¡¯s the one who killed you. I will ruin her reputation and kill her!¡± As soon as he finished his words, Meng Xuan lifted his eyelids again. He shouted in a hoarse voice, ¡°How dare you?¡± Then, he closed his eyes and became a dead body again.

    Meng Ying was scared at first, but he got surprised and happy a momentter. He rushed to hold Meng Xuan and asked nervously, ¡°Meng Xuan, how do you feel? Do you know where Fourth Uncle is? I will send all the men in Qiyanggong Sect to look for him. He will definitely save you.¡±

    Meng Xuan replied in desperateness with his eyes closed, ¡°I¡¯ve only loved one woman all my life, but she hurts me so much. I feel my heart bleeding and don¡¯t want to live in the world anymore. Why do you bother to save me? Don¡¯t do it. I will be a ghost and follow her day and night. She could never get rid of me.¡± He looked ashen and the seven orifices of his head kept bleeding, but he put on acent smile as if he finally defeated the woman once on the board. After smiling like this for a while, the light in his eyes faded and his smile froze.

    Meng Ying wailed and said, ¡°Stay with me! How could you just die like this? If you like He Danggui, I¡¯ll help you find her! She has been poisoned by Imperial Guards. I don¡¯t know if she can be saved. Will you just leave her alone and die like this? She got poisoned just because she wanted to find the antidote for you!¡± Meng Xuan came to life again and stared at Meng Ying with his bleeding eyes. He asked in a hoarse voice again, ¡°Xiaoyi was poisoned? Where is she? How is she now?¡±

 Chapter 364 - Love debts and killing love matrix

    <h4>Chapter 364 Love debts and killing love matrix</h4>

    Meng Ying cherished the precious moment when Meng Xuan woke up. He wiped off his tears and exined the whole thing briefly, ¡°He Danggui might not get pregnant. I just heard about it from a kid. He Danggui denied it firmly. The antidote to your cold poison was found by her. She was poisoned with something else and is looking for the antidote now. She looked a bit listless when I met her. Maybe she would copse halfway...¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± Meng Xuan shouted and sat up. He struggled as if he wanted to get out of the bed, but hey on his side again and didn¡¯t move anymore. It looked like he was dead again.

    By virtue of his experiences before, Meng Ying helped Meng Xuan lie on his back and said the ¡°Two Word Spell¡± again, ¡°He Danggui.¡± Sure enough, Meng Xuan¡¯s hollow eyes moved immediately and some light appeared in them again. Meng Ying made up his mind, and told the truth, ¡°Several days ago, Mr. Duan came to me and told me how He Danggui cheated and hurt him badly. He also gave me a bottle of poison, asked me to add them into the food He Danggui ate, and abducted her for him. In return, he would manage to bring a ceasefire for people in Imperial Guards and Qiyanggong Sect and bury the hatchet. I asked him why he didn¡¯t abduct her himself. He said that he had been to Tao Yao Yard once and found there was a weird Love Tactical Matrix outside He Danggui¡¯s room. Everyone could pass it safely but he couldn¡¯t even get close to it. He suspected that He Danggui heard he wasing to Yangzhou City and afraid he might revenge himself on her, so she felt flustered and avoided him in such a way,¡± Meng Xuan¡¯s throat moved and he asked brokenly in confusion, ¡°Duan Xiaolou... He intended to catch Xiaoyi? Revenge?¡±

    Meng Ying nodded and replied, ¡°At first, I didn¡¯t agree to help him because I heard from Yi Tong that you loved her so much and I didn¡¯t want to hurt the woman you loved. However, several dayster, right on the day you left, I saw He Danggui being possessed by the devil and that was so horrible. In the peaceful house, she dealt with her aunt with extremely cruel means. I suddenly thought such a woman could never be part of Meng¡¯s Family, or she would bring trouble sooner orter. Thus, I asked to see Mr. Duan and epted the bottle of poison. I was about to poison her within two days and my disguise as an old man could be very helpful, but before I could take action, I ran into her outside tonight and got the antidote to cold poison from her. Then, I knew you were poisoned and I didn¡¯t want you to owe her any favor, so I lied to you that the antidote was found by Su Niang.¡±

    Meng Xuan struggled to get up and sat with his legs crossed. He adjusted his breath for a while, and his face turned slightly ruddy. Then, he asked incoherently, ¡°Ten Mile Slope outside the city, right?¡±

    Meng Ying got what he meant and shook his fan immediately while saying, ¡°No! You can¡¯t even walk stably. How can you save anyone? I made you be like this, so it should be my responsibility to save her. You just keep adjusting your breath here and stay calm. I will bring He Danggui back to you safe and sound.¡± In fact, he wasn¡¯t very confident about what he said, because he thought He Danggui might have already been dead because of the poison.

    When he grasped her right hand and observed it, Meng Ying found the poison blocked in her pinky was moving to her middle finger, which meant it would reach her pericardium channel soon. Then, it wouldn¡¯t be far away from her heart arteries as well. However, He Danggui didn¡¯t notice that death wasing over her and even tidied up the cloth covering her face from time to time with her right hand. That was a very dangerous movement. Maybe the poison would break through all obstacles suddenly and reach her heart arteries.

    Meng Ying saw it clearly and knew exactly what would happen. He wanted to remind her to be careful of the poison at first but he didn¡¯t do it. He just said before he left, ¡°Take care of yourself, too. Don¡¯t ride the horse anymore. You can rent a sedan with soft chairs and look for your antidote by it. It¡¯ll be bad if your fetal qi is disturbed.¡± Seeing the shock on her face, he thought that life and death were decreed by fate and she could ignore his words as she liked because her death might bring peace to the world. However, looking at Meng Xuan who was at hisst gasp and struggled to live miserably, Meng Ying felt very regretful. If He Danggui died, would Meng Xuan...

    Meng Xuan asked carefully, ¡°If He Danggui died, what will you...¡± Before he could finish his words, Meng Xuan began to spit blood again. Meng Ying was startled and immediately corrected himself, ¡°No, she won¡¯t die. She¡¯s so smart that she will never die easily. Duan Xiaolou won¡¯t let her die, either. Maybe the poison in her body isn¡¯t very fatal. Even if it reaches her heart arteries, she may also be saved!¡± After saying it, Meng Ying even wanted to p himself in the face. How could he say this? The poison reached her heart arteries?

    ¡°Puff!¡± Meng Xuan spit some blood and said while exhaling more than inhaling, ¡°Xiaoyi, wait for me. I¡¯ll meet you soon. I finally remembered it. In my previous life, thedy in Jade Building was you. Although your face has been changed, I recognize the cinnabar mole on your chest, your body, and the way you smell. God has implied me in my dreams for three years, but I still failed to figure it out and even thought I had caught some strange disease. I feel very regretful that we couldn¡¯t get married in the previous life. I¡¯m so regretful. Xiaoyi, wait for me. Please wait for me this time...¡± Finishing these words, he closed his eyes slowly and copsed to the bed. Meng Ying scratched his ears and cheeks in anxiousness and kept shouting the ¡°Two Word Spell¡± to stimte Meng Xuan, ¡°He Danggui! He Danggui! He Danggui!¡± He felt he was a big idiot and would rather cast spells like ¡°Obey order presto¡± than this. This time, Meng Xuan didn¡¯t give any response.

    ¡°He Danggui is back. Look! She¡¯s there!¡± It sounded exactly like something only children would believe. Meng Xuan still showed no response. Meng Ying got panicked. Even He Danggui¡¯s name couldn¡¯t wake him up. Meng Xuan did die now! Meng Ying waspletely dumbfounded. He even ¡°killed¡± his brother just by saying some words. How could he go back home and face his parents? How could he still live in the world? He looked up and saw the soft sword hung on the wall as decoration. Then, he took it down impulsively, pulled out the sword, and put it beside his neck. When he was about to move it from left to right...

    ¡°Stop! Don¡¯t do it!¡± A clear female voice sounded outside the room. ¡°Bang!¡± The door was smashed open and the voice became clearer. ¡°Stop it! Don¡¯t die here. If you die in this house, we won¡¯t be able to live here anymore... Gosh!¡± The female voice got high-pitched, ¡°Who are you? Why did you get in the way suddenly? Watch where you¡¯re going, pretty man!¡± Interrupted by this, Meng Ying put down the sword and turned around to see what happened. Then, he shouted in surprise, ¡°Fourth Uncle! You¡¯re here!¡±

    The door of the bedroom was open and a male and a female were standing outside. The female looked young and chubby. She wore weird yellowish-brown clothes, which looked very like something made of paper, but she wasn¡¯t the reason why Meng Ying got surprised. He shouted because of the middle-aged man standing before the young girl.

    The man was in his forties and wore a loose monk robe of light cyan color. He was tall and slender with long arms and legs. With a glowing face, nted eyes, and a high nose bridge, he looked ahead and there was a faint smile on his thin lips. He got shoulder-length hair which was tied by a hairband of ck color and golden patterns. The band could flutter itself without wind. Although some white hair could be found on his head, people wouldn¡¯t be sure about his exact age after seeing his stunning glowing face. Actually, judging only from his calm dark eyes, people would have a strong impression of him that he must have been through twists and turns of life and reincarnation. The strangest point was that he had an intimidating manner, which could prove people¡¯s impression of him while from top to toe, he didn¡¯t have any daunting decoration, essories, or expressions. In other words, this man was born to be such an intimidating figure. Without words or movements, he could scare away gangsters just by standing there. It was just like...

    The chubby girl in the paper skirt covered her mouth with her hand and stepped back. She kept apologizing, ¡°Sorry. I¡¯m so sorry. I didn¡¯t know you¡¯re blind. Sorry. I¡¯m not discriminating against you. I never discriminate against disabled people. I sympathize with you very much... But by the way, why are you standing in Xiaoyi¡¯s bedroom, pretty man? Are you the so-called Beauty Thief? Gosh, even such a handsome man hurts women! Where is the justice?¡±

    The chubby girl who was talking was Liao Qing¡¯er. She got hit on her forehead by the middle-aged man¡¯s back, so she became a bit dizzy and talked about nonsense. Then, she found the man was more handsome than any man she had met in her two lives and even than the young boy inside the room that was about tomit suicide. Thus, shepletely lost her marbles and eximed in her heart, ¡°God, why are you so cruel? How could you let such a handsome guy lose the ability to see the world and women?¡± Right. This middle-aged man who was called ¡°Fourth Uncle¡± by Meng Ying was Meng Xi, the biological younger brother of Earl Baoding named Meng Shan. He was the former Lord of Qi Yang, the founder of Qiyanggong Sect, and the Master of Xuan Theories. The name of ¡°Lord of Qi Yang¡± had been famous all over the country since the founding of Ming Dynasty and it carried mysterious religious meanings. During the ten yearster, several eventful matters that even surprised the whole country made the name of ¡°Lord of Qi Yang¡± be a noble code. The person who bore the title seemed to be a figure that could even override the gangsterdom and the government and be respected by them as a god.

    Qiyanggong Sect, also known as ¡°Xuan Sect¡±, was set up in the first year of Hongwu Period. It developed rapidly into the thirdrgest religion after Taoism and Buddhism in less than thirty years and had gotten over ten thousand followers. Its scale once exceeded that of Ming Sect founded before the uprising of Zhu Yuanzhang, the first emperor of Ming Dynasty. After attracting the attention of the government, Qiyanggong Sect went underground and the trend of Xuan Sect was still popr until now. It could be said thatpared with the other one hundred and forty gangs in Jianghu, Qiyanggong Sect alone was more daunting to the government.

    All these heroic undertakings were guided by the middle-aged man who was being judged by Liao Qing¡¯er now. Since two years ago when he quit his job as ¡°Lord of Qi Yang¡± and left Qiyanggong Sect to Meng Xuan, his young and brilliant nephew, he had been out of sight. Even Meng Xuan also failed to find where he was. Thus, in this moment of despair, Meng Ying suddenly saw him and became very surprised, because, in his opinion, Meng Xi was omnipotent and perfect.

    Of course, he also had an imperfection which was he couldn¡¯t see anything. Although his eyes looked normal, even a careless person like Liao Qing¡¯er could figure it out at the first sight. His eyes looked dead and gloomy and they were very simr to He Danggui¡¯s. They showed a kind of deathly stillness because they were blind. Every time He Danggui was in a daze, Liao Qing¡¯er could sense that kind of stillness. Her eyes seemed to be covered by darkness so that she couldn¡¯t see anything. Or she might not look at objects in front of her but those bizarre trifles happened in her previous life and this life.

    What was amazing was that for Meng Xi, ¡°blindness¡± didn¡¯t seem to be a weakness. Instead, it brought him peace. There was a green jade flute in his hand. His slender fingers and the flute looked nice with each other as if inexhaustible magic was hidden in them. He put on a faint smile and replied, ¡°I¡¯ve predicted that Meng Xuan may die today, so Ie to save him.¡±

    Meng Ying sighed for relief. Fourth Uncle was here and they might find the solution. He immediately held up Meng Xuan whose seven orifices were bleeding and let Meng Xi check him. He exined, ¡°Meng Xuan got desperate because of a woman and suffered from Qi Deviation. He died just now.¡± Meng Xi stretched out his left hand which was put behind his back originally and showed the beautiful peach blossom in it. He said with a smile, ¡°I¡¯ve also predicted it is a ¡®love disaster¡¯. Now I can see I¡¯m right. How time flies. Meng Xuan bes a grown-up now and begins to feel heartbroken because of a woman.¡±

    Meng Ying looked very miserable and begged, ¡°Fourth Uncle, please save Meng Xuan and predict if the woman he loves is still alive. If she is dead, it will be meaningless to save him. This idiot has totally fallen for her!¡±

    Meng Xi was in no hurry to save him. He turned around and asked, ¡°Miss, are you thatdy¡¯s friend?¡± He couldn¡¯t see anything, but he did face Liao Qing¡¯er while asking her.

    Liao Qing¡¯er touched the corner of her mouth unconsciously to wipe off the non-existent saliva. She nodded and answered with a smile, ¡°Yes, I¡¯m Xiaoyi¡¯s friend. What¡¯s the matter? Uh? What are you talking about? Xiaoyi is dead?¡±

    Meng Xi paced with hands behind his back and said in slight surprise, ¡°The host of this room even knows tactical matrixes. There is even the ¡®Killing Love Matrix¡¯ here. It¡¯s amazing. Then, I will use the peach blossom to make a Hexagram Liushui and see if she is still alive.¡± Finishing his words, he threw the flower lightly on Liao Qing¡¯er¡¯s head. The flower rolled twice on her smooth ck hair and fell on the ground slowly.

 Chapter 365 - The young girl fell in love

    <h4>Chapter 365 The young girl fell in love</h4>

    Liao Qing¡¯er and Meng Ying asked together, ¡°How¡¯s that? Is Xiaoyi (He Danggui) still alive?¡± Meng Xi nodded but shook his headter. He replied, ¡°The hexagram told me she died, but her room still looks very vibrant and it shouldn¡¯t belong to someone dead.¡±

    ¡°What does that mean?¡± Liao Qing¡¯er looked up at him with her eyes wide open. This master¡¯s enigmatic words made her confused.

    ¡°Here¡¯s what it means.¡± Meng Xi said in a soft and calm tone with a smile. He began to be straightforward, ¡°The hexagram I had was wrong.¡±

    ¡°That means He Danggui is still alive, right? We can save Meng Xuan, right?¡± Meng Ying who should be to me for all this asked hopefully, ¡°Since you can predict that Meng Xuan will be in trouble today, you must have had the solution to help him, right?¡± Meng Xi nodded and answered, ¡°There are two solutions. First, we can feed him with medicine that will make him forget everything. After eating it, he won¡¯t remember that woman anymore and the trouble will be settled naturally.¡± Hearing it, Meng Ying nodded vigorously to show his approval, but Liao Qing¡¯er shook her head hard to oppose it. Then, Meng Xi continued, ¡°But this is just a method that cures only the symptoms. I can¡¯t guarantee how painful he will be if he remembers her again in the future. Maybe he will suffer more than he does today. Thus, I don¡¯t support this solution.¡±

    Hearing what he said, Liao Qing¡¯er began to admired him slightly. She immediately asked, ¡°What about the second solution? Should we find Xiaoyi and let Meng Xuan and her get married and live happily?¡± Meng Xi smiled gently and replied while shaking his head, ¡°I don¡¯t approve of letting them get married. Judging from the Marriage te, Meng Xuan¡¯s wife isn¡¯t thisdy, but he loves her the most. And the hexagram has also implied an old saying going like ¡®Husband and wife are birds in the same forest, but they fly separately when disasterse¡¯. That isn¡¯t a good sign at all... Um, we should heal Meng Xuan first. He won¡¯t be able toe back to life if we miss the right time.¡±

    Meng Ying whispered in his heart, ¡°You should¡¯ve done so before. It¡¯s just like a case of acute disease being treated by a procrastinating doctor.¡± He let Meng Xi sit on the bedside and put down the bed curtain as he told to stop others from seeing how Meng Xi was treating Meng Xuan. At the same time, Liao Qing¡¯er noticed there were maids of Tao Yao Yarding toward the room. They might be attracted by the noise just now so they came to have a look. Liao Qing¡¯er went out and talked to them briefly before asking them to leave.

    Liao Qing¡¯er turned around to get back to the room but she was stopped by Meng Ying outside the door with one hand. She asked in confusion, ¡°Why did you stop me? I need to check Meng Xuan. He loves Xiaoyi and I¡¯m Xiaoyi¡¯s best friend.¡± Meng Ying frowned and looked down at her. Then, his expression showed he had realized something. He eximed, ¡°You are... Liao Qing¡¯er! Liao Qing¡¯er is you! You are thedy He Danggui mentions to me who has ¡®Skin Remover¡¯! Liao Qing¡¯er! You are Liao Qing¡¯er!¡± Liao Qing¡¯er looked up at the old man who was even a bit more handsome than Meng Xuan and saw his lips moving when he said ¡°Liao Qing¡¯er¡± four times. She was very shocked so she pointed at him first and then, she touched her nose. She asked to confirm it, ¡°Third Childe, you even recognize me? And you know I¡¯m Liao Qing¡¯er as well?¡±

    Right. Liao Qing¡¯er knew Meng Ying several years ago in the capital and she had some unrequited love with him. Thus, when she saw he was about tomit suicide outside the window, she rushed into the room to stop him regardless of everything. Although his face looked dozens of years older than it should have been, Liao Qing¡¯er still remembered him clearly. She once witnessed how he grew from a pretty boy to a handsome teenager and how those horny girls and women chased him while she could just bite her handkerchief with tears welled in her eyes and adore him secretly in somewhere he couldn¡¯t see.

    Back then, Liao Qing¡¯er had done something sensational in the capital. She imitated Zhu Yingtai and became a student of Yinghui Academy by disguising herself as a boy. There were four reasons for her to do that. First, she wanted to learn more about the joys and pains of ancient people when they went to school. Second, she wanted to meet a bookworm like Liang Shanbo in such a pure environment. Third, Yinghui Academy and Meng¡¯s Mansion were just separated by a street. Fourth, the primary ss she was in and the middle ss Meng Ying was in were just separated by a hallway.

    To sum up, she paid lots of effort to disguise herself as a boy with chest wraps, get up early at four in the morning every day, learn traditional Chinese characters hard to get admitted by an ancient primary school, and read ¡°Ode to the Goose¡± loudly together with a group of children that were about eight years old in average while she was already fifteen. Most of the reasons why she did so were that she wanted to see Meng Ying who was handsome, two years younger than her, and reading ¡°Every day I examine myself on three counts¡± in the middle ss next.

    She also knew that she should have acted as a more mature person since she was from the future world, had almost been living for thirty years and started her business four or five years ago here as a postgraduate. How could she adore a boy so naively like those girls or women who didn¡¯t know how to find the square root of 3 or write the chemical equation of photosynthesis? However, her heart couldn¡¯t help being pounding every time she saw Meng Ying who perfectly showed the handsomeness of the Dream Team formed by Kaede Rukawa, Akira Sendoh, Kenji Fujima, Soichiro Jin, and Mitsui Hisashi.

    She had had an unrequited love with Meng Ying when he was a teenager for almost four years by fits and starts. Of course, she only loved what he looked like instead of what a person he was, so she barely knew him and her love was rtively superficial. Sometimes when she found a profit-making program, she would be busy making money and didn¡¯t even think about Meng Ying once in months. However, when she ran into him on the street some day and saw his amazing handsome face again, the endless love in her heart would be woken up and she would bite her handkerchief with tears welled in her eyes secretly.

    She didn¡¯t have many experiences in rtionships. About what love should be, she only learned it from books or TV shows and she didn¡¯t know if this was what people called ¡°a young girl falling in love¡±. Although her ¡°cumtive age¡± had been twenty-eight, she was full of childlike innocence and regarded herself as a young girl after she had been rejuvenated. She also didn¡¯t know whether it was dedication of love to go to school by disguising herself as a boy for a teenager who didn¡¯t even cast a nce at her, but during the four or five years, for Meng Ying, she had rejected seven or eight men who seemed to be good in total. Until one day, when she was sixteen, which was a quite mature age in ancient times, she had a terrifying dream.

    What happened in that dream made her dare not to look at Meng Ying in about a month. By the way, she seemed to never be able to look into his eyes, In the dream, he confessed his love to her. First, he jumped down from a high tower while riding a horse. The horse diedter but he was still alive. Then, with a cool special cloak usually worn by an Indian chief, he walked to her by moving his hand and foot on the same side andughed hysterically as if he had Qi Deviation after practicing Nine Yin Skeleton w. ¡°Yo, ha, ha, ha...¡±

    Seeing this, she thought of lots of dramatic lines such as ¡°Ie with the wind and leave with it. I¡¯m a little bird in the wind and trying to fly high but I can¡¯t. I keep looking for a warm hug...¡±, ¡°Some people still live in the world, but they are actually dead; I¡¯m dead but I will still live in the world...¡±, and ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter to cut off my head as long as I have the right belief. I¡¯m killed but lots of people like me will stand out. My furiouspatriots, let¡¯s fight for our new country...¡± Suddenly, Meng Ying stoppedughing and stood right in front of her. He looked at her affectionately with his eyes that were prettier than ss balls and said with his red lips that were more tasty than jelly pops, ¡°Liao Qing¡¯er, I¡¯ve been loving you secretly for four years. I¡¯ll cut my belly open if you are still unwilling to marry me.¡±

    In the dream Liao Qing¡¯er cked out because of scare (surprise). When she woke up, she and Meng Ying were riding together on a horse which had been dead before and now resurrected. They ran in the sky unreasonably and reached a cloud gradually. Meng Ying held her waist (which became slender in the dream) and jumped off the horse with her. They looked down at the world below and she thought he wouldment on the views and people in excitement, but he said to her, ¡°Qingqing, you jump. I jump. What do you think? Yo, ha, ha, ha...¡±

    Then, Liao Qing¡¯er woke up terrified from the dream. All her clothes got wet because of her sweat and she found it was about one or two in the morning, which was exactly the time when ghost stories often urred. She got out of the bed and drank a lot of cool water. Sheforted herself that it must because she had told her brother too many stories in ¡°Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio¡±. She had scared others too much so that she was scared now. How could she not get her shoes wet if she often walked by the river? She should stop talking about ¡°Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio¡± from now on. She could try ¡°Robinson Crusoe¡±, ¡°The Others¡± or ¡°Ring¡±. The next day when she regained most of her senses, she sat in a daze while holding her cheeks with her hands in her ssroom. After thinking about what happened in her dreamst night, she kept shaking her head.

    She guessed Meng Ying didn¡¯t even know her. The word ¡°guess¡± used here was just because of her pride as a female, because she didn¡¯t need to guess at all and she knew Meng Ying would never recognize her. As for the reasons, there might be thirty of them.

    First,pared with the other children in the primary ss, she was so tall and chubby that her position was at thest but one row by the window, which faced the East Restroom at a nt and provided a narrow view. Second, as a genius who had skipped grades, Meng Ying was shorter than his fellow students in the middle ss so that his position was at the fourth row by the window and a wide racecourse could be seen there. Thus, during the eight hours when he was at school, he spent three hours listening to the teachers, another three reading story books andughing secretly, and the other two sleeping. He didn¡¯t spare any moment to look at the primary ss the whole day. Third, it was said that Meng¡¯s Family was the descendant of Mencius, a handsome student of Confucius while the ancestors of her Liao¡¯s Family were said to be woodsmen and fishermen. Thus, Meng¡¯s Family had much more glorious history than her family did. Finally, she was nothing outstanding in the appearance, disposition or knowledge and might not have handwriting as good as that of a maid beside Meng Ying. That maid might even be prettier than her so Meng Ying would rather look at the maid than at her.

    Anyway, he would never know her! An ordinary girl like her knew him just because he was famous in Yinghui Academy and even the whole capital. He was the eldest legitimate son of Meng¡¯s Family and the sessor of the title ¡°Earl Baoding¡±. He would be a mighty general... An ordinary girl like her and a famous figure like him led livespletely unrted to each other. The only meeting with him deliberately made by her even ended in a farce and tragedy. Atst, that farce ended with people¡¯s mockery for her as a fool and because of it, she couldn¡¯t bear to stay in the capital anymore and ran away from home. However, Meng Ying still didn¡¯t remember her name at that time. Why did he know her now suddenly? Why did he call her name four times? Did her dreame true?

    ¡°Liao Qing¡¯er, I¡¯ve been loving you secretly for four years. I¡¯ll cut my belly open if you are still unwilling to marry me¡±?

 Chapter 366 - Did her unrequited love pay off?

    <h4>Chapter 366 Did her unrequited love pay off?</h4>

    After driving away a crowd of maids who came to see what happenedte at night, Liao Qing¡¯er turned around and saw Meng Ying standing at the door of the bedroom. His nted eyes were fixed on where she was. Although he was an ¡°old¡± man instead of a ¡°teenager¡± now, Liao Qing¡¯er still felt her heart had skipped several beats. She pretended to be calm and walked towards him. She thought, ¡°Walk to the door. I must walk past him calmly and elegantly. I¡¯ll leave him a perfect silhouette...¡±

    Meng Ying raised his hand and stopped her at the door. She looked confused and asked him, ¡°Why did you stop me? I need to check Meng Xuan. He loves Xiaoyi and I¡¯m Xiaoyi¡¯s best friend.¡± However, she was actually eximing in her heart, ¡°My goodness! Is he going to flirt with me? Does God see my miserable Time Travel that I be a chubby girl but not a beauty which those who always bes aftering back to this dynasty? Is God sending me this handsome man aspensation?¡±

    Uh, how could that be possible? He didn¡¯t even recognize her or know her name. How would he like her? He once said, ¡°Who are you? Why did you get in the way? Good dogs never block traffic.¡± This showed he had no impression of her though she had just confessed her love to him yesterday, and made her be a fool in front of her ssmates and staff at school. It was also the main reason why she ran away from home and came to Yangzhou City and the historical turning point where she began to like the style of ¡°The Professional¡± instead of ¡°A Dream of Youth¡±.

    However, Meng Ying who was a handsome old man now looked down at her said in amazement and a beautiful tone, ¡°You are... Liao Qing¡¯er! Liao Qing¡¯er is you! You are thedy He Danggui mentions to me who has ¡®Skin Remover¡¯! Liao Qing¡¯er! You are Liao Qing¡¯er!¡±

    Then, Liao Qing¡¯er suddenly thought of when he said ¡°Liao Qing¡¯er, I¡¯ve been loving you secretly for four years. I¡¯ll cut my belly open if you are still unwilling to marry me¡± in her dream three years ago. Did that horrible dream actually imply to her what would happen in the future? Was it possible that after he said ¡°Good dogs never block traffic¡± three years ago, he felt very regretful, did some research about her secretly, and fell in love with her after finding how brilliant and courageous she was?

    She forced herself to stay calm and asked, ¡°Third Childe, Do you recognize me and know my name?¡± Don¡¯t deny it! Please don¡¯t!

    However, Meng Ying shook his head and replied, ¡°Although I know a miss from Liao¡¯s Family is the weirdest guy in Yinghui Academy and I seem to have seen your face at school, I can¡¯t link these two things together... I didn¡¯t expect that Liao Zhiyuan¡¯s younger sister was so ugly. I didn¡¯t expect it.¡±

    He didn¡¯t expect that Liao Zhiyuan¡¯s younger sister was so ugly? So ugly? Ugly?

    Liao Qing¡¯er¡¯s lips and eyelids twisted, her shoulders trembled, and her legs became weak. She seemed to hear the familiar song singing, ¡°Oh, finally I lost you. Finally, I lost you in the crowd when I felt honored the first time in my life...¡± Her first love in this dynasty ended before it could start... It was time for her to say goodbye to her unrequited love in girlhood. How childish the love was! How naive she was... The result told her that a dream could never imply things in the future...

    Meng Ying just blurted out those words before he could think twice. After seeing the girl¡¯s twisting face, he felt a bit sorry so he tried to be nice and talked to her, ¡°Miss Liao, your clothes are so delicate as if they are made of paper!¡±

    Liao Qing¡¯er hung her head and said despondently, ¡°They¡¯re indeed made of paper. Oilpaper. A raincoat.¡±

    Meng Ying became curious and waited for her to continue.

    However, there was nothing more. Liao Qing¡¯er looked down at her toe and said quickly in a light voice, ¡°I can¡¯t get in and have a look, right? I¡¯ll go to the next room and wait there, then. Just take your time but don¡¯t make loud noises or get Xiaoyi¡¯s room messy.¡± After finishing her words, she turned around and left Meng Ying a gray figure.

    ¡°Wait!¡± Meng Ying said behind her, ¡°My face has been stuck with something strange by He Danggui and be like this. Before she left, she asked me to find you and told me you had a kind of Skin Remover that could help me get rid of it.¡± These words made Liao Qing¡¯er¡¯s heart utterly broken. It turned out that he knew her name just because... ¡°Here. Use it together with hot water.¡± She was very upset and after giving him a bottle of potion, she went into an empty room to mourn for her lost youth and chubby body now.

    Meng Ying grabbed the bottle and saw the girl going into the room. He stared at the window where there was no lighting out and was in a daze for a while. Then, he thought of a weird dream he had had three years ago. Later, he turned around to get back to the room and washed his face with water. The potion in the little bottle was indeed miraculous. The mask stuck to his face before was slowly gotten rid of by him. The skin mask wasplete except for the two holes in the ces of eyes. It looked like the old version of Meng Ying without eyes was staring at him horribly.

    Meng Ying became in a daze again. Then, Meng Xi¡¯s voice sounded, ¡°Go and find some face powder on the dresser. Scatter it on a piece of paper to store the face mask, or it will get sticky some dayster. I¡¯ve never gotten a face mask made by Bai Yangbai, so just leave it to me. It must be interesting.¡± Lowughter sounded inside the bed curtain with the hum of Meng Xuan, ¡°Ouch... Fourth Uncle? It hurts. What happened? Where is Xiaoyi? Ouch! Please don¡¯t do it, Fourth Uncle!¡±

    Before Meng Ying could exin the face mask wasn¡¯t made by Bai Yangbai, he rushed to the bedside in surprise and lifted the curtain to check them. As soon as he looked inside, his smile froze. He asked in shock, ¡°Fourth Uncle? What are you doing?¡± Why did he use such a pose... Why was he on top of Meng Xuan... Where did Meng Xuan feel pain when he said it hurt...

    Meng Xuan didn¡¯t wear many clothes. It looked like he hadn¡¯t worn anything. He sprawled on the bed with his side face sinking deep into the pillow. His long hair spread all over it and some of it was hung on the orange curtain at the head of the bed. The scene looked very ambiguous. Otherwise, Meng Xi was still smartly dressed and looked normal, but his pose was too misleading. He sprawled on top of Meng Xuan who was nearly naked and he grabbed Meng Xuan¡¯s wrists with both hands. His body moved up and down slightly. He answered in a soft tone, ¡°Meng Xuan, don¡¯t move or think wildly. Rx and focus. It won¡¯t hurt soon. I¡¯ve done it very lightly. You should feel its beauty carefully. After today, everything will be changed. Then, you can¡¯t call me Fourth Uncle anymore.¡±

    Meng Ying was too startled to say anything. Meng Xi¡¯s words were very misleading. What treatment was he doing to Meng Xuan? Could he use another more normal pose? Why couldn¡¯t Meng Xuan call him Fourth Uncle after tonight? What should he be called, then?

    Meng Xuan couldn¡¯t bear to be pressed so he struggled hard for a while before stopping. Tears streamed slowly from the corners of his eyes and ran into his long hair. He asked in sadness, ¡°Fourth Uncle, how could you do this? Please stop. I don¡¯t want it.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t want it?¡± Meng Xi exerted more strength to suppress him and the smile on his thin lips became greater, ¡°Why don¡¯t you want it? Didn¡¯t you want it long before?¡±

    Meng Xuan closed his eyes tight and gave up struggling. He just let Meng Xi press him on the back and sobbed out, ¡°I wanted it before just because I wanted Xiaoyi to look at me differently, but now she is dead. I don¡¯t even want to live in this world anymore. Why would I still want your Mysteries or Principles? Just stop it and kill me directly. Then, bury her and me together. She was my wife and we promised to be a couple for fifty lives. I just didn¡¯t expect that this life was so short... Xiaoyi, wait for me. Please wait for me...¡±

    Instead of feeling sorry for Meng Xuan who was very affectionate, Meng Ying sighed for relief first. It turned out that they were just transmitting internal energy... However, Meng Ying immediately wide opened his eyes and asked in astonishment, ¡°Fourth Uncle, you even transmit Mysteries of Immortality to Meng Xuan? Then, won¡¯t you be an ordinary human in the future?¡±

    Meng Xi replied in a voice as calm as a stillke, ¡°It¡¯s good to be ordinary. That¡¯s music to ears.¡±

    Meng Ying was so shocked that he couldn¡¯t say anything more. He didn¡¯t expect Meng Xi would adore Meng Xuan so much and even transmit Mysteries of Immortality to Meng Xuan! He gave it to Meng Xuan!

    Meng Xi also had two sons. Both of them were umon kung fu wizards and they had been in charge of Qiyanggong Sect¡¯s branches in Laizhou City, Dengzhou City, Xuzhou City, Guizhou City, and Raozhou City. However, two years ago, Meng Xi suddenly passed the title of Lord of Qi Yang to Meng Xuan. It was such breaking news to all people in Meng¡¯s Family who knew it. He didn¡¯t give it to the eldest son of the concubine or the second-eldest legitimate son but one of his nephews who was only fourteen years old. What was going on? What¡¯s more, Meng Xi was in the prime of his life and his kung fu had been unparalleled in the world long before. Lots of people believed that he had already reached the realm of bing an integral part of nature and one more step forward, he would be as almighty as an immortal! Why would he stop at the time when he almost reached the top?

    Meng Ying once guessed secretly that Meng Xi might just find a ce and start his meditation in order to break through barriers and get stronger to touch the highest realm which was even very hard for ordinary people to look up to. It should be known that Meng Xi¡¯s martial arts were not his most daunting point. The most powerful skill he had and the greatest achievement he made all his life were his Mysteries of ¡°Immortality¡± and Principles of ¡°Two Lives¡±.

    Principles were made in heaven and by nature. If facts were changed or distorted such as the weight of a knife or sword, the speed of an arrow off the bowstring, the volume of air within the radius of one zhang, and the rate of someone¡¯s heartbeat or blood flow, what would happen in wars?

    The person exerting such a skill would use his sword as easily as he wanted while his opponent¡¯s weapon would be over one thousand jin and no one could pick it up again if it was dropped off to the ground.

    A burst of steel arrows was flying but they suddenly stopped in the air weirdly and didn¡¯t move a bit forward. Then, they turned around and headed towards the enemies. Thus, the result of the war was reversed instantly.

    A brutal enemy was standing close. No one had touched him but he suddenly struggled as if he was grabbed by neck and both his nose and mouth were covered. Some were even suffocated to death directly with only scare and shock left on his face.

    There was a row of tall and strong enemies on the opposite. They were all soldiers and fearless warriors one in a million. When they approached with swords in hands and killing intent in eyes, suddenly some of them dropped the weapons and cried out while covering their chests because of the pains, some got sweaty and red all over their bodies and felt very itch, and some kept shouting and dancing uncontrobly before they exploded atst and only left their blood and flesh to the world.

    All of these were shocking things that Meng Xi, the former ¡°Lord of Qi Yang¡±, ever did. Ordinary people couldn¡¯t understand why those things ended up like that and just regarded Meng Xi as a viin or a pure monster because none of those things could be done with human power.

    However, as the eldest and second-eldest legitimate sons respectively of Meng Shan who was Meng Xi¡¯s elder brother, Meng Ying and Meng Xuan had been very close to their Fourth Uncle since their childhood and knew roughly a little bit of everything. They had been admiring Meng Xi who was nearly as powerful as a god was since they were kids and just began learning to walk. They kept badgering him and pleaded with him to teach them Mysteries of ¡°Immortality¡± and Principles of ¡°Two Lives¡±. Considering these two skills as the most powerful things in the world, they thought they would be the strongest figures and seed in doing everything if they learned them.

    Otherwise, Meng Xi told them with a smile that the two skills couldn¡¯t be ¡°taught¡± but ¡°given¡± and it was like he couldn¡¯t just break hard jade in two and distribute them but directly give it to another person in whole.

