Chapter 45: Senior Sister, you wouldn't want Master to die with his eyes open, would you?

Suddenly hearing a voice from outside the door, Bao Xiruo's pretty face instantly lost composure, her eyes panicked.

No! Kang'er?

After she reacted, she quickly covered her chest with her hand, pressing down on her wildly beating heart, and only then did she calm down a little.

"Dingtian! Hide quickly!"

Immediately, she strained to lower her voice, leaned close, and urged Niu Dingtian in a low voice, her face full of anxiety.

Children's mouths have no shutters; Junior Brother obviously came uninvited tonight. If Kang'er accidentally lets slip, even jumping into the Yellow River wouldn't wash it clean.

Princess Consort of Prince Zhao's mansion secretly meeting a mysterious young man late at night?

This news will probably spread throughout Daxing Prefecture by tomorrow.

Niu Dingtian looked around the room, his face slightly hesitant, yet he made no move.

One bed, two tables, a few chairs, a clothing chest and a wooden cabinet crammed in—just about enough for a child.

Where to hide?

Anyway, crawling under the bed is impossible! I'm not stealing someone, so I'll never crawl under the bed in my life!

After Bao Xiruo urged him, seeing no movement from Niu Dingtian, she grew anxious, quickly grabbed his arm, intending to pull him to find a place.

Just as she lifted her foot, she looked around and realized there was nowhere to hide in the room.

Finally, she fixed her gaze on her embroidered bed, without hesitation she pulled him over and pressed Niu Dingtian onto the bed, then pulled the blanket over him tightly.

"Kang'er? Why aren't you asleep yet so late?"

She smoothed her hair, calmed her emotions, then called out softly to the outside.

Immediately, she forced herself to stay calm, walked over, and opened the door.

"Mother Consort, Mother Consort, who were you just talking to? Is anyone else in the room?"

Ten-something-year-old Wanyan Kang—no, it should be Yang Kang—already had plenty of little thoughts. After entering the room, he glanced around suspiciously, then took Bao Xiruo's hand and asked in a coquettish, clingy voice.

A ten-year-old normally shouldn't behave like that, but his parents still fall for it; he knows how to win people over.

Bao Xiruo only now noticed her son's body covered in snowflakes; she quickly reached out her delicate hand, stepped close, her face full of distress, and kept brushing the snow off him.

Then she scolded him with a stern face:

"Nonsense! How could there be outsiders in my room? I was just asleep; maybe you were talking in your sleep."

Saying this, Bao Xiruo's face flushed slightly; she had always been a well-behaved girl who never lied, yet she never expected to tell a lie with her eyes open in front of her son.

Suppressing her inner discomfort, she then put on a fond, reproachful expression and said:

"Look at you, running to my place so late—why don't you hurry back to sleep!"

Usually, even though there were attendants waiting outside the courtyard, she would personally see Yang Kang over to put her mind at ease, but today for some reason she seemed to have forgotten.

"Mother Consort, Mother Consort! I've come to tell you good news! My newly accepted blind master finally agreed to teach me martial arts! Let me tell you, she's amazing—one swipe of her claw punches a hole in the blue bricks!"

Yang Kang then remembered why he had come, and immediately began showing off in front of Bao Xiruo again.

"Blind?"

"Claw?"

"Could it be her?"

Niu Dingtian, originally hidden under Senior Sister's blanket, only felt an intoxicating fragrance, somewhat entranced; upon hearing Yang Kang's words inside the room, a person instantly flashed in his mind.

"All right, all right, Mother knows, Mother's Kang'er will also become that mighty; listen to Mother and hurry back to sleep."

Bao Xiruo began to feel anxious inside; Junior Brother was still lying on her bed, and all she wanted was to hurry and send her son away.

"Understood, Mother Consort; I'll go back to sleep now."

Yang Kang still listened to his mother more; upon being urged, he obediently agreed, then turned and ran outside.

