After the Foolish Beauty Wore Women's Clothes and Married the Brutal General - Chapter 11

Chapter 11: B-E-L-O-V-E-D.

Nan Jianxue was very quiet on the way back.

Although they hadn’t been married for long, Liang Qifeng was already used to Nan Jianxue’s chattering. He was like a bird chirping in his ear every day. Suddenly, with the silence, he felt a little unaccustomed to it.

After a few steps, he couldn’t help but speak. “You’ve seen it before.”

“Just because I’ve seen it doesn’t mean I can’t be scared, does it? Haven’t I seen enough bugs?” Nan Jianxue said unhappily. “Just walk!”

Hearing this, Liang Qifeng’s mouth curled up slightly, and he said again, “I warned you before. You insisted on coming. Do you dare to do it again next time?”

“Yes!” Nan Jianxue said without hesitation. “I’ll come again next time!”

Liang Qifeng nodded. “Don’t get scared silly again. This is just the tip of the iceberg.”

“You’re so annoying! I’m just scared, not scared to death!” Nan Jianxue snorted. “You didn’t block my view properly, and I saw a little bit, which is why I got scared. So, this is your fault.”

Liang Qifeng laughed. “Fine, it’s my fault.”

He admitted it so readily that Nan Jianxue was choked up and then got even angrier. “You’re being perfunctory with me.”

Liang Qifeng gave another “mm,” which made Nan Jianxue so angry that he went up and gave him two punches.

Nan Jianxue didn’t hold back, but Liang Qifeng still felt like he was being tickled by a kitten. He didn’t even dodge and let him hit him.

But after only a few punches, Nan Jianxue stopped on his own.

Liang Qifeng’s body was as hard as a rock, and it hurt his hands to hit him.

Nan Jianxue rubbed his sore hands and complained, “This road is so long.”

His voice softened. He was no longer scared or angry. It was that spoiled tone again, which felt the same as his scent.

Liang Qifeng looked at him from the corner of his eye. “What, you want me to carry you?”

Nan Jianxue glanced at the things on his body and gave a soft “hmph.” He held out his hand to him. “I’ll carry a little.”

Liang Qifeng didn’t give him anything and only said, “Walk faster. Aren’t you feeling suffocated?”

“I am,” Nan Jianxue answered and quickened his pace.

The feeling of stuffiness from the tunnel only disappeared when they got outside.

Nan Jianxue was still thinking about waiting for the old man to come out and wasn’t in a hurry to leave. He stood at the entrance and waited.

Liang Qifeng put the things down, found a place to sit, and saw that Nan Jianxue was still standing next to him. “Don’t you want to sit?”

“No,” Nan Jianxue glanced at him, hugged his arms, and continued to stand.

Liang Qifeng was a little confused, but when his eyes fell on the dirty ground at his feet, he suddenly understood.

After thinking for a moment, he took off his outer coat, threw it on the ground, and straightened it a little. “Sit here.”

Nan Jianxue glanced at the coat and didn’t move.

Liang Qifeng chuckled at the sight. “What? Is this too dirty?”

“No,” Nan Jianxue looked at the coat on the ground and frowned. “It’s cold. You should wear it yourself.”

Liang Qifeng didn’t move and only said, “Dirty.”

He didn’t know if he was talking about the ground or the coat.

Nan Jianxue thought about it and still sat down on his coat.

He sat very carefully and gracefully. Even in the messy environment, he was noble and elegant, like a pot of precious flowers brought to the wilderness, beautifully out of place.

Liang Qifeng looked at him for a few moments, and his eyebrows furrowed almost imperceptibly, but it was so slight that he couldn’t even catch what it meant. He spoke first. “Let’s go back first.”

Nan Jianxue said, “Huh?” “But we haven’t waited for him yet.”

“I’ll have someone come look for him later,” Liang Qifeng said. “He’ll wait if he wants to make money.”

With that, he stood up, picked up the things on the ground, and was ready to leave.

Nan Jianxue quickly reached out for the coat on the ground and said anxiously, “Wait for me—!”

Before he could finish, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He immediately let out a scream, and his entire body jumped up, hitting Liang Qifeng’s back like a cannonball, making Liang Qifeng stumble.

“Someone!” Nan Jianxue yelled. He quickly glanced at where he was just sitting and met a pair of smiling eyes. All his fear instantly turned into anger. “You old man, why did you scare me?!”

The old man chuckled twice. “You’re just too timid.” After saying that, he saw Liang Qifeng looking at him with an unfriendly expression and immediately shrank his neck. “He’s so fierce. It’s not my fault if your ears aren’t good.”

