Chu Dingjiang suspected An Jiu’s mental state still hadn’t fully recovered. Ever since she had openly started serving the dynasty, she had left her past misdeeds completely behind, as if she had always been this upright and ambitious. Seeing her furrowed brow, Chu Dingjiang didn’t have the heart to burst her bubble – when she was an assassin, the list of people she had offended was far longer than she could imagine.
He simply said, “The coded messages describe our movements in great detail, yet we have almost no mutual enemies.”
The answer was both easy and difficult to guess. Chu Dingjiang knew the messages were being sent out by that old Madam Mei, who was both a secret agent of the former Great Song emperor and a Liao dynasty mole. The pigeons were flying north, transmitting information to Liao.
But why would Ye Lüquancang want to monitor his and An Jiu’s movements? They held no real power and had not actively attacked Liao, only raising a small self-defense force in Hexi County – surely that wouldn’t have alarmed the Liao Emperor.
“How much do you know about Madam Mei?” Chu Dingjiang wondered if he could torture the truth out of her.
“Probably not as much as you.” Connecting the pigeon to the situation, An Jiu recalled her first encounter with the old madam. “Though she’s a two-faced schemer, her gaze suggests she won’t easily yield to force.”
“Temptation?” Chu Dingjiang chuckled. “But my temptations can’t compare to those of an emperor.”
This old madam was quite capable. She had placed her bets on two emperors.
An Jiu’s mouth was full of food, so her muffled response was a half-hearted rebuttal. “Not necessarily, it depends on what she wants.”
Chu Dingjiang paused thoughtfully. “That’s true.”
The former Great Song emperor had passed away, so any previous promises of rewards were now void. And Madam Mei’s relationship with Ye Lüquancang was hard to fathom. Chu Dingjiang decided not to waste time aimlessly speculating.
Since he couldn’t be certain of Ye Lüquancang’s intentions, he would refrain from alarming the enemy. He would keep the pigeon well-fed and, imitating the handwriting, replace the contents of the message.
After a few attempts, Leixi had learned to knock the pigeons down without harming them, saving Chu Dingjiang much trouble.
Regarding the reforging, Chu Dingjiang had only briefly mentioned it, and An Jiu had agreed without asking the reason. Once he had arranged the next few days’ affairs, he went alone to Mo Siguai’s courtyard.
Mo Siguai was puffing on his pipe while flipping through medical texts. “Does he know you’re coming?”
“He’s the one who sent me,” An Jiu replied.
Mo Siguai paused his movements, looking up at her. “And he didn’t come with you?”
Reforging required the person to strip naked and have medicine applied, and Mo Siguai didn’t believe Chu Dingjiang would be so generous as to let him do the honors.
“He mentioned it a couple of days ago,” An Jiu said, sitting across from him and impatiently prodding him. “You’re not busy, so hurry up.”
Mo Siguai discreetly wiped the sweat from his brow. “Good thing I’m so wise.”
He almost got trapped by An Jiu! If he had carelessly started the procedure, he might have ended up with his eyes gouged out and hands maimed by a certain someone.
“I had the medicinal ingredients prepared half a year ago, so we can start anytime. But could you at least try to be a bit more reserved?” Mo Siguai eyed her with distaste. “After all, you’re a taken woman now. Can’t you just strip for some other man?”
“You’re not just some other man,” An Jiu replied.
Mo Siguai leaned back, puffing out a ring of smoke as he lazily narrowed his eyes. “I’m a respectable young gentleman who hasn’t yet found a wife. You can’t just say things so vaguely.”
“You misunderstood,” An Jiu explained earnestly. “What I meant is, in my eyes, you’re not a man.”
“I’ll just stick with the misunderstanding then.” Mo Siguai responded.
What An Jiu had meant was that in her eyes, Mo Siguai was not a man, but a friend and doctor. However, no matter how she explained, she couldn’t quite convey it. Thinking herself a literary talent, An Jiu naturally didn’t blame herself but rather accused Mo Siguai of being too stubborn. “You’re as prickly as Zhu Pian.”
“I’m too lazy to get angry at you.” Mo Siguai gripped his pipe. “Wait until Chu Dingjiang comes, then we’ll start.”
“He doesn’t know I’m here.”
“Nothing in the Great Song escapes his notice! You don’t understand your own man, I’m worried sick for him!” Mo Siguai exclaimed.
An Jiu sulked, “The way you seem eager to step in yourself makes me wonder if you have a thing for him.”
“Cough!” Mo Siguai choked on his smoke. “Nonsense! Chu Dingjiang is a man!”
“A man?” Chu Dingjiang had just entered and overheard Mo Siguai’s gritted teeth complaint.
Mo Siguai rubbed his forehead, exasperated. Dealing with these two was the most headache-inducing thing in his life. Just looking at them made him feel depressed!
For example, just now he had said so many nice things about Chu Dingjiang, but the fool hadn’t heard a single word, only choosing this exact moment to show up! It was as if even fate was conspiring to prevent them from being friends.
“I don’t want to talk anymore! Let’s just start!” Mo Siguai extinguished his pipe and went to fetch the medicines.
In his irritable state, he thrust the bundles of herbs into Chu Dingjiang’s hands. “Crush these first.”
An Jiu objected, “He’s not a doctor, why make him do the medicinal preparations?”
“Tsk tsk, this is the first time I’ve heard that only doctors can pound herbs.” Mo Siguai sprawled on the low couch, smiling smugly at An Jiu. “You underestimate your Chu Dingjiang. He can fly through the skies and dive into the seas, pounding some herbs is nothing!”
The implication was that if Chu Dingjiang couldn’t handle the task, he would just have Wei Yuizhi do it instead.
Chu Dingjiang remained silent and began crushing the herbs.
Mo Siguai was secretly delighted. Whenever he crossed paths with Chu Dingjiang, he had never come out on top. He wanted to gloat, but thought better of it, lest he suffer a devastating retaliation later.
The room was filled with the sounds of herb pounding.
An Jiu approached. “Let me do it for a while.”
“You just rest, you’ll have plenty of hard work ahead.” Chu Dingjiang said gently. He had never undergone the brutal tempering methods of external cultivation, but he understood the concept of reforging. In a sense, it was like shattering the body, filtering out the impurities, and reforging it anew – a process that could be described as worse than death.
Though his words were calm, An Jiu could detect his concern and care. She felt her heart swell with joy.
Chu Dingjiang, seeing her reaction, reached out to gently ruffle her hair.
Mo Siguai huffed quietly, turning his head away. These two seemed to exist solely to vex him.
From pounding the herbs to boiling the medicine, it took nearly two hours.
Normally, Chu Dingjiang would demand exorbitant compensation for any task, but when it came to serving An Jiu, he was tireless and uncomplaining. Recognizing this, Mo Siguai took full advantage, barely lifting a finger as he directed Chu Dingjiang.