After Becoming a Succubus, I Was Offered to My Mortal Enemy - Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Chun He and Xia Xun couldn’t understand it either—the Miss was so beautiful, so why did those people act as if they had seen a ghost?

Seeing Ning Yuan fretfully tearing at the petals of a begonia flower, Xia Xun advised, “Miss is still young, why be in such a hurry to marry? Now that the Master has recognized you as a sworn sister, this is also a very good thing.”

Ning Yuan grumbled, “She clearly wants to use this to humiliate me, so that I’ll stay here quietly.”

At the moment, she truly had nowhere else to go but here. If one day Sikong Xue grew tired of her and kicked her out of the manor, what would she do? If she were cast out, she would have no ability to protect herself; she feared that before she could even seek revenge, she would encounter danger.

Thinking of these things, Ning Yuan had nightmares all night long. She dreamed of her family suffering; she dreamed of falling into Yuchi Jin’s hands and enduring endless torture. For some reason, whenever she grew afraid in her dreams, she kept calling out Sikong Xue’s childhood name.

A-Lin, save me…

No matter how she called, Sikong Xue refused to answer.

In the dead of night, she was jolted awake by a nightmare and sat up abruptly. Ning Yuan drank some cold tea, and as her cold sweat receded, she couldn’t help but shiver. It must be because she lived in Sikong Xue’s manor after her reincarnation that she looked to Sikong Xue for rescue in her dreams.

Speaking of which, she was the one who had come up with that childhood name for Sikong Xue. However, Sikong Xue didn’t seem to like it, and afterward, she always claimed to the outside world that she had no courtesy name. Back then, Ning Yuan was still the young mistress of the Ning family; the more Sikong Xue disliked the name, the more Ning Yuan insisted on calling her by it. Calling her “A-Lin” time and again, she had actually grown used to it. When she was happy, she called her A-Lin; when she was provoked to anger, she called her Sikong Xue.

Thinking of the past, Ning Yuan talked to herself: “Sikong Xue disliked that name so much; if I call her ‘A-Lin,’ she naturally won’t save me.”

Looking at her slender arms, Ning Yuan felt that being too weak was truly not a good thing. These hands had likely done some rough work originally, but since coming here and being meticulously cared for every day, the original calluses had faded, and they had become soft and boneless again.

In the past, Ning Yuan thought a woman had to be slender to be considered beautiful. It wasn’t until Yuchi Jin took her life with a single blade that she realized the most important thing was self-preservation. Her hands previously only knew how to play the zither and paint, but those things only won her the empty title of a “talented woman”; they were of no other use.

As a child, she thought Sikong Xue’s obsession with dancing with blades and swords was vulgar; now it seemed Sikong Xue was the clever one. Poetry and books could be studied at any time, but if the body was frail, it would take a great deal of effort to nurture it back to health.

Tossing and turning until dawn, Ning Yuan, with dark circles under her eyes, said to Chun He, “Chun He, I want to learn some martial arts. Could you please petition the Master to find an instructor for me?”

She had to learn as much as possible while Sikong Xue was still willing to treat her well. Ning Yuan still refused to call Sikong Xue “Sister”; she only treated Sikong Xue’s claim of adopting her as a joke. After all, what high-ranking official would take an unknown foreign woman as a sworn sister?

Though confused, Chun He relayed the request to Sikong Xue.

Upon hearing this, Song Yan immediately became alert: “Master, could this girl be planning to learn martial arts just to assassinate you?”

She then felt she was overthinking. What assassin would wait until they were already inside the target’s manor to start learning martial arts from scratch? She was so weak and burdened by her “heat”; how could she possibly assassinate Sikong Xue?

Sikong Xue didn’t care what her motives were and simply said, “Song Yan, have A-Zhi pick someone of dignified appearance and character from the army to come to the manor and teach her.”

Since it wasn’t a matchmaking attempt, she figured Sikong Zhi’s officers wouldn’t be so panicked. Letting the two interact for a while might lead to a mutual attraction. Sikong Xue still wanted the foreign woman married off quickly, to save herself from the distracting thoughts that arose whenever they met.

Because Yin Chiyun hadn’t been able to come and check her pulse for several days, Sikong Xue felt her “illness” had worsened. She took her soul-soothing medicine daily, yet her sleep only grew more restless.

