Chapter 54 Chapter 54 She said she loved him, but secretly...

Eight years old.

Fu Huaiqing had established Xianyun Tower when she was eight, and Biezhi had concocted poison and blown up Xianyun Tower's side courtyard when she was eight.

She still remembered squatting in the courtyard, covered in dust and dirt, crying uncontrollably.

Her master said his eardrums were nearly ruptured, but it was only through his gradual calming that he avoided becoming deaf.

When Hua Chao brought Fang Tingzhi over, Biezhi was crouched under a tree, counting ants diligently working. Catching a dazed look from the corner of her eye, she glanced up and waved.

Fang Tingzhi's bewilderment instantly gave way to surprise, and she quickly walked over to the treetop. "Why are you here?"

Biezhi placed her hand on hers, using it to gain leverage to stand. Then, with a thunderous swoop, she declared, "Jiran is the master in disguise. The master is Jiran."

"Huh?" Fang Tingzhi's eyes widened in shock, and he followed her toward the stone table.

Seeing her stunned expression, Biezhi felt he'd gone even further

. He pulled his lips together with a wry smile, "You know, Ji Ran and I have spoken ill of our master quite a few times." Fang Tingzhi, of course, knew all about this; she'd been present on two occasions.

Gradually recovering, she gasped, her gaze darting from Biezhi's face. "It's a miracle you're still alive."

"Could you please hope for my well-being?" Biezhi retracted the teacup he was about to offer her.

Fang Tingzhi snatched it away. "Of the ten days you saw Ji Ran, at least seven were spent speaking ill of our master—"

"Nine and a half days," Biezhi corrected.

Fang Tingzhi: "…"

Sensing her friend's choking silence, Biezhi silently sipped her tea to moisten her throat and subtly changed the subject. "Why are you disguised as a man again for a mission?"

After the incident with the Chen family, Fang Tingzhi hadn't disguised herself as a man for a long time.

"I didn't," Fang Tingzhi retorted, frowning. "I was originally supposed to be a maid in the Su family's eldest daughter's chamber. Somehow, the day after I joined the Su family, I was assigned to Su Ci's courtyard. It was a perfect fit, since I was supposed to be there to find out about him." She thought of Su Ci's words and curled her lips. "I wonder which shameless person told him I'd destroy their family?"

She paused.

The two of them exchanged glances, their gazes simultaneously darting towards the study.

Fang Tingzhi silently shut her mouth.

Biezhi, seldom seeing her so deflated, couldn't help but laugh. He was right. If Fang Tingzhi was provoked, the two of them would literally destroy the Su family and flee.

"Don't laugh," Fang Tingzhi glared at her. "How are you any better than me, being confined here?"

Instantly, Biezhi's smile froze, her heart pierced. She looked at her bitterly.

It hurts most when someone pierces your own heart.

"It's good to be here right now." Biezhi said.

Fang Tingzhi was bewildered: "Huh?"

What's good about it? Being locked up and still cheering?

"Finding joy in suffering?" Fang Tingzhi asked doubtfully.

Biezhi knew that she had not received any news from Qingshan when she saw this. She was silent for a moment and told her what had happened in the past few days.

When Fang Tingzhi heard that Jingqing brought assassins to assassinate her, she suddenly slammed the table and could not sit still for a moment. Biezhi quickly grabbed her and said, "The master has sent people to search for his whereabouts." "

So, the assassin who assassinated you some time ago was also his man?" Fang Tingzhi asked.

Seven or eight days ago, she learned that the second daughter of the Qin family had died unexpectedly. She guessed that there must be something wrong, but she didn't believe that with Biezhi's skills, she would really die tragically at their hands. She finally found an opportunity to leave the Su family and rushed back home without hesitation.

She learned from her parents that Biezhi had encountered assassins while on a mission and suffered injuries during the fight, though fortunately, none were seriously injured. Now, aside from Lingfeng, no one else knew her whereabouts. Fang Tingzhi finally felt at ease, having never imagined there would be a sequel.

Biezhi looked at her and nodded, "She's his."

Fang Tingzhi smiled at that, but her eyes, devoid of any smile, were as cold as winter frost.

"What right does he have to say he loves you?"

Biezhi had never told anyone besides Jiran that Jingqing had confessed his feelings for her. She frowned, "You knew?"

