A flash of blue light flickered at his fingertips, like ghostly blue fire glimmering in the night, carrying murderous intent ready to seize a life.
The person with light footsteps had already walked briskly closer. Seeing Jin Siyu here, he was somewhat surprised, but pretended not to recognize him. He reached out to pat his shoulder, saying, “This fellow traveler certainly knows how to pick a spot. Drinking here with the clear breeze and bright moon is truly wonderful… Eh, what’s happening here—”
This pat shook Jin Siyu’s shoulder. The fingertip that had been fixed in midair pointing at Feng Zhiwei’s throat trembled, and that point of blue light suddenly shot out!
Jin Siyu was startled. Instinctively he reached out to block it, but how could he be fast enough? His fingertip had been extremely close to Feng Zhiwei’s throat to begin with. This flash of light moved swift as lightning, occurring in an instant—even an immortal couldn’t save her in time.
In that split second, shock, regret, relief, disappointment, remorse, pain… all manner of complex emotions flashed through Jin Siyu’s eyes.
Then he closed his eyes.
“Clink.”
Jin Siyu’s eyebrows trembled.
He suddenly feared opening his eyes, feared opening them to see that woman he deeply hated in his heart, the one he had sworn countless times in the dark of night to cut into ten thousand pieces without rest—truly pale-faced and lifeless, slumped softly against the railing, leaving him only a cold corpse.
He had imagined this scene countless times. Now that it might be real, why was there no joy in his heart?
Did he truly want her to die in decisive revenge, or would he rather live with deep hatred at opposite ends of the world, spending a lifetime in prolonged struggle?
That sound of metal striking metal was low, yet like a great bell, stirring him endlessly, even his sleeves seeming to tremble slightly.
Metal striking metal…
A thought that had flashed through his mind earlier suddenly sparked again. He vaguely felt something was wrong.
The poison needle was made of iron—how could there be a striking sound when it entered flesh?
Then he heard someone beside him laugh and say, “Eh, what kind of contraption is this? It’s really ingeniously made.”
Jin Siyu’s eyes flew open.
His first glance saw Feng Zhiwei still in that same position beneath him, also with a somewhat startled expression, looking toward his side.
Joy surged through his heart in that instant, rolling forth like a long river. This joy struck him so forcefully that he himself was stunned for a moment. Then he frowned and turned his head to look at the man beside him.
The young man was examining his thumb ring with some puzzlement. The ring wasn’t made of the usual jade material—it was black and heavy, seeming to be metal. That small blue poison needle was tightly adhered to the ring.
Jin Siyu suddenly understood—the man’s thumb ring was actually made of magnetite. When the poison needle shot out, he had reached out in alarm, and the tiny needle couldn’t resist the magnetic pull, instantly being absorbed onto it.
Who else would make an ugly magnetite thumb ring? Only this person—Young Prince Changning of the grand palace, long tired of gold, silver, pearls and jade, wore all manner of strange and peculiar accessories.
By sheer coincidence, he had saved Feng Zhiwei’s life.
The young man played with the poison needle on his ring for a moment, very interested in its toxicity. He carefully removed it, wrapped it in a handkerchief and tucked it into his sleeve pocket, not even mentioning returning it to Jin Siyu—just claiming it for himself. Jin Siyu could only smile bitterly.
After collecting his treasure, the young man finally got around to lowering his head to look at the unfortunate person pressed beneath Jin Siyu whom he had just saved.
By this time Jin Siyu had already moved aside.
The young man was now standing in front of Feng Zhiwei.
He lowered his head.
Suddenly Feng Zhiwei hooked her foot and flicked upward.
A muffled sound.
“Thud.”
A human figure whooshed into the air, the large body sailing over Feng Zhiwei’s head and splashing down into the lake with a bang.
Water sprayed everywhere—quite a large weight hitting the water.
Jin Siyu stared dumbfounded as Feng Zhiwei kicked her lifesaver into the lake. She calmly straightened her collar, saying casually, “Trouble you to clean up the aftermath,” then strode away without looking back.
Her straight-backed figure quickly disappeared behind the platform. Jin Siyu still stood there in a daze, unable to recover—this person’s actions were truly too unconventional!
After regaining mobility and escaping death, her first action wasn’t to express gratitude, but to kick someone!
