Chapter 27: Adulterers and Fornicators Are a Match Made in Heaven, Being a Dog Is Truly Wonderful (Seeking Monthly Votes)

The sun was high, and Pei Shaoqing finally woke up.

He turned his head to look; Xie Qingwu was leaning against an armrest, sitting on a low couch covered with a straw mat across from the bed, reading a book. One hand rested on the armrest to support her face, while the other held the book. Her posture was graceful, her curves alluring; under her dress, the parts that should be round were round, and the parts that should be lifted were lifted. Her two fair, tender, bare feet were stacked one atop the other.

"You're awake." Xie Qingwu turned her head to look at him as if she had sensed something, then added, "Is Zheng Xuancheng dead?"

"Who told you that?" Pei Shaoqing raised an eyebrow.

Xie Qingwu put down the book, gathered the slipping light gauze to cover the strap of her Bellyband exposed on her shoulder, and replied airily, "Does that need someone to say it? From the moment you dismissed all the servants, I had already guessed it."

In just a few short days, Xu Zhiyong, the bandits of Phoenix Mountain, and Zheng Xuancheng had all died at the hands of this man.

While it made her wary of his ruthlessness, she could not help but feel a sense of admiration; he dared to think and act, and could plan effectively. Yet, such a beauty, why must she be a thief?

"I told you, that dead husband of yours wasn't worthy of an ice-cold, clever woman like you." Pei Shaoqing laughed, got off the bed, and wearing only his undergarments, walked barefoot to Xie Qingwu's side and sat down with a thud. He pinched her chin and said, "You and I are a match made in heaven."

"A pair of adulterers and fornicators born for each other, right?" Xie Qingwu gave a self-deprecating smile and unobtrusively dodged his hand as he took liberties with her. "But in such a large house, you've sent all the servants away; who is going to serve us?"

"We're moving in two days. As for these two days, naturally, you, as my wife, will serve me." Pei Shaoqing picked up the teapot from the low tea table and tilted his head back to pour it into his mouth.

Xie Qingwu was choked with anger and rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Then who is going to serve me these two days?"

"I think people should learn to be independent." Pei Shaoqing put down the teapot, wiped his mouth, and said with a completely serious face.

Xie Qingwu's heavy chest had already begun to heave more and more rapidly. "Then why do you still want me to serve you? Why don't you learn to be independent?"

"Because I have long since mastered the 'Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg'." Pei Shaoqing's large hand landed on her ankle, stroking her slender, smooth lower leg along the skirt, and he said, "Madam, you have been served by others since you were young. These two days are a rare opportunity for you to exercise; you should cherish it. Now, go to the kitchen immediately to boil water and serve your husband as he washes up."

When a person is extremely speechless, they can truly be angered into laughter. Xie Qingwu kicked away his dirty hand, pulled her skirt down to cover her feet as well, took a deep breath, and said through gritted teeth, "I'll go boil water for you now."

"Very good, Madam, you have already begun to get into the swing of things." Pei Shaoqing pinched her cheek and smiled.

Xie Qingwu dodged with a look of disgust. "Can you be more mindful? Your hand just touched my feet."

"It's fine, I don't mind." Pei Shaoqing looked down at his hand and said with great magnanimity.

Xie Qingwu glared at him, got off the couch, put on her white silk socks, then put on her embroidered shoes and walked out.

"By the way, where is the cat?" Pei Shaoqing suddenly realized Li Jiangjun was missing and asked toward her back.

Xie Qingwu paused, looked back, and said, "It went out as soon as the sun rose. Perhaps it felt that with you here, it didn't need to stand guard. I don't know where it went."

After saying this, she opened the door and walked out.

"Rebellious subject," Pei Shaoqing grumbled.

To actually dare to abandon its master in his sleep to a woman who had the blood feud of killing her husband—and it still calls itself loyal? He observed that this cat seemed to have a heart of rebellion.

Waiting and waiting, Pei Shaoqing never saw Xie Qingwu return with the water. He prepared to go to the kitchen to check, but as soon as he stepped outside, he saw a plume of black smoke not far away.

One look and he knew it was a fire.

"Heh, I wonder whose house is so unlucky."

Pei Shaoqing shook his head, then suddenly realized something; his heart instantly hung in his throat. He quickened his pace and rushed toward the smoke. After getting close and seeing the kitchen engulfed in a massive fire, his hanging heart finally died.

Hearing footsteps, Xie Qingwu, who was standing blankly in front of the kitchen, turned around. With messy hair, a disheveled appearance, and black soot on her face, she said with a guilty conscience, "I... I just wanted to boil some water."

"Stay away from the kitchen in the future." Pei Shaoqing twitched the corner of his mouth as he looked at the kitchen with flames shooting into the sky.

"Mm-hmm." Xie Qingwu nodded repeatedly with a well-behaved look, though a flash of cunning flickered deep in her eyes.

Hmph, today you dared to make this young lady boil water.

Tomorrow you'll dare to order this young lady to cook.

Let's see if you dare to make me do these things again.

This fire was something she had set on purpose.

She had thought it through very clearly: as long as she performed sufficiently uselessly in this regard, no one would dare to order her to do manual labor.

"Sir! Madam! Are you alright!"

"Big Brother!"

Gongsun Yi and his wife, who had also seen the fire, ran over with their two beloved disciples, with Ye Hanshuang following closely behind.

"It's nothing, put out the fire." Pei Shaoqing waved his hand helplessly; it seemed he would have to move as soon as possible.

