Chapter 18 Is it the wind that stirs? Is it the emotions that stir!
Qi Xin didn't mind the door knocker that was covered with dust and scars. He picked up the chain and looked at it carefully, and found that it was indeed locked, so he had to find another way.
She walked quickly around the mansion, and then found that there were only a few piles of firewood in the alley outside the east wall. Now that she had lost her martial arts, she had to find something to stand on to climb over the wall.
Qi Xin stacked the firewood in a staircase, standing on the highest stack, just enough to reach the eaves. Using her strength to climb onto the side eaves, she heaved her body upwards, only to discover that the east wall was completely empty, with nothing to stand on. However, the firewood stack outside the east wall had been accidentally kicked over by her while she was trying to gain leverage.
She sat astride the eaves, feeling stuck. After a moment's deliberation, she had no choice but to jump down. She estimated that this time she would have to endure the pain of broken bones again.
Qi Xin closed his eyes, preparing for the coming pain.
After a while, she felt something supporting her lower back and shoulders, easing her downward momentum. Then, she was enveloped by a familiar bitter taste of medicinal soup. Her back pressed against a hard, warm object, and her lower abdomen was vaguely supported by something that looked like a wooden stick wrapped in cloth...
Qi Xin raised his head and felt his lower abdomen, finding an arm covered in a familiar chiffon gown. He then followed the scent of the medicinal decoction and recognized the person beneath him. However, he still found it a little hard to believe.
Is it really... Master?
The gates of the mansion were locked everywhere. He wouldn't have climbed over the wall like me, right?
Isn't the Duke of Jingguo's Mansion deserted? Why is he here?
She propped herself up on the ground with her hands, intending to stand up and see the man clearly, but unexpectedly, she just turned over and was strangled by the back of the neck and pressed down again, and her jaw hit the man's chest heavily.
Qi Xin reluctantly raised his head, and accidentally met the pair of amber eyes looking down at him.
She was strangled to the point of being short of breath, her cheeks turning slightly red, and she hesitantly cried out:
"C-Can you let me go?"
Seeing this, the man slid his forearm to her butterfly bone, looked at her bowed head and stamped her feet, and responded with a smile:
"cannot."
Qi Xin only felt that the restraint on the back of his neck was removed, and then he stood up suddenly, but he did not expect that someone would use the same trick again, grabbing his shoulders and pressing them back to his chest.
She was filled with shame and anger, and raised her voice to scold:
"Chen Yu, what on earth do you want to do?"
Chen Yu's eyes, gleaming with light, swept down steadily, and the ending of his words was laced with a hint of loss that could not be ignored:
"You're not calling me—Master anymore?"
Qi Xin suppressed his anger and retorted coldly: "Oh, you are worthy?"
Chen Yu felt somewhat dejected, but forced a smile and said, "That's true. Xiaojiu can also get along well with everyone in the royal family. How about you be my master from now on?"
Qi Xin simply couldn't stand it anymore and raised his voice to ask, "Chen Yu, can you be normal? I haven't even started to blame you, and you're here to mock me. Where's your dignity?"
Shen Yu curled his lips calmly and said, "If I still had any shame, you would have cleared it with me long ago. I'm afraid you don't even want to hear a word I say."
Qi Xin felt that reasoning with him was not going to work, so he tried to appease him and said, "I'll listen, I'll listen carefully. Can you please let me go first, Duke?"
Chen Yu still shamelessly said stubbornly: "No, I'm afraid you'll run away."
Qi Xin was so angry that she was amused. She was really impressed by Chen Yu's shamelessness. It was indeed her own fault for not being able to judge people well in the past.
"My Lord, where is your brilliant plan for commanding the three Ningbei battalions? I went to such great lengths to break into your mansion. If it wasn't to look for you, what else could it be?"
Chen Yu's amber eyes moved imperceptibly, and the light color visibly deepened a little. His breathing became heavier. He held her shoulders tightly and brought her up to look at him at eye level, even their noses touching due to inertia.
He reached out and controlled the back of her head, forcing her to look at him. His already unstable breathing sprayed on her cherry lips. He seemed to be enduring something, and in a voice that sank deep into his bones, he whispered:
"Xiaojiu, I miss you."
Qi Xin even forgot to resist for a moment. She didn't know whether the tips of her ears were hot due to lack of oxygen or due to the abnormal movement of her blood. However, if it was the latter, her blood would have been boiling long ago, a thousand times hotter than it was now.
Her brain buzzed for a moment, and then Qi Ling's mockery in the cold palace a few days ago flashed through her mind:
Are you so needy of love that you're so lowly that you'll eat anything you want? If anyone shows the slightest bit of concern for you, you'll rush over to get close to them?
Qi Xin was shocked and broke free from the grip with a "bang". He rolled to the side, then slowly stood up and inadvertently wiped away a tear that had accidentally splashed out.
She stood up and brushed off the dust, then looked at Chen Yu, who was still sitting on the ground, and spoke calmly:
"Your Excellency the Duke is my father's distinguished guest. I will not hold you accountable for your rudeness. I hope you will conduct your business impartially in the future and that we will both be safe. Do not make such irresponsible remarks again. I will sever—sever the only remaining friendship we have."
The gnawing feeling after the Shenyu Decoction came up again. He was stunned for a moment, then stood up and wanted to touch her wrists hanging by her side.
Qi Xin took a half step back, avoiding it without leaving a trace, and said slowly:
"If it's not convenient for you today, we can discuss this another day."
"Then let's—get down to business." Chen Yu lowered his eyelashes, hiding the mixed expectation and uneasiness in his eyes. He pretended to be a modest gentleman as usual, and said in a distant tone, "Follow me."
