Chapter 87 This fox hasn't given up yet.
Last night, a number of humiliating treaties were signed in one go. The past was too painful to recall. Just as Dai Li was trying to block out the memory of last night, the door opened.
The door hinges in this inn were faulty, making a noticeable creaking sound when opening and closing. Now, this sound was like a thunderclap, instantly snapping Dai Li back to her senses.
The door was pushed open, and a tall figure entered from outside.
Dai Li glanced at Qin Shaozong, her face calm, and ignored him as he entered. Last night, her poor undergarment had been used as a rope, and it was all wrinkled now. Dai Li turned to her side, her back to the outside of the bed and her face to the inside.
Her obsessive-compulsive disorder suddenly flared up, and she tried to smooth out the wrinkles on her belly.
After a few quick glances, finding the clothes barely acceptable, Dai Li began to put on her clothes.
The thin ribbon had just been wrapped around her neck, and before Dai Li could even tie the knot herself, it was taken by two large, dark hands.
Dai Li paused slightly, letting him help her.
Qin Shaozong stood beside the couch, much taller than Dai Li. He looked down at the woman on the couch, easily taking in a vast expanse of beautiful scenery.
Her skin was like solidified cream, her neck like a cicada's, and her cloud-like black hair flowed down her snow-white back. Intense red marks also ran down her neck, like clusters of brocade flowers, or like inescapable thorns tightly binding her.
A thin ribbon was wrapped around his fingers; it was the first time Qin Shaozong had ever done this for a young woman.
It was novel, but the feeling was great.
He adjusted his belt, about to tie the knot, when the woman in front of him suddenly turned slightly to the side. She placed one hand on the handkerchief covering her abdomen, as if to pull it down a bit, and looked at him with dissatisfaction, saying, "It's too tight."
She turned to the side, and he could see that it was indeed tight.
The two ends of the thin straps connecting the waistbands had moved up excessively, but his gaze lingered more on her than on her clothes.
Large swaths of lush, snow-white flesh filled her abdomen, dotted with red marks, vibrant and radiant. Her natural beauty and radiance, with her dark eyes and watery red lips, made her resemble a peony saturated with water, exuding an inexplicable languor. Even as she arrogantly glanced at people, she still appeared charming and stunningly beautiful.
Qin Shaozong loosened the long fingers wrapped around the rope a little. "How are you now?"
The handkerchief slid down a bit, and Dai Li turned her back to him, letting him continue tying the straps. "Tie them."
Where Qin Shaozong couldn't see, Dai Li fidgeted with her fingers and began to think about the future.
He seemed quite calm this morning, and his complexion was no different from usual, as if she had put an end to the matter of her going south on her own.
But Dai Liming realized that everything was just "seemingly" true. Last night, she couldn't remember how many shameless things she had promised him. Knowing Qin Shaozong as she did, she was certain he would demand he fulfill his promises, and in some ways, he probably wouldn't trust her anymore…
To be honest, Dai Li doesn't know what to do right now. She can't break free, and she can't escape.
There are no other options now, so we're just raising the white flag for now and seeing what happens. For now, we're just giving up.
After he dawdled and dressed her in her undergarments, Dai Li went to find her outer garment. Her outer garment had been torn yesterday, but now there was a new set of clothes by the bed.
The azure silk shimmered in the sunlight-filled room, and when lifted by the collar, the smooth fabric unfolded like water.
Dai Li snorted in a questioning tone, "Where did these clothes come from?"
There are few large-scale silk shops in the small county. They sell cloth, but not necessarily ready-made clothes, and these ready-made clothes are obviously not ordinary clothes.
“This morning, the magistrate of Nanyang came to visit me, intending to test my strength and weaknesses, so I asked him for some things.” Qin Shaozong leaned against the couch pillar as he watched her get dressed.
The city gates were breached by cavalry late at night, and the minor county magistrate was terrified. He came to the post station early the next morning to request an audience. After learning that he was just "passing through" and would be leaving that day, the minor county magistrate, surnamed Mi, smiled obsequiously and said that if there was anything he could do to help him, he should not hesitate to ask.
