Chapter 248 - Chapter 248: 248. Awkward Chili Pepper

Chapter 248: 248. Awkward Chili Pepper

Translator: 549690339

When Su Liang brought Ren Dong back, she said that she wanted to compete with Ren Dong. After they returned home, drank a cup of tea, and Gu Ling came up with a plan to get rid of Ren Dong, Su Liang had Qi Jun call Ren Dong to the training ground in the back garden.

“This is a competition, forget our relationship for now,” Su Liang said seriously, “If you can’t even defeat me, then it won’t be appropriate for me to protect you in times of danger. Don’t you think?”

Ren Dong’s face, which was originally mechanically respectful, changed slightly upon hearing these words, nodded, “Master is absolutely right, this servant will do her best not to disappoint you.”

“That’s for the best,” Su Liang nodded and assumed a fighting position with a longsword in hand, just like Ren Dong.

Gu Ling hid himself in a lush tree ahead of time. From the outside, his figure was completely invisible, but he could see everything happening in the training ground.

Qi Jun and Bai Xiaohu were the audience, quietly discussing the upcoming competition and unanimously believing that Ren Dong could not be a match for Su Liang.

“But after all, she is a guard by the Emperor’s side, her strength must be quite strong,” said Qi Jun, looking at Ren Dong, whose every word and action bore the marks of someone who had served the Royal Family and was very curious how the female guards in the palace were selected.

Bai Xiaohu asked Qi Jun, “Will this new elder sister go back to the village with

Qi Jun smiled, “That’s hard to say.”

Having known Su Liang for so long, she had never allowed anyone other than

Ning Jing to truly live with her, including Lin Xueqing. Ren Dong was the Emperor’s person, it was impossible for her to be loyal to Su Liang immediately after being assigned to her side today.

Qi Jun believed that Su Liang would find a way to make Ren Dong leave.

The competition began.

After Qi Jun saw Su Liang and Ren Dong exchange a few moves, he silently straightened his back. As expected, Ren Dong was not weak at all.

If one overlooked Ren Dong’s similarity in stature to Su Liang, her martial arts style was more like a man’s, with her slender limbs appearing very powerful.

As for Su Liang, she had perfectly combined strength and agility in her martial arts.

From Su Liang’s point of view, compared to those like Mu Ya who had once fought her, Ren Dong was more focused on the oppressiveness of martial arts itself, her goal was clear, not just to win, but even revealed an undisguisable killing intent.

However, Ren Dong was sent to “protect” Su Liang, with no grudges or grievances, so naturally, she would not want to kill Su Liang. She was probably trained as a killer, like the sharp blade of a sword, as long as she meets someone, she would only have a hard and sharp attack.

After half an hour of fighting, both of them had expended quite a lot of energy, but there was still no decisive winner.

As the battle went on, Su Liang started feeling that, in terms of personality, Ren Dong was more of an assassin than Yan Shiba.

Another quarter of an hour later, Su Liang called for a halt.

Ren Dong was able to be by the Emperor’s side. Considering Ren Dong’s mention of “taking over,” Su Liang couldn’t help but speculate if there were people who specifically selected and trained such secret guards for the Emperor.

After this competition, Su Liang felt that rather than being a secret guard, Ren Dong was more like a palace-trained killer. Perhaps, if the Royal Family wanted to secretly eliminate someone, they would send people like her?

Su Liang was curious about Ren Dong’s background and her original mission, but now wasn’t the right time to ask since Ren Dong would not tell her.

However, Ren Dong did not think it was a draw. “Master is proficient in various weapons; I am far inferior.”

Su Liang chuckled lightly, “In a real battle, there is no chance to change weapons. ”

“Master, can this servant stay?” Ren Dong asked respectfully.

Su Liang nodded, “You can.” But she wasn’t sincere. Facing Duanmu Yi’s spy, she had no other choice but to say that.

Bai Xiaohu and Qi Jun began to cheer.

“That was amazing!” Qi Jun said with a beaming smile, “I didn’t expect Miss

Ren Dong to be so powerful!”

Ren Dong thought Qi Jun was Su Liang’s servant, but listening to his address to Su Liang and herself, it was obvious that he was not.

“There’s nothing to do today, go pack your things, if you need anything, just ask Qi Jun,” Su Liang instructed Ren Dong.

