drunken golden phoenix

Script:
Empress Fanliu, who knew a long time ago that she would one day marry the heavenly emperor,
had been wondering since childhood what her future husband would be like.
Would he be as beautiful as a fish in a pond or a moon in the sky? Charming and adorable? Or would he be a well-read and sensible young man like a beautiful flower?
She had had all kinds of guesses, but never imagined that her husband would be
the handsome man with red hair and no respect for the rules of marriage in front of her!

As the student president of the school, who gets whatever he wants, Situ Fengzhan,
could never have imagined that, no matter how clever he was, if he let his subordinates do whatever they wanted,
he would end up in another time and space!
But it’s okay, he has always been blessed with good fortune and has never been touched by disaster.
What! He has fallen into a country of women! And he has to be ‘married’ home by the empress!

When the cold and aloof empress meets the quirky and intelligent modern man,
what kind of farcical and ridiculous situation will this unlikely pair get themselves into?

Male lead: Situ Fengzhan Female lead: Fan Liu

Introduction

A battered old plane drifts slowly across the azure sky. Its tiny body is covered in faded old paint, and its propeller belches out a groaning, loud noise as it moves forward. One really wonders who could have been so inhuman as to force this ancient relic, long past its retirement age, to fly.

At this moment, at least four of the five passengers sitting in the cabin are also wondering the same thing.

‘Is our school going to collapse?‘ Leaning discontentedly against the sofa, which had lost its elasticity, Fei Ying’ang raised her slender legs, which were encased in jeans, and kicked them angrily at the innocent wooden cabinet. The rotten wood, which could no longer withstand the battering, made a loud noise and broke.

’Damn it!’ The three words that could not be suppressed rushed out, and after pulling out his foot that was stuck in the pile of broken wood, Fei Ying’ang turned around and, unable to bear it anymore, yelled at Lin Han, who had been sitting in the corner and had not stopped the sound of an abacus since the start of the flight, ‘Are you really an honest accountant? How come I don’t remember that our respectable “Yuelong” Student Union is so poor that we can only go on an inspection by such a broken plane that is about to crash? Or did you take a red envelope from the King of Hell and are you going to hand us five over to him?’

‘Lin Han wouldn’t be surprised if you lost your pants, and he would tell you that the cavemen evolved to the present day without clothes. So you might as well save your breath and energy for complaining.’ The student president leaned comfortably against the secretary and lazily reminded the energetic sports minister.

Feyang, who was exasperated but unable to do anything about it, vented the rest of his energy into grinding his teeth. Listening with disgust to the ghostly sound of the abacus clicking, he finally spoke again after three minutes of silence.

He glared at Lin Han’s dazzling abacus fingerwork and coolly mocked, ‘Exploiting our welfare is fine, but there’s no need to be so stingy in an age of advanced technology that you can’t even afford to buy a calculator, right? I bet the abacus in his hand is still 99% passed down from some great-grandfather from an unknown generation. Hmph… So stinginess can be inherited!’

His fingers kept raising their heads, and Lin Hanjun’s straight nose wrinkled upwards as he tried to push his black rimmed glasses back up. Glancing at the smirking Fei Ying’ang, he replied in a leisurely voice, ‘Amateur! You can’t possibly understand the feeling of touching money by moving the beads, nor can you appreciate the sound of gold and silver colliding. Abacus counting is an elegant pleasure.’

‘Puff!’ Although he had expected Lin Han to have an unusual response, Fei Ying’ang still spat out all the bitter tea in his mouth! Unfortunately, Tan Xiyue, who was sitting opposite him, became a victim as her body, which had become weak from the motion sickness, was unable to avoid it.

‘Aaaaaah! My stunningly beautiful face!’ Tan Xiyue screamed, stroking her carefully-protected pretty face to make sure it wasn’t as badly damaged as she had feared. Then, glaring angrily, she said, ’Fei Ying’ang! Do you know that that mouthful of tea just ruined all the skin care I did for three hours before boarding? If my skin gets worse because of this, how are you going to make it up to me?’

As if unaware of the tense atmosphere in the cabin, the student president immediately diverted the attention of the ‘pretty’ woman: ‘Xiyue, you really feel better after vomiting. Just now, you were still clinging to the captain’s chair in the front, demanding to get off the plane, and now you can scold people with full energy!’

‘Oh…don’t mention the word ‘vomit’ to me!’ With a cry of woe, Tan Xiyue’s blood colour, which had finally returned, faded completely. She covered her purple lips with her hand and continued to rush to the bathroom of the plane, retching painfully. If they saw the usual noble young master in this sickly appearance, the maternal instinct of more than half of the women in the school would start to overflow again.

Just as the cabin’s atmosphere began to turn for the better, the elegant secretary, who had been watching all this with a smile, gently reminded them in a gentle and calm tone, ‘Do you guys feel like the plane is falling all the time?’

‘What!?’

‘No way!?’

“Are you kidding me!?’

‘I don’t want to die, and I don’t want to die in such a horrible way!”

For a moment, the cabin became a mess, but the long-term tacit understanding between the student council members allowed them to quickly reach a consensus.

Fei Ying’ang bent down and looked everywhere for the parachute, but all he found was a mouldy, torn bag marked with a parachute symbol. Lin Han looked out the window and calculated the distance they were from hitting the mountain. The student president rushed to the cockpit as fast as he could, pushed the young captain, who had already panicked, out of the way, and skillfully manipulated the dense array of instruments in an attempt to control the speed of the plane’s descent. The secretary helped the publicity minister, who had thrown up, sit in the seat closest to the cockpit.

Unfortunately, this is not their strong point. Even if the eagle is majestic, once its wings are removed, it is just like an awkward turkey with its hands tied.

With a frustrated fist pounding on the dashboard, the student president looked back at his companions and gave a helpless wry smile: ‘There’s nothing we can do. The Grim Reaper is here to collect the goods now, and there’s no stopping him.’

‘I don’t want to die!’ With a jerk, the young captain ripped off his seat belt, knocked aside the student president blocking him, stumbled and leaped over Tan Xiyue and the secretary standing in the doorway, tripped over Lin Han’s feet, squeezed past Fei Ying’ang’s side, pulled open the cabin door, and jumped out of the plane clutching the only parachute to save his life. The huge open parachute surface drifted further and further away from the five people’s view.

Steadying his feet in the plane that was falling, the student president looked up with a carefree expression and asked, ‘You all have a chance, so why don’t you stop him?’

‘Don’t you have a chance too?’ The secretary, who was calm and collected, replied gently with a warm smile.

‘Besides, in terms of physics, what’s the difference between five of us hanging onto a parachute and not using it?‘ Before Lin Han could say the result of his calculations, Tan Xiyue answered first: “If I’m smashed to death together with a few of you handsome guys who are a year younger than me, I’ll at least die looking good.”

’It’s quite a shame to die in such a humiliating way, but it would be too boring if I didn’t have you four to keep me company on the way to the underworld,’ Fei Ying’ang crossed his arms and stood with his shoulders shrugged, putting an end to the discussion. Since the outcome would be the same, why say more?

When the violent impact of the plane hitting the mountain came, the realisation of death filled the hearts of the five young men who had just turned 18. The last and only thing each saw was the other’s calm and warm smile.

[s:1] [s:2] [s:3] [s:4] [s:5] [s:6] [s:7] [s:8]

Peach 2005-05-15 17:38
Chapter 1

Situ Fengzhan never thought that she would experience such a thing. No, it should be said that such a thing could happen under the protection of Xiao Lianlou and others?

To say that it would be the most stupid decision in the world to let that money-grubbing iron rooster rent an airplane? At the beginning, Lianlou warned of the possible dangers of this decision, but he ignored it because he always had good luck. So it is only natural that this situation has arisen.

This is God punishing him for doing something he knows he shouldn’t do! Who knew that instant karma would come so quickly? What can you say?

The only word is ‘deserved’!

After the plane crashed into the mountain, the moment their bodies were engulfed in the flames and thick black smoke, he instinctively reached out for his best friend Xiao Lianlou, who he had been with since elementary school. At this moment of death, he just hoped that even in the underworld, he would not be alone.

He reached out, but didn’t feel anything.

After waking up from a brief coma, he felt blood rushing to his head, his clothes flying wildly, and his cheeks almost cut by the wind, leaving bloody gashes. He felt dizzy as he fell endlessly, surrounded by a blurry landscape.

Even in the face of death, the student president Situ Fengzhan, who had been criticised by his enemies for being cunning and unscrupulous, did not scream or cry out in fear as one would normally do. Perhaps he was born with an extra nerve that made him more resilient than others. After his body had slightly adjusted to the uncomfortable feeling of falling, and he noticed that he was still falling, he began to feel strange.

If he remembered correctly, the plane should have crashed into an inaccessible mountain. Even if that mountain was comparable to Mount Everest, at this rate and speed of descent, it should have already shattered on impact. But he now had enough time to ponder, and could imagine just how strange the whole thing was.

The surrounding scenery kept changing, but it seemed like there was an endless pit in front of him. From the beginning, it was still a plausible mountain or river, but at some point it was replaced by a majestic building. As he watched the ancient Chinese-style building in the TV drama gradually expand, Situ Fengzhan praised the greatness of Chinese culture while feeling relieved that he would be able to land after all.

This time, unlike the scenery that had just flashed past like a Chinese lantern, the further he fell away from the majestic palace, the closer he got. Until the bright yellow flag symbolising imperial power was waving in front of his eyes, and a large crowd of people were walking around in front of his line of sight. Judging from the movement of the crowd, it seemed that he could still die on a large pile of moving cushions!

Not bad, not bad, I really didn’t expect to be able to drag a lot of people down with me before I die.

Sifu Fengzhan, who had always been willing to die rather than suffer, quickly calculated in her mind her speed and the area of casualties, then happily opened her arms and worked hard to expand the landing area without a shred of conscience.

She closed her eyes and then heard a loud rumble. Her whole body ached as if her bones had fallen apart.

It hurts…

Her whole body felt as if it had been smashed by a sledgehammer, and then mercilessly run over by a road roller. For a moment, Situ Fengzhan couldn’t say a word. But her senses were clear. Maybe it was because the pain was so great.

The place where her cheek touched was soft, and it still carried an undeniable warmth. Hmm, it also seemed to have a rather unpleasant fishy smell. Slowly, she opened her eyes, which she had just closed forcefully. What met her eyes was a golden cloth that almost stabbed her eyes, and a touch of blood red that seeped through.

She couldn’t hear anything with her ears. After rolling her eyes and seeing the way those people were dressed, Situ Fengzhan was so surprised that she couldn’t even say a word.

It was as if someone had grabbed her throat. Stunned, she propped herself up, unable to move due to the intense pain, and stared in disbelief at the situation around her.

Women!

And there wasn’t just one woman, but at least a hundred. Each one was holding a spear or a sword, wearing armour that was worthy of being in a museum, and everyone was looking at her with their mouths wide open.

From childhood to adulthood, Situ Fengzhan has always been loved by women. This can be said to be the first time in his life that he has been stared at by so many women with horror-stricken looks, leaving him with mixed feelings and unable to say exactly what he was feeling. If he moved his gaze slightly, he would almost be blinded by a flash of bright gold.

Standing behind the women, most of whom were dressed as military officers, the tall figure could not be described as ‘ordinary’ no matter how you looked at it.

Judging from the visual inspection, the straight figure should be about the same height as her. She was wearing a dress made of black silk embroidered with a rampant qilin in gold and silver threads. Her pair of crimson eyes seemed to be staring at him as if they had a life of their own. Then, after raising his head a little higher, he saw a pair of calm and sharp eyes. It’s not that her facial features are not outstanding, but those eyes are too indifferent, so the first thing people notice when they look past them is just those indifferent eyes.

The narrow, alluring eyes looked at him with a cold indifference, unlike the surrounding hostile and surprised gazes. Situ Fengzhan also looked directly at her without avoiding her. However, while one pair of eyes was too cold, the other was full of curiosity.

‘What kind of demon is this! How dare you disturb the Emperor’s holiness!”

The quiet was broken when a woman who had finally come to her senses screamed, followed by a series of clanging sounds as swords were drawn. The bright blades were pointed directly at Situ Fengzhan, who was in the centre of the commotion and completely at a loss as to what was going on.

Emperor? His holiness?

Is this some kind of movie?

Shaking his head, he dismissed this most absurd hypothesis into the clouds, and remained in a half-crouching position, concentrating on his thoughts, not at all concerned about what was pressing down on him. But if he moved even slightly, the obviously murderous weapons would happily pierce him. Although these women weren’t holding guns, they could still cause a lot of damage if they really got going.

‘Where did you sneak into the palace? Who are your accomplices? How dare you come here to assassinate the emperor?‘

’Tell the truth, or I’ll have you torn limb from limb and executed a thousand times!”

After dismissing the clamorous shouts in her ears as noise, Situ Fengzhan raised her pretty eyebrows and tried to figure out why she had ended up in such a strange place.

When Situ Fengzhan is thinking, her androgynous face, which is enough to make people of the same sex daze, is suffused with a carefree expression. Her long, white fingers tap gently on the ground, and her streaked burgundy hair sways back and forth with the frequency of her head nods. A kind of quiet and charming, mixed with a kind of magical charm, makes everyone unable to take their eyes off her and their breathing quickens.

After pondering for a long time and ruling out all possibilities, she came to the conclusion that she must have been involved in a plane crash and was caught in the explosion, which sent her hurtling through time and space before ending up in this strange place.

‘Can you tell me where this place is?’ Situ Fengzhan tilted her head to one side, her innocent expression leaving the woman directly in front of her dumbfounded.

“Xiliang Kingdom… Ninglan Palace…’

‘Oh, Xiliang! No wonder. Judging from your attire and the woman standing behind you, who is obviously someone important, I can guess that this is a place where women hold power. But those clothes are a man’s style!”

Situ Fengzhan seriously analysed the current situation.

‘I hate to admit it, but it seems that the heavens are playing a big joke on me. The Western Liang Kingdom, if I remember correctly, seems to have been seen in the ‘Legend of the Mirrored Flowers’ before. A completely matriarchal country where women hold power and are in charge of the household is really the complete opposite of the world I live in!‘

’What are you talking nonsense about? You assassins should stop pretending, come here! Someone, quickly take him down!’

Situ Fengzhan helplessly looked at the menacing face of the man approaching with a weapon in his hand, sighed helplessly, and clearly knew how dangerous his situation was. Although it was a bit unfair for a man like him to fight a woman, if his life was now in danger, he couldn’t let it go, could he?

It’s just that, since childhood, he has relied on the many free protectors around him, and has never thought about learning a self-defense technique. Whenever he encounters someone looking for trouble, he just hands them over to Xiao Lianlou and it’s settled. He has always been the one standing on the sidelines watching the fun.

Now he realizes how wrong he was.

What should he do? Run away?

Although I hate to admit it, now Situ Fengzhan feels like his whole body has fallen apart. Just barely holding himself up and sitting up was already the limit, so there was no way he could get up and escape. Great, instead of dying in a plane crash, I’m going to be killed by these inexplicable women.

It seems that the King is really here to collect his goods!

He laughed in self-deprecation, but Situ Fengzhan didn’t know that he was just smiling lightly with the corners of his lips raised, and at this moment, he still exuded a considerable amount of killing power towards the women with weapons.

‘Your Majesty, if you must execute such a beauty, it would be better to give her to me as a reward.”

A frivolous voice came from the right. The woman who walked out from among the many guards had a pretty and seductive face, and although she was slender and petite, some parts of her body were absolutely flaming.

A beauty?

Upon hearing this word, Situ Fengzhan subconsciously touched her cheek. It seemed that apart from the fact that a woman held power here, the aesthetics were similar to those of the women on her side. Hmm…maybe it was even a little worse. Could a woman of her appearance be called a ‘stunner’? Then what should one call Tan Xiyue, who made women hateful enough to kill and bury? Peerless demon man?

Upon hearing her say this, the woman on the high steps frowned, and a cold, low voice that matched her appearance came from her, making Situ Fengzhan unable to take his eyes off it.

“It’s not that I don’t want to reward him to the third princess, it’s just that no matter how you look at it, that person could be an assassin sent by another country. How can I feel at ease with such a dangerous person following the princess?’

The content of his words was unexpectedly stilted, and after giving the empress a score in his heart, Situ Fengzhan simply obediently shut up and sat on one side, watching developments. Speaking at this time would only get him into an even worse situation, so why not take advantage of someone else doing the talking for him?

‘It’s very simple. Just pick the Achilles tendon and the radial nerve of this suspicious character…’

Oh, this is a good idea!

Situ Fengzhan nodded approvingly, as if someone else was about to be slaughtered. In fact, for him, sticking his neck out now was just as fatal as staying put. It was all a matter of when, not how. How one died was not important at all!

The empress didn’t say a word, but her cold eyes glanced past the third prince and straight at him.

Situ Fengzhan looked up and gazed into those eyes that had given him a good impression from the very beginning. With a vision of 1.0, he clearly saw the emotion in them.

“Never, never, Your Majesty!’

An elderly voice came from the side. The old woman, who looked like she was on her deathbed, was supported by a stunningly beautiful woman in white and trembled as she knelt before the empress and the third prince. Her appearance was like dropping a big stone in a small lake, making the already chaotic scene even more chaotic.

‘Isn’t that the former prime minister who resigned from office and returned to his hometown a long time ago?’

“Why would he appear here at this time?’

It turned out that this old woman, who looked like she was on her deathbed, had a surprisingly noble identity!

Situ Fengzhan easily rested her chin in her other hand and had already come to regard this farce, which would determine her own life and death, as a serial drama.

The emperor frowned and slowly walked down the steps covered in dragon carvings, until he was in front of the old woman.

“Your Majesty, this man must absolutely not be killed! Do you remember the late emperor’s last words? Since the reign of Emperor Zili, there has been an edict passed down that all rulers of the Xiliang Kingdom must obey. When the destinies that have intertwined for a thousand years overlap, the man blessed by the gods will bring prosperity to the Xiliang Kingdom. Your Majesty, this is the will of the gods!”

Upon hearing these words, everyone else fell to their knees in shock, except for the empress, whose face turned pale as she glared at the oblivious Situ Fengzhan with her fierce eyes.

‘So… he is the man destined to be my husband!”

Huh?

The hand holding his chin slipped away, and even he, who was recognised as having an unusual way of thinking, was shocked by this sudden conclusion. In his world, the emperor’s wife was called the “empress”, but here in the daughter country where women were in power, then the meaning of “husband” was…

The empress’s husband!

Oh, no?

This kind of melodramatic plot is not even used in romance novels nowadays. Ignoring the cries of anguish in his heart, things just happened in the most clichéd direction.

“Exactly, please let the Emperor marry the Emperor soon, so that our Xiliang country can prosper and the barbarians at the border will not dare to make trouble.’

The former prime minister bent down and knelt, and his impassioned words incited all the other women to follow suit and kowtow. Great, looking up from the dark mass of heads, the empress’s face was almost as dark as the pot.

‘Wait, I have to be consulted on this at least!’ This is basically forcing a duck to stand on a perch, asking him to marry this woman! Oh my god!

Situ Fengzhan tried hard to express his opinion, joking that even if he didn’t really dislike the empress, it didn’t mean he wanted to ‘marry’ her!

“I understand. Even if it’s for the sake of the common people, I…decided to marry this man as the emperor of Xiliang, as the prime minister suggested.’

‘Hey, you have to at least listen to me for a bit!‘

At this point, Situ Fengzhan still did not give up expressing his heartfelt feelings. Unfortunately, in a country ruled by women, the personal wishes of a man simply did not enter the minds of these women.

’Someone, please escort the Empress into the harem to freshen up. As for the matters related to the wedding, announce them to the world today.’

‘Your servant obeys the emperor’s command. Long live the emperor!”

The ministers and soldiers, who had previously been frowning and scowling, all prostrated themselves on the ground, their shouts shaking the heavens.

Situ Fengzhan sighed helplessly. Well, well, well. This is complete disregard for my wishes, isn’t it? The husband of the emperor should be equivalent to the empress in my world. Not to mention the title or other issues, just the clothing alone would be a big problem, wouldn’t it?

Looking at the emperor’s dragon robe on the stage, she searched through her extensive knowledge to see what the empress’s attire looked like, and then promptly turned green with anger. The phoenix crown, the scarlet robe, the long, beautiful skirt, although all of these were priceless treasures, they were things that she could never hope to own. Why, after falling into this damned place, did she have to start wearing these women’s clothes?

And since there was an emperor, that meant there should be something like an empress, right?

At the thought of this, the image of a man wearing flashy clothes, bashfully falling into the arms of the cold-hearted empress naturally came to mind. Even Situ Fengzhan, who didn’t care about anything, couldn’t help but shiver.

Although he had always been popular with women, he never imagined that he would now jump three levels and directly enter the harem! Although I’m going to become the emperor’s husband, in this way, it seems that I don’t have to die or lose a limb, and in comparison, it seems that becoming the emperor’s husband is a little bit more cost-effective.

After all is said and done, it’s much better than having one’s head chopped off or being picked up by a rude village woman. But then again, although this empress has more imposing presence than Fei Ying’ang and seems stronger than a man in every way, she is still a good woman.

Perhaps this cold, ascetic-looking woman will be very interesting!

Unconsciously, he remembered the time when he had ‘disciplined’ those unruly students. It was obvious that Situ Fengzhan had already classified the empress in front of him as an ‘interesting toy’.

Besides, if he found an opportunity to leave, wouldn’t it be best to just get rid of her? This shouldn’t be too difficult, right?

Naturally, she calculated all the interests and details, and suppressed the previous sense of discomfort. With a smile that was barely happy, Situ Fengzhan revealed her true self. She had thought she was a dead man, but she was still able to step on other people’s heads and continue to survive. It seems that her own momentum is still quite strong!

When she looked up, all she saw was the Empress’s cold face, and hidden behind that layer of ice was something that was the complete opposite of her anger just now… tenderness?

Huh? Strange?

‘What’s your name?’ he asked, speaking subconsciously. Although this serious situation was very inappropriate, Situ Fengzhan tilted his head to the side, bringing his killing power to the extreme, which was instead kind of endearing.

The empress glanced at him, but she didn’t seem to mind. His voice was colder than ice, but it was more beautiful than flowing water. It reached her ears, surpassing the howling wind, and shook her heartstrings.

‘I am the seventh ruler of the Western Liang Kingdom.’

‘I’m not asking for a long-winded title! I want your name.’

His bold and unreasonable question caused everyone to gasp.

Does this man have a brain? Although it is said that he may be the lucky star sent by heaven to the Xiliang Kingdom, such a bold and rude question to the ruler of a country, even if he is not dragged out and beheaded, he will definitely be severely punished.

The empress did not expect him to be so direct and rude. This kind of thing that makes the king lose face in front of everyone obviously cannot be tolerated.

“Come here.’

‘Yes, my lady!”

With the cold emperor’s golden decree, several black figures slowly walked out from behind the female soldiers. They were only a few slender men. Although they had applied three feet of thick white powder on their faces, the contours of their faces and the laryngeal nodes in their collars could not be changed. A few cross-dressing men walked up and lifted Situ Fengzhan’s limp body.

‘The emperor doesn’t quite understand the customs of the Western Liang at the moment, and he looks very tired. Do you know what to do?‘

’Huh? Hey, wait a minute!‘

’Your Majesty, please.”

Stingy, not even willing to tell her your name? But that’s good, if she has reservations about you, it will be easier to get rid of her some day in the future when you need to escape.

While thinking hard about her plans, Situ Fengzhan leaned lazily against the palace servant next to her, while keeping her ears open to gather any clues that would help her survive, or more appropriately, what should be called ‘gossip’!

Although women are in power here, after all, it has nothing to do with gender. Human nature is to like to complain and gossip, and this also made her hear something.

It was only when his body was lifted that he saw what he had actually crushed. He was lucky to have escaped with his life. All he could see was a head of long black hair lying in a messy heap on top of colourful brocade and satin, and blood was spilling all over the floor. Although he couldn’t see her face, he guessed that she was quite pretty.

“Poor Concubine Li! She finally won the Emperor’s favour, but then she was crushed by the heavenly gift of a husband and became a scapegoat.

‘If the emperor hadn’t ordered her to dance at this celebration, it could have been someone else who died.‘

’Speaking of which, the third prince must be heartbroken. This concubine was the most beautiful woman she chose to present to the emperor, and now she’s dead. Sigh…’

As she was escorted by palace guards through the group of ministers, the crowd whispered, and most of their words fell into someone’s ears. Situ Fengzhan raised her eyebrows, and now she really felt that the heavens had not been unfair to her.

