Dong dong dong~~
I don't know how long it had been. The window brightened, and the sound of hammering on wood came from a distance, mixed with the chirping of cicadas on a summer morning:
"Zhiliiao——Zhiliiao——"
Luo Ning slowly woke up. Her mind was still blank. She opened her eyes and looked towards the window. She saw the morning sunlight shining on the window paper, and the room became much brighter.
Why did I pass out? What did I do last night...
A hint of confusion appeared in Luo Ning's clear eyes. While she was still wondering, a conversation came from outside:
"Brother Jingtang, why is your bed collapsed?"
"I was lying there yesterday and practicing the Thousand-Jin Drop technique for fun. I accidentally broke the bed board..."
...
?!
Hearing Xiao Yunli's voice, Luo Ning was suddenly jolted awake. She turned over abruptly, her eyes filled with fear. She looked down...
The green long dress was properly worn on her body, and she was sleeping on the big bed in the main house. Everything in the room was in order, as if nothing had happened.
Huh?
Was it all a dream yesterday?
Luo Ning was very confused. She wanted to get up, but as soon as she moved her legs, she realized something was wrong...
"Ow~..."
So sore...
Luo Ning quickly covered her mouth, and countless images flooded into her mind.
Going to the Pei family to catch the little rascal with a muddled mind...
Being provoked by the little rascal and competing with him in willpower...
Knocking Yunli unconscious and taking the initiative to press the little rascal down...
The little rascal was so skilled...
Finding that the effect of the medicine hadn't worn off, so she didn't leave...
And then she was in a daze, with only fragmented memories. When she woke up again, the bed board had already broken...
Limp and gasping for breath, she watched the little rascal help her put on her clothes...
Being carefully carried to the main house and placed on the pillow...
...
What on earth did I do!
This little rascal really has some tricks. Why was I so stupid...
Luo Ning covered her face with her hands, and the blush instantly spread to her ears and neck.
She sat on the bed for I don't know how long before suppressing the feeling of embarrassment. Then boundless shame and anger welled up in her heart. She really wanted to draw her sword and rush out to cut the little rascal into pieces.
As for the reason for cutting him into pieces, it didn't matter!
Luo Ning took a deep breath and resumed her cold expression. She wanted to turn over and get out of bed.
But as soon as she moved, she furrowed her delicate eyebrows and almost let out a moan. In the end, she resigned herself to lying back on the pillow and continued to pretend to be asleep, trying to recover her almost broken body...
——
The summer morning sunlight sprinkled in the courtyard, and a new day began.
The breakfast in the kitchen had already been prepared. Since Luo Ning didn't like meat, there was a pot of vegetable porridge, which was kept warm beside the stove.
The young seedlings and potted plants under the melon trellis showed a lush green color in the sunlight; the bedding and sheets had already been washed and were hanging on the melon trellis to dry.
Zhe Yunli was dressed like a little girl next door. She wore the magpie hairpin that Ye Jingtang had given her yesterday on her head, with a knife hanging behind her waist. She was leaning against the window of the west wing, twirling the little turtle ornament with her slender fingers and looking into the room.
The west wing was clean and tidy, and there was no trace of water left by Sister Watermelon.
Ye Jingtang was squatting on the ground with a small hammer in his hand. There was a handful of nails beside him, and in front of him was the broken bed board.
As the saying goes, "A weak body cannot tolerate strong tonics."
The old wooden plank bed, which had already seen many years, was completely destroyed after being mercilessly damaged by Ye Jingtang. Even with Ye Jingtang's excellent craftsmanship, it was no longer possible to repair the broken bed. After knocking and tapping for a long time, there were more and more broken places.
Zhe Yunli held her chin with one hand and exclaimed when she saw this:
"Brother Jingtang's Thousand-Jin Drop technique is really something. It's better to buy a new bed. Even if it's repaired, I don't think it will last for a few days."
Ye Jingtang thought so too. He gathered up the broken wooden bed boards, picked them up, and walked out the door:
"I have to go to the Black Yamen soon. Later, I'll trouble Miss Zhe to help buy a sturdier bed. When your martial aunt wakes up, bring the porridge in. Your martial aunt was the main force in the fight against Xu Bailin yesterday, and she really consumed a lot of energy."
Zhe Yunli stretched out her little hand: "No problem, as long as you pay enough for the errand."
Ye Jingtang threw the wooden materials into the corner of the yard to be used as firewood. He took out a banknote and handed it to Zhe Yunli. After thinking for a while, he said:
"Master Qiu has already been released. I'll go and inquire about his whereabouts today. If there's a chance, I'll take you to meet him."
