Listen to my advice!
She glanced at the corpse on the ground again, frowned, and felt uneasy. She then quickly ran back to her house.
How could she possibly remain calm after being so close to death for the first time?
She hadn't recovered from the scene, and her body, as if still shaken, continued to tremble slightly. After vomiting, she felt a strange mix of emotions.
What sins have I committed to deserve marrying someone like this? Dad, you must really think I'm too good for me.
She glanced around the room; it was completely silent. It was late at night, and she was exhausted. She removed her protruding teeth.
She turned and buried herself in the bed.
The silver moon streaks across the night sky, and the only sounds in the quiet night are the chirping of crickets and the rustling of fallen leaves in the wind.
The sun was high in the sky, chickens and dogs called to each other, and the warm sunshine was very comfortable. In the blink of an eye, it was noon.
Carrying her account book, she mustered her courage and went to Peng Feizhe's house. Looking at the mud-brick house, she hesitated whether to knock on the old wooden door.
They're delivering this so late, are they going to kill me?
She felt a little flustered.
"Come in." A cool voice came from inside the room.
Li Xingxiao was immediately startled, her hair standing on end. She adjusted her voice, still somewhat hesitant.
"Come in. I can hear a living person breathing outside. Don't make me say it three times." He seemed a little impatient.
She finally opened the door and went inside to take in the surroundings. It was just like the place she lived in: a kang bed, a table, and a few wooden stools.
The light was bright, and she was able to see the boy's appearance clearly.
The boy was quite handsome in the bright light, with deep black almond-shaped eyes, a high nose, and thin, rosy lips.
A few wisps of hair fell across his forehead, swaying gently between his brows and eyes, subtly obscuring his smooth forehead and adding a touch of softness to his cool and aloof face. His dark hair cascaded down his back, tied with a hairband, giving him a somewhat married appearance.
The young man sat at the table, his handsome face supported by his left hand behind his back, his slender fingers tracing the pages of the ledger.
She immediately greeted him with a smile, "General, this is an account I specially prepared. I hope you will take a look." As she spoke, she took out the account book from her collar and presented it to the young man with both hands.
"Oh, stand up straight." He kept his eyes glued to his book.
?
She did as she was told, standing ramrod straight.
"Tell me the truth, what is the purpose of coming here?" He picked up the ledger, threw it on the table with a "thud," as if it were the beginning of a life-or-death conversation.
His dark eyes gleamed with murderous intent, which was quite frightening. His aura was like an unnamed pressure, making her somewhat afraid.
Her eyes darted away, and her mouth moved as if to say, "I...I don't know, I just...I just came to settle accounts..." She swallowed hard, panicked, and realized she'd said the wrong thing!
"I heard you've been in the village for two months now. You used to be a servant in the backyard of Jingxin Courtyard, Miss Pang's maid."
He leaned back lazily in his chair, his eyes still fixed on her as he continued, "I heard that a few months ago, bandits came down from the mountain... You must have come up around that time. Am I right, Li Xingxiao?" His voice was steady, yet tinged with an indescribable emotion.
She glanced at the boy she was interrogating and didn't know what to say.
"I... just want to... earn more food. Rather than staying by that unpredictable master's side, I'd rather survive in the village."
She was lying. That's not what she was told. The story was supposed to be about being sold to a mountain stronghold by her master to do hard labor. How did it turn into her going up the mountain voluntarily?
He sized up the thin, gray-clad boy, who looked utterly destitute. His face was sunken from hunger, and his dark circles were several shades darker than his face.
He seemed to feel sorry for the person in front of him and asked, "It seems you're not having an easy time in the village either. You have hands and feet, why don't you go to town to work? You could join the army, at least you wouldn't be in such a state."
She clasped her hands nervously in front of her. "General, I'd like to... but it's easy to get in but hard to get out..."
After listening, he merely squinted and looked at her with his arms crossed.
"I'll have someone send you out right now, and no one will notice."
She tried her best to feign surprise and reluctance, managing to squeeze out a tear that welled up in her eyes.
With heartfelt pleas, she cried out, "General, please don't! I can do anything! Please don't send me away! I really want to follow in your footsteps. You are like a star in the sky, I look up at you every day but can never touch you, I long for you every day..." She began to direct and act out her own story.
