Chapter 21: Punishment

The falcon startled and flew across a cold shadowy pond.

"Wei Qi..." Yu Lingxi heard her own voice trembling slightly, and an ominous premonition reached its peak at this moment. 

Ning Yin looked at her with a calm expression, as if the splashing in the lake behind him was just an unlucky fish. The water splashes diminished, leaving only a string of bubbles and a few ripples.

A piece of clothing floated to the surface, and Yu Lingxi's breath caught: Xue Cen wouldn't drown!

Without time to question Ning Yin about what was happening, she kicked off her shoes and quickly jumped into the lake.

Splash! Water splashed in all directions.

Ning Yin turned to look at the girl desperately swimming towards Xue Cen in the lake. His calm eyes showed ripples, a sense of brokenness. In his eyes, Xue Cen was undoubtedly a troublesome guy, taking advantage of the situation but pretending to be just, inherently selfish and hypocritical like the people of the Xue family. As long as he died, the crises of the Xue family and the Eastern Palace could be solved logically. It was an incredibly profitable deal. He couldn't understand why Yu Lingxi had to jump in too...

Xue Cen had lost consciousness, and his clothes were entangled in the water. The delicate girl quickly exhausted her strength, being dragged down by Xue Cen's heavy body.

The carriage from the Yu Mansion stopped outside the wall, guards stood with swords drawn, unaware of the situation inside the Oulian pond.

Yu Lingxi grabbed Xue Cen's clothes through his wrist and desperately pulled him upwards. But the young man's body was too heavy, floating up and down several times. She regretted leaving the guards far outside the wall for a private conversation with Xue Cen.

Wanting to call out, she was met with a mouthful of cold water.

Using all her strength, Yu Lingxi pushed Xue Cen towards the rocky shore. At the moment when she submerged in the water, through the rippling haze, she saw Ning Yin's eyes distorted by the waves, dark and cold.

It's over.

After finally getting a second chance at life, the last face she saw before death was still that hateful face of Ning Yin...

No, she couldn't die here.

She desperately moved her limbs, and in the haze of consciousness, she heard a splash of water by her ear. The cold moonlight on the water surface shattered into silver spots as a familiar figure of a young man broke through the water, bringing a string of bubbles, swimming agilely towards her. Yu Lingxi's floating arm was unconsciously gripped tightly, and without seeing how he did it, she felt a strong force pulling her away.

A robust arm supported Yu Lingxi's waist, allowing her head to smoothly surface.

"Miss."

She heard Ning Yin's slightly hurried breath in her ears, pinching her chin to call her desperately.

The next moment, air rushed into her nostrils, making her cough violently.

"Someone... someone come!"

She finally remembered the guards waiting in the distance, shouting hoarsely, "Qingxiao!"

Next to the carriage, Qingxiao was the first to sense something wrong. He strode through the moon gate of the courtyard and was instantly shocked at the sight.

"Help, quickly save Miss!"

Qingxiao threw away his sword, jumped into the pool, and supported Yu Lingxi. The other two guards also arrived in time, pulling Xue Cen, who was unconscious, ashore. The poolside was chaotic.

Yu Lingxi was surrounded and pulled ashore by the guards, who patted her back to help her breathe. However, she looked towards the soaked and motionless Xue Cen lying beside her, her voice hoarse and brief, "Don't mind me, go... go save Second Master Xue!"

So, pressing on Xue Cen's chest, calling for a doctor, another scene of chaos ensued.

No one noticed Ning Yin still soaking in the water.

The ripples shattered in his eyes, and Ning Yin, expressionless, pondered for a moment. In the current situation, killing everyone present seemed to be the safest option. However, the blade between his fingers spun a few times before being finally sheathed back into his sleeve. He walked ashore, covered in the dripping lake water, wearing an expressionless face.

In late spring, the taste of soaking in cold water was unpleasant, and with the wind blowing, it became even colder.

Yu Lingxi shivered incessantly, half from the cold and half from fear.

In her past life, she couldn't save Xue Cen; she couldn't let him be implicated in this life. Just as she was thinking, a warm feeling on her shoulders, a large and dry dark blue cloak covered her.

