Flower Stealing Master

Chapter 945: A New Journey

Gebi and Wanyan Ping picked up the masks curiously and put them on. 

Song Qingshu stepped forward gently to smooth out the wrinkles on the masks for the two women, ensuring a closer fit to their skin.

Having his hand caress their faces made both Gebi and Wanyan Ping somewhat uncomfortable. Had they been alone with him, it might have been different, but doing so in the presence of another sister was truly embarrassing. Fortunately, the masks concealed their slightly flushed cheeks and their bashfulness.

After Song Qingshu had properly fitted the masks for them, the two women looked up and suddenly saw each other’s appearance. 

They were startled: “Ah!” hurriedly pointing at the masks on their faces: “This… this is…”

Song Qingshu nodded: “Indeed, this is the emperor’s mask. You are his biological sisters, so your features share some resemblance. Crafting this mask was relatively simpler. Moreover, Wanyan Quan has always been frail and sickly, while both of you are tall and slender. With a little disguise, it shouldn’t be a problem to deceive others. Later, I will leave behind the mold used to make this mask and give you the formula for the mask material. You can make more yourselves as a precaution.”

After the initial shock, the two women gradually calmed down and began to grow curious about the miraculous mask.

Gebi touched her sister’s face, seeing how she now resembled the late emperor standing there, and couldn’t help but sigh: “No wonder I didn’t recognize you at all when you disguised yourself as Wogula before. This is truly miraculous.”

“It’s not as magical as you think,” Song Qingshu said with a bitter smile. “This disguise can only deceive unsuspecting people and is easily seen through by close relatives. Didn’t you recognize me before?”

Gebi had just taken off her mask and happened to hear his words. She couldn’t help but blush: “It’s not that easy to see through. When I was… intimate with you before, I actually sensed something was off, but I never thought in another direction. How could I have known such a miraculous skill existed in the world? It was only later, when you revealed some flaws, that I realized you might be an imposter.”

Wanyan Ping also took off her mask. Hearing her sister’s words, she couldn’t help but say gloomily: “Sister, you were married to brother-in-law for so many years, yet you even mistook his physical characteristics. You ended up tricking me into being deceived by this man too.”

Gebi touched her cheek, feeling the warmth. She couldn’t help but retort: “Hmph, if you hadn’t had ulterior motives toward your brother-in-law, how could he have taken advantage of the situation? Besides, later on, even though you knew he was an imposter, didn’t you still go along with him…” This time, when Wanyan Ping returned to the capital with Song Qingshu and they cooperated so seamlessly, how could the observant Gebi not know what had happened between them?

“Ah~” Wanyan Ping let out a sharp scream and hurriedly tickled her sister: “Don’t say it!”

Watching the two sisters playfully fight, Song Qingshu was more than happy to enjoy the show from the side. Especially when their clothes occasionally flipped a little, it was enough to make one’s imagination run wild.

Soon, the sisters also noticed Song Qingshu’s “sinister” intentions and had to stop their playfighting. 

Gebi tidied her disheveled clothes and hair bun, while Wanyan Ping was much more natural. Instead, she asked: “Even if our appearances are similar, it’s useless. Our voices…”

Song Qingshu smiled slightly: “No need to worry about that. I’ll teach you a method to change your voice. Although it will be difficult for you to reach the level of impersonating anyone freely in a short time, simply learning the emperor’s voice shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Hey, why are you holding our hands when you’re just talking?” Wanyan Ping was taken aback.

Song Qingshu said with a straight face: “Such a secret technique must, of course, be learned in a secret place.”

Wanyan Ping thought it made sense and was fooled by him. However, Gebi, who knew him better, glanced in the direction they were heading and suddenly felt uneasy: “The secret place you’re talking about wouldn’t be the bed, would it?”

Song Qingshu immediately put on a surprised expression: “So we thought of the same thing!”

“Pfft!” Gebi spat, her face red. “Who thought of the same thing as you, you pervert!”

“What do you mean, pervert?” Song Qingshu hurriedly corrected. “This voice-changing technique is an extremely refined skill. Countless martial arts experts want to learn it, but I never teach them.”

Wanyan Ping finally reacted too and couldn’t help feeling both shy and angry: “Don’t think we don’t know what you’re planning. Let go quickly.”

“Don’t look at such an upright and magnificent figure like me with vulgar eyes,” Song Qingshu puffed out his chest. “I really am going to teach you a skill!”

Wanyan Ping couldn’t help but kick him: “Don’t treat us like three-year-olds who are easy to fool…” Before she could finish, her toes went numb from the shock of Song Qingshu’s protective Qi, and she couldn’t help but gasp.

Song Qingshu said with a lonely expression: “I’m about to leave the capital soon. I don’t know how long this separation will be. Don’t you want to have a heartfelt talk with me before I go?”

His tone was extremely sorrowful. 

The sisters looked at each other and saw the reluctance in each other’s hearts. 

Gebi hesitated for a moment but still said: “We can talk, but later… no touching.”

“Of course, no problem!” Song Qingshu was overjoyed and hurriedly pulled the two women into the inner room.

Before long, exclamations from the sisters came from inside:

“Weren’t you going to teach us a skill? Why do you need to use your mouth?”

“The skill of changing voices naturally requires the mouth.”

“But what’s with your hands wandering all over the place?”

“This is me clearing your extraordinary meridians.”

“…”

*****

A few days later, the emperor issued an edict. 

In view of the growing strength of the Golden Serpent Camp, the territory of Li Kexiu, the Governor of Jiangsu and Zhejiang of the Qing Dynasty, had become an exclave, a piece of fat meat in the eyes of various forces. Tang Kuo Bian, the Imperial Secretary and Marshal, was specially dispatched to Yangzhou to visit Li Kexiu.

The original border between the Qing Dynasty and the Southern Song Dynasty was the upper reaches of the Huai River and the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. The Qing Dynasty controlled the East Huainan Road and Northern Jiangsu region, while the Southern Song Dynasty controlled the West Huainan Road and Southern Jiangsu region. 

Nominally, Li Kexiu was the Governor of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, responsible for the defense of Jiangsu and Zhejiang. However, the area he actually controlled was the East Huainan Road and Northern Jiangsu region. The title of Governor of Zhejiang was merely an honorary title following ancient practices.

Previously, after the Qing Dynasty was defeated and the Golden Serpent Camp rose, its sphere of influence cut the Qing Dynasty’s territory in half. Later, the Revolt of the Three Feudatories broke out, forcing the Qing Dynasty to choose a truce with the Golden Serpent Camp. Although Li Kexiu had always professed loyalty to the Qing court, discerning people could see that the Qing Dynasty was no longer able to control this territory. Thus, various forces were actively trying to win over Li Kexiu.

This time, Song Qingshu left Daxing Prefecture under this pretext, which did not arouse suspicion among the court ministers. 

However, the Department of State Affairs also raised the issue of canonizing the Chongyang Sect. Last time, because Song Qingshu and Pucha Ahute returned to the capital temporarily, the matter was forced to be interrupted. 

This time, seeing that Tang Kuo Bian had left the capital, the relevant ministers proposed that he should go to Chongyang Palace. 

Song Qingshu could think of no reason to refuse and agreed.