Chapter 12 So-called Grow Up

Before Gu Yunxi could respond, Ming Lan swiftly went over and stood in front of her. "What a handsome looking guard!" Ming Lan scrutinized Gu Yunxi up and down for quite some time. His eyes were clear and bright like a pair of sharp knives that effortlessly penetrated her skins in a moment and directly stabbed into her bones. Gu Yunxi was terrified by Ming Lan's creepy eyes. She slightly stepped backward, trying to escape. But the further she retreated, the further he followed. He grabbed her by the hand without saying a word. Ming Lan's hand was extremely cold, yet his palm was slightly wet. The moment Gu Yunxi was touched by him, she felt like she was touched by a cold slippery serpent. She was frightened into a cold sweat. She wanted to escape him, but Ming Lan held her tightly. "You have such tender fingers. Each of them is like a slim green onion! What's your name?" Ming Lan stared at her, smiling charmingly. "My... I'm... Yun, Yun..." Gu Yunxi had her head down, stammering. The captain of Squad Ten just said Yunxi sounded like a girl's name. Yunxi didn't dare to answer. She was afraid of breaking the Eastern Depot's rule, getting Master into trouble. "Yun Guaner!" In the back, Leng Qingtang's voice saved Yunxi just in time. Leng Qingtang didn't even bother to raise his eyes. Taking a sip of the tea, he said in a somber voice, "Yun Guaner, Lord Ming is the chief eunuch in the Imperial Noble Concubine's palace. Come and salute him." Yun Guaner? That was a terrific name. It could be a girl's or a boy's. Master was really quick in thinking. "Greetings, Lord Ming..." Gu Yunxi saluted timidly, not daring to look up. Ming Lan was enchanting and charming yet dangerous and unfathomable. He made people feel uncomfortable in the first look. "Tell me, did you come from the Imperial Ceremony Office or the Imperial Guards?" Ming Lan held Gu Yunxi tightly. His fingers stroked through the back of her hands, approaching towards her face. "Bang!" Leng Qingtang smacked the teacup on the corner of the table. The jade saucer smacked onto the annatto table, making a sharp noise. "Lord Ming, have you seen enough." Leng Qingtang intentionally lengthened the last syllable of "enough", showing great pressure. Obviously, Leng Qingtang was warning Ming Lan that he was angry. Ming Lan looked awkward. His mouth and face twitched unnaturally. He reluctantly let go of Gu Yunxi. "You are really looking after the apprentice. Somebody gives a few looks at her, and you get jealous!" To give himself an out, Ming Lan squinted his watery eyes, covered his mouth with orchid fingers, and laughed. Leng Qingtang looked at Gu Yunxi, "Yun Guaner, go get a nice cup of tea for Lord Ming." "OK, Master." Gu Yunxi understood that Master was intentionally sending her away. She saluted again and left the hall with her eyes looking downwards. Ming Lan stared bluntly at Gu Yunxi, watching her leave. He didn't look back with flagging interest until Gu Yunxi disappeared at the corner. Ming Lan turned back and looked at Leng Qingtang. Their eyes met in the air. Leng Qingtang's handsome face looked calm without any sign of outrage. Yet his slanted eyes shot malicious and insidious look, which made Ming Lan completely frozen in a second. Ming Lan smiled embarrassedly. He was indeed impolite, holding on to Leng Qingtang's apprentice when he barely said a few words with him after he entered. He had a problem. He liked to take advantage of good-looking young eunuchs and maids. Every year there were new servants coming to the Palace who didn't know anything. They didn't dare to say anything but bear with it when a high-ranked manager took advantage of them. When he saw the good-looking Gu Yunxi, Ming Lan couldn't help himself. He didn't think he would poke the Master's bear. Even if Leng Qingtang was not the Master of Eastern Depot, he was the seal keeper of the Imperial Ceremony Office. His seniority and rank were way higher than Ming Lan. Ming Lan didn't dare to offend him. "Since I've seen Master Leng, I should go back and report to the Imperial Noble Concubine, Her Grace." "Please, Lord Ming. I'll pay Her Grace a visit to the Palace shortly after." Ming Lan saluted. He walked out of the hall with a faint smile and was escorted out of the Eastern Depot by the guards. As soon as Ming Lan left, Chiliarch Cheng Wanli approached Leng Qingtang and said, "Master, Ming Lan didn't come friendly! In these days that you weren't in the Eastern Depot, our spies got the information that the government was going to establish a Western Depot to specialize in the intelligence investigation. It is said that the Imperial Noble Concubine, Wan, is recommending the servants in her palace to the emperor for the position of Commander-in-chief." Leng Qingtang listened with ease, "I will get Wan Yuyao to talk this evening when I go visit her in Yongning Palace. Probably she couldn't hold on to the secret and wants to tell me! You go with me to the Palace later on. Leave Xiaoshen here. He can show Yunxi around and help her get familiar with the Eastern Depot." ----Dividing Line---- In the afternoon, Xiao Xiaoshen showed Gu Yunxi around in the Eastern Depot. The Eastern Depot was big, especially the Training Field for squads and Imperial Guards. The boundary was as far as the eye could reach. It had past the time for squads to train. Not many people were in the vast and empty ground, but only the guards who were standing guard in their designated posts. Once they saw Xiao Xiaoshen coming with someone, they immediately gathered around. "Lord Xiao, greetings!" "Do you have any orders for us, coming to the Training Field at this time?" Everybody bowed obsequiously when they saw Xiao Xiaoshen, kissing his ass. They were so obsequious that they would even kneel on the ground and lick his boots. Everybody in the Training Field knew that Xiao Xiaoshen was already a rank-fourth armed guard at such a