    And now, he was giving that only piece of jade to Meng Xuan...

    Meng Ying stared at Meng Xi who was lying on top of Meng Xuan and moving his body up and down. Both of them were covered with sweat on their foreheads. Their faces were ruddy and their eyes were full of confusion. Meng Ying suddenly hadplex feelings and felt a bit bitter.

    That was the only piece of jade.

    It was even given to Meng Xuan.

 Chapter 367 - A selfish desire was triggered

    <h4>Chapter 367 A selfish desire was triggered</h4>

    ¡°Stop it. Fourth Uncle! It hurts!¡± Meng Xuan only felt pain all over his body and began to struggle again. He continued pleading, ¡°My heart is already burned into ash and I don¡¯t want to live in this world anymore. Fourth Uncle, please stop it. Xiaoyi is still waiting for me down there. I¡¯m afraid that she will be taken away by others again if I¡¯mte!¡±

    ¡°Hush. Just lie still.¡± Meng Xi frowned and his forehead was covered with thin sweat. Heforted in a soft tone, ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you that it just hurt at the beginning? You shouldn¡¯t have felt painful now, but you can¡¯t focus so that it hurts more.¡±

    Meng Xuan¡¯s face looked gloomy. He said in a dull voice, ¡°The pain in my body is nothing. What I can¡¯t bear is that in my heart. In my previous life, I was so close to her but I let her go. I was her first man but I took to the woods and left her alone. I felt very regretful as soon as I thought of these things. Fourth Uncle, why does God fool people like this? She and I were destined to miss each other in the previous life, but this life, we could¡¯ve been together while I still lost her. Fourth Uncle, could you predict when we will finally get together forever?¡±

    Meng Xuan just wanted to end his life so he said whatever he wanted and kept talking about ¡°the previous life¡± and ¡°this life¡±. Of course, Meng Ying didn¡¯t understand what he said at all but just thought that he said those weird things because he was injured and sick at the same time and couldn¡¯t think clearly. Meng Xi understood Meng Xuan¡¯s words about ¡°the previous life¡± but he didn¡¯t know the details and it wasn¡¯t convenient for him to ask more since Meng Ying was here. He could justfort vaguely, ¡°Things always happen this way. You can¡¯t get what is good easily and you won¡¯t cherish it if you obtain something with no pain. Once a couple starts toin about each other or even keep arguing, that will be the most racking thing. Now you and that woman are in the perfect state. I¡¯ll help you but you should stay still now and take what I¡¯m transmitting to you.¡±

    Meng Xuan opened his eyes in disbelief and turned his head to ask, ¡°What do you mean? Is Xiaoyi still alive? Can I still get together with her? Where is she? Ah! Stop! It hurts!¡±

    Meng Xi felt slightly helpless and replied, ¡°Transmitting internal energy is a very serious matter, but you don¡¯t focus on it at all. You deserve to feel pain! If you struggle again, it will hurt more!¡±

    ¡°Ah! Ouch!¡± Tears welled up in Meng Xuan¡¯s eyes. He tried to face Meng Xi and asked pitifully, ¡°Is Xiaoyi still alive? Fourth Uncle, please tell me the truth. My life isn¡¯t held in my hand at all but hers. I¡¯ll go wherever she is. We¡¯re indivisible.¡±

    ¡°I never lie. I also don¡¯t know that woman¡¯s condition.¡± Meng Xi answered, ¡°Since you miss her, you should take good care of yourself and ept what I give you well. You can go find her after you recover. Whether she is still alive or not, you should meet her again, right?¡±

    ¡°Then,¡± Meng Xuan begged, ¡°Fourth Uncle, please do it lightly. I feel very ufortable. Can¡¯t we change our pose?¡±

    ¡°You brat, don¡¯t ask for more after you¡¯ve gained a steal.¡± Meng Xi pressed him harder and said while panting, ¡°Now you and I are one. I can feel how painful you are. It¡¯s you to me because you¡¯re not concentrated.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Meng Ying¡¯s vision became blurry gradually and couldn¡¯t see clearly the two ovepping bodies on the bed. He felt extremely confused. Why? Why did Fourth Uncle treat Meng Xuan so well? It even vited the selfish desires ordinary people would have and the most basic ethics! Why did he give the best and most valuable thing to Meng Xuan instead of anyone else? He gave Meng Xuan the position of ¡°Lord of Qi Yang¡±, Mysteries of ¡°Immortality¡±, Changfeng Form, and Kunlun Begonia, and also taught him kung fu with personal examples as well as verbal instruction. Fourth Uncle treated Meng Xuan dozens of times better than he treated his own sons.

    Meng Ying couldn¡¯t deny the thoughts haunting in his mind and the bitter feeling he had. He was indeed envious of Meng Xuan. He wanted neither to think like this nor to feel jealousy as if his heart was burning on fire. Moreover, he was envying his younger brother. However, he couldn¡¯t control his mind.

    Despite things that happened before, about Mysteries of ¡°Immortality¡±, when Meng Xuan and he were about four or five, they pleaded with Meng Xi together to teach them. Then, they heard that it could just be given to one person and they gave up the thought at the same time because if Meng Xi gave it to another person, he would lose it utterly. How could their Fourth Uncle admired as a god by them be an ordinary man? What¡¯s more, such a unique and precious thing would definitely be given to his own sons. Every emperor would pass the throne to his biological son. Was there any one of them that would give it to his nephew?

    However, Meng Xuan was given the unique position of ¡°Lord of Qi Yang¡± and the unique Mysteries of ¡°Immortality¡± and Principles of ¡°Two Lives¡±. Meng Xi had given him everything. His eldest son named Meng Jing was twenty-two and the second-eldest son named Meng Tian was twenty-one. They were both talents. If Meng Xi chose one of them to seed his skills based on the conventions, Meng Ying might be less envious...

    Changfeng Form and Kunlun Begonia were the two skills Meng Xi was most proud of all his life. The former one was the most powerful cultivation method and thetter was the best weapon-using method. They weren¡¯t unique, but Meng Xi still only passed them to Meng Xuan...

    Back then, all sons from Meng¡¯s Family wanted to be their Fourth Uncle¡¯s disciples and learn his doctrines by his side, but Meng Xi said he was used to living freely and he wouldn¡¯t ept any disciple until he wanted to settle down someday. Thus, everyone knew Lord of Qi Yang had no sessor. Even his two sons failed to learn the quintessence of the mysterious Changfeng Form.

    When Meng Xi refused to ept disciples, Meng Ying and Meng Xuan were just six or seven, but less than half a yearter, one day Meng Ying saw Meng Xuan exerting Changfeng Form to save people. His movements looked very standard and they were just the same as what Meng Xi usually did. It could be seen that he must¡¯ve practiced the cultivation method for more than two years. Meng Ying asked him why but he couldn¡¯t answer it clearly. Then, Meng Ying realized what happened. It turned out that Meng Xi was teaching Meng Xuan kung fu secretly! Meng Xuan became the only sessor of Changfeng Form! It wasn¡¯t that Meng Xi didn¡¯t want to ept any disciple, but that he had a low opinion of all sons of Meng¡¯s Family except for Meng Xuan!

    At that time, Meng Ying also had a simr bitter feeling. He thought, ¡°Since Fourth Uncle has epted a disciple secretly, why can¡¯t he ept me as well? Am I much inferior to Meng Xuan? Am I less adorable than him? Isn¡¯t Fourth Uncle also intimate with me? Is intimacy also graded? Meng Xuan and Fourth Uncle are ¡®very intimate¡¯ while he and I are just ¡®intimate¡¯? There¡¯s a grade difference here?

    What¡¯s more, since Meng Xuan had been admitted by an almighty master, why didn¡¯t he try to consider me? I¡¯ve been sharing with him my food and clothes since we were just children. As long as I got something, I thought of him right away. Every time he made trouble, I would stand out to take the mes for him. I¡¯ve been beaten frequently by our father with a whip. At least half of the punishment should have been endured by him.

    Meng Xuan was always obedient and smart, but why did he hide such a serious thing from me this time? Why did he keep it a secret from his brother? Why didn¡¯t he mention to Fourth Uncle that Meng Ying also had the talent for learning a powerful skill like Changfeng Form? Isn¡¯t it better that we learn it together and he gets a strong brother who can protect him? Is he afraid that I may surpass him? Does he regard me as a rival secretly? Does he also crave for seeding the title of Earl Baoding...¡±

    Since then, although he didn¡¯tin about anything, Meng Ying still felt a wedge had been driven between Meng Xuan and him. He became less sincere to Meng Xuan, but he still expected that seeing his behaviors and attitude, Meng Xuan might realize he was angry and would make up to him by asking Fourth Uncle to ept one more disciple. However, three or four years had passed, such a good thing still didn¡¯t happen to him. Thus, he became angrier with Meng Xuan and also with himself because he kept sulking instead of asking Meng Xuan for an exnation face to face. After being in the sulk like this for several years, he gradually grew up, and what he wanted to ask also remained in his heart as a secret.

    Then, Meng Xuan who was closest to him among their eleven brothers was gradually estranged from him. It wouldn¡¯t have ended like this originally if Meng Xuan had been more honest or he had been more generous, but both of them failed so that they became less intimate even if they were biological brothers. Meng Ying had also thought about making changes, but Meng Xuan became more and more mysterious as he grew up and they couldn¡¯t be as intimate as they were before anymore. Even though he didn¡¯t say anything, Meng Ying knew he wasn¡¯t an ordinary man. He had lots of secrets and often foresaw things astonishingly. If Meng Ying happened to notice that, he would beg Meng Ying to keep it a secret for him. Meng Ying always answered him, ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll help you.¡± However, he grew more and more afraid of Meng Xuan deep in his heart.

    He had also warned himself that he shouldn¡¯t think the worst of Meng Xuan but treated his brother more tolerantly and genially. Otherwise, the weeds of jealousy had sprouted in his heart and grew day by day. No matter how he stopped them, they just spread wildly. He read ¡°Every day I examine myself on three counts¡± in the academy every day and he did keep examining himself, but it couldn¡¯t stop anything. He had been envious of his incredibly brilliant brother all the time.

    He wondered why Meng Xuan could always be confident about everything and seed in doing everything easily? Why couldn¡¯t he even be half as excellent as Meng Xuan? Was Meng Xuan God¡¯s favorite? Why did God give the best talent and luck to the same person? How unfair it was!

    Thus, in Meng¡¯s Family, not only Meng Xian, the eldest son, but also Meng Ying, Meng Xuan¡¯s biological brother, was envious of Meng Xuan. Meng Xian just showed his jealousy in his words or behaviors while Meng Ying hid it deep in his heart. He never showed it or tricked Meng Xuan openly and secretly, so Meng Xuan never bewared of him on purpose. Maybe in Meng Xuan¡¯s opinion, he was still the kind and friendly elder brother who rode hobby horses together with him in their childhood.

    Maybe those who were very talented were always insensitive and seldom thought about these things. Maybe only those who weren¡¯t preferred by God or surrounded by honors would have such dark and negative thoughts. Meng Ying felt he was rtively lucky. He was handsome and born to be the sessor of the title of Earl Baoding. He was respected wherever he went. However, Meng Xian, as a son of a concubine, was often cold-shouldered at home or outside. He must have umted much resentment these years so that after he grew up, he became very aggressive and targeted Meng Xuan who was the most brilliant one among his brothers.

    One day, Meng Xuan saved a kid under a carriage on the street. His movements were so amazing that their father felt very surprised and happy and thought he was a genius who would have a bright future. Thus, he was given a fast promotion to work in the army, and not longter, he was promoted to be Pioneer General. People all admired and discussed this excellent young general who could even fight fiercely and kill invaders at the age of ten.

    Meng Ying smiled bitterly at that time. Meng Xuan surprised people again and stole his thunder even though he ranked first on every subject in the academy. Was it lucky or not to have a brother who was excellent and close to him? Sometimes Meng Ying thought of the story about ¡°Since Zhou Yu was born, why should Zhuge Liang be in this world¡±. Was he too selfish? Shouldn¡¯t he feel honored for having a brilliant brother like Meng Xuan? In the future, after he seeded their father¡¯s position and became the garrison marshal, he would have someone loyal and helpful by his side, wouldn¡¯t he?

    Later, Meng Xuan stayed in Yangzhou City for some time and got insubordinate after he went back to the army. He even talked back to their father as if he was a firework that could be easily set off. Unfortunately, their father was also irritable those days. The father and son were in the same mood so neither of them made a concession. At that time, Meng Xian and Meng Ying were also there. Meng Xian seized the chance and incited their father to club Meng Xuan to teach him a lesson. Meng Ying mediated them but he didn¡¯t try his best for some reason. After shoves and quarrels, Meng Xuan didn¡¯t give in at all, which utterly irritated their father who stood for absolute authority. Atst, Meng Xuan was clubbed very hard.

    Seeing Meng Xuan who had his clothes wetted by blood and was at hisst gasp, Meng Ying felt slightly happy. Such a vicious feeling shocked him immediately.

 Chapter 368 - A childe was tricked by a villain

    <h4>Chapter 368 A childe was tricked by a viin</h4>

    Meng Ying regarded himself as a lineal descendant of Mencius and didn¡¯t want to ruin himself because of jealousy or conspiracies. Thus, he told himself that it was not Meng Xuan¡¯s fault to be brilliant and it was very normal for him to feel self-abased or envious, but he couldn¡¯t keep being like this, or Meng Xuan would make more progress while he would be ruined by his own evil wills first before he could make any achievement.

    Based on the principle of ¡°Out of sight, out of mind¡±, Meng Ying left the garrison in Shanhaiguan. Instead of going back to the capital, he traveled everywhere to broaden his horizons and mind and sweep away the shades in the past. Then, he met Lord Ning, Feng Yang and Qi Xuanyu. He admired them because they were fond of practices and very capable, so he often visited them and hoped it could improve his knowledge. After finding he was the sessor of Earl Baoding, Lord Ning and others got along with him on purpose. Moreover, they had simr temperaments and dispositions so they gradually became close.

    Several monthster, Meng Ying was even allowed to learn about the intelligencework of Wuying Tower and got free ess to Yangzhou Caobang organization. Not only his knowledge was greatly improved, but also he became a bosom friend to Feng Yang and learned much from him. While he was still feeling lucky and thinking it was very wise for him to travel around this time, he happened to know their core secrets. He failed to run away and had to join them half forcibly.

    Later, he got more and more involved. What people in Wuying Tower did and how they acted entirely vited ¡°manners, righteousness, benevolence, credit and wisdom¡±, which he had been taught since he was a kid. He tried several times to run away from these men, but how wily Zhu Quan was. How would he let a pawn who had something on him firmly run away? After battling with him openly and secretly several times, Meng Ying admitted his superiority and gave inpletely. He was terrified and knew he was no match for such a noble figure at all.

    During that period of time, Meng Ying heard He Danggui¡¯s name for the first time after he saw that striking scene.

    Although Lord Ning forced Meng Ying to join them, he treated Meng Ying better than ordinary schrs, talked to him as an equal, and persuaded him to sincerely join them. Every time Meng Ying arrived at Daning Prefecture, he was picked up by servants from Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion right away and was more respected there than in his own house. That was the way ¡°Guests feel at home¡± was exined perfectly.

    Of course, Meng Ying knew that he had to pay for the respect he received. He also knew the Theory of ¡°State Schrs and the Ordinary¡± by Yu Rang. Lord Ning treated him like ¡°a state schr¡± and would never let him be ¡°ordinary¡±. It must be because what he needed to do as ¡°a state schr¡± could never be done by those ¡°ordinary men¡± who hadn¡¯t been respected. Meng Ying could even predict that one day, Lord Ning would convince or force him to show his stand and to be on his sidepletely. Moreover, after he seeded his father¡¯s title, not only he but also the whole Meng¡¯s Family would have to be on the side of Lord Ning even though they were always loyal to the emperor.

    Meng¡¯s family was the head of all the noble families in the Ming Dynasty. Together with Wang¡¯s Family, Xie¡¯s Family, Li¡¯s Family, Chang¡¯s Family, Guan¡¯s Family, and Xu¡¯s Family, it became one of the ¡°seven great families of The Ming Dynasty¡±. And the reason why Meng¡¯s Family, Wang¡¯s Family, Chang¡¯s Family, and Guan¡¯s Family could keep being thought highly of by the emperor was that they all firmly supported the emperor and obeyed all his orders. Take Chang¡¯s Family as an example, early in the 26th year of Hongwu Period, Lan¡¯s Family who had a rtion by marriage with Chang¡¯s Family was found guilty of rising in rebellion. Chang¡¯s Family expressed their attitude clearly by cutting off all the rtions with Lan¡¯s Family on the spot and assisting the imperial officers to investigate the ¡°Treason Case of Lan Yu¡± thoroughly.

    Lan Yu was a famous founding figure of the Ming Dynasty, a brilliant general, and the younger brother of Chang Yuchun¡¯s wife. He was brave and astute and had made repeated battle achievements. After the country¡¯s situation was just stabilized, he was assigned as Founding General and recognized as Duke Liang. However, after he held great power, he became arrogant and willful, kept many ves and adopted sons, acted recklessly and brutally, and robbed farmers of their fields. Zhu Yuanzhang, the emperor, was furious at what he had done.

    Zhu Yuanzhang was born in a poor family. In the hardest time, he couldn¡¯t even get enough chaff or edible wild herbs to eat. His parents, brothers, and sisters-inw died of diseases or starvation one after another and just left him alone. Therefore, he swore at that time that he would ¡°kill all corrupted officials in the world¡±. Lan Yu grew arrogant because of his achievements and offended the emperor¡¯s taboo so that Lan¡¯s Family suffered from a bloodbath brought by the imperial army led by Chang¡¯s Family, their rtives by marriage. Lan Yu was executed for treason. His skin was removed, stuffed with straw, and presented in front of people around the country. Later, Armed Escort traced Lan Yu¡¯s confederates and the number of people who were implicated and killed was over fifteen thousand.

    All government officers that had corresponded with Lan Yu or even just met him several times were included, but none of those people was rted to Chang¡¯s Family. It could be seen that the emperor trusted and preferred Chang¡¯s Family very much. Such preference was earned by their speaking and acting cautiously, obeying the emperor¡¯s orders unconditionally, and working honestly and upright all the time. And the preference Meng¡¯s Family received was even greater. It was nicknamed ¡°Evergreen¡± in ¡°Rules in Official Circles¡± and was respected throughout the court. Such preference and glory were unique.

    It could be imagined how painful it would be if Meng¡¯s Family fell from such a high position. At that time, the whole court would be in turmoil and experience a radical change. Would it be another ¡°Treason Case of Lan Yu¡±?

    After being trapped by Lord Ning, Meng Ying got overwhelmed by various worries. Maybe someday, before Zhu Yuanzhang passed away, Zhu Quan¡¯s ambition and desires would lose control. With the forces he had gathered these years, he might attack the capital with the army, force the emperor to abdicate, or instigate all courtiers and force the emperor to make him Crown Prince. Would he do that? Would Meng¡¯s Family be forced to support Lord Ning because of Meng Ying?

    Although Meng Ying wished to keep away from such things, Zhu Quan trapped him with different methods. He used hard tactics, but he preferred soft ones. Meng Ying gradually lost himself. Even though he knew clearly he was tricked by a viin and Meng¡¯s Family would be implicated sooner orter because of him, he couldn¡¯t get rid of the Tender Land of Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion.

    Zhu Quan was shockingly generous. He not only let Meng Ying live in Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion but also asked various pretty geishas, maids, and even his own concubines to serve Meng Ying. Since he was born, Meng Ying had been used to being restrained by family rules in Meng¡¯s Family no matter what he said or did. Suddenly, he left the home and entered Lord Ning¡¯s circle. He felt free as if ¡°he had run away from a cage where he was stuck in for long and returned to the nature¡±. What¡¯s more, some of the beauties sent by Zhu Quan were extremely gorgeous. Meng Ying thought, ¡°Time just passes whether I¡¯m happy or not. I should just seek joy amidst the sorrow.¡±

    Then, he immersed himself in the Tender Land for several months and even happened to see Zhu Quan having sexual intercourse with a beauty before a tree in a plum grove. As soon as he noticed them, he felt embarrassed and shocked and was about to leave, but what he saw next really terrified him. It made him hold his breath and stop there to watch the whole thing with his eyes wide open.

    At first, Zhu Quan and that beauty were so sweet and he treated her very gently, which made thedy¡¯s tears stream down from her watery eyes. Meng Ying thought, ¡°Zhu Quan must¡¯ve been so in love with this woman. It¡¯s said that he was always cold-blooded to women. This can be seen when he asks his concubines to serve guests as personal prostitutes. However, he adores this woman very much. It shows he can also be a gentle person sometimes.¡±

    No sooner had Meng Ying finished thinking this than something horrible happened. Zhu Quan¡¯s look suddenly changed, some red and ck streaks appeared between his eyebrows, and he became an intimidating man who was utterly different from the person Meng Ying was familiar with. He looked several times more frightening than he did before. After this ¡°change¡±, Zhu Quan stopped adoring the beauty and became wild and rode. The woman was tortured hard and couldn¡¯t help begging for mercy.

    Zhu Quan pinned her to the plum tree and pushed her up and down. A short whileter, dozens of deep and shallow scars were seen on the beauty¡¯s fair back and it was bleeding. Several thorns pricked her buttocks and the back and they cut deeper because of Zhu Quan¡¯s movements. The beauty cried so hard that she got weak and gradually became semi-conscious. Maybe she would die after Zhu Quan finally stopped. Meng Ying felt very pitiful. He didn¡¯t expect that Zhu Quan¡¯s sexual preferences were so brutal and he wanted to stop Zhu Quan from killing a woman like this.

    However, before Meng Ying took action, Zhu Quan sobered up himself. He stopped his rudeness and cried hard while holding the beauty in his arms. He kept saying ¡°Yiyi¡± and even fed her with his Zhenqi to heal her, but the woman was hurt too severely and died atst. Zhu Quan became crazy again suddenly. He not only kept hurting the dead beauty but also exerted his palm energy everywhere like a monster. In an instance, the whole plum grove was destroyed. He looked up and shouted, ¡°He Danggui, I¡¯ll kill you! He Danggui, you failed me so much!¡±

    A sweet scene between a couple instantly turned into a crime scene in ruins, and Zhu Quanpletely became another person. He sometimes cried andughed and sometimes thumped his chest and hit trees. He also scolded ¡°He Danggui¡± after calling ¡°Yiyi¡± in pain.

    Meng Ying was scared by him and didn¡¯t dare to keep watching it. After that day, Meng Ying felt very nervous in Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion and couldn¡¯t run away even though he wanted. Every day appeared like a year in length to him. Half a monthter, Feng Yang came to Daning Prefecture. Meng Ying told him what happened that day and then, Feng Yang exined the reason why Zhu Quan became like that was that he fell in love with a woman named ¡°He Danggui¡± two years ago in Yangzhou City.

    That woman looked beautiful but she was very malicious. Zhu Quan who was a normal man before was forced to be crazy like that by her. Otherwise, he was obsessed with her and determined to marry her as his consort. He was still preparing for this. To deal with his lovesickness, he gathered a dozen of beauties who looked like her from all over the country to apany him. He Danggui¡¯s courtesy name was ¡°Qingyi¡± so there was ¡°Yi¡± in the names of all those beauties. They wore clothes simr to He Danggui¡¯s, dressed like her, and served Zhu Quan whenever he needed.

    Meng Ying was startled by it and after he went back to the capital, he saw Duan Xiaolou who was also obsessed with He Danggui. Thus, he had a very bad impression of this woman. When he knew Meng Xuan, his most brilliant brother, loved her as well, Meng Ying immediately disapproved of it in his heart. Then, he always agreed to offer help when Lord Ning¡¯s men and Duan Xiaolou came to him for this amazing woman named ¡°He Danggui¡±.

    This time, he confessed to Meng Xuan who was dying about Duan Xiaolou¡¯s request to him, but he still kept the part of Lord Ning a secret. Although that day Lord Ning had seen He Danggui¡¯s ¡°ugly¡± face and buried his burning love for her immediately, he came to Meng Ying again after that. He asked Meng Ying to bring He Danggui to him for three reasons. First, he wanted to take revenge on her. Second, he needed to improve his kung fu. Third, he would cover a secret about He Danggui¡¯s birth.

    Of course, Zhu Quan only told Meng Ying the first and second reasons. He persuaded Meng Ying bybining threats with inducements to bring him He Danggui after poisoning her to be dumb. It was because the thing Duan Xiaolou had experienced happened to Zhu Quan as well when he went to catch He Danggui himself some days ago. He also found a strange Killing Love Matrix outside He Danggui¡¯s room. Other people could pass it freely but he couldn¡¯t even get close to it.

    Bai Yangbai¡¯s ¡°Killing Love Matrix¡± was created in Yongle Period. Although he taught Zhu Quan everything, he couldn¡¯t exert it now because it was just the 31st year of the Hongwu Period. Of course, Zhu Quan wouldn¡¯t be able to break the matrix. He thought the normal process to marry a woman was tooplicated and might cause other trouble. Then, he had the idea the same as Duan Xiaolou¡¯s. Since Meng Ying could approach He Danggui easily, Zhu Quan asked him to poison and abduct her directly. Then, he would hide her well.

 Chapter 369 - A snake fell in love with a scholar

    <h4>Chapter 369 A snake fell in love with a schr</h4>

    At this time in He Danggui¡¯s bedroom, Meng Xi was still transmitting internal energy to Meng Xuan. Trying to get rid of his jealousy, Meng Ying turned around and went to the living room. He stood by the window and stared at the moon to soothe the bitterness in his heart. Meng Ying and Meng Xuan were biological brothers who grew up together in the same environment. Why would Meng Xuan be so brilliant and able to settle everything? Why was always someone powerful there to help him when Meng Xuan was in trouble? However, Meng Ying was slightly inferior to him and less lucky all the time. He wanted to broaden his horizons by traveling around, but he got trapped by a schemer like Zhu Quan and had to be more and more involved in their business.

    Meng Ying sighed at the moon. Would he be enved to Zhu Quan for the rest of his life and be a puppet? Seeing Meng Xuan¡¯s determination to live and die with He Danggui, he couldn¡¯t make repeat mistakes and destroy the only person to keep Meng Xuan alive even though he didn¡¯t know He Danggui¡¯s feelings for Meng Xuan.

    The reason why Meng Ying agreed to help Duan Xiaolou and Zhu Quan was that he didn¡¯t expect Meng Xuan was so obsessed with He Danggui that he even turned from a brilliant man into an idiot. What on earth was love? Why could it make a person utterly be another man? Meng Xuan had just known love for women for several years. Why would he promise to live and die with a woman so easily? When did he know He Danggui? How did he fall in love with her? What did it feel like to love someone?

    ¡°Hey, uh, Third Childe?¡± A ringing female voice sounded. Meng Ying knew it was from Liao Qing¡¯er without turning around. ¡°I want to know what has happened to Xiaoyi and how can I save her.¡±

    Meng Ying frowned and looked into the bedroom. Sure enough, just after Liao Qing¡¯er finished her words, Meng Xuan coughed and panted again. Meng Xi warned him, ¡°Focus on Dantian. Keep your mind from distraction. Or even I can¡¯t stop you from Qi Deviation. You will be paraplegic at least even if you can avoid general paralysis. Then, how will you be able to get the woman you love back?¡±

    Meng Ying looked at the girl in front of him and showed his anger with a re, which scared Liao Qing¡¯er very much. She apologized immediately, ¡°I¡¯m so sorry. I didn¡¯t know Meng Xuan¡¯s condition was so critical, but I¡¯m very anxious since Xiaoyi left him alone here and got missing. She is always loving and tries her best to save animals. She would never ignore Meng Xuan¡¯s injury. Was she hurt so severely that she even couldn¡¯t save herself?¡±

    Such an ominous guess made Meng Xuan in the bedroom flustered again and Meng Xi reminded him with serious warnings again. Thus, Meng Ying got furious at Liao Qing¡¯er and dragged her out of the room by grabbing her arm. He didn¡¯t stop until they stood in the peach grove which was very far from the bedroom. He loosened his hand and crossed his arms across the chest. Looking down at Liao Qing¡¯er, he said, ¡°Miss Liao, you shouldn¡¯t stay here anymore. Just go. He Danggui isn¡¯t in Tao Yao Yard. You shouldn¡¯t waste your time here if you want to save her. You can get out of the city and go to Ten Mile Slope. He Danggui was poisoned and might be dead soon.¡±

    Liao Qing¡¯er was startled and cursed, ¡°My goodness! You should¡¯ve told me this earlier. I should¡¯ve just let youmit suicide before!¡± She ran and began to think about it at the same time. Ten Mile Slope was one of Imperial Guards¡¯ strongholds so those men had something to do with the poison in Xiaoyi¡¯s body. And the person among imperial guards that had the most grudges against her was... Duan Xiaolou! How could it be possible? He couldn¡¯t wait to take action as well?

    Meng Ying stood still and stared at her figure silently. Then, he thought of again the peculiar and stupid dream he had three years ago. In that dream, regardless of the silly things he did, he only remembered the girl was Liao Qing¡¯er and she looked a lot prettier than she was in the reality now. He had said ¡°I didn¡¯t expect Liao Zhiyuan¡¯s younger sister was so ugly¡± before and it seemed to have irritated her right away. In fact, what he really wanted to say was ¡°You¡¯re very beautiful in my dream¡±.

    Of course, Meng Ying had seen many women who were ten times prettier than her and he always had high expectations of women¡¯s looks. He couldn¡¯t believe he would say something shocking like ¡°Liao Qing¡¯er, I¡¯ve been loving you secretly for four years. I¡¯ll cut my belly open if you are still unwilling to marry me¡±. That was stupid. Although Liao Qing¡¯er was special, he had a normal taste and preferred a traditional beauty like his mother... However, he felt it was so funny while thinking of how she gave a love letter to him... He seemed to have still kept that letter. Where was it...

    The figure in the ¡°oilpaper raincoat¡± was running farther and faster. Meng Ying couldn¡¯t help calling her, ¡°Miss Liao! Miss Liao! Miss Liao?¡± Was she ignoring him? ¡°Liao Qing¡¯er! Liao Qing¡¯er! Miss Liao!¡±

    Liao Qing¡¯er still kept running. The only thing Meng Ying understood now was that he should never irritate women. She was so narrow-minded. He had just embarrassed her that time in Yinghui Academy and she was even still angry about it. Why couldn¡¯t she stand in his shoes? Thirteen-year-old boys were not very interested in girls. When he received a love letter from a fifteen-year-old chubby girl, it was reasonable for him to be shocked instead of feeling proud, moved, or uh, heart-pounding.

    However, three months after that matter happened, one day, Meng Ying suddenly heard his mother was discussing ¡°serials¡± with other concubines of his father. It was said that was the ¡°patent right¡± of a daughter of Liao¡¯s Family which had been reported by her to the newly-set ¡°Patent Department¡± in the government. If a theatrical troupe had performed a serial written by her, they would have needed to give her five percent of the profit. Even if they hadn¡¯t done that but performed a long y by imitating the form of serials and advertised it in the name of serials, they would have had to give her two percent of the profit.

    If the theatrical troupe refused to give her the money, it would be illegal. ording to the new set of Patent Law, the theatrical troupe wouldmit the crime of piracy and be subject to a double fine. The maximum penalty would be ten percent of the profit and it would be enforced by local government officials. What was the most amazing was that the ¡°patent right¡± was valid for life and hereditary. Not only she but also her descendants could get such dividends. If the theatrical troupe refused to pay that, they couldn¡¯t perform the most popr serials now! If they wanted to pay less, they couldn¡¯t perform the authorized version of The Legend of White Snake. They could only create a piratical version named A Snake Fell in Love with a Schr with their own scarce wisdom!

    Liao Qing¡¯er¡¯s first pot of gold in this dynasty was earned by her idea and promotion of serials. Of course, to make the Patent Law legal, she kept urging her elder brother at home who requested people in Imperial Guardster. After having worked for it for three years, she finally realized her dream. ¡°Serials were created by Liao Qing¡¯er.¡± Only thosedies who loved watching serials knew this, but it gradually became one of the reasons why Liao Qing¡¯er turned into a famous figure in the capital.

    Liao Qing¡¯er had lived in the capital for several years. Except for making her famous for her ¡°ugliness¡±, her peculiar behaviors also helped her be a celebrity. Some ignorantdies even began to imitate the strange conduct of Liao Qing¡¯er.

    There were lots of examples about it. Liao Qing¡¯er often tied high ponytails and shook them with great strength. She thought she was so cool and carefree that she could ride horses. She took off the covers of oilpaper umbres and wore them. She said they were raincoats lighter than straw rain capes and more convenient than umbres. She bravely rejected all ¡°the arranged marriages under the feudal system¡± decided by her parents because they had presbyopia and outdated tastes so that they always picked men like a fuddy-duddy. She never read sentimental poems usually liked by youngdies but wrote scripts of serials assiduously in her room. She wanted to create the love stories she preferred and let men see the feminism of a new era. She often used strange self-created words. When seeing others getting confused, she would call herself a female schrcently and say while pretending to be mncholy, ¡°I have already been wiser than anyone in the world. Don¡¯t admire me. I¡¯m a legend now.¡±

    All these behaviors could exin why Liao Qing¡¯er became a celebrity, but she thought they were symptoms of ¡°Rejection of Adapting the Ancient Life¡±, which was a disease she had. She believed she had been suffering from a serious illness that wouldn¡¯t be cured since she had the time travel to the Ming Dynasty.

    Actually, she wasn¡¯t very fashionable and didn¡¯t often talk about popr words when she was still in the modern world. She just sat in her dark bedroom and read books after finishing her work in theboratory most of the time. Fashion had long since forgotten her. At that time, ancient romance novels were her favorite. She thought in ancient times when there was no phone and it took about half a month to deliver letters, falling in love must have been an unprecedented good thing that was both romantic and mncholic.

    She had imagined this. Without mobile phones, men could never send ambiguous texts to other women secretly. They wouldn¡¯t be able to have soul infidelities with other women in the name of ¡°friends¡±. In ancient times, as long as women could keep an eye on their husbands, men would be faithful both mentally and physically. And for a woman like Liao Qing¡¯er, it would be very easy for her to live well in the Ming Dynasty as long as she had a pretty look, wisdom, brilliance, and charm of personality as all people having had time travels did.

    She didn¡¯t like modern times or talking to others including her family before. She even had dreams asionally about time travels. She believed she lived in ancient times in her previous life so she liked the word ¡°ancient¡± very much and felt fluttered every time she thought about it.

    In fact, she had hidden much from He Danggui about how she time-traveled to this world. First, her father¡¯s illegitimate daughter robbed her of her fiance, but she immediatelyforted herself that there were still lots of good men in the world and her ex-fiance was just lousy. Thus, she didn¡¯t feel upset at all. Second, she got hit on her knee by a bicycle going in the wrong direction on a one-way street. She was bleeding but no one came to help her. Sheforted herself again today was Friday and the 13th of the month and everyone would get unlucky. Finally, she got a call from a hospital and it said her mother had suffered from an asthma attack and didn¡¯t make it and died halfway even though an ambnce was called to help her.

    Then, walking into the public toilet in a park nearby, she began to wail. She always immersed herself in her own spiritual world and seldom talked to her mother. She usually put on her earphones and turned up the volume to the maximum because she was tired of her mother¡¯sints as a dissatisfied housewife. She never knew her mother had asthma and the grievous news came to her as soon as she heard of it. Thinking about all of these things, she wailed harder and got out of breath gradually. It was like she was a fish that was about to be drowned. There was inexhaustible free air around her but she just couldn¡¯t inhale it to sustain her life.

    She wondered in shock whether there was a familial-hereditary sudden asthma attack in her family. And today was Friday and the 13th of the month. God was angry and even a strong man like Shuichi Akai got in trouble. It could be seen that today was an ominous day and her family was the most unlucky one so two members of it would die! She began to exim in her heart, ¡°God! Other families always passed antique vases as heirlooms. Why would my family pass asthma? God! Since I¡¯m destined to die young, why didn¡¯t you make it happen before I needed to review for the College Entrance Exam? Why did you make me suffer a lot before?

    God! You bully the weak and fear the strong. You¡¯re also good at making use of opportunities! God! You can¡¯t distinguish the kind and the vicious! You mistake the smart for the silly!¡± s, she could just shed tears alone.

    She kept using God in grievances in her heart. Around her wrist, there was a string of prayers beads strung together by a red thread, which was bought on a stall outside the Pot Pce. It was said that those beads had been consecrated by an eminent monk and they could guide souls. Although she wore it as if she knew its value, she never believed it. There were only four small beads on the thread but suddenly, they caused an amazing burst of blueser light which surrounded her entirely while she was having an asthma attack.

    Then, thinking about ¡°An alien is going to abduct me and do experiments on me¡±, she closed her eyes. When she opened them again, she saw the man who hit her with a bicycle before and he was wearing an ancient costume. He asked while smiling foolishly, ¡°Qing¡¯er, are you okay? Do you still feel pain in your head? I bought you Fried Flour Pieces Wrapped in Syrup. Could you just not tell the parents that I took you to climb trees?¡±

    Thus, she realized she had time travel. Judging from the various antiques in the house, she knew this family was a lot wealthier than her family in modern times.

