Thirteen Territories
The last banquet held by Princess Xuancheng was on the third day of the third lunar month. Given the previous situation, the number of maids and guards patrolling at this welcoming banquet was twice as many.
Sui Zhixu found a shady corner and ate and drank heartily with Fan Lingdanhong and Liu Lü.
The lychee pastry is smooth and delicate, and its cool texture is made even more enjoyable by the sweetness of the lychee.
The three of them wore expressions of satisfaction.
Dan Hong whispered, "It's so hot, so hot, it was really so hot just now."
Sui Zhixu: "It seems hotter this year than last year."
Last July, I followed Xu around investigating the Pei family's case and didn't feel the heat. This year, I only stayed outside for a short while and felt so hot that my head was spinning.
Liu Lü also felt, "Indeed, it's unexpectedly hot this year."
After a brief discussion, they continued eating.
After Cong Lan and Sui He met, they became very affectionate, and many young men at the banquet dared not approach or provoke Sui Zhixu when they saw Cong Lan.
Occasionally, a woman would greet her.
Of course, there are exceptions.
"Young lady, what's your name?" The Crown Prince of Wei walked up to her, his gaudy clothes and frivolous demeanor befitting a spoiled young master.
Sui Zhixu silently picked up the crispy mountain and turned around. She had overestimated his intelligence; someone had actually come looking for her.
He's incredibly brave.
The last one as arrogant as him was already betrothed by the Emperor.
"What? You're ignoring me?" He turned to face Sui Zhixu, his tone already unfriendly.
She also has a bad temper.
As Xu commented.
"What's up?"
Her voice was clear and crisp, and her sparse, almond-shaped eyes beneath thick eyelashes appeared lush and beautiful.
"This young master is new to Chang'an and doesn't know anyone here. I'd like to find someone to get to know. I'm afraid the only one here is familiar with Chang'an."
He laughed flippantly, his gaze lingering on Sui Zhixu.
Those around him gasped. Even if others had their own thoughts, they had to suppress them, after all, Sui He and Cong Lan were there, and the Eldest Princess was also there. He was incredibly bold.
"Oh, I'm not familiar with it either."
Sui Zhixu suppressed her annoyance; she shouldn't have acted on a whim just for a bite to eat.
She finished the last bite of the crispy mountain and walked away from him.
"Hey—"
He made a move to grab Sui Zhixu's wrist, but Liu Lü quickly grabbed his hand and stood in front of Sui Zhixu.
Sui Zhixu's eyes were icy. "Is the Crown Prince of Wei determined to make things difficult for me?"
"What are you saying? The young lady is beautiful, and I only wish to make her my friend."
"Make friends?"
"That's right. My grandfather fought alongside the late emperor in battles across the land, making great contributions, and my father guarded the northern frontier for many years. Isn't this young master enough to get to know you?"
That's why the Emperor is wary of you.
The King of Wei, with his powerful army, had long displeased the Emperor. As for Sui Zhixu, whether he was a true playboy or not, she had absolutely no interest in him.
She said coldly, "So, in the end, you don't have any redeeming qualities at all?"
"Me!" The Crown Prince of Wei blushed, and someone around him burst into laughter, causing a burst of laughter from everyone present.
"Red flowers and green willows, let's go."
"Stop right there!"
The Crown Prince of Wei shouted and stormed toward her.
Will it be okay to beat him up?
The moment the idea came to mind, Sui Zhixu had already kicked out.
She paused for a moment, then calmed down. She felt that her father could handle it, and she would praise him as the best plum tree.
Having prepared an escape route for himself, Sui Zhixu walked forward without looking back, completely disregarding the fact that the Crown Prince of Wei was being kicked against a rough tree trunk behind him.
None of the remaining people dared to provoke her, and they all made way for her.
Thank you.
After she left, the silent crowd suddenly erupted in chaos.
"She just thanked me?"
"Nonsense, that was clearly directed at me."
"It's clearly directed at me, at me!"
"Yes, I'm right. Didn't you see? The direction you were facing just now was me."
...
"Wait a minute, stop arguing. Shouldn't he try to resolve this?"
"Uh, where are his servants? How come he came all by himself? He ran pretty fast, leaving his own servants behind."
"What you're saying is kind of funny."
The Crown Prince of Linchuan sighed, "What are you standing there for? Quickly, find someone to inform the Princess! Hurry, someone come and help me lift him up."
"oh oh."
Sui Zhixu sent a message to Sui He through Dan Hong, saying that she was leaving and asking her mother to find her a reason.
When Sui He found out, he was very happy and pulled Cong Lan aside to praise her.
"Isn't she adorable, sneaking out to play with her friends?"
Cong Lan readily agreed, making Sui He even happier. At the same time, he was also pleased that the young lady could rely on them.
When Dongzang told Conglan what had just happened, he scoffed, "So you're giving me work to do?"
Okay.
So, Xu could find him work without any restraint.
