Heaven and Earth are indifferent
After a moment of serious thought, A Qiu's mind was filled with the image of Gu Yi.
In fact, Xiao Chang'an is already quite mature compared to children of the same age, and even more composed than A Qiu herself.
But she always treated him like a child, unlike other geisha girls who would blush with shyness. Besides her naturally shameless nature, it was probably also because there was already someone else in her heart.
That man was like a towering mountain, inspiring awe and admiration. In his shadow, others naturally possessed their own brilliance. But none of them seemed to evoke any particular emotion in her.
Before she could even open her mouth to answer, Xiao Chang'an chuckled and said solemnly, "It's alright. There are plenty of people in this world who look down on me. But one day, you won't treat me like a child anymore."
His words, however, sounded quite childish. A Qiu's heart stirred. Since Xiao Chang'an possessed martial arts skills and was able to study the flute under An Gong, even Gongye Fusu held him in high regard. Who could possibly look down on him?
Could it be... because he entered the palace as a eunuch at a very young age?
Although A Qiu thought she had found the answer, she didn't want to bring it up. She was about to speak up and say that she didn't look down on him when Xiao Chang'an suddenly grabbed her sleeve and pulled her behind a clump of flowering trees, his eyes fixed intently on the direction of the corridor.
The force he applied was extremely gentle, so A-Qiu did not resist, only knowing that he had probably discovered something.
On the corridor they had just left, a line of vermilion lanterns swayed gently, and the figure of a woman in a black and white dance costume was hurrying toward them.
She wasn't wearing wooden clogs, so her voice wasn't nearly as loud as when A-Qiu and the others walked through the corridor last time.
Judging from the direction she went, it was the corridor where the Yue Zheng (a type of court musician) lived.
A-Qiu gasped, "It's Instructor Xue. It's dark, and the dance troupe always has a curfew. What is she doing at the place where the music masters live?"
The woman in the dancing dress drew closer; it was Xue Hongbi. Her expression was hurried and careless, her hair was tied up high with only a wooden hairpin, and there was a hint of sweat on her forehead. Clearly, she had just been summoned from Xiangxie Corridor and had not had time to change or wash.
They were just one in front of the other.
Xiao Chang'an's lips curled into that familiar, wicked smile again, and he said softly, "If Sister A-Qiu wants to know, why don't you just come along and take a look?"
Ah Qiu hesitated and said, "Instructors must have their own private matters. Isn't it wrong to pry into other people's privacy?"
Xiao Chang'an chuckled and said, "Sister A Qiu is actually a gentleman! My apologies for not recognizing her!"
This time, A Qiu blushed, a rare occurrence for her. The reason was that, compared to Gu Yi, she didn't really consider herself a gentleman. It was just that she had a certain respect for Xue Hongbi and didn't want to pry into her words and actions outside the dance troupe.
Xiao Chang'an smiled again and said, "However, I am not a gentleman. I am very concerned about what she is planning to do at this critical moment. After all, An Gong instructed me that nothing should happen to the dance troupe at this crucial juncture."
A Qiu seemed to understand why someone like Xiao Chang'an would suddenly appear in the dance troupe at this particular time. But after thinking for a moment, she said decisively, "Instructor Xue would never do anything to betray the dance troupe."
A casual smile played on Xiao Chang'an's lips as he said, "That's not necessarily true. Look how wary she was of me before, but today she was intimidated by the tricks I showed her and ended up selling you out to me, Sister Aqiu. Not everyone is as stubborn as your wife, Sun. It's only human nature to seek advantage and avoid harm, and to be afraid of death and seek survival."
From his words, A Qiu seemed to know everything about the dance troupe, big and small. Moreover, this young man had indeed exuded a strange and sinister aura since they first met, which he must have deliberately concealed at the time.
When one's thoughts naturally flow out at this moment, it reveals a shrewd and ruthless attitude towards life, as if heaven and earth are indifferent and people are as worthless as grass.
Lanling is known for its assassins and has never been a place where virtuous men and women gather. However, apart from occasionally sensing this pessimistic attitude towards the darker side of human nature in his second senior brother, Mo Yimingyue, A Qiu has never seen another person with this attitude.
Thus, the origins of this young eunuch, Xiao Chang'an, become even more mysterious and enigmatic.
Xiao Chang'an, of course, had no idea what was going through her mind.
Xue Hongbi's figure had already turned the corner of the corridor and disappeared into the night.
Xiao Chang'an chuckled and asked, "Do you want to come along?"
A-Qiu pointed to herself in surprise, her expression seemingly asking: Me? Go together?
Xiao Chang'an suppressed a laugh and didn't answer. He was always good at reading people's hearts, and the curious and eager expression on A Qiu's face at this moment had already given him the answer.
The next instant, A Qiu suddenly felt her body lighten, and the sound of wind rose in her ears. It turned out that Xiao Chang'an had already supported her waist with one hand and carried her straight to the top of the corridor.
Starlight appeared on the horizon, and a gentle night breeze blew across the eaves.
Xiao Chang'an chuckled in her ear, "How about that? You've got guts."
While A-Qiu was dumbfounded, he finally understood something.
Xiao Chang'an, such a clever young man, was blind to his own shortcomings.
She originally thought that Xiao Chang'an paid special attention to her among the dancers simply because they were all martial arts practitioners and felt a connection with each other.
It has now been discovered that this is not the case.
Xiao Chang'an had no idea that she knew martial arts.
