Chapter 230: The Eldest Miss's Bedside

"Swish!"

A small piece of dead branch on the backyard ground suddenly flew up, then fell back down.

Then it flew up again, and fell back down again.

Over and over, it looked extremely eerie.

Next, a pebble nearby also suddenly floated up, wobbled, and landed in the flowerbed in the corner.

In the middle of the courtyard.

Luo Zijun stood there, continuously using his Divine Sense to test various objects on the ground, as well as the distance for Object Control.

Through testing, he discovered that he could currently only move things that were relatively light and also relatively small in volume.

At the same time, the distance could not exceed five meters at most.

At first, he was still a bit clumsy; when his Divine Sense lifted things up, they would tilt and sway, occasionally even falling down, but after practicing, he slowly became proficient.

For an entire day, he practiced Object Control in the backyard.

Near dusk, he suddenly felt waves of stinging pain in his head, as if pricked by needles, and only then did he realize that his Divine Sense had been consumed too much, almost to the point of exhaustion.

He hurriedly returned to his room to rest.

An hour later, he finally recovered.

After eating dinner, he instructed Zhiyuan, "Go to the neighbor's and see if Bai Daxiaojie is home; I am going over to pay my respects."

Zhiyuan agreed and went over to knock on the door from the outside.

After a moment, she returned and reported, "Young Master, Bai Daxiaojie has gone to Third Miss's place; only Bai Bai and Qingqing are at home."

"Oh?"

Upon hearing this, Luo Zijun felt secretly happy in his heart.

"Zhiyuan, you and Xiaohuan stay at home; I am going over to have a few words with Bai Bai."

Opportunity must not be missed!

He immediately walked to the courtyard wall and knocked on the small door.

He still had to go to the Ghost Realm to cultivate tonight, and the matter he had promised that Moon Palace fairy naturally had to be done as soon as possible; otherwise, if she got angry and didn't take him, that would be terrible.

"Who is it?"

From the other side of the wall, Bai Bai's voice came.

Luo Zijun said, "It's me, Bai Bai, open the door quickly."

Bai Bai said, "Zijun Gege, did you buy a sugar figurine for Bai Bai? If you didn't buy one, Bai Bai won't talk to you, hmph."

Luo Zijun said, "I bought one."

"Creak..."

The words had just fallen when the wooden door opened.

Bai Bai widened her eyes, looking at him with a face full of joy and anticipation: "Zijun Gege, where is the sugar figurine?"

Luo Zijun immediately went in, took out a tael of silver, stuffed it into her hand, and said, "Bai Bai, you and Qingqing go buy it yourselves; the freshly made ones are sweeter. This tael of silver can buy a lot, I guarantee you won't be able to finish them."

Bai Bai immediately pouted her little mouth: "Zijun Gege is lying to people again."

Qingqing also stood to the side, arms crossed, looking at him coldly.

Luo Zijun said, "I didn't lie to you; I did buy one for you today, but I tripped on the way back and it was ruined."

Bai Bai was even angrier: "Zijun Gege still says you didn't lie to people; you clearly didn't go out at all today!"

Qingqing also glared at him.

Luo Zijun blinked his eyes: "Did I say I bought it today? I said I bought it yesterday."

"You did! You clearly said today!"

Bai Bai said indignantly.

Xiaohuan also laughed from over there: "Young Master just said today."

Zhiyuan laughed on the side.

Luo Zijun had no choice but to say, "Alright, maybe it's because I've been studying lately and felt dizzy, so I remembered wrong. Xiaohuan, you take Bai Bai and Qingqing out to buy sugar figurines; buy plenty, and when you come back, give one to Bai Daxiaojie and Third Miss each to eat."

Upon hearing this, Bai Bai swallowed hard.

Luo Zijun immediately gave Xiaohuan a wink and said to Zhiyuan, "Zhiyuan, you go along too."

Zhiyuan smiled and said, "Okay."

As she spoke, she came over and pulled Bai Bai, saying, "Bai Bai, let's go; we'll go together. After buying sugar figurines, we can also buy steamed buns."

Bai Bai's eyes lit up and she said, "Is one tael of silver enough?"

Zhiyuan said, "Enough, there's even extra!"

Bai Bai immediately became happy and called Qingqing to go out together.

Qingqing gave someone a cold look, followed behind the two, and went out through the small door.

Just as Bai Bai walked out of the small door, she suddenly turned her head and said, "Zijun Gege, why are you standing there? Miss is not at home; she went to Third Miss's place."

Luo Zijun said, "I'm going to the flowerbed to pick a few flowers to take back to the study later. You don't need to worry about me, hurry up and go; it will be dark soon and people will be packing up their stalls."

Once these words were out, Bai Bai immediately became anxious and hurriedly urged, "Xiaohuan, Zhiyuan, Qingqing, let's go quickly!"

The four of them immediately went out the door in high spirits.

Luo Zijun secretly said in his heart: "Truly four gluttonous Daidai."

He waited for another moment.

