Chapter 14 Hiding a Man in a Golden House
Ning Qi watched as Xiao Sui stumbled to the wardrobe, shrinking his slender body into the not-so-large space and carefully tucking all the corners of his clothes inside. She felt a little guilty.
It's all because of this damned mission! Otherwise, why would a princess like her need to keep a male concubine in such a secretive way?
But Xiao Sui doesn't seem to be her male concubine, she thought uncertainly.
After Xiao Sui closed the cabinet door, Ning Qi said to the outside, "Zhizhi, call Senior Sister Xie in."
Before she could straighten the wrinkles in the blankets that Xiao Sui had laid out, Xie Xiyue had already entered, carrying the scent of winter plum blossoms and a bundle of medicinal herbs in her hand.
"Qiqi, this is a medicinal herb I got from my father to cure colds. Have the maid brew it for you; it's very effective." As she spoke, she sat down by her bedside, lowered her head, and said, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yesterday. I just wanted to apologize to you."
How could it not be intentional? It was clearly an intentional attempt to drag her into the water. Ning Xi could tell the difference. However, she was in no mood to argue with her. Firstly, she was still feeling unwell, and secondly, Xiao Sui was also feeling unwell in the water. So she nodded and said, "Alright, I'm not blaming you."
"Really?" Xie Xiyue's eyes lit up, and she pressed, "Then can our relationship be restored to what it was before?"
Before? Ning Qi quickly searched through the original owner's memories and found that they were indeed inseparable in the past. Xie Xiyue was the original owner's companion, and they ate and dressed together. The original owner often lent clothes to Xie Xiyue, which led to them being kidnapped by bandits during a trip. The kidnappers couldn't even tell who the real princess was.
Later, it seems that because of Yan Chongyan's appearance, their relationship began to cool down, and Xie Xiyue disliked her more and more.
Oh, the male lead is making a mistake. It would be so nice to have a girlfriend.
However, Ning Qi was unsure of Bai Yueguang's thoughts and vaguely said, "Let nature take its course."
Xie Xiyue's eyes immediately lit up as she grabbed her hand and nodded emphatically, "Yes."
"Oh, right." Ning Xi looked at the wardrobe and remembered something. "I wore your clothes back yesterday. After they've been washed and dried in a few days, I'll send someone to return them to you."
"No need," Xie Xiyue waved her hands repeatedly. "No need to wash."
"That won't do." Ning Qi glared, thinking that this white moonlight seemed to be a cold and aloof beauty, but it turned out that she wasn't so particular behind the scenes.
"How about this?" Xie Xiyue said, "You can keep that one here, and you can give me one of your clothes. Didn't we often share clothes when we were little?"
As she spoke, she walked to the wardrobe, placed her hand on the handle, and asked expectantly, "Is it okay?"
Wait a minute, Ning Qi felt a chill run down her spine. Xiao Sui was still inside. She absolutely couldn't let her open the wardrobe!
"No……"
"You still don't want to consider me a friend?" Xie Xiyue looked a little sad, and with her pretty face, it was even more heartbreaking.
“You can’t fit into my clothes,” Ning Xi said after a long pause.
"It's okay." Xie Xiyue said to herself as she tried to open her wardrobe.
Ning Xi was just about to get out of bed when Zhizhi's voice came again, "Princess, Young Master Yan has arrived."
"Come in quickly, come in quickly!" Ning Qishu said to Xie Xiyue in one breath, her savior had arrived. "We'll talk about the clothes later. You can go back now."
Xie Xiyue squinted her eyes, but instead of going out, she sat on the only chair by her bed and looked at Ning Xi with a mournful expression.
Ning Qi then remembered that her white moonlight also had feelings for the male lead, and now that the male lead had arrived, it was even less likely that she would leave.
There was a sound at the door, and Yan Chongyan strode in with his chest out. He paused when he saw Xie Xiyue, nodded to her, and stood firmly by Ningqi's bedside.
