Taiping Rift 352. The Secret of Failure

No one paid attention to how Mo Jingli would deal with Concubine Liu. Perhaps Mo Xiaoyun and Princess Zhenning would pay some attention, but they would not do anything for the woman they once called their mother. Whatever Concubine Liu did, it was beyond the limits of the education they had received since childhood. Moreover, even for their hard-earned peaceful life, they would not do anything for this woman. It was not until many days later, when Mo Jingli left Licheng and returned to Jiangnan, that someone found a body that had been dead for a long time and was covered with scars on the outskirts of Licheng. In the end, Mo Xiaoyun and Princess Zhenning buried it outside the city, but no tombstone was erected. Ye Li just smiled faintly after listening to the report of his subordinates and ignored it.

On the day when Concubine Liu was taken away by Mo Jingli, Lei Zhenting also personally came to say goodbye to Ye Li and Mo Xiuyao and returned to his place of residence. Since Lei Zhenting had already left, there was no point for the Xiling Emperor's envoy to stay, so he also said goodbye and returned to Xiling the next day. In the entire Li City, only Princess Anxi was left, and Mo Jingli and Ren Qining had not left yet. Princess Anxi was pregnant, so it was not easy for her to come to Li City in person this time. In addition, the two countries of Da Chu and Xiling were busy competing with each other, and Nanzhao was located in a remote area and there was nothing important to do, so Princess Anxi was naturally not in a hurry to leave. As for Ren Qining and Mo Jingli, they had nothing to do and went to Dongfang Mansion more diligently than to Dingwang Mansion. Their thoughts were naturally obvious.

Xu Mansion

After being busy for several months, Master Qingchen pushed all the government affairs to Mo Xiuyao, and finally had some free time to rest and read at home. Although Master Qingchen was extremely talented, Mo Xiuyao and Ye Li had been busy fighting outside for more than a year, and then Ye Li became pregnant, so most of the government affairs of the Dingwang Mansion fell on Master Qingchen. It was impossible to say that he was not tired, after all, Master Qingchen himself was not one of those who liked power. After seeing off most of the distinguished guests in the past few days, Xu Qingchen had a rare moment of leisure, so he pushed the official affairs to Mo Xiuyao without hesitation, and spent his time at home reading books and playing the newly acquired Phoenix Harp.

Mo Xiuyao also realized that Xu Qingchen had been very busy in the past one or two years, and thought that he might need to rely on Master Qingchen more in the future, so he naturally couldn't really offend him. Although he was reluctant, he had to take over all the political affairs and give Master Qingchen a break.

The jade-white phoenix harp flowed out ethereal and leisurely music under the fingers that seemed to carry a faint scent of ink, making the originally quiet courtyard even more quiet. Even the people in the mansion outside the courtyard couldn't help but feel comfortable and at ease when they heard such music, as if the worries and troubles in their hearts disappeared instantly.

"Master Qingchen's piano playing is really beautiful." In the other courtyard, Qin Zheng was treating Murong Ting and Hua Tianxiang to tea. Murong Ting couldn't help but sigh when she heard the piano playing coming from outside the courtyard.

Although Murong Ting was not good at playing the zither, Qin Zheng and Hua Tianxiang were both very good at it. Hua Tianxiang smiled and said, "After listening to Master Qingchen playing the zither, I'm afraid I won't dare to show my ugliness in front of others again." Although they were confident in their own zither skills, they didn't realize the difference and distance until they really heard Master Qingchen's music. Qin Zheng nodded and smiled and said, "Master Feng San is known as the best zither player. I've also heard his music, but I'm afraid he's still a little bit inferior to my eldest brother."

Hua Tianxiang said: "Mr. Feng San's love for music is sometimes too sad. He is definitely not as happy and intoxicating as Mr. Qingchen."

Murong Ting waved her hands and said, "I don't quite understand what you are saying, but Master Qingchen's piano playing is just beautiful. Zheng'er, you are so lucky that you can listen to the piano often."

Qin Zheng smiled helplessly and said, "This is also the first time I heard big brother play the piano. In recent years, big brother has been so busy that even mother can't find him. Where does he find time to play the piano?" Murong Ting blinked and whispered, "I heard that Prince Ding and A Li gave the Phoenix Harp that Mo Jingli just sent to Master Qingchen. Master Qingchen must be playing the Phoenix Harp at this time."

