Be Modest,My Master of Imperial Guards

Chapter 27 Watch out for Your Nails

"Oh," Ming Lan cried out. The sharp shout made Gu Yunxi's back uncomfortably taut.

"Master!"

Seeing Ming Lan was falling down the carriage, Qin Zhong acted fast and caught him in arms. Ming Lan didn't fall, but his brand-new velvet cap was dropped on the ground and covered with dust.

After Ming Lan regained his balance, Qin Zhong picked up the commander cap from the ground, dusted it repeatedly, and then offered it to his Master with both hands.

He knew that his Master was obsessive about hygiene. Now that his brand-new black hat was dirty, he was bound to be furious at the stains.

"Master, here is your cap..."

Qin Zhong lowed his eyes in embarrassment when he gave the tall cap to Ming Lan.

Unsurprisingly, as soon as Ming Lan took it, his bright black pupils collapsed into two small dots, and his ghostly white face blushed with anger.

Diverting his eyes onto Gu Yunxi, he found that she was looking on mutely and proudly, trying hard not to laugh. But her delicate and smooth chin was tilted upward, and her pink lips were curved slightly. The look of her made him irritated and charmed at the same time.

"Yun Guaner, I see that you don't want to live long...."

"Humph! You deserved it and paid the price!" She gave him a contemptuous look and vented her rage.

"Do you have the balls to say it again?!" Ming Lan exclaimed, with his eyes widening up angrily.

Gu Yunxi tilted her head sideways with contempt, arms crossed. Something occurred to her, so she sneered,

"Again? I can say it ten thousand times! I don't have balls. Do you have any? Show me!"

"You," Ming Lan was choked to silence. His face went from red to purple.

As if possessed by a cruel and monstrous demon, Qin Zhong silently dashed to Gu Yunxi and raised his arm to slap.

How could he stand by with his Master being insulted by a brat?

Qin Zhong was a man of martial arts, and his slap was fast. Had Gu Yunxi been hit, she would at least have spitted blood or even have all her bones and tendons broken.

Gu Yunxi knew that she could not escape the attack, so she toughened up and prepared to take it by her arm. Suddenly, a shadow showed up by her side and countered the slap with a high raised sword handle.

"Man, don't forget you're in the Eastern Depot, you can't misbehave."

Xiao Xiaoshen's contemptuous eyes swept across Ming Lan and Qin Zhong. His sharp tone was like a blade, slashing down his opponent as he spoke.

Qin Zhong withdrew his palm and quickly dodged back, staring at the unexpected man and squaring up for a fight,

"Are you all right?"

Soaked in sweat, Xiao Xiaoshen had just rushed back from the Training Field.

Still holding the sword, he turned to look at Gu Yunxi concernedly before he could wipe his sweaty forehead.

Gu Yunxi shook her head gratefully without saying a word.

In front of them, Qin Zhong slowly drew out his sword and snorted to Xiao Xiaoshen,

"Your little brother here had no respect for my Master. How are you going to deal with it? You Eastern Depot must not brush it off!"

"No problem! How about dealing it with you directly?"

Xiao Xiaoshen stared at Qin Zhong, squeezing the sword in his right hand.

Two pairs of eyes were locked across the frozen air, and a fight was about to unfold.

"Xiao Shen, don't be rude. Come back!"

Two figures showed up from the gate. They were First Captain, Ai Qing, and Third Captain, Zhao Wuji.

Tall and bearded, First Captain was square-faced and tan, with a steel whip hanging across his broad waist.

Third Captain walked slowly and rotated two steel balls in his palm. With the movement of the fingers, the two steel balls collided against each other, letting out sharp and heavy noises. The sound was so terrifying that one could not help but tighten up in awe.

First Captain approached the carriage and saluted Ming Lan,

"Master Ming, greetings. I'm First Captain, Ai Qing, of the Eastern Depot. The two young men had not learned the rules yet. They did not mean to offend you. Please forgive them."