Since these things were offered to him, Qin Shaozong didn't stand on ceremony and asked Magistrate Mi for some things.
"What did you ask for?" Dai Li asked casually.
“A carriage, two sets of clothes, and…” He paused here, and sure enough, he saw her turn her head and glance over out of the corner of her eye.
"The medicine that Madam wants."
Dai Li was taken aback, her eyes immediately lit up, and she looked at him directly with a bright smile, "Ah, Your Excellency is so meticulous and thorough in your actions."
She smiled radiantly, but Qin Shaozong's lips slowly fell into a smile. After everything that had happened last night, the smoldering embers that had almost been extinguished reignited.
Even though he rationally knew she didn't want to have another child and had no intention of doing so, he was still furious to see her so happy about the availability of contraceptives.
She was willing to have a child for someone else, but it was still for the man she had a falling out with.
What's so great about that man? How much wealth does he have? Is he as powerful as her? Why is she willing to leave her bloodline for that man but not for him?
Seeing his expression turn cold, Dai Li knew exactly what Qin Shaozong was thinking. But she had said long ago that this was a matter of principle and there was no room for negotiation.
After getting dressed, Dai Li left the room.
It would be a lie to say I wasn't nervous when I went out. Although the thunder was deafening last night and could cover up a lot of noise, the thunder didn't keep going on and on.
If a section isn't covered and it floats outside or next door, that would be really embarrassing...
The entire inn has been booked, and the innkeeper has been on tenterhooks since last night.
First came a group of cavalrymen. It was just dawn, and the county magistrate had actually arrived. That was the county magistrate, a very high-ranking official, who rarely appeared in public. Unexpectedly, she had come to their small inn today.
What surprised him even more was the county princess's attitude; she was extremely respectful and served him at his beck and call.
In the innkeeper's mind, the only official higher than a county magistrate was the prefect. Could it be that the person staying at his inn was a prefect from some other place?
He received them with trepidation, while also secretly speculating. At exactly 9:00 AM, there was finally movement upstairs.
The landlord quietly raised his eyes, intending to admire the prefect's heroic figure one more time, but a graceful figure in a light blue dress immediately caught his attention.
The paintings of court ladies and the descriptions of peerless beauties in past texts seemed to suddenly come alive at this moment. She slowly descended the stairs, her radiance like a pearl shimmering, or a piece of jade glowing, making the hall inexplicably brighter.
The owner stared in disbelief, yet couldn't help but feel puzzled.
Last night, all the guests were clearly young men. When did his establishment start having women like that?
Could it be a fairy in disguise?
A cold, sharp gaze shot straight over, authoritative and profound, clearly devoid of much emotion, yet it sent a chill down the landlord's spine, causing him to instinctively look away, not daring to look any longer.
Dai Li saw her son while she was still on the stairs.
The young man was sitting on the first floor with Mo Yanyun and others. When he heard footsteps, Qin Yanzhou looked up.
Even from a distance, Dai Li could still see the worry in her son's eyes. She gave him a reassuring look, indicating that everything was alright.
Everyone else had already eaten breakfast, except for Dai Li, who had gotten up late. Shortly after she sat down, the meal was served, and Dai Li, who was also very hungry, ate first.
Mo Yanyun secretly glanced at his superior.
Strange, the Lord was clearly in a good mood this morning, enjoying the satisfaction of being well-fed. How could his mood have soured so quickly after such a short time?
Mo Yanyun glanced sideways and looked at Dai Li with utter admiration.
When the Marquis first learned of Lady Dai's disloyalty, he was furious and enraged. It's no exaggeration to say that he felt Lady Dai's life was in grave danger, after all, she was the first person to deceive him repeatedly, and the latter was clearly very fond of her.
As a result, Madam Dai is now completely unharmed, and the young master has not become a scapegoat; neither mother nor son has suffered a single hair loss.
It seems that the lord's great anger, like the heavy rain last night, came and went without a trace.
The rain has stopped and the sky is clear.
