Xiao Accountant
Pang Linqiu held a clean set of plain clothes in her hands, glancing indifferently at Peng Xuan'an. Water droplets dripped from her hair. All the candles in the room were lit, creating a warm and cozy atmosphere.
"I'll go change my clothes first. You stay outside quietly." After saying that, she turned and walked behind the screen, taking off her wet clothes and letting her hair down.
Peng Xuan'an looked around the room, his gaze falling on a blue book of physiognomy placed in the center of the bed. The book was titled "Love." He wanted to open it to see what was written inside, but just as he picked it up, Pang Linqiu came out.
"I'm all done." She held a dry towel in one hand to wipe her wet hair.
"Okay." Peng Xuan'an put down the notebook, picked up the clean clothes in his hands, and walked behind the screen.
She noticed the book on the bed, lay down, and flipped through a page or two. Her eyes lit up and she smiled. It turned out that the book, titled "Love," was an erotic picture book, fifty-eight pages long, depicting fifty-eight different positions.
She was engrossed in reading, yet somewhat disdainful of the illustrations. Just as she reached page twenty, the light was suddenly blocked. Wet, black hair that wasn't hers fell in front of her, and two hands with veins like worms coiled on the back of their hands were propped up in front of her eyes. She was completely enveloped by him.
Peng Xuan'an's gaze was fixed on the posture of the book page. He was a little excited and a little surprised that she would look at this. He called out the name on the page: "Sitting with legs stretched out?"
She was startled and turned to look at him. His hair was loose and wet, and his eyes were tender yet with a hint of desire. He chuckled and said, "Miss Pang, would you like to give it a try?"
"Try what?" She didn't want to see his face and continued to look back.
"The actions of this book..." He gently inhaled the fragrance emanating from her body, twirling a lock of her hair in one hand, his voice low and husky, suppressing his desire, "Don't you want to... know what it feels like?"
Pang Linqiu closed the book, her brows furrowed in annoyance. "Get out of here!"
Peng Xuan'an released her hair, stood up, and looked at her with tender eyes, "Miss Pang, don't you really want to know?"
"What else could I feel besides pain all over my body?!" She tossed the book aside casually, her face neither flushed nor embarrassed, but rather self-righteous.
Peng Xuan'an was somewhat embarrassed by the content of the book, but he was curious why she wasn't embarrassed. Didn't she feel even a little bit... hot and embarrassed? On the contrary, he felt incredibly hot and embarrassed all over.
"Miss Pang, what do you think of this book?" He glanced at the book, anticipating her answer.
She shared her thoughts after watching the film, sharply criticizing it: "The painting is not good, not as good as mine... uh..." She felt she had said something she shouldn't have.
His meaningful "Oh?" piqued his interest. "Not Miss Pang's painting—okay?" He suddenly remembered something and teased the person in front of him: "Back in the mountain stronghold, I heard that Accountant Xiao's painting skills were top-notch. He painted a erotic picture book with me as the main subject. I wonder..."
Her face instantly turned red with embarrassment. "Shut up! Shut up!"
Seeing her face flushed, he chuckled with satisfaction. "Now do I need to take off my clothes—" he drawled, then whispered in her ear, "so the accountant can take a look?"
The women in the village had been talking about this matter for a long time, and he was furious when he heard about it. But he was too busy to remember it, and now that he thinks about it, he might as well settle the score.
Her face instantly turned as red as a boiling kettle. This was digging up her dark past! What was the difference between this and whipping a corpse?! She wanted to cry but had no tears.
She bit her lip, covered her face, and turned away, not wanting him to see her uncontrollable flush. "I! Want! To! Go! Back! Camp!"
Peng Xuan'an turned to look out the window, shook his head and sighed softly, "Miss Pang, it's getting dark. Why don't we rest here for the night and leave when it's light?"
Of course she wouldn't agree! Who knows if he might do something he shouldn't to her? Was she really going to spend the whole night staying up to guard against him?
"No!" she refused. "If you won't go back, I'll go back myself!"
“Miss Pang, it’s late at night. Aren’t you afraid of encountering thugs on your way home?” He frowned slightly.
She paused, struggling with the decision of whether to go back.
If she didn't go back, she feared he might have ulterior motives; if she went back, she feared there might be vicious thugs. She was worried about both sides.
After a struggle with her mind, she decided to stay and rest for the night. After all, fighting one person against another was much better than fighting a group of thugs whose numbers she didn't know!
“I’ll sleep on the bed! You sleep on the floor,” she said to him after calming him down.
He was somewhat reluctant, "But it's cold, and the ground is chilly."
"Here's the blanket." She picked up the blanket from the bed and put it in an empty corner.
She felt at ease knowing that the corner was far from the bed.
Peng Xuan'an slipped and didn't know how to comment.
"I don't have a pillow..."
"I'll go out and buy one."
He hesitated, then she went out and bought it.
His silence echoed through the room. Seeing how far he slept from her, his heart remained uneasy. He could sleep on the floor, but could he please be closer? He wanted to stay beside her, to be with her for a very, very long time…
The pillow arrived, her hair was dry, and it fell loosely, making her look even more innocent and adorable. It was the first time he had seen her with her hair down, and he found it novel, exceptionally beautiful, and incredibly captivating.
The candle went out, and the whole room became dark. Only the thin, cold moonlight slanted into the room through the window, creating a hazy and chilly atmosphere.
The hustle and bustle outside subsided, and Xiafeng Town fell into a quiet night.
