253: Chapter 33 Abi and Azhu

After Meng Li "returned" the Six Veins Divine Sword manual, he stayed in the Dali capital for a few days to observe the aftermath.

Seeing no movement from Tianlong Temple or the Duan Clan, he knew that the smoke screen he had set up with the One-Yang Finger and the message had worked. As long as he wasn't exposed in the future, it was impossible for the Dali Duan Clan to suspect him.

Having confirmed this, Meng Li lingered no longer and took Mei Jian and Zhu Jian back to Suzhou.

The three traveled in silence until they reached Canhe Village.

Not long after entering the village, five people—one adult and four youngsters—came to greet them.

The adult was Li Qingluo.

The four youngsters were Wang Yuyan, A Bi, A Zhu, and A Zi.

This surprised Meng Li somewhat.

Because Li Qingluo had a poor relationship with the Wang family, she rarely came to Canhe Village.

Why had she come today?

Before Meng Li could figure it out, Wang Yuyan joyfully called out "Cousin" and instinctively jogged toward him.

Seeing this, Li Qingluo, standing in the center, immediately gave a dry cough.

Wang Yuyan's movements instantly paused; she stood where she was and said to Meng Li with a hint of reserve, "You're back."

Meng Li nodded and said, "I'm back."

After responding, he looked at Li Qingluo and asked curiously, "Aunt, why have you come to Canhe Village today?"

Li Qingluo glanced at him and pointed at Wang Yuyan, "This girl runs here every other day. If I didn't come, I'm afraid she'd treat this place as her own home."

Meng Li smiled slightly, "It's fine, we are family after all."

As soon as he said this, the others had varied reactions.

A Bi, A Zhu, and A Zi thought Meng Li was referring to their cousin relationship and had no special reaction.

Mei Jian and Zhu Jian, having learned of their relationship through the titles used in the conversation between Meng Li, Wang Yuyan, and Li Qingluo, also didn't think much of it.

Li Qingluo and Wang Yuyan, however, had guilty consciences and couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy.

Wang Yuyan lowered her eyes and toyed with the corner of her clothes to hide her feelings.

Li Qingluo chose to change the subject. She looked at Mei Jian and Zhu Jian and took the initiative to ask Meng Li, "Who are they?"

Meng Li replied, "They are the new maids I took in during this trip, Mei Jian and Zhu Jian."

New maids?

Catching the keyword, A Bi, A Zhu, and A Zi felt a stir in their hearts and all turned their gaze toward Mei Jian and Zhu Jian.

Wang Yuyan and Li Qingluo also looked over.

Wang Yuyan sized them up carefully and soon concluded in her heart that they were "not as pretty as herself," then withdrew her gaze, not caring much.

Li Qingluo was lost in thought; not knowing what she was thinking, she secretly cursed, "Bastard."

After Meng Li introduced Mei Jian and Zhu Jian to the others, he began introducing the others to them.

"Mei Jian, Zhu Jian, this is my aunt Li Qingluo. You can just call her 'Madam Wang'."

"This is my cousin Wang Yuyan. You can just call her 'Cousin Miss'."

"These are A Bi, A Zhu, and A Zi."

After the brief introductions, Meng Li said to A Zhu, "Take Mei Jian and Zhu Jian to the Suihan Elegant Courtyard. They will live there from now on."

"Yes."

A Zhu gave a light response and led Mei Jian and Zhu Jian away, taking A Zi along with them.

Seeing this, Li Qingluo said to Meng Li, "You've just returned and surely have many things to handle. Yu Yan and I won't disturb you further and will head back first."

With that, she ignored Wang Yuyan's reluctance and pulled her away.

Meng Li smiled and didn't mind.

At this time, A Bi said, "Young Master, you should bathe first to wash away the dust from your journey."

"Mhm."

After Meng Li finished bathing and put on his undergarments, A Bi brought a set of loose casual clothes and helped him dress.

During this time, A Bi looked hesitant, several times appearing as if she wanted to say something but stopped.

Meng Li found it strange and immediately asked, "Have you encountered some difficulty?"

A Bi was slightly stunned, then shook her head.

"Then why do you look like you have something to say?" Meng Li asked.

A Bi pursed her lips, looked up at him, and asked a question instead of answering, "Young Master, is there anywhere this servant has failed to serve you well?"

Meng Li shook his head, "No."

"Then why did you take in new maids and even arrange for them to live in the Suihan Elegant Courtyard?" A Bi asked further.

Normally, with her temperament, she wouldn't ask such a thing. This abnormality was due to her worry and fear.

