Although it was called recuperation, Xiao Huan hadn’t rested. While Su Qian shuttled documents between the temporary palace and Jinling, he handled Phoenix Pavilion’s affairs with extraordinary efficiency. Doctor Li Mingshang’s beard twitched in anger, but he could do nothing except take it out on the new patient Xiao Qianqing. For just a minor cold, he jabbed Xiao Qianqing with needles all over and prescribed medicine bitter enough to kill a bull.
Under such intense care, Xiao Qianqing’s cold improved rapidly. Just seeing Doctor Li Mingshang meandering over from a distance was enough to drain the color from his face. A few days later, Li Mingshang reluctantly issued clearance but insisted on accompanying them to Phoenix Pavilion.
Thus, when we returned to Phoenix Pavilion, Li Mingshang and the imperial guards formed a grand procession of several dozen people. The imperial guards addressed Xiao Huan as “Pavilion Master” outside, and once inside became his guard, stationed in the First Water Courtyard.
The backlog of work these past few days was considerable. With the collapse of the Seven Martial Villa forces that had dominated the lower Yangtze for years, the renowned Zhejiang silk merchant Wen Yingtian had entrusted all his capital-bound shipments for the latter half of the year to Phoenix Pavilion. This was both an excellent opportunity for Phoenix Pavilion to expand its transport business and caused everyone to become much busier.
Back in First Water Courtyard, Xiao Huan immediately began processing the accumulated documents. Time ticked by, and just like in the Hall of Mental Cultivation, he remained buried in reading and writing, barely lifting his head from the thick volumes.
As night deepened, he finally looked up and picked up the cup of medicinal tea that had long gone cold. He held it under his nose, sniffed, then frowned and set it back down.
Only then did he notice my presence. He gestured to another chair beside the desk and smiled, “You should sit and rest too.”
I pulled up the chair and sat down. The candlelight flickered before my eyes, and somehow sitting with him now felt awkward.
I picked up the teacup from the table and sniffed it. The medicinal smell assaulted my nose – no need to taste to know it was bitter. “Did Doctor Li prescribe this?”
He sighed rather helplessly: “It’s deadly.”
Thinking of those sugar-coated medicinal pills, I couldn’t help but laugh: “You’re still so afraid of bitter things.”
He paused briefly, then smiled: “How’s the wound on your arm?”
I quickly raised my arm: “It doesn’t hurt anymore. I’d almost forgotten I was injured here.”
He smiled: “That’s good.” He paused again, “These past few days I’ve been thinking about what kind of martial arts would suit you, what I should teach you that would be best. Today I finally thought of a style, a weapon that should suit you well, one where you’ll likely progress quite quickly.”
“What?” I was somewhat stunned: “Learn what?”
“Didn’t you become my disciple to learn martial arts from me?” He smiled, “Now that Willow Wind is broken, we should find you a new weapon. Besides, I’ve always felt you weren’t suited for the sword.”
Only then did I realize, and smiled saying: “It doesn’t matter what I use, I’ll be mediocre at anything.”
“You shouldn’t jump to that conclusion,” he smiled and said, “Everyone is born with different aptitudes. Even the most talented person, if they don’t choose the right path, will achieve nothing. I don’t think you lack the talent for martial arts but rather haven’t found the right path. The sword doesn’t match your nature.”
I nodded: “That’s true. I never liked learning sword techniques since childhood, and all those sword forms with their sets of mnemonics were headache-inducing.”
The waterside pavilion was secluded, the surroundings unnaturally quiet. He suddenly spoke: “Also, I hope you will strictly maintain proper master-disciple boundaries from now on.”
The air seemed to freeze. From his profile, no expression could be discerned: “Otherwise, I would feel awkward.” The last sentence was as light as a spring breeze rippling across still waters, graceful and unencumbered, leaving no trace.
My nails gradually dug into my palm. I raised my head, looking directly into his eyes: “What do you mean by that?”
He smiled slightly: “I told you, I’m somewhat tired.” His tone was flat, not raising a single ripple, those deep pupils still as still waters.
Taking a deep breath, I smiled: “Alright… from now on, between the Pavilion Master and me, we’ll strictly maintain proper master-disciple boundaries.”
Standing up, I was still smiling: “Since we’re masters and disciples, I should perform the formal discipleship ceremony.”