It turned out that the unlucky person she had crushed to death happened to be the flirtatious woman the Third Prince had presented as tribute, and she happened to have won the Emperor’s favour. Gee, no wonder that Third Prince wanted to compete with her. But what interesting things might have come out of her fall?

As she thought about it, an amused smile crept onto Situ Fengzhan’s lips, and she tilted her head slightly to let her gaze fall. It wasn’t hard to see the cold and unmoving side of the Empress.

It’s rare to see such a calm woman in the world I live in, one who gives off an overwhelming sense of pressure. It’s really interesting!

The curious and slightly interested gaze was full, showing the fact that Situ Fengzhan was enjoying it. The empress obviously knew that he was looking at her, but she still pursed her lips and didn’t say a word. It wasn’t until Situ Fengzhan’s slightly slender body for an ordinary man disappeared into the green greenery that the eyes full of coldness slowly turned around, thoughtfully looking in the direction they had left.

Peach 2005-05-23 11:17
Chapter 2

What does it take to become the Emperor’s favourite?

Pulled by the palace guards, she wandered around the maze-like harem, and was kept busy for a long time picking out clothes and other things, which made Situ Fengzhan feel drowsy. What’s more, her clothes smelled of blood, which was really unpleasant. Although it wasn’t intentional, that unlucky guy was crushed to death after all, wasn’t he?

Although the student president of ‘Yuelong’ was known as an ‘elegant rascal,’ she still felt a little bad.

It wasn’t until the sun set that the palace men pushed him into the large pool of steamy water, fully enjoying the ancient bathing experience.

Sifu Fengzhan let the palace men massage him gently, while enjoying the unique floral bath of ancient times and watching the colourful petals floating on the surface of the water. It seemed that there was still an illusion of being born in a dream.

Now, becoming the emperor’s husband seemed inevitable. Problems such as being supported by a woman and injuring a man’s pride had long been resolved along with the issue of safety, and they were thrown into the clouds. Moreover, although the empress, who was above everyone else, looked cold and indifferent, she seemed to be a pretty good woman.

Just thinking about this, Situ Fengzhan’s eyes couldn’t help but curve even more.

Without thinking, Situ Fengzhan knew what ‘imperial consort’ meant. Could it be that these were the preparations to be made before serving the emperor?

Well, no way! After all, an imperial consort is different from an ordinary concubine. They should be sent to the bridal chamber after the grand marriage ceremony according to ancient rites, right? I never thought that he, Situ Fengzhan, would actually have physical intimacy with an ancient person, and moreover, the female emperor of a country of women!

His body was pulled up, and then Situ Fengzhan was wrapped in a long, light and smooth silk robe. The long, black hair that fell past his cheeks set off the beauty of his delicate face in a way that was heart-stoppingly beautiful, and his well-maintained, rosy cheeks made you want to kiss them.

Seeing clearly the faces of the effeminate men who served her turn red, Situ Fengzhan couldn’t help but smile slightly with her eyes narrowed. The affinity generated by this smile immediately diluted his captivating, almost magical charm.

“Hey, you don’t need to be so scared, I won’t bite, so don’t be so formal with me!’

With his gentle voice and kind smile, even if they were afraid of his status, no one could say no to such a person.

‘Yes, Your Majesty.’ Noticing that they exchanged a glance with each other, the submissive look seemed to suggest that they wanted something.

‘What is it? Do you want to ask me something?‘ With his legs crossed nonchalantly, Situ Fengzhan’s eyes twinkled. It was rare that he could find some entertainment, and he didn’t want to scare the other person away so soon.

’Um… can I really ask?’ Encouraged by this smile, a bold and curious palace man finally spoke up.

‘Well, go ahead and ask.’

‘So… Your Highness came from a completely different place to Xiliang, right?‘

’Yes, that’s right.‘ In a sense, it was indeed completely different…

’So, what kind of country was it?’

‘This? Well, actually, in terms of customs and habits, there is not much difference. It’s just that there, men are in charge outside the home and women are in charge inside the home. Although gender equality is now the norm, or perhaps it’s just the opposite, there are still quite a few male chauvinists. Anyway, in the place where I live, it is still quite rare for women to be in power and call the shots. So, I really can’t get used to it here.”

His careless words caused the palace men to stir in surprise.

‘How come? Haven’t women always been in charge of the household? Why has it turned out like this? I really can’t imagine women cooking, washing the dishes, doing the laundry and all that. And the men go off to war! My goodness!’

Come on, what you’re talking about is quite a big deal in my eyes, okay?

Looking at the palace men in front of her, who were arguing in a noisy group, with anger and helplessness, Situ Fengzhan’s mood actually improved a little.

“So, is the Empress Dowager the only one who came from that place?’

It was better not to mention this matter, but once it was, it reminded him of a life-threatening problem. Never mind the three cockroaches that just wouldn’t die, what was Xiao Lianlou going to do? If something happened to him, what was he going to do for the rest of his life? Just the thought of losing his reliable bodyguard and best friend scared Situ Fengzhan half to death. If he lost Xiao Lianlou, he was afraid he would never be able to sleep peacefully again.

‘Right, I’m now the emperor! The rights of an emperor should be pretty great, right?’ Grabbing the shoulders of the young man in front of him, Situ Fengzhan now looked like a cat with its tail stepped on.

The poor boy was startled by his sudden move and fell backwards, causing Situ Fengzhan to lose his balance and fall over as well. He landed heavily on top of the other person, which didn’t hurt much, but the impact from the fall had not yet fully subsided, and Situ Fengzhan groaned and could barely get up.

“What are you… doing?’

A hesitant voice came from above. The first thing that entered Situ Fengzhan’s eyes were boots embroidered with golden dragons, followed by a black robe. As his gaze slowly moved upwards, he saw the Empress’s gloomy face, which was like a dark cloud covering the sky.

The empress had exchanged her dazzling golden clothes for a dark black robe of good quality, the fitted design of which outlined the gentle curves of her tall figure. She looked thin, but her imposing manner was undiminished. All the palace men could do was tremble, and then they hurriedly bowed to the ground and prostrated themselves.

Oh, she had arrived just in time!

Sifu Fengzhan climbed to her feet from the poor young man, who was already scared out of his wits, and, somewhat flustered, grabbed the Empress’s sleeve in front of her, using the force to straighten herself up. She could hear the palace men behind her gasping, but she couldn’t care less at the moment.

‘Does becoming your husband give you a lot of power?”

The empress raised an eyebrow in response to this sudden question from Situ Fengzhan. She reached out and grabbed the young man’s arm to help him right himself.

‘If the emperor has a lot of power, I think there’s someone who probably also fell to the Western Liang with the plane crash. Of course, if you allow, there are also three other guys who have to be found. Other things aside, I really can’t imagine the terrible situation of Lian Lou being forced by someone. That guy has never been good at saying no since he was a child, and this time I’m afraid it’s even more troublesome. Anyway, I must find Lian Lou!’

Biting her lip in annoyance, Situ Fengzhan thought about what the foreseeable future would be like without her gentle friend by her side.

‘Lian Lou?’ The empress squeezed his shoulder a little harder, but Situ Fengzhan, who was lost in her own thoughts, didn’t notice at all.

“Is that person so important to you?’

‘Of course he is! We’ve been together since we were little, and he is the most important person in my life!’ Situ Fengzhan replied with absolute certainty. But this was also something that everyone who knew the two of them recognised: Xiao Lianlou was the person born to accompany Situ Fengzhan. From kindergarten all the way to the university student union, had there been anything that Situ Fengzhan had done, Xiao Lianlou had taken care of it. From the student union’s various decision-making affairs to the student union president’s daily life, Situ Fengzhan had never been away from Xiao Lianlou’s care from the very beginning.

If the man who always puts himself first is snatched away by some other savage woman, it is a fact that will make Situ Fengzhan feel remorseful, both in terms of face and substance. Xiao Lianlou, who has long been included in the private property of the Situ family, must obtain Situ Fengzhan’s permission even when he is in a relationship. It’s just that poor guy has never had time to fall in love because he has been under Situ Fengzhan’s enslavement.

‘I must find him as soon as possible, or else there will be trouble! I simply cannot live without Lianlou!‘

’That person, is he really that important to you?’ The steady, indifferent tone contained a surging anger, and the palace men, who were prostrate on the ground, couldn’t help but shiver a little, feeling a heartfelt fear for the majesty of the emperor.

Originally, Situ Fengzhan, who had been immersed in her own panic-stricken thoughts, only then realised that something was wrong. Just as she looked up, she saw anger rolling in the originally cold black eyes. Situ Fengzhan felt the momentum sweeping from the empress, which was even more powerful than Fei Ying’ang or Lin Han’s. The oppressor’s chest was pressing down on him, making it hard for him to breathe, but he still straightened his shoulders and subconsciously pulled a sweet, gentle smile on his face.

It is often said that when you don’t know what expression to use when facing a beast or danger, a smile is the most effective and most lethal expression. The beast may think you are friendly towards it and therefore will not harm you. The enemy may think you already have a countermeasure and therefore will not dare to act rashly. Originally, it was very natural and normal for Situ Fengzhan to take such a move, but he forgot about another possibility.

The empress felt the surging anger in her chest grow even more intense with the guy’s smile. What did he mean? Did he look down on her? Or… did he simply not care what he thought?

All that anger turned into action. She no longer cared about the rules that said she couldn’t touch her husband until after a formal greeting. She leaned down, determined to make this guy pay!

A shallow smile twisted in her dark pupils before widening until it disappeared. Situ Fengzhan watched as the empress’s face grew larger and larger until, when he snapped out of his daze, his lips were already blocked by something cold.

Situ Fengzhan never dreamed that this person, whom he had barely met for the second time, would start with such a French tongue kiss. Even though he had long been aware that he would be engaging in bed sports with the emperor, he had not expected the empress to perform so blatantly in front of the palace men.

Who says ancient people must be subtle and restrained? Drag him out and feed him to the dogs!

Because the kiss came so suddenly, Situ Fengzhan didn’t notice it at first, and he just felt the fragrant tongue in his mouth as slippery and flexible as a snake. A hot current mixed with the feeling of an electric shock started to wildly flow from the part where the two were in contact, and his whole body tingled.

Although he had not had such intimate contact with many girls, based on what he had read and a few sporadic experiments, he believed that he was not weak. But at this moment, he actually felt weak all over because of a woman’s kiss. This could be said to be an unprecedented situation.

Situ Fengzhan only felt an icy hand hugging the small of his back. He opened his eyes in surprise and saw that the empress’s eyes had gradually faded from anger and had instead returned to the coldness he had first seen.

After they had engaged in a French tongue kiss, how could she react like that? Situ Fengzhan narrowed his eyes and had to admit that he was a little upset. Although he didn’t care about many things and didn’t bother to argue, this feeling of being looked down on was like a landmine to Situ Fengzhan, and every time he stepped on it, he would die.

So he wrapped his arms around the woman in front of him, and his lips and tongue tangled unceremoniously with hers. He could vaguely hear a muffled grunt, as if the other person was also taken aback by his skilled tongue technique. He felt the arm holding his waist stiffen for a moment, and then the top, which was not originally secure, slid down, revealing half of a snow-white shoulder in the milky mist, arousing the senses. The panicked footsteps of the palace guards were clearly audible, indicating that the audience was clearing the area. Was the dog about to let loose and do its worst?

Since she was already in the water, she decided that, to be fair, she should wash up properly as well.

Sticking out her toes, Situ Fengzhan grabbed her shoulders from the half-reclined position, forcing the woman of similar height to obey the principle of gravity and press down on him.

The two of them maintained this position as they both fell into the pool. With a loud splash, the water splashed everywhere, and quite a bit of it stained the red silk gown hanging nearby.

“Cough cough… cough cough… do you know how awesome I am now?’

Trying hard to spit out the water in his mouth, Situ Fengzhan, who was mostly sinister and unscrupulous but sometimes quite idiotic, wore a somewhat rampant smile, knowing that he was in the best mood after he had tricked the woman who had stepped on his sore spot.

The burgundy hair, which was already damp, was now completely soaked, and the indifferent empress’s appearance could be clearly seen through the pale gaps.

The long, black hair that had been tied up had long since been scattered by the force of the water, and the strands were winding around the surface of the water, an unmissable sight. Some of the damp bangs hung down her cheeks, adding a touch of feminine tenderness and tranquillity to her pale, moon-like face, and also blurring the coldness and majesty that radiated from her, enough to freeze others.

This kind of charm, like a solitary moon, is indeed very different from the types she has encountered before. The revengeful joke she had been planning became unbalanced. Situ Fengzhan’s eyes widened as she looked at the beauty soaked in water, and she became a little breathless.

At this moment, the empress’s dark eyes looked at the stunning young man and wondered what he was thinking.

And Situ Fengzhan also looked at her in a daze, which was rare. This wonderful feeling fermented in her heart, and then turned into a mood that she didn’t quite understand, which made Situ Fengzhan very depressed.

Thump, thump.

It seemed like she could hear her own heartbeat. With her head tilted, she pondered her strange mood, and in a trance, she heard the sound of splashing water. She looked up and saw her own reflection in Leng Ran’s cold eyes, disheveled and a little lost, and even a little happy.

Before he could think about it, a loud ‘pop’ sound interrupted all his thoughts. His face tilted to one side due to the force, and the indifferent expression was clearly visible in the long, wine-red hair flying around him, as well as the anger hidden in his dark eyes, which was even colder than ice.

“Bitch!’

These two words were resounding, but they left Situ Fengzhan completely at a loss. Covering his burning right cheek, he was about to ask what was going on when the woman in front of him straightened up and walked towards the edge of the bathtub.

Supporting himself up, the empress stared at him from above with her mandarin ducks eyes, which were particularly majestic as they raised the corners of her eyes, proclaiming the fact that he now had to comply.

‘You’d better remember that you are destined to become the emperor father who rules the world, and you are not allowed to think of other women. The only woman who will dominate your life can only be me, the seventh generation ruler of the Xiliang Kingdom, Xiao Di Fan Liu’s person!’

The flickering candlelight cast a soft golden glow over the curvy body, which had been soaked in water. She gave a threatening look at Situ Fengzhan, who was soaking in the bathtub and had no idea what was going on, and then turned around and walked towards the entrance. Her black hair fell to her waist and swung as she walked. The sudden appearance and inexplicable departure of the empress left Situ Fengzhan baffled. He felt that this empress called Fanliu had major problems with her logic in all aspects of her behaviour.

In that case, the Kingdom of Daughters itself should be quite abnormal, right?

Huh? Wait, from what she just said, could it be that she has misunderstood the relationship between Lian Lou and me? Does she think that I like someone else, and even gave her a… green hat?

‘Hahaha—no way!’

It was only then that she understood the cause and effect of the matter, and Situ Fengzhan laughed out loud, hugging her stomach. For a while, her breathless laughter echoed through the huge palace.

‘Your Majesty, Your Majesty, what’s wrong?”

The palace guards, who had been driven away by the emperor’s anger, were all summoned back by his laughter. As a result, they saw the always smiling, seemingly very easy-going and cute husband of the empress, laughing and rolling around in the bathtub, splashing a lot of water as he laughed.

Laughing at himself and Lian Lou, haha—he died laughing. He was notorious as the devil, and if Lian Lou and he were in that kind of relationship, Lian Lou would have long since been reduced to nothing!

But…

If there really was to be an intimate relationship, then Fan Liu seemed to be quite the right choice.

His fingers caressed his upper lip as if they had a mind of their own, and then he beamed, his mood at its peak. Judging from this alone, her personality was definitely incompatible with his. A cold heart hidden beneath a fiery exterior, the empress usually behaved in a strict and proper manner, while Situ Fengzhan was lazy by nature and would slack off whenever possible. No matter how you looked at it, they were not suitable for each other.

‘But…if I really had a wife like that, I might not have to worry about having toys to play with for the rest of my life.’ With a rather sentimental tone, Situ Fengzhan narrowed her eyes.

But things won’t go that smoothly, will they? If it goes too smoothly, it would be a disservice to her personality, which is always looking for trouble.

So the empress of the Western Liang kingdom rolled over in the water, paying no attention to the terrified palace guards by the pool, and concentrating on her plans for the future. Of course, that included finding her ever-loyal servant Xiao Lianlou.

If this can make the empress angry enough to jump up and down, and also make Lianlou continue to stay by her side, then why not?

But now that he has openly angered the empress of the Daughter State, does that mean he will be beheaded? Oh, no, he should now be in the position of the emperor’s husband, so it can’t be… that he will be banished to the cold palace by the empress?

With a ‘tsk’ and a ‘tsk’, Situ Fengzhan was very satisfied with his current situation. In just one day, he had travelled through time, crushed the emperor’s favourite concubine to death, and was inexplicably honoured as the ‘imperial consort’. He was then discovered by the emperor for not following the ‘ways of a husband’, and was rewarded with a slap in the face and a swift dismissal. Next, he would probably be sent to the cold palace because he had fallen out of favour.

I’m afraid that no adventurer in the world would have such a strange and bizarre experience, would they?

Situ Fengzhan looked up, fell backwards into the still-warm water, took a deep breath, and let her body float naturally. The moment her eyelids closed and the world became dark, the last thing that appeared in her mind was the lonely and arrogant black figure.

No matter how you look at it, this is not simple!

That damned…damned bitch!

Fan Liu stormed out of Tengyun Palace, her mind reeling with anger. It seemed that she had never lost her temper so much since she could remember, and it was all thanks to that smirking guy.

Never had she seen such a bold and shameless man. She had waited for him for so long, and even after the marriageable age had passed, she had kept the position of wife for him, but he only wanted to find his lover? So even if she married herself, that guy would just go far away after finding the guy called ‘Lian Lou’?

Don’t be ridiculous!

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. The cool night wind blew through the green leaves and hit her face, which had become red with anger. It wasn’t until the sound of the wind carried a voice into her ears that Fan Liu slightly regained her original indifference.

“Hey, Your Majesty, why are you so angry?’

The flirtatious figure that slowly walked from the depths of the flowers made her pupils contract. The Third Prince raised one eyebrow and surveyed the person related to him by blood, his smile was indescribably frivolous.

“You’re not going to see your future husband, are you? Indeed, you have looked forward to his appearance since you were a child. Now such a delicate and beautiful woman has fallen from the sky, Your Majesty, your luck is really extraordinary.’

Her eyelids slowly lowered, and the anger hidden in her dark eyes was forcibly suppressed by reason. No matter what, she must not show weakness in front of this person.

“I wonder what you are doing here so late at night, sister? Even if you are the Prince, this is still my harem, and you cannot just come and go as you please.’

‘Nonsense, I am after all the Emperor’s closest person, so you should overlook this little mistake. Besides, I risked my life to come here because I care about you. I don’t know if you will lose control when you see the person you have been waiting for, and I am very worried about it. In case you break the ancient etiquette out of impulse, I am afraid the heavens will punish the Emperor.’

The Third Prince chuckled, his narrow eyes watching Fanliu’s expression carefully. His fists were clenched in his sleeves, but Fanliu remained expressionless and unresponsive.

“My sister, don’t worry. I will not let personal matters get in the way of the affairs of state.’

‘That’s good. I’m just afraid that Your Majesty will lose control when he sees that enchanting beauty. If you have physical intimacy with the Emperor before becoming his wife, the heavens will surely punish you. The worst that could happen is a natural disaster, but the least that could happen is the loss of Your Majesty’s life.”

Fan Liuyong did not move, allowing the woman with ulterior motives to brag on one side.

What was in the mind of this imperial sister who had liked to compete with her since childhood? I was afraid that if you picked up a child at random on the streets of the imperial city, they could explain clearly and understandably. Previously, the beautiful concubine was sent to indulge in beauty and at the same time gather all kinds of information. It was originally planned to take advantage of the situation to teach her a good lesson, but unexpectedly, the heavenly beauty came and squashed the pawn that had been cultivated for so long.

The appearance of the emperor’s husband, not to mention the impact on the entire country, was a bit too much for her to handle on her own.

And what is this guy up to now?

What does such undisguised provocation represent?

Is she really fearless or does she consider herself a pushover?

And that strange emperor’s husband, I’m afraid she also has an interest in conquering him…

Although the emperor is the favoured son of heaven, seizing the husband bestowed by heaven is surely the shortest path to the throne? So if the man who is the popular choice and destined to bring prosperity and stability to Xiliang is seized, it means gaining the trust of the people of the country and the loyalty of the ministers in the court, and the throne is within reach?

‘Liú Ti.‘ Fan Liú frowned, reminding her not to be too rash.

’Since I was little, it seems like I can’t compete with you at anything, but this time, who knows?’ The Third Prince, Liú Ti, let out a mocking laugh, walked past Fan Liú, and disappeared behind the pillar with the carved dragons and phoenixes.

The night wind was getting colder and colder, and Fanliu could only feel a chill running through his wet clothes and straight to his skin, piercing to the bone.

Liuteng had, without him knowing, already gained a lot of power in the court. If he really used methods against her now, failure would mean rebellion. That was why she was becoming more and more arrogant and more and more fearless.

No, the time was not yet ripe.

And what did it mean that the heavens had sent that man to her side at this time?

Unable to resist, the emperor of the Xiliang Kingdom hugged his arms. Standing in the cold evening breeze in the middle of summer, he felt only darkness before him, unable to see the way forward.

Peach 2005-05-23 11:18
Chapter 3

I don’t know if it was a curse that lasted for a thousand years, or if Situ Fengzhan just didn’t have a connection to that kind of cold and desolate place, but in any case, completely unexpected, the empress, who had stormed away in a rage, didn’t kick him into the cold palace, but instead rewarded him with a lot of gold and silver jewellery and silk and satin.

But this probably also meant that the matter of the ‘imperial consort’ was an ironclad fact.

For a moment, Situ Fengzhan’s heart was filled with mixed emotions, and she really didn’t know how to describe this wonderfully complex feeling in words.

Looking at the piles of various silks and other fabrics that filled most of the large room, as well as all kinds of ready-to-wear clothes inlaid with countless jewels and agates, and the gold and silver jewellery and gemstones glittering on the dressing table, the first thought that came to Situ Fengzhan’s mind when she saw this pile of stuff was that if she threw this pile of stuff away, she would be able to get back how much activity funding she could get if she threw it away.

Then she thought about the biggest problem concerning her own interests.

‘What are these?’

‘Your Majesty, these are gifts from the Emperor especially for you.’

‘Can you stop saying “Your Majesty”?’ This kind of address that sounds like it makes a man’s skin crawl is really uncomfortable.

Reaching over, she pulled off the largest gemstone earrings on the dressing table. It was probably something like this. Situ Fengzhan’s face still wore a smile, but inside she hated the guy who invented ‘earrings’ to death and wanted to chop him up into a thousand pieces!

“But this is the palace rule, and we don’t dare to make you angry, Your Highness.’

The strange-looking man in charge bowed low, making Situ Fengzhan clearly understand her current situation and the rules of the game she should follow. It was absolutely impossible to make them abandon such ridiculous titles. Fortunately, he was not a person who cared about trifles, and he could only follow the local customs.

‘It seems that the emperor is very fond of you. This is a piece of agate from the northwest region. Only three pieces are tributed by the local governor each year, and the red pattern on this piece is naturally formed like a dragon. It is considered a first-class national treasure. These silken fabrics are also the best woven and spun tributes from the entire Xiliang Kingdom. As for the patterns on these clothes, they were embroidered stitch by stitch by the best embroiderers in the capital’s top embroidery workshops. It is rare for the emperor to bestow one or two of these clothes on other empresses, but he gave you so many. This shows that it is not just because you were chosen by heaven to be the emperor’s wife, I think the emperor really likes you.”

Loves me? Then why did he slap himself?

Sifu Fengzhan subconsciously stroked her cheek, and then naturally remembered the cold eyes and the words ‘bitch’ she had left behind. Yes, he admitted that he was wrong to use a trick to drag her out of the bath, getting her all wet, and that misunderstanding, which was so ridiculous, was really hard to explain to her. The ruler of a country was so petty, and it seemed that the country was not doing well either.

Such erratic behaviour really makes one scratch one’s head. Does that indifferent and fickle stream actually like me? Or does it hate me?

For the Nth time, I feel that women’s hearts are bottomless wells. Situ Fengzhan sighed and put down the gem in her hand.

