After Becoming a Succubus, I Was Offered to My Mortal Enemy - Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Sikong Xue stood with her back to Ning Yuan, asking, “Did your clansmen never speak to you of these things?”

The sensation of that touch still lingered on her fingertips—soft and moist. This foreign woman could play the zither, could paint, and didn’t sound like someone uneducated. How was it that she was completely ignorant of that sort of thing, remaining defenseless despite triggering the “heat” multiple times?

Ning Yuan propped her head up, gazing at Sikong Xue’s back, feeling as though she had discovered something extraordinary.

Is Sikong Xue… shy? Can she even be shy?

Ning Yuan devised a plan, pretending to be sad: “I was sent here as a tribute, alone and without support. My people abandoned me long ago; why would they tell me such things? In my homeland, when I was injured, I could only endure it. How could I know that using medicinal oil would lead to… I never thought of seducing you, but I did want to please you at the beginning. After all, I live under your roof. If one day you kick me out of the manor, I…”

As Ning Yuan spoke, she even squeezed out a few tears. When Sikong Xue provoked her as a child, she would pretend to cry to get the Grand Preceptor to punish Sikong Xue severely. Faking tears was a skill Ning Yuan had mastered long ago. Only, sometimes the punishment was so heavy that Ning Yuan would end up actually crying for real.

Feeling the person behind her sniffing again, Sikong Xue was forced to turn around to comfort her. So troublesome; A-Yuan was also such a crybaby. It was only because she didn’t know how to comfort her as a child that Yuchi Jin had been able to take advantage of the situation.

Driven by some inexplicable impulse, Sikong Xue imitated Yuchi Jin’s old mannerisms and said to the woman, “Stop crying. Your eyes are so beautiful; what would we do if they turned red from weeping?”

Ning Yuan: ?

The tone of those words was hauntingly familiar—it was exactly the kind Yuchi Jin used to use. Hearing Sikong Xue speak like this, Ning Yuan felt a wave of discomfort; goosebumps rose on her arms, and she felt so uneasy she forgot to keep up the fake crying. Had Sikong Xue spent so much time being two-faced in court that such hypocritical words came to her naturally now?

Seeing the tears stop, Sikong Xue thought this method of coaxing actually worked. But even though she had calmed the girl, her heart began to feel a twinge of bitterness. It turned out it was this easy to comfort someone who was crying; if she had known this back then, why did she always make A-Yuan angry?

Sikong Xue remembered how Yuchi Jin used to wipe away Ning Yuan’s tears, so she took a handkerchief and carefully dabbed the tears from the corners of the girl’s eyes. This sudden gesture startled Ning Yuan. Is Sikong Xue possessed?

Seeing Ning Yuan looking terrified, Sikong Xue said, “Do not be afraid. I will not kick you out of the manor. As long as you stay here obediently, I will certainly treat you well.”

Ning Yuan was truly puzzled. Why was Sikong Xue being so good to her? Did Sikong Xue plan to win over the foreign tribes to gain an extra layer of security for a future rebellion?

Ning Yuan’s eyes flickered. Staying in the manor every day meant she could gather no information. Why not find a way to get out? Although it was dangerous, the events of those years were significant; perhaps the commoners still gossiped about them. Right now, Sikong Xue was acting quite well toward her out of guilt.

Ning Yuan tested the waters: “But being confined to the manor every day is truly miserable. I heard the night markets of Great Liang are very lively; may I go out and see?”

Sikong Xue lowered her gaze. The woman was kneeling on the bed, her moon-white inner garment making her skin look white as snow. The flush on her cheeks had faded, but the corners of her eyes were still tinged with red. Though there was no incense burning in the room, Sikong Xue felt a faint, lingering fragrance from the woman was enticing her.

With her looking like this, Sikong Xue suddenly wanted to lock her in the manor forever. If she allowed her to go out and someone snatched her away, what would she do?

Ning Yuan grew bold and tugged at Sikong Xue’s lapel. “Master, can I really not leave the manor?”

Sikong Xue hurriedly pulled back her hand. “I am busy with official business these few days and cannot accompany you. Stay in the manor for a few more days until I select someone to protect you.”

At the mention of “selecting someone,” the light in Ning Yuan’s eyes vanished. “Selecting someone to protect her” was just a perfunctory excuse. Previously she said she’d find a husband, but the candidates saw her as a monster. Then she said she’d find a teacher, but Captain Yun left after a mere moment. Now that Sikong Xue was saying this, it likely meant she was still forbidden from going out.

Seeing the visible disappointment, Sikong Xue also realized she hadn’t followed through on anything she’d promised lately. Looking at this piteous face, if it were A-Yuan, Sikong Xue’s heart would have shattered. But letting her go out was truly unsafe; what if she was kidnapped by Yuchi Jin’s people?

Sikong Xue also didn’t want to accompany her personally; she feared that too much contact would cause her to fall too deep. After much thought, Sikong Xue could only say, “If you are truly bored, in a few days I will have A-Zhi… that is my younger sister, you saw her the other day. She can protect you. When she is free in a few days, I will have her take you to the night market.”

She had rarely been so patient, explaining so much.

“A-Zhi…” Ning Yuan remembered. Sikong Zhi was two years younger than her. Though she could be mischievous, she was much more stable than Sikong Xue as a child. Likely because she saw the Grand Preceptor punish Sikong Xue so often, she had to restrain herself as a warning to others.

Seeing that Ning Yuan didn’t seem afraid of Sikong Zhi, Sikong Xue said, “A-Zhi is several years older than you. You should call her ‘Sister’; you cannot call her by name.”

