Flower Stealing Master

Chapter 1060: The Token of Affection

Until he returned to the Daotai Yamen, Song Qingshu was still feeling gloomy about the matter. How could she have escaped so easily? After all, this person was linked to the secret of Yue Fei’s daughter and was also related to the Carefree Sect and Wang Yuyan, making her a very crucial figure.

However, Song Qingshu soon felt relieved. She possessed top-notch martial arts skills, and her Qinggong was not much inferior to his own; it was never going to be easy for him to catch her.

“You are already a married woman, why do you still linger around Song Lang?” 

“I… I don’t need to explain my actions to you, do I?” 

At that moment, a quarrel from the garden jolted Song Qingshu out of his thoughts. He hurried over and saw Mu Wanqing glaring at Cheng Yaojia with a fierce expression, while Cheng Yaojia was blushing furiously, clearly both embarrassed and angry. (G: cat fight!)

“Why shouldn’t I ask for an explanation? You’re clearly trying to seduce Song Lang; can’t I inquire about it?” Mu Wanqing was the type of person who was passionate and sincere, hoping that her beloved would be devoted only to her. It was one thing for Zhou Zhiruo and others to have prior engagements with him, but she couldn’t tolerate Cheng Yaojia, a married woman, doing the same.

Cheng Yaojia had originally been lost in her own thoughts in her room, but when Mu Wanqing suddenly barged in and questioned her harshly, despite her gentle and shy nature, she was not made of clay. Coupled with her recent worries about her husband, she couldn’t help but retort, “You call him Song Lang so sweetly, but do you even know if you are his wife or if you have a marriage contract with him?”

“I…” Cheng Yaojia’s words struck at Mu Wanqing’s sore spot. She was already sensitive about this matter, and being provoked by the other party made her explode with anger.

Song Qingshu felt a headache coming on. How did he return just in time to stumble upon a battlefield? He was about to turn and leave when both women noticed him.

“Song Lang, what exactly is your relationship with this woman?” Mu Wanqing rushed over and grabbed him, her tone a mix of grievance and anger.

Song Qingshu felt embarrassed and instinctively replied, “She is the young mistress of Guiyun Manor; what relationship could she possibly have with me?”

Although Cheng Yaojia had no expectations in her heart, hearing him say that still darkened her expression. She turned her head away, tightly pursing her lips and remaining silent.

Song Qingshu also felt a bit guilty. Just a few hours ago, they had already reached the point of rolling in the sheets. Although they hadn’t gone all the way, they had done everything else that could and couldn’t be done. Saying this now felt like he was denying everything after pulling up his pants.

“If she has nothing to do with you, why keep her around? You two, a man and a woman, are living next door to each other, and you aren’t afraid of gossip?” From the way the two exchanged glances, Mu Wanqing had roughly guessed something, and her expression became even more sorrowful.

“Uh, she currently has no family and urgently needs help. The Mongols outside are eyeing the Southern Song envoy group, and if I were to drive her away now, wouldn’t that be pushing her into the fire?” Song Qingshu said with a bitter smile.

Hearing him still speak up for her at this moment, Cheng Yaojia’s mood finally improved a bit.

“I don’t care; you clearly can’t bear to part with her.” Seeing the two of them exchanging glances, Mu Wanqing was so angry she started stamping her feet, feeling more and more wronged.

Song Qingshu felt overwhelmed. As the saying goes, it’s hard for an honest official to settle family matters. No matter how high his martial arts skills were, when the harem was on fire, all he could do was stare blankly. 

Just as he was at a loss for what to do, a guard suddenly came to report, “Reporting in, according to the spies stationed near Yuqing Temple, Li Kexiu is heading towards Yuqing Temple.”

“Ah, then I need to go take a look immediately.” Song Qingshu’s expression turned serious, and then he said to the two women, “We’ll talk about your matters when I return; I need to handle something important first.” 

Without waiting for their response, he hurriedly walked out.

As soon as Song Qingshu left, Mu Wanqing felt that continuing the argument was pointless. With a haughty humph, she turned and walked away. 

Cheng Yaojia, though feeling frustrated, knew she was in the wrong and could only close the door behind her, sulking.

After exiting the local government office, Song Qingshu let out a long breath and immediately said to the guard from earlier, “In a bit, you’ll go collect one hundred taels of silver. This is a reward from me, the Marshal.” 

“Ah?” The guard looked confused, thinking to himself that he hadn’t really accomplished anything. However, who would refuse a reward? He quickly replied, “Thank you, Marshal!” 

Song Qingshu nodded slightly, pondering whether he should actively seek out a few clever subordinates who would come to his aid when his back courtyard was on fire.

He made his way to the vicinity of Yuqing Temple, refusing the guards’ requests to follow him. Finding a secluded corner, he stealthily infiltrated the temple without anyone noticing.

He skillfully made his way to the room where Wang Baobao was located. Due to the confidential nature of the matter, there weren’t many experts guarding this area; most of the skilled fighters were stationed on the perimeter. This arrangement of having strong defenses outside while being weak inside was generally sound and aligned with military strategy. Unfortunately, Wang Baobao did not anticipate that someone could possess such high stealth abilities, capable of quietly breaching the outer defenses without being detected.

“General, how have you considered what I mentioned earlier?” Wang Baobao’s voice soon echoed from inside the room as Song Qingshu hid on the beam of the corridor outside.

Then came Li Kexiu’s bitter laughter: “Little Prince, it’s not that I don’t trust the Mongols’ strength, but your country does not share a border with Jianghuai. If something were to happen, even if you wanted to help, you might be too far away to reach them in time.”

