Chapter 1954: Falling From the Clouds
Zu An was at a loss for words. He had never expected the two women to arrive one after another and offer him their secret stashes. He thought, Have I accomplished my dream of having a pride of lionesses providing for me? He felt uncomfortable even though this was something he had been looking forward to, so he reflexively turned down the money.
“You need not be embarrassed. There’s no need for such courtesy between us. It’s a pity I've been uninterested in the outside world for many years due to my injury, or else I would have more than this,” Liu Ning said as she stuffed the banknotes into his clothes before looking at him with a gentle smile.
She felt as if her life had become much more colorful after meeting Zu An, like welcoming a second spring. Seeing that Zu An still wanted to turn her down, she put on a stern expression and said, “Based on my understanding of the crown princess, she must have sensed you were lacking money and offered you some. Are you rejecting me because I’m old?”
“Of course not!” Zu An replied. How could he reject her after she had said such words? Somehow, he could hear a tiny voice in his head murmuring “Auntie, I don’t want to work anymore.” and “I was born with a weak constitution. The doctor said I was cursed to a life of mooching.”
“That’s more like it,” Liu Ning said. Her frown slowly smoothed upon seeing him accept her money. “Speaking of which, Ah Zu, you really don’t have to pay those people.”
“I don’t think it would be good to accept things from them for nothing. Besides, I reckon they’d just pass the burden down to those beneath them,” Zu An replied.
“Who says you’re accepting things from them for nothing? Your association with them already grants them power and authority; it's just that you yourself are unaware of it,” Liu Ning said in a low voice. “It might be hard for you to see things from our perspective, as you grew up in a very different environment. Do you think they’d be grateful to you for paying them? Not at all. On the contrary, they would be horrified. They’d wonder if they had done something to displease you. They’d be on tenterhooks, worried that you’d find an excuse to replace them. Such fear could prompt them to take actions that harm you. Only if you accepted their favor would they think you were on their side and work hard for you.”
“…” Zu An sighed, saying, “How complicated. I should just focus on my cultivation.”
Liu Ning chuckled and replied, “You can leave such things for me to worry about. Speaking of which, there’s a matter I’d like to discuss with you. Those who went to Violet Mountain are back. For the time being, w've incarcerated Princess Xiaodie and the others, but we aren’t sure how we should deal with the situation.”
“What are your thoughts?” Zu An asked. What a coincidence. Didn’t Bi Linglong come here for the same thing oo?
Liu Ning got straight to the point. “If we had captured King Qi’s son instead, we could have dealt with them for good, but we only have Zhao Xiaodie, who's inconsequential in the bigger picture. Zhao Zhi is busy preparing for war in his territory, ready to strike as soon as an opportunity arises. Things have only just settled down in the imperial court, so it’d be best not to incite him. Besides, Guan Chouhai and a few other sect leaders are implicated in this situation. If we pursue the matter, it might lead to severe backlash from the dao sects.”
“Should we just let things drop? I’m fine with that,” Zu An replied. Liu Ning and Bi Linglong might be arch-enemies, but they're extremely similar in their thinking.
“I can spare them from death, but that doesn’t mean I’ll let them off the hook. If we don’t punish them, they’ll think that the imperial court is weak and can be trampled on. I’ll have to slowly work out the details though.” Liu Ning harrumphed. She looked at Zu An and asked, “Aren’t you tight on money? We can use this opportunity to squeeze them dry. They should be overjoyed that we’re allowing them to buy their way out of this at all. I'm such a genius! I’m the only one in the world who would think of this.”
Zu An didn’t want to burst her bubble by saying that Bi Linglong had had a similar idea.
“I’ll need to liaise with the crown princess about this,” Liu Ning said. “She fought King Qi’s faction for many years and there’s a deep grudge between them. I don’t think she’ll let them off the hook that easily. You know my relationship with her, though. It’ll only backfire if I talk to her.”
“…” Once again, Zu An was rendered speechless. Eventually, he said, “I’ll try. I think she should listen to me.” It was just a moment ago that Bi Linglong advised me to talk to the empress. Will they kill me if they learn the truth?
“She treats you so well that I’m a little jealous of you,” Liu Ning sharply remarked. “Linglong is young and beautiful, whereas I’m already old and ugly.”
Zu An burst into laughter and replied, “If you were considered old and ugly, there would be no beauties in this world.”
Liu Ning suddenly leaned in, licked her lips, and said, “I delivered such a huge gift into your hands. How do you intend to repay me?” Her eyes were almost overflowing with desire.
This is the difference between mature women and young women, Zu An thought. Bi Linglong is much shyer. I have to make the move every time. She only sends out vague signals through her clothes and makeup. I would struggle if not for my meticulousness. In contrast, Liu Ning has no problem expressing her desires.
Liu Ning nuzzled against him like a little feral cat. Zu An thought that it would be a bad idea to turn her down, lest she suspect something between him and Bi Linglong. He also hadn’t fully vented his lust earlier, so it was hard for him to resist Liu Ning’s seduction.
Liu Ning sent him a seductive smile as she slowly slid down his body and opened her mouth. That horrified Zu An, and he quickly pulled her up. It’ll be terrible if she senses Linglong’s aura.
“Are you already so desperate?” Liu Ning asked, bursting into laughter as she lay on the table and lowered her waist, while silently inviting him in with her seductive gaze.
There was no way Zu An could hold himself back. He immediately pounced on her…
Meanwhile, Bi Linglong had left the courtyard together with Rong Mo, but moments later, she suddenly frowned and settled down on a nearby stone to rest.
