Chapter 174
Incense burned in the hall, the familiar scent of Man Jiangxue. There was no one else in Chenxing Hall. There wasn't much business at Jingyue Peak, and the new disciples were all practicing their swordsmanship in the maple forest. Only Yin Qiu and Man Jiangxue were here.
It's very quiet.
The snow that had accumulated on the eaves for so long had recently begun to melt, and the meltwater trickled down the tiles, dripping into the courtyard like a transparent beaded curtain. Listening to the sound of the water, Yin Qiu snuggled closer to Man Jiangxue, her face flushed and her heart pounding. Hiding in this narrow patch of darkness, she felt incredibly shy about the kiss and touch they had just shared.
Man Jiangxue simply lay down as well, letting Yin Qiu rest her head in the crook of her arm. The two looked at each other briefly, and Yin Qiu immediately looked away as if she had been electrocuted.
Seeing that she was avoiding his gaze, Man Jiangxue reached out and tidied Yin Qiu's messy hair, saying, "It's not like it's the first time I've kissed you, why are you still shy?"
Yin Qiu couldn't stand hearing her say these things, so she covered her face and pretended not to hear.
If it were just a kiss, Yin Qiu certainly wouldn't be too embarrassed to even look at Man Jiangxue. But the feeling on her waist was still there, and that hand seemed to be gently caressing her. It lingered in her mind for a while, hard to ignore, and hard to forget.
Even though she had been touched like that by Man Jiangxue before, those were all things from when she was a child. How could Yin Qiu from a few years ago be the same as Yin Qiu now? And the Man Jiangxue of today is no longer the Man Jiangxue of the past.
In short, their relationship has undergone a complete transformation, so the physical contact that was once commonplace has now naturally changed in nature and is no longer the same thing.
“The ground is cold,” Man Jiangxue said. “Sit up.”
Yin Qiu peeked at her through the gaps between her fingers and asked, "Why aren't you shy, Martial Aunt?"
Man Jiangxue said, "I'm already this old, what's there to be ashamed of?"
Yin Qiujing paused for a moment and said, "Everyone should be shy at any age... What about when you were my senior uncle's age? Weren't you shy either?"
“When I was your age, I didn’t have the chance to be shy,” Man Jiangxue said, helping Yin Qiu sit up. “How long are you going to keep blocking my way like that?”
Yin Qiu awkwardly lowered her hand and asked her earnestly, "Then what do I need to do to make my martial aunt as shy as I am?"
Man Jiangxue said, "What good will it do you to make me shy?"
Yin Qiu said, "I've never seen it before, and I'm curious."
Man Jiangxue thought for a moment and said, "I don't know either. If you're really curious, you can try it later."
"How do I try it?" Yin Qiu asked humbly.
“You can try whatever you want,” Man Jiangxue laughed, teasingly adding, “But you’re too shy. You might get shy before I do. Are you sure you want to try?”
Yin Qiu hurriedly waved her hand: "Then forget it..."
Man Jiangxue smiled and pulled Yin Qiu up from the soft satin, saying, "I heard someone mention that Huaiwei has woken up; we should go see her."
Yin Qiu nodded, picked up the teacup on the table, and drank it all in one gulp. After that kiss, she was hot and thirsty, and one cup wasn't enough, so she poured herself a second one. Man Jiangxue sat down at the table and, seeing how quickly she was drinking, reminded her, "Drink slowly, don't choke."
Yin Qiu raised her eyelashes and asked her, "Does Martial Aunt want some?"
Man Jiangxue hummed in agreement.
Yin Qiu immediately refilled the teacup and held it to Man Jiangxue's lips. Man Jiangxue was about to raise her hand to take it when Yin Qiu withdrew her hands and said with a smile, "I'll feed you."
Man Jiangxue glanced at her, then lowered her head and took a couple of sips. Yin Qiu stared at her intently for a moment, then a thought suddenly occurred to her. She pursed her lips and smiled silently, then took two steps to stand in front of Man Jiangxue and asked, "Aren't you thirsty, Auntie? You've only had a little bit."
Upon hearing this, Man Jiangxue glanced at her again, raised her eyebrows slightly, and said, "You want me to finish it?"
As if to confirm something, Yin Qiu asked again, "Are you still thirsty?"
Noticing a hint of anticipation and a touch of barely perceptible cunning in her expression, Man Jiangxue asked, "I'm not thirsty, what's wrong?"
"Why aren't you thirsty?" Yin Qiu said seriously. "I'm so thirsty, so my martial uncle should be just as thirsty as me."
