Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
Liuzhou City, outskirts—
Xiao Zheyu, travel-worn, stepped down from the carriage and looked towards the riverbank: "Congrong, how much further?"
Cong Rong blew on the tinder in her hand and threw it into the firewood: "Your Highness, it's not far away."
Xiao Zheyu tidied her hair and walked to the fire where her body was warmer. She said, "Now that we are far from the palace, you are not a maid, and I am not a princess. You don't need to call me princess, and you don't need to be so respectful."
Xiao Zheyu said self-deprecatingly, "I've been treated coldly by many people since I was little. Only you treat me like a princess."
Cong Rong did not look up, but tightened her grip on the bamboo skewer in her hand slightly: "The Princess is of noble status. No matter where she is, she will always be the most noble person in Cong Rong's heart."
Xiao Zheyu shook his head and took out a crystal-clear dagger from his bosom. The entire dagger was carved from jade. When he touched the uneven carvings, they were lotus flowers, delicate and lifelike.
Cong Rong noticed and, seeing her lost in thought, asked, "What is the princess thinking about?"
Xiao Zheyu gently touched the pattern with her jade-like hand: "It reminds me of something from the past."
"In winter, a torrential downpour pounded on the bricks and tiles, continuing intermittently for a month, causing floods everywhere. He disregarded all this, indulging in drinking and revelry in the palace. He even invited prostitutes from the common people to perform in the palace, making all the concubines stand there and watch him, watching him indulge in pleasure in public. I saw my mother's trembling shoulders, her suppressed anger. He said he wanted to find a concubine to go up to and enjoy himself with."
"That person, coincidentally, was my mother. I saw the Empress's gloating eyes, I saw Consort Duan looking at my mother with a mocking smile, I saw everyone's ugliest faces, and I was so lucky that it wasn't me."
"My mother was bewildered, shocked, and humiliated. She drew the guard's sword and committed suicide in front of me. I was right beside her, but I could do nothing."
Xiao Zheyu gripped the sharp blade, blood seeping from his palm: "I don't regret it. He deserved to die. He didn't deserve to sit in that position."
Cong Rong's eyes flashed with suppressed anger as she calmly took out a silk handkerchief and bandaged the wound for her: "Princess, everything you did was right."
Xiao Zheyu looked at the silk handkerchief and said, "He is a complete madman, and I have his dirty blood flowing in my veins. He taught me all of this."
Xiao Zheyu said, "When the cunning rabbit dies, the hunting dog is cooked; when the rabbit dies, the hunting dog is cooked; when the birds are all gone, the bow is put away."
With a crackle, the fire grew larger, illuminating her eyes, but it did not leave a warm feeling in them.
——
Meng Yingying muttered to herself, "Winning over Shang Mang is a bit difficult. He doesn't seem like the type to like people at all. Saying he likes corpses seems more fitting."
"What are you muttering to yourself about?" Someone suddenly spoke from behind, startling Meng Yingying. She stood up from her chair and turned around. Zhou Xiuqi was shirtless, with black smoke rising from the scratches on his arm. Meng Yingying glanced at him and understood immediately, but still asked with concern, "Senior brother, how did you get hurt?"
The young man beside Zhou Xiuqi, dressed in a yellow Taoist robe, said indignantly, "It's that drowned ghost again, he's really cunning." Meng Yingying had noticed him earlier and immediately began to scrutinize him without any attempt to hide it. The young man, with a red heart between his eyebrows, red lips and white teeth, and a face like a peach blossom, exuded youthful spirit in every word and action. This must be the little clown from the book, Kong Fusheng.
Meng Yingying asked, "And who is this?"
Kong Fusheng flicked his ponytail, the red mark between his eyebrows resembling a small Buddha, and loudly proclaimed, "I am the number one of the Peerless Sect."
Meng Yingying was taken aback by his loud voice, first halting his confidence, then she was infected by his voice and smiled: "So amazing?"
Kong Fusheng: "That's natural."
Zhou Xiuqi was startled by his movement and frowned: "Go upstairs."
Kong Fusheng quickly apologized, helped him up and walked away, turning back to Meng Yingying as he said, "Senior Sister Meng, I'll come find you after I've finished treating Senior Brother's wounds."
Meng Yingying smiled and nodded, and Ling Daozi hurriedly walked up behind her: "Meng Yuan!"
Meng Yingying was startled and didn't dare to turn around.
Ling Daozi pulled her hand and pressed her down on the stool: "Let me tell you, your master's wife said that your father and mother arranged a marriage for you a long time ago. After you go back, you can get married."
Meng Yingying had a fear of marriage, and the book didn't mention her fiancé much. She was even less inclined to marry someone she didn't know at all: "Master, I'm not getting married."
Ling Daozi blushed: "I've really spoiled you. If you don't get married now, no one will want you when you get older!"
"Master, please don't be angry, or you'll get wrinkles," she said.
Ling Daozi was startled and raised his hand to touch his face: "Really? I have wrinkles on my face?"
Meng Yingying pretended to observe carefully and said, "Of course not now. It came out as soon as you frowned, so don't be angry."
Ling Daozi picked up the teacup and gave a dismissive snort.
Seeing that he wasn't angry, Meng Yingying sat down and said, "Master, what if I get bullied or unhappy after I get married?"
Ling Daozi poured out the water and glared at her, saying, "Who would dare to mistreat you?"
Meng Yingying said firmly, "Even if no one wants me, I can manage on my own."
Ling Daozi looked at her, from childhood to the young girl she is now. She has never changed and has always been the same person who is decisive and dares to take responsibility.
With a sigh, I thought, "That's it, that's it."
A gentle breeze was blowing at night.
Inside the room, the candlelight flickered. On the table lay a blood-stained handkerchief. Zhou Xiuqi bit a piece of the handkerchief, removed half of his shirt to reveal his strong right arm. Large and small wounds crisscrossed his arm. The black aura on the new wounds had disappeared, but the flesh was turned outwards, as if the whole piece of flesh was about to be ripped off. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead as he steadily held a dagger and plunged it in, drawing blood from the flesh inside.
Holding the medicine bottle in her other hand, she sprayed the medicine onto the wound without blinking, her brows slightly furrowed, her lips pale as she bit down on a handkerchief.
Looking up, I saw the handkerchief on the table had fallen to the floor. I bent down to pick it up, and the woman's voice echoed in my mind.
"You dare to harm people in front of me? You've got some nerve." The woman's voice was cold, like a clear spring flowing.
Zhou Xiuqi was covered by a thin veil, and there was no light, so he could not see clearly. He could only hear the sound of fabric and gold ornaments in front of him, as well as a faint, cool fragrance.
The drowning ghost in front of her let out a miserable scream and turned into black smoke and disappeared. The woman did not come over, but asked from a distance, "Is the Taoist priest alright?"
Zhou Xiuqi responded awkwardly, "It's alright."
The woman tossed something from afar, carrying a fragrance. It landed lightly on his chest, and Zhou Xiuqi caught it. As he looked up, she turned and left without saying a word.
The lights flickered, interrupting Zhou Xiuqi's reverie.
Zhou Xiuqi rubbed the handkerchief in his hand and brought it to his nose. The fragrance was faint but still present.
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