Sun Ping stared at her expression for a moment. Her gaze subconsciously scanned around. Then she pointed at the air and replied, “I saw someone buying snow jade ginseng at a good price. I remembered we have one in the shop. We are also planning to sell off the shop’s items step by step, so I came back specially to get it.”
Tie Miaoqing nodded quickly. “Good. Bottle maiden, you can handle it yourself. No need to inform me.”
Sun Ping made a sound of agreement and asked again, “Miss, are you really okay?”
Tie Miaoqing forced a smile. “What could be wrong with me? You are the one who has been running around and working hard.”
“Then I will go.”
“Okay. Be careful.”
As Sun Ping turned to leave, her gaze still swept over the area under the eaves. There was a muddy footprint there that was faintly visible.
She also noticed that two of the flower pots with plants by the wall seemed to have been stepped on and overturned. It was too obvious. Hard to miss even if one tried.
But she pretended nothing was wrong and walked away.
Only after her figure disappeared beyond the moon gate did Tie Miaoqing cover her chest with one hand and let out a sigh of relief. She had almost been scared to death.
As she turned around to face the door, she thought of the man hiding in the room. Her earlobes felt a little hot. She did not know whether she should go in.
At this moment Yu Qing was looking around inside her room.
The windows were bright and clean. The dressing table was spotless with women’s items arranged on it. Women’s dresses hung on the cross-shaped clothes rack. A row of women’s shoes sat in the corner. Several large cabinets, a pile of boxes, a brocade couch with silk bedding. A vermilion round table and stools. There were flowers in a porcelain vase on the table. The furnishings were detailed yet neatly kept. Everything was placed in perfect order. A faint elegant fragrance filled the room.
He was fine. He was not nervous, just a bit puzzled. If Sun Ping found out then so be it. Explaining the situation clearly would have been enough. Why hide him in the room and not let him make a sound? This was making things look more suspicious. If they really got discovered, he feared he would not be able to clear his name even if he jumped into a river.
He could not help but recall the time in his childhood when he fell from the roof. After being found out it was miserable. His buttocks were so swollen that he could not walk on both legs.
Creak. The door opened. Tie Miaoqing quickly slipped in and closed the door just as fast.
As soon as she turned around her eyes met Yu Qing’s directly. The four eyes faced each other. Both were speechless for a moment.
In that instant they both understood the current situation. A man and a woman alone together in one room.
The environment was important. It made the atmosphere feel a bit strange. The two people who originally had no improper thoughts suddenly both felt their hearts beating faster. They both sensed an unusual feeling lingering in their hearts, something that easily stirred improper ideas.
Tie Miaoqing’s cheeks really turned red. Compared with the white flower by her temple, she looked even more charming and beautiful.
She was already exceptionally attractive. With this alluring expression added, even an immortal might be moved. It immediately made Yu Qing feel nervous.
Although Yu Qing was usually a bold man with his words, he had never experienced being alone with a woman like this. He did not want to seem useless or inexperienced, so he pretended to be calm and instead accused her. “Boss lady, what are you doing? You hid me in your bedroom. If Sun Ping discovers this, how can I explain it clearly?”
Tie Miaoqing was also flustered. Her face flushed with a dizzying shyness. Her expression looked overwhelmed.
She never dreamed that one day she would do something like hiding a wild man in her own bedroom. In a panic she waved her hands and took a few steps to Yu Qing. Flustered, she gestured, almost about to cover his mouth herself. She pleaded, “Keep your voice down. Bottle maiden has not left yet.”
“I will slip out and hide first.” Yu Qing immediately ran towards the door, about to open it and sneak out quietly.
Tie Miaoqing got flustered again. She hurried over and grabbed his arm. She pleaded once more, “Do not go out yet. Wait. Wait until bottle maiden has left before going out.”
If he went out from her room and Sun Ping saw it, plus the previous concealment from Sun Ping, it would really be impossible to explain.
Since the person was already inside, there was no need to create more complications or cause misunderstandings.
Yu Qing looked back at the bedroom, then at Tie Miaoqing’s behaviour. He would not have dared to dream of this even in his sleep. He was also drunk on the situation. He nodded and said, “Let go first. Do not pull and tug.”
Tie Miaoqing’s face instantly turned red beyond recognition. She quickly withdrew her hand.
She also realised that her behaviour today was indeed a bit improper. She deliberately spoke to ease the awkwardness and asked softly, “You said something happened earlier. What happened?”
Yu Qing sighed in a low voice. “Bad luck. Right after leaving Youjiao Wharf and not going far, we encountered a robbery. Over four million taels of silver are gone. The three of us were cleaned out completely. We only got money to return here by selling the mounts.”
“How could this happen?” Tie Miaoqing asked in surprise. After all it was several million that had been robbed.
Yu Qing said, “How would I know.”
He did not tell her his guessed truth.
He had suffered too many losses since coming out of the mountains. If this woman really ended up with Qin Jue later, she might sell him out. He had to be on guard and keep something in reserve.
Thinking that this woman might be with Qin Jue in the future, he recalled the bold words he had said to his two senior brothers. Whoever could get this woman and piss Qin Jue off to death, he would reward with ten thousand taels.
