Chapter 66 Flirting If you're worried I'll catch a cold, then come to my bed. ...
The green shadow flashed by in an instant. But Yue Yining saw it clearly; it wasn't an illusion.
Next to the hand that was holding the car window, another hand reached up and touched hers.
Yue Yining paused for a moment, then a faint fragrance enveloped her. Xie Qingyu also came to the window and looked out with her, but the green shadow had already disappeared.
“It’s gone. It ran very fast.” Yue Yining looked up at Xie Qingyu.
Fu Yao's eyes widened, and she waved her arms: "It's real! It really was a green ghostly shadow! It appeared suddenly, and then suddenly flashed past my eyes, oh my god!"
"There really is a green ghost..." Xie Qingyu mused, looking down at her. "Did Lord Yue see it clearly just now?"
Yue Yining: "I only saw a little green light, and it disappeared very quickly."
But it was definitely a green light. The street was a sea of black and gray mud-brick buildings, with few red lanterns, making the sudden appearance of fluorescent green extremely jarring and illogical. Besides, both she and Fu Yao saw it; it couldn't be an illusion.
She frowned in thought, about to look up and say something, when she suddenly realized that Xie Qingyu's figure was even closer. The black cotton sleeves that had fallen down overlapped hers, looking like two pools of ink merging together, indistinguishable from one another.
Yue Yining tightened her grip on the window frame, meeting Xie Qingyu's calm and gentle eyes.
“I noticed something strange just now,” Xie Qingyu said slowly, “The incense on Lord Yue seems to be much stronger than usual.”
Yue Yining was taken aback, thinking of the young man she had brought back to the house from the banquet that night.
The perfume scent on Yue Nu was indeed strong and pungent. Did the young man pick up that scent when he leaned against her and covered for her?
Jin Lingxi's exclamation broke the silence as she pointed out the window, "It's the Green Ghost!"
Suddenly, Yue Yining, who was in the corner, turned around quickly, jumped up from her seat, lifted the beaded curtain, and rushed down from the carriage.
Xie Qingyu did not hesitate. After a moment of surprise, she parted the curtain with her fingers and immediately followed.
"Miss!" Fu Yao followed closely behind and jumped off the carriage.
Yue Yining landed on her feet and immediately looked up at the green shadow not far away. But in the blink of an eye, the green shadow disappeared in front of her again.
This time it was much clearer; it was a dense green light that suddenly appeared and swept quickly through the streets and bushes, making it impossible to see anything clearly.
Yue Yining frowned, wanting to approach the clump of trees where the green shadow had last disappeared to examine it more closely, when her wrist was grabbed.
She was taking long strides and walking quickly when she was suddenly pulled, causing her to stumble and fall several steps. She couldn't help but turn around and glare at the man who had suddenly grabbed her: "What is this, Lord Xie?"
“It’s dangerous,” Xie Qingyu frowned. “Miss, please wait a moment and let Yin Yi and Fu Yao go ahead.”
The two of them walked in front, while Yin Yi and Fu Yao had not yet caught up.
Yue Yining stared at him intently, but didn't continue walking forward.
Seeing that she had listened to the advice, Xie Qingyu immediately released her hand, his wide sleeves covering his well-defined fingers, and he once again appeared as a composed and unhurried gentleman.
Yue Yining took everything in and said slowly, "You changed your tune quite quickly."
When other people are around, they call her "Master Yue," but once they are alone, they immediately call her "Miss" again.
Xie Qingyu was stunned for a moment before she realized what was happening. She opened her mouth to say something, but Fu Yao and the others had already caught up.
Fu Yao panicked: "Miss, why did you run so fast! How could you jump straight off the carriage? What if you twisted your ankle?"
Yue Yining: "......."
Yue Yining: "I am not a porcelain doll."
So what if she jumped off the carriage? Why do they all treat her like fragile glass?
Yin Yi stepped forward first, searched the spot where the green shadow had disappeared for a while, and shook his head at them: "There's nothing there."
Xie Qingyu: "Not even footprints?"
Yin Yi: "Yes. This area is grassland. I have checked it all. There are no footprints, not even any signs of the grass being trampled."
