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    Cuddling with the Cold Female Protagonist

    Cuddling with the Cold Female Protagonist – Chapter 59

    by Little Panda

    Volume 3: Courtly Winds and Clouds, Each Finds Their Place

    Transaction

    On such a cold day, Su Yi put on a performance, wailing and fake crying.

    Ji Qingchi stood beside her, clutching the pearl necklace, her expression grim.

    The scene was truly too bizarre.

    Su Yi peeked through the seam of her sleeve and saw Ji Qingchi’s face, feeling a bit anxious inside. Aiya, this female protagonist—does she believe me or not? Logically speaking, the persona I’ve crafted should be quite successful. Even her mother believed it wholeheartedly, to the point where she hasn’t made her marry again.

    Besides, how am I supposed to wrap up this scene?

    Su Yi felt melancholic.

    However, her exceptionally frail body did her a huge favor.

    As she wailed on, she pulled something in her left shoulder and instantly convulsed in pain. She didn’t even need to fake cry anymore; she started crying for real. “Hiss…”

    Hearing that her voice sounded wrong, Ji Qingchi quickly put away the necklace and went over to check on her. “What’s wrong?”

    “It hurts…” Su Yi’s eyes glistened with tears. She slowly raised her gaze, half-biting her red lip, looking like she was about to cry but holding back. “My left shoulder hurts.”

    Ji Qingchi froze for a moment when faced with such an expression. She then averted her eyes uncomfortably, not daring to meet her gaze, and very carefully put her arm around her. “Was it from being bumped just now?”

    Su Yi mumbled, “Yes, and no.”

    “Hm? What do you mean?”

    “Could you please find a doctor for me first, and then ask for the reason, Your Highness?” Su Yi felt like crying but had no tears left. “Wuwu… it really hurts so much.”

    “Oh, alright.” Ji Qingchi quickly helped her up, but Su Yi couldn’t get up at all. Her left shoulder hurt so much it was almost numb; taking just one step made her face twist in pain.

    Seeing this, Ji Qingchi said softly, “Forgive my offense.”

    As soon as she spoke, she swept her up horizontally into her arms and used Qinggong​1 to carry her in search of a doctor.

    The common folk watching the fireworks saw this and exclaimed, “Aiyo, look! Was that someone flying on the rooftops?”

    “How could that be? You must have seen wrong. It was probably some bird.”

    “Really! I really saw someone flying on the rooftops just now!”

    The sound of several people talking loudly quickly attracted Feng Ruoqing’s attention.

    Just now, Su Yi had been insistent on squeezing into the crowd to watch the fireworks. Seeing how excited she looked, Feng Ruoqing had thought about buying her some fireworks to play with back at the residence. She happened to see a vendor selling fireworks right next to where they were being set off, so she had left Su Yi and the others to go buy some.

    Now, hearing those voices, she thought of the assassins pursuing her, and her heart tightened. She quickly put down the fireworks she was about to buy for Su Yi and looked in the direction the people were pointing.

    She could only vaguely make out a shadow and couldn’t tell who it was.

    However, she felt uneasy​2 and subconsciously wanted to find Su Yi and the others. She turned around and walked a few steps forward but saw no sign of Su Yi, nor even the Su family’s guards and maids.

    Greatly alarmed,​3 she quickly started searching. Just as she took a step, a woman wearing a Yama mask​4 and clothes similar to Su Yi’s appeared before her.

    She breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, “Miss Su, I thought you had disappeared! By the way, where are your guards and maids?”

    The woman did not answer her.

    Feng Ruoqing realized belatedly that although this woman’s clothes were similar to Su Yi’s, there were still some differences, and her build didn’t seem as frail as Su Yi’s.

    She’s not Su Yi!

    Feng Ruoqing took a step back warily. “Who are you?!”

    “Doctor Feng, what a coincidence, we meet again.” Seeing that Feng Ruoqing recognized she wasn’t Su Yi, the woman finally spoke with a smile.

    Her voice was soft and alluring. After removing the mask, an even more bewitching face was revealed.

    “It’s you?!” Upon seeing her, Feng Ruoqing retreated several steps consecutively as the memory of being tied up in Yiyun Tower instantly surfaced. “How can you be here! Where is Miss Su?”

    “Wuying did host Doctor Feng for a period, after all. Why are you so cold towards me, Doctor Feng, yet beam with smiles when you see Miss Su?”

