Luring a tiger to devour a wolf
Shi Changqing, we have crossed paths before.
Even though Sun Ci can never live as brilliantly, passionately, and dazzlingly as you, Sun Ci was once so close to you.
You have a heart that beats eternally as long as you live, and everyone will be moved by you.
Now I want to tell you that I also have the same living heart.
Sun's hands trembled as she clenched them into fists inside her sleeves, her nails digging deep into her palms.
She raised her head, bravely looked Huang Chaoan in the eye, and saw the man before her more clearly.
His half-drunk face, angry expression, strong smell of alcohol, and fair complexion, which were as delicate as a woman's, all seemed so despicable at that moment.
What a rat-faced, deer-like creature this is!
He actually dared to covet Shi Changqing's daughter.
Sun's wife said, enunciating each word clearly, "As long as Sun Ci lives, he will not hand over anyone from the dance troupe. But if—" she suddenly raised her voice, "if Sun Ci were to die one day, he would surely take Lord Yue Zheng with him to his grave!"
Huang Chaoan's face twisted in anger as he sneered, "Good, good! You've gone too far!" He then slammed his hand heavily against the back of the chair, his expression one of extreme rage.
Sun's wife ignored her and got up to lead A Qiu and Zhang Cui away.
The sound of wooden clogs echoed in the corridor, more urgent and resolute than when they arrived.
Ah Qiu followed closely behind Sun Neiren, with Zhang Exu and Cui Luzhu on either side of her.
A Qiu gazed at Sun Neiren's high-tied white hair bun and suddenly said, "Sun Neiren, I've heard that among the ancient dance steps, there's one called 'Ghost Step.' When a master steps out, their upper body remains stiff while their feet move slowly, their form like a ghost floating out. Is that true?"
Sun's wife wasn't particularly surprised, as if she had expected this question. She continued walking with her back to Sun's wife, calmly saying, "Outsiders call it the ghost step, but we dancers call it the 'floating step.' So, would you like to learn it?"
A-Qiu said, "Yes."
Sun Neiren hesitated slightly, turned back to look at A Qiu, then glanced at Zhang Exu and Cui Luzhu, and finally said calmly, "Let's talk about it when you have the ability and the willingness to protect everyone in the dance troupe."
She added, "The 'floating step' is not something everyone can learn. It is a closely guarded secret in the lineage of dancers, a way for them to protect themselves in chaotic times, so it is not easily passed on."
He turned back to look at the three of them and sighed, "The three of you are here today, and that's it. Actually, I hope you never have to learn anything."
It was late at night, and in the geisha's quarters, everyone's breathing was very even, rising and falling.
Not long after Zhang Exu, Cui Luzhu, and A Qiu returned together, they fell into a deep sleep.
The dancers rarely have any worries; they simply practice, eat, and sleep. Occasionally, they might argue or quarrel over trivial matters such as who goes first, how much food they get, or if Rouge is missing. But they are as innocent as children, and after being scolded a few times by the instructor, it's all over.
A-Qiu lay awake in the darkness, counting Cui Luzhu's breaths, for she was the last person to lie down in the dormitory.
One breath—two breaths—three breaths later, A-Qiu quietly got up and arranged the bedding on the bed to look like someone was lying in it.
If one were to suddenly enter the dormitory, one would not be able to distinguish between the many beds where people were lying in bed with their blankets.
Unless they check each room individually. But it's so late, no one should be coming to check the rooms anymore.
A Qiu gracefully darted out of the bedroom, paused briefly in the corridor, glanced around to make sure no one was there, and then flew forward.
She had to go to the former dynasty to seek help from her senior brother, Gongyi Xiu.
Lanling Hall has three main branches: the "Divine Weapon Hall," where top assassins gather; the "One-Man Hall," where strategists and tacticians emerge; and the "Torture Hall," which is responsible for intelligence gathering, spies, and torture to extract confessions.
