Number One in the Martial Arts World
"He Miao must have met him before he went into seclusion."
"According to the servants of the Prince's mansion, they talked in the study for a long time, but the specific content of their conversation is unclear. After leaving the room, He Miao went into seclusion."
Fan Lingzhang couldn't stand Sui Zhixu's way of speaking; it always reminded him of her pale face when she was seriously ill in bed.
She knew Xu was just a little tired, having been dealing with the Pei family's affairs since returning from Hedong. She covered her hand and yawned, but saw him wrap his arms around her and pull her into his embrace.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have used Yue Nu to make veiled accusations against you."
Before Sui Zhixu could figure it out, a voice came from the head of the table, "After I came back, Xi Niangzi kept pestering me. It was one thing at the Prince's mansion, but she also came to Yunlai Tower to find me. She wore your old clothes and jewelry from your youth every day. I said in my letter that you didn't even ask me anything when you came, but instead asked for a few pieces of tattered paper. I... I'm sorry, A Ling."
"Ah Ling, Ah Ling, please forgive me, okay? There won't be a next time."
"Okay, I'm not angry." Sui Zhixu covered his mouth and leaned against him, not wanting him to keep talking, or he would never stop.
Playing with Yu Zhen is also a troublesome matter. Prince Xuanping can't let go of the money bag named "Fan Lingzhang". The first Lu Kou died, so he took the second "Lu Kou" to continue to capture.
Why could he recognize Xi Yuzhen, who looked so similar, at a glance, while she couldn't?
She raised a question, which made Fan Lingzhang laugh.
"What are you laughing at?"
“If Ah Ling changes her face and identity, I won’t recognize you. How can I say that I love you?”
"Ah Ling is not talkative and rarely cries or laughs. At first, I always thought Ah Ling was a heartless fairy who wanted to ascend to become a god."
Sui Zhixu turned her face away, saying, "Nonsense."
“But A-Ling is the most soft-hearted.” Fan Lingzhang’s eyes were smiling and shining.
The wind ruffled the stray hairs by her ears, and his every word, carried on the sweltering summer breeze, whispered in her ear.
She hesitated for a moment.
But how could that be?
"I'm asking you, have you found out that he has a group of people working for him in the shadows, and they suffered serious losses recently?"
"Is A-Ling talking about Tianque Tower?" Fan Lingzhang asked after a few seconds of pause.
Seeing that she didn't speak, he continued, "Tianque Tower is very famous in the martial arts world, and it's now the number one tower. In the past two years, I've found out that it has some connection with the Prince of Xuanping. I heard that something happened to Tianque Tower a while ago, and someone betrayed it and killed several members. But it's close to the end of the year, and I'm in a hurry to get to Chang'an, so I don't know much about it."
After saying that, he added, "Also, they were all from Tianque Tower that night at the dilapidated temple. According to the information I gathered in the martial arts world, everyone in the tower wears wind chimes, which come in three types: gold, silver, and bronze. Their ostentatious display caused quite a stir among other martial arts sects."
That very night, a group of men in the darkness appeared out of nowhere, claiming to be there on the orders of the master to retrieve the sacred artifacts of Moon Mountain.
And He Miao's words, "I didn't expect that Madam's martial arts would become so bad after being reborn. Before you died, you killed too many people in the building. No wonder he wanted to kill you. If it weren't for you, his plan to seize Chang'an would not have been delayed for so long."
As Xu connected these things in his mind, along with Miao's strange reaction after seeing the mermaid pearl, he realized that the "Madam" he mentioned was Lu Kou, the eldest daughter-in-law of the Lu family.
Leave the body intact to be brought back to Prince Xuanping...
She felt a little dizzy.
A gust of wind swept through the bamboo forest, and in the rainy night, swords gleamed. "Kill! Kill the escaped traitor!"
A face, indistinct beneath the carved beams and embroidered doors, argued with her...
"Ah Ling!"
Fan Lingzhang's worried face kept overlapping before my eyes, "A-Ling?"
"Stop shouting, I have something to do, I'm leaving now."
As he turned to leave, his vision blurred as he climbed over the wall, and he stumbled twice, almost falling.
She leaned against the wall, intending to inquire about He Miao, specifically about his connection to Yungang Village.
