Wei Dongchen received a message from Qingying early in the morning, instructing him to monitor Liu Yan, the woman with a birthmark on her face whom they had followed together yesterday.
Qingying also gave him a sachet shaped like a zongzi (sticky rice dumpling), asking him to keep an eye out for whether Liu Yan was wearing a sachet exactly the same as this one.
However, he spent the whole morning squatting on the roof of the Liu family's house. In the afternoon, a light snow fell, covering him like a snowman. He was almost one with the snow on the roof and was so cold that he was drowsy. Liu Yan didn't even step out of the courtyard.
Just as he was about to reply to Qingying and truthfully report that he had gained nothing that day, he suddenly heard someone knocking on the Liu family's courtyard gate.
Liu Yan finally came out. He looked closely and saw that the person who knocked on the door was a strange woman, but he saw the zongzi-shaped sachet that Qingying had given him on her waist.
He immediately became extremely alert, watching the woman enter the side room before silently moving to the side. Reaching the top of the side room, he swept away a small patch of snow from the roof, used his internal energy to melt the frost between the tiles, and then gently lifted the tiles.
He located the position by sound, and found it very accurately, directly above the woman.
He even slowed his breathing, intently and quietly observing the situation inside the room.
The woman filled a basin with hot water, opened a wooden box, took out several bottles from a pile of bottles and jars, and carefully poured them into the hot water in different amounts, stirring well.
Then she washed her face with hot water. After washing for a while, she took a handkerchief to dry it. Then an amazing thing happened—she actually peeled off a thin layer of skin from her face!
When Wei Dongchen saw the woman's true face, he couldn't help but widen his eyes and take a deep breath.
It was her!
...
Qingying waited in her room until it was completely dark, but Liu Shushu's revenge did not come. However, she did not dare to relax for a moment.
She knew that Liu Shushu was definitely plotting something, and given her personality, she would never silently suffer this injustice.
However, what she wanted was Liu Shushu's revenge; otherwise, how could she find a proper reason to retaliate?
"Miss, the hot water is ready," Yu Yue instructed, taking Qingying's nightgown from the closet and delivering it to the bathing room.
"Um."
She let her long hair down in front of the mirror and then left her bedroom.
Tongxia sprinkled some flower petals into the bathtub and then left. Qingying wasn't used to having someone serve her while she bathed, so Tongxia had to stay outside.
As night fell, snow began to fall again, drifting down from the dim sky. The snow in the yard had accumulated to a thick layer, and the path that had been cleared this morning was now barely visible.
The corridor lights were dim, and Tong Xia sat on the threshold with her neck hunched over, staring blankly at the falling snow.
Suddenly a dark shadow flashed by, and before she could even come to her senses, her eyes rolled back and she knew nothing more.
Qingying sat comfortably in the large bathtub, her skin appearing even whiter under the steam, like white jade dripping with water.
She heard footsteps behind her, very light, but she still noticed them and shrank back into the water in fright. "Who?!"
"It's me." Wei Dongchen's voice came from behind the screen.
She relaxed slightly, but remained very vigilant. Although they were engaged, they were not yet married, and she was currently barely clothed; she absolutely could not let him see her like this.
How did you get in?
"It's really urgent! I have to tell you as soon as possible."
"What's up?"
"You sent me to stake out Liu Yan today, and guess what I found?"
"If you can't guess, just say so."
"Didn't you give the sachet to Liu Chengfeng's sweetheart, Ayan, today? Then I saw her go to the Liu family in the afternoon, and then I saw a piece of her face being torn off!"
Qingying was not surprised at all. "I knew Ayan could disguise herself."
"Not only that! Guess who her real identity is!" Wei Dongchen's voice suddenly became somewhat excited.
Qingying pursed her lips and said in a light tone, "Liu Shushu."
He collapsed instantly, "You already knew?"
"The sachet I gave her contained a special medicinal herb that normally has a calming and sleep-inducing effect. However, it produces a change when it comes into contact with another herb. If I apply the other herb to my skin beforehand and then have skin-to-skin contact with someone who has been in contact with the sachet for more than an hour, the area where I applied the herb will turn blue."
"Since you've already made up your mind, why make me go through all this trouble?"
Qingying sensed a hint of displeasure in his tone and quickly softened her voice to comfort him, saying, "My test with the sachet only gave me an 80% certainty. Only the result you see with your own eyes will give you 100% certainty."
Wei Dongchen felt much happier immediately. "So, my part is indispensable, right?"
“That’s natural. The young master saw her remove the mask with his own eyes, which is more convincing than my test with medicinal herbs.”
He was completely reassured and felt that being cold and hungry today was no big deal.
Qingying turned over in the bathtub, her hands gripping the edge, and half her head poking out to look at the screen where Wei Dongchen's silhouette was visible.
The tall, elegant man with his ponytail tied high was a sight to behold, even as a shadow.
"Could you... go out first?" She was getting quite cold from being in the water for so long.
"Huh? Oh..." Wei Dongchen was a martial artist with sharp hearing and eyesight. He blushed when he heard the sound of water, and belatedly turned around and walked out. His steps were messy, and he even tripped over the threshold before leaving the house.
Hearing the door close, Qingying quickly got up and dressed.
Wei Dongchen shook the unconscious Tong Xia awake.
Tong Xia rubbed her eyes, momentarily disoriented, "What happened to me?"
Wei Dongchen said, "You can fall asleep while guarding the door? Aren't you afraid that your daughter will be spied on while she's bathing?"
"Oh no!" She slapped her forehead, turned around and looked at the room behind her, looking annoyed that she had done something wrong. "Really, how did I suddenly fall asleep?"
"It's a good thing your daughter hasn't come out yet, otherwise she would definitely give you a severe scolding."
“My young lady wouldn’t bear to scold me…” She looked at Wei Dongchen again, and only then did she find the proper etiquette for running away from home. She hurriedly stood up and bowed, “This servant has failed in her duty, has been impolite, and has offended the young master. I hope the young master will not be offended.”
"It's alright. I am magnanimous and won't hold it against you. Just stay here and keep watch. I promise to keep what happened a secret."
"Thank you very much, Your Highness." Tong Xia was extremely grateful.
Although he knew Qingying wouldn't scold him for it, he still felt he had failed in his duty, and it was better not to let the young lady know about it.
She thought to herself, "The young master is such a good person."
Qingying overheard most of their conversation from behind the door and couldn't help but chuckle softly to herself.
"This Wei Dongchen is quite adept at deceiving people."
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