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The forces behind the West Market are deeply entrenched, each with its own background, and none of them are benevolent. However, if everyone in the West Market engages in violence, resorting to open robbery or even murder, then no business can be conducted here even for a single day.
Only a complete outsider like Princess Wansui would make such a mistake.
Seeing that things were going badly, Princess Wansui had already stopped reaching for Aqiu's veil. Her deep green eyes darted around as she racked her brains for words, trying to figure out how to escape from the clutches of this cold-blooded, god-like man.
A Qiu stood up gracefully without needing Mo Yimingyue to lift her veil, revealing her stunning beauty to her. When Mo Yimingyue saw that it was her junior sister A Qiu, her expression was one of utter astonishment.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Aqiu shouted at Princess Wansui, "Get out of here now!"
Princess Wansui knew that A Qiu, knowing her identity as an envoy, did not want her to perish in the West Market and therefore intended to let her go. She saw an opportunity to escape. Taking advantage of Mo Yimingyue's momentary surprise, she moved with the agility of a snake, disappearing into the crowd in a few swift movements.
Helpless, Mo Yimingyue put away her crossbow and leaped down from the eaves. She looked at A Qiu, then at Gu Yi behind her, and said with a wry smile, "Junior sister, why are you here?"
Then, he looked her clothes up and down again, revealing a dismissive expression, and said meaningfully, "Even if you don't work in this hall, you still need to pay attention to your appearance and attire."
Ah Qiu nearly choked to death. She really hadn't checked the almanac before going out today.
For the first time in his life, he changed out of the Lanling Hall's standard attire—white robes—and was caught red-handed by Mo Yimingyue, the Hall Master of Xingfeng, who was in charge of the hall's rules and regulations and whom he might never see in eight lifetimes.
Gu Yi coughed lightly and said, "I bought it."
Mo Yimingyue stared wide-eyed in disbelief once again. After a moment, he suddenly remembered his master's words, "You can try calling Gu Yi Martial Uncle and see if he responds," and immediately decided to stop worrying about A Qiu's attire.
Mo Yimingyue rested her chin on her hand, staring intently at the endless stream of things being carried in by the Xingfeng Hall staff at the West Market post.
Tea cakes from Ruoye Creek, tea cups from Tianqing Kiln, rice flour from Zidiezhai, and even dried apricots and jujube paste, as well as a complete set of carving tools...
These were all ordered by A Qiu, who had his subordinates search and purchase them.
He finally couldn't help but ask, "Junior Sister, you came out with Young Master Gu just to buy these things?"
Ah Qiu laughed and said, "That's right. But since I didn't want the young master to carry all this, I was planning to go back like this. But I happened to run into the second senior brother, so I had to extort some money from him."
Mo Yimingyue was speechless, thinking to herself that girls are indeed more outgoing.
He coughed and said, "Junior sister, why did you let that princess go? This girl doesn't know the rules and should be severely punished."
Mo Yimingyue unexpectedly met A Qiu and Gu Yi on the main street of Xishi, and invited them to sit down at the branch of Xingfeng Hall in Xishi. She also took the opportunity to ask A Qiu some questions.
As soon as he asked the question, he immediately noticed that Gu Yi's expression had become unusually attentive.
Upon hearing the name of the Princess Wansui, A Qiu felt a headache coming on and said with a wry smile, "Second Senior Brother, you'd better not get involved with her. You think I'm saving her, but I'm at least half saving you."
Then he recounted the whole story of how he and Shangguan Yuqi went to the post station to "recruit" Princess Wansui, saying, "She is a tribute sent by the Marquis of Guannei. Killing her now would easily cause misunderstandings. Moreover, this woman is extremely cunning and determined. If you talk to her a few more times, and she changes her mind and doesn't go to the emperor but instead pesters you, my head will only hurt more."
Mo Yimingyue glanced at her and said coolly, "Incredibly cunning and resolute? I think that's more like you." Then he glanced at Gu Yi carefully and muttered, "Besides, she wasn't interested in me back then."
A Qiu was not expected to be ridiculed like this, and said angrily, "Fine, don't blame me for not reminding you, you probably can't wait to become a prince consort of the Hidden Moon Clan."
As soon as she finished speaking, Gu Yi and Mo Yimingyue both looked serious and said in unison, "The Hidden Moon Clan?" Clearly, both of them had heard of the Hidden Moon Clan before.
A Qiu said, "This is Miss Shangguan's guess. She deduced from the way the Princess Wansui's strength swirled that her martial arts were unconventional and not the usual Hu tribe martial arts, but rather like the Hidden Moon tribe hidden in the Northern Qiang Desert."
Mo Yimingyue gasped and said, "If the Hidden Moon Clan also participates in Li Chongyu's Jianzhang trip, things will become even more complicated."
