Flower Stealing Master

Chapter 569: Testing the Waters

“Where’s your mind wandering off to? Wang Yuyan and I are merely acquaintances; we can’t even be considered friends,” Song Qingshu added silently in his heart. ‘But back then, her guidance helped me find clarity, ultimately leading to my rebirth. I owe her a great debt.’

“Really?” Mu Wanqing was half-skeptical. She had always been sensitive about this issue. Previously, when she discovered that Duan Yu was her biological brother, she was utterly heartbroken. She even considered eloping with him to some remote place where no one knew them, to live in seclusion.

Unexpectedly, Duan Yu quickly shifted his affections to a certain “Miss Wang.” 

Disillusioned, Mu Wanqing fell into despair, even contemplating taking her own l!fe—until she encountered Song Qingshu.

If Song Qingshu were to fall for Wang Yuyan too, Mu Wanqing felt she might genuinely have no will to live.

“Wait!” Mu Wanqing suddenly wore a peculiar expression. “Are you saying that Miss Wang is also… also…”

“Also the result of Duan Zhengchun’s debauchery—your biological sister without a doubt,” Song Qingshu said with a faint smile. “Do you still want to kill her mother now?”

“Then doesn’t that make her Duan… Yu’s sister too?” Mu Wanqing was stunned. She couldn’t tell if she felt relieved or distressed; her emotions were a chaotic blend of contradictions.

“She is undoubtedly your sister, but not necessarily Duan Yu’s,” Song Qingshu remarked evasively, unwilling to divulge too many secrets. He smoothly changed the topic. “Why, do you plan to inform your ‘dear brother’ about this?”

“Why would I bother? The men of the Duan family are all heartless scoundrels. They deserve whatever karma comes their way,” Mu Wanqing said bitterly. 

Li Qingluo had wronged her mother, Li Qingluo’s daughter had harmed her, and Duan Zhengchun was the root cause of it all. Even Duan Yu had proven fickle. Mu Wanqing’s heart had long grown cold.

“Don’t worry. That brat Duan Yu has immense fortune and luck. What you fear won’t happen,” Song Qingshu reassured her, noticing a trace of concern in her eyes.

Mu Wanqing’s heart skipped a beat. She quickly explained, “Brother Song, I now only see him as a sibling—nothing more.”

Song Qingshu smiled faintly. “You don’t need to explain. I believe you. With your personality, if you hadn’t moved on from him, you wouldn’t have exposed yourself before another man.”

“Ah!” Mu Wanqing suddenly remembered that she was still sitting in the bathtub. Embarrassment overwhelmed her as she whispered, “Is it done yet?”

“Almost.” Song Qingshu rapidly tapped several points on her snowy back. Mu Wanqing groaned softly, leaning weakly against the edge of the tub as she coughed out a mouthful of dark blood onto the floor.

Wiping the sweat from his brow, Song Qingshu exhaled deeply. “All done. Most of the residual poison in your body has been expelled into the hot water, and the last bit came out with that blood. You have nothing to worry about… anymore.”

His eyes inadvertently widened. Mu Wanqing, leaning against the tub, was oblivious to the fact that half her body had risen above the water’s surface. Her snow-white, radiant skin and her slender waist were like that of a stunning mermaid emerging from the bath.

Realizing something was amiss, Mu Wanqing quickly submerged herself in the tub, causing water to splash everywhere.

Song Qingshu dodged the water with a chuckle. “You should get out quickly. The hot water contains the expelled poison. If you stay in too long, it might seep back into your body.”

“Then turn around already!” Mu Wanqing nearly cried in panic.

“Alright, alright.” Song Qingshu turned with a grin, grabbing her clothes from the screen and handing them behind him.

After a long pause, a timid voice came from behind him. “I’m… ready.”

Song Qingshu turned and was momentarily stunned. Mu Wanqing’s long hair cascaded down her shoulders like silk, gleaming in the light. Fresh from her bath and without makeup, her natural beauty illuminated the entire room.

“Duan Yu must be blind,” Song Qingshu remarked, shaking his head. “To give up such a beautiful fairy for some ‘Miss Wang.'”

Mu Wanqing’s beauty rivaled Wang Yuyan’s in every way. Each had her unique charm, like orchids and chrysanthemums—each excelling in their own right. Duan Yu must have been bewitched by his so-called ‘fairy sister,’ seeing no one else but Wang Yuyan.

Hearing his words, Mu Wanqing’s face paled. “There’s something I must tell you; otherwise, I won’t feel at ease.”

Seeing her solemn expression, Song Qingshu was startled. “What is it?”

Mu Wanqing hesitated but eventually spoke, “Back then, the Four Evils came to Dali to help Duan Yanqing reclaim the throne. To disgrace the Duan family, they locked me and Duan… Duan Yu in a stone chamber and poisoned our food with…”

She bit her lip and recounted the incident where they were drugged with the Yin-Yang Harmony Powder. She then quietly stared at Song Qingshu, waiting for his reaction.

Song Qingshu’s heart sank. Although Mu Wanqing didn’t explicitly mention whether anything had happened between her and Duan Yu, her reluctance to elaborate worried him. ‘Could the story have changed? Did Duan Yu really do something to her?’  (G: no, nothing really happened.)

He quickly dismissed such thoughts, instead taking her hand to comfort her. “Wanqing, no matter what you’ve been through, none of it is your fault. You were a victim from start to finish. I only regret not meeting you sooner so I could protect you. But you don’t need to worry anymore. I’ll stay by your side and keep you safe from any harm.”

