Editor: Otwentyfirst
A faint scent rose from the half-full porcelain wine cup that remained on the rosewood table which she presumed to belong to Ji Feng Li.
Feeling bored, she reached over and poured herself a new cup of wine. She settled back in her seat and was about to take a sip when an unpleasant memory came to mind making her pause and knit her brows. Having suffered greatly that wedding night in the bridal chamber, she decided not to drink Ji Feng Li’s wine lest she fall for another one of his schemes.
Glancing over the head of the woman in his arms, Ji Feng Li saw Hua Zhu Yu leisurely sitting at the table with a wine cup in hand. He narrowed his phoenix eyes, thinking, Yuan Bao, great, you want to watch a play is that right? Suddenly irritated, he seized the woman’s wrist and shoved her away.
“Lord Chancellor..” the woman cried out with grievance as she looked up at Ji Feng Li.
“Withdraw!” Ji Feng Li ordered in a low voice with a hint of intolerance.
Not daring to make another sound, the woman quickly put her clothes back on. After paying her respects to Ji Feng Li, she quietly took her leave.
Hua Zhu Yu had prepared herself to watch and learn but unexpectedly Ji Feng Li stopped. She was still a maiden so this interruption was a relief for her heart. If Ji Feng Li went all the way, she didn’t know if she had the resolve to watch till the end. This was different from studying warfare and observing martial arts compet.i.tions. She didn’t want to learn such things from others and wanted to leave it to her future husband to teach her.
After the woman left, the room fell into an eerie silence.
Ji Feng Li was leaning against the bed, not making a single movement for quite a long time. As for Hua Zhu Yu, she was still holding the wine cup, not daring to drink from it.
“Lord chancellor, what did you want to instruct?” Hua Zhu Yu asked as she lifted her head with a smile. She really wanted to know what he wanted to discuss.
Ji Feng Li gazed at her with his deep phoenix eyes which shone with a fatal brilliance.
“Come here!” he coldly commanded.
Hua Zhu Yu was slightly startled but she placed the cup on the table and slowly made her way over.
Ji Feng Li was still in the same position, half-reclining against the bed. His inner robes were open, exposing his firm chest and his white pants were slightly pulled down. With his ink black hair falling over his shoulders messily, his beauty was all the more bewitching.
This sight may have captivated her in the past but the present her was completely unfazed. To her he was like a plague, something she had to avoid and keep as far away as possible.
“Lord Chancellor, what
did you call this subordinate here for?” Hua Zhu Yu questioned with knitted brows.
“Help this Chancellor dress,” Ji Feng Li ordered as his beautiful phoenix eyes swept over her.
Hua Zhu Yu stood frozen in place. What was this situation? The more she thought about it the more confused she became.
His dark eyes were fixed on her face as his lips lifted in a smile, “You’ve waited on Huangfu Wu Shuang like this as well, right?”
It was true that she had a.s.sisted Huangfu Wu Shuang with such matters but she was his personal eunuch and that was part of her duty. As for Ji Feng Li, who was he to make her wait on him?
“What? Don’t want to? Didn’t you want to be this Chancellor’s personal guard? Since you’ve arrived here at this Chancellor’s Residence, when have you ever done your job?” He asked in a leisurely tone, divulging not a trace of emotion.
In reply, Hua Zhu Yu smiled and looked around the room. When she spotted the wardrobe she went over and rummaged through it before taking out a white robe and bringing it over to Ji Feng Li.
He was correct. Her purpose for coming here was to snoop around for information so she had to find the chance tonight. If the only way to stay by his side was to a.s.sist him with such duties then so be it.
She slowly stepped closer and adjusted his inner robes before helping him put on the white robe. She picked up the jade belt on the floor and tied it around his waist.
translations at peachblossomgrove . com
Ji Feng Li silently stood there, indifferently facing forward, allowing her to dress him. His breath was by her ear, faint with a light scent. Although she was careful her fingers still occasionally brushed against his bare skin. This contact made his heart pulse like never before and he couldn’t help but glance down at her. When his eyes landed on her red lips, he felt as though he was struck by a bolt of lightning and he quickly averted his gaze.