He felt that she might not have gone to visit her friends, but rather to visit someone else.
Fan Lingzhang was specifically named.
Fan Lingzhang was dealing with the backlog of business at Yunlai Tower. Once the Gu worm was removed, not only his business in the martial arts world, but also his business in Chang'an, Luoyang and other places all came rushing back.
"My God, I only went out for a short while. How come there's so much stuff?"
"Yes, you just went out for a trip. You were flirting the whole way—oh, no, you were getting beaten up. It seems like you were the only one talking about love. To be honest, you haven't dealt with more than two books since your Gu worms were cured, but now that you're back, there are more, aren't there?" Afu rolled his eyes at him thoroughly.
Fan Lingzhang choked with anger, "Afu, I see you're doing quite well at home, shouldn't you get a couple of spankings to wake you up?"
"What are you saying, sir? I'm only thinking of you. Sir, it's not that I'm criticizing you, but the only valuable things you have are your face and your money. Beauty fades quickly! Those young men in their prime, aren't they all better than you? They have looks, power, and money—all three!"
"I think you're really asking for death!" Fan Lingzhang sneered and called over Alu.
"A-Lu, go, take your brother downstairs and give him a beating."
A-Lu grabbed A-Fu, his identical face filled with cold indifference, and said, "Hit a few."
Afu: "?"
"Three... no, five, I'll tell him. Let him learn a lesson from this: what does it mean to have trouble coming from the mouth? He's so old, and he still hasn't learned it."
Fan Lingzhang spoke in a sarcastic tone, ignoring his wailing and arguing, and buried himself in his pile of business.
Business in the Thirteen Territories has been good lately. While flipping through the account books, he suddenly said to Alu, who had just returned, "Did the Miao region just celebrate the Autumn Festival a few days ago?"
"yes."
Fan Lingzhang nodded, his fingertips landing on the ledger. Not everyone in Miao territory knows Gu magic. Most Miao people are no different from anyone else in the world, living normal lives. The Fan family also has some business dealings with them.
However, the Miao people, such as Jiang Li and Jiang Yun, who are skilled in Gu poison, live in the eastern region near Jingzhou. They are a unique branch and are highly respected and feared in Miao territory. At the same time, they are extremely xenophobic, do not interact with the outside world, and very few of them speak the Central Plains language.
Business in Miao territory seems to be exceptionally good this year. In my memory, their business has always been neither good nor bad, remaining extremely stable for many years. How come it has suddenly increased so much this year?
Suddenly, the butterfly's silhouette was reflected in the window frame, and its shadow fell on the ledger. At first, Fan Lingzhang didn't pay attention, but a quarter of an hour, then another quarter of an hour, and then almost an hour passed, and the butterfly's silhouette still hadn't disappeared.
There was even a rustling sound coming from the window. Seeing this, A-Lu inserted his sword into the crack, creating a small opening.
A silver-winged butterfly sat quietly and motionless on the window frame, sunlight reflecting off its wings, creating a dazzling display.
Fan Lingzhang noticed a different kind of light flashing in the butterfly's eyes; it seemed to be ice blue.
Suddenly, a butterfly fluttered its wings and flew away. Fan Lingzhang subconsciously told him to open the window and look down. A silver butterfly hovered not far away beside Sui Zhixu, seemingly wanting to land on her shoulder.
Something was wrong with the silver butterfly. He had only heard of this kind of butterfly once in the Thirteen Territories over the years. The man there said he had seen it in Miao territory. Of all the martial arts heroes in his group, he was the only one who survived a near-death encounter with the silver butterfly.
Growing increasingly uneasy, he called out to his wife, "Wife! Watch out for butterflies!"
As Xu looked up, she turned her head and saw the silver butterflies hovering behind her, their antennae colliding with each other.
Almost instantly, Sui Zhixu knew it was Jiang Yun, Jiang Yun's companion Gu, the Silver Butterfly Gu.
She shook her head at the worried Fan Lingzhang above, indicating that she was alright.
What does Jiang Yun want with her?
As a result, a crack was pried open in the sealed memories in Sui Zhixu's mind, and Sui Zhixu vaguely felt that the innate ability of his eyes mentioned by Jiang Yun was related to his companion Gu.
"I am your elder brother..."
"What are you doing, playing tricks?" As Sui Zhixu stepped into the private room of Yunlai Tower, Fan Lingzhang gripped her hand tightly, extremely wary of Yin Die.
Why are you like a ghost, haunting me?
Fan Lingzhang was stunned by her words, then Xu shook his head and whispered, "I wasn't talking about you."
The silver butterfly landed on the table, its two antennae touching. Then, Xu Zhixu heard his voice again in his mind, "Now, it's difficult for me to track you. Sigh, to make a long story short."
“I suspect something has happened to Jiang Li. My Silver Butterfly can no longer sense her symbiotic Gu. Perhaps you don’t remember, but her symbiotic Gu is a snake Gu. In the past, your Gu poison was always suppressed by the little green snake by your side. I want you to sense the little green snake. I’m afraid something has happened in Miao territory.”