With a splash, a wet head emerged from the lake surface. The fellow covered his bleeding nose with one hand while frantically wiping his dripping face with the other, roaring furiously, “What happened? Who kicked me into the water? Where are they? Bastard! Bastard!”
Looking up and seeing Jin Siyu, Young Prince Changning stood in waist-deep water, face covered with blood and water, disheveled and roaring angrily, “Who was that bastard just now? How could someone be so ungrateful and repay kindness with enmity? Tell me, I’ll kill him!”
Jin Siyu looked at him, finally understanding why Feng Zhiwei had kicked him into the water. Earlier, Feng Zhiwei’s body had bent far backward close to the lake surface, and Young Prince Changning’s attention had been on him, then distracted by the poison needle, so he never clearly saw Feng Zhiwei’s face. Not wanting him to discover her identity and this entanglement, Feng Zhiwei simply kicked him away.
A bitter smile appeared at the corner of Jin Siyu’s lips. This woman was truly ruthless and decisive, beyond ordinary people.
He stared at the unfortunate Young Prince Changning in the water, suddenly feeling a trace of satisfaction—I’m not the only man who’s suffered defeat at her hands.
“Zhiyan.” He slowly called Young Prince Changning’s name, drawling, “Just now I saw someone leaning against the railing about to fall into the water, so I rushed over and grabbed them. Before I could see who it was, you came along, and then this happened. As for who exactly it was, I also don’t know.”
“Bastard!” Lu Zhiyan viciously wiped away blood-mixed lake water while wading ashore, cursing angrily, “Don’t let me meet you again!”
Jin Siyu leaned back against the railing, looking in the direction Feng Zhiwei had left, his lips curving into a smile both gentle and cold.
He said lightly, “Yes, better not meet.”
After kicking her lifesaver into the water, Feng Zhiwei felt not the slightest guilt as she walked away. Returning to the great hall to sit down, that group was still acting uninhibited—no one had noticed her departure.
Seeing that Gu Nanyi still hadn’t returned, she couldn’t help frowning, feeling somewhat uneasy. Just as she was thinking of getting up to search for him again, suddenly she heard commotion outside the great hall. Then a chubby child of only six or seven years old came tumbling in, followed by a large group of anxiously-faced palace maids and nannies. The chubby child rushed straight for the Regent’s seat upon entering. Seeing no one there, he roared and lunged toward Lu Rui, shouting, “Hit! Hit! Hit hit hit hit hit—”
“Speak properly!” Lu Rui’s low shout—though coming from such a weak-seeming person, when he turned serious, everyone immediately fell silent. The chubby child was frightened into trembling, immediately quieting down, sobbing, “Been hit…”
Lu Rui’s expression tightened. “What happened? How are you here? Did you sneak out?”
The chubby child’s expression tightened nervously. “No no, it wasn’t me, it wasn’t me, it was… Oh, never mind that now, someone’s been hit!” He pulled at Lu Rui trying to leave.
“Who was hit?” The Regent’s voice came from behind the screen. He had already changed into casual robes and emerged. Seeing the chubby child, his expression changed. Without asking anything, he immediately said, “Where? Take me there!”
He nodded apologetically to Feng Zhiwei while being led away by the chubby child. The Xi Liang officials all seemed to recognize the chubby child and followed out in nervous haste. Feng Zhiwei watched their departing backs, frowning as an unpleasant thought crossed her mind. She quickly followed as well.
Turning through corridors and passing several decorative walls, the chubby child led everyone to a small flower garden. There a “standoff between two armies” was in progress. One army consisted of a two or three-year-old child in brocade robes, covered in dust, backed by a large group of guards and eunuchs. The other army was the equally dusty Gu Zhixiao, backed by only one lone commander—her father.
The numerous side had drawn swords and nocked arrows, all pointed at the solitary pair. Yet that pair stood as calmly as if they were the ones commanding thousands of troops. Gu Zhixiao was jumping and pointing at that large group, making an all-encompassing encircling gesture, declaring without question, “Father! Surround them all! Eliminate them!”
The arriving Xi Liang officials showed expressions both amused and exasperated, looking at her with expressions that said, “Little girl has courage, but you’re doomed.”