    The newcomer was indeed Hua Wuying. She smiled, carrying a lotus lantern identical to the one Feng Ruoqing held, and clutching a stick of tanghulu in her hand.

    She gently bit off one berry. The tart, puckering taste of hawthorn spread in her mouth. It wasn’t very tasty; she didn’t understand why Su Yi liked it so much, nor why Feng Ruoqing ate it too. “Is Miss Su really that important to Doctor Feng?”

    Feng Ruoqing looked at her speechlessly. “Miss Hua, we’ve only met a few times. For you to come and say these things to me for no reason at all​5, are you… not quite right in the head?”

    Hua Wuying tilted her head, ignoring the comment about her head. “Doctor Feng, are you aware that things have been turned upside down​6 in Changsheng Valley recently?”

    At the mention of Changsheng Valley, Feng Ruoqing’s heart tightened, but she had to pretend to be nonchalant. “I’m just an ordinary doctor. Changsheng Valley, Bu Changsheng Valley,​7 I don’t know anything about it.”

    Hua Wuying chuckled softly. “I heard that the chief disciple​8 of the Changsheng Valley Valley Master defected from the valley, and even took the secret medical texts that the Valley Master—that venerable lady​9—spent decades of effort writing. Now, Changsheng Valley has paid ten thousand taels of gold to Xuanji Tower​10 to issue a bounty throughout the entire Jianghu​11 for the capture of this chief disciple. Speaking of which, Changsheng Valley is also a gathering place for healers; everyone could be considered of the same school,​12 in a way. Doctor Feng, do you really know nothing?”

    “I told you, I’m just an ordinary clinic doctor, too busy worrying about making a living every day to know about these things.” Rebutted by her like this, Feng Ruoqing felt flustered inside. Feigning anger, she turned to leave. “Miss Hua and I don’t see eye to eye;​13 please don’t seek me out again in the future.”

    Hua Wuying quickly caught up, walking beside her and smiling as she went. “Doctor Feng, don’t be angry. This Hua​14 didn’t intend to expose​15 your background. I just hoped we could get acquainted, and then perhaps Doctor Feng could do this Hua a favor. As an exchange, this Hua can also do Doctor Feng a favor.”

    Feng Ruoqing stopped walking.

    She didn’t know martial arts (Wugong​16), but last time she went herb gathering, she had secretly witnessed Yiyun Tower’s business. The carriages boarded by the trafficked women and children had a spiderweb painted on the corner panels—that was the unique symbol of Xuanji Tower, a famous assassin organization in the Jianghu.

    Coupled with what she had seen and heard in Yiyun Tower, knowing that those black-clothed people listened closely to Hua Wuying’s words, Feng Ruoqing deduced that Hua Wuying was outwardly the manager of Yiyun Tower, but was actually someone of considerable status within Xuanji Tower.

    Currently, Changsheng Valley had paid Xuanji Tower ten thousand taels of gold to issue a kill order for her. If Hua Wuying could get this kill order revoked, it would indeed be beneficial for her.

    Feng Ruoqing turned, just about to speak, when Hua Wuying placed her index finger vertically against her lips, winked, and smiled at her, as if she were a roundworm in her stomach​17, saying, “Don’t even think about it. My words carry little weight;​18 I cannot revoke Xuanji Tower’s kill order.”

    Feng Ruoqing felt stifled with anger. How could she still shamelessly claim she could help her?!

    She turned and continued walking quickly.

    “Is Doctor Feng angry?” Hua Wuying caught up, smiling. “It’s not that this Hua doesn’t want to help Doctor Feng, but right now, this Hua is like a clay idol crossing the river—unable even to protect myself​19. I want to help but can’t. However, if Doctor Feng can help this Hua with this favor, perhaps this Hua will be able to help Doctor Feng in the future.”

    Feng Ruoqing was utterly annoyed by her. She stopped speechlessly and looked at her. “Are you reciting tongue twisters? Don’t you just want to ask me for help? Speak! What exactly is the favor?!”

    Hua Wuying smiled faintly. “Doctor Feng is indeed straightforward.”

    It wasn’t a waste for her to stake out and wait for the person every day.

    Thus, she invited Feng Ruoqing to a private room in a teahouse and secretly told her the favor she needed.

    Xuanji Tower is famous throughout the Jianghu and the court​20 for its first-class assassination techniques. The people raised inside, regardless of gender, possess extremely high martial arts skills (Wugong). Some excel at assassination, some at using poison, and others are particularly skilled in disguise.

