Yeah, finally published! Quite fast right? But the next chapter won't be as fast as this chapter. xD And I am soooooo happy to received lots of warm comments in the previous chapter. :') Thank you so much! Some even can't wait for Xuan Yu to unfold Ruolan's biggest secret. *evil smirks* Let me give you a bit spoiler, Ruolan's identity will be...... Nah, that's no fun. Anyhow, enjoy this chapter~
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Who would have thought the one behind those evil doing was actually Hui Qing? Both Ruolan and Meng Yue could not believe at their discovery.
"Why are you doing this?" He asked as he gently released her.
Watching the young lady sitting before him, Hui Qing was actually pretty and looking outstanding when seen close up. But when he remembered the carcass he received this afternoon, no one would ever imagine such a beautiful lady would do sort of disgusting thing.
Hui Qing scowled before she look away, keeping her thin lips shut.
Ruolan sighed. It seemed like the arrogant young lady does not want to cooperate with him. He has no choice but to figure it himself why Hui Qing wanted to torment him. But the only reason he could think at the moment was only jealousy. "Is it because of the Emperor?"
The young lady looked surprised; her hands gripped her silk, face changed even more frowned.
After scrutinizing her closely, Ruolan still wonder if he had guessed it correctly. He still insisted on interrogating her, "So, you are angry because His Majesty taken an interest with me?" Ruolan purposely brought the Emperor's subject to trigger her; expecting that if he made her angry, she will spill out the reason why she harmed him.
The Emperor part had sparked the flame within her. What Ruolan did not expect was, the beauty walked up to him and gave him a hot burning smack to the left of his face. The slap was strong until he unconsciously retreated few steps after received the severe slap. The maid beside him held his arm to support him, wearing a surprised and pale face.
"You whore, dare to bring such topic?" She exclaimed. Her face flushed red from anger, eyes pierced into the other's own, Hui Qing looked exactly like a volcano that would erupt anytime.
Ruolan did not see that coming. Rubbing his cheek, he asked her in discontent, "Then what else do you want me to say? Is the Emperor not the reason why you started all this?"
"You—" Hui Qing made a gesture to give her another blow but froze in midway, she curled her hand into a ball and gripped it tightly, "Is that what you think of me?" Both her voice and body trembled in anger. Instead of hurting her again, Hui Qing ran to her then clutched the collar tightly, "So what if the Emperor has taken a like on you! I care less about those stuffs and I am not a leech like you who's goal only to pursue the Imperial Family!"
Ruolan was about to dodge her attack but when the beauty hesitated on hitting him again, he thought Hui Qing had given up. However, her very next move was unpredictable and her rant stupefied him. Hui Qing had never jealous of him receiving visitations from the Emperor? He was perplexed by her rage, "Then, what are you actually getting fired up for?"
The longer Hui Qing glared at her confused face, the more she felt like hitting her, but this time the beauty held her fist. Releasing her grip harshly, she spit on her face then cursed her furiously, "Think it yourself, whore!" After these few harsh words, Hui Qing pushed her away then rammed out from the room.
Ruolan was dumbfounded. After giving him such tense look and curses, she wanted him to think the matter himself? Ignoring the clear liquid in his face, Ruolan shouted at her, "Wait! Hui Qing, we are not done yet!"
"HUI QING!"
None of his call responded by the beauty until her silhouette no longer seen by the two of them. Ruolan sighed in depress as he sat on the bed.
"It is a surprise that Lady Hui was behind all this..." Meng Yue said while wiped her lady's face with a napkin.
"But it is more shocking that she declared she did not care about the Emperor..." Ruolan slumped onto the bed, "If it was not because of jealousy, then for what reason she did those evil things? One does not do things that did not bring benefits to them."
"True... " Meng Yue sounded her agreement. "Lady Hui has done such thing; perhaps we should report this case to Gui Hong?"
"Cannot. If I do, then she will hate me even more. Plus, I still have not got the answer I want."
The maid's expression changed again, with a worry tone she asked, "What if Lady Hui harm Lady Shu again...?"
