Qingge lightly touched her toes to the ground, landing gracefully by the window. Staring intently at her face covered by black gauze, Baizhi asked, “When did you return?”
Qingge raised an eyebrow, returning his question with a silence.
Baizhi pressed his lips together. “Fine, I shouldn’t have asked.”
“Why are you standing outside my door?”
“Waiting for you.” After a pause, he added, “I have something to give you.”
Under Qingge’s puzzled gaze, Baizhi pulled out an item from his sleeve, carefully wrapped in yellow paper. He extended it toward her. “This is for you.”
Qingge didn’t take it. “You knew I would return? How did you know?”
Baizhi’s gaze drifted toward the rain-soaked night, his expression unreadable. “Wanzhao told me. She said you would be back.”
Qingge’s dark eyes fixed on Baizhi, trying to discern his intentions, but his expression gave nothing away. “What else did Wanzhao say?” She asked coolly.
Wanzhao was around the same age as her, perhaps one or two years older. Despite being among the few female secret guards in the Qianying Pavilion, they couldn’t have been more different. With her natural allure and seductive charm, Wanzhao was often assigned tasks that required interacting with men.
They weren’t particularly close, but Qingge had once saved Wanzhao’s life when her cover was blown during a mission in Xiyuan. Since then, Wanzhao occasionally sought her out to talk, but relationships between secret guards in the Qianying Pavilion rarely went beyond that.
So, it was to Qingge’s surprise that Wanzhao had mentioned her movements to Baizhi.
Baizhi stood with his sword in hand, his expression icy as he countered her with a question instead of an answer. “You went to see the Pavilion Master.”
“Yes,” Qingge admitted, realizing her movements had been exposed because Wanzhao had been observing Ye Min.
‘Very Wanzhao-like,’ Qingge thought to herself, understanding that she would need to be even more vigilant moving forward.
Another troublesome individual.
Baizhi raised his gaze to Qingge. “You have secrets. You’re afraid I’ll find out.”
Hearing this, Qingge let out a cold laugh. Using her fingers as a blade, she struck straight for Baizhi’s throat.
It happened in an instant. Baizhi didn’t even move; he simply stared coldly at Qingge. Her fingertips stopped just three inches from his throat. Looking at him with icy eyes, she warned, “Baizhi, mind your own business.”
The wind, the rain, and the two sounds of breathing—all seemed to press in around them.
In a slow voice, Qingge said, “I still remember long ago, the Pavilion Master once said, ‘Curiosity killed the cat.’” Her tone turned colder. “I want to live, and I believe you do, too.”
Baizhi’s expression remained unchanged. “Oh, threatening me?”
Qingge withdrew her hand, “You can think of it that way. We’ve known each other for years; I trust you understand what I mean.”
Baizhi frowned slightly.
Qingge turned to leave. “I’m going.”
But Baizhi suddenly grabbed her arm.
Qingge stopped in her tracks and turned to look at him.
Baizhi stuffed the yellow paper-wrapped package into her arms and said in a low voice, “Take it.”
This time, Qingge didn’t refuse. She accepted it, then leaped lightly, her figure disappearing into the misty rain.
Baizhi stood with his sword in hand, watching as her silhouette vanished like a fleeting shadow beyond the high walls.
…
When Qingge returned to her room, traces of dampness had already clung to her clothes. She was not in the mood of bathing, so she simply changed out of her damp outer robe, slipped into her undergarments, and lay down on the bed.
Only then did she finally take out the yellow paper package. Ever cautious, she put on a thin silk glove before opening it. To her surprise, it contained no poison, nor anything insidious. Instead, there was a ginseng root—judging from its thickness, it must have been decades old and of excellent quality.
This surprised Qingge. It seemed that Wanzhao or Baizhi had guessed what had happened to her, which left her feeling uneasy.
In the Qianying Pavilion, secrets were meant to be kept to oneself, never revealed. Qingge had known the two for years, and yet she had never lowered her guards. In her many years as a secret guard, only Ye Min knew her true identity.
She didn’t want to have deeper ties with either of them. Yet, Baizhi giving her this gift was unexpected. Now that she was posing as the daughter of the Xiahou clan and married Ning Wang, a decades-old ginseng root was nothing; if she wanted such items, they were easily within reach. But for the Qingge of the past, acquiring such a treasure would have been nearly impossible.
The life of a secret guard was rife with constant danger. If poisoned or gravely injured, this ginseng could potentially save one’s life, and yet Baizhi had given it to her.
To say she wasn’t moved would be a lie.
Qingge’s thoughts shifted back to Ye Min, wondering what he had made her consume earlier. The taste had been pleasant, with a faint medicinal aroma.
‘A tonic? Or poison?’ She pondered. Logically speaking, it was probably some kind of tonic—she was already poisoned, after all, and there was no point in striking her again. Moreover, Ning Wang had no reason to eliminate her at this stage.
She closed her eyes and began to circulate her internal aura, only to sense a surge of clear aura slowly rising within her. This pure aura spread quickly throughout her body, bringing a refreshing and invigorating sensation.
Overjoyed, she realized that what Ye Min had given her was something extraordinarily beneficial.
After a moment of reflection, she understood. He had given her something to strengthen her body, help detoxify the poison, and restore her skills so she could better protect the Wangfei.
‘So… the guard mission is non-negotiable.’ She thought. But how was she supposed to play two roles without being discovered? It was practically an impossible feat.
Qingge felt a headache coming on. Still, having no solution for now, she could only take it one step at a time. For the time being, she should fully utilize the effect of Ye Min’s medicine and start regaining her martial arts.
Just then, someone’s footsteps could be heard outside. The steps were steady, unhurried, and confident.
Qingge’s heart skipped a beat—it was the sound of Ning Wang’s footsteps.
It had been three or four days since their overnight boat trip and he hadn’t visited the inner yard ever since; so why did he suddenly come tonight? Qingge wanted to curse out loud. Of all the times, he had to come when she was trying to circulate her aura! But since she now bore the title of Ning Wangfei, she had no choice but to suppress her internal aura and lie back on the bed.
Outside the bedchamber, Qingge’s maidservants were in a hurry to serve Ning Wang, taking his umbrella and rain cloak, and offering towels and other items. Everything was done respectfully, swiftly, and silently.
It didn’t take long. Soon, Ning Wang bypassed the screen and entered the inner chamber. Without hesitation, he lifted the bed curtains and climbed onto the bed.
Sensing his presence approaching, Qingge was filled with an overwhelming sense of rejection. She wasn’t in the mood right now! Having just consumed Ye Min’s medicine, she was eager to check how it might counteract the poison in her body, and then this man suddenly appeared, ruining her moments.
What could he possibly want? Nothing more than the usual intimacy on the bed.
To be honest, it wasn’t as though she didn’t enjoy the activity. On the pleasure boat that day, she had enjoyed it quite a bit—so much so that, over the past few days, she had occasionally reminisced about the sensation of being completely filled by him.
She had certainly taken her share of pleasure from it. But now was not the time.
So Qingge kept her eyes closed, pretending to sleep, hoping he might leave her alone if he thought she was asleep.
But Ning Wang was certainly not such a polite gentleman. His large hand quickly reached under the covers.
Qingge couldn’t resist and even let out a soft gasp instinctively.
Then she felt his warm breath envelop her from behind, and his deep, magnetic voice sounded in her ear: “Pretending to sleep?”
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Author’s Note:
Qingge: “How I miss those carefree days as a secret guard, killing and spying without a worry in the world.”
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