Without waiting for his response, I knelt and performed the grand ceremony of three kneelings and nine kowtows.
This was my second time becoming a disciple. The first time was when I was only seven or eight years old when my father had me take as master the one who wasn’t yet his advisor.
I had offered the ceremonial tea and respectfully knelt to perform nine kowtows. From then on, I became the closed-door disciple of the Sword Ghost Li Lu.
Now Bai Chifan’s reputation in the martial world likely exceeds even that of the Sword Ghost back then, so although I’m useless, I’ve taken increasingly famous masters in the martial world.
I didn’t hesitate at all. After completing the kowtows, my knees and forehead faintly aching, I remained kneeling and smiled: “Unfortunately the ceremony was hasty, without ceremonial tea. Should your disciple go fetch you a cup?”
His face was somewhat pale, but he still smiled: “I’m not your teaching master originally, the ceremony is already sufficient. Please rise.”
I stood up and smiled, bowing: “Then I shall take my leave first.”
He smiled: “Very well, just come by tomorrow.”
I bowed again before turning to leave.
According to Phoenix Pavilion’s rules, new disciples go to their master before Chen hour to receive instruction and arrangements for the day.
The next day, before Chen hour, I got up and hurried to the waterside pavilion.
Just out the door, I met Su Qian, who stopped me: “Did you and the Pavilion Master argue last night?”
It’s nothing unusual for women to be interested in gossip, but seeing Su Qian’s cold and gorgeous face that could scare away nameless thieves, being so eager to probe for gossip was really quite… Some women, you can never judge their true nature by their appearance.
I shook my head: “Not at all. Last night I formally became the Pavilion Master’s disciple. We got along harmoniously.”
Su Qian sighed softly: “Then why did the Pavilion Master’s injuries flare up last night, alarming the newly arrived Doctor Li to rush over in the night?”
I nodded: “Is that so? Then since Master is unwell, I should go check on him.”
Su Qian examined me scrutinizingly: “I still feel something’s not right.”
I couldn’t be bothered to talk with her anymore, smiled, and brushed past her to the waterside pavilion.
Entering the inner chamber, I saw Xiao Huan sitting in a chair giving instructions to a hall master. His face was several degrees paler than yesterday, but besides that, no other abnormalities could be seen.
I stood to the side, and after the hall master left, went forward and cupped my hands: “Master, I heard from Hall Master Su that you were unwell last night. Your disciple failed in not being by your side to attend to you.”
He smiled and shook his head: “I’m fine.” As he spoke, he stood up and covered his mouth, coughing lightly a few times, “Come with me.”
I didn’t say more, just followed him out.
He led me to an open space in First Water Courtyard. This space was by the lakeside, long and narrow, with a target set up several zhang away.
Servant girls brought over a small table and placed it beside Xiao Huan. He pointed to the small table and said: “These are the weapons I mentioned yesterday.”
I lowered my head to look at the items arranged on the table: strange shapes, each less than a chi long, neither like throwing daggers nor like daggers, and besides these things were two piles of differently colored powders and some small steel balls.
I couldn’t help asking: “What are these?”
“Do you remember firearms?” he asked instead of answering.
“The Divine Machine Battalion of the Capital Defense’s firearms?” I recalled the firearms exercises I’d seen as a child, “Smaller than cannons, with a very long barrel in front, making a loud sound with each shot.”
“That’s right.” He smiled.
I remembered how interested I’d been in these novel weapons that could kill enemies with just a “bang,” and had pestered a clerk about them for a long time, so I said: “Those things were called ‘sudden-fire cannon’ in Song times, ‘stone-fire arrow’ in Yuan times, ‘bird-beak gun’ and ‘Rumi gun’ in the previous dynasty, and only in our dynasty are they commonly called firearms. The Divine Machine Battalion has always been a decisive force in defeating enemies.”
“Right, you remember very clearly,” he nodded in approval, picking up something like a thin copper tube from among the items on the table, “This is also a firearm, it can be fired with one hand, smaller in shape, and the mechanics and craftsmanship are more refined and complex than those equipped by our dynasty’s army.” Saying this, he put the item back on the table, “This is the weapon I want to teach you to use.”