“Lord Chancellor, is there anything else?” Hua Zhu Yu asked with a smile.
Ji Feng Li narrowed his eyes. A chilly air emitted from his whole body as he said, “Scram!”
Hua Zhu Yu wondered if she had misheard.
Ji Feng Li had always been one to carry himself with grace. Yet these few days the word scram had actually escaped his mouth twice. The first time was directed at Lan Bing, and now it was directed at her.
It was getting harder for her to understand this man. Normally he was refined as jade, but right now he was behaving like a devil with a chilly air around him.
Though status-wise she was beneath him as his personal guard, she couldn’t stand his att.i.tude of calling and dismissing her whenever he felt like it.
“Lord Chancellor, did Yuan
Yuan Bao make a mistake?” Hua Zhu Yu asked, “If I did something wrong then please correct me so that in the future I do not make the same mistake again.
The words had just left her lips when his hands reached out to seize her chin. His movements were exceptionally swift, not leaving her any time to react. His fingers exerted pressure, forcing her to look up at him. When their eyes met, she noted the deep chilly fierceness within his, making her slightly s.h.i.+ver.
Could it be that she had made a mistake leading him to recognize her? Why did she feel as though there was hatred veiled behind those eyes. She wasn’t afraid that he had seen through her male disguise but rather feared he had found out she was Ying Shu Xie. If so, she had fallen into a dangerous predicament.
Hua Zhu Yu quickly calmed herself and endured the pain from the pressure exerted on her jaw. She met Ji Feng Li’s gaze head on, with calm and resilience, not a hint of fear could be found in her gaze.
“Listen carefully, from today forward, this Chancellor shall let you work by my side but you must remember one thing carefully. Once you have fulfilled your duty you are to leave at once without questioning! Now leave!” He suddenly let go and turned around. He went over and took a seat at the table in a haughty manner. He exuded a frosty chill that intimidated others from approaching.
Hua Zhu Yu looked at him before quickly turning to leave. She feared she wouldn’t be able to endure the urge to strangle him if she stayed any longer. Having been through so much, her temper had improved and she was no longer the same hot-headed general from before, but he still tested her patience.
Lan Bing instantly came over when he saw her leaving Feng Yuan. He scanned her up and down for a while before asking, “Yuan Bao, why were you in there for so long?” Since she was still angry she curtly replied, “I was waiting on Lord Chancellor, what’s the matter?”
A shocked expression overcame him as he stared at her with bulging eyes and trembling lips. Pointing at her face he stuttered, “You, you, you…how… how could…”
Hua Zhu Yu didn’t have the patience to listen to his stutters so she turned around to leave.
Following behind her like a shadow, he continued to stutter, “You, you, you..”
“What about me?” Hua Zhu Yu asked with a cold smile. “Lan Daren, I have yet to hold you accountable for what you’ve just done. You clearly knew Lord Chancellor was with a woman yet deliberately sent me in. What exactly was your intention?”
Startled, Lan Bing suddenly realized that it was him that sent Yuan Bao into Lord Chancellor’s room. If he knew that Yuan Bao was an evil-doer to such an extent, even
extent, even if it killed him he would’ve stopped him from entering. However it was truly too late for regrets. Lord Chancellor ate meat for the first time and it was actually with a broken-sleeve. Although Lan Bing felt that Lord Chancellor and Yuan Bao complemented one another, they were still both men.
Editor: Otwentyfirst
Lan Bing stood frozen in silence with mixed feelings inside.
Hua Zhu Yu coldly hmphed and turned to head back to Xin Yuan.
Early next morning Lan Bing went to inform Hua Zhu Yu that she was to follow Ji Feng Li to court. Since he continued to look at her with a strange expression in his eyes, she was deeply annoyed.
Ji Feng Li sat in the palanquin while Hua Zhu Yu rode on horseback with the other guards as they headed straight for the palace.
The palace was still as magnificent and grand as ever but the person sitting on the golden throne was already replaced by someone else.
These few days, Ji Feng Li was kept busy with preparing for the martial compet.i.tion. In the 8th month of every year in Southern Kingdom, a martial compet.i.tion was held to select military officers from the group of martial experts. But because the previous emperor didn’t want to let people from the Jianghu and their boorish ways into court so the compet.i.tion had been canceled for almost a decade now. The current officers were for the most part nominated by officials or promoted from the ranks.
