Chapter 196: Gossip
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
It was difficult for outsiders to know about the commotion in the Imperial City. The streets and alleys of Heavenly Water Bridge were still as quiet as usual.
“I understand.”
“Chirp-”
On the hot summer day, there were few people walking around in the back of the Pei residence. The maidservants mostly stayed in the cool corridors and chatted.
In the tea room of the main hall, there was a cold watermelon transported from Sha Province. Xiuhe was sitting sideways on the carpet in a thin dress and cutting the watermelon into neat small pieces with a knife. Beside her was an ice box containing ice cubes taken from the cellar.
The big fluffy bird was no stranger to watermelons, but it was indeed the first time it had encountered ice in summer. It was lying lazily on the windowsill with a square ice cube on its head, looking at the green trees in the courtyard, its eyes full of comfort and not thinking about Tangtang at all.
Pei Xiangjun was wearing a light yellow summer dress and lying on her side on a beautiful couch, gently waving a fan in her hand. Although she looked like a leisurely young madam of a wealthy family, her face wasn’t very happy.
Jingtang went out on a trip, and 1 followed him, but the vixen accompanied him.
When something happened, he would rush forward and protect the vixen…
After we got into a fight, I was injured, but nothing happened to the vixen. But in the end, after we returned, Jingtang didn’t even come to ask how I was doing…
What was the use of sending the bird over? It can’t speak and can only eat…
Although Pei Xiangjun knew that Ye Jingtang was busy and definitely couldn’t find time to come over, she still felt a little disappointed.
While she was feeling resentful, there was a sound outside the door, and a maidservant ran over. “Third Lady, we have a guest.”
Pei Xiangjun’s eyes lit up, but she immediately realized that Ye Jingtang wasn’t a guest, so she lay down weakly. “If it’s a business matter, go find Madam. I’m resting for two days.”
The maidservant’s gaze was a little complicated. “It’s the woman who quarreled with you at the door last time… Do you want me to chase her away?”
The vixen?! Pei Xiangjun was stunned and sat up. “Those who visit are guests. Don’t you know the rules? Quickly invite Miss Ning’er in.”
“Yes.”
Soon, footsteps sounded in the corridor.
Luo Ning, who was wearing a blue summer dress, walked into the back residence dressed like a pretty girl from a humble family. Behind her was Zhe Yunli, who was dressed like a young scholarly lady.
Zhe Yunli’s actions were gentle and refined. While walking, she looked around.
“I really couldn’t tell from the outside. It’s so beautiful inside… Chirp! Come here!”
“Chirp chirp-” Hearing this, the bird perked up. It hurriedly got up, grabbed a small ice cube, flew to Zhe Yunli’s shoulder, and rubbed it against her neck. But the ice cube made her shiver.
“All! It’s so cold. Go away…”
“Chirp chirp!”
Pei Xiangjun knew Luo Ning’s identity, so she naturally knew that this young lady full of energy was the Pacifying Heaven Cult Master’s precious disciple. She didn’t neglect her and said, “Xiuhe, go accompany Miss Yunli.”
Then she looked at Luo Ning, who was walking over. “Miss Ning’er, why are you here?”
Although Luo Ning had a cold temperament and was aloof, she knew the ways of the world because she was the cult mistress of the Pacifying Heaven Cult and took care of the cult’s internal affairs.
Although Third Lady refused to call her Elder Sister Ning’er, it was a fact that they had gone through thick and thin together a few days ago. She knew that Third Lady had an injury on her back, so it would be too heartless not to visit.
Luo Ning originally thought that Ye Jingtang would come over in the morning, but as soon as he went out, people from the Black Office called him away. He didn’t even come back for lunch, so he definitely couldn’t go to Heavenly Water Bridge.
Luo Ning had nothing to do at home, so she came over to visit to prevent Third Lady from thinking that she and the little thief were heartless.
After the maidservant left, Luo Ning sat down on the luohan couch. “Jingtang is busy with work and doesn’t have time to come over. 1 came on his behalf to take a look. How is your injury?”
“It’s just a little strained from qi overexertion. It’s almost healed.” Pei Xiangjun picked up the watermelon plate from the table and placed it on the small table between the two of them. “I heard from an escort on the street that Jingtang has been looking at houses recently. I helped him look at one. It’s on Heavenly Water Bridge. It’s a big residence with three courtyard groups. It’s facing the river, and the environment is good. Go take a look later.”
Luo Ning knocked out Yunli every day. She felt that she was unworthy of being a mother and was indeed worried about this matter. She said in surprise, “Really? You’re quite considerate… Won’t three courtyard groups be too big?