Feng Zhiwei showed an “as expected” expression and sighed. That child always felt that having her father meant owning the world. Getting her to feel intimidated wasn’t easy. But… no wonder the young master was held up here—truly troublesome, so troublesome.
As soon as people arrived, the child on this side immediately seemed to see his savior. Crying out “wah,” he struggled free from his nanny’s embrace and stumbled toward the Regent, eyes full of tears, saying, “Hit me… hit me…”
The Regent looked at the situation, then at the bruise on the child’s forehead. He frowned, drew a breath, and quickly bowed, saying, “This subject was late in coming to Your Majesty’s rescue. Please forgive this transgression.”
The officials behind had already knelt in unison.
Feng Zhiwei sighed again.
Sure enough, their luck was good—randomly bumping into an emperor.
Naturally Master Gu on the opposite side remained unmoved. He had seen emperors before—all emperors were the same, big ones, small ones, none could bully his daughter.
Gu Zhixiao stared blankly, tilted her head to look at that child, then suddenly giggled, “Emperor? Haha, this emperor can’t even fight!”
The child in the Regent’s arms whirled around, emboldened, and said fiercely, “Seize them! Seize them! Drag them out! Kill them!”
The Regent pondered for a moment, took a handkerchief and wiped the child’s face clean, then said gently, “Your Majesty, since you’ve come here, and the Tiansheng envoy is also present, why not go to the main hall for a proper audience? This matter here, this subject will handle for you.”
“No!” The child didn’t even glance at Feng Zhiwei, immediately rejecting the Regent’s attempt to divert his attention, kicking and punching in the Regent’s arms. “Kill her, kill her!”
Feng Zhiwei watched the child with interest. Hey, isn’t this spoiling excessive? He’s quite ordinary—not even as commanding as her Gu Zhixiao.
“What exactly happened?” Seeing he couldn’t drag away the Xi Liang Emperor, Lu Rui asked the chubby child.
“Nothing really… we saw her and thought she was fun, wanted to play with her. Then later, later she imitated His Majesty’s speech…” At the chubby child’s first sentence, everyone showed expressions wanting to laugh but not daring to—Xi Liang’s young emperor had a slight speech impediment and hated most when people imitated his speech. No wonder.
“…His Majesty got angry and tried to step on her hand…” The chubby child was honest, not adding a single false word. The Xi Liang young emperor loudly said, “Just one step!”
Gu Zhixiao immediately “pfft” and said, “You come here, let me step on you, just one step!”
The Xi Liang young emperor’s face flushed red and he tried to charge over again, but was held back by the Regent. The chubby child said timidly, “…Didn’t step on her though. She was quick, grabbed His Majesty’s boot and pulled. His Majesty lost his balance and fell by himself…”
The young emperor immediately glared fiercely at him. The chubby child’s voice grew lower and lower, stuttering for a long time before stammering, “Uh, she pulled him down…”
“She pushed me!” The young emperor pointed loudly at Gu Zhixiao.
Gu Zhixiao wrinkled her little nose, rolled her eyes skyward, and ignored him.
“Then he came…” The chubby child pointed at Gu Nanyi, his eyes showing great admiration. “Wow, he flew over, suddenly just brought her to the other side… His Majesty tried to grab his robe but missed, and fell again…”
Having said this much, that was all—a simple children’s dispute. The young emperor rubbed his forehead, continuously jumping and shouting to kill. But all the guards looked at the Regent.
Feng Zhiwei smiled without speaking, her eyes glancing at the child, thinking how comparisons really could kill a person…
“Your Majesty.” The Regent seemed very patient with children, coaxing gently, “This is the daughter of the Tiansheng envoy. She’s a visiting emissary from another country. You remember the story this subject told you, right? When two nations fight, they don’t execute envoys. Besides, you’re the emperor—how can you quarrel with common people? That would diminish our great nation’s imperial dignity…” While wiping his face, he said, “How about having the little lady apologize to you…”
“Dream on!” Gu Zhixiao’s ears were sharp and she immediately refused loudly.
“No way!” Master Gu finally offered a personal opinion—apologize? If Feng Zhiwei hadn’t educated him that women, elderly and children shouldn’t be beaten, he would have already made that spoiled child’s face bloom with bruises.
