The Slender Waist-Chapter 47 - 39 Qingqing Misses Me

Xiaoman stood rooted to the spot, dazed.

The bathing tub was enveloped in steam, the air carried the fragrance of soap, the clothes hung on the wooden rack were still there, and after searching the entire cleansing room, the lady’s outer garment was nowhere to be found... just like that, she had vanished...

The lady had disappeared, and now the General had arrived, wouldn’t they demand their lives?

She almost cried out.

Daman said, "Could it be that the lady left with the Princely Heir of her own accord?"

Xiaoman shook her head resolutely, "No, no, the lady wouldn’t do that."

She grabbed Daman’s arm, "Something must have happened to the lady, it must have... Alou, didn’t you say the lady had her own strategies? What do we do now? The lady is missing, will the General take our heads..."

Daman, her head spinning from the shaking, glanced sideways and then pushed the window.

The wooden latch of the window wasn’t properly secured and opened with a push.

She remembered checking it specifically when preparing the lady’s bathwater; such an oversight shouldn’t have happened.

Particularly since the lady was always so cautious...

Daman’s gaze fell on the wooden floor, at the messy footprints made by water stains...

She pushed Xiaoman aside, bent down, measured with her fingers for a moment, suddenly took up a cloth, flicked water from the bathing tub onto the floor, and then dragged Xiaoman to walk around it...

Xiaoman: "Alou?"

"Shh." Daman, acting quickly, turned and tossed the cloth back into the bathing tub.

"When you see the General later, just cry, cry desperately, understand?"

Xiaoman’s eyes reddened, "Ah?"

—

The village path outside the estate.

Puyang Jiu, holding the horse’s reins, followed beside Pei Jue, perplexed.

"How can Wangzhi be certain that person is Wen Xingsu? Could the scout have made a mistake? The esteemed defender of Xinzhou, how could he have encountered danger in Andu? Inconceivable..."

A torrent of questions, Pei Jue didn’t answer a single one.

Puyang Jiu didn’t mind, he found solace in his own company.

"Not to mention, this Mr. Wen has a decent appearance, not at all like a battle-scarred warrior..."

Pei Jue glanced over at him, causing Puyang Jiu to remember the man in front of him was also a warrior. He chuckled awkwardly, "Just like Wangzhi, with a handsome and bright demeanor, graceful and brilliant in both literature and warfare, outshining the sun and the moon..."

Pei Jue frowned impatiently, "How are your injuries?"

Puyang Jiu: "Quite grand, but not as grave as yours."

Pei Jue’s face turned stern as Puyang Jiu laughed aloud atop his horse, "I mean the wound is quite large, but... not as severe as the ones you’ve had in the past. There’s a nasty one near the groin, but when I got there, Feng Shi Er Niang had already treated it. The bleeding was stopped in time, and the dressing was superb. With some more days of rest, it should largely heal..."

"..."

Without receiving any response from Pei Jue, Puyang Jiu continued to chatter.

Unexpectedly, Pei Jue’s black horse suddenly pranced forward, causing Puyang Jiu to eat a mouthful of dust. He hurriedly covered his face to spit out the dirt, and upon looking up, he found only Pei Jue’s retreating figure, which vanished around the corner into the estate’s gate bearing the "Changmen" plaque.

The gate was wide open.

Xiaoman’s face turned pale with fright, having no time to think of how to cry, she saw Daman rush over in panic, crying out to Pei Jue as she knelt down.

"General, save me! Save the lady..."

Pei Jue pulled on the reins stopping the horse just three feet from her, glanced down at the bold servant girl, and quickly turned his gaze to the Northern Yong soldiers in the thatched pavilion.

The surrounding silence was almost terrifying.

Without a word, Pei Jue dismounted from the horse, picked up a bucket of cold water, and splashed it over Ao Qi.

By the time Ao Qi shook his hair and opened his eyes, Pei Jue was already striding towards the bewildered Xiaoman.

"Lead the way."

Tears clung to Xiaoman’s face; she was just about to start crying when the General came over. His towering figure loomed over her like a city wall, his eyes as cold as frost. Xiaoman forgot to cry, her heart nearly stopped from fear, and in a panic, she glanced at her sister, who knelt in the courtyard. She obediently led Pei Jue into the cleansing room.

The room was filled with warm mist, the window wide open.

Empty.

"General, the lady must have met with disaster, please save her..."

Thinking of such a wonderful lady, Xiaoman finally found grief engulfing her, covering her face as she sobbed, utterly lost without her mistress to guide her.

Yet, how could a person in good health vanish without a trace from the cleansing room, especially right after the release of the Xinzhou defender Wen Xingsu?

The Northern Yong soldiers roused by the cold water, as well as the concubines in the estate, all believed that Feng Yun had fled out of guilt. Lin E fanned the flames endlessly as if she wished for chaos to ensue.

