Chapter 574: Chapter 574: Severing the Bond Between Master and Disciple

Gossiping makes time fly by quickly.

When Yin Le realized the carriage had stopped, they had already arrived at Liu Family Village. But why had it stopped at the water mill entrance?

She looked up and saw Zhen Yubai over there, receiving a basket of charcoal he had asked the cooking lady to buy.

Zhen Yubai took down the charcoal, temporarily placing it by the roadside, and handed some silver to the lady who cooked for him. Yet, he didn’t seem intent on returning to the school; instead, he took two steps toward the carriage board, "Miss Yin."

Yin Le, who had just been discussing with the ladies about whether the new teacher was hiding some secret reason for not marrying yet, felt her heart skip a beat.

She feigned calmness, nodded slightly at him as a response.

While Yin Le wasn’t sure about other places, in Liu Family Village, where women’s work was as important as men’s, the traditional division between the sexes was becoming increasingly lax. Seeing Zhen Yubai’s stance, as if ready to speak with her, she hardly had the chance to pretend shyness and remain in the carriage.

The women in the carriage wanted to proceed into the village, so when they saw Zhen Yubai calling Yin Le, they jokingly pushed her out of the carriage to avoid wasting their own time.

The carriage continued clip-clopping forward into the village, the women inside giving Yin Le ambiguous nods. The man and woman were both unmarried and of similar age, making them quite the match!

Yin Le felt mortified, more so because she knew their secrets.

Zhen Yubai wore a gentle smile on his face, but his eyes stared at her like a snake, causing a chill down her spine.

"Teacher, is there something you need?" Yin Le stepped back two steps, putting distance between them, awkwardly but politely inquiring.

Zhen Yubai did not step closer. He halted, smiled, and asked, "Miss Yin, where are the things you bought? I see the ladies have big bags. It’s not easy for villagers to go to town, and with the weather looking like it might snow tomorrow, it will be some time before you’re able to return. Didn’t you buy anything?"

She had already finished off half a candied haw after eating and gossiping on the way. Yin Le mentally berated herself for not completing her task and getting caught so quickly.

However, Zhen Yubai obviously had no proof and was merely testing her.

Yin Le’s thoughts turned, and she pretended to be on guard, defensive, "I’ve only met the teacher two or three times; isn’t your concern a bit too much?"

"Do I need to report to you when visiting my family?"

While speaking, she glanced Zhen Yubai up and down, looked accusing, stepped past him, and prepared to leave.

"Miss Yin!" Zhen Yubai’s tone grew deeper, suddenly calling out to her.

Yin Le didn’t turn around and kept walking briskly forward.

But she heard a reminder from behind, "There are two red marks on your shoe, is it blood?"

Yin Le hastily looked down to find two bean-sized blood spots on her light blue cloth shoes like two finely red stamens.

Her scalp went numb instantly.

It was the blood splatter from when she had stoned the dove to death.

"Master! Master!"

Yin Le ran into her master’s courtyard with a tearful face, as if being chased by a ghost, leaping over the tall threshold, and unexpectedly tripping.

A gray figure appeared, extending an arm to catch her, preventing a fall.

Yin Le steadied herself and looked up to see the expressionless Ah Wang, thanked him, and rushed to the main room.

Qin Yao heard the commotion, opened the door, and the warm charcoal fire’s breath engulfed Yin Le, making her sigh comfortably, finally realizing her hands and feet were icy.

"What’s the matter? Being chased by ghosts?" Liu Ji peeked his head out from the corridor’s corner, his eyes scanning for ghost traces.

Yin Le managed a smile even uglier than a cry, "Grandmaster, please don’t tease me; it was Zhen Yubai. As soon as I entered the village, he stopped me to probe, probably realizing I went to town to investigate him."

"Master!" Ignoring the grandmaster, Yin Le hurriedly handed the mini message tube she had hidden in her bosom to Qin Yao, "I took this from the carrier pigeon. Without the pigeon, the message won’t reach, they’ll soon find out, right?"

"No, they won’t." Ah Wang stepped forward, "To ensure the message is delivered, typically three or more pigeons are prepared, released at intervals. Losing one or two to hunters is normal."

Yin Le exhaled in relief, gratefully nodding toward Ah Wang, indicating she had learned something again.

Qin Yao held the message tube, gestured for the two to enter and talk.

As they closed the door, Liu Ji slithered in like a deft yellow eel, saying, "Let me close the door."

He grinned, having already joined before she could tell him off, closed the main room door, sat by the fire pit clasping hands, his peach blossom eyes twinkling, looking eager to uncover secrets.

Qin Yao cast him a sidelong glance but didn’t drive him out, motioned Ah Wang to pour Yin Le a cup of hot tea to warm up, sat herself, and under the light of the candle on the table, opened the tiny message tube Yin Le brought back.

Inside was a small piece of folded paper, gradually unfurling revealed a line of short words: Kindly inform the Crown Prince that we have met the gentleman and will soon escort him back to the Capital.

While reading, Yin Le had already extended her shoe, pointing at the two bean-sized blood stains spotted by Zhen Yubai, self-reproachful and regretful, asking her master for punishment.

If it were Ah Wang who mishandled this, Qin Yao would definitely scold him.

But this was her dear pupil; she had no prior experience, yet had returned with such important information, which was quite impressive.

Qin Yao, rather than punishing, patted Yin Le’s shoulder encouragingly, "It’s fine; Zhen Yubai isn’t very important."

Reading the message contents, she knew Zhen Yubai was insignificant.

Whenever Zhen Yubai went to the Lotus Courtyard, Gongliang Liao never gave him a chance to speak before making him leave.

Yet the message’s author had spoken ambiguously, making one suspect that Gongliang Liao had already agreed to return to the Capital with them.

This context made the phrase "will soon escort the gentleman back to the Capital" particularly intriguing.

Seeing Qin Yao encouraging her young student and placing the note on the table, Liu Ji took it, looked over it in the firelight, noticed the word "Crown Prince," and gasped.

"Goodness, could this Crown Prince mentioned in the note be His Majesty’s son?" Liu Ji looked in shock at the three calmly composed individuals before him, "Aren’t you all surprised?"

Ah Wang nodded, his tone flat, "I am surprised."

Liu Ji glared at him fiercely, "Could you at least act like it? With that look, even in the Nanqu Class, they wouldn’t want you performing for free!"

Ah Wang: "Whatever you say, Mr. Liu."

Liu Ji was tempted to slap his deadpan face, but knowing his bounds, he refrained.

Continuing to read the next line, Liu Ji was no longer just surprised; his brows furrowed as if they could crush a mosquito.

After reading the last word, the series of oddities since Zhen Yubai’s arrival flooded his brain, finally connecting all the threads into a revealing net.

Liu Ji, both anxious and flustered, smacked the table, "Oh, Zhen Yubai, pretending to be so innocent yet scheming to break my teacher-disciple bond, truly despicable!"

"And what’s this about the gentleman agreeing, and soon to return with them to the Capital?"

"Wife." Liu Ji quickly grasped the key point, worriedly asked, "Is the mentor really leaving?"

Qin Yao sternly shook her head, "I don’t know."

In Gongliang Liao’s position, it’s not about wanting or not wanting, but whether you can or cannot.