Chapter 16, Chapter 16: Sang Ji, Chen Chi is the true ruler...

The moon was tinged with a pale white, its surface a dark bluish-black.

Liu Jiao's lantern flickered on and off.

She hurried toward the cubicle, gritting her teeth, hoping to reach this secluded and safe place before the lights went out.

Don't eat me, you bamboo viper sisters!

Liu Jiao reacted quickly. Having experienced this kind of thing too many times, she was no longer intimidated by honor or disgrace and immediately came up with a way to save herself.

But man proposes, God disposes.

The oil lamp suddenly flickered extremely fast, like will-o'-the-wisp, and after a few eerie flashes...

The lights went out.

I was plunged into complete, endless darkness.

Liu Jiao's five senses were magnified infinitely.

She could clearly hear the hissing sound of the snake's belly cutting through the grass village, heading straight for her.

My heart was pounding against the walls, and my mind was blank, as if I were about to die.

Oh my god, oh my god, sisters! Don't come any closer!

Wow! Bamboo sisters!!!

Liu Jiao broke out in a cold sweat. She gripped the lantern pole tightly, screaming inwardly as she tried to struggle in vain.

The instant your foot was lightly touched—

Never mind, let's fight!

Bamboo sisters, since you are heartless, don't blame me for being ruthless!

In a desperate attempt, Liu Jiao swung the lantern pole and slammed it hard onto the ground.

Even if she really couldn't see it clearly.

A muffled groan.

The imagined pain did not come.

Um?

Liu Jiao was surprised.

Hit! You hit him?!

Wow!

You weren't bitten?!

How could she hit something with such sharp reflexes?

"I'm so awesome!"

Liu Jiao secretly made a peace sign, unable to resist boasting to herself.

She secretly opened her eyes, which she had closed tightly in fear, intending to take a good look at the battle she had won so badly.

But he met a pair of cold, phoenix eyes.

"You're really awesome."

"His strength is gradually increasing."

The boy took a deep breath; a large bruise was clearly visible on the back of his sickly white neck, where he had been struck by the pole.

At this moment, he was holding a lantern in one hand to illuminate the surroundings, and in the other hand he was carrying the thoroughly dead body of the bamboo viper.

Liu Jiao: "..."

It is Sang Ji.

Liu Jiao's pole didn't hit a single hair on the bamboo viper, but it did pierce Sang Ji's back, who had saved her.

Abbreviation: Backstab.

Sang Ji said coldly and sarcastically.

The atmosphere became eerie.

Liu Jiao felt somewhat lost, unsure how to view Sang Ji.

He was the one who saved her time every time, yet he was also the one whose attitude she couldn't figure out, always being hot and cold.

A contradictory person.

"Thank you very much, Young Master Sang. I will never forget your kindness."

Liu Jiao took two steps back and thanked her politely.

But that was all; she didn't cling to him as tightly as before.

After thanking them, he was about to leave.

The enthusiasm of the past is gone.

"What are you going to do?" Sang Ji frowned slightly.

Liu Jiao continued walking without stopping: "Go and resolve this matter."

The incident of being locked in the chicken coop.

This was done intentionally; it was Xiulian.

Liu Jiao knew why Xiulian had bullied her:

Besides thinking she was a poor and ugly woman from out of town, the biggest reason was Chen Chi.

Chen Chi was good to her, and Xiu Lian liked Chen Chi, so she thought Chen Chi liked her.

Xiulian didn't like Chen Chiqian, and the worst thing she could do for Liu Jiao was to verbally humiliate her.

It wasn't until he developed feelings for Liu Jiao that his actions escalated from verbal attacks to physical confrontations.

After Liu Jiao explained once that Chen Chi didn't like her, she saw that Xiu Lian wouldn't listen and wasn't willing to say anything more.

Unexpectedly, today, for some unknown reason, Xiulian locked her in the chicken coop and even released poisonous snakes.

It's obvious it's because of Chen Chi again.

Xiulian always got angry because of him.

She was going to find Chen Chi and make him and Xiu Lian clarify that there was no romantic relationship between them.

Let Xiulian get rid of her resentment and resolve this matter quickly and thoroughly.

She is also at peace.

Sang Ji frowned: "Where to?"