He smiled: “From the structural principles of firearms, the composition of various parts, to the preparation of gunpowder and the technique of loading bullets into firearms, to the methods of aiming and firing bullets – all of these are what you need to learn.”
“All of these?” I repeated, reaching out to touch those devices on the table. The cold and smooth metal against my palm, for the first time in my life, a feeling I’d never experienced before filled my heart.
“I want to learn these.” I heard my voice was certain, “Where do we start?”
“We’ll start with how to use them,” a flash of light passed through his deep pupils as he raised the corner of his mouth in a smile: “First you must remember, this is a weapon, all weapons are deadly instruments, existing for killing.”
The only weapon I had ever possessed was the Willow Wind that Master had placed in my hands. At that time, he had simply put the sword in my hands and told me, this sword is yours from now on.
He had never said these words before, he seemed to have only handed me a symbol, or rather a toy, he didn’t expect me to actually be able to do anything with that sword.
Existing for killing… In this instant, I suddenly understood that this time, what was being placed in my hands would be a real weapon, possessing the power to destroy, powerful and brutal, and what I would learn would be the ability to harness this power.
I nodded, smiling: “I understand.”
In half a day, we covered understanding all the parts and functions, completely assembling a firearm and then properly disassembling it, learning about gunpowder preparation methods, learning how to load the gunpowder, the primer for igniting the powder, and the crucial steel balls into special paper to make a bullet.
All of this took two hours. I had never known that before a weapon could be used, it required such a detailed and thorough understanding of its characteristics from the user as if it were another form of life.
That was exactly the feeling – finally when I raised it level with my eyes, firing the first shot at the target several zhang away, at that moment, I felt this thing thundering in my hands was alive.
It was touched by me, sensed, then transmitted its vibrations into my body, we resonated, as if it were an extension of my life.
“That’s enough for today. Your arm injury hasn’t fully healed these past few days, practice more with gunpowder preparation, and in a few days we’ll practice shooting again,” Xiao Huan said to me after practice ended. He smiled, “I need to handle affairs this afternoon, so you needn’t come.”
I nodded in agreement, cupped my hands, and withdrew.
Somewhat tired yet excited, I returned to my quarters and pushed open the door, surprisingly greeted by the aroma of food.
Xiao Qianqing sat contentedly at the table, which was laid with various dishes and soups.
I was starving and immediately spotted the lotus root and pork rib soup in the center. I rushed over to ladle a bowl before having time to ask him: “What are you doing in my room?”
“Of course, seeing you working so hard at your training, I especially had my meals sent here to reward you,” Xiao Qianqing said with a smile.
He suddenly looked at me and smiled, “I heard you and my royal brother had a falling out?”
I had just swallowed a whole sweet potato and nearly choked: “Who told you that?”
“That Hall Master called Su Qian came to tell me.” His smile was gentle, eyes rippling like water, “She said your relationship with the Pavilion Master wasn’t quite right, and that such an important matter should be known by more people.”
As I said, some women, you can never judge their true nature by their appearance.
I sighed: “There’s nothing between us… we’re just master and disciple now.”
“Master and disciple?” Xiao Qianqing was surprised, “Then it seems you did have a falling out.”
I waved my hand, not wanting to deal with him: “Can we not talk about this anymore? I want to eat.”
Day after day passed like this. Xiao Huan taught me to practice shooting every day, while Xiao Qianqing shuttled between the capital and Jinling. When he wasn’t around, I would occasionally chat with Ying and Hong Qing between shooting practice and sometimes meet Shu Qinghuan and Fang Chuxue at headquarters. Now there were no barriers between Shu Qinghuan and me, and we conversed pleasantly.
My archery skills had always been decent among women, with good eyesight and arm strength. After more than a month of continued practice, while I couldn’t hit the target every time with the firearm bullets, I could hit eight or nine out of ten.
Though gunpowder was tricky to handle, as long as one was careful, generally nothing would go wrong. I gradually learned to control the power of the bullets by adjusting the amount of gunpowder in each round.
For shooting practice, apart from the first few days, Xiao Huan’s guidance became optional. His affairs were always busy, so he gradually rarely came to check on me.
In my free time, I would take the gun to more open terrain in the suburbs and spend entire days practicing.
