Chapter 32: with translation of chapter title

"Is this Ting Guo?" I lifted the carriage curtain, curiously looking around, seeming…… quite peaceful and prosperous, not much different from Qi and Yin states. However, it seemed many people wore worried looks, hurrying about—truly strange.

"Miss, don't look around." Xinhui walked to my side and whispered, "How could a young lady of noble birth be like you?"

I couldn't help chuckling, but I still lowered my voice: "I've said it before—I'm not a noble lady by birth, and it's impossible for me to pretend to be one just for an act."

I glanced at Steward Zhou and the servants who had just turned their heads back; that expression of contempt and disgust just now was truly a twisted kind of beauty. I smirked: "Let those boring people say whatever they want; after all, I've already eloped, so the worst gossip is nothing more than that."

"But Xinhui," I complained with a bitter face, "how much longer do we have to sit in this carriage? I'm about to die of boredom? It's not that comfortable with all the bumping and swaying; I'd rather ride a bicycle!"

Xinhui couldn't help but let out a "puchi" laugh, then immediately composed herself, though the smile remained on her face, and said: "Miss, you're truly a strange person. We've arrived—did you see that largest residence ahead? That's the Lan Manor."

"Oh." I replied absentmindedly, thinking: It's quite big, looks more luxurious than the place Qi Ran took me to stay temporarily—indeed, it has the air of a prime minister.

Supported by Xinhui and another maid, I followed them step by step through layers of pavilions and towers, while I tried to memorize the surrounding terrain and thought that, in this state, I resembled someone who had been kidnapped.

Entering the parlor, my goodness, there were really a lot of people. Given Xinhui's warning that the more I spoke the more mistakes I'd make, I usually just needed to act obedient and gentle, especially when there were many people; as for rescuing someone, I'd discuss it later when I saw the young master alone.

"Sir, the miss has returned." Steward Zhou respectfully reported to my father… that is, Lan Yingruo's father.

Lan Junqing lifted his eyes and glanced at me; I quickly lowered my head—we looked somewhat alike—then whispered softly: "Father."

"Your voice… what happened?" It didn't seem like he was asking about my appearance; he continued to keep his head down.

"Replying to sir, the doctor diagnosed that the miss's throat had once been injured, but later healed, so her voice sounds somewhat off."

Lan Junqing nodded and said: "You may go down."

Knowing his daughter's vocal cords were damaged, after all she'd suffered he merely nodded expressionlessly? Truly cold-hearted.

"Yingruo, you've suffered enough out there; you should know you were wrong by now." Lan Junqing only said a few words in passing, apparently not wanting to investigate Lan Yingruo's elopement here.

"Yes, Father." I kept my head down, unable to stop thinking: I don't know whether your daughter knows she was wrong, but my biggest mistake is not looking like your daughter and still being rescued by your steward.

"All right, all right, sir!" A cloyingly sweet voice sounded in my ear, and she grabbed my right hand: "She's back—why bother with all this? Come on, Yingruo, you've had a hard journey; go rest now."

I shivered—how many goosebumps had fallen off? I kept my head down, caught sight of a gorgeously dressed, alluringly beautiful woman standing at my right side in my peripheral vision, and replied with a hollow smile: "Thank you for your concern, Second Madam."

"Not in a hurry; first let's meet several guests from Yao Guo." Lan Junqing's stern voice rang out; the Second Madam beside me stiffened involuntarily, and I quickly pulled my hand away, replying softly: "Yes."

Led by Xinhui with my head lowered, I walked toward the three people seated centrally in the hall; as I passed the third seat on the left side, I suddenly felt a prickling sensation on my back, involuntarily looked up, and saw a beautiful woman in yellow glaring at me with eyes full of naked hatred. That must be the Third Miss Lan Yingyu mentioned by Xinhui.

I immediately pretended to be startled, lowering my head in a panic. Ah! Xinhui, this trick works, but you should consider my spine too—don't let me end up with a cervical problem at such a young age.

Xinhui supported me as I stood before a man; I idly glanced at his black-cloth flat shoes, thinking: Ancient shoe styles are really limited, most aren't durable; when I have free time I'll design a few pairs of military boots to sell to soldiers—sales will surely boom.

"Yingruo, this is Lord Feng Yinmo." Lan Junqing's voice sounded, presumably indicating I should pay my respects.

I slightly raised my head and couldn't help but stare. His looks were indeed handsome, with a masculine charm and sensuality that seemed to emanate from his bones—well, forgive my poor word choice. Anyway, he had thick black eyebrows, a high straight nose, and a stature and bearing that were top-notch; in short, he was a handsome guy. However, compared to Qi Ran and Wei Lingfeng, his appearance lacked that strong visual impact.