Qin Zheng asked curiously, "Murong, do you want to see the Phoenix Harp? The harp is in the hands of Big Brother, so I'm afraid it's not convenient for us to go over. But we can ask Qingze to borrow it from Big Brother so that we can feast our eyes on it."

Murong Ting shook her head and sighed, "I don't understand the zither. Actually, I want to see the Burning Sword." Thinking that the Burning Sword, one of the four national treasures of the Great Chu and the best sword in the world, was in the Dingguo Palace, but she had no chance to see it, Murong Ting felt extremely worried and listless.

Qin Zheng and Hua Tianxiang rolled their eyes helplessly; they knew this would happen.

Somewhere in Xu Qingchen's courtyard, a beautiful woman in white stood on the top of a tree, looking infatuatedly at a man in white who was sitting on the ground in the courtyard below and playing the zither leisurely. Her beautiful eyes were filled with admiration, respect, envy, pain and other complex emotions. She originally wanted to go directly into the yard to find him, but she didn't expect to hear such beautiful music as soon as she entered the mansion. She couldn't help but follow the sound of the zither, and just happened to see the man in white who was as pure and elegant as an immortal under the tree. Her originally confident heart suddenly seemed to be hit hard by something, and it was indeed followed by more uncertainty and panic. Can she really get such a man? But just thinking about that tiny possibility, her heart immediately filled with infinite joy and satisfaction. At this moment, she even felt that her identity, her mission, and her position were no longer important, as long as she could be with him.

When the song ended, Xu Qingchen stopped and just leaned against a big tree, enjoying this rare leisure and freedom.

"Master Qingchen." The woman in white floated down to the ground, her eyes as gentle as water as she looked at him.

Xu Qingchen frowned slightly, looked at the woman in white in front of him calmly, and said calmly: "Miss Dongfang, it is rude to come here uninvited."

Dongfang You's eyes darkened, and he whispered, "I have something to discuss with Master Qingchen. I apologize for being rude."

Xu Qingchen carefully put the Phoenix Harp into its case, stood up, looked at Dongfang You and said, "In the past few days, all matters in the city will be handled by Prince Ding. If Miss Dongfang has anything to do, she should go to Prince Ding's mansion." Dongfang You shook her head and said, "No, my visit to you has nothing to do with Cangmang Mountain. I just want to tell you something in private."

Xu Qingchen frowned and said, "I don't seem to have any friendship with the young lady, and there should be nothing private to talk about. Miss Dongfang, please go back." After saying that, he picked up the zither case and prepared to go into the house.

"No, Master Qingchen..." Seeing Xu Qingchen was about to leave, Dongfang You hurriedly called out, "Master Qingchen!" In a hurry, he actually used Qinggong and jumped in front of Xu Qingchen. Dongfang You's martial arts were praised by Mo Xiuyao, which was enough to prove that he was really good. Xu Qingchen was just a weak scholar with no strength, and the difference in strength was imaginable. Dongfang You insisted on blocking Xu Qingchen, so Xu Qingchen naturally couldn't leave.

"What do you mean, Miss Dongfang?" Xu Qingchen's handsome face darkened slightly.

"Master Qingchen, you...you don't even want to look at me?" Dongfang You looked at the man in front of her with some grievance. Although she had never been in contact with anyone since she was a child, she knew that she was beautiful enough just by looking at the performance of the people around her and the infatuated eyes of many people after she came down the mountain. But why didn't Master Qingchen even want to look at her?

Xu Qingchen frowned and said nothing. Dongfang You whispered softly, "Master... Master Qingchen, can you please look at me?"

Xu Qingchen's handsome eyebrows wrinkled even more tightly. Dong Fangyou's voice was low and soft, but it made him feel very uncomfortable, as if something was about to burst out of his mind. His eyes couldn't help but look towards Dong Fangyou.

But Xu Qingchen was not someone else. After a flash of confusion in his eyes, he became calm again. He looked at the woman in white with a calm expression. Her face, which was not originally beautiful, seemed to become extremely lively and beautiful in an instant. It was as if at that moment, everything in time faded away, leaving only the woman in front of him alive and bright.