“Your Majesty, please let your servants dress you.’

Stu Fengzhan looked at the long white robe and then at the pile of colourful things that could compete with a peacock in the court. She couldn’t help but take three steps back.

‘No way! Which one are you going to change me into?’

The group looked at each other and then walked over to bring the ghostly garment embroidered with gold and silver threads that dazzled the eyes in the sunlight.

“Your Majesty, this is the one,’

Seeing the ghostly thing, which was probably 30 catties in weight if not 40, and studded with jade and emeralds, and the hemline that trailed to the ground, Situ Fengzhan thought that if she wore such a thing, she would probably trip over it after taking three steps.

“I don’t want to wear that, I’ll just wear this,’

Waving her wide white sleeves, she felt as if she were wearing a yukata. Although she was not quite used to it, it was at least much better than that ghostly thing that weighed a ton. But this suggestion was obviously rejected. The palace men present bowed and knelt in fear, their foreheads prostrate on the ground, their trembling groans indicating the source of their fear.

‘Absolutely not! Your Highness, as the Emperor’s consort and the future head of the harem, must never walk around in such casual underwear. And you are the Emperor’s consort who sets the example for the world, so this is even more unacceptable. Besides, not to mention the palace, even in the civilian world, is there any man who is so bold? If Your Highness insists on not doing it, when the Emperor blames you, it will be a small matter to take our lives, but it will be terrible to punish Your Highness. Even if you don’t care about our lives, please…’

Can this explanation from the palace man be understood as the three obedience and four virtues that ancient women must abide by in the world that he is familiar with?

Waving her hand to dismiss the unpleasant associations from her mind, Situ Fengzhan sighed helplessly and could only resign herself to letting them put the cumbersome clothes on her.

She picked out a not-too-flashy, not-too-heavy outfit and, ignoring the palace men’s panicked objections, looked out into the imperial garden, her mood improving.

Even in the world that belonged to him, the emperor’s imperial garden was a treasure trove. It was said to be full of exotic flowers and plants and rare animals. This Xiliang Kingdom had originally thought that it only existed in books, and now there was this great opportunity to see it with one’s own eyes, so only a fool would let it go.

Situ Fengzhan had always liked adventures and other such activities, and he had planned the student union outing single-handedly. How could he let such a good thing pass him by?

After waiting until the servants had helped him with his belt, Situ Fengzhan hurried to the door, but before he could pull it open, his eyes were dazzled by a flash of dazzling jewels and precious stones.

“Are you the little slut who killed Concubine Li and charmed the emperor with your sorcery?’

The opening line, which was clearly offensive and contemptuous, was loudly read in a strange voice. Situ Fengzhan’s first reaction was not to laugh or be angry, but to almost burst out laughing.

She took three steps back before she could get a good look at the person’s appearance. The young man, who could be considered to have an above-average appearance, had covered his entire face with heavy white powder. He had definitely used something like rouge to dot the sides of his cheeks, and his long hair was coiled up into a magnificent palace bun. The gold hairpin above the bun trembled as he spoke. When he looked down, he saw that the thin gauze covering the embroidered bellyband with mandarin ducks playing in the water gave off a charming atmosphere, as did the jade bangles on her wrists, which clinked merrily.

It seems that beauty really does not discriminate between the sexes. However, this effeminate youth was, in his eyes, at best just a flat-chested beautiful girl, and it gave him an incongruous feeling.

Hmm… Imagine the cold-hearted empress together with this concubine. No matter how you think about it, it’s just two women there cooing at each other, and it feels…uncomfortable. Suppressing the bizarre imagination full of beautiful petals, Situ Fengzhan gave a simple smile, but in his head he was calculating a response.

While he was sizing up the other person, the other person was naturally also sizing him up. At the end, the empress sneered, and the derisive laughter she let out was actually even more shrill than a girl’s.

‘Sure enough, she’s still quite pretty, but she’s nowhere near as pretty as Concubine Zhen! Not to mention Concubine Li, who was crushed to death by you, and is even further off the mark. I really don’t know what methods you used to bribe the former Prime Minister to make her speak for a man like you, who came out of nowhere. Hmph, it’s just that the heavens have an eye for justice. Don’t look at the Emperor rewarding you with so many things, but this type of person is the Emperor’s most loathed, it’s just a passing sense of novelty. Yesterday, was it yesterday? Didn’t the emperor slap you? So don’t be so arrogant! My dear husband, don’t kid around. One day, the emperor will abandon you and come back to me. By then, you little demon…‘

’I said…‘

’What did you say? Are you apologising to me, Zhenfei, right now? You’re smart to do so. Although you’ve shown mercy where mercy is due, your identity is unclear, and I’m afraid there’s still a threat to the emperor…’

‘Cough, Zhenfei, I don’t want to interrupt your long speech, I just want to tell you that there’s a bee on your shoulder!”

With a smile, Situ Fengzhan raised his finger, and the voluble Zhenfei looked in the direction of his finger to see his bare shoulder. Sure enough, he saw a glimmer of golden yellow shining in the sunlight.

‘Ahhh! A bee!”

The sound was several dozen times louder than the previous threat, and it echoed through the sky. Several birds flew up from the trees, scattering leaves in their panic. Situ Fengzhan easily walked past Zhenfei, who was jumping around, busy avoiding the bee, and the palace guards, who were busy rushing over to help, and sauntered off towards the imperial garden, which could definitely be called an ancient treasure.

Well, it’s nice to have a little unexpected entertainment every now and then.

Carefully avoiding the palace guards patrolling the imperial garden, after all, she didn’t want to be caught by those nagging men and have them gossip about her, Situ Fengzhan picked a small path and walked deeper into the flowers. It was now the height of summer, hot enough to kill, and although she hadn’t felt too uncomfortable at first, after walking for about a quarter of an hour, Situ Fengzhan felt thirsty and her tongue was dry.

Although she shouldn’t be exerting herself so much due to her poor physical condition, the culprit was still the clothes she was wearing. Even though she had chosen the lightest option, the multitude of things encrusted on top were still heavy as hell. Besides, the long skirt was very uncomfortable for her to wear, and she almost stepped on it several times as she dragged it along.

With the greatest respect to the ancient women and the great men of the Land of Daughters, and since there were no onlookers around, Situ Fengzhan simply lifted the lower part of the skirt up, tied it roughly at the waist, then rolled up the trousers to her knees and casually tied the wide embroidery on the upper body to reveal her arms.

This really did make her feel a lot cooler. But she also seemed to have sweated a lot all over, and the sticky mess was a bit disgusting.

Su Zifengzhan sighed. Although she really wanted to take a bath, she was not stupid enough to go back to that place where a bunch of people served her.

Well, since this is the Imperial Garden, there must be some ornamental springs or pools that have been brought in. Besides, even if it is just a corner, it is probably much larger than the backyard of any rich merchant’s garden, so there is no need to worry about that. In that case, it would be best to just find a corner where no one is and wash up secretly.

Nodding, thinking that this decision was quite correct, Situ Fengzhan pricked up his ears. Sure enough, the heavens did not disappoint those who worked hard, and under a canopy of greenery, he found a pond with rippling, turquoise water.

“Haha, my luck is really scary!’

The good luck that he had been proud of since childhood once again played a huge role. He looked around and saw that there were indeed no annoying palace guards or patrols of the imperial army. Only then did he feel relieved and boldly pulled the skirt that was in his way off his waist. After considering it for a while, he jumped into the pool wearing his undershirt.

Looking around, he saw a sea of green, with barriers made of intertwined green leaves everywhere. It seemed that the pool was not in the middle of the imperial garden, and there were always few people.

In that case, I can do whatever I want now, right?

The summer here is really hot!

In the past, whenever summer came, I couldn’t stand the heat and took the guys from the student union to the beach for a trip. Playing in the sand, basking in the sun, flirting with girls, diving, surfing, and speeding on a speedboat. It was really quite fun.

“Why did I have to be so unlucky as to time travel here? To say the least, this is the worst thing that has ever happened to me, isn’t it?’

Opening his eyes, he relaxed his body and floated naturally on the surface of the water. While muttering to himself, he enjoyed the comfort of the cool liquid soaking his entire body. Sure enough, swimming and soaking in the cool water is still the most comfortable in the summer. It’s really quite nice to sunbathe while taking a nap.

Looking at the crystal clear water, with a few koi swimming in the middle, Situ Fengzhan narrowed his eyes and smiled, and immersed his entire body in the water.

Looking at the world from the water is a very interesting thing to do. The feeling of the wavering liquid blue blending into the sky blue is probably the most beautiful colour I have ever seen. Relaxing your body and sinking to the bottom of the water, the thrill of becoming a fish or returning to the womb is really addictive.

Situfengzhan opened her eyes and looked at the koi swimming around her. The golden red body made the silent blue flutter, and she couldn’t help but smile slightly.

So comfortable…

To be honest, if Lian Lou knew that I had become the concubine of the Empress, I would have to be locked up in the palace for the rest of my life, becoming the legendary husband who is equivalent to a lucky cat and brings good luck, but I still dare to leisurely swim and bathe in the pool of the imperial garden, knowing that I may be killed at any time by jealousy. I wonder if he would be so angry that he would die of a heart attack.

Speaking of which, he really should switch places with Tan Xiyue. He is so fond of beauty, and has always been the most suitable candidate to serve as a concubine to Fanliu.

Unwittingly, her mind conjured up an image of Tan Xiyue wearing luxurious women’s clothing, a seductive expression on her face, dancing and serving Fanliu. Situ Fengzhan couldn’t help but laugh.

Hey?

Is this my own delusion?

Why is the face of that empress suddenly appearing before my eyes?

The blue colour was violently disrupted, and a black object that had intruded suddenly covered everything that could be seen. The hair that seemed to be scattered like a black veil and the eyes that were as deep as the night sky seemed to have been seen somewhere before, except that the coldness they contained was replaced by an uncontrollable rage.

The handsome, cold face enlarged, and then strong arms stopped his vital position, forcibly pulling his body, which was enjoying itself underwater, up.

‘Whoa! Ahem…‘

She didn’t notice and let the water rush into her nose, so Situ Fengzhan coughed repeatedly, feeling a stabbing pain in her nasal cavity. It seemed that she had swallowed a lot of water as well, and there wouldn’t be any ancient bacteria in there, would there?

’What are you doing…’ Before she could finish speaking, her face was slapped to the side.

Sifu Fengzhan had not expected this slap at all, and it was only after it had been dealt that she felt her face burn.

This guy… It was fine the first time, but to hit her again and again?

The smile on her face could not hide the veins on her forehead that were throbbing. This time, she better give herself a reasonable explanation, or she would definitely be in trouble. Sifu Fengzhan turned her head, thinking about how to question him, but unexpectedly, a loud yell came from the other person.

‘Are you stupid? How could you come here and jump into the pool to kill yourself? Fortunately, I sent someone to look for you and found out that you weren’t in the palace. I followed the messy clothes you left behind and tracked you here, otherwise I would have only found your corpse!”

After a long pause, Situ Fengzhan realised that the other person had mistaken her recreational diving for suicide. So she was angry and slapped herself because she was worried about her?

Her anger instantly dissipated into outer space. She remembered that the first time she played like this, she was also slapped by Lian Lou, the new good man who was easy to talk to about everything. At that time, the terrified expression on her face overlapped with the one in front of her, and it was hard to tell them apart.

He didn’t know how to react for a moment, and could only cover his cheeks and stare blankly at the completely unpredictable Fan Liu across from him. Then he was viciously pulled into the other person’s embrace.

His black hair, which had just been wet from jumping into the water, hung down to his waist and brushed his cheeks, giving him an indescribable feeling of coolness. He tightly embraced her body, which was about the same height as his, but behind the toughness there was a softness unique to women, which was very comfortable.

Situ Fengzhan narrowed her eyes and rested her head on her shoulder, taking in the scent of sandalwood that filled her nose.

‘I’m so glad I came, otherwise what would I do if you died? This is great…this is great…thank goodness the heavens have not been unfair to me.’

The pale words that were repeated over and over again fully revealed the worry in Fanliu’s heart, as well as the love hidden behind the worry.

This passage reveals so many hidden emotions, so how could the extremely intelligent Situ Fengzhan not know the other person’s intentions? I don’t know who said it, but love is like a sudden disaster, and you can’t avoid it no matter what. So is holding yourself and shaking constantly in love with yourself?

No way?

This thought just flashed through my mind, and I lightly said ‘hmm’ with my mouth. The woman who had originally been hugging me tightly seemed to have just woken up from a dream, and she panicked and pushed me away.

This unexpected move again caused Situ Fengzhan to let out a ‘sigh’, and his body naturally fell backwards as she pushed him, and he even landed softly on the grass.

His completely soaked back could sensitively feel the grass sticking into his skin. He frowned, about to push himself up, but unexpectedly, his downward gaze met Fan Liu’s eyes full of complex emotions.

It was an expression that contained anger but also something else, something that was hard to put a finger on, but which was, strictly speaking, probably the expression of a beast that had been hungry for ten days or so and had come across a luxurious and delicious meal. He followed her gaze to his own body. He had been in a hurry and had jumped into the pool wearing his underwear, so that the pale fabric of his shirt was now clinging to his body thanks to the water, making his skin appear to be almost naked, which was even more provocative than being naked.

I can probably understand what the other person is thinking. This feeling is just like my reaction when I saw a beautiful woman wearing a shirt that barely covered her body. Uh—she shouldn’t suddenly become aggressive and kill me here, right?

Just as Situ Fengzhan, who rarely felt a sense of crisis of chastity, had just thought this, she saw Fan Liu take off his long black running pants, revealing the inner shirt with crescent moon patterns underneath—

‘Well… I don’t mind, but I still feel a bit of a sense of morality and guilt…‘

Before she could finish speaking, the robe embroidered with a dragon pattern was thrown over her.

’Put it on!”

The voice, which had returned to its cold and detached tone, was a bit harsh to the ear. Situ Fengzhan stuck out her tongue and felt a little remorseful about her dirty thoughts, but obediently put the clothes on.

Well, the two of them were about the same height, and she was naturally smaller than the average man, while the height of the man in front of her was about the same as the female models in her world, so the clothes fit.

But how was she supposed to wear this kind of ridiculous clothes? Faced with these clothes that had long since become obsolete, not to mention wearing them, even touching them was a rare thing, so it was normal not to be able to wear them, right?

Sifu Fengzhan naturally made excuses for herself, and her flustered actions made the man beside her impatient.

‘Why are you so stupid?‘

She said this coldly, and then someone who couldn’t stand it any longer came forward and helped him pull the clothes on and tie the belt. Seeing her not-so-unfamiliar movements, Situ Fengzhan stuck out her tongue and teased,

’Well, to be fair, you’re pretty skilled. In theory, being the emperor means you have a lot of people to serve you, and you just have to ask for things. How come you’re so skilled at getting dressed?’

‘You learn by watching. I’m not that stupid.”

It was only at this point that she realised what she had done. As the ruler of a country, she was actually dressing a man? Fan Liu’s face was red with embarrassment as she pushed the well-served man aside and walked forward.

She really saved face, thought Situ Fengzhan with a smile, looking at the clothes that had almost been put on her. Happy, she walked forward beside the emperor.

Her long, straight black hair swayed in front of her eyes, creating a graceful arc as she moved. The droplets of water on it shimmered in the sunlight. Her back was straight, her steps large and quick. Although her movements were decisive and firm, she was still unmistakably feminine.

A combination of masculine bravery and feminine hidden charm!

Situ Fengzhan felt her heart beating with each step of the woman in front of her, so loudly that she could hear it.

Fortunately, this woman was the emperor of a country of women, and fortunately, she had met her.

Walking slowly behind the woman, who was the first person in her life to be interesting, Situ Fengzhan was oblivious to the changes in her own emotions.

A small seed of love sprouted in an inexplicable place, sprouting and growing at an inexplicable opportunity and without its owner being aware of it, little by little revealing its vitality and beauty.

Peach 2005-05-23 11:19
Chapter 4

“Your Majesty, I have checked, and the 15th of this month is the best day of the year, and it is most appropriate to marry the Empress on that day.’

The fingers that held the paper trembled slightly with the sound of the old voice. Fan Liu raised a pair of indifferent eyes and looked at the old woman crawling on the ground, silent for a long time.

‘Your Majesty, what’s wrong?’

Realising the oppressive and solemn atmosphere, the former prime minister knelt on the throne and boldly looked up at the always cold and stern king on the dragon throne.

Fan Liu slowly put down the petition in his hands, and for a while, he was lost in thought, as if he was thinking about something important. The old man, who could be said to have watched her grow up since childhood, and who was both a minister and a mentor, deduced from her expression the reason why the most outstanding emperor of Xixi Liang was so troubled.

‘Your Majesty, your weakness is that you are too kind-hearted,’

Fan Liu was stunned by this divine remark, and then lowered his eyes to hide his emotions.

‘In fact, marriage is a matter of parental choice and matchmaking, a rule that has been in place since ancient times. The old minister and his husband had never met before they got married, so they were complete strangers. But we are still very much in love. So the emperor can rest assured about his husband, and just follow the will of heaven and the wishes of the people to complete the marriage.”

Is that alright?

As soon as I thought of this question, the face of Situ Fengzhan, full of panic, came to mind. That person had fallen from the sky and could still smile in the face of an entirely unknown world, except when it came to ‘Lian Lou’, when he became so nervous that he almost burst into tears. It seems that ‘Lian Lou’ is more important to him than he is.

I slapped him in the face at the time, just to make him realise the situation he was in. He was the husband of the emperor of a country, yet he was thinking about other women, panicking for other women, and completely disregarding his marital duties.

I thought that a slap was too light, but I didn’t expect that when I went to see if he had reflected on what he had done the next day, he had drowned himself?

Did he really like that person called Lian Lou that much?

How could someone who valued someone like that accept someone like her, who could be said to be a stranger?

Even though she had waited for him for nearly twenty years without him knowing, and had wanted to bear his daughter for him, because he had not taken a legitimate wife.

Ever since she could remember, she had heard stories about the man sent from heaven. She didn’t know how she fell in love with him, who only existed in legend, but the moment she saw him descend from the sky, it was even harder to ignore.

From childhood, the reason she worked so hard to obtain the throne was simply because she could marry him as her emperor.

And now?

Should she ignore his wishes and forcibly take him for herself, or stand by and wish him well with Lian Lou?

‘This… let me think about it…‘ Fanliu placed a hand on his forehead. It hurt, throbbing painfully.

’But Your Majesty…‘

’That’s enough. I said I want to think about it!’

The sudden raised voice made the former prime minister’s voice vanish in vain. Fanliu realised what she had done only then, and looked up, unable to apologise. The old minister smiled slightly, always knowing how she felt, bowed, and as he was about to leave the hall, suddenly remembered something.

‘Your Majesty, regarding the emperor’s husband, please pay attention to the third prince.’

Liudi?

“I’m afraid the third prince has it in for the emperor’s wife…’

Frowning, she knew exactly how her sister felt about anything that belonged to her. Fanliu clenched her fists even tighter and then slowly responded to the other person’s question.

‘Don’t worry about that. I’ve already deployed extra guards to keep an eye on him. Nothing will ever happen to him.’

“In that case, I’ll take my leave,’

As he watched the former prime minister slowly retreat, it was as if a new boulder had been placed on his heart, and Fanliu felt powerless. The affairs of the country, his relationships, his own affairs, and of course, the affairs of the emperor, were like huge boulders that could not be removed, blocking the way forward.

What would become of things?

Fanliu contemplated various answers, but could never find the most correct one.

“Attendant.’

Fuming, he closed the report in front of him and walked down the steps. As the eunuchs opened the door, a side-glance of light shone into the slightly dim hall, causing her to squint involuntarily.

‘Move the carriage to Tengyun Palace.’

“Why are there so many people? I clearly remember that there were no guards standing there two days ago!’

At this moment, hidden in the Tengyun Palace amidst the greenery, the would-be husband of the Xiliang emperor, who had been making the emperor so uneasy, was slumped in a chaise longue, looking annoyed and hot. It was as if the words ‘I’m bored’ were carved on his forehead.

‘Your Majesty, please don’t pull your clothes.’

“Your Majesty, please don’t do that, it’s bad for your image.’

‘Your Majesty, please don’t…”

The male court etiquette instructor, who was completely different from the timid palace men, assumed an arrogant posture and used harsh words to teach the obviously ill-mannered and uncultured emperor, in order to prevent any mistakes from being made on the day of the wedding.

Although she understood this, as well as the emperor’s good intentions, and even more so the professional ethics and duties of those palace men, Situ Fengzhan was still very unhappy.

It could be said that he was extremely unhappy!

Okay, he admits that the damned, almost dehydrating weather has made him extremely unhappy, but that is not the main reason.

Since the misunderstanding of his suicide, Situ Fengzhan’s place has been surrounded by countless female soldiers. That’s fine, at least those women are standing politely outside the door, but then the men who were sent to teach him etiquette really annoyed him to the extreme.

Although being suppressed by a male chauvinist was nothing to be proud of, and he was not a male chauvinist like Fei Ying’ang, it was very uncomfortable to be constantly criticized for everything you did. Especially the way those people looked at him, it was annoying.

But despite his thoughts, he still treated everyone as politely as possible. I’m afraid this is a bad habit he has developed since becoming the student union president.

Despite hearing the sound of his veins popping in his head, Situ Fengzhan still curled up his eyes and gave a smile.

‘When can I go out?’ Hurry up and let him leave this damn suffocating place. Go out, even if it’s to the imperial garden, let him go for a walk!

‘According to the emperor’s decree, we cannot allow the empress to wander into any fairyland.‘ The man in charge of the guards gave a cold and rigid refusal.

’Fuh!’ Situ Fengzhan now regretted a million times why he didn’t learn a little self-defense in the first place, otherwise he wouldn’t have gotten into this situation! ’Forget it, I won’t make things difficult for you, just follow me from afar and accompany me to the imperial garden for a stroll.’

The unexpected but reasonable proposal made the palace men serving him look at each other, not knowing how to reply.

‘Well, if I don’t do this, if I can’t help but run away, then who should I blame? Who will bear the responsibility? You have to think about this carefully, don’t blame me for not telling you.’

“Your servant understands.’

Looking at the men who had bowed submissively, Situ Fengzhan let out an imperceptible smug smile and held out her hand for someone to help her up.

Stepping out of Tengyun Palace and walking slowly towards the imperial garden in the centre of the harem, pavilions and towers were submerged in a sea of lush greenery.

How do I describe this scene before me, which is like a hazy Jiangnan landscape painting? The green willows swaying in the wind and the lake, rippling and spreading out in infinite splendour, are like the gentle eyes of a young girl and an intangible sense of affection, moving and captivating. Standing on a small bridge carved from white stone, looking down from above at the koi in the pond, swaying in the green and blue liquid, the fleeting golden red is like a taste that makes your heart beat.

If it were a plot in a romance novel, it would be like this: a beautiful woman in white stands under the green willows on a wonderful afternoon like a spring daydream, her eyebrows and eyes full of irresistible innocence and a hint of revealed charm. In fact, Situ Fengzhan did encounter this situation, but his mood was definitely not like those depicted in books.

When he saw the flirtatiously dressed woman in luxurious attire looking at him with a hungry gaze like she was eyeing up a prime piece of prey, he couldn’t help but shiver all over, with goosebumps rising up his back in protest. In fact, if he could, he really wanted to just turn his head away and pretend he didn’t see her.

Although he didn’t really mind other people’s admiration floating his way, or looks that carried some kind of innuendo, this kind of gaze as if he was some kind of delicious pastry was still unbearable.

Not to mention that the jealous empress, who was cold on the outside but boiling hot on the inside, was already furious for some reason or another, making it impossible for him to move freely with all the people following him in and out of the palace. If he got involved with this woman again, then he, Situ Fengzhan, might as well be prepared to be kicked into the Heavenly Prison and placed under close surveillance 24/7.

‘Ah, isn’t this the Emperor’s wife? Since we last met, so many days have passed without knowing.‘

The warm voice stopped him from backing away. Despite his extreme dislike for that person, a gentle smile still filled his delicate face.

’Greetings, Third Prince.’ The stiff and casual greeting obviously made the teacher behind him, who was responsible for teaching palace etiquette, frown, and his expression in the face of the Third Prince was also a bit comical.

‘You are indeed from a country completely different from Xixiang. Your Majesty, you have a very interesting way of speaking…’ After two forced coughs, the Third Prince looked at the long line of attendants following him, and his attitude immediately changed.

