Chapter 15: Xue Li and he spoke simultaneously, “Lin…”

Chapter 15: Xue Li and he spoke simultaneously: "Lin..."

The peace envoy group rested in an abandoned village for a few days. After Lin Ye's health improved somewhat, they set off again. Besides escorting the young lord, they also took the assassins with them, escorting them to the next post station for Qin Yueye to take over.

There were constant conflicts and arguments between Lin Ye's three servants and the assassins.

Lin Ye's two guards frequently complained to Xue Li, saying that the escort by Qin Yueye was unsafe and that the young lord needed his own men to join the team.

Naturally, Qin Yueye refused.

Not only did they refuse, but the assassins also had complaints to make to Xue Li: Lin Ye's side had interrogated Kong Laoliu without their consent. Did the young lord overstepping his authority indicate that Southern Zhou had ulterior motives?

If traveling with a group of parrots and mynahs, the best way is to cover your ears.

No matter how much they argued, Xue Li let it go in one ear and out the other.

On this day, because Lin Ye again demanded things like "changing clothes to admire flowers," the group stopped to rest outside a vast pine forest. After lunch, Lin Ye wanted to "take a nap," and everyone continued to endure.

The only carriage separated Lin Ye's three servants from the assassins they were escorting.

Xue Li leaned against a tree trunk, lost in thought, calculating when Lin Ye would finish repairing the book and return it to her.

She needed to speed up the process. The real Dong Jun, one of the Four Seasons Envoys, might be weak for a time but not forever. Although she had sent the real Dong Jun away using a security bureau, once the real Dong Jun escaped, they would surely come looking for the peace envoy group, even seeking revenge.

Qin Yueye was her master's life's work, and she instinctively did not want to fight with everyone.

A warm breeze blew, and the pine forest rustled like waves. The girl's bamboo hat was gently lifted by the wind.

As Xue Li reached out to steady her hat, she saw three subordinates approaching from the road ahead. The three subordinates stopped halfway, discussed something, and then sent a representative to talk to Xue Li.

Here we go again.

The daily complaints were starting again.

Before the messenger could gather his words, he first heard Xue Li's clear, thoughtful voice: "What bad things are you going to say about the young lord this time?"

The messenger was stunned, and the two eavesdroppers were embarrassed.

"Dong Jun, you're mistaken. I have serious business this time," Subordinate A puffed out his chest and added, "And what do you mean by 'saying bad things about the young lord'? We are family."

Family?

No, she didn't have such a thing.

Xue Li remained silent.

Subordinate A's expression was not good. After hesitating for a while, he said, "Last night, we received new instructions from Chun Jun. A new secret base has been established in Luzhou by Qin Yueye. We can just leave Kong Laoliu and the other assassins in Luzhou. Also, Chun Jun said that if the young lord is really troublesome, we should just stay away. As long as we don't provoke the young lord and safely bring him back to Bianjing, we don't need to worry about anything else."

Xue Li let out a surprised "Hmm."

This order was a bit strange.

If they stayed away from the young lord, what if something happened to him? Did Chun Jun want something to happen to the young lord?

Xue Li tried to recall fragments of her memory about Chun Jun but only remembered that he was a tall, thin man.

Among Yu Long's two disciples, Xue Li herself was an outlier who never participated in the affairs of the organization; Song Wanfeng was always coming and going, completing various secret and unknown tasks. So, under Yu Long, the person who really handled the daily affairs of the organization was Chun Jun.

Xue Li was not familiar with Chun Jun.

Chun Jun often spoke with Song Wanfeng, but never with Xue Li. Perhaps a long time ago, Chun Jun had also tried to communicate with Xue Li, but... Xue Li sighed softly, thinking to herself: I don’t remember.

If one doesn’t care about things, they pass like flowing water, leaving no trace.

“Dong Jun?” Subordinate A’s call snapped Xue Li out of her thoughts.

Forget it, even if Chun Jun were to come personally to kill the young master, it had nothing to do with her.

Xue Li and Subordinate A stared at each other. After waiting for a while and seeing that he still hadn’t left, Xue Li asked, “Is it time to start reporting again?”

A was stunned: “…Why do you always bring up the reports? I wanted to say, shouldn’t you send a letter to Chun Jun to explain our travel arrangements? For example, why the entire marriage escort team was replaced before departure. You need to tell Chun Jun your considerations.”

A thought his superior was clueless about social etiquette, which stressed him out.

He reminded her, “Since we left Jianye, you’ve never communicated with Chun Jun once. We know the journey is hectic, but if we don’t communicate, Chun Jun might get upset.”

Xue Li had her own reasons for staying silent.

She didn’t understand Chun Jun, just as she didn’t understand Dong Jun either. If there were hidden meanings in the past communications between Dong Jun and Chun Jun that she didn’t know, and she revealed them in her letters, that would be disastrous.

The longer this went on, the more mistakes she might make. Now, it was just a matter of delaying time, waiting for Lin Ye to finish the book.

Xue Li shrugged, “You handle the letter for me.”

A: “Huh?”

Xue Li racked her brains and came up with Cheng Jia’s name. She patted A on the shoulder: “I have high hopes for you, Cheng Jia.”

One of the two subordinates perked up: “Are you talking to me, my lord?”

Xue Li looked baffled.

The real Cheng Jia rushed over joyfully: “Don’t worry, Xue Li, I guarantee to complete the task.”

Subordinate A froze: “After all this time, you still don’t know my name?”

Another chimed in, “Does Dong Jun even know my name?”

Xue Li: “…”

She breezed past the trio, speeding up to dodge their glares: “Let’s move.”

--

At this time, Lu Qingmei, the daughter of Grand Chancellor Lu and the future queen of Southern Zhou, had arrived at Xuanwu Lake.