"There's nothing to say."

Liu Jiao left the chicken coop as quickly as possible without lingering.

Sang Ji didn't say anything more, nor did he chase after him.

He only watched her back, his phoenix eyes silent.

*

Summer night, the Liu family home.

Bamboo grows tall, trees are dense, and insects chirp incessantly.

As Sang Ji casually flipped through the medicine, Liu Jiao was carrying a lantern, packing her bags, and about to leave, clearly preparing for a long journey.

She hurried along even before the sun had risen, indicating that the journey was not short.

Sang Ji just watched her go without asking any questions.

After she left, Sang Ji suddenly turned around, went straight into the house, and pulled Wangyou Jun up.

In the darkness, Forget-Worry-kun lay sprawled out in a sleeping position.

Suddenly, everything brightened up, and Wangyoujun thought it was dawn and that he had forgotten to close the curtains.

He was still sleepy and wanted to draw the curtains, so he opened his eyes—

He met Sang Ji, who was dressed in black and silently watching him with a lantern, face to face.

Under the lamplight, Sang Ji's high brow bones cast shadows. He tried his best to force what he thought was a friendly smile, and suddenly said:

"Come over here to discuss matters, stop sleeping."

That smile, that look, combined with that height and physique, is like...

Forget-Worry Lord: "..."

That frog is hilarious!!!

So, with dark circles under his eyes, Wangyoujun was pulled up by Sangji under the pretext of discussing official business.

Getting up in the middle of the night to work?

Forget-Me-Not wanted to cry but had no tears left; if only I hadn't come to visit relatives, sob sob sob.

Who would have thought I'd run into Sang Ji in this godforsaken place!

What do you do when you visit relatives and run into your direct supervisor who's busy with official business?!

His stunningly beautiful face is about to be ruined by the long hours!

He was just jealous that his skin was better than his rough-looking self!

Since Wangyoujun was sleeping in the attic, a quiet place, the two sat on the floor in front of the chessboard in the attic.

"Follow her closely. The main thing is to see where she goes and who she goes to see. The secondary thing is to help her speed up," Sang Ji instructed the shadow guards.

Forget-Worry Guy lay listlessly on the chessboard.

"Is our time really that tight? Why do you have to drag me out of bed in the middle of the night?"

"There's still more than half a month before the Gu family patriarch goes to the temple, what's the rush now?"

Why wake him up so early?

The Gu family patriarch's father was successfully brainwashed and sent to a temple, and the shadow guard also overheard that the Gu family patriarch would go with him.

By then, Sang Ji had already meticulously prepared the inescapable trap set by the temple to surround the Gu family patriarch. A few days ago, he and Wangyoujun had gone over the details to ensure that there would be no flaws, guaranteeing a successful capture.

What's there to be busy with in the middle of the night?

Wangyoujun was full of complaints. He had never seen Sangji so anxious before, and he even went to raise chickens with Liu Jiao from nine to five.

“Let’s talk again to make sure everything is foolproof,” Sang Ji said calmly.

He was so calm and composed that he immediately put the scene in awe.

Looking at his dignified and upright face, Wangyoujun suddenly lost his complaints and was filled with respect.

No wonder he's the boss.

He was truly energetic and driven; even when he complained, Sang Ji was able to maintain order.

He needs to study!

So Forget-Worry Jun shook off his drowsiness and began to talk about things with unprecedented seriousness and effort.

It wasn't until one of Sang Ji's shadow guards quietly entered the attic through the window and reported, "Master, she saw a man."

"man?"

Sang Ji, the "composure" role model whom Wangyou Jun had just been secretly learning from, suddenly straightened up from the futon with his long bent legs.

"Really?" His brows furrowed, his phoenix eyes sharp and unwavering, not missing a single expression from the shadow guard.

The shadow guard cupped his hands, about to speak—

"Alright, you don't need to say anymore," Sang Ji said impatiently.

"Find out who it is, and don't let them plot against Liu Jiao."

Liu Jiao? A man?

And so on.

Wangyoujun's ambitious and indignant expression froze.

After a long while, he, a seasoned lover, suddenly understood.

Goodness.

Goodness.

He thought Sang Ji was very inspiring, and he even used it to berate himself for being useless and not working hard enough.

