15. Twin Pearls (Central)

In March in Chujing, flowers are in full bloom and the spring scenery is intoxicating.

On the outskirts of Beijing, at the Jiaren Lake, groups of young ladies strolled along the green lakeside, admiring flowers or joking. This made the Jiaren Lake, which had been quiet for a winter, even more charming.

Three fast horses were galloping from afar. The one in the front was a black horse. There was not a single stray hair on its body. It was a rare and good-looking horse. What caught everyone's attention was the young man riding on the horse. He was dressed in white, had black hair, and was handsome. His handsome eyebrows were full of unrestrained and proud spirit. Even though the two people following him were also very outstanding in appearance, everyone's eyes fell on the young man in white. The girls couldn't help but cover their faces in shame, but they couldn't help but want to peek. The young men just took a look and it seemed as if they were burned by the young man's brilliant light.

"Ah Yao, do you dare not be so arrogant? Mo Jingli looks at you with eyes that are about to throw knives out." The three horses stopped by the peach forest not far from the lake. Feng Zhiyuan, who was dressed in bright red, fell off the horse and glanced at Mo Xiuyao. Although he was not yet thirteen years old, he had been practicing martial arts with Mo Xiuyao for several years, and his height had grown rapidly. He looked like he was only seven or eight years old at first, but now he is almost as tall as Mo Xiuyao.

Mo Xiuyao, the second son of Prince Ding's mansion, was only thirteen years old but had just returned from a victorious battle at the border. He was full of energy and enthusiasm. The tempering on the battlefield made him more sharp than an ordinary teenager of his age.

Mo Xiuyao raised his eyebrows and said, "When did he stop throwing away his knife when he saw me?" Glancing at the man who was glaring at them with gritted teeth not far away, Mo Xiuyao said nonchalantly, "By the way, what is the reason this time?"

Feng Zhiyao rolled his eyes and said, "Second Master Mo, have you forgotten that the day before you set out on the expedition, you accidentally kicked someone into the Jinshui River?"

"Huh? Is there such a thing?" Mo Xiuyao was at a loss, "I have been away for half a year, and he has been holding a grudge for such a small matter for so long? Is he too idle?" Being pushed into the river is indeed not a big deal, and everyone has their own mistakes, the third son of Feng thought silently. But the bad thing is that after the second son of Mo kicked the man down, he did not think of pulling him up to apologize, and when the man finally got up, he passed by the lake and stepped on him back.

That day, everyone present shed tears for His Royal Highness Prince Li. The water from the Jinshui River didn't taste very good, but His Royal Highness Prince Li drank it to his heart's content. It was said that he lay in bed for more than half a month after returning. By the time he got up and went to the palace to file a complaint, Mo Xiuyao had already gone to war with the army.

"Well... he was the one who attacked me first, okay?" The second son of Mo obviously remembered what he had done. He touched his nose and said, "Besides, didn't my eldest brother send someone to ask me to return home immediately at that time? So..."

You're in a hurry so you just step over other people's heads?

Feng Zhiyao glanced at someone who was glaring at them not far away. They had already provoked such a plague god as Mo Xiuyao. There was no telling which gods Mo Jingli had offended in his previous life.

"Haha, the scenery of Chujing is really nice." The young man in white who was following them and listening to their conversation silently praised with a smile.

Mo Xiuyao smiled and said, "Of course. Although the capital city cannot compare to the misty rain and small bridges in the south of the Yangtze River, it still has its own unique charm. Han Mingyue, how is it? Do you plan to live in the capital city for a long time?"

The young man in white shook his head and said, "It's impossible to stay here for a long time. I'm worried about Mingxi still being in Jiangnan. However, I should come to the capital often in the future." Feng Zhiyao looked at the young man in white and said happily, "That's great. I've heard that Mingyue is very talented. I'll leave her to you in the future." Feng Zhiyao said this with a bit of gnashing teeth. Mo Xiuyao thought he was stupid the first time he met him. But before he met Mo Xiuyao, Feng Zhiyao really didn't think he was stupid. If he was stupid, he wouldn't be as knowledgeable as other children of the same age even though his aunt didn't allow him to go to school. But since he met Mo Xiuyao, Feng Zhiyao really thought seriously about whether he was really stupid. It takes him ten days to memorize the same book, but Mo Xiuyao only needs one day and write down his thoughts. It took him three days to learn the same sword technique, while Mo Xiuyao only needed to watch it once. In the end, even the teacher who taught them sympathized with the third son of Feng who couldn't keep up with the pace at all, and opened a small stove for him.

But Han Mingyue was different. Although he had lived in Jiangnan for a long time, he was only fourteen years old and had already become famous in Jiangnan. He and Mo Xiuyao also met each other through fighting and finally admired each other's ability. With an equally monstrous genius keeping him in check, Feng Zhiyao felt that his life would be much better.

