Chapter 21: The Unspoken Secret

  Beautiful woman red, can make the palace guard sand disappear, **see red ??? is also the most intense aphrodisiac ???

  It is said that this small bottle, with just two drops, can make even a chaste woman irresistible to men, increasing her desire for them by a hundred times. However, this substance is banned because it is highly addictive, like a narcotic, and once used, it's hard to stop.

  But Qilin now needs this kind of thing.

  Something like this? Get out of here!

  She narrowed her eyes, and without hesitation, threw the bottle of Mei Ren Hong into the snow beside her, then turned to leave. However, she had only taken a few steps when Qilin quickly ran over, shoveled away the snow on the ground, and picked up the bottle again.

  This is the only way now.

  But who wants to use such a despicable method?

  Then throw it far away again.

  No way, after thinking about the pros and cons of the matter, Qilin once again shamelessly bowed her head and ran to the snowy ground to search for the bottle everywhere.

  "Sir, why not just find a man to pawn off on that girl? Why bother with all this trouble?" Seeing Qilin's entanglement, the old procuress wanted to rush over and pour it directly into Qilin's mouth, but she restrained herself due to the presence of the man behind her. She helplessly closed the door and walked in front of the man, saying "This woman is clever, but not the best, why are you so fixated on this person?"

  Normally, seeing Qilin doesn't have anything special about her, although she does some strange things that are novel and surprising, but apart from this, there's nothing special about her. If you need a beauty, they're all over the place in this brothel, how would you find such an odd little girl? The old madam really can't understand it.

  The man just smiled and stood up saying "Thanks for your hard work."

  The old woman heard this and knew that the person did not want to answer, so she stopped talking. She just bowed her head slightly and nodded, then raised her eyes again, but there was no one in the room. When she walked to the door, Qilin had already disappeared into the night.

  Haha, what a coincidence! You must be joking.

  Looking at the touching back of Mu Qingfeng's head, Qi Lin really didn't know if Mu Qingfeng was unlucky or she had lost her aim. Just now when she didn't know how many times she threw the bottle out, accidentally using a bit too much force, the bottle flew out in a parabolic curve, and then heard a muffled hum from behind the fake mountain, only to see the current Mu Qingfeng after running over.

  It's just being hit by a bottle, why make such a big deal? Qi Lin looked at Mu Qingfeng who was rolling on the ground with his head in his hands, and said: "Who will come to take this idiot away?" In the end, he was hanged from the city gate as a warning.

  Mu Qingfeng was still holding his head and shouting "ah ya ah ya", originally thinking that Qi Lin would come to show concern, but when he rolled out a deep-colored mark on the snowy ground, Qi Lin was still standing in place, with her hands clasped together, looking at him as if she were watching a mad dog.

  "Hello, heartless." Knowing that Qi Lin wouldn't come over, Mu Qingfeng also stopped rolling and lay flat on the snowy ground, his chest rising and falling. He raised the bottle in his hand but couldn't make out what it was. "What is this?"

  Qilin walked over, wanting to take back the bottle but was dodged by Mu Qingfeng. In her heart, she thoroughly despised Mu Qingfeng, and after brewing her emotions for a moment, she spoke seriously: "Young Master Mu, last time Ah Xue offended you, I hope you will be magnanimous and not hold it against her in your heart. Ah Xue is eternally grateful."

  The sudden apology and Qilin's seriousness made Mu Qingfeng slightly surprised, staring at Qilin's black pupils shining with a faint moonlight, he half-sat up with one hand, his mouth curved into a smile "Deeply grateful? How to be grateful? By offering my body?"

  Shut up!

  "Huh? It seems like I heard something strange. Mu Qingfeng looked around, but except for the occasional passing servant, there was nothing else. With a puzzled expression, he turned back to Qi Lin, who had a calm demeanor. Mu Qingfeng became even more curious, remembering how she seemed to be hiding something when they met at Fenglin Garden last time, and how a casual remark from her made him transform from a refined gentleman to a flirtatious playboy. That's why he said he remembered her."

