The Counterfeit Madam Hou Chapter 15

Chapter 15
CMH 15 – Banquet (Last)

*Unedited

That indignant cry astounds everyone in the hall . Liu Qinghuan glances over at the Masked Man, only to see that not only is he not panicking, he even looks like everything is going according to his plan . On the contrary, it is Tang Zhibo who have a flash of surprise flitted across his eyes .

Liu Qinghuan blinks . As she thought, these guys are not from the ‘Beseeching Fire Cult’ . They even knocked the Qiuci Band out instead of killing them just to make them think that they are from the cult . But Tang Zhibo’s reaction sure is interesting . It now looks like he have something to do with the cult .

Before everyone manage to react, the Masked Man have already said a word .

” Withdraw . ”

His voice is soft, and just as prideful as the time he held Liu Qinghuan hostage . As the last note of the word drop, the formerly sitting ‘Qiuci Band’ springs up, throw their instruments aside as they scatter like rats, even flipping a few tables plus a few guests along the way .

The calm and collected hall is now in a frenzy, people screaming, plates crashing as people start pushing each other in a hurry, making the entire hall uncontrollable .

Liu Qinghuan takes this time to look at the real Qiuci Band, and can see no sign of Peng Peng among them . She sigh deeply to herself . She is in trouble this time . She bet Peng Peng is on his way to look for Xue Mu .

Seeing how chaos the entire place is, the Masked Man signal with his hands for everyone to get out, only to hear a blood-chilling shout .

” AHHHHHH————————! MY PAINTING IS MISSING!!! ”

The Masked Man froze and subconsciously turn to the direction Zhou Jingjing is standing at . The master seat, which previously lay the swapped《White Orchard》printing, is now bare . The already chaotic hall, with the addition of Merchant Zhou’s cry, has officially descent into madness . The Masked Man frowns, he is too busy messing things up that he have not even notice when the painting is gone . His long and narrow eyes narrows even further . Who, besides him and Tang Zhibo, is aiming for the painting in this banquet?

Must be Xue Mu .

Drawing to a conclusion, he hears a female cries out . Turning around, he sees that it is

‘Anaye’ who have knock over a maid in the madness, and have even stepped on her .

Liu Qinghuan herself is surprise as well, as she hurriedly helps the maid up . Patting the dust from her body, she asks .

” Ah, I’m really sorry . Did I hurt you? ”

The Masked Man, who is watching from the side, twitches his brows as he walks over and pulls ‘Anaye’ wrist, coldly speaking .

” You come with us . ”

Liu Qinghuan is still waiting for the maid’s answer when she is stunned by the Masked Man’s words .

” Why? ”

Actually, she mean to ask ” Why should I? “, but looking at his sharp eagle eyes, she could only phrase it better .

Without answering her, the Masked Man simply pulls her outside .

” Wait a minute, my role is done, why should I leave with you? ”

This doesn’t make sense! Liu Qinghuan is still rattling away as the Masked Man simply ignores her and rushes forward, knocking everyone coming his way down, not even sparing a glance .

Soon, they are out of the hall . Cao Jingren, who has been knocked onto the floor, stares at the leaving tall silhouette, a crafty smile appearing on his face, looking odd against that scholarly aura of his .

After being pulled out of the hall, they walk for a bit before entering into an alley . There, several people are waiting, all riding on top of big and strong horses . Seeing the Masked Man walking in, they all turn towards him .

Liu Qinghuan is then roughly thrown on top of a horse as the Masked Man flips onto it . The man riding beside gives him a strange look .

” Aersi, why did you bring her along for? ”

Although Liu Qinghuan is currently laying uncomfortably across the horse’s back, she could still see how the Masked Man freeze for a second . He stares at the person speaking, finally giving a kick to his horse .

” Can you not announce my name to everyone! ”

The horse the man is riding on, neighs and gallop off, as the man screams his head off . Feeling a glance, Liu Qinghuan said honestly .