“What’s wrong, young miss?” Rong Mo asked as she anxiously examined Bi Linglong from head to toe.
“I’m fine. I just need some rest. My legs are numb from sitting down too long earlier,” Bi Linglong explained with a furious blush.
“Did you do it for that long?” Rong Mo asked, her eyes widening in shock. “Is Sir Zu really that strong?”
Bi Linglong was embarrassed. She grabbed Rong Mo by the ear and exclaimed, “What nonsense are you spouting? We were just sitting around! What goes through that little head of yours all day?”
“You're the one doing it. Can’t I at least think about it?” Rong Mo blurted out, but she quickly begged for mercy upon seeing Bi Linglong’s frown. It took a long time before she finally placated her master, saying, “Young miss, you don’t know how worried I was. I thought the empress would bump into the two of you…”
Bi Linglong’s face heated up. She replied, “What’s there to be worried about? Sir Zu and I are open and…”
“Of course, of course,” Rong Mo placidly replied, thinking. I’d be a fool to believe you. “Young miss, your legs were fine when you walked out of the courtyard earlier. Why did they suddenly go numb?”
“The empress was looking earlier. I had to hold it in no matter how numb they were…” Bi Linglong trailed off, but belatedly realized that Rong Mo was messing with her. She pulled Rong Mo’s cheeks and harrumphed. “Really! Momo, when did you become so bad?”
“Young miss, I’m concerned about you!” Rong Mo replied as she begged for mercy with a mischievous grin, though she also felt heartened. The two of them had been as close as sisters back when they were younger, but ever since Bi Linglong became the princess consort and had been forced to maintain a dignified front so as to earn the respect of others, the two of them had ended up drifting apart. She felt that the two of them had regained that closeness through their shared secret, though.
After messing around a bit, Bi Linglong intentionally put on a stern face and said, “Let’s continue heading down.”
“Young miss, are you sure you've rested enough? You don’t need to sit a little longer to recover?”
“…”
“Young miss, you were in there for two whole hours. Sir Zu sure is impressive! I thought men tended to be quite fast.”
“Who did you hear that from… Pui! No one will take you for a mute if you stay quiet.”
“Young miss, are you sure your weak body can…”
“I’ll sever your tongue if you continue harping on like that!”
…
Bi Ziang had waited for a long time before he finally spotted his little sister. He immediately rushed up to her and exclaimed, “Linglong!”
“Big brother? Why are you here?” Bi Linglong asked.
“Our father wishes to meet you. He demanded I fetch you,” Bi Ziang said as he closely examined her. He remarked in surprise, “Linglong, your complexion has looked a lot better recently. Somehow, you look more beautiful too."
She was pumped with love for two whole hours. How could her complexion not be good? Rong Mo thought to herself.
Bi Linglong must have guessed Rong Mo’s thoughts, as she directed a warning glare at her maid to not give her away. She turned to Bi Ziang and replied, “Father could have just sent someone else to call me…”
Halfway through her words, it belatedly struck her that her father should have visited her in the Eastern Palace instead. It was unseemly of a crown princess to pay respects to her subject. She thought, Father has been involved in politics for many years. It’s impossible for him to have made such a slip-up. Is there something he can’t tell me in the Eastern Palace?
Thus, she turned to Bi Ziang and said, “Let’s return to the Bi Manor first.” After getting onto the carriage, she asked with a grim expression, “What happened?”
“I’m not sure either. Our father said it concerns our clan’s life and death, though I think he might be exaggerating,” Bi Ziang replied nonchalantly. The Meng clan was done for, whereas their Bi clan had a rosy future ahead. He couldn’t imagine how things could unravel for them.
However, Bi Linglong’s expression remained grim, as she knew her father wasn't the kind to crack a joke.
It didn’t take them long to return to the Bi manor. Bi Qi dragged the two of them into a secret chamber, where not even personal maids like Rong Mo were allowed to approach.
Bi Ziang was flustered by the elaborate measures his father had taken. He asked, “Father, what happened?”
Bi Linglong also looked at her father grimly.
Bi Qi sighed and said, “We might be the next Meng clan tomorrow. No, it might even be worse for us.”
“Father, what happened? Stop beating around the bush,” Bi Linglong anxiously said.
“Have you heard the rumors on the street that Zu An might be the imperial grandson of the previous dynasty?” Bi Qi asked.
Bi Linglong nodded and said, “I have heard them, and dispatched men to deal with it. I reckon it’s just a couple of troublemakers running their mouths.”
“What if it’s true?” Bi Qi asked with an intense gaze.
“So what if it’s true? The previous dynasty has been gone for many years. No one cares about it anymore, especially now that his majesty has passed away,” Bi Linglong said, unfazed. It didn’t matter to her whether Zu An was a civilian or the imperial grandson of the previous dynasty; she liked him no matter who he was. She also believed that he wouldn’t care about something like that given their relationship.
“You don’t understand,” Bi Qi said. He hesitated for a long while before finally revealing the truth. “I was the one the Zhao clan tasked to assassinate the previous dynasty’s imperial offspring.”
“What?!” Bi Ziang exclaimed in horror. Zu An was their greatest base of support. The worst thing that could happen at this juncture was for a rift to appear between them. Just thinking about the Meng clan’s plight was enough to send shudders down his spine. It was no wonder his father said that the Bi clan could fare worse.
Bi Linglong had still been floating in the clouds a moment before after enjoying such great bliss, but the revelation dragged her down to the ground. She stood in a daze, as countless memories arose in her mind.
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