The next morning, Liu Hengchang went to the pharmacy to prepare medicine for Feng Xiaojin as usual. He hadn’t slept all night, and his heart was still in his throat. The herbs were gurgling in the pot, and a sour and bitter heat filled the whole room, making his thoughts more and more confused. This medicine was non-toxic, but it had no positive effect on Feng Xiaojin’s old injuries. To put it bluntly, it was not much different from drinking a bowl of water.

He began to carefully recall the entire story of his entry into the Baifu Sect, and the more he recalled, the more he felt that everything had gone too smoothly. During this period of time, as far as the thing he wanted to do, the places he wanted to go, and the information he wanted to find out, he could achieve all of these goals safely and securely. And behind each secure achievement, there seemed to be an inadvertent push from Feng Xiaojin.

Could it be that…..Liu Hengchang was caught in a conflict, and the other party was secretly assisting him?

“Hey!” The witch doctor’s scolding suddenly sounded in his ears. “Pay attention to your medicine!”

Liu Henchang returned to his senses at once and hastily put out the fire. The witch doctors had always looked down on him, so he didn’t get involved with them much. Liu Hengchang poured the concoction into a bowl, settled himself down again, and then took it to the small southwest courtyard.

Everything was as usual inside the room. Feng Xiaojin sat at the table, polishing his weapon. There was a pot of tea on the table. Liu Henchang took out the medicine bowl and warned, “Young Master Feng, the medicine cannot be drunk with tea.”

“It’s only a few leaves. Yunle sent them to me.” Feng Xiaojin didn’t raise his head, and simply said, “Today’s medicine smells particularly bitter.”

“The ingredients haven’t changed. Perhaps the decoction is a little more potent.” Liu Hengchang stood to the side as he talked, secretly paying attention to the other person’s expression. To have the courage to work as an undercover agent in the Baifu Sect, Liu Hengchang’s psychological quality was much better than that of ordinary people. He was flustered, but not at a loss. 

“If the fire was too strong, the efficacy of the medicine will be weakened and all previous efforts will be wasted. The bitterness will be in vain.” Feng Xiaojin sheathed the sword and ordered, “Take it and pour it out.”

“Yes, then I’ll make another bowl.” Liu Hengchang’s heartbeat accelerated slightly again. He had been wondering that morning that if Feng Xiaojin knew there was a problem with him, whether or not he had taken his previous medicines. Now he suddenly heard the other person say this with his own ears, and had an answer in mind, just like opponents in a chess game, deliberately tearing a rift between black and white.

Events gradually became clearer.

Feng Xiaojin’s expression remained as usual, but Liu Henchang felt that there was a fateful implication, as if everything had reached a certain point and at this specific time, something was destined to happen.

Two more days passed quickly.

On the third day, on which Mu Zhe himself said he planned to cut off Ku You’s arms, it was calm and uneventful. And after this day, the number of witch doctors responsible for guarding him gradually decreased until they were completely absent.

Only Liu Hengchang and Ku You were left in the room.

In this way, Liu Hengchang felt more and more that his guess was correct. When Mu Zhe mentioned at the riverside that Ku You would be punished by torture, that should have been an instigation. If he had gone down the mountain rashly that night, he likely would have fallen into a trap. Then now…..a layer of cold sweat broke out on his back. In the end, not fearing death did not mean welcoming it. Everyone wanted to live. After walking outside the gates of hell, one would learn their lesson.

Don’t be reckless, don’t be careless, don’t take things for granted. Be calm, sober, and tranquil in adversity. Liu Hengchang thought this silently in his heart, maintaining the airtight seal on his words. He held it in for two days without speaking. Finally, Ku You took the initiative to ask him: “What happened?”

“What?”

“They suddenly relaxed their surveillance on you and me. Something must have happened.” Ku You repeated his question, “Do you know why this is?”

Liu Hengchang didn’t answer immediately, looking around a couple of times. Although Ku You was blindfolded, he seemed to be aware of his actions and said: “There is no one watching. Speak.”

Only then did Liu Hengchang tell him what had happened in the past few days.

Ku You asked: “What kind of person is Feng Xiaojin?”

“An…..extremely cold person.”

Liu Hengchang wracked his brains to describe him as closely as possible. “He seems to have no interest in anything, and never interferes in the administration of the Baifu Sect. He is like a tourist who only lives there with his two young siblings.” Although Wumeng Yunyou and Wumeng Yunle both called him Uncle, perhaps because his face was stuck at the age of seventeen, the three of them looked more like siblings of the same age.

Ku You said: “I want to see him alone.”

“Okay.” Liu Hengchang nodded. “Don’t worry, Commander Ku. I will do my best to make arrangements.”

He glanced at the sun outside the window again and asked doubtfully: “It’s already past noon. Why hasn’t Miss Yunle come today?”