Practicing like this day after day, one day when I was hurriedly returning from practice in the suburbs, passing by the lotus pond, I suddenly noticed: that all the lotus flowers in the pond had withered.
Thus arrived the autumn of the ninth year of Deyou.
The weather grew colder day by day, and Xiao Huan’s health gradually worsened. The faint sound of coughing from the waterside pavilion would often continue for entire nights.
One day after dinner, Hong Qing and Ying came to talk with me. After rambling about all sorts of topics, Hong Qing suddenly asked: “Cangcang, do you want to master the gun?”
I smiled: “Is it strange? That someone useless suddenly starts working hard?”
As we were talking, Ying, who rarely spoke, suddenly said: “It’s good to work hard at learning the gun. Brother always says that although martial arts can be brutal, they can also be used to protect people. Evil and malevolent forces are always too powerful, so we need strength to protect those important to us and those weak ones who are always bullied.”
Neither Hong Qing nor I had expected her to mention Xiao Huan, and we both fell silent for a moment.
Ying continued: “But then Brother always sighs and says he can’t use all his strength to protect those he wants to protect, he has many other things to do.” She shook her head as she spoke, “I don’t understand, if someone wants to do something but can’t, why do they keep living? Isn’t it painful? Isn’t it boring?”
Through the open window came several faint coughs from far away. On such a night, that person must be busy working alone under the lamplight again.
After a moment of silence, I smiled and said: “Whether it’s painful or not, that’s his own choice, others can’t help it.”
“Mm,” Ying nodded in agreement, “That’s right, others can’t help it.”
After another period of silence, Hong Qing brought up an amusing incident from when he was out on a mission, and the conversation drifted away.
Another dozen or so days passed quickly. It had been two full months since I became Xiao Huan’s disciple to learn martial arts, long enough to follow qualified seniors from the pavilion on missions to hone my skills.
I had been waiting for Xiao Huan to assign me some task, but when he summoned me to his presence, he didn’t give me orders for an external mission. Instead, he led me from the entrance of his chambers down to the stone chamber beneath the waterside pavilion.
This stone chamber had two exits, one in Xiao Huan’s room, and the other was the one Zhong Lin and I had escaped through.
I hadn’t looked carefully last time. This time I noticed this underground structure was built very complexly, divided into many rooms. Whoever built it years ago, knows what they intended to use it for.
This time Xiao Huan led me to an especially spacious stone chamber. Many oil lamps were lit inside, clearly illuminating the red characters carved on the four walls, ceiling, and floor. Those characters occupied all directions at strange angles.
Xiao Huan gestured for me to enter, then paused and said: “You’ve practiced very diligently these two months. So, in your opinion, what level of martial artists in the jianghu could your current gun skills handle?”
I thought for a moment, carefully choosing my words: “Gun techniques are too different from the martial arts I’ve practiced before. I’m not sure what level of martial arts I could handle with my current ability. However, I think the speed of bullets cannot be matched by any weapon. The Rain of Pear Blossom’s needles, once known as the king of hidden weapons, achieved the pinnacle of mechanical launching speed. At close range, even supreme masters couldn’t avoid them. Yet bullet speed is even faster than the Rain of Pear Blossoms. Therefore, I think if launching a sudden attack when the opponent is unprepared, even first-class masters probably couldn’t avoid my shot. But if the opponent is prepared, it’s hard to say.”
“Your understanding is quite clear,” he nodded, “You just mentioned the Rain of Pear Blossoms. While bullet speed is faster than the needles and the range is longer, firearms have one weakness that the Rain of Pear Blossoms doesn’t – the loud sound when firing. As soon as you shoot, the sound immediately reveals your position to the opponent. From that moment on, for the second and third shots, what you’re competing with against the enemy is real skill.” As he spoke, he nodded to me, “Now try shooting at me, see if you can hit me.”
I raised an eyebrow: “Shoot at Master? Isn’t that disrespectful?”
He smiled: “It’s fine, don’t hold back.” He raised his left index finger to his chest, “Just shoot with all your might. I won’t hold back either. Let me see how many shots you can fire before my finger touches your throat.”
“Not even drawing your sword, just using one finger?” I raised the corner of my mouth, “Master, you’re looking down on me.”
