Chapter 69
After parting ways with Meng Jing, Yin Qiu did not return directly to Jingyue Peak, but went to the disciples' quarters instead.
The courtyard was bustling with activity as the disciples who had finished their meal returned, and the air was filled with the sounds of people talking. Yin Qiu rummaged through the cabinet and found a bamboo branch, which she hung outside the window. She left the window slightly ajar, not completely closed.
In the other end of the corridor, every room was lit with candles, except for Fu Xiang's room, which remained dark.
Yin Qiu glanced at it from afar, then, holding her umbrella, walked alone through the courtyard towards Jingyue Peak.
The Chenxing Palace was brightly lit, and several figures were moving around inside. Yin Qiuli looked out from the doorway and saw several secret guards busy cleaning and tidying up, but he couldn't see Man Jiangxue.
"Has Uncle-Master not returned yet?" Yin Qiu asked.
"No, the sect leader isn't here. The memorials from Mingguang Hall are piled up like a mountain. My uncle is probably still handling official business," a disciple of the secret guard replied.
Yin Qiu understood, went to the table to pour herself a cup of hot tea, and then heard the disciple ask, "We don't know when Martial Uncle will be back yet. Junior Sister, would you like to eat first? Don't go hungry."
Since returning to the palace, Yin Qiu has been living on Jingyue Peak and has hardly ever returned to the disciples' quarters. These few secret guard disciples have had to take care of her. Yin Qiu smiled a little embarrassedly, put down her teacup and said, "No need, senior brother, you don't need to worry about me. Let's eat together when our master returns."
The guard replied "Okay," and after tidying up the room, they all left.
It was still raining outside, and the sound of rain was deafening everywhere. Yin Qiu sat at her desk and flipped through some books for a while, but she couldn't concentrate. She stared at the books for a while, then ran to the door and squatted down, looking at the rain with a preoccupied expression.
Incense burned in the hall, and wisps of smoke drifted gently in the bright light. Yin Qiu leaned against the door frame, lost in thought, still recalling her conversation with Meng Jing.
Although Yin Qiu couldn't quite accept those words at first, she knew very well that Meng Jing meant well. She wasn't trying to sow discord; she was just telling Yin Qiu everything she had seen and suspected.
Yin Qiu had always placed her whole trust in Fu Xiang. It wasn't that she blindly trusted anyone, but there had never been a reason for her to have a different opinion of Fu Xiang. What Meng Jing said today gave Yin Qiu just such an opportunity.
Yin Qiu couldn't help but wonder, did she really understand Fu Xiang?
When they first met, Fu Xiang was on her way back to Jinhuai City to find her relatives after begging for food. When they met again, she had transformed into the young lady of Mingyue Tower. If Meng Jing was not lying or had not mistaken her for someone else, then Fu Xiang clearly already possessed excellent martial arts skills. So why did Fu Cen send her to Yunhua Palace? In the past six months, couldn't Fu Xiang have learned the Fu family's martial arts techniques?
The only explanation Yin Qiu could think of was that even Fu Cen didn't know about Fu Xiang's skills. He genuinely thought his daughter was incompetent, so he sent her to Yunhua Palace to observe her talent before deciding whether to nurture her.
This aligns with the question Meng Jing raised: if this is indeed the case, why would Fu Xiang conceal her martial arts training? What is she doing at Yunhua Palace?
Looking back now, Fu Xiang's outstanding performance in martial arts classes from the very beginning only shows that she had a foundation. The introductory lessons were nothing to her. She was always carefree and didn't practice martial arts seriously, yet she could easily get first place in the martial arts test. This also shows that her skills were not weak. It was a piece of cake for her to stand out among the new disciples with no foundation.
From the moment the two entered the palace, Fu Xiang was extremely good at dealing with people. On the first day, she became familiar with many people. Even now, Fu Xiang is the most popular person among the disciples. On the surface, she gets along well with everyone, but upon closer inspection, she doesn't have many friends. She has always revolved around Yin Qiu and has never opened her heart to the other disciples, nor does she seem to be particularly close to anyone.
Yin Qiu wondered if Fu Xiang was really as Meng Jing had speculated, and that she was deliberately getting close to her.
But why did she approach him in the first place?
A cool breeze, carrying a drizzle, swept across the eaves and gently patted Yin Qiu's cheeks. She looked at the darkening sky with a melancholy expression and let out a long sigh.
·
When Man Jiangxue returned to Jingyue Peak, it was already completely dark.
