Flower Stealing Master

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Song Qingshu’s internal energy had recovered, and he hurriedly sat down to expel the poison. His current power was formidable; he quickly forced a drop of golden poisonous blood from his fingertip.

However, the Heavenly Devil Flower was a rare poison in Jin Yong’s novels, considered one of the top three most potent poisons, and now it was entangled in his internal organs. Expelling all the poisonous blood would likely be a long and arduous process.

Song Qingshu didn’t know if the recovery of his internal energy was permanent or temporary, so he dared not delay and continued to expel the poison.

As his energy circulated, wisps of white vapor gradually rose from his body. After an unknown amount of time, he suddenly felt a chill, because the flow of his internal energy suddenly felt sluggish again.

“Damn it, it seems I was too happy too soon.” Song Qingshu hurriedly stopped his practice, afraid to continue expelling the poison, worried that his internal energy might suddenly disappear halfway through, causing a backlash from the poison.

Although he was cautious enough, he hadn’t expected his True Qi to dissipate so quickly. Just as he felt a slight unease, the circulation of his True Qi abruptly stopped, leaving him no time to stop his practice.

Without the suppression of his True Qi, the poison of the Heavenly Devil Flower returned with a vengeance, even more ferocious than before. Song Qingshu groaned, then fainted.

“You…what’s wrong with you?” Qi Fang, who had been sitting nearby in a daze, was at a loss when she saw Song Qingshu suddenly faint. “He was perfectly fine just now!”

Checking his pulse, it was alarmingly erratic. Qi Fang wondered: Could he have accidentally suffered a qi deviation while trying to expel the poison? Just then, a rapid knocking sounded at the door: “Madam, Madam?”

Recognizing Taohong’s voice, Qi Fang jumped in surprise. She glanced guiltily at Song Qingshu on the floor, quickly pulled the screen in front of him, and then asked, feigning composure, “What is it?”

“Soldiers have boarded the ship to search, and I came specifically to remind you, Madam,” Taohong replied.

Qi Fang frowned: “Remind me of what? Do they dare search my place?” Normally, she was unassuming, but now that a strange man was hiding in her room, and he was a wanted criminal, she had to adopt the demeanor of the young mistress of the Prime Minister’s residence.

A panicked voice came from behind the screen: “I told those people about the lady’s identity, but the leading general wouldn’t budge. He said it was Commander Li’s order to thoroughly search all ships, carriages, and pedestrians leaving Yangzhou, leaving no corner unchecked, no one exempt. It seems it’s to capture a wanted criminal surnamed Song.”

It turned out that the soldiers had been lured away by Xiao Longnu, and later finally realized that the person they were chasing behind was just a scarecrow. Li Kexiu, upon receiving the news, was furious and ordered the waterways at the border to be sealed off, and all suspicious persons to be thoroughly searched.

Li Kexiu understood that if Song Qingshu escaped this time, he would be in big trouble. Therefore, even knowing that this action would offend many powerful and wealthy families, he spared no expense in ordering his soldiers to search every room.

“What!” Hearing Taohong’s words, Qi Fang exclaimed in shock, her face pale as she stared at the screen. How could a mere screen hide anyone when those soldiers came in? Qi Fang rushed over and shook Song Qingshu, “Wake up, wake up!” 

Unfortunately, he didn’t respond. She gritted her teeth, quickly put one of his hands on her shoulder, and helped him to the bedside.

Fortunately, she had learned martial arts and grew up in the mountains, so she was extremely healthy, which allowed her to drag such a burly man to the bedside.

Her first instinct was to hide Song Qingshu under the bed, but she hesitated when she reached the bedside. Since they dared to break into her room, they would definitely search everywhere, and the area under the bed would inevitably be found.

The thought of Song Qingshu being discovered by the soldiers sent chills down Qi Fang’s spine. Song Qingshu was currently unconscious; if discovered, he would have no chance of survival. Her kind heart couldn’t bear to see that happen—especially since he was her senior brother’s friend.

On the other hand, she was a married woman, hiding a man in her room in the middle of the night. If word got out, how could she face anyone? After the Jingkang Incident, with a large number of Song Dynasty imperial women abducted and raped by the Jurchens, and the Southern Song court powerless to retaliate, geography gradually flourished, and the importance placed on female chastity reached an abnormal level. Women were taught that in similar situations, they should preserve their purity even at the cost of their lives.

In this environment, Qi Fang knew that Wan Qili, with his personality, would never allow the family to be disgraced, and Wan Gui… she had little confidence that her husband could protect her.

“I absolutely cannot let him be discovered!” Qi Fang bit her lip, silently vowing to herself.

At this critical moment, she couldn’t worry about anything else. Qi Fang helped Song Qingshu up, tucked him into bed, pulled a quilt over him, and then, blushing, hid under the covers herself.

However, her brows quickly furrowed, because she realized that no matter how hard she tried, there was always a bulge under the covers; it was still too obvious. Anyone with a discerning eye could easily see that there was another person under the covers.