“Do you really not mind?” Mu Wanqing’s eyes sparkled as she gazed directly into his.

“All that feudal nonsense means nothing to me. Since I’ve chosen to love you, I’ll accept everything about you,” Song Qingshu said earnestly. In his heart, he meant every word. Coming from a world with more open-minded views, chastity and purity were concepts he found archaic.

“Big Brother Song!” Tears glistened in Mu Wanqing’s eyes as she unexpectedly threw herself into his embrace.

Looking at the delicate red lips and smooth, rounded chin of the beauty in his arms, Song Qingshu felt his heart stir. Slowly, he leaned down to kiss her.

Seeing his face drawing closer, Mu Wanqing panicked and instinctively raised her head. “You… what are you doing?”

“Why are you dodging? Could it be you don’t like me k!ssing you?” Song Qingshu asked, puzzled.

“I…” Mu Wanqing was momentarily at a loss for words. Saying she liked it wasn’t right, and denying it didn’t feel right either. While she hesitated, his lips had already touched hers.

“Mm…” Mu Wanqing’s body tensed momentarily, but she soon succumbed to his presence, closing her eyes and parting her lips, allowing him to savor freely.

Not long after, Mu Wanqing’s b0dy softened, leaning against Song Qingshu with most of her weight. At some point, his hand had slipped inside her r0be.

Mu Wanqing sighed lightly, releasing her guarded hands from her chest and instead wrapping them around his neck. Tilting her head, she responded to him tenderly.

Before she realized it, Mu Wanqing found herself lying flat on the bed, her disheveled clothes undone. What made her blush even more was that Song Qingshu’s head was buried against her mounds, sending waves of strange sensations throughout her body.

Her heart brimmed with affection, and just as she was about to completely surrender to him, a thought suddenly struck her. Embarrassed and furious, she shoved the man off her. 

“So you were tricking me all along!”

Song Qingshu looked at her, utterly confused. “What did I trick you about?”

Mu Wanqing sat up, buttoning her clothes while biting her lip. “Hmph, that girl Zhong Ling told me everything. I know you went to Tibet and learned some… some sordid, improper martial arts. How could you not tell that I’m still a maiden? I foolishly thought you genuinely liked me and didn’t mind such things. I was so moved that I decided to let you personally verify my purity.”

It turned out that Mu Wanqing had intentionally brought up the matter of the Yin-Yang Harmonization Powder earlier to test Song Qingshu and see how much he truly cared for her. His apparent sincerity and affection had moved her deeply. In a moment of passion, she decided to give herself to him as proof of her innocence. However, just as she was about to fully commit, Zhong Ling’s past words came to mind, jolting her awake and leaving her both ashamed and angry.

Song Qingshu looked aggrieved. “Do you have any idea how shocking your words are? I had no clue you were testing me. All I could think about was how to help you move past your trauma and ease your pain. I didn’t even have time to consider whether you were still a maiden!”

Seeing her skeptical expression, Song Qingshu became anxious. “I swear to heaven, if I had known you were testing me, then let me be struck down—”

“Stop!” Mu Wanqing quickly covered his mouth. “Oaths like that aren’t to be made lightly. I believe you.”

Song Qingshu finally breathed a sigh of relief. Looking at Mu Wanqing sitting by the bed, radiantly beautiful, he couldn’t help himself. “Shall we… continue?”

“Who wants to continue with you?” Mu Wanqing shot him a glare, her face reddening as she mumbled softly, “Haven’t you taken enough advantage of me already?”

“Not nearly enough,” Song Qingshu replied with a grin, leaning closer.

Mu Wanqing’s face turned crimson, and she lowered her head. “Big Brother Song, if I were the only woman in your life, I wouldn’t object to whatever you wanted to do. But in just the short month I’ve been in the Central Plains, I’ve heard about the countless women around you. I… you know what happened to my mother. She was deceived by that man surnamed Duan’s sweet words and lived her life in regret. I don’t want to repeat her mistakes and bring her the same disappointment.”

Song Qingshu felt a chill in his heart. “Does that mean we have no future?”

“You!” Mu Wanqing glared at him, exasperated. “Why don’t you go to my mother and propose first?”

Realizing her true meaning, Song Qingshu was overjoyed. “Haha, why didn’t you say so earlier? You nearly scared me to death. I thought you were going to leave me!”

Mu Wanqing snorted softly, turning her head away with a flushed face, refusing to speak further.

Song Qingshu moved closer and whispered, “Since I’m going to marry you sooner or later, how about letting me indulge just a little now?” 

Get More Chapters onPatreon: From now on, FSM Level 2 will become the CN WN Bundle. The price will remain the same which is $10. Also, the price for the KR WN Bundle will also be decreased to $10 to match this bundle.

With this I have gotten rid of the level system. The reason I am doing this, is because I plan to add more chapters to the $5 Patron tiers. Currently the readers get 2 advance chapters when they become a $5 Patron, but I want to increase the chapters they get to at least 5 chapters and more. So the current updated tier system will work like this: 

The Individual Tiers ($5) will give you access to 5 chapters or more.

The Bundle Tiers ($10) will give you access to all the chapters of CN or KR webnovels.

The Supreme Patron ($30) will give you access to all the webnovel chapters on Goblinslate.