18 - Promotion

Chapter 18 – Promotion

Bai Yuxiao understood that no matter what she says, it could not be compared to her actions to satisfy Si Liujing’s ‘appetite’ in bed.

He wanted her, so she submitted to him and after feeding Si Liujing and let him have his fill, everything should be settled.

Sure enough, after Si Liujing’s tension was released on her body, there was a smile on his face and his whole body became soft.

Where is all the indifference he showed earlier?

***☆☆☆***

The next morning, she waited on him as he cleaned up and changed his clothes. She smiled at him without any trace of shyness even after a stormy night of intimacy. He felt satisfied and she felt even more satisfied than him.

Si Liujing gazed at her. Her red and tender cheeks seemed to be moisturized and nourished by the rain and dew that gave her a certain charm. Her eyes were looking at him and spinning like a cat that had stolen a fish. She was unable to conceal the satisfaction on her face and he had an urge to laugh.

He could finally merge the impression of Shui’er in his mind with the present her. Unexpectedly, his Shui’er has such lively expressions and combined with her quirky temperament, she turned out to be like this. Looking at her contented look, it did not seem like she came to serve him, and instead, he came to feed her.

He reached out his hand to pinch her chin and asked in a low voice. “Why are you smiling?”

“Because I’m happy.”

“What are you happy about?”

“Happy that Wangye still remembers this concubine.”

He pulled a taut face and snorted. “ Benwang certainly remembered but some people failed to appreciate and played hide-and-seek with Benwang .”

But, she was not afraid of him being pulling a taut face.

It is good that he is angry for she now knows that if he gets angry, it meant she has a place in his heart. This man has her in his heart and she could not be happier, so how would she feel afraid of him?

She boldly put her arms around his shoulders and snuggled her delicate body against his, at the same time, she rubbed her cheek on his cheek.

“It’s because this one is not confident. There are so many women in the royal mansion and every one of them is more beautiful than this concubine. How would this one know that Wangye cares for this little insignificant concubine? Besides, Wangye did not visit this courtyard for two years, how would this one dare have such thick skin to boldly approach Wangye ?”

She referred to herself as ‘this one’ and her casual coquettish tone narrowed the distance between both of them. However, Si Liujing did not think it was disgusting at all, and instead, he likes her for trying to get close to him.

But how can she say that her appearance is not comparable to others? According to him, her appearance is not bad at all and besides, she is pleasing to the eye………

No, it should be said that the more one looks at her, the more beautiful she seems.

However, her words reminded him of something. He was already thinking about it, so he hugged her and exhorted her.

“I have always honored my words, so follow me obediently. Last time, you saved me and also helped to detoxify me, thus I will naturally protect you for life, understand?”

“Yes.” Bai Yuxiao responded without hesitation. No matter what he says, she will agree because she heard him refer to himself as ‘I’ and not ‘ Benwang ’. It meant he treated her as his and this intimacy was rare. Anyway, as long as his ruffled feathers are smoothened and she serves him and makes him happy, she will also feel happy.

As expected, after she had sent the proud Wangye out of her courtyard in the morning, Zhaolu and Shuang’er were released before noon.

“Young Miss!” When they saw her, Zhaolu and Shuang’er ran over to her and at the same time, they were crying and laughing.

Zhaolu was weeping with joy as she said. “This servant thought we will never see Young Miss again!”

Shuang’er also said. “It doesn’t matter if we, the servants, suffer a little. We’re afraid Young Miss would suffer a grievance and we don’t know what the Wangye would do to Young Miss!”

Bai Yuxiao’s heart ached for them as she helped to wipe their tears and at the same time, she comforted them. “Everything’s alright. Wangye is a magnanimous man and will not dispute with you. Look, aren’t the both of you released?”

Ai, it was not in vain after working hard the whole night. Although her waist still hurts after feeding the gluttonous wolf, she is very satisfied with the result.

Bai Yuxiao thought the incident had already passed without any mishap but she did not know that it was just the beginning. She had thought too simply of Si Liujing.

In the evening when Si Liujing returned from the palace, she was immediately summoned to the main courtyard. She followed the Mama to the main courtyard and entered the room after being announced by a young boy-servant.

When she looked up, she found that apart from Si Liujing and his confidant, Fu Teng, there were other advisors in the study. She felt even more surprised when she discovered her father was also present.

