Chapter 356 Illicit lovers

Bed partners? Illicit lovers? These words were even colder and more desperate than the icy rain. Her mother gave up practicing in the Taoist temple and planning for her future. Instead of divorcing He Fu and finding another good man or just living with her daughter, she chose to be together with a man that wouldn’t marry her?

He Danggui also took a deep breath. Looking up to let the icy rain hit her face, she regained her nerve and said to Nie Chun, “I got it. Please tell me your address. I want to see my mother.”

Nie Chun replied while shaking his head, “She’s not ready to see you yet. You should wait. And it’ll be no good for her reputation if others know she’s living with me. Just don’t tell the people of Luo’s Family about it, or your mother may always feel ashamed in the future. You’re her daughter so you should consider her. It’s up to you.” Finishing his words, he turned around and left. This time, he did leave. He just disappeared from where he was directly. And the next moment, a shadow was seen about thirty meters away and then, it disappeared again. It repeated like this several times. In just a few seconds, he was gone! He Danggui got anxious and tried to catch up, but how could she do that? Nie Chun grasped Phantom Footwork and was known as the “mysterious swift-footed walker” while she just started to learn Mysterious Footwork and called herself a “walker over the water and grass”. Moreover, there was still the poison named He He Qi Ri Qing in her right pinky. It would be very dangerous to use her zhenqi now. Once the poison was activated by her zhenqi and broke through her resistance to get in her heart, it would be the end of her life. How could Nie Chun just tell her that and leave directly?

She mounted her horse with a heavy heart and continued to walk toward the city gate. Her mind was full of thoughts and she had complex feelings. How could things be like that?

She always regarded Nie Chun as a man of good personality and indomitable will. She remembered in her previous life, he stayed unmarried until he was more than forty years old and he expressed his feelings for her mother several times. That was why He Danggui wanted to do the matchmaking between her mother and Nie Chun, but she just had such a thought and she would consider it for some time before taking action. However, they had already lived together now? Nie Chun just shocked her with the news and said he wouldn’t marry her mother because their relationship was only about “normal needs” and her mother couldn’t see her now as well… She never thought he could be so shameless!

The icy rain kept falling and got heavier gradually. He Danggui and her horses were all wet. However she thought about it, she didn’t feel right. Then, she had another absurd guess. Maybe her mother and Nie Chun also had such a relationship in the previous life and Nie Chun abandoned her mother later so that she went to Qingzhou City for He Fu and got heartbroken again? They had kept their relationship a secret all the time and no one knew it. It was not strange that He Danggui had no idea about it.

“Giddyap! Giddyap!” The sound of hooves and human voices was heard again. Judging from the sound, this group of people was bigger than the previous one. He Danggui wondered who they are.

Right! It occurred to He Danggui that Nie Chun was coming with the previous group of people. He just found someone was following them when he was in front of the thorn bush so he fell behind to deal with it and saw her. Judging from the route they had taken, those people were probably heading to Bing Hua Dian, which meant Nie Chun was also one of the villains that planned to attack the imperial guards there! It didn’t make sense. Nie Chun was a warrior in Jianghu and didn’t work for the government. She never heard that he had ever joined any killer organization. Why would he be related to this matter?

She had no time to think about it and just stopped the horse at the roadside. There wasn’t any place for her to hide nearby, so she had to cover her face with a black cloth, looked down, and waited for those men to pass by. She just focused on hearing them and then, a man stopped his horse and walked toward her. She looked up and found the man covered his face with a black cloth even better than she did. He also wore a long and wide headband. He Danggui looked at his eyes and felt familiar, but she couldn’t recognize him. However, the man talked to her directly.

“Miss He? Why are you here?” He asked in a low voice, “It’s dangerous for you to walk in a rainy night in such a desolate place. And you’ll get ill easily. Aren’t you sick now? You must feel cold. Wait a minute!”

The man said a lot, but she still didn’t know who he was by listening to his voice. He seemed to care much about her and could recognize her with just one glance despite the black cloth on her face. He Danggui quivered because of coldness and produced a bitter smile. Her mother went away with a man and didn’t want to see her at all. She even had to hear about the news from others. How could anyone else in this world worry that she would feel cold or get ill? Where did such a kind person come from?

The rain made her vision blurry and she heard the man’s footsteps again. He drew her to the horse and said, “Forgive me for this.” Before she could make a response, he hit her at an acupoint with one hand and threw her night suit on the ground after tearing it in two with the other hand! She was so frightened that her spirit freed itself from her body, but later it got back because the man helped her put on a cotton-padded coat. What was going on? A warm coat?

The man did it as if he was getting a kid dressed. He did up each button and tied each lace carefully. After fixing her long hair, he helped her put on the hat attached to the coat as well and tied the lace of it into the shape of a four-leaf clover. He didn’t say anything or look at her eyes in the process but just focused on what he was doing. Moreover, he didn’t intend to take off the black cloth on her face, either.

