Wen Moyu quietly infiltrated Yangguan, heading straight for Jiangzhou. She had received news that Wen Mohan had contracted the plague and had little time left. As his good sister, she naturally had to see him off on his final journey.
"She's quite bold, daring to infiltrate Yangguan at this time."
"Master, after Wen Moyu infiltrated Yangguan, she didn't stay but went further inland."
Xiao Man was somewhat confused. Since Wen Moyu had defected to Yunqi, heading inland at this moment and being discovered would be a death sentence. What exactly was she trying to do?
"Keep a close watch and see what she intends to do. It would be best if you could find the person behind her."
"Yes, Master."
Du Gu Mingyu lingered outside Xiao Man's courtyard for a long time, unsure whether to go in. He had so many questions for Xiao Man, but he didn't know where to begin.
Du Gu Mingyu paced back and forth, irritably hitting his head. "How should I ask? Eldest Miss, are you my sister?"
"Pah!" Du Gu Mingyu couldn't help but spit. "Are you blind? She's eight years younger than you, how can she be your sister? Even if you want to take advantage, it's not like this!"
"Eldest Miss, what exactly is your relationship with my sister?" Du Gu Mingyu felt that this question might be more appropriate, but Murong Shengrui's urgent pounce towards her... Du Gu Mingyu always found that scene extremely familiar.
"No, shouldn't I be asking, Eldest Miss, do you know Murong Shengrui? Otherwise, why would you stab him?"
"Is your brain broken? Murong Shengrui is leading people to hunt down his own brother, and she doesn't stab him with a knife, would she thank him instead?"
Du Gu Mingyu became vexed. It was clearly a simple matter, yet he didn't know whether he should ask or not.
When Xiao Man came out, she saw Du Gu Mingyu muttering to himself outside the courtyard and looked at the guard at the door. "When did he arrive?"
"He's been here for a while," the guard glanced at Du Gu Mingyu. "He's been lingering outside the courtyard, not coming in, and talking to himself."
Xiao Man leaned against the courtyard gate, watching Du Gu Mingyu talk to himself as if he had a split personality. After listening for a while, she burst into laughter.
"Eld... Eldest Miss." Du Gu Mingyu, seeing Xiao Man leaning against the courtyard gate and looking at him with a smile, sheepishly scratched his head. "How long have you been here?"
"For a while," Xiao Man said with a smile. "What do you want to ask?"
"What is your relationship with my third sister?"
"Her and I... we learned from the same teacher."
"You and my sister are fellow disciples!" Du Gu Mingyu was quite surprised. "It's truly surprising that you and my sister learned from the same teacher..."
The smile on Du Gu Mingyu's face froze instantly because he remembered that Xiao Man's master was the Imperial Preceptor of Yusheng, Feng Tianlan. "Eldest Miss is lying to me again."
"I am not lying to you."
"My sister's master is called Feng Moran, and your master is called Feng Tianlan."
"Feng Moran is Feng Tianlan," Xiao Man said slowly. "He is both your sister's master and my master."
"The Imperial Preceptor of Yusheng is my sister's master?" Du Gu Mingyu was extremely shocked. He felt it was utterly unbelievable.
"Come in," Xiao Man invited him into the house and asked Du Gu Mingyu to sit. She then cleaned the tea set and began to brew tea. Du Gu Mingyu's gaze was fixed on Xiao Man, silently reciting the steps: preparing the utensils, adding tea, waiting for the water, brewing the tea, warming the cups, discarding the first brew which had foam, and then pouring the tea from the second brew in a circular motion, evenly distributing the tea into the cups. This was his sister's habit of brewing tea!
"How did Eldest Miss know that my sister learned from the Imperial Preceptor?"
"Haven't you noticed that our techniques are very similar?" Xiao Man placed the brewed tea in front of Du Gu Mingyu. Du Gu Mingyu picked it up, took a small sip, and savored it. It was fragrant and sweet, a familiar taste.
"The tea brewed by Eldest Miss tastes the same as the tea brewed by my sister, with a lingering fragrance and sweetness," Du Gu Mingyu said softly. "Who did Eldest Miss learn tea art from?"
"My mother."
"What a coincidence, my sister also learned her tea art from my mother. My mother brews an excellent cup of tea, which is highly praised by my father." Du Gu Mingyu put down the teacup. "My sister has a head maid named Jinxiu, who is most skilled at making all kinds of tea snacks. It's a pity I can never eat her tea snacks again."
Xiao Man just listened quietly to Du Gu Mingyu's rambling, not responding. She understood that Du Gu Mingyu didn't need her to answer; he just wanted to vent his pent-up frustrations.
"A Luo isn't very smart. She doesn't fight back when others bully her. Later, she met my sister, and my sister took her home. She couldn't control her strength and always broke things, but my sister never got angry at her. To prevent her from being exploited, they also agreed that A Luo would only listen to her and no one else." Su Dan Novel Network.
"A Luo is a good girl."
"Yes, A Luo is a good girl. When I was being chased, she protected me as I fled. If it weren't for her, I would have already died under Qiu Ziqiu's sword."
"It's all in the past. Things will get better and better from now on."
"Is it all in the past?" Du Gu Mingyu disagreed. How could it be in the past? His family was still wailing in the netherworld, and the murderer was still at large. How could it be in the past?
"I heard Eldest Miss likes to play chess. Can I play a game with Eldest Miss?"
"Alright." Xiao Man set up the chessboard, and they sat opposite each other. They played for the first move, and Xiao Man went first. They exchanged moves, fighting each other on the chessboard. Du Gu Mingyu played with frantic hands.
"Sister, give me three pieces."
"Alright." Xiao Man said subconsciously. After speaking, she looked up and saw Du Gu Mingyu gazing at her intently, tears rolling down his cheeks without warning.
Xiao Man sighed and reached out to wipe the tears from his face. "My Mingyu has also learned to play mind games."
"Sister, is it really you?" Du Gu Mingyu couldn't believe it. But a person's living habits couldn't be exactly the same as another person's, unless these two people were the same person!
"Don't you already suspect it?" Xiao Man was a little helpless. She hadn't intended to hide it from Du Gu Mingyu, but this kind of thing was simply too unbelievable, and she herself didn't know how to start.
Du Gu Mingyu wept uncontrollably. No wonder she would save him at all costs, no wonder she always looked at him with loving eyes, no wonder she knew his preferences. It turned out to be his sister! He thought he would never see her again in this lifetime, but unexpectedly, his sister had been by his side all along, just with a changed appearance and identity, and he had been so dull as to not recognize her.
Xiao Man stood up and pressed Du Gu Mingyu's head into her arms. Du Gu Mingyu hugged Xiao Man's waist, crying like a child. Xiao Man patted his head, comforting him.
When Xiao Luo arrived, she saw the two of them hugging. Du Gu Mingyu even buried his head in Xiao Man's chest. Instantly, her blood rushed to her head. She charged forward and roughly separated them. "In broad daylight, under the bright sky, men and women should not touch each other. Get away from my sister!"