Mo Yanyun hissed inwardly, suddenly realizing that if he made a mistake in the future, it wouldn't be impossible to ask Madam Dai to intercede on his behalf.
If Dai Li could hear Mo Yanyun's inner thoughts, she would definitely refute him on the spot.
What do you mean "nothing's wrong"? She's in trouble!
It's just that the place where I was punished is not something I can tell others.
After the meal, the group left the inn.
Dai Li saw a carriage parked at the entrance, its curtains rolled up and the carriage open, revealing the interior. She could vaguely see that it was very clean inside, with a small table and a soft chair.
Dai Li got into the car and slowly sat down on the soft seat.
The chair was covered with several layers of soft cloth, making it softer than usual. Dai Li slowly exhaled.
It's alright, better than she expected.
Just as he breathed a sigh of relief, a familiar, imposing figure entered the carriage. This carriage had only a single row of soft seats, and the small table in front must have reached the front window; there was no second row of seats.
Dai Li watched as Qin Shaozong came to her.
He didn't speak, but simply stood in front of Dai Li. Dai Li hesitated for a moment, then moved aside to make room for him.
Qin Shaozong's expression softened slightly. He closed the carriage door behind him and sat down next to her.
The carriage was actually quite spacious; if nothing else was placed next to the seats, two people could easily sit side by side. However, the previous owner of this carriage was quite particular, as there was a small low cabinet next to the seats.
Once the cabinet was placed there, it took up a lot of space, making the chairs less spacious than usual.
Qin Shaozong was over eight feet tall and had a larger frame than the average man. As soon as he sat down, the soft chair became crowded, and Dai Li had to sit next to him on her thighs.
After he sat down, the carriage set off.
Dai Li turned to look out the window. The small town was quite lively during the day, with pedestrians coming and going and vendors hawking their wares—the most ordinary and mundane aspects of life.
Just a day before, she was planning how she would live her life from now on, thinking about how to decorate her little house, and what color cat or dog she should get...
Before that day was even over, many things were no longer under her control.
Qin Shaozong saw that Dai Li kept looking outside and sneered inwardly.
The fox hasn't given up yet.
"lady."
Dai Li turned her head at the sound and saw him with his palm facing up, holding out his hand to her. "Give it to me."
She had her t-shirt in a small cloth bag. He must have seen her small bag when she changed her clothes and went out.
He wouldn't take it himself; he insisted that she hand it to him personally.
Under his expressionless gaze, Dai Li took out a small bag from her sleeve, slowly untied the rope, and then took out a small wooden plaque from inside.
The small wooden plaque was handed to Qin Shaozong.
Qin Shaozong flipped it over so that the right side was facing up.
Name: Hua Wenxiu
Qin Shaozong looked at the sign for a moment, then suddenly said, "That's all?"
Dai Li's breathing became slightly sluggish.
The man's long, well-defined fingers tapped the small wooden plaque, then stroked the "Name" column. His tone was so calm it was unsettling. "After escaping Sweetwater County and arriving in Summer Valley, Madam spent some time hiding alone. During that time, the Green Lotus Sect mobilized its entire force, posting wanted notices all over the city. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they were searching for her throughout Summer Valley. Where did Madam live at that time?"
Her ability to enter Xia Valley smoothly indicates that she must possess some kind of secret.
He only released the boy later. Considering the time, he had just arrived in Sweetwater County and then changed his route, so it was unlikely that she would have met her son in Sweetwater County.
Only Xia Gu.
The fact that she managed to evade the citywide search suggests that there might be something wrong with that document.
Don't say that the Qinglian Sect is unaware that she secretly tricked Zhang Chuan. As soon as she runs away, they will definitely review all her recent actions, and it won't be difficult to find the hidden Chuan.
But now, the document in his hand shows no sign of anything unusual.
Dai Li was already thinking about giving up, and the bag she took earlier was just something she grabbed randomly.
She took whatever she wanted, not expecting that Qin Shaozong wasn't just looking at things casually.
This person was quick-witted; he had guessed the rest of the story after only revealing a little clue. Thinking about what this person had done to her because of her lying and breaking her promise, Dai Li felt a pang of unease and dared not fabricate anything further. She could only take out another wooden plaque from her small bag.
