Outside the palace, Qiu Wujiu, who had said he was leaving, still hadn’t departed. As if admiring the evening glow, he stood composed in the cold shadows of the dusk’s light snow.
He waited until someone came out from the palace and quietly told him everything that had happened in the Enlightenment Hall.
Qiu Wujiu listened silently, then after a long while smiled and said, “The Eighteenth Prince is truly a clever man indeed.”
His attendant looked at him with concern and said, “Grand Minister, the Eighteenth Prince bringing up that example—his intentions are truly murderous…”
Qiu Wujiu waved his hand and took out a document from his robes, saying, “Courtesy demands reciprocity. This document should be copied and sent to the Inner Library as quickly as possible, then dispatched to all regions.”
The attendant hesitated, “Intelligence documents need to go through internal review and screening by the Embroidered Uniform Guards before entering the Inner Library…”
“We must bypass the Embroidered Uniform Guards.” Qiu Wujiu smiled meaningfully, “Otherwise, who knows what fate this document might meet.”
A palace attendant came forward to receive the document and sent it through the usual procedures to the Inner Library, which managed Liaodong’s political affairs, for review and publication.
The document was contained in a brocade box painted with eighteen divine beasts, with the dragon totem of the Tie Dynasty coiled around the edges. Three golden feathers were attached to the box, clearly marking it as an urgent eight-hundred-li express delivery from the Great Qian Dynasty.
The box had already been opened, revealing a glimpse of the bright red contents inside.
In the Great Qian Dynasty’s color conventions for imperial edicts issued to nobles and aristocrats, bright red represented imperial family celebrations.
…
After the Enlightenment Hall session ended, Murong Yi still had to escort his mother back to her quarters—this was also a rule of the Murong family. After the strict father’s teachings came a round, naturally the loving mother and filial son had to have their turn as well.
Murong Yi followed Consort Baoxiang back. Along the way, Consort Baoxiang could barely contain her excitement. After entering the Cease Desires Courtyard, she hastily ordered people to open the storerooms, arrange the main hall, and clear the open space, having everyone prepare to receive rewards. Seeing Murong Yi standing aside with a hands-off attitude, she unusually didn’t get angry but said with a beaming smile, “Your father has always been clear about rewards and punishments. You performed outstandingly today, and he will surely reward you. When the rewards come, you can pick anything you want and get some fine ornaments to wear when you go to the Inner Library, so you won’t lose face. You see, if Mother hadn’t given you that push today, when would you have had such an opportunity?”
Before she finished speaking, sure enough, Eunuch Chang from the Prince’s side came with a string of palace servants carrying a stream of items. Consort Baoxiang received them with joy, listening to Eunuch Chang personally recite the long list of rewards and watching the various colored gifts flow into the courtyard like water. Her eyebrows nearly flew to the top of her forehead. She threw the courtyard gates wide open and personally greeted them at the entrance, glancing left and right, only regretting that the Cease Desires Courtyard was too remote for anyone to hear such rare excitement.
After Eunuch Chang finished reciting the rewards and was about to leave after bowing, Consort Baoxiang suddenly realized and hurriedly asked, “What about Yi’er’s rewards? When did the Prince tell Yi’er to go to the Inner Library? Eunuch, did you forget to mention it?”
“This old slave dares not forget any of the Prince’s instructions,” Eunuch Chang smiled. “Today the Prince only instructed rewards for Your Ladyship. The Inner Library position goes to the Second Prince, commending his outstanding counsel in the Enlightenment Hall earlier.”
Consort Baoxiang was stunned for a moment. Only after seeing Eunuch Chang already out the door did she react, hurriedly chasing after him: “Eunuch, isn’t there a mistake? The one who gave outstanding counsel in the Enlightenment Hall was clearly Yi’er!”
“Perhaps Your Ladyship’s memory is at fault. Among today’s delivered tonics, there are some for calming the spirit and benefiting qi—Your Ladyship might use more of those,” Eunuch Chang said gently. “It was clearly the Second Prince who gave the Prince useful counsel. The Prince specially praised him before all the ministers for being studious and progressive, and has already sent him to the Inner Library to participate in governance.”
He finished speaking and swayed away. Consort Baoxiang stood bewildered among the pile of rewards, murmuring, “That’s not right. It was clearly Murong Yi. Why insist it was the second son?”
“Naturally because he doesn’t want to give me that honor,” Murong Yi said lazily behind her with a laugh. “You’d better hurry back and count your silver!”
“Why doesn’t he want to give you that honor?” Consort Baoxiang spun around sharply. “In what way are you inferior to others?! Or did you fail to strive again and scribble nonsense in your assignment book?”
Murong Yi smiled without answering.
It wasn’t quite that serious.
Royal sons were being trained toward becoming regional rulers—how important could assignment quality really be?
Rather, if one’s birth was already taboo, one’s maternal clan didn’t win the ruler’s heart, and one’s mother consort was a troublesome woman with ambitions written all over her face—a prince born from such a woman, if he were the Prince, he would never put him on the succession list either.
Not to mention that because of his gender-bending behavior, Father Prince had always harbored suspicions that he was a depraved person—how could he dare risk his territory by entrusting it to him?
