20demayo Chapter 167: Planting Gu
Chapter 167: Planting Gu
Nianyao asked curiously, "Why would you do that? Those are your father and your aunt..."
Luo An said, "Although one wrong step can lead to many more, with Miss Duan's intelligence, she couldn't possibly have been unaware of such consequences. Or is it that your aunt and seventh sister both died at your hands?"
Duan Mingzhu turned slightly to the side, looked up at Xue Yunting, and softly called out, "Yunting!"
Xue Yunting gently squeezed her hand, got off the carriage, and stood in front of Luo An: "What if you expected it, or what if you didn't? Can she turn the tide? What if she does, or she doesn't? The dead can't be brought back to life."
Luo An stared at Xue Yunting: "Miss Duan, there's something I don't understand. Since you want our help, why don't you just stay on the act and expose yourself so early?"
Duan Mingzhu leaned back in the corner: "I pretend to be weak, so Yun Ting has to cooperate with me in lying. He lies very smoothly, but he actually feels very guilty."
Luo An wanted to refute.
Duan Mingzhu added, "What's fake is still fake. My sister and brother-in-law are so smart, I can't keep up the act for long. If one has no other choice, honesty is the best and last resort."
Duan Mingzhu spoke first about Luo An's thoughts, being completely candid.
Luo An suddenly grabbed Xue Yunting's pulse point. Xue Yunting tried to pull his hand away, but it was too late; he lowered his head slightly.
Luo An released Xue Yunting and took two steps back: "When it comes to manipulating people's hearts, Miss Duan is the best I have ever seen, and no one can surpass her."
Xue Yunting was exceptionally self-controlled. Even when he lied, people would praise him, saying, "All's fair in war; the young general is truly well-versed in military strategy."
No one ever considered that he was unwilling to lie, unwilling to cheat, and that he might feel guilty...
Duan Mingzhu was the first person to truly understand him. Understanding is more captivating and irresistible than mere appreciation.
Duan Mingzhu replied in a cold tone, "Brother-in-law, you flatter me."
The carriage remained stationary, but he couldn't resist any longer and climbed out of the bridal sedan chair to look around. The coachman helped him up and gently shushed him.
Qin Jiu picked him up and said, "Young General, if we don't hurry, we might not make it to the post station before dark."
Xue Yunting slammed the car door shut behind him: "How about this, sister..."
“I’m going back to Chongming Island.” Nianyao interrupted Xue Yunting and said solemnly, “Luo An went to Mobei to find An Jingchen. He will return to Chongming Island before Duan Mingzhu gives birth.”
Xue Yunting handed Luo An a small porcelain bottle.
Luo An took the document and said to Nian Yao, "Don't worry about Ji Kongming, don't go anywhere, wait for me to come back on Chongming Island, we'll talk about everything when I get back."
Luo An said to Qin Jiu, "Keep an eye on Nian Yao and don't let her do anything rash."
After Luo An finished speaking, he rode away without wasting a moment.
Qin Jiu called out to his retreating figure, "Young Master, I can't keep an eye on him."
Nianyao retorted irritably, "Am I a prisoner? Are you the jailer? What law have I broken? Do you need to see it for me?"
Nianyao threw the rope at Xue Yunting: "Let's go, or we'll have to sleep on the way. We don't care, but the bride probably can't endure this hardship..."
Nianyao got into Duan Mingzhu's carriage and slammed the door shut.
Qin Jiu asked, "Father, would it be alright if I rode a horse with you?"
He clapped his hands excitedly: "Great! I love horseback riding the most!"
He's still just a kid; riding a horse and seeing the scenery is much better than being cooped up in a car.
The carriage carried a bride, a pregnant woman, maids, and servants, and the procession moved slowly. Qin Jiu, holding Bu Zhi, and Xue Yunting rode alongside the carriage, each lost in their own thoughts.
Nianyao sat opposite Duan Mingzhu, staring at her. Suddenly, she hooked the chain around Duan Mingzhu's neck and pulled it up, bringing out the longevity lock.
Nianyao let go: "I heard that the Xue family's life lock is worn from birth and never removed until death, when it is placed in the coffin. If it is removed halfway through, it will bring misfortune to its owner."
"Mingzhu, Yunting has entrusted you with the Longevity Lock, hoping you will live to be a hundred years old. He values you more than himself."
Duan Mingzhu slowly put the longevity lock back, pressed her hand against her chest and clenched it slightly, holding the longevity lock through her clothes: "If you want to ask if I poisoned him, the answer is: no."
Nianyao breathed a sigh of relief.
Duan Mingzhu added, "Not at the moment."
Nianyao was taken aback: "What do you mean? What do you mean 'not currently'?"
Duan Mingzhu's eyelids drooped, and she looked tired and impatient: "Life is unpredictable. Who can say what will happen in the future? I can only say that it doesn't happen now."
Nianyao asked, "What kind of poison did you give the Crown Prince that neither the imperial physician nor Luo An could diagnose?"
Duan Mingzhu said calmly, "That's not poison, it's a poisonous insect I planted."
Nianyao instinctively leaned back, feeling goosebumps all over her body, and her words were slurred: "...Isn't witchcraft a legend? A legend...a legend...how can it be true?"
In the understanding of rumors, legends are just made-up nonsense and nonsense to scare people, just like Jingwei filling the sea, aren't they all false?
Seeing her expression, Duan Mingzhu smiled slightly and explained patiently, "The legend is certainly true. Just like the wind is invisible and intangible, you can't feel it even sitting in the carriage. But you can hear the wind howling in the forest outside, which proves that the wind is real. The legend is the same."
Nianyao felt this analogy was inappropriate and didn't know how to refute it for a moment. Nianyao thought for a moment: "Weren't you sickly since childhood, raised in seclusion? How would you understand these things..."
Duan Mingzhu said, "Others can travel ten thousand miles, but I can only read ten thousand books. My father doesn't allow me to practice martial arts or go far away. To make up for it and to broaden my horizons, he has hired all sorts of teachers for me, from all walks of life to petty thieves."
"Three religions and nine schools of thought, petty thieves and scoundrels?" This was the first time Nianyao had ever heard anyone describe a teacher like that.
Duan Mingzhu said, "For example, someone taught me to imitate animal sounds, like cats, dogs, chickens, ducks, and so on. For example, someone who was a thief taught me how to identify rich people and how they steal. And someone even taught me witchcraft..."
Nianyao said, "Isn't this... an evil spell?"
Duan Mingzhu asked, "What is right and what is wrong? In your heart, do you think you are right and I am wrong?"
"You said that, I didn't say that." Nianyao came to her senses and stretched her arms and legs: "You're a grown girl, why did you make yourself like this? You scared me just now."
Duan Mingzhu said, "There's something even scarier. Don't you want to know what happened to that teacher?"
Nianyao glared at her: "You wouldn't... kill him, would you? Wouldn't that be betraying your master and ancestors?"
Duan Mingzhu said, "He held back and didn't teach me how to raise Gu properly. I almost died because of the Gu mother. I'm very talented, and I raised a Gu mother on my first try."
He was jealous and afraid, so he sneaked into my room at night, intending to assault me. I had no choice but to kill him using the Gu magic I had just learned; it was the first time in my life I had ever killed someone…
Duan Mingzhu described his first murder as less mundane than his first time eating meat or his first time visiting a guest.
Nianyao gradually got used to Duan Mingzhu's speaking style: "I've never killed anyone before."
Duan Mingzhu said, "Who does Sister want to kill? I can help."