"Yes!"

The fire was soon extinguished, but the kitchen was gone.

Xie Qingwu, her little scheme having succeeded, returned to the room first with a soot-covered face to change her clothes. But as soon as she left the sight of the others, she immediately straightened her back, her pace became light, and she triumphantly hummed a little tune.

She had finally won against that thief for once.

………………………

Looking at the ruins still emitting smoke, Pei Shaoqing took a deep breath, turned around, and said to Gongsun Yi and the others with a look of shame, "To have the kitchen burned down just by asking her to boil some water, I have truly let you all see a joke."

"Madam is of golden constitution and has never had to lift a finger since birth; it is only natural that she would not know how to do such rough work," Gongsun Yi replied with a smile, then changed the subject. "Although my disciple Zhilan has also been pampered since childhood, we people of the pugilistic world still know how to wash clothes and cook. In the future, let these rough tasks be handed to her."

"From now on, I await Young Master's instructions." Zhao Zhilan squeezed out a reluctant smile, stepped forward, and bowed.

Jiang Yebai watched this scene with a heart torn to shreds; the lover he regarded as a treasure would henceforth be a slave and a maid to others.

This feeling was like seeing the bicycle he cherished so much and couldn't bear to ride being stood upon and pedaled by someone else.

Yet he didn't even dare to instruct her to take good care of herself.

Liu Yuheng, with her myriad charms and full figure, smiled and said, "I can do these things too; you might as well leave them to me. I can't just eat and drink for free at Young Master's house."

"Lady Gongsun and Heroine Zhao are joking." Pei Shaoqing laughed and shook his head. "These things are naturally done by servants. How could I be so heartless as to ask two beautiful, flower-like ladies to do such rough and tiring work?"

Then he looked at Gongsun Yi. "I observe that Sect Leader Gongsun seems to have something else to say?"

"Thanks to Young Master's blessing these past few days, Yebai's injuries have almost fully recovered, so I would like to take my leave today," Gongsun Yi said respectfully.

"Sect affairs are complex, so I will not keep Sect Leader Gongsun." Pei Shaoqing nodded, then added, "However, this Young Master cannot let you return empty-handed. Come with me."

The group arrived at the bedroom door, and Pei Shaoqing knocked. "Madam, is it convenient to come in now?"

The door opened quickly. Xie Qingwu, having changed her clothes, called out "Husband" in a delicate voice, then nodded to Gongsun Yi and the others before stepping aside.

"Sect Leader Gongsun, please wait a moment. Hanshuang, come inside with me." Pei Shaoqing strode into the room.

A moment later, he returned, and Ye Hanshuang, who was following behind him, dropped a large vermilion wooden chest she was carrying onto the ground, producing a dull thud.

Just as Gongsun Yi and the others were curious about what was in the chest, Ye Hanshuang opened the lid, and a whole chest full of gold, silver, and jewelry of various styles shone brilliantly under the intense sunlight, nearly blinding them.

Gongsun Yi was stunned into standing rooted to the spot; although he was the head of a sect, he had never seen so much money before.

After all, the laws of Great Zhou were very strict, and the restrictions on Martial Artists were even greater than those on ordinary people, so generally speaking, Martial Artists could only make a living through legitimate channels.

The Iron Sword Sect had quite a few properties in Bazhou, but their expenses were also high, especially since he provided excellent treatment to his disciples for the sake of developing the sect, so their days were far from wealthy.

"I said that on the day you left, I would have a generous gift for you; take these to develop the Iron Sword Sect." Pei Shaoqing smiled slightly and handed over an oval jade pendant, saying, "This is the Marquis Mansion token; from now on, your Iron Sword Sect may act in the name of the Weiyuan Marquis Mansion."

After wiping out the Phoenix Mountain bandits, he had moved back the hard-earned money they had plundered over the years, and he had also obtained quite a bit of money from Mo Fu; added to the inheritance of Battalion Commander Zheng, he was not short of money now, and money kept idle was just scrap metal—only by spending it could it generate the value inherent to money itself.

"Many thanks, Young Master!" Gongsun Yi knelt down, his face flushed red with excitement, and received the token with both hands.

With sufficient financial support and the backing of the Marquis Mansion, he was confident that he could make the Iron Sword Sect the number one sect in Bazhou and make it famous once again throughout all of Shu.

The taste of being a dog for the powerful and influential was actually quite good.

Being a dog for five days was worth five years of his hard work!

Once he knelt, Liu Yuheng, Zhao Zhilan, and Jiang Yebai had no choice but to follow suit and kneel to thank Pei Shaoqing.

"Please, rise quickly." Pei Shaoqing personally helped Gongsun Yi up, "I said that as long as you handle matters well for me, I will not treat you unfairly; in the future, the further I can go, the higher the Iron Sword Sect will inevitably fly."

"Yes!" Gongsun Yi nodded heavily.

Pei Shaoqing patted him on the shoulder, "I will not see you off; have a safe journey, and we shall meet again another day."

"I would not dare trouble Young Master to see us off." Gongsun Yi left with Jiang Yebai, while Liu Yuheng and Zhao Zhilan went to see them off.

Pei Shaoqing stood on the spot with his hands behind his back, quietly watching the rather heartwarming backs of that "family of four."

At this very moment, he suddenly felt a bit lonely; among the hundreds of millions of people in all of Jiuzhou, some had families of four, some had families of a dozen, but he did not have a single person.

(End of this chapter)