Chapter 111: A Single Aunt’s Blood Summons an Army to Gather

Perhaps it was because he had heard those words so often that he had become naturally immune, or perhaps he had come to understand just how thick-skinned Fang Rulai truly was. This time, Guan Qinghuai did not feel his old face flush with the embarrassment he had experienced when he first heard the term "menstruation."

On the contrary, he now felt inclined to speculate on the underlying meaning—why was Fang Rulai so fixated on sanitary pads?

"Are you trying to use this opportunity to pass a message?"

Fang Rulai spread her hands. "I am the one with the special ability, but even if I were to send a message, who do you think could receive it?"

Guan Qinghuai was not someone easily dismissed. "Then you are creating an opportunity for others to pass a message in."

"For that to happen, those who wish to send a message would first need to know that I have started my period. Do you think that is possible?"

Uh, impossible. Guan Qinghuai felt there was no reason to be certain. While he found the topic of menstruation unlucky, he was not entirely ignorant of it. No matter how bold or reckless women might be, they would surely not make their menstrual cycle public knowledge. Furthermore, his decision to kidnap Fang Rulai had been a spur-of-the-moment choice. He refused to believe that she could have predicted this, let alone leaked her cycle in advance to some interested party to facilitate secret communication.

He felt he had no reason to agree, but... Guan Qinghuai stood up and walked toward the exit. "I will provide you with enough paper. Just make do for a few days."

Fang Rulai looked around nonchalantly. "You have quite elegant taste, old man."

This was a place similar to a basement, with a skylight at the top that also served for ventilation. Judging by the old man's demeanor, this was a secret chamber he had built himself, and it was unlikely to have been used for anything noble. Yet, in this chamber designed for unsavory purposes, he had even used folding screens to partition it into a bedroom and a living area. The small latrine for attending to bodily functions was specifically partitioned off with stone walls, and not only was it scented, but it had clearly undergone specialized ventilation. While she had felt the odor was unpleasant while inside, upon stepping out, she could not smell a thing.

The old man's obsessive-compulsive nature regarding cleanliness was glaringly obvious, and this was precisely what she would exploit.

Fang Rulai rested her chin on her hand and spoke carelessly. "You have been married and have children; you should understand. Is toilet paper really the same as a sanitary pad? This paper is rough, doesn't absorb moisture, and shifts easily. One careless move and it could lead to side leakage."

Guan Qinghuai stopped in his tracks, feeling goosebumps for the first time in his life. Why, at his age, was he discussing menstruation with a younger generation! This was the first time he had heard the term "side leakage," but he could certainly imagine what it meant! Ugh, he didn't want to imagine it!

Fang Rulai pointed to the luxury bedding on the bed behind the screen. "You wouldn't want those luxury bed linens you prepared for your prisoner to be ruined, would you?"

"Those came from the finest embroidery workshop in the land. A single sheet is worth more than what an average family earns in half a year. How could you have the heart to..."

Ruining them! Guan Qinghuai could not bring himself to say the words. He was clenching his fists tighter and tighter, because he really wanted to flip the table!

Fang Rulai rolled her eyes with an innocent expression. "I don't want to either, but what if I forget while tossing and turning in my sleep?"

Guan Qinghuai was left completely speechless. Experience told him that what this girl said was possible, but his reason told him she was too cunning and likely plotting something. Yet, the more he felt something was amiss, the less he could figure out what it was.

Was he truly getting old? Was every young girl's mind now sharper than that of the most resourceful commander of the Imperial Guard? No, he refused to accept it! He would not admit defeat!

Guan Qinghuai walked out with his hands behind his back. "Fine, I will send you sanitary pads. I want to see what other tricks you can pull."

Fang Rulai pouted and channeled her inner Lin Chi-ling again. "Grandpa, I really don't have any other intentions; you must trust me. Grandpa, look into my pure, innocent eyes. Grandpa..."

The stone door rumbled shut, and Fang Rulai dropped her expression, her mouth snapping shut as well.

She wasn't afraid of him "seeing what tricks she could pull"; she was only afraid that he wouldn't be curious enough to look.

After sitting for a while, she got up and went to the latrine. Upon opening the door, she saw that the waste bucket had indeed been replaced. She giggled; half the battle was won. Then, her expression darkened. When did he change the bucket? She had been sitting outside the whole time and hadn't heard a thing.

Fang Rulai's eyes dimmed. She reached out, placed her hand on the wall of the latrine, and closed her eyes.

"Don't waste your effort. Did you really think I would leave any clues for you after learning of your ability?"

It was Guan Qinghuai's voice. A message left specifically for her.

Fang Rulai opened her eyes and turned away from the latrine with a shrug. She thought to herself that she hoped the old man could be as calm when removing the waste bucket as he was when leaving this message.

In reality, the old man was quite calm when facing the bucket he had removed himself.

It was the old butler who was not calm.

The old butler looked up involuntarily, and only after confirming that it was the moon and not the sun hanging in the night sky did he wipe the sweat from his brow and look at his master, who had covered his nose and mouth with a silk handkerchief.