” I swear to G.o.d Mani, that I didn’t heard anything about your name being called Aersi . ”

She don’t believe in Mani anyway .

Aersi ” …… . ”

He flips down his upturned collar and remove the annoying Mongolian hat from his head .

”

” I think I need to reintroduce myself . I am Aersi, a spy from Tungani . ”

He squeezes his legs against the horse’s body as it gallops off . Although it is only a glance, Aersi’s face still give Liu Qinghuan quite the impression . He have the standard features of a Monglian, hard lines, looking real tough . Turning around again, she sees that he have his eagle mask back on .

” You better stay put . ”

He warns her when he saw her turning around . Liu Qinghuan twitches her lips, and turns her head back .

Before long, they have already gallop into the forest . Just then, someone rides up to them .

” Someone have been chasing us for sometime now . ”

Aersi thinks about it before giving him a command .

” Go see who that is . ”
” Okay . ”

That man pulls onto his reins and turns around, galloping in their opposite direction . Not soon after, the man who have been send to check on the situation, comes galloping up in a panic .

” It’s Xue Mu! The person leading is Xue Mu! ”

Aersi’s brows immediately scrunch up, as the surrounding men begin to talk with unease among themselves . Aersi smirk and look at them .

” Just his name alone is able to scare the c.r.a.p out of you guys? ”

They shut their mouth, not saying another word but all of their horses begin galloping faster . Aersi ignore them as he pursed his lips, seemingly puzzled .

” Why is Xue Mu so dead on chasing us? ”

Hearing that, Liu Qinghuan turns around .

” I think I would need to reintroduce myself . I am not actually Anaye, but the newly wedded wife of Xue Mu . ”

Aersi ” …… . ”

Someone riding up front heard her words and turn his head back angrily .

” That’s why I ask why did you bring her along! Great, now you’ve s.n.a.t.c.hed someone’s wife so why should they not chase you?! ”

Aersi ” …… . ”

His long narrow eyes stares at her for a while before he grabs the back of her collar and throws her out all of a sudden . Xue Mu, who is close to chasing up to them, sees Liu Qinghuan who have been thrown out, narrows his eyes as he jumps up from his horse’s back and catches her in the air .

When Liu Qinghuan lands

Qinghuan lands on the ground, yellow petals from G.o.d-knows-what flowers are fluttering in the air . The sun is sinking, it’s position is just nicely right above the trees’ head, dying the entire sky in an unbelievable orange, making it seems like time is slowing down .

Then, Xue Mu’s face appears, his brows tightly knitted together, his voice coloured with a tinge of panic .

” Qing Qing, are you okay? ”

After being a daze, Liu Qinghuan climbs out of the hard, yet very warm chest that she have been lying against .

” I am fine . How about the Marquise, are you injured anywhere? ”

Xue Mu shakes his head, putting his hand around her waist to help her up . Aersi’s group have already gone, leaving only dust behind . Xue Mu removes the veil from Liu Qinghuan’s face, and says mildly .

” Let’s head back to the mansion for now . ”
” Un . ”

Liu Qinghuan nods, and spots Peng Peng when she lifts her head up . Peng Peng looks at her, his face a mask of sorrow, that light blue pair of eyes seems to speak volume . Liu Qinghuan suddenly feels like they have connected ———— a resonance with each other about the trouble they would be facing from now onwards .

As if not noticing their interaction, Xue Mu flips onto his horse and slightly bends, stretching a hand towards Liu Qinghuan .

” Qing Qing, come up . ”

That reached out hand possess five long and slender fingers, dye slightly orange by the sunlight . She grips onto his hand and is pull up onto the horse easily . Xue Mu circles his arms around her waist and pulls on the reins . Off they go, like the wind . Liu Qinghuan, jolting painfully around, sorrowfully thinks that her Whitey is indeed still the best .

After an incense (of time), at the pavilion by the Lotus Pond .