He seemed to have been touched on a pleasing point; the corners of his mouth turned up slightly, and he raised his hand to stop her from speaking.
"Alright, I understand. Since you're so eager to follow me, I'll give you a chance. Are you willing to follow me to the death, to be loyal and never leave me, even in death?" His tone began to become somewhat serious.
"I do."
Fake.
Just then, a knock came into the room.
The two looked over at the same time, and Peng Feizhe also became alert, standing up and putting the ledger into the hidden compartment behind him.
"Brother Yilin, open the door! It's me, Xiaomo!" A sweet girl's voice came from inside.
He turned to look at Li Xingxiao and ordered, "You! Go open the door." He seemed very reluctant to see the girl.
She went to open the door and saw a little girl with big, chubby eyes and a rosy face, dressed in a red and blue dress.
When she saw who opened the door, she frowned, her tone no longer sweet, and said with disdain, "Damn it, what are you doing here, you ugly freak? Where's my brother Yi Lin?"
She seemed unfazed, jokingly saying, "Oh dear, my young lady. There's no rain here, only brothers."
She frowned, pointed at Li Xingxiao's chin, and threatened, "...Believe it or not, I'll tell my father..."
She chickened out; I've never seen her act like this when we're just teasing her.
The girl didn't care about anything else, picked up the lunchbox, slapped away the hand blocking the door, and went straight into the house.
Turning her head, she saw Peng Feizhe and was overjoyed. Her cheeks flushed, and she greeted him warmly, "Brother Yilin, how was your rest yesterday?"
"?" Li Xingxiao looked at the man and woman with a question in her mind.
He smiled, his eyes slightly narrowed as he looked at the girl before him, his tone gentle: "Hmm, I'm fine. May I ask what brings Miss Wei to see me?"
Wei Mo smiled and stepped forward, placing the box on the table and taking out several dishes from it.
"I heard you've been feeling a bit unwell lately, so I made some fish soup for you. I hope you like it. Although... although it's my first time making it, it might not be very good," Wei Mo said shyly.
He watched the milky white fish soup steaming hot, and a slight smile played on his lips: "Thank you for your trouble..."
Listening to their conversation, Li Xingxiao was stunned, confused and bewildered.
Weak? I saw him kill people so easily yesterday, and I've only heard about it recently? Didn't he just enter the village yesterday?
The two quickly ended their conversation, and Wei Mo happily left the place, completely unaware of Li Xingxiao's presence.
Li Xingxiao hurriedly stepped forward to examine Wei Mo's dishes, then exclaimed to Peng Feizhe, "Oh my! General! You truly are amazing. Even the chieftain's daughter has been attracted by you. Your handsome appearance is truly extraordinary!" She gave him a thumbs-up in praise.
She hurriedly went to his side, rubbing his shoulders and trying to please him, saying, "General, you must seize this opportunity! Who is she? The chieftain's daughter!" She spoke as if a tremendous opportunity had fallen into her lap, giving him passionate advice.
He seemed unmoved, his voice no longer gentle. He picked up a dish with his chopsticks: "So what? I already have a wife."
She was stunned. "But General, you're still unmarried...where would you get a wife?"
"A fiancée is also a wife."
"But General, do you really like that Miss Pang whom you've never met?" she pressed.
"I don't like it, what's wrong?"
After hearing the satisfactory answer, she continued to massage her shoulders: "General, listen to my advice! You'll have good fortune from now on!"
Peng Feizhe remained silent and continued eating.
"Look at that Miss Wei Mo, how lovely she is! So virtuous and considerate, I've seen it all." And that Miss Pang, she's nothing compared to Miss Wei Mo. I know quite a bit about her. She likes to beat and scold the servants, has a very short temper, is always unpredictable, smashing things everywhere, and spouting nonsense. Besides, she already has someone she loves. If you marry her, how much suffering you'll endure after marriage!
"Um."
...
After saying all that, she just gave a cold "hmm" in response? So it's like she was offering her warm welcome only to be met with indifference, like she was the one doing all the work to warm others' hearts.
"General, you should think this over carefully!"
He put down his chopsticks and calmly said, "Seeing is believing. If we judge a person's character based solely on what others say, what kind of chaos would the world be in?"
They were completely unaffected by Li Xingxiao's description of Miss Pang.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com