Chapter 19: But… I Like It
Mingyan and Huang Feiyan didn’t talk for long before Huang Feiyan took the initiative to send him to find Huang Nishang.
Huang Feiyan believed that Mingyan needed to seize the time to win over Huang Nishang. Otherwise, when the two Yue sisters married into the family, it would be fine for a short time, but over the long term, it would be difficult to ensure that Mingyan’s focus wouldn’t gradually shift.
After all, she was just one person, while the Yue sisters were two. Both of them were great beauties of national standing. If those two sisters were to let loose, they would probably let Mingyan experience what was known as the ultimate bliss on earth.
In that case, Huang Feiyan would be at a natural disadvantage, and that would not do.
Before Mingyan went to Huang Nishang’s courtyard, he first went to another place to get something, and only then did he walk towards her courtyard.
When Mingyan arrived at Huang Nishang’s courtyard, he saw her brewing a medicinal soup.
Unlike the medicines Mingyan was familiar with, this one had a rich fragrance and a sweet taste when drunk. Mingyan really couldn’t understand the ways of cultivators. After all, isn’t it said that good medicine is bitter to the taste? Mingyan had thought all medicine was bitter.
“You’re here? Come and sit down,” Huang Nishang said upon seeing Mingyan.
Huang Nishang’s voice was cold, but once one got used to it, it just sounded very pleasant, like soaking in cool water on a hot summer day.
Mingyan walked to Huang Nishang’s side and sat down. He then heard her say, “Have you really not considered Feiyan’s suggestion?”
“Hmm? What does my cousin mean?” Mingyan was surprised for a moment. As he asked in return, his mind suddenly clicked. Could she be referring to the earlier conversation between him and Huang Feiyan?
Sure enough, Huang Nishang said in the next second, “I think what Feiyan said is actually not a problem. Perhaps, after we take a step further, it will be more beneficial for our relationship to grow closer.”
This aspect of cultivators was really… it left one speechless. In this household, for Huang Nishang, probably nothing could be considered a secret. She could hear everything…
But after coming to his senses, Mingyan still shook his head. “Cousin, I don’t want to have that kind of relationship with you so easily. It’s undeniable that my thoughts are completely different from before. Previously, I felt I couldn’t have a relationship with you so casually; I am a philanderer, but not promiscuous. And now, I have good feelings for you, so I don’t want to take away your purity so easily. This would be disrespectful to you, Cousin. Let me tell you the truth, I really want to marry you and have you stay here. I don’t want you to have any negative impression of me.”
“…Sometimes, I can’t tell if you genuinely think this way, or if you just want me to believe that this is your true intention…” Huang Nishang’s beautiful eyes looked over. Besides the usual coldness, they seemed to carry a faint, indescribable melancholy.
“That depends on whether you believe me, Cousin,” Mingyan didn’t try to argue, but simply smiled.
“…” Huang Nishang was silent for a moment before she said, “Before I left the Huang family, I had never had contact with the opposite sex. To me, you are the person I have had the most contact with and also have good feelings for. I believe you.”
Mingyan looked at Huang Nishang, was silent for a moment, and asked, “Cousin, would you feel wronged to marry me?”
“Why would I feel wronged?”
“Because I am just a mortal,” Mingyan said seriously.
“If I truly want to marry, even if you were a pig, no one could stop me,” Huang Nishang said calmly.
“…” Mingyan’s expression was a bit strange. Let’s just forget that analogy, though Mingyan did understand the point Huang Nishang was trying to make.
“If I marry you, Cousin, I will also cultivate,” Mingyan said seriously.
“That’s good. If I marry you, I don’t want you to be so short-lived,” Huang Nishang nodded lightly. There was no smile on her face, and her tone didn’t change much, but for some reason, Mingyan seemed to be able to vaguely sense that Huang Nishang’s mood was actually quite pleasant.
“Cousin, you’re a little happy right now, aren’t you? Although I can’t see it on your face or hear it in your voice, for some reason, I feel like I can sense your mood,” Mingyan said.
Huang Nishang looked at Mingyan. “Is that so… Perhaps you know me better than I thought… In your heart, what kind of person am I?”