"Uh, Master, please forgive me. This old servant is getting on in years, and sometimes I really don't hear things clearly." The old butler dug at his ear, deliberately turning his better-hearing side toward his master. "Master, what was it you just asked me to do?"

Guan Qinghuai glared at him. "You’ve practiced internal energy your whole life—what are you playing at, pretending to be decrepit in front of me? Don't think I don't know you heard me perfectly! Stop dawdling and get it done!"

The old butler looked at the object before him with a grimace. "Master, someone needs to keep watch over the Second Master, and we can't lower our guard regarding the new Miss Shi. To guard against the Crown Prince’s spies, I personally have to oversee the patrols in the courtyard..."

"And your point is?"

"I dare suggest, would you like me to arrange for a young servant to handle these minor tasks?"

"No! I don't trust anyone else. I want you to do it."

"Uh, first, thank you for your trust, Master." The old butler bowed. "However, your trust is being used to make me... make me..." He couldn't say it; even a servant like him had personal attendants for such matters.

"Empty the waste bucket!" Guan Qinghuai helped him finish. After being bombarded by Fang Rulai’s repeated mentions of "menstruation," he found that saying "empty the waste bucket" didn't feel disgusting at all. And when he saw the old butler’s face twitch involuntarily at the words, he even felt a small sense of pride in his own unwavering composure.

Uh, that wasn't right! Guan Qinghuai quickly dismissed those inappropriate thoughts. "Hurry up! I have other things to attend to!"

The old butler wrinkled his nose, tore a large piece of cloth from his garment to cover his nose and mouth, and then reached out to open the lid. A pungent, fresh odor wafted out. The old butler instinctively gagged and slammed the lid back down.

Guan Qinghuai scoffed at him. "You were once a man who fought on the battlefield; are you afraid of this?"

The old butler dared not retort, only cursing in his heart: *Humph, you were once the commander of the Imperial Guard! If you're not afraid, why did you jump a yard away when I opened the lid? Tsk.*

The old butler steadied himself, used his left hand to jerk the lid open, and while leaping backward, gave the bucket a kick. The bucket tipped over, and its contents spilled across the floor.

The old butler didn't even look; he turned to leave. "Master, I've finished. May I be excused?"

A lantern flew toward him. The old butler dodged and caught the handle. "Master?" What was the meaning of this?

Guan Qinghuai looked up at the sky, pinched his nose, and pointed at the mess. "Go take a closer look."

"Huh?" The old butler felt like his head was no longer his own. How could he not understand what "take a closer look" meant?

Guan Qinghuai threw a throwing dart. "I said stop dawdling and go look!"

The old butler had no choice but to pinch his nose and return. "And what exactly does Master want me to look for?" Solid or liquid?

"Just look... and see if there is blood."

"Blood? Master, are you bleeding? Are you unwell?" Guan Qinghuai hadn't said whose bucket it was, so the old butler naturally assumed it was his master's.

Guan Qinghuai was so angry he threw another dart. "You're the one bleeding! Your whole family is bleeding!"

"Huh?" Then what kind of blood?

Guan Qinghuai was so angry he forgot his embarrassment and shouted, "The blood from when a woman is having her time."

"When a woman has her time? Ah!" The old butler's legs went weak, and he nearly fell into the mess on the floor. What was happening? It was true that his master had been quite the playboy in his youth, pampering women with thousands of gold pieces without blinking, but what was this about emptying a waste bucket for a woman? Could it be that as he grew older, his tastes were becoming increasingly eccentric...

*Whoosh.* A third dart whizzed past the tip of his nose.

Guan Qinghuai's furious voice came again. "Get those filthy thoughts out of your head immediately! Just do as I say, and don't think!"

"Uh, yes."

"So, is there blood?"

"Yes."

"You can tell the difference between normal blood and the blood from that time, right?" He suspected Fang Rulai might have cut herself to use normal blood as a substitute for some scheme. Otherwise, how could she start her period just as he captured her? It was too coincidental.

The old butler could no longer keep track of how many layers of sweat were rolling down his head. "Master, it is truly the blood from that time. I am certain." Although the matter was unlucky, he was a man who had had a family, after all.

"Oh." Guan Qinghuai vanished into the night. "It's done. Go back to your duties."

A night breeze blew, and the "fragrance" grew stronger. The old butler shuddered, dropped the lantern, and turned to sprint away quickly.

After he left, Wangcai scurried over, grabbed half of the paper, and left.

After Wangcai left, another shadow appeared, retrieved the other half of the paper, and departed.

In the middle of the night, Guan Shiyin, having received the message, jumped out of bed. "Brothers, grab your hammers, pickaxes, and shovels; take me to meet the beauty tonight."

At the same time, in the Mingde Hall of the Eastern Palace, Crown Prince Li Yincheng met with Ping Shi, who had traveled from Pingcheng. "How could you leave Pingcheng now? With Mu Zhijin gone, wouldn't it be easier for you to take back the salt road?"

Ping Shi presented a wooden box containing the paper. "I am wondering if we have put the cart before the horse. The salt road is important, but can it be more important than the political situation in Shengjing?"