‘You people go away first. The Empress Dowager and I have something to discuss.‘

’But, Your Highness, this…’ The male official in charge of teaching knowledge looked at his domineering master with a difficult expression on his face. He really didn’t know what to do. On the one hand was the Emperor’s edict, and on the other was the Third Prince, who would be punished severely if he didn’t do what she wanted. It was a dilemma.

‘What? Don’t you even listen to what I say?’ His eyebrows knitted together, and his voice became even more shrill and sharp. Situ Fengzhan frowned, and his poor ears were the first to bear the brunt.

He habitually pinched his chin and glanced at the servile servants. These guys were not afraid of him, but they were scared to death of the prince. Maybe this was a way to get rid of these annoying attendants? However, in doing so, he might provoke the empress even more by seeking temporary pleasure.

“If you delay my explaining to the empress that there may be other immortals in the capital, what crime will you be punished for?’

Celestial?

These words suddenly resolved the dilemma in Situ Fengzhan’s mind. If she understood correctly, the flirtatious woman’s reference to ‘celestial’ could not be a reference to her companions who died in the plane crash, could it?

“Alright, if the emperor blames us, just let her punish me alone. Do you understand? What are you looking at? With the Third Prince and I here, do you still dare to lie?’

At the thought of possibly meeting Lian Lou, Situ Fengzhan could no longer maintain the pretence on her face. The serious expression of the president of the student council, who was in charge of the huge affairs of the management college, was actually the same majestic as the empress, and even more threatening and oppressive. The few people were shocked by his not exactly stern but powerful speech, and by the time they realised it, their bodies had automatically backed away.

After clearing the obstacles, Situ Fengzhan faced Liu Ting with a serious expression. He was obviously also shocked by his two very different appearances. He exuded an overbearing aura, and where was the lazy and weak appearance from when they first met?

Unable to help herself, she took a step back. When her heel hit the railing behind her, Liuting realised that she had actually been intimidated by a man’s aura. This was an absolute disgrace! Her eyebrows rose, and she was about to lose her temper when the young man on the other side suddenly smiled slightly, and the previous oppressive aura vanished.

“Sorry, I’m too nervous, but someone who is very important to me may have also fallen into Xiliang. I just want to see him sooner. Third Prince, can you tell me?’

His fingers naturally grasped the sleeve of the woman opposite him. Situ Fengzhan, who was adept at reading people’s expressions and had risen to the position of student union president of the ‘Leaping Dragon’, was of course well aware that the most effective approach was to use a mixture of soft and hard tactics. Although most of his previous suitors had been blocked by Lianlou and the others, he still had a pretty good idea of how to deal with women.

Sure enough, the third prince’s face flushed, and although he pretended to cough to cover it up, it was still visible in Situ Fengzhan’s eyes.

‘Although I really want Your Highness to meet that very important person of yours, I can’t do anything that would anger my sister…”

Her eyes looked at the person in front of her as if she were trying to pick someone out. At first, she just thought that the man she had to take away from her sister was only of average appearance, far less attractive than her own concubines, but at the moment, when she met those eyes that seemed to be saying so much but not saying anything, her body felt as if it had been electrocuted and she couldn’t move.

This man possessed not superficial beauty or charm, but an irresistible magic that could not be resisted after taking a closer look.

Seeing her face, Situ Fengzhan also clearly saw the colour in her eyes. With a slightly bent brow, he couldn’t help but smile wryly. Never mind, after all, I am a man, and it won’t matter if I take advantage of her a little. The most urgent task is to quickly find Lian Lou.

He turned his head and looked around with some trepidation, making sure that the beautiful empress, who had been worrying him, would not suddenly jump out from around the corner. The palace guards he had just dismissed were afraid of being punished by the empress in front of them, and had already slipped away to God knows where. Only then did he lean closer to the enchanting and beautiful Third Prince and quickly gave her a light kiss on the cheek.

Liu Ting felt only a cool breeze on her face. It was neither the heroic air of a man nor the fragrance of her own concubine’s makeup, but rather the coolness of the spring breeze. The kiss landed on her cheek, and at first she didn’t feel anything. When her lips parted, she felt as if she still wanted more, and she couldn’t help reaching out to grab his arm.

Looking into his face, she saw nothing but a smile. His plain face was full of temptation, from the corners of his eyes to the corners of his eyebrows. Even the reddish-brown hair, which she had previously disliked, was now floating with a sense of evil.

Liuting felt a burst of fire in her chest, and she really wanted to overwhelm him and be intimate with him. Situ Fengzhan could see what she was thinking, and she really didn’t know whether to cry or laugh. She lightly shook her hand to avoid her control, took two steps back, and lowered her eyes.

‘In that case, Your Highness can surely tell me where that person is, can’t you?”

Liu Ting was first taken aback, then covered her face and shook her body with laughter. Watching her shoulders keep shaking, Situ Fengzhan was surprised to move forward, but unexpectedly the other party suddenly raised her sleeve, and a gust of smoke swept over, quickly enveloping most of his body. Strength quickly drained from his body, and Situ Fengzhan felt only the world in front of him distorting beyond recognition, before gradually growing dim.

The last thing he saw was the Third Prince’s sinister, conniving smile. Still thinking that it might be the legendary Mongolian-Han medicine, his eyes darkened and his body then softened and fell.

On the other side, in the main hall of the Tengyun Palace, the king, who had not shown his face for three days since returning the queen, suddenly arrived.

Fan Liu quickly glanced at the palace men prostrate on the ground. No matter how he looked, there was no figure he longed to see but was a little afraid to see, and his face turned from white to green.

“Where is the queen?’

The voice, full of anger, made all the palace men tremble like poor leaves in the autumn wind. They were afraid to speak, even though the words were on their lips. On one side was the Third Prince, and on the other was the Emperor. This kind of sandwich was really not for the faint-hearted.

‘Speak, I told you to keep an eye on him, where is he?’ He strode forward, no longer caring about his imperial majesty. Fanliu grabbed the palace man in front of him by the neck and forced his body to stand up.

‘My husband… My husband… He and the Third Prince…”

His eyes narrowed as Fanliu shook his body to the side, shouting “Lead the way” before striding out of the main hall.

The thing he had feared most had indeed happened.

I should have expected this, shouldn’t I? After all, it is only natural for Liudi to want to obtain the husband bestowed upon the Xiliang Kingdom by Heaven. Whether it is the ambition that has already become completely undisguised, or the predatory heart of a woman, how could one not be moved when faced with a beauty that makes one’s heart flutter?

It’s just that…

Just thinking about that husband, who has caused a series of accidents and has a strange personality, fills the heart with more than just anger brought on by transferring blame, but also an uncontainable flutter of the heart.

‘Someone, come quickly! There’s an assassin!”

The footsteps of the person rushing towards their destination came to a halt at the sound of the scream. Looking up, they saw several imperial guards running panickedly towards them, their white clothing splattered with shocking dark red. The imperial guards, who had been protecting Fanliu, drew their weapons and surrounded the empress.

‘Get out of my way!’ Assassins? The emperor is right in front of you. What if an assassin hurts him?

The thought that her husband might leave her at any moment made her throw caution to the wind. She didn’t want anything to happen to him, not even the slightest injury!

‘Out of the way! That’s an order!’

‘But, Your Majesty, it’s dangerous!’

“Do you want me to just stand here and watch my husband get into danger?’

He struggled to rush out to save the man who would definitely affect his life, but his body was tightly held back by those who were in his way. He watched as more and more imperial guards rushed forward, but few returned. Even though Fanliu was anxious, he still couldn’t do anything.

Is this the sorrow of being an emperor? The man he values is right in front of him, and this is happening, but he is unable to save him. This is too…excessive.

Suddenly, a gust of wind swept in, and with loud shouts of ‘Protect the Emperor’, the imperial guards surrounded the anxious Fanliu. Green leaves, whipped up by the sharp blades and sword energy, flew through the air, interweaving into a blurry vortex, making the figure that had leaped off the bridge seem illusory. The figure was dressed entirely in black, with a face mask covering most of the face, only the pair of eyes full of derision flashing past.

The gorgeous silk fluttered, and the gold and white colour, which was the complete opposite of the shocking black, caught his eye. The young man closed his eyes tightly, his beautiful brows knitted, and it seemed as if even in his unconscious state he was still suffering from fear.

He wanted to call out his beloved’s name, but he realised that at this moment, Fan Liu discovered that he actually did not know his name.

“Hurry and save Her Majesty!’

A shrill cry pierced the sky, and the archers who hurriedly arrived to shoot down the assassin were knocked down by Fanliu.

“Do you want to shoot down my husband as well?’

Just a moment’s hesitation was all it took for the man in black to leap, his toes lightly touching the constantly swaying branches. His entire body disappeared behind the eaves and jade pillars like a large bird. Seeing the golden white that made his heart ache so much just disappear from view, Fanliu bit her lips and turned to walk away.

‘Prepare the horse!’

‘Your Majesty!’

“I’m going after her!’

‘Please, Your Majesty, think twice. That thief is so dangerous. If she hurts you…‘

’Do you want me to just stand there and watch her take the man I love?’

After the outburst of uncontrollable shouting came sharp gasps for breath. It was no longer possible to suppress this feeling that should never have been suppressed in the first place. Fan Liu grabbed the hem of his clothes and gasped for breath, knowing exactly what he wanted.

He was not a heavenly being sent from heaven to make the Xiliang country wealthy and its people safe, nor was he the husband the people hoped for. He was simply a man who she had fallen for a long time ago, just from hearing the legends.

As the empress of Xiliang, as a woman, if she cannot protect the man she loves, can she still be considered a woman who stands up for herself?

Don’t be ridiculous!

“Your servant understands the emperor’s feelings, but that thief is being pursued by the imperial guards. The emperor is the ruler of a country, and should put his health first and the country first. Your Majesty, think twice!’

Everyone knelt to the ground and formed an impenetrable wall with their bodies, trapping the empress inside.

The country comes first.

These words came as a bolt from the blue, fiercely smashing all her stubbornness to pieces.

She reached up to cover her forehead. Although her head was still a little confused, she was slowly coming to her senses. Why did the thief kidnap the emperor? What was her goal? Or was she being manipulated? Her mind suddenly flashed past the arrogant and frivolous smiling face of the thief, and like a bolt of thunder, the truth was revealed.

‘Third Prince…isn’t the Third Prince with the Emperor? Where is she?‘ The voice, full of anger, called out to a frightened palace man.

’Your Majesty, the Third Prince has been stabbed by an assassin and is being escorted to the Imperial Doctor for treatment.”

Stabbed?

The furrowed brows unclenched in surprise, and Fanli looked at the palace man in front of her in disbelief, not knowing what to say to this unexpected truth. The attack on the emperor, the stabbing of the crown prince, the mysterious assassins, and the truth hidden behind the truth, as well as the crisis that threatened the entire Xiliang Kingdom, seemed to be connected by a thin string, and could collapse at any time with the actions of someone.

What kind of conspiracy was it?

Fanliu clenched his lower lip tightly, and with the palace men’s exclamations, a strong bloody smell hit his mouth.

In any case, the person he valued most must not be harmed.

This time, I will definitely not think so much. No matter who your beloved is, I will hold you tightly in my arms and never let anyone get close to you.

I swear in the name of the seventh generation of the Xiliang Kingdom’s emperor, Xiaodi Fanliu!

Peach 2005-05-23 11:22
Chapter 5

Wind Lantern What do you want me to do?

If I want you to stay by my side for the rest of your life, is that okay?

The face full of intellectual beauty flashed a familiar smile, and the eyes hidden behind the gold-rimmed glasses were filled with a gentle light that was all too familiar, making even the unhappy self happy.

If it was Lian Lou, then naturally one could rest assured and entrust him with everything. If Lian Lou had always been by my side to protect me, I could do whatever I wanted.

You will always be by my side, right?

Lian Lou…

‘Lian… Lou…”

A hoarse groan slowly escaped from the dry throat, and the fingers wrapped in soft silk reached out, unconsciously searching for the figure that should have been by their side. Long-standing habits became natural, and once they encountered difficulties, the safe haven they sought was definitely that person.

Suddenly, another shadow intruded into the familiar figure. The proud and dignified back clearly belonged to the slender type, but he deliberately acted tough. That was not the strong person who should protect himself, but the object that made him care, and even feel distressed.

The long black hair dyed a beautiful colour, shattering the pure blue world that could be seen. Reaching out to grab it, the result was that the beautiful figure in front of him was torn to pieces. What flew all over the sky was a pale blue colour, lonely and sad.

‘You’re awake?”

The frivolous teasing voice shattered all illusions. She barely opened her tired eyes, but they closed again because of the somewhat blinding candlelight. All her senses returned, and she felt limp and unable to use any strength. Situ Fengzhan thought back to what had happened with some despondency, and her memory became vivid at certain moments.

Half-covering her eyes, she looked forward and saw only a woman in luxurious clothing, bowing her head and smiling faintly. Her enchanting appearance was indescribably uncomfortable.

‘……Where is this?’ The hoarse voice asked the most important question. Situ Fengzhan naturally wasn’t naive enough to think that this was still the Tengyun Palace in the palace.

How dare she offend her superior and use Mongolian medicine to drug her future brother-in-law? If there was no conspiracy, the loss would outweigh the gain.

Liuting gave a cold smile, threw the wine glass in his hand to the side, and the glass drew a graceful arc in the air, splashing a dark red wine all over the place without any care. He reached out and grabbed the chin of the beauty lying on top of the bedding. To be honest, her appearance at the moment was no different from those lecherous old men who molest innocent little girls.

Men and women really do come in two types: ruffians and gentlemen!

Thinking these frivolous thoughts, Situ Fengzhan just let out a long sigh, without the reaction one would expect when facing a disaster. His indifferent attitude instead left Liú Tíng, who had extended his claws, not knowing what to do. He froze for a moment, and then asked for a reason.

“Aren’t you panicking? This isn’t my sister’s territory, and I could at any time…’

The fingers holding his chin closed a little, and the feeling of the long fingernails embedding in the flesh really hurt a little. Situ Fengzhan did not even bat an eyelid, and obediently answered the question in a still somewhat hoarse voice.

‘What do I have to worry about? You actually dared to abduct the Empress in such a place as the palace, so I think your intentions are not simple. If you want to use the power of the Son of Heaven, you will definitely not harm me. Besides, you won’t do anything to me either. If you make me unhappy and I secretly do you harm, I’m afraid you won’t get your pound of flesh. In that case, what do I have to worry about?’

The natural tone of voice made the female prince, who had originally intended to use threats and intimidation, freeze for a moment, and then she put on a fierce face to flaunt her dignity.

“Don’t think too highly of yourself! Besides, if I want to use your power, I just have to destroy your innocence. In that case, the heavenly being sent down by the heavens will be mine, and by then, if I want to become the emperor, or even unify the barbarians in the borderlands, it won’t be a problem. Yes, as long as I get you.’

Although she knew that having sex with this guy would not cost her her life, the very uncomfortable feeling still made Situ Fengzhan frown. She raised a gentle smile on her face as usual, but the meaning behind it was hard to hide.

‘In that case, I might as well bite my tongue and kill myself.’ Of course, this was a joke. Come on, life is so beautiful, if he had killed himself because of something as trivial as having sex with a woman, he would have died countless times already.

But in a country where women are the most important thing, a man’s chastity is obviously very important, right? If this threat can keep the enchanting woman of the Third Prince away, then of course he will do it.

Sure enough, his guess was correct. When Liú Ti heard what he had said, his face turned from white to green, and his eyes fixed on him, as if he was afraid that he would take his own life at that moment. After a while, she laughed, and the woman propped herself up and stood by the bed, her eyes full of ambition.

‘Fine, I’ll let you have your way for now. Once I have dethroned that incompetent emperor and officially become the supreme ruler of the Western Liang Kingdom, you, the husband bestowed upon me by heaven, will definitely be mine.’

A series of cackling laughter made Situ Fengzhan’s ears almost pierce. He withdrew the evaluation that the Third Prince was a villain with quite some tricks up his sleeve. Now he felt that this woman was the type that bragged about the evil deeds she had done. This type could only be ranked in the lowest category in his rating scale.

Too lazy to bother with the arrogant woman who thinks she’s the centre of the universe, Situ Fengzhan turned his gaze elsewhere and pinched his chin to size it up. This strange room, full of pink and pure white, which exuded a girlish air, the pipa hanging on the wall and the dulcimer on the small table, and especially the strange situation where the man’s giggles and the woman’s heroic and wild laughter mingled, all made him think very bad associations.

This place… It can’t be that kind of place, can it? If it really is, it’s really a good place to hide people.

Seeing the hesitation on his face, the Third Prince finally stopped his deadly laughter and kindly told him the unfortunate truth.

‘Yes, this is the capital’s biggest brothel. No one would ever guess that I would hide the emperor of a country in such a seedy place. And don’t even think about escaping. As soon as you step out of this room, those customers will devour you alive.”

What should he say? “Women are the most vicious of all creatures”?

In that case, if judged by the standards of the men of Xiliang, being surrounded by so many women would probably really require a death to make one’s intentions clear. Hmm—thinking about it this way, being locked up here really isn’t a good thing.

But in that case, wouldn’t the emperor be unable to control himself? Besides, there are so many people in the brothel, and the companions who fell with him in the crash, something so strange would definitely not have gone completely unheard of.

In that case, being locked up here is not so bad!

Having made such a comment about her own dangerous situation, Situ Fengzhan made an expression of extreme resentment but unable to act on it, which made the Third Prince even more convinced that her plan was flawless.

“Don’t worry, once I’ve finished things at the palace, I’ll naturally come back to fetch you, my little beauty, so just wait patiently!’

This tone of being flirted with made him feel uncomfortable no matter how he heard it. Despite the veins on his head bulging and his desire to throw the porcelain cup in his hand at her, Situ Fengzhan lowered his eyes and pretended to be a pitiful little rabbit.

‘Didn’t you say that you would tell me the news of the person who is most important to me?’ Although up to this point, Situ Fengzhan had given up hope, he still wanted to ask clearly.

Liu Ting gave a cold smile, a contemptuous expression as if he had no knowledge at all.

‘As expected of a woman of the husband’s family, you have no knowledge at all. If I hadn’t said that, would you obediently stay alone with me? In order to disguise you being taken away by an assassin, I even specially performed a scheme to clear myself of suspicion.’ After finishing, he got up and walked out, pushing open the door. At that moment, Liu Ting suddenly turned his head again and gave an order towards the dark corner.

‘Yu Jiang, you watch him carefully and don’t let the noble Emperor and Empress wander around. If anything happens to him, you won’t have enough lives to pay for it.‘

’Yes, my lord.”

The sudden appearance of a black figure startled Situ Fengzhan. He saw a tall woman standing with her hands hanging down, her face hidden, but her cold aura was even stronger than that of Empress Fanliu.

Fanliu’s air of nobility is inviolable. She appears calm on the outside, but is actually burning with passion within. In contrast, the woman in front of him, called ‘Yujian,’ seems like a corpse, her entire body shrouded in an ominous aura.

The finely carved door blocked the view of the Third Prince, and Situ Fengzhan made a face at the door before relaxing. She had escaped from the palace, but it seemed that she had fallen into another deadly situation. In any case, even if she escaped, the Third Prince was a long-term solution to a short-term problem. But the cold-faced guard in front of her definitely would not let her get away so easily.

Moreover, she needed to quickly gather information on her other companions.

‘Ah, I’m so bored, talk to me.”

He pretended to be a rascal on purpose, trying to get on the woman’s good side first, but she turned her face around and gave him a big fright. A mask made of pure silver covered everything below the bridge of her nose, and all he could see was a pair of cold, ice-like eyes staring at him. The bone-chilling cold and unfriendliness made this originally sweltering summer day suddenly return to winter.

Despite this, once she got used to it, it wasn’t so bad. After confirming that she was responsible for monitoring and protecting him, Situ Fengzhan still pulled on her charming smile and continued to take the city.

‘Hey, I’m really bored. If I get bored, places like this can be really scary. So don’t look so serious, it’s hard for me when you’re so nervous.’

’…’

‘Okay, okay, I want to go down and take a look. I’ve never seen a place like this before!‘ The woman didn’t say anything, and instead of answering, she unsheathed the long sword in her hand, the bright blade pointing straight at his chest.

’I know, I’ll stay here obediently, just hurry up and put the sword away…’

The woman’s next words were cut short when she saw the wrist that was extended, as something that definitely shouldn’t be here reflected light and blocked it. Colourful gems were embedded in the pure white bracelet, and the interweaving of their colours made the impossible possible.

Back then, I searched the entire jewellery market before finally getting my hands on the only bracelet of its kind in the city. I gave it to Lian Lou as a birthday present, so that I could steal the limelight. How could I not recognise it when I saw it again?

Ignoring the threat of the sword, Situ Fengzhan grabbed the woman’s wrist and forcibly flipped the clasp of the bracelet over. The initials ‘L·L’ confirmed that he had engraved them himself. This was indeed Lian Lou’s thing!

‘You know Lian Lou? Where is he?‘

The woman, who had not answered any of his questions, trembled slightly. Her eyes, which were as cold as ice, showed the slightest hint of fluctuation before returning to normal.

’I don’t know the person you’re talking about.’ The metallic voice, which could almost be synthesized with a machine, did not carry the slightest hint of emotion, but it made Situ Fengzhan, who was already agitated, tighten his grip on her wrist.

‘Nonsense. This chain is definitely not from this world, not to mention that no one here knows anything about English initials. When I gave this bracelet to Lian Lou, I clearly said that he must never take it off unless he found someone more important in his life than me. Since he gave it to you, does he think that someone more important than me is you?’

He loosened his fingers one by one, and this unexpected truth took him by surprise, and even cooled the high enthusiasm.

Is that so?

Lian Lou has already found the most important person in his life, so he doesn’t need me anymore?

‘Haha, why? I’ve been with him since we were little, it won’t be that easy…’ His fingers covered his forehead, his shoulders shaking non-stop, his emotions reaching the extreme. “Right, as long as I find Lian Lou, I’ll just ask him myself, won’t I? Tell me where he is?”

Reaching out to grab the woman’s shoulders, Situ Fengzhan’s expression was agitated, but the woman was as cold as ever.

‘I don’t know.‘

Her curt reply cut off the last shred of hope.

’Whether you believe me or not, Your Highness, I picked up this bracelet, and I don’t know the person you’re talking about.’

The cold voice was like a heavy hammer striking his heart, his knees weak. Situ Fengzhan felt dizzy and his body leaned forward. The woman in front of him reached out and pulled him back, so that he was leaning steadily against her.

He had always been convinced that he should have been thrown to the Land of Women like her because of the temporal displacement caused by the plane explosion, and had completely denied that he could have died in the accident. But the truth was the truth.

“You really didn’t see that person?’

‘No.”

The voice disappeared. Situ Fengzhan grabbed Yu Jiang’s arm and felt his strength drain from his body. Why was this happening? He had clearly said that he would stay by her side forever and take care of her for the rest of her life. How could this be?

His vision blurred and tears welled up in his eyes. The distance between life and death may be said to be both far and near. He had clearly thought that such things had nothing to do with him, but he never imagined that the death of a friend would have such a huge impact.

Yu moved not an inch as he leaned against him, like a perfect statue or the most loyal slave carrying out his master’s orders. He showed no expression and no reaction to this grief and pain that all humans feel.

Hadn’t this feeling of unbearable grief already completely detached itself from him the moment the man who seemed to have been born in the light of the moon died in front of him? The man who always wore an incredibly gentle smile and comforted him in a unique but warm way was no longer in this world!

The bracelet worn on his right wrist seemed to be on fire, burning fiercely, spreading from his wrist to his heart, but it could not melt the ice in his heart.

In the distance, a voice as delicate as a fragile string slowly poured out the two hearts of the two people in the room. The tune and lyrics that did not belong to this world were permeated with an indescribable magic. The sad and sentimental tune penetrated all the noise, and the soft voice with a hint of hoarseness seemed familiar.

Situ Fengzhan let go of the fingers that were holding Yu Jiang back, looked up in surprise, muttered the song that was definitely impossible to hear in this world, and a crazy but most logical thought was born in her heart.

‘This voice…is Xiyue!”

