During dinner, the three won kept discussing literature, hardly giving Li Qi and Ma Wu a chance to speak.
After dinner, Ma Wu suggested going to the dance floor, but Shen Rongqing made no comnt, and Shan Zhui, her face dark, sternly refused.
Oil Peach kept looking at Shan Zhui. Shan Zhui, controlling her emotions, said she was tired and wanted to go ho to rest.
When Shan Zhui left in her carriage, Ma Wu sighed, "She’s too difficult to deal with. It’s going to take more effort to win her over. I’ll ask her out again in a few days."
Oil Peach shook her head. "No need to wait a few days. Now that we’ve found out where she lives, I’m going to see her tonight."
Ma Wu was surprised. "Miss You, there’s no need to rush this."
Oil Peach rubbed her forehead. "I am in a rush. I had one al with her, and then I had to spend three days with Xiao Yeci reciting poetry collections. Her writing is complete rubbish! I feel sick just reading it, and she still forces to morize it. If I wait for the next al, I’m bound to slip up. It’s better to take care of her tonight."
Li Qi liked Oil Peach’s temperant. When dealing with important matters, one shouldn’t delay!
Shan Zhui returned ho, feeling a bit disheartened.
As a newspaper editor, her inco was decent but not substantial. She lived alone in a small house and, unable to afford servants, didn’t even have anyone to talk to.
After lying on the bed for a while, she wanted to write sothing, but once she picked up her pen, she didn’t know what to write.
After struggling for an hour, she tidied her bed, intending to sleep, but suddenly she heard a knock on the door.
When she opened the door, Oil Peach stood outside.
Shan Zhui’s heart rate accelerated. As their eyes t, she cautiously asked, "Who brought you before ?"
Oil Peach smiled. "Destiny."
Shan Zhui asked again, "And who is in charge of destiny?"
Oil Peach just smiled again.
Who was it again? Forgotten.
Shan Zhui was still waiting for an answer.
Oil Peach wrapped one hand around her waist, cradled the back of her head with the other, and then sealed her lips with a kiss.
「Three days later.」
Shan Zhui went to Xiaoyao Lodge, hoping to et Li Qi and Ma Wu.
But one couldn’t just see them whenever one wished.
Li Qi couldn’t be bothered with her.
Ma Wu wasn’t there; he had gone to Loess Bridge to take care of business.
Shan Zhui sought out Shen Rongqing, asking her to persuade Li Qi to et.
Shen Rongqing refused to help, saying, "Ah i, you gave him such a cold shoulder at dinner, and now you want to beg him on your behalf? That’s not appropriate."
Left with no choice, Shan Zhui turned to Zhang Xiuling. Surprisingly, Zhang Xiuling quite admired Shan Zhui and genuinely helped her.
Zhang Xiuling, Puluo State’s most talented woman and leader of the Hundred Flowers Gate, personally went to Xiaoyao Lodge to find Li Qi. Li Qi had to show her so respect. "Fine, we can et," he said. "But it’s not proper for a man and woman to et alone. Let’s have a al together, the three of us."
The three of them ate together at Xiaoyao Lodge. Shan Zhui found it difficult to broach the subject of her visit. After the al, she desperately pleaded to have a private word with Li Qi.
Zhang Xiuling chuckled. "Ah i, even if you’ve taken a fancy to Seventh Master, you shouldn’t be so impatient."
No matter how much Zhang Xiuling teased her, Shan Zhui persisted. Reluctantly, Li Qi agreed. He had a private room opened, and they spoke for a short while.
Shan Zhui’s request was simple. "I want to see Miss You again, but I can’t find her."
"Seeing Miss You is possible. She admires you greatly." Li Banfeng showed Shan Zhui a newspaper. "This article was written by you, right?"
She didn’t even need to look; she recognized her own story. "Yes, I wrote it."
Li Banfeng asked, "Have you ever been to Thousand Pearls Mountain? How did you write this story?"
Shan Zhui replied, "I’ve never been to Thousand Pearls Mountain. I wrote it based on news reports."
"The news ca out, and you wrote the story that sa day?"
Shan Zhui answered, "I saw the news report and rushed to write it overnight."
Li Banfeng nodded. "I see you’ve included everything that was in the news."
"That part was easy, just copying."
"But you’ve also written things that weren’t in the news."
"I fabricated those parts."
Li Banfeng looked at the story’s details and smiled. "You fabricated these parts so well they seem real?"
Shan Zhui pursed her lips. "That’s artistic license."
Li Banfeng put down the newspaper. "Artistic license that makes it seem so real?"
Shan Zhui began to sweat. "I poured a lot of thought and effort into it."
Li Banfeng looked at Shan Zhui. "Thought and effort that make it seem so real?"
The questioning was becoming intense, and Shan Zhui felt herself losing composure. "What exactly are you trying to ask?"
Li Banfeng said calmly, "I’m asking you, is what you wrote actually true?"
"I never said it was true!"
"If it’s not true, how did you write it to seem so real?"
Shan Zhui exclaid angrily, "How would you know it seems so real? Did you witness it yourself?"
Li Banfeng nodded. "I did witness it myself. That’s why I say what you wrote seems so real. Did you also witness it?"
"I didn’t witness it..."
"If you didn’t witness it, how could you write it as if it were the real thing?"
Shan Zhui felt herself backed into a corner. "I... I heard it from soone..."
"Heard it from whom? And they described it as if it were the real thing?"
Shan Zhui took a deep breath, feeling the strings in her mind snapping one by one. "Xie ngjiao, a singer from the Hundred Joy Gate, brought the information," she said. "She described what happened and asked to write this story."
"She asked you to write it, and you just did? Why were you so obedient to her?"
"Because..." Shan Zhui didn’t know how to respond.
Li Banfeng answered for her, "Because you’re both from the Flying General Camp, right?"
After a long silence, Shan Zhui suddenly looked up fiercely. "So what if it’s true? Following the Flying General to rid the world of tyrants and bring peace to the people—I have no regrets in my life for that! Since you’ve discovered my identity, do as you wish. Kill or cut to pieces. I won’t reveal a single thing about the Flying General Camp, nor will I betray anyone!"
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