Last night, Sikong Xue dreamed again of this woman enticing her in every way. Even though the girl was quiet in the manor and never overstepped, Sikong Xue felt she was being deliberately seductive. Sikong Xue remembered the girl’s name was Qi Lan. A-Yuan’s childhood name was Xiang Lan; though the characters were different, Sikong Xue found it increasingly difficult to distinguish who the person before her truly was. Especially when she pretended to be angry; she looked so much like A-Yuan. It seemed she would have to set a rule in the future: this woman was not allowed to frown or get angry in her presence.

The Prime Minister’s Manor suddenly making such a request caused Sikong Zhi to ponder for a long time. Eventually, she chose the most ascetic and stoic person she knew to teach the girl martial arts. Aside from that Ning family girl, Sikong Zhi had never seen Sikong Xue be so indulgent toward anyone.

Over the past few days, she had come to a realization: if her Eldest Sister had no feelings for that girl, why go through all this trouble? If her officer actually made off with the girl, what would happen if her sister regretted it later?

Ning Yuan had planned to catch up on sleep during the day. She hadn’t expected that after asking Chun He to petition Sikong Xue for an instructor in the morning, the person would arrive less than an hour after breakfast.

Ning Yuan was sitting on a stone stool in the courtyard, reading a storybook to pass the time. The morning light hit her porcelain-white skin, making her already exquisite face look even more moving.

Noticing a shadow fall over her, Ning Yuan looked up. A woman in brown clothing with a somewhat sturdy build stood before her.

“This subordinate is Yun Ni, a Captain in the army. Greetings, Miss.”

Yun Ni was similar in age to Sikong Xue. Her complexion was not as fair as a sheltered lady’s, and her eyes were cold and sharp. Though she was stern and unsmiling, she didn’t seem frightening. Perhaps because she came from the military, her aura of righteousness made Ning Yuan feel at ease.

Seeing her salute, Ning Yuan hurriedly said, “Captain Yun, please do not stand on ceremony. It is I who asked you to teach me martial arts; it is I who should be saluting you.” Back when she attended the academy, Ning Yuan had great respect for the teachers who taught her to read and write. Since Captain Yun was teaching her martial arts, she naturally treated her with the respect due to a master.

Yun Ni, unaware of Ning Yuan’s specific status, didn’t hesitate like the others. She treated her with the same rigor she would show to the soldiers under her command.

Seeing Ning Yuan return to her room to change into light, practical clothing—seemingly serious about training—Yun Ni stepped forward immediately. She first pinched Ning Yuan’s arms and then pressed her shoulders. The force wasn’t great; she just wanted to test if Ning Yuan had any foundation, but it caused Ning Yuan to frown. Ning Yuan felt that the Captain’s grip was a bit painful, but she knew if she couldn’t handle even this, she couldn’t learn martial arts.

Yun Ni spoke bluntly: “Miss’s body is too weak.” Her arms were soft and lacked any strength. Before she had even applied pressure, Ning Yuan looked as if she were about to cry. How could someone so frail learn martial arts?

Ning Yuan was not discouraged and simply said, “It is precisely because of this that I want to learn some martial arts to protect myself.”

“Then we shall begin with the horse stance.” Yun Ni stood straight and gave Ning Yuan a demonstration.

Ning Yuan looked at Yun Ni, feeling that learning martial arts was different from what she had imagined. She thought Yun Ni would teach her powerful moves; even if she didn’t start with swords and blades, she expected to learn some techniques to defeat enemies.

Seeing Ning Yuan remain still, Yun Ni said, “The horse stance is the most basic. You must first stabilize your stance before practicing anything else.”

Chun He and Xia Xun exchanged glances, also feeling that this kind of practice was a waste of time. Chun He voiced Ning Yuan’s thoughts: “Captain Yun, after she masters the horse stance, what comes next?”

Yun Ni said, “Naturally, it will be lifting stone locks and hitting sandbags. Miss has a poor foundation; she must lift stone locks for at least a month. Once the foundation is laid, we will move on to hand-to-hand combat, so as not to injure herself.”

Xia Xun quickly pulled Ning Yuan aside and whispered, “Miss, perhaps you shouldn’t learn. It sounds so exhausting.” Xia Xun had assumed the martial arts would be as majestic and beautiful as the swordplay the Master practiced; if it meant lifting stone locks every day, it would be far too tedious.

