Chapter 26: The Way to Work
The secrets behind Chu Liuxiang's actions are known only to Su Mengzhen and Xie Huailing. Last night's shocking robbery at Yushanlong remains, in the eyes of most people in Bianjing, a remarkable tale worthy of endless discussion and debate. Chu Liuxiang's romantic exploits are readily known from storytellers; no storyteller can resist recounting his tale with Lu Xiaofeng. Therefore, this time the protagonist is Su Mengzhen's cousin. The moonlit beauty theft, the dashing young man and the beautiful woman—how alluring! This further fuels the conversation among the martial arts world, filling the taverns to capacity.
If Su Mengzhen hadn't acted swiftly and decisively to control public opinion, things would have turned out like this.
After Jin Banhua knelt down last night, Su Mengzhen remained silent for several breaths, not only pondering the deeper meaning behind Xie Huailing's actions, but he had even drafted a plan on how to suppress the rumors and minimize their impact. Because of his thoroughness, the matter was as if it had never happened, and even the most audacious storyteller wouldn't dare to bring it to the stage.
However, the storyteller didn't have that guts, but some people did.
Zhu Qiqi will be leaving the capital in two more days.
She learned of this from Fan Fenyan, and the first thing that came to her not-so-bright mind was that Chu Liuxiang had taken liberties with Xie Huailing. Before she even finished hearing the rest, she felt extremely sorry for her friend and rushed over, leaving Shen Lang behind, to the foot of the Golden Breeze and Drizzle Pavilion. If Su Mengzhen hadn't lived there, judging from her posture, she really would have barged in.
Xie Huailing was forced by her maid to eat half a bowl of rice and lie down on the bed. She peacefully pulled the covers over herself, only to be shaken awake to find Zhu Qiqi. She couldn't bring Zhu Qiqi back to her bedroom; her plan to sleep was once again shattered by Zhu Qiqi. Despite her exquisite appearance, she could never truly possess Zhu Qiqi. She could only painfully be dragged back to Zhu Qiqi's room to face her relentless questioning. Refusal was useless; when Zhu Qiqi was determined, she wouldn't listen to anyone's objections.
Zhu Qiqi was furious, her anger burning in her eyes and on her lips: "What did Chu Liuxiang mean? Did he take liberties with you?!"
Before Xie Huailing could answer, she paced anxiously around the table, her wide, angry eyes gradually filling with tears as her steps slowed. When she returned to Xie Huailing's side, Zhu Qiqi lowered her head in regret, as if she were about to cry: "I should have gone with you. I shouldn't have argued with that Jin Banhua. If I had known it would turn out like this, I would have gone with you—no, if I had known it would turn out like this, I would have bought that Bai Yu beauty even if my brother-in-law cursed me to death..."
She sobbed twice, then flew over like a little bird and hugged Xie Huailing, knocking him down onto the couch. Xie Huailing felt a faint coolness on his neck; it was Zhu Qiqi's tears. She seemed to be trembling as she hugged him, and her once sincere eyes were probably filled with tears, causing her to cry so uncontrollably.
To be honest, this was the most troublesome and speechless experience Xie Huailing had ever had. Logically, she should have pushed Zhu Qiqi away first, but she still patted Zhu Qiqi's back, making the gesture awkwardly: "Please listen to me, I'm perfectly fine, Chu Liuxiang didn't even touch a finger of mine."
Of course, that was a lie; when Chu Liuxiang helped her up, he almost pulled her into his arms. But whether it was true or not didn't matter; as long as Zhu Qiqi was at ease, that was enough. The silly girl choked back tears, "Really? Are you lying to me?"
Xie Huailing, without batting an eye, said in a way that Zhu Qiqi could easily understand: "What can he do to me? My cousin is no ordinary person. He just chats with me about everything under the sun, discussing poetry, songs, and interesting stories from the martial arts world."
Zhu Qiqi stopped crying and started laughing. She wiped away her tears with one hand, and her smile returned to her face: "That's true. If he did something, your cousin would skin him alive. This guy does have some romantic flair, doesn't he? Stealing beauties to talk loudly under the moon, he certainly lives up to the name of a playboy."
She then asked Xie Huailing about Chu Liuxiang's appearance, purely out of a young girl's curiosity. She also inquired about his literary talent and what Xie Huailing thought of him. A young girl yearning for love always hopes that her best friend can also find a beautiful and fulfilling relationship.
Xie Huailing was rarely asked such a question, so she brushed it off with "I have no other intentions towards Chu Liuxiang." She was so sleepy that she couldn't stay awake any longer. While Zhu Qiqi was chattering about how it was fine not to like Chu Liuxiang, since the wanderer was always out in the open and still had a lot of female confidantes, she turned her head and fell asleep.
Zhu Qiqi only realized she was asleep after she finished speaking. She puffed out her cheeks in anger, but still covered her with the blanket.
.
Xie Huailing slept until evening, feeling so dazed that he lost track of time.
She stared blankly with unfocused eyes, not knowing how long she had been staring. The floral carvings on the ceiling were lifelike, depicting a scene of a hundred beasts from a certain year. She looked at it several times, then realized it wasn't the style of Zhu Qiqi's bed. She went back to her room and then propped herself up to sit up.
There was no sound from the maids. The room was very quiet. Within her sight, a white bed curtain hung down, embroidered with a few lotus flowers emerging from the water. Beyond that was a screen placed across the bed, with ink paintings of rushing rivers and mountains on the paper. This screen was originally meant to be placed by the window to block the sun. Xie Huailing touched the bed curtain, twirling it around her fingers. She heard the sound of pages being turned. It was probably beyond the screen, where there was a table.