Nan Jianxue looked at Liang Qifeng. He remembered that Liang Qifeng’s hearing was very good. Liang Qifeng hadn’t even noticed the old man coming out of the tunnel.

Thinking of this, Nan Jianxue hid behind Liang Qifeng.

The old man didn’t mind and said with a chuckle, “I came from another place. This is what you want, right?” With that, the old man took out a booklet from his clothes and handed it to them.

Nan Jianxue took the booklet strangely and flipped through it.

Inside were one record after another. The front was the name of the medicine, and the back was the clothing and characteristics of the buyer. The format was similar to the information Liang Qifeng had, but this one had more entries and was more chaotic.

Nan Jianxue vaguely felt that something was wrong. “You can even get a ledger?”

The old man nodded with a smile and rubbed his hands. “Money, money!”

Nan Jianxue didn’t answer him but asked, “How did you get it?”

The old man looked at him strangely. “How else? I stole it, of course.”

Nan Jianxue: ?!

Liang Qifeng also understood why he hadn’t heard the old man appear. With his sneaky skills, it would indeed be difficult for an ordinary person to notice.

“Then this is stolen goods,” Nan Jianxue said in surprise. “You’re using me to sell stolen goods?!”

The old man was speechless. “How many clean things can you find in the ghost market?”

Nan Jianxue thought of the pile of things he had bought and was silent.

After a moment, he said, “Then you can come back with me to get the money. You have to deliver the goods anyway.”

The old man immediately nodded. “Where are we going?”

Nan Jianxue was about to give the location when he heard Liang Qifeng say, “Follow me.”

With that, he looked at Nan Jianxue. “You want me to carry you?”

Nan Jianxue immediately nodded. His eyes fell on the pile of things in his arms. “Can you carry all this?”

Liang Qifeng put the two zithers on his back and stuffed the jewelry directly into Nan Jianxue’s arms.

Nan Jianxue looked at him for a while and suddenly said, “You don’t look mighty at all like this. You look a little clumsy.”

Liang Qifeng’s temple twitched. “It seems you want to walk back.”

Nan Jianxue immediately went up to him, held out his hands, and softened his voice. “Carry me.”

It was that same soft, sweet voice and posture again.

Liang Qifeng was silent for a moment. Then he let out a very soft sigh, bent down, and picked him up.

Nan Jianxue immediately climbed onto his shoulders and turned to look at the old man behind him. “Can you keep up…?”

Before he could finish, Liang Qifeng had leaped onto the rooftop and was flying towards the Princess’s Manor using the height.

Nan Jianxue quickly looked back and was surprised to find that the old man had actually kept up.

“He’s so amazing,” Nan Jianxue said. “He can keep up with you. Is his martial arts that good?”

“Just lightness skill,” Liang Qifeng explained in a low voice. “Petty thief skills.”

Nan Jianxue also understood and asked, “Is lightness skill easy to learn?”

“You have to start learning from a young age. If you start now, you can only learn some simple skills.” Liang Qifeng said, lowering his eyes to look at him. He saw the obvious disappointment on Nan Jianxue’s face.

His skin was fair and delicate, like a piece of jade reflecting the moonlight.

Liang Qifeng smelled the floral scent again. He didn’t know if it was from the perfume on Nan Jianxue’s clothes or the incense that was constantly burned in his room, which had already clung to his body.

It was a sweet, but not cloying, clean and soft scent. It was a very pleasant smell that was carried by the wind and hit his face, almost completely overwhelming his sense of smell.

Liang Qifeng frowned very slightly and sped up.

By the time they returned to the Princess’s Manor, a thin layer of sweat had appeared on Liang Qifeng’s forehead.

Nan Jianxue was a little confused at the sight. “Are those two zithers that heavy?”

Liang Qifeng gave him a sideways glance. “What do you think?”

Nan Jianxue felt a little guilty.

“You’re clearly weak,” the old man’s voice interjected at this moment, giving Liang Qifeng a teasing smile. “You call something so light heavy, young man. You need to take more supplements.”

Liang Qifeng’s eyes darkened.

The old man immediately darted behind Nan Jianxue.

Nan Jianxue smiled with his lips pursed and raised his hand to block Liang Qifeng’s gaze. “Okay, let’s go back.”

Liang Qifeng reached out, took the things from Nan Jianxue’s arms, and turned to leave.

The old man gave a “tsk” at the sight. “Why are you leaving your wife behind? This man has a bad temper. Kid, why did you choose someone like this?”

“I didn’t choose him. Let’s go. I’ll get you your money,” Nan Jianxue took him on a different path back to the courtyard and called for Qingqian.

“Put these things away and pay him,” Nan Jianxue instructed Qingqian. “Also, give him two hundred taels.”