Ruolan sat up, "...I am not sure. Well, let's hope for the same things to not happen again in the future."
Meng Yue nodded gently.
Ruolan gave her a smile, "Anyhow, the night is already late. It is time for you to retire." Patting her head gently, he said warmly, "Thanks for helping me tonight."
"It is fine, Meng Yue happy to help Lady Shu." Her lips stretched into a cheerful smile, the sight of her pure and sweet smile could put anyone's heart at ease even her lady. "Ahh, by the way, Lady Shu's robe—"She never wore a fine robe before, hence she afraid she might accidentally dirty it and wanted to returned it to her lady immediately.
Ruolan took back his robe and returned Meng Yue's robe to her. Both of them exchange words for a while. When Ruolan stretched open his mouth for a yawn, Meng Yue understood he wanted to rest. After the maid said 'Goodnight' to him, she excused herself and went back to her room.
*****
Ever since he caught the culprit, Ruolan no longer had to deal with bullies and his daily life returned back to normal. The temperature gradually drop as days passed by, almost reaching the season towards autumn. Sipping the tea, Ruolan enjoyed his afternoon.
"I never thought my day could be this quiet and tranquil. Fine weather, bird chirping, delicious tea..." Ruolan smiled warmly as he tilted his head up to the sky, "Aii, just like a rainbow appeared after stormy rain. This best to describe my situation now, however..." He changed his glance to the garden before him, "It seems like the strong wind from the north is going to bring another thunderstorm again." He sighed in dismay while spotting the dark aura behind the tree.
The origin of the gloomy air came from none other but the culprit he caught the other day. Hui Qing was standing behind the tree, glaring menacingly at him. Ruolan could not help but to be flinched at her death glare, Woman in rage is indeed scary...
Hui Qing no longer repeated those evil things she had done in the past. He admitted the changes relieved him. But now she appeared anytime, like sometimes early in the morning, afternoon and even midnight. After she committed the bully, now she has become a temporary stalker? Or maybe lifetime? Haiyaa, I will never understand what is running on in this lady's mind!
Not only did he felt uneasy, his movement was limited and his usual routine to sneak out from the court was interrupted as well. With Hui Qing's endless stalk, he was unable to slip out and find Jiao Yi. This would prolong his stay and bring disadvantages to his safety. Haii, his problem with Xuan Yu already gave him headache and now he have to deal with another problem, which originally was not his problem.
He heard a footstep coming from his behind. It was Meng Yue, sighing in concern, "Lady Hui seems to not giving up on Lady Shu."
Ruolan turned his head to his maid, "Indeed. Even I am puzzled why she keeps on doing this. If stalking me could make a rainfall of gold, then I would not mind letting her sit here and stare at me days and nights straight without sleeping." He let out an unamused chuckle. Actually, even if it does happen, he would not invite her in anyway.
The maid smiled awkwardly. "If Meng Yue recalls it clearly, did Lady Hui not say that it was not about His Majesty that angers her?"
"Right." Ruolan nodded. "But she wants me to figure it out myself. Aii, how can I know if she remains silent like that?" He exhaled a frustration sigh.
Meng Yue felt sorry for her lady then voiced out an idea, "How about asking Lady Hui again? Urm... Like asking her properly why she did it, and why she hate Lady Shu this much...?" She put her hands together and nervously played with her fingers, worried if her lady disliked her suggestion.
Ruolan raised his brows, "I wish I could just go to Hui Qing and ask her, but with her short tempered personality, I do not think I would get a quick answer." Resting his chin on his palm, he continued, "She should have just said it straight rather than leaving things hanging like this."
"T-True..."
"Meng Yue is right. As you suggested, I should go and ask her properly." He stood and walked out from the room to the garden.
The maid staggered when her lady decided to have a talk with Hui Qing; Meng Yue wanted to follow her but then she thought it would be best to not interfere them. She stayed in the room, hoping for everything to go on smooth.
Meanwhile, Ruolan was already outside when her maid chose to stay where she were. The person behind the tree immediately hid herself when she saw him walking to her direction. Ruolan stood not far from the sombre aura and said to its owner, "Hui Qing, until when are you planning to stay there?"