Upon hearing this, Man Jiangxue immediately realized that Yin Qiu was probably up to something, so she calmly cooperated and said, "Alright, I'm thirsty, and then what?"
Yin Qiu immediately replied, "Then I'll feed you!"
Although she didn't understand why she insisted on forcing herself to drink water, seeing that Yin Qiu was clearly in a much better mood than before, Man Jiangxue didn't intend to spoil Yin Qiu's mood. She shook her head and chuckled, then nodded and moved closer to the teacup in Yin Qiu's hand. Yin Qiu saw her movement and stopped her, saying, "Uncle-Master, don't move."
The snow on the river suddenly stopped.
Yin Qiu was very satisfied and then instructed, "Close your eyes," and added, "Don't peek."
Man Jiangxue looked at her with a questioning gaze, but still did not ask what she wanted to do. After hearing this, she closed her eyes again.
Darkness descended quickly, vision was lost, and everything in the bedchamber vanished in an instant, leaving only Yin Qiu's figure in sight.
Man Jiangxue, with her eyes closed, turned her head slightly the moment her vision went out. Her ears twitched, and she heard a very faint sound of water, as if Yin Qiu had taken another sip of tea. Then, there was a crisp sound on the table, as if a teacup had been placed down, followed by the rustling of fabric. Although her eyes were closed, she could still feel the light in front of her dimming, as if Yin Qiu was approaching her.
While secretly pondering Yin Qiu's actions, Man Jiangxue hadn't yet guessed what she was planning to do when, in the next moment, a pair of moist lips gently pressed against hers. At the same time, something exceptionally soft and slippery also probed in, and warm tea instantly flooded in, filling Man Jiangxue's lips and teeth.
The aroma of tea filled the air, and Man Jiangxue's throat tightened as she was forced to swallow the water that Yin Qiu had fed her.
Before long, Yin Qiu raised her head, and Man Jiangxue opened her eyes as well. Their eyes met, and the two stared at each other silently, neither of them speaking.
Against the light from the window, Man Jiangxue's fair and beautiful face was hidden in the dim light, appearing somewhat mysteriously profound. Her eyes were gentle, and her expression was calm, as if she was not at all surprised by Yin Qiu's actions just now.
Yin Qiu looked her over for a while, and seeing that Man Jiangxue was sitting motionless on the wooden chair with no expression on her face and no words, she couldn't help but feel frustrated and said, "Why don't you have any reaction at all?"
Man Jiangxue wanted to laugh, but she held it in and asked in return, "How should I react?"
Yin Qiu said, "Shouldn't you feel ashamed that I suddenly treated you like this?"
Hearing this, Man Jiangxue was both amused and exasperated. She maintained her composure and said, "Didn't you just say you didn't want to try?"
Yin Qiu sighed, "I just suddenly had the idea to try it again... It turns out that my martial uncle really isn't shy."
Man Jiangxue said, "I'm sorry to disappoint you." After saying that, she finally smiled and looked at Yin Qiu with a leisurely air, "So are you shy now?"
"No, not really," Yin Qiu said, her eyes darting around, sounding somewhat uneasy, "It's just a little awkward..."
Man Jiangxue said, "What's there to be embarrassed about? I won't laugh at you."
Yin Qiu actually hoped that Man Jiangxue would laugh at her. The more calm Man Jiangxue was, the more she wanted to find a corner to hide in. Yin Qiu could only try to make conversation, saying, "Then why are you still not moving? I've already tried everything."
Man Jiangxue said, "Didn't you tell me not to move?"
Yin Qiu rubbed her temples and said dejectedly, "Oh... well, I'll allow you to move now. Go ahead and move."
Man Jiangxue then leaned back in her chair and said, "Aren't you going to give me water?"
Yin Qiu said, "Okay, I won't feed him anymore."
“That won’t do,” Man Jiangxue said. “I’m still thirsty. Keep feeding me.”
Yin Qiu was taken aback, and looked at Man Jiangxue with a mournful gaze: "Uncle-Master... I was just joking with you."
Man Jiangxue asked, "Is it fun?"
Yin Qiu observed her expression and said uncertainly, "It's fun... right?"
“If it’s fun, let’s keep playing,” Man Jiangxue picked up a teacup from the table and handed it to Yin Qiu, saying, “I’ll play with you all day.”
Yin Qiu quickly changed her tune: "I was just kidding, it's not fun at all, I'm not playing anymore!"
"But I think it's fun," Man Jiangxue said, determined to tease her, "would you like to continue playing with me?"
