Flower Stealing Master

Chapter 1071: Playing Hard to Get

Perhaps because she had rushed out too quickly, Cheng Yaojia was bumped and immediately lost her balance, falling backward.

Song Qingshu swiftly reached out and gently caught her soft waist, supporting her back with his other hand, catching her mid-air.

“Young Master Song…?” Cheng Yaojia’s face flushed slightly, and realizing their current position, she felt a wave of dizziness.

“I’m so sorry, my protective inner Qi automatically countered. Did I hurt you, Madam?” Song Qingshu asked softly.

“No…nothing.” Cheng Yaojia shook her head, realizing her current position was somewhat inappropriate—half of her body was pressed tightly against the other person’s lower abdomen. She quickly struggled to get up. “Could you…could you let me get up first?”

Song Qingshu reached out and helped her up. “Madam, why did you come out in such a hurry? Is something the matter?”

“I…I…” Cheng Yaojia stammered, involuntarily recalling the conversation she overheard next door last night, which had left her anxious and uncertain for the rest of the night. She couldn’t easily tell him about her inner turmoil, so she simply said, “It’s like this, young master, didn’t you go to Yuqing Temple yesterday? I wanted to inquire if there was any news about…my husband.”

“Young Master Lu…” Song Qingshu hesitated for a moment before saying, “I specifically went to see him yesterday for your sake.”

“How is he now?” Although Cheng Yaojia had been somewhat smitten by him recently, Lu Guanying was, after all, her husband. After so many years of intimacy, there was bound to be a considerable amount of affection between them.

Song Qingshu hesitated for a moment, then told the truth: “His condition isn’t very good. Lu Guanying has suffered severe t0rture at the hands of the Mongols; he’s probably half-dead by now.”

“Ah?” Cheng Yaojia suddenly felt dizzy, and her body swayed involuntarily.

“Madam, don’t worry too much. The situation isn’t as bad as you think.” Song Qingshu quickly supported her, taking her hand and leading her to the pavilion in the center of the garden. “Let’s sit down there and talk about it slowly.”

Cheng Yaojia’s cheeks burned. Her gaze fell on the hand he was holding, wondering if he was intentionally or unintentionally taking advantage of her. Had he picked up those rough and careless habits from pretending to be a Jurchen for so long? But he was clearly Han Chinese; shouldn’t he know that a woman’s hand shouldn’t be held so casually?

After hesitating for a long time, Cheng Yaojia ultimately said nothing, simply letting him lead her to sit down in the pavilion.

“Young Master Lu suffered quite a bit of t0rture at the Yuqing Temple, but his life isn’t in danger, so Madam can rest assured,” Song Qingshu briefly described Lu Guanying’s condition, then paused, “On the other hand, there’s something else… I don’t know whether I should tell you or not.”

“What is it?” Cheng Yaojia stared at him with wide, blinking eyes.

Song Qingshu hesitated for a long time, then finally took something from his robes and handed it to her: “Take a look for yourself, but you’d better be mentally prepared.”

Cheng Yaojia took the handkerchief from his robes, completely bewildered. Seeing the two bright red words “Letter of Divorce” at the beginning, her once rosy cheeks drained of color.

After forcing herself to read the entire letter of divorce, Cheng Yaojia felt a sudden dizziness, and then she fainted. Fortunately, Song Qingshu reacted quickly, otherwise she probably would have collapsed to the ground.

After a long while, Cheng Yaojia finally awoke, her face streaked with tears, muttering to herself, “How could he do this? I tried everything to save him these past few days, how could he do this…”

Seeing her distraught state, Song Qingshu sighed, “There must be a misunderstanding. If I’m not mistaken, he misunderstood our relationship, which is why he impulsively wrote this letter of divorce.”

“But we’re clearly not doing anything!” Cheng Yaojia said, biting her lip.

“Are we really not doing anything?” Song Qingshu looked at her thoughtfully.

Cheng Yaojia’s heart skipped a beat. She inexplicably thought of the scene of him on top of her earlier. Yes, although she kept saying she had a clear conscience, was she truly innocent? Cheng Yaojia suddenly felt a deep sense of guilt, and immediately began to understand her husband’s behavior. She looked at Song Qingshu gratefully, “Thank you!”

If he hadn’t reminded her, she probably wouldn’t have realized the problem. She had previously misunderstood him, thinking he harbored ill intentions towards her, but after spending time with him, she realized he was as gentlemanly as could be… Of course, he could be a beast at times, but for a man, that’s quite normal.

“No need to thank me. The main thing is I don’t want to be the culprit affecting your marital relationship.” As soon as Song Qingshu said this, he felt a little disgusted with himself. He was acting like a hypocrite, trying to maintain a virtuous image. It was truly pathetic.

Cheng Yaojia bit her lip and suddenly knelt directly in front of him, “Young Master, I want to ask you for a favor.”

“Madam, please rise quickly.” Song Qingshu hurriedly reached out to help her up.

Unexpectedly, Cheng Yaojia twisted her body, refusing his help, tears streaming down her face. “If you don’t agree, young master, I’ll kneel here and won’t get up.”