He immediately closed the small door, stepped onto the corridor, listened carefully to the movement in the room, and then went over and pushed open Bai Daxiaojie's door.

The room was covered with carpets, with a faint fragrance and not a speck of dust.

In order not to leave marks on the carpet, he immediately took off his shoes, put them into his Storage Bag, and then quickly went to the bedside to rummage under the bed.

There were three wooden chests under the bed, and he searched through them one by one.

In the first wooden chest were some gold and silver jewelry, but no Jade Pendant.

In the second wooden chest were some books, and there was no Jade Pendant either.

The third wooden chest was filled with various kinds of beaded hair ornaments; after searching through it once, there was still no Jade Pendant.

He felt puzzled; could it have been placed somewhere else?

He stood up, looked left and right, walked to the dressing table, and opened the drawer to search.

Just at this moment, a burst of voices suddenly came from the small courtyard outside.

"Strange, Brother-in-law isn't home, why aren't Xiaohuan and Zhiyuan here either?"

It was the voice of Third Miss Bai Qingtong.

Fenfen's voice rang out: "Hmph, they probably all ran out to play."

Luo Zijun was startled; he hurriedly pushed the drawer back in and wanted to run out of the room, but he realized footsteps had already reached the corridor—it was too late!

He quickly glanced around and had no choice but to go over and crawl under the bed.

"Creak..."

Just as he finished hiding, the room door was suddenly pushed open.

Two figures walked in, took off their shoes at the doorway, and stepped onto the snow-white plush carpet, walking into the room.

One person was wearing a white dress, and one person was wearing a green dress.

As they walked, their gauze skirts swayed, and two pairs of slender, delicate feet in white socks beneath the skirts appeared and disappeared from view.

Luo Zijun lay under the bed, holding his breath, not daring to move at all.

"Sister, does Brother-in-law come to pay his respects to you every day?"

"He does not."

"Ah, has he never come at all?"

"Mm."

"Next time I see him, I will help you talk to him."

The two walked to the bookshelf, talking while seemingly looking for some book.

At this time, Fenfen suddenly said at the doorway: "Eh, Bai Bai and Qingqing are also missing..."

Then she suddenly stomped her feet and said: "Abominable, it must be the son-in-law who tricked them away! Xiaohuan, Zhiyuan, Bai Bai, Qingqing—that abominable son-in-law, he actually tricked away four of them all at once! Isn't he too greedy!"

Bai Qingtong said: "Perhaps he took them out to play."

Upon hearing this, Fenfen became even angrier: "Bad son-in-law, taking advantage of when people aren't around to take them out to play; he just didn't want to take me along... Abominable!"

Bai Qingtong laughed: "So Fenfen also wants to be tricked by your son-in-law."

Fenfen said: "That's not it, I just want to go out and play."

After speaking, she ran out, saying angrily: "I'll go check next door; maybe the bad son-in-law is hiding the four of them in the room to play."

After she left, Bai Qingtong whispered: "Sister, that night in the bridal chamber, was it Fenfen?"

Bai Meixue, who was to the side, seemed to nod.

Bai Qingtong laughed: "No wonder..."

"Mm, this is the one."

She seemed to have found the book she wanted.

By this time, it was already dark outside.

Bai Qingtong seemed prepared to leave, but suddenly said again: "By the way, Sister, do you have any extra beaded hair ornaments? Give me two."

Bai Meixue said: "Under the bed."

"Oh."

Bai Qingtong walked toward the side of the bed.

Luo Zijun's heart skipped a beat; seeing those white-socked feet half-hidden beneath the green dress walking over, his heart immediately jumped into his throat.

What to do! What to do!

At this moment, Bai Qingtong stopped at the side of the bed, crouched down, tilted her head, and looked under the bed; just as she was about to reach out to take the chest, she suddenly saw a pair of terrified eyes.

"Ah!"

She suddenly let out a cry of alarm, hurriedly jumped away from the bed, and then with a "clang," drew a precious sword with deep, cold light, shouting in shock and anger: "Who! Who is hiding under the bed?"

Bai Meixue's gaze also looked over.

Luo Zijun immediately felt a cold, murderous intent wash over him and hurriedly said: "Third Miss, it's me..."

As he spoke, his face burning hot, he crawled out from under the bed in extreme embarrassment.

Bai Qingtong was immediately struck dumb: "Bro... Brother-in-law, why are you... hiding under my sister's bed?"

Bai Meixue's gaze also looked at him.

Luo Zijun's face flushed red, and he stammered, having the urge to escape this planet: "I... I dropped something..."

Bai Qingtong paused, put away the sword in her hand, and said nothing more.

Luo Zijun had no choice but to bite the bullet and continue his sophistry: "I was just preparing to come over to pay my respects to the eldest miss, and I accidentally dropped a... pill. That pill rolled and rolled, and it just happened to roll under the bed, so I..."

To prove he wasn't lying, he immediately took out a Demon Pig Pill refined by his senior sister.

"Look, it's this. Eldest Miss, Third Miss, I swear, I am not lying. I am a scholar, and I never lie."