She turned in surprise and saw Ning Yin's young, cold, white face.

His hair dripped with water, his lips were pale, and his eyes were dark and inscrutable. He said, "Miss, don't catch a cold."

Yu Lingxi sat on the ground, exhausted, as if she saw a shadow of her past life on this young and handsome face. She suddenly tightened her lips, and after a brief moment of shock, an endless anger surged. With force, she pulled off the large cloak that Ning Yin had put on her and threw it on the ground.

She didn't want to wear his clothes, didn't want to talk to him.

At this moment, Xue Cen, who had been unconscious on the side, suddenly coughed up water. A guard exclaimed, "Miss, Second Master Xue is awake!"

Yu Lingxi breathed a sigh of relief, ignoring Ning Yin, quickly got up and rushed to Xue Cen's side. In her wet, red eyes, there was a sense of guilt. "Brother Cen, are you okay?"

Ning Yin lowered his eyes, looking at his empty hands, casting a deep shadow.

Xue Cen, who had just returned from the brink of death, was still weak and unable to speak. He weakly raised his tightly clenched right hand, as if he wanted to say something.

Opening his palm, inside was a small torn piece of black fabric.

It was torn from the masked assassin who attacked him before falling into the lake.

"This fabric..."

Qingxiao, with broad knowledge and experience, picked up the piece of fabric and felt it. Frowning, he said, "The fabric is high-quality and durable, not the style of common people."

This confirmed Yu Lingxi's speculation; Xue Cen's fall into the lake was by no means accidental. Soon, Xue Cen was sent back to the Xue residence, and Yu Lingxi specifically sent Qingxiao to explain the situation.

She sat on the ground in a daze for a while, only regaining consciousness when a guard cautiously called her. She stood up, dragging her heavy, water-soaked body, and walked towards the direction of the carriage, leaving wet footprints with each step.

Ning Yin dripped water from his jaw, silently following her, reminiscent of that snowy night several months ago.

Unfortunately, she wouldn't be fooled by the same trick twice.

Yu Lingxi stopped her steps, and her usually soft voice carried the chill of the lake water as she gestured to the attendants, "You all can leave."

Sending away the attendants, she scanned the surroundings, picked up the whip left on the carriage by the coachman, and turned around to face Ning Yin, raising her head to look into his eyes.

After a while, she asked, "Why are you here?"

The disappeared letter, the fallen Xue Cen, and the conveniently appearing Ning Yin...

The details of the situation finally connected into a thread, weaving a terrifying truth. Everything was running wild in the direction she feared the most.

The lanterns hanging on the carriage swayed slightly, and their shadows jumped and trembled, exuding a mysterious unease.

Ning Yin still maintained a docile and quiet appearance, as if tonight's chaos had nothing to do with him. Only when he looked at Yu Lingxi's shivering and wet body did a faint ripple appear in his eyes.

"Miss is trembling," he said softly.

Yu Lingxi asked, "When did you start planning this?"

"The night is chilly, wearing wet clothes, it's easy to catch a cold," Ning Yin replied.

Yu Lingxi took a deep breath and asked, "How long do you plan to keep pretending, Wei Qi?"

Ning Yin tightened his lips.

He lowered his head and remained silent for a while. Just when Yu Lingxi thought he might be reflecting on his actions, the young man lifted his head, revealing a familiar, cold, and thin smile.

Taking off the burdensome disguise, he even lightened his tone, saying gently, "Miss cannot marry him. Let the troublesome guy disappear from the world, isn't that good?"

Yu Lingxi's heart trembled.

She remembered the scene she witnessed under the Qin Xin Pavilion Gate earlier, where Ning Yin stood by the pond, coldly watching Xue Cen struggling in the lake, with a smile of pleasure and indifference on his face.

This was the Ning Yin she knew, the real one.

"So, you took action to kill him, pushing someone who can't swim into the pond?" Yu Lingxi asked, enduring the pain in her chest.

"I didn't," he said.

"Don't lie!"

"I didn't kill him; he's not worth my effort."

Ning Yin sneered. If he had personally taken action, Xue Cen would have been a corpse long ago.

