Chapter 364

Ji Feihua said: "You need not concern yourself with this matter; the Zajia will decide what should be done."

"But..."

Ji Feihua said: "Hong Beimo has long become a bereaved dog; his remnants are nothing. The Zajia's first target is Quan De'an, that old scoundrel. Wan'er! You only need to guard Lingyu Hall; I promise I will relieve you of the agony of the Myriad Insect Bone-Corroding Pill."

Lin Wan bit her cherry lips: "Do you care about those pains?"

Ji Feihua turned again: "Go; when you have business, the Zajia will seek you."

Gazing at Ji Feihua's back, Lin Wan's eyes were painful and tangled; after a long while she said: "Then there is nothing else left for us to say?" As she spoke, two crystal tears slid down her cheeks.

Ji Feihua said: "One more thing: without my permission, you may not come to me through this secret passage again."

Baobao lay on the lattice window of Lingyu Hall, staring blankly at the snow outside; she took in nothing of the scene before her, her mind only replaying last night's intimate moments with Hu Xiaotian on the bed, her cheeks flushing involuntarily. She bit her lip, trying to drive Hu Xiaotian's hateful smile from her mind, but to no avail.

Light footsteps sounded behind her; Baobao turned and saw Lin Wan's reddened eye rims, while Lin Wan likewise saw Baobao's cheeks flushed. Both sisters, startled by their own expressions, almost simultaneously lowered their heads.

Baobao quickly steadied herself: "Sister, have you been crying?"

Lin Wan shook her head and countered: "What's wrong with your face? Why so red?"

Baobao said: "Perhaps the cold wind while I admired the snow at the window." She turned and shut the lattice window; the indoor light instantly dimmed.

Lin Wan walked over, took her hand, and softly said: "You've worked hard."

Baobao shook her head, whispering: "Sister, Wen Ya has already had Hu Xiaotian expel me from Bright Moon Palace; she must suspect me."

Lin Wan said: "Leaving that place of right and wrong is also good." She seemed absent-minded, slowly walking to the guqin and sitting down. Her right hand reached out, fingers brushing a string, and the ancient, lingering notes lingered.

Baobao said: "I heard he came to Lingyu Hall?"

Lin Wan nodded, lifted her eyes, full of incomprehension, and asked Baobao: "Why didn't you tell me the Resurrection Flute is in his hand?"

Baobao's heart jolted; she bit her cherry lip, her expression dim: "Did he attack sister?"

Lin Wan snorted coldly, then shoved hard. The guqin crashed to the floor, the strings twanged and snapped; she flicked her sleeves and rose: "You're hiding many things from me, aren't you?"

Baobao shook her head vigorously: "No, sister. I didn't tell you about the Resurrection Flute because I feared you'd worry for me, and I never imagined Wen Ya would send him to Lingyu Hall to give you a gift, nor that he'd dare to attack you."

Lin Wan said: "You should know Hu Xiaotian's character better than I."

Baobao lowered her head, silent, her expression clearly admitting it; she whispered: "Sister, I have one doubt: why use his hand to eliminate Ma Liangpeng? Did you already know Ma Liangpeng is Lord Ji's man?"

Lin Wan said: "Of course I knew; if I didn't, I wouldn't have let you set this trap."

Baobao trembled: "Why keep it from me?"

Lin Wan said: "If I told you everything, would you still follow my orders?"

Baobao said: "You want to provoke Ji Feihua with this, then use his hand to kill Hu Xiaotian!"

Lin Wan chuckled: "So what?"

Baobao snapped: "Have you considered my safety? Ma Liangpeng's death is also my fault. If Ji Feihua investigates, I and Hu Xiaotian alike cannot escape death."

Lin Wan stepped toward Baobao, locking eyes: "Didn't you once say entering the palace meant you never thought of leaving alive? You don't fear death; you fear Hu Xiaotian's death. I never expected you to develop such feelings for a eunuch."

Baobao snapped: "You're talking nonsense!"

Lin Wan chuckled: "Nonsense? Forget that I watched you grow up; you think I can't tell what you're thinking or doing?"

Baobao said: "I just don't understand why you're doing this. Why target Hu Xiaotian? What mission did our foster father give us entering the palace? He doesn't even know Hu Xiaotian's name—how could he order a strike against him?"

Lin Wan said: "You doubt me?"

Baobao shook her head firmly: "These days, I've done whatever you asked, yet why is the Resurrection Flute in Hu Xiaotian's hands? Why does he have the antidote to the Myriad Insect Bone-Corroding Pill? Besides us, did our foster father plant others in the palace? What relation does Hu Xiaotian have with our foster father?"

Lin Wan said: "You ask me? I want to know too."

