Undeserved reputation

A Qiu was silent for a moment, then said, "I only have my senior brothers. We were like brothers when we were young, but as we grew up, we each had our own responsibilities. However, it's definitely not the kind of friendship you described."

She truly grew up surrounded by men. Neither her eldest nor second eldest brother was someone who could understand a woman's feelings. In front of everyone in the hall, she rarely showed any girlish side.

Lanling Hall needs disciples who are responsible.

Ah Xiu suddenly said, "Ah Qiu, if you had an older sister, would you not feel so lonely?"

Upon hearing this, A-Qiu asked in surprise, "What?"

She had never imagined the possibility of having brothers and sisters in her life. But since Ah Xiu had said so, she replied, "If it were a sister like you, I would be very happy to accept."

For some reason, although she had never met Ah Xiu in reality, nor even seen Ah Xiu's face in her dreams, she felt that Ah Xiu was a very gentle and quiet woman. Having such an older sister by her side wouldn't be bad.

However, although A Qiu was skilled in martial arts, he knew in his heart that a woman as quiet and elegant as A Xiu was obviously from a high-ranking family and had a family of high-ranking officials and servants.

They couldn't have been born in the same place, otherwise A Qiu wouldn't be the A Qiu we know today, and A Xiu wouldn't be the A Xiu we see now.

Just like the words she said to her fellow geisha sisters in the dungeon.

"If there is an afterlife, I wish that none of you will be a geisha again. I... I hope that you will all be reborn as rich and noble ladies, or at the very least, daughters of good families, loved by your parents, and living a peaceful life."

This was in response to Cui Luzhu's vision of the afterlife at that time.

Cui Luzhu was born a musician, and the freest life she could imagine was simply another kind of musician's life. But A Qiu knew that there were countless other paths in life to take.

However, within that trajectory, A-Qiu would not have met these sisters, nor would she have experienced the same feelings of having gone through life and death together.

She probably felt the same way about Ah Xiu.

A-Qiu suddenly realized with a keen sense that they would never truly meet in this lifetime.

This is probably why Ah Xiu exists in her dreams.

Hearing her unintentional yet unexpected reply, Ah Xiu's back trembled like a flower in bloom. The usually reserved, quiet, and elegant Ah Xiu covered her mouth with her hand and exclaimed with a laugh, "I can't be your sister."

A-Qiu asked, puzzled, "Then who are you?"

Clearly, even just a silhouette, it feels so familiar. Clearly, even just dreaming of her brings an overwhelming sense of warmth upon waking. The brief moment spent with her in the dream feels like gazing at each other from another lifetime, a self-pity and reminiscence in the mirror.

Ah Xiu suddenly fell silent. After a moment, she said deeply, "Ah Qiu, remember one thing I'm about to say."

A-Qiu obediently replied, "Okay."

She would cherish everything Ah Xiu said. Even a single word would be etched in her heart.

Ah Xiu said, "You can always believe in Shangguan Yuqi." She spoke these words with unusual seriousness, yet they also revealed deep affection.

Ah Qiu's heart skipped a beat when Ah Xiu mentioned the name.

The next moment, she opened her eyes, sat up straight in bed, and was covered in cold sweat.

She had always trusted Shangguan Yuqi because of the Shangguan family's reputation for integrity and because of the gentleman's demeanor and character.

But she couldn't understand why the person in her dream would mention the name of a real person, and with such care and reverence, as if afraid of forgetting it.

She sat up abruptly and immediately bumped into someone's arms.

This embrace is warm and sturdy, exuding a clear, heavy, and lingering fragrance, like the crispness of pine trees after frost and rain or snow.

A Qiu didn't need to use her eyes to know who it was. She whispered, "Master," and quietly buried her head in Gu Yi's shoulder.

Whoever survived such a near-death experience and finally woke up safely in Gu Yi's arms would only feel a sense of relief and survival.

Completely forgetting to care about anything in this world.

She couldn't remember how Gu Yi found her, or what she had said to Gu Yi before she fainted.

All she knew was that she was alive and had safely returned to Jinlingtai.

Gu Yi simply held her quietly, without saying another word. His chin brushed against the top of her head. She could hear his heartbeat, strong and clear.

A Qiu thought somewhat confusedly that Gu Yi was acting differently than usual. In the past, he would have endured it for the time being and would have broken free from her embrace as soon as possible.

Gu Yi still believed in the distinction between superiors and inferiors, men and women.

But now, he just lets her hold him like this; is that a privilege afforded to her because she's injured...?

Actually, she was confused. In fact, it was Gu Yi who had pulled her into his arms just now. But she only vaguely remembered that she was always the one asking him for a hug.

Gu Yi seemed to hesitate for a long time before slowly speaking.

"Ah Qiu".

Did she not know that his seriousness meant he had something important to tell her?

He wanted to leave immediately and go north of the Yangtze River to meet Li Chongyu.

Or, he might gather his troops and personally lead them to the front lines.

Or perhaps he couldn't keep her by his side and had to send her back to Lanling Hall?

A Qiu sensed Gu Yi's unusual seriousness, looked up and forced her eyes open, only to meet Gu Yi's dark, inky gaze.

Gu Yi was taken aback when she looked directly at him, and then quickly looked away.

A Qiu didn't think too much about it, and with a mumble, buried herself deep into Gu Yi's neck again.

Although the wounds on my body have stopped bleeding, it still hurts when I raise my head or raise my hand even slightly.