The Regent “uh”ed, not expecting the envoy to have such personality, and the envoy’s attendant to have even more personality. The Xi Liang young emperor had already erupted in rage, whooshing up onto his knee, shouting, “Imperial Guards, shoot! Shoot!”
Though the Imperial Guards didn’t dare immediately execute the emperor’s command, they also didn’t dare completely ignore it. The front row of archers all knelt in unison, everyone drawing their bows, full bows like moons, the creaking sounds of drawing bowstrings breaking through the momentary silence. The atmosphere around them immediately grew tense.
Gu Nanyi calmly lifted his daughter onto his back, looking coldly at those archers.
A trace of excited, smug smile appeared at the corner of the Xi Liang young emperor’s lips.
The Regent frowned, about to make a gesture, when suddenly someone said, “An apology? That’s easy.”
The speaker was naturally Feng Zhiwei. She seemed not to see those bristling archers, walking forward leisurely, arriving before the Xi Liang young emperor and bending slightly to examine him.
Her posture was rather strange—saying it was a bow, it wasn’t quite like one. Rather, it seemed like an adult examining a child with a condescending air. The Regent’s eyebrows furrowed, about to remind the envoy of impropriety, when Feng Zhiwei had already bent in a deep bow. “Tiansheng envoy Wei Zhi pays respects to His Majesty the Xi Liang Emperor.”
The child raised his head, meeting Feng Zhiwei’s gaze. He felt those eyes were misty with vapor, seeming to smile yet also seeming coldly ominous. Suddenly he felt nervous, instinctively shrinking into the Regent’s embrace, not knowing how to respond, looking up at the Regent somewhat timidly.
The Regent whispered in his ear, “Say the envoy has traveled far and suffered hardship, you may rise.”
Before the child could parrot the words, Feng Zhiwei had already smiled, “Your Majesty should say: The envoy has traveled far and suffered hardship, you may rise.”
“The envoy has traveled far and suffered hardship, you may rise…” The child stared blankly and repeated it, then felt something was wrong, turning to look at the Regent again. Feng Zhiwei gave him no chance to inquire, smiling, “Properly speaking, we shouldn’t have had an audience today under these circumstances. Please forgive any lapses in protocol, Your Majesty. In three days at the formal audience, we can observe proper etiquette—as for what happened just now, my daughter is young and ignorant, and has inadvertently injured Your Majesty. I beg Your Majesty’s forgiveness.”
The child listened with half-understanding, vaguely comprehending it was an apology, but pouted, “She hit me! I’ll kill her!”
“She did hit you…” Feng Zhiwei smiled and took another step closer. “But why must you kill someone to vent your anger? Your Majesty has few children around him to begin with—wouldn’t killing her be a waste? What’s the point of killing her? If you’re truly angry, I think it would be better to have her serve as your companion for a few days. If you want to hit her, hit her. If you want to scold her, scold her. Punish her however you like—wouldn’t that be more satisfying?”
The Xi Liang young emperor froze there, slowly understanding Feng Zhiwei’s meaning. He felt this proposal sounded better than killing—he’d never seen such a fierce girl before. If he could scold her whenever he wanted, hit her whenever he wanted, how fun that would be!
Hearing this suggestion, the Regent was stunned, never expecting Feng Zhiwei to make such a proposal. But thinking it over, this wasn’t a bad solution. Children might be greatly upset one moment, then laughing and playing the next. First defuse the current tense situation, then let them spend time together—that little friction would naturally be nothing.
He understood the young emperor—it was just the usual spoiled behavior of children in exalted positions. Today he had rarely suffered such a great loss. The child’s stubborn nature had emerged. Forcibly stopping him would make things unmanageable, especially given the emperor’s status. Now that Wei Zhi was voluntarily sending his adopted daughter into the palace to temporarily accompany His Majesty, this was naturally excellent.
He had another layer of thinking—his own birthday was in half a month, and in August was the emperor’s birthday. By then the Tiansheng envoys should still be staying here. At the very least, this group of Tiansheng people would be here for a month or two. Now with Prince An of Da Yue and the Changning Prince both present, if this Wei Zhi stayed here, voluntarily sending his adopted daughter into the palace to temporarily reside was equivalent to leaving a hostage in his hands—why not? As for whether the child’s stubborn nature meant the young emperor might not gain the upper hand—he didn’t care about that.