The eldest brother, Gongyi Xiu, is the head of the Yiyan Hall and the number one strategist in the sect. He has deeply grasped the essence of the sect's saying, "A single word of debate is more valuable than nine tripods of treasure, and a three-inch tongue is more powerful than a million soldiers." He is also the one in the sect who is most like Master Wanqi Qing.
The One-Man Hall cultivates strategists who can discern the ins and outs of a chaotic world and choose a worthy ruler, and who can advise the emperor in a prosperous and enlightened court and assist the monarch, whose words can either bring prosperity to the country or bring chaos to it. Gongyi Xiu entered officialdom early on under the arrangement of his master and stood beside the golden palace steps.
He claimed to be from a prominent family in Hejian, in the north, and was now the Right Chancellor on the Dantai (a high-ranking official position). As a rising star, to be able to hold the position of Right Chancellor in the political hierarchy dominated by powerful clans in the Southern Dynasty was undoubtedly a standout in the officialdom.
Last night, A Qiu crossed the palace to go to the former Minister's Office to find him, to tell him that she had settled in the Music Bureau, and to ask him to let her master know she was safe. However, she was intercepted by Gu Yi and then accidentally entered Qiwu Palace and got into a fight with Aunt Yuan Yi, which alerted Consort Chen to come to the scene. In the end, she was escorted back to Tangli Garden by Gu Yi.
Even now, she has not been able to send a message of peace to the church.
The matter of Huang Chao'an was even more pressing. Less than two days after she entered the Music Bureau, Huang Chao'an demanded her presence twice, forcing Sun Neiren to confront him directly and break off all pretense of civility. Now she was in a predicament, with disaster looming.
Huang Chaoan will definitely try to use his power to force Sun's wife to submit, and if Sun's wife makes a mistake, A Qiu himself will be the first to suffer.
Although Ah Qiu was not a government official, he knew that every second counted. If he needed to find someone, pull strings, or gather information, it was better to do so sooner rather than later. If he waited until the order to punish Sun's wife was issued, it would be much more difficult to turn things around.
A Qiu's figure had just reached the front of the water corridor boardwalk when he froze and stopped in his tracks.
Amidst the misty waters and the clear moonlight, a woman's silhouette stands gracefully ahead of the boardwalk that cuts across the water, as if she were waiting for him.
The woman wore a floor-length black and white swallowtail dance dress and had a tall figure. If it weren't for the moonlight illuminating her high-coiled white hair, A Qiu would have almost suspected that she was seeing a ghostly courtesan.
After much hesitation, she still bowed forward in greeting.
"Lady Sun".
Under the moonlight, Lady Sun turned to the side and gazed intently at her.
"where are you going?"
In Sun's hand, she held a bamboo board about two fingers wide and three feet long.
Ah Qiu never expected to meet Sun's wife under such circumstances.
When did Lady Sun first learn of her secret of traveling at night?
Since that's the case, it's impossible to hide it from her now.
A Qiu had just finished thinking of her explanation and was about to begin when Sun's wife calmly interrupted her: "Are you going to find Junior Tutor Gu Yi?"
At the end of the waterway stands a large pear tree.
This tree is over a hundred years old, with lush and abundant branches and leaves.
Sitting up there, you can't see the starry sky. You'll only see dense branches and leaves, overlapping and stretching endlessly towards the infinite heavens.
At that moment, Gu Yi, hidden in the darkness and sitting upright on a branch, heard his wife Sun utter his name and suddenly felt a mix of embarrassment and trepidation.
This was a feeling he had never had before.
He didn't mean to eavesdrop. It's just that Ah Qiu was acting strangely in Tangli Garden, and he sensed it very clearly.
Given her personality, it's unlikely she'd come out to meditate and calm her mind since it's the middle of the night and she's not sleeping.
But when he arrived, he found that his wife, Sun, was already waiting for him at the waterway. He didn't even have time to remind A-Qiu, and had to stop at the end of the waterway.
It looks like she won't be able to run around tonight.
He was relieved and wanted to leave, but his wife's words held him back.