Upon hearing this, Fu Yao flinched and tugged at Yue Yining's sleeve. She was genuinely scared: "Oh no, could it really be a ghost?"
Yue Yining narrowed her eyes and looked around.
The carriage was parked not far away. As soon as she heard Jin Lingxi's shout, she jumped off the carriage at great speed, but she could only watch helplessly as the green figure disappeared from her sight.
Yue Yining stepped forward, followed her memory to the spot where the green shadow disappeared, squatted down, and scanned the area.
Just as Yin Yi said, there wasn't a single trace. Logically speaking, if someone were playing a trick, there would be footprints.
She looked up again. There were no big trees around this place, and it was a distance from the nearest house.
If the green shadow wasn't created by a person, then what could it be to appear silently and disappear without a trace?
As Yue Yining pondered, suddenly, Fu Yao beside her exclaimed again, "It's there!!"
Upon hearing this, Yue Yining's pupils contracted, and she instantly turned her head to look.
This time, it couldn't be clearer.
A pale, ethereal green shadow emerged from where the bushes met the road. Its color was bright and glossy, without a clear shape, shimmering, dancing, and fluttering in mid-air. In that brief moment of focused attention, the green light flickered one last time before vanishing again.
Yue Yining slowly lowered her hand.
This doesn't look like a ghost at all; it's more like...
Yue Yining's eyes widened as she suddenly looked towards the mint not far away. The long, straight chimney had just finished spewing thick smoke, and the last wisp of smoke drifted before the silvery full moon. The moonlight seemed like clusters of clean dust falling to earth, and its glow shimmered lightly above the walls.
Wait, a wall?
Yue Yining squinted and saw clearly the round mirrors reflecting the moonlight on the wall.
In the darkness of night, these round mercury mirrors resemble sharp spikes erected on a wall, half dark and half bright, making it difficult to tell they are mirrors without careful observation.
Mirror.
Yue Yining blinked, and the thick fog in her mind dissipated, revealing the moon through the clouds.
Just then, Jin Lingxi got out of the car and ran towards them, already standing beside Yue Yining. She seemed to rarely run, as she was already out of breath after just this short distance.
She propped herself up on her knees and looked at them, asking with difficulty, "Then... how is the green ghost? Did it escape?"
Yue Yining didn't respond. She suddenly asked, "Miss Jin, why are there so many bronze mirrors standing on the wall of the mint?"
Jin Lingxi was stunned for a moment. When she saw Yue Yining looking over, she tried her best to stand up straight, even though her calves were sore.
She repeated, "Bronze mirrors? Those bronze mirrors have existed for a long time."
"The furnaces at the mint burn day and night. Over the years, sparks have always drifted to the material yard with the wind, occasionally igniting thatched sheds and flags. My father was acquainted with the head of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau and asked him for advice. The head of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau inquired about the location of the mint and suggested that my father use bronze mirrors to create a star array around the perimeter wall."
“In this way, the sunlight can be used to illuminate the furnace during the day, and the craftsmen can also see the color of the molten copper; at night, the moonlight can be gathered in the material yard, which can also save half of the lamp oil. It is a good method that kills two birds with one stone,” Jin Lingxi said. “That man’s suggestion was very useful. After that, the number of accidents around the mint decreased a lot, and there were no more fires.”
“My father valued this array of mirrors very much. He believed that these bronze mirrors had changed the feng shui around the mint.”
Yue Yining narrowed her eyes and weighed the matter with her gaze.
Indeed, the spacing between the mirrors coincides perfectly with the Twenty-Eight Mansions, forming a feng shui arrangement that disperses fire and gathers metal, which is beneficial for iron smelting and house construction, and there is nothing unusual about it.
She suddenly smiled and said, "I see."
Jin Lingxi: "Have you two discovered anything else unusual?"
Xie Qingyu looked at Yue Yining, but Yue Yining didn't say anything more, instead staring intently at the bronze mirrors.
After an unknown amount of time, thick smoke began to billow from the chimneys on the mint roof again. Yue Yining then realized that the smoke was obscuring the moonlight, and from where they were standing, the round, bright moon would be completely shrouded in smoke.