He laughed softly: “Whether I use a sword or not isn’t the main point. I will attack you with all my strength, so you’d better think – if you can’t hit me, you’ll die.” After speaking, he nodded, “Start shooting.”
His expression didn’t look like he was joking. I concentrated for a moment, nodded, and retreated to an appropriate distance. I quickly raised my arm level and pulled the trigger.
The bullet whistled out of the barrel, shooting straight toward that cyan figure.
Like an illusion, that figure suddenly disappeared from where the bullet was aimed. A cyan light flashed instantly from the front left, and without thinking, I quickly fired a second shot at that shadow.
The cyan robe hem slid past the corner of my eye, a chill at my throat – his finger was already at my neck.
I forgot to breathe for a moment. His gaze was ice-cold, those deep black pupils containing nothing but killing intent.
At that moment, I truly thought he would crush my throat.
The killing intent gradually faded from his eyes. He removed his finger from my throat, coughed lightly twice, and smiled: “Being able to fire a second shot while I’m using my full strength is quite good.”
I lowered my arm, my head shamefully covered in cold sweat: “I was planning to fire all six shots.”
“Then let’s make that the goal.” He smiled and pointed to the stone blocks carved with red characters on the chamber walls, “These red characters are arranged according to Fu Xi’s Early Heaven Sixty-Four Hexagrams. You must memorize these positions. From today on, I will call out these positions from outside the chamber. What you need to do is find and shoot the corresponding stone blocks in the shortest time possible. The gun can fire six shots consecutively. Within these six shots, you must try to ensure each bullet hits the correct position as much as possible. Only when you can achieve this can your gun truly be effective in real combat when the enemy is constantly moving.”
I glanced at the stone blocks carved with characters like “Zhong Fu,” “Gui Mei,” “Kui,” and “Dui,” and nodded, then asked: “So Master, what else do I need to do to defeat a master like you?”
He paused, smiled, and said: “In my case, facing an opponent who will be much faster than you, you need to achieve two things. First, you’d better be able to see my form clearly – if you can’t even see the form, there’s nothing to discuss. Second, you need to find a way to force me into a dead end within five shots. Don’t think about resolving it with just one shot or two or three shots. When facing such an opponent, you must give it your all, predict their movements, block all their escape routes, and then land the final strike.”
“So besides moving quickly, I also need to develop extraordinary eyesight and familiarize myself with all martial arts patterns. It’s not easy.” I sighed, raised an eyebrow, and smiled, “But, when I can match you, I’ll be pretty formidable too, right?”
“Yes.” He smiled: “Take it step by step, it won’t take too long.”
I nodded and smiled. He said nothing more and pushed open the door to walk outside the stone chamber.
After a while, his voice came from outside, very low yet as clear as a whisper in my ear, using the advanced internal energy technique of sound penetration.
He called out position names, and I tried my best to shoot them in sequence.
There seemed to be something placed behind the stone blocks with positions written on them. The sound when hit was different from hitting other stone blocks – whether I’d hit the target or not could be known just by listening.
Every day after that was spent practicing like this. Although Xiao Huan had many affairs to handle, he always made time to come to the stone chamber to guide my shooting practice. Counting carefully, besides preparing gunpowder and loading bullets, the time spent practicing each day was even more than when I practiced alone in the previous two months.
Every few days, Xiao Huan would spar with me to test the results of my practice. From only being able to fire two shots at the beginning, I gradually managed three shots, then four, and finally could fire all six shots.
After being able to fire six shots, there was a period where my shooting seemed to stagnate. When sparring with Xiao Huan, although I could fire all the bullets, I always felt like I was rushing to shoot in a panic. Forget about being confident of hitting the target – I could barely see his figure.
And every time he sparred with me, he would reveal that same cold gaze as the first time. Each time I saw it, I couldn’t help but tremble. The pressure was truly immense.
Desperately trying to catch that cyan shadow every day, I became almost obsessed. Even when walking, if I saw something cyan, I would stop and unconsciously reach for the gun at my waist.
This day, while mentally rehearsing shooting techniques, I casually searched for moving objects in my field of vision as imaginary targets.
My gaze followed a bird flying in the sky as I tried to imagine it was Xiao Huan.
The bird wheeled and soared, moving very fast. I could never catch up to it when suddenly it hit me… how had I only now understood such a simple principle?