 Chapter 370 - Would you like some fried pig intestines?

    <h4>Chapter 370 Would you like some fried pig intestines?</h4>

    ¡°Wen Qin¡± finally had the time travel she wanted for long, but she didn¡¯t feel happy at all after she became ¡°Liao Qing¡¯er¡±. She couldn¡¯t get out of the gloomy state for a long period of time as if she had be a philosopher. Where would the thing start and where would it end? Would the beginning lead to a bright future or a trip doomed to end up with tragedy?

    Of course, her sorrows mostly came from the deep guilt she felt for her mother the moment before she had time-traveled. She used to escape from her family and responsibilities as a daughter because she hated the abnormal atmosphere at home. Her father was cold-hearted and her mother was always full of dissatisfaction andints. The house was such a depressing ce for her so she hid from it as well as her mother who was devoured by depression. There must be some direct connection between her mother¡¯s death from asthma and her coldness. Every time she thought about this, she felt so guilty. She wished she could go back to her home in modern times and be a good daughter who would listen to her mother¡¯sints andfort her mother properly with the psychological knowledge she learned.

    However, she couldn¡¯t choose when or how she had the time travel and couldn¡¯t decide who she would be, either. Thus, she wouldn¡¯t be able to go back to the original world freely and had no choice but to act as an ancientdy obediently and bickered with her silly elder brother every day. In Liao¡¯s Mansion, she always felt depressed and did nothing other than eating. Unconsciously, she got chubby. One day, she looked into the mirror and found her oval face had turned round. Then, she realized that,pared with the person never getting fat she was before, the new body she had right now was so easy to gain weight. She would get a double chin the next day if she ate food!

    She tried to lose weight by being on a diet and doing exercise but she failed. Then, she gave up. She gained more weight instead and kept feeling upset so she became unprecedentedly anxious about going back to modern times. Even though everything around her was real, she felt it was illusory. Even though her new family was warm and happy, she couldn¡¯t blend in. Gradually, she had a disease called ¡°Rejection of Adapting the Ancient Life¡±.

    In fact, she totally could adapt to the slow life in ancient times and understood most of the traditional Chinese characters on the signs of the shops on the streets. She could also speak in ssical Chinese, ¡°Have you had your meal? You haven¡¯t. I¡¯ll fry some pig intestines for you, then!¡± As for the brilliant things that could amaze lots of ancient handsome men such as Qin, Go, Calligraphy and Painting, doing needlework, weaving, ying music with a rubber band or with chopsticks by tapping cups with different amounts of water inside, ying Five-in-a-Row, Chinese Checkers, or Fight-against-Landlords, inventing the first pencil in the Ming Dynasty, drawing aic strip, and making cross-stitch, she could do them perfectly without paying much effort as long as she wanted to.

    However, she seemed to have left her heart in the public toilet in the park before. She was just like a cow that was forced to drink water but still refused. After she hade to the Ming Dynasty, she still couldn¡¯t blend in no matter how friendly Liao Zhiyuan and others were, howfortable the life here was to her, or how romantic the atmosphere could be.

    She seemed to want to strengthen her memory in modern times by showing obviously that she didn¡¯t belong to the world she was in now. Except for not yelling she was a modern person having time-traveled here, she became more fashionable than she was before. She used modern words that ancient people could never understand on purpose and proved she was different from all people here by wearing strange clothes, having new hairstyles, and doing peculiar things deliberately. She did those things on purpose at first, but after she saw people¡¯s shocked expressions, she thought, ¡°I won.¡± Then, she gradually developed such habits. When she had to apologize, she said ¡°Sorry¡± first. When she bid farewells to others in the evening, she used ¡°Good night¡±. She failed to correct herself even though she had tried.

    Although she was nicknamed ¡°The Weirdo Liao Qing¡¯er¡± because of these strange behaviors and was isted by lots ofdies from the wealthy families in the capital, she didn¡¯t feel sad. She just thought it was a pity that she didn¡¯t get a friend who she could confide in. When the young barber knew the emperor had a pair of donkey ears, he told a burrow about it. Who would be her burrow, then? Who would see her donkey ears?

    She came from another world and was like dust. Who could see her fragility? Where was she from and who was her heart going to? Who would call her in the next moment? The world was so wide but her trip was full of twists and turns. She had been through all pains and hardship in this world! How much love did she still have? How many tears would she shed in the future? She wanted God to know that she would never give up!

    After being ¡°abandoned¡± by Meng Ying who had the handsomeness of Akira Sendoh, Kaede Rukawa, and Kenji Fujima, she left the Liao¡¯s Mansion where she was born and grew up at midnight while singing the song named ¡°My Thankful Heart¡±. She had taken away all the cash in the counting-house of Liao¡¯s Family and was about to go to Changbai Mount to purchase ginseng. It was said the business of medicinal materials in Yangzhou City was booming and that ce was the wholesale distribution center of Chinese herbal medicine around the country. Thus, long before she left her home, she had decided that Yangzhou City was her next stop.

    One day, she happened to meet a handsome man in a dark suit who liked drinking aromatic hydrocarbons. He seemed to be a good man that looked cold but was actually passionate. She decided that she would pass her affection to this man! She wanted to make a change and say goodbye to her unrequited love for Meng Ying!

    What? That man had a wife, kids, and concubines? It turned out that he wasn¡¯t good at all. She didn¡¯t want him! No matter she was in modern or ancient times, first, she hated mistresses; second, she hated men who had mistresses; third, she hated bing someone¡¯s mistress; fourth, she hated bing a mistress unconsciously. In a word, she wouldn¡¯t allow herself to be such a woman that always destroyed others¡¯ families. Although she had a crush on him and couldn¡¯t change her mind easily, she still marked Gao Jue as a man she shouldn¡¯t get along with because she strongly supported monogamy and polyandry!

    However, she never regretted that she hade to Yangzhou City because she finally found her burrow!

    There was a beautiful girl named ¡°He Danggui¡±. She looked just like the prettiest character in the most popr manga. She had an aura of elegance and looked queenly, but people would not think she was unapproachable. Of course, Liao Qing¡¯er didn¡¯t keep badgering He Danggui mainly for her appearance. The reason why she had chased He Danggui persistently for three years and made friends with her atst by virtue of her sincerity was that the first time she met He Danggui, a voice-over sounded in her heart. It said, ¡°This is the heroine who is omnipotent and kind-hearted. Follow her and you¡¯ll always win!¡±

    It was just kidding... The truth was Liao Qing¡¯er felt she was ¡°destined¡± to like He Danggui. She was attracted by one of He Danggui¡¯s casual and cold looks which were just like the cool herbal drink named Summer Mo Mo Tea. Then, a loud voice was shouting crazily in her heart, ¡°This girl is prepared for you by God. Go, Qing¡¯er!¡±

    Later, it was proved that her instinct was absolutely right. The friendship between Xiaoyi and her was just the same as the story narrated in the song often sung by her to Xiaoyi. When she sang it, Xiaoyi would beat time by her side, ¡°We¡¯re like summer and fall, but we can change winter into spring. You pull me out of a storm of love and I carry you to escape from the copse of your dream. It turned out that not only lovers but also friends could change my whole life when I met them... If it weren¡¯t for you, I wouldn¡¯t believe that friends could be more faithful than lovers... If it weren¡¯t for you, I wouldn¡¯t be sure that friends could do better in listening to my feelings than lovers did...¡±

    She listened to Xiaoyi¡¯s stories and Xiaoyi also listened to hers. They didn¡¯t have to tell the whole story but just the parts they wanted to share. There would be a pair of quiet ears where they could store their own secrets well.

    For example, every time Xiaoyi mentioned the key part about how she fell in love with Zhu Quan in her previous life, how he betrayed her, and how she was framed and locked in the Water Dungeon, she would just say it in a few words. For another example, Liao Qing¡¯er didn¡¯t know much about the history of the Ming Dynasty. She only knew that the first emperor of it was Zhu Yuanzhang and thest reign name was Chongzhen. Itsst emperor, a seignior called Wu Sangui, and Lord Chuang, namely Li Zicheng, were the ¡°three biggest fans¡± of the popr female star named Chen Yuanyuan. When the country was destroyed, Emperor Chongzhen even hanged all his wives and daughters to keep their reputation and cut off the right arm of his eldest daughter, Princess Changping...

    This was all she knew about the Ming Dynasty from the official and unofficial history. Thus, she was very curious and excited about the sessor of Zhu Yuanzhang and kept badgering Xiaoyi to get the answer, but Xiaoyi would never tell her. She just felt there must be a huge conspiracy behind it.

    She knew Xiaoyi hid from her most of the cruel truth and wasn¡¯t angry about her. She just felt sorry for Xiaoyi¡¯s bearing too much. Such a girl was indeed good and made people want to be close to her and treat her well.

    If in the beginning, she became a male unfortunately aftering to the Ming Dynasty, she might get out of the habits she had when she was a female before and wouldn¡¯t develop her career in the circle of boy¡¯s love in the Ming Dynasty. She would ept that her gender was changed now and try to find a good woman like Xiaoyi as her partner... They would fight for a prosperous life hand in hand...

    She also didn¡¯t tell Xiaoyi her storiespletely and had distorted some facts. For example, she still couldn¡¯t ept her mother had died of asthma so she told Xiaoyi her mother in modern times lived healthily as a retired blue-cor worker with a pension of twelve hundred yuan. Every morning her mother went to the park to practice the Taiji sword dance and she often went to the food market to buy discounted seafood in the afternoon. For another example, her biological father in modern times was rich but he wasn¡¯t as conscientious and generous as she described at all. She often couldn¡¯t get living expenses from him and saw him enjoying western food with female stars frequently outside tan French windows. He would tip the waiters at least four or five hundred yuan in front of those female stars.

    However, in the parking lot when those stars were absent, she came out from the darkness and approached her father. She said carefully, ¡°Dad, I need fifty yuan to buy review materials and extra-curricr books.¡±

    Her father was scared and looked at her in unhappiness while frowning. Maybe he was afraid that the female star would be anxious or tired because of waiting for long, he opened his wallet in a hurry and threw a bill on her hand. He also replied hurriedly, ¡°Don¡¯t wait for me here again. Just go to the office for Secretary Li.¡± The car door was opened and the engine began to work. The tail gas was smelt and her father left.

    She had been waiting there for a whole night and her fingers were numb because of the cold weather. She didn¡¯t catch the bill and it flew several meters away with the tail gas. After the car was gone, she went to pick it up. She asked him for fifty yuan and he did just give her that amount of money. The picture of Chairman Mao who was smiling kindly was on the bill. She thought she might have caught a fever because of being blown by the cold wind for a long time. Her forehead was hot and her chest felt cold. After getting out of the parking lot, she took a taxi on the roadside and it cost her forty-nine yuan to get home. She only got one yuan left atst.

    That happened when she was twelve years old, but she could still remember it clearly when she was already twenty-two. Every time it urred to her, she would think that ¡°it was good to time-travel to the ancient times and be a daughter of a wealthy family¡±. After that day, she hadn¡¯t even sent a message to her father for two weeks. One day after school, Secretary Li was waiting for her at the school gate. He gave her an envelope and exined, ¡°Mr. Wen didn¡¯t have enough cash that day and had to talk business with some clients.¡± She opened the envelope and saw ten one-hundred-yuan bills inside on which there were pictures of Chairman Mao who was smiling at her apologetically.

    Although her father made amends, what happened that day seemed to have been imprinted on her mind and she could still remember it several years after she came to the Ming Dynasty. She didn¡¯t tell these stories to Xiaoyi who was as strong as grass that feared no wind or rain although Xiaoyi¡¯s life was much more miserable than hers. Liao Qing¡¯er thought she was timid and weak. She still lived like a silly girl until now, kept saying ¡°sorry¡± every day, and couldn¡¯t ept the fact that she was already an ancient person. Her mother in the modern world died of asthma. Her over twenty years of life there was just a mess because she failed to find a job after she graduated, her fiance had a mistress, and he took away all their joint deposits as well... Would her father in the modern world spare some time to burn some incense for her mother and her?

    Xiaoyi was always the smartest and toughest person. What trouble on earth did she get in this time? Why did Meng Xuan, Meng Ying, and the handsome man all say that she was dead?

    How could that be possible? Where was her omnipotence as the heroine?

    ¡°Miss Liao, you shouldn¡¯t stay here anymore. Just go. He Danggui isn¡¯t in Tao Yan Yard. You shouldn¡¯t waste your time here if you want to save her. You can get out of the city and go to Ten Mile Slope. He Danggui was poisoned and might be dead soon.¡± Meng Ying told Liao Qing¡¯er this calmly while she thought he was hateful.

    Gosh! Why would she have unrequited love with such a cold-blooded man before? He even didn¡¯t tell her that until now and also had no intention to help her save Xiaoyi! Meng Ying was such a jerk! She cursed in a hurry, ¡°My goodness! You should¡¯ve told me this earlier. I should¡¯ve just let youmit suicide before!¡± Then, she ran very fast to get out of the peach grove. She heard Meng Ying calling her name again and again, but she didn¡¯t turn around. After her repeated tests, she proved that he was a bad man and she shouldn¡¯t get along with him anymore!

    Now, even if he shouted again ¡°Liao Qing¡¯er, I¡¯ve been loving you secretly for four years. I¡¯ll cut my belly open if you are still unwilling to marry me¡±, she would never look back at him. Why did he keep calling ¡°Miss Liao¡±? Was he insane? Meng Ying, a jerk! Was he so proud of his handsome look? Did he think it was cool to be cold-blooded?

    Bang!

    Her head hit on a ¡°wall¡± and she was forced to take three steps back. The ¡°wall¡± suddenly spoke like a human, ¡°Miss Liao, calm down. I¡¯ll help you find He Danggui. Just wait a minute and I¡¯ll go with you.¡±

 Chapter 371 - Get married after he had grabbed her breasts?

    <h4>Chapter 371 Get married after he had grabbed her breasts?</h4>

    Staring at Liao Qing¡¯er¡¯s figure in a distance, Meng Ying thought of a weird dream about confession he had had before. He remembered the girl in the paper robe had given him a love letter and his mother had discussed with his father¡¯s concubines about the serials created by Liao Qing¡¯er from Liao¡¯s Family. He never thought that she was so creative and brilliant.

    Heughed at her in public back then because he couldn¡¯t ept his first love letter was given by a chubby girl who was two years older than him. However,ter, he heard that she had created serials and he immediately felt different about her. It was because he had been fond of serials since he was a kid and he respected as well as admired the mysterious creator of them very much.

    As soon as he thought the ¡°creator¡± had given him a love letter before, he couldn¡¯t wait to take action, but as soon as he remembered this ¡°Love Letter Girl¡± was chubby, he sat back on the chair again. He, however, couldn¡¯t help thinking that the youth time was precious and he rarely liked something so much. Since he was fond of watching serials, especially those written by Miss Liao, why didn¡¯t he marry her as his concubine? Wouldn¡¯t it be wonderful to ask her to create more exciting stories for him? It didn¡¯t matter for her to be ugly or chubby. Anyway, there were lots of rooms in Meng¡¯s Mansion and he would have a wife and many concubines in the future. He didn¡¯t mind epting her love. Maybe he would think she was quite good-looking as the time went by... What did she look like? He forgot it so quickly.

    Miss Liao seemed to be famous. She was mocked and isted by most of the youngdies in the capital while a few madams admired her. Why? It was because she had created such novel and interesting ys as ¡°serials¡± that were liked very much by them. Moreover, she had gotten the patent right admitted by the government, which could bring her a steady ie, and her descendants were also able to keep receiving it. Most of the marquises¡¯ wives may not care about an ie of several hundred liang a month, but Meng¡¯s Family was different and preferred girls who were capable and pragmatic. Even if they couldn¡¯t get much in return, Meng¡¯s Family still wished they could keep being positive.

    Meng Ying¡¯s mother had praised Miss Liao highly. She said, ¡°The serials written by Liao Qing¡¯er are more interesting than the ordinary ones. She is good at doing business and will be a wife who can help her husband¡¯s family be prosperous. I wonder which family will be so lucky to gain such a daughter-inw.¡± Meng Ying¡¯s mother was always a rigorous person so such words were already high praise in her world. In the whole Meng¡¯s Family, only Meng Xuan had been praised like this by her.

    Meng Ying almost couldn¡¯t help blurting out, ¡°Mom, Miss Liao has given me a love letter. She once tripped over me and knelt in front of me. I also tripped and knelt before herter. Our ssmates all shouted ¡®You¡¯ve finished the kowtow for heaven and earth so you are married now.¡¯ We seem to be destined for each other. If you visit her parents and talk about our marriage, they will definitely agree, but she¡¯s not pretty at all even though she was brilliant and our family has a higher social status than hers does. Mom, you should do this carefully and let her be my concubine instead of my wife.¡±

    However, before Meng Ying could say this, his mother continued, ¡°But I heard that Miss Liao was a weirdo and has firmly rejected six or seven men chosen by her parents. Does she have any secret disease?¡±

    Meng Ying thought differently, ¡°Does she still like me secretly and only want to marry me? Is this why she has rejected those men?¡±

    In the end, his mother concluded, ¡°She is a brilliant girl and much better than those who are only ying musical instruments or painting all day long. I just dislike the sentimental poems or lines that ordinarydies love to read. But I heard she ran away from home not long ago. It can be seen she has a wild temper and it¡¯ll be hard for her to be a good mother so she can¡¯t be part of our Meng¡¯s Family. Um, The Story of the Stone is my favorite. Ask the theatrical troupe to perform it again in our mansion next day.¡±

    Then, Meng Ying thought again, ¡°She has run away from home? Did she try to hide herself because I had gone too farst time and she felt very embarrassed? Forget it, then. Anyway, the most important thing about my wife or concubines is to be pretty and slim. I will never consider a girl that is not like this.¡±

    Then, the story between Miss Liao and Meng Ying ended for now. Although he still often went to theaters to watch the serials written by her such as Journey to the West, The Lotus Lantern, and The Mermaid, he barely remembered her name, her appearance, or her voice. He almost forgot another embarrassing thing happening between them as well... When they were still students in Yinghui Academy, Liao Qing¡¯er stumbled and fell to him while he didn¡¯t recognize her as a girl because she had worn the blue suit that wasmon in the academy. Thus, he touched her breasts by ident. He thought he must be wrong and even pinched them slightly.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Liao Qing¡¯er was so embarrassed and angry that she screamed shrilly. Meng Ying happened to find that one of his ssmates was a girl and he even molested her identally. As soon as he thought the chubby girl might ask him to take the responsibility, threaten him with her life, and force him to marry her, Meng Ying also became frightened and screamed suddenly.

    Their screams attracted the attention of a group of students and teachers in Yinghui Academy. Since both of them were too stunned, Meng Ying still grabbed Liao Qing¡¯er¡¯s breasts and Liao Qing¡¯er forgot to cross hands across her breasts to protect herself. Later, someone reminded them, ¡°The teachers are here. Can you two do this in another ce?¡±

    Another man said, ¡°Uh? Oh! Isn¡¯t she Miss Liao? I heard she gave the President a ¡®My Confession¡¯ letter this morning. She told him she was a girl and asked the President to expel her from the academy. However, the President was moved by her being so assiduous in the study and said he needed to think and find a proper way to deal with this matter. He asked her to focus on the study first. Maybe she will be the first female student in Yinghui Academy. We will be lucky, then.¡± And another man said with a smile, ¡°Meng Xuan is so cunning. He picks the first ¡®Flower of Yinghui¡¯ without being noticed. We can just be envious of him. But it¡¯s better to celebrate it together. Third Childe, you should treat us to a feast.¡±

    In the end, someone asked, ¡°When will you two hold the wedding ceremony? Don¡¯t forget to invite all of us to drink some wine and share the happiness.¡± Meng Ying and Liao Qing¡¯er finally came to their senses and screamed and got away from each other with their eyes wide open. Meng Ying was about to leave immediately, but the chubby girl stopped him and took out a pink envelope with a sticker of a red heart on it from her sleeve. She gave it to him with both hands and said while bowing, ¡°It¡¯s my love. Please take it! I... Uh... This is a love letter.¡±

    Hearing his ssmates booing and whistling, Meng Ying was embarrassed and felt angry inexplicably. Looking at the chubby face and nervous expression of the girl standing opposite to him, he had a vicious thought. He epted her letter and replied coldly, ¡°I¡¯ll tell my father about it and ask him to consider it.¡± then, he turned around and left decisively without giving her another nce.

    Half a monthter, he got his retribution and had a scary dream. In the dream, he was very panicked and he had to keepughing crazily to help himself stand upright. Once he stopped, he would need to bend and cover his chest with his hands. And he confessed his love to the chubby girl that had been humiliated by him before, ¡°I¡¯ve been loving you secretly for four years. I¡¯ll cut my belly open if you are still unwilling to marry me.¡± He even flew onto the clouds with the girl and intended to jump from there together with her, which scared the girl very much and made her keep screaming. He woke from the dream in shock and turned to look out of the window. The moon hung in the sky and the dawn hadn¡¯te yet.

    Fortunately, that was just a dream. How would God be so cruel and make a match between a handsome boy like him and an ugly chubby girl? A dream would never indicate the things in the future, right?

    Gradually, he forgot that weird dream and the look or name of the girl in the dream. When he met He Danggui at the gate of Yi Hong Brothel and she asked him to find a youngdy named Liao Qing¡¯er in Guan¡¯s Mansion or Lu¡¯s Mansion to get the ¡°Skin Remover¡±, he still didn¡¯t realize that Liao Qing¡¯er was the master of serials he ever admired and also the chubby girl who had given him a love letter and been humiliated by him.

    This time they met again in Tao Yao Yard of Luo¡¯s Mansion. Wearing the paper robe, she seemed to have lost much weight... He took a closer look and found she wasn¡¯t as ugly as he thought. She seemed to be quite pretty... It was reasonable. Liao Zhiyuan, her elder brother, was handsome. She couldn¡¯t have been very ugly. She just looked a bit not good-looking because she was too young before... When she confessed her love to him, he was only thirteen years old. How could a boy of that age who wasn¡¯t interested in girls at all have any brilliant aesthetic feeling or urate judgment of girls¡¯ appearances?

    Three years passed. Liao Qing¡¯er seemed to have be a beauty. Unfortunately, it was too dark now and he hadn¡¯t looked at her carefully. Would he mistake her for a beauty? He wanted to observe her more but she ran farther and faster while he was calling her. He thought, ¡°Hey! Stop! I haven¡¯t seen you clearly yet!¡±

    ¡°Miss Liao! Miss Liao! Miss Liao?¡±

    Did she ignore him?

    ¡°Liao Qing¡¯er! Liao Qing¡¯er! Miss Liao!¡±

    She still kept running.

    He frowned and took a deep breath before leaping into the air. Stepping on a peach twig, he jumped in front of her, let her bump into his arms on purpose, and caused a man-made ident. Huh, she had great strength. She did grow up. Um, how could he keep her here so that he could talk to her more?

    After thinking for a moment, he said, ¡°Miss Liao, calm down. I¡¯ll help you find He Danggui. Just wait a minute and I¡¯ll go with you.¡±

    However, Liao Qing¡¯er looked at him in suspicion and mistrust, ¡°How will you be so kind?¡±

    Meng Ying didn¡¯t expect that his trick would be found out as soon as he talked to her. Right. He wouldn¡¯t be so kind. He didn¡¯t want to go to the Imperial Guards¡¯ stronghold outside the city. If he was right, that ce would be a real battlefield and the purgatory now. He would get himself killed if he went there. However, since Liao Qing¡¯er had asked him, he was provoked. Thus, he stood upright and looked down at her while saying, ¡°He Danggui is the apple of Meng Xuan¡¯s eyes. Although I don¡¯t care if she is still alive, I have to save her for Meng Xuan. Thus, I will definitely help you find her.¡±

    Meng Ying took a closer look at the girl. There were several raindrops on her face. She was cute when she looked up and stared at him stupidly, but she was a bit short since her height barely reached his shoulders. Wasn¡¯t she two years older than him? Didn¡¯t she grow tall at all in these years? But it was not bad for girls to be short and her height now was just right for him. Why was her nose slightly dark? Was there some dust on it? He raised his hand unconsciously and intended to touch the tip of her nose with a finger.

    Liao Qing¡¯er was slightly shocked and stepped back to avoid his hand. She asked, ¡°How will you help me find Xiaoyi? The city gate should be closed now. Do you... Do you know how to get out of the city?¡±

    Meng Ying¡¯s hand stopped in the air for a moment before he withdrew it. He was a bit disappointed and thought, ¡°I¡¯ve even grabbed her breasts before and she didn¡¯t avoid me at that time. Doesn¡¯t she like me?¡± He pouted and looked into her eyes while saying slowly, ¡°I¡¯ve watched the serial named A Snake Fell in Love with a Schr written by you. I like the green snake.¡±

 Chapter 372 - Cute maids could bring more fun

    <h4>Chapter 372 Cute maids could bring more fun</h4>

    Liao Qing¡¯er became in a daze for a moment. Then, she replied seriously, ¡°A Snake Fell in Love with a Schr is a pirate. Why didn¡¯t a rich man like you support the genuine work named The Legend of White Snake? Actually, pay only three strings of 1000 qian and you will be able to drink tea, eat sunflower seeds, and watch the performance for a whole day in the theater. It was so worthy and even value-for-money. If everyone goes to watch the pirated A Snake Fell in Love with a Schr, The Legend of White Snake will flop badly at the box office and I will not get enough ie or motivation to write the next serial named The Legend of the Snow Lady in Tianshan Mountains.¡±

    Meng Ying was in a daze as well and then, he apologized, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t know that was a pirated work. You haven¡¯t signed your names for the serials you¡¯ve written and I didn¡¯t know you were the creator of serials until I heard my mother¡¯s discussion with others. Only the word ¡®Serials¡¯ was written on thecquered boards outside all theaters. How would I know if those works were genuine or not?¡±

    ¡°I see.¡± Liao Qing¡¯er was suddenly enlightened, ¡°I¡¯ve been wondering why I only get seven or eight hundred liang silver a month while serials are so popr here. It turns out that the audience can¡¯t even distinguish the pirated works from the genuine ones! This is a question worth thinking about. Um, I should figure out a solution... I¡¯ll start it from you. Tomorrow I will write down all the names of my works for you. You just recite them and you¡¯ll be able to distinguish them.¡± After saying this, she realized she had strayed from the point and asked right away to return to the subject, ¡°How will you help me find Xiaoyi? Do you have any assistants? If only the two of us do it, we will have to search arge area, won¡¯t we?¡±

    The two of us... Meng Ying thought about these four words for a while. Then, he answered, ¡°The two of us will try and I¡¯ll ask others to help us as well. They can search other ces while we are looking for her somewhere.¡± He began to grab Liao Qing¡¯er¡¯s hand while saying it. This time he seeded and caught her fat little hand.

    Liao Qing¡¯er was startled and withdrew her hand as if she had gotten an electric shock. She shook her head and hands together and exined, ¡°I have acrophobia. I never dare to fly with my brother. I mean it. I¡¯m a scientist that believes in serious science instead of people like you who go against thews of physics. I feel nervous as soon as I float in the air. Moreover, I weigh fifty-eight kilograms. Even if I can fly with you to the height of dozens of meters, you will have to do it against gravity and that will consume much of your energy. You should save it to look for Xiaoyi or fight against bad guys. Can you defeat Duan Xiaolou?¡±

    Meng Ying listened to her with great attention and tried to understand her long speech, but in the end, he only caught two points. First, she thought he grabbed her hand just to fly with her with arts of lightness. Second, she asked him if he could beat Mr. Duan. Well... Of course, he couldn¡¯t. However, as a man, how could he say ¡°I can¡¯t¡± in front of the girl liking him while he liked her as well? Since he was a righteous and honest person, he would never lie to others. Thus, he refused to answer this question.

    As for the first question, Meng Ying frowned because of confusion. Didn¡¯t he tell her that he liked ¡°the green snake¡±? After he had confessed and held her hand, how could she still not realize his obvious implication? He hoped they could make some progress in their rtionship by starting from the moment when she gave him the love letter three years ago. Next, she should ask for being his concubine and writing good serials for him... Now that she had a rtively poorprehension, he would condescend to remind her one more time.

    ¡°Miss... Miss Qing.¡± She must understand what he meant after he changed his way to call her. Staring at the girl who was looking up in a daze and slightly opening her mouth, Meng Ying continued, ¡°I like Xiaoqing in The Legend of White Snake.¡± At the same time, he thought secretly, ¡°You must feel moved, excited, and grateful! Go Ahead! Say you want to marry me!¡±

    Liao Qing¡¯er blinked her eyes several times and replied in disagreement, ¡°People usually like Miss Bai. She is the heroine who looks elegant and queenly. She is omnipotent and also kind-hearted. Why do you like Xiaoqing?¡±

    Her obtuseness upset Meng Ying while her prolonged ¡°Eh¡± made him feel slightly hopeful. Liao Qing¡¯er thought she finally got the truth and said in shock with her eyes wide open, ¡°I got it! It must be because those theatrical troupes haven¡¯t found appropriate actresses to y Miss Bai. A middle-aged heroine will never catch more attention than a young and beautiful female supporting role! Yes, this is an important question but I never realized it before. No, I should write to the heads of those theatrical troupes as soon as possible. Modify the script! Modify it! I want to modify it and change the age of Miss Bai to twenty-three! Xiaoqing is twenty so their age gap can be closed and Miss Bai will have fans in the future. s.¡± She sighed and continued, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that ancient people have different aesthetic standards from us. They prefer young maids that are cute and petnt to the wives who are elegant and virtuous. Tut-tut. Can cute maids bring more fun than the wives do when ites to sex? Men are shameless.¡±

    After making such a long speech, Liao Qing¡¯er looked up at Meng Ying who was down in spirits. She took a step closer to him, held his right hand with her both hands, and shook it gently.

    Her bright eyes met Meng Ying¡¯s nted eyes that were full of surprise. She thanked him seriously, ¡°Thank you, Third Childe. Thank you so much. Through themunication with you today, I have gained the answers to the two puzzles I¡¯ve always had. First, why Journey to the West, a y that has noplete plots, would be more popr than The Legend of White Snake carefully made by me? It turns out that the character design of my heroine is wrong! Now I know, in the opinion of ancient people, Miss Bai who is in her thirties should be a mother of several children and there won¡¯t be any feeling of freshness to fall in love with a woman of this age. Tut-tut, what a tragedy. The second puzzle is why I still haven¡¯t be a rich woman. It turns out that there are too many pirated works that will mislead the audience!¡±

    She patted the back of his slender and fair hand with her little fat hand in the way a star patted his fans amicably or a leaderforted the people kindly. With a smile, she said, ¡°You¡¯ve also enlightened me that I should talk to the audience face to face more frequently in the future and find out my shorings. Two heads are better than one. Meng Ying, thank you. You¡¯re the first audience whomunicates with me.¡± Then, she let go of his hand and took two steps back to keep a normal social distance from him. Gosh, she was fluttered. When did she be so bold to hold the hand of ¡°the ancient version of Kenji Fujima¡±? By the way, since she had held his hand, should shememorate this moment by not washing hands for three months?

    Meng Ying felt slightly upset when the warm touch on his hand was suddenly gone. Although she had talked about lots of things that he didn¡¯t care about at all, he still gained something from her speech.

    First, she called him ¡°Meng Ying¡± instead of ¡°Third Childe¡±. His name sounded nice. Why didn¡¯t he realize it before? Second, he suddenly found that she seemed to like money very much. She only cared about money other than her scripts. Put it simply, she also just thought about money when she was worried about those scripts... She cared about him before, right? He just got rid of her and rejected her utterly with some cruel words. Then, she ran away from home and came to Yangzhou City... Now did she care only about money and not pay attention to him anymore? Wouldn¡¯t her eyes be bright like before when she saw him now? How could anyone me him for that? She never introduced herself to him or tell him her brilliance and advantages. How could he know what kind of person she was from her appearance?

    It was not toote now, was it? She would be so happy and throw herself on him as long as he confessed his love, right? If she could be less obtuse and show him some passion and bravery she had before, maybe he would be happy and agree to marry her as his concubine. As long as he confessed now, she would be his concubine. He just needed to tell her ¡°I like you, too. I admire such a brilliant girl as you...¡±

    ¡°Uh, Miss Qing.¡± Meng Ying¡¯s voice was a bit hoarse, ¡°My family has lots of money and we can never run out of it. My father is Earl Baoding and my mother is the legitimate daughter of Su¡¯s Family in Jiangbei City. My uncle is...¡± Gosh! Why was he beating about the bush? These weren¡¯t important. Everyone knew his family background. Why did he bother to illustrate it to her? Um? Three and a half years ago, when she gave him the love letter, did she love him or just his identity as the sessor of the title ¡°Earl Baoding¡±? Did any part of him attract her? He was just an ordinary rich childe who looked the most handsome in the capital and had the highest scores in Yinghui Academy... Why was he woolgathering? He must have been bewitched. He felt something wrong all over his body. Why was his face so hot and his hands sweating? Why did he feel tightness in his chest?

    ¡°You, uh, Qingqing.¡± Meng Ying took a deep breath to pluck up enough courage and said, ¡°In fact, I¡¯ve always admired your brilli...¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± Liao Qing¡¯er suddenly screamed and interrupted him. Then, she jumped for joy and shouted, ¡°You inspired me again. I will expand the varieties of ancient ball games! They must be more popr than serials because ancient people have good physical fitness. First, I should promote somemon ball games that are easy to learn such as basketball, badminton, table tennis, tennis, and golf. I will make a fortune even just by selling sports equipment, renting exclusive sports venues, and offering training courses! Of course, I should patent all of them to prevent pirated ball games. s, ancient people are so in ack of creativity. You¡¯ve been ying polo and Cuju for thousands of years! My goodness! Ha, ha. I¡¯ll do something great again. China and the Olympics in the future will thank me. Right! I can also promote the regr programs in the Olympic Games. If people like Meng Xuan and you have time-traveled to the modern times, you will directly be awarded the gold medal of decathlon!¡±

    She got more and more excited as she thought and talked about her idea so she came up again to grab Meng Ying¡¯s hand. She jumped up and down happily and Meng Ying¡¯s hand and arm also shook with her. She grinned at him and he could see her little sticking out canines and mrs. He had never seen ady of a wealthy familyugh like this before.

    Was that so funny? Why was she so happy? Why couldn¡¯t he understand even one of her words? Why wasn¡¯t she happy because of him? Why didn¡¯t she listen to his confession? He had plucked up much courage before saying those words and he would never do it again after today. He thought, ¡°Don¡¯t be regretful, Liao Qing¡¯er! My patience is limited! Don¡¯t you like me, Liao Qing¡¯er?¡±

    Liao Qing¡¯er jumped for a moment while holding Meng Ying¡¯s hand. Then, she felt slightly embarrassed and wanted to loosen her hand. She didn¡¯t do it on purpose. She didn¡¯t. she was just too excited. Meng Ying reminded her of Kenji Fujima and Kenji Fujima reminded her of basketball and promoting ancient sports. Ha, ha! Xiaoyi and she would make a big fortune again. They would take all cash, cheques, and pawn tickets of people here and be the richest women in the Ming Dynasty. She would be on the way to a happy future together with Xiaoyi!

    Uh? Where was Xiaoyi? Where was her now?

    Liao Qing¡¯er looked up at Meng Ying immediately. She tried to let go of his hand while urging, ¡°We should go save Xiaoyi now. I¡¯m familiar with Imperial Guards. I fear no one except for Duan Xiaolou!¡± She thought they would walk shoulder to shoulder at the same pace.

    However, Meng Ying grabbed her hand with his big hand and showed no sign to loosen it. That almost hurt her. She thought in shock, ¡°What¡¯s going on? Third Childe! It hurts! I didn¡¯t steal your money, did I? Why are you grabbing me as if you are catching a thief?¡± Meng Ying fixed his bright and watery eyes on her. Then, his red lips moved...

    ¡°Miss Liao? Miss Liao! You¡¯re Qingyi¡¯s good friend, aren¡¯t you?¡± A deep male voice sounded at a distance, ¡°I¡¯m Feng Yang and also her friend. I need to talk to you.¡±

 Chapter 373 - Were you a virgin?

    <h4>Chapter 373 Were you a virgin?</h4>

    ¡°Xiaoyi¡¯s friend? Oh!¡± Looking at the young handsome man standing not far away, Liao Qing¡¯er gained insight and said, ¡°You¡¯re Feng Yang, the bastard who forced Xiaoyi into the marriage with the seventeenth son of Zhu¡¯s Family. She will never do that. You should give up the idea forever! She would rather marry my elder brother than marry a man in Zhu¡¯s Family! My goodness!¡±

    Suddenly, Chang Nuo¡¯s friendly smile froze. What a peculiar girl! s... Sure enough, a girl who could make friends with Qingyi was indeed strange. Didn¡¯t she want to know why he was here?