At the same time, Yue Yining heard Fu Yao scream again: "It's the Green Ghost!"
Yue Yining turned around, and the elusive green shadow appeared before her once more. But this time, Yue Yining didn't just look at it. A split second before the green shadow vanished, she turned her head to look at the chimney at the top of the mint. The smoke that had just been billowing out had just dissipated, and moonlight shone through the smoke, returning to the world.
Yue Yining said, "Indeed."
Fu Yao was now completely convinced that this was a ghost. It appeared without making a sound and disappeared so quickly, how could it be a human!
She trembled and looked at Yue Yining, who had suddenly spoken: "Miss?"
Yue Yining turned to look at everyone: "I know where the 'Green Ghost' came from."
“Look at the mint chimney not far away. Whenever smoke comes out of the chimney, the Green Ghost will appear.”
Under Yue Yining's direction, everyone looked towards the mint. The straight chimney, paved with towering stone bricks, was still quietly bathed in moonlight. Until the smoke gathered below, surged, and suddenly poured out from it.
Jin Lingxi exclaimed in surprise, "It's the Green Ghost!"
Everyone turned around, and the green ghostly figure arrived as expected, disappearing instantly after a faint sway.
A glint flashed in Yue Yining's eyes: "The so-called 'green ghost' is nothing more than the shadow of moonlight refracted by a bronze mirror when it passes through the smoke."
“The wind direction changes every day, so the angle at which the smoke obscures the moonlight also changes, and the mirrors that can reflect the green light just right also change, so the location where the ‘green ghost’ appears also changes. That’s why the ‘green ghost’ can appear and disappear so mysteriously that it can’t be found.” Yue Yining slowly sorted out this chain of cause and effect, “But because of this, no matter how unpredictable it is, the ‘green ghost’ will never appear anywhere other than near the mint.”
Fu Yao was shocked: "How can the light reflected from the smoke be so bright?"
Jin Lingxi's tightly furrowed brows slowly relaxed. She seemed to sense something and murmured, "Generally speaking, no. However, the mirror array is arranged according to the positions of the stars, so it can precisely gather the scattered green light into a pillar of light..."
Yue Yining said, "Not only that. I happen to know a little about celestial phenomena. From the beginning of March to the end of April is the time when Mars enters the constellation of Yu Gui."
"The moonlight is brighter and more intense than usual, and the moon is at a lower angle in the sky, which is why it can appear such a solid, illusory image under the refraction of the bronze mirror..."
The sudden sound of the drumbeats drowned out Yue Yining's words.
Yue Yining laughed: "What a magic trick of using the moon as an inkstone and a bronze mirror as a brush."
In this way, the truth came out, and the Green Ghost was nothing but a complete misunderstanding.
“But these bronze mirrors have been here since I was ten years old, almost five years ago. Although they were replaced almost every two years because of severe corrosion,” Jin Lingxi said, still puzzled, trying hard to recall. “I remember the last time they were replaced was on the Double Ninth Festival last year.”
"If it's because of the bronze mirror, why haven't there been any strange rumors before, but only in recent months has the talk of a green ghost emerged?"
Xie Qingyu also spoke up: "Also, why does the smoke released during copper refining contain green particles?"
If the smoke didn't contain color and was simply reflecting moonlight, it shouldn't have produced a green shadow. In fact, from a distance, the smoke coming from the mint chimneys appeared black, not green.
These questions remain unanswered. Yue Yining thought to herself that she still needed to find a way to infiltrate the mint and investigate.
However, time is too tight tonight, and we can't stay here any longer.
“But I agree with the Yue people’s conjecture,” Xie Qingyu said gently, “This is the most perfect explanation for the ‘Green Ghost’.”
“Let’s talk about it later,” Yue Yining said, leading the way toward the carriage. She turned back to look at them. “Let’s go back to the manor first. The night watchman’s drum has already sounded once. If we don’t leave now, we won’t be able to get back before curfew.”
Night falls, the water flows gently, stars linger on the cloud-covered islet. As the last drumbeat sounded, the pointed-roof carriage carrying four people left the market and entered the back alley of the city lord's mansion.
