Chapter 29: Coveting My Lady’s Beauty
After leaving his room, Mingyan finally breathed a sigh of relief.
What a temptress… He was scared. He had his heart set on someone else, someone who was also Feiyan’s close friend. He couldn’t afford any entanglement with Huang Junyi.
Mingyan was honest with himself. Huang Junyi was undeniably attractive, but he had to stay true to his feelings. He couldn’t be swayed by desire.
As he walked, he remembered Huang Junyi’s words about following him discreetly… She was likely nearby, observing him. Although he didn’t know her cultivation level, it must be quite high.
Moreover, this was the Huang family estate. Even a place like Rain Terrace Blessed Land had a protective formation. A powerful family like the Huang family would have even stronger formations. With the help of formations, even someone several levels stronger than Huang Junyi might not be able to detect her.
Mingyan didn’t expect to find anything. Huang Junyi had returned the veil after their conversation.
Whoever attacked him, having left such crucial evidence, wouldn’t dare show themselves and would likely be avoiding him… As he was thinking this, a small bead rolled to his feet. He looked around and saw a woman in a light blue gauze dress approaching, her face veiled, her hair in a bun. Although the dress was loose, concealing her figure, it couldn’t hide her graceful proportions. She held a fan painted with a bluebird, her features delicate and refined.
A young maidservant walked beside her, glaring angrily at Mingyan. “It’s him! Mistress!”
“Are you sure?” The woman’s voice was soft and hesitant, her beautiful eyes studying Mingyan. “This young master doesn’t look like a thief…”
“Mistress! Appearances can be deceiving! The Seeking Bead rolled right to his feet. He must have stolen your… your…” The maidservant, seeing her mistress’s hesitation, tried to convince her.
Mingyan frowned. “What are you talking about? What has this young lady lost?”
“Young Master, there must be some misunderstanding…” The woman’s voice was soft and weak, evoking sympathy. Her beautiful face, partially hidden by the veil, made her seem even more delicate.
Mingyan stared, not at her beauty, but at her veil, which was identical to the Ice Silk Gauze he had found. Looking closer, he realized not only the veil but also her dress seemed to be made of the same material… He raised an eyebrow, looked down at the pale blue bead at his feet, and stepped aside. The bead rolled after him. He took a step forward, and the bead rolled forward. He stepped back, and the bead rolled back.
“See! See! Mistress, it’s him!” The maidservant pointed at Mingyan, her voice urgent. “He stole your veil! He’s a pervert, stealing my lady’s personal belongings!”
“This… Young Master…?” The woman looked at him hesitantly, fanning herself. “That doesn’t make sense, Yu Zhu. This young master is only at the Great Brook Realm. He couldn’t have snuck into our room and stolen my veil without us noticing.”
Stolen veil? Mingyan’s brow twitched. This was getting complicated.
He immediately became suspicious of the two women. He couldn’t sense their cultivation levels, which meant they were either much stronger than him or ordinary people with no cultivation at all. However, the fact that the woman knew he was at the Great Brook Realm meant she couldn’t be an ordinary person. She was a cultivator, stronger than him…
This meant the person who attacked him was likely one of them, most likely the owner of the veil, this delicate young lady… But would the culprit actively search for evidence they left at the crime scene? Something felt wrong.
Could it be that someone else stole the veil and then planted it to frame him?
“Is the missing veil this one?” Mingyan took out the veil he had kept and showed it to them.
“You shameless thief! Mistress, we must inform the Huang family! We can’t tolerate such a pervert staying in the outer courtyard as a guest!” The maidservant, seeing the Ice Silk Gauze veil, was convinced of his guilt. She pointed at Mingyan, her chest heaving with anger.
Fortunately, they were alone, otherwise, this could ruin Mingyan’s reputation and even implicate the young lady. Mingyan frowned. “I didn’t steal this. Someone tried to attack me, and I found this while searching for clues. Instead of accusing me of stealing your mistress’s veil, I suspect you two are plotting against me!”
“You’re accusing us?!” The maidservant, despite her sweet appearance, was furious, her face red with anger.