    After censuring him, Liao Qing¡¯er thought that wasn¡¯t enough so she withdrew her hand from Meng Ying¡¯s grip and rushed to Feng Yang. Standing in front of him with one of her hands on her hip, she pointed at Feng Yang and said while she had to look up at him, ¡°Xiaoyi is not at home. You can talk to me directly. I can represent her and you just tell me what you want! Anyway, it¡¯s out of the question to make a match between Xiaoyi and the son of Zhu¡¯s Family. Xiaoyi and I hate men like studs the most. Our husbands must be virgins and hen-pecked men. They should be great men outside while at home, they must be obedient. If we ask them to do something, they will have to do as we said without any objection. Listening to their wives¡¯ words is the most basic principle the husbands should follow. They can¡¯t have any mistress or concubine. If they do that before the marriage, we¡¯ll directly reject marrying them. If it happens after the marriage, they will suffer from castration before the divorce. As for the men who aren¡¯t virgins, have lost their first kisses, always flirt with other women, cheat on their wives, and fall in love so easily with every woman they meet, we will directly ignore them and mark them as the men we shouldn¡¯t get along with. Feng Yang, you can assess the seventeenth son of Zhu¡¯s Family and see how many of the above bad things he has done. Such a bastard without virginity like him even dares to think about marrying Xiaoyi! It¡¯s so unforgivable!¡±

    In her tirade, Chang Nuo and Meng Ying immediately caught the keyword: virgin.

    Meng Ying was shocked right away. Virgin? He lost his virginity long before! That happened when he was thirteen. Not long after Liao Qing¡¯er gave him the love letter and ran away from home, he got a waiting-maid. Later, he got four more in session who were all sent by his mother and grandmother. And he had spent ridiculous years in Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion. He also often went to the brothels in Yangzhou City to drown his sorrows and divert himself from the annoyance caused by his being coerced by Zhu Quan... Virgin? That was such a strange word to him now. Wasn¡¯t it the synonym of the words like child, childhood, or innocence? How could a mature man still be a virgin? Only kids kept virginity, right?

    It was such an unprecedented statement. So far, had anyone heard that men should keep their virginity? Wasn¡¯t it a requirement for women? On wedding night, husbands would check if the brides were still virgins by seeing whether they had bled after the sexual acts. That also decided how much the husbands would love the brides in the future. However, men didn¡¯t have fragile hymens. How could people prove they were still virgins or not? Could anyone distinguish them? Would any woman try to do that? Except for Liao Qing¡¯er and He Danggui, would any woman care about that?

    By the way, men and women were already different from each other in their bodies. Men were aggressive and loved conquering territories. The more they conquered, the more honored they would be. Otherwise, women were like defensive fortresses. They should be protected and hidden well and never leave home to eliminate the possibility of losing their virginity. They should give up all distracting thoughts and never contact any man other than their husbands. They could only show their charm to their husbands. These weremon sense and logical thinking, weren¡¯t they? Was Liao Qing¡¯er sober enough when she said those words?

    ¡°In fact, she won¡¯t find it even if I lie to her, will she?¡± Meng Ying thought guiltily, ¡°After what is done can¡¯t be undone, she won¡¯t be able to pull back and has to go back to Meng¡¯s Family with me. She will be the novelist only serving me and I will be her first reader and audience...Or, at best, after she had given birth to three sons, I can talk to mother and promote her to be my wife or co-wife aspensation... She¡¯s neen this year. If she gives birth to one kid a year, she will achieve the goal when she¡¯s twenty-two...¡±

    Uh, wasn¡¯t it too early for him to think about it at this moment? Looking at Liao Qing¡¯er who was shouting and pointing at Feng Yang, Meng Ying felt upset and thought, ¡°I didn¡¯t even confess my love to her sessively. It¡¯s too soon to n anything.¡±

    It was annoying! His first confession was ruined by this chubby girl and it turned into an unpleasant memory. Now all nervousness he had about his first confession was triggered by her. He had hinted at it many times. Didn¡¯t she sense it? Didn¡¯t her heart beat faster at all? When he held her little hand, both his hand and heart felt warm. What about hers? He was the man she had ever liked. Why was ¡°ever¡± used here? Didn¡¯t she like him anymore? Who did she like now, then? She lived in Guan¡¯s Mansion... Was it Guan Bai or Guan Mo?

    Gosh! Since she had given him a love letter, she should¡¯ve been waiting for his answer, shouldn¡¯t she? As a female, she should¡¯ve been faithful to one man until death. She was a daughter of a wealthy family. How could she not know such a simple truth? Or was she just tantalizing him? Maybe she wanted to keep him in suspense and didn¡¯t let him get her easily so that she could avenge the humiliation he brought her three years ago. Yes, that was very possible. She must have done it on purpose. Hum, how could she not sense his admiration at all? She ever liked him. ¡°Ever¡±? No, he didn¡¯t want to be just part of her past.

    Meng Ying tried to calm down. He thought, ¡°Rx. Meng Ying, take it easy. You¡¯re a man who can face everything calmly. Right, you¡¯re a man like that... Absolutely. She is just a chubby girl that isn¡¯t very pretty and Liao¡¯s Family doesn¡¯t have a very high status in the capital where there are lots of wealthy and influential ns. What¡¯s more, there aren¡¯t many people knowing she¡¯s the creator of serials. Few of them know about her value and personality. I don¡¯t know much, either, but it¡¯s enough for me. I will get this girl who is good at writing stories before men like Guan Bai or Guan Mo approach her.¡±

    Meng Ying thought he must¡¯ve seen too many serials. How could a ridiculous plot like ¡°She had been coveted for long by some men¡± happen in the reality? He believed he would be the first one who knew she was a diamond in the rough. Heforted himself, ¡°I must¡¯ve been cursed by the weird dream I had before. I¡¯ve been loving her secretly for four years? I¡¯ll cut my belly open if she doesn¡¯t marry me? The truth should be the opposite. It should be her who has unrequited love with me. I will never love her secretly.¡±

    He kept trying to calm himself down by thinking, ¡°Meng Ying, rx. Be more honest with your heart. It¡¯s not something shameful to like a woman. As a great man, you should have the courage to take the consequences and admit your feelings. Liao Qing¡¯er! I fall in love with you! Go home with me and we¡¯ll have our own family! I will promote you to be my wife after you have given birth to two sons!¡± (It could be seen the treatment got better and the standard was lower. He said he would marry Liao Qing¡¯er as his concubine at first, then he promised her the title of co-wife and she could even be his wife if she gave birth to three boys and atst, two boys would do. It showed Meng Ying was indeed a big fan of serials... He deserved some apuse!)

    However, Chang Nuo suddenly said, ¡°Miss Liao, listen to me. I¡¯m not here for Qingyi but you, and you don¡¯t have to be so angry. The marriage between the lord and Qingyi won¡¯t be mentioned again. I met General Gao from Imperial Guards before and he asked me to give a message to people close to Qingyi. I was going to find He Dangyou, but since you¡¯re here, it will be more appropriate to tell you...¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡±

    Meng Ying was listening to the message from General Gao from Imperial Guards carefully with Liao Qing¡¯er. Gao Jue? He was a colleague of Liao Qing¡¯er¡¯s elder brother and wasn¡¯t familiar with her, right? He just needed to give her a message, right? While Meng Ying was guessing it secretly, a sudden roar sounded in He Danggui¡¯s bedroom, while immediately interrupted Chang Nuo and shocked the three of them as well as other people in Tao Yao Yard. In the next moment, all rooms in the northern side of the yard were illuminated by the light of candles sessively and people began to talk. Then, the yard got noisier and noisier.

    Meng Ying and Liao Qing¡¯er had telepathy for the first time. They looked at each other briefly. Then, Meng Ying ran into the bedroom to check what happened and Liao Qing¡¯er went to calm those who woke up because of the scream. She lied and urged them to go to bed again.

    ¡°That¡¯s it. You just go to bed and don¡¯t disturb us... Your miss and I are acting in an opera and it¡¯s all part of the story. If we don¡¯t scream, the dramatic effect won¡¯t be shown. After the scream, we can continue the performance. Ha, ha! Go, go, go. Go to bed! On the count of three, if anyone still stays here or lingers outside the room, I will deduct two months¡¯ sries and allowances of him or her. One, two...¡± Liao Qing¡¯er squinted while asking, ¡°Qian Shi, why are you still standing there? Do you want a sry deduction?¡±

    With tears in her eyes, Qian Shi replied in a low voice, ¡°I was going to use the bathroom.¡±

    Liao Qing¡¯er was slightly confused about her implicit words and failed to understand her immediately, but her expression and gestures could make up for it. Thus, Liao Qing¡¯er waved her hand and said, ¡°Make it quickly. You have three minutes. After that, your sry will still be deducted!¡± Gosh! She kept talking about virginity with Meng Ying and Feng Yang. Where on earth was Xiaoyi now?

    After making sure that Qian Shi finished using the bathroom quickly, Liao Qing¡¯er immediately closed the door of the servants¡¯ room and put two locks on it. Then, she turned around and looked up in the gloomy sky that was drizzling. Staring at the moon, she thought, ¡°Xiaoyi, wait for me. I¡¯ming to save you!¡±

    ¡°Miss Liao, General Gao asked me to tell this.¡± Chang Nuo walked close to Liao Qing¡¯er while she was looking at the moon and said, ¡°The poison has reached Qingyi¡¯s heart arteries and she has also been injured externally. She won¡¯te to her sense for now and they had better not move her frequently. Thus, she is resting at a secret ce arranged by Imperial Guards. He hopes you can helpfort people in Luo¡¯s Family. As for what to say, you won¡¯t need me to teach you, right?¡±

    He Danggui woke up from her deep sleep. She just felt she had slept for a long time and it made her very tired. She walked through dreams after dreams which were sometimes true and sometimes false. There was no beginning or cause for them. She kept fighting with people in those dreams but she still failed because she was suffering from a high fever now. How could she think of any good solutions in such a state? When she slightly sobered up, she suddenly forgot everything and the people in the dreams.

    She felt some coolness on her lips and then, some bitter liquid was poured into her mouth. She immediately swallowed it because she always remembered that bitter medicine could cure diseases.

    She could feel coolness, wetness, and warmth on her body. She was surrounded by something warm and soft and could smell the familiar light fragrance of pear flowers that only some person she knew would have. It was cool, sweet, and dreamlike and seemed toe from afar. It gave her a warm and familiar feeling.

    However, walking in her dreams, she didn¡¯t feel at ease at all. Why?

    Where did her nervousness, panic, fear, or horrore from?

    Suddenly, she gained some strength and sobered up. She opened her eyes as wide as she could! Where was she now? The ce was cold and strange.

 Chapter 374 - Met a man with an ice mask in the dream

    <h4>Chapter 374 Met a man with an ice mask in the dream</h4>

    There was ice all around. The ce was a glittering and translucent ice world. Where was it? It wasn¡¯t like anywhere that should be on the earth and it was more mystical than the most fantastic view she had ever seen in the Fantasy Dream. Ice could be seen everywhere in winter, and in the southern areas, people could also build icehouses. However, why was this ce not cold even though it was surrounded by ice? Why was there even glistening light of waves above?

    He Danggui became in a daze when looking at the top of the icehouse. Was that flowing water? Was this icehouse underwater? Where on earth was this ce? Although she had rich experience, she knew nothing about it. And who put her here? What happened to her so that she had been in aa for long and kept fighting with the shadows in her dream? She needed to think about it...

    That night, when she left Gao¡¯s Mansion, she didn¡¯t rent a sedan as Meng Ying said. At suchte night, she couldn¡¯t buy anything easily. Even if she wanted to rent one sedan, she wouldn¡¯t know where to find it. Thinking of Meng Ying¡¯s facial expressions when he said those words, He Danggui felt he seemed to be slightly hesitant. Was he hiding anything from her? Gosh. She decided to forget it. He was just a weird old man.

    Then, she picked a strong horse with a long mane in the stable of Yi Hong Brothel and took away the medicine kit in Qing¡¯er¡¯s room. She mounted the horse and ran out of the city quickly, but when she got to the city gate, she shook her head and sighed. She was too stupid. How could she forget that the gate had been closed sometime between nine and eleven o¡¯clock in the evening? In fact, it wasn¡¯t that she forgot it but that she still had the habit in her previous life. She could get in and out of the city gate of Daning Prefecture as she wanted back then. Thus, sometimes she still thought she belonged to the privileged ss and took things for granted.

    Staying in a daze for a while at the city gate, He Danggui decided to abandon the horse and got out of the city alone. With her arts of lightness, she thought she could climb over the lower part of the city gate tower that was dozens of zhang high and kept walking dozens of li at night with ease. However, could she really do that? Standing behind the tall and long city wall, she was nervous and felt she was like a weak leaf. Should she turn around? Should she go back to Luo¡¯s Mansion with the poison in her body? Of course, she wasn¡¯t reconciled to doing so.

    After jumping several times, she climbed the city wall as cold as des with bare hands and grabbed the tiny cracks between the bricks in it. With the subtle side force which could barely hold a bird, the wall supported a woman grasping arts of lightness like her. She became like a master unconsciously.

    In an instant, she reached the top of the city wall. Then, she held her breath and jumped off it, but in mid-air, she suddenly felt wrong. She had some tightness in the chest and felt dizzy and empty in her body. Her internal energy suddenly disappeared and she becamepletely strengthless. Why would it happen? Instantly, her body fell fast. She didn¡¯t even have time to feel panicked. Then, ¡°Bang!¡±

    She fell harder than every time she did before and felt pain all over her body. She guessed she must¡¯ve been injured in bones but she couldn¡¯t get up to check it. Darkness and cold rain surrounded her. She learned a cruel lesson that ¡°ayman in martial arts shouldn¡¯t use arts of lightness¡±. Later, she found a ck line in her right palm running from the pinky where the poison was blocked to the middle finger. It went across her wrist, her arm, and the pericardium channel. Now she realized why she fell to the ground. The poison named He He Qi Ri Qing in her body was activated...

    She put on a bitter smile. This time, she cut her own throat. There was no more revenge she had to take before she rested in peace. Thus, she could have normal reincarnation and a new life now... ¡°Xiaoyi! Xiaoyi! Wait for me. I¡¯ll be with you!¡± Meng Xuan¡¯s grieved voice vaguely sounded in her ears, no, from afar...

    ¡°Don¡¯te to me. Stay alive.¡± Her lips moved and she said several words vaguely. It consumed herst strength and then, she fell into aa gradually...

    It was all she remembered. In short, the poison in her body was activated when she jumped off the city wall. It reached her heart arteries, and she fell so badly. She seemed to be ying with her life. Why was she still alive? It must be someone having saved her and let her rest here. Someone had... She closed her eyes and thought of the light fragrance of pear flowers that made her worried and terrified. Who would save her...

    She didn¡¯t keep awake for long but fell asleep soon. This time she slept slightly well, but when she moved her body while she was half-awake, she found she was naked under the quilt. She hadn¡¯t worn anything!

    She got anxious as if her body was being burned in the fire. She tried hard to touch her legs and found her body was numb. It turned out that the icehouse wasn¡¯t warm at all but her body couldn¡¯t feel any coldness! How would it be? Was it because of the poison? Did anyone do anything to her? Was she still alive? Did she lose anything important?

    Then, she fainted and lost her?consciousness?again. After managed to wake up in a hurry, she stood up and wanted to rush out of the thick mist, but someone grabbed her arm behind her. She turned around and found it was a man with an ice mask whose eyes were full of gentleness that felt like the thin satin quilt covering her. She sighed for relief slightly because the mild fragrance of the man¡¯s clothes smelt simr to agwood and sandalwood. She knew this man with an ice mask wasn¡¯t that one in her dream before and she immediately felt much relieved.

    The man with an ice mask walked to her and said gently, ¡°Miss He, you must¡¯ve known how badly you¡¯ve been injured. If you want to survive, you have to pay for it. The price may be rtively uneptable to females, but you¡¯re not an ordinary woman so you won¡¯t be as pedantic as others... Anyway, after this, you can choose one from us to take responsibility for it. We will treat you well.¡±

    He Danggui couldn¡¯t hear him clearly, but her instincts told her what he said wouldn¡¯t be anything good. She wanted to reject it but she couldn¡¯t say a word in the dream. As soon as she spoke, she was just babbling like a baby. ring at the man¡¯s hand that was reaching out to her chest, she shook her head hard to show her rejection. What price? What would he do?

    ¡°So, please forgive me.¡± The man said politely but he didn¡¯t use his hands as a gentleman should do. He continued while taking off her clothes, ¡°Stay still, Miss He. Two bones in your body have been broken and the reason why they can be healed so fast is that the surfaces of the fractures are t. Only if you rest well can they be curedpletely, or you will suffer a lot in the future once it is windy and rainy.¡±

    He Danggui was so anxious that she even wanted to bite him as a wolf, but she became like a puppet and couldn¡¯t move at all as soon as the man¡¯s hands touched her body. He took off her clothes slowly. What a shameless satyr! While he was undoing the tie around her waist, heforted her very gently, ¡°You should rx, or I won¡¯t be able to do it well and your profit will get low. Why did you climb over the city wall? How dare you jump off there after just having learned kung fu for a few years? You¡¯re so naughty.¡± His words were very kind, but after the tie was undone, his hands slipped into her robe!

    He Danggui could just shed tears silently. What ¡°profit¡±? She didn¡¯t want it! She had already been saved, hadn¡¯t she? Why was he still doing this to her? Her bones were fractured and they were still not cured, right? What would this man do to her? She shouted in her heart, ¡°Meng Xuan, help me!¡±

    The man with an ice mask brought her wide awake. Then, he put her who was like a puppet on the stone table and let her lean in his arms. Later, one hand slid down her chest and stuck to it. Some amazing warmth was passed to her body through the cloth. Atst, the hand stopped on her lower abdomen while at the same time, another hand slid into her robe. With a tearing sound, a small hole appeared on her white silk pants behind her knees. Then, three cool fingers touched her skin directly.

    She was very desperate and kept calling Meng Xuan¡¯s name in her heart, but the man said, ¡°The heavy rain helped a lot in getting us out of the trouble, and the greatest credit goes to you, Miss He. Thank you so much. Because of the mistake made by Gao Jue and Lynx, you¡¯ve been poisoned with ¡®He He Qi Ri Qing¡¯ while you returned good for evil. You helped us hide in the dungeon and guarded the entrance of it with a magical tactical matrix. Then, you led away the enemies alone and went back to the city to get the antidote for Mr. Duan with the poison in your body. In the end, you passed out at the foot of the city wall. As soon as I think about what you¡¯ve done, I feel grateful, guilty, and respectful for you... Miss He, you¡¯re such an extraordinary woman having a pure heart. You won¡¯t mind it, will you?¡±

    He Danggui suddenly understood one thing: this man with an ice mask was Lu Jiangbei.

    However, she was suddenly confused about another thing. Since Lu Jiangbei said she was an extraordinary woman and gave her such high praise and even the credit of something good that wasn¡¯t done by her to her, why did he still do this to her? But... What on earth was he doing now?

    He kneaded her knee joint lightly with one hand and put the other hand on her lower abdomen. The two palms seemed to have some magical power and they brought aplex feeling of soreness and numbness. Such a feeling was so deep and it was like the fragrance of flowers that she couldn¡¯t get rid of anymore once she touched it. It lingered in her knee and lower abdomen. She didn¡¯t want to admit it but she couldn¡¯t cheat herself... The feeling made her veryfortable and she had never felt so pleased and light-hearted like this all her life... It was like the way how people would feel when they had sex... Gosh. What on earth was Lu Jiangbei doing to her?

    She tried to ask him but she could only babble like a baby. How would it be? Couldn¡¯t she speak now? She became a mute now!

    She suddenly realized that she couldn¡¯t speak not because she was having a dream but there was indeed something wrong with her throat. She couldn¡¯t speak anymore! It was because of the poison! She was poisoned to be mute!

    After realizing it, she gathered great strength and opened her eyes suddenly. She red at the man with an ice mask who was so close to her. It was him! He was not only the satyr in her dream but also a man who was caught red-handed while touching her body! Did he poison her so that she became mute? ring at the man, she saw a glittering and snow-white ice mask that could cover the upper half of his face and a bright green official uniform. Together with his looks, his Adam¡¯s apple, and the way he smelled, He Danggui was certain that this man was Lu Jiangbei. At this moment, his posture was exactly the same as that in her dream. One of his hands was put on her lower abdomen and the other was kneading her knee gently. It brought her waves of unmentionable pleasure.

    Although she was ring at him fiercely, the man¡¯s eyes still looked calm and gentle. They were pure and no sexual passion or lust could be found in them. The moonlight shone in his watery eyes. When he looked at her, his gaze was extremely like the calm look that a unicorn, a mythical creature, would have. It was distant, pure, and considerate. He also said with concern, ¡°Are you awake? Is there any other ce of your body hurting other than your ankle and left arm? Do you feel thirsty? I got ewe¡¯s milk here. Would you like to have some?¡±

 Chapter 375 - She became a mute suddenly

    <h4>Chapter 375 She became a mute suddenly</h4>

    He Danggui moved her lips but she couldn¡¯t speak normally, ¡°Ah... Oh...¡± These were single sybles that those who were born to be mute would pronounce and they couldn¡¯t convey any message. She was shocked and looked at Lu Jiangbei for help. He didn¡¯t look like a viin at all but why did he do this to her? Did he have anything to do with her being mute?

    However, Lu Jiangbei was shocked as well and withdrew his hands on her body. He put his right arm around her shoulders and held her jaw with his left hand with appropriate strength to hint her to open her mouth. He Danggui did it obediently and then, he frowned and looked into her throat, but there was no redness, swellings, or wounds inside. Why couldn¡¯t she speak? He asked, ¡°Do you feel strange in your throat? Does it hurt? Is there anything blocking it?¡±

    With tears in her eyes, she shook her head. She didn¡¯t know she had been mute until she tried to speak. Except for being unable to speak, her body didn¡¯t feel ufortable at all. Only her right ankle and left arm felt sharp pains. It must be because she had fallen from the city wall. She paid all her attention to the movements of Lu Jiangbei¡¯s hands before so that she didn¡¯t realize her body had two fractures.

    However, why couldn¡¯t she speak since her throat was fine? Although she had medical knowledge and knew that she would probably recover as long as the vocal cords hadn¡¯t been hurt, she felt panicked when she thought of her miserable days in the previous life when she was locked in the Water Dungeon and couldn¡¯t speak. A sense of oppression that was scarier than death filled her heart and disturbed the calm mind she always had no matter how bad the situation was. She wasn¡¯t afraid of being mute, killed, or attacked by others¡¯ conspiracies because she had experienced it and knew it was the new birth and a fresh start on the other side of death. However, she was afraid she would die silently in coldness because of being suffocated and couldn¡¯t even scream.

    Lu Jiangbei sensed her quivers so heforted her by saying, ¡°You caught a high fever before and I used potent medicine on you to keep you alive. Maybe your throat is hurt because of this. A famous doctor will visit Baisha Mountain Vi in two days and I will ask him to see you, then. He will definitely cure you.¡±

    Lu Jiangbei helped her lie on the soft bed in the middle of Ice Pool and turned around to wash his hands. Then, he said, ¡°Open your mouth. Let me touch and see if something is blocking your throat.¡± After she did as he said, he put his index and middle fingers down her throat. He apologized when he touched her smooth tongue. Then, his fingers kept going inside and the tips of them finally touched the end of her throat. It made her slightly want to vomit so he apologized again. After checking for a while, he couldn¡¯t see anything wrong except for roughly knowing that she suffered from yin deficiency and high stomach heat and he should no more try to make her recover fast by using potent medicine.

    Withdrawing his fingers and looking at the teary-eyeddy, Lu Jiangbei said, ¡°Your vocal cords are intact. When I was young, I have also learned traditional Chinese medical science so I can write prescriptions for ordinary diseases. However, I don¡¯t know why you be mute. You¡¯re very weak and there is still some poison remaining in your body. Your life may still be at risk. Therefore, it¡¯s not the top priority to cure your throat now. Anyway, don¡¯t worry. I will try my best to help you just as you helped us that day.¡±

    He Danggui felt her body was indeed as weak as Lu Jiangbei said. She couldn¡¯t even raise her hand as if she had be an old woman who was inconvenient to move.

    She wanted to sit up but she found that she couldn¡¯t even do it herself and felt very shocked. She wondered what kind of poison He He Qi Ri Qing was and how it could be so hurtful. She had never seen such a damaging poison before. In her previous life, she had ever been pricked by a poisonous dart. After she detoxified her body, she still had suffered from hair loss for over a month and had to nurse her body with Polygonum multiflorum Thunb for half a year. She thought this poison was already the most hurtful one in the world. Suddenly, she remembered Meng Xuan had also been poisoned with He He Qi Ri Qing that day. How could he rob Lu Jiangbei and others of the antidote while the poison was still in his body? She was curious about it.

    Then, she noticed another question that she cared about very much. She was wearing a silk robe neatly now but not as naked as she was before. Otherwise, this wasn¡¯t the ¡°original¡± robe she wore. So who changed her clothes? The question lingered in her mind and she would keep wondering it and not rest well if she couldn¡¯t get the answer.

    What¡¯s more, ording to what Lu Jiangbei said just now, here was Baisha Mountain Vi. It was another weird thing. She got hurt in Yangzhou City while Baisha Mountain Vi was located in Yinma Town outside the capital. It was more than a hundred miles away from Yangzhou City. She was poisoned and her bones were fractured. Since Imperial Guards wanted to save her, why did they bring her to such a distant ce?

    She looked up at Lu Jiangbei who was wearing an ice mask and couldn¡¯t find any vicious intent other than kindness and sincerity in his tender eyes. It gave her peace of mind and a sense of dependence. She also couldn¡¯t think of any reason for him to hurt her. Thus, she rolled over with difficulty and wrote a word with her hand on Ice Pool near the bed. Seeing this, Lu Jiangbei held her to help her write it. After writing a dozen of strokes, she felt her fingertip cold. And a crooked Chinese character meaning ¡°needle¡± was seen on the ice.

    Needle? Lu Jiangbei had tried He Danggui¡¯s acupuncture three years ago when he took Jinfeng Yulu Powder by ident and he was impressed by it. Thus, he realized what she meant immediately. He happened to have several silver needles with him and they were put in the sheath of his dagger. As for the dagger... He bent down to take out a small dagger with a silver handle from his boot. After unsheathing it, he pushed an embedded mechanism inside the sheath and several silver needles popped out right away.

    He Danggui braced herself against the bed and took the needles, but she didn¡¯t begin to give an acupuncture treatment to herself immediately. Instead, she fixed her eyes on the dagger which was glittering coldly. It turned out that this was the dagger having made Meng Xuan upset and sad, which was engraved with her portrait.

    Seeing that she had seen it, Lu Jiangbei didn¡¯t feel embarrassed or guilty. He just urged, ¡°Do the acupuncture now. I know it has a magical effect. In that year, you saved Gao Jue and me easily with two embroidery needles. Now your skill must¡¯ve been improved a lot. With silver needles of good quality, it will be more effective. You don¡¯t need to worry or hide it from me. I will never let out your secret. You just do the acupuncture and I will talk to you. You only need to listen to me quietly.¡±

    He Danggui liked getting along with two kinds of people. The first kind were those who were extremely smart and the second were extremely stupid. She could use stupid people without striking a blowing. When dealing with brilliant people like Lu Jiangbei, although she had to be more cautious, she wouldn¡¯t need to say too much before they understood each other andmunicated with each other. This was always aforting thing, especially for her now.

    Sighing of relief slightly, she pinched the silver needles and pricked the acupoints which could strengthen yang and the Eight Aching Acupoints to stimte her body¡¯s potential, soothe its numbness, and get some strength back.

    ¡°Miss He, this dagger was sent to me by Lynx, namely Liao Zhiyuan, three years ago.¡± Lu Jiangbei exined, ¡°I keep it with me all the time just because I¡¯m handy with it. I¡¯ve never thought about offending you or doing anything humiliating with it. As for what I did before you woke up and gave me permission, I¡¯m very sorry for that, but... Mr. Duan decided it for you. He said you would choose to survive even if you did it yourself and knew your reputation would be ruined for it. Thus, we did it.¡±

    Hisst words startled He Danggui, which made her hand tremble and the silver needle between her fingers begin to quiver. ¡°We¡±? What did he mean? Wasn¡¯t Lu Jiangbei the only person that had done that thing? Who else, then? Who stripped her of her clothes? ¡°Reputation¡±? Was it about moral integrity or virginity? What decision had Duan Xiaolou made for her? Why was Lu Jiangbei so vague about his words?

    These thoughts shed through her mind and they made her chest contract suddenly because of nervousness. Then, she thought of her running into the group of men led by Chang Nuo and Qi Xuanyu that night. Qi Xuanyu, that vicious Taoist priest, had left a Virginity Mark named ¡°Ya¡± on her arm. She didn¡¯t want to mention and hate it before but now, it became herst hope. She rolled up her left sleeve with trembling fingers and the fair arm was shown.

    There was a red mark as big as a mung bean four cun below her wrist. It seemed to be glittering and looked very beautiful and pure, which would make people want to touch it.

    Her nerves were finally calmed and she touched the red mark with her fingertips lovingly. Lu Jiangbei continued beside her, ¡°It¡¯s already January 11th now and five days have passed since you were in the most critical condition that night. During these five days, you¡¯ve kept being in aa and sleeping in this Ice Pool under Baisha Mountain Vi. Some of us who still could exert internal energy have managed to heal you. Except for me, Gao Jue, Jiang Yi, Song Fei, and Lynx have all helped you. Duan Xiaolou was injured very severely and only gets slightly better now so he couldn¡¯t do something like this. He just watched us nearby the whole time.¡±

    Something like this?

    He Danggui put down the silver needle she just picked up and squinted at Lu Jiangbei as if she wanted to make two holes on his ice mask with her gaze.

    Seeing her being shy, Lu Jiangbei couldn¡¯t help smiling faintly. He sat at the other end of the bed with his arms folded and turned sideways. He turned his head to an ice sculpture in the shape of a deer and exined gently, ¡°That night, Feng Yang found you first and immediately knew the poison in your body was activated. When he was about to bring you to a famous doctor, he ran into Gao Jue. They fought fiercely. Then, the cloth covering Feng Yang¡¯s face fell and Gao Jue¡¯s mask broke so they recognized each other. After a negotiation, Feng Yang gave you to Gao Jue since he had the antidote. However, it was annoying that they had wasted too much time. When they went to check you again, you had already been dead. You couldn¡¯t swallow the antidote even though they put it into your mouth.¡±

    Dead? That must¡¯ve been temporary, right? He Danggui squinted at Lu Jiangbei again.

    ¡°Gao Jue and Feng Yang had taken turns to feed you with Zhenqi for almost an hour but you still didn¡¯t wake up. Then, they gave up.¡± Lu Jiangbei immersed himself in the story, ¡°They had fought hard before and consumed too much energy. Even though they wanted to save you, they were weak in power. At that time, someone you could never imagine showed up. He was full of energy and physical strength and saved you in about half an hour. Next time you meet him, you should know he is your savior and thank him.¡±

    He Danggui looked up angrily at Lu Jiangbei¡¯s side face with his ice mask while he was smiling. Couldn¡¯t he tell her the key point first? Now she only wanted to know who had stripped her of her clothes before and what injury Lu Jiangbei and others were treating for her with those hand movements that made her feelfortable in a shameful way! While thinking about it in anger, she pricked the Aching Acupoint in the arch of one of her feet.

    A weird smile appeared on the corners of Lu Jiangbei¡¯s mouth and he mumbled, ¡°One should be given a different look even though there are only three days of separation. Sure enough, he didn¡¯t disappoint me...¡±Then, he turned his head to He Danggui and said with a smile, ¡°The person that has saved you is Lord Ning. He was drinking with Han Fei, the Senior Governor, in Yangzhou Government Office originally, but in halfway, he suddenly said he felt pain in his chest. Han Fei was so frightened that he gathered all famous doctors in the capital, especially the good doctors in Luo¡¯s Family. However, when they were there, Lord Ning was gone. He covered his chest with his hand and went out of the city. Later, he saw you and saved you quickly. After that, his chest stopped aching as well. Miss He, do you know why? I heard there was a kind of grass named ¡®Li Xin Gui¡¯ in the world. Do you have it?¡±

    He Danggui gasped for pain suddenly because she pricked the silver needle with too much strength and it went too deep in her acupoint. Tears began to well up in her eyes and she fell backward. Lu Jiangbei who was sitting at the other end of the bed didn¡¯te to hold her but just let her fall.

 Chapter 376 - Li Xin Gui, the Black Widow

    <h4>Chapter 376 Li Xin Gui, the ck Widow</h4>

    Li Xin Gui, Li Xin Gui, why didn¡¯t youe back after three years had passed? It was pleasant to be together and bitter to part. There were always spoony people in this world. Between theyers of clouds in the sky and the heavy snow on the mountains, you may wonder where you should go since you are alone now.

    The rare grass, Li Xin Gui could only be found on the cliffs of the extremely cold areas in winter. Once Zhu Quan had gone for a trip and brought two des of it to He Danggui. He asked her to decoct them and drink the soup. When she asked him what good the grass could bring to her health and what disease it could cure, Zhu Quan wrote down those lines for her and said ¡°let¡¯s wait and see¡±. However, she waited for several days and didn¡¯t see anything special. She had long since forgotten this matter in her previous life. Why would Lu Jiangbei suddenly mention the gray-green grass that looked like moss?

    He Danggui suffered from her own actions. Her hands trembled like that of old people but she still pricked her Aching Acupoint with silver needles. When Lu Jiangbei mentioned ¡°Li Xin Gui¡±, she was slightly shocked and pricked herself hard so tears welled up in her eyes and she fell backward because of the pain. Lu Jiangbei kept saying without ncing at her, ¡°Miss He, have you heard about the legend of ¡®Li Xin Gui¡¯? It is nicknamed ¡®ck Widow¡¯ which doesn¡¯t sound good at all, but the story about it is so tragic that people can¡¯t even bear to hear it.¡±

    When the pain was relieved, He Danggui found in shock that her body could move slowly now and her numb legs began to feel better. Sure enough, Aching Acupoints should be pricked hard if people wanted the treatment to work, but they always couldn¡¯t do this to themselves. Only when they pricked others could they be not soft-hearted. He Danggui got up slowly. She pricked her Shaoyang channel with a silver needle to regain her strength and at the same time, she squinted at Lu Jiangbei again. She said in a bad tone, ¡°How weird it is. I thought Mr. Lu was a straightforward man, but why did you keep beating around the bush and ying charades with me this time? ck Widow or White Madam? What do they have to do with me? For me, Lord Ning is like the noble Arhat and Golden Immortal that only exist in heaven. What will he have to do with me? I¡¯m not smart or patient enough. Please be franker, Mr. Lu.¡±

    Lu Jiangbei turned his head to her and blinked his eyes several times before replying with a smile. He said, ¡°Great. Your acupuncture is indeed powerful. It¡¯s great that you¡¯ve cured your mute throat. You look more vigorous now so you¡¯re out of the desperate situation you¡¯ve been in for several days. I can rest assured, then. If you die because of saving us, I will feel really guilty. As for the matter about Lord Ning, I just mentioned it casually and it wasn¡¯t anything important. Since you don¡¯t like to hear things about him, I will stop making you angry with such careless remarks.¡±

    After she finished her words, He Danggui still didn¡¯t realize she wasn¡¯t mute anymore. As soon as Lu Jiangbei reminded her, she finally found it and felt slightly d. She stopped being angry at him and said with a smile, ¡°I just saved you by ident that day and it was not a big deal. Mr. Lu, you don¡¯t have to be so grateful. But what about the thing happening when you tried to heal me? You should exin it to me clearly. Reputations are always important to women. No matter how knowledgeable or generous I am, I care about this as much as other ordinary women do. Before I woke up, did anyone strip me of my clothes? Did anyone see me being naked? And why would you heal me in that way, Mr. Lu? I¡¯ve never heard of such a treatment.¡±

    Lu Jiangbei quietly waited for her to finish her questions. Then, he moved closer to her on the bed, touched the pulse in her right wrist with one hand, and felt the temperature on her forehead with the other. He said in a low voice, ¡°I knew you would get angry after you woke up if I did that to you, but I felt terrible as soon as I thought you might never wake up again. If you want to vent your anger, just scold me.¡±

    He Danggui didn¡¯t feel ufortable about his intimate behavior. She just took her eyes off him and asked while looking in another direction, ¡°I just want to know what has happened before I vent my anger. You¡¯ve paid much effort to save me and I feel thankful for that. But I can¡¯t understand why I¡¯m in Yinma Town now. Didn¡¯t anyone in Yangzhou City feel anxious about my being missing?¡± Even if Meng Xuan didn¡¯t know she was poisoned, he would be very worried because they hadn¡¯t seen each other for long.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± Lu Jiangbei replied, ¡°Feng Yang said he would solve the problem in Luo¡¯s Mansion. No one would know you were resting in Yinma Town. It would be good if you were cured. If not, we would send your body back to Luo¡¯s Mansion and told people you died of some disease. It wouldn¡¯t ruin your reputation. We decided on these things that day. Now you¡¯re still alive. It is so good. You may not know that a year ago, Dongchang Organization and Imperial Guards were affected badly because of something happening in the capital. Imperial Guards were already the lucky ones while many of the eunuchs in Dongchang Organization lost their lives. After that, the Department of Imperial Guard has been transferred to Baisha Mountain Vi in Yinma Town. All the precious vulneraries and treating equipment are here. And it only takes half a day to get here from Yangzhou City if we can move fast. Thus, I made the decision to bring you here with a soft sedan.¡±

    ¡°A soft sedan?¡± He Danggui asked in confusion. What kind of strong men could walk over a hundred miles while carrying a sedan?

