"Keep it down…" The girl in yellow warned.
"Look at this place. Is it a place for humans to live? It's shabby and worn and not airtight…" The girl in red almost cried, "Poor lady. What kind of life she had led in the past year? I feel pitiful on her…"
The girl in yellow glanced around at the surrounding environment and furrowed her brows too, but she, unlike the girl in yellow, was a quiet person who wouldn't speak out every word in her mind.
As the girl in red spoke, she seemed to suddenly remember something and said with hatred, "It must be these people bullying lady and locking her here since she has no one to help her. We must save her and get out of her."
"Shiwu…" The girl in yellow stopped her from going on.
The girl in red, called Shiwu, looked over with the girl in yellow's eyesight. Nizi came out, and they shut up.
"You follow me."
The two exchanged a look and followed Nizi to the inner courtyard.
Mo Qianxue did workout in the yard when Nizi led the two people into the yard.
Yesterday, Feng Yuchen had found her, and late at night, she had had such a nightmare, all indicating that the identity of the original owner of this body was exposed. Such a thing couldn't be hidden for a life time, so even if she didn't want to be the original owner, she must make clear of everything.
Otherwise, it wound be a torture to keep having a nightmare like last night's.
Just take things as they come.
She turned around to look at them and found two girls of valiant and heroic bearing. Mo Qianxue's eyes gleamed with praise, and she smiled, "You…"
Since they girls had memories, they had been assigned by madam to young lady as her servants, so they would recognize her no matter how her appearance changed. As Mo Qianxue turned to her, only one glance, and they kneeled together on the ground, tears glistening in their eyes, "Lady, sorry we come late."
Mo Qianxue was speechless for a moment. Why did these ancient people always kneel down before making things clear? Hence, she stepped forward to help them get up, "Don't be like this. Hurry and get up. I don't seem to have met you before…"
She didn't mean to pretend that she had lost her memory, but she had no other choice. Where could she hide when the body's former servants had come to her at her home?
It would be indeed improper to insist that she had forgotten everything, that she wasn't the one that they were looking for, and that she didn't know them. Probably at last, she would be burned to death as a monster.
Besides, should she still deny when the parents of this body come to her? She thought she should give back the body since it wasn't hers after all.
Moreover, these two girls looked very familiar. She seemed to have met them in the dream.
Hearing Mo Qianxue's words, Chuyi and Shiwu felt like being struck by lightning and refused to get up.
Chuyi cried and begged, "Lady, don't you remember me? I'm your Chuyi…"
Shiwu bowed her head, "Lady, are you punishing us for coming late?"
The two girls kneeled on the ground, walked on their knees, one hugging Mo Qianxue by the left leg and the other the right leg. They said different words, but in the same sobbing voice.
Although they had been told by lord Feng that their lady had lost her memory to remember anything about them, they chose to believe in what they'd like to believe before witnessing with their own eyes. They had been serving lady since they were little girls. How was it possible that lady was unable to recognize them?
Now hearing the words from Mo Qianxue's mouth, they couldn't accept the fact at once, painful and panicked.
The two girls holding Mo Qianxue's legs and cried and begged, the tearful eyes staring intently at Mo Qianxue, full of expectancy, in the hope that Mo Qianxue could think of something.
However, what frustrated them was that they couldn't find any trace of familiarity in Mo Qianxue's eyes.
Mo Qianxue, "…" Chuyi? Shiwu? Two odd names.
Yet, could these people talk normally when kneeling like this? Looking at their tearful faces, Mo Qianxue wondered where the girls of valiant and heroic bearing were?
Again, she was speechless.
The girls were too stubborn to stand up seeing Mo Qianxue didn't recognize them.
Therefore, Mo Qianxue pulled her face and said coldly, "Just now you said I was your lady, but you don't even listen to my order. It's obvious that I have nothing to do with you. You might just leave."
Then, she let Nizi pull them away and drive them out.
This tactic was effective. Hearing that they would be driven out, Chuyi and Shiwu became more anxious. Shiwu knew herself clumsy in wording, so in this critical moment, she shut up and turned to look at Chuyi.
Chuyi kowtowed in a hurry, "Yes, lady. We won't do this again. Please don't drive us away."
After saying this, she stood up. Shiwu imitated her, kowtowing and standing up.
Since they had gotten up, Mo Qianxue ordered Nizi to make tea, led the them to the living room and let them sit down.
This time, they wouldn't listen again.
Mo Qianxue didn't insist and practiced 'do as the Romans do in Rome'.