“Yes, Master,” Ren Dong bowed again.

Qi Jun left with Ren Dong and Bai Xiaohu asked Ren Dong curiously where she had learned her martial arts. Ren Dong only said she had learned them from her master but did not reveal who he was.

With Su Liang left alone on the training ground, Gu Ling leaped down from above, holding a tree branch in his hand, and began attacking Su Liang.

Su Liang had just fought a match and was feeling tired; it didn’t take long for Gu Ling’s tree branch to hit her arm.

It didn’t hurt much, as she took a pill to help her recover and soon regained much of her strength.

The battle didn’t stop; Gu Ling used the same swordsmanship as Su Liang had used against Ren Dong, and Su Liang tried to imitate Ren Dong’s moves.

Analyzing each other’s strengths and weaknesses during fights had always been their habit.

Su Liang lost without a doubt because Gu Ling was very familiar with her moves, but it was not easy for her to learn Ren Dong’s swordsmanship quickly.

They rested for a moment and switched positions; Gu Ling began to imitate Ren Dong’s swordsmanship and attacked Su Liang.

Su Liang sighed in her heart, ‘Who can take care of this monster?” , and then focused on handling the attack.

Qi Jun returned to Yuanming Pavilion with lunch from a restaurant after arranging Ren Dong’s accommodations. He found Su Liang had just returned from the training ground with her long sword.

Qi Jun hesitated, “Miss Su, have you been practicing martial arts all this time?”

Su Liang nodded, “I didn’t do well in that fight, so I’ve been reflecting on it.” After receiving Gu Ling’s guidance, she felt that her chances of winning against Ren Dong would be much higher next time.

Qi Jun admired Su Liang’s diligence, “Miss Su, you are too hardworking. I am truly ashamed.”

“Your strongest point is not martial arts,” Su Liang said.

Qi Jun knew that Su Liang was being sincere, but at the same time, he became more aware of his own deficiencies.

Su Liang took the meal box from him, “See if you can find out more about Ren

Dong. ”

Qi Jun pondered, “She is tight-lipped; I doubt we can find out much by questioning her.”

“Think of a way,” Su Liang said.

Qi Jun asked weakly, “Miss Su, you don’t mean for me to seduce her, right?”

Su Liang was taken aback, “Is that what you were thinking? Well, sure, you can try.”

Qi Jun’s expression became awkward, “I was just joking; please don’t take it seriously, Miss Su.”

“I was joking too. Just take care of Little Tiger; don’t worry about anything else.” Su Liang entered the Yuanming Pavilion after finishing her sentence.

Qi Jun thought of Ren Dong’s stoic face and shook his head, “Those who come from the palace must be completely devoted to serving their master, devoid of love.”

After freshening up, Su Liang ate lunch with Gu Ling and discussed Ren Dong again.

Su Liang voiced her speculation about Ren Dong possibly being a “royal assassin”, and Gu Ling nodded slightly, “Perhaps.”

“She’s just carrying out orders. Could our plan end up harming her?” Su Liang sighed, “What if she’s sent back and gets punished? I think the emperor must have more than one person like her by his side.”

Gu Ling’s expression remained indifferent, “She will die within three days.”

Su Liang was stunned, “Has her brow turned black already? Was it like that when she arrived or was it after we discussed trying to get rid of her?”

“The latter,” Gu Ling said.

Su Liang frowned, “That means she really will be killed by us. She won’t have a chance to return to her original status once she leaves here.”

Gu Ling remained silent, essentially confirming Su Liang’s view.

Seeing Ren Dong’s black brow meant that fate wanted him to intervene. Now that it tied directly with their actions, their original plan was no longer feasible.

The reason why both of them didn’t think that the black mist appearing on Ren Dong’s brow meant she would kill someone she shouldn’t within three days was that she would only act on the instructions of “Master”.

Now Ren Dong’s actual master is Duanmu Yi, and her nominal master is Su Liang. Since Duanmu Yi had given Ren Dong to Su Liang, he wouldn’t temporarily assign her tasks unrelated to Su Liang, and Su Liang wouldn’t let Ren Dong kill people who shouldn’t be killed either.

