Chapter 10 (Declaring that they must get their hands on Lu San Niang)
While Chai Yong was packing his luggage in his room, his attendant came to announce that Pubu was requesting an audience.
"Your Highness, Lady Lu has been taken away by the Registrar of Liucheng. The Prince has specifically requested that she perform a dance at the farewell banquet."
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Every time he went to see Lu Huaying, he first shook off Wu Yanxing's eyes and ears. Moreover, Wu Yanxing was so flattered by the magistrate of Liucheng County that he forgot everything else. Why would he suddenly remember Lu Huaying?
"Sanlang, Cheng Can went to see Wu Yanxing last night!"
Pei Jingyao led a young man over hurriedly, looking extremely anxious.
The young man sighed and said, “Sanlang, Mingguang did something dishonest. He told the Prince that you admired Lu Sanniang and that he could provoke you by taking Lu Sanniang away. The Prince was overjoyed and said that he must get Lu Sanniang and rape her in front of you and then beat her to death. My attendant heard these words with his own ears.”
Chai Yong's sharply defined face darkened, and he turned and walked out.
"Sanlang! Don't be impulsive! Let's think of a way!" Pei Jingyao quickly stopped him and reminded him, "Sanlang, you've endured all the way from Shendu to Xizhou, and you're almost at Dayun Temple. If you fall for Wu Yanxing's trick now, wouldn't all your previous efforts be in vain?"
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Pei Jingyao caught up: "Sanlang, I'll go and beg Wu Yanxing to show mercy! I'll humbly beg him!"
Chai Yong shook his head, not stopping: "Wu Yanxing's target is me, your intervention is useless."
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Seeing Chai Yong's impulsiveness, the young man also came up to dissuade him. He informed Chai Yong not because he cared about Lu Huaying's life or death, but to prepare Chai Yong so that the situation would not get out of control and implicate others.
“Sanlang, the more anxious you are, the more pleased the Prince will be. Anyway, this isn't the first time Lu Sanniang has performed. She's just a dancer now. Cheng Can humiliated her, and she endured it all, didn't she? You must remain calm at the banquet. As for Lu Sanniang, the Prince won't really beat her to death. She might get a beating and suffer some physical pain. Sanlang can compensate her with more money and silk later…”
Chai Yong glanced at the young man, his eyes, which always held a smile, were as cold as frost.
The young man was startled and took a step back, his voice abruptly ceasing.
The farewell banquet tents have been erected, and the musicians of Kucha sit on carpets wiping their instruments, while the dancers change into gorgeous and light dance costumes, awaiting their summons.
Chai Yong, dressed in a brocade robe, strode in, and all the musicians and dancers in the courtyard bowed down to him.
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In the corner of the porch, a figure dressed in a Western Liang men's robe stood with her back to him. Her black hair was braided into many braids, and she wore a pair of tall leather boots. A belt was tied around her waist. She stood tall and elegant, took the two sabers handed to her by the clerk, and swung them across her wrist, performing a flourish with graceful and swift movements, displaying a heroic and dashing demeanor.
The morning sunlight filled the courtyard, casting a faint golden hue on her jet-black braids and bright red painted cheeks. As she lowered her eyes to wipe her knife, the golden light on her eyelashes trembled slightly, and her lips were soft and moist.
Chai Yong stared blankly at Lu Huaying, who stood in the halo of light.
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When the registrar saw Chai Yong, he quickly walked over and bowed.
Chai Yongxing snapped out of his daze, remembering the current situation, and waved for him to leave. He walked to Lu Huaying's side and said, "Third Sister, you go back first. I'll deal with Wu Yanxing. He heard that I know you and deliberately invited you to the farewell banquet to perform a dance. He has ill intentions, so you can't go."
When Lu Huaying saw him, she showed no surprise and asked, "Was it Cheng Can who instigated this?"
Chai Yong was taken aback and asked, "How did Third Sister know it was him?"
“Cheng Can is a despicable person. That night he humiliated me, saying he wanted to avenge the Duke of Qi’s heir.”
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That year, at the Duke's mansion's Dragon Boat Festival banquet, she was feeling down and wanted to get drunk, so she drank a whole jar of wine by herself.
The heir of the Duke of Qi was a man who loved wine and always thought he had a good capacity for alcohol. When he heard the guests at the banquet praising Lu Huaying, a young woman, for her large capacity for alcohol, he was unconvinced and challenged her to a drinking contest.
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The young master proposed a bet: whoever loses has to bark like a dog. He said smugly, "If Third Sister doesn't dare to bet with me, then she admits defeat!"
Lu Huaying smiled, picked up the wine bowl, tilted her head back, and drank the wine in one gulp.
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She had always been a heavy drinker; the prince lost, and was both ashamed and angry, refusing to comply.
The bet also mocked Lu Huaying, a daughter of a noble family, for her excessive drinking and lack of decorum.
Lu Huaying smiled lightly and splashed a bowl of wine at the prince's face: "Since the prince can't afford to lose, then don't make a bet. I don't want to waste my time on someone who doesn't keep his promises."
