Chapter 88 After that night's conversation, Xie...
After that night's conversation, Xie Zhuo was still worried. He was concerned that the people in the courtyard couldn't keep an eye on him, and he was also wary of the people hiding in the shadows. After much thought, he found a good place for Xie Baoqiong on Chisong's advice.
"Thank you, sir. This is not a charity."
Xie Zhuo acted as if he hadn't heard, and pushed Xie Baoqiong, who was beside him, forward: "Thank you for your trouble, Miss Cheng."
Before leaving, he reminded Xie Baoqiong, "Don't wander off, stay with Miss Cheng. Your father will come to pick you up when he's done with his work."
The carriage sped away, leaving two people, one tall and one short, staring at each other at the doorway.
"Honestly, one after another..." Cheng Ling complained, then waved to Xie Baoqiong, who was standing in the doorway: "Come in."
The place where they disembarked from the carriage was a side gate not far from the backyard where Cheng Ling was temporarily staying.
Xie Baoqiong followed Cheng Ling into a deserted path and soon arrived at the backyard.
The courtyard gate was wide open, and the moment Cheng Ling stepped into the yard, a figure rushed towards her like a whirlwind, circling around her legs, his tone filled with barely suppressed excitement:
"My lord, you're back!"
Xie Baoqiong entered the courtyard a step behind. The moment she heard the voice, she felt a sense of familiarity, but the owner of the voice was blocked by Cheng Ling, so she couldn't see clearly.
“I wasn’t gone long.” Cheng Ling ruffled the newcomer’s hair, then turned to her, gesturing for her to look at Xie Baoqiong behind her. “We’ll be having guests these days, and you know some of them…”
Before Cheng Ling could finish speaking, the person beside her had already seen Xie Baoqiong's face clearly and exclaimed, "A distinguished guest!"
Xie Baoqiong's gaze shifted downwards, and the voice belonged to Erqiao. However, her face was no longer as sallow as before; she had gained some weight and her eyes no longer appeared frighteningly large.
That day, Chishong left the person with Cheng Ling before taking him back, so he wouldn't be too surprised to see Erqiao here now.
As usual, Erqiao glanced behind Xie Baoqiong, and when she didn't see anyone else, she reluctantly looked away and volunteered, "I'll go get some water."
Before the two could react, Erqiao hurriedly ran towards the house.
Cheng Ling glanced at Xie Baoqiong, whose expression was indifferent, and inquired, "What is that little girl Chishong planning?"
"have no idea."
After that day, Xie Baoqiong had not seen Chishong for some time, so she naturally did not know what Chishong was thinking.
However, he felt that Chishong had most likely forgotten about Erqiao, whom he had only met once.
Cheng Ling and Xie Baoqiong thought of the same thing and clicked their tongues impatiently.
Just then, Erqiao returned with two glasses of water. Seeing Cheng Ling's unpleasant expression, she looked bewildered, suppressed her joy, and handed the glasses to the two of them.
Cheng Ling took the cup, downed the water in one gulp with great gusto, and finally suppressed his anger. He left the two of them to play by themselves, and then went back into the room to peruse ancient books.
After her condition was brought under control, Akamatsu did not explain the reason to her, but told her to stop her work and not to continue researching treatment methods. He instructed her to rest and recuperate for the time being, and to wait for further instructions.
She wasn't originally under Akamatsu's command and didn't need to obey him completely. This epidemic was unusual, and she had to figure it out.
As for Erqiao...
Her gaze drifted across the window and landed on the figures sitting side by side on the steps in the courtyard.
The two did not stand very close, with a space between them that could fit one person. Erqiao obediently listened to her, playing with the sash of her clothes, and occasionally glancing at Xie Baoqiong sitting to the side.
As for Xie Baoqiong, she sipped her water absentmindedly, her mind wandering elsewhere.
The two children were both quite young, and their quiet demeanor, confined to the small courtyard, touched Cheng Ling's heart. This made her scoff at Xie Zhuo's suggestion that the children were a bit too lively and boisterous, and asked her to be more tolerant of them.
Cheng Ling closed the ancient book and quietly walked behind the two of them.
Xie Baoqiong turned around as if she sensed something, and met Cheng Ling's slightly narrowed eyes.
"Lord Cheng? Is there anything I can help you with?"
Upon hearing the commotion and seeing Cheng Ling emerge, Erqiao immediately stood up and approached him, appearing completely at his beck and call.
Cheng Ling took Erqiao's hand, squeezing it tightly in return. She glanced sideways at Erqiao, who was grinning from ear to ear, before returning her gaze to Xie Baoqiong, who was slowly standing up.
"I'll take you guys out to have some fun."
Xie Baoqiong was calculating the information she had gathered over the past few days and planning her next move, but upon hearing Cheng Ling's words, she obediently followed.
The location had been scouted, and there was no sign that the person was going to run away. This matter couldn't be rushed, so he put the matter aside for the time being.
The slight unease that had arisen in my heart as things were about to settle down also dissipated.
It seems that as long as things don't end, everything can stay the way it is, and he won't have to face the problem in his heart.
...
A trellis was erected in the southeast corner of the yard. The branches and leaves on it were neglected, growing wildly and in a tangled mess. The branches twisted and turned around the wooden frame overhead, and the droopy leaves crowded together, blocking out most of the sun.
Scattered sunlight shattered into powder and fell on the three people below.
The feathers and silk threads that appeared out of thin air in Cheng Ling's hand reflected a faint luster at their edges, making Xie Baoqiong take another look.
