Chapter 238 Her DoubtsWhen Tianci called for Yun Shimo to go, Princess Qianyang had followed surrept.i.tiously behind, but she hadn’t expected Hua Qiyue to be here, too. This must be one of Tianci’s tricks.
Why did she feel a sense of warmth watching this family of three? There was no hatred in her heart, merely regret.
The princess felt that she had changed in recent days. She used to be such a jealous girl, and wouldn’t tolerate her husband being with another woman.
But seeing Hua Qiyue now, she felt no anger, no jealousy.
“What’s wrong with me?” she thought. “When did I become so magnanimous?” Princess Qianyang was utterly baffled.
A boy’s voice rang out, “Haha! Dad, you are smart! You can grab things from a distance!” Yun Shimo had been picking fruits from the trees while staying on the ground. He had no need to climb trees.
Hua Qiyue watched Yun Shimo’s proficient hand movements, and it suddenly struck her that she could do that, too!
Yun Shimo grabbed a few fruits and handed them to Tianci. “Here — eat!”
“Give it to Mom. I’ve had enough!” Tianci wagged his head. Hua Qiyue rolled her eyes at him. He was the one who said he wanted the wild fruits, which was why she had come along.
Yun Shimo paused for a moment, the smile on his face fading slightly. He stared at Hua Qiyue, his eyes full of complicated emotions.
“Have them. They are very sweet,” Yun Shimo said, handing the fruits to Hua Qiyue.
Tianci pushed Hua Qiyue. “Mom, take them. Dad’s right; these wild fruits are very tasty, indeed!”
Seeing Tianci’s earnest expression, Hua Qiyue could not bear to reject him. She took two wild fruits and polished them against her robe sleeve. She chewed a small mouthful, the sweetness of the fruit washing over her.
Tianci watched Hua Qiyue expectantly. “How does it taste? Great, huh?”
Hua Qiyue nodded. “Yes, it tastes very sweet — so sweet that it’s overbearing. Haha, it’s the same with men. Looks can be deceiving. Tianci, do you understand my words?”
Hua Qiyue was obliquely cursing Yu Shimo. He retracted his gaze and quietly ate the wild fruits all by himself.
“I don’t understand… ”
“In the future, don’t trust others so easily,” Hua Qiyue said quietly, patting Tianci’s head.
Yun Shimo’s face took on a ghastly pallor. He moved his lips but said nothing.
Hua Qiyue was about to take Tianci away when a figure approached. It was a woman in pink robe, with watery eyes and a countenance resembling peach blossoms.
“I didn’t expect to meet you three here. Princess, my lord, are you picking wild fruits?”
Princess Qianyang looked at Hua Qiyue with a smile, but there was some bewilderment in her eyes.
Actually, she had dashed out deliberately to test her own heart. Yet, as she stood before Hua Qiyue, before such a ravishing beauty, her jealousy was still not evoked. There was not even a ripple of it in her heart.
“Yes, Sister Princess, Dad’s picking wild fruits for Mom. Do you want any? Mom says she’s had enough. Won’t you have one?” Little Tianci ran over to Princess Qianyang with some wild fruits in his arms, eager to please.
Hua Qiyue knew the little devil was reminding the princess that Yun Shimo had been picking wild fruits for Hua Qiyue.
Princess Qianyang gave a slight smile. “No, thanks. I am very full from lunch.”
Tianci a.s.sented and stepped away.
“I should leave; I don’t want to bother you three,” Princess Qianyang said quietly. She was quite surprised by her own actions. This wasn’t like her, at all,
but it felt right. She turned to depart, and Hua Qiyue stared solemnly at her as she gracefully walked away.
Hua Qiyue also found the princess’ behavior strange. Where was her former jealousy? She remembered when she first saw Princess Qianyang, the woman had pretended to miss her footing and stumbled into Yun Shimo’s arms.
She had always been such a schemer — why would she leave Hua Qiyue alone with Yun Shimo, rather than trying to pry him away?
“Don’t worry. Princess Qianyang won’t harm Tianci. After all, it’s been more than a year… ” Yun Shimo said quietly.
Hua Qiyue took one glance at Yun Shimo, and then glanced at Tianci, who had run a little further off to eat his wild fruits. She knew that he was deliberately avoiding them. So she whispered, “Did you give her something to change her personality?”
Yun Shimo pursed his lips as he stared into the distance. “Yes… when we arrived, I gave her a Pa.s.sionless Pill, so she has no l.u.s.t for killing. Now… I’ve fed her seven consecutive days with Pa.s.sionless Pills. If she takes one each day for 49 days, she will be totally pa.s.sionless and devoid of desires… ”
Yun Shimo’s voice was quiet and indifferent, but it made Hua Qiyue shudder with trepidation! Yun Shimo had not fallen for another woman — the way he talked about removing the princess’ pa.s.sions was not how one spoke about someone they loved.
But why did Yun Shimo marry Princess Qianyang? He must have his reasons — Hua Qiyue couldn’t believe he would have left her, otherwise.
