Chapter 47: The Feeling of Being Treated as an Adult
“Master?”
Just as Ye Liuyun was sighing, realizing he might have been getting a bit carried away, Xing’er suddenly lowered her voice and spoke.
“I did not mean to keep this from you, Master.”
Her tone clearly revealed her worry that Ye Liuyun might blame her for not telling him earlier.
That small expression of concern made Ye Liuyun chuckle.
Then, with a flick of his finger, he tapped Xing’er lightly on the forehead.
“All right, I’m not so petty. Go boil some water; I want to bathe before I sleep!”
“At once, Master!”
Seeing that Ye Liuyun truly held no grudge, Xing’er smiled happily and quickly went to prepare the water.
...
During the bath, Xing’er continued attending to Ye Liuyun, gently massaging his shoulders.
“Master, as for Madam...”
Xing’er’s expression shifted several times; she hesitated, struggling to find the right words, clearly troubled.
At that moment, Ye Liuyun leaned against the wooden tub with his eyes closed and finished her sentence.
“You mean what your Madam just said was partly true and partly false, right?”
“Ah!”
Xing’er looked surprised, not expecting Ye Liuyun to be so direct, but she made no move to refute him.
As Madam Sheng Lanzhi’s personal maid, Xing’er often acted on her behalf and was well aware of many things about her.
Although most of what Sheng Lanzhi said during their drinking was true, some parts didn’t match reality.
At least in Xing’er’s eyes, Sheng Lanzhi was never a fragile woman. From childhood, she had always obtained what she wanted, even if she had to resort to underhanded means behind the scenes.
Though uncertain of Sheng Lanzhi’s true intentions, Xing’er worried that Ye Liuyun might be deceived if he trusted her too blindly.
She hadn’t expected that Ye Liuyun had already seen through it without any prompting.
“You already figured it out, Master?”
“Half and half,” Ye Liuyun answered casually.
...
Sheng Lanzhi was clever; she purposely pinned the reason Ye Liufeng wanted to kill her entirely on him, probably to prevent any suspicion from arising.
But in truth, Ye Liuyun’s mindset had shifted as he grew stronger.
“In this world, whether someone is strong or smart doesn’t really matter. What counts is whether they’re useful.”
Sheng Lanzhi was putting on a performance, but wasn’t Ye Liuyun doing the same?
Despite all she said earlier, for Ye Liuyun, the key points were few: keeping Sheng Lanzhi around meant she could provide funding, materials needed for martial arts cultivation, and even secret manuals.
This saved him the trouble of worrying about those things himself.
That was Sheng Lanzhi’s value.
Hearing Ye Liuyun’s words, Xing’er nodded vaguely.
“I was overthinking.”
As long as Ye Liuyun wasn’t deceived, that was enough for her. She stopped dwelling on it and focused on massaging his shoulders.
However, Xing’er’s understanding was clear, yet Ye Liuyun turned his head toward her and teased.
“You know your Madam’s intentions aren’t good, and you still tell me? Aren’t you afraid she’ll punish you if she finds out?”
Normally, as someone close to Sheng Lanzhi, Xing’er should side with her.
But instead of panicking, Xing’er let out a soft chuckle upon realizing something.
In a quiet voice, she said, “I was sold into the Sheng household when I was young and served as Madam’s maid. From a simple servant to her personal attendant, I’ve seen many people, but only you, Master, have ever treated me as a person.”
Even though Sheng Lanzhi often claimed to trust her, Xing’er knew it was only because she needed a loyal servant.
In the Sheng household, many maids and servants were beaten or killed for a single misplaced word, or suffered the master’s wrath when she was upset.
Xing’er survived only thanks to her wit, though she had been beaten several times.
Only with Ye Liuyun did she feel a genuine sense of equality—something that mere words couldn't replace.
Ye Liuyun hadn’t expected this; he had half-jokingly wondered if some sort of protagonist’s aura made others respect him.
Smiling, he shook his head and waved a hand.
“All right, it’s late. You should get some rest too.”
“Understood, Master!”
With a gentle smile, Xing’er waited until Ye Liuyun rested before quietly leaving.
...
Upon returning to the backyard, Sheng Lanzhi was seated once more in the courtyard, the drunkenness from earlier completely gone.
Seeing Xing’er return, she looked up.
“You two have a closer relationship than I imagined.”
She hadn’t given it much thought before, but now it seemed the bond between Ye Liuyun and Xing’er truly exceeded her expectations.
“I...”
Xing’er wanted to explain, but Sheng Lanzhi wasn’t interested.
“No need to explain. That’s good. If he has any issues, you can report them to me promptly.”
She trusted Xing’er, assuming her closeness to Ye Liuyun was harmless, never suspecting betrayal.
Xing’er said nothing, only nodded earnestly.
“Yes, Madam.”
She only promised to relay a few trivial messages when the time came, knowing Sheng Lanzhi couldn’t do much about it.
Recalling the events of the day, Sheng Lanzhi found it somewhat unbelievable.
“That Ye Liufeng’s death came just in time.”
Had it been Ye Liuyun instead of Ye Liufeng tonight, she would now be worrying how to protect her businesses from being targeted.
...
Meanwhile, Yan Shuzhu’s actions moved faster than Ye Liuyun had anticipated.
By the very next day, Ye Liuyun’s identity issues had been resolved.
Jinyiwei officer Ye Liufeng was betrayed by treacherous men, and his brother Ye Liuyun, seeking revenge, took his place within the Jinyiwei, investigating covertly and enduring hardships to avenge him.
In recognition of Ye Liuyun’s resolve, he was officially granted the rank of Jinyiwei Captain and allowed to continue serving.
When Ye Liuyun heard this news, he couldn’t help but laugh.
In a way, it gave Ye Liufeng a dignified end.