FID – Chapter 1001

Chapter 1001: His Name Is Xue Qinglian!

“Where are your parents?” Stepping into the courtyard and casually closing the gate behind him, Xue Qinglian asked.

  Qian Yi replied lightly, “They died early. Many of us sisters in the village were raised by the elders. I don’t even know what my parents looked like, so I feel nothing when talking about them. You don’t need to avoid the topic for my sake.”

  Xue Qinglian’s mouth twitched again. Which part of that looked like avoiding the topic?

They entered the bamboo house one after the other. When she placed the oil lamp on the table, its warm yellow glow quickly filled the room, revealing the simple interior to Xue Qinglian.

  The table and chairs were all made of bamboo. On the table were bamboo cups for drinking water. Even the decorative pieces hanging on the walls were bamboo carvings or bamboo paintings. There was nothing else.

  It could be described as simple—almost to the point of being crude.

  “Well, I’ll go make you something to eat, and I’ll boil some water for you to bathe. You just sit for a while.” Saying that, Qian Yi quickly slipped out.

  Watching the woman’s fleeing figure, Xue Qinglian scoffed. So that’s why she’s avoiding my questions about how she could bring an unregistered person into the village.

  Since he was going to be staying here for a while, could she really run away today or tomorrow? She was truly skilled at self-deception.

  She walked over to a bamboo chair against the wall and lay down, dragging a bamboo stool over with her foot and resting her legs on it. Her whole body sank into a lazy sprawl.

  The man’s eyes were half-closed, his expression casual and unconcerned, as if he were lost in thought—or perhaps dozing off.

  Meanwhile, Qian Yi huddled in the kitchen, cooking and boiling water while clutching her head, muttering nonstop, silently praying that the man would be forgetful and wouldn’t bring up anything or ask any questions.

  That way, she wouldn’t have to answer. She wouldn’t need to procrastinate, thinking up clever ways to deceive him later.

  Fortunately, after finally bringing the food to the table, the man focused entirely on eating and actually didn’t ask a single question.

  After bathing, Qian Yi led him to the guest room. Once the door was closed, the previous topic wasn’t mentioned again.

  When she left the guest room, Qian Yi’s steps were unusually light.

  Whether the man was forgetful or not, she survived the night. As for tomorrow… Well, she will deal with that tomorrow.

  But before she could return to her room, a knock came from outside the courtyard gate.

  Qian Yi stood still for a moment, then walked out of the bamboo house to open the door.

  On the way to the Elders’ Hall, Qian Yi couldn’t stop talking, constantly trying to extract some information from the woman leading the way.

  “Big Sister Qian Yu, is the Elder especially angry?”

  “Is she furious? Or is she silently scowling?”

  “Just tell me, so I can prepare myself… Sister Qian Yu…”

  The woman called Qian Yu finally sighed in exasperation. “Qian Yi, you’ve really been reckless this time. Not only did you run off the village without permission, you brought a man back with you. How could the Elder not be angry? In short, you’d better brace yourself this time.”

  “….” Qian Yi’s shoulders slumped immediately.

  Not even a tiny bit of luck remained. This time, she was definitely going to be punished.

  When they reached the innermost part of the village, they stopped in front of a bamboo house. Qian Yu motioned for Qian Yi to go in.

  “Sister Qian Yu, I really need to go to the bathroom first. Can I perhaps?” clutching her stomach and hopping on one foot, Qian Yi put on a pitiful act.

  Before Qian Yu could answer, a harsh, aged voice came from inside: “Only now you’re afraid? Too late. Come in!”

  “….” Taking small, hesitant steps into the courtyard, Qian Yi’s little braid had lost all its spirit. “Elder, Qian Yi has come to admit her mistake.”

  “You still know you did wrong? Hmph!”

  As the courtyard gate closed, the sounds from inside grew muffled.

  Qian Yu didn’t leave but stood at the gate, watching. Thinking of the little girl’s dejected expression when she went in, a helpless smile appeared on her face.