The young lady looked confused. She pondered for a moment, then said, “You don’t seem like an evil person, Young Master… There must be some misunderstanding… Can you explain what happened?”
Mingyan knew Huang Junyi was likely hiding nearby, observing them, so he wasn’t worried about them trying anything. Besides, this situation was strange. The young lady’s veil and dress were both made of Ice Silk Gauze. If she was the culprit, actively searching for the veil and exposing herself like this was too risky. And the maidservant’s anger seemed genuine…
Mingyan explained what had happened. Before the young lady could respond, the maidservant exclaimed, “You liar! You must have stolen my lady’s veil because you’re obsessed with her! You pervert!”
Mingyan remained calm. There was no one else around, only Huang Junyi, hidden in the shadows. “You can ask Eldest Miss Huang Feiyan about this. I informed her immediately after the incident. If you don’t believe me, I can ask her to testify.”
Huang Feiyan had kept the poisoned needle for analysis and returned the veil to him.
Due to Huang Qingfei’s poisoning, the Huang family had studied countless toxins over the years and possessed extensive knowledge on the subject.
“You’re close to Eldest Miss Huang?” The young lady looked surprised, her eyes widening, then she lowered her head. “In that case, it’s even less likely you’re the culprit. Eldest Miss Huang is a noble person and wouldn’t befriend someone with questionable morals.”
“Mistress…!” The maidservant looked anxious, but the young lady gave her a gentle look. “Yu Zhu, don’t be unreasonable. We need to investigate further before jumping to conclusions. Until the truth is revealed, anyone could be the thief, and anyone could be innocent. We can’t make assumptions.”
“…Yes, Mistress.” Yu Zhu nodded reluctantly, glaring at Mingyan.
The young lady curtsied slightly. “I apologize for the misunderstanding, Young Master. My surname is An, and my given name is Ran. I’m the fifth daughter of the Xiu Hu An family. You can address me as you please.”
She was quite polite, her soft voice soothing. Mingyan nodded. “My surname is Ming, and my given name is Yan.”
An Ran smiled gently. She looked at the veil in Mingyan’s hand, hesitated, then said, “I believe this Ice Silk Gauze is the only evidence we have to find both the person who stole my veil and the person who attacked you. Since you’re close to Eldest Miss Huang, please keep the veil for now. I trust you won’t… desecrate it…”
An Ran blushed slightly, looking away.
Yu Zhu looked anxious. “Mistress! How can you do that? You’re an unmarried woman! How can you entrust such a personal item to a man?”
Mingyan sighed inwardly. It was just a veil, not undergarments. And what did she mean by “desecrate”? He was baffled. He understood the meaning of the word, but what could one possibly do with a veil?
“Enough!” An Ran’s voice was slightly firmer, but still soft. It was hard to imagine such a gentle woman poisoning someone. Seeing her mistress’s slight annoyance, Yu Zhu pouted and glared at Mingyan.
“I’ll report this to the Huang family and cooperate with the investigation. Young Master… please keep the veil safe. Ice Silk Gauze is rare and possesses many mystical properties. Please don’t lose it.” An Ran’s voice was gentle and soothing. Mingyan nodded. “Don’t worry, Miss An. I’ll keep it safe… Also, although I don’t understand what you mean by ‘desecrate,’ I assure you I won’t do anything of that sort. I’m keeping it as evidence.”
“…Then I’m relieved.” An Ran blushed, nodding slightly. Speaking so much seemed to have tired her out. Yu Zhu quickly supported her, her face filled with concern. “Mistress, are you alright?”
“I’m fine, just a little tired. Let’s go back.” An Ran’s weak voice tugged at Mingyan’s heartstrings. He frowned slightly. She seemed to be in poor health…?
After An Ran and Yu Zhu left, Mingyan pondered for a moment, then returned to his room.
As soon as he entered, Huang Junyi appeared behind him, her voice thoughtful. “Hmm, I didn’t expect that Ice Silk Gauze to belong to An Ran.”
Leave a Reply