"Of course I knew." Fang Tingzhi had learned this two years ago, but she could tell that Biezhi didn't have romantic feelings for Jingqing, but rather considered him family, so she hadn't told her. "Back then, when you first met Jiran and hadn't seen you for days, he asked about your whereabouts. I told him you'd met a man I really liked."

After she finished speaking, Jingqing remained silent for a long time.

It was also at this time that Fang Tingzhi realized that he seemed to be interested in Biezhi, and without hesitation, she immediately asked him what he thought. Jing Qing naturally did not tell her directly, but he did not deny it either.

"He says he likes you, but he kills you behind your back." Fang Tingzhi laughed coldly, "He doesn't think that letting you go is a sign of deep affection, right? Such deep affection should be given to whoever loves him."

"Drink some tea to calm down." Biezhi filled the teacup with a smile and patted the back of her hand, "Now his whereabouts are unknown, and I don't know if he will attack again. However, no matter how rampant they are, they will certainly not dare to come to the Prince Su's Mansion to act."

Fang Tingzhi thought about it and said, "The Prince Su's Mansion is indeed the only choice for settlement."

"It's good." Biezhi comforted her, and also comforted himself, "It's just that the days are long."

"Just think of it as a break after a mission." Fang Tingzhi looked around. When she came just now, she saw the guards patrolling outside the courtyard, airtight, "If Su Ci comes in the future, I will follow him. Do you have anything--" She glanced at the guard who suddenly came in, and her mouth paused for a moment. The guard said something to Hua Chao, and Hua Chao nodded slightly and walked over.

"Miss, Lord Su is leaving the mansion." Hua Chao said to Biezhi.

In just half a cup of tea, Fang Tingzhi left.

Mottled sunlight fell through the lush branches. Looking at the courtyard that suddenly fell into silence, Biezhi stayed in the courtyard for a while, and returned to her bedroom bored.

She didn't stay idle for long, as the courtyard suddenly rang with noises.

Biezhi walked to the door and saw Cheng Jin directing the guards to move things to the pavilion next door. With a quick glance, she recognized that the things in their hands were mostly the poison-making tools she had left in Queshan Pavilion.

"Miss." Cheng Jin was followed by guards, carrying three boxes that could hold two people. He gestured for everyone to get under the eaves and said, "In the boxes are the novels and stories that Miss mentioned yesterday, as well as some novels that have been circulating on the market recently. I have also brought them to you."

Cheng Jin found two sets.

One for the prince and one for Biezhi.

The box was opened, and Bie Zhi looked at the books filled with them. Even if she worked non-stop, it would take her a year or two to finish reading them.

She blinked.

Fu Huaiqing wouldn't really want to detain her here for two years, would he?

Bie Zhi waved to Cheng Jin, motioning him to come closer.

Cheng Jin took a few steps forward suspiciously.

"When do you plan to let me go, master?" Bie Zhi asked in a low voice.

Cheng Jin glanced at the girl with the gleaming eyes and was about to respond vaguely when an idea struck him. "Young lady, you can ask the prince yourself."

Bie Zhi: "..."

She didn't want to.

Asking him was like not asking at all. It would be better to find Jing Qing and find a way to escape.

Among the hundreds of novels and stories, there was always a method of escape that suited her.

In half a day, Bie Zhi had flipped through four novels without finding a suitable method. Just as she was about to start the fifth, Hua Chao, who was guarding the door, entered. She glanced out the window. It was already sunset.

The pale pink afterglow of the setting sun bathed the entire courtyard.

Bie Zhi put down the novel and stretched.

Hua Chao closed the book spread out on the table. "I heard that young lady likes the food at Wanghe Tower. The chef went there today to learn from the master. I wonder if it will suit your taste."

At this, Bie Zhi's eyes suddenly lit up.

After her injury, she had been eating bland food every day, and she felt like her sense of taste was failing.

"Let's go to the courtyard!"

Biezhi stood up with great interest. Delicious food had to be paired with a beautiful view.

While waiting for the food to be served from the kitchen, she found a great viewing spot in the courtyard and moved the table and chairs with such excitement that Hua Chao, who was standing next to her, was stunned.

A moment later, the table was filled with familiar food. Not only that, the kitchen staff was very considerate and sent a pot of sake over.

As usual, Biezhi patted the seat next to her and motioned Hua Chao to sit down.

Unexpectedly, Hua Chao, who usually nodded and sat down, shook her head and glanced at the archway of the courtyard not far away.

Suddenly, Biezhi understood.