Unless Ren Dong planned to kill Su Liang within the three days. But if that were the case, Gu Ling should have seen a black mist on Su Liang’s brow. Cases of preventing murder are rare, and in such situations, Gu Ling would definitely see the murderer first, and the person who would become the victim would be farther away from him.

“No wonder during the martial arts competition, I felt like she was starting to worry that I’d let her go,” Su Liang said helplessly. “What should we do? We can’t let someone be harmed just because she’s not trustworthy.”

Gu Ling’s expression remained calm, “Win her over.”

“But she must be a person with a strong will. If the attempt to win her over fails, it would backfire,” Su Liang said.

“You’ll find a way,” Gu Ling expressed confidence in Su Liang.

Su Liang pondered, “The Beauty Scheme… ‘

Gu Ling’s hand holding chopsticks froze, his face turning slightly dark, “What did you say?”

Su Liang blurted out, “I was wondering if Qi Jun had taken a fancy to Ren Dong since he mentioned the Beauty Scheme… Great God, you just picked up a chili pepper.”

Gu Ling stared at the red chili pepper that had reached his mouth, and the atmosphere was inexplicably awkward.

Su Liang smiled, “I didn’t expect Great God to have such a unique taste today. I wonder how spicy this chili pepper is, why don’t you give it a try, Great God.”

Taking her words to heart, Gu Ling indeed put the chili pepper into his mouth. The moment the chili pepper broke, the intense spiciness went straight to his head, changing his expression at once.

Su Liang was only teasing, not expecting Gu Ling to actually eat it. Seeing this, she quickly handed over an empty bowl, “Spit it out quickly!”

She put down the bowl and picked up a teapot, “Rinse your mouth, drink more water to alleviate it.”

Gu Ling spat out the unforgettable chili pepper and drank the whole pot of water, but his face was still slightly flushed.

This dish was made according to Su Liang’s recipe, cooked by Wan Family Restaurant. The chef added a red chili pepper as decoration on his own initiative. When the waiter served the dish, he would remind the guest that it was not for eating, only for decoration…

“Great God, it’s good that you want to try everything, but there are some things you just can’t eat,” Su Liang said, “educating” Gu Ling earnestly. “What if it was poison

Gu Ling’s expression was clearly calm, but his slightly flushed face seemed out of place.

“You look like you’re drunk,” Su Liang said.

“I’m not drunk,” Gu Ling shook his head.

Su Liang also shook her head, “That’s what every drunk person says.”

“The food is getting cold,” Gu Ling lowered his head, indicating that he couldn’t chat anymore, and began eating.

After the meal, Su Liang cooked mung beans and had Qi Jun get some shaved ice. She cooked the milk that Wan Hui had sent in the morning into milk tea, scooped out a small amount to cool before adding tea leaves, then added it to the green bean ice.

When Su Liang carried the glazed glass cup into Gu Ling’s room, she saw his hands hanging down and suspicious traces of water on his face.

Su Liang approached, and Gu Ling raised his hands, placing two ice cubes on a plate on the table.

Su Liang stifled a laugh, “You can wrap the ice cube in a handkerchief before applying it to your face.”

“Hmm, what’s this?” Gu Ling was good at changing the subject today.

Su Liang placed the green bean ice in front of him, “This is for you to cool down, just apply it to your face.”

Gu Ling gave Su Liang a chilly glance, took up the spoon, tasted it, and nodded slightly, “Not bad.”

“Great God, you eat first and think about how to solve Ren Dong’s problem. I’ll go cook the milk tea,” Su Liang left as soon as the words were spoken.

Gu Ling muttered barely audibly, “Eating the wrong thing can also have its gains…”

If Su Liang knew what Gu Ling was thinking right now, she would definitely knock the large spoon in her hand onto his forehead.

The milk tea was almost ready when Su Liang heard Xing Yusheng’s voice, “Su

Liang, what are you making? It smells so good!”

Following that was Lin Xueqing’s cheerful voice, “Sister Su!”

So, after a while, Gu Ling was eating green bean ice upstairs, while Su Liang was entertaining friends with afternoon tea downstairs. In addition to her homemade milk tea, there were also desserts brought by Lin Xueqing, made by her sister-in-law. She and Xing Yusheng had visited Qin Yujin at Lin Mansion earlier in the day and came straight here after lunch.

