The Rebirth of an Ill-Fated Consort (Chapters 1- 203)

Chapter 92 : A Different Xiao Shao

Translated by : Shl

Edited by : Anks & Ely

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The jade die lian hua pendant earring was on the ground. Bai Zhi was about to pick it up but Xiao Shao grasped it first. Bai Zhi's fingers trembled slightly and her voice was fraught with suspicion when she asked, "Why do you have my young miss' earring?"

Xiao Shao seemed to be slightly startled. "Jiang Ruan?"

"This is my young miss'," Bai Zhi said. "It's been lost for many years, how did you come by it?"

Xiao Shao turned to glance at Ye Feng, who was looking stiffly back at him.

Zhao Yuan Feng and the others were also looking at him in bafflement. Xiao Shao walked to the edge of the cliff and, contrary to everyone's expectations, lifted the corner of his robe and leaped forward in a sweeping motion. He moved so quickly that no one could stop him in time. Ye Feng only had time to shout, "Master!"

The mist and clouds swirled around Xue Yi cliff. One could only catch glimpses of mountain streams and thick forest in this quiet and secluded place. Yet, it also seemed to harbour boundless danger.

Ye Feng rushed to the cliff edge, a look of self-recrimination on his face. After a momentary shock, Guan Liang Han gradually calmed down and walked over to pat Ye Feng's shoulder. He said, "Xiao Shao's qing gong* is exceptional. If he didn't fully believe that he would succeed, he would not have attempted it. Why don't you return first? Zhao daren and I will work together to send soldiers down there to search for them."

[1] 轻功 (Qing Gong) – a Chinese martial art which tends to be exaggerated in wuxia (martial arts) stories e.g. people being able to move swiftly at superhuman speeds and perform gravity-defying acts such as skimming over tree tops (Think 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'). More .

Although he was also shocked and baffled as to why Xiao Shao had unexpectedly jumped off the cliff edge, he knew that his fellow disciple had never been a headstrong person. Therefore, something must have happened for him to act this way.

Ye Feng listened to Guan Liang Han, and knowing the extent of Xiao Shao's martial arts skill, believed that nothing was likely to befall Xiao Shao. Thus, he regained his composure and walked back to Guan Liang Han's side. While walking past Bai Zhi, he could not help but give her a complicated look.

When Bai Zhi heard Guan Liang Han speak of a search, she heaved a sigh of relief, and hurried to check on Lian Qiao, who looked half-dead as she lay on the ground. Her suspicions plagued her – Jinying Wang and Jiang Ruan were not connected in any way, so why was he carrying this? That jade die lian hua pendant earring had been from a pair of Zhao Mei's favourite earrings; she had brought them with her from the General fu when she got married, and she had always loved them. The workmanship was beautiful, and the raw materials were hard to come by. When Jiang Ruan grew older, Zhao Mei had given the earrings to her, and Jiang Ruan had worn them at all times. Later, on some unknown occasion when Jiang Ruan had gone out, she had returned with only one. Naturally, she could not wear only one earring, so she had put the other one away; because it had belonged to Zhao Mei, Jiang Ruan locked it into a small box, which she wiped clean regularly.

At present, that one was still locked inside the box, but the other earring was on Xiao Shao's person. Why?

Bai Zhi just could not make sense of it.

Two others who could not make sense of it were Zhao Yuan Feng and Zhao Yi. In their eyes, Xiao Shao had jumped off the cliff because of Jiang Ruan. However, as people who were familiar with Xiao Shao's character, they were sure that he was not someone who had tender feelings for the fairer sex. It seemed that there was a close relationship between Xiao Shao and Jiang Ruan, but, the expression on the face of Jiang Ruan's maidservant cast a lot of doubt on that assumption.