The Hidden Moon Clan lives a secluded life, independent and solitary. Although they are near the Northern Qiang, they are not vassals of the Northern Qiang. At least for now, Mo Yimingyue cannot think of any reason why the Hidden Moon Clan would go to such lengths to interfere in the affairs of the Southern Dynasty.
Mo Yimingyue's eyes then lit up as she looked at A Qiu and said, "Even if that Princess Wansui was a Hidden Moon assassin, I, the dignified Master of the Divine Weapon Hall and the chief assassin of Lanling, 'Jing Ke,' should not have suffered a loss. But according to what I saw with my own eyes at that time, you seemed to be powerless against her and even needed the Young Master's protection. What happened?"
He was in charge of punishments and discipline, and his style was completely different from that of Gongyi Xiu. He sometimes seemed lazy, but in reality, he was strict and clear in everything he did.
When Princess Wansui snatched the half of the Han brick, he did not recognize her as A Qiu. This was not only because her face was covered by a veil and her clothes were different from usual, but also because her performance when she changed her moves could only be described as "mediocre".
Her impression of her was completely different from the junior sister he had in mind, who was swift and decisive in her actions. Otherwise, just from the fact that she was someone Gu Yi brought with him, he could have guessed that she was A Qiu.
After all, given Gu Yi's personality, there would never be a second woman by his side.
A Qiu didn't answer any questions, but simply stretched out one hand in front of Mo Yimingyue.
Mo Yimingyue had noticed that her reaction was completely different from usual, and that she needed Gu Yi's constant care. Although he found it hard to believe, he still had a rough guess based on his intuition. When she stretched out her hand, his expression changed. He didn't dare to check her meridians for a moment, but turned to Gu Yi and asked, "Young Master, what's going on?"
Gu Yi took A Qiu's delicate, jade-like hand and quietly pushed it back, saying calmly, "She was imprisoned in the Heavenly Prison for two days without eating a single thing, and she must have suffered a lot. When I arrived, she had already lost all her internal energy."
Mo Yimingyue exclaimed, "What?!" His expression changed several times before he said in a deep voice, "Isn't Senior Brother in court? He didn't make a move?"
Gu Yi answered for A Qiu: "The Left Prime Minister did try to save him, but he was stopped by Madam Pei outside the prison."
Mo Yimingyue suddenly stood up, turning her back to the two of them, unable to suppress the turmoil in her heart upon hearing the news of A Qiu's danger.
After a moment, he simply said, "So, this must be the real reason why the young master wants to take A Qiu as his last disciple."
It has nothing to do with the world, nor with her identity as the leader of the assassination attempt on Qin. It's because A Qiu was already powerless to protect herself, yet she still had to do her part in the treacherous court intrigues.
Unlike the elegant and unrestrained Gongyi Xiu, Mo Yimingyue, though seemingly rough and unconventional, is described in the sect as "bold yet meticulous," able to remember everything he sees without missing a detail.
When Gu Yi and Gu Yi met on the river and their weapons clashed, the flower hairpin that fell from A Qiu's head made him realize that A Qiu was anything but ordinary in Gu Yi's heart.
But this is unusual. Just how unusual? Does A-Qiu himself know?
Gu Yi paused, clearly not expecting Mo Yimingyue to know about this so quickly. He pondered for a moment and said, "That's only part of the reason."
Another reason, however, was hidden in his heart and he never mentioned it to anyone.
Ah Qiu and he had a master-disciple relationship. She had been his disciple since birth.
Mo Yimingyue suddenly said, "Good, very good."
He turned around sharply and looked directly at Gu Yi, saying, "Young Master wants to take A Qiu as his disciple, isn't that asking for my master's opinion? I can answer you now. My master's answer is that he will return this disciple to you. Moreover, he said that he doesn't need any promises from you. The future will be clear on the battlefield."
When A-Qiu heard this news, it was like a thunderbolt from the blue.
At the time, she was distressed by the loss of her martial arts skills and could no longer send any messages to the outside world. She thought Gu Yi's suggestion was impossible and casually agreed, but she did not expect that Gu Yi would send a message to her master so quickly, and her master would also send a reply so quickly.
The result was even more unexpected than she had anticipated.
The master didn't say "okay," but rather "I'm returning this disciple to you."
No wonder Mo Yimingyue wasn't surprised at all to see her, who should have just been a palace musician, traveling with Gu Yi.
Mo Yimingyue stared intently at Gu Yi. Gu Yi, however, looked surprised.
This unexpected turn of events was probably not because Wan Qiqing agreed to his request, because the conditions Gu Yi offered at the time were ones that no one in the world could refuse.
Instead, it came from Wan Qiqing's complete refusal to accept any offer.
Only because he refused to take anything did Mo Yimingyue realize the depth and danger of his intentions.
As a disciple, he couldn't comment on his master's actions. But his only hope was that his junior sister, A Qiu, wouldn't get too deeply involved and go astray.
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