"Um."
Lu Bei nodded, and then said: "But don't be too happy too soon. This is not the kind of communication that can be completed in one go. After all, we are not familiar with each other. Let's just try to communicate halfway. If it works, we can continue. If not, we can break up."
"What do you mean only halfway through?"
Zhu Qilan frowned. If it works, it works. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t. Is the compromise to have the best of both worlds
"Let's not talk about this for now. Your situation is a bit tricky. If you don't curb your evil thoughts, I won't be able to find a place to go even if I figure it out." Lu Bei shook his head and walked quickly towards Zhu Qilan.
Butler Yu: “…”
So, what exactly are you planning to do
At first, she thought the two were discussing a business deal, but as she listened, she realized that this business seemed to be much bigger than she had imagined.
In his sight, Lu Bei raised his hand and placed it on Zhu Qilan's shoulder. The latter groaned, and his breathing gradually subsided.
Butler Yu opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but was afraid that Zhu Qilan actually liked him, so he stood straight like a wooden stake, staring at Lu Bei.
After a dozen breaths, Lu Bei stopped and stood still.
Zhu Qilan slowly opened his mouth and exhaled a cloud of cold mist. The frost on his brows melted away quickly. He said in a gentle tone, "Bai Yu, take the guests to rest for a while. Tell the kitchen to treat them well. I will be there soon."
"Cousin, you are too polite. We are all family. Let the kitchen prepare some simple dishes, such as delicacies from land and sea, and seafood. Thirty to fifty dishes will be enough. We can't finish too many."
"… "
Zhu Qilan's steps out of the quiet room paused slightly. What did her cousin mean? How could she not know that she had this relative
The intelligence was not clear
…
Zhu Qilan took a bath and changed his clothes. Lu Bei, led by Butler Yu, returned to the waterside pavilion and continued to stare at the koi.
After a while, the snacks were served on the table and Lu Bei was stunned.
A few plates of snacks including melon seeds, peanuts, and candied dates, plus a cup of tea, were no different from the standard at Sanqing Peak during the New Year holidays, except that there were even no apples.
"You make so much money every day, and you just use this to get rid of me. Poor relatives are really despised everywhere." Lu Bei curled his lips, poured three plates of snacks into his mouth, swallowed them with a gulp, and then raised the tea to savor it carefully.
"Well, this tea is not as good as the one specially provided by my master..."
Lu Bei put down the teacup, raised his hand and called the maid who was waiting outside the pavilion, handed her the tea bag, and asked her to make another pot.
The maid bowed and left. Lu Bei waited for a moment and confirmed that the dishes of snacks were not appetizers but were indeed staple foods. He was very unhappy.
What's wrong with fasting? Does fasting mean we don't need to pursue quality of life
About half an hour later, Lu Bei won victory after victory, defeating eight koi in a row. After Zhu Qilan finished bathing and changing her clothes, she came to the waterside pavilion with her face bare and without any makeup.
"Cousin, it's just a bath, why does it take so long?"
Because they were family, Lu Bei complained without any mercy: "Why, there's too much dust in your armpits, and you can't rub it off for a long time?"
You are a cheap cultivator!
Butler Yu, who followed closely, twitched his mouth, but seeing that his princess looked calm, he finally said nothing.
The aroma of the spiritual tea wafted in the air. Zhu Qilan sniffed it, picked up the teapot and poured himself a cup. He took a sip and frowned suddenly.
Special offer from the Imperial Study!
Zhu Qilan's heart sank, but his expression remained unchanged. He glanced at Lu Bei calmly and said, "Good tea. I'm deeply sorry for bothering you to bring your own tea."
I've been waiting for you to say this!
Lu Bei looked disdainful and said, "Cousin, there is a lot of traffic outside your house. It costs a fortune to see you, but I still have to bring my own tea. This is a bit unreasonable..."
"You saved a huge amount of money by meeting me."
"Ah, this..."
Lu Bei's eyes widened. From a businessman's perspective, Zhu Qilan's arguments were well-founded and he could not refute them.
"The tea is good. How much do you have? Name your price." Zhu Qilan continued.
"A gift from a friend is priceless."
"More money."
"I can consider it, but I need to ask my friends first."
"… "
Seeing Lu Bei's serious expression, Zhu Qilan became a little confused.
That night before the New Year, they had an unpleasant encounter. She ordered people to investigate Lu Bei's intelligence. In less than three days, she found out where Lu Bei lived, how many people were in his family, what color underwear he liked to wear, and all the details were presented to her by her subordinates.
Zhu Qilan reviewed all the information one by one, confident that he had not missed any clues.
Obviously, the intelligence was not thoroughly investigated. Who was the friend Lu Bei mentioned, and the source of the special spiritual tea provided by the Imperial Study were not mentioned in the intelligence.
Could it be that this person was specially placed by my younger brother and chosen as my husband
That's why he calls me cousin.
No, when he fought me that night, he really intended to kill me!
Furthermore, if it was really because my younger brother couldn't stand losing and was secretly acting as a matchmaker, and this person was interested in me, it would be even more impossible for him to take out the spiritual tea and reveal his identity...
That’s not right. Is it possible that he is testing me
Zhu Qilan held the teacup in silence, with a lot on his mind, and evil thoughts were stirring once again.
A cup of tea made Lu Bei's identity suddenly official. She felt irritated and repulsed. She originally thought that Lu Bei was a good knife, but now, he was not so good at all.
This person is so ugly, I hate him no matter how I look at him.