“Princess, I heard from my master that you have caught a cold, so I came to see you.”
“Yan…” Ningxi glanced at the wardrobe, unable to call him “Brother Yan” in front of Xiao Sui, so she changed her tone and said, “Senior Brother.”
Yan Chongyan frowned, took out a square box from his pocket, and handed it to her. "This is a top-grade heat-clearing pill. I got it from the sect's treasure pavilion. It's extremely effective in treating colds."
Xie Xiyue glanced at it, and before Ning Xi could reach out, she took it from Yan Chongyan's hand, quickly placed it on the table, and turned to Yan Chongyan to say, "Senior Brother Yan, the princess's health has not yet recovered, and she should not be overworked. We have already troubled you for a long time, and it is time for us to leave."
Ning Xi: "?"
She recalled that the male protagonist had only said two sentences since he came in.
“I…” Yan Chongyan turned around and glanced at Ning Qi.
Xie Xiyue quickly interrupted him, "The princess is tired, let's go."
After saying that, she grabbed the male protagonist's arm and dragged him away.
Ning Qi sat on the bed and looked at the table full of medicinal herbs and antipyretics. She blinked. As expected of the male lead and his white moonlight, under the guise of visiting her, there were undercurrents and turbulent undercurrents. It was quite subtle.
Hey, even this minor scapegoat got lucky.
However, her gaze eventually fell on the wardrobe, and she said to it, "Xiao Sui, come out."
Xiao Sui pushed open the cabinet door and asked expressionlessly, "Are they your friends?"
Not just a friend, but also her fiancé and love rival. However, she didn't want Xiao Sui to know, so she gave a vague reply and called him over.
"Never mind that, we haven't finished talking about what we were just discussing."
Xiao Sui obediently walked over and knelt down on one knee beside her bed.
Ning Qi pulled him up and sat him on the bed. "Why weren't you so well-behaved yesterday?"
"I'm sorry, Princess." Xiao Sui was somewhat at a loss.
Ning Qi curled her lips into a smile. "Tell me, who told you my identity?"
Xiao Sui raised his head in her direction and said, "I know it myself."
As if afraid she wouldn't believe him, he added, "I recognized Prince Jing's voice yesterday."
"You know my brother?" Ning Xi thought about it and it wasn't surprising anymore. "That's right, he also cultivated in the Huaguang Sect."
"Are you on good terms with him?" Xiao Sui asked.
“Yes,” Ningxi said. “Among my older brothers, I’m closest to my second brother because he’s willing to play with me, haha. You know him, so you should know he’s a nice person.”
Ning Qi looked up and noticed that his lips were gradually losing color. Without saying a word, she touched his forehead and asked, "I hope you haven't caught my cold."
"No." Xiao Sui shook his head.
Ning Qi felt that the temperature was normal, so she was relieved and said to him, "I didn't mean to hide it from you. I was just afraid that if you knew I was a disciple of the Huaguang Sect, you would have some reservations."
"I won't," Xiao Sui said softly. "I know how good you've been to me."
Ning Xi curled the corners of her lips, "Now that you know who I am, you shouldn't worry anymore. I'll protect you no matter what happens."
She looked at his eyes, which were still covered by a black cloth, and said, "Can you tell me who hurt your eyes? I have the ability to help you get revenge."
Xiao Sui stared straight at her, remaining silent for a long time.
Ning Qi just waited like that.
He opened his mouth, his voice hoarse, "I want to ask you for a favor."
"you say."
"I would like to ask you to help me remove the thing around my neck."
"Sure, how do I get it?"
Xiao Sui paused for a moment, then asked with a bitter expression, "Aren't you curious about its uses?"
“It doesn’t look like a good thing,” Ningqi asked. “What is its purpose?”
“These iron plates were tied on me by Master Jingyan to seal most of my cultivation and prevent me from losing control and doing bad things.” He paused. “But there is something I want to do myself.”