    ¡°Yes, a soft sedan. We were afraid that it would hurt you if we used other vehicles.¡± After having checked her pulse, Lu Jiangbei stood up and walked toward the ice sculpture in the shape of a deer nearby. His hand seemed to have triggered some mechanism and an over two-zhang-high door was opened in the wall. Then, a row of mahogany medicine chests was seen inside. While he was filling the prescription deftly by taking out medicine from every tiny drawer, Lu Jiangbei smiled and continued, ¡°I¡¯m going to mention the name you don¡¯t like again. It was also Lord Ning¡¯s idea to use a soft sedan and he volunteered to carry it. But at least two men were needed to do that and Xue Xiao had the best physical strength among us back then. Thus, the two of them brought you to Baisha Mountain Vi before the night was out. Miss He, you thought Lord Ning was beyond your reach because of his high social status, but he has carried the sedan for you.¡±

    He Danggui remained silent and began to make a cross in her arm with silver needles. Why did Lu Jiangbei mention Zhu Quan frequently? Based on what he said, Zhu Quan became a good man while she wasn¡¯t grateful at all... Suddenly, she felt pain in her fingertip and made a low scream. Then, she apologized, ¡°Sorry. I broke your needle.¡± What was going on? Was the Spirit and Love Poison in Zhu Quan¡¯s body activated again? It was so annoying.

    If she could make a choice, she would rather die than be saved by Zhu Quan and owe him the favor. Although she had seen the old stories in the seventh stage and knew he wasn¡¯t a viin that wanted to kill her, what happened before was still vivid in her mind. Her abortion, the matter about Xiaoyou, and those bad things she couldn¡¯t even count on her ten fingers only proved that Zhu Quan was so cold-blooded and selfish that he would make people¡¯s blood boil. It was right to stay far away from such a man. Back then, when she was Concubine He, she was blinded by her own fantasies and acted presumingly as a docile woman who lived happily and was willing to sacrifice herself. She could only me herself for failing to know she shouldn¡¯t love a man like him.

    Now a long time had passed and everything had been changed. Her love for Zhu Quan had long since be more subtle than dust and not even a bit of ¡°hatred¡± was left in her heart. She only felt regretful for their old rtionship and didn¡¯t even want to have a nodding acquaintance with him. She just wanted to empty her memories about that period of time as if she hadn¡¯t married anyone or been pregnant. However, why couldn¡¯t Zhu Quan just stop? When would he stay far away from her world and be the arrogant, selfish, and cruel Lord Ning he was before? The two of them would feelfortable if he could do that.

    ¡°You feel ufortable about it, don¡¯t you? Right, it¡¯s not easy to pay the debt of gratitude.¡± Lu Jiangbei seemed to have X-ray vision. When seeing her gloomy face, he knew she didn¡¯t feel happy or grateful at all after knowing Zhu Quan had condescended to save her. Instead, she was like a turtle that wished to take off its old shell and throw it to her savior before having a new one to protect itself.

    Having witnessed how Zhu Quan behaved that day and seen He Danggui¡¯s reaction now, Lu Jiangbei was certain that the rtionship between them wasplicated and mysterious. He wasn¡¯t a gossiper but he became slightly curious about it now. After he had filled the prescription, he didn¡¯t bring the medicine to He Danggui immediately but light a fire below a pot on the other end of the icehouse. When the small amount of water in the pot was boiling, he added Si He Flour and yak butter to it. Then, he poured some goat milk after he could smell the scent and stirred it steadily to make it golden paste. Nearly a half pot of goat milk paste was cooked by him.

    Lu Jiangbei moved the pot to the bedside and put it on the ground of Ice Pool. As soon as the bottom of the pot touched the ground, the ice began to ¡°sizzle¡± and lots of steam came out. He apologized, ¡°We don¡¯t have enough tableware here. I can¡¯t find you a spoon and only get two bowls. You just eat some paste. It¡¯ll be better for you to eat something before taking the medicine.¡± When he finished his words, he saw the confusion shown in He Danggui¡¯s face as if she was asking, ¡°There¡¯s no spoon here? But I felt someone was feeding medicine to me when I was asleep! There¡¯s no spoon here? Really?¡±

    Lu Jiangbei hesitated for a moment before telling her the truth. He replied, ¡°Didn¡¯t I say that Mr. Duan was severely injured so he couldn¡¯t exert his internal energy to heal you? In fact, it was more than that. You were brought to Baisha Mountain Vi first. When Mr. Duan knew itter, he immediately rode a horse after you but it was dark and the road was slippery at that time so he fell off a cliff. Fortunately, Mr. Duan was always lucky and didn¡¯t die but just break one of his legs. He couldn¡¯t walk freely but he still insisted on ¡®supervising¡¯ us while we were doing the treatment for you. He said he was afraid that Lynx might avenge the private grudge in the name of treating you. He couldn¡¯t walk and you were still in aa. Thus, we put the two of you on the same bed ¡®incidentally¡¯.¡±

    He Danggui thought, ¡°It turns out that the light fragrance of pear flowers isn¡¯t my illusion. It¡¯s from a real person.¡±

    ¡°Someone did strip you of your clothes. It was Mr. Duan. After he had covered you with the quilt, we came in and started the treatment.¡± Lu Jiangbei told her the whole cruel truth at one blow as if he was testing her endurance, ¡°As for your body, Gao Jue, Jiang Yi, Song Fei, Lynx, and I all have touched it. I¡¯m very sorry. We did that just because we had to, or you would definitely die and even Mr. Duan would lose his life as well. The situation was so urgent. Miss He, you have medical knowledge, too. What kind of poison is He He Qi Ri Qing and what will the result be after it reaches people¡¯s heart arteries? I can¡¯t exin them clearly but you can try pricking your Zhongfu acupoint and Guanyuan acupoint now. Look at the points of the needles and you will see there is still poison in your body.¡±

    He Danggui tried as he said and the points of the needles became golden-red! What was the poison? A poison should¡¯ve be ck sediment in human bodies after it was activated, shouldn¡¯t it?

    ¡°The situation back then was so urgent that even the antidote couldn¡¯t save your life. We could just have one of us act as the guiding medicine with his blood.¡± Lu Jiangbei showed his left wrist and patted it. A slight scar could be seen on it. He continued with a smile, ¡°We¡¯ve all tried and only my blood could mix with yours. Thus, I took He He Qi Ri Qing first and three times as much as the antidote. Then, I cut your right palm and my left wrist and sent my blood with the antidote into your body. However, you were extremely weak and we needed to send the blood and keep you alive by feeding ginseng soup to you at the same time. Since we didn¡¯t have a spoon in the icehouse, Mr. Duan finished the task.¡±

    What did that mean?

    ¡°That meant he had not only stripped you of your clothes but also kept feeding ginseng soup and herb soup to you. We saw he did it very smoothly so we didn¡¯t try to bring any spoon to the icehouse.¡± Lu Jiangbei told He Danggui these details thoughtfully, ¡°After you took the antidote, your condition was still not stable. Thus, we decided to invigorate the cirction of your blood with ¡®Ba Huang Finger¡¯. In the process, you would feel your body was burning in the fire so we needed to take off your clothes and put you in an icehouse. This was also why we decided to bring you to Baisha Mountain Vi. The natural icehouse here is the coldest ce in the southern area. Thus, Mr. Duan just had to strip you of your clothes. If you don¡¯t believe me, you can tear apart the quilt covering you now. Then, you will see we have stuffed it with asbestos to prevent causing a fire while we were using the finger technique. And after having transmitted internal energy for five days, everyone became exhausted. Only I stay here and to avert suspicion, I asked a maid named Liu Sui to help you put on your clothes since Mr. Duan wasn¡¯t here.¡±

    So should she thank them for doing those things?

    Seeing the strange look on her face, Lu Jiangbei persuaded, ¡°Only if you can survive will your life be meaningful. If you died, you would only be dust and no matter how good your reputation was, it would be meaningless. Nothing is more important than your staying alive. Mr. Duan and I had the same thought so we gathered others to invigorate the cirction of your blood. Only one or two people wouldn¡¯t make it and we had to take turns. As for the way to transmit the energy, it¡¯s just like what I did before. I put one hand on your Dantian outside the quilt and my three fingers of the other hand on the Xuehai acupoint behind your knee through the hole of your trousers. I covered you with a thin quilt in such a cold ce just because it was convenient for me to transmit internal energy to you.¡±

    Hearing it, He Danggui felt relieved. That was all? Fortunately, he just transmitted internal energy across the quilt. Since she was saved by them, she would forget about these details. Lu Jiangbei was right. Only if she stayed alive could she have the future. If she died, everything would be meaningless. She would have to be reincarnated and be ignorant again. There would be new trouble for her to handle and she might get through more humiliation. She was very willing to stay alive because there were lots of people important to her in this life.

    ¡°These are what we have done to you and we are all willing to take responsibility. You can choose one from us to be your husband,¡± Lu Jiangbei suggested, ¡°if you don¡¯t want to marry Zhu Quan, Lord Ning. What do you think, Danggui?¡±

    Zhu Quan? Why did he mention Zhu Quan again? He Danggui frowned and looked at Lu Jiangbei.

 Chapter 377 - A husband turned into an uncle

    <h4>Chapter 377 A husband turned into an uncle</h4>

    Lu Jiangbei said, ¡°When they crossed a wooden bridge on the way to bring you to Baisha Mountain Vi, the top of the soft sedan was blown off by the wind and fell into the river. Lord Ning worried that you would get caught in the rain so he jumped into the river to pick it up. Xue Xiao was shocked by what he did and thought he and you had some intimate rtionship. However, as soon as they arrived at Baisha Mountain Vi, Lord Ning suddenly threw the sedan on the ground and almost broke it into pieces. He pulled off the sedan curtain and said while ring at you, ¡®Who is this woman? Is she dead? Why am I here? What¡¯s going on?¡¯ Xue Xiao was shocked again and didn¡¯t know what to say. Then, Lord Ning left. Xue Xiao went to check your condition and found the fractures in your body got worse. He couldn¡¯t understand why Lord Ning didn¡¯t bear to let the rain hit you before while he suddenly became so careless.¡±

    He Danggui was also shocked. Did Zhu Quan lose his memory again? But it was good to know he couldn¡¯t recognize her now.

    Lu Jiangbei poured a bowl of goat milk paste that had been cooled from the pot and handed it to He Danggui. He continued, ¡°After Xue Xiao had told me this, I immediately thought that maybe Lord Ning had eaten your ¡®Li Xin Gui¡¯ so that he became weird.¡± He looked at He Danggui calmly and said with a smile, ¡°I¡¯ve said that I won¡¯t tell anyone your secret or do bad things to you. Danggui, can you tell me the truth? Do you like Lord Ning? Have you used ¡®Li Xin Gui¡¯ on him?¡±

    Forget about the two usations he made first. He Danggui noticed the change in Lu Jiangbei¡¯s way to call her. The friendly and natural ¡°Miss He¡± turned into the awkward ¡°Danggui¡±. Gosh! He Danggui frowned and replied, ¡°I don¡¯t even know what Li Xin Gui is. Why would you say that? As for Lord Ning, I¡¯ve never met him before and didn¡¯t know what he looks like. Since he and I don¡¯t know each other, isn¡¯t it good? He¡¯spletely a stranger to me.¡±

    ¡°Drink it.¡± Lu Jiangbei pushed the bowl to her mouth and urged gently, ¡°This is a bowl with frills. Be careful not to spill it on the quilt.¡± Seeing her beginning to drink the paste, he continued, ¡°I¡¯m not very familiar with Lord Ning but I knew one of his acquaintances who told me that he had disguised himself as me and visited Luo¡¯s Family before. Later, he had also sent you priceless treasures of the royal family secretly and now they are stored in Qibao Money Shop. Am I right?¡±

    He Danggui choked and coughed hard. Lu Jiangbei passed her a handkerchief considerately and reproached, ¡°Drink it slowly. No one is robbing you of it. I told you I had no vicious intent and it didn¡¯t matter that I knew your secret. It¡¯s because you and I have a history that you can never imagine or believe.¡± He wanted to pat her on the back gently while she avoided his hand directly. He withdrew his hand naturally and continued, ¡°Danggui, I heard people in your grandfather¡¯s family treated you very badly and even though you had a big family, you still had to live all by yourself. To avoid any misunderstandings... If you don¡¯t want to marry me, what about you regard me as your uncle? I can treat you well rightfully in the future, then.¡±

    Uncle? Regarded him as her uncle if she didn¡¯t want to marry him? How huge the difference was between the two identities! What was he talking about? He Danggui red at him with her eyes wide open and intended to make holes in the ice mask on Lu Jiangbei¡¯s face and see his expression now. However, the mask just looked very translucent. It stuck to his face and even pressed it a bit hard. She couldn¡¯t figure out whether he was serious or joking at all.

    He wanted to treat her well? Why? Why did he suddenly be so intimate to her? Didn¡¯t he just call her ¡°Miss He¡± politely before?

    Uncle? Why did he want to be her uncle instead of her Master, brother, or foster father? She thought of the weird words Liao Zhiyuan had said before in Bing Hua Dian Inn. ¡°Mr. Gao, you¡¯ve wronged him. There¡¯s a reason you don¡¯t know. It¡¯s a secret between Master Prophet and us. Since there¡¯s no outsider here, we can talk about it. Our boss doesn¡¯t love thedy in my arms or the princess she was in her previous life. He loves the princess¡¯s mother, the world-famous imperial concubine that the emperor now...¡± If the princess Liao Zhiyuan mentioned was her, the princess¡¯s mother would be her ¡°mother¡± in the previous life. Lu Jiangbei said he could be her uncle. It was worth thinking about...

    After she red at him for a long while, He Danggui¡¯s eyes became sore but Lu Jiangbei still looked very calm and just let her fix her eyes on him with his arms folded. Then, he urged, ¡°Don¡¯t make the paste too cool.¡± At the same time, he became very thick-skinned and talked to her as her ¡°uncle¡±. He said while smiling and raising his jaw, ¡°Thus, Danggui, I knew you were lying when you said you didn¡¯t know Lord Ning. Tell me, do you like Zhu Quan? Do you want uncle to help you?¡±

    He Danggui felt a surge of emotion but she looked calm. After drinking about half a bowl of goat milk paste slowly, she looked up and replied, ¡°Master Lu, although you¡¯re old enough to be a senior in front of me, I¡¯m as subtle as dust and you¡¯re a high-ranking official who will be the chief leader of Lu Feng Escort in the future. I don¡¯t dare to im kinship with a powerful man like you. Please forgive my being ungrateful but you be intimate suddenly and it makes me ufortable. You should change the way you call me. It¡¯s just ¡®He Danggui¡¯ or ¡®Miss He¡¯.¡±

    Otherwise, Lu Jiangbei showed his intransigent attitude rarely and said in a firm tone, ¡°I¡¯ve made up my mind. It¡¯s reasonable you can¡¯t ept it now. You will get used to it gradually. I know you will. Thus, Danggui, you can regard me as the person who is closest to you and don¡¯t need to hide anything from me. Tell me, what happened between Zhu Quan and you?¡± He got closer to her and stared at her with his head tilted, ¡°Tell me the truth and I will help you. Talk to uncle. What do you think about Zhu Quan and Mr. Duan respectively?¡±

    He Danggui finished the half bowl of goat milk paste and looked at him with her cheeks puffed up. She swallowed it slowly and wiped her mouth with the handkerchief. Then, she said, ¡°I want one more bowl of it, uncle.¡± She handed the empty bowl to him.

    Lu Jiangbei smiled and took it. While he turned around to fill the bowl, he heard her question, ¡°What position does Gao Shenjun, Master Gao, hold in Imperial Guards? I heard someone mention him before. It¡¯s said that he is a kung fu master.¡±

    Gao Shenjun? Lu Jiangbei was confounded for a moment. He turned around to give her the bowl with eight frills and replied, ¡°I¡¯ve never heard about anyone named this in Imperial Guards. Maybe the name you heard was ¡®Gao Shenxin¡¯? That¡¯s Gao Jue¡¯s pseudonym. In his early years when he traveled around the world, he had ever gone undercover in a Hmong vige to steal a mysterious poison and he just used the name of ¡®Gao Shenxin¡¯ there. Now we all regard ¡®Shenxin¡¯ as his courtesy name.¡±

    Gao Shenxin? He Danggui looked down and drank the paste while thinking about it. She heard the name for the first time. Was there any connection between Gao Jue and Gao Shenjun? Moreover, Liao Qing¡¯er had ever told He Danggui that she saw Gao Jue cutting off the part of eyes in a portrait of himself before burning it. At that time, He Danggui didn¡¯t pay much attention to it because subconsciously, she thought Imperial Guards always tortured the criminals so it was normal for them to feel depressive and psychologically distorted. They needed outlets. It was already good since Gao Jue had just burned a portrait but not himself.

    What¡¯s more, Gao Jue ever exined to her that he gave her the amazing blue hairpin that was crystal clear and glittering just because her eyes looked simr to that of someone he knew when he was young. Thatdy died long ago. Tomemorate this old friend, he brought the hairpin with him. After meeting He Danggui, he felt she was kind and said it was such a waste to let a man like him keep the hairpin. Then, he gave it to her on a whim. After she got home, she observed the hairpin and found a Chinese character, Qing, carved on it. That should be the first name of somedy. Thus, all her doubts were dispelled because Gao Jue and she weren¡¯t familiar with each other at all before he gave her the hairpin so he wouldn¡¯t know her courtesy name. Maybe he still didn¡¯t know it now. Therefore, the character of ¡°Qing¡± in the hairpin couldn¡¯t be her name.

    However, now Lu Jiangbei told her Gao Jue had used the pseudonym of Gao Shenxin while traveling around the world. That made her have some guesses. She believed the eyes of different people wouldn¡¯t have many differences. They all consisted of the white parts and the ck pupils. Why did Gao Jue think her eyes look simr to thatdy¡¯s? If there was someone who did have simr eyes with her, the person must have been Tenth Princess who had been disfigured. When Tenth Princess put on a skin mask, she would look exactly like He Danggui. As for Tenth Princess¡¯s face, Zhu Quan and Qi Xuanyu said it was burned before but He Danggui saw a dozen of deep and shallow scars on it caused by knives on the shadow walls.

    Maybe the old friend Gao Jue mentioned was Tenth Princess and that hairpin was her legacy? Would the tall man with a cloak named ¡°Gao Jun¡± that had strangled Tenth Princess cruelly be Gao Jue?

    Gao Jue, Gao Jun, Gao Shenjun, Gao Shenxin... Were they names of one man?

    Just as Qing¡¯er said, it was so psychopathic of Gao Jue to cut off the eyes of the person in the portrait. But would he cut Tenth Princess¡¯s face, rob her of her hairpin, and send it to He Danggui who was the reincarnation of her?

    Uh, Gao Jue might not be so bad... By the way, before being killed by Zhu Quan, Gao Shenjun said he was the biological father of Zhu Quan. If so, Gao Jue would be Zhu Quan¡¯s father, wouldn¡¯t he? It sounded awkward... That couldn¡¯t be possible. Gao Shenjun¡¯s kung fu was very powerful, which was more than one times better than that of a master like Zhu Quan who was thirty-three years old. In front of him, Zhu Quan was like a fool. How powerful he was! Gao Jue didn¡¯t have that kind of powerful kung fu. He seemed to be on the same level as Zhu Quan...

    He Danggui took another sip of paste and when she looked up, she caught Lu Jiangbei¡¯s guilty look. She couldn¡¯t help wondering if he had told her the truth. Was it true that there was no one named Gao Shenjun in Imperial Guards? She just asked about the man casually but Lu Jiangbei seemed to have hidden something from her. He also mentioned Gao Jue on purpose. Was he trying to change the subject of their conversation? Was Gao Shenjun so mysterious that outsiders weren¡¯t allowed to know his existence?

    She was slightly tired of thinking about these things. Tenth Princess and she actually didn¡¯t have any rtionship. She wasn¡¯t very anxious about avenging the pain she suffered from in her previous life now. Since Sun Meiniang was punished, she hadn¡¯t longed to bring trouble to Luo Chuangu and Luo Baiqiong so much. People would get tired of hating others sometimes. The strings would break if they were stretched too tight. When she was with Meng Xuan, she felt better. Meng Ying also told her to stop. Should she adopt his idea? As for her old grudges with Shangguan Mingri, Zhou Jinn, and Xu Siniang, she had vented her anger in the Fantasy Dream so she could let the past be the past. And she wasn¡¯t qualified to ask about the mystery of Tenth Princess¡¯s case or how wronged she was.

    ¡°Well, uncle.¡± He Danggui was trying to adapt the new appetion, ¡°What kind of poison was He He Qi Ri Qing? Why would my palm be cut as soon as I touched that poisonous string of keys that day? Why is there still poison in my body since I¡¯ve taken the antidote? When will I get rid of it utterly?¡±

    ¡°You won¡¯t. You have to live with it in the future.¡± Lu Jiangbei replied, ¡°But it should be a blessing in disguise for you. With He He Qi Ri Qing and Li Xin Gui in your body, you will be immune from all other poisons and fear no coldness or hotness in the future. Even people like us who have practiced kung fu for lots of years can¡¯t be so lucky.¡±

    He Danggui got surprised and said, ¡°Lucky? I think I¡¯m so unlucky. Why do people all say that He He Qi Ri Qing can help us be immune from all other poisons? If so, why don¡¯t you take it and its antidote? Then, you will all be as lucky as I do, right?¡±

    Lu Jiangbei exined patiently, ¡°Danggui, you don¡¯t know that once a person is poisoned with He He Qi Ri Qing, it will be highly uncertain if he can be saved even if he has the antidote, and one part of the guiding medicine of the antidote is Li Xin Gui which is very hard to find.¡± He paused and looked into her eyes weirdly, ¡°But how do you know that He He Qi Ri Qing can help us be immune from all other poisons? Who told you that?¡±

 Chapter 378 - One-finger death touch could cure infertility

    <h4>Chapter 378 One-finger death touch could cure infertility</h4>

    Realizing she had a slip of the tongue, He Danggui immediately corrected herself, ¡°Oh! No one told me that. That¡¯s just a slip of my tongue. I¡¯m so upset. Why can¡¯t I get rid of the poison? Will it harm my body?¡±

    Lu Jiangbeiforted, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t let anything happen to you. Moreover, your condition is still not stable now. The so-called ¡®Qi Ri Qing¡¯ means within the seven days after you¡¯ve taken the antidote, it¡¯s possible that you¡¯ll suffer from the rpse of the poison. Moreover, you¡¯re a female and represent yin. Cold poisons will hurt you the most so you should rest well to recover. If your lower abdomen gets cold... There will be a risk of infertility for you in the future.¡±

    He Danggui was always brave and held an attitude of ¡°I have nothing to lose¡± to everything, but infertility was what she feared the most. In her previous life, she suffered a lot because she couldn¡¯t get pregnant. After having recuperated and had acupuncture for a long time, she finally gave birth to a girl but the baby was born to be weak. Although it was partly because of the antiabortifacient given by Zhou Jinn, she knew clearly how weak her body was. The baby had to pay for her fault and it made her so scared. She didn¡¯t want to experience that kind of pain and helplessness again.

    She looked at Lu Jiangbei for help and asked, ¡°What should I do to help myself recover? I don¡¯t want to have coldness or leave any poison in my body. Please help me!¡±

    ¡°Of course, I will help you.¡± Lu Jiangbei smiled and looked kinder even though the ice mask still covered his face, but he suddenly asked, ¡°First, you should be honest with me. Who do you like? Lord Ning or Mr. Duan? Or you can choose from us who have treated you with Ba Huang Finger. Of course, I¡¯m not included now. Gao Jue, Jiang Yi, Song Fei, and Lynx, you still haven¡¯t met two of them, right? Do you want to see them another day? I can arrange it for you or let you see them secretly.¡±

    He Danggui put on a cold look and asked, ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°This is what I mean.¡± Lu Jiangbei finally told the ultimate truth, ¡°Qi Ri Qing is the coldest poison. If you want to get rid of the coldness, you will have to get married within three months and get enough yang. Otherwise, the coldness will remain in your body and cause permanent injury to your womb. It¡¯ll be useless no matter how hard you try to cure it three monthster. Gao Jue told me that you haven¡¯t had any engagement yet. I don¡¯t think Luo¡¯s Family will find you a good man. I care about you so I want to make a good match for you.¡±

    ¡°I have to get married within three months?¡± He Danggui asked with her eyes wide open, ¡°How much do you know about medicine? Can you be responsible for what you said? Please give me an exact date, or it will be very tragic if I¡¯m stillte when I get married two months and twenty dayster! This is about the happiness of my life!¡±

    Lu Jiangbei didn¡¯t expect that she didn¡¯t mind getting married at all. He thought he might need to spend lots of words to persuade her so he did much foreshadowing before. Since she didn¡¯t reject marriage, he felt relieved now so he replied with a smile, ¡°You will definitely make it within three months. I¡¯m sure about it. He He Qi Ri Qing is a variant of a poison made from some venomous insect. It¡¯s a cold poison that was brought back from Miao Territory by Gao Jue and has been carefully cultivated for several years before being produced by Dongchang Organization. They make it to deal with powerful enemies. None of them will be able to get rid of it once they are poisoned with it regardless of their excellent kung fu. Well, I tried to make a match three years ago but I failed. This time I will remedy it. Danggui, who will you choose as your husband? Just tell me and I will help you make the match.¡±

    He Danggui was scared again and replied, ¡°A poison made from some venomous insect? You mean He He Qi Ri Qing is like this and I¡¯ve been hit by such a thing and still haven¡¯t gotten rid of it? Won¡¯t it be very dangerous, then?¡± She was the kind of person who would turn pale at the mention of venomous insects. It wasn¡¯t her first time learning how poisonous they could be. No wonder she felt pain all over her body as soon as she touched those keys. She remembered when Zhou Jinn poured Xiaoyao Poison into the Water Dungeon, it worked its way into her body immediately!

    Seeing her face turning pale because of fear, Lu Jiangbeiforted right away, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid. He He Qi Ri Qing is a White Poison, which is the so-called Good Poison. As long as you¡¯ve removed the fatal part of it, it will only be good for your health. That¡¯s why I said you were lucky. The antidote we got didn¡¯t contain Li Xin Gui. Thest bottle of antidotes that has it was stolen three years ago. We thought we couldn¡¯t save you this time but we didn¡¯t expect that your blood even contained the effect of Li Xin Gui. No wonder you can make huge progress in kung fu in a short time. Thus, with the antidote and Li Xin Gui, the Good Poison in your body bes not fatal anymore but just slightly poisonous. And because of this, you are immune to most poisons from now on. The ordinary poisons like aconitine and monkshood will never be able to hurt you unless you¡¯re hit by a few highly toxic ones such as Hedinghong Poison, Kongquedan Poison, and arsenic.

    He Danggui listened to his words with her eyes wide open. Then, she asked in shock, ¡°Good Poison? Can a poison be good? Is there any Bad Poison? What kind of vicious things on earth are venomous insects?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± Lu Jiangbei nodded to confirm her guess and said, ¡°There are good and bad people in the world and it¡¯s the same for venomous insects. This ismon sense. Not all venomous insects are bad, or why would the first man who created poisons with the insects bother to do so? He could use the existing poisons directly. Venomous insects aren¡¯t all vicious things that we shouldn¡¯t touch. They also have advantages that ordinary medicine will never get...¡± Staring at her curious face, he asked, ¡°Danggui, you seem to be very curious about venomous insects. Have you ever learned about them?¡±

    He Danggui was startled slightly. Lu Jiangbei was really a tough nut to crack. They were just talking casually and she was just ¡°an ignorant girl¡±, but he was still so vignt and kept finding faults in her words. She pretended to be angry and replied, ¡°I¡¯m poisoned, so of course, I should learn more rted information to get relieved. It¡¯s reasonable, isn¡¯t it?¡± Gao Jue had gone too far. Instead of helping her subdue Liao Zhiyuan, he threw the keys with the poison randomly when he didn¡¯t even have theplete antidote... He Danggui became confused again as soon as she thought of it. Li Xin Gui was just a kind of herbal soup she had drunk in her previous life. How could it still be effective in this life?

    Lu Jiangbei really thought of himself as a senior and patted her head while saying, ¡°Anyway, now you should rest well first and choose your husband as soon as possible. Don¡¯t be too worried about other things. You will cross the bridge when you get to it. If you¡¯re interested in venomous insects, there are lots of books about them in Baisha Mountain Vi and I will bring them to you another day.¡±

    ¡°Okay!¡± He Danggui made up her mind. She would take good care of herself and be healthy to prevent the tragedy in her previous life from happening again. Meng Xuan had set many goals for her. Although he might need to let his other concubines aplish some of them, she should get prepared as well. She looked up at Lu Jiangbei and asked humbly, ¡°Please tell me in detail about how to nurse my body. I will do as you say.¡±

    Instead of replying in words, Lu Jiangbei directly held her in his arms, covered her lower abdomen with his right palm, and put his left hand on the skin back of her knee through the hole in her trousers. Then, he pressed the two ces with some fingers of his both hands and said, ¡°I¡¯ve said that He He Qi Ri Qing is an extremely cold poison so you can¡¯t get rid of it solely with your own internal energy. As for food you should eat, it¡¯s up to you... The most effective method is ¡®Ba Huang Finger¡¯, which is also named ¡®One-finger Death Touch¡¯. Otherwise, we wouldn¡¯t take turns to treat you with it for five days. In the end, they were too tired to keep doing this so that they went back to rest... Mr. Duan passed out atst because he had ¡®supervised¡¯ us with his eyes wide open for five days and nights without having any rest. Then, we took him away quietly. We were afraid that he might mor for getting in theke again if he woke up. He couldn¡¯t touch the ice water at all since he was injured...¡±

    At this moment, he couldn¡¯t finish his words because the girl in his arms blushed as soon as his fingers touched her skin. Her little fair hands clenched his bright green uniform and they were trembling and sweating. She tried hard to repress her desire and stop her body from wriggling, which made her look very vulnerable. Her fair face was blushing and there was confusion in her bright eyes that were half-closed. The wings of her little nose were moving and she bit her lips hard with her white teeth to prevent herself from moaning.

    Such a young gorgeous girl was like the snow glowing on the high mountains and as graceful and iparable as bright jewelry, but now, she became so vulnerable in his arms.

    She looked slightly simr to Consort Yuze. However, Yuze was from northern areas and grew up in grasnd so she was wild and made men want to conquer her. He Danggui was the reincarnation of Tenth Princess but a lifetime had passed. Now she already became as gentle and elegant as all girls from southern areas but not like Yuze, the noble and imperious Princess of Mongolia.

    Actually, they weren¡¯t simr in appearance at all. Lu Jiangbei thought the simr point of them was their sacred dispositions. Yuze was always serious and rigorous as if she never thought of herself as a female. She valued faith more than lots of men did and was brave enough to ovee all difficulties. People could always see seriousness on her face which made them respectful to her and dare not to look into her eyes. As for He Danggui, if he had toment on her, he would say she was like a piece of nephrite which could be soft and hard. She was tough inside like a piece of hard jade and gentle outside like water. If someone intended to possess her like holding a piece of nephrite, she would escape as if the nephrite had melted to be water, but when she met some difficulties, she would be tough.

    When she became tough, she did look slightly simr to Yuze. No wonder Lu Jiangbei had some feelings for her before... He held such a beauty in his arms now and just by exerting Ba Huang Finger, he had her under control. It could be seen that kung fu could provide lots of ineffable benefits. Back then he wasn¡¯t lucky enough to embrace Yuze...

    Exactly. Kung fu was indeed a magical thing which could help people with many things that couldn¡¯t be done just with human self-control or willpower. When he was young, Lu Jiangbei created Qingxin Form by himself after he had learned Cold Palm. With the Form, he could keep the peace of his mind. It wasn¡¯t very effective before. When he saw He Danggui who would remind him of the one he liked and heard from Qi Xuanyu that she was the reincarnation of Yuze¡¯s daughter, namely Tenth Princess, he began to think about keeping her for himself. However, Gao Jue and he as well as others all knew that she belonged with Duan Xiaolou.

    To repress the greed he had, he practiced Qingxin Form hard day and night and kept improving it. Two yearster, he did make big progress in martial arts. And although he didn¡¯t know if it was good or not, he finally reached the real Qingxin Stage of Qingxin Form. He wouldn¡¯t fall in love anymore or have any lust for anyone. Just as Liao Zhiyuan said, it was like... He was castrated mentally and even more sexually apathetic than eunuchs.

    Anyway, with the girl he had even liked who felt like being burned in fire in his arms, Lu Jiangbei was still very calm. Even his expression, gaze, and breaths were not changed at all. This was also why the others would trust him and leave him alone here to heal ¡°Mr. Duan¡¯s wife¡±. After they had gotten along with each other for these years, no one would doubt his character.

    However, the others didn¡¯t know that now he wanted to help Zhu Quan more instead of Mr. Duan. He and Zhu Quan were Mongolians and He Danggui was the reincarnation of a Mongolian princess so they were more closed. As the old saying went, kept the goodies within the family. He wanted to make the match between He Danggui, the best girl in the world, and Zhu Quan, a young talent with a bright future. Maybe with the help of her, someday Zhu Quan would be more brilliant. No one could be sure about it.

    Of course, the main reason was still about ¡°Li Xin Gui¡±. There was the ¡°servant¡± of Li Xin Gui in Zhu Quan¡¯s body while in He Danggui¡¯s, Lu Jiangbei found the rare ¡°King¡± of Li Xin Gui. What a coincidence. He also remembered Zhu Quan had ever stayed in Luo¡¯s Mansion and Qi Xuanyu had said he once ran into Senior Lord Luo Maitong in a mountain in the north while the lord was picking Li Xin Gui... Luo Maitong could get that. So could He Danggui, right? Zhu Quan was suffering from Li Xin Gui and Lu Jiangbei believed He Danggui must¡¯ve had something to do with it.

    While feeding the girl with the pure Tianyang Qi by exerting Ba Huang Finger, Lu Jiangbei was also thinking about the rtionship between He Danggui and Zhu Quan. There must be aplex story between them so that He Danggui used Li Xin Gui to control Zhu Quan. Theoretically, Lu Jiangbei and Zhu Quan were more closely rted by blood, but deep in his heart, Lu Jiangbei cared more about He Danggui. Thus, if she was willing to marry Zhu Quan and they could live happily, he would be happy to make the match.

    As for Mr. Duan, Lu Jiangbei noticed something was terribly wrong. Mr. Duan shouldn¡¯t practice that anymore. That martial art would lead him to Qi Deviation.

 Chapter 379 - She had to take off her clothes before receiving the treatment

    <h4>Chapter 379 She had to take off her clothes before receiving the treatment</h4>

    He Danggui just felt her whole body was burnt in the fire and every touch of Lu Jiangbei was so hot as if her clothes would be in mes right away. Then, she realized it was true that she had to take off her clothes before receiving the treatment. When she was half-awake before, she could only feel things not very clearly but she already lost control of her body and even had no strength to push away the man in her dream. At that time, she was lying in the bed of Ice Pool and her limbs were cold, but now she was lying in the arms of a man as if she was bathing in the burning sun.

    Lu Jiangbei put his right palm on her Dantian and rubbed her Xuehai acupoint with the index finger, middle finger, and ring finger of his left hand. He was doing the treatment for her but it seemed his hands had some kind of ineffable magical power. They brought a feeling of soreness, numbness, and hotness which was spreading in her body and eating away at her sanity. At first, she bit her lips to fight against the feeling and stop herself from making any sound. However, she failed. Her fitful painful moaning even echoed lightly in the icehouse where only the two of them stayed.

    ¡°Can you take it? Is it so hard?¡± Lu Jiangbei¡¯s voice sounded above her head, ¡°What about you lie back on the ice?¡± While asking, he held her more tightly and the fragrance of agwood on his robe could be smelled more clearly. Although she disliked it, instead of pushing him away, she couldn¡¯t help getting closer and closer to him...

    Lu Jiangbei looked at her pale face with rosy cheeks and some momentster, his gaze became burning as well and his fingertips on her skin trembled slightly. Then, she asked, ¡°How long... will the treatment... take?¡±

    ¡°The longer, the better. The longer it takes, the sooner you can recover.¡± Lu Jiangbei replied, ¡°This is also called ¡®One-finger Death Touch¡¯ and one finger represents one touch. When I¡¯m exerting it on you, I use five fingers of my right hand and three of the left with the other two curved. There are eight fingers being used in total so it¡¯s named ¡®Ba Huang Finger¡¯. It originated in northern Wu Bi Xiang...¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± He Danggui interrupted him with a low scream, ¡°It hurts! My left leg hurts!¡±

    ¡°Where are you hurting?¡± Lu Jiangbei looked at her calf that was moving below her robe, ¡°What kind of pain are you feeling? If your blood circtes well, the pain will be relieved; if not, you will feel pain. The blood in your left calf must circte not well. Where are you hurting?¡±

    She looked up and asked with tears streaming down, ¡°Can we stop it? Can you do it in another way?¡± Her hand made lots of wrinkles on his robe.

