Chapter 165: A Unique Bond

Nan Xueyin's ability to kill was taught by the Duan Prince Mansion.

Later, she felt that merely knowing how to kill was not enough; as the saying goes, one can never have too many skills, and she hoped to know as much as possible.

The Disguise Technique originated in Lianzhou, and it is said that one of the masters of the Disguise Technique lives in seclusion in Lianzhou.

However, very few people succeed in seeking instruction; most are turned away at the door.

Back then, Nan Xueyin was just a young girl, but she performed the three kneelings and nine kowtows until her head bled, finally causing the master to soften and make an exception to open the door for her.

The master once said that he had no desire to contend for power, and he took Nan Xueyin in because he felt she truly intended to kowtow until she died outside his door.

She was very stubborn, a character trait the master admired greatly.

He said, "If I had half your stubbornness back then, she... would not have had to live such a bitter life."

Nan Xueyin did not know who the "she" the master spoke of was, nor did she care.

Every day, she only cared about when she would be able to learn his skills.

The master never took on many disciples; as far as Nan Xueyin knew, besides her, there was only one junior fellow apprentice.

There are many types of Disguise Technique in this world; although they all change one's appearance, how one changes it and what tools are used are vastly different, and because the masters are different, the corresponding methods are also completely distinct.

But now, Nan Xueyin discovered that the tools laid out on Xiao Qingling's table were, one could say, exactly the same as the ones she usually used, with only subtle differences in usage habits.

Nan Xueyin frowned and suddenly looked up at Xiao Qingling: "Are you that junior fellow apprentice he made an exception to take in?"

Xiao Qingling's facial expression immediately became lively: "You remember me?"

"But it is also strange," Nan Xueyin frowned, "I occasionally went back to see the master, and although I saw the junior fellow apprentice a few times, we didn't speak much. And I remember, you didn't look like this back then."

Xiao Qingling said: "I am a prince; to learn this outside, I naturally had to change my appearance."

Nan Xueyin was even more puzzled, "The master stays far away from court struggles, why would he make an exception to take in a prince?"

"Because the master was my mother the Consort's childhood sweetheart."

Nan Xueyin was slightly stunned.

"He loved my mother, and for her sake, he never married his whole life. But my mother entered the palace, became the Emperor's woman, and even gave birth to a son—which is me. My mother did not come from a prominent family, nor did she receive the Emperor's favor. Therefore, my mother struggled at every step in the palace, and in the end, she could barely survive... She worried that I would also die in the palace, so she wrote a letter in blood with her own hand and sent it to the master, hoping he could save my life."

Nan Xueyin finally understood; the "she" the master mentioned was Xiao Qingling's biological mother.

"The master promised my mother, found a child of similar build to me, and sent him into the palace as a substitute, while he took me away to learn martial arts and the Disguise Technique with him. It wasn't until I had mastered them that he swapped me back with the boy who had taken my place. When I was young, I wasn't favored and no one cared about me, so no one suspected whether I was real or fake."

Speaking of this, Xiao Qingling found it quite ironic.

Compared to the boy who replaced him, Xiao Qingling had trained daily at the master's place and was taller and sturdier, while that boy was pale and frail.

On the day he returned after completing his training, Xiao Qingling deliberately went to pay his respects to the Yongzheng Emperor.

The Yongzheng Emperor kept reading documents and didn't even lift his eyelids to look at him.

Xiao Qingling felt unhappy at the time and deliberately made some noise.

The Yongzheng Emperor finally looked up.

His gaze rested on Xiao Qingling for a moment before withdrawing, his voice indifferent, "Go back and rest after paying your respects; I truly have many things to do."

As a father, he hadn't noticed at all how much his son had changed from yesterday to today, which only proves that he had never looked at this son properly.

Or rather, he had discovered something was wrong, but he didn't care.

His heart and mind had always been solely on the eldest legitimate son, Xiao Youlan.

As long as Xiao Youlan was fine, any other problem was not a problem at all.

"So that's how it is." The doubt in Nan Xueyin's heart finally dissipated.

Xiao Qingling's thoughts turned back from the Yongzheng Emperor to Nan Xueyin, and he said: "However, we didn't meet as senior sister and junior fellow apprentice; we had met before..."

Nan Xueyin nodded, "Then let's just say we met before."

Xiao Qingling muttered: "What do you mean 'let's just say,' we really did know each other a long time ago..."

Nan Xueyin nodded again and began to apply her disguise.

Worried about disturbing her, Xiao Qingling closed his mouth in time, leaned to the side, and watched her turn into another appearance bit by bit without blinking.

