Flower Stealing Master

Chapter 216: Undercurrents

”Sun Tzuʼs Art of War has a lesson: There are five kinds of spy: The local spy, the inside spy, the reverse spy, the dead spy, and the living spy. In my opinion, the highest state of espionage is that even the spies themselves will not be aware of the fact that they are a spy.” Yu Wanting stood with his hands behind his back, with no expression on his face, ”Women tend to get emotional pretty easily, and even if Luo Bing is good at acting, she would inevitably reveal some flaws. Song Qingshu is not a stupid person, if he saw throught her facade, all our efforts would have have ended in vain. So I canʼt put all my trust in Luo Bing.”

A look of confusion flashed across Wen Tailaiʼs face, ”Not only Luo Bing, but when the Manchu officials and soldiers broke in, even I really thought that Hongli was going to kill us all. But if we do things this way, wouldn’t it be too unfair towards Luo Bing?”

”Those who want to achieve great things donʼt care about the details.” Yu Wanting looked back at Wen Tailai, ”Iʼm actually protecting Luo Bing by doing this. She doesnʼt know that she has become a spy, so naturally she wonʼt behave abnormally, and the chances of her being safe will be maximized. Rest assured.”

Hearing what he said, Wen Tailai finally felt better, but suddenly, he realized something, and quickly asked, ”Luo Bing doesnʼt even know that she is a spy, so would she even use any beauty tricks?”

”I donʼt need her to take the initiative. I have been in the society far longer than you, and I know Luo Bingʼs temperament much better than you. Her actions are all going according to what I expected, and she will naturally complete our plan even without her own knowledge.” Yu Wanting no longer spoke, an unfathomable smile appeared on his face.

Wen Tailai suddenly felt a chill on his back as he stood beside this man, and the Old Chief in front of him seemed to be a little unfamiliar.

*****

”Hai Lanbi and Debu?” Song Qingshu was stunned. He had just heard these two names in Zhang Zhaozhongʼs mansion. Although their martial arts were not as good as Zhang Zhaozhongʼs, they were barely considered at the level of masters.

Soon after, Song Qingshu became worried that if he delayed for too long, more and more masters and soldiers would come over from Prince Baoʼs Palace, and decided to make a quick escape.

Hai Lanbi and Debu only saw a blurry flash, and discovered that Song Qingshu had already appeared in front of them. They hurriedly raised their palms to receive the incoming attack, but Song Qingshu suddenly turned in mid air. They felt a sharp pain on their chest, and blood spurted out of their mouth. They were unable to hold their ground and fell backwards, crashing onto the soldiers behind them.

Song Qingshu used his ghostly movement technique to confuse the two masters first, and then used the chance to create an escape route. In order not to reveal the skills of his martial arts, he only used an ordinary palm technique. After that, he quickly hugged Luo Bing while the soldiers were in chaos, and after a few vertical jumps, he disappeared at the end of the long street.

”Letʼs go.” Seeing that his goal had been achieved, Yu Wanting turned around and took his leave with Wen Tailai.

”This little thief, his martial arts is really good.” Thinking of his wife being held in another man’s arms, Wen Tailai felt very uncomfortable even though he knew that this was all just a plot.

”Fortunately, the Old Chief came up with such a clever plan, otherwise we would have no chance of winning by force.” Martial Zhuge Xu Tianhong also commented.

*****

In the inn, the members of the Mystic Dragon Cult also had their eyes on the confrontation.

”Senior brother, do you think that we can really defeat Song Qingshu with our level of strength?” Seeing Song Qingshuʼs ghost-like movements, the Fat Monk felt a cold sweat running down his back.

The Thin Monkʼs face turned ashen, and he obviously regretted his previous judgment.

Su Quan was the only one, still smiling like a flower, and she already had other ideas in her heart.

*****

Yelu Nanxian on the other side of the road also covered her mouth and whispered, ”This Song Qingshu is way too fast!”