Qi Xin looked at the furnishings inside the house and the porch outside the mansion. The new and old appearances were so different that he couldn't help but feel curious and asked in confusion:
"Everyone thinks that the Duke of Jingguo's Mansion has long been abandoned, but few know that there is a hidden world inside."
Chen Yu explained in a gentle voice, "As the saying goes, things turn to their opposites when they reach their extremes, and even the most dangerous places can be places of peace. Now that Xiaojiu knows this, don't try to climb over the wall again, or you might hurt yourself."
Qi Xin asked again: "Then, how did you get into the mansion?"
Chen Yu smiled, then turned his head and responded, "We both have Qinggong skills. Besides, if necessary, we can enter through a secret door in the corner wall, and then we can take you there."
Qi Xin felt like he was being tricked again, so he turned away and said, "Who said I have to come here every day?"
"Xiaojiu, you don't have to come looking for me so often. If I need you, I'll come looking for you." Chen Yu looked at her with amusement, then changed the subject, "Have you forgotten something?"
"What?" Qi Xin didn't know what he wanted to express, and his eyes were full of confusion.
Shen Yu glanced at her expression, then took her bow from the shelf behind the screen and placed it on the eight-immortal table between the two of them.
Qi Xin saw this familiar bow, and she didn't expect him to actually bring it with him. Her eyebrows relaxed slightly, and she asked leisurely:
"Marshal Shen commands three major camps in Ningbei, so why did he return to the capital with nothing but a bow? Where are the arrows?"
Chen Yu looked at her seriously and said, "I see that you don't even acknowledge your master. I thought you didn't want this bow and arrow anymore, too."
Qi Xin didn't buy his tricks and asked casually, "Then why do you still carry this bow with you?"
Chen Yu: "Just in case someone regrets it one day and wants it back, I'll be waiting all the time!"
Qi Xin turned the tables on him and asked, "So, where are the arrows?"
Chen Yu patiently responded:
"It's still being minted. Didn't Shuangjiang return? She's now in charge of the Guyi Bank. The army needs a lot of silver, but the money allocated by the emperor has always been a drop in the bucket. Therefore, the Guyi Bank was established not only to turnover silver, but also to find a hidden place to forge arrows, weapons, armor, and other military supplies."
"Hiss, Duke, you're really being honest with me. Aren't you afraid that I'll report you to my father?" Qi Xin gasped, then feigned a threat, "Just because you raise private soldiers and forge weapons under the emperor's feet, your entire clan will be exterminated."
Chen Yu: "You won't. Not to mention that the world already knows about the existence of the Jingguo Army, but it's just a question of how much they know about the inside story. Xiaojiu had previously seen the actual situation of the three major camps in Ningbei, but concealed some of it from Your Majesty. During the state funeral, Xiaojiu learned of my death and risked exposing her identity as a Zero Blood Person to find out the truth. It can be seen that Shen still has some weight in Xiaojiu's heart." When Chen Yu spoke, his eyes were fixed on her, not wanting to miss a trace of relaxation in her expression.
"You just have to let me point it out, don't you?" Qi Xin was extremely patient and didn't want to deal with him anymore, so he took a gamble and revealed the knot in his heart:
"The Duke's true allegiance wasn't to the current emperor, but to my mother, the Queen Mother. Right? Or perhaps, your attempt to repay my mother's kindness was just a pretext, while you actually reached some kind of agreement with her, right? The old Duke died in battle under mysterious circumstances, and you've never stopped wondering why. It's only because circumstances forced you to compromise, thus seeking the spoils of the tiger and waiting for an opportunity to strike."
Qi Xin stood up from the lacquer chair with the hanging lamp, walked around to him, leaned on the armrests on both sides of his body, and then said:
"So you didn't hesitate to use the Moon Nation as an excuse to attack, causing your father to become extremely anxious and infuriated, so you could seize the opportunity to interrogate him. If he confirmed your thoughts, you could avenge your father without bloodshed. But then, messages spread across Ningbei, letting you know that Shengdu was rotting from the inside, with someone already colluding with the Moon Nation. This situation was so sudden and unexpected that you would never let the old Duke's life's work go to waste. So, you fulfilled your father's order to endure humiliation and gain a son through hardship."
Qi Xin saw that although his expression was normal, his fists were clenched under his wide sleeves. She raised the corners of her lips slightly, then slowly stood up and went down without waiting for his response:
"The blood pill experiment did leave you severely injured, but you still remembered the agreement with my mother. Since my father was interested in letting me join the game, you took advantage of the situation and saved me. Firstly, holding me, a person of superior zero blood, in your hands would provide a counterweight to many forces. Secondly, my father has no sons, so he has yet to appoint a crown prince. I am the eldest daughter. If you get along well with me, he can help me ascend the throne one day, so that we can uncover the truth and let the old Duke's soul rest in peace. Is there anything I have said wrong?"
Chen Yu's originally calm expression could no longer be maintained. Wrinkles appeared between his relaxed brows, and his eyes flickered, as if he was suppressing some emotions. Then, as if he had given up, he suddenly stood up and looked into her eyes, trying to find a trace of what he wanted to grasp.
But in the end, it was empty-handed again.
He sighed and said, "Xiao Jiu, that's all I have to say. Even if everyone around you has ulterior motives, and even if there are genuine feelings among them, are you going to turn a blind eye to them all?"
The author has something to say:
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ps——
Chen Yu said: If you don’t love me, then don’t love me. It’s nothing. I’m a good man…
Shen Yu's heart: [poor][cracked][poor]
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