The Suihan Elegant Courtyard, like the Listening Fragrance Pavilion and the Qin Melody Cottage, was an independent courtyard within Canhe Village. Previously, the only maids with independent courtyards were A Bi and A Zhu. Later, A Zi was added; she was A Zhu's sister and lived with her in the Listening Fragrance Pavilion, so A Bi hadn't minded much.

Now that Mei Jian and Zhu Jian had arrived and also had an independent courtyard.

This gave A Bi a sense of crisis.

Because there were more people around Meng Li now, and because A Zhu and A Zi, as well as Mei Jian and Zhu Jian, were pairs of sisters, while she was alone.

She didn't intend to compete for anything, but she worried about being replaced and feared that one day she wouldn't be able to stay by Meng Li's side.

Meng Li didn't know the specifics, but based on A Bi's behavior and his past experience, he guessed a thing or two.

He looked at the girl before him, whose height already reached his chin and whose features were gradually maturing. Smelling the faint fragrance coming from her, the corners of his mouth curled up, and he lowered his head to her ear, whispering, "Because my A Bi has already begun to mature, and it won't be long before I 'eat' you up."

A Bi was startled, her expression blank, clearly not understanding the hidden meaning.

Meng Li reached out and wrapped his arm around her slender waist, pulling her into his embrace, then turned his head and kissed her lips.

Suddenly attacked, A Bi instinctively wanted to resist, but meeting those familiar, affectionate eyes, her resistance stopped halfway.

Meng Li took all this in. Leading the inexperienced with his experience, he savored the fragrant tea. When the tea grew strong and passion peaked, he reached into the cottage to tune the simple zither.

After a long time, the tea was finished, and the zither left a lingering melody.

A Bi slumped weakly in Meng Li's arms, only coming to her senses after a long while.

Meng Li reached out and pinched her blushing face, chuckling as he teased, "I haven't even officially started 'eating' yet, and you've already become like this. Could it be that you're made of water?"

"Young Master~"

Hearing this, A Bi's face turned red as blood. She buried her head in his chest, acting coquettishly for once.

Seeing this, Meng Li didn't tease her further, but instead lifted a lock of her black hair to play with.

When A Bi's emotions calmed down, he asked softly, "Are you at ease now?"

"Mhm," A Bi responded softly, looking up at him with eyes full of watery tenderness.

Meng Li smiled and said, "Then tidy yourself up. If we stay any longer, A Zhu and the others will come looking for us."

A Bi nodded, left Meng Li's embrace, helped him smooth out the wrinkles on his clothes, and only then attended to herself.

Looking at her disheveled collar, shame welled up in her heart, but she said nothing and silently tidied it.

Meng Li watched from the side, a smile in his eyes.

When he watched the show back then, his liking for A Bi was greater than for A Zhu. First, he felt the actress's beauty was superior, and second, her character setting was better.

As for beauty, to each their own; no more need be said.

As for the character settings...

A Zhu was abandoned by her biological parents since childhood and was taken in and raised by the Murong Family.

In the Murong Family, she was said to be a maid, but her treatment was similar to that of an adopted daughter.

The Murong Family undoubtedly showed her great kindness.

Later, A Zhu went to Shaolin to steal the Yi Jin Jing, indeed with the intention of repaying that kindness, but the result was hard to describe.

She stole the Yi Jin Jing, but after some twists and turns, she didn't plan to return to the Murong Family, but instead wanted to follow Qiao Feng. To help Qiao Feng improve his strength for revenge, she even gave away the Yi Jin Jing that was originally meant to repay the kindness. During this process, she never thought of informing the Murong Family, which was equivalent to not repaying the kindness and only wanting to elope with her lover.

This behavior was undoubtedly that of a "love brain," and at the same time, it carried a bit of an "ungrateful wolf" attribute.

Furthermore, A Zhu's personality was similar to A Zi's.

To put it nicely, she was quirky and clever; in reality, she liked to be clever to her own detriment.

When Jiumozhi brought Duan Yu to Canhe Village, she disguised herself as a Murong Family elder to play tricks, which almost led to herself, A Bi, and Duan Yu being captured. Given the situation then, if they had been caught, not only would Duan Yu's life be in danger, but she and A Bi would likely have been used by Jiumozhi to cause trouble for the Murong Family.

Going to Shaolin to steal the Yi Jin Jing was something she hadn't told anyone about; it was a reckless decision that nearly cost her her life.

Pretending to be Bai Shijing to get information from Kang Min, she was instead outschemed. During that time, she was being clever again and ultimately lost her life for nothing.

As the saying goes, "Being too clever with one's schemes only costs one's own life," it was exactly like that.

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