However, Hua Qiyue could not endure the fact that Yun Shimo kept the real truth from her. And he had taken Tianci, causing her to search so madly and for so long. Even though Tianci was now back by her side, she couldn’t simply forgive him.
And to find out he was dosing the infatuated princess with Pa.s.sionless Pills! Such a sinister act.
Hua Qiyue stared fixedly at Yun Shimo. Yun Shimo returned her gaze, his inky eyes profound.
From a distance, Tianci watched his parents with a smile. Obviously, they were feeling something for each other thanks to the opportunity he’d created, staring into each other’s eyes.
“Yun Shimo, you’re truly very sinister!” Hua Qiyue said quietly.
Yun Shimo’s voice was emotionless and unruffled. “I will not rest until I’ve achieved my goal!”
Hua Qiyue became silent for a while. She looked at that familiar, yet somehow strange, face intently. “Yun Shimo, you must have married her for… some sort of reason? Can’t you tell me?”
Yun Shimo shook his head. Hua Qiyue’s gaze fell upon the green jade gourd fastened on his waist. Her heart started to ache with secret hatred. This man… was really utterly shameless!
If he had not loved her, would she have been used by him, too?
Hua Qiyue instantly felt her good feelings toward Yun Shimo diminish. She felt that if this continued, one day, she might really accept someone else… be it Ji Feng, Huangfu Xuan or… even Xuanji.
Everything is possible in this world. She did not know what would ensue in her relationship with Yun Shimo in the future. But she knew she couldn’t fully trust him! Otherwise, Princess Qianyang’s tragedy might befall Hua Qiyue too.
At least she finally understood why the princess wasn’t so hostile toward her, as she’d always been in the past.
Hua Qiyue was thinking about Princess Qianyang the entire afternoon. Eventually, she managed an hour of quiet cultivation. When she reopened her eyes, a crafty smile flitted across her lips.
“Yun Shimo,” she thought, “you’re as crafty as a fox. But I won’t lose out to you… I won’t allow myself to be deceived like Princess Qianyang!”
Supper was very sumptuous. After all, there were a few idlers around, and Madame Yun’s culinary skill was superb. The company found themselves stuffed after the meal.
Tianci asked Hua Qiyue to look for Yun Shimo, but she took him to the back mountain to practice instead.
“Tianci, I have not shared the knowledge of the Transmission Array in the past. For safety’s sake, I will now impart it to you. With this formation, when you encounter a dangerous situation, you can escape safely even without my help,” Hua Qiyue said with a smile.
Tianci widened his eyes. “Mom, are you setting up an array with crystals?”
“No. I’m teaching you a great rune array. It’s different from crystal arrays and more powerful, but not everyone can learn it. You’re gifted in rune art, so you can surely master it if I teach you,” Hua Qiyue said, then began reading out the runes.
Tianci heard them only twice before committing them all to memory. This boy was exceptionally talented!
Then, Hua Qiyue taught Tianci to form arrays with runes. She taught him the correct order, and after reading them out once, Tianci had memorized them all.
The rest of the procedure was simple. Tianci only needed to scribble the runes on his palm, hit them down onto the ground and inject his spiritual energy.
Of course, whether the transmission could be sent far away depended on the strength of Tianci’s spiritual energy.
“Mom, I’ve mastered it… but I’m so sleepy. I need to sleep!” Tianci was still a child, and this was hard work. Hua Qiyue carried him back to the log cabin, letting him rest quietly. She searched for a while and finally located Tianci’s Man-Hunting Insect.
Hua Qiyue brought the Man-Hunting Insect outside.
“Man-Hunting Insect, Tianci’s very good to me. You must be good to me, too, right?” Hua Qiyue said with a quiet smile.
The Man-Hunting Insect blinked its eyes innocently. It thought to itself that she was Tianci’s Mom, not its.
But thoughts are merely thoughts. The Man-Hunting Insect had just acquired human speech. Of course, it needed to ingratiate itself with Hua Qiyue. After all, it still needed to remain by Tianci’s side.
If it provoked Hua Qiyue and was made to go, Tianci might not speak up for it, since he loved his mom so much!
“Tell me, what do you want me to do?” The Man-Hunting Insect asked respectfully.
“Haha, you are smart. Alright, help me with a small matter…” Hua Qiyue explained in some detail. The Man-Hunting Insect’s eyes lit up. “It’s just a small matter. I will accomplish it well!” it said, then flitted away noiselessly.
After acquiring human speech, the Man-Hunting Insect’s powers had grown greatly. It could now disguise its presence, and no one under the realm of Holy G.o.d could detect it.
The dreary days went by. Soon, Tianci had mastered the Transmission Array thoroughly. Hua Qiyue was not in a hurry. For seven consecutive days, the Man-Hunting Insect would fly away in the night, returning one hour later.
Of course, it would also bring back some useful information to Hua Qiyue.
“You’re truly great. When I get my green jade back, I will feed you with everything—including Long Red and Ginseng with Nine Souls!” Hua Qiyue said with a smile.