Bai Qingtong turned her head and glanced at her sister.

Bai Daxiaojie was wearing a veil, so the expression on her face could not be seen; her gaze was faint, and she did not speak.

"Um, you two chat, I'll be going first."

Luo Zijun, not daring to stay a moment longer, immediately left the room and fled.

He didn't even have time to put on his shoes.

"That hateful Young Master, he's not in the room, he must be... ah?"

Just as Luo Zijun stepped off the corridor, he saw Fenfen coming over from the small door in the wall, looking indignant; clearly, she had just gone to Junzi Residence to look for him.

Their eyes met.

Fenfen opened her little mouth, her face full of astonishment.

"Move aside."

Luo Zijun walked over, pushed her aside, passed through the small door, and then with a "slap," quickly closed it.

Fenfen stood stunned in place for a few seconds before hurriedly running into the room, saying loudly: "Miss, where did Young Master just go out from? He didn't even have his shoes on!"

Inside the room, it was quiet and silent, the atmosphere subtle.

"Brother-in-law dropped something and was just crawling under Sister's bed to look for it."

After Bai Qingtong finished speaking, she let out a "puchi" laugh first, then said: "Sister, I'm going back."

Then she casually took two pearl hairpins and took her leave.

Fenfen stood at the doorway, stunned for a while, before murmuring: "Young Master was hiding under the bed just now... is he, is he trying to peek at Miss?"

Bai Meixue stood in front of the window, looked at her and said: "Probably trying to peek at you."

Fenfen: "Ah..."

"Ah ah ah ah ah! This is so socially mortifying ah ah ah ah!"

In the room at Junzi Residence, Luo Zijun lay on the bed covering his face, feeling he had no face left to see anyone.

The key was that the task hadn't been completed yet, and the Jade Pendant hadn't been found.

"What will the Eldest Miss and Third Miss think of me? Will they think I'm a thief, or think I'm a pervert? To actually sneakily hide under the bed..."

"Ah..."

Before long, Xiaohuan and Ziyuan and the other two returned.

The four of them were in low spirits, all looking dejected.

Luo Zijun composed himself and went out to ask.

Bai Bai held back tears and said aggrievedly: "Brother Zijun, we searched on the street for a long time, but we couldn't find anyone selling sugar figurines, wuwu..."

Xiaohuan sighed and said: "It seems the weather is too cold, so no one is selling them anymore."

Luo Zijun said: "Then did you buy the steamed buns?"

Bai Bai immediately cried: "We couldn't find anyone selling steamed buns either, wuwu..."

Luo Zijun felt suspicious and asked: "Which street did you search on?"

Xiaohuan said: "Just that Xishui Street after we went out."

Luo Zijun said: "Did you go to other streets?"

All four shook their heads.

Luo Zijun was speechless for a moment and said: "Xishui Street only has cloth shops, tea shops, and two restaurants; those selling snacks are on other streets. Even if you had just walked through any small alley, you would have found a steamed bun shop or someone selling sugar figurines. How can you be so silly?"

"Ah..."

Bai Bai had tears hanging on her face, her teary, wide eyes open, looking completely dazed and cute.

Luo Zijun asked: "None of you four went out?"

Ziyuan explained somewhat embarrassedly: "Young Master, it's because it was dark, and also, there were so many people on the road looking at us... we didn't dare to walk far..."

Luo Zijun looked at the four of them again and said helplessly: "Forget it, I'll help you buy them tomorrow."

These four girls were dressed in silks and satins and were as beautiful as flowers; walking on the road together, they would indeed attract many gazes.

Bai Bai wiped her tears and said: "Brother Zijun, you can't trick Bai Bai again this time, okay."

Luo Zijun said: "Understood, hurry back. If you don't go back now, that girl Fenfen's nose will be crooked from anger."

Bai Bai was startled: "Why would Sister Fenfen's nose be crooked from anger?"

Luo Zijun said: "That girl said you went out to play by yourselves without taking her along, so she is very angry."

"Ah..."

Upon hearing this, Bai Bai hurriedly pulled Qingqing away.

Thinking of the embarrassing incident from earlier, Luo Zijun immediately said to Xiaohuan and Ziyuan: "For these few days, I want to focus on my studies and will not see anyone, especially the Third Miss."

The two little girls looked at each other.

Luo Zijun returned to his room, stopped letting his thoughts run wild, and continued practicing the Object Manipulation Technique.

Outside the window, the night grew heavy.

After everything around became quiet, he got onto the bed, performed Soul Out-of-Body, found that black cat in the mansion, possessed the black cat, and left the Bai Mansion.

Climbing over walls and roofs all the way, he soon arrived at Qilin Street in Dongcheng.

Entering from a small alley, he arrived at the side of the Qilin River and circled to the very back of the Laishi Winery.

Tonight, he decided to investigate carefully once more.

Then, after getting the medicine from his Senior Sister, he would begin the operation.

"Whoosh—"

He jumped onto the courtyard wall.

(End of chapter)