Chapter 211 - Chapter 211: 211. Make a late-night snack for you

Chapter 211: 211. Make a late-night snack for you

Translator: 549690339

When Su Liang woke up early in the morning, the beautiful face she had seen last night was still lingering in her mind.

“With that appearance and her special abilities, could she be a deity who has descended to the mortal world?”

Su Liang thought about this as she sat up, laughing softly when she remembered the pumpkin and eggplant that had come with Gu to “chase her” , looking forward to the dumplings tonight.

The challenge for Su Liang in setting out again was not horseback riding, but continuing to pretend to be sad.

To save herself the trouble, she decided to tire herself out by staying at the very front, so that others couldn’t see her expression.

They traveled nonstop all day and stayed at an inn when night fell.

The waiter brought hot water, and Su Liang took a bath, changed her clothes, and ate a bit of dinner, saving room for the dumplings.

Once her hair was dry, Su Liang casually braided it into two plaits, letting them hang over her shoulders.

While waiting for Ning Jing to appear, she read a few pages of a medical book.

The sound of a stone hitting the back window rang out, and Su Liang blew out the light in the room..xaml’>

After the person who had been spying on her left to report to Fang Tongling, Su Liang went to sleep.

After running and jumping over the courtyard wall, Su Liang landed quietly and saw a familiar tall silhouette under a tree nearby.

Su Liang walked over lightly and saw that Gu Ling was still wearing the exquisite wooden carved mask.

“Where are the dumplings?” Su Liang asked. His hands were empty.

Without waiting for Gu Ling’s response, Su Liang saw him looking behind her, and thought there was someone there, so she quickly turned around to check.

As she turned her head, one of her braids fell into Gu Ling’s hand.

The alley was silent, with no third person around.

Su Liang looked back at Gu Ling, speechless as she watched him holding her braid and studying it as if it were some mysterious mechanism…

“Are they evenly divided into four strands Gu Ling asked.

Su Liang: …Her grandmother used to braid her hair into four strands when she was a child. How could she evenly divide her hair tonight when there was so much of it? Count them one by one?

An exasperated Su Liang hummed, “I divided it evenly. If you don’t believe me, you can count.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Su Liang instantly regretted it and felt somewhat embarrassed. She coughed lightly and said, “I was just joking. I didn’t mean for you to actually count. Let go.”

Gu Ling released his grip, and the braid fell back onto Su Liang’s chest. He answered her earlier question as if nothing had happened, “The dumplings are somewhere

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Su Liang hurriedly followed.

They arrived quickly, at another inn. The two entered through the back door and came to a small courtyard.

This was a place Gu Ling had reserved, complete with a small kitchen.

At the entrance, Su Liang heard the gurgling sound of boiling water.

Gu Ling went in and added some more wood to the fire.

Su Liang saw that there was warm water in the wooden basin, so she washed her hands with it. The temperature was just right.

After washing her hands, Su Liang dried them with a towel and walked over to see the neatly wrapped dumplings on the chopping board. It was clear that Gu Ling had made them himself – there were two different shapes, almost identical in size and very delicately made.

“I’ll cook them,” Su Liang said, feeling like she should contribute something.

As the dumplings were cooking, Su Liang used a spoon to gently separate them while the steam wafted towards her face.

Gu Ling stood not far behind Su Liang, staring at her braids for a while. Before Su Liang turned around, he went to wash his hands.

Soon, the dumplings were ready, filling two plates.

While cooking the dumplings, Su Liang had also prepared two bowls of dipping sauce. Gu Ling liked his with a bit more vinegar.

The two sat across from each other in the room, eating their late-night snack. Su Liang tried one and gave a thumbs up, “Great God, you definitely have the talent to become a Kitchen God. These dumplings are delicious. You should try making more dishes in the future.”

It really was delicious, made entirely according to Su Liang’s recipe. Their home-grown pumpkin was perfect for making dumpling filling, and the seasoning was spot-on.

Unlike meat-filled dumplings, the pumpkin and egg filling was refreshingly palatable, and it was Su Liang’s favorite.