Emperor Huangfu Wu Shang decided to reinstate the compet.i.tion in search of new talent, only this time it would be slightly modified to include a civil examination. Only 500 people made it through the civil exam. The upcoming compet.i.tion would further whittle that list down to 100.
Ji Feng Li and the other examiners headed to the arena for the martial compet.i.tion. Naturally as his personal guard Hua Zhu Yu went with Ji Feng Li.
The martial compet.i.tion was in full swing with partic.i.p.ants hailing from all types of martial backgrounds. It truly was an eye-opener for Hua Zhu Yu. As she was watching the compet.i.tion take place she suddenly heard the examiner call her name, Yuan Bao. She thought she misheard but the examiner called out her name once again.
She was slightly puzzled when Tong Shou said, “Yuan Bao, quickly get on stage. Since you are already one of Lord Chancellor’s people, he won’t let your talents go to waste.”
“You mean that Lord Chancellor entered my name into the compet.i.tion?” Hua Zhu Yu asked with a serious expression.
“That’s right,” Tong Shou replied without a glance her way, only looking ahead at the examiner on stage.
Hua Zhu Yu remained standing behind Ji Feng Li.
Now was not the time to reveal her skills. But she was Ji Feng Li’s subordinate, if she were to refuse would that draw his suspicion? She was hesitant and after thinking it through she went up to went up to Ji Feng Li and said, “Lord Chancellor, my martial skills are limited. I fear I won’t be able to compete.” In the end she felt it was best not to partic.i.p.ate.
Ji Feng Li wasn’t angered and merely swept his gaze over her before saying, “Do as you wish.”
When the examiner repeated her name a third time, Tong Shou instructed someone to pa.s.s on word to the examiner before he continued to call forward the next partic.i.p.ant.
Standing behind Ji Feng Li, Hua Zhu Yu still felt a little unsettled. She didn’t understand why Ji Feng Li would allow her to partic.i.p.ate in the compet.i.tion. Could it be that he truly valued her talent? Was he truly sincere in wanting her to work for him?
translations at peachblossomgrove . com
After two days the list was narrowed down to a little over 100 people and the next compet.i.tion would take place in 3 days.
That afternoon, Ji Feng Li summoned Hua Zhu Yu to his room.
Ever since that day Hua Zhu Yu avoided Ji Feng Li unless she was summoned, and fortunately he rarely summoned her.
So she wondered why he summoned her today.
As soon she stepped in the room, Ji Feng Li tossed the military report on the table and signaled for Hua Zhu Yu to take a look.
Puzzled, she picked up the military report and glanced over it and her calm heart instantly became restless.
Northern Kingdom had invaded!
She had thought Lan Bing was merely trying to frighten her back at Xuan Zhou when he told her about Northern Kingdom and its movements at the border. Not even a month pa.s.sed since then and Northern Kingdom already has troops stationed inside Southern Kingdom’s border.
Both kingdoms signed a 5 year peace treaty yet not even half a year into it and Xiao Yin was breaking it. What exactly was going on?
When Hua Zhu Yu was in Northern Kingdom she had aided Xiao Yin in bringing peace to the gra.s.slands and subjugating 3 major tribes. This had strengthened Northern Kingdom’s military strength, giving them the power to attack Southern Kingdom.
With great efforts she tried to suppress the shock she was feeling and slowly placed the report down on the table. When she looked up and met Ji Feng Li’s solemn gaze, she only saw that his eyes were pitch black, darker than a moonless night.
“Lord Chancellor, what is the current situation of the war?” Hua Zhu Yu asked earnestly.
Ji Feng Li replied with a faint smile, “ The general guarding the Northern border had led 30,000 soldiers to fight Xiao Yin’s army at the river bank. Our troops were ambushed and the leading general was killed. 30,000 troops yet only 5,000 survived to retreat to Yang Guan which they are currently defending.”
Hua Zhu Yu was shaken, she didn’t expect Xiao Yin to be able to reach Yang Guan so quickly. Between Southern and Northern Kingdom, was war truly inevitable?
