Chapter 10: Falling into Water, a Princess Carry

Chapter 10: Falling into Water, the Princess Carry

Xie Jingxing thought he was completely indifferent.

At least yesterday, when he heard Qiu Changyu report this matter with great excitement, he was hardly moved.

But when the name "Biniang" truly came from Ning Xishi's lips, Xie Jingxing felt a heavy, suffocating ache.

Xie Jingxing felt the hand supporting his wheelchair let go, and the wheelchair seemed to get lighter. Then came the sound of Ning Xishi's light footsteps running away from his side.

The moment Ning Xishi truly moved away from him, a despicable thought popped into Xie Jingxing's head—this was the imperial palace. A woman named "Biniang" who came here with unclear connections to the General's household would certainly be executed.

Ning Xishi definitely wouldn't want Biniang to lose her head, so he'd have to come begging to Xie Jingxing. And then he could demand...

Xie Jingxing's thoughts came to a screeching halt, because he saw a white cat leap down from a tree branch, straight into Ning Xishi's arms.

And the Second Young Master Ning, holding the kitten, had a tender look on his face as he lowered his head to nuzzle the cat's head: "Be a good girl now, little Biniang."

Xie Jingxing's hearing was excellent, and he overheard Second Young Master Ning rambling to the kitten: "Where have you been lately? Qi Huairui looked everywhere for you—you scared him half to death. On my wedding day, he even snuck over to tell me."

The little white cat, Biniang, looked up and nuzzled Ning Xishi's chin: "Meow~"

And the Second Young Master Ning continued: "I knew you were smart and wouldn't get caught by just any thug. Before, my dad had a hot temper, my mom liked to back him up, and my big brother kept me on a short leash, so I didn't dare take you home. But now... I'll take you to ask someone a favor. You behave yourself for a bit, and once he says yes, I'll take you home and treat you like a little ancestor."

Xie Jingxing: "..."

So Xie Jingxing listened as Ning Xishi rambled on about "behave for a bit, live happily ever after" while walking over.

The two of them seemed completely unaware that he could hear every word.

As he got closer, Ning Xishi scratched the kitten's chin, made a little pout at it, and then grinned at Xie Jingxing.

And the little white cat, as if it really understood what was going on, turned its gaze toward Xie Jingxing.

The two of them, bathed in the early morning light, looked over at him with such soft, warm affection that Xie Jingxing couldn't help feeling ashamed of the despicable thoughts he'd had just moments ago.

This wife of his was still just a kid. Even if he had a reputation for being a playboy, his heart was in the right place.

"General, I took one look at this cat and fell in love. Can I bring it home to keep?"

Xie Jingxing looked at the person before him. Even though his words were pleading, the corners of his lips curled up with a hint of playful mischief—almost exactly like the portrait that had been sitting on his study desk for ages.

But this Ning Xishi was clearly more lively and full of life. Xie Jingxing felt like he was saying, "Well? You wanna be my cat too?"

Xie Jingxing was embarrassed by his own thoughts. He reached for the lever on his wheelchair, meaning to leave, but his mind was all over the place, and he didn't notice the small stone Ning Xishi had put under the wheel earlier. He triggered the mechanism too hard, and the whole wheelchair flipped over!

The force sent Xie Jingxing flying into the air, and he splashed straight into the lake.

Ning Xishi was stunned for a second. If he hadn't trusted his own internal energy, he might've thought someone had attacked General Xie from behind.

He quickly set the cat down, dove into the lake, and swam over to Xie Jingxing.

The two of them hadn't let the maids and eunuchs follow too closely, just having them wait at a distance.

When the attendants heard two loud splashes, they panicked and rushed over to help.

Luckily, it was the middle of summer, so the lake water was warm enough—not freezing cold. Ning Xishi had originally planned to grab Xie Jingxing from behind and haul him to shore.

But in the water, when he accidentally touched the other man's completely limp legs, he changed his mind on a whim—he grabbed Xie Jingxing's sash and half-drew him into his arms. Using the water's buoyancy, he made it to shore in a few strokes.

Xie Jingxing didn't think anything of it, until Ning Xishi stood up first at the shore. Then he watched as this young man, who looked kind of frail, grabbed the sash and lifted him out of the water with one hand while using the other to support his back.

The lake water had completely soaked Ning Xishi's hair, and a strand of it curved down his forehead, adding a sharp edge to his already bold features: "Are you gonna pick up the wheelchair or what?"

The eunuchs quickly picked up the wheelchair, and Ning Xishi set Xie Jingxing into it before saying, "Bring two blankets. That's all. We're leaving the palace now."

Because he gave the orders so calmly and matter-of-factly, the palace attendants, already panicking over their master falling into the water, completely forgot to check Xie Jingxing's face. They quickly fetched blankets and sent the two off in a sedan chair.

Of course, Ning Xishi didn't forget to call Biniang to follow along.

Only once they were in the carriage did Ning Xishi finally look at Xie Jingxing. "General Xie, you okay?"

The driver, seeing his master and mistress soaking wet, was scared too and quickly drove the carriage home.

He didn't know what had happened, but he knew the imperial palace wasn't a place to argue. Even if they'd been wronged this time, payback would have to wait for another day.

Xie Jingxing's face was still a little pale. He'd kept his eyes closed ever since Ning Xishi pulled him out of the water, as if he didn't plan to say a word until they got home.

