“This is...” Hailancha looked at the fur, then at her, “Did you really kill it?”
“Of course.” Wei Yingluo smiled softly and said, “First beaten, then killed, skinned and given to you, the rest of the meat was to be sent to the Imperial Tea House but they said that before the Great Qing Dynasty entered the country, the Manchu Banners lived by hunting, in the company of hounds, from the time of the Great Father and a rule was laid down forbidding the eating of dog meat. Now, although the snowball was killed by decree, it could not be eaten either, it had to be buried.”
Hailancha was a grown man but he got a chill on his back when he heard this so he moved and said: “All right, all right, I'll keep the dog's skin, you go back to the Changchun Palace and serve the Empress.”
Wei Yingluo accepted the kindness, gave him a blessing goodbye and turned to go back to the Changchun Palace.
As soon as her back is gone, Hailancha turned around and throws the dogskin in his hand at the opposite pillar.
A hand reached out from behind the pillar and catches the fur.
“And you said she wouldn't dare to kill.” Hailancha clasped his arm and laughed at the other man, “See, she is much more ruthless than you or I.”
Fuheng frowned, looking down at the furs in his hands.
“If I were to find a woman in the future, I wouldn't dare to find such a ruthless one, or if I were to find a woman like this young one outside, when I came home, I'd be waiting for a chopper instead of a hot meal... Oops! Where are you going?” Hailancha shouted at Fuheng's back.
Fuheng turned a deaf ear, threw the fur back at Hailancha and went after Wei Yingluo in the direction he had left.
Whether he was fast, or Wei Yingluo was slow, or whether Wei Yingluo was waiting for him, in a few moments, he caught up with him.
Reaching out and tugging at his arm, Fuheng coldly questioned: “Why did you deceive Hailancha?”
Wei Yingluo turned around and looked at him in surprise: “Young Master, what are you talking about?”
“Wei Yingluo, stop pretending!” Fuheng subconsciously tightened his fingers and said, “The dog skin you sent me, there was a black spot on the tail but as I remember, Snowball was all snow white! Why did you give Hailancha a fake skin? Who told you to do it, were you trying to set Hailancha up?”
No wonder Fuheng thought so, the palace was full of deceit, sometimes a wrong word and a wrong dish and you were doomed to a life of misery and even ruin.
Hailancha was his best friend, he couldn't just watch him fall into a trap.
Time passed, he didn't wait for Wei Yingluo's explanation, she just looked up at him, her eyes misting up.
“Woof!”
A dog barked and broke the silence between them.
Fuheng looked at the sound and saw a swaying of the leaves and a snowy white dog's head emerged from behind the leaves and barked twice at them.
“Snowball?” Fuheng floundered.
The dog that should have been disposed of, how could it still be alive?
Snowball bursts out from behind the leaves, on short legs and runs barking all the way to Wei Yingluo's feet, with a long leash trailing around his neck.
“You child, why don't you just stay inside, why are you running around.” Wei Yingluo sighed and suddenly said to Fuheng, “... Can you let go of my hand?”
Fuheng let out a cry and loosened his fingers.
But five red fingerprints, like a branding iron on her white wrist, like the stamp of a selfish man, on the woman he loves.
With mixed eyes, he watched her playing with the snowball and feeding it from the scented pouch she carried, Fuheng suddenly asked: “You're raising it?”
“Yes.” Wei Yingluo replied in a low voice, “A dog doesn't know right from wrong, it only listens to its master, if he tells it to watch the house, it will watch the house, if he tells it to harm people, it will harm them.”
Fuheng stopped talking, just looked down at the woman and the dog, the suspicion faded from his eyes, like winter snow melting in the spring breeze.
“... Young Master, is there anything else?” Wei Yingluo suddenly looked up at him and said, “If there's nothing else, I'll take him back, before anyone saw him...”
She might be accused of deceiving the Emperor.
Fuheng's heart leapt and without thinking, she blurted out: “Give it to me.”
Wei Yingluo was stunned by the words and the next moment, like a cow protecting her calf, she held the snowball tightly in her arms.
“... I don't want to dispose of it.” Fuheng seemed to know what she was thinking, he said with a bitter smile, “Yingluo, the Forbidden City is only a small place, sooner or later someone will find it and when they do, you will be a criminal cheating the Emperor... Why don't you let me send him out of the palace and find a good home to adopt him?”
To his delight, Wei Yingluo seemed to trust him, as soon as he said this, she relaxed her frown, stroked the snowball reluctantly, then handed it to Fuheng and said softly: “Thank you, Young Master.”
Fuheng took Snowball from her hand but his eyes fell on the red mark on her wrist.
“... I'll bring you some medicine later.” He said with some apology.
“It's not a serious injury, it's not even a scratch, it's just a little red, it'll cool off with a little blowing.” It seemed that the Snowball matter had been resolved, Wei Yingluo was in a very good mood, she made a rare joke with him, then she turned her wrist in front of him and blew on it, then with a twinkle in her eye, she winked at him wryly and said, “What is Young Master staring at me for? Do you want to blow on it for me?”
With these words, she stretched out her hand and brought her snowy wrist to Fuheng's face, just a kiss away from his lips.
Fuheng took a few steps back, his cheeks reddened visibly, he dropped his head and said: “I'm in a bit of a hurry, I'll go and deal with the snowball first...”
Wei Yingluo's laughter came from behind him, Fuheng left more quickly and a little chagrined and a little puzzled, how many times had he met her? How many times had he run away from her.
He could have killed ten of her with one hand...
But she was always the victor in the end.