The woman who had been slightly surprised by the sudden drop in front of her face pushed him away with a single push. He rushed to the bed where she had just collapsed, pushed the red sand that was in the way aside, and revealed the openwork window. In the lobby, where countless palace lanterns were spinning like a dream at midnight, everyone looked up in awe. The high platform was filled with the fragrance of incense, and a gauze robe woven from heavenly clouds and rainbows covered her slender body. A section of snow-white jade feet were half-exposed on top of the scarlet dream, and the jade bracelets on her feet made a crisp sound as she moved gently.

That is the most expensive canary in the world, locked in a golden cage, a mirage that can only be seen but not touched. But the delicate face, shrouded in cloud-like hair, is hers despite being made up with rouge to look seductive and charming.

“Xiyue, it really is Xiyue! Why?’

Biting her lip, she knew that she and Xiyue had to meet, even if the current situation did not allow it and it might attract the attention of that bastard prince, but she could no longer care. She wanted to know why he had come here and whether he knew about Lian Lou and the others. He must see Xiyue.

Once she had made up her mind, Situ Fengzhan picked up the candlestick at hand with lightning speed, threw away the red wax, and aimed the sharp spike on the candlestick at her own arteries and veins.

‘Your Majesty, what are you trying to do?’ The inquiry was still unruffled, but with her skill, she might be able to snatch the candlestick away immediately.

Situ Fengzhan gave a cold smile. Her long experience of reading people clearly told her what was the right thing to do.

‘You can stop me once or twice, but not seven or eight times. Your master ordered that I be well protected until the right time comes, right? So you should focus on my wishes and safety. I want to see the man singing below. You bring him to me.‘

’…’

After a three-second pause, Yu Zhen’s figure suddenly disappeared into thin air. Knowing that she had gone to do what she was told, Situ Fengzhan let out a long sigh and her body grew limp. It’s best to avoid threatening to die, it’s causing my heart to simply not be able to take it anymore.

Lian Lou…

You’re just going to let me struggle alone? And you even died in a place I don’t know, that’s too much…

‘What are you doing? I was just going to go downstairs to rest after finishing singing, and you actually dare to be so bold as to hold me hostage? Let go of me!’

A familiar cry came from outside the door, which immediately lifted Situ Fengzhan’s spirits. Despite her weak body, she ran to the door, but she was unexpectedly overpowered by something as soon as she opened the door. The soft, fragrant smell made her heart flutter, and the person who pounced on her was also a stunning beauty, but Situ Fengzhan frowned and pushed him away, as if she had seen some kind of cockroach or bug.

‘Nasty! Do you know who I am, and yet you dare treat me like this? Ah!”

The nagging voice turned into a scream the moment it saw Situ Fengzhan, and then the body that had been pushed away earlier automatically pounced over, Tan Xiyue obviously overjoyed.

‘Oh my, Fengzhan, Fengzhan, is it really you? This is great, I’ve finally met you, are you okay? What are you doing now? That damned plane, that damned iron rooster, when I find him, I’m going to make him pay, but Fengzhan, as long as you’re here, I feel at ease, now…‘

’Shut up!’

It was hard to find a gap to shout ‘cut’ in time. If I let this spoilt brat who was all perfumed and coated with perfume rub himself against me, there would be big problems. Sure enough, my nose itched habitually, and I finally couldn’t help but sneeze loudly twice. Sinusitis is annoying in this way, it can’t stand the slightest irritation.

‘Ah! I’m sorry, I forgot that you can’t stand pungent smells, but I can’t help it!‘ Tan Xiyue’s rosy face showed his helplessness, but looking at his over-the-top clothes, as well as the flowing wig and jewellery such as the bejewelled hairpins on his head, Situ Fengzhan really couldn’t see how much remorse he had.

’It’s a job requirement,’ he said lightly.

‘Why are you here? And why are you the oiran?‘

She was quite suspicious that this guy had voluntarily sold himself into the brothel here because he loved beauty and cleanliness. Thinking about this, Situ Fengzhan really didn’t know what to say about this companion’s personality.

’Well, of course it’s because this is the place where I can bring my beauty to the extreme, that’s why I’m here.‘

Sure enough!

’By the way, why are you here?’

With a grave expression, Situ Fengzhan didn’t know where to start. She looked up at Yu Jiang, who had closed the door and was standing by, monitoring the situation. How was she supposed to speak ill of her master in front of that loyal follower? No idiot with even the slightest discernment would make such a basic mistake, let alone when Lian Lou was no longer in the world.

‘It’s a long story, and I don’t know how to explain it.”

The rare ambiguity of her words was interrupted by the sound of the door slamming open. Yu Zhen, who was standing by the door, raised her hand and the long sword at her waist turned into a rainbow as she stabbed straight at the person who had come. Situ Fengzhan was unable to shout at her to stop, but she saw that the person who would definitely be pierced by the sword somehow moved, and avoided the attack.

What was even more surprising was what came next. After a flash of pale blue, the long legs hidden beneath the long skirt kicked with pinpoint accuracy and ferocity towards Yujian’s face. The series of movements was fast and precise, clean and unadorned, without a hint of hesitation. And this method of attack and evasion looked so familiar.

‘Ah! Yujian—?’ The familiar deep voice called out the woman’s name, and it also completely petrified Situ Fengzhan.

The long sword dropped to the ground with a crisp sound, and Yu Jiang’s face, which would not change colour even if the sky collapsed, seemed to be jumping in disorder like a revolving lantern, with red, yellow, black and ashen colours jumping chaotically. In the end, it turned a pale colour.

The tall figure standing in the doorway had a gentle and scholarly handsome face. The rare gold-rimmed glasses frame on his nose in the entire Xiliang concealed his apologetic dark eyes.

The well-fitting clothes that were only worn by women in the Land of Women did not feel out of place at all, but instead brought out his scholarly air that was hard to hide. Such a gentle man like the spring breeze in March, it is hard for any woman to resist his charm, but that is not the reason why Situ Fengzhan could not say a word and Yu Jiang almost fainted.

“Lian Lou, look, Fengzhan is here too. Now we are almost complete, we just need Iron Cock and Fei Ying’ang!’

The crisp voice announced the name of the supposedly dead ‘Yuelong’ student union secretary-general, and it also completely destroyed the two people who knew the inside story. The culprit first smiled gently at Situ Fengzhan, and then with a slightly apologetic smile, he turned to the woman who should have sent him to the Western Paradise.

“Sorry, Yuzhang, I’m still alive.’

Peach 2005-05-23 11:24
Chapter 6

Why did things turn out like this?

After listening to his most concerned secretary, who was green with grief, describe the ordeals she had been through since the plane crash, Situ Fengzhan’s face was really not too good to look at.

Are you kidding?

Why would the Refining Building encounter such a thing? And why did the Refining Building have to suffer such injustice? That guy, although he listens to me and follows my every command, is absolutely awe-inspiring in the Yuelong Student Union, and has both fame and courage. Why has he been bullied to such a degree here?

‘That’s why after all that, it seems like my body has become a lot stronger. I originally studied Taekwondo to protect Fengzhan, as well as some other martial arts and self-defense techniques. Although they are not as miraculous as those martial arts here, they are at least somewhat useful. It was only after being forced to swallow poison under unavoidable circumstances and then being stabbed by Yujian that I really almost died. Later, I don’t know what kind of person dragged me here, to this brothel. When I came to my senses, I saw Yuzuki.”

Xiao Lianlou smiled at his gentle and harmless handsome face. While maintaining his smile, he poured a cup of fragrant tea for Situ Fengzhan, who was obviously on the verge of exploding, and pushed the snacks in front of Yujiang.

The indifferent-looking woman, apart from having her expression shaken a little when she saw again the person she should have killed but who had been resurrected, immediately returned to her previous expression of a perpetual iceberg. She even ignored Xiao Lianlou’s deliberate attempt to please her and continued to shrink into the shadows with her sword. Lianlou just gave a wry smile at her indifferent attitude and didn’t take it to heart. But Situ Fengzhan, who saw it and remembered it in her heart, felt very uncomfortable.

Although he is always carefree and doesn’t take things too seriously, he is completely different when it comes to Lian Lou, who he has been with since elementary school. He is completely devoted to her, acting as both bodyguard and nanny, even a slave who does everything she says. Now he is being so gentle with other people, which makes Situ Fengzhan extremely uncomfortable.

‘I’m talking to you, why are you being so nice to this woman? After all, she did stab you and try to kill you, right? I don’t remember you being this magnanimous. After all, isn’t it our way to return evil for evil? ‘Without hesitation, he spoke such threatening words. Even though the veins on Situ Fengzhan’s forehead were bulging, he still wore a gentle smile on his face.

‘After all, it was Raindrop who saved my life when I fell from the plane, not to mention the fact that she didn’t really want to kill me in the first place. Well, her master forced her to kill me, and since she was in his hands, she had no choice but to obey.‘

’I don’t care what her reasons are, the fact remains that she has hurt you, and I refuse to admit that.”

As he spoke, he became more and more angry, stood up, and scolded loudly with his arms akimbo. ‘Idiot! Big idiot! She could bear to kill you once, and she could bear to kill you twice or three times. Sooner or later, you will die at the hands of this heartless woman. Just the thought that you would actually die for someone like her makes me feel sick. How about this, you’d better just stay by my side. At worst, I’ll let this empress of the Western Liang Kingdom keep you by my side as her concubine, rather than with this woman. I absolutely won’t allow you to die somewhere I don’t know about!’

Hearing him yell like this, the remaining two student union members looked at each other and suddenly understood.

‘Oh, I see—we were wondering which one of the five of us would become the emperor destined by heaven, and it turns out to be Feng Zhan after all!’ They muttered, exclaiming, ‘Feng Zhan is really different from us,’ and the two of them drank a cup of tea to moisten their throats.

They were so open about it that it made her laugh instead of get angry. Dark clouds and lightning were swirling behind Situ Fengzhan, and Yu Jiang, who was standing nearby, drew his sword and pointed the tip straight at the two people.

‘Since you know his secret, you can’t stay.’

“Fine! If you kill them, I’ll kill myself right away.’

The short and unadorned exchange caused Yuchang to withdraw his sword with a pale face. Situ Fengzhan once again focused all his attention on the two idiots who were still leisurely. The anger was so disturbed that it could not be vented.

Anyway, he has known for a long time that these students who are praised as geniuses are, to some extent, genius idiots with a few less wires. Since they are all like this, there is no need for him to get angry like a fool.

Now, unexpectedly, he had found two people from the student council by accident. Since they had both been able to fall from such a high place and come out unharmed, it was very likely that the other two were also alive, he just didn’t know when he would meet them again.

Well, in that case, no matter how you look at it, the only rule for survival in this world dominated by women is to find a powerful backing. As he thought about this, the indifferent face of Fan Liu swayed before his eyes. It had been two days since he had been taken hostage—

Apart from meeting that unlucky Third Prince, these were the only people he had met. Well, no matter what, he had to find a way to return to the Empress’s side. Whenever he thought of that face, which was always full of majesty but actually hid infinite passion, a wave of discomfort would come over him.

Although they were in the same palace, they rarely had the chance to meet. It wasn’t that she was busy with politics, but ever since the drowning incident, that guy had always avoided her, whether intentionally or not. He had thought that she valued and liked him, but then her attitude had been completely different.

Why did she have to treat him with that strange, ambiguous attitude? He couldn’t understand it, and the more he couldn’t understand it, the more he wanted to know the truth.

Situ Fengzhan pinched her chin, and the sudden question surprised everyone.

‘By the way, since I was captured, has there been any news from the palace?’

Yu Zhen stood up, looking like he was going to stop the transmission of information between them. Unexpectedly, Situ Fengzhan rolled her eyes, and Lian Lou, who knew what she was thinking, quickly grabbed Yu Zhen’s ankles from the opposite side. He apologised with a smile and easily used his height and judo techniques to subdue her.

Although Yu Jiang is a first-class martial arts master, he has no tricks at all for this kind of close-quarter tactics.

‘You are such a shameless little man, doing such a thing to me as a woman. It’s really shameless.’ A move similar to throwing oneself into someone’s arms made Yu Jiang’s eyes flash with anger. Despite being rebuked, Lian Lou had no intention of letting go.

‘I’m sorry, Yuchang. No matter what, Fengzhan will definitely help us. Whether it’s me or you, he will definitely get us both out of the fairyland.”

Ignoring the two of them “flirting” on the ground, Situ Fengzhan turned his cold face towards Tan Xiyue, who had better information.

‘Well… although there’s not much strange news coming from the common people, a few guys who hold high positions in the imperial court did say that the emperor’s current state is very unstable. I heard that he always locks himself in his chambers and I don’t know what he’s checking on day and night. If you were the emperor, you would have stayed away from the palace at this moment, but there’s no news from the common people at all. Everyone is looking forward to the arrival of the emperor, who will bring wealth to the country. If you were taken away by an assassin, that would be a big crisis for His Majesty the Emperor. And the third prince, who has long imitated Sima Zhao, is also lurking over there. His arrogant attitude is really unacceptable. It is said that some of the forces under her control have begun to mobilise. Can we expect a civil war in the daughter country? But anyway, when it comes to power or interests, it seems that everyone is very nervous. There is no difference between men and women in this kind of thing, is there?

She didn’t even show the slightest sign of concern!

But that’s only to be expected, isn’t it?

After all, the Emperor, who had announced to the world that he was preparing for his wedding, was actually taken hostage by thieves from the depths of the palace. This should be a heavy blow to the face of the imperial family and the majesty of the Emperor.

The people’s hearts were fickle, and if the Third Prince went and fanned the flames at this time, the emperor’s throne would be unstable, wouldn’t it? But that guy was really thorough, and he didn’t care about himself. Did she really only care about the throne? Only the husband bestowed by heaven? If that was the case, as long as it was someone who fell from the sky in front of her, whether it was Yueyue or Lianlou, it would be the same to her.

It wasn’t because of herself that she treated herself that way.

It wasn’t because it was just her that…

Thinking about this, a sudden pain shot through her heart, and Situ Fengzhan’s face looked a little unpleasant. Stupid, it’s just that she cares a little about that stupid emperor, and she just doesn’t want that stupid prince to get his way so easily, so why does her heart feel so bad? It’s just because she knows that she values not her as ‘Situ Fengzhan’ but just her as ‘the emperor’s wife’.

She shook her head and put this strange thought behind her. She needed to face the serious matter at hand, didn’t she? If things really developed in this way, she was afraid that there would be chaos. In fact, no matter how chaotic and turbulent the Daughter Kingdom became, it had nothing to do with Situ Fengzhan herself. But the thought of the Third Prince’s smug face made her very unhappy.

Sifu Fengzhan’s eyes narrowed with a smile, but the coldness emanating from his body became even more bone-chilling. ‘So, the master of Yujian is that idiot Prince, right?’

This is an indisputable fact, isn’t it?

‘And Yujian’s decision to kill Lianlou before was also completely due to the order of her master, right?’

Indeed, only the order of the Third Prince could have driven that cold-hearted woman to this point.

‘And not only did that guy use Mongolian and Han medicine on me, he also sexually harassed me. No one in our world would dare do that to me!”

What’s more, that guy has evil intentions towards the Empress, who has quite a liking for him, and seems to be plotting to usurp the throne. If you add it all up, there’s a whole lot of new and old hatred. If you don’t get it back with interest or something, wouldn’t that be too easy on her? If you don’t do it, you’re completely violating your own code of conduct.

Situ Fengzhan’s voice became sweeter and sweeter, and his smile became more and more radiant, but the coldness and murderous aura emanating from him spread outwards, and even the bold Yu Jiang couldn’t help but shiver.

And Xiao Lianlou and Tan Xiyue, who knew that this guy was usually not a good guy, couldn’t help but swallow their saliva and began to cross their chests, wondering what he was thinking at the moment.

“Na…’

Si Tu Fengzhan’s voice was soft and gentle, his smile sincere and earnest. The tyrannical aura instantly turned into the blowing of the spring breeze in March, and the speed of the change in attitude was breathtaking. This is what anger looks like when it reaches its limit. It seems that the Third Prince, who angered him, can prepare to start resting in his grave.

‘They treated us so warmly, we can’t not return the favour. I’ll make sure the Third Prince really appreciates us.’ The devilish smile was now in full bloom, and even Yu, who had no idea what kind of revenge the Third Prince would exact, instinctively wanted to escape through the window, not to mention the other two people who knew the inside story.

On the third day after being kidnapped from the palace and hidden in the brothel, a fire broke out in the busiest brothel in the capital, where the city’s dignitaries gathered.

When the Third Prince, in a state of desperation, rushed from the warm and fragrant soft jade to the location where he was hiding the king of a country, he naturally became someone’s hostage. Yu Jiang was tied up like a big dumpling by Lian Lou, who didn’t want to let her go. Lian Lou was good at taekwondo, judo and close combat, and easily knocked the overconfident Prince, who had rushed in, down. The two of them, with their masks on, stripped the unlucky close bodyguards of their clothes, and blended right in with the group of imperial guards, slipping away with impunity.

Thanks to the guards’ uniforms, the three of them managed to enter the inner city of the imperial palace without any problems. After hiding in a corner of the imperial garden, Situ Fengzhan let out a long sigh of relief.

‘Haha, that Third Prince is such a fool. How could I be so easily captured?’ The series of plans were flawless. I don’t know if Situ Fengzhan was just too clever, holding onto someone’s weak points and even despicably using his own safety to blackmail the kidnappers, or if the Third Prince was too far below him in terms of ability, unable to recognise that he was actually up against an invisible, super invincible devil king, and suffering was definitely inevitable.

‘What do we do next?‘ Xiao Lianlou, who was sitting on the steps next to him, had been really busy all night.

’Even if it’s just to get Yu Fang away from that Third Prince, we have to do something for her.’ Tan Xiyue swallowed, looking carefully at Situ Fengzhan, who was about to go crazy at any moment, and who might throw a childish tantrum at any time. But she saw Situ Fengzhan looking through the gaps in the lush flowers, wondering what she was looking at.

At this time, the moonlight was high, as if a jade plate was hanging in the sky, with not a single star in sight. The vast imperial garden was full of flowers and exotic plants competing to bloom. The small white stone bridge spanned a pool of blue water, highlighting its extraordinary beauty in the hazy night.

A slow song drifted over, a little tune she had never heard before, thick and sweet, as if it were telling of infinite feelings hidden in the heart. However, no matter how quietly the voice was held back, and no matter how soft the tune was, it was impossible to hide the man’s original hoarse voice. It must have been past the voice-changing period, and even if it was considered a good voice, it sounded out of place at the moment.

But what made Situ Fengzhan frown was not this, but the man standing alone on the bridge.

The tall figure with its back straight, casting a long shadow in the moonlight. The hair usually coiled on the head was now flowing down, revealing an unintentional charm. You couldn’t see her face, but judging from the waist, she was a woman. Apart from the female soldiers on guard, only the royal family could enter here, not to mention that at this time, no one else could stay here except the current king of Xiliang.

Tan Xiyue and Xiao Lianlou glanced at each other, then looked at the empress consort, Situ Fengzhan, together again. Sure enough, they saw faint blue veins protruding on her smiling face. This was the prelude to a fit of rage. The two of them just hoped that the emperor would discover it in time and not do anything to anger the student council president again. However, as if the heavens were against them, a stunning young man slowly walked out.

The transparent muslin falls, and from this angle, you can clearly see a muslin skirt that is comparable to the one worn by men in brothels. Didn’t they say that men here absolutely dare not dress so boldly? Since they are dressed like this in the quiet of the night and appear before the king, even a fool will understand what this means, right?

Tan Xiyue exclaimed, covering her eyes, but her ten fingers were widely spread, and even her lips were filled with a gloating smile. Xiao Lianlou coughed dryly, obviously aware of the significant change in the atmosphere around him as it began to surround Situ Fengzhan.

Although the Student Union President looks weak and delicate, and is usually lazy as hell, the fact that he has been able to serve as the President of the Student Union, which is full of talented people, for three years, shows that there is something seriously wrong with his heart hidden beneath that gentle and harmless appearance.

As long as people don’t offend me, I won’t offend them. As long as they don’t step on the Student Union President’s sore spot, they can do whatever they want. But if they ever infringe on his territory, it will definitely not be that simple.

To Situ Fengzhan, Xiao Lianlou belongs to his forbidden category, but as long as Lianlou personally selects the person, he is afraid that he will not make things difficult. But despite this, thinking about the miserable fate of Yu Jiang at the moment, one can see how ruthless Lord Situ is, and at the moment he is radiating such murderous intent, it is foreseeable how much misfortune that fox spirit man will have in the future.

Does this mean that that cold-blooded youth who never takes people seriously has also fallen for someone else? Looking at the figure of the woman standing on the bridge with mixed feelings, Tan Xiyue and Xiao Lianlou could not help but sigh in their hearts.

Sure enough, they saw the scantily clad beautiful boy rubbing up against her, and then the moment he got close to the empress, his knees went weak, and he threw himself into her arms in a standard embrace. They could hear the blue veins on Situ Fengzhan’s forehead popping, but despite that, the beautiful smile remained on her face, although the deepening shadows on her face were really frightening. A chill spread out from her body, and her two companions took an imperceptible small step to the side.

Although they couldn’t hear what the two people on the bridge were saying, they could roughly guess how things were progressing just by seeing the figures getting closer and closer. For every inch they got closer, they could hear a vein popping on the head of the student council president next to them. By the moment the beautiful young man’s arm climbed onto the empress’s shoulder, they could already hear the sound of thunderclaps on their heads.

Just as their faces were close enough to fit together, Situ Fengzhan suddenly stood up from the flowers. Ignoring the somewhat surprised but completely expected looks from the two people around him, he walked straight towards the small bridge across the way.

The anger in his heart was churning.

He hadn’t been that angry about being forcibly abducted from the palace, nor had he felt anything about the Emperor’s indifference towards him. He could even tolerate the aloof attitude, because he only had a favourable impression of her, not a love that demanded to be returned. But now that impression had completely collapsed.

What the hell?

When he was taken hostage by that damned Third Prince, who was narrow-minded and had no discernment, she didn’t care, but now she’s here flirting with other men! No, no, no, he shouldn’t be angry about this. After all, she is the emperor, and it is normal to have concubines. It is her freedom to love and make out with whoever she wants. But, but he just feels very uncomfortable.

‘Well… my dear Emperor.’ Despite being on the verge of death from anger, Situ Fengzhan still had a very happy face.

‘You look really good after a few days of absence. I think the concubines in the harem have taken good care of you. But now that I’m back, I’m afraid you’ll have to work a little harder. After all, no matter what, national affairs are more important than indulging in the pleasures of the flesh…’ Before she could finish speaking, Situ Fengzhan was embraced by a woman who had rushed over at incredible speed.

Fanliu’s arms tightly encircled his shoulders, and the way she seemed to want to rub his body into hers made Situ Fengzhan nearly unable to breathe. A burst of musky fragrance mixed with the aroma of this imperial garden swept over him, entering his relatively sensitive nasal passages and rushing straight to his brain, causing him to feel a little dizzy. He could feel Fanliu’s soft body, as well as the strong, firm strength that contrasted with that softness. A breeze blew, and his long hair brushed past his cheeks. For a moment, the previous scream of the alluringly beautiful young man was no longer audible, nor was the chirping of insects around him. All that filled his ears was the sound of the other person’s heartbeat.

It’s so hot! Fanliu’s body is so hot!

The heat, like that of a furnace, made Situ Fengzhan’s knees weak, while the hot breath, even hotter than the body, sounded in her ears.

“You’re back, you’re really back! This can’t be a dream, can it? This really isn’t a dream, is it? They sent so many people, they searched everywhere there was the slightest chance, and they couldn’t find you, and Liuting was always making things difficult, and I thought I would never find you again, but I never expected, never expected, that you would come back to me! This really isn’t a dream, is it?’ A series of rapid, indistinct Chinese words, which later became a mantra repeated over and over again, made the listener’s head spin.

A sense of vulnerability that was completely different from the aloofness just now was exposed without any disguise. Situ Fengzhan was very angry just now, and he clearly wanted to rush up to her and slap her two slaps in the face, but at this moment, his heart was filled with deep love and affection. Situ Fengzhan embraced her waist with his hands behind his back. The slender touch that was absolutely invisible to the eye made him slightly startled.

Fan Liu pushed his shoulders away slightly, and her impatient lips covered his. He was a little surprised by her suddenness, but Situ Fengzhan did not resist in the slightest. Although the two had kissed when they first met, and they had not been inexperienced in passionate kisses, the feeling of just the touch of lips was not bad at this moment.