Just like archery, I didn’t need to chase the prey, but rather predict where it would fly to, then strike in one shot!
Having suddenly understood, I was somewhat excited and rushed into the waterside pavilion to Xiao Huan’s desk: “Master, this time I’ll make you draw your sword!”
He raised his head somewhat surprised by a pile of documents, then immediately smiled in understanding: “Good, come then.”
He stood up, opened the underground passage entrance, and led me into that stone chamber.
Standing in the center of the stone chamber, I closed my eyes and thought through my pre-designed plan once more, then raised the firearm: “Get ready, I’m coming.”
The first bullet fired, aimed at the “Kan” position, shooting straight for Xiao Huan’s brow. He moved, going toward the “Lü” position on the left front. I knew he would move to this position – everyone has habits, even Xiao Huan was no exception, and I had become too familiar with his habits.
The second bullet, shot toward “Xiaoguo” beside the “Lü” position, the bullet grazing past his sleeve.
The third and fourth bullets: “Jian,” “Guan.”
The fifth bullet, “Yi” – that cyan shadow finally approached the position I had anticipated.
The sixth bullet fired without hesitation, “Zhen” – Xiao Huan’s chest had already moved to the “Zhen” position.
With a “clang,” the mournful whistle of Wang Feng echoed in the chamber. The bullet deflected by the sword blade clinked and rolled across the blue stone floor. With that final shot, I had finally forced Xiao Huan to draw Wang Feng to block what would have been a killing bullet.
I exhaled deeply and lowered the gun: “It worked! I finally made you draw your sword!”
Xiao Huan moved Wang Feng away from his chest, fingers lightly brushing the blade. After confirming Wang Feng was undamaged, he smiled: “Very good, such rapid progress was beyond my expectations.”
“There’s something even more beyond your expectations,” I raised my eyebrows, “One day, I’ll defeat you, become even stronger than you!”
“I’ll wait for that day too.” He smiled while coughing lightly.
I raised my eyebrows and smiled, my mind full of plans to further force him into a dead end.
Making Xiao Huan draw his sword once was no longer difficult, nor was making him draw it every time hard to achieve. But after forcing him to draw his sword, I could hardly make any further progress.
I hadn’t deeply understood before, but now after truly crossing hands with him, I realized his swordsmanship had truly reached the pinnacle of perfection. Whether defending or attacking, he could achieve absolute flawlessness. No matter what tricks or traps I employed with all my might, I couldn’t find a single opening to exploit.
Every day I practiced shooting until my eyes were red. Even when Xiao Qianqing came from the capital to see me and we sat in a restaurant, I was still angrily demonstrating bullet trajectories with gestures.
Xiao Qianqing rambled about many things, then suddenly grabbed my wildly gesturing hands: “Cangcang!”
I looked up at him: “I know, I’m listening. You said the civil officials have split into two factions again, fighting and slandering each other every day, and even my father can barely keep things under control.” As I spoke, I was about to start gesturing again.
“Cangcang!” Xiao Qianqing simply pulled both my hands into his embrace.
My body nearly fell completely onto him. I quickly glanced at those murderous-looking young ladies in the restaurant.
Most of these people had followed Xiao Qianqing from the street to the restaurant, constantly looking at me with eyes that seemed ready to tear me apart. Now they were even more murderous – if looks could kill, I would have been reduced to dust long ago.
Xiao Qianqing was really unbearable. He had such a face that would make gods jealous and spirits resentful, yet he always liked to drag me out onto the streets. When I asked why we couldn’t talk inside Phoenix Pavilion, he would say that just thinking about it being “that royal brother’s” territory made his whole body uncomfortable.
To avoid being reduced to ashes under those venomous gazes, I quickly nodded: “Go ahead, I’m listening properly.”
Xiao Qianqing gave a slight snort and finally consented to release my hands slightly. I hurriedly took the chance to sit properly and maintain distance from him.
Xiao Qianqing’s eyes flickered, intentionally or not sweeping around the room. After those dagger-like gazes had all turned soft with affection, he turned to look at me reproachfully: “Those matters in the capital are so troublesome, I finally got free time and traveled thousands of li to see you, and this is how you treat me?”
Unable to ponder about firearms anymore, I somewhat boredly propped up my head: “Then thank you for your trouble. How do you want me to treat you?”