    As the daughter of the Xuanji Tower Master, Hua Wuying’s Wugong was naturally not weak. But three years ago, while out on a mission, an accident suddenly occurred.

    She was poisoned by someone. The poison sealed her meridians​21, making her unable to practice martial arts or use her internal energy.​22 If she tried, her internal organs​23 would feel a pain like being stung by thousands of bees.

    An assassin without Wugong is like a person without limbs—reduced to being useless.

    Originally, her ‘cheap dad’​24 planned to casually marry her off to a disciple of some Jianghu martial arts family to bring more benefits to Xuanji Tower.

    But she had previously poured her heart and soul​25 into completing many missions for Xuanji Tower. Her former subordinates felt that even if she hadn’t achieved great merits, she had certainly put in hard work. They argued forcefully based on reason with her ‘cheap dad’. Unable to win against them, her ‘cheap dad’ dispatched her to this Yanxue Kingdom to be the public-facing manager of Yiyun Tower.

    In reality, she was just a scapegoat​26, the type made responsible whenever something went wrong.

    Wasn’t it because of the trafficking incident some time ago that she went ‘to have tea in jail’?​27

    After she stayed there for a while, perhaps fearing there was no one left to take the blame, her ‘cheap dad’ notified their informants​28 in the imperial court, spent some money, and got her bailed out.

    So, the favor she wanted Feng Ruoqing’s help with was to cure her of this poison.

    After hearing the whole story​29, Feng Ruoqing frowned. “That father of yours is truly ruthless.”

    Two flames burned in the depths of Hua Wuying’s eyes. She smiled, “I knew long ago what kind of trash he is. So, if he is ruthless, I must be even more ruthless than him! Once I’m cured of the poison, the entire Xuanji Tower will be mine!”

    Having declared her grand ambitions, she looked at Feng Ruoqing. “May I ask, Doctor Feng, how can this poison be cured?”

    Feng Ruoqing shook her head, saying guiltily, “This Feng​30 is actually not proficient in toxicology. Speaking of which, the one who understands poisons best is my Shifu​31. However, right now… I cannot return to my sect,​32 nor can I ask my Shifu—that venerable lady—to help you.”

    “Doctor Feng means that you need help returning to your sect before my poison can be cured?”

    “Correct. Not just you, but Miss Su as well.” Feng Ruoqing sighed. “She has also been afflicted with a very potent poison.”

    “Miss Su…” Hua Wuying raised an eyebrow. “Doctor Feng, you never stray far from mentioning Miss Su in your words. Have you fallen deeply in love with her?”​33

    Feng Ruoqing looked at her as if seeing a ghost. “Miss Su and I have a purely professional doctor-patient relationship! Don’t project your own sordid thoughts and casually slander others!”

    “Alright.” Hua Wuying smiled. “This Hua thought wrongly.”

    Feng Ruoqing shot her a look​34, thinking of the women and children trafficked by Yiyun Tower. A healer’s heart is benevolent; just imagining what they might be suffering made her heart panic slightly.

    Thus, she became serious. “However, even if I return to my sect, if you want this Feng and my Shifu to help treat Miss Hua, Miss Hua must agree to one more condition from this Feng.”

    “What condition?”

    “Help the people of Yanxue Kingdom find the trafficked individuals, and expose the mastermind behind it all.”

    Doing this would undoubtedly mean pitting her against her ‘cheap old dad’.

    But that’s fine too. She had actually wanted to do this for a long time.

    Hua Wuying smiled faintly. “Deal.”