Although the account book was in the village chief's house, he was illiterate and only knew that it was a "sacred object for protection" given to him by the master.
They only realized that their village had nearly a hundred chests of silver when a pile of silver was brought out.
He Miao carefully selected Yungang Village in the Pei family area of Hedong, and wrote "Duke of Pei" in the account book, which was clearly intentional.
The lack of evidence makes it too easy for them to escape punishment. Just as Aye said, it's already a great blessing that the Pei family has been exonerated.
"Ah Ling".
Different voices converged in her ears, making them feel like they had exploded. Her hands reached for the corner of the wall in mid-air, and she collapsed to the ground against the wall.
I can't remember anything except the blood-red bamboo forest.
My head hurts so much. If she is Lu Kou, as the niece of the Prince of Xuanping, did she grow up as an assassin in Tianque Tower from a young age?
The first time she "died of illness" and left the Fan family, and the second time she jumped off Aye's pleasure boat, was it still a fake death? Why did she betray Tianque Tower? Why did she collude with Yueling to gain rebirth? She clearly said that the two bodies had the same soul, so why is the situation like this now?
The person who killed her was her uncle. The moment she tried to call Prince Xuanping "uncle," a surge of pain and hatred from the depths of her soul erupted, and her heart ached terribly.
"How did you end up here, Madam Sui? Could you be lost?"
"Xi Yushao?"
No wonder the voice sounded familiar. Sui Zhixu looked up and saw him dressed in a magnificent robe of utopia color, with a lustrous and translucent jade pendant at his waist, and a smile on his lips.
With ill intentions, she still remembered that Ayan said he had bewitched Cui Awan, causing her to sever ties with Alian for him. Now, why did he have to come to her? The road was so wide, why did he have to come to this inconspicuous alley?
"My lady, why don't you take my carriage home first?" Xi Yushao said with a smile, not giving up even though Sui Zhixu ignored him.
“Teasing my lord.” Sui Zhixu suddenly looked at him, a smile playing on her lips.
"What brings you here, Madam?" Xi Yushao bent down to listen to her speak.
"You've been pretending for so long that you don't even know your ancestors' surnames anymore. You seduced Awan and then came to me to play the role of a respectable gentleman. Do you really think you're some kind of reincarnated god who everyone loves? Get out of here." Sui Zhixu kicked him out.
"A rat spirit in the gutter, a grayish-brown thing that hides in damp, dark corners." She took out a silver ingot and threw it to Xi Yushao, who had crashed into the carriage.
The horses neighed, and the swaying carriage creaked and groaned.
"You deserve three months of recovery from that kick. Just stay in your Xuanping Prince's Mansion." With that, Sui Zhixu turned and left, completely disregarding Xi Yushao.
She should have guessed it sooner, instead of waiting until all the evidence was laid out before her to realize that she was Lu Kou, and inextricably linked to the filthy royal palace.
She found a thousand and ten thousand reasons for herself that she was not Lu Kou. The first time she lied to herself that the timing was wrong, and the second time she lied to herself that her martial arts skills were wrong. She was deceiving Fan Lingzhang while also deceiving herself.
They tried to justify Sima Xian's actions and He Miao's words, unaware that the more they did so, the more obvious their own actions became.
The reasons given were full of holes and made people laugh. She would only be familiar to him if she was Sima Xian's subordinate. Fan Lingzhang would only mistake A Ling for her because of his own lack of resolve. He Miao would only mock her because of her age.
He thinks he understands everything, but in reality he's just a frog in a well.
He refused to believe that he was Ah Ling, insisting on having complete evidence to hurt her eyes, and only when every word was precious would he stop.
Utterly ignorant.
She became the person she hated the most.
The rain in Chang'an in July came suddenly. A muffled rumble of thunder could be heard from the horizon. A strong wind lifted the signs of the street vendors. In the next instant, the wind and rain rushed towards them, and pedestrians hurriedly ran to find shelter from the rain.
A jumble of sounds: footsteps, shouts, wind, rain, thunder...
While Xu was still in a daze, she was dragged away by the auntie at the street stall. The auntie's loud voice broke through the mingled sounds around her and clearly reached her ears.