“Cangcang,” Xiao Qianqing called out somewhat reproachfully, then suddenly said, “There are only two months until the new year. After the new year passes, the one-year term will be up.”
“Ah yes,” I understood and smiled, “Congratulations, once the term is up you can ascend the throne. Have you decided what your reign title will be?”
He glanced at me faintly: “The reign title doesn’t matter. I don’t have a royal consort, and after ascending the throne I need to select someone to be crowned empress.”
I made a sound of surprise: “Who will you crown? Do you have someone in mind?”
“Who do you think?” he asked flatly in return.
I made another sound of surprise, then paused: “Xiao Qianqing, what do you like about me? I’m not that beautiful, and I’ve been married before. To put it unpleasantly, I’m just a faded flower…”
“Don’t speak of yourself so cheaply!” he angrily interrupted me, gripping my chin to make me look at him, “That person didn’t dare to cherish you, but you can’t cheapen yourself!”
He turned his face away, his jade-white cheeks showing an unprecedented blush: “I truly like you.”
I was stunned, then after a moment, burst out laughing: “Xiao Qianqing, why do you like me?”
His face grew redder, somewhat embarrassed and angry: “When you like someone, you just like them, do you need a reason?”
“It’s nothing,” I quickly waved my hand, holding back laughter, “I’m thinking about your Xiao family’s reputation. If you crown me as empress, the history books will write all sorts of things, saying we’re immoral and such. How will they write about me? They’ll say I’m scheming, and shameless… Two-dynasty empress, vicious and calculating plus palace intrigue, my portrayal in the history books would be quite colorful…” The more I thought about it, I finally couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
Xiao Qianqing was both angry and amused: “Enough, look how pleased you are!”
“What do you mean pleased?” I contained my laughter and pretended to be proper, “I just want to leave an image of virtue and filial piety for posterity.”
“You?” Xiao Qianqing snorted, “I think you’d be happier if posterity called you a fox spirit.”
I glanced at him: “Why do you have to put it so bluntly? How annoying.”
Xiao Qianqing gave a cold snort. He turned to look out the window, and after a while softly asked: “Cangcang, do you like me?”
“I do like you,” I smiled, “You’re so handsome, how could any girl not like you?”
“To say such things, Cangcang you’re so cruel,” he looked at me, half pouting and half angry, ripples dancing in his light-eyebrowed eyes, “If I weren’t handsome, you wouldn’t like me?”
Whenever he put on this bewitching appearance I felt nothing good would come of it, and hurriedly smiled apologetically: “Of course I’d still like you, how could I not like you?”
“Since you like me so much…” he smiled enchantingly.
It really was sinful – even after so long, when he smiled like this I would still be stunned by his beauty for a moment. Before I could recover from the dazzling light, my waist was gripped and I fell completely into Xiao Qianqing’s embrace.
Those thin lips descended, and in an instant Xiao Qianqing’s taste filled my mouth, mixed with the flavor of honey, fragrant like flowers. How could a man have such a sweet taste?
My breathing gradually became chaotic, and I unconsciously wrapped my arms around his neck.
He finally moved his lips away. I leaned on his shoulder, trying to steady my breathing while laughing: “You’re… using your deep internal energy… to bully me, aren’t you? I’m… almost suffocating.”
“Did you like it?” he put his mouth next to my ear.
I’ve always been an honest person, and nodded frankly: “I quite liked it.”
Xiao Qianqing laughed softly and helped me up, pointing his finger out the window, “Then what about with him? Did you like it with him?”
I raised my head and looked where he was pointing. In the teahouse just across the street from this restaurant, half of Shi Yan’s straight-standing figure could be seen through the window, and at the seat in front of him, Xiao Huan was sitting opposite a middle-aged man who looked like a wealthy merchant.
My seat with Xiao Qianqing was also by the window. The street was narrow and the windows on both sides were close – even if we hadn’t wanted to look, our actions just now had probably been completely visible to them.
I turned my head back and smiled: “With him, my heart beats very fast, and in that moment I can’t think of anything else.”
Xiao Qianqing smiled faintly and said nothing more.
After that, Xiao Huan never mentioned this incident, and I was happy to pretend I didn’t know about it.