Fu Yao and Jin Lingxi got off the carriage first. When Yue Yining wanted to follow, Xie Qingyu called out to her from behind, "Miss."
Locust and pear blossoms fluttered down from the roof of the carriage, and the ram's horn lantern carried by the night patrolman just barely crossed the alley entrance, pinning the carriage's shadow to the screen wall.
Xie Qingyu looked at her, her eyes gentle and warm: "The night wind is chilly tonight. When you get back, Miss, please remember to have Miss Fu put a few more heaters in the house to dispel the yin energy and prevent her from catching a cold in spring."
Yue Yining narrowed her eyes and lowered the half-drawn carriage curtain. The scattered tinkling beads and jade ornaments obscured the figures of the two.
She stared at Xie Qingyu and said slowly, "I thought you called me over because you had something more important to say to me, but it turns out it's just these boring private words."
As soon as she said this, she noticed that Xie Qingyu's body stiffened.
He stared at her blankly, his eyelashes trembling slightly, and said softly, "If Miss finds this annoying, I won't say it again."
He said that, but his lowered eyelids, his clenched knuckles that had turned white, and the emotions quietly welling up in his eyes were all contradicting him.
Yue Yining saw this. Since he had already brought it up, she didn't intend to let him off easily. "You're worried I'll catch a cold, but all you did was tell my maid to light the stove for me?"
She smiled and said, "Is that all?"
Xie Qingyu pursed her lips, her smile tinged with bitterness: "If I could, I would also like to do these things for Miss myself."
But he is no longer "Ayu".
The identity of "Xie Qingyu" is sometimes good, allowing him to stand with her in the eyes of others with dignity and as a matter of course; sometimes it is not so good, as it prevents him from seeing her often and from doing her hair and dressing her and tucking her in as he used to.
Yue Yining looked at him, then smiled, "I'm not talking about these 'things'."
“If you’re worried I’ll catch a cold, then come and warm my bed yourself,” she said with a smile, “just like before.”
Xie Qingyu was completely stunned.
Seeing that he didn't react, Yue Yining urged, "Hmm?"
She smiled, a slight curl of her lips, and let out a casual question from her throat, seemingly just teasing him.
It can only be teasing. Otherwise, would it be flirting?
His mistress would never flirt with someone like him. At most, she'd play with him like a pet, like a kitten or puppy. That's the kind of role he can play; anything more would be crossing the line, like going off a cliff.
A faint blush crept onto her slender neck. Xie Qingyu was at a loss for words and could only lower her head and say, "...Miss, are you joking?"
Yue Yining had already gotten the answer from his reaction.
Therefore, when faced with his involuntary probing, she simply smiled and said, "Yes, I was just joking."
Xie Qingyu breathed a sigh of relief. Yue Yining looked at him and slowly spoke again:
"However, if you really want to come, it's not impossible."
The moon shines brightly at midnight, and pear blossoms fall like snow in the courtyard, a gentle breeze blowing open the flames of white flowers.
After Yue Yining finished speaking, she lifted the curtain and got off the carriage, leaving Xie Qingyu alone inside.
The thin beaded curtain could not contain their conversation, and Yin Yi, sitting in front of the horse, heard everything. At that moment, he felt his scalp tingle.
It's over.
Yin Yi's heart was filled with desolation.
If one day he is no longer of service to Young Master Xie, can he really leave the Xie family unscathed?
"...Silver Archer."
A familiar voice called out from inside the carriage, though it was a little hoarse than usual. Yin Yi jumped and immediately replied, "Young Master, I'm here."
Inside the car, Xie Qingyu lowered the sleeve that had been covering her face. There was still a faint blush on her neck, but her eyes were much calmer.
He whispered, "Go and tell that guy from the Xie family who works in the Suyang government office to find out the mint's guard arrangements, the internal and external transportation times, and the accounts for the past three months."
"Yes," Yin Yi replied, but couldn't help thinking to himself: He asked someone to do something, but he couldn't even be bothered to remember their name.
This was his gentle and polite master.
However, that Yue man seemed to be the only exception.
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