  “Hurry up and come in! How long are you going to dawdle?” From inside the bamboo house, the elderly woman’s voice was sharp with irritation as she watched the tiny figure inch toward the courtyard at a snail’s pace.   

  Walking slowly wasn’t going to save her from punishment, was it? Did she think if she dragged it out, the punishment would be lighter?

It could drive one both infuriated and amused.

  “I’m coming, Elder!” The little girl replied desperately, forcing herself to trot into the main room.

  Inside, the elderly woman sat at a bamboo table. Her hair was streaked with gray, her expression stern, and her gaze commanding without anger.

  Just seeing the woman like this made Qian Yi’s heart shrink with fear.

  “Elder, I was wrong, please don’t be angry.”

  “Wrong in what way?”

  “…Going out of the village without permission.”

  “And what else?”

  The little girl lowered her head, shrinking back, refusing to answer.

  The Elder’s face darkened instantly. This was hardly a sincere admission of guilt.

  “Could you just tell me what else I did wrong? I’m trying to admit it, isn’t that enough?” Qian Yi carefully tested.

  She knew the Elder wanted to hear her admit that bringing a protector back was a mistake, but she didn’t think she had done anything wrong.

  She didn’t want to enter the palace. She wanted to solve the problem herself. This way, no one would be put in a difficult position. What wrong had she done?

  “Then tell me! Is the man you brought back really your protector? You truly like him, and he truly likes you? Forming a marriage pact is not a trivial matter! If you just picked someone at random to fool people in order to avoid the palace’s selection, I’m telling you, you won’t be able to fool anyone in the end!” The Elder trembled with anger.

  Did this girl really think everyone was as naive and gullible as her?

Who were the people in the palace? They were constantly entangled in power struggles and political games; they played with scheming minds!

  If it were discovered that she had lied, the consequences would not be hers alone to bear!

  Qian Yi bit her lip and whispered, trembling under the Elder’s sharp gaze, “It’s not a trivial matter. He really is my protector…”

  “Then tell me, what is his name? Where is he from? What does he do? What is his family background?”

  “….” Qian Yi froze. She had only asked the man’s name; she hadn’t investigated anything else. How was she supposed to answer? 

She didn’t even know if the name he had was real. Even if it was, she couldn’t tell the truth. She worried that the Elder might later hold him accountable as if he were a heartless man.

  He was helping her out of goodwill; she couldn’t take advantage of him, could she?

Qian Yi needed to come up with a fake name. A fake name… A spark of inspiration hit her, and she responded, “Xue Honglian! His name is Xue Honglian!”

  Smart! If later they discovered that Xue Honglian was actually a woman, the Elder certainly wouldn’t take it out on anyone.

  Somewhere in the shadows atop the bamboo house, the man nearly toppled over from crouching, his mouth twitching uncontrollably.

  Damn it, she really can make things up.

  And yet somehow, she got it right.

  The other presence inside his body, wasn’t that Honglian?

  Could it really be fate? Bah!

He pricked up his ears and continued listening.

  Once the girl had a starting point, the rest of the story flowed effortlessly. By the time Xue Qinglian finished listening, he almost believed it himself.

  “…His background is actually quite pitiful. He had no parents from a young age, but he worked hard and mastered martial arts. His skills are incredible! And he’s a good person, always helping those in need. When I left the village this time, some bad people bullied me, and he was the one who saved me. Elder, it’s a hero saving a beauty! That’s why I fell for him, of course, and he likes me too! Although he has no family background and is all alone, I know you’re not a materialistic person, Elder. As long as he’s good, treats me well, and helps our village, that’s more than enough, right?”

At the end, she added, “If I don’t want a person this good, I might as well go serve the emperor himself! What kind of nonsense would that be!”

  “Impudent! How dare you speak so recklessly about the Emperor! Next time, I’ll slap you myself!”

  “Elder, I was wrong! I only speak so frankly in front of you. Outside, I would never say such things!”