“In that case.” He smiled, “I’m afraid we must trouble your daughter. Lord Wei, rest assured that in the palace your daughter won’t lose a single hair. If anyone dares harm her even slightly, Lord Wei may hold this prince accountable.”
“With the Regent’s words, it’s settled. Being able to accompany His Majesty is my daughter’s fortune—how could there be any grievance?” Feng Zhiwei smiled, arriving at Gu Zhixiao’s side. Gu Zhixiao stared at her. “What did you just say?”
“Were you angry just now?” Feng Zhiwei asked in her ear.
“Very angry.” Gu Zhixiao’s tone was serious, nodding heavily to indicate the severity.
“I’ll give you a way to vent your anger.” Feng Zhiwei whispered, “There, go accompany that little bastard. Don’t get mad first, let me finish. I’ll arrange for someone to protect you—don’t worry about anyone bullying you. You can bully him to your heart’s content. Really, stepping on my Gu Zhixiao—does he not want to live!”
The unprincipled aunt shamelessly instructed the three-year-old child. The three-year-old child listened with shining eyes and also whispered, “Can I bring my cage?”
“Don’t bring the monkey. The cage and your owl Xiao Qi can come.” Feng Zhiwei said, “You know which parts of the cage we modified together are weapons and which are just for scaring people. Remember, scaring is fine, but absolutely no weapons. If something happens to you, it will harm your father. Understand?”
“Understand.” Gu Zhixiao immediately nodded seriously and vigorously. “Won’t harm Father.”
“No.” This time the speaker was Gu Nanyi. “She can’t go alone.”
Feng Zhiwei stood on tiptoe and whispered something in his ear. Master Gu frowned, looking at Feng Zhiwei suspiciously, then said nothing more.
Hearing her father couldn’t stay, Gu Zhixiao immediately changed her mind. “Not going. Want to stay with Father.”
Feng Zhiwei bent down and also whispered something in her ear. Gu Zhixiao blinked her eyes and actually closed her mouth too.
Father and daughter looked at each other, both wondering what Feng Zhiwei had said to the other to make them so agreeable so quickly. Before they could communicate, Feng Zhiwei had already picked up Gu Zhixiao and efficiently deposited her into the arms of the nanny behind the emperor.
That nanny was the one who had been holding the emperor earlier, standing in the corner, watching Gu Zhixiao without blinking. When Feng Zhiwei suddenly placed Gu Zhixiao with her, she froze. For a moment, the experienced palace nanny felt somewhat at a loss. Feng Zhiwei had already smiled at her, then pointed at Gu Zhixiao, saying, “I’ll trouble you, Nanny.”
The nanny reached out and held the somewhat reluctant Gu Zhixiao, instinctively nodding. Feng Zhiwei had already taken the envoys to bid farewell to the Regent. The Regent escorted them all the way outside Changping Palace. At the gate, they each boarded carriages and horses. In the rumbling of carriage wheels, Feng Zhiwei lifted the curtain and indeed saw Grand Marshal Lu Rui’s carriage traveling the same route as hers.
She smiled at Lu Rui across the curtain, saying, “Grand Marshal, at the drinking contest in the hall earlier, your capacity truly opened my eyes. Seeing your manner, I’m afraid even a hundred more rounds of drinking and composing poetry would be no problem. I presume to ask—might the Grand Marshal favor me with another lesson or two?”
“Why not?” Lu Rui’s eyes slanted over, delicate and graceful as a woman’s. “Not far ahead is my humble residence. Would Lord Marquis care to move there and continue our gathering?”
The two of them across their respective carriage curtains chuckled as if they intended to continue, then lowered the curtains. One in front and one behind, they headed together toward the Grand Marshal’s residence.
Alighting from the carriage and entering the residence, reaching the third inner courtyard, Lu Rui’s demeanor and bearing were already completely different from those at Changping Palace. He had shed his lazy and aloof appearance, his expression grave as he hurried forward. People continuously appeared on all sides to pay respects, then silently withdrew at his gesture. One could see the Lu residence maintained extremely strict discipline.
Entering the inner study, then the secret chamber within the inner study, only then did Lu Rui bow in salutation and offer a seat, deeply bowing, “Lord Wei, I apologize for my earlier behavior.”
