Chapter 43 Xian's Assistance
A thin mist hangs in the air, and the morning light is just beginning to break.
Bai Er prepared breakfast and busied herself waking Su Yuyao up and helping her with her hair and makeup.
Xuan Feng had already finished his morning practice and was pacing around Su Yuyao's door, unsure how to start a conversation. Su Yuyao also saw Xuan Feng, and although her anger had subsided considerably, she still didn't want to acknowledge him.
Bai Er set out breakfast and said to Su Yuyao, "Miss, go and have breakfast!"
Su Yuyao said sullenly, "I'm not going to eat in his room. Bring my food to this room!"
"My dear lady, please have pity on me, don't make me suffer anymore, let's go eat!" Bai Er pulled the reluctant Su Yuyao into Xuan Feng's room.
Xuanfeng was waiting at the table when he saw Su Yuyao being pulled in with her head down and a displeased expression, so he quickly got up.
Bai Er pressed Su Yuyao down into a chair and said, "Sir, I have too much work to do. Could you please serve Miss a bowl of porridge for me?"
After saying that, he smiled and left.
Xuanfeng sat down next to Su Yuyao, ladled a bowl of congee and handed it to her, asking softly, "Little girl, are you hungry?"
Su Yuyao turned her head away, neither answering nor responding.
Rumbling... Damn stomach!
Xuanfeng chuckled and said, "It's okay if you're angry with me, but don't go hungry. Or... I'll feed you?"
Su Yuyao pursed her lips, still not responding.
Xuanfeng smiled, scooped up a spoonful of porridge, blew on it gently, and brought it to Su Yuyao's lips. "Good girl, don't be angry..."
Su Yuyao burst out laughing.
She gave Xuanfeng a haughty look and said stubbornly, "I'll forgive you this time! If there's a next time, I really won't talk to you anymore!"
Xuanfeng fed the porridge to Su Yuyao and said softly, "Yes, girl!"
Su Yuyao giggled.
Bai Er heard Su Yuyao's laughter and breathed a sigh of relief. He brought in a steaming bowl of buns and said, "I steamed some vegetable buns, eat up!"
"Junior Sister Yao'er? I heard you're back! Where are you?"
"It's Meng Yu!" Su Yuyao ran out excitedly, holding up a steamed bun. "Meng Yu! Meng Yu! I'm back!"
Looking at Su Yuyao, who was wearing a pink high-waisted ruqun (a traditional Chinese dress) with a light green short-sleeved shirt over it, Meng Yu's eyes were filled with tenderness. "Oh! You've gained weight again in just a few days!"
"How annoying!" Su Yuyao said angrily, "I heard you were punished, and I was going to ask about your injuries! But looking at you like this, you were really too lenient!"
"Who said I didn't hit you hard?! I only managed to get up because I heard you were back!" Meng Yu walked up to Su Yuyao, poked her chubby cheeks, and said, "What good things have you been eating at Princess Jinyu's place? Your cheeks have gotten rounder again?"
Su Yuyao, biting into her steamed bun, said defiantly, "My face is naturally round! It's not fat at all!"
Xuanfeng frowned when he saw Meng Yu pointing at Su Yuyao's cheek and asked, "Meng Yu, is something the matter?"
Meng Yu then raised his head and bowed slightly to Xuan Feng, saying, "My lord! I came to see Yao'er and also to ask when she will return to the academy."
"Let's wait a few more days and let Yao'er rest first." Xuanfeng still had some concerns.
Meng Yu understood Xuan Feng's worries and said with a smile, "My lord, Yao'er will have to return to the academy sooner or later. Some things are inevitable..."
“Since it can be done sooner or later, why not experience it later?” Xuanfeng interrupted Mengyu.
"My lord!" Meng Yu retorted defiantly, "You've been protecting her all this time, when will she ever grow up?!"
“Meng Yu,” Xuan Feng said coldly, “the girl is already mine. How I protect her is my business, and I don’t need outsiders to worry about it.”
Meng Yu's eyes widened in shock, then he said, slowly and deliberately, "I don't care!"
"Meng Yu!" Xuan Feng's eyes widened as well. "I care!"
"My lord!" Meng Yu, no longer in his usual playful manner, spoke with a rare seriousness and a hint of anger, "What you are doing is fraught with difficulties, how can you let personal feelings hold you back?!"
Xuanfeng's eyes trembled slightly. "Meng Yu, this matter has nothing to do with you. Don't interfere."
"grown ups!"
"Go back!"
Meng Yu glanced at the indifferent Xuan Feng, then at Su Yuyao standing to the side with a steamed bun in her mouth, and stormed off...
After breakfast, Su Yuyao carefully packed her little bundle and skipped along with Xuanfeng to Yuantun Palace.
Xuanfeng looked at the pebbly path he had stepped on.
I have walked this path for so long. If it weren't for the burden of the countless people in the Wuji Dao, if it weren't for the cultivation of the many halls on the immortal mountain, if it weren't for the marriage contract that I long for, why would I continue on this path?
Why did I purge that group of cleaners from the Wuji Dao? Why did I painstakingly cultivate my own loyal ministers and generals? If I give up, can I...?