Hearing this, Ning Yuan also felt a bit intimidated. Lifting stone locks for a month?

Seeing Ning Yuan’s hesitation, Yun Ni said coldly, “If Miss is afraid of hard work, this subordinate will return to the camp now.”

Ning Yuan hurriedly said, “I’m not afraid of hard work. It’s just a horse stance; I’ll do it.” She imitated Yun Ni’s posture, standing straight with knees slightly bent. Before she could even steady herself, Yun Ni used a tree branch to lightly tap her back. “Keep your back straight!”

Once Yun Ni turned serious, it was as if she were treating Ning Yuan like one of her soldiers. Ning Yuan had thought the horse stance would be easy, but in less than fifteen minutes, she was drenched in sweat. Xia Xun wanted to wipe her sweat with a handkerchief, but was stopped by Yun Ni’s gaze. Her legs ached terribly; Ning Yuan could only grit her teeth and try to maintain the posture.

Chun He asked, “Captain Yun, how long must my Miss stand?”

Yun Ni said, “One incense stick of time.”

Ning Yuan thought she could last that long, but it wasn’t long before her vision went black. Fortunately, Chun He and Xia Xun caught her in time so she didn’t collapse on the ground.

With a loud “thud,” the partially closed door of the West Court was kicked open.

“How did A-Zhi speak to you? She asked you to teach her some martial arts, and you’ve exhausted her like this?” Sikong Xue had “passed by” the West Court at some point; seeing Ning Yuan faint, she barged in without a second thought.

Yun Ni did not fear Sikong Xue and reported honestly, “This subordinate only asked the Miss to stand in a horse stance for one incense stick of time, but she couldn’t hold on for even fifteen minutes.” With so many eyes watching, she certainly hadn’t mistreated the girl.

Sikong Xue: …

Sikong Xue hadn’t expected to lose control like this either; it was just that seeing her faint caused such a surge of anxiety that she barged in. Seeing Chun He and Xia Xun help the girl into the room, she awkwardly rubbed her nose and said, “Only fifteen minutes of horse stance?”

Yun Ni said neither humbly nor arrogantly, “The Lord Prime Minister is also a martial artist and naturally knows that to learn martial arts, one must first build a foundation. If I were to teach her combat moves directly, I fear I would only injure her.”

Sikong Xue glanced at the person in the room; she had looked weak a moment ago, but now reclining on the soft couch, she seemed mostly fine. She said, “Naturally.”

Yun Ni asked, “Does the Lord Prime Minister have any other commands?” This was essentially a polite way of asking her to leave. Although this was the Prime Minister’s Manor, it was Sikong Xue who had asked her to teach the girl. If she was to learn, she couldn’t be too pampered. Military training was far more grueling than this; Yun Ni had already been very considerate given Ning Yuan’s weak constitution. If Sikong Xue stayed to watch and began to feel pity, forbidding her from being strict, Ning Yuan would never learn anything.

Xia Xun poured a small cup of honey water for Ning Yuan and said, “It’s so much work, Miss should stop. In this manor, no one can bully you.”

Ning Yuan took a sip of the honey water. She saw Sikong Xue standing in the courtyard, talking to Yun Ni about something. Sikong Xue wouldn’t be here just to mock her, would she? Speaking of which, her body used to be much healthier. This Succubus body was truly too weak. As a child, she could run so fast that Sikong Xue couldn’t catch her. Back then, Sikong Xue wasn’t very clever either; during hide-and-seek, Ning Yuan always had to peek out a corner of her clothes for Sikong Xue to find her. Every time Sikong Xue was about to catch her, Ning Yuan would laugh and run away. Who would have thought the tables would turn so far that Sikong Xue could now mock her like this.

After resting for a while, Ning Yuan felt her strength return. She left the couch and said to Yun Ni, “Captain Yun, I just didn’t stand steadily a moment ago. I feel much better now and can continue.”

Having said that, seeing Sikong Xue still standing in the courtyard, she said, “Does the Master not have governmental affairs to attend to today?” Ning Yuan was confused; why was Sikong Xue still standing there? Was she waiting to see her make a fool of herself again so she could mock her to her face?

Sikong Xue said solemnly, “I have been away from the army for many years and find myself reminiscing about the days of practicing martial arts with my comrades. Since Captain Yun is here, I shall practice along with you.”

Yun Ni: ? Ning Yuan: ??

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