Bai Yuxiao glanced briefly at her father and then lowered her head to greet the Wangye .

“This concubine greets Wangye .”

“Don’t stand on ceremony. Come over to have a look at these clues. What do you think?” Si Liujing ordered.

Bai Yuxiao was stunned. Very quickly, she realized that she did not enter a bedchamber and instead, it was a study-cum-discussion room. Si Liujing’s expression was not as relaxed as when he was with her in the bedchamber and he was displaying the majestic aura of a Wangye . It seemed he had summoned her over to discuss business.

She understood the atmosphere of an official discussion and immediately her expression perked up.

“Yes.” She replied and stepped forward respectfully.

At this moment, everyone was gathered around a big table and several objects were lying on the tabletop. When Bai Yuxiao walked over to stand beside Si Liujing and looked at the objects on the table, she immediately understood the reason why Si Liujing summoned her.

The objects were the same items she had retrieved when she searched through the corpses of the assassins after the Wangye was attacked. She gathered together all the objects she collected and then gave them to Si Liujing. At that time, she had divided the objects into two bags. One bag was given to her Third Senior Sister while the other bag, together with the jade pendant, was passed to Wangye ’s confidant, Fu Teng.

Everyone was puzzled.

This is a place for men to hold discussions, so why did Wangye summoned for a concubine from the inner courtyard to come over? And he actually asked for her opinion? What opinion can a concubine have?

Although everyone had doubts in their hearts, they did not dare to show it on their faces and they stared at her with a look of denigration.

Bai Yuxiao ignored their questioning gaze and since Si Liujing wanted to listen to her opinion, then she would just tell him.

“What does Wangye want to know?”

“Chen Tao, tell her.”

The subordinate named Chen Tao responded and said to her. “This star needle is a concealed weapon of Shadowless Gate.”

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If she had not met Third Senior Sister earlier and received the latest news from her, Bai Yuxiao would have had the same thought that it was the shady work of the assassins from Shadowless Gate. Fortunately, she received the piece of news beforehand from Third Senior Sister, otherwise, she would not know how to tell the Wangye .

She was silent and did not say a word. Just when everyone thought she did not know what kind of sect Shadowless Gate was, and they were about to give her an explanation, she suddenly turned her head around and said to Si Liujing. “ Wangye , it’s true that this thing belongs to Shadowless Gate but the attack on Wangye was not carried out by Shadowless Gate.”

Everyone was taken aback and wondered why this little concubine would say this.

Si Liujing understood that Shui’er wanted to keep herself hidden and since she could search for evidence in advance, it could be seen that she is smart.

This is one of the reasons why he summoned her and another reason is to understand her abilities.

“What makes you say that?” He asked.

“Replying to Wangye , Shadowless Gate is a sect comprising of killers. They come without a shadow, leave without a trace and they are elusive. They emphasized on beheading their victims neatly, lie-in-wait for their victims in dark places, and wait for the right opportunity to strike. After a successful assassination, they retreat immediately without delay. Usually, a mission is carried out by a single person. When have you ever seen more than a hundred assassins attack together as a group? Doesn’t Wangye feel that those people who attacked seemed like they were fighting in a battle?”

Her words caused Si Liujing to think deeply and he carefully recalled the situation at that time.

In reality, the Imperial Court and Jianghu were like oil and water and the Imperial Court seldom meddled in the matters of Jianghu . According to the legends, most of Shadowless Gate’s assassinations were indeed carried out by a single killer and if necessary, at most there would only be four to five people working together. It has never been heard that an assassination was carried with a large number of killers.

Bai Yuxiao continued. “Since the other party was masked, it was an attempt to conceal identity. Why would those people carry evidence on them that could lead to their exposure? Besides, Shadowless Gate has thousands of ways to kill but there is one thing in common. – A boat passes through water without a trace – meaning that clues must not be left behind after an assassination. Therefore, outsiders always find this sect to be mysterious and unpredictable. In my opinion, this is a frame-up to lead the investigation of Wangye and the Imperial Court in another direction.”

In an instant, everyone present looked at her differently. Regardless of whether her analysis is correct or otherwise, just her words were already very valuable for reference. They finally understood why the Wangye summoned Bai Liangdi here and they were curious how a concubine like her could have such insight.

