Chapter 106: Adventure

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“Brother Ning, you’re amazing!”

Qin Miaoniang felt wonderful as she left the prefectural office. When she had seen how much her father disliked Wu Ning, she had truly been worried for a while.

Yet who could have imagined that, after the two of them spoke in private about who knew what, her father’s attitude would take such a sudden turn? By the time Brother Ning came out, he had actually accepted him as his son-in-law.

How could Qin Miaoniang not be delighted?

“How did Brother Ning persuade my father?”

She was genuinely curious to know what clever method Wu Ning had used.

Wu Ning walked along with a smug air and glanced sideways at her. “Show a little restraint. Marrying me may indeed be a blessing, but you mustn’t get carried away!”

At once, Qin Miaoniang’s face flushed crimson. Furious, she pounded him once.

“See if I ever speak to you again!”

“Hahaha!” Old Ninth Wu was in excellent spirits as well.

“Why are you hitting people?” he asked with exaggerated seriousness. “Be careful. I might decide not to marry you.”

“You dare?” Qin Miaoniang glared at him.

Women of the Tang were nothing like the reserved ladies of the Ming and Qing dynasties. Each one was bold and fiery.

“I’ll kill myself in front of you!”

“All right, all right, all right.” Wu Ning promptly surrendered.

He suddenly felt that finding a wife so early might not have been such a good idea after all. He had been tied down before he could even settle in.

With a satisfied smile, he said, “Now, seriously—have Zhao Ziping sort through the accounts of all the shops carefully. Once the new year begins, we can’t go on muddling through as we have been.”

“I promised your father that I would safeguard the family business. I can’t merely make promises without doing anything, can I?”

“All right!” Qin Miaoniang’s mood turned from cloudy to bright, and her smile grew even sweeter.

……

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It was already getting late, so Wu Ning decided not to return to the cloth shop with Qin Miaoniang and left the city directly.

He had originally intended to inspect Qin Miaoniang’s business before the new year, but unexpectedly, he had ended up visiting his future father-in-law instead.

Snow blanketed the earth along the entire road, beneath a sky of deep blue. Between the white and the blue, there was nothing but purity.

Wu Ning was in high spirits. The question of his origins had indeed brought him a great deal of trouble lately.

But first, he had always been an optimist by nature. As for being the son of Emperor Gaozong and a descendant of the Helan clan, those identities did not seem particularly extraordinary to him.

Put plainly, no matter how bizarre his origins were, could they possibly be harder for people to accept than the fact that he was a time traveler?

The old case from years ago certainly had to be investigated and brought to light. But life still had to go on—and he had to live it well. Only then would he do justice to having made this second journey through the world.

Second…

Perhaps it was also because of Qin Miaoniang.

Just as he had told Qin Wenyuan, at the beginning he had indeed been attracted to Qin Miaoniang because of her beauty. But so what? That did not prevent Wu Ning from loving her wholeheartedly.

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Gradually, after nearly half a year together, he discovered that he had already grown unable to part with this silly girl.

To spend the rest of his life with her—perhaps that was the most beautiful life of all.

……

Upon returning to Downhill Hollow, he encountered an entirely different scene. Villagers were busy everywhere, and satisfied smiles filled every face.

Simple, yet intoxicating.

Unfortunately, Wu Ning had not expected that his own home would present an entirely different sight.

Taiping sat in the covered walkway with her brows tightly furrowed, while Helan Minzhi leaned against the doorframe with his head lowered in silence.

At a glance, Wu Ning could tell that something was wrong.

“What happened?”

Taiping looked up. Seeing that Wu Ning had returned, she hurried to her feet, exchanged a meaningful glance with him, and went back into the guest room.

Wu Ning naturally followed. When Helan Minzhi saw that the guards were all outside in the courtyard, he also walked into Taiping’s room.

“Something has happened!”

The moment Taiping entered the room, she cried out anxiously to Wu Ning.