Yelu Qi also looked solemn, ”Yes, he is the fastest person I have ever seen so far.”

Su Yin remained expressionless, and thought in his heart, ‘Could it be that he also practiced the legendary Sunflower Manual? It seems that it has become necessary to re-evaluate his strength.’

*****

Taking Luo Bing to a secluded place, Song Qingshu directly threw her to the ground, ”Tell me, why were the masters of Prince Bao’s palace chasing after you?”

Luo Bing rubbed her wrists and got up from the ground. She spoke while looking at Song Qingshu with a complicated expression, ”You are always so rude.”

”Did you recognize me?” Song Qingshu was taken aback.

Luo Bing smiled sadly, ”I will recognize you even if you turned into ashes.”

Song Qingshu tore off the cloth strip on his face and sneered, ”Itʼs better if you recognize me, I havenʼt yet settled the account for what you did last time.”

”Last time?” A burst of anger rose in Luo Bingʼs heart, ”You ruined my chastity, and you still want to settle the account with me?”

”Your chastity? How much is it worth?” Song Qingshu snorted, ”Youʼre not a maiden anymore, as long as you donʼt tell anyone, who can tell if I do it a few more times?I donʼt believe that even your husband will be able to tell the difference.”

”You!” Luo Bingʼs face went pale, and she began shaking with anger.

”I can guess what you said to Qingqing that day. If it werenʼt for you, how could Qingqing become Hongliʼs concubine.” Song Qingshu resisted his anger.

”Even if Madame Yuan listened to me and went to find Prince Bao, itʼs none of your business. Sheʼs Madame Yuan, not Madame Song. You sound so concerned, it seems that you had plans for her.” Luo Bing sneered, ”Anyway, it’s the same as you said, she is not a maiden anyways. Would it make a difference if she is stabbed by other men a few more times?”

”Youʼre courting death!” Song Qingshuʼs eyes turned red, he pulled Luo Bing into his hands, and strangled her neck.

”You can kill me if you want, but do one thing for me first.” Luo Bingʼs eyes widened, although she was finding it hard to breathe, she still looked at him calmly.

Song Qingshu laughed angrily and released her, ”Are you crazy?”

”Of course Iʼm not crazy!” Luo Bing stroked her neck, ”No one knows better than us Red Flower Society how quickly Kangxi and Hongli want to get rid of each other. As long as you do one thing for me, I will tell you a secret that is enough to turn the tables on Hongli.”

”If your Red Flower Society had that kind of ability, you wouldnʼt be chased by Hongli like a bereaved dog.” Song Qingshu sneered, his expression was full of obvious doubt.

Luo Bing also understood that it was impossible to convince the other party to help her with just an ambiguous statement. She hesitated for a moment, and then said, ”What if Hongli is a Han?”

”Do you want to say that he and your Chief Chen are brothers? I donʼt believe it.” Song Qingshu shook his head, ”The Qing imperial family is very strict when it comes to preserving the purity of the imperial bloodline. And, even if they are brothers, it can only mean that your Chief Chen is not a Han, but a Manchu.”

In his past life, there was also a widespread legend that Hongli was a Han Chinese, no matter which version it was, it was all just a speculation. But Song Qingshu felt that as long as one had even a little logic, he would realize that all those speculations were just nonsense.

”Of course itʼs not like that.” Luo Bing became excited, and she repeated the story Yu Wanting told them in the morning.

”Qian Zhenhuan?” Song Qingshu’s expression turned strange. He had naturally heard of ”The Legend of Zhenhuan” in his previous life. ‘Could it be that there really was such a person in history?’

”I know of the iron law that a Manchu and a Han cannot marry. If Manchu nobles come to know that Hongli has half the blood of the Han race, he will definitely lose his status as a prince. It just fits your Emperorʼs goal.” Luo Bing glanced at Song Qingshu nervously.