“Sigh, Jingtang is such a talent. In the future, he will have at least three to five female confidantes. If the house is too small to accommodate everyone, he will have to change it. It’s better to do it in one go.”
Luo Ning felt that this topic wasn’t very interesting, so she stood up, sat in front of Third Lady, raised her hand to take her pulse, and then pulled open the back of her collar to examine her back.
But when she looked inside, she didn’t see the wound on her back. Instead, she was attracted by the undergarment tie on Third Lady’s back and felt that it looked a little familiar.
Luo Ning was stunned. She leaned over Third Lady’s shoulder to look at her clothes and even lifted her collar with her hands.
?
Pei Xiangjun was touched inexplicably and patted Luo Ning’s reckless hands. “What are you looking at?”
Although Luo Ning only caught a glimpse, she still clearly saw that Third Lady was wearing a small triangular undergarment that wrapped around the big balls, and there was even the bird embroidered on it…
Luo Ning’s gaze was slightly strange. “You’re an unmarried girl, but you’re wearing such… such a bold undergarment. You’re really…”
Pei Xiangjun lowered her head to take a look and understood what Luo Ning meant. She untied her collar a little, revealing the small undergarment made of water cloud brocade. She smiled and said, “This is the latest style in the capital. It has just started circulating in the back residences of the rich and noble families. Although it’s a little bold, it’s much more comfortable to wear than ordinary undergarments. Miss Ning’er, you’ve never seen it before, right?”
Luo Ning looked at Third Lady’s slightly smug expression and harrumphed in her heart.
But it didn’t seem appropriate to compare whose underwear was more sexy.
She only nodded slightly at this. “It’s indeed pretty.”
Pei Xiangjun had a smile on her face. She wanted to talk about some private womanly matters, but there was a commotion outside the door again. She looked up and saw Xiuhe running in with a letter in her hand.
“Third Lady, Chen Biao just said that someone sent a letter to the escort agency.”
“Hmm?” Pei Xiangjun stood up and took the letter. She could see nothing special about the words ‘To Young Master Ye’ written on it. “Who sent it?”
“I don’t know. It was stuck in the door.”
Pei Xiangjun was a little puzzled. She wanted to open the letter and take a look, but she was afraid that it was a love letter from a female confidante of Jingtang’s. Thinking of this, she felt unhappy and instructed, “Get the bird to inform Jingtang.”
“Okay…”
Unknowingly, it was already afternoon.
Ye Jingtang was wandering around the east side of the city with the Hornless Dragon Saber at his waist. Along the way, he was still looking for clues on the streets.
Currently, he only knew that the tunnel was related to the Prince of Wu’s heir. He didn’t even know the general goal or how many people there were.
Searching like this was no different from waiting for a pie to fall from the sky.
After he wandered around for an entire day and couldn’t find the direction, the bandits in the tunnel had probably already packed up the scene and fled. There was no point in continuing to search.
Ye Jingtang had no idea what to do, so he found a restaurant to eat. He planned to go to the Prince of Wu’s mansion to take a look later. Dumdum had arranged for experts to keep an eye on the place, but he didn’t know if they had gained anything.
Halfway through the meal, a sound suddenly came from the sky.
“Screech-”
It was the cry of the bird.
Ye Jingtang’s ears twitched slightly. He walked out of the restaurant and looked up. He could see a small dot circling under the cloudless blue sky. It seemed to be looking for him.
Seeing this, Ye Jingtang paid the bill and quickly went to the roof of a tall building. With a wave of his hand, the bird swooped down from the sky, landed steadily on his shoulder, and then raised its wing. “Chirp!”
Seeing that it was pointing toward Heavenly Water Bridge, Ye Jingtang knew that Third Lady was looking for him, so he carried the bird and rushed to Heavenly Water Bridge.
Because he was really busy with work, Ye Jingtang didn’t go through the main entrance. He directly jumped past the buildings of Heavenly Water Bridge and landed in the back of the Pei residence.
The weather became cooler in the afternoon, and the women in the back residence were more active. When Ye Jingtang landed on the roof, he saw Zhe Yunli and Xiuhe sitting on the edge of the pond, holding a spoon and eating half a large watermelon each.
Seeing this, the bird hurriedly flew over. Along the way, it even chirped, seemingly complaining that Poached Eggs wasn’t loyal and actually started eating in advance.
Ye Jingtang didn’t disturb them and landed in the Third Lady’s courtyard. Just as he was about to call out, he heard low voices coming from the boudoir.
