Chapter 422 - 223: Orange Cat

Chapter 422: Chapter 223: Orange Cat

When Zheng Xiu spoke those words.

CRACK!

Jing Xuemei had just brought in the tea, but Master Zheng’s words so startled her that the small tray slipped from her hands and crashed to the floor.

The main hall instantly fell silent.

Qing Shisan forced an awkward but polite smile. "Master, you really don’t know how to tell a joke."

’Oh, so it was just a joke!’

Everyone let out a collective sigh of relief.

Feng Bei looked up, her gaze complicated. "You agreed?"

Zheng Xiu shook his head, looking somewhat frustrated. "Not yet."

Listening to the exchange between "Madam" and "Master," Ji Hong’ou sensed there was more to it. Her almond-shaped eyes widened. "Wait, Master, you’re not joking?"

Zheng Xiu sighed softly. "I’m not joking."

Qing Shisan’s expression darkened, the smile vanishing from his face. He silently puffed on his dry pipe without a word. Smoke soon swirled around him, nearly obscuring his figure and making him seem indistinct and mysterious.

The few people in the hall were weighed down by heavy thoughts. Only the Monk, failing to grasp the key issue, rubbed his bald head in confusion. "Isn’t this a good thing?"

Zheng Xiu leaned back in the Grandmaster’s Chair, crossed his hands, and closed his eyes. "It is a good thing... A heaven-sent opportunity that countless people could only dream of."

After a moment, Zheng Xiu paused, then forced a relaxed smile and waved his hand at the others. "Go on, wash up and get some sleep. I’m going to rest for a bit."

Qing Shisan knocked the ash from his pipe at the doorway and let out a dry, hoarse laugh. "Well... take care, Master."

The four maids withdrew one after another.

Zheng Xiu remained lying there until nightfall.

When it was time for dinner, Zheng Erniang had intended to call Zheng Xiu to eat. But when she saw the silent, unmoving Feng Bei standing in the hall and Zheng Xiu feigning sleep with his eyes closed, she sensed the tense atmosphere. With a soft sigh, she retreated, leaving some food for him.

PITTER-PATTER.

The moon was high in the sky when a dark cloud drifted over, bringing a sudden downpour.

DRIP. DROP. DRIP. DROP.

The large raindrops tapped a crisp rhythm on the roof tiles. Feng Bei had come up behind Zheng Xiu at some point, and her Skillful Hands were gently massaging his temples. Those same hands could extinguish the life of anyone they touched, yet during her ten years in the World in the Painting, she had mastered the art of massage. Now, back in the real world, only Zheng Xiu could be the recipient of this skill.

A comfortable groan escaped Zheng Xiu’s lips.

Feng Bei began by rubbing his temples, then slowly worked her way down, kneading his neck before finally settling on his shoulders.

An hour passed in the blink of an eye, and Zheng Xiu’s breathing grew increasingly steady.

Feng Bei’s massaging hands couldn’t help but stop. She patted Zheng Xiu, slightly annoyed. "Did you fall asleep?"

"No."

Zheng Xiu didn’t open his eyes. "Just enjoying myself."

He was talking about the massage.

Hearing this, Feng Bei smiled faintly. "It seems you aren’t too distraught by all this."

A smile touched Zheng Xiu’s lips. "Distraught? Not quite." He sighed softly. "It’s just one thing after another. In the end, regardless of Zhu’s true intentions, he has done a lot of good running Ye Weiyang for the past twenty years. You were once a part of it, so you should know full well: if not for you all these years, how many more people would have died from inexplicable disasters?"

Feng Bei considered this for a moment and did not deny it.

Take the incident at the Danglang Mountain Immortal Maiden Temple, for example. That Mantis Fairy in the temple, who was worshipped as the Dang Lang Immortal, had harmed countless people. If Feng Bei hadn’t personally intervened and kicked down the temple’s doors, who knows how many more would have had their Human Souls stolen or ended up devoured by insects.

"The existence of Ye Weiyang can’t be judged in simple terms of good and evil," Zheng Xiu lamented. "Back then, if it weren’t for Ye Weiyang, if it weren’t for you all acting as ’Spirit Binders,’ I would have been completely clueless about how to solve the problem with Second Lady’s Miracle Technique."

Although Feng Bei detested Ye Weiyang now, she had spent years within its ranks, traveling far and wide and accomplishing a great deal. She did not refute Zheng Xiu’s words.

Zheng Xiu continued to murmur his thoughts aloud, willing to speak them to Feng Bei even if she offered no opinion.

A proper man doesn’t write his innermost thoughts in a diary; he confides in the person who shares his bed. You can’t just bottle everything up.

After all, if a man bottles up too much, he can make himself sick.

Changing the subject, Zheng Xiu sighed again. "Talking with the Emperor is truly exhausting. You have to ponder every single word he says; there isn’t a single wasted breath. He told me not to be so formal, which meant I had to figure out the perfect degree of formality."

"He mentioned all the good he’s done for our Zheng Family over the years, both openly and in secret. The underlying message was clear: ’Don’t forget to be grateful.’"

"He even secretly promised to make me the second Night Lord, willing to break convention and make me, someone without the Wei Clan’s blood, ’Prince Zheng’... That’s a Prince! Not to mention, even the current Prime Minister would have to wait respectfully at my front door just to see me! Heh! When you think about it, it’s a tremendous honor, enough to bring glory to my ancestors!"

Zheng Xiu scoffed. "But he only made me such a promise because he knows full well I have no desire for power. He said someone has to do this for him. Someone has to get it done."

Feng Bei, who was still kneading Zheng Xiu’s shoulders, suddenly went rigid. Her tied-up ponytail lifted as if stirred by a wind, and she lowered her voice to a furious, low snarl, like that of a wounded beast. "He dared to use me to threaten you!"

Zheng Xiu immediately let out a few whistles with a rising and falling cadence. The men on duty near the main hall instantly understood, snickering as they discreetly moved away. Zheng Xiu shot up and wrapped his arms around Feng Bei, then gently bit and scraped her earlobe with his teeth.

—Feng Bei’s weak spot.

Feng Bei’s body went limp, but a second later, she irritably slapped Zheng Xiu away.

Zheng Xiu pressed two fingers against Feng Bei’s rosy lips, looked her in the eye, and said calmly, "When you’re living under someone else’s roof, you have to lower your head. There are some things you can’t just say aloud."