Entangled Love GL - Chapter 9

Duan Min quickly recovered her usual demeanor from the sudden change, or rather, she hadn’t been very surprised at all; everything was within expectation.

There was also a kitchen in the Pavilion of Listening to the Dawn. Cooking utensils, tableware, firewood, rice, oil, and salt were all complete, but it was dry and cold, exuding the feeling of being unused for years.

Duan Min accompanied Yang Mei to look outside, then pushed the door and opened the windows, drew water to clean everywhere, and started a fire to cook. She also dug up a few vegetables outside the door, washed them, and made soup. In less than half an hour, simple food was placed on the table. Duan Min handed a pair of chopsticks to Yang Mei and said, “Let’s eat.”

Yang Mei simply couldn’t accept the scene before her. Her eyes followed Duan Min as she busied herself. Now that she had taken the chopsticks and sat down, she was still frowning, her expression a somewhat bewildered sullenness.

Yang Mei knew that this matter could not have been planned in a moment, but she didn’t know the reason why. At noon, Yang Mei had said that she didn’t know Duan Min well enough, but she didn’t really think so in her heart. Now, however, she had to admit that she was not just unfamiliar, but she knew practically nothing about her.

And what concerned her most right now was no longer familiarity or lack thereof, but the fact that Duan Min had, over the past two days, subtly kept her stable while meticulously arranging this matter. Not only had she not noticed anything, but she had also said those things earlier in the day—

She had actually sincerely thought Duan Min was indifferent, frank, and pure!

Other than her father, Yang Yuansi, Yang Mei could barely recall anyone else who had made her this angry, so angry that she couldn’t eat.

Pa, Yang Mei slammed her chopsticks onto the table. Duan Min looked up at her, her face still calm.

Yang Mei no longer felt relieved seeing her unperturbed appearance. Waves of anger surged up, and she finally managed to force out a familiar smile, “Min-jie truly is a person who conceals her abilities! My original suggestion to invite you to this Pavilion was too presumptuous!”

Duan Min gently put down her bowl and chopsticks and said, “If Miss Yang has any questions, you can ask them directly.”

“Haven’t I asked more than once?” Yang Mei’s face fell, her smile gone.

Duan Min thought for a moment and said, “This is something unrelated to you, and it’s no benefit for you to know. I’ll make a long story short—”

“No need to make a long story short. I want to know in detail. Anyway, we are quite idle.” Yang Mei interrupted her, her words aggressive.

Duan Min looked at her, lowered her eyes, and answered with a sound of assent.

It turned out that ten years ago, Duan Youchang, while gathering herbs in Dragon Elephant Mountain, accidentally discovered this empty residence. Seeing that the house was intact, the location secluded, and there were no traces of people for a long time, he decided to move in without permission.

At that time, besides Duan Min and Xiao Nian, there was a woman from the Xu family in Lingbei following Duan Youchang.

The Xu family in Lingbei was famous for its ingenuity. The woman looked around inside and out a few times and determined that there were hidden mechanisms in the residence. After exploring for a few days, she discovered a secret passage. After two years of renovation, it became the current appearance: the secret passage had several exits, all far away, over a hundred miles away. The entrance was connected to the Pavilion of Wind. Once inside, pulling down the mechanism would cut off the path of return.

“I didn’t expect it to collapse like this,” Duan Min looked towards the outside.

The sky was already dark. The rocks in the courtyard were heavily pressed down, black and scary.

Yang Mei saw her gaze turn distant and somewhat lonely. Most of her anger dissipated, but after waiting for a moment, it flared up again, “You’ve said so much, but not a single point is on the mark! Why did your family, who are honest doctors, create such a secret passage? And why use it now? What are you trying to do by making all of them leave?”

Duan Min turned her head to look fixedly at Yang Mei, “My father is famous, and no matter how secluded he lives, he can’t escape trouble, not to mention he himself… ‘Once famous, he is a miracle doctor, but before becoming famous, it was as if he hadn’t been born.’ Don’t you know about the things your father suspects?”

Yang Mei was speechless for a moment.

Duan Min picked up her chopsticks again and lowered her head, “Forget it, saying more would be a lie.”

The night breeze was blowing gently. The bright moon was shrouded in a hazy cloud mass. It might rain tomorrow. Yang Mei woke up late at night and found it difficult to fall asleep again, so she simply got up and looked out the window.