Hui Qing jolted a little when she called her name. Since Ruolan aware of her presence, Hui Qing thought it was no use to hide anymore. She walked out from behind the tree with a frown face, "What is it that you want?"
Ruolan's corner lips twitched a little, "That should be my line."
Her delicate face turned darker. Seeing Hui Qing glowered at him, Ruolan could tell she was about to lose her temper again. Since his only motive was to question her, he tried not to say any offensive words that could end both of them into quarrel again. Other than that, he does not want his question left unanswered.
Ruolan cleared his throat and gently told her, "Calm down, I am not here to create another meaningless argument. Let's have a talk, if that is fine with you?"
Hui Qing backed away, ready to leave, "There is nothing to say!"
Ruolan knew she wanted to avoid having conversation with him; he quickly snatched her wrist and stopped her, "There is."
The beauty surprised then tried to yank her hand free from the grip. Hui Qing found it odd when she could not detach her hand from the grip even though both of them were women. "Shu Xiaofan, let me go, you are hurting me!" She yelled as she struggling on pulling back her hand.
Ruolan snapped when he realise he had unconsciously used his strength on her then released his grip, "S-Sorry..."
Hui Qing hissed then held her wrist; it was hard to believe that a grip could hurt her that much. She could not help but to be angrier of her.
Ruolan secretly let out a distress sigh; he has lightened the fire again. But still tried to coax her, "Hui Qing, you are angry with me yet you refuse to tell me the reason why. Things can be discussed properly. Let's have a peaceful talk, shall we?"
"Humph! Even if I did not say it, you should have known it already!" She replied coldly.
Ruolan can only stared at her helplessly then said, "If you say then I will know. If you keep on shutting your mouth, then how can I know?"
Hui Qing grinded her teeth, "Do not play dumb with me, you knew it but you pretended you did not! Your ignorance irritates me, Shu Xiaofan!"
Ruolan was speechless. Truthfully, he did not remember much of other things because his mind always been occupied with Xuan Yu and his escape plans. Now that Hui Qing urged him to recall back the reason why she was angry up to this point, Ruolan had no choice but to depend on his memory to solve the problem.
After who knew how long he has been wracking his brain out, letting out a small cry of "Ah" he finally remembered a bit of their last encounter. Strangely, Hui Qing patiently waited for him to recollect all his memories back.
Ruolan's face twisted into a worry look, "Is it because of your brother...?"
Hui Qing's glare turned even sharper.
He got it right. Ruolan was quite surprise to know the beauty harboured deep loath on him just because of her brother. "Hui Qing, you did all this because of your brother...?" This time it was his face turned frown.
The beauty's lips stretched upwards into an icy smile, "Indeed. You reap what you sow for turning down the marriage offer. I will never bore hatred if you had married my brother... Instead, I will be the happiest sister-in-law and live in harmony with your family." There was a mix of anger and sadness in her eyes when she said those few sentences. But after knowing what kind of person her brother's future wife was, Hui Qing was glad her brother did not have to marry such woman. But she still could not resist herself from unleashed her anger on her.
Now that when Ruolan remembered every detail of their previous unfinished conversation, he suddenly realise something was a bit off. It was true that his young mistress declined to get married. But that happened before Master Shu went to see Master Hui.
Ruolan decided to ask, "Wait, there is one thing I am confused with. I thought young mis— I had turned down the request before my father could even spread the news to the Hui family. How did you know every detail of what I did?"
Hui Qing's felt as if her heart stopped when she heard her, "Your father came to the Hui residence to speak about the marriage! Both father and Master Shu agreed and discussed the auspicious date for brother and you!"
"What, he did that??" Ruolan was greatly in shock, he did not know such event existed. The only thing he remembered was Master Shu said he wanted to match Shu Xiaofan with one of the Hui's men. The news has indeed made the young mistress's blood boiled thus decided to confine herself in her room for almost one month. Even after everything went calm again, Master Shu never mentioned the fact that he had talked to Master Hui about the marriage.