    It was Lu Jiangbei¡¯s first time seeing her being so childish. He was amazed so he decided to tease her. He said with a smile, ¡°You should take the treatment when you¡¯re ill. You can¡¯t hide your pain and avoid medical treatment. If you can¡¯t bear it, you can cry out to relieve the pain and I won¡¯t let anyone know about it. This is also why I asked you to choose a man to be your husband as soon as you woke up. Originally, Du Yao and you are a good match and he has written an engagement contract for you. You two are kind of destined, but he has lost his internal force and can¡¯t do the treatment for you. Thus, you should choose a man as soon as possible so he cane to treat you.¡±

    Chose a man? Treated her? He Danggui could imagine Meng Xuan¡¯s unhappy face so she immediately came to her sense slightly. She wiped her tears and asked, ¡°What if the man can¡¯t use One-finger Death Touch? Won¡¯t you teach others this skill? Can you teach me?¡±

    Lu Jiangbei became in a daze for s moment and replied while smiling, ¡°I see. Danggui, you¡¯ve already fallen in love with someone and he isn¡¯t an Imperial Guard, which means Mr. Duan has no chance now.¡± She was so cute. She still thought about learning a skill while she was already injured. However, even if Lu Jiangbei wanted to be generous and teach her, she couldn¡¯t learn such a masculine skill. The man didn¡¯t work in Imperial Guards so...

    He Danggui knew she couldn¡¯t hide her thoughts from a careful man like him so she said honestly, ¡°Right. I did have someone I want to marry and he is also good at martial arts, but he may not know about One-finger Death Touch. Can you just teach me this generally so that I can go back and tell him how to exert it?¡±

    Lu Jiangbei smiled inscrutably and shook his head while replying, ¡°I can teach him but not you. Don¡¯t worry. When I have time in several days, I will tell him about it and ask him to learn the skill, do the treatment for you more frequently, and treat you better.¡±

    He Danggui looked up at his mask in confusion and asked while frowning, ¡°Do you know him? But... but he...¡± Meng Xuan always wore a mask when he fought against Imperial Guards!

    Lu Jiangbei nodded and replied, ¡°Actually, I¡¯m familiar with him. Next time I see him, I will tell him you¡¯re my foster niece and I adore you very much. I will ask him to treat you well, so... Danggui, you should stop using Li Xin Gui in the future. This drug is too powerful and if something went wrong, his life would be in danger. Then, it would be toote for you to regret.¡±

    Hearing Lu Jiangbei mentioning Li Xin Gui inexplicably, He Danggui also thought of what he asked before. ¡°Can you tell me the truth? Do you like Lord Ning? Have you used Li Xin Gui on him?¡± She felt extremely speechless because she didn¡¯t even know what the function of Li Xin Gui was. Thinking about this, she said in anger, ¡°Uncle, since you say you care about me, stop talking vaguely. Why do you think I have Li Xin Gui and I¡¯ve used it on Lord Ning? I didn¡¯t even know the function of it and I can tell you firmly that the man I love is not him. I will never marry him.¡±

    ¡°Is it not him?¡± Lu Jiangbei looked down at her watery eyes and saw the obvious firmness in them. He couldn¡¯t help feeling confused and asked, ¡°Since you don¡¯t love him, why would you use Li Xin Gui on him? That will kill him. Or did you like him when feeding him with it but you shifted your love to another manter?¡±

    He Danggui was speechless. Lu Jiangbei was really smart sometimes but when he became a blockhead, he did drive people crazy. Was her answer still not clear enough? She looked up into his searching gaze and replied word by word, ¡°I didn¡¯t do those things. I never liked that man or poisoned him. He is a noble man while I¡¯m just an ordinary person. If I poisoned him, I would be executed. I don¡¯t want to die yet!¡±

    Lu Jiangbei shook his head and corrected her, ¡°Li Xin Gui isn¡¯t a poison but a mild tonic. It tastes sweet and not poisonous. When it¡¯s used usually, it isn¡¯t harmful to human health. Instead, it can bring special benefits by nourishing yin and maintaining beauty. The effect is better than that of Zi He Che, namely centas. It can work more quickly and deeper in human bodies, which is the best tonic for women.¡±

    A tonic? He Danggui tilted her head. That was good. She was in poor health in her previous life and it was normal for her to take tonics.

    Noticing the confusion in her eyes, Lu Jiangbei continued, ¡°Otherwise, the most famous effect of Li Xin Gui was ¡®Lock Heart¡¯, which represents a kind of lifelong bond. When a man eats the stem of it with alcohol and a woman eats its flower as well as leaves, there will be the ¡®servant¡¯ of Li Xin Gui in the woman¡¯s body and the ¡®husband¡¯ of it in the man¡¯s. Then, the woman will never be able to leave the man and have to marry him. After their marriage, the woman won¡¯t be allowed to have feelings for any other man, or she will be weak and tired.¡±

    He Danggui was shocked and asked with her eyes wide open, ¡°Is there even such an amazing drug in the world? Although I think I¡¯ve read lots of medical books, I¡¯ve never heard of such an amazing thing. But maybe this is not the truth. If such amazing medicine did exist, every couple in the world would be faithful forever, right?¡±

    Lu Jiangbei answered with a smile, ¡°You¡¯re a brilliant girl but you just like taking things for granted and being serious. First, this is a legend so we shouldn¡¯t believe all of it. People aren¡¯t even sure if Li Xin Gui does exist. After all, few of them have eaten it and it¡¯s rarer than snow lotuses in Tianshan Mountains. Second, no one is sure about the effect of Li Xin Gui or how long it canst. I guess it varies from person to person.¡± Lord Ning¡¯s situation should be a very rare case. He was obviously like the woman in the legend while He Danggui was like the man.

    He Danggui didn¡¯t know Lu Jiangbei¡¯s thoughts and just answered him with an ¡°Okay¡±. However, she thought, ¡°I haven¡¯t eaten Li Xin Gui this life. Why is Lu Jiangbei so sure that there is the effect of it in my body and it has worked as the guiding medicine to help me get rid of the poison of He He Qi Ri Qing?¡±

    Lu Jiangbei stopped the treatment gradually. She finally felt relieved and didn¡¯t need to clench her teeth secretly to resist the weird feeling brought by his hands. If Meng Xuan knew there was such a good method to cure her, he would want to learn it, wouldn¡¯t he? But how could she persuade Lu Jiangbei to teach Meng Xuan One-finger Death Touch? She had to be more careful if she wanted to get something from a shrewd man like him.

    Last time she took from him a whole bottle of the antidote of cold poison. Lu Jiangbei would know she hadn¡¯t been poisoned with that at all if he touched her pulse, but he gave them to her without asking anything. And she just wanted two of the antidote while he gave her about twenty ones! Meng Xuan was the only one that had been poisoned, right? Something seemed to be wrong.

    Gosh, she was too happy when she got the antidote. Except for feeling happy, she only wanted to leave them to Meng Xuan for spare so she didn¡¯t refuse and took the whole bottle of them. She didn¡¯t think too much back then but now she remembered when Lu Jiangbei passed the antidote to her, his look was very strange as if he had realized something. Later, Liao Zhiyuan also felt something was wrong immediately. He pointed out that she shouldn¡¯t have taken away so many of the antidote which was specially and only used to cure cold poison and intended to take them back.

    That was very unreasonable. Even a careless man like Liao Zhiyuan could realize it. How could Lu Jiangbei who was always scrupulous not know it? Hadn¡¯t he thought about how she would use the antidote? Or did he already realize that she was rted to the bad guy secretly so he decided to use the antidote as bait to catch Meng Xuan and others in an action? The antidote should be genuine, right? She had taken one of them before and nothing bad happened to her so they weren¡¯t poisonous, right? Meng Xuan should feel better after taking them, right? Would hee here to look for her?

    He Danggui put her hand on her waist unconsciously and found the green porcin medicine box was still kept well there. She frowned and thought, ¡°I was stripped of my clothes before, wasn¡¯t I? Why is the box still here since my clothes have been changed? Who put it back for me? Didn¡¯t Lu Jiangbei say it was Duan Xiaolou who took off my clothes and he asked a maid named Liu Sui to help me dress after Duan Xiaolou passed out? Then...¡±

    Lu Jiangbei noticed her slight movement and suddenly smiled. He said, ¡°It was me who put that medicine box back to you. I was afraid that it might mix with other medicine boxes and I might not be able to find it for you so I directly put it back on your waist.¡±

    He Danggui became less confused but what Lu Jiangbei said next made her very nervous. He mumbled as if he was talking to himself, ¡°Two or three of the pills in the box seem to be missing. Have they been left under the city wall? I¡¯ll ask Gao Jue if he knew whether they were left there when he went to pick you up.¡± After finishing his words, he looked at her and his gaze was like two brushes moving across her face. He Danggui didn¡¯t know if she had shown nervousness in her expression. She could just pretend to be in a daze and continued listening to his words, ¡°The antidote isn¡¯t very precious but it shouldn¡¯t be lost casually, especially when Yangzhou City is in slight turmoil recently. People in the city are from different regions. If someone got the lost pills and found out the secret of the antidote, that would be bad. Icy zhenqi is our trump card.¡±

    He Danggui nodded numbly and her lips moved but she didn¡¯t know what to say.

    Lu Jiangbei smiled again while staring at her. This time he smiled very brightly, which made his ck pupils under the ice mask look a bit cold. He Danggui didn¡¯t know if it was her illusion but that smile was really cold. He said something else to shock her again, ¡°Danggui, you don¡¯t know that I actually know the young man that attacked us before. His kung fu is indeed brilliant so he can never hide his identity. There aren¡¯t more than five young people in the world who can be powerful like that. I know the other four of them. Only he is still a stranger to me.¡±

    He Danggui smiled hollowly and changed the subject, ¡°Uncle, aren¡¯t you talking about Li Xin Gui? Why did you bring up these things? I¡¯m not interested in anything in Jianghu.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not?¡± Lu Jiangbei raised his eyebrow under the mask and his shock seemed a bit false. He continued, ¡°You¡¯re fond of listening to the stories happening in Wulin told by ¡®a guard surnamed Nie who lives as a recluse¡¯ in Luo¡¯s Mansion, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    He Danggui¡¯s expression froze and she smiled more awkwardly, ¡°Yes. That¡¯s why I¡¯m not interested anymore. I¡¯m just... just tired of those stories now.¡±

    ¡°Oh, I see...¡± Lu Jiangbei said with a faint smile, ¡°Then, I¡¯ll continue to tell you more about the effect of Li Xin Gui. You will like this topic. The function named ¡®Lock Heart¡¯ of Li Xin Gui is two-way. Men can use it to lock women¡¯s hearts, and vice versa. Then, men will have the ¡®servant¡¯ of Li Xin Gui in their bodies while women will have the ¡®husband¡¯ of it instead. But as a result, the yin and yang have been reversed and if those men with the ¡®servant¡¯ of Li Xin Gui shifted their love to other women, they would end up dozens of times more miserably than the women with it who had done the same thing. At worse, they would have to share life and death with the women they loved before.¡±

    ¡°Share life and death? How so?¡± He Danggui was curious. That would even be more powerful than what Love Poison could do, wouldn¡¯t it?

    Staring at her puzzled face, Lu Jiangbei exined gently, ¡°It¡¯s just like what Lord Ning did to you that night. He sensed it as soon as you died and came to save you immediately as if he was saving himself, but he didn¡¯t like you so he threw the sedan directly after you were carried here.¡±

 Chapter 380 - The husband consumed the servant and the servant coveted the husband

    <h4>Chapter 380 The ¡®husband¡¯ consumed the ¡®servant¡¯ and the ¡®servant¡¯ coveted the ¡®husband¡¯</h4>

    He Danggui believed Zhu Quan saved her just because of thest remained effect of Spirit and Love Poison in his body and he threw the sedan atst because the effect was used up. She guessed like this in her heart or she just hoped the truth was like this. However, she couldn¡¯t exin it to Lu Jiangbei so she said with a bitter smile, ¡°You can believe whatever you want. Anyway, you¡¯re always stubborn about what you think.¡±

    Lu Jiangbei did believe that was the truth so he took what she said as an implicit confession. He tried to persuade her, ¡°Lord Ning is indeed cruel to women but he is a brilliant man. It will be a pity if he dies so easily. You should think twice.¡± He touched her hair spread on her back and took out a band used for wrapping fists from his sleeve. He wanted to tie her hair so she could look more spirited. The long hair was like soft silk which glittered like waves in the room with flickering candlelight.

    While doing this, he kept saying, ¡°The ¡®husband¡¯ of Li Xin Gui controls the ¡®servant¡¯ of it is for nothing but sexual desire. A ¡®husband¡¯ can have several ¡®servants¡¯. In other words, a ¡®husband¡¯ can vent the desire on many ¡®servants¡¯ while a ¡®servant¡¯ can only vent it on one ¡®husband¡¯. Thus, the desire of the ¡®servant¡¯ will get stronger and it can¡¯t be relieved by the other people. The ¡®servant¡¯ can only soothe it by having sex with the ¡®husband¡¯ of the same Li Xin Gui. Once the ¡®husband¡¯ ignores the ¡®servant¡¯ when the desire of the ¡®servant¡¯ gets stronger, the ¡®servant¡¯ will have to suffer a lot, keep thinking about sex, and get anxious as every woman eagers for it does. And the ¡®servant¡¯ will be haunted and would rather die.¡±

    What a weird thing! This was He Danggui¡¯s only thought after hearing his words. Was there really a woman eager for sex in the world? She couldn¡¯t believe it.

    ¡°That¡¯s just like the feeling you had when I was doing the treatment for you. Danggui, that grueling but addictive feeling may just be how people feel about sexual desire.¡± His slender fair fingers went through her hair as some alums moved through waves at night. He sighed and continued, ¡°By the day you get married, you will understand how grueling it is when your desire can¡¯t be satisfied. Thus, a person with the ¡®servant¡¯ of Li Xin Gui must follow the one with the ¡®husband¡¯ of it forever and only vent the desire on the ¡®husband¡¯. The ¡®husband¡¯ is the person who feeds the ¡®servant¡¯ with the rest of the same Li Xin Gui. If the person is conscientious and can take responsibility for the ¡®servant¡¯, they will apany each other all their life. This is the so-called ¡®Lock Heart¡¯ and the ¡®lifelong bond¡¯. They will turn a person into another one¡¯s poppy and addiction.¡±

    He Danggui listened to him quietly and then, she showed her thirst for knowledge again. She asked, ¡°Do you mean the person having eaten the stem of Li Xin Gui with alcohol will be the ¡®husband¡¯ while the one having eaten the flower and leaves of it will be the ¡®servant¡¯? In the legend, right? But based on what I know, Li Xin Gui is gray-green moss without stems or flowers and its leaves are tiny and thin. That¡¯s all. Thus, what you¡¯ve heard must be wrong, Master Lu. As for your theories about ¡®husbands and servants¡¯, they are too bizarre. I won¡¯t believe them unless I witness them. About Lord Ning¡¯s condition, I can only say that he is ill. He is ill! Master Lu, if you do care about him, you can find him a famous doctor or Taoist Sage. They will cure him.¡±

    ¡°Taoist Sage?¡± Lu Jiangbei looked at her while frowning, ¡°You want me to find Taoist Sage and let him cure Zhu Quan? Do you know what disease he has? How can you be sure that Bai Yangbai will cure him?¡±

    He Danggui withdrew her hair from Lu Jiangbei¡¯s hands and took the band as well. She tied the hair herself and said in anger at the same time, ¡°I have nothing else to say. If you don¡¯t believe me, I won¡¯t be able to do anything about it. Stop trying to get information from me, or I may lose my temper.¡± Different from Lu Jiangbei who spent a long while but still didn¡¯t tie the hair, she did it very quickly. At this time, she had already regained much of her strength. She pushed the quilt away and intended to get out of the bed. Meanwhile, she requested, ¡°I want to go back to Yangzhou City. Go back home. If you can¡¯t make the decision, please help me find Master Gao. I¡¯ll talk to him directly.¡±

    Her whole body was shaking and after Lu Jiangbei pulled her lightly with a finger, she fell weakly to the bed. He helped her rest her head on the pillow and said with a smile, ¡°You can¡¯t go back home like this. Why do you want to find Gao Jue? He¡¯s your cousin-inw but I¡¯m your uncle. You¡¯re very naughty. How can I be not worried? It¡¯s fine if you want to go back to Yangzhou City. You just rest here these days to recuperate. Today¡¯s the eleventh day of the first lunar month and we can take you with us when we go back to Yangzhou City three dayster. But if you didn¡¯t rest well and was still do weak at that time, we would just go back and leave you alone here.¡±

    At first, He Danggui thought Lu Jiangbei had used some trick to push her, but now she found she just fell easily and no trick was needed. Even Brother Zhu could push her down now. She quivered because of coldness so she asked, ¡°You said after the poisonous part of He He Qi Ri Qing was eliminated, I would be immune from most poisons and fear no coldness or hotness, right? Why am I feeling cold now? Is there still some of it left in my body? Do I need to take two more of the antidote?¡±

    After tucking her in, Lu Jiangbei replied, ¡°You do fear no coldness or hotness now. Every drop of water bes ice in this icehouse and I even need to wear two double coats but you can fall asleep here. You fear no coldness, don¡¯t you? I should¡¯ve continued treating you with Ba Huang Finger so that you won¡¯t feel cold anymore, but first, you said you couldn¡¯t take it, and second, I¡¯m a bit tired now. Let¡¯s call it a day and we¡¯ll continue tomorrow.¡±

    Finishing his words, he turned around to leave the icehouse. ncing at the glistening top of the room and the candles around, He Danggui guessed it was still daytime so she asked, ¡°Can you bring the book about venomous insects to me? It¡¯s too boring to lie quietly here.¡±

    Without looking back, Lu Jiangbei just answered and left. The intimate attitude he had before waspletely gone.

    He Danggui stared at his back in confusion and couldn¡¯t figure out why he became cold suddenly. She also didn¡¯t understand why he paid so much attention to the things about Zhu Quan. ording to what she knew, Changye Tower of Imperial Guards and Wuying Tower were deadly foes for years. Moreover, Zhu Quan recuperated in Luo¡¯s Mansionst time just because Lu Jiangbei hurt him very badly. At that time, he firmly denied that he knew Lu Jiangbei and also tried hard to hide his rtionship with Feng Yang, namely Chang Nuo. Maybe he was just afraid someone would find the fact that he had left the fief without permission and made trouble in Yangzhou City.

    Anyway, the whole thing was weird. She shook her head and decided not to think about it anymore. What else should she be worried about except recovering quickly and going back home? There were countless things to be worried about every day in the world, but what did that have to do with her? She did so many things for Meng Xuan for the first time, but she got herself in such a big mess by being poisoned, having coldness remained in her body, and staying in this icehouse to bear the treatment named Ba Huang Finger. She also had to get married within three months, or the coldness couldn¡¯t be eliminated and she would suffer from its lingering effect for the rest of her life.

    After lying still for a while, she heard some footsteps behind. She said, ¡°Leave the book aside. I¡¯ll read itter.¡± Then, she covered her head with the quilt and didn¡¯t want to talk to Lu Jiangbei anymore because he always seemed to be interrogating her. However, she got no response. About ten minutester, she poked her head out of the quilt but saw no one or any book. She was still the only one in the icehouse.

    She became very confused while at the same time, some footsteps sounded again. She turned her head to check and saw Lu Jiangbei walking toward her so she asked, ¡°Was that youing here just now? I heard someone wasing but I didn¡¯t know when he left and saw no one else here as well.¡±

    Lu Jiangbei shook his head and replied, ¡°You must have misheard. I start my meditation here every year and there is no one else around. I also often hear some footsteps but I¡¯m already used to them. Here is the bottom of ake and those footsteps are from people somewhere ashore.¡±

    ¡°No.¡± He Danggui wide opened her eyes and refuted, ¡°I heard them clearly in this room. I heard the person walking toward me but when I turned around, I saw no one!¡± She searched the room anxiously and wide opened her eyes again suddenly. Pointing at the left side of the foot of the bed, she screamed, ¡°There are footprints on the ground and that¡¯s not the tread patterns of your boots! And I remember I saw no footprint there before you left!¡±

    ncing at the footprints, Lu Jiangbei said indifferently, ¡°Seven or eight men have taken turns to stay here for several days so it¡¯s normal to see footprints here. You said you didn¡¯t see them before. That¡¯s also reasonable because people who practice kung fu may weigh a lot but walk quietly and their footprints on the ice always disappear very quickly. It¡¯s nothing strange.¡± He put a book near the pillow and continued, ¡°I can¡¯t find Introduction to Venomous Insects for now. I¡¯ll look for it more carefully tonight and you can read this one first. It¡¯s about the legend of Li Xin Gui and very interesting. You¡¯ll like it.¡± He turned around to leave as soon as he finished his words.

    ¡°Stop!¡± He Danggui shouted and red at him, ¡°There¡¯s another person here! I¡¯m serious! I heard the breathing a moment before! Please don¡¯t go! The person will hurt me as soon as you leave!¡±

    Lu Jiangbei¡¯s expression slightly changed. After a pause, he put on a hollow smile and replied, ¡°Don¡¯t be ruffled, Danggui. Uncle hasn¡¯t slept for days and I still have lots of documents to read. Don¡¯t make a fuss, okay? I¡¯ll ask Liu Sui to apany you at night and cook you some hot soup. Your stomach is weak so you can just drink soup these days and keep away from greasy food. So...¡± He took a long sigh, ¡°I have to go now. Enjoy your reading. Some pages of it are really interesting and I hope you can read them carefully.¡±

    He Danggui was so angry that she punched the quilt and said furiously, ¡°I won¡¯t! I¡¯m done with it! I¡¯ve never seen Li Xin Gui or Zhu Quan! I want to read Introduction to Venomous Insects but not this one. I don¡¯t want to stay in this hateful icehouse. Get me out of here now. Don¡¯t leave me alone!¡±

    Lu Jiangbei pointed out the w of her speech calmly, ¡°You said you¡¯ve seen Li Xin Gui before and it had no flower or stem. That¡¯s my mistake. I checked it just now. Sure enough, I have a worse memory than you do. But why does your memory get bad now? You¡¯ve definitely seen the kind of grass before, haven¡¯t you? Master Prophet Qi Xuanyu said he once ran into Senior Lord Luo Maitong in a mountain in the north while the lord was picking Li Xin Gui four years ago. Suppose Senior Lord had stored it in Luo¡¯s Mansion and you had seen it and known its use, everything could be exined, then, right?¡±

    He Danggui was too shocked to say anything. Luo Maitong picked it and she used it to poison Zhu Quan? They conspired to trick Zhu Quan? Was Lu Jiangbei kidding her? She had only seen Senior Lord once so far and never talked to him. People who had a mind to beat their dogs would easily find their sticks! She was really wronged.

    Lu Jiangbei still replied in a calm tone, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Between Zhu Quan and you, of course, I care more about you. Even if you keep silent and have made him eat Li Xin Gui without preparing to marry him, I won¡¯t interfere with your decision. Just have a good rest and stop imagining things. You¡¯re safe in this icehouse. We¡¯ve paid a lot of effort to save you so it¡¯s impossible for us to harm you.¡±

    He Danggui got more furious and lost control of her clear mind. She began to talk wildly, ¡°Save me? Stop saying this! You just suspect that I have something to do with the man running away from Shui Shang Temple. You knew he attacked you again in Yangzhou City. You are suspecting I asked for the antidote of cold poison just to save him! Huh, you¡¯ve said this before. His kung fu is indeed brilliant so he can never hide his identity. There aren¡¯t more than five young people in the world who can be powerful like that! You¡¯re right. I know the man and I n to marry him. Do you have any word about it? Lu Jiangbei, you keep trying to get information from me and lock me in this icehouse. Are you going to trap me here? Are you using me to catch him?¡±

    After she stopped shouting, Lu Jiangbei was shocked to be in a daze. He Danggui also got startled by her own words and immediately covered her mouth with her hands. Gosh! What was she talking about? Why did she say all of it? Why would she be like this?

    Lu Jiangbei kept silent for a long while and then, he sighed before saying, ¡°It turns out that this is the truth. You did ask for the antidote for him.¡±

    He Danggui became numb because of the shock. Was the secret between Meng Xuan and her about to be exposed now?

 Chapter 381 - Armed escortsâ€™ methods to extort a confession

    <h4>Chapter 381 Armed escorts¡¯ methods to extort a confession</h4>

    Looking at Lu Jiangbei for a while, He Danggui still felt furious so she cursed loudly, ¡°Imperial Guards are stooges of the emperor. You always bully the civilians and have done all kinds of evil. When you killed Prime Minister Hu Weiyong, you even couldn¡¯t spare his three-year-old foster daughter. What¡¯s wrong with my husband¡¯s saving her? How can you keep me as bait to catch him? To be honest, he¡¯s also a powerful man. Even if you can lure him to this ce, you may not be able to subdue him. Even if you can bring him under control, you dare not to punish him!¡±

    Lu Jiangbei nodded and replied, ¡°I thought so. After having hidden for three years, he still can fight back fiercely. He should never be an ordinary man. I¡¯ve also guessed about the rtionship between you and him because that day, all the fierceness on his face was suddenly gone and gentleness filled up with his eyes after he saw a portrait of you. Logically, no one will act like that toward a portrait of a strange woman no matter how beautiful it is... Sure enough he is brilliant. He is a brave man who moves so swiftly and is good at archery. It turns out that such a young outstanding man is who you fall in love with. Huh, he¡¯s indeed good enough for you.¡±

    ¡°Right!¡± He Danggui shouted, ¡°I asked you for the antidote of the cold poison just because of him. It¡¯s useless to keep me here because you don¡¯t know who he is! Kill me if you can! I¡¯ll haunt you after I be a ghost. Screw Imperial Guards! Screw Zhu Quan! Why did you bring me to Baisha Mountain Vi? I hate this ce! There will be undercurrents in the waters of Yinma Town for the next six months. I curse your boats to break and you to be kelpies! Ah! There are ghosts in this icehouse!¡±

    Finishing her words, she burned herself out and copsed to the bed. Then, she began to shed tears silently. Why would it be? Why did her mouth suddenly get out of control? Why did she tell him all her secrets? What was she doing? Why did she suddenly feel furious? No matter how hard she tried, she couldn¡¯t get rid of the feeling and became so anxious that she even wanted to kill everyone in the world. Why?

    Lu Jiangbei crossed his arms across his chest and looked down at her from a distance. He analyzed, ¡°Actually, what I was most suspicious of was that he didn¡¯t attack anyone but Mr. Duan. It seemed he didn¡¯te to us to take a sneak attack because we ¡®had upied that ce¡¯ but to vent his resentment after he got up early and felt bad. That afforded for thoughts. Now I guess maybe he and you have quarreled over Mr. Duan or something else so he vented his anger on Mr. Duan. However, he went back to you with wounds atst so you came to us for the antidote. Who on earth is he?¡±

    He Danggui opened her mouth unconsciously and was about to say the name of ¡°Meng Xuan¡±. She felt very regretful that she had provoked the men in Imperial Guards. She thought she could fool them as if they were stupid but finally she found she was the stupid one. She also felt helpless that Meng Xuan fought with Imperial Guards for no reason. Those men worked for the emperor and everything in the country belonged to Zhu¡¯s Family. Why did Meng Xuan intend to use them of upying that ce? Did he realize he had put her in danger now?

    While thinking about this, she saw at a nce part of the hilt of a dagger with a portrait of her on it below the pillow. Its sheath had been taken off and the portrait as big as her thumb was smiling at her on the glittering de. She felt a bit frustrated. Would she be able to go back to Yangzhou City alive? She didn¡¯t expect that Imperial Guards would torture her to death to extort confessions this life. But how could she be willing to die like this... She smelled some weird but familiar fragrance. Was he coercing her?

    She couldn¡¯t hold back the name of ¡°Meng Xuan¡± anymore and it would only take a moment to say it. He Danggui made a prompt decision and picked up the dagger to cut her neck. Then, the dagger fell. That took less time than saying the name would do.

    A sound was heard in the icehouse which might be of the skin being cut or the blood squirting from a human body. That was actually textured and pleasant to listen to.

    Anyway, at the next moment, some blood fell into the Ice Pool next to the bed.

    Lu Jiangbei stood a dozen zhangs away and didn¡¯t expect an ident like this. He immediately became nervous and ran to her but what was done couldn¡¯t be undone no matter how fast he moved.

    ¡°Ah!¡±

    He cursed in front of He Danggui and held the back of her neck with one hand. However, after checking it in a hurry, he didn¡¯t see any wound or blood. He seemed confused but then he figured something out. With no time to think, he poked the acupoints in her arms first to stop her from moving and then, he exined in haste, ¡°I just took the easy option and never meant to force you to do anything. You should give up the idea of killing yourself, or other people will lose their lives because of you.¡±

    ¡°Clink!¡±

    The dagger in her fair hand fell on the ice and rolled twice. The side of the de on which the portrait of her was engraved faced upward and she saw that childish and timid smile again. Lying on the bed, He Danggui¡¯s face was pale and she moved her lips. Lu Jiangbei hadn¡¯t poked her mute acupoint but her voice seemed to have been blocked in the cold air inside her lungs. Sure enough it was him. Why did he do this? How did he feel now?

    Turning his head in anxiety, Lu Jiangbei looked around the icehouse blindly and asked, ¡°Come out. How about your injury? Can you show yourself, Gao Jue?¡±

    No one answered. Except for the heavy breaths of He Danggui and Lu Jiangbei, the room remained in silence.

    He Danggui slowly closed her eyes and the tears froze on her cheeks. Showed himself? Was anyone using invisibility here? She had heard in her previous life that the Dun Shu and ninjutsu used by people in Nihon was amazing and different from the martial arts of every kung fu school in the Central in. She didn¡¯t expect that someone could really be invisible and Duan Xiaolou even grasped such a great skill in just two years.

    Lu Jiangbei frowned and waited for a long while. He heard clearly his own heavy breathing and his heart was full of regrets. Why did he do this in haste? Gosh.

    ¡°Dripping.¡±

    A drop of blood was seen in the Ice Pool and it brought some steam, which indicated where the invisible man was and attracted the attention of He Danggui and Lu Jiangbei. Then, they saw something bizarre. It was like there was an invisible hand painting in the air. It held a Chinese bush with clear water and light ink first and drew the figure of a man. Then, it used another small brush made of weasel¡¯s hairs with heavier ink to draw the details and color it.

    The whole process took about five minutes and then, a man with an ice mask showed in front of them. It was his right fist that was bleeding. It seemed there was some poisonous needles in his eyes under the mask and his gaze on them was very scary.

    Meanwhile, Lu Jiangbei and He Danggui were in a daze because of shock. Lu Jiangbei was shocked because the man wasn¡¯t Gao Jue but Duan Xiaolou while He Danggui was shocked because Duan Xiao was staring at her with such a malicious look! She hadn¡¯t believed people¡¯s gossip at all before. Even until now, his resentful gaze was surrounding her and she still felt it was incredible.

    The three of them remained in silence for a moment and Duan Xiaolou had an angry outburst first. He roared at Lu Jiangbei, ¡°Are you insane? Why did you put the dagger there? Why did you leave it to her?¡±

    ¡°Sorry. It¡¯s my oversight.¡± Lu Jiangbei walked to Duan Xiaolou in worries and wanted to check his wound. He continued, ¡°This dagger made of dark steel is very sharp. How¡¯s your wound? Are your sinews still fine? Let me check them.¡± Duan Xiaolou struggled for a while before Lu Jiangbei finally could look into his bleeding fist.

    Duan Xiaolou red at him savagely and scolded, ¡°You even left her a dagger and put it below the pillow? Is it really an oversight? I¡¯ve never seen you being so careless like this before! Good! You¡¯re indeed my good friend!¡±

    After poking his key acupoints, Lu Jiangbei led him to the front of the medicine chest with halfpulsion. He said in worries while rummaging around those drawers before finding a bottle of Jinchuang ointment, ¡°The sinew in your pinky was broken. You must stay still here and I¡¯ll find some Sinew-reconnecting cream for you in the vi. OK, Xiaolou?¡± Lu Jiangbei looked up to check if Duan Xiaolou was still conscious and if he could leave He Danggui and him in the same room for about half an hour. However, he saw Duan Xiaolou¡¯s eyes used to be like ck jade now seemed to have swirls inside as if they were bewitched and was about to devour people¡¯s souls.

    Lu Jiangbei sighed in his heart and looked back at He Danggui who was too shocked to say anything. At the same time, he poked four key acupoints of Duan Xiaolou by surprise and helped him lean on the medicine chest and sit on the ground. He exhorted, ¡°Don¡¯t try to release your acupoints. Just sit still. I¡¯ll be back soon. Just wait for me, okay?¡±

    Duan Xiaolou cast a venomous nce at him instead of answering him directly and just regarded him as the biggest foe. Seeing this, Lu Jiangbei immediately exined with one of his hands cupped in the other, ¡°I did forget the dagger. I just left it there when I gave the silver needles to her before. I never wanted her to die. I...¡± He took a deep sigh and continued with his hands spread, ¡°In fact, I never expected the invisible man would be you. When He Danggui said there was a third man in the icehouse and her mind was obviously manipted, I thought it was Gao Jue that tried to extort confessions from her with ¡®that method¡¯ secretly so I took the easy option. Mr. Duan, when did you breakthrough the Ninth Stage of internal force and grasp this skill? On the fourth day of this lunar month when we fought against that young man, you still didn¡¯t...¡±

    Before finishing his words, he stopped in time. There wouldn¡¯t be anything good for him if he kept talking about Mr. Duan¡¯s weaknesses in front of He Danggui. Shaking his head, he raised a hand to wipe his forehead even though there was no sweat on it but he could only touch the cold ice mask on his face. Every time they were injured, they put on such masks that could help them recover. First, they wanted to get better as soon as possible. Second, they could hide their expressions and emotions well. Actually, they preferred the second function than the first and also the main one.

    After having stopped the two of them from moving by poking their acupoints, Lu Jiangbei thought that it was really an ident. He Danggui had been alright while she was sleeping these five days but as soon as she woke up, such tragedy happened. It seemed in some sense, the description of ¡°Helen of Troy¡± for beautiful women did make sense. If there hadn¡¯t been a woman named He Danggui in the world, at least five men would have slept better...

    Lu Jiangbei said, ¡°There will only be the two of you here so you can talk peacefully. I¡¯ll be back soon.¡± Then, he ran out of the icehouse and immediately got into the water above. He jumped swiftly and disappeared.

    In the quiet icehouse, He Danggui and Duan Xiaolou could speak freely but neither of them started to talk immediately. He Danggui just looked at Duan Xiaolou¡¯s injured hand while he only stared at her face calmly. They remained looking at each other like this for a while. Then, with her arms stopped from moving by Lu Jiangbei, He Danggui struggled several times before sitting up. She walked to the medicine chest slowly and observed Duan Xiaolou¡¯s wound.

    His palm was cut from left to right and the deepest part was below the pinky. The sinew in it was partly cut and although some Jinchuang ointment had been applied on it, it was still bleeding. He Danggui frowned and intended to heal his wound but her arms couldn¡¯t move at all. s...

    Suddenly, Duan Xiaolou asked above her head, ¡°Did you do that to protect him? Would you even kill yourself for him? Why did you treat him so well? He has left you alone for so long but you tried to die for him here. What can he do for you, then?¡±

    He Danggui looked up at his face covered by the ice mask closely and said gently, ¡°You looked thin. Mr. Duan, have you been eating regrly?¡±

    Duan Xiaolou ground his teeth while ring at her for a while. Later, he replied with a sneer, ¡°Isn¡¯t it toote for you to ask this after two years have passed? If I really couldn¡¯t eat or sleep well because of you, I would die long ago. It¡¯ste, Miss He.¡±

 Chapter 382 - Love and murder

    <h4>Chapter 382 Love and murder</h4>

    He Danggui remained silent for a while before asking, ¡°Does the wound hurt much? Can you release the acupoints yourself? Just do it if you can and help me release mine. I want to check your wound.¡±

    With a sneer, Duan Xiaolou replied, ¡°Don¡¯t you know why Lu Jiangbei blocked my acupoints? He was afraid that I would hurt you. He thought it was dangerous to leave you and me here if I could move freely. And I admit that he was right. He Danggui, if I could move now, I wouldn¡¯t be sure about what I would do.¡± He nced at her andughed loudly and ambiguously, ¡°What? Do you still want me to release the acupoints? Are you scared, Miss He?¡±

    He Danggui frowned in worry and said in a soft tone, ¡°Duan Xiaolou, I¡¯m worried about your injury. Can you stop being angry for now and just let me check it first? Does it hurt much?¡± It sounded like she was talking to a willful child who lost his temper.

    Duan Xiaolou demanded, ¡°Kiss me now. Kiss me and I¡¯ll help you.¡± He raised his jaw slightly.

    He Danggui didn¡¯t hesitate at all and immediately approached him. Her lips touched the ice mask on his face and then, she kissed his cheek hard. She asked after this, ¡°Release your acupoints and help me so that I can deal with your wound. Master Lu is too careless. If we keep stalling, it may get infected. You said you would always be my friend and do whatever I asked, didn¡¯t you? You just do me the favor, okay?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve said that.¡± Duan Xiaolou put on an eloquent smile and replied, ¡°But at that time I thought that wasn¡¯t the end and you would still be mine atst. Thus, I said that to my wife but not you, Miss He.¡± He released the acupoint of his left arm first and then, he turned to that of the right arm and other body parts. He continued, ¡°I always thought that you were born to be callous, or even cold-blooded, and you were not interested in love at all. I thought what I got had been the deepest love you would give to a man.¡± His right arm could move freely now. Next would be his shoulders and legs. ¡°I never expected that you could be so gentle. For him, you could even sacrifice your life. Huh, you did teach me a good lesson.¡±

    Finishing these words, he regained his freedom but he didn¡¯t intend to keep his words to help He Danggui release her acupoints. Instead, he looked at her like a wolf who was observing amb and thinking about where to take the first bite to relish it in the best way.

