Our late-night chat had been delightful, with just a hint of flirtation.
Bai Yuji seemed to have gotten into character, and she had Qin Muye feeling a little too excited. He thought to himself that he needed to hurry up and understand the Gongshu Clan's collection of books, which they had opened to him, and recover from his "listless" state.
Then he could have a truly sweet romance with her. Who knew when she might fall for him? If she did, even his most difficult circumstances would improve considerably.
When he left her room,
Qin Muye felt as if he had returned to his previous life, like a guy who had just walked his girlfriend back to her dorm.
That little minx had actually taken his words to heart. She hadn't ruined the mood once from beginning to end.
But he still felt that something was off.
Had those Nanzhao Remnants really not filled her head with negativity this time?
No way, right?
Qin Muye felt that something was amiss, but she had seemed so natural that he could only put his mind at ease and go to sleep.
Then, the next morning, he spotted the problem as soon as he saw Qin Yanying.
Her fate hadn't changed, and neither had its annotations. She was still caught in the overlapping fates of dying in a rebellion and being poisoned.
But her fate had risen from Subordinate Seventh Rank to Sixth Rank.
"What's going on?"
Qin Muye was baffled. A change in someone's fate rank meant they had gained greater influence over the worldline. So what exactly were those Nanzhao Remnants trying to do? How had they increased Qin Yanying's influence over the worldline without changing her fate?
"Muye?"
Qin Yanying took a mouthful of porridge and asked with a frown, "Why are you staring at my head first thing in the morning? Your face is all scrunched up like a bun!"
Qin Muye pursed his lips. "I had a dream last night. I dreamed our Qin Family got into another argument with someone, and you got so worked up that you smashed Shen Kui's skull. The emperor sentenced you to immediate execution on the spot."
"You're getting more and more outrageous, you brat! Is that any way to curse your own aunt?"
"I'm not cursing you!"
Qin Muye waved his hands repeatedly. "It's probably just because I haven't been sleeping well, so I've been overthinking things. Take good care of yourself for a while, and try to rein in your temper when you're out there. Don't make me, your nephew, worry."
Qin Yanying was so angry her nose nearly twisted sideways. "Oh? You little rascal! Let me tell you, your aunt is just naturally carefree. That's got nothing to do with having a short fuse! The other day, His Majesty even praised me, saying I've become more and more composed. In a few years, I'll absolutely have the makings of a marshal!"
Qin Muye: "..."
Seeing him fall silent, Qin Yanying nearly lost it. "Why don't you believe me?"
Just then,
A man dressed as an Imperial Guard hurried in. "Instructor! Instructor! Something's wrong!"
"What is it?"
"The squad leader and the centurion are fighting! I can't hold the squad leader back, and someone's about to die!"
"What?"
Qin Yanying slammed down her bowl and chopsticks, eyes wide. "Why?"
The Imperial Guard wiped the sweat from his forehead. "The centurion went out drinking last night and still hasn't come back this morning. No one was there to lead the dawn drills, so the squad leader came into the city looking for him. Then he found out the centurion had slept with his mistress, and the two of them started fighting."
Qin Yanying's eyes nearly bulged out of her head. "I've got such a short fuse! All they think about all day is what's between their legs instead of cultivating. Come on! Let's castrate those two bastards!"
Before the words had even left her mouth, she charged out of the residence with her men.
Her ferocious style made Qin Muye and Bai Yuji's eyes twitch.
So much for being more composed?
Bai Yuji was curious. "Shouldn't a centurion be stronger than a squad leader? How is the squad leader nearly beating the centurion to death instead?"
Qin Muye snorted. "The centurion's from a great clan. Great Gan is flourishing, and the Imperial Guard has no wars to fight. Did you think military posts were still assigned based on cultivation?"
"Oh..."
Watching him sneer, Bai Yuji fell into thought.
Qin Muye set down his bowl and chopsticks. "Where should we go today?"
"You don't seem to have gotten enough sleep. Why not stay in?"
"I think getting out for some fresh air will help me feel better."
"Then let's take a boat ride. The yang energy inside you is too chaotic. You need the He Yin River to help balance it."
"I'll take your word for it!"
"..."
Bai Yuji felt that he had been especially obedient ever since he confessed his feelings to her.
Along with his slightly pallid complexion, it made her reluctant to hurt him.
But the Great Elder had said
that he was very clever, and everything she saw might be an act.
Bai Yuji had thought about it all night. She had brought him back in chains just to take the Qin Family's bloodline. How had their relationship become so close?
Thinking it over, it seemed that things could only have reached this point because Qin Muye was acting this way.
Was this simply his true nature?
Or had he carefully orchestrated all of it?
Was he really a cold-blooded person?