  It was at the festival that he saw her, dressed in a white men's outfit, her slender figure swaying in the wind and snow, stirring his thoughts, so he walked over to take her hand. When he saw Yumei lying on the jade bed, fresh blood flowing from her arm, he thought she would bow her head in sympathy or pray hypocritically. But she just quietly watched until the end, following him involuntarily, the trembling of her palm and the calmness of her expression were extremely inconsistent, this woman's inner strength was beyond his expectation.

  Rubbing her nose, Qilin swallowed back the scolding words she was about to say and put on a smile, saying "Young Master Mu is really good at making jokes."

  "Is that so?" Continuing would only be self-inflicted boredom. With a stretch of his long arm, the bottle was in front of Qilin, who opened her mouth and said "You answer one question for me, and I'll give it to you, okay?"

  What's the question? Zilin quickly thought about what Mu Qingfeng might ask, either "what is this medicine?" No, Mu Qingfeng is knowledgeable, she should know what it is, no need to ask. Then next would be "what do you need this for?" She had already thought of an answer, just casually mention someone's name, as long as that person doesn't exist, and if questioned later, just say she forgot. Or maybe the question would be "why not stay by Yu Mu's side", she also had an answer ready, Yu Mu must have things to do too, can't always be by her side, how embarrassing.

  It was actually Elm who was taking a bath, and she took advantage of this gap to run out.

  "Go ahead and ask." Anyway, it's just a few questions, she can handle them.

  "Women have loved beauty since ancient times." She raised her hand and stroked the crimson on Qilin's left cheek, puzzled, "Why don't you care?"

  What? Qilin was taken aback, leaning back to avoid Mu Qingfeng's large hand, and subconsciously touched the rouge on her face. She had applied it with lip color, so it shouldn't be noticeable in the dark... but???? This question she really hadn't anticipated.

  "Hundreds of flowers have hundreds of looks, and cannot be forced to come." Although modern technology allows for plastic surgery, she still values natural beauty and is satisfied with her appearance.

  In ancient times, it was natural to avoid some things that you didn't want to get close to.

  As soon as the voice fell, a fresh scent spread across her face, different from the tea fragrance of the elm wood, this was light and faintly like orchid, but slightly different, with a hint of wind.

  "Speak the truth." After a while, Mu Qingfeng whispered.

  Qilin was taken aback, only then reacting to the fact that Mu Qingfeng was very close to her. The warm air was blowing rhythmically against her ear, but she didn't feel her face flushing or her heart racing. She turned her head slightly to subtly avoid Mu Qingfeng, and Qilin picked up some snow from the ground and rubbed it on her face. As the snow in her hand gradually turned a faint red color, Qilin finally took out a silk handkerchief and scrubbed her face with it a few times.

  When the rouge was gone, her original face was fully exposed in the air. Her pale face, which had been washed by snow, showed some goosebumps under the moonlight. Qilin simply lifted her sleeve and casually wiped it off, then looked straight at Mu Qingfeng and said, "I'm just used to it."

  Habit? He was taken aback for a moment, was this the reason? But he had discovered it earlier, the crimson on Qilin's face seemed to be a special kind of poison, although harmless to humans, but it could make people's skin lose its original color. This poison was called "Jail Fire" because it was made from a red leafless flower, hence the name. However, the crimson on Qilin's face had now turned into rouge, and yet he could still smell another scent from her face, although extremely faint, he could identify that it was a chronic poison, capable of removing the crimson from her face, but also able to poison people, and this toxin was quite troublesome.

  But looking at Qilin's calm face, is it that she doesn't know or has already made up her mind? Looking again at the bottle in her hand, the bottle had undergone special treatment and didn't give off any scent of what was inside. Could this be her antidote?

  "Do you know that you've been poisoned?" He asked tentatively, also trying to find a hint of fear or wavering in Qilin's eyes, but he failed.

  She naturally knew that it was already written on paper, although she had clearly known this before, but hearing it from Mu Qingfeng's mouth still came as a slight surprise. However, businessmen are knowledgeable and have seen much of the world; how could the richest man in Fenghuang Country not know these things? Thinking about it this way, Qi Lin suddenly understood.