She didn't want to think about anything else at that moment.

Gu Yi finally seemed to have made a decision.

He helped A-Qiu up from his body, held her shoulders, looked directly into her eyes, and said in a deep voice, word by word, "When I go to brothels, I always just go to gather intelligence, and this job has been taken over by the Junior Master Yu in recent years."

He hesitated for a moment, then said again, "I haven't done what you think I did."

At first, A Qiu was bewildered, but then he gradually came to his senses and understood the meaning of what he had said.

A Qiu's face quickly began to heat up.

She instinctively lowered her head to avoid Gu Yi's gaze. Her explanation became somewhat weak: "I... I just happened to run into the hall's assessment envoy. Because my martial arts haven't fully recovered, I'm not a match for him yet."

She wanted to say that she didn't wander off in anger, which led to her being attacked by the Thirteen Shadows. Although, the truth... that's exactly what happened.

The truth is, she actually lost her temper with Gu Yi, the Junior Tutor, who was second only to the Emperor. Because of that unspeakable reason.

Unexpectedly, Gu Yi did not let her avoid him. Instead, he raised his hand and lifted her chin, forcing her to look him in the eye.

A Qiu was both ashamed and surprised, feeling as if his deep, dark eyes, as still as an abyss, were about to suck her in.

Gu Yi stared at her and asked, "How often do those assessment envoys come to see you?"

A Qiu had never sensed such a sudden and sharp killing intent in his tone. She panicked and unconsciously tugged at his sleeve, saying, "Master, that's a tradition of our hall. As long as I still consider myself a disciple of Lanling Hall, I cannot refuse the test."

Gu Yi glanced at her trembling hand that was wrapped around his sleeve and said calmly, "I'll go and kill them."

A-Qiu exclaimed in surprise, "Master, you mustn't!" and tried to get up from the bed to kneel. Gu Yi was surprised that she would perform such a grand ceremony at this moment, and immediately stretched out an arm to stop her from bowing, saying awkwardly, "Speak your mind. There's no need to kneel."

A Qiu had just reported, "The examiners of my Divine Weapon Hall are also my subordinates. If Master kills them all, I will have no one to use in the future."

Gu Yi wanted to say something, but then swallowed it back. He wanted to say how could there be no one he could use? His subordinates were scattered all over the country, from all walks of life, including tutors and charioteers. Wouldn't they all be at her disposal in the future? But saying that would be too domineering, so he paused and said, "Then we can only let them appear and disappear without a trace, coming and going at any time to test you?"

A Qiu said, "I will not leave Jinlingtai again until my skills have fully recovered. If I do leave, I will definitely go with Master. Once those people see Master, they will not show their faces to make things difficult for me."

Gu Yi slowly sat down and said, "Then you'd better remember this yourself."

You must never leave his side, under any circumstances or for any reason. Not even if you are very angry.

However, there won't be a next time. If she throws a tantrum and leaves again, he will definitely chase after her immediately.

A Qiu nodded and said earnestly, "This disciple remembers. I will never act rashly again."

This was the first time Gu Yi had been forced to explain himself. But what Gu Yi didn't know was that this was also the first time A Qiu had thrown such a tantrum.

Gu Yi was silent for a moment, then asked, "Who helped you back then?" With his keen eyesight, he could see the situation at the scene clearly and accurately, and could almost completely recreate the scene in his mind:

Several experts instantly formed an encirclement, unleashing a barrage of unusual weapons and hidden darts. A Qiu was injured in several places in the first encounter, and would have been in dire straits if he had held on for a few more moments. Fortunately, an expert arrived in time and scared the attackers away within two moves, and then calmly escaped before the expert arrived.

This person's strength and judgment are so great that even if he is not as good as A-Qiu in his prime, he is not much worse.

A Qiu hesitated, wanting to speak but stopping herself. Before leaving, Shangguan Yuqi had asked her to keep it from Gu Yi as much as possible, and since she had promised, she wouldn't go back on her word. Everyone has their own unspeakable secrets, and Shangguan Yuqi was certainly not a despicable person, so she must have her own reasons.

Seeing that she didn't answer, Gu Yi said calmly, "If you don't want to talk about it, then don't." But A Qiu was too clever for her wits, and immediately sensed that Gu Yi was inexplicably displeased. She immediately said, "It's Senior Brother!"

Sometimes, the senior brother's existence is just for scapegoating. Gongyi Xiu is a person who can understand the subtle meaning behind a song, and even if Gu Yi confronts her directly, she will cover for her flawlessly.

Gu Yi snorted and said, "So the Left Prime Minister is just a name without substance."

He personally intervened, yet his junior sister was still injured so badly; his reputation is undeserved. However, this also explains Gu Yi's doubts. If Gongyi Xiu had intervened, it would be normal that he couldn't meet Gu Yi under these circumstances.

Gu Yi was the Emperor's Junior Tutor, and Gongyi Xiu was the Left Chancellor of the court. Although both of them pretended to be ignorant, it was best not to make it too clear that Gongyi Xiu was a member of the Lanling Hall.

Gu Yi was always discreet, rarely criticizing anyone, and sparing with his words. If his four-word judgment, "a hollow reputation," were to spread, Gongyi Xiu's official career would likely be over. A Qiu knew her senior brother was wronged, but she could only silently stick out her tongue in her heart and say, "Thank goodness he came."

Gu Yi looked at her intently again and asked, "Are you going to report back to Lord An like this?"