What left me stunned wasn't that, but his gaze—really…… overly sinister and ferocious. Rather than saying it was the aura of "who else under heaven but me," it was more like the ruthlessness of "those who follow me live, those who oppose me die."

Although my mind raced with hundreds of thoughts, I quickly put on a shy expression to cover my earlier faux pas, lowered my head, and whispered softly: "Yingruo greets Lord Feng."

Yao Guo? Sounds like a big country too. But I really have no concept of these states. If I had to name one I know something about, it would only be Bing Ling—if… Bing Ling counts as a country.

The other party seemed to merely nod slightly, and I caught a glimpse of Lan Yingyu looking smug and relaxed; I couldn't help but think inwardly: I'm not trying to throw cold water on you, but if you really marry someone like this, you'll have plenty to endure.

Next, I similarly paid respects to the refined young man Li Mu seated to Lord Feng Yinmo's left. Seeing him holding a folding fan, his handsome face seemingly perpetually wearing a faint smile, I couldn't help but think of Hou Xibai from *The Twin Dragons of the Tang Dynasty*.

Approaching the third person, I only heard Lan Junqing's voice: "This is the General of Yao Guo, Meng Kuo."

I lifted my head and met a familiar face full of beard, startling me; I blurted out: "Ah, it's…" Fortunately I managed to swallow the final "you" back down.

Even so, my abnormal behavior still drew everyone's gaze in the hall onto me, especially Lord Feng Yinmo, whose expression was uncertain and doubtful—he might have already noticed the discrepancy.

It turned out Meng Kuo and that Qin Ye were generals of Yao Guo, not Qi. That's strange—other countries' generals and soldiers brawling and hurting people on their own soil, yet the Qi emperor could just ignore it? Or perhaps he simply didn't know?

"Yingruo, what's wrong?" Lan Junqing's displeased voice sounded, clearly annoyed by my lapse.

I was startled, about to answer, when Lan Yingyu's sharp voice cut in first: "Little sister probably isn't used to someone as frank as General Meng; she was startled for a moment. Little sister, you agree, right?"

I quickly bowed my head, face full of exaggerated fright, on the verge of tears, and stammered: "Yes… sorry, Yingruo was rude." Really, I couldn't believe I hadn't thought of using such a good excuse.

"Enough." Lan Junqing's icy, angry voice rang out: "Xinhui, help the miss go rest."

Xinhui quickly replied yes, supported me as we left the parlor; behind us, some unknown gaze was piercingly sharp, and I couldn't help but shiver.

This charade of impersonating a miss is truly not an ordinary difficult act!

As soon as I stepped into the room, I no longer cared about any ladylike etiquette, flopping onto the bed in one go, my voice half-dead.

"Xinhui, when exactly is your young master coming back? If I keep putting on this act back and forth, I'll eventually go crazy!"

Xinhui clapped a hand over my mouth, carefully shut the windows and door, then came back, looking anxious: "My dear miss, you're shouting so loudly, afraid no one will hear you?"

Seeing my bitter expression, she smiled again and said: "The young master went to the battlefield last month; he probably won't return until next month."

"Battlefield?" I blinked, "Is your country at war? With whom? I can't see any sign of it at all."

Xinhui widened her eyes and exclaimed: "Miss? You don't even know that Yin State launched a major attack on our Ting Guo, do you?"

I gave an embarrassed laugh, really not easy to answer. I didn't even know this world had a country called Ting until just today.

Xinhui covered her mouth and laughed a while, then said: "Miss, you've been tossed around so long you must be hungry—what do you most want to eat? I'll have the servants make it for you."

"Fermented rice balls." As soon as I heard what I most wanted to eat, I blurted it out without thinking.

Xinhui looked puzzled and asked: "Fermented… rice balls—what are those?"

Right, in ancient times they don't call it fermented rice balls; I tilted my head, thinking hard—what did Qi Ran say it was called? "Ah, flower-steamed fermented! Xinhui, I want to eat flower-steamed fermented!"

Xinhui suddenly understood, nodding with a smile: "Miss, you're really impressive—our Ting Guo is a prosperous island, flowers fragrant year-round, rice and such grow well. So this flower-steamed fermented is famous throughout the Tianhe Continent. Wait here, I'll have someone make you a bowl right away."