Liu Qinghuan and Peng Peng stands side by side, preparing to take whatever interrogation the Big General have in store for them . Xue Mu sits there, silently brewing a pot of tea, and pour them out evenly into five porcelain tea cups .

” Is the banquet at Zhou Jingjing’s mansion fun? ”

Holding up one of the cups, Xue Mu lightly blow across it, dispersing the foam on top .

Liu Qinghuan and Peng Peng look at each other, and bravely say .

” The pomegranate is very sweet . ”

Peng . ”

Peng Peng ” …… . ”

Still holding onto his cup of tea, Xue Mu glances at her . She ‘Ha ha’ laughs and decides to leave the answering to Peng Peng .

” Why the costume? ”

Xue Mu did not particular point out anyone but it is obviously for Liu Qinghuan . She pouts, feeling like there is no escape . Thus she say, full of grievance .

” It’s all Peng Peng’s fault! He’s afraid the dancer he likes will get Zhou Jingjing’s fancy so he ask me to pretend to be her! ”

Peng Peng ” …… . ”

He stares unbelievably at Liu Qinghuan . Usually he is the one who push the blame onto others, to think that there would be a day where he is on the receiving end .

But no matter, Liu Qinghuan is the Madam of the house so there is no way she will be drag out and get beaten with 10 stokes of the cane, will she? This will land squarely on his shoulders no matter what so he could only nod, and said sorrowfully .

” It’s all my fault . I’m deeply regretting it . ”

Xue Mu lightly laughs .

” Regret? Did you not consider killing yourself then? ”

Peng Peng ” … . . ”

I am wrong, Marquise! Please don’t scare me!

Xue Mu wipe the smile off his face as he give his orders to Nian Tang standing behind him .

” Escort Qing Qing back to her room . She is not to leave her room without my permission . ”
” Yes Sir . ”

Nian Tang walks forward, preparing to escort Liu Qinghuan back to her room . Liu Qinghuan gives a sigh of relief . Luckily she is only grounded . Giving a sympathetic glance to Peng Peng, she follows obediently behind Nian Tang . Peng Peng glances at Xue Mu timidly, asking worriedly .

” Marquise, am I grounded as well? ”
” Not for you . ”

That’s great! Just when Peng Peng is still celebrating, he feels a sharp pain on his stomach, follows by a ‘SPLASH’ as he is cruelly kick into the pond .

Xue Mu stands by the bridge, the usual slight smile on his face .

” Tell me how many lotus of each color there are in this pond . You’re not allowed to leave before then . ”

Peng Peng ” …… . ”

This pond is… . full of lotus though!!!