Qingqian didn’t know why Nan Jianxue had bought so many things on this trip, but she didn’t pry. She nodded and left with the old man.

Only then did Nan Jianxue return to his room. When he opened the door, he saw Liang Qifeng taking off his clothes. He was stunned for a moment, then immediately reacted, quickly turned around, and scolded, “Didn’t I say not to change clothes in the room!”

“Who said I was changing clothes?” Liang Qifeng’s voice came over, along with the faint sound of a chair being dragged.

Only then did Nan Jianxue turn back around and see him with only his inner shirt on, sitting at the table and drinking water.

Nan Jianxue breathed a sigh of relief. He also walked over and poured a cup of water. “When are you going to the palace tomorrow?”

Liang Qifeng lifted his eyelids and looked at him. “Are you going too?”

Nan Jianxue nodded. “I also want to hear what my imperial brother has to say.”

Liang Qifeng nodded. “It will be after the morning court.”

“That’s still a while from now. Go to bed,” Nan Jianxue finished his water with a gulp and immediately got up and went behind the screen.

Liang Qifeng could hear the sound of clothes rustling and hitting the floor.

Nan Jianxue was changing clothes.

He stood up and walked away, going to his “bed” and sitting down.

When Qingqian came back, Nan Jianxue was already down to his nightclothes and was sitting in front of the dressing table looking at the pile of jewelry he had bought.

Qingqian also looked and said with a smile, “They’re all good things. Does the princess want to wear them tomorrow?”

Nan Jianxue shook his head. “Some of them were taken from tombs.”

When Qingqian heard this, a look of disgust immediately appeared on her face. She quickly put all the jewelry into a box and said, “That’s too inauspicious. Don’t touch them. I’ll put them in the storeroom right now.”

With that, she put the sealed box to the side, then went to wring a towel to wipe Nan Jianxue’s hands and face. She also brought clothes for him to change into, but Nan Jianxue didn’t want to change. After running around for so long, he was already getting sleepy now that it was quiet.

Qingqian lit some incense and stood guard. She only left with the box after he fell asleep, passing the screen and seeing that Liang Qifeng was also not asleep. He was sitting on the “bed” and looking over.

She curtsied to Liang Qifeng.

But Liang Qifeng ignored her.

Qingqian just took it as him being cold and didn’t find it strange.

It had been many days since her princess and this general got married. The general’s attitude towards them had always been the same. He was very distant and almost never spoke to them unless it was necessary.

At the same time, he was also very quiet, especially at night. If the princess didn’t initiate a conversation, he could go without saying a word. If she hadn’t been paying attention, she might have forgotten he was even there.

In the princess’s words, the general was very boring.

Qingqian didn’t get a response and was about to leave, but as soon as she took a step, Liang Qifeng suddenly asked her, “Is she asleep?”

Qingqian was stunned for a moment, then nodded. “General… is there something you need?”

Liang Qifeng shook his head and lay down.

So, Qingqian left with the box, and the room fell into silence.

Nan Jianxue slept until daylight. He was still a little dazed when Qingqian woke him up. He blinked his eyes from under the covers. “What time is it?”

“Time to get up,” Qingqian said. “The princess has to go out today, so you can’t be too late.”

When Nan Jianxue heard this, he remembered what he had talked about with Liang Qifeng last night. He quickly got out of bed and asked while he was washing up, “Where is he?”

“The general? He has already gone to the palace,” Qingqian walked over with his clothes and looked at Nan Jianxue’s paused movements, a little confused. “Is something wrong?”

Nan Jianxue frowned. “We said we would go together. Why did he leave me behind!”

“It’s because the princess got up too late,” Qingqian said helplessly. “Since the princess moved out of the palace and into her manor, she’s become lazier and lazier.”

Nan Jianxue glared at her.

Qingqian immediately gave him a fawning smile, put the clothes away, and said, “Next time something like this happens, tell this servant, and I’ll wake you up.”

When he heard this, Nan Jianxue immediately shook his head, continued to wash his face, and mumbled with the towel over his mouth, “No, I want to sleep.”

Qingqian smiled and waited by the side. After Nan Jianxue finished washing his face, she went over to help him change clothes. While she was doing his hair, she mentioned what was on the agenda for today. “This afternoon, we have to attend a banquet at the Guan family’s country manor. The invitation also has the general’s name on it. Should we ask the general if he wants to go?”

Nan Jianxue frowned when he heard this. “When did this happen?”

“The invitation was sent two days ago. When I told the princess, didn’t you agree?” Qingqian said helplessly. “It’s just a flower viewing banquet. I heard it’s to find a good husband for the second young lady.”