Xie Huailing didn't need to think for long; she was always quick to act without hesitation. She called out, "Master of the Pavilion."
"Awake?" Su Mengzhen's voice sounded distant because there was another screen, making it appear as if there were two layers.
"I'm awake," Xie Huailing replied.
What kind of ghost story is it to wake up to find your boss right outside? After confirming that it was Su Mengzhen sitting outside, Xie Huailing, still feeling groggy from sleep, crawled back inside, pulled the blanket up to her chest, and shrank back into the center of her bed, refusing to get out of bed.
Su Mengzhen was probably reading documents; he didn't have time to wait for Xie Huailing. Xie Huailing could guess that he was there for something. Most likely, it was about what Xie Huailing hadn't finished saying. But did she want to work? The answer was definitely no. She was already huddled up, her hand still reaching for the script she hadn't finished reading the night before and had tossed aside on the bedside table, but she found nothing.
As the pages turned again, Su Mengzhen said, "If you're looking for your book, I've already put it back in the cabinet. Get up when you've had enough sleep."
He came to arrest her. This guy slipped away at noon because he was too busy to get away for a while, and no one could get her to come unless he showed up. Now look what's happened, he's here to arrest her with unfinished work.
Xie Huailing still didn't want to get up, so she turned over and said, "Please just ask me whatever you need, it will make me feel more comfortable."
Su Mengzhen then asked, "What was it that you didn't finish saying?"
"Oh, it's nothing," Xie Huailing said casually. "I just ran into Di Feijing."
The sound of turning pages stopped, and for a moment the room seemed deserted, except for the faint swaying of the gauze curtain behind her. Yet, beneath the stillness lay movement, a movement utterly silent. The turmoil in Su Mengzhen's heart was palpable, as if the sound itself were audible to her—this was extremely important news. Xie Huailing, with her eyes half-closed, caught a whirring sound of fabric rubbing against each other shortly afterward, followed by the sound of several stacks of documents being placed on the table.
Su Mengzhen raised her voice and said to her, "Tell me in detail."
There's not much to say in detail. Xie Huailing hugged the soft pillow she had taken from the couch and said lazily, "Yushanlong met you when you went to find Jin Banhua. I was sleepy, so I found a place to sleep, but who knew I would overhear Lei Sun talking badly about the two of us to Di Feijing. I don't really care, but Master, how come your opponent tries to use his looks to please every woman he sees? Is he perhaps born of two men?"
It wasn't a retaliation; Xie Huailing genuinely wanted to ask Lei Sun a question. Her words were so clear that Su Mengzhen understood what Lei Sun meant without pressing further. He said, "Rumors are nothing to worry about."
Xie Huailing continued, "I hadn't said more than a few words when Lei Sun discovered me. It was a real injustice. I was just resting peacefully when he disturbed my peace. After he left, he left Di Feijing behind, probably intending to deal with me."
Of course, she didn't clean it up. When she used Su Mengzhen as a trash can to throw away pastries, she didn't lose a single hair. Su Mengzhen couldn't even tell that she had encountered any trouble. In his mind, he placed Xie Huailing and Di Feijing together, put a weight on the scale called "estimation," and said, "What did you say to him? What are your impressions and opinions of Di Feijing?"
Lei Sun kept the news about Di Feijing under wraps so well that Su Mengzhen didn't even know his age or background. She only knew that he was behind those events and that Di Feijing had made great contributions to Lei Sun's achievements. Xie Huailing's chance encounter was the first time Di Feijing had come to the Golden Wind and Fine Rain Pavilion.
"We exchanged a simple greeting, swapped names, revealed our identities, and asked him how he felt about being arrested for speaking ill of others in front of them. That's all." Xie Huailing, without batting an eye, lied about the fact that he had "invited" Di Feijing to drink. "As for the impression... it was truly unexpected."
She said slowly, "In terms of appearance, this man is undoubtedly the best in the world. I have seen countless handsome men in my life, and he is among the top three. In terms of talent, he is well-mannered and never loses his composure. Lei Sun dared to leave him alone to deal with me, so his extraordinary abilities must be even more outstanding than he has shown. In terms of martial arts, he has never used his skills in the past few years, and when I saw him yesterday, he seemed to be unfamiliar with the art, not much better than me. However, we should never trust the weaknesses shown by our enemies. We cannot make a final judgment here."
"It's a pity, though. When I met him, I knew he was not destined for the spotlight. All because of one thing: his neck was broken."
Su Mengzhen countered, "Broken? Is that really true?"
Xie Huailing dismissed Su Mengzhen's meticulousness, saying, "It's absolutely true. I do have some knowledge of these things. His neck has probably been broken for quite some time, which means that he can still accomplish such a feat. His talent and temperament are extraordinary. Di Feijing is even more important to Liufenbantang than the host originally thought."
This is very regrettable news. From the perspective of his opponent, Su Mengzhen would also feel sorry for Di Feijing. No one would not feel sorry for him; a brilliant talent who could stir up the world's affairs had a flaw. But beyond regret, Su Mengzhen still had many things to think about.
After about half an incense stick's time, his voice rang out again: "I will send someone over tonight to report the case files of the battle between the Golden Wind and Fine Rain Pavilion and the Six and a Half Hall. Yang Wuxie had also prepared a plan to contact Di Feijing before, but it didn't work. Starting tomorrow, I will put you in charge of the arrangements—I need the next piece of information about Di Feijing within half a month."
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Ms. Xie: Are they really dragging me out to work overtime after I've already finished my shift? That's interesting.
Regarding Ms. Xie's current top three most handsome men, they are not ranked in any particular order.
Di Feijing, Shen Lang, Chu Liuxiang
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