Peng Xuan'an rested his hands behind his head, unable to sleep.
Pang Linqiu was afraid he would suddenly attack her at night, so she couldn't sleep.
As the night deepened, Pang Linqiu quietly fell asleep. He tiptoed to the bedside, looked at her in the dim moonlight, and gently kissed her forehead.
He then fell asleep contentedly.
As soon as it was light, the roosters crowed, and the aroma of steamed buns sold on the street wafted into the house.
Pang Linqiu sat up, still feeling sleepy. Although she wanted to catch up on some more sleep, getting back was more important! Peng Xuan'an, who was eating breakfast, saw her get up and invited her to join them.
"I won't eat." She stood up, put on her boots, and prepared to leave.
And so, without eating breakfast, Pang Linqiu hurriedly rode away from Xiafeng Town, with Peng Xuan'an following closely behind.
Back home, she divided the nine sesame cakes equally among her underlings, then angrily confronted Qin Xiangde, demanding an explanation. Why did he abandon her? Why? Why make her experience the feeling of being abandoned and betrayed again? He knew perfectly well that she hated it the most… hated it the most, so why did he do this?
Inside Qin Xiangde's tent, things were quite lively. Peng Xuan'an hid outside, listening intently to their argument. Qin Xiangde knew he couldn't apologize now. But what good would an apology do? She cried, hating him for hurting her so deeply.
She ran out of the tent, went back to her bed and cried for a long, long time. Peng Xuan felt as if she were being stabbed, looking down at the red rope in her hand, unable to come back to her senses for a long time.
The next day, Pang Linqiu received a letter that the Emperor had granted her permission to return.
That day, she boarded the carriage back to the capital, her eyes red and lifeless. Qin Xiangde was busy with official business and couldn't see her off. Peng Xuan'an watched her leave from a corner, wondering... would she ever come again?
After three days of travel, I finally arrived home.
But as soon as they stepped off the carriage, they were greeted not with hugs and warmth from their families, but with cold, impersonal seals.
Her house had been sealed off! Two seals were plastered across the front door. She was stunned. She didn't understand what had happened. She had only been gone for a month! Why was her house like this? Why?
She wondered if she had gotten off at the wrong place. She went up and pounded on the door, frantically trying to figure it must be a joke! Yes! A joke from her older brothers!
"Chun'er..." A frail, aged voice rang out.
She looked in the direction of the sound, and there it was—her father! Her father!
Seeing her father's weathered appearance, she could no longer hold back her tears. She remembered that just a month ago, her father was so radiant. Why had he become like this? He seemed to have weathered a storm, his whole being bearing the marks of hardship and suffering.
He's only in his fifties, but he looks like he's in his seventies.
Pang Anru, leaning on his cane and hunched over, his once jet-black hair now mostly silver, seemed to have endured and lost so much. She couldn't help but hug her father, sobbing, "Dad! What happened to our family?"
"Are you Miss Pang Linqiu?" A soft, feminine voice sounded from behind.
She was startled and looked over sharply. It was an old man, holding a whisk and looking at her arrogantly.
She released her father, wiped away her tears, and nodded. "That's right. What is it, Father-in-law?"
"His Majesty summons the young lady to the palace."
She frowned, puzzled. "Okay."
"Then please." He leaned down and gestured for her to get into the carriage that had just brought her back.
Pang Linqiu looked at her father with reluctance, "Father, what exactly happened? Where are my eldest and second brothers?"
Pang Anru sighed and shook her head, her eyes lifeless as if to say that this matter was not simple. "Chun'er, when you come back... I will explain it to you again."
"Okay." She reluctantly boarded the carriage.
The carriage headed straight for the magnificent palace, where she was led to the imperial study. The emperor was sitting on a large chair, reviewing memorials. Upon seeing her, his expression turned serious, his imperial face clearly showing displeasure, and he put down his pen.
The servants all left, leaving only the two of them in the spacious imperial study. The emperor's imposing presence made Pang Linqiu uneasy. She knelt on the ground, respectfully saying, "Your subject Linqiu greets Your Majesty!"
He gave a deep "hmm," his imperial aura pressing down on people like an invisible hand, making it hard to breathe.
"I wonder what important matter Your Majesty has summoned me for?" She did not hear the emperor tell her to get up, so she dared not rise.
The emperor slightly withdrew his imposing aura, and his tone softened a bit, "How are you doing in the military camp?"
"Very good."
"Get up," he said, seeing that she was still kneeling and kowtowing.
"Yes." She stood up straight.
Do you know why the Pang family mansion was sealed off?
She shook her head, bowed deeply, and clasped her hands above her eyebrows in respect. "This humble woman is unaware." Realizing that something had truly happened to her family, she could no longer refer to herself as "this humble woman."
The emperor's face turned cold, and he gave a cold snort, his tone solemn: "Pang Linqiu! Do you know your crime!"
Pang Linqiu quickly knelt down and kowtowed, "This commoner does not know what crime I have committed! I beg Your Majesty to tell me!"
"Your Pang family is truly audacious! You dared to smuggle salt privately! And you've been doing it for twelve years!" The Emperor frowned, his anger seemingly uncontrollable. "Your eldest brother, Pang Linzhi, embezzled five million taels of disaster relief funds! Your second brother, Pang Xu'an, murdered a woman!"
Pang Linqiu was incredulous, her pupils dilated in shock, but she had to appease the emperor's wrath first. "I am guilty! I am willing... willing to atone with my death!" Her voice trembled slightly.
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