"What kind of person are you to not even aware of things happened in your surrounding?" Hui Qing eyes narrowed and said bitterly, "This talk is meaningless!" She no longer in the mood to proceed talking about the matter, Hui Qing turned back and began walking.
"No, the thing is..." Ruolan tried to explain but when he saw her leaving, he could not help but to chase her from behind. "Hui Qing, I am not done talking!"
Hui Qing does not turn her head to face the other lady, instead she quicken her steps and yelled, "Enough! I do not want to hear anything from you anymore!"
"But if you keep on things hanging like this, then this matter will not end!" He said as he hastened his pace.
Hui Qing bit her lower lip, she understood Ruolan's intention but her mind already filled with anger and stubbornness that she cannot even heard him anymore. It was not like she did not tried to forget about the turned down marriage, but whenever she recalled back the sad face of her brother, the feelings of anger and hatred surged continuously inside her. Thus, she could not hold her emotion but to bear grudge on Shu Xiaofan.
Small and clear pearls appeared in her eyes but she held it from falling. "Stop acting as if you care! Did you not already have the Emperor? Why bother knowing about my brother now?" She shouted in anger and did not stop rushing forward.
Ruolan does not want to give up, he kept on following her pace, "You misunderstand me, Hui Qing. There is nothing between me—" He did not have the chance to finish his sentence when suddenly the lady before him let out a loud yelp. "Watch out!" Ruolan yelled in alarm.
Because she wanted to leave immediately, she did not watch her step. In result, she accidentally stumbled upon a stone and upsetting her balance. She tottered for a second but then felt a slender but strong arm wrapped her waist tightly, preventing her from falling down.
Ruolan felt relief that Hui Qing did not fall flat onto the ground, "That was close."
Both of them were so close at the moment. Her sweet but deep voice and her hot breath gently hitting her earlobe enough made Hui Qing's body jolted. Her red cheeks turned even more redder and her heart suddenly beating fast like a running horse. As a lady whom been taken a good care since child, she never engaged affairs with any men, this mean that no one ever touched her in such way before. But, Shu Xiaofan was a woman, why she suddenly felt this way?
Hui Qing and Female! Ruolan
The pain in her chest and their awkward position made her feeling uncomfortable. Hui Qing harshly pushed the other lady away, "Go away!"
Ruolan withdrew few steps behind when Hui Qing pushed him. He was surprised to see her breathing heavily with her face entirely in red shade. "S-Sorry." He said while trying to approach her, worried that he had offended her.
"Do not go near me!" She exclaimed as she backed away from her.
Ruolan stopped in his spot. He had no idea on what to say and neither did Hui Qing. There was an awkward silence between them for a moment before Hui Qing suddenly ran away. Ruolan was about to chase her again but he cancelled his decision. Maybe it was better letting the young lady to cool down her mind rather than forcing her to talk with him again. He slipped out a "haii" sigh; Ruolan went back into his room.
Meanwhile, Hui Qing ran fast until her energy worn out. When the beauty was sure she had run far enough, she stopped. She was breathing heavily, sweats rolled down from her forehead and arm placed on the pillar for her support. Hui Qing swirled her head back to see if the other lady chase her but found no one. After her breath balanced, she clenched her teeth and cursed, "Stupid whore! Dare taking advantage on me like that!"
Hui Qing vented her anger alone in the hallway, cursing and ranting. But when the scene earlier flashed through her mind, she can feel her body temperature rising up. The strong arm wrapping her and the deep voice as if whispering beside her ear, Hui Qing's cheeks was on fire and her heart pounded heavily again. She did not understand why she felt this kind of feelings, but for sure, she hated it.
Back in the other lady's room, her maid has been waiting for her lady anxiously. When Meng Yue saw her appeared at the door, she rushed to her then asked if they had settled the matter accordingly. She only shook her head pathetically. After she told her the whole story, both of them heaved out a depressed breath in one time.
Since his matter with Hui Qing has not solved, Ruolan did not know what else she will come up next other than stalking. Sigh, he no longer wanted to hurt his head thinking about the young lady so he went to his bed to have a rest.
End of Chapter 13