Han Mingyue smiled and shook her head, saying, "What kind of genius am I? If we talk about genius, who can compare to the eldest son of the Xu family?" The eldest son of the Xu family, Xu Qingchen, was a few years younger than them, but he had already been famous all over the world. All the great scholars who had met him praised him and called him a rare genius.

Mo Xiuyao tied the horse to the tree and walked into the peach forest, saying, "Xu Qingchen is a scholar, and we are not the same." Besides, Prince Ding's Mansion and the Xu family cannot get too close. Otherwise, it will not be good for anyone.

In the peach forest, the sound of pianos and the singing and laughter of many young girls can be heard from a distance. This time is the time for talented men and beautiful women to go out for an outing.

"Sister Hua."

On an empty lawn in the peach forest, a group of young girls in gorgeous clothes sat on the ground, some playing the zither, some chatting and laughing. The purple-dressed girl sitting in the middle was Hua Yunxi, the daughter of the Duke of Hua.

Seeing the three men coming, the girls blushed and stood up to greet them. The second son of Prince Ding's mansion was of noble status, handsome character, and more importantly, he was unmarried. He was the dream man of many young ladies.

Hua Yunxi stood up, looked at Mo Xiuyao and said with a smile: "You have grown a lot taller after going out. I heard from grandfather that you won the battle. You really are worthy of being a descendant of Dingwang Mansion."

Mo Xiuyao raised his eyebrows and smiled, "It's just a minor fight."

Hua Yunxi smiled faintly and said, "Zhiyao, I haven't seen you for a long time. What have you been busy with recently?" Feng Zhiyao looked at Hua Yunxi and smiled reluctantly, "Nothing. The old man locked me up at home." In recent years, the Third Young Master Feng has been scheming with the Second Young Master of Prince Ding's Mansion... No, the closer you are to the bad, the worse. At least half of the bad things Mo Xiuyao did were done by the Third Young Master Feng. Mo Xiuyao disciplined Prince Li and ran away, but Feng Zhiyao was too young to run away. He was severely beaten by his father, Old Master Feng, and taken home to be locked up.

Mo Xiuyao raised his eyebrows in surprise and asked, "Did anything happen in the capital while I was away?" As brothers for several years, Mo Xiuyao knew Feng San well enough. If Feng Zhiyao was just beaten and locked up by his father, he would not have reacted like this. To be frank, Feng Zhiyao was used to being beaten by his father. Since the powerful force of the Third Master Feng swept the Feng family, the only one in the Feng family who could deal with the Third Master Feng was his father.

Hua Yunxi smiled faintly and said, "It's nothing serious."

A young girl beside Hua Yunxi smiled with her face red and her lips covered, "The emperor has issued an order to arrange a marriage between Sister Hua and His Royal Highness Prince Qi. The wedding will take place at the beginning of next month. By then, Sister Hua will be the Princess of Prince Qi." She spoke with some envy. Since the death of the Prince Regent, the emperor's health has not been very good. No one can say how long he can last. Most people know that Prince Qi is one of the princes with the greatest hope of ascending the throne. If this is true, Hua Yunxi will be the mother of a country in the future.

"Is that true?" Mo Xiuyao was a little surprised. He had just returned and had taken Han Mingyue out of the city. He had no time to know what had happened in the capital in the past six months. He glanced at Feng Zhiyao with some concern, and indeed saw him lowering his head with a gloomy expression.

In fact, Mo Xiuyao was not optimistic about Feng Zhiyao's feelings for Hua Yunxi from the beginning. Not only because of the difference in status between the two, but also because Feng Zhiyao was too young, not even thirteen years old. Even if he had a bright future, Hua Yunxi, who was already sixteen, could not wait for him to become famous. More importantly, how could Hua Yunxi believe in the feelings of a child who was less than thirteen years old?

And now that the emperor has issued an edict to grant the marriage, there is no need to say anything. For the sake of the Hua family, Hua Yunxi would not have any inappropriate thoughts.

Hua Yunxi smiled faintly and said, "It is the grace of the Emperor." Her expression showed that she had neither joy nor anticipation for this marriage, nor did she have any rejection. In this world, all women originally lived like this. Love and affection only exist in storybooks.

Mo Xiuyao smiled and said, "Then Xiuyao congratulates Sister Hua."

Hua Yunxi smiled and said, "You are not a child anymore. I heard from my grandfather that your elder brother has already chosen a good girl for you, and they will prepare for the engagement when you come back."

Mo Xiuyao smiled indifferently. When he was young, he was more concerned about the battlefield and the free and easy life in the martial arts world. He was not as concerned about beauty as other young men of his age.

After bidding farewell to Hua Yunxi, the three walked out of the peach forest side by side. Han Mingyue looked thoughtfully at Feng Zhiyao, whose gorgeous red dress looked a little dull, and sighed slightly. He said softly, "Brother Feng, there are always beautiful women in the world." Young Master Mingyue was very smart, so how could he not see Feng Zhiyao's feelings for Hua Yunxi. But he didn't know yet that love was beyond one's control. He also didn't know that in the near future, he would also encounter a half-life demon barrier, which would be even more miserable than Feng Zhiyao's fall.