Only then did Nan Jianxue remember this. He nodded. “We’ll ask him later. He’s been very idle lately anyway.”

So idle that he spent most of his time in the manor. Those who knew would say he was on vacation, but those who didn’t would think he had been dismissed by his imperial brother.

But not long after he said this, someone from the palace came to pass on a message, saying that the consort would not be back for lunch.

Nan Jianxue then thought of what they had investigated last night. He knew that the matter might be a bit troublesome, so he told Qingqian to ask him later in the afternoon.

But Nan Jianxue waited until after he had eaten and even took a nap in the room, but Liang Qifeng still hadn’t returned. He had no choice but to start putting on his makeup first.

“He’s really unlucky,” Nan Jianxue said, holding a pen and meticulously drawing his eyebrows in the mirror. “He said he would go to the banquet with me, but when the opportunity came, he was too busy.”

Qingqian was a little confused. “Why would you want to go together?”

“Because…” Nan Jianxue’s hand paused. He remembered that Qingqian wasn’t privy to the details, so he made something up. “To find him a beautiful girl to marry.”

“But you clearly said you wouldn’t allow the general to have concubines,” Qingqian said.

“Nonsense. If he has a concubine, it’ll look like I can’t control him,” Nan Jianxue said. “I’m just going to look. If we get a divorce in the future, he’ll be able to remarry quickly.”

Qingqian smiled at this. “Isn’t that the same for the princess?”

Nan Jianxue gave her a sideways glance. “Is it the same for me? Quick, help me check if I drew it crooked.”

Qingqian laughed, leaned in, looked carefully, and nodded. “You drew it very well. Does the princess want to try the new color from Yuxiang Pavilion?” With that, she picked out a rouge from the dressing table. “It was just delivered this morning. The color is quite pretty.”

Nan Jianxue took another brush, applied some to his lips, and carefully colored them. Finally, he pursed his lips and nodded. “It’s pretty. They haven’t been releasing many new things lately, have they?”

Qingqian nodded. “I heard that the proprietress went back to her hometown a while ago, so the store hasn’t had any new products.”

Nan Jianxue looked at her. “Went back to her hometown? I remember her family is there, right? Is she going to bring them over?”

“No,” Qingqian put the rouge away and took out a pair of earrings to put on Nan Jianxue. “I heard that her husband used the money she sent back every month to support a mistress. The mistress got pregnant, and her husband wanted to bring her into the family. The proprietress went back and caused a huge commotion, and now she’s divorced.”

Nan Jianxue understood. “She should divorce him. What’s the difference between staying with a man like that and living in hell?”

“A man like what?” a male voice sounded in the room.

Both of them were stunned. Nan Jianxue turned his head and saw Liang Qifeng walking in. He told him what they were just talking about.

Liang Qifeng nodded. “Indeed. Yuxiang Pavilion?”

“It’s a store that sells rouge and powder. You’ve probably never been,” Nan Jianxue raised his head and pointed at his lips. “It’s a new color. Does it look good?”

Liang Qifeng: ?

He walked closer and looked. Nan Jianxue’s lips were a very nice shape, thin and full. After applying the rouge, they were even more beautiful, but the color…

Liang Qifeng looked at it for a while and frowned very slightly. “What new color?”

Nan Jianxue: “…”

“Never mind. Men like you wouldn’t understand,” Nan Jianxue shook his head, looking at him with a look of disappointment.

Liang Qifeng: “…”

“You’re back just in time,” Nan Jianxue turned back around and looked at himself in the mirror carefully. “The wife of Marquis Qingyuan is hosting a flower viewing banquet at her country manor. She also invited you. Do you want to go together?”

Liang Qifeng was confused. “What would I do there?”

Nan Jianxue turned his head back speechlessly. “What do you think?”

Liang Qifeng was stunned for a moment. Just as he was about to react, he saw Nan Jianxue mouth the words to him, one by one: B-E-L-O-V-E-D.

Only then did Liang Qifeng remember this matter and chuckled softly. “Fine, I’ll go with you. Let’s go now…”

Before he could finish, a few banknotes were handed to him.

Liang Qifeng was confused. “What’s this?”

“The money from last night,” Nan Jianxue said. “I said I would pay you back.”

Liang Qifeng pushed the banknotes back. “Aren’t you going to take me to find someone today? Consider this your payment.”

Nan Jianxue immediately smiled, put the banknotes into the small drawer on the dressing table, and followed Liang Qifeng. “Then I’ll help you pick out your clothes. I promise you’ll be a stunner in front of him… in front of everyone! You’ll captivate them all!”

Liang Qifeng: “…”

Great. He’s very proactive about sending me away.

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