“Father is overjoyed, and second brother is happy like a fool.” Lin Xueqing laughed.

“My grandmother has been nagging about holding her great-grandchild, but when I think about how Xueqing will ignore me after we have a child, I think it’s better to wait a bit longer.” Xing Yusheng willingly shared his thoughts.

“Let’s just let things happen naturally.” Lin Xueqing, on the other hand, was quite looking forward to having a child, as she loved children very much.

Su Liang had made quite a lot of milk tea, so she had Ren Dong deliver some to Wan Hui and Zhengzheng at the restaurant.

When Ren Dong returned, she reported at Yuanming Pavilion, “Master, Miss Wan and Young Master are not at the restaurant, so this servant has sent it to their home.”

“Alright, you can go find Qi Jun now.” Su Liang said.

After Ren Dong left, Xing Yusheng asked who she was, and Lin Xueqing was also curious about the sudden appearance of a female guard at Su Liang’s place.

When they heard that it was the emperor who had sent her, both Xing Yusheng and Lin Xueqing frowned.

“What does the emperor mean by this?” Xing Yusheng instinctively felt that something was amiss, “Placing someone by your side, is he trying to monitor you?”

With a relaxed expression, Su Liang said, “Why worry? I’m not a spy and I’ve done nothing wrong. ”

Lin Xueqing took Su Liang’s hand, “Why don’t I give you a reliable maid, Sister

Su? Keep the one from the palace farther away from you.”

Su Liang shook her head with a smile, “No need. I’ve got it under control.”

Xing Yusheng sighed slightly, “In any case, Qi Jun is now at your disposal, and he’s quite happy about it. As for his marriage and such, you can handle it.”

“Alright.” Su Liang agreed. If she had no choice but to keep Ren Dong, she would need Qi Jun to maintain a balance, in order to avoid having to rely on Ren Dong for everything. Besides, Qi Jun was truly reliable, and Su Liang was familiar with him, so she did not refuse.

“Sister Su, what kind of tea leaves did you use for this milk tea? It’s so fragrant. I want to make some for my grandmother, father, elder brother, second brother, elder sister-in-law, second sister-in-law, grandfather and uncles and aunts!” Lin Xueqing said.

It was clear that she got along very well with her two sisters-in-law, Madam Xing, and the Qin family.

Su Liang directly handed Lin Xueqing a jar of tea leaves.

Although not Da Hong Pao, these tea leaves were only second to Da Hong Pao in terms of value. A pot of this tea, already brewed, sold for a hundred silver taels in the tea house of the Ning family in the capital city.

Lin Xueqing felt it was too extravagant, but Su Liang assured her that it was a gift and not to worry, as people don’t drink milk tea every day, and who says tea leaves can only have one way of being consumed?

When it was time to leave, Xing Yusheng finally remembered the important matter, “Everything is arranged, and we’ll be heading to Wangxiang Mountain early tomorrow morning. Qi Yan will take you there.”

Today was the sixteenth day of the eighth month, and Su Liang would set off with the coffins of the Su family the day after tomorrow to return to her hometown. Tomorrow, they would move the grave.

Su Liang had invited the monks from Huguo Temple to chant scriptures, and she also had to go burn paper offerings. Qi Jun had prepared all the necessary items.

After thanking Xing Yusheng, he and his wife left. Su Liang went upstairs and heard Gu Ling saying, “I want to drink milk tea.”

“If you can think of a solution to Ren Dong’s problem, you can have some milk tea. If not, then no.” Su Liang indicated that all the milk tea had been shared and Gu Ling would have to wait for a new pot to be brewed, even though he had already made green bean ice for him.

Gu Ling nodded, “I’ve thought of a solution.”

“Alright then.” Su Liang took the rest of the milk which was originally meant for making dessert and brewed a small pot of milk tea especially for Gu Ling.

After Gu Ling finished drinking it slowly, Su Liang asked about Ren Dong’s problem again. He wiped the corner of his mouth, and calmly said four words, “Act according to circumstances.”

Unable to bear the deception, Su Liang picked up the empty wooden fruit plate beside her and knocked it on Gu Ling’s forehead,

Without any change in expression or sign of embarrassment, the suddenly hit Gu Ling nodded slightly and said, “The milk tea is good, try using Da Hong Pao next time.. “