Entangled Love GL - Chapter 20

Yúnniáng’s capacity for alcohol was not bad. Two pots of wine later, she was not completely drunk, still three or four parts sober.

Duan Min’s capacity was better. Two pots of wine later, it was as if she hadn’t drunk anything.

Yúnniáng lay on the couch giggling: “I underestimated you too much. Seeing that you usually don’t touch alcohol, I thought you could handle at most a few cups! Next time we’ll prepare forty pots, and drink to our fill!”

Duan Min sat beside her, gently placing her randomly waving arm back on the couch: “If you’re a bad drunk, there won’t be a next time.”

Yúnniáng turned on her side, staring at her, a slight pique on her flushed face: “I tell you everything, but you tell me nothing! You and Miss Yang had such a huge event, and Muyè knew before me. What’s the point of drinking with someone like you!”

“That’s right, I don’t talk about my own affairs, nor about others’ affairs, which is why you can tell me things with confidence.”

“True,” Yúnniáng smiled again, lay still for a while, and then leaned closer, “Does Miss Yang genuinely like you?”

“She has already decided not to like me.”

“Hehe,” Yúnniáng chuckled incessantly, “Young girls take feelings too lightly. If such decisions counted, I would have left this place and gone off to who knows where a long time ago!”

Duan Min sighed, and said softly: “You are always so clever.”

“It’s no benefit to me even if you praise me,” Yúnniáng suddenly became dejected. “Now I am just a puppet. No, just a plaything. What use is cleverness to a plaything? Obedience is enough. Even if you praise me again, there’s nothing I can do…”

Yúnniáng was not completely drunk after all, and suddenly fell silent.

Duan Min did not press, and reached out to gently rub the acupuncture point on the side of her forehead: “Qīnggē, you should sleep now.”

“I should sleep. There’s that Mingyue Qīnggē meeting tomorrow… Fortunately, my family was exiled three thousand miles away. If anyone saw me like this, they would die of shame.”

This was the first time Duan Min had heard her mention her family in all these days. She was momentarily reminded of the past and couldn’t help but feel a little sad. She said, “This is not a good place, and Prince Xuān is not a good person. The future is long. You should find someone else and leave as soon as possible.”

Yúnniáng stared blankly without speaking. Duan Min advised again: “Don’t worry that he won’t let you go. If you can make up your mind, I can help you.”

Yúnniáng was not very sober after all, and at this moment, she didn’t show any suspicion: How could Duan Min help her against Prince Xuān, whose power was not inferior to the Crown Prince’s? Yúnniáng’s eyes were blurred, her thoughts flying elsewhere. Duan Min’s eyes were full of pity, and her hand movements became even gentler.

Suddenly someone knocked on the door. Duan Min quickly asked: “What is it?”

Líng’ér spoke from behind the door: “Miss, Miss Bǎoqí’s face was burned by a guest with hot water. I’m afraid she will be scarred. She is waiting in the quiet room. Please go take a look.”

“I’ll be right there.”

Duan Min got up and tidied her clothes. She said to Yúnniáng, “You sleep here for a while. I’ll be back soon.”

“A’Min,” Yúnniáng’s eyes were already closed, and she mumbled like a sleep talker, “Keeping you here to work is truly beneath you.”

Duan Min paused at the door and smiled: “It is beneath me to drink with someone of your alcohol tolerance.”

Duan Min didn’t know if Yúnniáng remembered, but she herself couldn’t forget. In the late summer of that year, she followed her father to Scholar Wèi’s residence to treat his wife. When she walked to the bridge, a small lotus pod was suddenly tossed over from the lotus pond. A girl more beautiful than the lotus flower smiled at her from among the lush lotus leaves: “Little sister, why do you look unhappy? Here’s a lotus pod for you, will you smile now?” The maid leading the way told her that was the eldest daughter of the Wèi family, whose name was Qīnggē. Because her mother loved to eat fresh lotus seeds, she personally went into the pond to pick lotus pods every year at this time.

In the blink of an eye, eight years passed, and everything had changed.

That night, Yang Mei could not sleep peacefully either.

Within half a day, the Roaring Tiger Hall and the Nine-Turn Dragon Pavilion were draped with white mourning cloths. People going in and out all looked worried. Yang Mei personally went to offer her condolences. First, to fulfill a courtesy between acquaintances, and second, to explain the situation from noon, striving for the various families to cooperate in dealing with the perpetrator who was still hiding in the dark.

The Nine-Turn Dragon Pavilion looked gloomy and forbidding. Yán Bózhān’s face was wooden, and he offered cold pleasantries. No one could fathom his thoughts.

The Roaring Tiger Hall and the Plum Blossom Estate had already arranged a marriage alliance for their children. Now that Zhāng Ājiāo was dead, the old master of the Plum Blossom Estate, Méi Jìngxiān, stayed at the Roaring Tiger Hall with his son to help the Zhāng family manage the funeral affairs.