“What should I do…” Hearing the commotion coming from the stairwell, Qi Fang’s heart leaped into her throat. She knew she had to make a decision: either hand Song Qingshu over, or she had to be absolutely certain. Otherwise, if Song Qingshu were discovered in her bed, she would be in deep trouble.

Suddenly, her gaze fell on the still steaming bathtub not far away, and a thought struck her.

“No, no, that’s too absurd!” Qi Fang’s face flushed crimson, and she shook her head vigorously.

“But he’s already unconscious, he won’t see anything…” Qi Fang bit her lip, her heart wavering again.

Her expression shifted between light and shadow as Qi Fang pondered: hiding him under the covers would risk being noticed from the outside; but hiding him in the bathtub would prevent people from peeking inside…

A commotion arose nearby. Qi Fang recognized the sounds as Taohong negotiating with the approaching soldiers. Knowing there was no time to hesitate, she gritted her teeth and finally made up her mind.

She placed Song Qingshu in the bathtub, positioning him against the edge with his mouth and nose barely above the water to prevent him from suffocating or drowning. Then she moved the screen in the corner.

Gazing at the still unconscious man in the tub, Qi Fang hesitated, scattering flower petals from a nearby dish onto the water. She sighed softly, then gently loosened her belt, her clothes slowly slipping off her silky skin.

Biting her lip and clutching her chest, Qi Fang, her face flushed, stepped into the bathtub herself.

Her body had barely submerged in the water when the outer door was roughly pushed open.

“Young Madam, I’ve told them many times, but they insist on searching,” Taohong said, her voice full of complaint as she entered.

“How dare you! Do you know who I am?!” Qi Fang was furious. If it weren’t for them, she wouldn’t have resorted to such a desperate measure, finding herself in this embarrassing situation.

“This humble general greets Madam!” The leader hadn’t expected the room to be in this state either. Through the screen, she could vaguely see that the woman appeared to be bathing.

“Since you know me, you still dare to barge in?” Qi Fang was uneasy, but she could only feign a stern expression, hoping to get rid of these people as soon as possible.

“Reporting to Madam, this time it was the Admiral who personally ordered that everyone be searched, without exception; at the same time, the Admiral also consulted the Prime Minister, and the Prime Minister agreed.” The adjutant wasn’t intimidated by her tone. Instead, he answered while quickly scanning the entire room with sharp eyes. 

Hearing that Wan Qili agreed, Qi Fang’s breath caught in her throat. She could no longer use her status to pressure him, and could only say, “I am currently bathing. With so many of you barging in, wouldn’t that ruin my reputation?”

Qi Fang looked dejected, thinking that her husband must know about this. He actually agreed to let these soldiers search her room; wasn’t he afraid his wife would suffer?

“Don’t worry, Madam,” the adjutant said, waving his hand to signal his men to enter and search.

A group of men filed in, each with their assigned tasks, and began searching the room with practiced ease, leaving no place unchecked for possible hiding places.

Through the screen, Qi Fang vaguely saw the soldiers even lifting the blankets on the bed to check. A wave of fear washed over her: thankfully, they hadn’t hidden him in the bed; otherwise, judging by their actions, he certainly wouldn’t have been able to hide him.

Gazing silently at the handsome face of the man not far away, Qi Fang’s heart pounded, and she prayed incessantly, “Please don’t wake up now, please don’t wake up…”

Soon, the soldiers searched the room thoroughly, and as they finished their search, they shook their heads at the adjutant, indicating they had found nothing.

The adjutant nodded and then said to Qi Fang, “Excuse me for disturbing you, Madam. I’ll take my leave.”

Hearing his words, Qi Fang let out a long sigh of relief.

As the adjutant reached the door, a thought suddenly struck him. He turned back to look at the screen and asked suspiciously, “Why is Madam bathing at this hour?”

Qi Fang’s heart jumped, and she hurriedly replied, “Something happened just now, so I decided to bathe at this time.”

“Something happened?” The adjutant glanced at Taohong beside him questioningly.

Taohong’s expression also became somewhat unnatural, and she briefly explained what had happened.

“Oh, a villain broke into Madam’s boudoir at night?” The adjutant seemed thoughtful.

Qi Fang inwardly cursed, wishing she had made up an excuse earlier. She forced a nonchalant tone, saying, “It’s nothing, the villain has been arrested.”

The adjutant inquired with his subordinates about the situation, and soon one came forward to report. He raised an eyebrow: “Just received word that the villain is no longer in the cell.”

“Is…is that so?” Qi Fang’s voice was somewhat panicked. The adjutant frowned and glanced at Taohong, noticing a hint of unease on her face. Suspicion immediately arose in his heart.

“To prevent Madam from being coerced by the villain, I had to come in to check. Please forgive me if I have offended you.” The adjutant’s gaze was sharp as he stared intently at the figure behind the screen.

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