Wang Baobao chuckled, “I understand what you mean, General. In your heart, after betraying the Qing Dynasty, the only place left that borders Jianghuai and has enough power to protect you is the Southern Song. However, I must remind you, the Southern Song has a notorious reputation for weakness in recent years. Just look at this time; the Southern Song envoy couldn’t even protect themselves. Can you really expect them to protect you if something happens in the future?”

“This…” Li Kexiu’s tone clearly softened.

Song Qingshu listened for a while longer and couldn’t help but admire Li Kexiu, the old fox. He was skillfully following Wang Baobao’s line of thought without making any substantial commitments—a flawless maneuver.

Wang Baobao was no fool either; he quickly sensed the other party’s slippery nature and snorted coldly: “I won’t pressure you. You can go back and think it over carefully. Just make sure to respond to me after you’ve made your decision.”

“Thank you for your kindness, Little Prince,” Li Kexiu said, cupping his hands in gratitude.

“But don’t take too long to consider, as my patience is notoriously thin,” Wang Baobao suddenly added.

Li Kexiu felt a chill in his heart and quickly smiled, “Of course.”

*****

Watching Li Kexiu leave, Song Qingshu thought it was about time to make contact with him. After lingering on the beam for a while without hearing any more useful information, he quietly left to search for Lu Guanying and the others.

After all, having taken such advantage of Cheng Yaojia earlier, he felt he should do something for her.

After some investigation, he found that the members of the Southern Song envoy were all being kept under separate guard, with Han Dingxiao being particularly tightly monitored. 

With Song Qingshu’s current martial arts skills, it would be impossible to rescue him without alerting others.

Of course, Song Qingshu wouldn’t engage in such a thankless task. He quickly continued his search and found the cell where Lu Guanying was held.

“It seems that Lu Guanying’s status in the delegation is really not that impressive.” Song Qingshu sighed this way because there were only two ordinary foreign monks guarding Lu Guanying. He had a deep impression of the group of foreign monks under Wang Baobao, especially since they had almost suffered a huge loss that night due to their unique combined techniques. However, these two foreign monks did not belong to Wang Baobao’s eighteen guardians and their martial arts skills could only be considered mediocre.

As he swiftly passed by the two, Song Qingshu sealed their acupoints, making them appear as if nothing was amiss, and then casually took the keys from their waists. After opening the door, he looked inside with a half-smile at Lu Guanying, who was chained with steel chains.

At this moment, Lu Guanying was covered in blood, his hair disheveled and hanging on a wooden frame, clearly having suffered severe torture from the Mongols. He no longer resembled the spirited young master of Guiyun Manor.

“You Mongolian dogs, give up on this idea. I will not tell you anything,” Lu Guanying murmured without looking up.

“Although I admire your toughness, I must say you are a bit too foolish,” Song Qingshu shook his head.

Only then did Lu Guanying look up in surprise. Upon seeing Song Qingshu’s face, he couldn’t help but shout angrily, “It’s you, the dog thief!”

“Hey, hey, hey, I don’t like to hear that. Speaking of which, I even let you go back then. Why are you being so ungrateful?” Song Qingshu replied, speechless.

“Pah!” Lu Guanying spat out a mouthful of blood, his bloodshot eyes glaring fiercely at him. “You bullied Yaojia, and you expect me to be grateful?”

“Which of your eyes saw me bully her…” Song Qingshu suddenly felt a pang of guilt, recalling how he had pressed Cheng Yaojia down on the bed and had his way with her. “Alright, let’s say I bullied her. But now you’re in no position to seek revenge, are you?”

“You!” Lu Guanying made a move as if to pounce, but unfortunately, his body was tightly bound by the iron chains.

“Alright, back to the point. I was entrusted by your esteemed wife to come and rescue you,” Song Qingshu waved his hand, signaling him to calm down.

“Rescue me?” Upon hearing this, Lu Guanying felt no joy at all. After all, he had no ties to the other party, and their motivation to rescue him was clearly due to his wife’s influence. But why would the other party agree to help his wife? The answer was self-evident.

“Taking advantage of someone in danger, despicable!” Lu Guanying’s face turned ashen, feeling as if the scenery before him was turning green.

Song Qingshu, however, ignored him and continued, “But don’t get too happy too soon. There are many experts at Yuqing Temple, and I can’t rescue you right away. However, I can convey a message to your esteemed wife. If you have anything to say, hurry up and say it.”

“No need!” Lu Guanying replied coldly.

Song Qingshu smiled slightly, “I know you must want to kill me right now, but I have to remind you that in your current situation, you might be killed by the Mongols tomorrow. This could very well be your last chance to say something to your wife. If you miss this opportunity, there won’t be another.”

“Fine, but I don’t trust you. Give me paper and pen, and I’ll write it myself,” Lu Guanying said coldly.

“Where am I supposed to find paper and pen at this time?” Song Qingshu frowned, suddenly thinking of something. He pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to him. “Just write on this.”

“The True Void is our home, the Eternal Venerable Mother is our salvation!!” 

At that moment, a faint commotion could be heard from a distance, which Song Qingshu could only make out clearly due to his profound cultivation.

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Check out my other projects: My Dream Goddess (Mature), My Midnight Livestream (Horror), Ask the Mirror (recommended), The Way of Restraint (recommended), Immortal Divine Tribulation, Dual Cultivation with a Fox Demon, Hedonist Prodigy