“Perhaps her goal has been achieved,” Ku You said. “Feng Xiaojin cares about her very much?”

“Yes, and there is also Young Master Yunyou. This brother and sister pair seem to be his only tie to the mortal world.” Liu Hengchang packed up the medicine box. “I can’t stay here long, I must leave first. Commander Ku’s eyes—”

“Don’t worry about me,” Ku You interrupted. “Make arrangements as soon as possible.”

Liu Hengchang acquiesced, then turned around and left the small courtyard in a hurry. On the way back, he saw a large group of Wumeng Yunle’s maids walking in the other direction. 

“From today on,” Mu Zhe said, “You don’t need to see him anymore.”

“Why not?” Wumeng Yunle stood up anxiously. “Master promised me that I can persuade him to join the Baifu Sect.”

“I did promise, but you don’t seem to be able to do so,” Mu Zhe said. “He has no interest in you.”

“That’s because those incompetent doctors haven’t examined his eyes well yet!”

“Then wait until his eyes recover. Until they recover, don’t go to that courtyard again.”

“But I like seeing him.” Wumeng Yunle took two steps forward and reached to grasp Mu Zhe sleeve, but only grasped air.

Mu Zhe walked out with a flick of his sleeves, and the maids immediately filed in. The Leader said deferentially, “Holy Maiden, it is the Leader’s command that if there is nothing important in the future, you need not go out again.”

“……” Wumeng Yunle was extremely unhappy and tried to break through the door, but was no match for the maids. In the end, she could only walk back full of displeasure. On the way, she happened to meet Yuan Yu again. She felt even more disgusted and quickened her pace, like a cloud drifting away from him.

Yuan Yu did not stop her. Another man beside him jested with a sneer: “Brother Yuan, forgive me for being blunt, but she doesn’t seem to have any interest in you.”

“She doesn’t need to be interested in me. I’m only interested in her face.”

“A superficial, ignorant, and beautiful woman is indeed fit to be dressed up and enshrined on an altar. Although both are beautiful, I still prefer the medical girl from the Liu family. Her vitality is so strong, like a vine full of flowers, and she can make everyone around her feel that vitality.”

“But at least I can obtain that superficial woman. Your flowers can only bloom in the distance forever.” Yuan Yu cast his gaze to the other side of the path. “Sometimes, it’s not a bad thing for a man if a woman is a little stupid.”

The wind blew away the conversation between the two, and also caused the southwest flowers to sway.

“Yah!” Amidst the fragrance of flowers, a white horse galloped. Behind that white horse, servants shouted: “Third Young Lady! Slow down!”

They were out of breath from chasing her, especially the chubby chestnut pony among them. Forced to be surrounded by a group of powerful and long-legged war horses, it couldn’t stop, and its soul was about to fly away. 

Just like that, they ran all the way to the Valley of Ten Faces.

“First Young Master! Second Young Master!” It was rare for a disciple of Baihe Mountain Village to run and shout in such a way when they were not administering emergency treatment. It was truly unbecoming, and there was clearly no emergency at the moment. The two young masters of the Liu family stepped across the threshold together. Before they could say anything, the disciple was already saying happily: “First Young Master, Second Young Master, guess who’s here?”

A layer of skirt rose up at the threshold, and a half-smiling face appeared: “No need to guess now!”

“A-Yuan?” Liu Xian’an was extremely surprised, and stepped forward to greet her at once. Liu Nanyuan was travel-worn, and there was a silly rag draped over her head. Liu Xianche said with a smile: “Good, good, a young girl is dressed like a sixty-year-old mother-in-law.”

“It’s so that my hair doesn’t blow around. I’ve been riding a horse all the way. Liu Nanyuan removed the handkerchief, and her black hair was like a waterfall, shining with the luster of brocade. A soldier of Xiao Wang Palace was originally there to deliver food boxes to Liu Xian’an, but when he came in, he saw a beautiful girl standing in the courtyard. He immediately blushed and didn’t know where to put his eyes, and after a salute, he hastily ran away. 

He almost ran into Lieutenant General Gao’s arms while running.

“Slow down!” Gao Lin grabbed his arm. “Did you run into a ghost?”

“No, Third Young Lady Liu is here.” The soldier was still blushing. He couldn’t help it. After all, she was the most beautiful woman in Dayan. Even though he only got a brief glance at her, his hands still trembled with nerves.

“I just heard the announcement. It turns out that there are people from Baihe Mountain Village here?” Now, the three Liu family brothers and sister were gathered together. Gao Lin feared that there was not enough chaos in the world, so he went all the way to find his family’s prince and said: “Your Highness, your sister-in-law is here.”