Then, she was covered by a large raincape that was taken off by the man from himself. It was still warm when it covered her body. The man continued to tie the lace. He Danggui still didn’t recognize him, but after being covered by the warmth, she suddenly found her body had been too cold to feel anything before. She was so moved that the tears just streamed down and made the black cloth get wet. Why was there someone in the world treating her so well? Who was this man? Why would he be so considerate to her?

After having tied the lace of the cape, the man relieved her acupoint right away and wiped her tears with the back of his fingers. Then, he said, “Miss He, don’t be sad. No matter what you become, I’ll be willing to accept you as my concubine. I’ll provide you with a place to live and a life without worrying about food or clothing.”

She stopped crying and stared at him. Who was he? Did he know what she was sad about?

Then, he said something more shocking, “Although I only regard you as a little girl, I kind of like you. It’s not hard to like a lady of your personality and beauty, so you don’t need to worry that you’ll be left out after marrying me.”

He Danggui didn’t cry anymore. She took several steps backward and looked at the man. Judging from his build and voice, he might be in his early twenties. She felt familiar with him, but she didn’t have an impression of his voice. Who on earth was he?

The man walked closer to her and touched her teary eyes gently. He confessed his feelings to her in a low voice, “I don’t get bored of you because your beauty has faded. Instead, I take pity on you. And I like you. These are reasons for me to marry you. Miss He, I’ll regard the baby in your belly as my child and take good care of you in the future. I’ll never deceive or hurt you. After I settle some urgent things these days, I’ll go to Luo’s Family to talk about our marriage at the beginning of the next month. We will get married before you have a baby bump. If you don’t like living in a mansion with high walls, I can prepare for you another yard and let you be its owner. It can also keep you from the disturbance of women in Feng’s Family.”

He Danggui finally knew who he was. She stepped backward and asked in shock, “Are you Feng Yang? You… Where are you going?”

“Yes, I’m Feng Yang.” The man never thought she hadn’t recognized him, so he was in a slight daze before he continued his “confession”, “I owned a yard called ‘Xinyuan Yard’ in the south suburb. I can show you that someday. If you hate the noise and busyness in the city and like the view of Xinyuan Yard, you can settle there. Lots of friends of mine in Jianghu like to take a break there while they are on trips. They often drink tea, have sword dances, play chess, and chat there. You won’t feel lonely in Xinyuan Yard. Therefore, don’t be sad. Just take good care of the baby. I’ll be your man and support from now on.”

His confession was very moving and the promise sounded sincere, but the point was she wasn’t pregnant at all! Why would Chang Nuo have such a misunderstanding?

She took two more steps backward and wiped her tears with a handkerchief. She asked, “You dress like this. Are you going to rob anyone? I’ve covered my face well, but you still can recognize me. It’s rare.” It was so strange. People that should recognize her failed while those who shouldn’t did it with just one glance. So ridiculous. It turned out Chang Nuo’s voice was like this. She seemed to have heard it several times in her previous life. She didn’t remember it very clearly.

Chang Nuo had thought about this “confession” for two days. He thought that at least He Danggui might be a bit moved and thanked him. Even if she rejected him, he had prepared the words to convince her. Anyway, she must take good care of the baby and give birth to it safely. However, why didn’t she react like a normal woman or even a normal human at all when he had shown her all his affection? Although it was his first time confessing his feelings to a girl, he thought he knew women well and he had paid efforts to organize these words. Why would it end like this?

Feeling helpless, He answered her question, “I just recognize your horse but not you. You picked this purplish-red horse from the stud farm outside the city, right? I wanted it as well and I was about to buy it for my sister as a gift, but I was held up by something at that time. Later when I went back and asked about it, they said a miss from Luo’s Family had bought it. I checked it specially, so I had a deep impression of it. Eh, how’s that? Will you think over what I said just now?”

It turned out he just recognized the horse… He Danggui felt relieved and smiled behind the black cloth. She replied, “Thank you for your kindness and your cotton-padded coat as well as the cape. They make me feel very warm. Thank you so much. However, I don’t know how to explain to you what has happened in the Depositary of Buddhist Texts of Luo’s Mansion. I do have no relationship with Lord Ning. We’re even stranger than any strangers. As for the rumor that I’m pregnant, it’s just some nonsense talked by my silly nephew. This will affect my reputation. Childe Feng, I hope you won’t misunderstand it anymore.” Seeing the strong suspicion shown in his eyes, she could just sigh and continue, “If you still don’t believe me, you can come for me with a doctor and let him take my pulse. You’ll see whether I’m pregnant or not.”

“The doctor’s coming. Let me take your pulse.” A voice sounded clearer and clearer behind the horse. The person seemed to be smiling. It wasn’t very familiar, but He Danggui had heard it several times recently. Thus, she recognized the voice belonged to Master Prophet Qi Xuanyu. Even he was here? Was he going to Bing Hua Dian Inn with Chang Nuo and other men?