"Bai Yu, show the guest out."
"???"
A string of question marks floated across Lu Bei's mind. He raised his hand and called for a pause, staring at Zhu Qilan in amazement: "Cousin, I know it's only halfway through, and you're very upset about it being neither up nor down, but that's not how business is negotiated. You can lower the price!"
"No, I'm suddenly not interested in you anymore."
Oh my god, you turned into an eel!
Lu Bei was speechless. It was a good business, but Zhu Qilan flipped the table and made him not want to talk about it anymore. He clenched his fist and coughed lightly, "Since you have seen through me, my cousin, I will quibble again. Yesterday I went to Xuanyin Division to resign. When the boss of Ziwei heard that I was looking for a better job, he hugged my thigh and cried on the spot, and gave me a high price that I could not refuse."
At this point, he saw that Zhu Qilan had no expression on his face and had no intention of interrupting, so he had to continue: "Cousin, you know me, I am loyal and sentimental, but I lack material things like money. I can't refuse him, so I can only come to you to raise the price."
"… "
"Of course, you don't have to pay me. We are all relatives. I will work for you for free. If there are any dangerous tasks that may result in death or that you cannot handle alone, let me handle them. I promise that I will not frown even once, no matter how difficult it is."
There is such a good thing, promise him!
Butler Yu nodded repeatedly after hearing this. It’s free, so why not use it
Zhu Qilan was not like that. A benevolent person sees benevolence in his own eyes, and the more he listened to Lu Bei's excuses, the more he rejected him.
That’s right, free means no money, but what he wants is human life!
She glanced in the direction of the capital, secretly cursing her brother for meddling in other people's business. She snorted coldly and said in a more serious tone, "Bai Yu, get the guest out!"
"Wait a moment."
"put!"
"Well… "
Lu Bei raised his finger and pointed at his own face, then pointed at Zhu Qilan and said dryly, "Cousin, you don't look well, your forehead is dark, a sign of being possessed by a demon."
“Your Highness, you…you…” Steward Yu raised his hand to cover his mouth, his face full of horror.
After being reminded by the two, Zhu Qilan finally reacted. The evil thoughts that she had just suppressed revived, and were much more ferocious than before. Several black airs were wandering back and forth on her fair face, and it had reached a level that she could no longer suppress on her own.
How is that possible? It wasn’t so frequent during festivals in the past.
Zhu Qilan's expression was stiff, his heart was chilled, and his complicated mood was like that of a patient. He knew that he was not feeling well, but he did not expect that his illness was so serious.
She took a deep breath and looked at Lu Bei with resentment. After a while, she said coldly, "Come with me to the quiet room. Only half of it, right? Okay, I promise you, but you'd better not regret it!"
The chill rushed up his spine from the soles of his feet. Lu Bei shivered subconsciously and followed Zhu Qilan carefully.
While curiously looking at the black fog of evil thoughts running all over her body, he tried to organize his thoughts. After a long while, he still couldn't understand the crazy girl's train of thought.
Maybe, probably... this is what is called princess syndrome!
—
Midnight, quiet room.
The bright pearls lit up the dark room. Zhu Qilan sat cross-legged on the cloud bed, her clothes soaked with sweat, her black hair sticking to her neck and cheeks. The delicate beauty was pale with a slightly flushed face, which gave her a sexy look.
The biting cold air spread out, freezing the sweat-soaked clothes and spreading away, freezing Lu Bei behind him into a block of ice.
Snap!
Lu Bei struggled to break free from the ice, thinking that women in the world of immortal cultivation were troublesome, either poisonous or too cold, and there were few normal people.
Except for white brocade.
Although she was decisive in killing, would rather use force than words, and was good at convincing people with reason, Lu Bei knew that she was a gentle and good swordsman.
"Cousin, what's wrong with your evil thoughts? They are so fierce and difficult to suppress. Is it because you have killed too many people?" Lu Bei thought seriously. He didn't know much about Zhu Qilan. Based on his analysis when they first met, he came to the conclusion that Zhu Qilan had too much murderous intent.
It seems that the Imperial Master is like this. His murderous intent is so strong that it is difficult to suppress, and he keeps jumping back and forth between being possessed and being normal.
"Maybe. Or maybe none of the people who should be killed died."
Zhu Qilan stood up and glanced down at Lu Bei. "Let me be frank. If you want to stay with me, you must be prepared to die at any time. I have many enemies, and every one of them wants to kill me."
If they want to kill you, that's their business. Why are they so murderous towards me
"???"
A string of question marks flashed across Lu Bei's forehead again, and he said speechlessly: "Cousin, stop standing there, squat down, your face is dark again."
Zhu Qilan gritted his teeth, sat cross-legged on the ground, with his back to Lu Bei, calmed down and practiced his skills silently.
The evil thoughts that emerged this time were not strong, and with Lu Bei's help in absorbing them, Zhu Qilan quickly returned to normal.
"Cousin, it's not going to work this way. I'm only doing odd jobs here. What if you suddenly disappear one day? Where can I ask for my salary?"
Lu Bei frowned and said, "Let's analyze it and prescribe the right medicine. We will try to get rid of your evil thoughts in the next two days."
“Shameless!!”
"Oh my god, you old woman, I have tolerated you for a long time."
"Well said, I am no exception!"
Zhu Qilan sneered three times and walked out of the quiet room. He could no longer endure it and asked Lu Bei to go to the underground palace of Changming Mansion to fight to the death.