Old Ninth Wu’s heart gave a hard thump. Something had happened? Things were entirely different now from before. If trouble arose, it might well be a matter serious enough to cost them their heads.

Please, no! Old Ninth Wu wailed inwardly.

He had not even begun his peaceful life with a wife and children gathered around the warm kang. Why had trouble come knocking already?

“What happened?”

Taiping said, “I don’t know what madness has seized my Imperial Brother Xian. He has just sent word that he would also like to experience the scenery of the countryside, so…”

Her face was filled with helplessness.

“So he wants to come to Downhill Hollow for the new year as well.”

“Oh.” Wu Ning nodded, feeling immensely relieved. Wasn’t it merely a matter of coming to celebrate the new year?

He immediately understood what Taiping and Helan Minzhi were worried about.

They feared that, once Li Xian arrived in Downhill Hollow, he would recognize Wu Ning and Helan Minzhi as two of the people from five years ago.

After all, the combination of an ugly man, a child, and a Taoist priest was far too distinctive.

Moreover, Wu Ning and the others had rescued Li Xian’s consort and child. As long as Li Xian’s memory had not failed him completely, he ought not to have forgotten those three people.

But there was a problem.

If they had merely rescued Li Xian, it would not have mattered much whether he recognized them.

The crucial point was that on the day Wu Ning and the others rescued Consort Wei, another major event had taken place. Apart from assisting with the birth, it was the other thing Meng Cangsheng had done:

Qiu Shენji!

That was the incident people had been talking about throughout the city—the left-handed sword-wielding Taoist who had raided the government relay station at night and slain Qiu Shenji.

A great Taoist from beyond the mortal world had assisted a prince’s consort in childbirth by day, then attacked and killed Qiu Shenji that very night. It was difficult not to connect the two Taoists in people’s minds.

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That was precisely what Helan Minzhi and Taiping were worried about.

Wu Ning, however, was far calmer.

He grinned. “Let him come. It will give me a chance to build a relationship with him.”

“Oh, honestly!” Taiping protested. “How can you still joke at a time like this?”

“Imperial Brother Xian might not be a problem. But what if Wu Chengsi and Wu Sansi learn what happened five years ago and report it to Mother Empress? Given her temperament, even if she is not certain, she will still act to eliminate every possible danger.”

The implication was clear. A Taoist wielding a sword in his left hand had broken into the imperial palace and rescued Wu Ning. How could Empress Wu possibly tolerate an imperial prince living among the common people—especially one who harbored hostility toward her?

Therefore, even if she was uncertain, and even if the Helan clan’s misfortune from more than a decade ago had not been her doing, she would still eradicate the threat completely.

The more Taiping thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.

“No. Imperial Brother Xian cannot be allowed to come here.”

“The only solution is for me to return to the city and spend the new year at the prince’s residence. That way, I will not meet you two.”

“Don’t!” Wu Ning waved a hand. “Let him come. I’ve been worrying about how to find an opportunity to seek him out.”

“What?”

Taiping gave a startled cry, while even Helan Minzhi trembled from head to toe, his brows drawing tightly together.

“What are you planning to do?”

“Nothing in particular.” Wu Ning grinned. “Even if Li Xian does not come here to meet us, I have been thinking about how to go to the prince’s residence and acknowledge him myself.”

Taiping grew anxious. “You’re taking an enormous risk!”

“Ah.”

At last, Wu Ning’s expression turned serious.

He drew a deep breath and said in a low voice, “This risk will have to be taken sooner or later.”

……

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To be honest, Wu Ning did not like taking risks.

His instincts told him that the best position for a man who relied on his wits was to remain outside the fray, far from danger. Only then would his head be unlikely to be separated from his body at any moment.

What was more, there was the matter of his origins—the son of Emperor Gaozong and a descendant of the Helan clan.

That identity alone had already driven Wu Ning to the edge of a precipice. One wrong step, and he would be doomed beyond redemption.

He had even less reason to take risks.

But this time, he had no choice.

……