Jun Buli was truly not the type to pity or cherish delicate beauty. The moment he arrived at the Jade Spring Lake of ice, he casually tossed Miss Xiao the Ninth onto the surface of the frozen lake. At the same time, he summoned the four poisonous beasts he had just finished raising—wolf, tiger, leopard, and lion—to guard her on all four sides.
Baili Weisheng, Meng Duo’er, and Situ Jing’er, seeing this, couldn’t help but suspect that in this fellow Jun Buli’s mind, there probably wasn’t much distinction between men and women at all.
“Why did you have to catch such a weak woman? The ice is so cold, won’t something happen to her?” Meng Duo’er asked.
Situ Jing’er, however, was so frightened by the four poisonous beasts that she hid behind Meng Duo’er. She had come to the Xiao family to steal the white jade flute because she wanted to learn the art of beast-taming, and the reason she wanted to learn beast-taming was that she had been afraid of wild beasts since childhood.
The wild wolves of Xijing were the most famous, and the Xijing imperial family’s wolf-taming techniques were renowned far and wide. The Crown Prince of Xijing handled wild wolves with practiced ease, but she, the princess, could never learn it no matter what. Having been frightened by her brother’s wild wolves since she was little, her courage had only grown smaller and smaller.
Still, she kept dreaming that one day she would master the art of beast-taming so she could use it to scare her brother, who was always bullying her.
Jun Buli didn’t answer Meng Duo’er’s question. He sat with his arms crossed over his chest on a dead log jutting out by the lakeside, as if sitting quietly in meditation.
Baili Weisheng gave a rough account of what had just happened at the Xiao household, and Meng Duo’er came to understand the importance of Miss Xiao the Ninth.
Only, she then thought to herself, “The white jade flute isn’t even in their hands. Even three days from now, they won’t have anything to trade for the person.”
“If they can’t produce it, then just bring out that poison corpse!” Situ Jing’er poked her head out and cut in. Having chatted with Meng Duo’er for a few moments, the two had already grown familiar with each other.
“If they really meant to bring out the poison corpse, why wait three days? They could do it right now!” Meng Duo’er asked again.
At this, Jun Buli finally raised his eyes and looked over. “I’m afraid the poison corpse Shiliang and Baili Xiaosheng aren’t at the estate.”
Jun Buli had been mulling over this very question. If Shiliang and Baili Xiaosheng were at the estate, given the Xiao patriarch’s competitive nature, he would certainly have brought them out already.
As things stood, there was only one possibility: the people weren’t at the estate at all.
Whether both of them were absent, or only one of them, there was no way to know for certain.
Meng Duo’er nodded, glancing at Miss Xiao the Ninth with some reluctance, and said, “Let’s not leave her on the ice. If she gets sick, we’ll have to nurse her back to health too.”
At these words, Jun Buli and Baili Weisheng both ignored her, leaving Meng Duo’er rather embarrassed, unsure whether to act or not.
After all, the woman had been the one they’d kidnapped, so they were the ones with the say in the matter.
However, the sharp-witted Situ Jing’er noticed Meng Duo’er’s awkwardness and hesitation, and called out loudly, “Women shouldn’t make things hard for other women! Sister Duo’er, drag her over to the lakeside. I’m scared of the poisonous beasts.”
“All right!”
Meng Duo’er was overjoyed and immediately went over to pull her along. Jun Buli, in the end, said nothing.
Situ Jing’er quickly laid down a layer of grass on the sandy ground beneath the big tree by the lake, wanting Miss Xiao the Ninth to lie on it. Who would have thought that the four poisonous beasts would follow along with Meng Duo’er? Startled, Situ Jing’er moved faster than a monkey and scrambled straight up the tree!
Now things were in a fine state—the four poisonous beasts stood guard beneath the tree on all sides, and no one could tell whether they were guarding Miss Xiao the Ninth or guarding Situ Jing’er.
“Jun Buli, it’s broad daylight and everyone’s right here—why did you call out the poisonous beasts?” Situ Jing’er said, somewhat annoyed.
Jun Buli glanced at her but couldn’t be bothered to answer. It was only then that his gaze fell on Miss Xiao the Ninth’s face.