CMH 15 Banquet Last Unedited That indignant cry astounds everyone in the hall . Liu Qinghuan glances over at the Masked Man, only to see that not only is he not panicking, he even looks like everything is going according to his plan . On the contrary, it is Tang Zhibo who have a flash of surprise flitted across his eyes . Liu Qinghuan blinks . As she thought, these guys are not from the Beseeching Fire Cult . They even knocked the Qiuci Band out instead of killing them just to make them think that they are from the cult . But Tang Zhibo s reaction sure is interesting . It now looks like he have something to do with the cult . Before everyone manage to react, the Masked Man have already said a word . Withdraw . His voice is soft, and just as prideful as the time he held Liu Qinghuan hostage . As the last note of the word drop, the formerly sitting Qiuci Band springs up, throw their instruments aside as they scatter like rats, even flipping a few tables plus a few guests along the way . The calm and collected hall is now in a frenzy, people screaming, plates crashing as people start pushing each other in a hurry, making the entire hall uncontrollable . Liu Qinghuan takes this time to look at the real Qiuci Band, and can see no sign of Peng Peng among them . She sigh deeply to herself . She is in trouble this time . She bet Peng Peng is on his way to look for Xue Mu . Seeing how chaos the entire place is, the Masked Man signal with his hands for everyone to get out, only to hear a blood chilling shout . AHHHHHH MY PAINTING IS MISSING The Masked Man froze and subconsciously turn to the direction Zhou Jingjing is standing at . The master seat, which previously lay the swapped White Orchard printing, is now bare . The already chaotic hall, with the addition of Merchant Zhou s cry, has officially descent into madness . The Masked Man frowns, he is too busy messing things up that he have not even notice when the painting is gone . His long and narrow eyes narrows even further . Who, besides him and Tang Zhibo, is aiming for the painting in this banquet Must be Xue Mu . Drawing to a conclusion, he hears a female cries out . Turning around, he sees that it is Anaye who have knock over a maid in the madness, and have even stepped on her . Liu Qinghuan herself is surprise as well, as she hurriedly helps the maid up . Patting the dust from her body, she asks . Ah, I m really sorry . Did I hurt you The Masked Man, who is watching from the side, twitches his brows as he walks over and pulls Anaye wrist, coldly speaking . You come with us . Liu Qinghuan is still waiting for the maid s answer when she is stunned by the Masked Man s words . Why Actually, she mean to ask Why should I , but looking at his sharp eagle eyes, she could only phrase it better . Without answering her, the Masked Man simply pulls her outside . Wait a minute, my role is done, why should I leave with you This doesn t make sense Liu Qinghuan is still rattling away as the Masked Man simply ignores her and rushes forward, knocking everyone coming his way down, not even sparing a glance . Soon, they are out of the hall . Cao Jingren, who has been knocked onto the floor, stares at the leaving tall silhouette, a crafty smile appearing on his face, looking odd against that scholarly aura of his . After being pulled out of the hall, they walk for a bit before entering into an alley . There, several people are waiting, all riding on top of big and strong horses . Seeing the Masked Man walking in, they all turn towards him . Liu Qinghuan is then roughly thrown on top of a horse as the Masked Man flips onto it . The man riding beside gives him a strange look . Aersi, why did you bring her along for Although Liu Qinghuan is currently laying uncomfortably across the horse s back, she could still see how the Masked Man freeze for a second . He stares at the person speaking, finally giving a kick to his horse . Can you not announce my name to everyone The horse the man is riding on, neighs and gallop off, as the man screams his head off . Feeling a glance, Liu Qinghuan said honestly . I swear to G.o.d Mani, that I didn t heard anything about your name being called Aersi . She don t believe in Mani anyway . Aersi . He flips down his upturned collar and remove the annoying Mongolian hat from his head . I think I need to reintroduce myself . I am Aersi, a spy from Tungani . He squeezes his legs against the horse s body as it gallops off . Although it is only a glance, Aersi s face still give Liu Qinghuan quite the impression . He have the standard features of a Monglian, hard lines, looking real tough . Turning around again, she sees that he have his eagle mask back on . You better stay put . He warns her when he saw her turning around . Liu Qinghuan twitches her lips, and turns her head back . Before long, they have already gallop into the forest . Just then, someone rides up to them . Someone have been chasing us for sometime now . Aersi thinks about it before giving him a command . Go see who that is . Okay . That man pulls onto his reins and turns around, galloping in their opposite direction . Not soon after, the man who have been send to check on the situation, comes galloping up