    Staring at his right palm worriedly, He Danggui asked again, ¡°You can vent your anger at meter. Just let me check your wound first, okay? Help me release my acupoints.¡±

    The sound of something¡¯s being ripped was heard suddenly.

    Duan Xiaolou extended his right hand and pulled He Danggui¡¯s robe violently three times. The brocade on her chest broke first. Then, her middle clothes made of Hua Su thin silk were torn apart. Finally, theces of her bellyband broke. Her fair body could be seen indistinctly while it was covered by crepe satin in that was thinner than rice paper. A cut was caused on her neck. Duan Xiaolou touched it lovingly with his bloody right index finger and sighed regretfully.

    ¡°You always like taking care of others¡¯ bodies but you never care about their feelings.¡± He put one hand around her waist to stop her from running and forced her to lie on the ground. With a smile, he whispered to her, ¡°Take care of my body, then, Miss He.¡± He loosened his belt with his injured hand and threw his long gown away. On top of her, he refrained her from struggling with his body and continued with a heartyugh, ¡°Jiangbei has made a brilliant decision. He blocked the acupoints of your arms so you can¡¯t use them to scratch me, but the other parts of your body still can move and it will be as fun as ever.¡±

    He Danggui got livid and shouted at him, ¡°Stop using it! Your right hand! The sinews in it have been broken utterly! You¡¯ll lose it forever if you don¡¯t stop now!¡±

    ¡°I know you always sympathize with the weak, so...¡± Duan Xiaolou spread his palm in front of her while two more sinews in it were broken and asked, ¡°Will you sympathize with me and let me have you once because my hand will be useless?¡± He rested his head on her chest and mumbled toin, ¡°You¡¯re willing to sacrifice yourself for that man but I saved you. From now on, will you belong to me?¡± Hot breath came out of his thin lips and he was looking for the sweetness of cherries on her skin.

    His hot breath and the coldness of his ice mask were felt by He Danggui¡¯s breasts alternately. She quivered and asked with a trembling voice, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say this to Liao Zhiyuan? Seeking pleasure is bitter. The pain you¡¯ve soothed in that process will be exacerbatedyer uponyer ande back for youter. Didn¡¯t you remember what you said several days ago? Just release my acupoints and let me do the treatment for you. After you recover, you can punish me in whatever way you want and I won¡¯t fight back, okay?¡±

    Duan Xiaolou paused and looked up into her frightened eyes. He refused puerilely, ¡°No. Just let the sinews break! I know you¡¯re lying. You¡¯ve fallen in love with someone else and will never care about me again if I recover. As for sex, it¡¯s sweet and with you, it gets sweeter. I said ¡®seeking pleasure is bitter¡¯ just because I wasn¡¯t doing that with you.¡±

    The sound of something¡¯s being ripped was heard again. Her trousers were torn apart as well. The coldness surrounded her with the man¡¯s breath and high body temperature. He had the scent of pear flowers that hadforted her the most before while he was hurting her now. However, she couldn¡¯t be angry at him.

    He found the round cinnabar mole on her left arm and waves started to swirl in his eyes. He said in satisfaction, ¡°So I¡¯m the first one. I didn¡¯t expect this... Two years passed and now you¡¯re mine again while he only got your heart... After we finish this, your heart will also be mine...¡± Every time he finished a sentence, he kissed the beautiful mole once. When the third sentence ended, the red mole disappeared from her arm suddenly. Then, it showed between Duan Xiaolou¡¯s eyebrows and even though the ice mask had covered his face well, the mole still could be seen clearly.

    He Danggui shouted in shock, ¡°Are you suffering from Qi Deviation, Duan Xiaolou? Look into the mirror and check your eyes. I can see some blue traces like waves in them!¡± Then, she continued screaming, ¡°And why did my cinnabar mole move onto your face? Release my acupoints now. There must be something wrong with the mole. Maybe it¡¯s poisonous. Just take off the mask and let me check it! Duan Xiaolou, what kung fu are you practicing? Stop it now! Let go of me!¡±

    Then, she tried her best to struggle as a fish left ashore struggling for oxygen. After hitting him hard upward several times, she finally got rid of Duan Xiaolou who was on top of her, and overpowered him by pressing his chest with one of her knees. Shemanded seriously, ¡°Use your left hand to release my acupoints now!¡±

    At this moment, however, Duan Xiaolou became as weak as a sick tiger. After releasing her acupoints as she asked, hey still on the ground like a sculpture soullessly with his face pale and eyes closed. He passed out.

    He Danggui regained her freedom. First, she used silver needles to block six key acupoints of Duan Xiaolou named Tiantu, Qihai, Fu¡¯ai, Qimen, Jiuwei, and Shenque, all of which were known as the Cruxes of Qi Cirction, so that he couldn¡¯t circte his zhenqi or exert kung fu for now. After this, she walked around the icehouse and tried to find some clothes for herself but only got a cloak. She tied it around her shoulders but three or four chi of the hemline was still sweeping the floor. Then, she took out the necessary medicine from the chest and turned to bind up the cut in Duan Xiaolou¡¯s right palm. Seeing what he became now, she felt heartbroken. As she was dealing with the wound, tears kept streaming down her cheeks uncontrobly on his hand and robe.

    ¡°Did I do anything wrong just now?¡± After being unconscious for a short time, Duan Xiaolou was woken up by her tears. Different from the anxious and excited man he was before, now he looked more like the ¡°Duan Xiaolou¡± he used to be with his eyes staring nkly and breathing weakly.

    He lost part of his memories. As soon as he saw the girl leaning against the bed trying tomit suicide without hesitation, some uncontroble gas exploded in his body and he lost his independent consciousness. It seemed his eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body movements and consciousness were all out of control and he couldn¡¯t use his senses of sight, hearing, smell, tasting or touch, or his kung fu anymore. He just roughly knew that he had been on top of her and treated her violently to vent his anger...

    When he woke up, he saw the girl crying. He had never seen her being so sad but he could remember nothing more even though he tried. He asked hesitantly, ¡°Qingyi, did I do anything to you? Did I hurt you?¡±

    He Danggui bound up his right palm well and looked at him with tears welled up in her eyes. She asked while sobbing, ¡°Why did you be like this, Duan Xiaolou? What should I do to help you? Please tell me.¡±

    ¡°You...¡± Duan Xiaolou smiled faintly because of the question. He worked to raise his left hand to wipe off her tears and replied, ¡°The new martial art I¡¯ve been practicing recently must not be interfered with by people¡¯s evil minds, but I¡¯ve practiced with my evil mind for several months and I was finally defeated. After that, a symptom urred in my body. I ¡®lose my memories¡¯ once a month and it happens at random times. ording to what Jiangbei and others said, when I lost my independent consciousness, I would be much more powerful and bad-tempered. Thus, I didn¡¯t remember what I had done to you before. Qingyi, did you get hurt? Did I... Did I force you?¡±

    He Danggui shook her head and asked again with tears streaming down her face, ¡°What can I do to help you? What kind of vicious martial art are you practicing? Can you talk to me about it?¡±

    Seeing her avoiding answering his question twice, Duan Xiaolou roughly knew the truth so he closed his eyes and said with a sigh, ¡°There¡¯s nothing you can do. I know you were sincere when you said you wanted to help me and marry me. It was me who ruined all of it, right? I almost got my wish by marrying you but I fell into some evil thought and heterodoxy and disappointed you... Every time I think of this, I hate that I can¡¯t rewind my time and remedy it. But it turns out that you have also long since left in another direction and fell for another man.¡± He turned his head and nced at the dagger stained with blood nearby. Then, he asked with a hoarse voice, ¡°Now I¡¯ve made a big mistake by doing such a terrible thing to you. I can¡¯t forgive myself. Please do me a favor and make it quick. Qingyi, just kill me.¡±

    He Danggui clenched her torn clothes and asked in sobs, ¡°Duan Xiaolou, if we could get back together, would you be who you used to be? Would we go back to the way we were before?¡±

    Duan Xiaolou closed his eyes and gave her no response and from her perspective, that was obviously a ¡°no¡±. Thus, she stood up to pick up the dagger.

    Every step she took deepened the grief in her heart. Now except for the dagger, they even had nothing to talk about.

 Chapter 383 - People went missing inexplicably

    <h4>Chapter 383 People went missing inexplicably</h4>

    Lu Jiangbei rushed into the icehouse with water dripping down from his body and his ice mask was taken off. He shouted, ¡°Mr. Duan, something happened! Everyone was gone! They... Mr. Duan? Danggui! You...¡±

    Previously, Lu Jiangbei went up to the Baisha Mountain Vi. He didn¡¯t sense anything wrong and just walked toward the pharmacy in a hurry to find the Seven Flowers and Leaves Sinew-reconnecting cream for Duan Xiaolou. However, when he passed the atrium, he noticed the messy footsteps on the white sand and part of the rockery broke. There was also blood on the rubble. Obviously, it was caused by a fight. And when he walked past this ce to find books for He Danggui not long ago, he didn¡¯t see any rubble.

    Some Imperial Guards took pleasure in fighting and friends often battled with each other so the vi got messy from time to time. That wasn¡¯t anything strange originally but at this time, all of them were injured and tired. Who would fight with others? Judging from the blood on the rubble, the fight was brutal.

    Thus, even though he didn¡¯t have much time, Lu Jiangbei still went to check on those ¡°problem children¡±. Then, he found the doors of their rooms were all open. The chairs and tables in Gao Jue¡¯s and Jiang Yi¡¯s rooms were overturned while others¡¯ rooms were kept tidy. Moreover, no one was seen in those rooms.

    Lu Jiangbei felt shocked immediately. Although Lynx was the head of the Baisha Mountain Vi now, Lu Jiangbei, as the oldest person, had warned all the people again and again since the ¡°injured group¡± of forty of them arrived at the vi the day before yesterday that they should rest well to recuperate these days and no one should leave the vi without his permission. Everyone was asked toy low and take good care of himself and not to leave his room unless he had to. It was a military order instead of any joke. Thus, no one dared to vite it, which meant they must¡¯ve been abducted! So had the twenty or thirty servants and maids in the vi!

    How could that be possible? Lu Jangbei started to calcte the time. From his going to the study to find books to hising back to find medicine in the pharmacy, only about fifteen minutes had passed and he hadn¡¯t heard any strange sound. The Baisha Mountain Vi covered a vast area and its hollow design enabled sounds to be heard far away. Who would be able to abduct forty Imperial Guards that were martial arts experts without making any noise in only fifteen minutes? Moreover, Gao Jue, Jiang Yi, and Lynx were brilliant and very hard to deal with.

    The three of them were almost recovered. Although they had taken turns to promote the blood cirction of He Danggui, that didn¡¯t cost their internal force but drained their energy and tested their self-control. They had been tortured mentally while they were exerting Ba Huang Finger for four or five days on such a beautiful woman that wouldn¡¯t even let them touch her at all at ordinary times. When she was conscious sometimes, she made pleasant groans. Based on the principle of ¡°Hear No Evil¡±, they had to poke her acupoint to make her unconscious again. This was why they asked to leave because of tiredness one after another... Anyway, around the world, only one or two people could take down Gao Jue, Jiang Yi, and Lynx at the same time within a hundred moves. If they wanted to do it without drawing any attention, that would be impossible.

    Who would be so bold that dared to do a sneak attack on people of the Armed Escort in daylight? This ce was not far away from the capital. With just three signal arrows, they would be able to dispatch the Left and Right Armed Escorts, Pce Guards, and Scout Camp around the capital. They would block all thend routes and waterways. Where could those men run after abducting Gao Jue and the other people?

    Things got more and more intricate. The backstage maniptor had followed them from Yangzhou City to the Yingtian Prefecture in the capital. Was the first prize of the Wulin Assembly indeed that legendary object?

    After surveying the scene, Lu Jiangbei hurried to the pharmacy to get the Seven Flowers and Leaves Sinew-reconnecting cream. Although he wanted to send signals immediately and ordered all troops in the capital to save Gao Jue and the other people, he worried more about the two people under theke now. Mr. Duan looked a bit strange again. He hoped He Danggui wouldn¡¯t get hurt there, or... While thinking this, Lu Jiangbei gathered the energy in his fingers and took off the ice mask.

    The only defect of such masks was that after wearing them, people would only be able to use seventy percent of their internal forces. Actually, it shouldn¡¯t be called a defect because the essence of ¡°Calm Face before Ice and Fire¡± was about slow breath and rest. However, they were facing threats from unknown enemies now. To ensure he could fight at his best, he couldn¡¯t wear the mask to cure his injury anymore.

    Then, with the medicine in his hand, Lu Jiangbei jumped into theke and got drenched because he didn¡¯t want to waste time and internal force to keep himself from water by exerting Qing Tian Gang Qi. He shouted in a distance, ¡°Mr. Duan, something happened! Everyone was gone!¡±

    After he rushed into the icehouse, he was shocked by what he saw. Mr. Duan and He Danggui, they...

    Obviously, He Danggui had released her acupoints. Her long hair spread on her shoulders and a loose cloak covered her body. She was holding a dagger in one hand and its sheath in the other. Looking down at Mr. Duan, she sat on his chest and put the glittering de on his face.

    Lu Jiangbei faintly saw her fair skin tightly covered by the gray cloak. He understood what happened after seeing the pieces of clothes around the medicine chest so he immediately persuaded, ¡°Danggui, put down the dagger. We can talk this over! Everyone around us knows Mr. Duan¡¯s love for you. Even though he made a blunder in a thoughtless moment, you don¡¯t have to kill him now. Just put it down and let¡¯s talk peacefully. I can help you. I¡¯ll ask him to marry you, okay?¡±

    He Danggui didn¡¯t move the dagger away from Duan Xiaolou¡¯s face but as soon as Lu Jiangbei entered the icehouse, she was frightened. Her lips quivered and then, she screamed, ¡°Ghost! Ah! Ah!¡±

    Lu Jiangbei was scared by her voice and slowly realized that the ¡°ghost¡± she said might be him. It was because after people took off the ice masks named ¡°Calm Face before Ice and Fire¡±, dark red vine patterns would show on their faces and take half a day to relieve. The number of them varied from ten to fifty depending on people¡¯s constitution and injury. With the patterns on their faces, people did look scary, especially when they were seen by acquaintances who still remembered their previous looks. Compared with what they looked like in the memory, people would only be frightened by their current appearances, so it was reasonable for them to scream in panic.

    But He Danggui wasn¡¯t an ordinary woman. Lu Jiangbei also felt incredible that she would be scared like that. Then, he guessed maybe it was because the effect of Duan Xiaolou¡¯s manipting her mind before was still not eliminated. Thus, she looked utterly different from the calm way she usually was. It was new and interesting for Lu Jiangbei to see her screaming and he thought she was cuter now. However, he also knew she was dangerous given that she wasn¡¯t calm anymore and the dagger she held was just right on Duan Xiaolou¡¯s face.

    Duan Xiaolou justy still there and seemed to acquiesce in whatever she wanted to do, which convinced Lu Jiangbei more that something bad did happen and Duan Xiaolou felt rueful so he allowed He Danggui to kill himself. However, Lu Jiangbei would never let her do that so he came up and persuaded her, ¡°Danggui, don¡¯t be scared. I¡¯m Lu Jiangbei, your uncle. My face will recover tomorrow so don¡¯t be frightened. Listen, put down the dagger and I will ask Mr. Duan to marry you and give you a happy life. I will also help you negotiate with his mother. How could you kill your future husband just because you lost your virginity and felt furious? He¡¯s a third-grade marquis assigned by the emperor and an important member of the court. If you killed him, you would have to pay with your life. Think twice, please!¡±

    As he was saying this, he approached the two of them slowly and intended to grab the dagger in a proper moment to save Duan Xiaolou, but after he was standing next to them, he found He Danggui wasn¡¯t ¡°cutting¡± Duan Xiaolou¡¯s face but trying to remove the mask on his face with the dagger and its sheath. The silver sheath was even worn because of her continuous scratches!

    Lu Jiangbei asked in surprise, ¡°What are you doing? Do you want his mask? But you can¡¯t wear Calm Face before Ice and Fire! Or do you want to see his face? Don¡¯t do it. He will look just like me if you take off his mask. It will scare you.¡±

    He Danggui insisted, ¡°No, Master... Uncle, please take off his mask now. I saw something wrong with his face. We must take it off to treat him.¡±

    Lu Jiangbei took a closer look and saw a red spot between his eyebrows below the mask. Then, he asked He Danggui to move away and wanted to take off Duan Xiaolou¡¯s mask by gathering energy in his fingers. In this process, he nced at the clothes on her chest. Fortunately, they hadn¡¯t been broken so he sighed in relief secretly in his heart.

    After Duan Xiaolou¡¯s mask was taken off, He Danggui and Lu Jiangbei eximed in confusion together. ¡°Uh?¡±

    Lu Jiangbei felt strange because the dark red vine patterns were inevitable when people took off Calm Face before Ice and Fire. They were blood lines that still didn¡¯t fade after the treatment. However, there were no signs of them on Duan Xiaolou¡¯s face now. He still looked handsome and his eyes were closed tightly. It seemed he was in aa. Lu Jiangbei suddenly thought, ¡°Was Duan Xiaolou already... dead since there was no vine pattern on his face?¡± He eximed and put fingers under Duan Xiaolou¡¯s nose to feel his breathing which was still as steady as usual.

    However, He Danggui felt strange because she did see a cinnabar mole between Duan Xiaolou¡¯s eyebrows under the transparent ice mask before. That looked just the same as the mole on her left wrist which, meanwhile, suddenly disappeared. Otherwise, after his mask was taken off, the mole was nowhere to find. Why? She turned her head to look at Lu Jiangbei and asked, ¡°You saw it just now, didn¡¯t you? There was a red mole between his eyebrows. Why did it disappear after you took off his mask? Is it...¡± She hesitated, ¡°Is that mole a living thing? Did it get into his brain?¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡± Lu Jiangbei looked at He Danggui in confusion and asked, ¡°What? The mole is a living thing? How would it be possible? Why did you say that?¡±

    He Danggui¡¯s lips moved but she didn¡¯t know how to exin such a weird thing. Qi Xuanyu made an unmovable red mole on her wrist but it moved to the ce between Duan Xiaolou¡¯s eyebrows after he kissed it. Then, they looked for it after taking off his mask and it was gone. Now, the red spot that was recognized as a cinnabar mole was no longer on her wrist. If she told Lu Jiangbei about it, he would definitely misunderstand that Duan Xiaolou and she had had sex. However, they didn¡¯t... Why did the mole suddenly disappear?

    Seeing He Danggui being hesitant, Lu Jiangbei sighed and continued, ¡°Danggui, something happened in the Baisha Mountain Vi. Everyone went missing in a short time and I didn¡¯t see any dead body, either. Now I have to deal with it. Mr. Duan¡¯s internal injury still hasn¡¯t been cured and he didn¡¯t sleep at all these five days. He may just pass out because of tiredness now. The medicine for him is here.¡± He put a little medicine bottle on He Danggui¡¯s palm and pleaded, ¡°He always treats you well. Please don¡¯t hurt him no matter what mistake he has made because sometimes he didn¡¯t mean to do it. I can¡¯t exin it clearly to you for now. Now, please help me take care of him. When everything is settled, I will help you with what you want to do and make a match between you and the man you want to marry.¡±

    He Danggui asked in surprise, ¡°Are you leaving him to me? You already knew I was rted to the ¡®traitors¡¯. Why don¡¯t you arrest me right now?¡±

    Lu Jiangbei ran out of the door of the icehouse immediately while saying, ¡°I¡¯ll arrest you when I¡¯m back. Take good care of him and be careful.¡± He left more hastily this time. He Danggui felt speechless and thought about his words for a while. Then, she looked at Duan Xiaolou¡¯s sleeping face and her eyes were suddenly filled with gentleness and love.

 Chapter 384 - Quiet days and deep love

    <h4>Chapter 384 Quiet days and deep love</h4>

    After Lu Jiangbei left, He Danggui paid lots of effort to carry Duan Xiaolou onto the bed because she was also weak now. She even felt tired when she walked alone. After tucking him in, she wanted to emte Lu Jiangbei and light a fire so she could boil some soup for Duan Xiaolou, but as soon as she got out of the bed, he grabbed her wrist, dragged her back into his arms, and covered her with the quilt.

    He Danggui was shocked for a moment and then, she patted his chest and said, ¡°Let go of me. Don¡¯t do this. I need to cook porridge for you. Duan Xiaolou?¡±

    With his eyes closed, Duan Xiaolou replied in a hoarse voice and sounded tired, which made He Danggui feel itchy on her forehead. He said, ¡°Everyone can cook porridge. Just let Jiangbei do this when hees back. Your duty is to take care of me. You should do whatever I say.¡±

    He Danggui understood at once and asked in shock, ¡°It turns out that you are not sleeping. You were already awake when Master Lu got here. Did you pretend to be unconscious when I carried you onto the bed?¡±

    Duan Xiaolou didn¡¯t answer her question but asked, ¡°Why did he suddenly be your uncle? What happened between the two of you?¡±

    He Danggui also felt confused about this so she shook her head and replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know. He said I was lonely and my family didn¡¯t take good care of me so he insisted on bing my uncle. I felt strange as well. He even wanted to take responsibility for me and marry me. He changed his mind so fast!¡± Finishing her words, she knew she had a slip of the tongue so she covered her mouth and felt nervous. Why was she still in the state of being manipted and keeping telling truth? Was Duan Xiaolou still extorting a confession from her?

    Without opening his eyes, Duan Xiaolou tightened his arms around her waist and shouted, ¡°He wanted to take responsibility for you? Why? What did he do to you?¡±

    He Danggui kneaded her ears for a while and exined, ¡°He did nothing. He is an upright man. He treated me with Ba Huang Finger before and stayed alone with me in this icehouse. He was afraid I might feel offended so he said those things. Now he is my uncle. Why are you still jealous? You¡¯re the only one I always think about and I¡¯ve ever loved.¡± These words kepting out of her mouth like the chirps of orioles and she couldn¡¯t stop herself at all.

    He Danggui goggled in surprise. What was she talking about? Was she confessing her love to Duan Xiaolou in a sweet tone that only lovers would have?

    Duan Xiaolou heard it and opened his eyes. He smiled and replied, ¡°I finally know your true thoughts. I thought I wouldn¡¯t hear it all my life.¡± He touched her face and continued after a sigh, ¡°Although I can read your mind through your eyes, I won¡¯t believe them if you don¡¯t say these sweet words. No matter how affectionately you looked at me before, I still think that was my misunderstanding.¡±

    Before she could correct her ¡°slip of the tongue¡±, He Danggui raised Duan Xiaolou¡¯s eyelids with her fingers and observed his eyes. She asked in anxiety, ¡°Why are there so many red veins in your eyes suddenly? My precious, do your eyes hurt? I¡¯ll go get you an icy handkerchief to apply it to your eyes.¡±

    Then, she didn¡¯t have time to p herself for saying weird things or think about why she called him ¡°my precious¡± inexplicably. She just tried to break away from Duan Xiaolou¡¯s embrace and get some crushed ice to make an icy handkerchief. But why couldn¡¯t she move? Didn¡¯t she block the main acupoints of him with silver needles so that he couldn¡¯t exert internal force? How could he still hold her so tightly? She was already strong enough. Qing¡¯er always praised her and called her ¡°Popeye¡±, which sounded very cool.

    ¡°p!¡± She patted her head once. What was she thinking about? She couldn¡¯t think straight at all. After a sigh, she began to think about her weird behaviors. What happened to her? After Duan Xiaolou got into the icehouse as an invisible man, she almost lost control of her whole body. She got excited and impulsive easily and she kept saying what she was thinking about verbatim... Was Duan Xiaolou really the ¡°only¡± one she had ever loved? Was that her true thought? Who concluded it for her?

    Right. Lu Jiangbei had left Duan Xiaolou a bottle of vulneraries. Where was it? She suddenly thought of it and remembered she had put it into her sleeve, but when she rummaged the sleeve, it was empty. She got anxious and tried to find it in her chest and waist but she got nothing. Then, she pushed Duan Xiaolou¡¯s arms and said, ¡°I can¡¯t find the vulnerary for you. Let me go now! There are many red veins in your eyes. I must help you...¡±

    ¡°Heal me in my arms, Qingyi.¡± Duan Xiaolou interrupted her and asked, ¡°Please let me hold you for a while. It¡¯s really hard to wait for you toe back to me. I know. You need to leave here, right? You¡¯re engaged to another man, right?¡± He surrounded her with the fragrance of pear blossom and made her indulge in it.

    He Danggui gave up running away andy on his chest lightly. At this time, she became very honest as she never did before and said, ¡°Yes. Although I always think about you and feel sad when seeing you being like this, I¡¯m already...¡± She didn¡¯t say the name of Meng Xuan clearly by covering her mouth in haste. ¡°I¡¯m already engaged to ¡®Mu Xian¡¯. Moreover, every time I see him, I feel happy. I also care about him and respect him very much so I believe we will live a peaceful life.¡±

    ¡°I see. You care about and respect Mr. Mu and feel happy with him.¡± Duan Xiaolou said slowly, ¡°What about me? How do you feel every time you see me? Will you feel unsafe if you marry me?¡±

    He Danggui struggled once anxiously and pleaded, ¡°Let me find the bottle of vulneraries left by Master Lu and bind up your wound again. Then, we can talk while lying quietly like this, okay?¡±

    ¡°The vulneraries are here.¡± Duan Xiaolou showed her his left hand and replied, ¡°It fell out of your sleeve when you carried me and I picked it up.¡±

    He Danggui began to recall what happened just now. She carried Duan Xiaolou who was tall and heavy with difficulty while he, in a a¡±, put one of his arms on her chest. She felt ufortable and pushed it twice but she still couldn¡¯t move it away. Thinking his palm got hurt and he was suffering from Qi Deviation, she decided to ignore it. However, it turned out that he did it on purpose! He wasn¡¯t that heavy before. When she pulled him on the tree three years ago, he wasn¡¯t very heavy... Now she realized Duan Xiaolou would also be a rascal.

    ¡°Give it to me now!¡± She tried to wrest the bottle of vulneraries from his palm but failed. Then, she kept a straight face and admonished, ¡°First, you shouldn¡¯t hurt your body randomly because it¡¯s the most basic filial piety. Second, your colleagues and friends are missing. To send you the bottle of vulneraries, Master Lu wasted some time he should¡¯ve spent on saving lives and got drenched. His face became horrible as well. Thus, you shouldn¡¯t let him down. Third and foremost, everyone in the vi has been missing but it will be hard for Master Lu to save them alone. You should recover soon and go to him to offer help. Therefore...¡± She tried to get the medicine bottle as big as a walnut again but she still failed. She asked in anger, ¡°Are you giving it to me or not? I¡¯ll leave you alone if you keep doing this!¡±

    Duan Xiaolou¡¯s eyes were filled with red veins now. He finally couldn¡¯t hold on and closed his eyes but he still clenched the medicine bottle. He negotiated with her, ¡°Answer me three questions and I will give it to you, or I would rather leave my right hand to be maimed.¡±

    It was weird. The vulneraries in his palm were for his wound but it looked like he was threatening He Danggui with her life. He said that seriously and He Danggui felt anxious. Neither of them sensed anything strange. He Danggui pleaded, ¡°Two or three sinews of your hand are broken. We can¡¯t stall anymore. Saving your hand is like putting out a fire. My precious, you¡¯re already a marquis now so please stop being childish and overlooking your injury.¡±

    ¡°Question one,¡± Duan Xiaolou ignored her pleading and asked with his eyes closed, ¡°are you happier when you see me or when you¡¯re with Mr. Mu? Will you choose me or him if you get a second chance?¡±

    ¡°There are two questions.¡± He Danggui reminded him.

    ¡°Answer me!¡±

    ¡°I...¡± She bit her lip once and replied carefully, ¡°When I was with you before, all my worries could be swept away and I was happier than I had ever been. This time, however, when I met you and learned from others what had happened to you recently, I felt sad for you. Let me apply the vulneraries for you first, okay?¡± In fact, she still felt happy now. As long as she heard his voice and saw his face, her heart kept pounding. She hadn¡¯t felt so excited for a long time.

    But she couldn¡¯t say such sweet words even though she was manipted by some evil ¡°magic power¡± and forced to be honest. ¡°Gentlemen stay cautious even though they are alone.¡± ¡°People¡¯s whispers are like thunder to God and their secret movements will all be seen atst.¡± She heard of these sayings before. Since she had been engaged to Meng Xuan, she shouldn¡¯t change her mind. When she stayed with a man in the same room, she should presume that Meng Xuan was also there. Only in this way could she face Meng Xuan without feeling guilty after she went back to Yangzhou City.

    ¡°If you didn¡¯t meet him, would you marry me?¡± Duan Xiaolou asked his second question.

    He Danggui stared at him nkly and replied, ¡°There¡¯s no ¡®if¡¯. He is waiting for me at home now. I should keep my words, especially to him.¡± She felt anxious and fluttered as soon as she thought Meng Xuan might ¡°cry piteously¡± for medicine in her bedroom like a weak but arrogant man. He must¡¯ve been worried since she had been missing for five days.

    ¡°Then, if I kill him, will you avenge his death on me and kill me, Qingyi?¡±

    With her eyes wide open, He Danggui asked seriously, ¡°But why? Why do you have to kill him? Can¡¯t you just let me go and wish me a happy marriage since I¡¯ve found my love? You did it when you returned to the capital two years ago, didn¡¯t you?¡±

    Hearing what she said, Duan Xiaolou opened his eyes abruptly and held the medicine bottle to his eyes. While examining it, he said slowly, ¡°You got two answers wrong so I can¡¯t give it to you.¡± Then, he threw the round white medicine bottle out of his hand. It hit the hard ice wall and broke into pieces. The blue powder in it spilled on the ground. Looking at He Danggui who was too shocked to say anything, he announcedcently, ¡°You¡¯re the one who makes my right hand maim. I want you to feel guilty for the rest of your life.¡±

    After throwing the bottle and saying this, he finally closed his eyes with satisfaction, breathed steadily, and fell asleep.

    Since they parted in Yangzhou City two years ago, he almost hadn¡¯t slept because he was afraid that he might recall what they had been through before He Danggui and he ¡°broke up peacefully¡±. It was nothing rare for martial arts experts to skip sleep. As long as they used proper methods and adjusted their breaths regrly, they didn¡¯t have to sleep. However, these days Duan Xiaolou had no time to adjust his breaths or take a break. He used the ice mask to soothe his tiredness before but since it had been removed now, he couldn¡¯t hide his weariness anymore and his eyes were full of red veins.

    He thought she didn¡¯t know how to leave the icehouse or swim out of theke so this time she would never be able to leave him. While thinking about this, he fell asleep with ease. He had the best sleep he had had in these two years and began to dream as soon as he closed his eyes. He even snored slightly.

    Without being held by Duan Xiaolou¡¯s arms, He Danggui stumbled out of the bed and ran to where the blue powder spilled. She recognized that was the best Sinew-reconnecting cream that could reconnect people¡¯s sinews, promote tissue regeneration, and stop bleeding. It was a secret vulnerary from western Hunan Province. Thus, she took out her dagger hastily and wiped it with the hemline of her robe. Then, she used it to scrape the powder off the ground carefully and put it on her handkerchief. While scraping it, she couldn¡¯t help weeping. Why?

    Why did they always hurt themselves badly? Why did he use his bleeding wound to bluff her and threaten her? What should she do with him? Duan Xiaolou was still childish and Meng Xuan always liked to act coquettishly. She met the two innocent and puerile men identally and both of them loved her. Was she lucky or not?

 Chapter 385 - That was all because of love

    <h4>Chapter 385 That was all because of love</h4>

    After collecting all the Sinew-reconnecting cream spilled on the ground, He Danggui felt relieved. Fortunately, the ice ground was very clean and would never melt so the medicine hadn¡¯t been tainted and could still be used. Duan Xiaolou made a fuss but it didn¡¯t cause any terrible results. He said she got wrong answers when she said she should keep her words and marry Meng Xuan and she wanted him to wish her a happy marriage so he threw the medicine bottle as a punishment for her.

    However, the wrong answers for Duan Xiaolou were the right ones and the promise for Meng Xuan and her. Maybe theirmon rebirth experiences enabled Meng Xuan and her to be the birds of the same kind and the right answer for each other so they met a few times fatefully this life even though they had been strangers in their previous lives and now, they couldn¡¯t live without each other. But why did Duan Xiaolou be like this? What eerie skill had he practiced? Would it sap his will?

    She saw the trace of blue waves in his eyes in some instant. Moreover, he could use the skill of invisibility and manipte others to make them keep telling the truth. It was indeed the best skill set for Imperial Guards. He even used these skills on her. Should she exim that one should be given a different look even though there were only three days of separation? Although she was sophisticated, she hadn¡¯t ever heard of such an irresistible and gruesome skill that could force people to tell truth. Even a gossipy man like Bai Yangbai hadn¡¯t mentioned any skill like this before.

    ¡°Duan Xiaolou? My... my precious?¡± He Danggui covered her mouth as soon as she called him that and felt embarrassed. She didn¡¯t know when she could stop speaking contrary to her thoughts. ¡°My precious¡± should only be said by Guan Yun and Ling Miaoyi. He Danggui couldn¡¯t bear to call him that at all.

    Duan Xiaolou didn¡¯t give her any response. Obviously, he was in a deep sleep and his steady breathing made her feel he hadn¡¯t been asleep for three years and was also slightly like the ¡°sleeping beauty¡± Qing¡¯er talked about before who would keep sleeping and need to be woken up by the right person with some special methods.

    She thought, ¡°Sure enough, he is more like the man he used to be while sleeping.¡± Meanwhile, she nced out of the icehouse unconsciously. Now, people in Baisha Mountain Vi had been missing and no one could watch or detain her anymore. It was the perfect time for her to escape, wasn¡¯t it? She held the right hand of Duan Xiaolou carefully, removed the gauze on it, applied the medicine to it, and bound it up again. She moved extremely cautiously, lest she might wake him up and ruin her chance to escape.

    After finishing binding up his wound, she looked at Duan Xiaolou who was sleeping again before lifting her robe, turning around, and creeping toward the door...

    ¡°Don¡¯t go. If you leave, I¡¯ll die...¡± Duan Xiaolou said this while snoring.

    He Danggui was shocked and had a guilty conscience. She looked back at him and found he was still sleeping so she encouraged herself to take a risk, ¡°Stay calm. Don¡¯t flutter. I should get back to Yangzhou City as soon as possible and consult with Meng Xuan. Imperial Guards already knew I was with the traitors so I can¡¯t stay in Yangzhou City anymore.¡± Her hands and feet got sweaty while she was creeping. She was so nervous...

    ¡°You can run but you can¡¯t hide. Kings have long arms. Do you really think you can escape?¡± He talked in his sleep again while snoring, but He Danggui was resigned and had to admit that she had already lost the chance to escape.

    She looked back at Duan Xiaolou who seemed to be having a sweet dream now, but obviously, he was awake. Why didn¡¯t he sleep? His eyes were full of red veins, weren¡¯t they? He was just like a big child that always made people worry. He Danggui was the worst at dealing with children and was often at the end of her rope before them. She thought children were much shrewder than adults. Staring at Duan Xiaolou¡¯s calm face, she became in a daze.

    Anyway, she failed him. No matter who was right or wrong or who became excessively greedy, in the final analysis, that was all because of love. If he didn¡¯t love her, why would Duan Xiaolou pay lots of effort to frame people around her? What¡¯s more, he didn¡¯t have to do that. As long as he asked to go one step further in their rtionship by sleeping with her and she didn¡¯t refuse, she wouldn¡¯t be able to make up her mind easily to leave no matter how they argued in the future. He, however, didn¡¯t choose to do so. Thus, he did respect her, right? Bai Yangbai said Duan Xiaolou often crossed the wall and entered Luo¡¯s Mansion in thete night to watch her sleeping stealthily. If that was the truth, Duan Xiaolou must have gotten rid of such a thought immediately after he had it.

    After they broke up, an open-minded person like her had spent nearly one year before she finally moved on so he must¡¯ve spent a longer time. In other words, although they had broken up nominally, they still regarded each other as a lover in their hearts. The former was what the outsiders thought their rtionship was while thetter was the essence that only he and she could see.

    Being such ¡°imaginary lovers¡±, they still didn¡¯t rely on each other less or mitigate their possessiveness. Actually, those feelings were intensified instead because except for the shadows in their memories, they had nothing about each other. It was also why she thought she had betrayed Duan Xiaolou and his love. If the one that left and fell in love with another person first wasn¡¯t her but Duan Xiaolou, and if he married Guan Yun or anyone elseter and she heard from others he had be a happy husband, what would she feel even though she always held a generous attitude toward love and hoped he could live happily? Duan Xiaolou was a good man who was considerate, careful, and gentle and he loved her but she failed to be the woman who could bring him happiness...