Her eyelashes trembled slightly, and she looked at Hua Chao in disbelief, "He's coming?"

Hua Chao nodded slightly.

Seeing this, Biezhi followed her line of sight. There was no one else at the archway except the guards on duty. She was silent for a while, then picked up the bamboo chopsticks without hesitation.

The moment the chopsticks were about to land on the crab meat lion head, a tall figure suddenly came into view.

As if aware of her thoughts, his pace was not slow, and he reached the distance of a hundred steps in just a moment.

Fu Huaiqing lowered his eyes, scanning the food on the table that had not been touched, raised his eyes, looked at Biezhi with his almond eyes slightly wide, and raised his thin lips slightly, "It seems that I came at the right time."

"Long legs mean fast walking, it's amazing." Biezhi muttered softly.

"What?" Fu Huaiqing sat down and didn't hear.

Biezhi smiled sweetly: "It's okay."

Fu Huaiqing saw that she didn't think it was okay.

Since Biezhi could remember, today was the quietest time she had eaten, and she would never find such a quiet time again.

She felt uncomfortable all over.

She raised her drooping eyes slightly, and their eyes suddenly met. She vaguely saw a smile in the man's deep eyes, a faint smile with some colors that she could not understand.

He stared at her steadily, and Biezhi was puzzled by his gaze, as if she was a dish on his plate, served with rice.

Biezhi: "..."

In fact, she is not that delicious.

Fu Huaiqing picked up the chopsticks that fell on the bowl and plate, picked up a piece of pork elbow and put it into her bowl, "I remember you took me to Wanghelou specially, just to buy their pork elbow and try it to see if it is similar to the one in Wanghelou."

Staring at the pork elbow in the bowl, Biezhi recalled the scene more than half a month ago, and suddenly realized deeply that Jiran was indeed the man in front of her, and they were the same person.

She pursed her lips slightly. "It's just similar, it's not made by the same cook."

Fu Huaiqing's face froze for a moment. "Even if two different cooks used the same steps, there would be similarities."

"The taste is still different." Biezhi held the pork elbow and passed it forward. It melted in his mouth, very similar to the one from Wanghelou, but there were still some differences. "Jingqing and I both learned swordsmanship from our master. The same swordsmanship can be different when used by different people."

Fu Huaiqing remained silent.

Haste is the key to success. She had only known the truth for two days, and accepting that Ji Ran was her own impersonation was already a difficult task.

Forcing her to accept anything else all of a sudden would be difficult.

Biezhi needed time, and so did he.

Fortunately, what they had the most in common was time together.

Fu Huaiqing lifted the wine cup beside him. The clear wine washed over his throat, a faint bitterness spreading all around. It took an unknown amount of time before the sweetness finally settled in his throat.

Seeing that his mood seemed to have dropped, Biezhi felt a lump in her chest, for some reason, and it was followed by an inexplicable bitterness that quickly passed through her throat.

She picked up the sake and took a sip.

Drunken Flower Wine.

The last time she drank Drunken Flower Wine was the night she took Ji Ran to meet her senior brothers and sisters.

It was obvious that the man she had been with was not the real Ji Ran, but Fu Huaiqing pretending to be Ji Ran.

Thinking about this, Biezhi was in turmoil.

In the past two days, she had accepted that Ji Ran was the master, and the master was Prince Su. However, she often subconsciously avoided talking about the past. On the one hand, the thought of the past made her scramble around in embarrassment, and on the other hand, she was angry at his deception. He had clearly had many opportunities to tell her the truth.

Occasionally, she wondered if she had been too decisive. He pretended to be Ji Ran and lurked in Wuwei Shop. He must have had a plan. She was so blind that she walked into his house, so she couldn't blame others.

All kinds of thoughts flooded into Biezhi's mind, making her restless.

She couldn't sort it out, but she could hide.

Thinking this way, the chaos in Biezhi's heart gradually cleared up.

She raised her eyes slightly and looked at Fu Huaiqing, who had been silent for a long time. The moment their eyes met, Biezhi was a little dazed. The night fell and the bright night light fell on him, just like the night when the two sat under the eaves of the thatched house.

Especially those eyes, which were exactly the same as what she saw that night.

Many years ago, when Biezhi was learning the art of disguise, her master told her that if she wanted to use the art of disguise in the future, she must find a face with similar eyes to change.

The art of disguise is not difficult. As long as you have a face you want to change, it is easy to do.