Lu Huaying's mind raced for a moment before she looked at Chai Yong and said, "I heard from Pei Jingyao that Wu Yanxing is always provoking you, and you've been tolerating it and even advising him not to have a conflict with Wu Yanxing."
When princes and nobles quarrel, they often vent their anger on servants and maids, rather than openly breaking off relations. It is not uncommon for them to kill a few people when they get angry.
Sihu chuckled dryly, wiped his face, and turned to run away.
Chai Yong remained motionless.
The county princess was single-minded, and the Duke's mansion was unwilling to get involved in the power struggle between the Li and Wu families, so no matter how Wu Yanxing provoked him, Chai Yong remained unmoved.
Lu Huaying frowned.
“You don’t need to worry about it. I’ll stand here and let Wu Yanxing come to me,” Chai Yong said, his face full of guilt. “Third Sister, I didn’t expect Wu Yanxing to have such murderous intentions.”
Lu Huaying raised her head and looked at the pointed top of the felt tent above the courtyard wall: "The Prince will not have the intention to kill the Crown Prince."
Chai Yong's expression was solemn.
Later, the Crown Prince often invited Lu Huaying to drink.
She whispered, "I cannot disobey the Prince's orders..."
The magistrate of Liucheng County looked sullen, sighed, and said, "When gods fight, mortals suffer. I can't afford to offend any of them, so I can't control them. We'll just have to play it by ear!"
Lu Huaying shook her head with a wry smile: "If we keep dragging this out, Wu Yanxing will be even less likely to let me go."
She was just a woman of low social status, a piece of fish in Wu Yanxing's eyes.
Chai Yong also smiled bitterly: "My mother is a descendant of the imperial family. These past few years she has been walking on thin ice. Before I left, she repeatedly told me not to let Wu Yanxing find any fault with me."
People are taking their seats.
Several attendants broke out in a cold sweat and respectfully acknowledged the order.
Chai Yong smiled and said, "I can afford to wait."
Moreover, what should she do if Wu Yanxing sets his sights on Wang Yu and Lu Hongbi?
Urging voices came from the courtyard gate, and the Kucha musicians, carrying their instruments, walked towards the felt tent. Soon after, melodious music began to play.
Chai Yong stood still.
“It is indeed him.” Chai Yong frowned. “Third Sister, Wu Yanxing is deliberately making things difficult for me. This time he will not let you off easily. Stay here. No matter who comes to call you, do not go with him.”
Lu Huaying asked, "Then why doesn't the young master hurry up and take his seat?"
She believed that Chai Yong could stay by her side today, but what about tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, and in the future? The Prefect of Xizhou had already sent someone to urge them to go to Xizhou. Chai Yong was the heir of the Duke of Huo's mansion, and he bore the future of the Duke's mansion on his shoulders. He couldn't stay in Liucheng to protect her forever.
In front of the felt tent, Wu Yanxing's eyes were sinister as he ordered his followers: "Watch my signals and act accordingly. If Chai Yong doesn't take the bait, drag that Lu Sanniang in front of Chai Yong and hold her down. Don't hold back, beat her to death on the spot! Beat her until her brains splatter all over Chai Yong, and let's see if he can still keep his composure and act like a coward!"
Lu Huaying strapped her saber to her waist and calmly said, "The Crown Prince and I have long since made peace. When the Lu family was convicted, the Crown Prince was not in Chang'an, but he sent some money through someone to help me smooth things over. Cheng Can humiliated me not for the sake of the Duke of Qi's Crown Prince, but for his own sake. He didn't dare to stand up for himself, so he could only use someone else's name to indulge his own desires. At the welcoming banquet, I spoiled the Prince's mood. The Prince wouldn't summon me to dance again for no reason. I suspect it was Cheng Can who was behind it."
She asked Pei Jingyao about the members of their team, and apart from Cheng Can, she couldn't think of anyone else.
He had a gut feeling that what Wu Yanxing said to Cheng Can wasn't just said in anger. If Wu Yanxing failed to provoke him today, he would kill Lu Huaying on the spot to vent his anger.
Lu Huaying remained calm; her circumstances had made her accustomed to one predicament after another.
Lu Huaying was silent for a moment, then shook her head: "Wu Yanxing will not kill me today. Your Highness, please take your seat."
Chai Yong met her gaze, his brows furrowed, his eyes clear and resolute: "No, even if you don't blame me for not helping you, I can't abandon you."
Lu Huaying said, "I will not blame the Crown Prince."
"We can't keep dragging this on forever."
...
The day Chai Yong set off to leave was the day of her death.
The registrar glanced furtively at Chai Yong, then said with a fawning smile, "Young Master, the Prefect has been waiting for you for some time. Please take your seat."
The registrar rushed to the magistrate of Liucheng County and reported, "Your Excellency, the Prince and the Heir Apparent are fighting over the Third Sister, and I'm afraid something bad is going to happen today!"
The next day, the prince sobered up and felt increasingly ashamed. He asked Wang Yu's brother for help and brought two jars of yellow wine to Lu Huaying's house to apologize.
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