Just as he stepped out the door, he suddenly stopped in his tracks, quickly turned back, poked his head inside to look carefully, then fixed his gaze on his mother and asked with a slightly suspicious little face:

"Is there really no one in Mother Consort's room?"

He seemed to have indeed heard his mother talking to someone just now; could he have misheard? Unable to curb his curiosity, he wanted to confirm again.

At this moment Bao Xiruo's heart was up in her throat, fearing her son would run onto the bed; she immediately hardened her heart and scolded:

"If Kang'er keeps messing around, Mother will get angry!"

"Understood, Mother Consort; I'm really leaving now."

Seeing his mother angry, Yang Kang dared not linger; he darted into the snow like a wisp of smoke and vanished in a moment.

Bao Xiruo hurriedly bolted the door, then stood by it to catch her breath, came to the bedside, her pretty face flushed, standing there not knowing how to speak for a moment.

There was no movement outside the blanket either; no matter how thick-skinned Niu Dingtian was, it was no longer suitable to keep lying down, so he lifted the blanket, got up, and got off the bed.

"Senior Sister, have you been all right these years?" Niu Dingtian broke the silence first, speaking softly.

Bao Xiruo listened, was about to answer, when she suddenly seemed to think of something; her pretty face turned pale instantly, and she asked in a trembling voice:

"Dingtian, are you blaming Senior Sister for being greedy for wealth and status, shameless, becoming the consort of the Jin people? I—I..."

Saying that, she directly teared up, her eyes reddened, and finally tears really began to fall.

Seeing this, Niu Dingtian couldn't help but sigh inwardly; indeed, she still had such a weak temperament, and he didn't know how devastated she would be after hearing Mr. Bao's news.

After hesitating a few moments in his heart, he finally spoke softly to comfort her:

"Senior Sister, don't overthink it; I don't blame you at all. In fact, over the years I've inquired about you extensively and know your difficulties. Come with me; this time I've come to the Jin State especially to fetch you. Moreover"

"Moreover, Mr.'s greatest wish before his death was that I could find you; this is the letter he left for you."

After saying that, he again took out a letter from his bosom and handed it over.

Upon hearing this disastrous news, Bao Xiruo's mind went blank; although she had considered this possibility over the past ten years, when she actually heard the news she could not accept it at once, stood frozen, and after a while she came to, trembling as she reached out to take it.

With a pale face she finished reading the letter, then let out an outburst; after her emotions eased, Bao Xiruo wiped her tears and said to Niu Dingtian:

"Dingtian, I will follow my father's wishes and take Kang'er with you, but before leaving I want to leave a letter; the Prince has always been kind to us mother and son, although I hold the empty title of Princess Consort, he has never forced me on anything, and he has also treated Kang'er as his own all these years."

Bao Xiruo knows very well that, given Wanyan Honglie's obsession with her, bringing this up face-to-face would make it impossible to leave, and might even cause trouble for Niu Dingtian.

Niu Dingtian, standing nearby, couldn't help but snort—this foolish senior sister really makes one feel pity—and without even noticing Bao Xiruo's faintly startled look, he gave a cold hum.

"Hmph! Senior sister, you don't need to go through all this trouble. Ten years ago, all the disasters that befell the Guo and Yang families in Niu Clan Village were orchestrated by this old bastard. In a moment, I, your junior brother, will send you out of the city, then find a chance to smash this dog-thing with a single palm! And also that dog Daoist Qiu Chuji!"

Afterwards, he turned his back again, suppressing the reluctance in his heart, and spoke softly:

"Senior sister, don't worry about this matter; you wouldn't want our master to die with unresolved regrets, would you?"

Sorry for the mistaken and garbled sentences, thank you.

Again, shamelessly asking everyone for a free vote; the second-round push effect is much worse.

This book is placed in the xianxia section; its ranking can be seen on the xianxia new book list, but not in the wuxia list.

(End of chapter)