Chapter 32: Rain Clouds Gray

Just as Shaowei practically felt the person before her must surely know something, she saw those eyes curve, and he said: "Little ghost, little ghost, aren't you just a genuine little water ghost I picked up?"

Shaowei's taut breathing silently relaxed, her expression involuntarily growing even more displeased. Seeing this, Jiang Fu spoke in a self-reflective tone: "But calling you that all the time does seem rather inappropriate after all..."

Shaowei felt she should surely ask for her name now, but who knew she would directly skip this step, saying: "Then let me give you one? Since there's already Mo Li, why not... call you Hua Li, how about that?"

Shaowei's eye corners twitched slightly, and she angrily refused: "No good, don't!"

Jiang Fu: "What's not good about it? Do you know Hua Li is like a fairy among the raccoon dogs..."

Shaowei blurted out, interrupting: "I have a name, I'm called Shaowei!"

Jiang Fu raised her brows, the corners of her mouth seeming to hold a hint of successful mischief, yet it didn't hinder her face from showing surprise: "Shaowei? The Shaowei of the Shaowei Star in the heavens? With such a pleasant name, why did you hide it away? You made me mistakenly think your original name was too embarrassing to speak of, so I never dared to ask lightly."

Shaowei, knowing she had been manipulated and teased by her again, stuffed her hands in her sleeves and turned away in stifled anger.

"Indeed a rare good name, and it suits you very well." Jiang Fu's praise was sincere: "The one who named you must have been a person of great talent and sentiment."

Shaowei's stifled angry expression suddenly softened a bit.

Jiang Fu lay flat again, her tone casual: "Besides much talent and sentiment, there was probably also much deep affection."

Shaowei, with her back to her, didn't utter a word, quiet as if she hadn't heard anything.

Shaowei slowly blinked her eyes, looking in the direction of Chang'an City that Jiang Fu had pointed out just now.

The four-sided gauze curtains had three sides lowered at this moment; through the coarse gauze nothing could be seen clearly, but even without this layer of gauze, it would still be impossible to see all the way to Chang'an City.

Shaowei only needed a rough orientation to place her imagination.

Calculating the time, Mother should have smoothly returned to the Hou Mansion by now, right?

There must be good physicians to treat Mother's injuries, right?

Madam Shentu need not be heartbroken and desperate like last time; if Lord Lu hadn't lost his wife and daughter, perhaps he wouldn't have been aggravated by his old illness flaring up again and died in depression?

Back in Chang'an, returning to being the Feng Family's young lady, would Mother also go on spring outings when the weather warms? I wonder if Mother used to ride horses?

Most importantly, would Feng Xian and them say things that displease Mother? — One thinks not; Mother is the Hou Mansion's true young lady, their elder, and has her parents loving and protecting her.

Hope it's like that.

Also...

There's still one question, which Shaowei did not allow herself to repeat in her heart.

Pressing down this mood, Shaowei then thought of Marquis Changping and Liu Qi.

Leaving those Eight Characters as a warning using Hu Wu's blood was precisely Shaowei's doing.

That terrifying Deposed Crown Prince calamity, Shaowei had no way to know the details; she also didn't know if there were other twists and turns within.

What Shaowei knew was only the result: the Crown Prince plotted rebellion and was executed, the Ling Empress committed suicide, Marquis Changping was waist-chopped, countless people cried injustice for them, the Ling Family Army was bloodily suppressed, Liu Qi was exiled to Cangwu Commandery, yet after many years he again followed in his elder brother's footsteps, likewise dying for plotting rebellion, and even dying more wretchedly and bleakly, yet also decisively and spectacularly.

Shaowei didn't know ultimately who was right and who was wrong.

Including the chaotic tragic scenes of unknown truth heard and seen after death, those were also not the reason that prompted Shaowei to decisively decide to give warning in that chaotic situation; she didn't have any far-sighted, deep-planning views of right and wrong or overall perspective; all actions merely stemmed from her individual true heart —

Marquis Changping once brought her back to Chang'an; even though she was very unhappy after returning to the Feng Family, and if she could do it over she would definitely not choose to follow Marquis Changping back to the capital, but on the journey she had received his care; this is undeniable.