Liang Shu was lamenting over a military report that was incomprehensible nonsense, but when he looked up and saw Gao Lin’s expression, he knew that the other party was here to cause trouble again and said simply and concisely, scram.

“I have conveyed the words, but the prince himself does not want to listen. If Second Young Master Liu is blamed in the future, I will not be responsible.”

“Get back here!”

“Ai!” Gao Lin had rich experience in scramming and coming back again, and his life could be said to be very well-rounded. 

Liang Shu commanded: “Speak.”

“Ahem!” Gao Lin cleared his throat, and repeated again that his sister-in-law was here.

He spoke very eloquently, but Liang Shu was still very unfamiliar with this field and simply didn’t react. “Whose sister-in-law?”

“Your own, Your Highness.” Gao Lin was happy. “Third Young Lady Liu, Liu Nanyuan, is currently at Second Young Master Liu’s residence.”

Liang Shu slammed the writing brush in his hand onto the table with a smack, and asked in surprise: “Why is she here?”

“Who knows, maybe she is passing by. After all, her two brothers are here,” Gao Lin said. “Xiao Song just glanced at this girl and got so excited that his face blushed and his neck went red. He was like a savage, running around howling and not watching his path, but didn’t seriously injure himself. It can be said that his potential is astonishing.”

Liang Shu: “…….”

What did this mean?

In order to save face for Xiao Wang Palace, His Royal Highness Xiao Wang could only behave as luxuriously and decently as possible. The stone table in the back courtyard was already filled with seven or eight dishes of Jiangnan snacks. Liu Nanyuan didn’t bother to eat, asking first: “Are the rumors true? Is Er-ge really planning to marry His Royal Highness Xiao Wang?”

Liu Xianche’s chest felt tight. Why did she bring this up first thing? He didn’t want to hear about it anymore.

Liu Xian’an was very happy. Yes, we will get married in the future.

Liu Nanyuan asked again: “So everything written in the family letter is true?”

“It’s true.” Liu Xian’an nodded. “Did Mother and Father say anything?”

“After receiving the news, Father anxiously pulled out many strands of his beard and became completely bald. As for Mother, she also stayed in bed for a few days at first, mainly because, as you know, His Royal Highness Xiao Wang’s reputation is not very good in our region.” Liu Nanyuan said, “But then the emperor sent people to boast about the prince for a long time, and said that the matter needed to be discussed further, so the elders didn’t need to be so nervous. This basically stabilized the mood of our parents.”

Liu Xian’an felt guilty upon hearing this, because he recalled that his father quite liked that mustache. When he had nothing to do, he would take out small golden scissors from his sleeve and trim it carefully, but now it was torn out because of him. It could be seen that he had a problem with anxiety, and the symptoms were obvious. Just like the big parrot that hung under the covered bridge, and would frantically pull out the feathers on its rear end when it got upset. 

Liu Nanyuan urged, “Why did you only ask about our parents, but not ask about my reaction?”

“Then what was your reaction?”

“I was extremely moved at the time.” Liu Nanyuan grabbed her Er-ge’s sleeve and said, “I thought you were sacrificing yourself to prevent me from marrying His Royal Highness Xiao Wang.”

Liu Xian’an: “……You were thinking too much.”

“Yes, ah, I understood later.” Liu Nanyuan said, “When I went out, the closer I got to the southwest, the more people I heard talking about His Royal Highness Xiao Wang and Er-ge. I also met an unfortunate restaurant owner who said that the Jiangnan pastry chef he had finally hired was poached by the prince for a lot of money after he had only been working for a few days, saying that he would make sugar cakes for Er-ge.”

Liu Xian’an made an honest evaluation: “En, the taste is really decent.”

“But how are you together with His Royal Highness Xiao Wang?” Liu Nanyuan was puzzled. “You’re basically people from two different worlds.”

“People from different worlds can also enter each other’s worlds and seek common ground while setting aside differences.” Liu Xian’an didn’t want to bother explaining, and his mouth felt a little dry, so he told his sister, “When you grow up a little bit and meet the man you love, en, the kind of person who looks gentle, has a smile on his lips, has a slender figure, is full of literary thoughts, has little strength, is prone to stomach aches, and coughs when the wind blows, you will understand.”

“Don’t say that, ah!” Liu Nanyuan covered her mouth, embarrassed. There were some things that she was only willing to say to her Er-ge. Da-ge was too serious and strict, so it was not easy to talk to him.

As expected, Liu Xianche criticized: “A stomach ache and a cough, doesn’t this mean he is sick?”

Liu Nanyuan was very insistent. What is wrong with a sick sapling? In any case, I like weak people.

Liu Xianche: “…….”

How incomprehensible was this? What was wrong with this younger sibling?

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Chapter One Hundred Six << Table of Contents >> Chapter One Hundred Eight