The only pity was that after Gu Ling revealed his true face to Su Liang last night, he had disguised himself again tonight. Otherwise, Su Liang felt that tasting delicious food while looking at a beautiful man would be even more perfect.

However, Su Liang’s sincere praise was met with Gu Ling’s response, “Not as good as yours.”

Su Liang chuckled, “Let’s discuss who will be cooking and who will be making the fire in the future.”

The dumplings were an odd number. Gu Ling divided them equally into two portions, leaving the last one in a small bowl.

“Mine?” Su Liang reached out with his chopsticks.

Gu Ling shook his head, “Half for each.”

Su Liang: …The Great God is a fair person, very reasonable.

So, the last dumpling was shared, with each person eating half.

Su Liang put down his chopsticks and let out a comfortable sigh, “Thank you for the hospitality, Great God.”

Gu Ling collected the bowls and took them to the kitchen. When he came back, he saw Su Liang standing under the eaves looking at the moon.

“When are you leaving?” Su Liang asked.

Gu Ling shook his head slightly, “Not leaving.”

Su Liang frowned, “You changed your mind? Not looking for your grandfather anymore?” He wasn’t an impulsive person.

“Uncle Liang will come looking for you when he gets the news that Ning Jing is dead,” Gu Ling said.

Su Liang was taken aback for a moment, “That’s true. It’s even better this way. If your grandfather is untrustworthy, you might be taken advantage of if you show up at his door. Let Uncle Liang help with passing the message, and after your grandfather clears your rebel identity, you can show your face.”

“Mhm.” Gu Ling nodded.

“So what’s your plan now?” Su Liang asked.

“No plan,” Gu Ling said indifferently.

A smile tugged at the corner of Su Liang’s lips, “If you have nothing to do, be my secret guard. The Emperor must think that Ning Jing had left skilled defenders to protect me, which allowed him to have an accident. So you can’t show yourself, but you can exist.”

“Alright,” Gu Ling agreed.

“You can’t use the Wen Gu identity anymore, Second Brother Lin knows it’s you. If you want to completely erase the identity of Ning Jing, you have to break ties cleanly,” Su Liang said.

Second Brother Lin and the real Ning Jing had deep feelings. Over the past six months, Gu Ling had impersonated Ning Jing, and together with Su Liang, they had helped Lin’s family through several difficulties, but at the same time, they had deceived them.

By now, they couldn’t let them think that Ning Jing was still alive, because Gu Ling would no longer use that identity.

“Why not disguise yourself as an old man?” Su Liang suggested, “That way your martial arts skills would be reasonable, and no one would suspect your identity.” Su Liang’s eyes brightened as he continued, “I’ve got it, you could pretend to be my master! After all, everyone believes I must have had a skilled master to become what I am now.”

Gu Ling’s voice was haunting, “But you told people that your master is a high monk.”

Subconsciously, Su Liang looked at Gu Ling’s hair and blinked, “Actually, I think if the Great God shaved his head, he would definitely be the most beautiful monk in the world.”

“Stop your nonsense,” Gu Ling said.

Su Liang cleared his throat, “Let’s be serious. If you want to be seen in public, you need to change your appearance to be completely unrelated to your current appearance.” Disguise was not so magical. If Ning Jing was dead, and a man appeared beside Su Liang with the same age and body shape, someone would definitely suspect that Ning Jing hadn’t died. There were too many smart people in the capital city keeping an eye on Su Liang.

“Secret guard,” Gu Ling made his choice. Before his real identity could be restored, he would no longer openly pretend to be someone else.

“Alright,” Su Liang nodded, “Thank you for your care, Great God. I’d like to have Chicken Soup Noodles for tomorrow’s late-night snack, thank you, see you at Hai’s time.” Su Liang turned to leave, not giving Gu Ling a chance to refuse.

But the next moment, her flying braid was caught by Gu Ling.

Su Liang stopped helplessly, “I should have shaved my head. Great God, if you have something to say, don’t use force.”

“No ordering,” Gu Ling said.

Su Liang raised an eyebrow, “There will be a late-night snack, just without ordering? I agree. Great God, you can have your free rein. Thank you.”

After seeing Su Liang off, Gu Ling returned to the inn where he was staying.