Baobao said: "You don't want to know; you just want to kill Hu Xiaotian, knowing he holds the Resurrection Flute, knowing he might be our foster father's envoy like us, yet you still strike at him..."

Lin Wan snapped: "What are you trying to say? Are you accusing me of betraying our foster father?"

Baobao said: "It's all a trap; sending me to Bright Moon Palace was fundamentally a scheme—not to deal with Wen Ya, but to use this chance to eliminate Hu Xiaotian."

Lin Wan said: "Even if I wanted to kill him, it's no big deal; he knows too many of your secrets, already threatens your safety. If I don't kill him, I fear something will happen to you soon."

Baobao pressed her lips: "Whether I live or die is none of your business; you likely won't care. In short, you'd better abandon the idea of using me to deal with Hu Xiaotian."

"That sentence is the point: you like him—you actually like a eunuch who can't perform manly duties!"

Baobao's face turned pale; she shook her head desperately, trying to deny Lin Wan's accusation, but after a while she calmed, whispering: "I will surely ask our foster father for an explanation."

The snow melted quickly; by morning, patches of bare ground showed through the white cover in the Bright Moon Palace courtyard—blue, yellow, purple, red—like a scarred body, bloodstains washed away by meltwater. Eunuch Wang Ren swept the path to the gate, a chore originally shared with Ma Liangpeng, now fallen solely on him after Ma Liangpeng's death.

The thawing day was cold; Wang Ren felt a chill in his chest. Last night he clearly heard Ma Liangpeng's cry for help and saw Hu Xiaotian twist Ma Liangpeng's neck; a life vanished before his eyes. Before coming to Bright Moon Palace, he already knew they all harbored ulterior motives, each with a backer, each bearing a mission—only he hadn't imagined their missions could cost lives.

Footsteps approached from afar; he looked up and saw Hu Xiaotian strides in the four‑point gait over the remaining snow. Wang Ren paused, thinking Hu Xiaotian wouldn't return so soon, yet half a day later he was already back, his face bright and sunny, seeming unpunished.

When Hu Xiaotian reached him, Wang Ren snapped to attention, bowing: "Lord Hu has returned."

Hu Xiaotian smiled, nodded, hands behind his back, surveying the snow‑covered garden: "One person cleaning up is a bit much, isn't it?"

Wang Ren said: "It's fine, it's fine."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Tomorrow I'll assign a diligent little eunuch to help you, so you won't bear the burden alone."

"Not tiring, not tiring!" Wang Ren said, looking apprehensive.

Hu Xiaotian saw this fellow dare not meet his gaze, guessed he was frightened by last night's killing of Ma Liangpeng, and thought: occasional killing for deterrence isn't such a bad thing.

Arriving at Bright Moon Palace, he met palace maiden Qiu Yan, asked where Wen Ya was, learned she was chanting sutras in the rear hall to liberate Ma Liangpeng's soul. Hu Xiaotian thought it inconvenient to disturb her now; if he appeared, Ma Liangpeng's resentful spirit might not leave. So he returned to his room, saw the rumpled bedding still untidy, recalled last night's entanglement with Baobao on the bed, and a knowing smile touched his lips.

Now reflecting, Baobao's appearance last night was truly suspicious; with her wit she should have noticed possible surveillance. It seems her actions were premeditated—she likely left clues to lure Ma Liangpeng, then staged a killing‑to‑silence farce with him.

Hu Xiaotian felt no anger; the affair didn't turn against him. Had Baobao not staged this play, he wouldn't have discovered so early that Ma Liangpeng was Ji Feihua's spy. Killing Ma Liangpeng probably also displeased Ji Feihua, but he couldn't protest, for Hu Xiaotian's importance to him far outweighed Ma Liangpeng's.

Hu Xiaotian was pondering when his room door was lightly knocked; the door wasn't latched, the knock merely announced a visitor.

Hu Xiaotian turned and saw Baobao with an apologetic smile; he said: "You finally learned to knock."

Baobao bit her lip, apologetic: "I've troubled you."

Hu Xiaotian said: "The matter is settled; they won't bother you again."

Baobao said: "I came to pack; I'll leave Bright Moon Palace shortly, and before departing I should bid you farewell, Lord Hu."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Have you decided where to go?"

Baobao said: "Not decided yet..."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Why don't I go talk to the Talented Person and see if she will withdraw her order?"

Baobao shook her head: "No need, I've already caused Master Hu too much trouble." As she spoke, there was actually a hint of reluctance in her heart, something she herself hadn't expected—that she would develop subtle feelings for Hu Xiaotian, this fellow who is both enemy and friend.

Asking for Monthly Ticket (to be continued~^~)