in a panic . It s Xue Mu The person leading is Xue Mu Aersi s brows immediately scrunch up, as the surrounding men begin to talk with unease among themselves . Aersi smirk and look at them . Just his name alone is able to scare the c.r.a.p out of you guys They shut their mouth, not saying another word but all of their horses begin galloping faster . Aersi ignore them as he pursed his lips, seemingly puzzled . Why is Xue Mu so dead on chasing us Hearing that, Liu Qinghuan turns around . I think I would need to reintroduce myself . I am not actually Anaye, but the newly wedded wife of Xue Mu . Aersi . Someone riding up front heard her words and turn his head back angrily . That s why I ask why did you bring her along Great, now you ve s.n.a.t.c.hed someone s wife so why should they not chase you Aersi . His long narrow eyes stares at her for a while before he grabs the back of her collar and throws her out all of a sudden . Xue Mu, who is close to chasing up to them, sees Liu Qinghuan who have been thrown out, narrows his eyes as he jumps up from his horse s back and catches her in the air . When Liu Qinghuan lands on the ground, yellow petals from G.o.d knows what flowers are fluttering in the air . The sun is sinking, it s position is just nicely right above the trees head, dying the entire sky in an unbelievable orange, making it seems like time is slowing down . Then, Xue Mu s face appears, his brows tightly knitted together, his voice coloured with a tinge of panic . Qing Qing, are you okay After being a daze, Liu Qinghuan climbs out of the hard, yet very warm chest that she have been lying against . I am fine . How about the Marquise, are you injured anywhere Xue Mu shakes his head, putting his hand around her waist to help her up . Aersi s group have already gone, leaving only dust behind . Xue Mu removes the veil from Liu Qinghuan s face, and says mildly . Let s head back to the mansion for now . Un . Liu Qinghuan nods, and spots Peng Peng when she lifts her head up . Peng Peng looks at her, his face a mask of sorrow, that light blue pair of eyes seems to speak volume . Liu Qinghuan suddenly feels like they have connected a resonance with each other about the trouble they would be facing from now onwards . As if not noticing their interaction, Xue Mu flips onto his horse and slightly bends, stretching a hand towards Liu Qinghuan . Qing Qing, come up . That reached out hand possess five long and slender fingers, dye slightly orange by the sunlight . She grips onto his hand and is pull up onto the horse easily . Xue Mu circles his arms around her waist and pulls on the reins . Off they go, like the wind . Liu Qinghuan, jolting painfully around, sorrowfully thinks that her Whitey is indeed still the best . After an incense of time , at the pavilion by the Lotus Pond . Liu Qinghuan and Peng Peng stands side by side, preparing to take whatever interrogation the Big General have in store for them . Xue Mu sits there, silently brewing a pot of tea, and pour them out evenly into five porcelain tea cups . Is the banquet at Zhou Jingjing s mansion fun Holding up one of the cups, Xue Mu lightly blow across it, dispersing the foam on top . Liu Qinghuan and Peng Peng look at each other, and bravely say . The pomegranate is very sweet . Peng Peng . Still holding onto his cup of tea, Xue Mu glances at her . She Ha ha laughs and decides to leave the answering to Peng Peng . Why the costume Xue Mu did not particular point out anyone but it is obviously for Liu Qinghuan . She pouts, feeling like there is no escape . Thus she say, full of grievance . It s all Peng Peng s fault He s afraid the dancer he likes will get Zhou Jingjing s fancy so he ask me to pretend to be her Peng Peng . He stares unbelievably at Liu Qinghuan . Usually he is the one who push the blame onto others, to think that there would be a day where he is on the receiving end . But no matter, Liu Qinghuan is the Madam of the house so there is no way she will be drag out and get beaten with 10 stokes of the cane, will she This will land squarely on his shoulders no matter what so he could only nod, and said sorrowfully . It s all my fault . I m deeply regretting it . Xue Mu lightly laughs . Regret Did you not consider killing yourself then Peng Peng . . I am wrong, Marquise Please don t scare me Xue Mu wipe the smile off his face as he give his orders to Nian Tang standing behind him . Escort Qing Qing back to her room . She is not to leave her room without my permission . Yes Sir . Nian Tang walks forward, preparing to escort Liu Qinghuan back to her room . Liu Qinghuan gives a sigh of relief . Luckily she is only grounded . Giving a sympathetic glance to Peng Peng, she follows obediently behind Nian Tang . Peng Peng glances at Xue Mu timidly, asking worriedly . Marquise, am I grounded as well Not for you . That s great Just when Peng Peng is still celebrating, he feels a sharp pain on his stomach, follows by a SPLASH as he is cruelly kick into the pond . Xue Mu stands by the bridge, the usual slight smile on his face . Tell me how many lotus of each color there are in this pond . You re not allowed to leave before then . Peng Peng . This pond is . full of lotus though