"Whose daughter is wandering around in the rain? If she gets a headache and fever tomorrow and has to lie in bed, see if your mother doesn't beat her with a broom handle! She looks like a young lady of marriageable age, yet she doesn't know the difference between hot and cold. Does she really think she's a porcelain doll sold in the West Market? Come back to the neighborhood with your aunt. There's some ginger soup that's just been simmering on the stove. You'll get a good deal."
After scolding Sui Zhixu with her hands on her hips, the neighborhood auntie grabbed her sleeve and pulled her inside, saying, "Look at you, your temples are all wet and sticking to your face, and your gold hairpin is crooked. I would have thought you were fished out of the water."
"I..." Just as Sui Zhixu was about to speak, a bowl of ginger soup was shoved into her hand. It tasted spicy, and she couldn't help but frown.
"I don't need to drink it, I won't get sick."
It's just a little rain; a martial artist won't catch a cold from it.
"Just drink it when I tell you to. Why are you talking so much nonsense? You're so young, why don't you listen to your elders?"
Another roar, and Sui Zhixu glanced at the kitchen knife in her hand before silently drinking a bowl of ginger soup.
She was actually eighteen, but she didn't say it.
"Your clothes are made of nice material, you must be a lady from a wealthy family. How come you don't even have a maid or servant with you? It's rather shabby."
"Me?"
"You're the only one in the house, who else could it be?" The aunt rolled her eyes, thinking to herself that this young woman must be stupid.
Her gaze was too obvious, so Sui Zhixu adjusted the damp ends of her shawl and looked out the window. "When will the rain stop?"
"Summer rain is just like that, it comes and goes quickly, I reckon it'll stop in a while." The aunt picked up the basin and put it on the table to knead the dough, her hands moving skillfully and deftly.
"Auntie, are you buying sesame cakes?"
"I sell a little bit of everything, doing some small business to support myself." The aunt kept working, taking a break to talk to her.
"Isn't anyone else here?"
"I have a son who just returned with General Chu. It's been so many years, I almost didn't recognize him when he came back. He was so dark-skinned, I was really embarrassed to recognize him, it was so shameful. I also have a daughter who just got married. Thanks to her younger brother, she married a scholar."
As she spoke, the aunt couldn't stop smiling and kept laughing happily.
Yes, Chu Feixuan's reason for attacking the mountain was that he was leading his army back to Chang'an and passing through the area to retrieve the disaster relief funds. The emperor specially praised him for this, and Chu Feixuan might be promoted in a while.
She married a merchant, and for her, it was indeed a happy thing for her that her wife married a scholar.
"And you? I've heard that wives from wealthy families get engaged early and prepare their dowry before marrying. You look quite good. Tell me about the man you're engaged to. I might have heard of him before."
Upon hearing this, Sui Zhixu closed his eyes, placed his hands on the edge of the chair, and slowly closed his fingers. "I'm a little different. I'm not engaged."
"Why aren't you engaged yet? Are you overwhelmed by all the choices? Marriage is a major life event for a woman, so you should choose carefully." She said to herself, rolling the dough in her hands into strips and then cutting it.
"The young master of the Chu family, the one who married Princess Shang, is a good young man. He has even helped our neighbors. The young master of the Pei family is also good. I heard they come from a prominent family. As for the Five Surnames, they are people I shouldn't even be listening to."
"However, I heard that a family in Dongshi was arrested for embezzlement. They even stole disaster relief funds. I really don't know what they were good for. They deserved to be in jail."
She rolled the cut-off dough balls into round, flattened bowl shapes, and filled them with filling.
Xu frowned and stood up, saying, "Shut up. The case hasn't been investigated yet. How can you make a decision so easily?"
Her imposing manner was intimidating, and the aunt who made the flatbreads suddenly fell silent, saying, "I was just saying, why are you in such a hurry? If your whole family hadn't gone to jail, I would have thought you were one of them."
Sui Zhixu: "They are the Pei family you praised."
"You can know a person's face but not their heart. Maybe I've been fooled by them too. You're such a scary girl. You were just standing in the rain on the street, and now you're defending them. You wouldn't happen to be someone who really escaped from the Pei family, would you?" The neighbor aunt seemed more and more likely. What crime was harboring a fugitive?
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