    She left Duan Xiaolou, fell in love with Meng Xuan, and showed Duan Xiaolou her ¡°unfailing¡± love for Meng Xuan as well. Standing in Duan Xiaolou¡¯s shoes, she could understand why he reacted so fiercely. He must¡¯ve felt he had been abandoned and betrayed so he became vexatious and threatened her with his maimed hand.

    In the entanglement of their rtionship, one of them must be excluded. She had the final say and Duan Xiaolou was the one she chose to leave. She also felt the pain and was swayed when she saw him get hurt but only if she tolerated one and became cruel to another could she move on. She wasn¡¯t like the men in the world who had the right to be half-hearted and was energetic enough to love several people at a time. As a woman, she already had to rack her brains when she loved only one man.

    ¡°Duan Xiaolou, are you awake?¡± She decided to tell him her thoughts so she asked gently, ¡°Xiaolou, I have something to tell you. Can you hear me?¡±

    Duan Xiaolou seemed to be in a deep sleep and gave no response. His breathing and heartbeats were still steady.

    However, He Danggui guessed he was awake so she began to exin, ¡°I don¡¯t know what entric trick you have used on me so I failed to hold my tongue, but some of the words I said were not true. Just stop extorting my confession and I will tell you the important points of my thoughts, okay?¡±

    Duan Xiaolou still didn¡¯t give any response.

    Staring at his side face, He Danggui slightly believed he was indeed asleep. She could see the obvious tiredness and calmness covering the corners of his eyes and eyebrows. Tiredness and calmness were ipatible but they showed together on his face now. She lifted her robes, turned around, and walked toward the door. Her heart was pounding and she thought she could leave the icehouse first...

    ¡°You can try to walk out of the door if you dare. I¡¯ll let you feel regretful immediately.¡± Duan Xiaolou said in a cold voice, ¡°Actually, I don¡¯t have to warn you. You¡¯ll never escape from here. Haven¡¯t you felt strange before? This icehouse is underwater and its door is open but why doesn¡¯t the water rush in? If you¡¯re curious about it so much, you can take a look at the configuration outside and then, estimate if you can leave this ce alive.¡±

    His voice was cold and calm. It was as crisp as the crushed ice chiseled by a dagger and sounded very callous. However, instead of feeling offended or frightened, He Danggui found it fresh and interesting. It turned out Duan Xiaolou¡¯s tone would be like this when he talked with a cold face. She sensed the intriguing differences between his cold tone now and the soft tone he used when he was an easygoing gentleman before.

    ¡°So...¡± Turning around and smiling, He Danggui looked at Duan Xiaolou lying on the bed with his eyes closed and asked, ¡°Are you going to nab me and interrogate me in the prison after you recover?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t need to.¡± Duan Xiaolou replied, ¡°Before, you tried tomit suicide to stop yourself from calling his name. It was me that saved you by hurting myself and you almost scared me to death as well. Thus, you should take responsibility for it. From now on, you should break up with Mr. Mu and not go back to Yangzhou City again. Except for me, you can¡¯t look at any other man.¡± He said in a tough tone to notify her instead of consulting with her, ¡°If you don¡¯t want yourself and your family to be implicated by the traitors, you should go back to the capital with me and I¡¯ll help you settle down. Just rest here and wait to leave with me.¡±

    He Danggui lowered her head to tidy the torn hem of her shirt. It seemed she hadn¡¯t been scared by Duan Xiaolou¡¯s threat at all.

    Duan Xiaolou still kept his eyes closed for rest. Hey on his back while she was standing on the edge of the Ice Pool. He continued in a softer tone, ¡°I do this just to protect you. You¡¯ll understand me in the future. If you¡¯re still unwilling to live with me, I will wait for two more years and find a house for you outside my mansion first. When you say yes and... and we have two children, I will take you to my mother and tell her I want to marry you...¡± His tone became softer and his threat gradually turned into a gentle statement, ¡°If you can still treat me as you did before, I will forgive you and we can still lead a happy life this life. You... you can think about it.¡±

    After keeping silent for a while, He Danggui replied, ¡°You know we can¡¯t get back together anymore. Why did you still say this? To be honest, a selfish woman like me always thinks for myself first but not you or him. Thus, I didn¡¯t try to cut my neck to stop myself from calling his name before. I wouldn¡¯t do such a stupid thing even in my previous life. The truth is that I noticed there was a third person in the icehouse except for Lu Jiangbei and me and that person was using a despicable trick to extort a confession from me.¡±

    Duan Xiaolou opened his eyes and turned his head to look at her. The red veins in his eyes hadn¡¯t been soothed at all.

    She sighed, looked into his eyes, and continued, ¡°Is the sachet used on your clothes regr ones specially made by your family? Three years have passed but it still doesn¡¯t change so I recognized it as soon as I smelled it. Moreover, I couldn¡¯t help guessing if you still loved me since you kept using the sachet with the same fragrance. Therefore, I took a risk and had a try. I was amazed when I knew the answer for my guess was yes.¡± She put on a smile, ¡°Thus, I didn¡¯t risk my life for anyone. I just pulled your leg. I¡¯m really sorry about what happened before.¡±

 Chapter 386 - The blood-red cinnabar mole was startling

    <h4>Chapter 386 The blood-red cinnabar mole was startling</h4>

    Duan Xiaolou sat up instantly with his eyes full of tiredness and surprise. He looked at He Danggui and asked in a hoarse voice, ¡°What do you mean by that?¡±

    ¡°I mean,¡± He Danggui told him the truth calmly, ¡°I didn¡¯t intend tomit suicide. I just pretended to cut my neck with the dagger to lure you out but I didn¡¯t expect that you would be so rash and grabbed the de of the dagger directly. I¡¯m really sorry. I didn¡¯t know it was made of dark steel that could cut everything effortlessly, or I wouldn¡¯t y that trick on you.¡± She looked at Duan Xiaolou with a smile and her canines were shown lightly as the portrait on the dagger did. ¡°Xiaolou, you¡¯re a generous man so you won¡¯t me me, will you?¡±

    Duan Xiaolou remained silent for a moment and then, copsed into the pillow whileughing wildly. A whileter, he said, ¡°That¡¯s the way Qingyi is. You¡¯re always crueler, more calcting, and more sedate than men. It was me who wasn¡¯t calm enough just now...¡±

    They looked at each other in silence for some time. He Danggui acquiesced in his words in some way because most of what she said was true. Duan Xiaolou was taking in the news that she didn¡¯t intend to sacrifice for that man but wanted to lure him out by pretending tomit suicide. After a while, he said with a bitter smile, ¡°I thought after I learned the skill, I could use it on you someday to get an upper hand and hear your true thoughts, but in the end, I lost to you again. You¡¯re much more brilliant and have put me to shame.¡± Finishing his words, Duan Xiaolou reclined back on the bed. He did fall asleep this time and didn¡¯t care if He Danggui would leave anymore.

    After hesitating for a while, He Danggui turned around and walked to the door of the icehouse. She saw Lu Jiangbei leave very easily before and she could swim well so she didn¡¯t want to give up without trying. Anyway, the die was cast. What could she say? She couldn¡¯t even find a solution satisfactory to one side, let alone the one to both sides.

    She trotted out of the naturally-formed ice gate of the icehouse and ran forward after passing a turning. She should run faster and leave here first... ¡°Gosh!¡± She screamed and took two steps back. How could it be?

    Was that a waterfall? Why would it appear underwater? The waterfall kept falling in front of the entrance of the icehouse and blocked the way out but the water didn¡¯t pour in. How could such a weird thing happen? Was this why Duan Xiaolou stopped watching her and let her escape? Lu Jiangbei, however, went in and out time and again and it seemed to be very easy. Why could he do that?

    She took a closer look and found the waterfall was eerie and vicious. It rushed onto the reefs on the bottom of theke and they immediately cracked. Some rubble popped out from them. There were fishes and shrimps in the water and they became broken bits as soon as they collided with the reefs. Nothing more could be seen at the bottom except for a light red current. How destructive it was! What on earth was this waterfall? How could it be so powerful?

    Staring at it from a distance for a while, He Danggui turned around and went back to the icehouse. She never doubted the devastating power of nature and also knew that many things in the world were supernatural and could hardly be understood. However, what baffled her was even if a waterfall that was 200 zhangs wide and 300 zhangs high fell down, it wouldn¡¯t be so powerful as this, would it?

    How deep was theke? Why was there such a waterfall falling down into it? Moreover, if the water kept rushing like this, a trench would be created here, wouldn¡¯t it? How would the bottom of theke still be level with the icehouse? It was incredible.

    Since she couldn¡¯t get through the waterfall, she gave up escaping and decided to eliminate the poison of ¡°He He Qi Ri Qing¡± in her body first. Imperial Guards wouldn¡¯t eat her alive, right? She didn¡¯t hurt them directly, anyway.

    With her question and presumption, she returned to the icehouse. Duan Xiaolou was sleeping so she made a fire at the corner and cooked a pot of Laba Full Moon Congee with the remaining ingredients. Such congee contained several more different grains than themon Laba Congee did. She added four boiled eggs that had been shelled and called them ¡°Full Moon¡±. When the congee was ready, she asked Duan Xiaolou several times but he gave no response. She didn¡¯t know whether he was angry at her or just too tired to get up. Since he didn¡¯t respond at all, she shrugged and walked away. Then, she filled a bowl with the congee and began to savor it. It tasted much better than the goat milk paste Lu Jiangbei had made for her before.

    The congee in her bowl contained eleven or twelve grains, each of which needed to be sowed in spring and couldn¡¯t be harvested until autumn. Now the essence of those grains was extracted and gathered in the purple bowl in her hand, with an egg on it. Great. Qing¡¯er and she could be well-to-do hand in hand, then.

    The simple taste brought people a good mood. After finishing the bowl of the congee, He Danggui felt she could breathe more smoothly. Then, she began to think about how she could persuade Imperial Guards to spare her and send her back to Yangzhou City safely. She did have some chips but she should decide whether to use them or not based on the situation. Judging from Lu Jiangbei¡¯s words, people in the Baisha Mountain Vi seemed to have been attacked and missing. If it caused turmoil, she just needed to wait and take action at the right time.

    If they were all right in the end, she would negotiate with Lu Jiangbei in another way and give him more useful information in exchange for her freedom. He had paid much effort to save her and restated he wouldn¡¯t hurt her. It seemed he wanted to cotton up to her very much. However, she still didn¡¯t believe she would be of use to him or should be treated so well by him even though she tried hard to think. About the weird reasons behind it, she had to figure them out in the future. Compared with her new ¡°uncle¡±, Gao Jue, her ¡°brother-inw and master¡±, was more reliable and easier to get along with. She hoped he could stay safe...

    ¡°You just left me alone because I didn¡¯t answer you!¡± Duan Xiaolou shouted to her abruptly and looked livid, which scared He Danggui.

    Looking at him in shock while he rose from the bed and made a fuss, she asked slowly, ¡°You¡¯re awake. Would you like some congee?¡±

    Duan Xiaolou found fault with her by saying, ¡°You don¡¯t care about me at all! You just called me several times perfunctorily. Didn¡¯t you know that I had eaten nothing these three days? Would you still snub me like this if I were him? Is this how you treat the one that has saved your life?¡±

    He Danggui had nothing to say in reply to his usation. After he finished the fuside of questions, she exined slowly, ¡°First, the congee is still simmered in the pot. It will be more and more fragrant and viscous. Even four hourster it will still be warm and right for you to eat after you get up. Second, you looked so tired and your vital energy must¡¯ve been exhausted. I understand people that can¡¯t sleep well are often bad-tampered so I didn¡¯t dare to wake you up. If you want to eat the congee now, I¡¯ll fill a bowl with it for you, okay?¡±

    Duan Xiaolou looked furious. Seeing her being so gentle and considerate, he became more willful. He tilted his head and said with a nasal sound, ¡°I want you to feed me.¡±

    Then, He Danggui put aside the bowl she had used and filled a big cup with the congee. They were inck of kitchenware at the bottom of theke so all utensils could be used as bowls. Except for the lobed bowl with eight pleats she used before, from which liquids would spill easily, and the purple bronze alms bowl she used to eat congee just now that was often used by monks, the big blue porcin cup in her hand now was the only usable container. She added two eggs to the cup and the congee almost spilled. Then, she handed it to Duan Xiaolou but he didn¡¯t take it. She kept holding the cup in the air and her fingertips became red and numb because of the hotness but she still didn¡¯t put it down on the bed or the Ice Pool.

    After they kept being like this for a while, Duan Xiaolou asked again, ¡°Feed me as I did to you these days. I¡¯ve almost be your spoon. Since you used me happily back then, it should be my turn to be served now.¡± While saying this, he even blushed.

    Hearing this, He Danggui thought of what Lu Jiangbei had said. Duan Xiaolou was true but as soon as she remembered what he had done to her in front of those men when she was in aa and neither Gao Jue nor Lu Jiangbei had tried to stop him, she became indignant. After stuffing the cup into Duan Xiaolou¡¯s left hand, she said in fury, ¡°Eat it or leave it. Whatever you like. I¡¯m a prisoner but not a maid.¡±

    Duan Xiaolou didn¡¯t expect that she wasn¡¯t embarrassed or timid at all but became angry. Meanwhile, he failed to hold the hot porcin cup tightly. When the fragrant ¡°Laba Full Moon Congee¡± was about to be spilled on the bed, He Danggui caught the cup and pushed it back into his hand. A bit of the hot congee was spilled on her forearm so she frowned and rolled up her sleeve to check on it in a hurry, but when she saw her forearm, she was so shocked that she couldn¡¯te to herself until a long while passed.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Duan Xiaolou realized he had made a mistake so he became less arrogant. He asked carefully, ¡°Did you get burned? You¡¯re not full, are you? How about I feed you as an apology?¡± The word ¡°feed¡± could mean much. Duan Xiaolou stared at her with his bright eyes full of eagerness and expectation, which made him look like an animal.

    He Danggui came to herself and nced at him indifferently. After saying ¡°Eat it up. Don¡¯t waste food¡±, she turned around without hesitation and walked to a corner far from the Ice Pool where an ice sculpture stood. She lifted the sleeve on her right arm and took a closer look. The shock and bewilderment in her eyes couldn¡¯t be hidden anymore.

    A round cinnabar mole that was as red as blood and mboyant petals was seen on her right arm instead of the left one. The position where the moley was still the same and it still looked like what it had been. It was removed to the middle of Duan Xiaolou¡¯s eyebrows by him with a kiss before but now, it appeared on her right arm! What on earth was it?

    Looking at the red mole that seemed to be smiling at her, He Danggui felt fluttered inexplicably. Judging from this, what she had guessed before was right. The mole was a living thing. It could get through people¡¯s skin and ¡°travel¡± from one person¡¯s body to another! What a weird and unreasonable thing! Why did Qi Xuanyu do this to her? Although he had persuaded Zhu Quan with effort not to marry her, she and he never met each other. They were still strangers before she ran into him that night, but why did he use such a vicious skill on her?

    She made a long sigh after touching the mole once. ¡°Did Qi Xuanyu regard me as another ¡®Luo Baiqian¡¯? Is this cinnabar mole another mysterious thing that can be used to connect with ghosts?¡± She immediately got rid of the worst idea she thought about.

    By some chance, she lowered her head and kissed the mole in the way how Duan Xiaolou did before. One, two, three.

    After kissing it three times, the cinnabar mole disappeared again! She took the dagger out of her chest, removed its sheath, and looked at her face in the shiny de. Then, she saw a beautiful face of a youngdy who was in a daze and there was a blood-red cinnabar mole between her eyebrows. He Danggui had never imagined she would look so seductive one day.

    At the same time, a man rushed into the icehouse and shouted in great pain, ¡°Mr. Duan, help! Please run!¡±

    The man¡¯s body was covered with blood and he was dying. He Danggui recognized him. He was the middle-aged man from Nihon in the Imperial Guards and they always called him ¡°Xue Xiao¡±.

 Chapter 387 - Took the risk together like destined lovers

    <h4>Chapter 387 Took the risk together like destined lovers</h4>

    Three unforeseen events happened. First, a glossy cinnabar mole showed between He Danggui¡¯s eyebrows just after the Virginity Mark on her forearm disappeared again.

    Second, Xue Xiao, the Nihon man, seemed to have been severely injured. Tottering into the icehouse, he shouted in a hoarse voice for help and asked Duan Xiaolou to run at the same time.

    The third one was the worst.

    Happily finishing the Laba Congee made by He Danggui, Duan Xiaolou squinted at the slim figure behind the corner and couldn¡¯t help smiling. Suddenly, Xue Xiao rushed in with his blue robe covered in blood. Duan Xiaolou was frightened and immediately got out of the bed to hold him while he knelt on the ground. Then, Duan Xiaolou asked, ¡°Are you all right? What happened? Tell me in detail!¡±

    He Danggui didn¡¯t notice the man at first. She was still looking into the de of the dagger to confirm she got a mole between her eyebrows. ¡°Thud!¡± She heard something falling abruptly so she turned her head to check in shock. Then, she saw Duan Xiaolou lying still on the ground while Xue Xiao was smiling weirdly beside him. Judging from his countenance, he wasn¡¯t like an injured man at all.

    Therefore, He Danggui realized something instantly so she screamed, ¡°Stop! Don¡¯t kill him! We can talk this over!¡± After catching the man¡¯s attention, she asked seriously, ¡°Sir, which sect are you from? Tell me who your boss is. Maybe I know him or her. Don¡¯t hurt Duan Xiaolou. I will save him. I have enough chips.¡± While saying this, she still hid half of her body behind the ice sculpture. Duan Xiaolou had torn her robe apart before and she only found a long cloak to wear after that. Behind the cloak, she only wore a in silk shirt that was thinner than middle clothes. She could meet Lu Jiangbei while dressing like this but not anyone other than him.

    Thus, when Xue Xiao stood up and walked to her, she shouted in an instant, ¡°Stop! Please just stand there while you¡¯re talking to me. I... I haven¡¯t changed my clothes because I just got up.¡± Feeling slightly fluttered, she clenched the dagger and looked at Xue Xiao in timidity who had a purpleplexion. She couldn¡¯t figure out how powerful he was or what he wanted to do.

    Actually, He Danggui¡¯s internal force and kungfu skills were already slightly more brilliant than those of Xue Xiao. She had been a martial arts expert. After all, she got all the internal force of Du Yao before unfortunately. However, first, she still didn¡¯t recover yet. Not only her limbs were weak, she also felt disconcerted as well. Second, she didn¡¯t dress decently now. If an expert like her had to fight with a hooligan while she was nearly nude, she might still be defeated because women were always thin-skinned and cared much about their virginity. What was the most important was that He Danggui only got the skills but not the strong mental quality an expert should have. Because she had been weak in her previous life, she couldn¡¯t stop feeling self-abased or being afraid of fighting with others now.

    Although he was vicious and used some unknown trick to make Duan Xiaolou pass out before, Xue Xiao turned into a gentleman suddenly and stood there as He Danggui said. He said with a smile, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, Miss He. I will never dare to do that if you don¡¯t allow me toe closer. Aside from what you did to Du Yao that day, no man dares to even just look at you since Mr. Duan cares about you so much.¡± Saying this, he, however, craned his neck to the left to peek at her behind the ice sculpture. Instead of paying attention to her strange clothes, he noticed the shining de of the dagger in her hand. He put on an anxious look and eximed in a low voice while shaking his hands, ¡°I won¡¯t hurt you. Please put down that dagger now! How could ady use that? You may hurt yourself instead of killing anyone else!¡±

    Seeing him being so polite and worried instead of vignt after noticing the dagger, He Danggui felt it was weird. Just a momentter, she asked, ¡°Sir, could you tell me who you work for? We¡¯re already at your mercy and you can kill us whenever you want so you don¡¯t have to hide it from me.¡±

    Xue Xiao was slightly amazed and had a shortugh simr to the squeak of an owl. He replied while shaking his head, ¡°I was about to tell you that but after you asked me like this, I began to wonder if you still have any trick up your sleeve so...¡± He drew out thest syble as if he was pulling a dough before he made his decision and continued, ¡°I will take you away and leave Mr. Duan here but I don¡¯t know how long the anesthetic smoke will keep him asleep. Thus, I will nail him at his scap and lock him on the ice.¡± While saying this, he took a chain out of his sleeve.

    ¡°No!¡± He Danggui stopped him with her eyes wide open. Regardless of her wearing, she ran out from behind the ice sculpture and threw herself on Duan Xiaolou while shouting at Xue Xiao, ¡°You¡¯re from Nihon. How dare you hurt a marquis in our country? Once people knew it, it would be hard for you to stay no matter who your boss was!¡±

    Her words made sense so Xue Xiao was convinced and shaken instantly but he still said stubbornly, ¡°There¡¯s something you don¡¯t know, Miss He. I n to nail and lock Mr. Duan just because I revere him and don¡¯t want him to get hurt, or he will make a scene after he wakes up, won¡¯t he? Then, he will be injured more severely.¡± With the chain in his hands, he took several steps closer spitefully and continued while smiling, ¡°Miss He, if you want to be his destined lover and die with him, I will feel pleased for Mr. Duan and won¡¯t force you to break up. Instead, I will lock the two of you together and take you out of this ce. After people see you, you will have to marry Mr. Duan. After the head of our tower sees you and bes angry, maybe Mr. Duan will be implicated and executed as well.¡±

    The head of their tower? Which tower was he talking about and who was the head?

    He Dangguiy on the chest of Duan Xiaolou and held him so tightly that he frowned even though he was in aa. She paused to calm herself down and said, ¡°Judging from what you said, does that head know me? But I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve made friends with any head of any tower. Could you tell me the name so I could pay my respect to him or her?¡±

    Xue Xiao touched his chin and fixed his dark brown eyes on her fair face for a while. Then, he praised her while smiling, ¡°Miss He, the flower decoration between your eyebrows indeed adds the finishing touch. It makes you look more beautiful than you used to be. Mr. Liao praised you as ¡®the eleventh most beautifuldy in the Ming Dynasty. From my perspective, with the red flower decoration, you can rank higher.¡± After saying this, he already made up his mind so he continued, ¡°I¡¯ll give you three names. If you can recognize one of them, I won¡¯t lock Mr. Duan and you.¡±

    He Danggui nodded and replied, ¡°Go ahead. I¡¯m all ears.¡±

    Xue Xiao began to list the names, ¡°Sima Mingyue, Shangguan Mingri, and Guan Yuanbei, the Master of Tea.¡± He asked slowly while observing He Danggui, ¡°Do you know anyone of them?¡±

    He Danggui put on a smile that became brighter as the water in ake rippled in circles. It made her look more friendly. She sighed and replied while shaking her head, ¡°It turns out that you¡¯re a member of Unit Three & Seven of the Wuying Tower. Why didn¡¯t you tell me this earlier? I was scared for nothing just now. It¡¯s indeed a conflict arising among friends. We failed to recognize each other.¡±

    Hearing this, Xue Xiao looked up and down at her in shock as well as confusion and said, ¡°Sure enough, you know Wuying Tower. Is anyone of your friends working there or are you a member...¡± He paused and stared at her warily, ¡°You¡¯re wily. Are you cheating me?¡±

    He Danggui smiled and before she could reply, Duan Xiaolou whoy on the ground suddenly woke up. He saw a fair face with a cinnabar mole between the eyebrows above his nose as soon as he opened his eyes so he felt pleased and smiled. However, he immediately thought of what happened before he passed out so he roared and sat up. He Danggui was pushed away by him and Xue Xiao took several steps backward in shock. Otherwise, before he made a fuss, Duan Xiaolou fell again and couldn¡¯t sit up even though he supported himself with his elbows.

    ¡°Are you all right, Duan Xiaolou? Stay still, please!¡± He Danggui held his head and let him lie on her legs. She asked anxiously, ¡°Are you okay?¡± Meanwhile, she reached out to take his pulse.

    Xue Xiao felt relieved and exined to them, ¡°The anesthetic smoke I used is called ¡®Three-day Anesthetic Herb¡¯ which is miraculous and always used to sedate kungfu masters. The more brilliant the victim is, the stronger its effect will be. Moreover, there¡¯s no antidote for it. Victims will have to wait for its effect to wear off. I stuffed lots of Three-day Anesthetic Herbs into the bamboo tube and burn them just now. Then, I blew the smoke to Mr. Duan to sedate him when he was off guard.¡±

    ¡°Three-day Anesthetic Herb?¡± He Danggui withdrew her hand from Duan Xiaolou¡¯s wrist. Her expression was very ¡°weird¡±. She frowned hard and the corner of her mouth twitched. It couldn¡¯t be figured out if she intended to cry or smile. It seemed she was implying ¡°Are you kidding me? I invented Three-day Anesthetic Herb in my previous life when I was 25. How could anyone fabricate it and use it to trick and hurt people when I¡¯m only 15 now? And I became its victim as well! Who produced and spread it? Didn¡¯t he or she know the original inventor should be respected?¡±

    Seeing her being interested in it, Xue Xiao nodded and exined to her, the inventor of Three-day Anesthetic Herb, in detail the effect of such herb, ¡°Three-day Anesthetic Herb is used especially on kungfu experts. After people inhale the smoke of it, they will feel half of their bodies or their whole bodies are numb when they try to circte zhenqi and exert skills if they have the powerful internal energy that only people having practiced kungfu for 60 years will have. The effect of the herb won¡¯t be mitigated until three days pass so it¡¯s called ¡®Three-day Anesthetic Herb¡¯. It¡¯s a secret drug invented by our Wuying Tower. I was afraid that I couldn¡¯t sedate Mr. Duan with it at once so I added some other high-quality anesthetic onto the top of the bamboo tube. Then, he passed out immediately. When he tried to fight back, he circted his zhenqi so the smoke of the herb also circted faster in his blood vessels. Although I inhaled some smoke as well, I didn¡¯t have the internal energy as powerful as his so I wouldn¡¯t be sedated.¡±

    After teaching her the knowledge about Three-day Anesthetic Herb, he smiled at He Danggui and continued, ¡°Miss He, do you get it now? Mr. Duan can¡¯t reverse the situation or protect you anymore. What¡¯s more, I saw through you. You won¡¯t be a member of the Wuying Tower because you even don¡¯t know Three-day Anesthetic Herb which everyone in the Tower has been given this year. You¡¯re a liar.¡±

    He Danggui wanted tough loud after hearing this. She didn¡¯t know Three-day Anesthetic Herb? She was an outsider? What was going on? Why would she, the inventor of the herb, be misunderstood? Why would he confuse right and wrong? Three years ago, she produced Three-day Anesthetic Herb with some cheap medicinal materials bought in Tu¡¯er Town. She nned to use it on Ning Yuan who was unidentified, lived in Luo¡¯s Mansion, and had a grudge against her. However, when she attended the banquet held in Xin Rong Hallter, an assassin wearing a mask intruded into the hall. She thought of the Three-day Anesthetic Herb she brought so she made everyone smell the smoke of it while she was brewing tea and burning incense. Atst two kungfu masters had been sedated and they were Meng Xuan and the assassin. How would she not know Three-day Anesthetic Herb?

    Why was there Three-day Anesthetic Herb from another time in the Wuying Tower? It could be exined easily. In Lord Ning¡¯s Mansion now, there was a man carrying a piece of the soul of Lord Ning from another time. It must¡¯ve been Lord Ning who thought of the form of producing Three-day Anesthetic Herb and he imparted it to people in the Wuying Tower so they could be equipped with such a secret weapon that could kill kungfu masters easily ten years in advance. How hateful! They even used what she invented on her!

    However, what Xue Xiao said was right. There was no antidote for Three-day Anesthetic Herb. The more powerful the victim was, the more difficult it would be to mitigate the effect of the herb in his body. This was also the most valuable point of the herb because Wuying Tower¡¯s enemies were always tough. He Danggui took a deep breath and began to think while looking down at the ground. What should she do? How could she escape? How could she trick this man from Nihon? How could she rescue Duan Xiaolou and others? But then again Lu Jiangbei and Duan Xiaolou had already known her secret. If they could shut up forever, it would be better for her.

    After taking two deep breaths, she suddenly got a good idea.

 Chapter 388 - Everyone could see the covetousness

    <h4>Chapter 388 Everyone could see the covetousness</h4>

    He Danggui cleared her throat and chatted with Xue Xiao in Japanese about the customs in Nihon, including people¡¯s diet, costumes, furniture, and decoration in their courtyards.

    She knew she could speak thenguage fluently and had ever talked to some men from Nihon in the Wuying Tower sessfully in her previous life. However, one day Qing¡¯er heard that she could speak Japanese and kept asking her to show it. She did that but after hearing what she said, Qing¡¯er rolled in the aisles. Thus, she got a psychological shadow and never told anyone she could speak Japanese again. She wouldn¡¯t say ¡°Ohayou¡± or ¡°Konnichiwa¡±, which meant ¡°Good morning¡± and ¡°Good afternoon¡±, again if she didn¡¯t have to.

    Xue Xiao looked at her aghast after she just said four or five sentences. He thought, ¡°This woman can speak my mothernguage! Is she also sent here by the authorities in Nihon?¡± But after she said more, he found many mistakes in her wording and grammar. Even a four-year-old child in Nihon could speak it better than she did. It was indeed brave of her to talk to him like this.

    However, thinking from another perspective, he would be offered timely help if a local person in the Central in who knew Japanese could talk to him when he, as a foreigner, just arrived here and was eager to adapt himself to the new environment. While thinking about this, he felt nostalgic because of He Danggui¡¯s broken Japanese so he couldn¡¯t help answering her in Japanese as well. One of them said, ¡°Ohayou¡± while the other replied with ¡°Konnichiwa¡± but they didn¡¯t feel awkward because Xue Xiao was tolerant and He Danggui didn¡¯t realize she had made mistakes at all given that she hadn¡¯t learned thenguage well.

    Thus, just because her words had triggered his nostalgia, they called a truce for now even though they were at daggers drawn a moment before. They chatted happily. He Danggui tickled his ears by introducing to him the scenery and customs in the Central in. She had recited these before so she could talk about them very fluently. Except for feeling amazed, Xue Xiao was also very considerate. He dispensed withplicated sentence patterns and talked to her slowly so that she could understand him better.

    Although Duan Xiaolou who was lying on the floor couldn¡¯t move freely, he was conscious. At first, he bitterly regretted what he did. After having believed Xue Xiao, a mysterious man from Nihon, he not only made himself suffer but also implicated He Danggui who had nothing to do with this. He would rather die first than be crazy for seeing her get hurt. As soon as he thought that a weakdy like He Danggui was about to be captured and bullied by a vicious man, Duan Xiaolou couldn¡¯t wait to sit up but the anesthetic was so strong that he failed to do that after trying hard twice.

    He fell back onto the legs of He Danggui again. When he thought he reached an impasse, he suddenly heard He Danggui saying something he couldn¡¯t understand at all in a euphonic voice. Judging from the cadences, her words must¡¯ve been meaningful. While he was curious, Xue Xiao began to reply to her with strange words. After hearing their conversation for a while, he finally realized that He Danggui was talking to Xue Xiao in Japanese.

    Looking up at her in shock, Duan Xiaolou wondered what happened? Why could she speak Japanese? How many secrets did she have? What else did he still not know about her? Meanwhile, He Danggui put one of her fair hands on his face and he smelled a delicate aroma. She massaged the acupoints around his eyes with her cool fingertips while he closed his eyes involuntarily and rested his head on her legs quietly to enjoy the ephemeral gentleness.

    Duan Xiaolou couldn¡¯t understand what they were talking about at all but judging from the expectant looks on their faces, he could tell they had a pleasant conversation. They seemed to be relishing the moment and looked very sweet... Duan Xiaolou rued that he hadn¡¯t learned Japanese, or he wouldn¡¯t be so helpless and distraught now!

    In fact, He Danggui and Xue Xiao were talking about ¡°eating fried sauries with cooked rice that had been soaked in advance and drinking sake after the meal¡±. That was why they were expectant. Duan Xiaolou misunderstood them.

    About why He Danggui talked to Xue Xiao in her poor Japanese, which had made her be mocked by Qing¡¯er, first, she wanted to trick Xue Xiao to make him less vignt and make her words more convincing; second, she didn¡¯t want Duan Xiaolou to know what they were talking about because there were many secrets only she knew from the previous life. She could use those secrets to cheat a stranger like Xue Xiao but if Duan Xiaolou who knew her well heard them, he would delve into the reasons why she was so well-informed.

    He Danggui covered Duan Xiaolou¡¯s face with her hand and sighed in her heart. Seeing him goggling at her, she knew how surprised he was about her ¡°mastery¡± of Japanese. She would have to make up an excuse to exin to him in the future.

    However, the priority right now was that she should gain Xue Xiao¡¯s trust and figure out the situation outside. Would Imperial Guards be annihted by the Wuying Tower? That couldn¡¯t be possible. Zhu Quan got lots of restrictions on where he could go and how he should act. It was hard for him to gain support. Why would he use it to fight against Imperial Guards or members of the Changye Tower instead of saving it for defeating Zhu Di, Lord Yan, and Zhu Yunwen, the Eldest Legitimate Grandson? It wasn¡¯t wise of him to annihte them because they worked for Zhu Yuanzhang, his father. He should have wanted to take them under his wing for his own benefit, shouldn¡¯t he? Moreover, when Lu Jiangbei mentioned Zhu Quan, his tone seemed to imply that he admired Zhu Quan very much and they were friends. Why would they suddenly fight against each other?

    He Danggui was puzzled but she didn¡¯t stop reciting the content in ssics of the Food in Ind Countries. Seeing Xue Xiao being amazed, she felt slightlycent. It seemed her Japanese wasn¡¯t that broken. Even a native man had been bluffed by her, hadn¡¯t he?

    When she almost finished the recitation, she took a breath and started to talk to Xue Xiao with great confidence in her halting Japanese again, ¡°Back then, the overlord dispatched 15 people to the Central in in batches to carry out several secret tasks. Each batch consisted of three people and they were responsible for one task. Some infiltrated into the Northwest Army as people from Nihon and some lurked in the South by disguising themselves as local people in the Central in. I guess you must¡¯ve been a member of the former group. You joined the Northwest Army and were taken under Lord Ning¡¯s wingter. Afterward it took you much effort to participate in Imperial Guards as ¡®a member with special admission¡¯. Am I right, Mr. Xue Xiao?¡±

    Hearing this, Xue Xiao became startled and began to gasp. He looked at He Danggui in terror as if she was a ghost and stuttered in Chinese, ¡°You... I...¡± After calming himself down, he regained the ability to speak his mother tongue. He asked, ¡°Why did you know these things? Although you can speak broken Japanese, I¡¯m certain that you will never be from Nihon. You¡¯re too young to be one of the 15 people set to the West.¡±

    While saying this, he receded to the back of an ice sculpture. It seemed he wanted to find somewhere to hide from her bright gaze. He Danggui was less than 15 years old but she exposed the deepest secret in his heart so easily. How could he not be frightened and suspicious that maybe one of the other 14 people in the team had been captured or had betrayed other members by exposing the secret they should keep together?

    Xue Xiao looked solemn and was extremely vignt. He Danggui was right. He was nothing like the other ordinary warriors from Nihon in the Wuying Tower who were gathered and brought back from Nihon to the Central in by Lord Ning in person. Instead, he got promoted when he ¡°ran into¡± Lord Ning in the twenties of Hongwu Period. In other words, he neither pledged loyalty to Imperial Guards or the emperor nor worked for the Wuying Tower or Lord Ning. His real boss was the ¡°overlord¡± in the North of his mothend. How would He Danggui know this confidential fact? Why could she speak Japanese?

    The more fluttered he became, the more ferocious he pretended to look like. Hiding behind the ice sculpture and ring at He Danggui, he showed only the upper part of his head and asked, ¡°Who are you? Why did you poke your nose into our secret? I won¡¯t be threatened by you. I can exert the best arts of lightness in the world and disappear anytime I want to!¡±

    He Danggui chuckled and replied, ¡°I¡¯ve never said I¡¯m an underling of the overlord, have I? Even if I want to impersonate anyone, it should be one lord¡¯s wife or daughter, right? Mr. Xue Xiao, you don¡¯t need to be so nervous. I¡¯m not a cannibal. Why do you want to disappear? What¡¯s more, I have nothing to do with the ¡®task¡¯ of you and your team members. Why don¡¯t you let me finish my words first? I heard you and the other 14 people in the team were all the nobility from the South of Nihon. You must¡¯ve suffered a lot on the way to the Central in.¡±

    Xue Xiaopressed his lips and his nostrils bulged. After staring at He Danggui for a while, he said, ¡°I don¡¯t trust you. You look wily. My mother told me the more beautiful a woman was, the more vicious and wilier she would be. Once I was caught off guard, she would kill me. Show me your ace in the hold now. Why would you know our secret? What do you want from me?¡±

    He Dangguipressed her lips as well and felt slightly ufortable. Xue Xiao was in his forties and looked like an awe-inspiring hero. But why did he say something like ¡°my mother said¡±? That was really boring. Hum, it was him who tried to hurt Duan Xiaolou and her first. He asked for this so she would trick him hard this time. Was she vicious or wily? She just wanted to find a way to protect herself and the man by her side. The situation now made her desperate. Who could tell the right or wrong sides?

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