Chapter 66: A Beauty Like a Painting

The young lady thought for a moment and said: "I can refrain from using force against you, but the premise is that you don't play any tricks. If I find out you have any improper intentions, this clause will be void."

"No problem. Second, you need a title to follow me; to the outside world, you can say you are my bodyguard. During this period, you must truly behave like a bodyguard and fulfill the duties of a bodyguard. This won't arouse suspicion, and it counts as me doing you a favor, which you are repaying."

The young lady frowned slightly and hesitated: "But... I've never been a bodyguard."

"That's not difficult; just follow behind me, protect my safety, and listen to my instructions..."

"Listen to your instructions? If you order me to do something immoral..."

"Don't worry about that; of course I won't ask you to do evil things—"

"I won't do things like serving tea and water either."

"Fine, you are a bodyguard, not a maid. But you have to change how you address me. After all, I am a noble; you can be casual when there are no people around, but in front of outsiders, you must call me 'Master'..."

The young lady swept a glance at Wang Yang, her ice-cold eyes sharp, her gaze like a sword. The image of the little girl who had made a mistake earlier was completely gone.

Wang Yang immediately felt the oppressive sense of danger. Seeing things were about to collapse, he immediately added: "Or you can call me 'Young Master'."

The young lady withdrew her gaze and nodded: "You are of the Nieyang Liu clan; you are worthy of the title 'Young Master'."

"Uh... actually, my surname isn't Liu, it's Wang..."

The young lady opened her eyes wide, only then realizing she had been deceived. Recalling how he had introduced his status with such certainty at the beginning, saying it as if it were true, it had all been a lie to her! Her eyes turned cold, and her five fingers clenched.

"Don't forget what the first clause said!" Wang Yang hurriedly reminded her.

The young lady stared at Wang Yang, her tone unkind: "Who exactly are you?"

Since Wang Yang was prepared to have the young lady act as his bodyguard, he didn't hide it from her anymore: "My surname is Wang, given name Yang, courtesy name Zhiyan."

"Commandery origin?" The young lady asked.

The so-called 'commandery origin' was a special concept in the medieval period, originally referring to the prominent noble families in a commandery, meaning a certain surname had lived for generations in a certain commandery and was the prestige of that commandery. Later, it was used as a substitute for the ancestral home of noble families.

The Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern Dynasties valued family status, so people often stated their ancestral commandery origin when introducing themselves, rather than their current place of residence.

For example, the Liu Zhao family had moved to Jingzhou for over a hundred years, but when people mentioned them, they would still call them the 'Nieyang Liu clan', not the 'Jingzhou Liu clan'.

Wang Yang hesitated slightly but still answered: "Langya."

The young lady was shocked: "You are of the Langya Wang clan?"

"Yes."

"How could the Langya Wang clan be here?"

"Traveling for studies."

"Traveling for studies?"

"I said, I am a student at the Jingzhou Commandery School."

"Since you are of the Langya Wang clan, why didn't you enter the Imperial Academy for your studies? Why enter a commandery school?" The young lady was greatly puzzled.

Why else? Because I'm a fake!

Of course, Wang Yang couldn't answer like that, so he said: "This involves family secrets; please forgive me for not being able to tell you."

"Then can you speak to the Magistrate of Dongye or the Minister of the Imperial Household? My father's deputy, General Liu Mingche, is imprisoned in Dongye as a slave. I have always wanted to ask him about the situation at the time, but I have no way to do so. If you can help me see General Liu, I am willing to be your bodyguard for ten years as repayment!"

Dongye was located in the capital and was the court institution in charge of casting and metallurgy; it was also a place where prisoners were held for hard labor. Management there was strict, and the guards were tight; wanting to see a prisoner there was as difficult as ascending to heaven.

But since he was of the Langya Wang clan, perhaps he had connections!

She looked at Wang Yang with great anticipation.

Wang Yang had to say: "Apologies, I don't know them, and I cannot speak to them."

"Then can anyone in your family—"

"My branch of the family has no power or influence. This noble status of mine is an empty shell; I don't even have a household registration... in short, I cannot help you."

Actually, if he wanted to make her serve him wholeheartedly and obey his orders, painting a picture for her now would be the best choice.

But Wang Yang couldn't bear to do that.

Being forced to lie to save his life was one thing,

but letting a girl who wanted to clear her father's name keep working for him with empty expectations for his own selfish desires was another.

He could try hard, and perhaps he could manipulate Jiao Zheng and successfully trick the truth out of him; but to talk about befriending the Magistrate of Dongye or the Minister of the Imperial Household, or even acting as a go-between to let her see a prisoner in the capital's prison—that was truly impossible.

So he could only refuse.