As he sat down by the bed, he removed his hairpin, and his ink-black hair cascaded down like a waterfall.

He grabbed a handful of hair, then parted out some more, until the strands in his hand were about as thick as Su Liang’s braids. He began to count how many hairs he had…

Back at home, Su Liang fell asleep quickly, unaware of what someone was doing. If she had known, she would definitely have exclaimed, “Are you crazy…?

In the following days, Su Liang traveled during the day and sneaked out to find Gu Ling for a late-night snack at night, behind Fang Tongling’s back.

To avoid being caught by Gu Ling again, Su Liang never braided her hair again.

The night before they reached the capital city, Su Liang finally got to eat the chicken soup noodles she had mentioned wanting to eat some days earlier.

“It’s easy to deceive strangers, but it’s hard to pretend to be sad in front of friends,” Su Liang sighed.

“After we get to the capital city, don’t linger. Deliver the coffin back to Xunyang City,” Gu Ling said.

Although it was now summer, when Gu Ling left the capital city, “Ning Jing’s” corpse had already been arranged to be stored in an ice cellar, waiting for Su Liang’s return before deciding what to do with it.

“That’s for the best. Their grief is real, mine is fake; it feels terrible. It’s better to spare each other for a while. Maybe after some time has passed, it’ll be easier to meet again,” Su Liang said. “As for Duanmu Cheng, right now, as long as he’s dead, I’ll be the prime suspect. I’ll let him live for now, losing everything, living in misery. When the time is right, I’ll take his life.”

Before noon the next day, Su Liang rode into the capital city.

“Miss su!”

Hearing Qi Jun’s voice, Su Liang took a deep breath, trying to maintain a blank expression. She saw him running over from a short distance away.

“Master instructed me to wait here for you, Miss Su!” said Qi Jun, sighing deeply, with a mournful expression on his face. “Mr. Ning is gone. Please take care, Miss Sul”

“Where is he?” Su Liang asked coldly.

Qi Jun was momentarily startled, then realized that Su Liang was asking about Ning Jing’s remains. He hurriedly answered, “At the Su Mansion, Fourth Prince has arranged for an ice cellar to store it.”

“What about Wan Cong?” Su Liang asked.

“In the Heavenly Prison, awaiting execution,” Qi Jun replied.

“I see.” As soon as Su Liang finished speaking, she urged her horse towards the Su Mansion.

Soon, the news of Su Liang’s return spread. Those who saw her said her expression was frosty.

Qi Jun reported back to Xing Yusheng at Marquis Zhong Xin’s Mansion, and Fang Tongling went to the palace to receive his orders.

Alone, Su Liang rode back to her home in the capital city. Government soldiers stood guard at the entrance, saluting solemnly as they saw her return.

She dismounted and entered. When she had left, it was late spring, and many flowers in the mansion had not yet bloomed. Now, as she returned, petals littered the ground, and the trees were lush and green.

She was led to the ice cellar and shivered as soon as she entered.

“You may all leave,” Su Liang said before approaching the coffin alone.

She pushed open the cold coffin lid and saw “Ning Jing’s” body.

Even though she knew it was fake, seeing that familiar face devoid of life still weighed heavy on her heart and brought out a touch of grief.

The funeral clothes were neatly arranged, with no wounds visible. The sleeves were long, and Su Liang suddenly had a thought. She reached out and pulled at the corDse’s left sleeve.

Seeing that there was no hand, she hesitated slightly. Gu Ling had not mentioned that this man’s hands were also cut off, nor had she asked in detail how this man had died.

Upon further thought, Su Liang realized that perhaps Gu Ling had deliberately chopped off this man’s hands to avoid any flaws being discovered. After all, hands were always exposed and carried a person’s characteristics; for example, the hands of a scholar and a martial artist would be noticeably different.

Not spending much time in the ice cellar, Su Liang exited and returned to the courtyard where she had previously lived.

Pushing open the door to Gu Ling’s old room, it had already been cleaned thoroughly, showing no traces of the murder that had taken place.

Returning to her own room, everything was as she left it. She closed the doors and windows, sat down at the table, and sighed in relief.

