Chapter 23: Suspicions without evidence (2/2)
“Sister-in-law, I actually…” Murong Wanru began to explain, but Han Yunxi stopped her.
“It’s fine. I’m tired, so you go off and busy yourself.” She walked off a long way before turning back to add, “Miss Murong, last night we…it was real! So don’t worry about it!”
Murong Wanru came to a sudden stop, finally unable to control herself. Her pitiful little face suddenly turned savage and terrible as her hands curled into fists. Coldly she muttered, “Han Yunxi, there’ll finally come a day when you’re chased out of the Duke of Qin’s gates!”
—
Han Yunxi originally thought that it’d take Long Feiye a few days to find the antidote ingredients. Yet as soon as she bathed in the hot springs that night, Long Feiye came in.
“Ah…you, wait a second!”
Han Yunxi’s exclamation didn’t deter Long Feiye’s footsteps the slightest. He appeared out of a void before the hot spring, dressed completely in a black that set off his perfect body like the night. His form embodied the mysterious qualities of a cheetah: grave and stern, stately and majestic, radiating with inviolable aggression.
Compared to him, Han Yunxi’s picturesque scene of a beauty leaving the bath was completely eclipsed. The shocked Han Yunxi sank beneath the water until only her head was showing, feeling both irritated and cross. “Long Feiye, what’s the meaning of this? You…you, get out!”
Although she’d married this man, her heart hadn’t married anyone. Men and women should keep their distance, didn’t he understand that? In any case, if he wasn’t going to treat her as his wife and take responsibility, couldn’t he act better and avoid taboos?
Han Yunxi was already very nervous, but quickly found that her anxiety was only wishful thinking. Long Feiye wasn’t interested in taking advantage of her. In fact, he didn’t treat this as an issue at all. Aloof and indifferent, his voice was as cold as always.
“I brought a sample of a poison. Make me an antidote because I need it urgently.”
An assassin had clearly taken advantage of him before, but his attitude was still so lofty and cold. Han Yunxi suddenly felt like a servant who had offended her master. Come on…Long Feiye’s clearly the one in the wrong!
She finally calmed down enough to give a slight cough and reply. “We’ll speak when I get out. Can you leave for a moment?”
Long Feiye’s face was expressionless, but he silently turned to leave. Han Yunxi finally relaxed, but then he unexpectedly turned back. Out of reflex, Han Yunxi sank beneath the water again, this time even hiding her head. Seeing this, Long Feiye wasn’t startled, but a thread of doubt crept into his gaze. Wasn’t this woman supposed to be daring?
A little thing like this could scare her?
“Han Yunxi!” he called out.
Han Yunxi resurfaced in the pool, wiping water off her face as she cried, “Are you leaving or not?!”
Long Feiye was slightly surprised. No one had ever dared to shout at him before, but she was the first. He didn’t leave, but stood by the water’s edge with his hands clasped behind his back. “Aren’t you the useless trash of the Han Family? Where did you learn to treat poisons?”
Last night, Long Feiye had sent men to investigate this woman. Unfortunately, the results of their search matched the rumors outside. She was the most useless scion in Han Family history. Moreover, none of the so-called medical geniuses in the Han Family were poison experts.
“Can you let me out first before asking questions?” Han Yunxi said word-by-word as she suppressed her temper.
“No,” Long Feiye replied.
Fine. Han Yunxi could sense that this man was suspicious and was now trying to threaten her. If she didn’t talk, he wouldn’t let her get out. She pretended to have no choice and heaved a sigh. “My father felt that I was the one who killed my mother, so he’s always hated me. Every time he’d saw me, it was like meeting his sworn enemy. Add that to my ugly looks, and he gave me the cold shoulder.” As she spoke, Han Yunxi lowered her head in distress.
“Actually, I’m not useless trash. They just refused to teach me. When I was young, I discovered my mother’s medical books and taught myself in secret. I only mastered my skills recently. The truth was, the tumor on my face was actually poison too but I treated it myself. I was afraid that my father would forbid me from learning medical arts if he discovered I’d found my mother’s book, so I never told anyone else.”
Long Feiye half-doubted, half-believed her. Just as he was preparing to ask for details, Han Yunxi added, “I’ve already burned all the medical books because I’ve learned them all.” When she was finished, she looked up to meet Long Feiye’s eyes. By pushing everything onto the late Lady Tianxin, there was no way to validate her claims. Even if Long Feiye didn’t believe her, he wouldn’t be able to find any contrary clues.
Long Feiye didn’t speak, but his ice-cold eyes seemed to see right through her…
-o-
[1] man and woman who had affections for each other since childhood (青梅竹马) – qingmei zhuma, literally green plums with bamboo and horse, symbols to represent a woman and man in their youth.
[2] Princess Changping or Duanping (长平公主短平公主) changping gongzhu duanping gongzhu, a joke that works better in Chinese. Chang means ‘long’ while Duan means ‘short peace.’ In other words, Han Yunxi cares neither for the long nor short of it.
[3] Jade Emperor and Lao Zi (天皇老子) – tianhuang laozi, two important figures in the pantheon of Chinese deities. The Jade Emperor rules over Heaven, while Lao Zi was the founder of Daoism that later ascended to the Heavens.
[4] white lotus (白莲花) – bai lian hua, colloquial for a two-faced woman.