I seem to recall Qi Ran mentioning that some country's flower-steamed fermented was famous, and he could take me there sometime. Turns out it's Ting Guo. I let out a long sigh, watching Xinhui walk out with a full smile, closing the door behind her.

Sitting cross-legged, I circulated my internal energy through one cycle; instantly the vexation in my heart vanished, and my limbs and bones felt indescribably refreshed.

With nothing to do, I began seriously considering the cause of these bodily changes. One thing is certain: these changes must be related to the blood worm. I recall Bu Sha previously saying that during an outbreak, the blood worm cannot be fought with internal energy, or else one's original internal strength will be gradually absorbed. Thus, the internal energy currently in my body is likely what the blood worm itself has absorbed.

It contains Qi Ran's, Wei Lingfeng's, possibly Bu Sha's or others'. Alas, should I be happy about gaining all this internal energy for nothing, or should I feel guilty for taking others' internal energy without effort?

But if that's the case, does it mean the blood worm in my body has ultimately been resolved?

I took out the red stone from my bosom, examined it from all sides. Nothing unusual, and it doesn't seem like that day when my hair suddenly turned red and hot; could my bodily changes be related to it?

Lost in thought, Xinhui's footsteps approached from afar; I smiled, put the stone back in my bosom. Never mind all that—what matters is that I now know I've turned misfortune into blessing, becoming a beauty again.

I struggled to swallow a mouthful of flower-steamed fermented—it's delicious! Indeed a local specialty, actually not inferior to what Qi Ran made.

"Xin Hui, you eat together too! There's so much, we can't finish it anyway." I forced her to sit beside me, ladled a bowl and handed it to her. She was startled, waved her hands repeatedly, shouted she wasn't hungry, but couldn't resist me and still sat down to nibble a few bites.

"Xin Hui, your miss, I mean when exactly did Lan Yingruo elope and leave?"

"About half a year ago."

"Then that's strange." I stirred the soup twice, "If it happened half a year ago, why only now send people to look for her?"

"Miss, you've misunderstood. This time Chief Zhou went out not to look for you. He happened to rescue a girl from the river, and by a twist of fate it turned out to be you, Miss."

"Then Chief Zhou sent word to the Lord. At that time you were gravely ill, but Chief Zhou still had urgent matters, so the Lord had Xin Hui come over to attend to you."

I was stunned: "I was unconscious on the boat for several days?"

"A full five days!" Xin Hui still trembling said, "Even the food and water we fed you bit by bit. Miss, you just kept sleeping peacefully; if you hadn't been breathing we would have thought you were dead."

I brushed her forelock, smiled reassuringly, and added, "Since nothing's wrong, tell me about the Lan family and the Ting Kingdom, so I can make preparations. Also, who were those people in the living room today?"

"Those are all important figures from the Key Kingdom. Officially they say they're here to pay respects to the Lord, but actually they represent the Key Kingdom for a marriage alliance. You didn't see Third Miss look at Young Master Feng with such impatience, eager to marry off immediately."

"Why ally with the Lan family? Usually… aren't they all marrying into the royal family?"

"Miss, you don't know." Xin Hui smiled mysteriously, "It's because the Lan family possesses the most powerful weapon. For those great nations, compared to a tiny island nation, they covet the Lan family's strength even more."

"What weapon?"

"It's ship‑building technology, and a navy that swears allegiance to the Lan family. With those two, one is almost invincible at sea."

I slightly furrowed my brow and asked, "So you're saying the war between the Yin Kingdom and the Ting Kingdom is fought at sea? What's the current situation?"

Xin Hui was taken aback, said, "Miss, you're truly clever; the ongoing battle is indeed a naval war. In fact, regarding maritime combat capability, no other nation can match our Ting Kingdom. However, the Yin Kingdom is vast and populous, with many talents, so our situation is bleak. That's why the Lord wants to ally with the Key Kingdom."

I set down my spoon, pondered for a long while, then suddenly looked up and said, "Xin Hui, do you know where your brother is being held?"

Xin Hui was startled, and nodded blankly.

"Then… do you have anything valuable?" I looked around, saw a jewelry box on the dressing table, and laughed, "I'm really foolish, why ask you? Isn't there already something ready here?"

I took two medium‑sized pearls from the box and said, "Let's go, we'll first go see your brother."

Xin Hui stared blankly at me, some light flashing in her eyes, yet she couldn't utter a word.

"Money can make a ghost push a mill" was spot on. I bribed a few guards with a pearl and was easily allowed to visit the cell.

The deeper I went, the more damp and moldy the prison felt. I could barely stand there before feeling unbearable; I can't imagine how the inmates endure the endless darkness day and night.