Last time she left, she hadn’t expected to return with so many things having changed dramatically. Now, she could only take one step at a time.

Su Liang rested for a while, unpacked her baggage, and put away her things when she heard footsteps and then Xing Yusheng’s voice, “Su Liang!”

Su Liang opened the door to see Xing Yusheng and Qi Jun walking over. “Ajun, you go keep watch at the door.” Xing Yusheng instructed.

“Yes.” Qi Jun sat down in the courtyard.

Xing Yusheng entered the room and looked at Su Liang with concern, “Are you okay?”

Su Liang closed her eyes, “I’m fine.”

“How could you be fine? Although I don’t know if you and Ning Jing are really going to get married, anyone who isn’t blind can see that you have a great relationship!” Xing Yusheng clenched his fist and slammed the table, “If you want to cry, just cry! Don’t hold it in! No one will laugh at you!”

Su Liang shook her head, sat down, and spoke softly, “I don’t want to cry.”

Seeing her like this, Xing Yusheng felt she was suppressing herself, “Su Liang, I have to tell you something. The mastermind behind Ning Jing’s murder is not Wan Cong, but Duanmu Cheng! Ajun and I both saw a bloody character on the bed, the character ‘Cheng’! It must have been him who found out who his enemy was before he died!”

Su Liang frowned but said nothing.

“The emperor knows, but he wants to cover for Duanmu Cheng!” Xing Yusheng’s anger was still uncontrollable, “No matter what you want to do, I support you!”

Su Liang sighed slightly, “I know. He is gone now, and there’s nothing I want to do. ”

Xing Yusheng furrowed his brow, “Su Liang, don’t you want to avenge Ning Jing? This doesn’t seem like you.”

“Xing Yusheng, thank you. I know you’re sad for Ning Jing and that you care about me, but let’s not talk about that incident anymore.” Su Liang lowered her head, “Your family’s peaceful days have not come easily, cherish it. You are not alone, you will soon be married, you don’t have to do anything for me and Ning Jing.”

Xing Yusheng frowned, “I… I used to think, let my father rebel and seize the throne, then you can get your revenge.”

Su Liang shook her head, “I understand your intentions, but don’t think about that anymore, I don’t need it, and your father wouldn’t agree.”

“Actually, I know that this idea is foolish, but I just want to do something for you…” Xing Yusheng muttered, “You always helped me before, and with Ning Jing gone, I can’t do anything, I can’t even reveal the truth!”

“If he is watching from heaven, he would want the people he cares about to live well.” Su Liang whispered, ‘You go back first, remember my words, live your life well, I know what I should do. If I need you, I won’t be polite.”

“Let Xueqing accompany you.” Xing Yusheng sighed.

Su Liang shook her head, “Don’t let her come, I don’t want to see anyone right now. ”

Xing Yusheng wanted to say something, but finally left with Qi Jun.

As they left, Qi Jun lowered his voice and asked, “Master, did you mention that matter to Miss Su?”

Xing Yusheng shook his head, “Let’s not talk about it.”

Someone came from the palace, and Su Liang changed her clothes and went to the audience with the emperor.

Duanmu Yi listened to Su Liang’s request to send “Ning Jing” back to Xunyang City for burial the next day and only told her to keep her grief in check and return to the capital city soon before letting her leave the palace.

When Su Liang returned home and entered her room, she heard someone tapping on the wall next door.

Without going over, Su Liang leaned against the wall and talked to Gu Ling, “Xueqing might come to me to cry later, what should we do?”

“I don’t know.” Gu Ling said.

“If Master wants to accompany me back to Xunyang City, what should we do?” Su Liang frowned.

“I don’t know.” Gu Ling said.

Su Liang held her forehead, “You’re so carefree now, my life is too difficult.”

“I believe you will handle it well.” Gu Ling said.

Su Liang spoke with a melancholic tone, “Thank you very much!”

“Would you like me to make a late-night snack?” Gu Ling asked.

Su Liang snorted, “A table full of delicacies.”

Gu Ling said, “The little squirrels in the lake have grown up, so tonight, we’ll have squirrel fish..”