After listening to Xu Zhixu for a long time without giving him a reply, he seemed to understand something. The silver butterfly's antennae touched again, and this time the silver butterfly was closer to her.
She could clearly sense Jiang Yun's sigh, "I will write you a letter about the method of sensing, and you can choose for yourself... Your amnesia is really troublesome."
With a snap, the silver butterfly spontaneously combusted and vanished within moments, leaving only a few specks of silver scales as proof of its arrival.
Sui Zhixu met Fan Lingzhang's worried phoenix eyes and took his hand.
"It's nothing. He said he'd send me a message in a few days."
"Send a message? Where did they go?"
Su Zhixu shook her head. Jiang Yun didn't say anything, and she didn't ask either.
In the two months since Jingzhou was restored, Wu Shanyue followed Jiang Yun as far as Yangzhou and then returned. This time, the two of them set off earlier than their team and had simple luggage. No one knows where they went.
A faint smile appeared on Sui Zhixu's lips. He wore a hibiscus silver earring specially made by Fan Lingzhang. The earring swayed gently, and his heart was quietly stirred.
"Next time I'll have someone make another pair of Jasmine earrings." His fingertips rested on the hibiscus earrings, occasionally brushing against the side of his face, never still.
Sometime later, Danhong and the others left the private room, leaving only the two of them in the large room.
He pulled her closer to him, his breath, damp and warm, brushing against her ear. She heard him say fiercely, "Hmph, you secretly ate alone behind my back, and now you know to come and play with me after you're done."
Sui Zhixu: "..."
"No."
"No?!"
Sui Zhixu looked up from his arms, her face neither blushing nor her heart skipping a beat, and said, "I am perfectly upright."
Fan Lingzhang sneered, and the two of them started laughing and joking around again.
"Aren't you going to manage your ledgers?"
Fan Lingzhang grunted, "If you don't want to deal with it, my wife, help me."
Sui Zhixu refused, saying, "You're perfectly fine now, don't expect me to do any work for you. I don't want to see this either, so hurry up and get it done."
Okay~
With a soft smack, she didn't realize what he had done until Fan Lingzhang's smiling eyes met hers.
She pushed him away helplessly, "What are you doing?"
"Stealing fragrance and jade, stealing fragrance openly and honestly!"
After speaking, Fan Lingzhang sat up straight and began to handle the account books in a serious manner, as if he had not done anything at all.
Sui Zhixu glanced at him, then sat down to deal with her own business. The wind ruffled their clothes, and the only sound in the room was the rustling of pages—a scene of tranquility.
On the other end, Jiang Yun saw Wu Shanyue return and calmly cut off the connection with the silver butterfly.
"Ah Yun, Ah Yun! Where are we going next?" Wu Shanyue hopped and skipped behind Jiang Yun's shoulder.
It crackled and popped like firecrackers, sparking and flashing, and Jiang Yun chuckled.
"How dare you be so bold? You went from being my benefactor to Ah Yun in just a few months?"
His gaze lingered on the smile that played at the corners of her mouth, her moist lips opening and closing.
In order to hear what she was saying, Jiang Yun deliberately spared a bit of attention to listen. "Because we have a very good relationship. With you by my side, I didn't encounter any robberies along the way."
"Yeah?"
He smiled gently, his gaze fixed on Wushan Yue, who blinked and nodded firmly.
Is Luoyang fun?
"So much fun! There's so much food, I've never seen it before."
Wu Shanyue held up the candied hawthorn in her hand to Jiang Yun's lips, her starry eyes curving upwards as she looked at him.
Jiang Yun patted her head, telling her to eat by herself, "Do you want to go to my hometown?"
"Huh?" Wushan Yue asked, somewhat puzzled. "Isn't it Jingzhou?"
Jiang Yun shook her head. "No, Jingzhou is her mother's hometown. The place where she and I grew up is below Jingzhou."
"But didn't you run away from your wedding?"
A dark glint flashed in Jiang Yun's eyes, as deep and unfathomable as ink.
He smiled gently, as softly as a spring breeze, lingering around Wushan Yue.
"So I'd like to ask you for a favor." Jiang Yun met her gaze and said slowly, "Pretend to be my sweetheart."
"You'll help me, right, Shan Yue?"
Wu Shanyue's eyes widened slightly, at a loss for words. "Me? I can't do it."
"It's okay, just follow my instructions."
After thinking for a moment, she said, "I'll help you! You saved my life and protected me all the way. It's only right that I help you."
A smile always lingered on Jiang Yun's lips, as if it were etched onto his face.
Unfortunately, she didn't know that their branch of the family had made a solemn vow that betrayal was forbidden. They swore an oath before the mountain god to be bound together for all eternity, as if they were flesh and blood. If they were to betray him, they would be condemned to eternal damnation!
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