She could no longer hear the sound of the wind, nor could she feel anything, except the stubborn warmth of the fingers that hung down and grasped her own palm. Situ Fengzhan’s head felt a little dizzy, and for the first time, she felt dizzy and disoriented at this unexpected tenderness, even domineering.

And just at the moment when she was most intoxicated, wishing that time would stop, the other person’s body leaned over. As if half of the strength that had been supporting her in her body had been exhausted, Fan Liu’s body leaned softly against his.

It’s so hot.

But after seeing the unnatural blush on her pale cheeks in the moonlight, Situ Fengzhan realised that something was wrong.

This guy, she’s got a fever!

She shouted for the eunuchs who had been sent away to come, and after so many people were busy and panicked, carrying the emperor away, Tan Xiyue and Xiao Lianlou walked back to him. They had seen everything that had happened, and the two sensible people gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

‘The other person is the emperor. If you betray him, you might be chased to the ends of the earth!‘

’To be honest, I’m really relieved now. I absolutely have no objections to handing you over to that person.‘

It’s really true that the onlooker sees more clearly than the person in the situation. Situ Fengzhan looked at her two friends with disgust.

’Idiots, what are you talking about?’

The two of them looked at each other, and there was nothing they could do about this guy who was clever in some ways but slow in others. After thinking for a moment, they spoke in unison to draw a conclusion to the matter, which was also a big step forward in pushing the situation along.

‘In other words, you’re in love!’

Peach 2005-05-23 11:25
Chapter 7

Since Situ Fengzhan was abducted by the thief, Fanliu has been working hard in his own way.

The people of the land could not know that the heavenly bestowed husband of the emperor had disappeared just before the wedding was to take place. There were not many trustworthy ministers in the imperial court, and there were even fewer loyal subjects with brains and the ability to share the burden. So it was even more difficult to secretly search for the emperor’s husband. He personally assigned his trusted subordinates to go to the homes of the suspects who might be able to do so, and then followed the clues through some secret agents in the underworld. He listened to the situation non-stop for many days to find out useful information.

Fan Liu cast an all-encompassing net over the entire capital, gradually drawing it in, regardless of the toil or the lack of rest, until he found the person. That beautiful person who had suddenly fallen from the sky and captured his heart at first sight.

She liked the way he smiled, as if he didn’t mean it, but was full of pride; she liked his unpredictable and carefree personality; she liked his childish ways; she liked his occasional quiet gentleness. Although she didn’t spend much time with him, the anecdotes she heard from the palace attendants who were always by his side brought his whole personality to life.

What would her husband be like, the one she had longed to meet since childhood, the one who only existed in her imagination?

The image that she had been trying to piece together since childhood was far inferior to the actual person she met.

She imagined her husband-to-be to be a dignified, charming, gentle, polite and infinitely loving beauty, but in reality, he was a man who appeared gentle on the surface but harboured countless devious schemes within. She had not yet seen his petty tricks, but she could glimpse his true character behind his smiling face in those eyes that rolled around.

I don’t know how I fell, and I don’t know how I fell so willingly and yet so painfully in love. It’s just that the person that beauty hides in his heart is not himself. The person who can make him look completely different and give up his disguise, the most important person in his heart.

It’s not himself.

So I wondered if the pain in my heart from ugly jealousy would be less if I didn’t see him. But I didn’t expect that the more I didn’t see him, the more my heart panicked. But why was it that just when I was looking for excuses and couldn’t help but want to see him, he disappeared from my side?

I don’t know how I got through it. Why did he disappear from my side? Why didn’t I hold on to him? Why? Do you always regret the things you’ve done after you’ve lost them?

If I find him this time with my own efforts and strength, I will definitely hold him tightly, kiss him fiercely, and let him indulge in my arms, never to part. As long as he can’t part with even a part of his body, even if it’s just his body, it’s fine.

Thinking so, I reached out and tried to grab his wrist.

Slowly opening her eyes, she saw the familiar sight of flowing muslin. It was about ten o’clock in the evening, and the pale sunlight streaming through the window cast a wonderful golden-red hue over the transparent muslin.

Her whole body was weak and limp, her lips dry. Fan Liu subconsciously licked her lips, and with difficulty turned her head to order the servant by her side to bring her water. However, this glance made her eyes widen in surprise. Her fingers were clasped tightly around her wrist, and the person half-lying next to her bed in casual clothes was the one who had been wandering in her dreams at midnight. Her hair was a stark contrast to the burgundy colour next to her, falling down her face, making her complexion look even more translucent and white like jade.

Fan Liu’s surprised eyes shifted from Situ Fengzhan’s face to the fingers that were stubbornly grasping her hand. Only then did the temperature of the other person’s hand transfer, burning like fire and feeling extraordinarily real.

Is this—not a dream?

Isn’t this an illusion caused by my own excessive longing?

So…

Her nose tingles with emotion. Raised and brought up as an emperor, forbidden to show joy, anger, sorrow or happiness in front of others, at this moment she really wants to hug the man she loves and cry her heart out. The hard work of the past few days is nothing at all. He is back, he has really, really come back to her again.

“Mmm…’

The sleeping man seemed to sense her intense emotions as he slowly opened his eyes. When those amber eyes met the deep black ones, Situ Fengzhan cried out in hindsight.

‘Ahhh… Fanliu, you’ve woken up. Do you feel unwell anywhere? You know, the other night when you collapsed on the bridge, it scared the hell out of me. If you can’t get rid of it, don’t force yourself. You’re the emperor, just tell someone to do it for you. You idiot, do you have to exhaust yourself like this for me? I heard it from all those gossiping boys. You fool, do you know how serious your fever was? You were in bed for days, it was terrifying…’

The words of concern became almost inaudible as they continued, and as she spoke, Situ Fengzhan felt more and more uncomfortable, until she could hardly speak at the end.

When she was caught, she resented that she hadn’t sought her out. At first, she was just angry, and it didn’t matter. She didn’t even feel moved when she heard the series of reasons from the servants’ mouths. But she didn’t expect to feel so emotional when she was scolded in person.

Thinking back on something that she hadn’t thought much about, she vaguely saw her exhausted face in the candlelight. Situ Fengzhan felt a mixture of emotions, and later on, she couldn’t even describe what those feelings were.

She kept murmuring her name in her sleep, over and over again, and she didn’t know when it had changed from ‘husband’ to ‘Fengzhan’. It was like a spell that was hard to forget.

I don’t remember telling her my name, do I?

Did she learn it from someone below?

Although those people stubbornly called her ‘Emperor’s Consort’, she had seriously told them her name was ‘Si Tu Feng Zhan’. This guy had only called her ‘Emperor’ in front of her, and naturally had never called her by her name, but she had attached such importance to herself.

When the former prime minister, who insisted that he was the emperor’s consort, told him how happy Fanliu was to see him, he felt a little sad and lowered his eyes. He had been fidgeting for him, his mind was troubled, he had thought of him so much, and he had sent so many people to protect him in order to keep him safe.

Everything had been done without his knowledge.

This idiot!

He hung his head, allowing his neck to be exposed in front of the woman, and his state of being oblivious made Fanliu’s heart race. Situ Fengzhan didn’t say a word, while Fanliu grabbed his fingers and never let go.

I want to touch him so badly, to feel his touch, so badly…to be with him forever. His fingers climbed up his wrist, and he could clearly feel Situ Fengzhan’s body tremble slightly, but he didn’t refuse.

What is this?

Sympathy? Or was it…

timidity? Without continuing to think about it, seeing how vulnerable she was and how moved she was that he had finally returned to her side, Fanliu plucked up the courage to embrace his waist.

The atmosphere was at its peak. Situ Fengzhan’s eyelids were half-dropped. She felt the special smell of the medicine mixed with the woman’s faint fragrance, which penetrated her nose and was extraordinarily comfortable. It was a completely different feeling from when the Third Prince had touched her. It was not only a physical stimulation from the male body, but also a great satisfaction in the heart.

It felt so good, I want to feel more…

The thought had barely crossed her mind when she was embraced by the Empress, who was still half-reclined on the bed. Her momentum was so strong that Situ Fengzhan only managed to let out a small ‘oops’ before falling backwards into her arms.

His back hit the hard floor with a heavy impact, and the pain made him grit his teeth for a while. Obviously, Fanliu, who was weak all over but insisted on lying on top of him, was not doing much better. She was breathing rapidly, her chest rising and falling violently, and from this angle, you could clearly see the deep cleavage in the open collar of her blouse.

With chests pressed together, both were breathing rapidly, and flushes of colour were even visible.

They wanted to touch, to kiss, to feel more, to feel more comfortable. Why didn’t they feel this way with other people?

Not only didn’t Fanliu understand, even Situ Fengzhan herself couldn’t figure it out. It wasn’t that she didn’t have someone she liked, or someone she cared about, and even if she had a relationship with someone else, she didn’t feel such a sense of urgency.

She wanted it, she really wanted it.

If I had to say how much I cared, I would never have thought that I could care so much about something as trivial as having physical contact. That night, the words of Xiyue and Lianlou echoed in my ears. Is this what love is?

Such a simple expression, such a simple definition. Just seeing someone intimate with her makes me feel bad, and knowing that she doesn’t have you in her heart also makes me feel bad. When we touch, it’s so painful, but also so sweet.

I want to touch, I feel lust, this is completely the feeling for a lover, isn’t it?

Without words, in fact, I don’t know what to say now. Because of the illness, the weak body, and the anxious fingers that fumbled over, all this made everything obvious.

So that’s it, I like her!

So it’s such a simple thing!

Holding her body with both hands, it was as if I had gained permission. The fingertips that were originally timid became impatient.

Her long hair, which was not tied up, fell all over her body, and the silky smooth touch of her hair created a stark contrast with the heat of her body, just as Fanliu’s icy surface and suppressed passion were like fire. Panting, he felt the other person’s fingers pulling at the clothes on his body, and he himself could not control the surging emotions at the moment. He imitated her actions and also pulled hard at the few clothes she had on.

The result of being too impatient is that the clothes are torn. The sudden contact with the cold air on his body makes Fan Liu can’t help but shiver a little. He sits up halfway on his chest, keeping his upper body naked, which is more beautiful than he has ever seen.

The golden light from the setting sun cast a dazzling glow over the pale skin that had long been hidden under the thick clothes. He had originally thought that she was thin and tall with little flesh, but who knew that when he looked at her, it was completely different.

Her long hair fell to the sides past her waist, and with the black and white colouring and the blush on her cheeks, she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

He reached over and took her arm, pulling her body down. Without hesitation, his lips kissed the side of her neck, and the burning heat that spread throughout her body passed on, causing the throat that had already been dazzling by the disease to let out an ambiguous low moan. His lips slowly moved upwards, gradually taking over the beautiful contours, and the moment he bit her earlobe, he bit down hard with his teeth, and then received a retaliatory blow.

“It hurts!’

Covering his head, which had been beaten a little, Situ Fengzhan revealed a pitiful expression, which caused the other person, who was not very angry to begin with, to chuckle. Then came the grabbing of his hair at the back of his head and the overlapping of lips full of longing.

The lips and tongues became entangled, feeling the temperature and breath of each other. The result of being too excited and eager was that the teeth hit each other.

They reflexively cover their mouths and part, and then, after seeing the exact same action in the other person, neither of them knows whether to laugh or cry. Neither of them is doing this for the first time, and they can both be considered experts at kissing, but they still made such elementary mistakes. Were they still too nervous?

Mumbling, Fanliu once again pressed his lips against hers. Situ Fengzhan closed her eyes and felt the warmth on her lips. She wrapped her arms around his slender waist and followed the curve of his body upwards, but her good deed was about to be rudely interrupted.

‘Fengzhan, Fengzhan, has the emperor woken up yet? Wow—I really don’t know what the empress of Xiliang would feel like up close. It was dark and far away, so I really didn’t get a good look. Ah!”

The clear voice ended in a scream. The idiot who had barged in without knocking covered his mouth, and his face turned red when he saw the two people tangled on the ground.

‘What’s wrong, Yuzuki?‘ Xiao Lian, who followed, put his arm around her shoulders. After seeing the same situation, his first reaction was to reach out and cover the eyes of the person next to him, and then he sighed helplessly.

’I know you guys love each other, but don’t act so obviously, okay? If you want to make out, please wait until the end of the ceremony and until you’re physically recovered, okay?’

Situ Fengzhan’s face really couldn’t be said to be very good-looking. Even though they were acquaintances, it was really not a good thing for others to see such things. Not to mention what to do about the desire that had been aroused in him. But what they said was the truth. After weighing the pros and cons, Situ Fengzhan still muttered and reached out to pull the empress into his arms, wrapping the bed sheet tightly around them.

The Empress, who had been silent while he did it, offered her opinion after being returned to the bed: ‘Instead of wrapping me up, it should be you who is wrapped up first, according to common sense? Although we are both men, I don’t want any inch of my husband’s skin to be seen by others.’

The explicit love words made Situ Fengzhan, who was not at all prepared, really unable to smile. Come on, I have watched these guys changing clothes and taking showers hundreds of times since we were kids, it’s too late to cover up now, right?

‘Cough cough, we were only looking for Fengzhan, but since the empress has also woken up, that’s great.’ After two awkward coughs, Xiao Lianlou had to get everything back on track. His usually gentle face also showed a rare seriousness.

After glancing at the expression of her childhood sweetheart, Situ Fengzhan sat up from the ground and sat next to the Empress Dowager. Naturally, he reached out and pulled her head over to rest on his shoulder. This rare display of male chauvinism made Fanliu frown, but she was weak and missed his warmth, so she reluctantly submitted.

Of course, they didn’t notice such subtle little gestures between the two of them. The key was the next question.

‘It is like this. The former prime minister said that the auspicious day is approaching, and the preparations in the palace are almost complete. It depends on when the wedding will be held.”

Although she had long known about this matter, she still felt a sense of disorientation when she suddenly heard it now. She had just discovered her own feelings, and then she was immediately packed and sent to the bridal chamber. This seems to be a bit too fast, doesn’t it?

Si Tu Fengzhan thought so, but she felt her fingers being tightly grasped by the person beside her, and the head resting on her shoulder trembled.

His thoughts were mixed—

and indeed, the person’s face did not show whether she was happy or sad. From this angle, one could only see that the empress had instantly returned to her previous expression of a little indifference and a dead look that blocked her heart, unlike her previous expression of confused passion. Although this was also quite good, in any case, this sudden change still made him feel very uncomfortable.

“Of course, we also know that the former prime minister, after the previous incident in which our Fengzhan was taken hostage, of course, will be very worried about whether anything will happen. But as for that Third Prince, although he played the part of a martyr, pretending to be injured by the assassins so that he could direct someone to take the honourable husband away, he has now been tricked by us and is there, jumping up and down in anger. But judging by her appearance, she is definitely not the type to keep quiet. To avoid any more trouble, I would say that it would be best for you two to get married quickly.’

The pretty Tan Xiyue shook her head, feeling a little sorry for this troublesome character who just wouldn’t give up. ‘Has that guy not learned his lesson yet? Feng Zhan was already very lenient last time, not using all those insidious, despicable, shameless tricks, just a little face-saving, and then a little corporal punishment, and he still hasn’t learned his lesson. Don’t cry and beg us for mercy next time.’

‘Is that guy still looking for trouble?‘ As soon as she heard the name of the Third Prince, Situ Fengzhan’s mood took a nosedive.

Oh no, her mood was not exactly great because of this ambiguous situation. The Third Prince was practically offering himself up as a toy for her amusement!

’What did she do this time?’

As soon as they saw Situ Fengzhan’s trademark gentle smile, the two old friends couldn’t help crossing their arms. Poor Third Prince, who was being used as a punching bag. Although you are also very cunning and annoying, you have met this vengeful demon, and it is your own fault. Who told you not to provoke that guy, but to provoke his bottom line?

‘Although it seems calm on the surface, it seems to be turbulent underneath. That guy secretly gathered a large group of martial artists, all of whom have nothing to do with the palace or the imperial court. She probably plans to pin whatever trouble happens on the bandits.’ Tan Xiyue braced her jaw, her well-shaped eyebrows twisted into a “川” shape.

‘So, it seems that the Third Prince also wants to make a big fuss during the Emperor’s wedding. If I remember correctly, when His Majesty married the Heavenly Son, it seems that in order to let the people admire the appearance of their new husband, he paraded through the capital on his wedding day.’

Xiao Lianlou smiled bitterly, not commenting on the Third Prince’s seemingly sinister, but actually quite idiotic behaviour.

‘It is indeed very likely. If Liuting really did that, it would indeed…’ The Empress wrinkled her brows, deeply feeling that if her younger sister really disrupted the entire wedding, it was feared that it would cast a considerable shadow over the huge population, from the important ministers of the court to the country of women.

If this happened when the ceremony was supposed to symbolise welcoming the Heavenly Husband and bestowing blessings upon the world, it would undoubtedly turn a good omen into a bad one. Not only that, if civil unrest broke out as a result, the barbarians at the border would probably seize this opportunity to invade Xiliang. Only a fool would let go of such a good opportunity.

‘Oh, in that case, let’s just use the same tactic against them!‘ Xiao Lianlou had to say it. The words that Situ Fengzhan had just spoken contained a terrifying aura, and even the Empress, who did not know his true nature very well, could not help but shiver.

‘Let’s do this…’

The mysterious man laughed, then pulled the three of them over to him, taking the throne of supreme ruler of the student council. The demon who had been in power for three long years was definitely no pushover.

If the Third Prince is a villain, then Situ Fengzhan is definitely the villain of villains.

Unbeknownst to them, time passed quietly. When they realised, the sky outside had already been swallowed up by darkness. The palace lanterns were lit, and the servant boys were guarding outside. Naturally, there were also people like the imperial physician. Everyone knew that the emperor had woken up, but it was inconvenient for them to enter because Situ Fengzhan and the others were also there.

The flickering candlelight made the shadows of the four people gathered inside seem illusory and uncertain. To say that three men and one woman were gathered together, although the other two men were also heavenly beings, this kind of situation that corrupted morals was also enough to make people feel ashamed. It has been a well-known teaching in Xiliang since ancient times that men should not participate in political affairs and should not charm the emperor with their charms. Therefore, this situation really made the ministers waiting outside feel dissatisfied.

From time to time, there were sounds of laughter and heated discussions coming from inside, which made people’s minds even more restless. Just when everyone couldn’t hold back any longer and wanted to go in and take a peek, the door suddenly opened.

‘Ah, everyone is here!’ The first to come out was Tan Xiyue. On that peerless face was a smile that was even more beautiful than a flower, which made the female ministers’ minds turbulent and difficult to control.

‘Actually, I have a favour to ask you all. Well, actually, here’s the thing…”

She deliberately lowered her voice to sound pitiful, drawing the attention of the ministers as she stood in front of them. Xiao Lianlou, who was standing behind her, gave a secret sign. Seeing this, Situ Fengzhan stuck out her tongue, wrapped Fanliu’s body in a quilt, then picked up the thick clothes hanging on one side and opened the window to slip out.

The evening breeze blew, the night was as cool as water, and the faint floral fragrance made people feel carefree and happy.

Situ Fengzhan embraced the empress from the waist, hiding among the flowers where no one could see them, and did not let her go until they were far away from prying eyes. Even though the two were about the same height, there was a natural difference in strength between men and women, not to mention that although Fan Liu was tall, she was obviously underweight.

Not understanding what this husband-to-be was up to, Fanliu looked at him with a slightly surprised gaze as he stuck out his tongue in a naughty manner.

‘So this is how you sneaked out in the first place, without a shred of husbandly virtue.’

‘Whether it’s feminine virtue or husbandly virtue, this is not the time to discuss it.’ He let Fanliu down under a large tree, and she leaned against the trunk. He then pressed the quilt in his hands onto her.

Fan Liu could only see that his skin was as white as snow in the moonlight, and the lower part of his neck under the collar was also snow white. It was really beautiful. Her heart stirred, and she thought of the interrupted physical intimacy before, and her face flushed. Fortunately, Situ Fengzhan lowered his head to help her cover the quilt, so she didn’t notice.

‘Fan Liu, I want to talk to you properly.’ Having prepared everything, Situ Fengzhan knelt in front of her, looking serious.

She had always seen him laughing and joking around, even when they were discussing that earth-shattering plan just now, he had been smiling. But now his face was serious, and that made Fanliu nervous too.

‘Well, although I don’t object to marrying you, there is something I absolutely must ask you, or I will never be at peace for the rest of my life.’ Fanliu’s heart tightened at the serious tone and the reference to the rest of her life, and she was so flustered that she could not even reply. The empress could only widen her eyes and watch the man gradually swallowed up by the night.

She was in this situation, and so was Situ Fengzhan. She wanted to say a thousand words, to ask her whether she liked the ‘emperor’ or ‘Situ Fengzhan’, but the words stuck in her throat.

When did she become so indecisive?

Situ Fengzhan bit her lip and gathered her courage to ask:

‘I’ve been wondering, do you like me or not?’ The straightforward question made Fan Liu flinch. She was about to speak, but then thought of the fact that he had someone else in his heart. If she admitted it and was rejected, it would absolutely destroy her dignity, wouldn’t it? So she chose to remain silent, even though she wanted him half to death.

‘If the person who fell from the sky wasn’t me, what would you do? Would you fall in love with that person?‘ The strange question was met with Fan Liu’s surprised raised eyebrow.

’In other words, there could be a total of five people who have travelled through time and space to Xiliang, except that everyone’s landing place is a bit different. If it wasn’t me, but any one of the other four people who fell, and they fell in front of you, would you fall in love with him? As long as he is the ‘divinely bestowed emperor’, would you let him into your harem?’

Folding her brows, the sweet atmosphere just now was shattered by such a question. Fanliu had some difficulty understanding his leaping logic and was caught in a rare state of confusion.

Seeing her expression of confusion, Situ Fengzhan let her shoulders droop.

‘That’s what I mean. You just saw those two guys, didn’t you? If it wasn’t me but one of them who fell in front of you from the sky at the beginning, would you fall in love with them? Would you make them your husband?’ Hearing this, she understood.

Fan Liu nodded and answered without hesitation.

‘Since this is the will of heaven, I think I would do that.’

These words struck Situ Fengzhan like a bolt of lightning. Although she had long known that this would be the answer, she still couldn’t bear to hear it with her own ears. Right, the reason why he had suddenly gone from being a prisoner to becoming the husband of the empress, second only to the emperor, was entirely due to the superstition of the emperor in front of him. In other words, no matter which of the five of them fell in front of Fan Liu, she would treat them all the same.

Heh heh…this is quite ironic…

Even the trembling that was visible to the naked eye made Fanliu scared, and she couldn’t help reaching out to hold Situ Fengzhan’s shoulders. Before she could say anything, she was slapped.

‘Pop,’ was the sound of the palm contact, as well as the sound of something breaking in her heart. Slowly raising her head, Situ Fengzhan’s smile was still so gentle, but the feeling was completely different.

What on earth was going on?

‘Well, I understand. I will marry you, and of course all the plans will go ahead as we discussed. I will be a good husband and do my best for the Kingdom of Xiliang, but there is only one condition.’

A fierce glare appeared from between the slowly parting eyelashes, and the cold air froze the hearts of the two, so that the distance was no longer strained.

‘You absolutely must not touch me!’

Peach 2005-05-23 11:26
Chapter 8

The atmosphere in the large room was indescribably ambiguous. Although the men were chattering away like sparrows, their noisy voices could not dispel the silence hidden in everyone’s hearts, but it was still unbearable.

Situ Fengzhan obediently sat in a chair and coldly watched from the bronze mirror as the palace men behind her scrambled to pile a large pile of hairpins and rings on her head. The hair that had originally just hung down past her cheeks was carefully combed up and piled into a complicated wig, which was then filled with all kinds of precious decorations.

Gold phoenix hairpins, gold hairpins inlaid with sapphires, and peonies that bloom to the extreme to render a single colour of gorgeousness all adorn the originally enchantingly beautiful face, making it bright and dazzling.

To be honest, including the student union president himself, even if the entire school’s teachers and students came forward, absolutely no one would believe that Situ Fengzhan, who looks very refined but if you dare to say he is a sissy, would absolutely be punished severely, would be willing to dress up as a woman.

You only need to look behind to see the two guys with their mouths wide open, as big as 30 tea eggs, to know the answer to this question.

‘Is Fengzhan out of his mind?’

“Did you see that? He was smiling while wearing that heavy hair accessory!’

Xiao Lianlou and Tan Xiyue exchanged a short conversation before falling silent again.