"Master, Master Qingchen... Am I not beautiful? Can you please take a look at me?" Dong Fangyou looked at Xu Qingchen deeply and murmured softly.

Xu Qingchen stared at Dong Fangyou for a long time without saying a word.

Dongfang You was delighted to see him staring at her without moving. She took a step forward and smiled even more beautifully, "Master Qingchen... am I beautiful?"

"You...are beautiful..."

Dongfang You was overjoyed and stepped forward again, walking to a place one step away from Xu Qingchen. A faint bright red appeared between his eyebrows, making him look even more charming and attractive. "Young Master..."

"Miss Dongfang, what do you want to say?" Xu Qingchen's voice sounded softly, calmly and without any waves.

"Puff——" Hearing Xu Qingchen's voice, Dongfang You's eyes widened and a mouthful of blood spurted out of her mouth. Xu Qingchen took a step to the side, just avoiding the blood she spurted out. In an instant, the seductive charm on Dongfang You's face disappeared, and instead, she looked more embarrassed and weak. The secret technique of bewitching people is a double-edged sword. If you can control a person, you can naturally make the person obsessed or even obedient at will. But once the other party's mind is firm and not affected, then the one who gets hurt is the caster himself. Dongfang You was interrupted by Xu Qingchen's sudden voice at the most critical moment, and suffered the consequences. For a moment, his face was gloomy and his internal breath was even more violent, and it was obvious that he had serious internal injuries.

"Master Qingchen..." Dongfang You looked at the man in white in front of her in astonishment, unable to believe that she would fail. At the banquet that day, she had only used a few tricks to make many high-ranking officials present feel uneasy. She did not expect that she would fail against a man who did not know any martial arts at all, especially since she had already used the most profound secret technique she could use. At this point, even if an ordinary man killed his father, he would completely forget to submit to her secret technique. Does this man really hate her so much?

"You are a shady person. Please respect yourself, young lady." Xu Qingchen glanced at the woman in white in front of him with displeasure and said indifferently. Xu Qingchen had already seen Dong Fangyou's unique and strange attraction to men on the night of Mr. Qingyun's birthday banquet, but he did not have this feeling the next few times he met her. Even if he did not know that there was such a unique secret technique in Cangmang Mountain, Xu Qingchen should have felt that something was wrong, so how could he fall for her trick?

At this time, Xu Qingchen was not in trouble, but Dongfang You was.

This secret technique of seducing and controlling people's hearts is more difficult to practice than martial arts. Dong Fang You is very talented to have achieved such an achievement. Even her master Dong Fang Hui is not as good as her in this aspect, but at the same time, the price of failure is also very high. The face that had just turned gray due to the spitting of blood gradually began to turn red. The originally resentful water eyes were gradually covered with a layer of mist, "Master Qingchen..."

Xu Qingchen frowned, looked up at a certain spot on the courtyard wall, and said calmly: "Aren't you coming out yet?"

As soon as he finished speaking, two men in black came down from the wall and bowed respectfully to Xu Qingchen, "Greetings, Master Qingchen." Xu Qingchen looked at them with a smile and said, "Is this how A'li wants you to protect me?" It would be fine if the Xu Mansion was left unattended, but it has been so long, and the guards who were specifically responsible for protecting Master Qingchen have not discovered it yet, that's too fake.

The two guards looked at each other and said with a little shame: "The prince said that as long as it does not endanger the young master's safety... it is best not to ruin the young master's luck in love..." So it is not that they are not doing their job, but that the prince himself wants to see the joke of young master Qingchen. Of course, if young master Qingchen really fell into Dongfangyou's trap just now, they would still take action.

Xu Qingchen already knew what kind of person Mo Xiuyao was, so he could hardly blame them. He looked at Dongfang You, who had fallen and was moaning intermittently, and asked, "What happened to her?" One of them stepped forward to take a look, and coughed awkwardly and said, "Well, maybe... Miss Dongfang used some kind of charm to seduce men and arouse their desires. This... Master Qingchen broke her charm, and she suffered internal injuries. Then this, this internal injury backfired, and she...she..." Master Qingchen didn't know martial arts, and frowned as he looked at Dongfang You, "Is she seriously injured?"