Ning Qi immediately understood, "Do you want to take revenge yourself?"
Xiao Sui nodded.
The system suddenly appeared and said, "You can't agree to his request! A villain who has broken the seal is prone to losing his mind and might do something terrifying. In that case, not only will he seek revenge, but you and everyone around you will be in danger!"
Ning Qi frowned, moved a little closer to him, and looked down at the metal plate on his neck.
A soft breath fell on his neck, and Xiao Sui's body visibly tensed up.
The system continued, "It's fine if you repair his tendons and ligaments, but if you break the seal and cause a disaster, your mission will likely be affected, and you'll lose your points. Do you want to fail again?"
Ning Qi's attention was completely drawn to a few dents on the textured metal sheet, which looked like the teeth marks of a small animal. She touched them with her hand.
Xiao Sui sensitively raised his neck, his Adam's apple bobbing.
She asked, "How were these dents created?"
Xiao Sui was stunned for a moment, "It was my cat that bit me. It likes to grind its teeth on the thing on my neck."
Ning Qi's scalp tightened instantly, blood rushed to her spine, and her body went numb. How could it be the same as the scene in her dream?
"What does your cat look like?" she asked slowly.
Xiao Sui looked at her with a puzzled expression, wondering why she would ask such a question, but his expression softened. "It's a beautiful calico cat."
"Three flowers," Ning Qi murmured, exactly like her dream!
She summoned the system, finding it unbelievable, yet she had no choice but to ask, "Do you think it's possible that I could be the cat Xiao Sui mentioned?"
"Impossible," the system said decisively.
"Then why did I have such a dream? And why does it match what Xiao Sui said?" Ning Qi was not satisfied with its answer and pressed it for more information.
"You're having a fit," the system said in a cool voice.
"Hey, hey." Ning Qi raised her voice in her mind, "We're colleagues, after all. You're insulting your colleague. Be careful, I'll report you to the God System after my mission ends."
The system paused for a moment, then said seriously, "Have you forgotten that your senior sister already told you that the villain's cat is a calico?"
"Hmm? Did my senior sister tell me?" Ning Xi recalled.
The system stated with certainty, "I told you before, I am an AI, and my memory is accurate, while your human brain... is prone to memory errors."
"Is that so..." Ning Xi couldn't recall the entire conversation between the two of them, and was somewhat skeptical.
"Princess?" Xiao Sui didn't hear her voice and asked, "What's wrong?"
"No." Ning Qi shook her head, stroking the metal sheet. "What do I need to do to unlock this?"
“Only Master Jingyan’s spiritual power can break this seal,” Xiao Sui said. “But it can also be opened when I encounter danger.”
"so……"
"I want the Soul-Severing Pill, can you give it to me?"
"Soul-Severing Pill?"
Ning Qi knew about this thing; it was one of the most painful punishments used by royalty and nobles to execute slaves in private. The person who took the poison would not die immediately, but would have hallucinations before death, seeing the things they feared most. After being tortured for three days and three nights, their body would rot and they would die from bleeding from all seven orifices. Generally, this kind of elixir was given to those who had committed extremely serious crimes.
“This is a deadly poison,” she said gravely.
“It’s alright,” Xiao Sui said. “My body has a strong tolerance to drugs. Ordinary poisons have no effect on me. Only this kind of poison can make me feel threatened, and only then will the seal be broken.”
"Really?" Ning Qi frowned. This kind of poison was not hard for her to obtain, but was it really as easy as Xiao Sui said? Would something happen to him?
The system scoffed, "You believe the villain's nonsense? You'll be crying later."
Ningqi blocked it.
A note from the author:
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The four people inside the room felt the following:
Qiqi: There's really an undercurrent of tension between the main characters. [Eating popcorn emoji]
Xiao Xie: I'm spitting blood [it's melted]
Senior Brother Yan: Something's not right [question mark]
Xiao Sui: [Lemon]
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