Everyone turned to look at Bai Hao unanimously and they were thinking that Bai Hao had truly raised a smart daughter. In the past, why had they not heard of his daughter having this level of knowledge?

With a faint smile, Bai Hao looked at his daughter lovingly while Bai Yuxiao exchanged a knowing look with her father.

When her mother died she was still young. After her mother’s death, her father was afraid that she would be bullied by others and he was also afraid that he could not take good care of her, so he sent her to Shitai to learn martial arts.

Her father was not like any ordinary father. He only hoped that his daughter would obediently marry and have children and whatever she wants to do, he would try his best to support her and fulfill her wish.

So originally when she stated that she wanted to enter the royal mansion to become a concubine, her father was hesitant but, in the end, he fulfilled her wish.

There was also another reason.

Now the world is not at peace and Ling Wang Mansion is rich and powerful. Her father understood Wangye ’s character and he also knew his daughter is not a weak woman and she is capable of protecting herself. Since she loves the Wangye and will only marry him, so he had no reason to refute. Besides, being a concubine to the Wangye and residing in the rear courtyard of the royal mansion is much better than being the main wife of the other families or aristocratic families.

Si Liujing was very satisfied with Bai Yuxiao’s performance. He knew he could pry some information from her but this woman usually keeps to herself and is reluctant to show her intelligence. She is obviously capable but would rather remain mute in the inner courtyard. If he had not summoned for her to come over today, he would not have known about her views.

After asking her some questions, Si Liujing told her to retreat first, and then he continued the discussion with Fu Teng and the others. Si Liujing did not even appear when it was bedtime and Bai Yuxiao knew he was busy. So she let the two maids served her before going to bed and slept until dawn the next day.

The following several days, Bai Yuxiao stayed peacefully inside the royal mansion. Now that Wangye knows she is Shui’er, she did not dare to leave the mansion at will and her days became relaxed.

Just after lunch today, Bai Yuxiao wanted to take a nap but was suddenly disturbed by the ‘information gatherer’, Shuang’er, who brought news. It seemed that the Wangye had submitted a memorial* to the Emperor today and recommended that her father be promoted to the post of Assistant Minister of Appointments.

(Memorial here is an official document submitted to the Emperor for his approval.)

“What?” Bai Yuxiao was startled. She was originally lying on the embroidered couch and she instantly sat up with disbelief.

“Where did you hear this?”

“it was from Steward Qiao who works beside the Chief Steward. He told me, so it can’t be wrong.”

Bai Yuxiao felt it was unbelievable. The Wangye actually promoted his father into the Ministry of Appointments?

The Ministry of Appointments is in charge of the appointments, dismissals, transfers, and promotions of government officials. Her father was originally a fifth-ranked official holding the post of Chief-of-Staff in the royal mansion but now he has been promoted to a fourth-ranked Assistant Minister?

It is indeed when a man becomes an immortal, even the cats and dogs in the household benefit! Although both the father and daughter only desired to live in peace and prosperity inside the royal mansion and never asked for more, it is still good to be promoted.

(When a man becomes an immortal, even the cats and dogs benefit means that when a person becomes an official or rise in rank, everyone related to him will follow suit.)

Bai Yuxiao smiled with joy. No wonder those officials outside always wanted to send their daughters to the imperial clans. As long as one is related to the royal family, one would have a bright future. In particular, Ling Wang is regarded highly by the Emperor and his words are more powerful than others.

“Congratulations to Young Miss. It can be seen that Wangye has Young Miss in his heart.”

Shuang’er has always supported Young Miss to seek the Wangye ’s favor but Young Miss always refuses to listen saying that she is tired of the fighting in the inner courtyards and only wanted to watch the shows as an outsider.

Now, the Wangye finally noticed the good points of Young Miss.

Originally, Bai Yuxiao thought that her father’s promotion was the reason that Si Liujing loves the house and also loves the crows* and to show his good intentions to her, he had promoted her father which made her very happy.

(Love the house, love the crows has a similar meaning of love me, love my dog meaning to love someone including other people related to the person.)

However, a few days later, it was her turn to be promoted.

Si Liujing promoted her to a Shufei and straightaway listed her name in the royal clan list*.

(The royal clan list is the records of the members of the royal family stating their names, titles, date of birth and death, marriage, posthumous titles, and burial details.)

This shocking news broke out in the inner courtyard like an exploding pot and even Bai Yuxiao was dumbstruck.