The guard said in a low voice: "Find a man... it won't be heavy."

The handsome face of Master Qingchen froze, he lowered his eyes and thought for a moment, then said: "Send her back to Madam Dongfang." Since it was not their responsibility, they didn't need to worry about it. As for how Dongfang Hui was going to treat Dongfang You's injuries, it was none of their business. They didn't understand the art of enchantment...

After hearing Xu Qingchen's order, a guard stepped forward, picked up Dongfangyou and jumped over the wall. During the process, Dongfangyou, who was a little confused, took advantage of him.

In the quiet courtyard, Xu Qingchen sat under a big tree with his zither in his hand, thinking. Not far away, a black-clad guard stood at the corner of the wall, staring at the sky in a trance. After a while, there was a burst of noise outside the courtyard. The black-clad guard jumped onto the wall, took a look, and then came back to report: "Sir, the old lady and Madam Dongfang are here."

Xu Qingchen glanced at him calmly and said, "Stop them first and let them in half a minute later."

Although they didn't understand the purpose of Master Qingchen's order, the guards still obeyed the order. Under the big tree, Master Qingchen stroked the zither case and a hint of coldness flashed across his handsome eyes.

The guards were indeed very obedient. Half a minute later, Xu Qingchen had just stood up and wanted to go out when Dongfang Hui rushed in with Xu Hongyu and Madam Xu. Xu Qingchen said calmly, "Dad, Madam, Madam Dongfang, why are you here?" Because he didn't need to go out today, Xu Qingchen was dressed very casually. But this casualness seemed a bit weird and inappropriate in the eyes of the people who just came in. Dongfang Hui's expression changed slightly, staring at Xu Qingchen and said, "What did you do to You'er?"

Before Xu Qingchen could say anything, Madam Xu on the side was not happy. She glanced at Dongfang Hui with displeasure and her face darkened. What did she mean by what happened to Dongfang You? What could her son do to Dongfang You? She was afraid that Dongfang You would play some tricks on Qingchen. After walking up to Xu Qingchen and looking him up and down, Madam Xu asked, "Qingchen, has that Dongfang girl been here?"

Xu Qingchen was stunned for a moment, then nodded and said, "Miss Dongfang came here half an hour ago."

Madam Xu was startled, and she grabbed Xu Qingchen and asked, "Are you okay?"

This time it was Dongfang Hui who was unhappy. Although it was Dongfang You who wanted to use some tricks on Xu Qingchen, Madam Xu's words made people feel upset. Dongfang Hui just knew Dongfang You's plan, and for the first time in her life she hated this disciple she had raised so much that she wanted to strangle him to death. Dongfang Hui herself was not proficient in charm. Although this charm was a unique secret technique of Cangmang Mountain, Dongfang Hui herself did not think highly of this ability. When she was young, she only dabbled in it and gave up. The prerequisite for the success of this method of seducing people is that the man's mind is not strong enough, but how could Dongfang Hui think highly of a man with a weak mind, and then use this trick of dying to charm the other party? So this kind of thing is completely a chicken rib to Dongfang Hui.

When Dong Fanghui knew that Dong Fangyou was going to use magic to deal with Xu Qingchen, she wanted to cut open Dong Fangyou's head to see what was inside. How could someone like Xu Qingchen be controlled by magic? Seemingly gentle and refined, but actually cold-hearted, Dong Fanghui believed that Mo Xiuyao was controlled by magic and didn't believe that Xu Qingchen would be controlled. Fearing that Dong Fangyou had encountered some kind of accident, Dong Fanghui hurriedly dropped what she was doing and rushed over, only to find out that Dong Fangyou had been here for more than half an hour but hadn't come out yet. For a moment, Dong Fanghui was really unsure whether Xu Qingchen had been tricked or not. That's why she tried to test Xu Qingchen, but was blocked by Madam Xu.

"Master Xu, I am here to visit you. It has been a long time since I last saw you. Do you know where she has gone?" Dongfang Hui asked in a deep voice.

"This..." Xu Qingchen pondered for a moment and looked at the three people present hesitantly.

