109 Sanitary Belt

Like Zhang Sheng, Fang Rulai also heard the same howling and wild dog barking.

At that moment, she was sitting on the toilet in the private chamber’s built-in little restroom, doing her business. A woven basket hanging on the wall held some grass paper. She reached out to take some, when suddenly, a rough rock version of the song "My Dear, Why Are You Not by My Side"—as if the singer had completely lost their voice—sounded loudly in the very center of her mind.

Startled, she nearly toppled off the toilet. It wasn’t the familiarity of the song that scared her. Ever since she realized that the little brat Xiao Jie Rou had been fully bought over by Guan Shiyin, nothing he said surprised her anymore.

What shocked her was this: it seemed the heavens were always fair—Granting Guan Shiyin good looks and a noble family, yet taking away his ability to sing! His speaking voice wasn’t unpleasant, but when he sang, he turned tender love songs into raspy rock howls, and every note was off-key!

What was worse, the original singer seemed proud rather than ashamed.

“My lady, does your husband sing well? Yes, this is what Xiao Jie Rou taught me. Though I don’t quite agree with this strange tune, to perfectly express my longing for you—missing you as if a day apart was like three autumns—I mastered this unique singing technique late at night just to perform it for you. I bet you were on the toilet when you heard this, right? Well, that’s good—it aids digestion.”

Fang Rulai stared silently at the grass paper in her hand for a long moment, then smiled quietly to herself. It was truly impressive that he even thought of sending messages through grass paper. It seemed Master Guan’s security measures were thorough—Guan Shiyin hadn’t even found her location.

She gathered all the grass paper in her hands and closed her eyes.

“My lady, when your messages attached to food and clothes were all rejected by Grandfather, I knew your abilities had been discovered by him. He was just being cautious ahead of time. By the way, I always thought our Grandfather was an insignificant man, but suddenly pulling this off—it’s truly amazing! The most amazing part is, both our side and the Crown Prince’s side found the entrance must be inside Grandfather’s room, yet neither can locate the exact spot. What do we do?”

Fang Rulai’s hand trembled slightly, almost tearing the grass paper. He had even learned to say “what do we do” in their dialect...

“But Grandfather is still not as clever as I am. He guards against clothes, food, and people contacting you, but he overlooked the grass paper. To avoid arousing suspicion, I ran to every grass paper shop in the city in a single day. Not knowing which shop Grandfather would buy from, I grabbed all the grass paper and repeated every message I wanted to say. So, my lady, once you’re out, you must reward me! I used all my agility to attach my heartfelt messages on all the possible grass papers that might be used to betray us. For the reward after you’re free, let’s happily agree on a wet kiss, shall we? Don’t throw away the grass paper—there’s more useful things on the back!”

Fang Rulai was about to toss the grass paper out when she stopped herself. He truly knew her well—whenever he teased her to her limit, he could always pull back.

“My lady, if we cannot fully trust Grandfather right now, then the loyal followers I cultivated in the Guan household are better not used by you for the time being. Who knows if they’re spies planted by Grandfather! But don’t worry, the person who can’t be used isn’t human, but absolutely loyal and reliable.”

Fang Rulai’s heart stirred. She had a chance to escape? The non-human helper must be...

“Wangcai. This is the dog I personally raised. It will only obey my commands. Before you entered the Guan mansion, I already sent Jietang to hide in the doghouse inside. From now on, if you can find a way to send out some news, with Wangcai and Jietang, we should be able to rescue you soon.”

Wangcai—a dog? Dogs have the keenest noses! Fang Rulai closed her eyes again, pondering, then finally stepped out of the little restroom.

She was startled once more. At some unknown time, Master Guan was already seated in the Grand Tutor’s chair. Seeing her come out, he poured himself a drink and asked, “Did you need that long on the toilet?”

“I wouldn’t have, originally,” Fang Rulai replied awkwardly as she approached him, speaking frankly without a hint of embarrassment, “but today I’m on my period.”

Master Guan sputtered, spraying wine from his mouth.

“Cough cough... You, an unmarried girl, why do you bring such... womanly matters to the table?”

Fang Rulai sat opposite him, reached out, and grasped his new small wine flask, raising it to her lips. Then, as if suddenly remembering, she asked, “Master, you don’t seem in the mood to drink anymore.”

“You...” Master Guan’s beard trembled in anger.

Gulping, Fang Rulai leaned back and drained the flask mouth to mouth. When done, she asked, “Master, did you call me here for something?”

“Uh...” Master Guan hesitated, reluctant to reveal it.

Fang Rulai put the flask back on the table and pressed her palm down on his sleeve. His eyes flickered with emotion. Opposite him, she already revealed the answer.

“You want to send someone to Ping City to verify Shi Bilian’s background, but it’s too far and time won’t allow it, so you want me to confirm her origins?”

That was the conversation he had just had with the steward. He also roughly understood Fang Rulai’s special ability. But when she so effortlessly uncovered the secret he hadn’t spoken aloud, Master Guan was a little taken aback.

His first reaction was to pull back his sleeve. He wore this outfit elsewhere, doing his own business; if that was discovered too...

Fang Rulai shrugged and offered a half-hearted reassurance, “Master, no need to be so guarded. Even with my sensing ability, I can only perceive recent conversations in such a short time. For anything farther away, it takes time and effort. I’m not a playback button you can press anywhere at will. Every time I focus my senses, it’s exhausting, you know.”

Master Guan was skeptical but resolved not to let Fang Rulai touch his sleeves anymore.

“Is the young monk willing to help me solve this puzzle?”

“Of course, no secrets here,” Fang Rulai nodded. “From what I sensed, Shi Bilian is indeed Shi Lingyun’s—your late daughter-in-law’s—cousin’s daughter, and currently the cousin of the village chief of the Shi family village.”

“She entered the mansion to kill my son as revenge for her cousin?”

“That’s probably only one purpose. Another is likely to spy on my whereabouts.”

“You two are working together?”

“For now, yes.”

“From your tone, you don’t fully trust this Shi Bilian?”

“People’s hearts are unfathomable. As a cautious junior, I always leave a margin. Master Guan can understand that, right?”

“You’re afraid that if I knew these things, I might strike first and eliminate her for the revenge alone?”

“Actually, I want to see what happens if you do. Who will come to stop you?”

“What do you mean? You sent her into the Guan mansion to find my whereabouts, but you don’t intend to protect her fully?”

“Hehe, of course I protected her while my whereabouts were unknown,” Fang Rulai suddenly smiled proudly, “but once my location is clear, does she still have any use?”

Master Guan slammed the table and stood up abruptly. “They already know this place? Impossible! I built this place alone; no one else could... Are you deceiving me?”

Halfway through, he sensed something was wrong and quickly stopped.

Fang Rulai’s disappointment was clear on her face. “Alright, just a little joke.”

Master Guan blew on his beard and glared, “Don’t think I don’t dare do anything to you! There are many ways to make you disappear from this world without a trace...”

“Master—” Fang Rulai interrupted suddenly, “It’s normal for a woman on her period to have some mood swings, right? It’s easy to understand. Since you handle everything personally, I won’t be fussy either. When can you bring me some sanitary supplies? I can’t keep using grass paper forever.”

———End of side note———

Uh, stalled again... I’ll try to post the second half tonight.

Also, for those who missed the festival yesterday, how about celebrating it a little today?