At that moment, Yin Qiu truly understood what it meant to lift a rock only to drop it on one's own foot. She sighed and took the teacup, saying, "Since Martial Aunt still wants to play, then I'll play with you..."
Seeing that she had taken another sip of tea and looked listless, Man Jiangxue changed her mind and said, "Forget it, there doesn't seem to be anything fun to do, so let's not play."
Yin Qiu puffed out her cheeks, about to accuse her of being too much, when suddenly a series of hurried footsteps came from the outer hall, and a familiar voice called out, "Xiao Qiu! Is Xiao Qiu here?"
Upon hearing the voice, Yin Qiu knew who it was. She quickly swallowed the tea in her mouth and replied, "Is Bai Ling back? I'm in the bedroom!"
As soon as she finished speaking, the heavy curtain was lifted, and Bai Ling, who had been traveling for a long time, entered the room, looking travel-worn. As soon as the three met, Bai Ling bowed to Man Jiangxue and said solemnly, "Uncle-Master is truly a prophet; Fu Xiang has indeed encountered trouble."
Man Jiangxue frowned and glanced at Yin Qiu.
Her worries of the past few days had come true. All the joy that Yin Qiu had just experienced playing with Man Jiangxue vanished instantly. She asked anxiously, "What happened?"
Bai Ling had been bouncing around on horseback for the past two weeks, and she had lost a lot of weight from the exhaustion. She drank a few cups of tea to quench her thirst, then sat down, leaning on the corner of the table, and said, "It was such a coincidence. The day I arrived at Mingyue Tower, I met Fu Xiang and had just handed her your letter when the tower master came over in a huff, saying that Madam Fu's unborn child had died, and all the evidence pointed to Fu Xiang. The tower master was furious and immediately stripped Fu Xiang of her status as the young tower master and imprisoned her. I should have come back to report earlier, but I was really worried, so I hid in the shadows and kept an eye on things for a few days. Seeing that Fu Xiang was only imprisoned and not in any danger to her life, I rushed back."
Hearing her say this, Yin Qiu's heart sank.
The thing I least wanted to see still happened.
"Where was Fu Xiang taken to?" After a moment of silence, Yin Qiu asked.
“The solitary confinement room in Mingyue Tower,” Bai Ling said, “is heavily guarded and no one is allowed to visit. I was afraid that the people who were dealing with her would take this opportunity to kill her, so I stayed in Jinhuai City for a few more days. But from what I observed, Mingyue Tower is very well guarded. During the few days I secretly observed, I didn’t see any suspicious people approaching Fu Xiang.”
“With Madam Fu in trouble, the first person Master Fu will definitely suspect is her,” Yin Qiu said. “We only guessed that the person might be harmful to Fu Xiang, but we didn’t expect him to do something like this. It seems that the person took into consideration that Fu Xiang’s martial arts skills are not weak and that she lives a secluded life, so it was not easy to kill her. Therefore, he chose another direction to attack her.”
“If he goes straight for Fu Xiang, he probably won’t come out on top given her skills,” Bai Ling said. “But if he does that, Master Fu doesn’t really care about Fu Xiang. After this incident, he’ll have to hand her over sooner or later to give the Luo family an explanation. And Fu Xiang can’t run away. If she runs away, it’ll be because she has a guilty conscience. But if she doesn’t run away, she’ll be dead. We have to think of a way to save her.”
Although Yin Qiuchu was surprised to hear this, she quickly calmed down and looked at Man Jiangxue, saying, "This matter... I'm afraid it's not appropriate for us to get involved."
Man Jiangxue nodded: "After all, it is a matter of the Fu family, and we are so far away, it is indeed not appropriate for us to get involved."
"What should we do?" Bai Ling said. "Fu Xiang has lost her position as the young mistress and is now a murder suspect. Who can save her now besides us? I've heard that the Luo family is a prominent family in Jin Huai City. The two families are united by marriage, yet someone has died. How could the Luo family let this go? Moreover, once this matter spread, rumors spread throughout the city. They all say that Madam Fu and Master Fu have been married for many years but have been unable to conceive. Perhaps Fu Xiang is behind it all. Now she has become the target of everyone's criticism. If she doesn't clear her name, how can she maintain her position at Mingyue Tower in the future?"
Yin Qiu pondered for a moment, her expression softening slightly, and said, "Although Fu Xiang's situation is not good, we don't need to worry about her for the time being. The person who is more anxious than us right now is Meng Wugui. I guess she must have a solution, but this solution... is hard to come up with."