  "Is it to participate in the Hundred Flowers Blooming? To gain the reputation of a hundred flowers and become famous overnight? Or is it to escape the current situation and enjoy wealth and glory?" Mu Qingfeng listed all the reasons he could think of, without realizing that his tone was not only questioning but also laced with concern.

  After listening to Mu Qingfeng's words, Qi Lin couldn't help but smile. She wasn't interested in those things now that she had enough to eat and wear, and lacked nothing, but sometimes she felt that her body was not under her control.

  This time it was for Qiao Er, but Qi Lin also clearly understood that even if there was no Qiao Er, Zi Yun would still come to find her. After all, she would eventually become his pawn anyway, so why bother with futile struggles.

  Just want to enjoy this carefree life a bit more.

  Picked up a handful of snow, looked up at the bright moon and said "If we can't live carefree, then let's try to change our way of survival, as long as we can survive."

  It's good enough to be alive??? But he couldn't see any fear of death or expectation of life in Zilin's eyes, it was as if everything around her had nothing to do with her, but she wasn't a puppet that could be manipulated by others either, it seemed like she was just living carefully.

  "Becoming a goddess of flowers or enjoying wealth and glory was never what I wanted, but it's something that must be done." Not for others, but in order to survive myself.

  Looking into Qilin's eyes, Mu Qingfeng suddenly felt that his question was a bit superfluous. He handed the bottle to Qilin and smiled slightly, "You might face the same fate as Yu Meigui, don't you regret it?"

  Regret? She also wanted to regret, but she didn't have the right to regret. Of course, she knew that the road ahead wouldn't be just the one Yuemei had taken, and it would be even more arduous.

  "I've died once already." This time won't be so easy to die. Qilin smiled, grasped the bottle tightly in her hand, and looked steadily ahead, saying "Thank you, Mu Gongzi, for your understanding."

  Have you died once? These words coming from Qilin's mouth seemed nonchalant, but they made Mu Qingfeng's heart tighten, and he stretched out his long arm to pull Qilin into his embrace.

  The sudden tenderness left Qilin somewhat at a loss, but unexpectedly she didn't want to refuse, allowing Mu Qingfeng to hold her tightly. She understood the meaning of this hug, perhaps Mu Qingfeng knew what she was about to face, and perhaps she needed such a hug now too.

  "You're so strange, before when I held your hand, you refused, but just now when I hugged you, why didn't you refuse at all?" She raised her eyes with a smile, and the fragrance of Qilin's hair still lingered in her hands, reluctant to let it disappear, she tightened her grip slightly.

  Qilin just smiled and said, "Because I know that Muguangzi just hugged me out of sympathy. Since Muguangzi's sympathetic heart is overflowing, why would I have the reason to refuse? Moreover, at this moment, I also need a little encouragement from friends."

  Friends? Zilin looked at her in surprise. Although there were many people in business, most of them were because they coveted their own abilities and wealth, but no one had ever called each other brothers. Now that she heard this, it was a bit strange.

  But it doesn't seem too bad after all.

  "Here you go." He pulled out a pouch and handed it over to Qilin. Smiling, "I think you'll need this."

  "Huh? Receiving this brocade pouch, what is it? Just as I was about to open it with my hands, they were grasped. Qilin raised her head and said 'What's going on? A clever plan in the brocade pouch?'"

  "I just want you to promise me two things." What is this girl thinking? This isn't the time for joking around.

  Qilin slightly furrowed her brow, looking at Mu Qingfeng's sincere eyes and serious face, thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

  Getting a definite answer from Qilin, Mu Qingfeng spoke up, "Firstly, don't forget what you said today, we are friends. Secondly, don't tell anyone that this brocade pouch was given to you by me."

  "Huh? Why does this brocade pouch suddenly feel like it weighs a thousand catties? But Mu Qingfeng's eyes, filled with trust in himself, didn't waver. Gripping the pouch tightly, Qi Lin smiled from the heart and said, 'Don't worry, I have my knife at my throat, I won't say anything.'"

  Don't worry, no one will put a knife to your throat. Mu Qingfeng looked at Qi Lin, and he wouldn't let anyone do that either.