She ran out; was she going to find him?
Ah Qiu opened his mouth, speechless.
Why would Lady Sun think she was going to find Gu Yi? Did Lady Sun have some evidence that she, a mere dancer and musician who had only been in the Music Bureau for two days, was already so familiar with the Junior Master Gu Yi that she could find him anytime, anywhere?
She was usually quick-witted and eloquent, but even she was rendered speechless by his words.
This is because they simply don't know where to begin, let alone how to refute it.
But—she didn't speak, so Sun's wife naturally took it as her consent.
The person in the tree across the way is the same.
She... she really came to see him?
A tremor, both surprising and delightful, resonated through Gu Yi's soul, gently striking his heart. Then, before he could even react, this tremor transformed into an almost sweet aftertaste.
Gu Yi was so startled by the sudden surge of emotions he was experiencing that he almost fell off the branch.
Fortunately, Sun's wife was not skilled in martial arts, and A Qiu was also fully focused on Sun's wife's questions, so neither of them had time to notice the slightly trembling tree.
Since A Qiu did not answer, Sun Neiren sighed and said earnestly, "You and him, it's absolutely impossible."
A Qiu's stunned mind finally began to work again. She finally understood what Madam Sun meant and said awkwardly, "A Qiu never thought of currying favor with the Young Master. A Qiu just wanted to..."
What? She never intended to... cling to him?
A strange feeling, a mixture of disappointment and relief, surfaced in Gu Yi's mind.
Thankfully, there's still that "just thinking".
What was she "just thinking" about?
Gu Yi suddenly felt that at this moment, he could accept whatever she "just wanted" to do.
It's better than not thinking about anything at all.
Sun's wife finished speaking for her: "You just want his help because Huang Le is forcing you into a corner."
You got both halves wrong. The first half is because the person I'm looking for is my senior brother, not Master Gu. The second half is because I'm worried about you, and the entire dance troupe.
Ah Qiu thought this to herself, but she could only nod awkwardly at what her wife, Sun, said: "Yes."
Lady Sun nodded, looked up at the half-moon peeking through the colorful clouds in the sky, and calmly said, "Kneel down."
Caught in a dilemma, A Qiu hesitated for a moment before finally doing as Sun Neiren had instructed, lifting her robe and kneeling on the bamboo corridor.
Sun's wife pulled out a bamboo clapper and said in a deep voice, "Today, I will teach Shi Changqing a lesson for his daughter. I will teach her that she must rely on herself and not flutter around like grass in the wind when faced with pressure, thinking that she can get through difficulties by relying on the power of others."
After that slap, A-Qiu, who was kneeling, was completely dumbfounded.
Those were her own master and her own senior brother, not just any random stranger. They threw a dignified master of the Divine Weapon Hall and the top assassin on the "Immortal Ranking" into this desolate and helpless harem, while they themselves enjoyed high-ranking positions and a life of leisure. It was already quite generous of her not to drag them down with her to fight alongside her, yet she was expected to be independent and rely on herself in everything?
A-Qiu was in so much pain that her teeth itched, and she decided to put the blame on her senior brother, Gongyi Xiu.
The wind rose, and the bamboo clappers fell again, striking A Qiu's palm heavily.
"This lesson is to teach you that there are no shortcuts without a price. You used the power of Junior Tutor Gu Yi to drive out Huang Chao'an. Leaving aside whether the Junior Tutor would do so for you, using the power of a higher position to suppress the power of a lower position is still an abuse of public power. How is that any different from inviting a tiger to devour a wolf? After Huang Chao'an is gone, can you guarantee that the dance department will not be Gu Yi's domain in the future?"
At this moment, A Qiu's inner shock was far greater than the shock in his palm.
Lady Sun is truly farsighted and thoughtful. Master Gu should really listen to what Lady Sun thinks of him.
Gu Yi's expression was unbearable to read. He struggled to maintain his balance.
If he were to fall headfirst into the water from the tree right now, his wife's impression of him would only worsen.
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