Nan Xueyin's Disguise Technique came from the same school as his, but after all, the two had different personalities and habits, so there were many differences in how they applied the Disguise Technique.

As Xiao Qingling watched, he felt that the similarities and differences were truly quite interesting.

He thought again, could Xiao Youlan understand the logic behind this? Did he know how to use a disguise?

He couldn't, and he didn't understand.

This was a unique bond between Xiao Qingling and Nan Xueyin!

It was just like many years ago.

Xiao Qingling had been born with a weak constitution, and even as he grew up, he was a sickly little child, as if a gust of wind could blow him away.

The Abbot of Yuquan Si in Qingzhou was highly respected and was invited to Fengdu to lecture on scriptures. The Yongzheng Emperor praised him highly and said that Xiao Qingling was weak and no medicine could cure him, fearing it was related to ghosts and gods.

Therefore, the Yongzheng Emperor let Xiao Qingling follow the Abbot to Qingzhou to cultivate and see if he could survive.

People in the palace bullied him.

After leaving the palace, there were still many people who bullied him.

Some people didn't know he was a prince, and some knew, but felt his father the Emperor didn't love him, otherwise why would he have been driven away to a place like Qingzhou?

The malice of many people in this world comes inexplicably and is always surging.

That day, Xiao Qingling was surrounded by a few people again; he resisted, only to be beaten even more severely.

Just as Xiao Qingling was in despair, Nan Xueyin descended like a goddess from the heavens and chased away those who were bullying him in a few moves.

She patted Xiao Qingling's head and said: "Little monk, from now on, I'll look after you."

Xiao Qingling wanted to say he wasn't called a little monk, he hadn't been ordained, he had only worn monk's robes for a while.

But looking at Nan Xueyin's face, he didn't want to refute her anymore and nodded obediently.

That year, Nan Xueyin was only seven or eight years old, right?

Much earlier than Xiao Youlan, and even earlier than Xiao Mingyu.

In this world, the bond between him and Nan Xueyin was the deepest...

Thus, when Nan Xueyin finished changing her face and lifted her eyes, she saw Xiao Qingling resting his chin on one hand, smiling with a look of inexplicable indulgence.

Nan Xueyin remained expressionless and went straight to the point, asking him, "When are we leaving?"

Xiao Qingling curved his eyes, "We can leave tonight. Besides these disguise items, I have also prepared travel permits and a change of clothes for you."

He agreed so readily that Nan Xueyin could not help but feel some suspicion: was this kid brewing some kind of trouble again?

However, now that there was no Gu Poison in her body, Xiao Qingling was temporarily no match for her...

"Once you go back, Brother Crown Prince will surely be determined to marry you," Xiao Qingling said unhurriedly. "You will no longer be an Assassin, and your status will at most be that of a common woman. With such a status, you cannot become the Crown Princess. Everything that has happened so far has already made the Emperor and the Empress Dowager weary of you; the situation will surely become even worse."

Nan Xueyin frowned.

So, this was what he was waiting for.

"However, Brother Crown Prince is a man who keeps his word. He likes you and is set on marrying you, so in all likelihood, he will leave the Eastern Palace and willingly be demoted to a commoner to be with you. Actually, that would be quite nice—to be an ordinary couple, the man plowing the fields and the woman weaving, working at sunrise and resting at sunset." Xiao Qingling's voice carried a sense of sentimentality.

A sense of unspeakable bitterness welled up in Nan Xueyin's heart.

Of course, she could not bear to see a royal scion like Xiao Youlan go off to farm.

Even if she had great strength and went to farm, Xiao Youlan should not be at home weaving cloth or doing embroidery.

Those were hands accustomed to holding a writing brush.

Suddenly, she thought of something, and her heart stirred slightly.

She thought of a way that would allow her to be with Xiao Youlan in a legitimate manner.

He would not have to abandon his noble status as Crown Prince, and she would no longer have to endure so much disdain and cold looks.

Xiao Qingling observed her expression and began to entice her early on: "If you really want my opinion, it would be better for you to come back with me..."

Nan Xueyin suddenly stood up.

Xiao Qingling tilted his head and asked, "What is it?"

Nan Xueyin said indifferently, "I'll sleep for a while first; we have to set off tonight."

Having said that, she said no more and strode toward the large bed.

Xiao Qingling quieted down and did not approach the bedside, as there was a distinction between men and women.

He sat at the table until the sun sank in the west.

Nan Xueyin got up from the bed nimbly, "It's time to go."