Song Qingshu had no choice but to give in, smiling wryly. “Madam, I know what you’re asking for, even if you don’t say it. Very well, I agree. Madam, please get up.”

“Young master agrees?” Cheng Yaojia asked, her voice filled with surprise and joy.

“Because I can’t bear to see a beautiful woman weep,” Song Qingshu smiled slightly.

Cheng Yaojia’s heart skipped a beat at his warm smile. She quickly lowered her head and said softly, “Thank you, young master!”

“Since we’re going to rescue him, the sooner the better. Let’s set off now,” Song Qingshu said, helping her up. “However, there’s something I need to tell Madam first. This time, I can only rescue Young Master Lu. I can’t help the rest of the Southern Song delegation, and I don’t want to take that risk.”

“I know. I’m already satisfied with rescuing Guanying. How could I let you be in danger?” Cheng Yaojia was, after all, a woman. What she pursued was the happiness of her own family. As for the others in the Southern Song delegation, they were secondary in her heart.

“Then let’s go,” Song Qingshu smiled slightly, then put his arm around her waist and headed towards Yuqing Temple.

Cheng Yaojia stiffened for a moment, but this time she quickly relaxed, pressing her body tightly against him to reduce the resistance as he moved. She couldn’t understand why she seemed to have become so used to this kind of embrace, feeling no aversion whatsoever.

Song Qingshu led Cheng Yaojia to Yuqing Temple. Having scouted the temple several times before, Song Qingshu now navigated it easily even with just one person. He could clearly sense the much more tense atmosphere along the way. Although the White Lotus Sect’s previous attack had resulted in a crushing defeat, they had deployed their elite forces, inflicting heavy losses on the Mongol side as well. The number of guards was noticeably smaller, and many were wounded.

“The White Lotus Sect’s fighting strength is indeed not to be underestimated. This time, it was an intelligence failure that led to an underestimation. Li Qingluo thought she could handle the Southern Song delegation on her own. If the White Lotus Sect really came out in full force, the people from the Ruyang Prince’s Mansion would be in deep trouble,” Song Qingshu mused to himself. He thought of Li Qingluo’s alluring body, and his heart stirred. At the same time, he couldn’t help but think of Wang Yuyan’s pure and flawless face. For some reason, he suddenly felt a surge of heat within him.

“Amitabha Buddha, how could I possibly think such things? It’s shameless, vulgar, and filthy…” Song Qingshu’s reason kept telling him, but thoughts that made his blood boil would occasionally pop into his mind.

“Young…Young Master, I’m feeling a little…a little unwell. Could you put me down?” Cheng Yaojia suddenly said in a trembling voice.

Song Qingshu was taken aback at first, noticing the flickering look in her eyes. He then realized that his body had undergone a noticeable change due to his earlier wild thoughts, and Cheng Yaojia, being held in his arms, had clearly felt this change. Unable to speak directly, she could only adopt this shy and hesitant attitude.

Fortunately, Song Qingshu was thick-skinned enough to casually laugh it off, pretending not to know anything, and put Cheng Yaojia down. Then, with a serious expression, he led her through the Yuqing Temple, hiding and dodging several sentries, until they arrived at the location where Lu Guanying was being held.

Easily striking the guard’s pressure points, Song Qingshu led Cheng Yaojia back into the cell.

“Lu Lang!” Seeing her husband, barely alive, not far away, Cheng Yaojia cried out and rushed towards him.

Song Qingshu shrugged and followed.

Lu Guanying heard the familiar voice and looked up in disbelief. Seeing his wife’s face, a hint of joy appeared in his eyes: “Yaojia…” But he immediately saw Song Qingshu behind her, and his face darkened.

“Lu Lang!” Cheng Yaojia stroked his wounds, tears streaming down her face like broken pearls. “Lu Lang, you’ve suffered so much.”

Lu Guanying’s heart softened, but the thought of his wife coming with this man fueled his jealousy. He shouted angrily, “What are you doing here!”

“I…” Cheng Yaojia hadn’t expected her husband’s reaction and was speechless with grievance.

Song Qingshu, unable to bear it any longer, frowned and snorted, “Of course I’m here to save you. Don’t bite the hand that feeds you; you don’t appreciate kindness.”

Lu Guanying roared, “Who needs your help? I’d rather die here than accept your favor!”

Song Qingshu snorted coldly and was about to leave when Cheng Yaojia hurriedly grabbed him, looking at him with pleading eyes, “Young Master~”

Her pitiful appearance was heartbreaking, and Song Qingshu stopped, “Alright, I’ll save him one more time for your sake.” With that, he flicked his wrist, and sword Qi struck Lu Guanying’s shackles precisely, snapping the steel chains with a snap, causing Lu Guanying to gasp in shock.

“Thank you, young master!” Cheng Yaojia immediately stopped crying and smiled, then hurriedly returned to her husband’s side. “Lu Lang, you’ve misunderstood the young master. He’s a good person. I’ll explain the reasons to you slowly after I go out.”

“He’s a good person?” Hearing his wife constantly speaking up for Song Qingshu, Lu Guanying was furious. His eyes were bloodshot, and he glared at him fiercely. If he weren’t injured and powerless, he probably would have already pounced on him.