Only Alou and the personal troops and servants close to Feng Yun were adamant that Feng Yun had run into trouble.

With eyes red, Ao Qi still hadn’t recovered from the hurt brought by the two chicken eggs and now had to face his uncle with an unsteady gait. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

"General, please save her."

"Once the lady is rescued, I will accept punishment."

Pei Jue did not speak.

He had been inspecting around the purification chamber for a long time, "You take people in the direction of Shiguan County to intercept Wen Xingsu. If you can’t catch him, don’t bother coming back!"

Ao Qi saluted, roaring from his chest.

"Your subordinate obeys the order!"

He looked up again, "That lady..."

Pei Jue’s expression suddenly turned icy, "What are you standing there for?"

"Yes!" Ao Qi dared not delay any further, yet he couldn’t help but worry about Feng Yun; while calling others to follow him, he kept looking back at Pei Jue.

"General, please go save the lady..."

The face that was originally calm on Pei Jue suddenly became as if it had been plunged into ice water.

The frightening indifference scared everyone in the courtyard into holding their breath, not daring to make a sound.

"Zuo Zhong." Pei Jue finally spoke, "Prepare the horses."

—

At this moment, Feng Yun was sitting dizzily in the shaky carriage, jostling along an unknown path.

Her head hurt terribly, and her mouth was so parched it felt like a fish laid on a roasting pan, endlessly in torment.

The sound of horse hooves clopped into her ears, especially clear on the silent path.

Then, the carriage shook violently and came to a halt.

With a "swoosh," a breeze swept by, and the curtains of the carriage were pulled open. A streak of sunlight poured through the gap, and Feng Yun realized that it was not yet dark outside—the sunlight was brilliant. It was only because the carriage windows were so tightly sealed that she had the illusion it was already night.

"Qingqing, what are you looking at?"

The carriage shook, and a slender figure leisurely stepped in.

The sunlight fell on the indifferent Mountain Eagle Mask, revealing only the lean arc of the jaw and a pair of untamed, wild eyes.

Feng Yun’s eyelids fluttered slightly, "Chunyu Yan...?"

"We meet again." The man chuckled softly, bent over and pinched Feng Yun’s face, "I knew Qingqing would be thinking of me."

After saying that, he straddled over Feng Yun who was lying in the carriage, and sat down straight and tall beside her, letting out a faint, mocking laugh.

"Let’s go."

Feng Yun felt a slight shock in her heart.

From the moment she realized she had fallen into Chunyu Yan’s hands, she felt that something was amiss and instinctively attempted to get up...

Bang! The carriage door slammed shut.

Darkness fell upon the carriage once again.

An arm carelessly reached out, wrapped around her slender waist, and stopped her from getting up.

The dim light gradually revealed Chunyu Yan’s stern and scholarly outline; his eyes smirked playfully as they locked onto Feng Yun, like observing a prisoner awaiting their death sentence.

"Poor thing, did you think you could escape from my clutches?"

Feng Yun gasped for breath, "What are your intentions, Princely Heir?"

Tsk! Chunyu Yan stared into her eyes, whispering close to her ear, "What do you think?"

The man’s low murmur, an itchy sensation that clung to the bone, along with a sticky numbness, spread up her spine.

Feng Yun knitted her brows, feeling a sharp thirst building silently within her, as if it lay in wait for a stronger storm to come. It was uncontrollable, gnawing at her heart and bones...

Feng Yun had suffered this torment before, but with Chunyu Yan present, the feeling was altogether different.

She restrained herself and remained silent.

A strange light flickered in Chunyu Yan’s dark pupils as he observed the blush spreading across her tender, fair face.

"An eye for an eye; it’s only right for you to experience the humiliation I endured that day..."

Feng Yun dropped her gaze, sweeping over her own clothing.

Disheveled and damp, it was still the set she had worn during her bath.

But the robe, tightened from lying down, bulged over her chest with her breathing, nearly stretching the fabric apart...

She laughed hoarsely, "Has the Princely Heir forgotten what I said? If I suffer any harm, the Princely Heir’s charming features will be known to the entire world. As for that naughty little brown mole, I wonder what kind of erotic poetry or paintings the scholars and poets will concoct..."

Her words brought back shameful memories for Chunyu Yan.

Some sensations, etched into one’s lungs, couldn’t be forgotten just by wishing it. That bone-deep trembling with each breath would clash against the soul, and one’s body would involuntarily heat up and become embarrassed.

The clothes he had taken off in front of her could never be worn again.

This girl’s eyes were like poison.

No matter how tightly he covered himself, in her eyes, he was always naked.

Chunyu Yan’s hand froze mid-air for an instant, then regained its smile.

"That day I was careless and fell for your trick. Do you think I would still be deceived by you?"

A lean and clean hand reached out, like plunging into a sack, and grabbed the sash around Feng Yun’s waist.