Who knows if Sang Ji stayed up all night to talk about love?

I pulled him out of bed so I could find out about Liu Jiao's situation!

He knew it...

Ah, human nature.

It was all for nothing.

"Yes." The shadow guard nodded.

"Wait, wait!" Wangyoujun waved his hand, stopping the shadow guard with a speechless expression.

The shadow guard was about to leave when he was suddenly called back.

Wangyou rolled her eyes, resumed her lazy posture, and snuggled into the bed: "With Jiaojiao's looks, it's already a blessing that she doesn't want anyone else. Who could possibly have designs on her except for Niu? But now Niu is gone too."

Sang Ji remained unmoved:

"You don't understand how fickle and outrageous men can be in this world, like you."

Forget-Worry Lord: "..."

"We must find out exactly who that man is," Sang Ji commanded firmly.

“Stop investigating.” Wangyoujun sighed and said, “The man she found is Chen Chi, the heir of the Chen family in Jiangnan. He is an upright and honest man, a true gentleman, and would never have any ill intentions.”

Sang Ji's sharp gaze swept over, his eyes gleaming, like a ferocious beast with blood-red teeth beneath its skin:

"Shut up."

How do you know who she went to see?

The Worry-Free Lord said fearlessly, "I bumped into her when I went to the toilet in the middle of the night. When I asked her, she told me."

Sang Ji was puzzled: "Then why didn't she tell me when I asked?"

Forget-Worry Lord was taken aback, then glanced at Sang Ji with a gloating look:

"It's obvious, she replied to everyone but you."

Sang Ji: "..."

Forget-Me-Not chuckled, shamelessly letting out a goose-like laugh.

*

Yangzhou, Chen Mansion.

The sun was bright, and the sky was bathed in red light.

At the corner gate of a closed courtyard, the maid Qiaoyue walked towards the flower platform to report.

A maidservant is holding a basin for a beautiful noblewoman dressed in a light blue blouse and tulip skirt to wash.

"An ugly village girl is requesting an audience with the young master. This servant must hurry and inform you, young lady." The maid who delivered the message was Chen Chi's personal maid, but she was actually Chen Jiao's person.

Chen Jiao frowned and said coldly, "Get him out."

She immediately recognized the person as Liu Jiao.

She's just a clingy country girl.

My brother is kind-hearted and a gentleman like the moon; he couldn't bring himself to drive him away.

Then she can come.

After a while, Liu Jiao was left out in the heat, her mouth and throat parched.

Upon seeing Qiaoyue return, he quickly put on a smiling face and went to greet her, since he needed to ask her for a favor.

Qiaoyue didn't even look at her. She gave a few instructions to the servant beside her, but Liu Jiao was suddenly picked up by a broad-necked guard and thrown into the middle of the shops on the street.

Liu Jiao: "..."

Can't you speak properly? Are you bullying your guests because you're a big family?

He fell hard on his bottom and it hurt terribly, and passersby pointed and whispered among themselves.

"Yet another woman who was kicked out of the Chen residence without even entering the door."

"Don't they realize that the young master of the Chen family would never look at them, these vulgar fans?"

"To be honest, this one is the ugliest and most rustic of all the fairies thrown out."

Liu Jiao: "..."

I won't listen to this bastard's chanting.

——

"You clever little moon, you run fast! I almost couldn't catch you." A handsome man in a white robe with a fair complexion and a handsome beard caught up with them. He had a dry sheep's hair ornament hanging from his ear and held another wolf's hair ornament that had just been licked clean with ink in his hand.

The usually selfless and dedicated eyes of Jingran now held a hint of impatience.

It is Chen Chi, the heir of the Chen family.

"Alright, do you mean the so-called village girl you're talking about wears pigtails?" Chen Chi asked.

Qiaoyue was confused, but since her master had arrived, she had no choice but to nod truthfully.

Chen Chi's usually gentle expression suddenly tightened and turned cold, his gaze toward Qiaoyue and Chen Jiao becoming icy.

Chen Jiao clenched her fists and lashed out with a glare at Chen Chi when he wasn't looking.

Stupid hoof.

Qiaoyue shrank her neck and shivered.

A note from the author:

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