So long ago he had known that his talents could only be kept in his sleeve. If he showed his edge, people couldn’t use him—they would only find him annoyingly sharp.
Then his seventeen brothers would grind him to death.
But he didn’t want to discuss this with Consort Baoxiang. He just raised his hand to point at the plaque above the courtyard and smiled, “You should spend more time pondering that plaque Father Prince bestowed!”
He lifted his long legs, stepped over the silk, satin, and jewels covering the ground, and walked away leisurely, leaving only the stunned and angry Consort Baoxiang staring up at the plaque in confusion.
Two large characters in gold on blue background pressed into her eyes:
“Cease Desires.”
…
One step, one step.
The blade tip forward, the person retreating.
The knife-wielder remained hidden behind the door panel, unseen.
Through the door crack, only a line was visible. Tie Ci looked up and could vaguely see a patch of fire-red like flames and a pair of burning, coal-black eyes.
Tie Ci’s free hand lifted slightly.
Though separated by the door panel, the person outside seemed able to see, as the blade tip pressed inward again.
Tie Ci stopped moving.
But Dan Shuang and Little Bug moved.
The two stood to Tie Ci’s left and right rear. Since Tie Ci encountered danger, neither had cried out in alarm—in the first instant they had positioned themselves at diagonal angles to the door.
When Tie Ci raised her hand, Little Bug suddenly stomped down. That stomp even produced a violent explosive sound in the air. The usually round and short little eunuch’s lower body suddenly swelled much larger.
With a bang, his boot heel struck the ground, the blue brick floor exploded, and in the flying debris his figure vanished from the spot. The next instant came another bang—half the door panel burst open, leaving a human-shaped hole!
He crashed straight through the door panel and immediately executed a grappling move with his backhand!
On the other side, Dan Shuang remained motionless but suddenly countless white lights flashed in her hands. The thing was soft yet smooth, whooshing repeatedly as it coiled toward the other half of the door panel. Like sand piles silently collapsing and waterfalls cascading down, the door panel shattered into hundreds of pieces almost instantly, then collapsed into a heap. The moment the door panel began to collapse, Dan Shuang’s figure had already ghosted outside the door, flanking Little Bug left and right in identical backhand grappling moves!
Both struck like lightning simultaneously, blocking all the opponent’s escape routes. At the same time, Tie Ci also reached out, grasped the blade tip, and yanked hard.
At this point, the person should have had only one path left—abandon the blade and fight. He did indeed abandon it. The blade lightened in Tie Ci’s hand as it was seized, but simultaneously the person actually followed the blade’s momentum and crashed toward her embrace!
While crashing forward, cold light flashed—he actually drew another blade from his boot!
What swift reactions! What a fierce person!
Tie Ci sharply raised her knee. Her knee collided with the opponent’s drawn blade, producing a resounding clang and sparks flying.
The opponent’s tremendous force pressed down like a mountain. Even Tie Ci’s battle-hardened body felt her knee ache.
For an instant, the two froze like a pair of statues, locked in deadlock.
To everyone watching, the man diving down and the woman raising her knee upward formed a wondrous scene where power and beauty coexisted, where killing intent and magnificence dwelt together.
The next instant, Tie Ci tossed with one hand. The seized blade spun like a flower, streaming like flowing light as it chopped viciously toward the opponent’s face.
As the blade flew out, her other leg also shot up explosively, kicking toward the opponent’s jaw.
Everyone felt their eyes full of legs.
Wind howled like tigers, blade light like water.
The man suddenly arched backward, his body bending into an incredible arc, just dodging the flying blade and kicking foot. But by now Little Bug and Dan Shuang had arrived, one left and one right, grappling his arms.
The man’s reactions were exceptional, his strength considerable. He immediately flipped in mid-air, robes flying, actually carrying Little Bug and Dan Shuang with him in a simultaneous mid-air somersault, flipping outside the door.
The robes lifted by wind slowly settled. All this had happened in mere moments.
Clang, clang—two blades, one long and one short, both embedded in the ground.
The surrounding crowd of onlookers only now let out tsunami-like exclamations.
Tie Ci stepped over the debris of wood scattered across the ground and only now could see the opponent’s face clearly.
A striking red robe, eye-catching yet not gaudy. A red brocade sash carelessly bound light brown hair that scattered in the wind.
His skin had the slightly rough texture of one long exposed to wind and sand, yet was clear and even in color. His nose bridge stood sharp as if carved by celestial winds from snow mountains. His entire person and facial contours brought to mind eagles soaring high above golden desert sands, lone wolves walking through dense forests—lean, sharp, with wild mountains and rivers in his glances, fierce wings slicing through azure sky.
Only his eyes were distinct in black and white, pure as a celestial pool untouched by human presence for millennia. The corners even curved slightly upward—like celestial pool water, ice and snow washing, lotus blooms opening, honey quietly spilling its sweetness.
In his left ear hung a lapis lazuli ornament inlaid with dzi beads, colorful and gently trembling, drawing one’s gaze to linger on the exquisite lines of that cheek.
This dress, this appearance—Tie Ci couldn’t help thinking of someone.
“Dan Ye?”