young age. He came and went with a broadsword hanging on his waist. He was the Master's favorite. Comparing to the guards and the servants who were exposed to the wind and sun every day on the Training Field, he was way superior. Xiao Xiaoshen also put on the air at this moment. He held his chest out and had his hands behind his back. Raising his eyebrows, he looked at the guards surrounding them and said in arrogance, "I came here to introduce a person to you all. This young lord is our Master's apprentice...." In between words, he pointed at Gu Yunxi with his thumb and said, "When you see Lord Yun in the future, be sure to be polite. If you ever slight him, I'll break your legs!" "Xiaoshen!" Gu Yunxi was embarrassed by Xiao Xiaoshen's words. Looking at all those bright, even pious and adoring eyes staring at her, Gu Yunxi was at a loss. "My Lord, I am Feng Bao from Squad Two. It's my great honor to meet you today!" "I'm Qian Yi from Squad Four..." "I'm Gao Sheng from Squad Nine!" They fought over the chance to introduce themselves to Gu Yunxi. The circle closed in. Suddenly, a rough hand reached out from the crowd, trying to grab Gu Yunxi. Xiao Xiaoshen noticed immediately. He directly slapped the dirty hand away. "What are you trying to do? Huh? No touching! And be quiet." The crowd fell silent immediately. The guards didn't dare to say anything. It showed how much prestige Xiao Xiaoshen had among the squads. "You! You! What did you want to do?" Xiao Xiaoshen pointed at a skinny guard and yelled rudely. "My Lord, I didn't mean any harm..." the guard blushed and explained awkwardly. "I only wanted to shake hands with Lord Yun to show him our welcome." "How dare you! You think you can touch Lord Yun's hand?" Xiao Xiaoshen glowered at him. The skinny man was scared and looked down, didn't dare to look at Xiao Xiaoshen again. "Xiaoshen! Xiaoshen!" Watching him going more and more outrageous, Gu Yunxi pulled Xiao Xiaoshen's arm and waved her hands at him. She then held her fist in another hand and saluted to the crowd, "Dudes and pals, my name is Yun Guaner. I am a new comer and don't know much about the rules here. I came here today, only wanted to meet everybody. If I do anything wrong in the future, I hope you all could tolerate it. I would appreciate your guidance!" "Hear, hear!" Xiao Xiaoshen stopped Gu Yunxi, "My dear lord! What are you doing? You don't have to salute to them!" Gu Yunxi was confused by him. Xiao Xiaoshen just waved at the crowd, "OK, OK. Don't gather around. Go back to your post." "My Lords, if you need anything in the future, just say it." "OK, OK. Go back to do your things!" Dismissing the guards, Xiao Xiaoshen looked back at Gu Yunxi and winked, looking gloated. Gu Yunxi tilted her head, couldn't help but laugh, "Look at you! So perky!" "Of course! We're the closest to Master, so we are way higher than the normal guards! You should learn to put on the air in front of them, so you can better use them in the future. You understand?" "Smartass!" Gu Yunxi curled her lips at him. Xiao Xiaoshen looked at the sun and said to Gu Yunxi, "OK, that's it for today! The Eastern Depot is huge. You can't tour the whole place in one day. You are getting tired from all the walking. Let's go back!" "Sure," Gu Yunxi nodded," I assume the Master should be back too." Xiao Xiaoshen shook his head, "When Concubine Wan called Master to the Palace, it could take some time." On the way back, Gu Yunxi suddenly stopped and looked worried, "In the morning, when Lord Ming came, I was watching on the side. He looked weird, and Master didn't seem to like him. He also looked at me as if looking at a monster. Did he realize I'm a girl?" Xiao Xiaoshen thought for a while and reassured her, "He didn't! Don't worry! Even if there's any trouble, you have Master protecting you. Why are you still afraid?" "It's because of that. I don't want to get him into any trouble." Xiao Xiaoshen didn't speak for a while. He looked straight at Gu Yunxi. His young and handsome face showed a hint of unusual look as if a momentary sorrow. "What...What's going on with you?" Gu Yunxi was startled by his unpredictable change. "Sister Yunxi, you and I have known each other for a couple of years. I...I...you..." His face suddenly went red as if covered by a beam of sunset. He didn't say anything more, but stared at Gu Yinxi's confused face and frowned helplessly, "I noticed it in the Garden. Master is dedicated to protecting you, and only he has the power to protect you. You need someone to adore you and protect you whole-heartedly. I should be happy for you...." "He is my master. He would definitely adore me and protect me. Xiaoshen, what are you trying to say?" "Nothing... Just being happy for you...." Xiaoshen smiled bitterly. His bright eyes stared at the girl in front of him again. A hint of sorrow emerged on his face. He put his hands on her shoulders and whispered, "Silly Yunxi, when will you grow up?" Gu Yunxi was lost. She shook her body and got his arms off of her. She stretched her neck and said defiantly, "I am 16 after the new year! Stop treating me like a child!" Xiao Xiaoshen gazed at her and shook his head, "No, you are still a little girl." "Then you tell me, what counts as growing up?" He grabbed her hands and put them together. He then put them on her chest and said quietly, "When someone could live in here, which means you have really grown up. No matter where you are and what you are doing, you can't help but think of him. And when you think of him, your heart would turn into a startled deer and start jumping around..." "...." Gu Yunxi's eyelashes shook. She looked even more confused. She covered her chest with her fists and thought, "How does that feel? How do you put a living being in such a narrow place? My heart turns into a dear? Xiaoshen! Xiaoshen!" Gu Yunxi looked all over the place and found him already gone. "Xiaoshen! Why are you leaving me here? Wait."