Who you calling “Sister-In-Law”?! I’d send you rolling down the mountain right now if it wouldn’t damage the carriage!
Once she had blown off her steam, Shen Yiren responded, “You’re not exactly wrong.”
“S-” Sima Huai shut his mouth upon catching Shen Yiren’s gaze,
“… I was referring to transferring command authority to Ming Feizhen.”
Sima Huai only nodded and gestured for Shen Yiren to continue.
“Feizhen is indispensible in this operation, but he… can’t show me his full capacity for whatever reason. I believe you would know more than me about this. While His Majesty trusts Feizhen enough to instate him as strategist, a strategist post comes with its restrictions. For example, he’s always stuck with His Majesty and State Preceptor Lai, so he can’t let loose. My goal is to pave his way and eliminate obstacles.
“Despite my method being a little pushy, as long as you don’t step out of line and fulfil your duty, His Majesty won’t take back the reins. The first reason I called you in here is to explain my reasoning. The second reason is to tell you what your senior’s circumstances are.”
“I see… Sadly.”
“… Sadly, what?”
Sima Huai stood up and subtly raised the corners of his lips: “Sounds like you’re implying, ‘You may have been given authority, but I am in charge until your senior brother returns.’ Sadly, I’m not used to taking orders from others. Sorry, Miss Shen. I appreciate what you have done for my brother; however, I will not take orders from anyone other than one man, not even my wretched shifu. Thank you for being considerate and accidently handing over authority to me.”
“There’s a bamboo house four kilometres outside the capital.”
Sima Huai’s hand riveted before he could touch the door.
“Fourth row from the top, seventh book from the left is a contraption to open the underground passage.”
“Impossible!”
“You know what’s down there without me telling you, don’t you?”
“F-First Brother told you where his treasure trove is? Wh-what is your relationship with him?”
Shen Yiren didn’t have the wildest guess what was down there. All Ming Feizhen told her was that he placed his most precious items down there when she asked where he used to live. Shen Yiren savoured Sima Huai’s astonishment, true. That being said, quavering was beyond the degree of surprise she expected to evoke.
“That’s for me to know and for you to not concern yourself with. All you need to know is that he obeys me.”
Impossible! First Brother gave away the location of his porn stash?! Impossible! Is she really…
“Sister-in-Law!”
Bam! Sima Huai, qinggong expert, took a knuckle sandwich straight to the face in his moments of shock.
“What’s so perplexing about him conforming to his superior’s orders? Listen, your cognition contains several mistakes. First, you’re not subservient to me just when your first brother is absent; you’re always following my instructions. Second, even when he comes back, you’re still following my instructions. Third, my style is, my subordinates’ subordinates are my subordinates. Fulfil your duty as my subordinate henceforward.”
Sima Huai bobbed his head with a deadpan face – a consequence of too many shocks in succession.
Minutes later…
“Newbie, watch. This small stool is for eating by the corner. This small stool is for resting feet whilst drinking tea. This cloth is for wiping tables. This small tray is for carrying teacups on. Make sure you always have money on you because you pay for the fruit first and receive your reimbursement later. Since you’re a qinggong adept, you will be in charge of serving tea and drinks.” Turning to Tianfeng Xuanyuan, Su Xiao instructed, “Since you’re tough, you can clean the toilets. This basin is for washing feet. Just leave it aside for now. Big Brother Ming will take care of it when he gets back.”
***
“Feizhen, I want that one!”
“Okay, okay, I’ll go buy it. Excuse me. I’ll take one of each colour of that hairpin.”
“Feizhen, I want that one.”
“Okay, okay, I’ll go buy it. Excuse me. I’ll take that shoe in all six sizes.”
“Feizhen, I want that one.”
“Okay, okay, I’ll go buy it. Excuse me. I’ll take the three best sets of clothing, jewellery and rouge.”
Travelling at a leisurely pace, Ming Feizhen and Ming Suwen reached a big town three days away from the capital. Usually, it’d be the clothing, fragrance and rouge vendors that stole attention from women and food stands that stole the attention of men, yet the two stole the show of every vendor, instead. Ming Suwen was coveted for her beauty, while the wretched man blaspheming her beauty, who was walking arm in arm with her, was coveted for his place next to her.
“Feizhen, I want that one!”
“Their store pillar?! No matter how rich I am, I can’t tear down their building, can I?!”
“But the condor on the column is pretty. I want to take it back to show the renovators how to renovate my pillars.”
“But… it’s a column we’re talking about…”
Ming Suwen curled her lips and curved her eyes down: “No?”
“All right, mate, get up. I need to tear your place down!”
“Break a leg, Feizhen!”
It had been a long time since the two had been able to interact freely. Even though they were reunited at Liu Shan Men, they couldn’t be intimate when Ming Feizhen chickened out, and due to Liu Shan Men’s workers always watching. Now that they didn’t have anyone supervising them, Ming Suwen wasn’t going to let the opportunity go to waste.
While Ming Feizhen was alternating between peaceful negotiations, threats, pleading and aggression, Ming Suwen acted as his personal cheerleader. In the end, Ming Feizhen bought out the pillar for eight times its worth.
Once the proprietor received his payment, he told his clerk, “What an unlucky guy. I could buy another store with this money.” He then said to Ming Feizhen, “When do you need the pillar? How about I deliver it to you next month? I will have to charge for delivery.”
Ming Feizhen smiled innocently: “Thanks, but I’ll take it now.”
“Now?”
Ming Feizhen whooshed up to the overhead beam, palming the pillar and twisting it out of the ground with his other hand. By the time the building’s resounding collapse was audible, Ming Feizhen and Ming Suwen had already absconded from the city. Obviously, he managed to keep part of the condor but had to leave the rest of the pillar at the store’s entrance. What the proprietor did with the pillar was his business.
Loading their purchases onto their carriage, Ming Feizhen stated, “Young Shiyi, we can’t afford to buy more because we can’t fit any more nor can the horse handle more weight than this.” Receiving no response, he poked his head out to ask, “Young Shiyi, did you hear me?”
In a daze, Ming Suwen inquired, “Feizhen, how many days will it take for us to catch up to them?”
“At our current pace, fifteen to sixteen days? It’ll take them a month to reach Xiuyu, so we should arrive before them.”
“Mm… I see.”
Ming Feizhen sauntered over to take Ming Suwen by the hand: “What’s the matter?”
Ming Suwen, not holding his hand back, shook her head: “Nothing. Just feels like time flies. We only have about two more weeks to spend time together like this.”
It dawned on Ming Feizhen that Ming Suwen was happy but also afraid of losing the happiness. “It’ll be fine.” Ming Feizhen squeezed Ming Suwen’s hand. “We’ll always be like this as long as we’re both okay.”
For a long while in the past, they just let the warmth of their hands do the talking. Ming Feizhen never forgot that gaze that could make his heart bleed, yet could also besot him.
“Young Shiyi? Y-”
“Don’t speak.” Ming Suwen pressed her finger to Ming Feizhen’s lips. “How about we,” she cracked a naughty smile, “take a detour?”