Arms behind, Ming Lan ignored him and called back his close guard Qin Zhong.

Then he gazed at Gu Yunxi, raised his narrow eyebrows and put on a tender and flirty smile,

"Never mind. I had come to visit Lord Leng. Since he is not here, I'll leave. Yun Guaner, I was just playing around. Don't blame me."

What? Playing around? Just a moment ago, he had been ready for a fight. Now he wanted to dismiss it simply by calling it "playing around"?

Gu Yunxi pressed her lips together tightly, staring silently at the deep and complicated smile at the corner of Ming Lan's mouth.

Her eyebrows knit in a frown, Gu Yunxi felt a thread of uneasiness throbbing in her heart.

.

In the carriage, Ming Lan closed his eyes and rested.

Qin Zhong sat aside, holding Ming Lan's official cap in his arms. Since it was stained, Ming Lan found it disgusting and threw it to his close guard. Without the cap, his pinned-up black hair revealed itself.

"Master, Yun Guaner seemed to be obedient, but actually was quite calculating. He almost dragged you off the carriage. Why wouldn't you allow me to fix him up?"

"Gentlemen do not fight with ladies. Let it go."

Eyes shut, Ming Lan smirked and savored Gu Yunxi's beautiful smiley face until it was shattered by a harsh shout by his ears.

"What? Master, you said she is a woman."

"Hush... what are you yelling about!"

Ming Lan opened his eyes irritably and kicked at Qin Zhong's calf with his booted foot.

"Forgive me... But how do you know she is a woman?"

Ming Lan looked straight ahead and explained proudly,

"When I was inspecting her closely, I saw clearly that she had both of her ears pierced. Even the most spoiled boy would have only one ear pierced. Who'd have two piercings except for a girl? Not to mention."

"What?"

Qin Zhong was entranced and could not help but urge Ming Lan to continue.

"Not to mention that my spy had told me that two months ago, Leng Qingtang left the Eastern Depot for a few days. But on his way back that night, he rode the horse even though he had a sedan. At that time, I was still the chief eunuch of Yongning Palace, so I was sent to the Eastern Depot to summon Leng Qingtang to the court many times. Those memories are still fresh to me! Also, at that time, Yun Guaner appeared in the Eastern Depot! If I am not mistaken, with Leng Qingtang on horseback, the sedan must have carried his protege, Yun Guaner."

"If she were a woman, who is she? Why is Lord Leng hiding her in the Eastern Depot?"

The more Qin Zhong listened, the more confused and curious he became.

Ming Lan sneered, "I want to know Yun Guaner's identity as well. I wonder what kind of sorcery it was that had charmed the Eastern Depot Master so much! Qin Zhong, the key is to start with the Garden!"

Qin Zhong looked reluctant and clicked his tongue,

"Master, that place is always under the watch of the Eastern Depot. It's impossible to plant our people there...."

Hearing that, Ming Lan's eyes narrowed with a smirk and said lightly,

"It doesn't matter. If you can't plant an eye there, don't waste your time. Instead, find a way... to have the Garden taken over by the Western Depot."

.

Not long after Leng Qingtang returned, Xiao Xiaoshen reported to him about the trouble Ming Lan had made outside the Eastern Depot. When he came to visit Gu Yunxi, he found that she was venting her anger by cracking walnut on the table.

Yunxi saw the Master and looked again at the messy walnuts. Her face puffed up, sullen and indignant. Her almond-shaped eyes were glittering and misty with tears, touching and breaking a man's heart at the same time.

Sitting down, Leng Qingtang asked Gu Yunxi to retell him the confrontation between and Ming Lan. In the end, his face was serene like calm water, but his deep black eyes were luminous like freezing ice.

"Master..."

With only one glance at the cold eyes, Gu Yunxi was stunned by the relentlessness behind them. Even her blood was almost frozen and stopped circulating in her body.

Quietly, Leng Qingtang dismissed his anger. His jade-like face was gentle as before, with an elegant and casual smile.

"Girl, you got one thing right this time. Do you know what it is?"