Mrs. Xu's heart sank when she saw his embarrassment. Fearing that her son had really been tricked by Dong Fang You, Xu Hongyu frowned slightly and asked, "Did Miss Dong Fang leave? When did she leave? Why did she come to see you? Why didn't the concierge see Miss Dong Fang?" Even though Xu Hongyu was a great scholar of high moral character, he was biased towards his own family. Naturally, he didn't want his son to marry a woman like Dong Fang You. The first question he asked was why did Miss Dong Fang come to visit but not through the front door? With this clause, even if Xu Qingchen really had something going on with Dong Fang You, the Xu family could refuse to marry Dong Fang You in a formal way. Who would be willing to marry a woman who doesn't go through the front door to visit a strange man?

After hearing what Xu Hongyu said, Dongfang Hui's face became a little gloomy. Unfortunately, she was the one who was at fault, so she had nothing to say.

Xu Qingchen calmly looked at the three people with different expressions, and said lightly: "Miss Dongfang did come to visit, but she seemed to be a little unwell due to a sudden illness. I asked someone to send her out just now."

"When?!" Dongfang Hui asked anxiously.

Xu Qingchen thought for a moment and said, "About... two quarters of an hour ago."

"What happened to her?" Dongfang Hui thought to herself. Xu Qingchen said, "I don't really understand this either. Miss Dongfang suddenly vomited blood and her face didn't look good. I guess she might have suffered internal injuries from jumping off the wall."

Dongfang Hui gritted her teeth secretly. With Dongfang You's martial arts, she wouldn't necessarily suffer any internal injuries even if she jumped off a cliff, let alone a wall. "Where did they go? Why didn't anyone see them outside?" Xu Qingchen said frankly, "Because Miss Dongfang came over the wall, the guards probably thought that Miss Dongfang didn't want anyone to know she was here, so they also went over the wall."

"Sir." A man landed on the wall. It was the black-clad guard who had just carried Dongfang You out. The innocent guard, who had just been taken advantage of by someone, had a dull face with a slight blush. He was stunned to see a group of people suddenly appear in the yard. "Mr., Madam."

"Where is You'er?" Dongfang Hui asked sharply.

The guard was stunned for a moment, then he responded and said, "I am sending Miss Dongfang out."

"Sent her back to the posthouse so soon?" Unless one used Qinggong, it would not be enough to go back and forth from Xu's residence to Dongfang's residence in such a short time. But no one would use Qinggong to take a woman out for a walk in the daytime. The guard shook his head and said, "I ran into Prince Li outside. Prince Li said he was going to Dongfang's residence to visit his wife, so he sent Miss Dongfang back."

"You handed You'er over to Mo Jingli?!" Dongfang Hui said sharply.

The black-clad guards felt a little aggrieved, "It was Miss Dongfang who agreed to let King Li send her back." Could it be that this Miss Dongfang had escaped from the monastery, so they still had to send her back? Even if she was sent back, she would have been separated from the Lady Dongfang. It would be too late to save Miss Dongfang after Lady Dongfang returned.

Madam Xu didn't care what happened to Dongfang You, as long as her son was fine. She would rather Qingchen never get married than marry Dongfang You! Madam Xu smiled and raised her hand to straighten her son's clothes, saying, "You are such a jerk. Why don't you change your clothes before going out when guests come?"

"I know I was wrong." Xu Qingchen did not argue and smiled faintly.

Dongfang Hui was in no mood to watch their mother-son affection. She bowed to Xu Hongyu with a cold face and said, "Brother Xu, goodbye!"

Xu Hongyu nodded calmly, "No thanks."

After seeing Dongfang Hui off, Xu Hongyu looked at Xu Qingchen thoughtfully and asked, "Did Mo Jingli just happen to run into Dongfang You, or did Dongfang You just happen to run into Mo Jingli?"

Xu Qingchen smiled slightly, "Father, what's the difference?"

Xu Hongyu thought for a moment and said calmly, "What's the difference here? Don't you understand? Dongfang You..." Xu Qingchen smiled and said, "Dongfang You has not lost his mind. Even if something really happened, it has nothing to do with our Xu family and Prince Ding's Mansion." Looking at his son's calm look, Xu Hongyu nodded with satisfaction, "Well done." Dongfang You dared to plot against the Xu family, and he deserved what he got. The Xu family has never been a kind-hearted person who repays evil with kindness.