Only when he heard Ning Xishi's question did he finally open his eyes. At that exact moment, a drop of water fell from Ning Xishi's long lashes, and Xie Jingxing suddenly understood what "frivolous and dissolute" really meant.

Xie Jingxing closed his eyes again, his voice cold. "I lost control of the wheelchair. That's on me. You don't need to worry about anything else."

Ning Xishi was caught off guard by General Xie's cold reply. Honestly, he'd only thought about whether he was responsible for Xie Jingxing's fall at the exact moment it happened.

After that, he hadn't thought about it again. His only concern now was that Xie Jingxing wouldn't open his eyes, which made him a little worried.

So Ning Xishi decided not to push the concern any further. Even though he'd put that stone under the wheelchair to keep it from rolling, he really couldn't understand why General Xie had been in such a hurry to move it in the first place.

But then again—this time, he hadn't done anything on purpose, yet Xie Jingxing had still ended up in the water.

Plus, from what he'd accidentally felt in the water, if he hadn't gone in fast enough, Xie Jingxing might've really lost half his life, just like in the original story.

The doubt in Ning Xishi's heart grew—he'd clearly tried his best to avoid the original plot, yet it had still happened.

But it wasn't like the original plot couldn't be changed at all.

Take Wang Meng, for example—since yesterday, he hadn't come to cause trouble.

And even though Xie Jingxing had really fallen into the water today, he didn't seem to be holding a grudge or planning revenge.

Ning Xishi couldn't quite figure out how the original plot would go from here. For now, he could only take it one step at a time. His main goal was definitely to stay alive—he wanted to see more of this beautiful world, and he didn't want his big brother doing anything stupid to get revenge for him.

·

Back at the mansion, Xie Jingxing had just finished bathing and getting dressed when Qiu Changyu showed up uninvited with a stack of papers.

"General, guess what I found out?" Qiu Changyu said, not even waiting for Xie Jingxing to ask. "That Biniang is really something else. Ning Xishi and Qi Huairui hid her in a house, and no one ever found her. Later, when Ning Xishi was locked up in the Minister's mansion and Qi Huairui couldn't even take care of himself, when the house was taken over, Biniang still managed to slip away without anyone seeing her. She's gotta have some martial arts skills."

Xie Jingxing felt his anger spike at the mere mention of "Biniang" now, and he really wanted to throw that little white cat right in Qiu Changyu's face.

He asked coldly, "So did you find out who Biniang is?"

Qiu Changyu said, "Not yet, but I've got a lead."

Xie Jingxing let out a cold laugh. "What lead?"

Seeing that he was actually interested, Qiu Changyu said, "For Biniang to stay hidden in the Imperial Academy without being found, and then escape on her own, she's gotta have some amazing lightness kung fu."

Recalling how that little white cat had leaped from the tree and landed in Ning Xishi's arms, her lightness kung fu really was something else.

Xie Jingxing nodded.

Qiu Changyu, noticing that the general actually supported his deduction, got even more fired up and directly pulled out a piece of paper: "This is a mark I found in the corner by the wall while searching the Imperial Academy."

Xie Jingxing took it and looked at it, his face growing serious.

The paper plainly showed three wavy lines, but they weren't continuous—some segments were broken in the middle.

This was clearly a specific symbol.

And Xie Jingxing had seen this symbol before; supposedly, it was a mark used to contact the leader or guardian of the former 'Beggar Gang,' now renamed the 'Jule Gang.'

Only he and Qiu Changyu knew what this symbol meant, and the last time they'd seen it was three years ago.

From what they knew, the Jule Gang had kept a low profile because the new gang leader wasn't strong in martial arts and feared being hunted by enemies, but reportedly, he was exceptionally skilled at qinggong and always managed to get out of tight spots.

Qiu Changyu said, "If it really is the Jule Gang, then that claim about his superb qinggong becomes a bit more believable. However, what exactly this person is doing in the capital remains to be seen."

After a pause, he added, "And if that Biniang really is a high-ranking member of the Jule Gang and has ties to Second Young Master Ning, then could there be any connection with the Minister of Rites..."

Seeing Qiu Changyu's speculation getting more and more far-fetched, Xie Jingxing said, "Just head out, take a left, and go to Ning Xishi's place. Then you'll know who Biniang is."

Qiu Changyu was dumbfounded.

He figured the general wouldn't mess with him, so he did as he was told.

Then, he saw Ning Xishi giving a little white cat a bath, saying as he washed, "Biniang, you're so clever. The Imperial Academy is right next to the palace, so if you run in there, no one will dare bully you."

"In a few days, I'll go back to the Academy and take back our quarters!"

Qiu Changyu: "..." He felt like an idiot for going through all that reasoning.

And just as Qiu Changyu left, Dongshuang entered with a grave expression and whispered in Ning Xishi's ear, "Young master, the four houses, seven sects, twelve gangs, and seventy-two schools of the jianghu plan to elect a new Martial Arts Alliance Leader... They insist you participate."

Ning Xishi: "?" He was a gang leader who only knew how to run away; asking him to step onto the arena and compete for the Martial Arts Alliance Leader title—are you kidding me?

Ning Xishi: "Tell them I abstain."

==========Author's Note:==========

Sorry, my darlings.