Qin Shaozong took it and immediately noticed something fishy about the "name" part.
Two characters in the name "Lotus Scholar" look off. Upon closer inspection, it's clear they were changed later. The man clicked his tongue and said, "He's not honest again."
Dai Li remained silent, her eyes fixed on her nose, seemingly lost in thought.
A "crack" sound came from the side.
Dai Li couldn't help but glance at it and was shocked to find that the two wooden plaques, which were of decent quality, were shattered beyond repair in his palm.
The man reached out of the car window, his large hand outstretched, and the debris of varying sizes was instantly carried away by the wind.
Qin Shaozong withdrew his hand, and Dai Li sighed inwardly as she looked at his empty palm.
There wasn't even a trace left.
"Move over a bit." Dai Li was uncomfortable and deliberately pushed him aside.
Qin Shaozong raised his eyebrows slightly, but did not speak immediately, because he seemed to hear something different from what he had heard in her words.
Aside from their time together on the couch, she always used respectful terms of address towards him, being polite and distant. When she wanted to tease him, she would even deliberately call him "My Lord," which was incredibly annoying. But now…
Qin Shaozong sensed a hint of resignation in those rather impolite and disrespectful words.
He suddenly felt relieved, all his previous displeasure and anger vanished, and he stepped back a little to the side following her force.
With a long arm, Qin Shaozong pulled the person into his arms. "It's all that little magistrate's fault in Nanyang. He filled the carriage with a bunch of useless things, wasting the space."
Dai Li was speechless. This person had asked for someone else's carriage, and now he was complaining, saying, "It's good enough that I have a carriage to ride in."
His hand, which was on her shoulder, moved down, caressing her waist, and then along her smooth waistline to the upper edge of her pert buttocks. "Madam, how effective is Ding Congjian's medicine?"
Suddenly, a scene flashed through her mind, and Dai Li disregarded everything else, "Qin Changgeng, you told me earlier about something concerning Zhouzhou and the Qinglian Sect, what was it?"
Qin Shaozong leaned back in his soft chair. "It's just a rumor. Whether it's true or false remains to be verified."
"Whether it's true or not, just tell me first," Dai Li said anxiously.
She always cared a lot about her son and the Qinglian Sect.
Qin Shaozong didn't keep them in suspense any longer, "I've heard that the Qinglian Church is giving some important believers something called 'divine medicine'."
Before she could hear anything further, the mere mention of "miracle drug" made Dai Li sit bolt upright. "What?!"
Qin Shaozong patted her back and said, "This medicine is said to have both advantages and disadvantages. Let's leave the advantages aside for now. Some people say that its disadvantages can be life-threatening. If you abruptly stop taking the medicine, your intestines will rupture."
No matter how loud the thunder was last night, it couldn't frighten Dai Li as much as Qin Shaozong's words at this moment.
He seemed to say something else afterward, something about whether the rumors were true or false, but Dai Li couldn't hear him at that moment.
The words "intestines ruptured and stomach rotted" robbed her of all her composure and drained the color from her face.
“Impossible, I... I clearly asked Zhouzhou, and Zhouzhou said I could leave…” Dai Li murmured.
She asked her son; it was in that little courtyard.
At that time, she suspected that such a large sect as the Qinglian Sect might have methods to control people, and asked him if he could leave the sect at will.
The son said, "We can go."
Looking back now, Zhouzhou only said she could leave, without answering any of her other questions.
He avoided the topic and played word games with her.
Dai Li was both heartbroken and at a loss.
Ten years, a full ten years.
It seems that the long passage of time has created a lot of unnecessary estrangement between her and her son, Zhouzhou.
Author's note: Hmm, I didn't expect so many people to react so strongly to yesterday's post.
First of all, this story is not a pure sweet romance; everything is created from scratch, with a gradual and progressive process.
Secondly, Lao Qin only has one red line with Dai Li. If Dai Li dares to cross this line, he will immediately fly into a rage and act recklessly.
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