“Cold on the outside, but warm on the inside. When I first met you, Cousin, I thought you were that kind of cold beauty, the type that keeps people at a thousand li’s distance. But after actually getting to know you, I found that it’s just your expression and voice that are like that,” Mingyan smiled. “Cousin, you are a very interesting person. And you are also very kind. You are suitable to be a wife.”
Huang Nishang withdrew her gaze. She wasn’t using traditional firewood to brew the medicine; the flame was burning out of thin air. Mingyan wasn’t surprised. His cousin was a cultivator, after all.
“You are a bit of a smooth-talker.”
“…Do you hate it very much, Cousin?” Mingyan scratched his head and asked.
“…I can’t say I hate it. Besides, as far as I know, at least you are a person who is the same on the inside and out, and you are also very sincere with me,” Huang Nishang shook her head. “Actually… it’s not bad… you.”
This word order made Mingyan frown, but he understood Huang Nishang’s meaning. His cousin did indeed have good feelings for him. “Cousin, can I call you… Nishang?”
“You can call me whatever you want. I don’t care much about titles,” Huang Nishang said calmly.
Hearing this, Mingyan wanted to ask if he could call her ‘Wife’… but after thinking about it, he didn’t say it out loud.
He took out a small wooden box from his pocket, opened it gently, and handed it to Huang Nishang. “Nishang… I bought this a few days ago. I hope you will like it.”
Huang Nishang looked over and saw the wooden box in Mingyan’s hand. Inside the box was a hairpin that was entirely golden, with a red jade inlaid at one end. It looked exquisitely beautiful. The whole piece seemed to be a work of nature, with very few traces of artificial craftsmanship.
Huang Nishang looked up, glanced at Mingyan, then lowered her head and looked at the golden and red jade hairpin. She was silent for a moment, then reached out and took it.
“This is just made from the precious materials and ores of mortals. To you, as a cultivator, it might be too crude. But this is the best gift I could find,” Mingyan scratched his head. “I hope… Nishang won’t dislike it.”
Huang Nishang’s hair was originally in a half-updo. She had her own hairpin, but she had never taken it off. Mingyan didn’t know what material it was made of.
Huang Nishang was silent for a long while, then suddenly stood up, used her other hand to remove the hairpin from the back of her head, then re-did her hair in a half-updo, and inserted the hairpin Mingyan had given her. After that, she handed the hairpin that had originally belonged to her to Mingyan. “Then this one, I will give it to you.”
Seeing this, Mingyan’s face showed a hint of surprised delight. He wasn’t polite and accepted the hairpin from Huang Nishang, which seemed to be made of some strange jade. He looked down at it and saw that its entire body was silver, with faint red patterns visible on it. It was very beautiful, noble yet understated. Compared to this hairpin, the one he had given seemed a bit gaudy.
Thinking of this, Mingyan felt a little disappointed. “The hairpin I gave you is completely incomparable to your original one…”
“In terms of practical use, it can’t compare. That hairpin of mine is made of immortal jade. Even for a cultivator, wearing it for a long time has benefits,” Huang Nishang said calmly.
Hearing this, Mingyan’s heart sank even further. Just as he was about to return it, he heard Huang Nishang’s tone become unprecedentedly gentle. “But in my heart, the one you gave me is more to my liking than my own. I have never received a gift from anyone. This is the first time I have accepted something from someone else.”
Mingyan was stunned. “Has no one ever given you a gift before?”
“They have, but this is the first time I’ve accepted one,” Huang Nishang lowered her head gently. After a while, she said again, “Actually… there’s nothing wrong with being a smooth-talker…”
“Hmm?” Mingyan was taken aback and looked at Huang Nishang. He saw her gazing into the distance, her eyes somewhat dreamy. There was no expression on her face, yet Mingyan could feel that she seemed a little shy.
Thinking of this, Mingyan smiled, looked at the hairpin in his hand, placed it at the tip of his nose, and sniffed gently.
The fragrance of Huang Nishang’s hair lingered at the tip of his nose…
Huang Nishang glanced at Mingyan and sighed softly. “You, you… you say you’re not proper, yet you’re unwilling to touch me immediately. But to say you’re proper, everything about you gives off an improper feeling…”
“But…” the corners of Huang Nishang’s lips seemed to curve upwards slightly. “I… like it.”