Yu Lingxi trembled in her voice, "But you wanted him dead."

"Yes," he admitted straightforwardly.

"Why?"

"The Xue family can't protect you."

"Just because of that?" Yu Lingxi couldn't believe it.

"If Miss marries him, then I won't be able to stay by your side."

Ning Yin stood with hands behind his back, saying lightly, "But Miss promised never to abandon me."

Yu Lingxi finally understood the meaning behind his words at noon in the drizzle - "Wei Qi understands."

He understood that, as long as the Yu family kept him by their side, it didn't matter how many troublesome people he had to eliminate—

Even if he didn't personally take action.

This lunatic! He's still as unreasonable as in the previous life!

When she picked him up, there were inklings and suspicions. But Yu Lingxi thought, whether he pretended to be good or sweet-talked, in the end, he would rely on the Yu family to secure his future. A little lie wouldn't hurt anyone. 

But she didn't expect that his heart had turned completely black, willing to ruthlessly harm those around him.

"If you have to blame someone, blame him for being hypocritical and foolish, overestimating his abilities," Ning Yin said truthfully, not minding speaking some truth. "Without enough strength, yet trying to compete with the Crown Prince. Can't swim, yet coming to the lake. Such a person's death is his greatest value."

Yu Lingxi's eyes were moist and red, filled with not only anger but also disappointment. After the anger subsided, she became surprisingly calm, let out a soft laugh, and asked, "With such skills, who's the next person you want to kill?"

She pursed her lips, "Is it me?"

Ning Yin tilted his head slightly and actually pondered this question seriously. After some thought, he concluded, "I won't harm Miss. I've said it before; you are the person who has treated me the best in this world. I'm willing to do anything for you."

Yu Lingxi could no longer discern how much of what he said was true and how much was false.

"So, when you risked your life to chase my carriage, was it because you recognized my identity, thought that the General's Mansion was advantageous, and gambled your life to gain my sympathy?"

"Yes."

"During the spring search, you were one of the people responsible for taking care of the horses. With your abilities and alertness, it's impossible for you not to notice any issues with the fodder. My horse went mad and bolted, and only you caught up... was that also your doing?"

"No."

"But you were aware," Yu Lingxi guessed. Perhaps, he added fuel to the conspiracy.

"Yes," his voice remained calm.

He showed no remorse on his face, as if what he did was as natural as eating and sleeping, nothing significant.

"Have you ever regretted or felt ashamed?"

"Never."

"You!"

Yu Lingxi, infuriated, raised the whip in her hand.

Ning Yin stood still, with a faint mocking smile on his face.

What's so frightening about the whip? When he was in the palace, that crazy woman used to whip him often, right?

He had endured even more painful things, and he had long been accustomed to it. After receiving this beating, he would consider it an end to this boring game.

However, the raised whip lingered in the air, hesitating to fall.

Yu Lingxi's eyes were slightly red, and as she looked into Ning Yin's eyes, a mix of complex emotions surged within her. She recalled what she said at noon today, "Since I picked you up, you are my responsibility," and she remembered the warmth and sweetness that flowed into her throat on the cliff...

In this life and the previous one, she remembered many things. The hand holding the whip trembled slightly, as if burdened with a thousand catties.

For a long time, there was only the sound of the wind blowing.

In the next moment, Yu Lingxi closed her eyes. The whip brushed against Ning Yin's face and harshly struck her own palm. The whip, swung with all her might, made a crisp sound, and her tender palm immediately swelled and turned red.

Ning Yin suppressed his amusement, and the fingers behind him played with the short blade, freezing in place.

"This whip is for punishing myself for misjudging people and bringing a wolf into the house."

Yu Lingxi's eyes were slightly moist, breathing trembling with pain, but she continued, teeth clenched, "This whip is for being too kind-hearted, too trusting, and almost causing a disaster."

The third lash came down, and Ning Yin's face darkened.

He reached out and grabbed the falling whip, the whip's end writhing like a furious snake, leaving a streak of angry red on his cold white jaw.

Ning Yin didn't even blink.

Staring at Yu Lingxi, his voice hoarse, he said, "Enough."

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