The people in the Red Flower Society were indeed a group of people with all brawl and no brains. Even if they were a little smart, they were limited in their vision and were useless in the broad scheme of things.

Song Qingshu cursed at them without end. If Kangxi directly made this secret public, there would be no other benefits other than forcing Hongli to turn against him directly. Hongli had hundreds of thousands of troops under his command, but Luo Bing naively thought that as long as the crime was true, Kangxi would be able to kill him with just an imperial decree.

”I need evidence.” If it was before, Song Qingshu would naturally disdain to even consider Luo Bingʼs proposal. It was in his interests that Hongli and Kangxi remained at a long-term stalemate. But recently he had changed his mind and needed Kangxi to clean up all the mess as soon as possible. Moreover, if he could grasp the evidence that Hongli was a Han Chinese, he would have another leverage in his hand, and he would have a little more confidence in rescuing Xia Qingqing in the future.

”You first have to rescue the brothers of the Red Flower Society from the palace for me, and I will give it to you.” Luo Bing was naturally not so stupid. She wouldn’t give the goods, before getting the payment.

”Looking at your dire situation just now, if Iʼm not mistaken, it must have been an expert from the palace who suddenly attacked your stronghold. So you must have fled in a hurry, how could you possibly have the time to bring any evidence.” Song Qingshu didnʼt believe her at all. He directly grabbed Luo Bing and his pair of big hands groped around her body.

”What are you doing?” Luo Bing’s face paled.

”Naturally, I have to search your body.” Song Qingshu sneered, ”Donʼt move, itʼs not like I haven’t touched you before.”

Luo Bing really stopped struggling, but her violently heaving chest showed that her mood was not as calm, ”How could I carry such important things with me, we have hidden them in a secret place.”

”Sure enough, thereʼs nothing.” Song Qingshu brought out his hands from her clothes, ”How do I know that youʼre not lying to me? Besides, with your rank in the Red Flower Society, I donʼt think you have the right to know this secret.”

Luo Bing blushed and re-arranged her messy clothes, ”Believe it or don’t, it’s up to you!”

Song Qingshu stared at her face for a while, and couldnʼt see the slightest flaw, and finally nodded, ”Okay, Iʼll trust you for now, but you have to stay by my side during this time. If you don’t give me the evidence after I rescue them… hmph, I will kill not only your husband Wen Tailai, but the rest of the Red Flower Society as well!”

Luo Bingʼs complexion paled, but at this point she had nowhere else to go, so she simply nodded, ”Okay.”

Taking her to the vicinity of the Sifang Pavilion, Song Qingshu stopped and said with a frown, ”There are a lot of people who have their eyes on the Sifang Pavilion. So, it would be a big problem if you were to be discovered by Hongli. Wait here, Iʼll be back out in a while.” After speaking, he tapped on Luo Bingʼs acupoint and walked to the Sifang Pavilion.

Luo Bingʼs acupuncture point was sealed, and she couldnʼt move at all. Her heart filled up with fear, and she became worried about being discovered by passing soldiers. She also worried about what would happen if she was discovered by a passing ruffian!

It was unknown how long it took. Just when Luo Bing was getting desperate, Song Qingshu finally returned. For some reason, Luo Bing sighed in relief when she saw this demon-like man.

”Put on this set of imperial guardsʼ clothes.This way, you can more or less hide from some peopleʼs eyes and ears when you enter the Sifang Pavilion.” Song Qingshu threw a set of clothes in front of her and unsealed the acupoints on her body.

Bending down and rubbing her numb calf, Luo Bing looked at the clothes in front of her, gritted her teeth and remained silent.

”Why aren’t you getting changed?” Song Qingshu was taken aback.

”Turn around…” Luo Bing pursed her lips, and a blush on her cheeks.

Goblin: I would Like to thank my new patron Christopher Lee for his support!

Please consider becoming a Patron to support the translation. Any amount would help a lot.

Patrons, please visit the Patreon page for your advanced chapters.