I don't know who she is.
That's why they went to such lengths to bring her up here using their light-footed skills. They even praised her for her courage. Being suddenly lifted onto the roof, she showed absolutely no panic or fear.
After figuring this out, A Qiu's gaze towards Xiao Chang'an became increasingly helpless.
Xiao Chang'an, however, paid no attention to her gaze. Instead, he looked around alertly and listened intently to the sounds below.
A moment later, he once again embraced A Qiu's slender waist, lifting her up and down several times, and swept her toward a brightly lit hall.
A-Qiu was secretly sweating profusely, but dared not say a word.
She had traveled with Gu Yi through the palace at night several times, and knew that such loitering within the palace walls was extremely taboo. Who knew when or where a powerful figure might appear and stop them?
The problem is, she's already on a sinking ship, and it's too late to regret it.
Xiao Chang'an gently lifted two roof tiles, and the two of them looked down together.
The hall was brightly lit by candles, and the tables and chairs were arranged in an orderly manner. A Qiu recognized it at a glance; this was the private residence of Huang Chao'an, which was the place where Lady Sun had taken her, Zhang Exu, and Cui Luzhu to visit before.
At this moment, in the center of the hall, the two faced each other, and upon looking at the back, he recognized Huang Chaoan.
Facing him directly, Xue Hongbi, her face free of makeup, had regained her composure, even retaining a hint of her former arrogance.
Huang Chaoan asked, "What has Instructor Xue thought about the suggestion I made last time?"
Xue Hongbi coldly replied, "My answer is the same as last time. I, Xue Hongbi, need no help from others to accomplish anything, whether it's to rise above others or to seize power."
A Qiu immediately recalled Xue Hongbi's first visit to the dance troupe, where she was briefly addressed before Huang Chaoan sent someone to escort her away. Presumably, Huang Chaoan had proposed some kind of cooperation to her then, but Xue Hongbi had refused.
Huang Chaoan stepped forward, carefully observed her expression, and chuckled, "Instructor Xue, times have changed."
Before Xue Hongbi could react, he said leisurely, "Back then, you were still the lady of the Pei family, so I had to show you some respect. Now, you're under my jurisdiction. If you upset me..."
He said coldly, "You might be the one who gets sent to the Divine Mastiff Camp."
Xue Hongbi mechanically shivered, but still proudly raised her head and said, "Even if I leave the Pei residence, I can still speak to Madam and Miss. If someone who leaves the Pei residence disappears without a trace, do you think Madam, with her iron fist, wouldn't make you wish you were dead?"
Huang Chaoan paused, then burst into laughter. "Hongbi, it seems you still don't understand our Madam at all. Do you think she knows what I've been doing at the Music Bureau all these years?"
Even in the candlelight, it was clear that Xue Hongbi's face had suddenly turned pale.
Huang Chaoan continued, "I guess before Madam let you go, she must have told you that once you were out, you would have no further connection with the Dongguang Marquis's mansion, right?"
Madam Pei, Mu Huaying, did indeed say this when she agreed to let Xue Hongbi leave, and A Qiu witnessed it firsthand. Yet Huang Chaoan could recount it as if he had seen it with his own eyes, which shows how well he understood the personalities of Mu and Xue.
Huang Chaoan looked up and laughed, “Madam is not a bodhisattva. What you consider affection is no different from a dog or a cat in her eyes. If a dog or cat wants to leave, she doesn’t need to make things difficult for it, but she also doesn’t need to worry about the trouble it might cause after it leaves.”
Xue Hongbi's hands trembled, but she remained upright, gritting her teeth as she said, "Is this how you threaten Sun Ci?"
Huang Chaoan waved his hand gently and said with a smile, "No, no. You and Lady Sun are different in my eyes. After all, we are both from the Pei family. I still hope we can cooperate because of our camaraderie."
"As for my wife, she's incorrigible. I hope she," he said, flicking his nail lightly, expressionless, "disappears from this world."
Xue Hongbi asked in a trembling voice, "What do you plan to do with her?"
Huang Chaoan smiled and looked down at her, saying, "You want to find out and then help her? But no matter how I plan to deal with her, what use is it if you know or don't? Do you think you can run away if you know? Or can you go to Madam Pei or Consort Chen to complain about me?"
Xue Hongbi knew he was telling the truth. Suddenly remembering someone, she hurriedly said, "Consort Zhao! Consort Zhao said that anyone who disrupts the performance of 'White Silk' is going against her. Consort Zhao will definitely take care of this!"
Huang Chaoan's smile became even more meaningful: "Who said I intended to ruin the White Silk Dance? The White Silk Dance performance is something that brings honor to the Music Bureau, why would I ruin it?"
He moved closer, lifting Xue Hongbi's chin, and said in a gloomy tone, "Is it you two old and faded instructors who are performing 'White Silk'? Without you, can 'White Silk' not be performed?"
He sneered repeatedly and said, "No, even if you two disappear, I can still find instructors from other places until I find one who is obedient. As for the 'White Silk' dance, whether you are there or not, it will become a masterpiece of the music bureau of this dynasty and become the number one merit of this music director."
Xue Hongbi could no longer hold on, and slowly slumped down, supporting herself on the back of the chair.
Huang Chaoan did not press her further. He simply spread his hands toward her and said in a deep voice, "Hongbi, for the sake of our past friendship, I have to tell you the truth. Leaving the Pei family was truly your most foolish decision."
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