Mo Xiuyao sighed, patted Feng Zhiyao on the shoulder and asked, "What do you think? Do you want to fight?" As a brother, Mo Xiuyao knew that Feng Zhiyao didn't actually need comfort.

Feng Zhiyao rolled his eyes, "Do you think I'm stupid?" He deserved to be beaten. He was already in a very bad situation, and he didn't want to make himself even worse.

As early as three months ago, when the emperor had just issued the marriage decree, Feng Zhiyao had already known about it. Or rather, he had already known that it was impossible for him and Hua Yunxi to be together. One was the legitimate daughter of a duke's mansion, and the other was an unappreciated illegitimate son of a merchant family. Such a huge difference was almost an insurmountable gap.

Feng Zhiyao was not naive. On the contrary, his childhood experience made him more sober and mature than the average teenager of his age. Even he himself never had any hope for his relationship. Not to mention, he was more than three years younger than her. In her eyes, he was just a younger brother who was more like Mo Xiuyao.

Feng Zhiyao didn't know when his feelings changed. Maybe it was when he first saw her, or when he was framed by his aunt and brother and lay half dead in bed and she secretly sent someone to deliver medicine to look after him, or maybe it was just one day when he suddenly and inadvertently felt something in his heart.

Mo Xiuyao once said with a smile: "Love comes from nowhere, but it goes deep and deep." Feng Zhiyao couldn't help but smile bitterly. The second son of Mo was born with a lot of advantages. Although he was under his command, he had never been trapped by love. He came and went freely and carefreely like the wind. It was really hard not to envy him.

The night before Hua Yunxi and Mo Jingqi's wedding, it rained heavily. Feng Zhiyao stood outside the wall of Huafu in a trance, the rain soaking his clothes and hair. Feng Zhiyao raised his eyes silently, looked at the dark night sky, gritted his teeth, and rushed into the wall of Huafu.

Feng Zhiyao had been to Huafu twice with Mo Xiuyao, so he easily found his way to Hua Yunxi's door. It was late at night, and Hua Yunxi's room was quiet, but the light was still dim.

Feng Zhiyao leaned against the door and listened, making sure that there was no one inside except Hua Yunxi before knocking on the door.

Hua Yunxi opened the door and was stunned to see Feng Zhiyao soaked in water. "Zhiyao, why are you here so late? And you're soaked in water? I..."

"Can you not marry King Qi?" The young man didn't care about his wolfsbone hair and stared at Hua Yunxi.

Hua Yunxi was stunned for a moment, then shook her head and said, "No."

Seeing the young man biting his lips, his handsome face was pale and cold, maybe because of the rain or something else, Hua Yunxi felt a pain in her heart. She had no siblings, and she always loved this young man as if he were her own brother. Compared to the high-spirited and indifferent Second Master Mo, she loved this young man who was not valued by his father, who was obviously very sad but always stubborn and didn't care, more. "Silly child, even if I get married, I am still your sister. When you have time in the future, you can come to the Prince Qi's Mansion with Xiu Yao to see me."

Feng Zhiyao stared at Hua Yunxi, and at that moment Hua Yunxi almost thought he was going to cry. After a long time, Feng Zhiyao finally pulled out a night-shining pearl as big as a walnut from his arms. Under the night sky, the night-shining pearl glowed softly in Feng Zhiyao's hand. It was obvious at a glance that it was priceless.

"Zhiyao, what are you doing?"

Feng Zhiyao reached out and stuffed the night pearl into Hua Yunxi's hand, and said in a somewhat rough voice: "This is a gift for you. I won't go to your wedding." After that, he turned around and left without paying attention to Hua Yunxi's reaction.

Hua Yunxi held the night-shining pearl in her hand, staring blankly at the young man's receding back.

Not far from Hua Yunxi, the gray-haired Duke Hua stood under the eaves and watched a dark shadow rush out of the wall from the yard, sighing helplessly. Standing next to him was the second son of Prince Ding's mansion, Mo Xiuyao, who was dressed in white.

"Thank you, old Duke."

Duke Hua sighed and said worriedly, "That child..."

Mo Xiuyao said: "He will be fine, as long as the old Duke doesn't blame him."

Duke Hua smiled bitterly and said, "It is difficult to disobey the emperor's order... If it were not for this, I would rather Yun Xi marry someone more ordinary."

Mo Xiuyao smiled faintly, said goodbye to Duke Hua, and chased in the direction where Feng Zhiyao left.

－－－－－－－A side note－－－－－－－

This... I should be able to finish writing the first, second and third chapters. I'm sorry, Mr. Feng San, the Lun family really didn't mean to bother you~