She wore a brocade robe and held an oil-paper umbrella made of Xiang bamboo. She walked through the layers of red maple leaves, looking like a white epiphyllum walking in the rainy night.
"Master Uncle is back?" A disciple of the secret guard flew down from the eaves and took the umbrella handle.
Man Jiangxue freed her hand, her fingertips fiddling with the fabric of her dress as she lifted her skirt. She nodded slightly, and when she looked up, she immediately spotted the small figure huddled by the door. Man Jiangxue looked at her from afar and said, "It's still raining, why is someone sitting by the door?"
The guard looked back and said, "I don't know. After Junior Sister came back, she read a book for a while, and then she went to sit by the door. She seemed to have something on her mind."
Is something on your mind? Man Jiangxue gazed at Yin Qiu for a while in the falling rain before slowly walking up the steps. As she got closer, she noticed that Yin Qiu's eyes were closed and her breathing was deep and even.
—She's asleep.
“It’s raining heavily today, so you don’t need to stand guard anymore. Go back and rest.” Man Jiangxue said, bending down slightly, wrapping one arm around Yin Qiu’s back and the other around Yin Qiu’s knees, and lifting her up in her arms.
A trail of footprints, slightly muddy, stretched into the hall. The disciple responded repeatedly and quickly brought in the food that had been prepared. Then, he quietly withdrew, making sure to wipe the footprints away with a handkerchief before leaving.
The palace doors closed, shutting out the chill of the rainy night. Man Jiangxue placed Yin Qiu on the couch, changed her clothes and shoes behind the screen, and when she came out, she met a pair of bright, sparkling eyes.
"Uncle-Master." Yin Qiu opened her eyes at some point, looking at Man Jiangxue with clear eyes, and called out to her in a soft voice.
"Awake?" Man Jiangxue buttoned up her clothes and sat down on the edge of the bed.
Yin Qiu looked at her movements and said, "I wasn't actually asleep at all."
Man Jiangxue glanced down at her and said, "Then why are you pretending to be asleep?"
Yin Qiu replied, "It's fun."
Man Jiangxue chuckled, "Naughty," she said, then pulled back the covers and picked up Yin Qiu, "Since you're not asleep, get up and go eat."
Yin Qiu clung to her, and her worries vanished instantly. She buried her head and rubbed against Man Jiangxue a few times, then took advantage of the moment when Man Jiangxue sat down to kiss her on the cheek.
"Sit down and eat," Man Jiangxue said without changing her expression.
"I won't eat it." Yin Qiu was secretly pleased and inexplicably felt playful.
"Not eating?" Man Jiangxue ladled soup, glancing at Yin Qiu. "Why aren't you eating?"
“I don’t want to eat,” Yin Qiu said. “I’m not in a good mood today and I can’t eat.”
Man Jiangxue said, "I was just about to ask you, aren't you afraid of catching a cold sitting at the door in the cold wind? What's making you feel bad?"
Yin Qiu propped her head up with her elbow, thought for a moment, and said, "I don't want to talk about it."
Manjiangxue filled a bowl with soup and looked at her sideways.
Meeting Man Jiangxue's calm gaze, Yin Qiu said again, "Unless my martial uncle kisses me, I will tell you."
Man Jiangxue smiled silently, completely unmoved by her act, and looked away, saying, "Fine, don't tell me then."
Yin Qiu didn't feel awkward about making a fool of herself. In fact, she had been wanting to ask Man Jiangxue for advice, so she said to herself, "Then let me ask you a question, Uncle-Master. If one day you find out that your best friend has lied to you, what would you do?"
Tonight's dinner included sweet and sour fish. Man Jiangxue loves fish and eats it with great patience. She carefully picked out the fish bones, and without looking up, she said, "What did Fu Xiang lie to you about?"
Yin Qiu was stunned and almost choked on her own saliva.
After removing the fish bones, Man Jiangxue placed the piece of fish meat into Yin Qiu's bowl and said calmly, "You two haven't seen each other for more than half a month. Fu Xiang's presence at Mingyue Tower can't lie to you. It can only mean that you discovered something about something before. Kids, just ask directly. Don't beat around the bush. Are you afraid I'll find out?"
Yin Qiu was scolded, feeling both admiration and confusion. She could only hide her flustered state by picking up her chopsticks and shoveling a few mouthfuls of rice into her mouth, saying, "I didn't even mention Fu Xiang..."
Man Jiangxue still wouldn't look at her: "Besides Fu Xiang, how many good friends do you have?"
