Chapter 060
Chapter 60: A Poisonous Plan Is Born
Xiao Man fled back to her room like a startled rabbit, shut the door, slid the bolt, and did it all in one breath.
She leaned against the cold door panel, her whole body weak.
Her heart pounded madly in her chest, beat after beat, until her ears buzzed.
Her cheeks were burning so hot it felt like a raw egg would cook if pressed against them.
[Lin Qing Xuan!]
He was supposed to be a Buddha’s Chosen who ate plain food and kept away from worldly dust, so what was that just now?
He spoke love words so smoothly, and he did not even blush or stammer.
He was not a Heavenborn Buddha’s Chosen at all; he must be a born master of sweet talk!
The wrist he had held and smeared with salve still carried a strange feeling. It was like the softest feather kept brushing there, and like a faint current ran through, prickly and numb, with an itch that sank from skin into bone and had nowhere to escape.
It made her want to rub hard, to press the feeling deeper into flesh, yet she was afraid that one touch would make that delicate trace fade away.
She clutched her chest and tried to steady her breath: “Huff… huff…”
[If this keeps up, his careless sweet words will stop my heart one day. Who could stand that!]
“Hee hee…” A cheap, squeaky laugh slipped through the crack of the door, sharp and giddy, like someone who loves trouble.
Black mist swirled before Xiao Man, gathered, and stretched into a strange human shape. It even cleared its fake throat, then pinched its voice to copy Lin Qing Xuan’s low, warm tone, teasing: “Hand in hand Sutra Copying…”
The black mist drew out the words as it circled Xiao Man, continuing: “Only you, okay.”
It giggled and added: “I’ll blow on it so it won’t hurt.”
“Boom!”
Xiao Man’s reason snapped.
Her eyes went red. She grabbed the broom by the door and, without looking, swung it with all her strength straight at that knot of mist.
“Get out!” she shouted.
“Heh heh heh, angry and ashamed!” Tuan Tuan cackled as its form broke apart. It slipped away as a wisp of green smoke through the window crack, leaving its wild laughter echoing in the room.
It raced all over the wide Lin Manor, the black fog boiling with excitement.
It had watched everything from the roof beam just now. Lin Qing Xuan’s small, restrained glances. Xiao Man’s ears burning crimson. To it, this was the most interesting, most delicious food in the world.
Heart Demon Tuan Tuan rolled and tumbled above the fake rock hill, then suddenly thought of someone.
Zheng Xiu Yun.
A woman filled with jealousy and spite, with “I want to cause trouble” written on her face.
And in her makeup box she hid a small bottle said to melt even a chaste lady into soft wax, the Spring Breeze Powder.
An excellent idea formed in its messy mind.
A huge, eerie smile split across the face of the black fog as it laughed without a sound.
Hee hee hee hee…
“You pretend to be a High Monk, and you pretend to be a shy little rabbit. None of you will get to stay clean,” it snickered in delight. “Let that fool Zheng Xiu Yun tear off the fake masks of you two hypocrites!”
At that very time, Zheng Xiu Yun had indeed not given up.
She sat alone in her room, clutching the tiny porcelain bottle so hard her well-trimmed nails went pale and bit into her palm.
The bronze mirror showed a twisted face full of hate.
[Yao Xiao Man! You are a low Second-class Maid. Why?]
[Why do you get the special glance of the Buddha’s Chosen?]
[Why does he teach you himself?]
[Why?]
Jealousy was a snake soaked in poison, gnawing at her heart and liver and making her want to die.
She refused to accept this.
Her birth was not as noble as Qiu Ru Ying’s, but she was still a family Miss. Her Father was only a Sixth Rank Minor Official, yet her Mother was First Madam Madam Wang’s cousin. By kin and place, she was a thousand times more noble than Xiao Man, that stray girl with no known parents.
But Lin Qing Xuan?
He had never given her a real look.
She had “bumped into” him three times: once in the garden, once outside the study, and once in the shrine used for Sutra Copying.
Each time she dressed with care and acted shy and gentle, sure her manners were perfect.
And him?
He only nodded coolly and would not spare even one extra word.
Yet that lowly maid, Xiao Man?
He taught her word by word, hand in hand.
He even… even leaned close to her ear to say such warm, teasing words.
Just then, a strand of black mist slipped into her makeup box and made a coaxing, strange sound. It was like the voice rang right in her head, murmuring: “Lin Qing Xuan said he wants only Yao Xiao Man as his woman.”
[Only Yao Xiao Man as his woman!]
Those words were like a red-hot blade carving her heart.
Zheng Xiu Yun clenched the porcelain bottle, her knuckles white and her eyes boiling with wild hate.
She would not accept it.
She would not allow a lowly maid to tread on her head.
Just then she heard a Junior Maid hurry past the window. The crisp voice called: “Sister Xiao Man, Old Madam prepared fresh pastries for Eldest Grandson Young Master. They taste best when eaten right away. She wants you to prepare jasmine tea to go with them!”
The little maid poked her head outside the Auspicious Cloud Residence and called.
Granny Chen was sweeping in the yard. She looked up and pointed to the room next to Young Master’s: “Xiao Man is inside. Or you can carry the pastries to the Young Master’s study yourself.”
The little maid grew flustered and waved both hands: “No, no, I’ll wait for Sister Xiao Man.”
Hearing the voices, Xiao Man forced her mood under control, opened her door, put on her usual polite smile, and took the tray with four kinds of pastries from the little maid.
Before leaving, the little maid added: “Sister Xiao Man, Old Madam said Young Master likes jasmine tea these days.”
Xiao Man nodded to show she understood.
Zheng Xiu Yun’s eyes lit up at once. Opportunity had come.
She grabbed the porcelain bottle at once and rushed out without thinking.
She trailed noiselessly behind Xiao Man all the way to the small kitchen of the Auspicious Cloud Residence.
Like a dark shadow, she hid outside the door, staring hard at the scene inside.
She watched Xiao Man boil water, pick the tea leaves, and set out a fine white porcelain tea set on the tray.
Maybe the usual jasmine tea was used up. Xiao Man frowned and went into the small storage room to look for more leaves.
Just one turn of her body.
Zheng Xiu Yun slipped into the kitchen like a ghost.
Her heart drummed and her blood rushed to her head, but her hands moved quick and steady.
She pulled the stopper, and without any pause, poured the whole bottle of pink Spring Breeze Powder into the white porcelain teapot that would be sent to Lin Qing Xuan.
The powder melted the moment it touched the water. It was colorless and without smell.
When she finished, her heart was racing, yet her face showed a cruel, satisfied smile.
Lin Qing Xuan, you love tea and preach a calm heart, don’t you? You stand high and spotless, don’t you? Today I will make you taste the hottest, wildest flavor of the mortal world.
When you lose your reason and show your shame, tearing at your clothes like a beast in heat, let’s see how you can still act like a saintly Buddha’s Chosen admired by all!
A ball of black mist hovered above Zheng Xiu Yun’s head, laughing in silence and twisting in glee.
“Idiot! Pour in more! Make him go completely mad!” it urged, rolling with excitement. Yet it felt things still were not messy enough.
Right as Xiao Man was about to return from the storage room, it used its fog to tip a teacup that sat near the edge of the tray.
“Crack!”
Hearing the sound, Xiao Man hurried back. She saw the broken pieces on the floor and frowned: “Strange. I set it steady just now.”
She did not overthink it, blaming her shaky hands and messy mind.
She bent down and carefully gathered the shards.
She did not know that in the moment she lowered her head, Zheng Xiu Yun had already slipped away without a sound, leaving with a vicious, triumphant smile.