Chapter 16 of Volume 1: I was originally a man

  A small incident made my originally tired body wide awake, I randomly pulled out a book from the bookshelf and sat down at the desk, but unexpectedly found a painting on the table, thin rice paper spread on the table, not yet framed, one look and I knew it was painted recently.

  The screen is very simple and elegant, obviously painted with a freehand brushwork, but it's not the most common landscape painting, but a portrait of a lady. The simple strokes outline the figure of a woman on paper, without the delicate and realistic touch of fine brushwork, yet the aura and charm make me recognize who she is at first glance. The lady in the painting leans against the railing, with a subtle smile, looking pitiful, making one feel an urge to hold her in their arms. The background of the painting is distant mountains, secluded forests, clear streams, and thatched cottages, subtly revealing the painter's "picking chrysanthemums by the east fence, seeing the south mountain at ease" poetic sentiment.

  "With a smile, I'll take the beauty home, and live in seclusion in the mountains as a hermit," is this really Ling Yi's dream? I shook my head and sighed lightly. Then why build this Hibiscus Fortress? Why plant that wicked hibiscus? Moreover, he clearly knows that Gu Qingying doesn't love him, so why force it? Could it be that Gu Qingying...

  I was shocked, hastily checking myself, then shook my head and sneered, when I came to my senses, I didn't find anything wrong with me. Was she poisoned? But why choose to do it on the wedding night, in such a tragic way? Even if she didn't want to marry him, did she have to wait until they were thousands of miles away at this Fucheng Castle, and choose to destroy herself at the moment of their union? I shook my head again, denying myself. Two people who grew up together since childhood, how could there be any deep hatred between them? On the night of their wedding, she died in front of him, destroying herself while also destroying another person. Besides, what kind of poison can make a person's soul fly away?

  A chaotic mess in my mind, before I knew it the sky had already turned a pale white, the candle flame in the lamp holder flickered twice and then dimmed, the exhaustion from the day's work, combined with a whole night of no sleep, drowsiness surged up, and I unknowingly fell asleep with my head on the desk.

  This sleep, slept very soundly, vaguely had many dreams, but somehow couldn't remember them all. Opening my eyes, in front of me was the familiar mosquito net, and on my body the silk quilt carried a faint unfamiliar scent. Outside the sky was bright, I didn't know what time it was. I turned over and sat up, blankly staring at the surroundings.

  Suddenly remembering last night's events, wasn't I in the study? How did I end up back in this room? Was it a dream? Looking down at myself again, I'm still wearing last night's pajamas, and my elbows and shoulders are still sore. I wasn't dreaming.

  The noise of my getting up startled the people outside, Jin Niang lifted the silk curtain of the inner room and came in, looked at me silently for a moment, and said in a low voice: "Miss is awake? Is there anything uncomfortable?"

  I looked at her in confusion: "Jin Niang, wasn't I in the study?"

  Jin Niang hesitated for a moment, her eyes somewhat complex, and after a while, she said softly: "It was the master of the castle. He saw you sleeping at the desk this morning and had you brought over here. He instructed us not to wake you."

  "Oh," I was stunned for a moment, so he knew I saw his painting? A sense of embarrassment towards others rushed up, and I hastily asked: "What time is it now?"

  Jin Niang put down the washing utensils in her hand on the windowsill and said: "It's already past noon."

  "Have they left already?" I let out a sigh of relief.

  "Yes." Jin Niang understood who I was referring to. She walked up and looked at me: "The castle owner said you fell last night. Is anything wrong?"

  I was stunned. Wasn't he drunk last night? How did he know I fell? Is it possible that he's pretending to be crazy because of the wine? I'm a bit annoyed. If he's pretending to be crazy, deliberately taking me for Gu Qingying, then it's really unforgivable.

  "Damn it!" I muttered in a low voice. I looked up to see Jin Niang's puzzled gaze. Only then did I come back to my senses. I rolled up the sleeve of my right arm and took a look. My elbow was bruised.

  Jin Niang suddenly pulled out a delicate small porcelain bottle. Without waiting for me to speak, she poured some onto her palm and gently applied it to the bruised area. It was obvious that this was an ointment for treating bruises and injuries. The coolness was very soothing. I didn't hesitate either, pulling down my shoulder clothing and exposing my shoulder to Jin Niang. With my eyes closed, I felt the ointment bring a hint of coolness. Faintly, I could also smell a faint, unknown fragrance.

  I must seize the time to think of a way and find a solution. If things go on like this, I don't know what will happen next, I thought silently in my heart.

  After changing into new clothes and finishing washing up and having a meal, I called Jin Niang and then went out.

  I arrived at the garden where Shangguan Yan and Chu Yunming used to live, but now it's empty and deserted. The vermilion gate is tightly closed, and I feel a hint of melancholy in my heart. If I had revealed any flaws yesterday, would they have suspected me? What would happen if they doubted my identity? I smiled wryly and shook my head, watching them chat with Ling Yi, but still with a hint of reverence in their expressions. Even if they were suspicious, what could they do?

  As I was thinking, a noise came from behind, Jin Niang hastily pulled me to one side, and I turned around to look.