Yin Qiu was a little unconvinced, but still honestly said, "Okay, it's Fu Xiang... but I only have some doubts now, and I can't confirm whether she really lied to me."
Man Jiangxue gave a reassuring reply: "Then let's confirm it first and then talk about it. Let's eat first."
Seeing that she seemed completely unconcerned about what was going on, Yin Qiu felt a little deflated: "Why aren't you curious, Martial Aunt? Don't you want to know how Fu Xiang lied to me?"
“Why should I ask so many questions about your friendships?” Man Jiangxue said. “Besides, you yourself said that you haven’t even confirmed whether she’s lying to you or not.”
Yin Qiu remained silent for a moment, then sighed, "That's true..."
·
Originally, Yin Qiu had been keeping Fu Xiang's matter to herself, and she couldn't help but care about it for a while. However, after Man Jiangxue's words, which were hardly words of comfort, Yin Qiu was able to let it go.
No matter what, there's no use thinking about it now. Once Fu Xiang comes back, we can talk to her and everything will be clear.
After dinner, Yin Qiu brought hot water to wash the dishes, and Man Jiangxue took her to the hot spring to take a bath. After returning, they sat for a while before going to bed to sleep.
Before going to bed, Yin Qiu suggested that she would return to the disciples' quarters the next day and not stay at Jingyue Peak anymore. Man Jiangxue did not ask any questions after hearing this, but gave Yin Qiu a few instructions and then agreed.
The next day, after the martial arts class, Yin Qiu returned to the disciples' quarters. The bamboo branches on the window were still hanging as before, untouched.
Two more days passed, and the bamboo branch remained unchanged. No one threw pebbles at the window at night. Yin Qiu thought that Gongzi Fan would come eventually, so she was not in a hurry and the bamboo branch continued to hang there.
That afternoon, Yin Qiu and Meng Jing ate lunch together in the canteen. After they parted ways, they each headed towards the courtyard. Yin Qiu pushed open the door and just as she stepped one leg into the house, a voice called out to her from behind, "Xiao Qiu!"
Yin Qiu paused as she entered, and before she could even turn halfway around, the owner of the voice hugged her from behind. Fu Xiang exclaimed joyfully, "I missed you so much! I heard from Senior Sister Ye on the way that you were rescued by Martial Uncle. Are you hurt? Let me see!"
She didn't give Yin Qiu a chance to speak, flipping Yin Qiu over and over like a pancake, touching her all over, while chattering incessantly. Yin Qiu listened for a long time but couldn't understand what she was saying, so she could only press down on Fu Xiang's hand and say, "Okay, I'm fine, stop touching me!"
Fu Xiang laughed heartily, gave Yin Qiu a big hug, and said with great emotion, "Let me hug you for a while! You have no idea how worried I was about you!"
Having not seen each other for several days, Yin Qiu naturally missed her very much. The two hugged each other for a long time, until Yin Qiu was almost out of breath, before Fu Xiang finally let go of her and happily pulled her into the house, eagerly asking, "Tell me quickly! What happened to you at the Ziwei Sect?"
In fact, Yin Qiu had been holding it in. She hadn't told anyone about everything that had happened in the Ziwei Sect except for Man Jiangxue. But after meeting Fu Xiang, she told her everything that had happened.
Upon hearing about Yin Qiu's experiences, Fu Xiang was greatly surprised. She had not expected that so many things had happened during this period. Although she had heard some of them from Meng Wugui and Afu when she was at Mingyue Tower, hearing Yin Qiu recount them in person made her feel that the past half month had been quite tortuous and turbulent.
After the two finished discussing the matter, it was Yin Qiu's turn to ask. Fu Xiang sighed and said, "I'm just getting by. When I went back, I was completely neglected by my father. He only cares about his concubine and doesn't pay any attention to me. Besides, very few people in the building know me. They don't treat me like a young lady at all. If it weren't for Senior Sister Ye keeping me company, I would be so bored."
Hearing that Fu Cen had neglected her, Yin Qiu felt a little sorry for her and said, "It's okay. After all, your father is getting married. It's not like he's just holding a banquet to entertain guests. He must be very busy. He probably didn't neglect you on purpose."
“Don’t try to be nice to him. These past few days I’ve been in the building, my dad hasn’t spoken to me at all,” Fu Xiang said, sprawled on the bed, her face full of worry. “You don’t know, my little aunt will only turn eighteen next month. I secretly met her once, and she’s really pretty. Once she gives birth to a big, healthy boy next year, my dad will forget about me even more.”