“That person wanted to deal with Meng Wugui, and Fu Xiang was in trouble right afterward,” Man Jiangxue said. “Then Nangong Min will soon guess that Mingyue Tower and Meng Wugui are connected. If Meng Wugui does not resolve this problem as soon as possible, her passive situation will become even worse, and Nangong Min will certainly not let this opportunity pass by to suppress her.”
Yin Qiu said, "Then can I meet with Meng Wugui? Actually, as long as she tells me who that person is, everything will be easy."
Man Jiangxue said, "It's not that simple. As soon as you make a move, that person will notice immediately. He even knows Zhilan's movements so well, let alone you and me. Once he discovers that we are in contact with Meng Wugui, it's one thing for him to escape, but it's another that he might try to kill you, which is impossible to guard against. Meng Wugui has been refusing to meet you, not only to protect your safety, but also to keep that person in check. Otherwise, she would have met you back in Weicheng. It's a stalemate where both of you are mutually restraining each other. Neither of you can have any open contact. That person is hiding in the shadows, watching all of us. No matter how we try to hide, there's always a possibility that he will notice us, so we can't take any risks."
After listening to her words, Bai Ling thought for a moment and then echoed, "Yes, Xiao Qiu, you can worry about Fu Xiang, we are all worried about her, but you'd better not leave the palace. You were kidnapped by Senior Sister Ye once while you were in the palace, and it will only be more dangerous outside. It's hard to guard against hidden arrows in the end. Even if your aunt wants to protect you, she can't predict what might happen. So you must stay by your aunt's side and try not to be alone."
“I understand what you’re saying,” Yin Qiu sighed. “But when you left, Fu Xiang was safe and sound. Now that you’ve been back, we don’t know if she’ll encounter any danger again.”
In the past, Yin Qiu wouldn't have worried too much about her. Fu Xiang had always been intelligent and quick-witted, and she was outstanding even when she was still in the palace. But in the years since she returned to Mingyue Tower, it has to be said that Fu Xiang has changed a lot. She doesn't want to be the young mistress, but she has to force herself for Meng Wugui. She longs for her father's love, but Fu Cen is cold and harsh to her, and there is no warmth between the father and daughter.
Living in such an environment, Fu Xiang was no longer the cheerful Fu Xiang she once was. She might be able to chat and laugh with Yin Qiu when they met, but in Mingyue Tower, aside from diligently practicing her inner cultivation techniques, she rarely interacted with others and had no close friends. Now, this matter had come so suddenly, and she was all alone. If she only hoped that Meng Wugui would come to her rescue, she didn't know if it would be too late.
But the situation is now clear: Yin Qiu cannot leave the palace, and even if she goes to Jinhuai City, she won't be of much help. She herself may also encounter misfortune again. For now, all we can do is wait for Meng Wugui to come up with a plan.
“If only we could get in touch with our godfather,” Yin Qiu said. “Fanxin Valley is far removed from all this strife, making him the most suitable person to connect us with Meng Wugui. Even though I have some doubts about him now, we could use this to test whether he is the right person. It’s just a pity…”
Man Jiangxue patted Yin Qiu and comforted her, "Don't worry too much. Fu Xiang should be able to protect herself. At least she won't lose her life because of this. Things haven't reached the point of being completely helpless. There's no need to worry too much for now."
Yin Qiu responded, stood up with a worried expression, and said, "Then I'll go back to my room and see if the bamboo branch is still there."
After she finished speaking, she lifted the curtain and left the bedchamber. Bai Ling looked at her retreating figure, completely bewildered, and asked, "Why did you bring up Brahma Valley again? Does Xiao Qiu have a godfather?"
Man Jiangxue fell silent for a moment, ignoring Bai Ling's two questions, and said cryptically, "You've come back at just the right time."
She had finally managed to cheer Yin Qiu up and help her forget her troubles, but now all her efforts had been in vain.
“You don’t seem to be praising me,” Bai Ling scratched her head, somewhat nervously, “…Did I disturb you in some way?”
Man Jiangxue remained silent for a moment before saying, "You've worked hard these past few days. Go back to Liuli Peak and rest. The palace has already begun preparations for Wan Shu's enthronement ceremony. As the eldest disciple of Liuli Peak, you should also lend a hand. Get your energy back and don't worry about anything else for now."
Bai Ling responded with an "Oh," obediently agreeing and tactfully bowing to take her leave.
She left Chenxing Palace and dragged her weary body back to Liuli Peak. Even as she soaked in the hot spring, Bai Ling was still thinking: Oh no, it seems she really did disturb something...
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