  A team of warriors in white clothes, with long knives at their waists, walked in pairs, carrying dozens of large red wooden chests along the road I came from. The large wooden chests looked heavy, but they carried them without turning red or panting, as if they hadn't seen me and Jin Niang, their expressions unchanged as they passed by us, continuing on their way down, very quickly, with their formation not dispersing in the slightest.

  I was taken aback, this man in white clothes, the red wooden box I had seen somewhere before. Suddenly, my mind flashed back to the scene I saw on the altar that day, and I immediately understood that they were - transporting poison? Recalling the TV shows about anti-drug efforts I watched in my previous life, the poppy flowers bloom every year in March or April, and the fruit is picked before it's ripe, then made into opium paste. That's right, now is April, exactly the time for them to manufacture and traffic drugs.

  I thoughtlessly followed him, but was pulled back by Jin Niang who said: "Miss, where are you going?"

  I glanced at her and said lightly: "Go take a look."

  "Miss, you can't go." Jin Niang stared at me with an inscrutable expression.

  "I'll go take a look at what's wrong, otherwise you'd think I can do something?" I said bluntly. Seeing that she didn't speak, I continued: "The castle owner hasn't confined me, as long as I'm within the Furuong Castle, are you still afraid I'll run away?"

  Jin Niang was taken aback for a moment, unable to find words to refute me. I smiled and said, "Jin Niang, you also know what they're doing, right? Anyone from the Hibiscus Fortress should know. I'm curious, can't I just go take a look? Besides, you're still by my side."

  "A person with too much curiosity is not a good thing." Jin Niang said with a double meaning.

  "It's not like it's a secret or anything, is it? Don't mess with me, let's go." I ignored her, shook off her hand and turned to leave. Fortunately, the team of warriors was descending the mountain, their silhouettes visible from afar, and I followed them all the way down.

  Jin Niang only followed up, and in the past two days of getting along, I have always been very kind to her. She also didn't dare to refute me much. In my heart, I was secretly laughing, as long as I didn't cross that bottom line of theirs, they could only let me do what I wanted.

  I came to a small platform and clearly saw the team of warriors below me moving one by one the red wooden boxes into a garden. The view was good, so I stopped and watched them move the red wooden boxes into the garden in an orderly manner. At the entrance of the garden, there was a white-clothed warrior without a sword, counting, seemingly their leader.

  They carried these boxes out of the altar, they should be temporarily existing here, don't know when they will be carried away, if they want to leave the fort... I brightened up in my heart, thinking about whether it's possible to find out their departure time from the fort, and if I can sneak in and hide in one of the boxes...

  "What are you doing here?" A faint voice came over. It startled me, and I quickly shook my head to shake off the naive thoughts in my mind. The tall shadow blocked the sunlight behind me, and I knew who it was without turning around.

  "Master of the fortress......" Jin Niang was about to speak when she stopped herself, apparently restrained by Ling Yi.

  I recalled last night's scene and felt a slight annoyance in my heart. I lazily turned around and said indifferently, "Enjoy the view."

  "What's the view worth looking at here?" The voice was still faint.

  A sudden surge of anger rose up, and this person didn't even have a bit of remorse for what happened last night. I abruptly turned around, the sunlight was so strong that it made me squint, and I couldn't see his expression clearly. With malice, I said: "Looking at anything is better than looking at you!"

  I don't know why I'm so angry, maybe it's because I suspect he's pretending to be drunk; maybe it's because of my own evil thoughts last night that made me ashamed and furious; or maybe it's because I know that Gu Qingying doesn't love her, but I'm the one who's innocently taking the fall for her. Whatever the reason, I just can't calm down, whatever the reason, I just want to hit him.

  He paused for a moment, as if recalling last night's events, furrowed his brow and said: "If you're because of last night, I..."

  "That's enough." I interrupted him: "If you want to apologize for last night, I accept it, and also on behalf of Gu Qingying."

  Looking at his somewhat hurt expression and the rising anger, I felt inexplicably pleased in my heart. With malice, I sneered at him: "As for me, no need to apologize, where we are from, men and women being affectionate is normal. If you have a chance to go to our time and space, seeing people kissing on the streets, don't be shocked!"

  "Ah!" He suddenly grabbed my arm, leaned in close to me, his eyes blazing with fierce flames, gritting his teeth and saying: "What kind of woman are you, after all!"

  It hurts so much, I furrow my brow, he just happens to grab my injured elbow, with a surprisingly great force, I grit my teeth and glare at him, but the pain is unbearable and tears well up in my eyes.

  Seeing the tears in my eyes, he hesitated for a moment, loosened his grip on me, and a hint of apology floated into his eyes.

  I sneered inwardly, letting you misunderstand my grievances. Sorry about that. I wiped away my tears and rubbed my arm, saying lightly: "What kind of woman? Sorry, how did you know I wasn't a man to begin with?"

  Seeing his almost murderous gaze, I nimbly retreated to Jin Niang's side and lightly laughed: "Let's go, Jin Niang, we'll continue sightseeing."

  I didn't bother with the anger that was about to turn into a sharp blade behind my back, and I hastily pulled Jin Niang away, letting him vent his anger alone over there. My heart felt as light as if I had just released a mouthful of foul air.