Chapter 38: Life is a Stage

  I opened my mouth, dazed, and for a moment I wanted to figure out too many things, but instead I couldn't ask a single sentence.

  He gazed into my eyes, as if waiting for me to ask. I raised an eyebrow and looked back at him, quickly digesting the information contained in that sentence.

  What does the capital of Fengming Country represent? The hometown of Gu Qingying's family, where they grew up together; who is there? Naturally, it's Gu Qingying's father, Ling Yi's adoptive father; why go? This isn't what I care about, but why do I have to go? I sneered inwardly, it's obvious, I'm currently playing the role of Gu Qingying, the daughter of Fengming Country's Taishi, as for the reason for going, it's no longer important.

  Every conversation with Ling Yi was like a war, every sentence cautious, every word careful, afraid of being seen through by him and losing the initiative. With a rough guess in mind, I let out a sigh of relief and looked at him calmly, getting straight to the point: "Huh, what are you going there for?"

  He hesitated for a moment, looking somewhat disheartened as he withdrew his gaze, and after pondering for a while with downcast eyes, he finally said: "I want to ask for your help!"

  That's right! I smiled triumphantly in my heart. From the moment he stepped into the house, he had the upper hand and took the initiative, directly telling me to go out with him for a trip, as if it wasn't asking for my opinion. If I followed his train of thought, I would probably only have the part of obediently listening.

  The key to the problem is that I'm not a puppet who can just be taken out for people to see and then put away; it's even more impossible to deceive others by pretending to be ill like last time. In order to perform well in this play, I must cooperate willingly. I don't ask about the reason or the excuse, I only ask what you want me to do. Ling Yi is not stupid, he knows that I'm reminding him of the key to the problem, so he immediately changed his attitude.

  Whether he is soft on me or grabs my weakness, it doesn't matter. What matters is his attitude. Since I know I have to go anyway, I want to make the most of this favor, or get the greatest benefit.

  I smiled and asked him, "Oh, what do you want me to help you with? Tell me."

  He looked at me for a moment before saying in a low voice: "I want you to pretend to be Qingying."

  "Hah," I laughed: "Am I not just pretending to be Gu Qingying now?"

  There was a flash of anger in his eyes. I pretended not to see it. What's there for him to be angry about? I'm just struggling at the edge of life and death, trying to add another layer of insurance for myself. Now he's acting like a wronged little wife. How ridiculous!

  He pursed his lips, gazing at me for a while before speaking indifferently: "I won't beat around the bush with you either. This time I went to Mouli because Gu Taishi sent a letter mentioning that he hoped I would bring Qingying along when I return home this year. It's actually a visit back home."

  No need for him to say it. I've already guessed most of it. What the reason is doesn't matter anymore. What matters is that I want to know the answer to my question.

  "How far is it from here to Muli?" I asked him solemnly.

  He probably didn't expect my thinking to jump so fast. He was stunned for a moment before answering me: "It takes a month to go back and forth."

  A month? I pondered in my heart. From the time I arrived in this space-time to now, it has already been twenty-five days. According to the ancient calendar method, a big month is thirty days and a small month is twenty-nine days. There are also leap months and so on. Let's just assume an average of thirty days for a month. In that case, going back and forth would take fifty-five days. By the time I return, I will only have twenty-six days left.

  Ling Yi is indeed a good calculator, after this trip, I will make some preparations when I come back, and the days will be almost the same. The closer to Gu Qingying's resurrection, the stricter his surveillance of me will be. At that time, it will be even more difficult to escape.

  "What's today's date?" I suddenly asked him.

  "May 3rd." He replied very cooperatively.

  "...Uh..." I hesitated for a moment before asking my question, "What day was that?"

  He looked at me with a solemn expression, his emotions somewhat complex. I knew he understood which day I was asking about. To him, that day was a grand day, or rather the most important day.

  He gazed at me for a long time before softly saying: "June 29th."

  June 29th, my heart skipped a beat. It's just an ordinary day, but for me, it might be my doomsday.

  I don't know how Ling Yi guessed my thoughts from these numbers, he hesitated for a moment before saying softly: "Pingyang Zhenren is looking for a body that suits you, and when we get back, it should have been found."

  My heart skipped a beat, and I felt my blood rushing up, I tried to calm myself down, but this was something I already knew, wasn't it? It's just being repeated again.

  My hand clenched into a fist in my sleeve, with my fingertips pinching the center of my palm so hard it hurt. To prevent Ling Yi from noticing anything unusual about me, I hastily cleared my throat and continued his sentence: "What if we can't find it?"

  He seemed not to have expected me to ask this, hesitated for a long time, and then awkwardly said: "No, I asked them to find it."

  Not very convincing! I sighed softly in my heart. Not wanting to continue entangling with this issue, I shook my head and said lightly: "Can't I not go?"

  He hesitated for a moment, squeezing out two words from between his teeth: "No way!"

  I should have known it was this answer. I couldn't help but ask: "Do you think I can deceive Gu Qingying's father?"

  He seemed to have had an answer ready and quickly said: "Qing Ying has been living in a different courtyard since she was young, so her foster father doesn't really understand her."

  "Don't you understand her?" I sneered with a smile. "The affection and tacit understanding between father and daughter can't be erased just because of a lack of understanding."

  "Affection." A hint of mockery flashed across Ling Yi's eyes, and I almost thought I had misread it. When I looked again, his gaze returned to calmness.

  "Are you saying there's no affection between them?" I asked my question without hesitation. This is the key to the problem, a father and daughter with no affection, why did they specially request Ling Yi to bring her back to meet through letters? What reason is behind this? Ling Yi mentioned his adoptive father, who is also his father-in-law, why does he always have an indifferent attitude? If in previous years Ling Yi returned to Feng Ming country to take care of Qing Ying, then why did he still want to go back this year? It's not just a simple matter of visiting relatives!

  He didn't say a word. I let out a cold hum, "You won't just leave me in the dark to meet Gu Qingying's father like this, will you? If so, I'd rather not go at all."

  He glanced at me quickly and said in a low voice, "Jin Niang will tell you everything. We'll set out two days later, and on the way, there's nearly half a month of time for you to get familiar with Qing Ying's everything."

  I looked at him and smiled faintly. At this moment, I had already made up my mind. I must follow him, no matter what. As long as I left the Fushou Fortress and the Qi State, I would have more opportunities to escape. That way, compared to risking my life to climb the precipice behind the mountain, it would be much easier.

  I looked at him silently for a long time before smiling: "Alright, I'll agree to you, but you also have to agree to one thing from me."

  "What's up?" He seemed to have been waiting for me.

  I pursed my lips and looked at his eyes seriously, saying solemnly: "After June 29th, please let me leave Furong Fortress."

  "He was taken aback and asked in confusion: 'You're just a weak woman, how can you survive outside? I've said that I'll compensate you.'"

  I gazed out the window, a faint smile playing on my lips: "The lord's 'kindness' I've taken to heart. Tell me, what compensation in this world can compare to 'freedom'?"

  He detected the faint mockery in my words and suddenly became somewhat embarrassed. After a long silence, he said softly: "Alright, I'll agree to it."

  As I watched him leave, I couldn't help but smile. Ling Yi, let's wait for that day to come in these days of tentative exploration and suspicion yet unavoidable cooperation!

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  Sneakily finished writing this chapter during work hours, I myself think it's quite strange!

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