Yin Qiu poured herself a cup of tea to rinse her mouth. Hearing this, she glanced at her without changing her expression and said, "Then you'll have to work even harder than before after you come back this time. The new disciple competition is in August. If you don't study hard and don't get first place, you really can forget about going back."
If it were in the past, upon hearing Yin Qiu's words, Fu Xiang would have immediately retorted that she didn't want to go back. But this time, she behaved unusually. Instead of reacting to Yin Qiu's words, she fell silent.
But after a long pause, she replied, "But I really don't want to go back."
Yin Qiu casually flipped through the book and asked nonchalantly, "Why?"
Fu Xiang looked at her with a complicated expression and said softly, "Mingyue Tower... is just my home in name only. In reality, I would prefer to stay in Yunhua Palace."
Yin Qiu laughed: "But that's your home. Why are you spending your time in the palace instead of going home? You'll have to go back eventually."
There was nothing wrong with what she said, but Fu Xiang was taken aback for a moment before sighing, "Who says otherwise? We always have to go back..."
"So why don't you want to go back?" Yin Qiu probed indirectly, scribbling on the paper with her pen. "If you go back to Mingyue Tower, you'll be the future young master. Regardless of whether your father loves you or not, you're giving up the position of young master and insisting on staying in Yunhua Palace as an ordinary disciple. What are you thinking?"
Fu Xiang rested her head on her arms, staring at the canopy above her head, and said, "Then you were also the junior leader of the Ziwei Sect, so why did you have to come back with your uncle? Isn't this the same thing?"
Yin Qiuyuan had tried to get information out of her, but she was instead cornered. She choked for a moment, then turned to look at Fu Xiang and said, "How can this be the same thing? The Ziwei Sect killed my parents and left me homeless. How could I possibly stay in the Ziwei Sect as some minor sect leader? My martial aunt is my only family now. I want to be with her, so of course I have to stay in Yunhua Palace."
Fu Xiang finally realized something was wrong. She jumped up with a jolt and looked at Yin Qiu, saying, "This isn't the first time you've known I don't want to go back to Mingyue Tower. Why do you keep digging into it? I have no feelings for my father, he doesn't like me, and he has a new wife now and will have a new son in the future. Isn't it normal that I don't want to go back? Why do you act like you're forcing me to go back?"
Yin Qiu looked back at her without any change in expression and said, "Who is forcing you to go back? I just want to advise you to settle down. Whether you like it or not, you will have to go back to Mingyue Tower sooner or later. The new disciple assembly is coming soon. You need to cheer up and practice martial arts properly. You can't be like you were before the New Year, lounging around in the sun."
Fu Xiang sat on the edge of the bed, her posture still as unrestrained and leisurely as ever, but her brows revealed a seriousness that was different from usual. She looked Yin Qiu up and down for a moment, a hint of doubt flashing across her face, before she returned to her usual carefree demeanor and said with a grin, "It doesn't matter, anyway, I'm still better than you even if I play nets in the sun. Believe me or not, I won't attend a single martial arts class starting today, and I'll still make sure you can't get first place by August?"
Yin Qiu had been secretly planning how to spar with Fu Xiang to test her skills, but who knew that this person would offer up the opportunity herself, she was really considerate.
Yin Qiu immediately threw down his pen, drew his sword from his waist, pointed it at Fu Xiang, and said, "If you want me to believe you, you have to prove yourself. Do you have the guts to fight me?"
Fu Xiang looked at her in surprise: "Now?"
Yin Qiu said, "Now."
Fu Xiang gave her a strange look and refused directly: "No fighting! I'm already tired from traveling, where would I get the energy to fight you?"
Yin Qiu's eyes flickered slightly, and she looked at Fu Xiang with a knowing smile.
Noticing the meaningful look in her smile, Fu Xiang asked suspiciously, "What are you laughing at?"
Yin Qiu remained silent, stomped on the wooden stool, and leaped towards Fu Xiang with a swift and ruthless, clean and decisive move.
Seeing that she seemed to be serious, Fu Xiang frowned and quickly dodged. Before she could even stand up, Yin Qiu caught up with her from the side, forcing Fu Xiang to jump around the house and escape in a disheveled manner.
At first, Fu Xiang simply avoided Yin Qiu and didn't want to pay attention to her, but before long, she discovered that Yin Qiu's kung fu seemed to have improved a lot, which surprised her.
With his competitive spirit aroused, Fu Xiang also became interested. He took out his sword and began to spar with Yin Qiu. The two fought for a while in the house, but finding the space too small, they kicked down the door and went to the courtyard.
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