The slight fluctuation of spiritual energy and the undisguised aura emanating from Cheng Ling made it easy for anyone who had cultivated, whether human or demon, to recognize her identity.
Xie Baoqiong took the feathers and silk threads that were given to her, her gaze lingering on the feathers with their mixed colors.
The brown and white feathers, bathed in fragments of sunlight, looked warm and light, almost as if they could be swept away by a casual gust of wind.
His gaze shifted to Cheng Ling, who was teaching Erqiao to tie feathers together with silk thread. The fluffy feathers fluttered in her hands, and the scattered light bathed Cheng Ling and Erqiao in a soft glow.
Xie Baoqiong suddenly realized that he was the only one who needed to conceal his identity.
What Xie Zhuo and Xie Rongjing said was both right and wrong; humans and demons are the same, yet different.
He suddenly felt a strange emotion towards Cheng Ling and Chi Song, like a light itch on his heart, yet as untouchable as a cloud.
Xie Baoqiong felt increasingly strange. Since coming down from the mountain, more and more unknown emotions that he had never experienced before were peeking out from the unknown.
Perhaps only heaven and earth know where such emotions came from in a mere stone.
Has he become more human? Not in appearance, but as a complete human being.
But why can't it be a fox?
To become a fox like Xiaochun.
He recalled Xiaochun's warning; in Xiaochun's context, becoming human didn't seem to be a good thing.
"Young Master Xie."
Cheng Ling's words drew his attention back to his hand; the feather was still a feather, and the thread was still a thread.
The feathers and silk threads in Erqiao's hands were already assembled. The feathers were tied into a bunch with silk threads, and a few copper coins and a soft cushion were attached to the bottom.
Erqiao noticed his gaze, glanced at the shuttlecock in her hand, and handed it to him: "Does Your Excellency not want to make it? Then I'll give you this one."
Xie Baoqiong refused Erqiao's kindness and lowered her head to tie the feathers together.
Cheng Ling sat to the side, and after Er Qiao informed her, she ran outside into the sun and started kicking the shuttlecock rather clumsily.
The copper plates collided, producing a crisp sound.
"Young Master Xie, are you missing your father?"
Xie Baoqiong put down the shuttlecock she was working on halfway through, frowned, and glanced at Cheng Ling.
"It seems not."
Cheng Ling answered his own question, took the already tied feather, threaded it onto the copper coin, and fixed it to the soft cushion.
She handed the completed shuttlecock to Xie Baoqiong: "Young Master Xie, what is troubling you at such a young age?"
Xie Baoqiong clenched her fingers, grasping the downy feather in her hand. The soft feather tip brushed against her fingertip, poking at his heartstrings.
He avoided answering Cheng Ling's question:
What's this called?
"So, Young Master Xie has never played shuttlecock before." Cheng Ling's tone was not sarcastic, but rather showed a hint of understanding: "Would you like me to teach you?"
"No need." Xie Baoqiong shook the shuttlecock, the copper coin at the end making a clinking sound that made him dizzy. Instead of getting up to kick the shuttlecock, he asked:
"What kind of person does Lord Cheng think a person is?"
"Human? You're so young and you're already thinking about these things?" Cheng Ling looked at him with some curiosity. "But that makes sense, this is the kind of age where people tend to have wild thoughts."
She pondered for a moment, seriously considering Xie Baoqiong's strange and profound question: "People are all different, aren't they?"
Where is my father?
Cheng Ling's gaze turned strange. Although she knew Xie Baoqiong didn't mean it that way, she still teased, "You don't mean to make me your stepmother, do you? That won't do, someone like Lord Xie..."
She stopped mid-sentence, realizing it was immoral to speak ill of someone in front of their son. So she swallowed back the judgments that were on the tip of her tongue—that they were cunning enough to sell someone out and still smile as they counted the money for him—and instead said dismissively, "Too clever."
"Isn't being smart a good thing?" Xie Baoqiong remembered that these two words were used to praise someone.
Cheng Ling's tone became even more perfunctory: "I don't like people who are too smart."
Xie Baoqiong sensed her perfunctory attitude and, not wanting to make a fool of herself, was about to get up and leave when Cheng Ling spoke again:
"But you, bringing this up all of a sudden, have you had a falling out with Lord Xie?"
Xie Baoqiong was speechless for a moment. Apart from the biggest secret, there was actually very little conflict between him and Xie Zhuo.
Xie Zhuo almost never speaks harshly, and when he does curse, it's in a roundabout way, and he can't understand it anyway.
Not to mention that Xie Zhuo has always been good-tempered towards him, rarely even showing a stern face, and would coax him afterwards.
Even if he accidentally does something wrong, Xie Zhuo will first worry about whether he is hurt, then reflect on his own actions, and only then lecture him.
But all of this is built on that biggest secret, the secret that, once revealed, would become the biggest source of conflict between him and Xie Zhuo.
Seeing Xie Baoqiong remain silent for a long time, Cheng Ling comforted her in a light tone:
"Lord Xie cherishes you so much, he would probably pluck the moon from the sky for you if you wanted it. If there is any conflict, just talk it out. Lord Xie would never want to wrong you."
Should we talk it out?
This is a solution that is not among his options.
Speaking out means bringing the conflict to the surface, exposing it to him and Xie Zhuo, and tearing everything apart.
The moon cannot be reached.
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Author's Note: Not finished yet (sighs emoji). I worked overtime until midnight the past few days and didn't even have time to fish. Today I finally have a day off. I hope I won't be called back to work overtime.
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