Hall Master Zhāng had aged ten years in a day. His usually sharp and aggressive gaze had become chaotic and blank. Madame Zhāng was weeping hysterically by her daughter’s bed, her heart-wrenching cries causing immense distress to those nearby.

On her way back, Yang Mei kept thinking weakly: Would anyone be so sad if she died?

Her mother had been dead for many years. Her father had been sent to a remote place by herself. Her half-brother, one was killed by her, and the other hated her to the bone and was imprisoned next to her father. Besides that, her uncle and grandmother were all high-and-mighty people, rarely seen. Perhaps they would recall a little bl00d relation when they had nothing better to do.

Served her right, perhaps.

The tall Hánxiāo Tower was lit up in the dark night. Yang Mei felt a sense of warmth when she saw it from afar: Xue Yuyu was waiting for her.

Xue Yuyu had always been gentle and doting towards her. He was never angry and always said the right things at the right time, virtually impeccable. If forced to find a flaw, four months ago, he had once said something presumptuous. He said: “It turns out Miss Duan is not just a pastime in your eyes, so how much is Miss Duan worth in Miss’s heart?”

Yang Mei had walked away with a stern face at the time, but she knew that Xue Yuyu occasionally said something ill-considered because he liked her. She didn’t dislike being liked.

She had also thought about what she could give up for Duan Min. If Duan Min was willing to stay obediently by her side, she would certainly treat her well, giving her spare time, gentle affection, and some money. Yang Mei never thought that everything she owned conflicted with Duan Min. She couldn’t imagine needing to sacrifice anything that could truly be called a price.

Moreover, Duan Min was unwilling and had no leverage.

It was already rare for Yang Mei to treat someone with such sincerity. She no longer wanted to struggle against her own self-respect.

No matter how one compared, wasn’t Xue Yuyu much better?

Yang Mei stood for a moment beneath Hánxiāo Tower but ultimately didn’t go up. She walked directly to Yuè Yuán and instructed: “Find someone to go check on the Military Advisor. Say that the hour is late and the autumn night is especially cold, and ask him to take good care of himself for the sake of This Place Pavilion.”

In the following days, Yang Mei was busy running around the city without a moment’s rest.

Zhāng Mǎn ignored external affairs, and everything was handled by Méi Jìngxiān. The people in the Roaring Tiger Hall were in a state of anxiety. Another incident occurred at the Nine-Turn Dragon Pavilion: the Pavilion Master’s wife hanged herself the following night, leaving Yán Bózhān extremely distressed. The city’s streets and alleys were filled with rumors, and both the underworld and the establishment were very tense.

Yang Mei was also nervous: This was the first time she was being targeted by a mysterious and unpredictable person for an unclear reason.

But her daily routine remained the same, and she went out without bodyguards. This was partly because she didn’t want to show fear, and partly because she wanted to lure the person out. She genuinely wanted to know what kind of person it was who laughed at her for letting others die in her stead.

Yang Mei did not think she was being reckless. She thought: That person’s martial arts skills were probably not particularly great, which was why they needed to use the reputation of the Peach Blossom Thief to lure people to a specific location and murder them by surprise. And she was confident that, compared to Zhāng Ājiāo and Yán Shuāngyǐng, she was superior in martial arts, experience, and intelligence. Most importantly, she was prepared.

So, in addition to her nervousness, she was also quite excited.

On the evening of the fourth day, Liújiā Alley in the west of the city was deserted. Yang Mei walked alone in the middle of the alley, her long shadow trailing behind her. The soft setting sun enveloped the entire alley, making it appear very peaceful.

Suddenly, the shadow moved erratically. Before the peaceful atmosphere could change, the clash of weapons had already sounded three times.

Zhēng zhēng zhēng!

In the blink of an eye, eighteen dark projectiles fell at Yang Mei’s feet, all jet-black iron needles, clearly laced with potent poison.

Yang Mei stood sideways, her sword in hand but still in its sheath. She smiled sweetly: “Sister uses needle techniques beautifully. Little Mei has been thinking of you day and night and has waited four days. May I have the honor of seeing your beautiful face?”

The reply was a burst of laughter, followed by a very charming voice from ahead: “Miss Yang, I can’t accept this ‘Sister’ title. Fortunately, I’m only here to take your life, and whether I succeed or not, I don’t need to cultivate friendship with you.”

As the voice faded, the person appeared, as if walking out of the lingering sunset glow, indistinct and graceful, carrying the gentle charm of twilight.

Yang Mei, however, suddenly felt a chill all over, and could no longer smile.

She had never met this person, but she knew her famous name long ago. It was hard to mistake her. She was one of the Four Evils of the Vast Heavens, Half-Face Beauty Shuǐ Yánghuā.