    TOC

    Footnotes

    1. 轻功 | qīnggōng | Lit. “light skill”; Martial arts technique enabling light, swift movement, often involving leaping or moving across rooftops.
    2. 心神不宁 | xīnshén bùníng | Lit. “heart and spirit not peaceful”; Feeling restless, uneasy, or disturbed.
    3. 大惊失色 | dà jīng shī sè | Lit. “greatly startled, lose color”; To turn pale with fright or shock.
    4. 阎王 | Yánwáng | King Yan/Yama, the king of hell in Chinese mythology. A Yama mask typically looks fierce and intimidating.
    5. 平白无故 | píngbái wúgù | Lit. “plain white, no cause”; For no reason, without any cause or justification.
    6. 翻天 | fāntiān | Lit. “overturn the heavens”; Describes a state of great chaos, upheaval, or drastic change.
    7. 什么长生谷不长生谷的 | shénme Chángshēng Gǔ bù Chángshēng Gǔ de | Dismissive repetition, meaning “Whatever Changsheng Valley or not Changsheng Valley”.
    8. 首席大弟子 | shǒuxí dàdìzǐ | Chief disciple/head disciple.
    9. 她老人家 | tā lǎorénjiā | A respectful term for an elderly woman.
    10. 璇玑楼 | Xuánjī Lóu | Name of an organization, possibly meaning something like “Armillary Sphere Tower” or “Jade Mechanism Tower”.
    11. 江湖 | jiānghú | Lit. “rivers and lakes”; Refers to the martial arts world, a semi-mythical society operating outside conventional structures.
    12. 同宗 | tóngzōng | Of the same clan, sect, or school of thought.
    13. 话不投机半句多 | huà bù tóujī bàn jù duō | Lit. “words not agreeable, half a sentence is too much”; When people don’t get along, even a few words are too many. Indicates incompatibility or disagreement.
    14. 花某 | Huā mǒu | “This Hua” or “Hua So-and-so”; A slightly formal and distancing way for Hua Wuying to refer to herself.
    15. 揭…底 | jiē…dǐ | Lit. “reveal the bottom”; To expose someone’s secrets or background.
    16. 武功 | wǔgōng | Martial arts skills.
    17. 肚子里的蛔虫 | dùzi lǐ de huíchóng | Lit. “roundworm in the stomach”; An idiom meaning someone who knows exactly what you’re thinking, like a mind-reader.
    18. 人微言轻 | rén wēi yán qīng | Lit. “person humble, words light”; One’s humble status makes one’s words lack influence.
    19. 泥菩萨过江——自身难保 | ní púsà guò jiāng — zìshēn nán bǎo | Lit. “a clay Bodhisattva crossing a river—cannot protect oneself”; A Xiehouyu (two-part allegorical saying). Clay dissolves in water, so the idol can’t even save itself, let alone others. Means being unable to fend for oneself.
    20. 江湖朝野 | jiānghú cháoyě | Lit. “rivers and lakes, court and wilderness”; Refers to both the martial arts world and the official imperial court/government circles.
    21. 经脉 | jīngmài | Meridians; Channels through which vital energy (Qi) is believed to flow in TCM and martial arts.
    22. 内力 | nèilì | Internal energy/force, a concept in Wuxia/Xianxia related to martial arts prowess.
    23. 五脏六腑 | wǔzàng liùfǔ | The five viscera (heart, liver, spleen, lungs, kidneys) and six bowels (gall bladder, stomach, large intestine, small intestine, triple burner, bladder); Refers generally to the internal organs.
    24. 便宜爹 | piányi diē | Lit. “cheap dad”; Derogatory and informal term for one’s father, implying dissatisfaction or lack of respect. Can sometimes refer to a step-father, but here likely implies a poor relationship with her biological father.
    25. 呕心沥血 | ǒuxīn lìxuè | Lit. “vomit heart, drip blood”; To exert one’s utmost effort, work extremely hard.
    26. 背锅侠 | bēiguōxiá | Lit. “carry-pot-knight/hero”; Modern slang for scapegoat, someone who takes the blame for others.
    27. 去牢里喝茶 | qù láo lǐ hē chá | Lit. “go to jail to drink tea”; Euphemism/slang for being arrested or imprisoned.
    28. 眼线 | yǎnxiàn | Lit. “eye line”; Informant, spy.
    29. 来龙去脉 | láilóng qùmài | Lit. “where the dragon comes from and where the veins go”; The origin and development, the whole sequence of events, the ins and outs.
    30. 风某 | Fēng mǒu | “This Feng”; Similar to 花某 (Hua Mou), a slightly formal/distancing self-reference.
    31. 师傅 | shīfu | Master/teacher, especially in martial arts or a trade. Also a general polite term for skilled workers.
    32. 师门 | shīmén | Lit. “master’s gate”; One’s school, sect, or lineage under a particular master.
    33. 情根深种 | qíng gēn shēn zhòng | Lit. “roots of affection planted deep”; To be deeply in love, have deep-seated feelings for someone.
    34. 白了她一眼 | bái le tā yī yǎn | Lit. “gave her one white eye”; To give someone a look of disdain or disapproval, showing the whites of one’s eyes.

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