She believed Marquis Changping was not an evil person.

And besides escorting her a stretch, Marquis Changping had also once taken off his cloak and covered her Mother's corpse with it.

Those eight characters were merely to repay the other party's past kindness of that one protection and that one covering.

As for whether these mere eight characters could really bring some trivial change... Shaowei had no way to predict.

That calamity initially occurred on the first month's beginning, and now there are less than ten days until New Year's Day.

Soon, Shaowei will get the final answer from the wind sounds of time.

Amidst floating thoughts, Shaowei's gaze moved upward through the gauze curtains; above the clear sky, a few pieces of white cloud were faint like thin fluff, actually very much like Zhan Zhan's feathers.

Shaowei felt a bit lost from missing her, and turned her head to look north.

Wind blew from the north; by afternoon the wind gradually grew strong, the urgent wind like a hand, gathering those floating thin fluffs in the air into a mass of thick cloud, then dyeing it gray with dark night, and finally after that Wind God Giant Hand clenched, rain pattered down.

Because the rain intensity was rather large, Jiang Fu, who was in no hurry to travel, stayed a few extra days at an inn along the way.

But these few days were not very peaceful.

The first night, the rain hadn't stopped, when suddenly there were strange movements and faint cattle cries from the inn's back courtyard.

"Mo Li, go take a look—"

In the darkness, following Jiang Fu's order, Mo Li who was sleeping on the floor got up, grabbed the blade wrapped in black cloth, pushed open the window, and leapt into the rainy back courtyard like a fish.

Because she was unwilling to share a bed with Jiang Fu, Shaowei, who was sleeping on the floor at the other end, had also been awakened by the noise; she swiftly readied herself and stood up, lowering her voice to ask Jiang Fu: "Enemies come seeking revenge?!"

Ever since learning there were people seeking Jiang Fu for revenge, Shaowei had been exceptionally vigilant along the way, practically hearing in all directions, eyes blazing like torches.

Along the journey, whenever a traveler accompanied them for a li, she would warn Jiang Fu in a low voice: 【Seems there's a suspicious person tailing us.】

On the street, seeing someone following and dodging their gaze, Shaowei even more secretly gripped the new dagger hidden in her sleeve, solemnly reminding Jiang Fu: 【This time absolutely won't be wrong.】

Jiang Fu looked back, regretfully saying: 【This time is even more wrong beyond wrong.】

Shaowei was unconvinced: 【Then why did he tail and spy on us all the way?】

Jiang Fu's smiling face was like a flower, her phoenix eyes lightly blinking: 【What do you think? Little ghost.】

Shaowei blankly frowned.

Jiang Fu earnestly taught: 【Then why do you think Master wears a bamboo hat even on sunny days?】

Shaowei actually had an answer, and gave two at once: 【Shade from the sun, or conceal from people's eyes and ears to prevent being recognized by enemies.】

【Not so.】 Jiang Fu put the bamboo hat back on, sighing as she gave the correct answer: 【Nothing else, just excessively beautiful.】

Shaowei, who didn't pay much attention to beauty or ugliness of appearance and was used to only caring about survival, joy and anger, hearing this explanation, relying on her height disadvantage, tilted her face up and for once seriously examined Jiang Fu's face under the bamboo hat, learning to establish some cognition in this aspect to improve her discernment ability.

In short, along this journey, the excessively vigilant Shaowei was either misidentifying enemies, or on the road to misidentifying enemies.

Until now, seeing Mo Li lift the blade and rise, jumping out the window, Shaowei couldn't help but have a bit of "finally here" feeling of a stone landing — this time surely won't be wrong!

Shaowei, a few parts rubbing her fists and wiping her palms eager to try, clutching her dagger rushed to the window, tiptoed to check the situation.

A new month begins, this will be the first full month of "Feng Qing Ri" serialization, looking forward to accompanying everyone~~ Wishing everyone a peaceful and happy April.

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(Chapter End)