What puzzled me most was that Lan Junqing, merely a prime minister, openly built such a huge cell in his home. Wasn't he afraid the Emperor would suspect his power threatens the throne? Or… does he know the Emperor dares not act against him?

I silently surveyed the surroundings, contemplating the possibility of a prison break. Since Blade Swordsman Lan will need at least a month to return, being at the center of this conspiratorial power struggle could easily make us collateral damage. Moreover, there's a political marriage entangled; although the chance is slim, if we are truly selected for a good death or a bad one…

"Fourth Miss, at your service." I was lost in thought when the prison warden's voice reached my ears. Before I could answer, Xin Hui behind me shouted "Luo Er" and darted forward in a single stride.

I placed the remaining pearl in his hand and said, "You go down first. Don't let anyone in."

"Yes, yes! Thank you, Miss."

I crouched and entered the cell, the mildew thicker. Xin Hui was holding a crying boy. As I approached, he looked up and met my gaze.

What a handsome boy! I couldn't help but exclaim inwardly. Xin Luo was only about twelve or thirteen, eyebrows curved, long slightly curled lashes, red lips, white teeth; if not for his tattered prison garb, he'd look like a finely chiseled young master of a wealthy family.

His demeanor wasn't as agitated as Xin Hui's; his face remained calm, but his eyes shone astonishingly. He looked up at me, gave a faint smile, showed two rows of white teeth, and called, "Miss."

Honestly, Xin Luo's appearance was miles away from what I imagined. Originally, Xin Hui, standing there, was average‑looking, boisterous and restless; who would think her brother—the little servant who helped his sister elope—could be such a cool, handsome boy?

Thinking of this, I began to doubt the information Xin Hui gave me; could such an aristocratic, aloof child have been a servant since childhood?

"Xin Hui." I called the sorrowful Xin Hui back, handed her the silk handkerchief, and whispered, "Have you considered… maybe we should break out of the prison tonight and rescue Xin Luo?"

The words made both pairs of eyes turn to me in shock; the astonishment needed no further explanation.

"No!" Xin Hui's face turned deathly pale, she blurted out a refusal.

I looked at her oddly, puzzled by her strong reaction. I had intended to explain that I had enough ability to get them out, but I swallowed the words, gave a meaningless smile, and said, "Then never mind. We'll think of another way."

When I turned back, Xin Luo's beautiful big eyes stared straight at me, his mouth slightly open as if to ask but unable to speak.

I smiled, somewhat helplessly, and said, "I'm not your family's Miss."

He stared at me without blinking; I returned his gaze calmly. After a while, his eyes dimmed, and he asked softly, "Then who are you? Why are you impersonating a Miss?"

Xin Hui rubbed Xin Luo's messy black hair, eyes full of pity, but her expression turned unusually stern, "Luo Er, she was forced by her sister to impersonate a Miss to save you; you must not speak like that."

Xin Luo looked at her, his rosy lips moving, and suddenly asked, "Sister, do you like her a lot?"

Xin Hui was startled, her face stiffened.

"Do you like her more than you like the Miss?" Xin Luo's eyes were bright, sparkling, "If sister is happier with her, then Luo Er will consider her as the Miss."

Xin Hui's eyes reddened again, tears falling as she hugged him, softly saying, "Yes, sister is happy with her. Because she's a good person who helped rescue Luo Er. Luo Er, you are the most important family member to me in this world."

Xin Luo smiled again, an angelic pure smile. He tightly embraced Xin Hui, after a long while pushed away her arms, came to me, and earnestly said, "Miss, you must take good care of my sister!" He tilted his pretty face up, his beautiful eyes fixed on me, his fair face flushed with excitement—a truly adorable little devil.

I smiled faintly, then curled my finger and gave him a hard tap on the head—a "bang", causing him to cry out "Ow!" in pain.

I shouted angrily, "You little rascal! Since it's your sister, of course you take care of her. Rest assured, even without a prison break, I have plenty of ways to get you out, so don't try to dump this burden on me."

"You… you hit me!" he said, touching his forehead, tears welling at the corners of his eyes, frowning in accusation.

Seeing his frantic, angry, helpless expression, I thought to myself: this is exactly the look a teenager should have! With such an angelic face, why must he keep a cold, detached demeanor every day? It was boring. Thinking of this, I couldn't help laughing heartily.

Xin Luo pursed his lips, about to say something, but when he saw my smile he froze, his gaze lingering on my face, murmuring, "Miss, your smile… so warm…"

(End of Chapter)