When Zhe Yunli heard this, she immediately put away her casual and carefree demeanor in the martial arts world. She politely pushed the banknote back:
"I was just joking. Brother Jingtang still needs to make arrangements and use a lot of money everywhere. How could I take your money? It's just a bed. I'll ask my martial aunt for the money to buy it."
?
Ye Jingtang thought it was a bit inappropriate to let Lady Luo use her private money to buy a bed, but he didn't say much. He put away the banknote, tidied up his things, and prepared to go out.
Just as he hung the saber on his waist, the door of the main house creaked open:
Creak——
He turned his head and saw the cold and elegant young woman in a green dress standing in the doorway. Her hair was neatly coiled, and a green hairpin that he had given her was inserted obliquely. Her demeanor still had an otherworldly air, but it had a bit more of an indescribable charm than usual.
Luo Ning maintained her usual distant expression, as if she didn't remember anything. She walked gracefully towards the kitchen:
"Yunli, come and have breakfast."
"Okay!"
Zhe Yunli quickly bounced into the kitchen and started serving the porridge.
Ye Jingtang looked at Lady Luo. As a result, he saw Luo Ning's eyes turn cold, and she touched the saber at her waist. It seemed that she was looking for an opportunity to cut him. He felt rather helpless and said:
"I'm leaving now."
"Goodbye, Brother Jingtang."
Luo Ning raised her eyes by the kitchen window. Although she really didn't want to pay attention to the little rascal, after a moment of hesitation, she still reminded him:
"Your arm is injured. Don't fight."
"Okay."
Ye Jingtang smiled, turned around, and walked out of the courtyard.
Ranfang Street was being rebuilt. After dawn, there were quite a few craftsmen working while the weather was still cool. There were knocking and hammering sounds everywhere.
Ye Jingtang walked out of Shuanggui Alley and was about to walk to the Black Yamen on foot when he saw a carriage parked at the street entrance. His big black horse, which had already gained a few circles of weight, was parked by the roadside. When it saw him, it shook its head and looked elsewhere. It seemed that it had been well-fed at the Pei family and didn't want to go back with its master, who had been exposed to the elements all year round.
The curtain of the carriage was closed, but Xiu He was standing at the street entrance, chatting with several foremen.
When Ye Jingtang saw this, he also remembered the crazy scene from yesterday, such as holding one in each hand and "hitting two targets with one shot" and so on. He felt really embarrassed.
"Master Ye~"
"Hey~ Hold an umbrella. Be careful not to get sunburned."
"Thank you for your concern, Master~"
Ye Jingtang came to the carriage. After greeting Xiu He, he jumped onto the carriage.
The carriage was quite spacious. San Niang, dressed in a goose-yellow summer dress, had applied rose-red lip rouge, and her hair was coiled into a beautiful and alluring style. Holding a landscape-patterned round fan, she sat sideways by the window, looking at the construction situation on the street and staring blankly.
On the table in front of her, besides the tea set, there were also two red envelopes with the Chinese character "Xi" (happiness) on them. There should be banknotes inside.
When Ye Jingtang entered the carriage and saw San Niang's slightly complicated expression, he knew that she was still thinking about what had happened last night. He sat down opposite her:
"San Niang?"
Pei Xiangjun turned her eyes, sat up a little straighter, raised her hand to pour tea for Ye Jingtang. Her red lips moved, but she didn't say anything.
"I really took the wrong medicine yesterday, and it was you who fed it to me. I'm sorry for my excessive words and deeds..."
"Okay."
Pei Xiangjun pushed the teacup in front of Ye Jingtang and let out a sigh:
"You didn't do it on purpose, and I don't blame you."
Ye Jingtang smiled: "It was a misunderstanding yesterday. That box of medicine from Ning'er was prescribed by Madam Wang. She didn't mean to drug me..."
Ye Jingtang told her about having excessive yang qi and needing to be regulated.
Pei Xiangjun listened to the explanation quietly. After blinking her eyes, her face obviously looked much better:
"I thought so. Why was she so overbearing? She stole my man and even dared to come to my door to cause trouble... In the end, did she help you regulate your body?"
Ye Jingtang blinked his eyes. It was really difficult to answer this question directly.
Pei Xiangjun let out a soft "hum~" and there was a hint of strangeness in her eyes. She pushed the red envelope on the table to him:
"You're newly married. Miss Ning'er didn't come to serve tea. I can't just be angry and forget the rules. Take it. Give it to Miss Ning'er for me and tell her that I won't hold it against her."
Ye Jingtang felt a bit helpless, but he still took the red envelope. Then he took out two jewelry boxes from his sleeve and handed them to San Niang:
"I bought these hairpins yesterday. I didn't have a chance to give them to you, San Niang. See if you like them."