With two girls standing, Mo Qianxue sat down and began to enjoy her tea.
Silence. Mo Qianxue pondered for a while and came up with an idea. Leisurely, she took a sip of tea and ordered them to tell her about who she was.
One can win any battle if he knows well the enemy as well as himself.
She must need to figure out who the original owner of this body was, why she had been chased and killed, and what the potential dangers were in the future.
The last night's dream still remained vivid in her mind. She believed that it must be the deepest memory of this body.
She didn't intend to get the wealth or the identity and social status. She merely wanted to know who had tried to kill this body because she wanted to keep it well to accompany Ning Shaoqing till an old age.
He already had enough troubles to deal with, so she mustn't add new ones for them. If enmity wasn't settled, there was no end to it. She hoped to strangle any possible danger in its cradle.
Chuyi and Shiwu exchanged a look, and Chuyi took one step forward and began to tell.
Her voice was crisp and clear, telling in a logical and organized way. She was a first-level servant with managing ability.
"Lady, your name is Mo Qianxue; your father was Mo Tianfang, the Father of our Tianqi Dynasty; your mother is eldest legal daughter of the first-class noble Feng family…" Upon hearing the introduction of the identity, Mo Qianxue didn't know whether to cry or laugh.
As expected, the original owner of the body shared the same name with her, but her identity was too noble.
However, this was only part of her background.
Ning Shaoqing in the inner room were more astonished.
When Nizi had come to report, Ning Shaoqing was guiding Mo Qianxue to do the so-called morning exercise. He had planned to accompany her to meet with the former servants, but Mo Qianxue said that she was able to deal with them and pushed him into the study with a smile.
He also believed that his presence would cause inconvenience, so he had agreed and gone to the study to listen inside.
He had expected a noble identity of Mo Qianxue but never such an incredible one.
The identity of the legal daughter of the Father of the Country was astonishing enough to him. He stunned at the hidden fact which made her become the first noble lady in the capital.
"Our master and madam met each other in danger. The assistance and support of each other helped build a mountain-solid relationship. A high-rank nobleman like master would have married many wives and concubines, but he only had madam."
Speaking of this, Chuyi looked very proud and Mo Qianxue also looked admiring. It turned out in the ancient time, there were also loyal men as such.
"When madam gave birth to lady, her health was so greatly harmed that , by doctor's diagnosis, she couldn't be fertile anymore… Madam felt misery and guilty and tried to let master take concubines. At that time, master has just come back from battlefield with arch triumph, so the Emperor asked him what he wanted.
Master wanted nothing but kneeled down to beg the Emperor to granted all the property of the Mo family to his daughter Mo Qianxue, including the future entitle. If a girl couldn't bear the title, then grant it to her son."
So far, Mo Qianxue was completely dumbfounded. What an amazing identity!
Everybody in Tianqi Dynasty knew that among the noble titles, the highest one was duke, followed by marquis, and then earl and finally viscount. (Translator: western terms are borrowed to make it simpler.)
Other women's dowry included no other things except money and treasures, but her dowry would contain a title of duke? Her son would become a duke as long as he turned an adult?
However, as she listened, Mo Qianxue was gradually unable to concentrate. In a dizzy, she shook her head, and although she felt big-headed, Chuyi's crispy voice was heard again.
"Five years ago, the Emperor appointed master as the Grand Marshal to guard against enemies on the western borderline. Madam had never separated from master, so she followed him to the west.
That year, lady was ten years old, too young to stay alone in the capital, so you were sent to madam's original family to be taken back to the capital when your parents came back with triumph…"
Mo Qianxue's dizziness and headache got more violent and fiercer …
"In August last year, news came from the frontline that master had died in the war and madam had taken her life to follow him. Then, lady, regardless of your grandparent's prevention, insisted to return to the capital for the mourning ceremony…"
Mentioning of this, Chuyi sobbed slightly, but Mo Qianxue felt her head being struck by a lightning. It suddenly ached so terribly that she soul was almost forced out.
"Nanny took me and Shiwu and Danian and Xiaonian, with a group of guards, to protect you back to the capital. Unexpectedly, on the way, we were attacked by assassins…"
Chuyi was still talking, but Mo Qianxue was already unable to bear with her headache.
Interrupting Chuyi's narrative, Mo Qianxue muttered, "Stop it, stop…"
In agitation, she rushed out of the room, squatted down under the tree in the yard, face full of tears, shaking her head uncontrollably.
"My head aches…so…" At this moment, no one knew yet that Mo Qianxue had lost control of her body and her behavior.