Yang Mei had completely failed to understand Duan Min, and she also couldn’t quite understand herself. She gradually couldn’t distinguish what she was angry about: was it Duan Min’s deception of the past few days—the deception manifested as concealment, or was it Duan Min’s ongoing concealment—the concealment essentially as a refusal?

Yang Mei also couldn’t distinguish whether she was angry: annoyed, irritable, ashamed, disappointed… She had always tended to call these ‘anger,’ but at this moment, she still wondered, was she angry?

She could only ponder by herself: what kind of hidden secret does Duan Min carry? Is it something left behind by Duan Youchang, or something of her own? Is it related to the Crown Prince, or to a certain Prince coveting the Crown Prince’s position? Duan Min refuses to be frank, but why did she hint at the clue about the Crown Prince? And by sending away everyone related to her, is she intending to let loose and fight to the death?

It wasn’t until dawn broke in the east and the first bird call of the morning sounded in the forest that Yang Mei calmed down. A light morning breeze brushed across her cheek, bringing a trace of tranquility after the night of struggle.

Yang Mei suddenly smiled: take her back to the Pavilion, lock her up, and all problems are solved.

Duan Min hadn’t slept all night. In the morning, she washed her face with cold water and went to the kitchen to cook porridge. The rice in the Pavilion of Listening to the Dawn was enough to eat for two months. The grain stored beneath the secret passage could support five or six people for more than half a year. After putting the pot on the fire, Duan Min went to the courtyard to draw water. The well was in an excellent location, completely unaffected by the stones. There was an underground river beneath the secret passage, and the water was still clear enough to drink—

Duan Min had thought about these things many times over the years. Especially since Duan Youchang passed away a year ago, she thought about them even more. Whenever she thought of something, she would prepare a little more. Now, thinking about it was useless, but she still couldn’t help it.

Duan Min fetched two buckets of water to water the vegetables. She actually wanted to ignore this small vegetable patch. After all, she wouldn’t be staying here for long, and the vegetable patch would eventually go to waste, but she still couldn’t help it. Moreover, on such a crisp morning, it seemed necessary to do something: Reverend Yuan Chang and the two masters were always like this, and even Xiao Nian was like this, and Ping Ping was indeed always a diligent girl.

Two buckets of water were not enough. Duan Min returned to the well. While drawing water, her peripheral vision scanned the large pile of stones next to her. She paused for a moment while bent over and then unconsciously shook her head.

“What’s wrong?” Yang Mei walked over at this time, asking with a smile, as if she had returned to her demeanor before yesterday.

Duan Min looked at her and said, “The lotus flowers in the pond won’t be seen this year.”

“Oh? What kind of lotus flower?”

“Just common bowl lotus, with an aqua-green heart and white petals.” Duan Min thought for a moment and added, “Five blossoms in the pond; they should be blooming in two months.”

Duan Min said this with a hint of regret. After saying it, she picked up the water bucket and was about to walk away.

Yang Mei grabbed her arm. The water bucket swayed, spilling a lot of water, “I have a manor in the southern suburbs, by the water, where I grow many lotus flowers—the kind you mentioned and others. Later, you can live there, and when you’re free, talk to me about lotus flowers. I like hearing you talk about these things.”

Suddenly, a rush of water soaked both their skirts with a hua la la sound. Duan Min dropped the bucket, pulled her hand away, and laughed at herself, “You won’t trust me later, and you won’t feel comfortable being around me. Why bring trouble upon yourself?”

Yang Mei also laughed with a sense of self-mockery, “How would you know me!”

Duan Min backed down, “Regardless of what you are like for the moment, I am still unwilling. If you insist, it will be a contest between us. Even if I lose, you won’t win.”

“How can you be so ungrateful!” Yang Mei finally became angry again, her face stern, completely changing her attitude, “You know the relationship between this Pavilion and the Crown Prince. I will not stand by and watch anything that threatens the Crown Prince. If what you want to do is not related to the greater situation, I can consider helping you. If it’s not feasible or if you truly won’t say, I will absolutely not let you go.”

Duan Min lowered her head and thought for a moment, then said, “The five-day deadline is approaching. What I need to do is return to the Pavilion to detoxify your father.”

Yang Mei’s expression stiffened, her gaze filled with resentment, “Do you honestly think I won’t kill you!”