Pei Xiangjun took the hairpin box and looked at it, feeling a bit surprised: "You bought them for me too?"
"Of course. I even bought jewelry for Niaoniao. How could I forget about you, San Niang? I also bought something for Xiu He. San Niang, give it to her later. She'll probably be happy for several days."
Pei Xiangjun put down the round fan and opened the box to take a look - a flower-and-bird hairpin in the shape of apricot blossoms. The craftsmanship was excellent, and it was very beautiful. It also matched her temperament. It was obvious that it had been carefully selected...
Pei Xiangjun closed the hairpin box. After thinking for a while, she said: "You really know how to be fair... I'm not really anything to you. You can't just give hairpins casually."
Ye Jingtang said seriously: "San Niang is my martial aunt, and in a sense, my master. What's wrong with me showing my respect to my master? I'll cut anyone who dares to gossip."
Pei Xiangjun blinked her eyes. After a moment of hesitation, she said in a joking tone: "Who's your master? I can't teach you, this disciple. If I really acknowledged you, I'd be heartbroken if you were taken away by someone someday."
After saying that, she still put away the hairpin box: "Okay, go and do your business. I'm going back too. Remember to come and learn boxing in the evening. Also, after you're done with the things in the capital, you have to think about the affairs of Baoyuanmen. Otherwise, Huang Zhu will come to find you again. At that time, I'll see if I'm available and accompany you there."
"I've kept this in mind. I'll go there as soon as I have time."
"Hmph~"
Ye Jingtang smiled softly, stood up, and left the carriage. After watching the carriage drive away, he rode his horse and rushed to the Black Yamen...
——
On the other side, in a private manor hidden halfway up a mountain on the outskirts of the city.
There were countless guards patrolling with their swords drawn outside the manor, but there were few people inside.
Cao Anning stood by the window of a tall building that overlooked Yun'an City, holding a knife in his hand. He looked at the majestic imperial city where he had grown up in his childhood, his face looking rather solemn.
The room behind him was filled with the smell of medicine. Xu Bailin sat on the ground. The sword wound on his leg had been stitched and bandaged, and a brand-new iron cudgel was placed beside him.
But losing the Green Steel Cudgel that had accompanied him for many years was no less than Ye Jingtang losing his Chi Long Huan Shou Dao. No matter how good the new weapon was, it couldn't suppress the resentment and gloom in Xu Bailin's eyes, which was like the hatred of having his wife stolen.
After the two of them were silent for a long time, Xu Bailin spoke first:
"We've been planning for many years. As soon as we started to implement our plans, we made such a big mistake. How can we explain this?"
Cao Anning turned around and sat down opposite him, wiping the straight knife in his hand:
"Fan Yu doesn't know the inside story, and the Black Yamen won't be able to extract anything from him. You were accidentally caught yesterday. You should have left."
Xu Bailin knew that it was his momentary impulse to fight back yesterday that caused his companion to forcefully come to his rescue and fall into the hands of the government. After a moment of silence, he grabbed the iron cudgel:
"I'm going to rescue him."
Cao Anning raised his hand to stop him:
"The court is not the martial arts world. You can't act on impulse. If he's dead, then he's dead. When the matter is accomplished, his merits won't be forgotten. It's the same for you and me."
Xu Bailin clenched the iron cudgel: "What should we do next?"
"Ye Jingtang is at odds with us, and we can't see through his schemes and true strength at all. If we don't deal with him, we won't dare to act recklessly."
"Should we kill Ye Jingtang first?"
"We should focus on the big picture. Killing Ye Jingtang will waste too much manpower and effort, and it's easy to expose ourselves... We can use the strategy of using others to do our dirty work."
Xu Bailin thought for a moment: "Whose knife should we borrow?"
Cao Anning thought carefully: "According to Duke Cao, thirty years ago, the successor of the Eight-Step Crazy Saber technique had a life-and-death feud with Junshan Terrace. This Ye Jingtang knows the Eight-Step Crazy Saber technique. If Junshan Terrace finds out, they will definitely not be able to sit still."
Xu Bailin frowned: "The Xuanyuan Dynasty is the 'Marquis of Junshan'. They don't dare to touch the people of the Princess Jing."
"If they don't take the initiative, they'll be the ones to die in the future. We just need to send the news over, and Junshan Terrace will find a way to solve this hidden danger. We don't need to worry about how they will solve it. Even if the Xuanyuan family can't deal with Ye Jingtang, at least they can cause some trouble and make Ye Jingtang shift his attention. It's better than him constantly hounding us."
Xu Bailin considered it for a moment and thought this method was feasible, so he didn't say anything more...