“This is...” Hailancha looked at the fur, then at her, “Did you really kill it?”
“Of course.” Wei Yingluo smiled softly and said, “First beaten, then killed, skinned and given to you, the rest of the meat was to be sent to the Imperial Tea House but they said that before the Great Qing Dynasty entered the country, the Manchu Banners lived by hunting, in the company of hounds, from the time of the Great Father and a rule was laid down forbidding the eating of dog meat. Now, although the snowball was killed by decree, it could not be eaten either, it had to be buried.”
Hailancha was a grown man but he got a chill on his back when he heard this so he moved and said: “All right, all right, I'll keep the dog's skin, you go back to the Changchun Palace and serve the Empress.”
Wei Yingluo accepted the kindness, gave him a blessing goodbye and turned to go back to the Changchun Palace.
As soon as her back is gone, Hailancha turned around and throws the dogskin in his hand at the opposite pillar.
A hand reached out from behind the pillar and catches the fur.
“And you said she wouldn't dare to kill.” Hailancha clasped his arm and laughed at the other man, “See, she is much more ruthless than you or I.”
Fuheng frowned, looking down at the furs in his hands.
“If I were to find a woman in the future, I wouldn't dare to find such a ruthless one, or if I were to find a woman like this young one outside, when I came home, I'd be waiting for a chopper instead of a hot meal... Oops! Where are you going?” Hailancha shouted at Fuheng's back.
Fuheng turned a deaf ear, threw the fur back at Hailancha and went after Wei Yingluo in the direction he had left.
Whether he was fast, or Wei Yingluo was slow, or whether Wei Yingluo was waiting for him, in a few moments, he caught up with him.
Reaching out and tugging at his arm, Fuheng coldly questioned: “Why did you deceive Hailancha?”
Wei Yingluo turned around and looked at him in surprise: “Young Master, what are you talking about?”
“Wei Yingluo, stop pretending!” Fuheng subconsciously tightened his fingers and said, “The dog skin you sent me, there was a black spot on the tail but as I remember, Snowball was all snow white! Why did you give Hailancha a fake skin? Who told you to do it, were you trying to set Hailancha up?”
No wonder Fuheng thought so, the palace was full of deceit, sometimes a wrong word and a wrong dish and you were doomed to a life of misery and even ruin.
Hailancha was his best friend, he couldn't just watch him fall into a trap.
Time passed, he didn't wait for Wei Yingluo's explanation, she just looked up at him, her eyes misting up.
“Woof!”
A dog barked and broke the silence between them.
Fuheng looked at the sound and saw a swaying of the leaves and a snowy white dog's head emerged from behind the leaves and barked twice at them.
“Snowball?” Fuheng floundered.
The dog that should have been disposed of, how could it still be alive?
Snowball bursts out from behind the leaves, on short legs and runs barking all the way to Wei Yingluo's feet, with a long leash trailing around his neck.
“You child, why don't you just stay inside, why are you running around.” Wei Yingluo sighed and suddenly said to Fuheng, “... Can you let go of my hand?”
Fuheng let out a cry and loosened his fingers.
But five red fingerprints, like a branding iron on her white wrist, like the stamp of a selfish man, on the woman he loves.
With mixed eyes, he watched her playing with the snowball and feeding it from the scented pouch she carried, Fuheng suddenly asked: “You're raising it?”
“Yes.” Wei Yingluo replied in a low voice, “A dog doesn't know right from wrong, it only listens to its master, if he tells it to watch the house, it will watch the house, if he tells it to harm people, it will harm them.”
Fuheng stopped talking, just looked down at the woman and the dog, the suspicion faded from his eyes, like winter snow melting in the spring breeze.
“... Young Master, is there anything else?” Wei Yingluo suddenly looked up at him and said, “If there's nothing else, I'll take him back, before anyone saw him...”
She might be accused of deceiving the Emperor.
Fuheng's heart leapt and without thinking, she blurted out: “Give it to me.”
Wei Yingluo was stunned by the words and the next moment, like a cow protecting her calf, she held the snowball tightly in her arms.
“... I don't want to dispose of it.” Fuheng seemed to know what she was thinking, he said with a bitter smile, “Yingluo, the Forbidden City is only a small place, sooner or later someone will find it and when they do, you will be a criminal cheating the Emperor... Why don't you let me send him out of the palace and find a good home to adopt him?”
To his delight, Wei Yingluo seemed to trust him, as soon as he said this, she relaxed her frown, stroked the snowball reluctantly, then handed it to Fuheng and said softly: “Thank you, Young Master.”
Fuheng took Snowball from her hand but his eyes fell on the red mark on her wrist.
“... I'll bring you some medicine later.” He said with some apology.
“It's not a serious injury, it's not even a scratch, it's just a little red, it'll cool off with a little blowing.” It seemed that the Snowball matter had been resolved, Wei Yingluo was in a very good mood, she made a rare joke with him, then she turned her wrist in front of him and blew on it, then with a twinkle in her eye, she winked at him wryly and said, “What is Young Master staring at me for? Do you want to blow on it for me?”
With these words, she stretched out her hand and brought her snowy wrist to Fuheng's face, just a kiss away from his lips.
Fuheng took a few steps back, his cheeks reddened visibly, he dropped his head and said: “I'm in a bit of a hurry, I'll go and deal with the snowball first...”
Wei Yingluo's laughter came from behind him, Fuheng left more quickly and a little chagrined and a little puzzled, how many times had he met her? How many times had he run away from her.
He could have killed ten of her with one hand...
But she was always the victor in the end.