Gu Yunxi looked at him and shook her head in a puzzle.

"Your smile at him easily took off his guard. If the close guard had not been there, Ming Lan must have been badly injured falling down the carriage thanks to you...."

"He asked for it!" Before the Master could finish, Gu Yunxi could not wait to argue with her lips pouted. Her watery eyes were still full of anger and hate.

Leng Qingtang looked at her, remained quiet for a while and then spoke suddenly,

"Girl, don't expose your emotion in your eyes easily. Remember, the most powerful weapon against a rival is your smile! A smile can help you cover up your hate and intention to kill. It can protect you and can also help you to put your most powerful enemies to death first."

Leng Qingtang said calmly and unquestionably. He clearly wanted to teach his protege to be relaxed and restrained.

Gu Yunxi only understood seven-tenths of it. She would need to digest the rest of it slowly. The shallow frown between her eyebrows gradually disappeared. She smiled at the Master, looking adorable,

"I get it. Thank you for your enlightenment, Master."

Leng Qingtang nodded smilingly and looked at the messy desktop,

"What were you doing?"

"Cracking walnuts. I'll grind the kernels and mix the powder with white frosting. Double Ninth Festival will come in a few days. Time to make sugar cakes!"

Leng Qingtang could not believe it and burst into laughter,

"If you want walnut kernels, send someone to buy it from the market. Why spend so much energy doing it yourself?"

"The sentiments are quite different between bought and hand-made!"

Gu Yunxi tilted her head and glanced at the Master. Her clear and sweet voice pithed up a little, naughty but sultry.

Then she spoke no more, gently pouted her mouth, and continued to c***k walnuts with her small hammer.

Leng Qingtang sat next to her and watched with interest. She held a walnut in one hand and knocked the hammer into it several times. Then she put down the tool, peeled off the cracked shell, and swiftly picked out the kernel with her fair thin fingers.

After two walnuts, Leng Qingtang could not stand it anymore and raised his hand to stop her.

"Stop it. Be careful lest you hurt your nails. Could you rest for a while and talk with me?"

His tone was soft, with a hint of appeal.

Holding her two warm and silky hands into his, he looked down carefully.

The blisters were all gone, and the thin layer of dry skin almost disappeared too. Fortunately, no calluses or scars were left.

However, after peeling so many walnuts, these fingers, tender as sprouts, now were reddish. Lots of small dents were left by the hard and rough walnut shells.

Leng Qingtang's heart melted. He gently rubbed the small hands in his large palms, cleaning out the dense dents and shell crumbs.

All these years in court were like treading on eggs. He had to be cautious. He was accustomed to wearing various masks to cope with plots and fights.

The longer it went on, the more firmly rooted were the masks on his still humane and conscious true self. Heavier and heavier, they were suffocating him.

Even more often, he couldn't tell clearly which of these many faces was the real one that sustained still.

Gu Yunxi, this charming and sweet little girl was like a plume of spring water. She was the only one who could make him not only take off the cold and stiff mask willingly, but also treat her sincerely and love her wholeheartedly.

With her by his side, he was able to drop his guard. It was at this moment that he could find himself and feel that he was still alive. He was still the Hua Nanhe, who once yearned and lived like a real man.

Gu Yunxi sat dully. Feeling the warmth passed from those strong hands, her ears gradually flushed.

It was not the first time that he held her hands, but her heartbeat had never been so intense as it was today.

With the increasingly fast heartbeat, an indescribable strange feeling rippled at the bottom of Gu Yunxi's heart.

At this moment, she was nervous and a bit worried. Would the Master hear her loud and heavy heartbeats? If so, all her complicated and unspeakable thoughts would be hard to hide from him.

With her eyes flickering, Gu Yunxi peeked shyly at the Master's comely face and then quickly diverted her look away.

Wordlessly, she panted and removed her small hands from the Master's warm palms. Lowering her head, Yunxi pursed her lips into an awkward smile, hiding her hands behind.