Ning Yuan: … She had almost forgotten. She was long dead, and in the eyes of others, she still appeared to be eighteen.

Ning Yuan said, “Then I must trouble the Master to thank Sister A-Zhi for me first.” The crying had stopped, but her voice was still soft, and that “Sister A-Zhi” sounded exceptionally well-behaved.

Sikong Xue: ? Sikong Xue controlled her emotions and didn’t frown, but she felt an inexplicable displeasure in her heart. Why was this foreign woman willing to call A-Zhi “Sister,” yet when facing her, it was always “Master” this and “Master” that? The only time she called her “Sister” was in a sarcastic, defiant tone.

Sikong Xue said, “I suddenly remember, A-Zhi dislikes it when others call her ‘Sister.’ Just follow her subordinates and call her ‘General’.”

“Oh.” Ning Yuan didn’t think much of it and simply noted it down.

Having finally coaxed this foreign woman, Sikong Xue left the West Court feeling a sense of melancholy. If only the one living in the West Court were A-Yuan.

She went to the military camp in person. Seeing Sikong Zhi training the troops, Sikong Xue stood outside the drill ground and watched for a while. It wasn’t until Sikong Zhi took a break that she noticed her elder sister had arrived.

Sikong Zhi had long since moved past Sikong Xue’s recent fussing. She walked up and asked, “Eldest Sister, why did you come in person?”

Sikong Xue glanced at Captain Yun nearby, her expression slightly unnatural. Fearing her sister had a problem with Yun Ni, Sikong Zhi said, “Sister, do not blame her. Captain Yun has a straightforward nature and doesn’t understand the twists and turns of officialdom. If she offended you, I hope you won’t hold it against her.” After all, she had to protect her subordinate.

Sikong Xue said, “I didn’t come for that. That foreign woman is indeed not suited for martial arts; I made Captain Yun waste a trip, how could I blame her? I came to find you for something else.”

Sikong Zhi found it rare for her sister to be so polite. “Eldest Sister, you didn’t come for your ‘sworn sister’ again, did you?”

Sikong Xue said, “Indeed. She is bored in the manor every day. If you have some free time, take her out to clear her head.”

Sikong Zhi looked at Sikong Xue in disbelief. “Sister, what are you saying? For something like that, just have Song Yan take a few guards to accompany her. I have important matters in the camp; how can I go play around with her?” She was just a foreign woman, not royalty; why did she need to accompany her personally?

Sikong Xue knew A-Zhi wouldn’t agree easily. She said, “Actually… taking her out is just a front. It’s meant to deceive people.”

Sikong Zhi turned serious. “Has the Princess Royal made another move?”

Sikong Xue said, “Though there is no movement for now… the Imperial family used to fear the Ning family. Now that the Nings are no longer a threat to the throne, they will naturally be wary of our Sikong family. Since there are no wars to fight, your daily training of troops might arouse suspicion.”

Sikong Zhi said dismissively, “Training troops is not something one can be lax about. If we don’t remain diligent while the country is rich and the army is strong, are we supposed to wait for the enemy to attack and then pick unarmed civilians to go kill them?”

Sikong Xue said, “You just won a victory; you should hide your sharpness. A-Zhi, if you don’t want to become a target, you must keep a low profile.”

Sikong Zhi pondered her sister’s words and suddenly had an epiphany. “So that’s it! Eldest Sister, as a child, you were pretending to be incompetent, causing trouble every day to get the tutor to punish you and the Mother to chase you with a stick. You did all that to hide your brilliance so you could achieve your current position!”

Sikong Zhi looked at her sister with admiration. She figured her sister exchanging the imperial decree for that foreign woman was also to make the Emperor less wary. Though the current Emperor was fairly obedient, who knew what the future held.

Sikong Zhi said seriously, “Rest assured, Sister. Today I will take that foreign woman to my manor and put on an act of indulging in pleasure all day to deceive everyone.”

Sikong Xue: … When she was scolded by her mother and tutor as a child, it was definitely because she was actually being naughty. However, if this line of reasoning could trick Sikong Zhi into taking the woman out to relax, so be it.

But why did Sikong Zhi have to take her to her manor? Sikong Xue had been thinking of getting rid of that woman earlier, but hearing Sikong Zhi say this, she added, “A-Zhi, that foreign woman is picky about her food and housing, and she has a delicate temper, prone to tantrums. If she stays at your manor, I fear she will turn the place upside down.”

Sikong Xue’s reluctant gaze was fully captured by Sikong Zhi. Sikong Zhi smiled and said, “Eldest Sister, are you afraid she’ll turn my house upside down, or are you afraid that once she lives with me, she’ll be so happy she won’t want to go back to you?”

She was just teasing, but Sikong Xue nearly became flustered. Her sister truly cared about that foreign woman.

Delicate temper, prone to tantrums… Sikong Zhi felt she was far too much like the Ning family sister of the past. She had to test her for her sister’s sake, lest her sister be deceived.

Meeting Ning Yuan again, Sikong Zhi had changed into casual clothes and smiled gently: “Eldest Sister said you were bored to death in the manor and asked me to take you out. The night market will be lively in half an hour; will you change and come with me?”

Ning Yuan’s eyes lit up. Being able to go out was wonderful. She hurriedly bowed to Sikong Zhi and said happily, “Thank you, General!”

Sikong Zhi said, “Don’t call me General. Since Eldest Sister says you are her sworn sister, you should just call me ‘Sister’.”

Ning Yuan looked at Sikong Xue in confusion. Hadn’t she said Sikong Zhi disliked being called “Sister”?

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