Miss Xiao the Ninth looked to be around twenty years old, quite lovely to look at. Even with the pallor of illness on her face, her beauty was not diminished.
“Jun Buli, did you hear me!” Situ Jing’er shouted, but Jun Buli simply ignored her.
Meng Duo’er hurried to smooth things over for her, laughing, “Little girl, you’ve got some nerve—how can you be afraid of poisonous beasts? Come down, I promise they won’t hurt you.”
Situ Jing’er just shook her head. She didn’t want to go far, so staying up in the tree was the best option.
Of course, now that Meng Duo’er had given her a way to save face, she wasn’t foolish enough to keep shouting at Jun Buli and invite more trouble for herself.
Seeing this, Meng Duo’er leapt up into the tree to keep her company. The two of them, one grown woman and one young girl, unknowingly formed an alliance.
Not only Jun Buli, but even Baili Weisheng found himself staring at Miss Xiao the Ninth. He hadn’t noticed it back at the Xiao household, but now, looking closely, he felt an inexplicable, strange sensation—though he couldn’t quite say what kind of strangeness it was. Just looking at Miss Xiao the Ninth made something feel oddly off in his heart.
“You little brat, how did you knock her out?” Baili Weisheng asked.
“Smashed the back of her head,” Jun Buli said, quite honestly.
“You—!” Baili Weisheng and Meng Duo’er exclaimed in unison, and then, without meaning to, the two of them exchanged a glance—only to hastily look away again.
“Coming down that hard on a woman, how tasteless,” Situ Jing’er snorted coldly, full of disdain.
Jun Buli seemed to be doing it on purpose, ignoring her completely, treating her as if she were thin air, which infuriated Situ Jing’er so much she wanted to hurl a hidden weapon at him!
“You stinking scholar, go investigate Miss Xiao the Ninth’s background,” Jun Buli said flatly.
“She’s an illegitimate daughter of the Xiao family. Her birth mother has already passed away, and she has no siblings from the same mother. She’s always been sickly and frail,” Baili Weisheng reported.
“That’s it?” Jun Buli asked.
“That’s about all there is,” Baili Weisheng answered.
“Go find out whether her birth mother had any power or connections behind her, and also, whether she’s been favored ever since birth, whether she’s been sickly ever since birth, whether anyone has come to propose marriage, and if so, how powerful the prospective husband’s family is,” Jun Buli said seriously.
Investigating this information was indeed necessary. Baili Weisheng nodded, and without objection, turned and left.
However, not long after Baili Weisheng had gone, Jun Buli glanced up at the sky and said to Meng Duo’er and Situ Jing’er, “Watch over her properly. I have important matters to attend to.”
“No way!” Meng Duo’er refused immediately. She sensed vaguely that something was off—this rotten fellow seemed to be deliberately sending Baili Weisheng away. Where was he planning to go, and what was he planning to do?
“Just think of it as watching her on behalf of the stinking scholar. He’ll be grateful to you,” Jun Buli said very earnestly, leaving Meng Duo’er at a loss for how to respond.
Without a doubt, Jun Buli knew she was fond of Baili Weisheng and was deliberately teasing her about it.
Seeing that things were taking a bad turn, Situ Jing’er cried out urgently, “Take your poisonous beasts away! I’m not staying here to watch her, I want to go home! I’m not playing with you people anymore!”
At this, Jun Buli finally paid attention to her, turning to look at her directly. Situ Jing’er froze inexplicably, suddenly feeling tense—this fellow’s gaze was rather cold and sharp. What was he planning to do?
Yet Jun Buli merely raised his hand and actually withdrew the four poisonous beasts. Situ Jing’er was stunned—was this guy actually being reasonable?
But before she could even feel happy about it, the next moment, five more poisonous beasts appeared out of nowhere—none other than the four great poisonous beasts plus one enormous, foolish bear!
“Stay right by their side, protect them well,” Jun Buli said, and turned to leave.
Meanwhile, the four great poisonous beasts and the great foolish bear, who hadn’t been let out to stretch their legs in a long time, were overjoyed. They flexed their muscles with exaggerated movements while roaring back and forth as if clearing their throats.
Situ Jing’er watched, her little heart feeling as though it was about to shatter.
Jun Buli, you bastard! I will absolutely find your beloved consort and bully her back for this! Just you wait!