Once this thought arose, his mind went wrong. In this environment improper ideas grew.
Tie Miaoqing pondered slightly. “Could it be Qin Jue who did it?”
Yu Qing was surprised. “You suspect it was him?”
Tie Miaoqing said, “If all that money of yours came from Qin Jue, a person like him would not let others take advantage for nothing. It is possible he would do something like this behind the scenes. Robberies outside Youjiao Wharf are common, but if the target was not clear and if they did not know your details with no certainty of winning, generally no one would dare rob just anyone they saw.”
“Without evidence it is hard to say.” As Yu Qing spoke he actually moved closer to her. “We really had no choice. Here I feel you are the most reliable, so I came specially to borrow some travel money from you.”
The two were already close. He moved even closer now. Leaning down, he felt almost speaking right beside Tie Miaoqing’s ear.
Tie Miaoqing could fully feel the other’s breath spraying on her cheeks and ears. She even felt she could sense the other’s body heat. A man’s body was like fire, making her feel somewhat hot all over. Her cheeks burned. Her whole body suddenly felt as if under a fixing spell. She did not dare move at all. She said in a low voice, “Talking about borrowing makes it distant. It was originally money you lent me. How much do you want?”
This was the first time Yu Qing had appreciated her appearance from such a close distance beside her temple. That charm, that body fragrance, it was truly alluring. He tried hard to stay rational and said, “One matter is one matter. What I said is yours is yours. Give me one hundred thousand taels. I will write an IOU for you.”
In the past, even with a hundred times the courage he would not have dared to ask for one hundred thousand taels right away.
When it came to writing the IOU, Tie Miaoqing’s eyes moved. She thought of him writing characters. She secretly bit her lip. She did not refuse anymore and actually agreed directly. “Good. But I do not want an ordinary IOU.”
Yu Qing found it strange. “Are there ordinary and extraordinary IOUs?”
Tie Miaoqing clearly bit her lip. Her bright eyes rippled as she glanced at him. “Write a piece of calligraphy for me as the IOU.”
That inadvertently revealed charming expression, plus these words, struck like heavenly thunder igniting ground fire. Yu Qing’s breathing became rapid. His breath kept brushing Tie Miaoqing’s cheeks and neck.
The atmosphere in the room instantly became extremely ambiguous. It was so thick that the fragrant branches in the vase on the table seemed about to drip with dew.
Tie Miaoqing also felt Yu Qing’s strong aggressiveness in that instant, making her fingertips tremble slightly.
Their postures: one slightly leaning down with height advantage, intention to get closer obvious. The other with graceful figure leaning back slightly, unable to avoid.
Yu Qing’s throat moved. One hand wanted several times to naturally hold her leaning back waist, but in the end he only dared to stir without acting lightly. However, something he would normally never agree to, he strangely agreed to in this instant. “Good.”
Joy flashed in Tie Miaoqing’s eyes. Suddenly, the faint sound of the main gate closing came from outside.
This noise made the two regain some calmness. Tie Miaoqing woke up even more. She twisted her body,摆脱 his aggressive posture, and said shyly, “It might be bottle maiden who has gone out. I will go and check.” She raised her hand to signal him not to go out yet. She placed the weapon in her hand on the nearby desk without guarding anymore and quickly opened the door to go out.
Before closing the door she glanced at Yu Qing inside the room once more.
As soon as the door closed, Yu Qing suddenly woke up. He slapped his own forehead, suspecting he had gone mad. He had actually agreed to write a piece of calligraphy for her. He felt annoyed and discovered that the legendary beauty trap was indeed hard to pass.
Tie Miaoqing, who had turned and stepped down the stairs outside, also let out a long breath. She only felt her body was very hot. Fanning with her hand was useless. She had to use her skills to suppress it.
The ambiguous scene from the room earlier was hard to drive out of her mind even with skills. She felt it was absurd and shameful, and also strangely guilty. But thinking that the world famous great talent had agreed to write something for her, she felt excited again. Her steps became light, and she even felt like a little girl.
She looked around inside Miaoqing Hall to confirm Sun Ping had left. Only then did she feel relieved.
After that she quickly returned to her own courtyard, fetched brush, ink, paper and inkstone from the study, and hurried back to her room. She set them on the round table inside.
The meaning was simple. Since the person was already inside, there was no need to run around. This room was the safest. No one would break in randomly.
When Yu Qing saw the writing tools she brought, the corner of his mouth twitched. In his heart there was only one wail: what a sin.
What the hell to write?
Tie Miaoqing however had a face full of bright smiles. Her graceful figure moved elegantly around the round table, placing things one by one with refined movements. She helped spread the paper and even rolled up her sleeves with her fair hands to grind the ink herself. From time to time her eyes looking at Yu Qing were full of expectation.
She was indeed very expectant. A famous scholar of the world, a great talent rarely seen in a century, was going to write something for her in private. She was very eager to see what this flower-picking scholar would write for her. Of course she hoped for a surprise and hoped his talent would amaze her.
Yu Qing however had a face full of puzzlement. He really could not understand how these people thought. What was the point of pretending to be refined? There were clearly more practical problems not solved yet, but they were in a hurry to do this. He did not know what exactly was wrong with these people.