Feng Zhiwei returned the courtesy, smiling, “Why does the Grand Marshal show arrogance first then respect later?”
“The earlier arrogance was unavoidable.” Lu Rui smiled. “The later respect is what Lord Wei deserves.”
“Oh?” Feng Zhiwei smiled. “The Grand Marshal is the Regent’s right hand, Xi Liang’s foremost minister. Why must you still be so cautious and perform such an act in public? And what merit do I have to deserve the Grand Marshal’s bow?”
“Lord Wei probably doesn’t wish to trust me.” Lu Rui smiled bitterly. “That’s natural. I know my reputation—nothing more than that of a traitorous minister. But external reputation need not be regarded so seriously. Let’s not speak of that. Today I presume to invite Lord Wei here really just to ask one question.”
“Please speak.”
“I’ve heard that Lord Wei’s adopted daughter was originally found by chance at a wharf in the Nanhai region?” Lu Rui’s expression held a trace of urgency. “Could Lord Wei tell me where exactly your daughter was found? What were the circumstances at the time? Were there any identifying marks on her?”
Gu Nanyi, who had been silently sitting to the side drinking tea, suddenly raised his head. Feng Zhiwei only smiled nonchalantly, “Why does the Grand Marshal ask this?”
Lu Rui gazed at her for a long moment, then nodded bitterly, “If I don’t explain clearly, I suppose Lord Wei won’t tell me the truth under any circumstances. In that case, I might as well lay out this Xi Liang palace secret to Lord Wei completely. I trust that given Lord Wei’s character, you certainly won’t speak of it to a fourth person.”
Feng Zhiwei smiled. “The Grand Marshal’s judgment of character is naturally flawless.”
Lu Rui looked helplessly at this slippery-as-glass eighteen-year-old marquis, slowly drank a mouthful of tea, then rechecked all the doors and windows before sitting back down.
In the dim chamber, candlelight flickered and trembled, illuminating his face—fair as a woman’s—in uncertain shadows, while his eyes glimmered with fragmented, melancholy light.
He seemed to be considering his wording, or perhaps calming his turbulent emotions. After a long moment, he slowly began, “This matter begins at the end of the seventeenth year of Xi Liang’s Shengwu reign…”
In the secret chamber of Xi Liang’s Grand Marshal’s residence, lamplight glowed dimly as three people sat together listening to a Xi Liang secret never to be revealed. In Tiansheng’s Prince Chu’s study, lamplight blazed brightly. Though night had deepened, His Highness Prince Chu still bent over his desk reviewing documents.
The servants coming and going all tiptoed, fearing to disturb His Highness’s contemplation of state affairs.
His Highness was indeed contemplating important matters—just not affairs of state.
On the desk, a five-petaled lotus palace lantern shone brightly, illuminating a thin brocade pouch sealed with seven layers of wax, wrapped tightly and securely. Just looking at the degree of sealing and urgency of this thing, anyone would think it was top-secret military intelligence crucial to the nation’s fate.
Under the lamp, Ning Yi rested his head on one hand, gazing lightly at the pouch, thinking that Ning Cheng was becoming increasingly absurd. Even if matters related to Feng Zhiwei needed strict sealing and a special eight-hundred-li express channel, did he really need seven wax seals? What if some country’s spy mistook it for crucial military intelligence and fought desperately to steal it?
Prince Chu complained internally for a long time, then reached out and weighed the pouch, immediately frowning again—this heavy? He had only asked for an important summary of Feng Zhiwei’s recent situation. Did he think this was a serialized novel?
With an instinctive sense of foreboding, he too stood up, closed the doors and windows, then sat back down to open the pouch.
The pouch opened, and “plop”—out fell a booklet, pages neatly bound together with hemp paper for a cover. The cover even bore a painting, colored boldly and freshly, with brushwork of divine skill. Ning Yi examined it for a long time before recognizing it—an erotic print.
Beneath this combat-pose-like utterly unromantic erotic illustration, Ning Cheng had scrawled crookedly the title: “Dream Records of Xi Liang.”
Ning Yi stared at that cover and title, nearly hurling this divine work to the floor. After looking for a long time, he finally contained himself and opened it.
The first page read prominently: “Gu Nanyi and Wan Hua House’s Top Courtesan Qianqian’s Secret Lotus History.”