Isn’t it a little loose on you?”
“Third Lady, you’re also a martial artist. You should know that too much burden will only affect your skills…”
“Heh- Jianghu isn’t just about fighting and killing. There’s also rubbing and massaging…”
?
Ye Jingtang recognized the voices of Ning’er and Third Lady. He didn’t know what the two of them were doing in the room, so he silently went to the window of the boudoir and looked in through the gap in the window…
In the boudoir with closed doors and windows, the two women were standing side by side in front of a bronze mirror.
Luo Ning was wearing thin white pants and a small upper undergarment made of watery cloud brocade. The undergarment was embroidered with a pattern of mandarin ducks playing in the water. The style was similar to yesterday’s interesting design, but it looked handmade.
Third Lady was standing in front of her, wearing only tight-fitting thin pants and an upper undergarment with the design of ‘the bird begging for food’. Because of her abundant capital, she had already stretched the round bird into a three-dimensional pattern. The plump and graceful curves of her waist and buttocks were clearly visible.
Although the two of them had different body shapes, the moons were both perfect. Looking from behind…
I
Ye Jingtang felt that something was wrong. He quickly retracted his gaze and retreated into the distance. “Ahem!”
The boudoir instantly fell silent, and then there was a flurry of movements.
After he waited for a while, the door opened. The dignified Third Lady and the cold and elegant heroine walked out of the room together. Their expressions were very solemn, as if they had just discussed important matters related to the rise and fall of Jianghu.
Ye Jingtang stood at the corner of the courtyard. Seeing this, he walked forward and asked, “Ning’er, why are you here?”
“You weren’t home, so I came to visit.”
After Luo Ning explained casually, she turned around and walked to where
Yunli was. “Someone just sent you a letter. Take a look.”
“Letter?” Ye Jingtang was slightly puzzled and looked at Third Lady walking over.
Pei Xiangjun walked up to him and took out an envelope from her sleeve. “The letter was sent to the escort agency. Did some girl you provoked in Liang Province come looking for you?”
When Ye Jingtang was in Red River Town in Liang Province, he had been very strictly controlled by his foster father, and the girls at the border couldn’t shake his determination. He didn’t have any beauty from the past.
He took the envelope and opened it. It was an anonymous report letter!
The letter didn’t have many words, and the writer didn’t reveal any specific identity. It only said that he was a small merchant around Heavenly Water Bridge. Yesterday, he had been having fun on the gambling street in the West Market and found that there were no lights or flames in a private house behind a gambling den. However, there were people coming and going from time to time, and they seemed to be carrying crossbows.
Pei Xiangjun originally didn’t want to look at the letter, but Ye Jingtang directly opened it in front of her. She couldn’t help taking a few glances and found that the content of the letter was baffling. “Three crossbows are enough to sentence people into exile. It’s a serious crime to carry any in the capital… If he found any suspicious traces, he should have reported it to the authorities. Why did he send you a letter?”
Ye Jingtang was also quite surprised. He carefully reread the content. “It’s probably a merchant nearby who knows that I work in the Black Office, so he sent the letter to me.”
Because Ye Jingtang was handsome and capable, Chen Biao bragged about him all day long. Everyone around Heavenly Water Bridge knew about him. When commoners discovered suspicious movements and didn’t know anyone in the government, it wasn’t too strange for them to send news anonymously.
Ye Jingtang was investigating the Prince of Wu’s heir’s case. The people he dealt with were all experts. They wouldn’t use crossbows or other contraband. Even if this news was true, it might not be related to the Prince of Wu’s heir.
But he didn’t have any concrete clues at the moment. If there were suspicious clues, be it a trap or real news, he had to investigate.
Pei Xiangjun knew that Ye Jingtang had received a tip-off. Regardless of the truth, he had to go over and verify it, so she reminded, “This person didn’t reveal his identity and even sent the letter to you by name. The enemy is in the dark, and we are in the light. You have to be careful of ambushes. I ll go with you.”
Ye Jingtang was currently considered a ‘vigilante’. He had to consult Dumdum first before mobilizing the Black Office. It wasn’t appropriate to find a bunch of chief constables to follow up on unverified gossip. He thought for a moment and said, “Third Lady, your injury hasn’t healed yet. Ning’er and 1 will go over and take a look.”
“I’m not a delicate young lady. It’s boring to stay at home. I want to move around. Let’s go together.”
With that, Pei Xiang] un entered her boudoir and changed her clothes…