The young lady's eyes dimmed again. Wang Yang wanted to continue with his third requirement, but seeing her disappointed look, he didn't speak for the time being.

Unexpectedly, the young lady quickly adjusted her state and took the initiative to ask: "What about the third?"

That's true; if she couldn't even handle this setback, she wouldn't have been able to investigate until now without giving up.

Wang Yang continued: "Third, this matter is no small thing. If Jiao Zheng is truly hiding something, then finding the truth will become incredibly difficult. So we absolutely must not startle the snake; we must aim for a single strike. We must wait for the right opportunity to act.

From now on, you must listen to my arrangements and not act without authorization. Also, when I pave the way and when I probe—I must grasp the timing. You can urge me, but you cannot force me."

"What if the opportunity never comes? What if you keep delaying?"

Wang Yang thought for a moment and held up a finger: "One month. Give me one month, and I will definitely do my best to find out the truth."

"Fine, then during this period, I will also do my best to be your bodyguard. But what if you still haven't asked after a month?"

Wang Yang sighed: "Then you can use force."

The young lady nodded.

The two had reached a cooperation.

"Has Jiao Zheng seen your face?" Wang Yang asked.

"No."

"He doesn't know you, right?"

"He doesn't."

"That's good. You leave first and wait for me at the gate of the Commandery School tomorrow."

The young lady stood up and walked to the window, stepping into the moonlight spilling through the cracks in the window lattice.

Wang Yang suddenly asked: "By the way, you said your name when you were going to cut off my finger—Qing what?"

"It's not important."

"You are my bodyguard; I have to know your name! Otherwise, if you call me 'Young Master' outside, I can't just call you 'Miss Chen'."

The young lady was silent for a moment and said: "Qingshan."

"Which characters?"

"'Qing' as in 'green', 'Shan' as in 'coral'."

"Chen Qingshan," Wang Yang recited silently.

"Young Master Wang," Chen Qingshan looked back, her tall figure reflected in the moonlight.

"Hmm?"

"If you break your promise, I will kill you," Chen Qingshan said seriously.

Wang Yang felt a chill in his heart and said solemnly: "Don't worry, I will definitely not fail our agreement."

The young lady flipped out the window.

The next morning, the Jiao family treated Wang Yang to a sumptuous breakfast. Wang Yang mentioned, as if telling a joke, that he had been drunk yesterday and carved on the wall on a whim. Jiao Zheng flattered him profusely, saying he must preserve the characters to wait for the day the Young Master's name filled the world.

Wang Yang actually had a decent impression of Jiao Zheng, but not because Jiao Zheng was trying hard to please him; it was because he truly hadn't discovered any evil deeds by Jiao Zheng. Although he had betrayed his old superior, if the superior had truly done something immoral, testifying against him wasn't a problem. The only slightly suspicious point was that Jiao Zheng seemed quite wealthy, but that didn't prove anything.

After the meal, Jiao Zheng managed to find a simple ox cart from somewhere and sent Wang Yang to the Commandery School.

After the cart left, Wang Yang stood at the gate of the Commandery School, looking for Chen Qingshan's figure.

"Young Master."

He heard a clear, cold female voice.

Wang Yang looked toward the sound and saw Chen Qingshan in a green shirt with a long sword, walking out from behind a ginkgo tree. The tree danced in the spring breeze, and the beauty was like a painting.

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Thank you to all the little friends for the gifts; I have received them all! I originally set up a thank-you post, but the thank-you post conflicts with the 'Author's Note', so I can only post one. So, I thought that rather than discarding the historical materials and literature in the 'Author's Note', it's better to solidly refine the quality of the text. Actually, I'm already very happy that you like reading my writing! I hope you little cuties will treat this novel as a long-distance travel through time, following the protagonist to visit and adventure in a world over 1,500 years ago, slowly experiencing the local customs, special foods, sword lights and shadows, and even blood and rain. (It's the same for me.)

There is a term in ancient times called 'spiritual travel'. The *Book of Changes* says it well: "Only because it is spiritual, it is fast without being hurried, and arrives without traveling." Sitting on the ground, one travels 80,000 miles a day; patrolling the sky, one looks at a thousand rivers from afar. If you little friends can experience the joy of spiritual travel in this book, then my wish is fulfilled.

I remember the great French writer Gide said in his diary: "Reading a book, to me, is spiritual travel outside the body, spending half a month with the author."

I have neither the time nor the ability to finish updating in half a month. Writing is usually done in the cracks of time; movies and games are like floating clouds (determined face!). Besides, the length of this book doesn't allow it (but if Groundhog Day descended, I would definitely have the confidence to try!). So, I have to force everyone to stay with me for a while longer... ===== CHAPTER 67 =====