Her head ached, but her heart hurt more bitterly, as if it was her own parents who had died.
She seemed to have seen another person springing out and knocking her down within her body. Then, the person entangled and locked her to make her powerless.
She lost all her ability to control and became a bystander, as in that nightmare, a powerless bystander.
At this moment, her body screamed hysterically, "Father…mother…" The call was grief and morning, making any listener sad with tears.
"…I'm an unfilial daughter…father…mother…."
The body shouted father and mother bitterly, but Mo Qianxue felt herself floating into midair.
She saw Ning Shaoqing rushing out of the room.
She also saw Feng Yuchen dashing in from outside of the yard.
The out-of-control body pushed hard against Ning Shaoqing who rushed over to comfort her, and, looking up at Feng Yuchen, called like in that dream, "cousin…", and reached out for him.
Feng Yuchen was excited because although Mo Qianxue's eyes were full of sorrow, the way she looked at him carried familiar intimacy. He couldn't help calling her, "Xue…sorry I come too late…"
He scooted to her and opened his arms to hug her…
The body ran to him too… Mo Qianxue felt her heart aching as if being squeezed. She couldn't control either the hands pushing Ning Shaoqing away or the legs running to another man.
Fortunately, from behind, Ning Shaoqing, dark-faced, pulled the body back, hid it behind his back and then raised his palm.
Feng Yuchen became cold-faced too and waved to deflect the palm wind.
Ning Shaoqing held "her" to retreat, and a figure popped up from the darkness and took Feng Yuchen's attack.
In broke two other people, who were exactly the two guards that had been in the restaurant recently.
Asan and Awu also jumped out to join in the fight. Instantly, swords and spears were swinging all around the yard…
Chuyi and Shiwu also followed out from the living room. Shiwu was drawing out her sword to join in the fight but was stopped by Chuyi.
Caixia rushed over from inside and stared numbly at them in the living room.
Mingyue also sprinted over on hearing the noise but was pulled back by the sharp-eyed Nizi and hid behind the door.
The situation was a mess.
"You go away…let me go…let me go…" The body in Ning Shaoqing's arms kept struggling.
Feng Yuchen constantly glanced at the body pushing and pulling with Ning Shaoqing while at the same time fighting with the black shadow.
*
Witnessing with his own eyes that his beloved one was calling help, Feng Yuchen felt his heart bleeding, "Xue, I'll save you from here…"
Then, he fought hard against the shadow guard in order to take away Mo Qianxue.
However, he underestimated the ability of the shadow guard, who wasn't easy to get rid of. Even if he had caught with his own body, regardless of his former injure, the palm wind of the shadow guard, he failed to escape from the shadow guard's tangling.
He could do nothing but to watch Mo Qianxue being taken away.
When he looked again, Ning Shaoqing had already held Mo Qianxue walking back into the inner room, leaving Feng Yuchen a desperate figure of his back.
Feng Yuchen seemed to become crazy, "Ah…", and suddenly leaped towards the shadow guards because he knew that only after defeating this person was he able to approach Ning Shaoqing and take back his beloved girl.
The gnarl sounded like an injured monster's, carrying reluctance, hatred…and distress…
However, the reluctance and hatred were against Ning Shaoqing and distress was because of his Xue.
Ning Shaoqing's brow had long been corrugated, and the cold face emitted sea of jealousy frog, so overbearing as to swallow the sky, mixed with rage and despair and other complicated feelings.
He ignored the chaos in the yard and her struggle, locked her hands together and held her to the living room.
The gnarl shackled his shoulders to become stiff but didn't stop his pace.
In the living room, the two pairs of eyes encountered, and the strange and unfamiliar way she looked at him put Ning Shaoqing in inexplicable panic.
"Let me go… I'm not the one you want… I'm going with my cousin…"
Staring at the person talking nonsense in his arms and pushing him away, Ning Shaoqing couldn't be more heartbroken.
Did she remember her past and forget him? At this moment, her reaction filled into his heart not jealousy, not anger, but unprecedented terror. His voice trembled, pleading, "Qianxue, Qianxue, wake up, I'm Shaoqing…" But the repliy he got was still, "Let me go…"
Deep terror attacked Ning Shaoqing, who covered her mouth and took her into his arms to hug tighter and tighter.
He didn't dare to look into her eyes, which had no affection or other feelings towards him, as if she didn't know him at all… Although his heart broke, he still comforted her, "Qianxue, don't be scared! Even if you've lost your parents, but you have me. I'll never leave you."