cold clothes

After Yin Jiu stopped on the rooftop, he looked back at Leng Yi and met her stunned gaze. He couldn't help but feel a little smug, and the corners of his mouth involuntarily curled up before he suppressed it. His eyes darted around as he said, "I can find Yun Qiu's location more easily from the rooftop. I'll tell you when I find her, but I can't guarantee you'll hear anything else."

Leng Yi gradually came to her senses after Yin Jiu finished speaking. Yin Jiu had just jumped onto the roof with the lightness of a swallow—or rather, flew up—a more agile and natural movement than any wire stunt on TV. This deeply shocked Leng Yi, a transmigrator. Leng Yi blurted out, "Can you take me up there?"

Yin Jiu was taken aback, his smugness turning into difficulty, but he couldn't bring himself to admit that he couldn't do it, so he slowly said, "You can try."

Leng Yi carefully examined Yin Jiu, and finally shook her head gently, saying, "I won't force you. I'm not that curious either."

"Aren't you curious? Your eyes clearly tell me you want to know everything." Yin Jiu squatted on the rooftop, the wind blowing his long hair and caressing his handsome face.

"I've guessed most of what they said from what I just overheard. There's nothing else interesting to hear. Besides, what does other people's gossip have to do with me?"

Upon hearing this, Leng Yi quickly looked away, not wanting him to see the emotions in her eyes, unaware that her resentment was overflowing from her entire body.

Yin Jiu chuckled softly, her voice as clear and gentle as spring water: "I am here to gather intelligence for you, Miss. It is cold, so please return to the herbal medicine hall and wait quietly. Do not linger outside."

After saying that, he stood up, his clothes fluttering, and with a few leaps, he flew away from Leng Yi's sight. Leng Yi didn't even have time to stop him.

The room was empty, and Yin Jiu's figure could no longer be seen. Leng Yi's gaze remained blank, letting the biting wind tousle her hair. Ironically, she felt a warmth in the depths of winter.

She couldn't quite articulate her feelings for Yin Jiu. Before, she had considered him a resident of this idyllic place, the herbal medicine hall, much like the fisherman in Tao Yuanming's poem encountering the reclusive inhabitants of Peach Blossom Spring. They had chatted happily, shared a beautiful dream, and then, upon waking, sought their boat to emerge. But just now, he didn't seem like a person from Peach Blossom Spring at all; rather, he was like a bird soaring freely among the clouds. The people of Peach Blossom Spring are no more, but the world of birds is the vast sky, soaring nine thousand feet high, singing among the green peaks.

She felt both envious and ashamed.

Ashamed of her arrogance, treating Yin Jiu as an unfree person within high walls, he now realized that she was much freer than he was.

-

As for Yunqiu, she hadn't run far before she pretended to have a stomachache. She clutched her stomach and leaned against a nearby pillar, her face contorted in pain. Wang Yiqing caught up and reached out to hit Yunqiu, but seeing her face as pale as a lily, he hesitated for a moment and couldn't bring himself to hit her.

"You...you bitch!" Wang Yiqing cursed angrily.

"Your words cut me to the bone, Erlang." Yunqiu looked incredibly fragile, her lips like withered flower petals devoid of life. "I know my status is lowly, but we've shared a bed. Don't you really have any feelings for me?"

"If I had known this would happen, I would never have let you seduce me into bed!" Wang Yiqing stared at Yun Qiu's stomach as if he wanted to devour it raw.

Yunqiu protectively clutched her belly in fear, and even though Wang Yiqing was unwilling to admit it, she possessed a vulnerable beauty unique to mothers at that moment. She said, "I never expected to get pregnant... Maybe this is fate, Erlang. You know, my first thought was to give birth to this child, because it's the child you gave me."

"This child can't be born! No, it's not that he can't be born, he can't be mine!" Wang Yiqing screamed.

“I understand,” Yun Qiu’s lips tightened into a resolute curve, and in an instant, she made up her mind. “I will tell everyone that this child is not yours. But…”

"But what?"

Yunqiu looked miserable: "I know I can no longer hold any place in your heart. Your favorite is Qingchun. It's shameful enough that I seduced my sister's man, but I still hope she can be happy. Young Master Wang, if you can promise to take Qingchun as your concubine in the future and treat her well for the rest of your life, I can endure any suffering."