When Qin Yanying fell into trouble, would he keep his distance from her, just as he had drawn a line between himself and Qin Kaijiang?
Was I... really going to lure Qin Yanying into a dead end?
The inner river.
A Flower Boat.
Qingqiu Ningning stretched lazily and draped herself over the railing. Her translucent skirt did nothing to hide her alluring figure.
She turned her head and gave the flustered young man a seductive look. "Wang Li, why are you still blushing?"
"I..."
Wang Li seemed distracted. "My cousin seems to really like you."
Qingqiu Ningning extended a slender, jade-green finger and tipped up his chin. "Life is for enjoying while you can. If your cousin likes me, he should be even less inclined to stop me from enjoying myself with other men. Don't be afraid. Your cousin's busy doting on his new flame. He won't have time to blame you."
"Really?"
"Of course!"
"Phew..."
Wang Li relaxed. His gaze fell on her tail, and his desire flared again. "Ningning, it's cold outside. Shall we go back inside?"
"You're that eager?"
"You're irresistible!"
"If I'm so irresistible, then let's do it right here!"
"Huh? In broad daylight..."
"Wouldn't that make it even more exciting?"
"!!!"
Wang Li was getting carried away.
But just then, he heard a sharp "smack" from inside the cabin.
He turned around and saw a beautiful, plump woman sobbing as she ran out.
As she ran, she held her swollen belly.
A while later, she took a small boat downstream.
"Damn it!"
Shen Jin cursed, his expression ugly.
Qingqiu Ningning merely smiled and beckoned to him. "What's wrong? Weren't you all over her last night? Why did you hit her today?"
When Wang Li saw Shen Jin approaching, he hurriedly straightened his clothes, frightened.
Fortunately, Shen Jin wasn't angry with him. Instead, he leaned beside Qingqiu Ningning and irritably kneaded her peachy cheeks a few times. "That woman said some wealthy person had offered her a big job, and that she wouldn't be coming around for the next month.
What an idiot. Does she really think everyone's as tenderhearted as me?
She wouldn't be a loss even if she died!
I'm so pissed off!"
"Pissed off, huh? Then why not blow off some steam?"
"You're a good girl!"
Only then did Shen Jin's anger ease a little. He put an arm around Qingqiu Ningning's slender waist and headed into the cabin.
Seeing that, Wang Li couldn't help feeling dejected.
As he stood there feeling down, a slender hand suddenly grabbed his wrist and pulled him into the cabin too.
Wang Li: "!!!"
They drifted along the river.
It was early winter, and the temperature was low. The river was especially cold in the morning, and it was enough to make anyone shiver.
Qin Muye huddled under a blanket in Bai Yuji's arms, shivering.
Bai Yuji was at a loss. "Are you really that cold?"
"Why would I lie to you?"
Qin Muye's voice trembled as he burrowed further into her arms. "You were the one who suggested this boat ride. You have to take responsibility for me."
Bai Yuji: "..."
They shared a blanket. Their thick clothes kept them apart, but for some reason, this felt ten thousand times more intimate than the cave had.
Her heart was beating a little too fast.
She hurriedly tried to distract herself, hoping to quietly shift a little farther away from him.
To her surprise,
Qin Muye didn't move closer this time. Instead, he put some distance between them.
Confused, she turned her face to look and saw that he was watching a small boat approaching from the side.
A woman dressed in luxurious but skimpy clothes sat on it, huddled and shivering.
Her belly was swollen.
A handprint marked her face, and scattered tear tracks still clung to her cheeks.
A familiar Flower Boat was coming from the direction the small boat had sailed.
A phrase that had kept her awake all night suddenly sprang into Bai Yuji's mind.
Fortune Bead!
The woman had come down from the Flower Boat. It was easy to guess what had happened the previous night.
Watching the woman huddle and sob quietly, Bai Yuji felt a strange pang of guilt.
She couldn't help whispering, "She's so pitiful."
"Mm."
Qin Muye nodded without expression. "Her husband and child are pitiful too."
Bai Yuji's gaze dimmed. Though the woman wore luxurious clothes, her hands were rough, and her build showed she was used to hard work. She clearly wasn't from a wealthy family.
Judging by her belly, she must have been three or four months pregnant. How desperate must life have made her to board a Flower Boat?
While Bai Yuji was lost in thought,
Qin Muye had already taken the purse from his waist and tossed it onto the boat as the two passed each other.
The woman picked up the purse, startled and delighted, at a loss for what to do.
Bai Yuji was moved and was about to say something to Qin Muye.
But Qin Muye rose and walked into the cabin, leaving only a sentence behind, which the river wind scattered to shreds: "We, and our child, are even more pitiful."
Bai Yuji's eyes widened in shock. "!!!"
Before you continue