Accompanying illustration: A lotus flower that looked more like a pumpkin.
Ning Yi had been drinking tea. Seeing this, he quickly swallowed what was in his mouth, hastily set down the teacup and moved it far aside, placing it at a distance.
He looked at that pile of “personal observations,” looking at Ning Cheng’s malicious speculations like “wondering if someone is jealous, Gu Nanyi has awakened,” and his eyes narrowed slightly. There was none of the anger Ning Cheng hoped to see, but rather a needle-sharp, pointed quality—slightly cold, with faint disdain.
Second page: “Gu Nanyi’s Lightning-Quick Chest-Grabbing Incident.”
Illustration: A man and woman with locked chests standing on a threshold.
Guard Ning’s artistic talent was truly remarkable—all the character illustrations, regardless of pose or expression, looked like fighting cocks.
Ning Yi grasped the divine work, read the incident and personal observations three times, then began to cough.
Though the drawing was very strange and off, seeming like something he didn’t want to look at much, he couldn’t help but look twice more anyway, then turned his face away.
The moment he turned away, an extremely subtle strange light flashed through his eyes—somewhat like anger, somewhat like contemplation.
Under the palace lamp, that crooked drawing shifted in light and shadow. In a trance, it seemed that scene came alive before his eyes. Ning Yi frowned and immediately flipped past that page with a “whoosh.”
Third page, the characters especially large, written in red pigment, glaringly blood-red and eye-catching. The title was also shocking: “Evil Guard Seduces to Mountain Circumambulation, Loyal Ning Cheng Nearly Drowns!”
Illustration: A large pool of red muddy mire.
Ning Yi paid no attention to a certain guard’s brazen demand not to work, instead focusing his gaze on certain key words. This time his expression grew somewhat more serious. Supporting his forehead, he pondered carefully for a while. After a long moment, he closed his eyes and sighed slightly.
For an instant, his eyes held a sense of helpless melancholy—very deep, very distant.
Fourth page: “At Xi Liang’s Longjiang Inn—That One Lick’s Romance.”
Illustration… This time it wasn’t Grand Artist Ning Cheng’s ear-shattering painting technique, but a different kind of ear-shattering shock—Ning Cheng had pasted a large sheet of paper, an original painting by Feng Zhiwei herself.
He had quite perseveringly stolen Lord Wei’s only extant masterwork to date.
The painting was carefully sealed. On top he had written: Your Highness, this is Feng Zhiwei’s painting, this is Feng Zhiwei’s painting you know. I expended tremendous effort to steal it. After you look at it, you must return it to me, otherwise if Gu Nanyi discovers I stole it he’ll definitely castrate me. I took such great risk just to give you a surprise. Poor thing, the previous letters must have dealt you heavy blows and torment. This painting will definitely make you happy. I absolutely believe you’ll be stunned by this painting. Oh, were you drinking tea while reading the letter? Please be sure to move your teacup away—if the painting gets dirty I’ll still be castrated.
Ning Yi looked at this verbose rambling, amusement showing in his eyes. He thought he really hadn’t seen Feng Zhiwei’s paintings before. Her chess skills were good—every time she played against His Majesty she could maintain a three-losses-one-win ratio. Her calligraphy was also good, maintaining mid-level standards in court. He imagined her painting would be the same—controlled within a range that wasn’t outstanding but not embarrassing either, or perhaps even more beautiful than he imagined?
Thinking this brought him some joy. Carefully he unfolded the painting.
The painting slowly unfurled…
Then…
Noble, profound Prince Chu, whose emotions rarely showed on his face, for the first time in his life… froze there completely…
Wind leaked through the window crack. The “peerless masterpiece” trembled in the wind, the pile of large circles, medium circles, and small circles on it seeming like a swarm of chaotic stars dancing before his eyes.
After a long moment, Ning Yi finally drew a harsh breath. Whether from inhaling the midnight cool air or for some other reason, he suddenly began coughing continuously.
Coughing while his shoulders trembled.
Shoulders trembling while he quickly pushed away that magnificent “Dream Records of Xi Liang.”
Quickly pushing away that death-wishing “personal observations” while rapidly spreading paper and grinding ink.
Preparing to reply to that bastard guard about this “Dream Records.”