Only the eyes are difficult to hide from others.

Biezhi pondered and felt that she trusted Yu Jiran too much later, so she did not have any doubts when she met Prince Su. Otherwise, she would have been suspicious to some extent.

She sipped the sake and sighed deeply.

Fu Huaiqing, his eyes fixed on her, could hear her sigh from time to time, her eyes sometimes brightening, sometimes darkening, as if she were deeply troubled.

Fu Huaiqing rarely saw Biezhi so worried. Many things in the past were just a passing cloud to her, something she would never think about again after venting. Now, with no place to vent, she could only keep it hidden in her heart and digest it herself.

"Biezhi." Fu Huaiqing opened his thin lips slightly and called her name.

Biezhi came back to his senses and was stunned when he heard the words. The moment their eyes met, he was a little dazed and thought it was Jiran calling his name.

She quickly reacted.

It was not Jiran, but Fu Huaiqing.

Biezhi's eyelashes trembled, and she looked at Fu Huaiqing steadily.

It was the first time that he called her name after his impersonation of Jiran was exposed.

Fu Huaiqing said, "Just treat me as Jiran, how about it."

Biezhi's heart trembled: "Huh?"

Fu Huaiqing: "Jiran who can speak, Jiran who will echo your words."

"You can talk to him about recent events freely, even if you complain about him in front of him, he will listen to you and echo your ideas as before."

The man's voice was as slow as the spring breeze, blowing over the treetops and into Biezhi's ears. She couldn't help but imagine what it would be like if Jiran could speak, whether he would echo her words as he said, and no longer chattering alone.

As she pondered, Biezhi suddenly came back to her senses and frowned slightly.

The silence that had just entered her mind gradually turned into only eyes, and then the man who appeared in her sight was clearly Fu Huaiqing.

What did he mean?

He hoped that she could tease him in person?

Biezhi: "..."

Even if she was given ten thousand guts, she would not dare.

"Don't worry about answering me." Fu Huaiqing saw the entanglement in the depths of her eyes just now. It was obvious that she had considered what he said, but she was uneasy and couldn't accept it. "You don't have to tell me after you think it through, just take action."

Biezhi was indeed moved.

She had a lot of things in her heart, and she didn't know who to say them to. She was worried that if she was not careful, she would criticize him harshly in front of him without knowing it.

Criticizing him in front of Fu Huaiqing...

was a bit difficult to say.

The old accounts have not been settled yet, and we can't easily touch the taboo.

She pondered for a while, her sparkling almond eyes filled with a hint of confusion, and asked: "Are you planning to lure me into doing something, and then settle all the old and new scores together?"

Fu Huaiqing looked at Biezhi. She tilted her head slightly, her clear eyes like springs rippling with a hint of drunkenness, just like a civet cat that was just brought back, stretching out its little claws and cautiously testing.

Biezhi didn't get his answer for a long time, and curled her lips.

Liar, a big liar!

I knew he couldn't be trusted.

A faint smile appeared in Fu Huaiqing's deep eyes, and he followed her words and said: "Of course not."

Biezhi, who was a little drunk, shook her head, trying to shake off the drunkenness in her mind, but she didn't expect that it might have been shaken more evenly. She glared at the wine pot beside the table and murmured: "I drank a pot last time, and there was no problem."

"Fake wine!"

A cute and sticky scolding sounded, and Fu Huaiqing couldn't help laughing.

Fu Huaiqing reached for the wine jug on the table. He'd only drunk half a pot of Drunken Flower Niang. He glanced sideways at Cheng Jin, who

had galloped to Tan County to retrieve it. Cheng Jin scratched his head suspiciously. He hadn't tasted it since bringing it back, so he didn't know if it was fake. And the local officials wouldn't dare deceive him.

Suddenly, a thought struck Cheng Jin.

He was worried that the newly brewed Drunken Flower Niang wouldn't be flavorful enough, so after finding a case of freshly brewed wine, he also had local officials bring him some aged wine he'd found. One case was nineteen years old, as old as any other wine.

"The one the kitchen sent today must be aged wine,"

Fu Huaiqing said, averting his gaze.

He glanced over and saw the girl across from him suddenly stand up and lower her head to move the brown pearwood stool beside her legs. Fu Huaiqing frowned and stood up, reaching out to grab her wrist when she lifted the stool and inched closer to him. She put down the wooden stool, sat down, and looked up.