The student president suddenly fell into this inexplicable spiritual state on the day the empress woke up. They followed instructions and blocked the nagging ministers at the door to allow the two to escape unharmed. They had no idea what had happened between them, and when they reappeared, it had turned into this situation.

Although Situ Fengzhan didn’t say anything, his face was still smiling, but his whole body was emitting a dangerous signal that said, ‘I’m not in a good mood, and if any guy dares to come near, just try it.’

And that always cold-faced Fan Liu, his face was even more shockingly ugly, changing from an unhealthy pale white to a face of iron. Well, perhaps the words ‘green face and fangs’ would be more appropriate.

What is this? Just now they were a sweet young couple, but why did they turn into mortal enemies so quickly?

And from that day on, for several days in a row, the two maintained this situation. Although they both looked peaceful when they met, the sparks that flew between them were unmistakable. Any servant who happened to be there at the time was sweating heavily and trembling, fearing that if either of their masters took it out on them, they would be in trouble.

If that was the end of it, they could just avoid each other, but Situ Fengzhan was not like that. If there really were such creatures as angels and demons in the world, then that guy was undoubtedly the top devil, good at playing people around with psychological attacks.

As a result, Situ Fengzhan vented his twisted anger onto his poor lover.

The entire imperial garden could see at any time a complete change of appearance. Even the emperor’s empress, who originally hated long skirts and dressing up, suddenly made a 180-degree turn in attitude, flaunting her skirt, and went around the world demonstrating to the emperor. She deliberately dressed up in a charming manner to fully stimulate the desire of others to embrace and touch, and then adopted an aloof attitude, telling the other party at the last minute about the promise they had made: ‘I’ll marry you, but you absolutely mustn’t touch me!’ ‘To be honest, I always felt that this guy was absolutely the standard-issue devil.’ After observing him for a few days, Tan Xiyue once again felt heartfelt sorrow that her leader turned out to be such a person.

I’ll marry you, but you absolutely mustn’t touch me!

‘To be honest, I always thought this guy was absolutely the standard definition of evil.’ After observing him for a few days, Tan Xiyue once again felt a heartfelt sense of sadness for the fact that the person who had led her in the first place actually looked like this.

‘Well, I hate to admit it, but it’s true, the person he falls in love with is actually quite pitiful.’ So quickly she had adapted to local customs, and then found the right way to get back at people, grabbing hold of other people’s pet peeves and stomping on them. She was worthy of the title of terrorist who devoured people and didn’t spit out their bones.

But what exactly was the reason that caused the originally loving young lovers to become like this? The two of them racked their brains trying to figure it out, but they were afraid to ask Situ Fengzhan. Just looking at how Situ Fengzhan behaved, one could tell what a raging lion was like without being told.

Damn family, how dare you treat me like this!

Love instantly turned to anger, and it also made Situ Fengzhan’s eyes shine. Even if it’s true, can you please say it in a slightly more tactful way? It’s really so blunt and straightforward, and it doesn’t give you a chance to buffer your emotions. You’re just so infuriating, and it’s really not excusable.

That idiot, that blockhead!

I thought girls were more delicate!

Like hell!

Looking at her face in the bronze mirror, which was either red, green or white, Situ Fengzhan’s mood got worse and worse as she thought back.

“Well, Your Highness, you really are very beautiful!’

The sound of the palace men praising her came from the side, which brought her back to her senses. Looking carefully in the mirror, she saw why her head felt so heavy. There were so many things hanging from it, and so many wigs pinned on.

Sifu Fengzhan did not show any dissatisfaction. In fact, his dissatisfaction was complete obedience. Anyone who saw how he looked at the moment would probably fall off their chair, right? But dressing up nicely was precisely to let that idiot emperor take a good look and see who was the right choice.

Hmph, it’s him anyway. What if he’s naturally a trouble-maker? Does the law say that men aren’t allowed to be petty? Can’t I be jealous? Su Tuo Fengzhan muttered to himself, stood up, pulled up his skirt, and took a step forward. Unfortunately, he stepped on a ribbon and nearly tripped. Xiao Lianlou sighed and had no choice but to walk up to him and hold him to help him maintain his balance.

‘Hmph!‘ Situ Fengzhan snorted in disdain at this kind of help, but at the same time, she put all her weight on her loyal servant, despite her words.

’If you’re not used to it, don’t force yourself.‘ After thinking about it, this was the only thing he could say. Xiao Lianlou sighed, feeling really unlucky.

’What do you care so much? How about the outfit? It’s pretty good, right? Today, it can make that guy’s eyes fall out too, right?’

Last time, when he went out wearing a piece of brocade, the female emperor, whose behaviour was strictly forbidden and whose personality was archaic, almost spat out her tea. I think this time, this attire will also be able to achieve a good effect, right?

He said this with a rather smug tone, and he held his head up, ready to knock the head of his sweaty companion sitting over there if he said a single word of ‘no’.

‘Well…ah…very good…’ What could he say in the face of such complete perversion of good and evil? Tan Xiyue, who was watching from the side, managed to force these words out of her throat, and her sweat had long since dripped onto the ground.

‘Very good, let’s go to that bastard emperor!‘ With her eyes shining, Situ Fengzhan was about to run over there to let that idiot emperor know how wrong she was.

’But Your Majesty, she’s with Concubine Su.‘

’Who cares where she dies? I’m going to go and show her who’s boss.’

Raising her skirt, Situ Fengzhan’s teeth were clenching. She didn’t care how unwilling Xiao Lianlou was to be caught between the two of them, she reached out and grabbed his collar and walked out. She couldn’t hear the constant calls of ‘Your Highness, Your Highness’ behind her, until she arrived at the side hall where Su Fei lived, dressed in a super luxurious outfit, and stopped in her tracks at an unexpected discovery.

“Huh? The scenery here is so familiar?’

Although the scenery in the imperial garden was quite similar, this atmosphere and feeling gave him a sense of déjà vu. Turning his head, his sight really dispelled his doubts. Wasn’t that the pool he had jumped into at the beginning to cool off? Why was she here?

“Feng…’

‘Shut up!‘ He reached out and covered Xiao Lianlou’s lips, and he dragged his inexplicable companion into the low bushes on the side. It wasn’t until they had covered the two of them that Situ Fengzhan let go of his hand.

’What’s wrong?‘ Following his gaze in puzzlement, Xiao Lianlou couldn’t understand why the empress was sitting by the pool with a grave expression on her face.

’That idiot…’

Looking at her so focused, I think she must have remembered what happened at the time. Could it be that the so-called coming to the place where she had never met Consort Su refers to the place where she got lost in the first place? So she came here to recall the rare and pitiful memories she shared with me?

Situ Fengzhan’s hands curled up. Originally, her heart was burning with anger, but at this moment, it all shrunk back. Although it was a long way away, looking at her sad side, I think she is also depressed.

‘Fengzhan…‘ The soft sound of her voice flowed from her lips, carried by the gentle breeze, and made Situ Fengzhan tremble.

’Fengzhan… Fengzhan…’ The sound of her voice was gentle and sad, and the tone of her voice made people feel emotional.

He couldn’t help but recall the things he knew she had done for him, the hard work she had put in, and the panic she had felt when she had first thought he had drowned himself. He also thought of the intimate contact they had almost made when he had first come to, all forming a vivid picture that flickered before his eyes.

His heart felt tight. In fact, he was also gambling on a breath of air. He was just afraid of who would fall and be loved at first sight by her. If it wasn’t him, if it was someone else, if she was so worried, and if the person who could make her worry so much was someone else, he really didn’t know what to do.

But it didn’t happen, did it?

Sifu Fengzhan let out a long sigh. She knew that she had been cold towards him these past few days. Her lukewarm attitude worried and scared him, but he was also angry that she didn’t know why he was angry. It was obvious that they could now embrace each other in mutual affection, but that guy had actually given such a disappointing answer.

This is not a petty issue, but a matter of a man’s pride, right?

While pondering such questions, the empress over there turned her head. Unsatisfied with only seeing the slender back, Situ Fengzhan leaned forward, but unexpectedly, her balance was off, and she was wearing too much too heavy on her head, so she simply toppled to one side.

“Fengzhan!’

Xiao Lianlou, who was nearby, exclaimed in surprise, reflexively reaching out to hug his waist, but then losing his balance and naturally falling on top of his best friend. It was completely an accident, really, and with both men having their beloved women, there was absolutely no way they could develop anything more than a platonic friendship, but it was a completely different matter when viewed by others.

Hearing a noise behind him, Fan Liu got up and walked over, but unexpectedly met overlapping figures from above.

How could she mistake him for someone else?

That carefully sculpted face displayed a unique charm that belonged to him. At the moment, he looked at her, who had suddenly appeared before his eyes, in panic, his eyes wide open, clearly frightened. Her gaze rose, landing on the body pressed against the luxurious satin. She turned her head and smiled apologetically, and it was also someone she knew well.

When Fanliu came into contact with that person’s smile, she really wanted to draw a sword and kill him with a flurry of swords, but reason restrained her from doing so.

When she learned the name of that person, she really had the urge to kill the other person.

Xiao Lianlou——

Since learning this name, the name that made Situ Fengzhan panic and grab her sleeve to ask, it fully reflects his love for that person. In fact, when she saw that Lianlou was also a man, Fan Liu couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief, but after seeing Fengzhan’s attitude towards him, she became worried again.

It is not that he does not know that there are homosexuals in the world, and that many of the wives and concubines of the powerful and wealthy are in fact homosexuals, and that even the royal blood relatives have loved homosexuals.

Situ Fengzhan originally gave people a neutral impression, and coupled with Xiao Lianlou’s constant dressing in women’s clothing, that is, the men’s clothing of this side of the daughter country, the two standing together felt so perfect for each other, how could she not feel pain in her heart?

No matter how you look at it, although she has always maintained a gentle smile towards others, but she does not casually give her heart to Situ Fengzhan, but she trusts and relies on Xiao Lianlou with her whole heart. She can feel that this kind of feeling definitely exceeds ‘friendship’ and is basically close to the level of ‘lover’.

At this moment, when they are seen with their hair dishevelled, embracing each other and falling onto the grass, how could she not think the worst? What’s more, Situ Fengzhan originally hated wearing long skirts and dressing up, but after waiting until she had come to her senses and Xiao Lianlou had appeared, she suddenly started to put all her effort into dressing up. How could anyone not be suspicious?

Although the intimate skin-to-skin contact between them proved that he might like her, that liking ended in a fight where they didn’t understand each other’s reasons.

Look!

At the moment, he actually brought his lover to show off in front of him. Last time, the time before that, and this time as well. How long is he going to challenge his own patience?

‘Ah…this…’ Although he really wanted to continue acting along with Situ Fengzhan, the atmosphere of being dragged out at any moment made Xiao Lianlou feel a sense of crisis.

As cold sweat crept over his body once again, he was about to explain when the stubborn fellow, who was still sulking, added fuel to the fire by grabbing his neck.

‘Your Majesty, please go about your business. I still have things to discuss with Lianlou.’ The implication of these words was ‘You’re in the way, so please go wherever you like.’

Fan Liu glanced at their intertwined bodies indifferently before walking away without hesitation.

Xiao Lianlou propped himself up, rubbed his eyes, and did not comment on his thoughts from the previous tour. Later, Situ Fengzhan also got up and wrung his hands.

‘Tsk! She’s not jealous?’

“I think even if you want to arouse her jealousy, it seems like you’re using the wrong method.’

My heart aches, as if someone has grabbed it hard.

Fanliu could not hold on until they reached the veranda, and with a little gasp, leaned half-way against his master. It happened to be a remote area, so there was no one to take care of them. After waiting for a long time, they heard the sound of footsteps. Fanliu opened his eyes and was about to stand up again, so as not to disgrace the emperor, but unexpectedly, the voice sounded tenderly.

‘Ah, it’s the Emperor! Your face looks terrible, what’s wrong?”

Looking up, the daylight cast a golden rim around the worried, stunning face, which was a little blinding.

Tan Xiyue reached out and helped Fanliu sit down on one side, and then he sat down on the other side, secretly eyeing the woman who was close at hand. Perhaps it was because that gaze was too fervent, although it did not contain the feeling of pleading that ordinary concubines usually had, it still made Fanliu frown uncomfortably.

‘Sorry, I accidentally looked too intently.’ Tan Xiyue folded her hands and beamed. ’Whenever I want to take a good look, it’s just that I want to see the temperament and appearance of the woman that our Si Tu Fengzhan likes. After all, that guy has very strict standards. The fact that he cares so much about it that he’s even willing to resort to such despicable tactics just to get the attention of the woman he cares about makes me want to study it carefully!’

The information that had been inadvertently revealed caused Fanliu to pause in the action of rubbing his forehead, and when he looked up at the other person, his eyes were a little confused.

‘You mean…he likes me?’

How could that be? If he liked her, why would he treat her like that?

‘Well, of course he likes you!’ But unexpectedly, Tan Xiyue’s reply was like this. Fanliu opened his eyes wide, unable to believe his ears.

‘You know what? Fengzhan has this personality: the more he likes someone, the more he’ll bully them! He obviously likes you to death, but he likes to go looking for trouble, using you like a slave, loving to see you jumpy and furious. Just look at Lianlou, enslaved like that, and you’ll know. As for people he doesn’t like, he’s all smiles, always setting traps for them. In short, it’s troublesome to get him to like you or not like you. But, in school, there were a dozen girls after him, and he didn’t look at any of them. I didn’t realize that he liked your type! Hmm, not bad, not bad, androgynous, happy, and special.‘

’But he doesn’t like…’ She bit her lip, and in the end, she reluctantly said the name that made her heart ache. ’Xiao Lianlou?’

Upon hearing her question, Tan Xiyue froze for a moment, and then, after she recovered, she started laughing wildly, pounding on the pillar until she was out of breath.

“Oh, yes, she likes him, hahaha—that’s hilarious. That’s a different kind of “like”! A friend’s like, a slave’s like, oh oh—I can’t take it anymore, I’m going to die laughing. If those two really fall in love, pfft—hahahaha, I can just imagine Lian Lou’s expression.’

Looking at Tan Xiyue, who was laughing so hard she could hardly breathe, Fan Liu felt both happy and at a loss.

“But he relies so much on Lian Lou and wants to find him so badly.’

‘Right! Because to Fengzhan, Lianlou is omnipotent! Not only is he good to him, but he even takes care of his every need, and is even better than a motherly figure. Where can you find such a loyal slave? If I lose Lianlou, I guarantee that family will definitely not be able to survive. Hahahaha—I’m afraid that in the future, I will have to compete with Lianlou’s wife for him! I can’t take it anymore, I’m going to pass out!”

Is this really the kind of “love” it is?

In an instant, Fanliu felt that he had been really stupid before, and even just now, to have actually wavered like that.

Looking at the emperor, who was lost in thought, Tan Xiyue finally stopped laughing maniacally, wiped away the tears that had escaped, then propped up his limp body and formally began to ask about the root cause of the recent cold war between the two of them.

‘I said, Your Majesty, it was obvious that over the bridge Feng Zhan had discovered that he was in love with you, so why did he suddenly pull a long face and look so angry the night you came to your senses?‘

When she thought about it, there was really no difference. But it seemed that after he had asked himself that question, he had looked very angry.

’If it wasn’t me but someone else who fell at your feet, would you still make them your husband?’

At the thought of this, Fanliu couldn’t help but look sideways at Tan Xiyue beside him. He saw that the peerless face was staring at him with great interest, with eyes that were big and round. If appearance was the only thing considered, Situ Fengzhan was indeed inferior to the person in front of him, but why did he not feel that way?

He wanted to hold him in his arms and love him, to kiss him and hold him.

‘He just asked me if I would marry someone else if they fell into my eyes.‘

Tan Xiyue’s smiling face twitched a little at what was not really an answer.

’Well, pardon me for butting in, but are you…?

‘I answered him, “Of course.”’

‘Plop,’ Tan Xiyue fell to the ground. His dumbfounded expression looked as if he had seen something horrible.

‘What’s wrong with you?‘

he asked, puzzled, not knowing what he was afraid of. As soon as he had asked, he was interrupted by a stream of mutterings. Tan Xiyue sat on the ground in a kneeling position, holding the face he was most proud of and most attached to in his hands, and responded in the most terrified voice.

’Ahhhhh—why is this happening? We’re finished, we’re finished! How could you answer like that? Now that the jealous pot has flipped over for the first time in his life, but definitely with top-notch possessiveness, we are definitely finished. After we finish with this idiot emperor, it will be our turn. No, Lian Lou must be the last, and I will definitely bear the brunt! I can’t do it anymore, I must save my life, I must hurry back and pack some gold and silver. The gentleman, who was obviously scared out of his mind, began to think about running away.

Facing his terrified state, Fanliu felt that it was exaggerated, but she didn’t know what to do.

Idiotic emperor?

These words made her frown. If it weren’t for the sake of the heavenly beings, the person who said this was definitely defying the imperial family and would definitely be dragged out and beheaded as an example.

‘In any case, this is treating the symptoms but not the disease. Your Majesty, you must quickly make peace with Feng Zhan, or else we will all suffer the consequences!‘ With a voice that almost sounded like she was crying, Tan Xiyue suddenly turned her head around, her expression of serious panic showing that she was not joking.

’If you don’t make peace, that guy will definitely find a chance to get rid of each of us one by one. He will definitely do so in order to prevent the people he likes from falling in love with someone else.’

‘Is it really that exaggerated?‘ No matter how you look at it, Tan Xiyue is overreacting.

’Of course, if you listen to me, you won’t…’ Just as he said this, his shoulders suddenly slumped. ’But judging from the way that guy is taking his revenge now, it’s obvious that he’s overreacting. If you apologize in an ordinary way, he definitely won’t forgive you. Ugh—what should I do? What should I do?’

Fanliu really didn’t know what to say, and in fact had been confused by these eccentric guys. She was now completely being teased by them together, and then completely lost her way and couldn’t find a solution.

‘At this point, the only thing I can do is resort to the most melodramatic trick!’ Tan Xiyue suddenly looked up, his expression of breaking all ties seemed to have decided on something.

Seeing his expression, for some reason, Fan Liu felt a chill run down her spine, and she began to worry from the bottom of her heart. But despite this, she still appeared composed on the surface, not showing the slightest sign of the panic she felt in her heart.

Peach 2005-05-23 11:28
Chapter 9

Time flies, and before I knew it, it was the day of the emperor’s wedding.

After more than two months of preparation, the joy of all the subjects of the Western Liang kingdom will all erupt today. Although they have never met the emperor himself, the descriptions that have spread from the palace have spread to every street and alley. By today, two months after the emperor’s arrival, rumours about him have been rampant.

He is said to be a handsome young man, charming and well-read; some say he is a genius who knows everything about the heavens and the earth, and even magic spells. Some even say that he is not human at all, but a fairy from the heavens.

In short, there were all kinds of rumours. Although women held power here, gossip was universal. For a time, the streets and alleys, teahouses and pubs, and the talk of everyone was of this beauty sent from heaven to bring blessings. The atmosphere was so lively that it was like every holiday. And after waiting for so long, the day finally came when they could catch a glimpse of the Emperor’s beauty. The streets and alleys were packed from dawn.

At this time, some people were also looking forward to the appearance of the emperor with completely opposite intentions.

‘That bitch, as soon as she shows her face, you guys just bring her to me.’ The flirtatious woman looked as if she was gritting her teeth, as if she really had a deep grudge against the legendary emperor.

‘But, Third Prince, what if the Emperor blames us…‘ One of the loyalists standing nearby nervously reminded his master not to go too far, after all, the lesson of burning the number one brothel in the city was still fresh in their minds.

’I will naturally take care of the Empress, what business is it of yours?‘ Rainfall!

’Yes, my lord.’ The ghostly woman stood behind him in an instant, bowing respectfully with a cold expression.

‘When those lackeys are creating chaos downstairs, you know what to do, don’t you?‘ The Third Prince spoke coldly, his words containing an infinite amount of malevolence, even threatening.

’Also, didn’t I tell you to get rid of that annoying guy? Why is he still here?’ The pupil hidden beneath the eyelashes trembled slightly at these words, before once again becoming calm and unruffled.

‘Anyway, I don’t care what method you use, just get rid of that guy called Lian Lou for me. That guy actually dared to hit me, and more importantly, I feel uncomfortable whenever I see him. As for that little bitch Situ Fengzhan, hmph…‘

’Yes, my lord.’ After answering coldly, the woman’s figure disappeared like a wisp of smoke.

And the people below also began to stir.

It was midday, and the sound of music approaching from afar meant that the target was close.

Hmph…

The Third Prince drank the remaining wine in his cup with his head held high, his smile indescribably sinister.

Good your Situ Fengzhan, actually set fire to that brothel, not only that, but he even dared to order someone to beat the king, and even…suffered such a great humiliation. If I don’t give it back to you in full, I swear I will not be a king.

On the street below the teahouse, a group of common people were trying to see the extremely luxurious sedan chair, and peeked through the rickety curtains to see the legendary beauty’s face. Everyone was trying to squeeze together.

This scene of everyone stretching their necks forward to look was absolutely unprecedented. Many people waited until their necks were sore and their eyes were numb before they saw the figures of the soldiers walking in front of them. Since it was the emperor’s wedding, even the soldiers had changed out of their heavy, uniformed armour and into lighter, brightly coloured soft armour, which made them look even more spirited.

The palace men holding flower petals and scattering them everywhere, the musicians playing melodious music, and the five-coloured banners fluttering in the middle of the long procession all exuberantly added to the festive colours.

And when everyone had waited with no patience left, a glimpse of a golden sedan chair could be seen in the long procession. The body of the sedan chair was covered in gold leaf with carvings of dragons and phoenixes. The golden bell hanging from the edge of the top of the sedan chair was tied with red ribbons, swinging back and forth with the movement of the sedan chair. A slender hand coated with impatiens juice lifted the corner of the curtain, causing the crowd of people waiting to catch a glimpse of the emperor’s face to gasp in surprise. The emperor was sitting behind on a high platform that was moved by rollers. For some reason, he was not riding a horse. He was dressed in a scarlet wedding robe, and his cold eyes looked down at the cheering crowd.

Of course, the crowd’s cheers were not directed at the current emperor, and all the limelight was stolen by the emperor who had fallen from the sky.

The empress looked coldly at the commotion below, and the two palace men standing by her side to serve her were one sweating all over and the other constantly pulling his sleeve to hide a smile. And what was strange was that the emperor in front of them could actually tolerate them continuing to make a fool of themselves behind him?

Of course, everyone’s attention was drawn to the palanquin carrying the emperor and the snow-white hand sticking out of it. No one even looked up at the emperor, so naturally they couldn’t see the expressions on the palace attendants standing behind him.

And just when it was at its most crowded, the ‘accident’ happened as expected to a few people.

I don’t know if it was because there were too many people and it was too crowded, but a few people in the front row stumbled and fell onto the road, causing a young palace servant throwing flowers to let out a cry of alarm before falling. This immediately affected the people behind him, and in an instant, the sound of exclamations of ‘oops!’ and ‘oops!’ could be heard without end. The originally orderly procession suddenly ‘collapsed’ and a large area fell away, and now the procession could not move forward, and even the sedan chair came to a halt.

The situation, which had already become chaotic, was further compounded when some idiot, taking advantage of the confusion, reached a hand into the sedan chair. For a moment, the strange rumour that ‘if you touch the Emperor and Empress, you will have good luck for the rest of your life’ spread, and countless hands followed suit.

People kept pushing and shoving, all wanting to get close to the legendary emperor and catch a bit of his good fortune. Soldiers panicked at the sight of this situation and surrounded the sedan chair, trying to stop these fools from doing such a stupid thing. The scene was in chaos and out of order.

At that moment, a dark figure fell from the sky. A long sword gleamed in the sunlight as the whole body, from top to bottom, struck straight at the top of the sedan chair. It was a long, soft sword. All that could be seen was the man’s wrists twirling as the top of the sedan chair suddenly lifted off and flew backwards. Then the black-clad man jumped into the sedan chair, reached out and grabbed the man’s wrist, and then surprisingly picked him up.

This series of actions was as quick as lightning, and everyone only saw a flash of black shadow in front of their eyes, and the fiery body of the emperor’s wife was lifted up in his arms.

The third prince, who was above the restaurant, pursed his lips and smiled with a mixture of elation and villainy. His seductive eyes rolled around, looking at the beauty that was about to be in his grasp. He couldn’t help but fantasise in his mind about the beauty he had finally obtained, and what methods she would use to torture him properly.