Xuanwu Lake encircles Jianye. According to investigations, the real young master lives on a small island in the southwest of the lake.

The lakeside was postcard-perfect, with thick, green trees. Travelers and merchants bustled back and forth, and the daytime noise in Jianye was overwhelming, giving it the appearance of a bustling market. For days, a mysterious noblewoman had been renting private rooms on the second floor of different restaurants, just to take in the spring views.

As the waiters debated the noblewoman’s looks, Lu Qingmei sat behind a bamboo curtain, sipping tea and watching the island’s pavilions.

Her people had found out that there weren’t many soldiers guarding the island in the lake. Beyond that, there were no signs of soldiers nearby. But Lu Qingmei spotted a few commoners who kept glancing at the island. It was unclear whether they were spies or monitors.

No one had seen the young master coming or going.

It was indeed as strange as her father had said—with such major events happening outside, even if the young master was truly unwell, but as a young man, had he never been curious about the outside world, never thought of leaving this lake?

Her own younger brother had sneaked out to play without telling the family.

Lu Qingmei decided to personally visit the island to meet the young master.

She needed to come up with a foolproof plan to divert the soldiers and scouts. Moreover, after the deed was done, it must not be traced back to the Lu family.

Hmm, boats come and go to the lake island every five days, transporting clothes and food supplies. This is an opportunity; she needs to figure out how to make use of it.

--

In the peace envoy group, as night fell, Lin Ye sat at the desk, applying a layer of golden powder to a page of a book.

He sighed inwardly: What a waste.

This medicine was originally given to him by a divine physician sent by Emperor Guangyi, to heal the scars left from years of battle. It not only makes the skin flawless and translucent but also gets rid of calluses.

It is said that a single grain is worth a thousand gold.

And yet, he was softened by that girl and used the powder on her tattered book—

A tattered book! Is it even worth a strand of his hair?

"Click—" A soft sound of the window latch; Lin Ye didn't even look up, knowing who had arrived.

After all, she would bug him about her book every day. And he was scheming how to get Kong Laoliu and his gang away from this group; of course, he also needed to deal with Dong Jun properly.

Xue Li jumped into the room and saw Lin Ye actually sitting at the desk fixing her book. She was satisfied: He had finally stopped procrastinating.

She had already made up her mind that if he didn't start tonight, she would avenge her book and quickly leave this increasingly dangerous group.

After a while, Lin Ye looked up. The golden light floated on his brows and eyes, making him look like a beautiful jade statue.

The jade statue had a clean face and a solemn expression: "You must know, I've made a great sacrifice for you."

Xue Li: "Mhm."

Seeing her indifference, Lin Ye couldn't help but feel disheartened.

When he was disheartened, he would glare at her, his eyes round and lips slightly pursed, wishing he could drag everyone to witness his pitiful state. But he had known her cold-bloodedness for a long time, and before Xue Li could figure out what to do, he had already looked down.

Lin Ye: "Forget it." He declared, "I'll take my own reward."

Xue Li was confused.

Through the gauze, she saw the young master's expression change quickly. He suddenly picked up her book, covering half his face, leaving only a pair of bright, black eyes:

"You asked me to fix a page, and I did. I accidentally glanced at the content of that page. I didn't mean to look, but I have a photographic memory. Since I was four, countless old scholars have praised my good memory, saying I'd achieve great things in the future..."

He began to boast at length.

Xue Li felt dizzy, thinking she saw a peacock suddenly spread its wings.

The girl stared at him for a long time and asked when he paused for breath: "Why don't you start praising yourself from when you were in swaddling clothes?"

Xue Li couldn't read people's expressions: "Didn't think of it?"

Her tone was no different from usual, and Lin Ye couldn't tell if she was sincerely asking or mocking him.

After being choked, he pretended nothing happened: "I peeked at that page... although I didn't understand it, you don't seem angry."

Xue Li admitted: "I'm not angry."

Lin Ye still used the book to cover his face, his glistening eyes shimmering with a hint of eager anticipation: "So if I take a wild guess and instantly figure out it's your journal, you wouldn’t get upset, would you?"

Xue Li's conical hat swayed from side to side, deliberately, and Lin Ye found her quite amusing.

Lin Ye held back a little urge, his eyes darting away: "Then if I'm really clever and smart, instantly figure out what you wrote, and then couldn't help but take a brush to your words, revising it a bit, you wouldn’t get upset, would you?"

So someone’s 'instantly' can mean so much. And didn't you say you didn't understand? Now you do?

Xue Li felt a slight stir in her heart, asking: "What did you change?"

He observed her for a moment, seeing no reaction, unsure whether to feel relieved or disappointed.

He silently handed the book over, and Xue Li saw the opened page of "Xue Li's Journal," slightly wrinkled, the bloodstains erased, revealing clear handwriting:

"Met a strange person." (Crossed out)

On the next line, the young man's graceful and bold calligraphy had scribbled a long line.

The characters were too intricate for Xue Li to recognize.

Xue Li's silence seemed to be within Lin Ye's expectations. He eagerly pointed to the words on the paper, both kindly and annoyingly reading them out, his voice like the clear, bubbling spring water: "On the tenth day of the second lunar month in the Guiwei year, at the southern side of Jueyuan Temple in Jianye Prefecture, by the Mengbi Bridge, I met Lin Ye."

Xue Li was silent.

Lin Ye was silent.

After a while, Lin Ye watched as the girl in the conical hat slowly lifted her head.

Lin Ye jumped up, quickly ducked behind a pillar for cover, shouting: "You said you wouldn’t get upset! Don’t forget all I’ve done for you."

Xue Li spoke at the same time: "Who is Lin Ye?"

Lin Ye: "..."

Xue Li: "..."