But before she could finish laughing, she saw another beautiful woman in a fiery red dress emerge from the sedan chair below, which had been destroyed by the black-clad man. Although most of her face was hidden by the heavy bead curtain, her fiery red wedding dress was unmistakable.

Did they kidnap the wrong person? And there were actually two people hiding in the sedan chair? But judging from the size of the sedan chair, which was wide and spacious, there would be no problem even if eight people sat side by side, but normally people wouldn’t do that, would they?

Before the crowd could scream in alarm at the abduction of the empress, an exact replica of the empress appeared. It was not right to scream, but it was not right not to scream either. Everyone seemed to have been immobilised by acupressure, their eyes fixed in shock and fear on the suddenly appearing empress.

What is this?

A fake empress?

‘Arrest that one as well,’ the third prince said, jumping up in agitation. Since he couldn’t tell which one was the real one, he decided to arrest them all.

His henchman, who had received her order, gave the signal, and the subordinates, who were mingling with the common people, swarmed over, trapping the second empress among the crowd and continuing the operation.

But the surprising thing was not over yet. After the second concubine was also taken hostage, the emperor’s wife actually ran out of the sedan chair? And this time, it wasn’t just one, but three concubines dressed identically standing in front of the crowd, and the originally noisy situation completely turned silent.

Good for you! Are you deliberately playing with me to the end?

Since you have come out in five, I will capture all five.

This thought just flashed through the Third Prince’s mind, but when he looked up, he discovered something even more terrifying. Even the raindrops landing on the roof and the subordinates below, who were busy catching people, all froze.

The wooden object at the bottom of the square platform on which the emperor was riding, which was used to slide along on the rollers, suddenly split open from the inside, and from it came a neat line of people dressed in red—the empresses?

At this, the Third Prince’s jaw dropped.

It was as if it were the most beautiful magic trick, so many people dressed exactly the same appeared before him, and they were still arranged in a very strange formation in the middle of the ceremonial procession.

The Third Prince’s body grew weak, and he barely managed to grab the railing with his hands to keep himself from falling to the ground.

What is this?

What on earth is this?

A gentle smile passed before her eyes that actually contained a chill, and she finally couldn’t help but roar.

‘Situ Fengzhan—I am your sworn enemy!’ The wolf-like roar came from the restaurant, and someone standing behind the emperor couldn’t help but laugh out loud. Then, as if unable to control the surging laughter, that person’s waist bent as they laughed.

‘Hahaha, that was really funny! That was such a funny reaction, did you see it? Look at the expressions of those people below, I finally know how to write the word ‘stunned’. Hahaha, Third Prince, you just try to abduct them, there are plenty of them on the Empress’s side, and we still have more after you’ve finished abducting the ones below. What do you think, Yue, was that really funny? It really is only fun when you play along like this!’

‘Haha…’ Tan Xiyue forced the expression on her face to contort into a “smiling” shape, but what she was thinking was not the same thing.

No wonder—a super-devil!

You’re still playing in this situation? Knowing that the other party wants to abduct you is such a dangerous thing, and it is of course reasonable and logical to want to outwit them, but this kind of behaviour is already at the level of pranks! A good thing could have been bloody and slaughterous, and a little more cruelty could have resulted in rivers of blood, but it was still a terrifying abduction, and Si Tu Fengzhan has turned it into this kind of farce. Oh my god! You let this demon descend on the Kingdom of Xiliang, definitely not to bless them with peace and prosperity, but definitely to let him bring disaster upon the country and its people!

At the moment, Tan Xiyue is definitely not the only person with the same thoughts. The emperor can also be said to be completely in the dark. Fan Liu is exactly the same as the Third Prince. He has no idea at all about the method that Situ Fengzhan wants to implement.

Although the four of them had discussed at length what to do about the Third Prince’s underhanded tactics, they were overruled by Situ Fengzhan’s comment, ‘Since she’s resorting to despicable tactics, we absolutely have to fight back with even more despicable tactics.’ After that, the two of them started a cold war, and afterwards, he used his rights as the would-be emperor’s husband and his influence to do something without her, the emperor and wife, having the slightest idea.

But despite this, Fanliu looked at the poor people below, who had completely petrified, and echoed the sound of a wolf howl that she had vaguely heard earlier. It was not hard to imagine what the Third Prince’s expression would be like.

That guy, who had always been proud of his cunning and unscrupulous methods to achieve his goals, saw the result of his elaborate planning and buying of people’s hearts, and it was actually like this.

He actually lost everything to such an unscrupulous trick!

This guy Situ Fengzhan is really Lao San’s nemesis!

Just thinking about Lao San’s twisted face, she forced herself to keep a cold face, but she couldn’t help but laugh out loud. Covering her mouth and laughing carefully, she couldn’t let her image of an awe-inspiring emperor be ruined. Royal dignity was at stake, even though there was nothing left to be dignified about.

With tears of laughter in her phoenix eyes, she inadvertently glanced obliquely behind her at the real emperor, just catching sight of Situ Fengzhan’s gaze. The two pairs of eyes seemed glued together, unwilling to let go.

In an instant, Situ Fengzhan stopped laughing maniacally, and Fanliu stopped smiling. The two pairs of eyes met, several steps apart, but the two felt as if they had never been closer.

The wind came from behind, blowing the hair hidden in the crown, and the ends of the hair, which had been dyed red, shimmered in the sunlight, but also became a target for attack.

‘Over there!’

The sharp eyes of one watched the situation over there with the Emperor. Although Yu Jiang did not dare to say that she had completely figured out the other person’s temperament, she had at least gotten a rough idea from the past few days. The most dangerous place is the safest place. This is a fact that they, as assassins, must know.

Throughout the land of the Daughters of the Emperor, there is absolutely no man with such a seductive, wine-red head of hair. Only that apparently bright and intelligent guest, a man who is not at all what he seems, has such hair. Not to mention the undisguised smile just now, which completely exposed his whereabouts.

He decisively dropped the fake husband he was holding hostage, and Yu Jiang transformed into a dark light, shooting straight towards the high platform where the emperor stood. The terrified face swayed before his eyes, and when he saw the empress’s handsome face, Yu Jiang’s heart wavered for a moment.

What did the Third Prince want so desperately to get the Emperor? It was to gain the hearts of the people, wasn’t it? And to push the Emperor from his throne. And the Emperor’s wife was the one who stood before him. Why not simply eliminate her now? If the Emperor was gone, then her freedom, her love, and all her hatred would be over.

Her body flew, her long sword trembling in her hands, her target clearly changed from the Emperor to the Emperor standing before her.

‘Fanliu——!”

At this time, who cares about playing any tricks? Situ Fengzhan immediately rushed forward, trying to drag her away, but unexpectedly, in a panic, he turned his back to the approaching long sword. Behind him, the clear sound of the long sword breaking the air, the shrill sound of the wind and the trembling sound of the sword, sounded like a wail, which made people feel heartbroken.

Could it be that this life is over?

He closed his eyes, intending to escape, but his body was stiff and unable to move. It was completely unnecessary, but his body just wouldn’t stop. How could he just stand there and watch the person he loved being killed in front of him?

He could only feel Fanliu wrapping her arms around his waist and spinning around, as well as the shocked screams of Xiyue next to them. Then he slowly opened his eyes. A blood-red hue spread across the sky and earth, and a lot of it splashed onto his face. It was so hot.

Fanliu hugged him tightly, so tightly, and the pearls on the crown were scattered in all directions with the force of the sword, like the tears of a lover, each one stained red and splashing onto the stage.

Everyone was too shocked by this sudden turn of events to say anything. Their eyes shifted from the Empress from below to the bloody assassination on the stage above. Everyone’s brain couldn’t adapt to the sudden continuous shocks and they couldn’t say a word.

Rain fell on the cold face, splashing blood, but her expression was distorted. It was hard to say if she was trying to cry or laugh, or if she was feeling any other emotion. All sounds stopped. Situ Fengzhan spread her hands and looked at the blood on them, as well as the heavy body pressing against her shoulders.

‘Fengzhan, I want to talk to you…’ The red lips, hidden by her black hair, moved as she spoke in a low, hoarse voice, expressing the thoughts she had always wanted to express but never had the chance to.

‘Don’t speak, don’t speak…‘ Situ Fengzhan, who had always smiled at everyone, actually trembled with her voice and hands, looking at him with disbelief as he hugged her. For the first time in her life, she didn’t know what to say or do.

’If I don’t say it… ahem… I’m afraid I won’t get the chance…’ The small voice, accompanied by a cough, seemed even more fragmented.

Tan Xiyue walked over, panicked and trying to help support Fanliu’s body, but she was pushed away by Situ Fengzhan. Yu Jiang, who had just attempted to assassinate him, stood dumbfounded, not fleeing or resisting, just looking at the still-bleeding tip of the sword, not knowing how to react.

‘No! You’ve had plenty of chances, you… I… I’m not angry with you anymore, please stop.’ She grabbed her clothes with all her might, grabbing the wedding gown she had originally worn to get married. Situ Fengzhan trembled all over. The red wedding gown was completely invisible with bloodstains, but the place where her hands grabbed it was completely red.

With her eyes blurred, Situ Fengzhan was scared for the first time in her life. It was really, really scary.

‘I…have always…liked you…’ Struggling to finish her sentence, Fan Liu’s voice had never sounded so weak.

‘No matter who falls in front of me, the only person I love is you, only you…”

The voice slowly grew lower, and the fingers that had been gripping his clothes slowly loosened. He knew that his arms had fallen weakly to the ground, and it was only the sound of a light pat that made Situ Fengzhan come back to his senses. He tightly embraced his lover’s head, unable to see the cold eyes beneath the eyelashes or hear her voice.

‘Why is this happening? You can’t really be dead like this, can you? I was just being a little angry, really, just a little angry. I didn’t mean to curse you, I wasn’t that angry with you, I forgave you long ago… Fanliu, Fanliu…”

All the things that had come to a halt began to revive with Situ Fengzhan’s mournful cry.

The emperor has been assassinated!

He is dead, he has passed away!

The Third Prince suddenly sprang up from the ground, unable to believe that things had taken such a dramatic turn. She had indeed considered assassinating the emperor, but she had never expected to succeed so easily!

It was truly thanks to Yu Jiang’s ability to improvise and Situ Fengzhan’s masterminding of this farce that everyone was completely dumbfounded and naturally let their guard down, which made it so easy to succeed.

‘The world…the world…is mine!’ Holding her fists, Liútiān could not control her trembling. Her lifelong dream had come true before her very eyes, and everything was now hers!

That damned husband, Situ Fengzhan, this time I will make sure you can neither live nor die!

The imperial guards shouted and tried to rush the stage to catch the murderer, but they were unable to climb the ladder that had been removed.

Yu Zhen suddenly dropped the long sword in his hand and, like lightning, threw himself to one side. She had repaid the Third Prince for his kindness!

She was finally free!

The tears she had held back for so long finally flowed. The long-awaited tears flowed into her mouth and tasted an indescribable bitterness.

As she watched her figure recede into the distance, Tan Xiyue knew that he could not stop her, and did not want to. But looking at the imperial guards below, who were looking for a ladder and preparing to swarm up, his only thought now was to find a chance to escape.

It’s over. It looks like things have gone too far!

Although he had long expected this situation, he was still terrified when it happened. While Tan Xiyue was planning how to escape, Situ Fengzhan, who was holding the Empress on one side, giggled. That smile, combined with the blood stains that had dyed half of his face red, looked so shocking, but also cold and terrifying.

‘You can’t die, yes, you can’t die,’ he muttered, repeating these words over and over again, as he slowly helped Fan Liu, who had already become a corpse, to his feet.

The wind was blowing, and far away there seemed to be the rumble of thunder.

His long, half-grown hair was blown about, dancing in the wind, and it made the smile on his face seem indescribably insane.

‘I won’t let you die! I am the husband of the heavenly bestowed Xiliang, and I won’t let you die, so you can’t die!’ Accompanying his almost shouted voice, a loud explosion suddenly sounded not far away, causing everyone to scream again.

At this moment, Tan Xiyue’s jaw dropped completely.

Why did it turn out like this? What on earth had caused things to turn out like this?

He had just picked the most melodramatic romance novel to act out, but why had it developed to the point where immortals had descended? That Situ Fengzhan, the student union president who had played them for fools, was really the emperor-to-be chosen by heaven? The lightning, the explosions, the thunder? Could it be that after the plane crash, that guy had become someone with supernormal capabilities?

‘Fanliu, I love you, I want to be with you forever.‘ Situ Fengzhan muttered such words to himself, before pressing his lips to the empress’. ‘We will go to the ends of the earth and beyond, even if we have to die together.’ With these words, another roar sounded, followed by a large-scale explosion.

Seeing that, while everyone held their breath, the hand of the Empress, who should have already died, slowly moved, then slowly lifted, and grabbed the other person’s arm.

Ah—resurrection?

The dead Emperor has actually resurrected?

The crowd was first shocked, then surprised, and in the end they all shouted out together.

“Long live the Emperor, long live the Emperor, ten thousand years of the Emperor—long live the Empress, long live the Empress, ten thousand years of the Empress—!’

I don’t think any explanation is needed at this point, do you? Who is the husband of the empress who has descended from the heavens and brought boundless riches to the kingdom of Xiliang?

The handsome young man standing on the high platform and embracing the emperor tightly has used his powerful supernatural powers to bring back the dead emperor from the realm of the dead. He is the pride of heaven with boundless magical powers, the hope of the kingdom of Xiliang, and he deeply loves the emperor of Xiliang.

This was unshakeable!

For a moment, the shouts echoed with the ensuing downpour, shaking the entire kingdom of Xiliang.

And the legend of the Emperor’s Consort resounded throughout the world.

However, the truth of the matter was always in the hands of only a few.

Peach 2005-05-23 11:29
Chapter 10

What are the requirements for being a treacherous empress?

Well – let him think about it. It seems that all the favourites who have been condemned by history seem to have something in common. The first point is that they charm the emperor with their beauty, so that he neglects his duties and stays up late at night, causing chaos in the court and making everyone panic.

Well – this way, you can see which ones are loyal and which ones aren’t, and you can get rid of the bad ones.

On Xuan paper, he used a brush he was not yet used to, awkwardly wrote a summary of the first point, and Situ Fengzhan half-leaned back in his chair, continuing to think about the next point.

So, how about a pool of wine and a forest of meat? Naturally, he imagined his beloved woman surrounded by beautiful men. His face fell, and he crossed out this idea with a big X.

How could he let those guys touch the wine? If it’s going to be touched, it’ll be by him alone!

Then what, increase taxes and make the people suffer?

Erm…this seems a bit inhumane. It’s not easy for the common people to make a living, so it’s a bit excessive to just take it away. Since these people cannot be exploited, let’s focus on the ‘debauchery’ point!

As long as the emperor’s image of wisdom and valour in the hearts of the ministers is completely destroyed, and then let those who sing praises of him all day long have nosebleeds, and then completely abandon themselves, will life be a little easier?

Ever since the grand broadcast of the farce that took place during the wedding, everyone looks at him with countless twinkling stars in their eyes, giving people goosebumps.

‘Hey, Fanliu, what do you think about me wearing a transparent palace dress and going to the morning assembly while lying on top of you?’ He asked this question with a serious face, and in return he got a fierce glare from the emperor.

‘Okay, okay, I know, men are not allowed to interfere in state affairs, men are not allowed to dress scantily, men are not allowed to show themselves in front of many women, and men are not allowed to make a move on the esteemed emperor. I know I was wrong, so please don’t glare at me so fiercely.’ She threw up her hands in surrender, and this earned her a softened expression from Fanliu.

As she watched, she continued to focus her attention on the documents on the desk, and Situ Fengzhan continued to ponder his plan to disrupt the imperial order.

‘But all the famous treacherous concubines of past dynasties were famous because they interfered in state affairs and led a dissolute lifestyle! If you want those annoying people to leave us alone, isn’t this the fastest way?”

After thinking about it for a long time, this was the only conclusion he could come up with, so Situ Fengzhan simply dropped his brush and walked over to Fan Liu, who was absorbed in the affairs of the state. He reached around her neck and unceremoniously pressed his body against hers, taking a quick glance at the petition written in neat seal script.

‘I have already made many ministers unhappy by allowing you to stay in the Hall of Great Harmony while I review the petitions.’ He glanced sideways at the arm resting on his shoulder. Fan Liu had the feeling that he had boarded a ship of fools more than once. ’If they saw you acting so presumptuously, I’m afraid they would be furious.’

‘You’re all so conservative!’ Situ Fengzhan was dumbfounded, and he was in awe of these people’s ability to resist. ’That’s all we’ve done, we haven’t even French-style hot kissing or anything, just this alone can make them half-dead with anger, I’m afraid that all the incompetent emperors throughout the ages would crawl out of their coffins to protest.’

‘Speaking of which, there was indeed an emperor in the history of the previous dynasty who was licentious and unruly, and favoured a generation of demon concubines, which led to the downfall of the imperial court.‘ Fan Liu nodded seriously, and the speed with which he reviewed the petitions under his hand did not slow down at all.

’Really——?’

Without listening to what she said, Situ Fengzhan focused his attention on the petition. In the past, when he was in the student union, his daily work was to manage the affairs of the entire school. In that respect, his work was similar to Fanliu’s. Although he used to hate this kind of work, it feels really good to be in charge of everyone, doesn’t it?

‘Well, in the south of Xiliang country, the Liao state is plagued by flooding every spring and summer. The Qu state, which borders the Liao state, doesn’t have as many rivers as the Liao state, but because of its topography, it is often affected. Not only that, it also causes more serious land collapses, and even forms relatively large floods mixed with mud, which is more harmful than just floods.

‘Oh, they both face south. If the water is overflowing, it must be necessary to build a lot of boats, right? So if you want to get wood, when you’ve almost cut down all the trees yourself, you naturally have to buy it from the surrounding states. This will become a vicious cycle, causing flooding. If you only cut down trees and don’t plant trees, things like relying on tree roots to hold the soil in place will be completely impossible. This is why when the water level rises during heavy rainfall, causing floods, it will lead to major mudslides, resulting in heavy losses of both property and people.’

For a moment, there was silence in the hall. Fan Liu stared at the petition in his hands, and after a long while, he slowly looked up at the man who had made the shocking remark. In the candlelight, he could see that his usual carefree expression had disappeared, and a domineering air had emerged from the gentleness.

Isn’t it natural for a man to take care of the household? Isn’t it enough to be a good husband and father? And why does this strange man in front of her know such important matters of state? And why does he speak so eloquently about things that no one else understands? Where did he come from? Looking around, apart from Xiliang, there are no other outstanding men in the surrounding countries.

But then, when you think about it, that wedding that turned the world upside down, that caused the royal family’s prestige to plummet, and then dramatically restored it, and in the end, inexplicably, he gained the love of the people, and thus eliminated all the people in the court who opposed him.

Well, the unexpected benefits were really a bit much and a bit overwhelming.

I just wanted to know his true feelings and to be forgiven, so I agreed to put on a show according to Tan Xiyue’s method, but I never imagined it would turn out like this?

By the way, Tan Xiyue completely disappeared after that day.

‘Hey, are you even listening to me?’ Looking at Fan Liu’s gloomy profile half-coquettishly and half-mockingly, Situ Fengzhan suddenly brought his face close to hers. Sure enough, he saw her pupils shrink, and she was clearly startled.

At this moment, most of Situ Fengzhan’s body shifted from her to the dragon table in front of him. Not only that, but he also lifted most of the luxurious palace attire he was wearing. This was not all. He simply rolled up the cotton trousers inside to his knees, tilted his head, and looked at her with a smile on her face, which was clearly full of love and obsession.

“I have been thinking about Tan Xiyue…’

‘Oh, you mean Tan Xiyue. He said Gongcheng was too boring, so he went somewhere else to relax.’ Situ Fengzhan smiled innocently and sweetly, but he was thinking something completely different.

How dare he slip away before I could make trouble for him? Although his powers of observation are indeed commendable, I will make you pay for this treachery when I catch you next time!

‘Oh…’ When she recalled Tan Xiyue’s panicked appearance when she first heard the reason for the two people’s quarrel and was scared to pack up her belongings and run away, Fan Liu couldn’t help but sigh. Before, she didn’t know how terrifying her husband was. After experiencing what happened on their wedding day, she would have to be careful whenever she saw Situ Fengzhan in the future. Although it was true that she was the emperor, if she angered the empress, she was afraid that even she herself would suffer greatly.

Afterwards, she realised that it was all a self-directed performance by Situ Fengzhan.

Fan Liu didn’t know that Situ Fengzhan had long since learned through his spies that Tan Xiyue had incited him to blow himself up to get forgiveness. Apart from gaining Situ Fengzhan’s forgiveness, she also wanted to see how much he really cared for her. So when she was stabbed in the back by Yu Jiang that day, and the bag of chicken blood on the iron plate strapped to her body was punctured, she acted as if she were dying, just as she had practiced beforehand.

She didn’t intend to be killed completely, but the show was not yet over when there was a 360-degree U-turn. There were lightning strikes and explosions, which was really scary.

‘That? Oh, well—I was watching the sky the night before the wedding and thought it might thunder and rain, so I planned to take my chances. But I was lucky. As for the explosion, that was even easier. I just wanted to create some sound and light effects, but Xiliang is nowhere near as advanced as where I live. So I mixed some black powder and had it set off at the right time by someone hiding in the tower.

When I questioned myself the other day, the Empress, who had answered, was sitting on the railing wearing only a loose-fitting outer garment, eating an apple in her hands with relish and a sweet smile on her face. In short, she looked nothing like the words that came out of her mouth.

“And then? I guessed you would wake up. After all, if the Emperor died, that would be a world-shaking event, wouldn’t it? Haha, so, of course, I had to give you a reason to come back to life. I just had a rough idea of what you wanted to do, and then created the most suitable opportunity. You see, after the last incident, everyone now worships you, and at the same time, your reputation among the barbarians has greatly increased. Isn’t this a good thing? This reasonable answer, the wisdom that is completely invisible from the outside, and the underhanded tactics, made Fan Liu feel a little scared.

‘I’ve thought about it carefully, and actually, it doesn’t matter who the guy who fell from the sky is, or who you fall in love with. Even if you say you love me now, you can fall for someone else later, I’m absolutely sure that I can make you look at and love no one but me.”

The empress-consort’s eyes narrowed with a smile as she leaned over to steal a kiss, before continuing to eat her apple.

‘Because a character as popular as me is bound to be liked. If Xiyue had fallen in front of you first and become your husband, I would have definitely come over and kicked him away and taken his place. Thinking about it like this makes me feel much better. After all, it’s a challenge. None of the guys who fell together with me won me over, and I won’t lose to anyone to get you.”

His words were easy and straightforward, but the implications were so strong that they made you tremble.

At this point, Fan Liu even thought that all the petty dramas of anger at the beginning were all pre-arranged scenes for him to see himself suffer and be made a fool of.

After all, it was quite difficult to make this guy jealous—

‘That’s why I know that you definitely belong to me. Knowing this completely reassured me, so I felt that I was an idiot for being angry before, and I definitely won’t be angry now.’ At the time, he had vowed such a promise, and she had indeed been captivated by that confidence.

Of course she knew that what he said was all true, and she also knew that Situ Fengzhan would do what he said.

But the truth was…

‘I won’t mention the fact that you found a way to ‘exile’ the Third Prince to the south, or that you have driven quite a few concubines either into exile or out of the palace.’ Fan Liu spoke slowly and solemnly, revealing the truth that he had turned a blind eye to.

‘But you said before that you would be my husband, but you wouldn’t let me touch you, but what is your hand doing now?’ The hand, which had been quietly resting, reached out without warning, slipped under the emperor’s clothes, and began the great work of seduction.

Situ Fengzhan faced the accusation that he was “saying one thing and doing another” and looked innocent.

‘Yes, I did say you weren’t allowed to touch me,’ he said, smiling with narrowed eyes, clearly in a good mood. “But I didn’t say I wasn’t allowed to touch you!” Hidden beneath his delicate and innocent appearance was definitely a truly evil heart.

After all, did the heavens bring him before her to be her destined husband, to bring blessings to the people or to bring disaster? Fan Liu let out a long, long sigh as she watched someone busy at her chest.

Knowing that she could not resist his grinding, she could only tighten her arms around him and embrace him with resignation.

Embracing the destined husband who was to accompany her for the rest of her life.