"Xuanfeng! Xuanfeng!" Su Yuyao pointed to the sky and shouted, "I want a kite too!"
Xuanfeng raised his head, admiring the ethereal beauty of Su Yuyao before him. "I've traveled for thousands of years, only to meet my girl..."
"I want it! I want it!" Su Yuyao tugged at Xuanfeng's sleeve, pointed at the kite in the sky, and said, "I want one too!"
Xuanfeng followed Su Yuyao's hand and looked up at the sky, where several white kites were floating.
"Okay, I'll make it for you tonight."
"I want a big one!"
"Okay, let's make a big one."
Su Yuyao's sunny smile warmed Xuanfeng's cold and lonely heart.
In the main hall of Yuantun Palace, people were waiting to report matters. Xuanfeng originally wanted to arrange Su Yuyao in the side hall, but when he found that the girl had the idea of sneaking away, he pulled her into the main hall and pressed her into the main seat.
Su Yuyao looked at the calligraphy practice books and papers on the table with a bitter face, while Xuanfeng's stern words echoed in her ears, "Play by yourself. If you're bored, just copy the calligraphy."
"Can't I go to the side hall?" Su Yuyao pouted. "I promise I'll stay there obediently!"
Xuanfeng chuckled. "You brat, still trying to play tricks on me!"
"Stay here and don't steal my things again!"
"Lord Xuanfeng!" The people below couldn't wait any longer. "We, the leaders of these halls, have all discussed it and plan to move to the southwest. The area there is vast and rich in natural resources, a thousand times better than where we are now!"
Xuanfeng looked at the stone tablets in the room and asked, "Is that what you all think?"
The assembled monument kings bowed and replied, "Yes!"
Xuanfeng lowered his head and thought for a moment, then said, "Since you've made up your minds, I won't stop you. However, withdrawing from so many branches at once will inevitably cause chaos, so you should first go to Lord Qimen to register..."
Looking at Xuanfeng handling trivial matters, Su Yuyao also understood his daily hardships.
After the last stele king left the main hall, Xuanfeng finally breathed a sigh of relief. He then called Qimen and a few trusted confidants to discuss something.
Although Su Yuyao didn't understand what was going on inside, she got the gist of it.
It turns out that each branch of the immortal mountain has a governing office for immortals. The people in the office receive a monthly salary from the Heavenly Palace and are responsible for regulating and managing the immortals on their respective branches of the mountain.
Each temple in the immortal mountain also pays monthly incense offerings, which serve as a form of rent. This money is currently still under Qinggan's control.
The "Monument King" who was just clamoring to move his temple is actually going to move it to one of the ten mountains in the southwest controlled by Qinggan. That way, the incense money they offer will still go directly to Qinggan...
Xuanfeng's brows seemed to furrow even more, and everyone's expressions were tense. If too many branches moved away, how could the entire Immortal Mountain maintain its operation with just the meager monthly salary?
Su Yuyao listened to their argument for a long time without reaching a conclusion, and then, bored, she dozed off...
"Girl," Xuanfeng called softly to Su Yuyao, "we should go home."
Su Yuyao opened her eyes groggily, "Hmm? You've finished discussing it?"
Xuanfeng smiled and said, "Not yet, we'll talk about it tomorrow."
Su Yuyao stood up and stretched, saying, "Why do we have to discuss this for so long? Give us a deadline. Within the deadline, anyone who wants to move can move. Once the deadline is over, no one is allowed to move anymore."
As Su Yuyao slowly packed her bags, she said, "You only need to re-register the branches that remain. As for the branches that have moved away, you don't need to worry about them anymore."
"Girl, are you saying that we should hand over those ten mountains in the southwest to Qinggan?" Xuanfeng asked.
"Even if you don't hand it over, it's still in Qinggan's hands. What's the difference? Just talk to Qinggan and let him take it! If he can get something out of it, he'll naturally help settle it."
“But…” Xuanfeng hesitated.
"As for the incense money, we might lose some, but have you thought about it? Ten mountain peaks have limited land; how can they accommodate so many branches? There will inevitably be chaos! The bigger the chaos, the more advantageous it will be for us! I reckon it won't be long before some branches come back begging you to move back. Then, we can negotiate with those wavering branches!" Su Yuyao slung her small bundle over her shoulder, took Xuanfeng's hand, and said, "Let's go home!"
Xuanfeng stared blankly at Su Yuyao. How could this little girl's mind be so clear? Her thoughts were even a notch above his own, but...
"Girl, if I do what you think, will it succeed?" Xuanfeng asked, holding Su Yuyao's chubby little hand.
Su Yuyao pulled Xuanfeng out of the main hall. The sky was dark and night had fallen, but it could not obscure the bright moon in the sky.
“Xuanfeng, look at that moon! The darker it is, the brighter it shines. It is precisely because it is in darkness that it is so dazzling!” Su Yuyao said, holding Xuanfeng’s hand tightly. “There is only one moon, so it is inevitably lonely… but even if the sky is full of stars, they cannot block out the moon’s light!”
Su Yuyao gazed at the moon in the sky, her eyes sparkling in the moonlight. Xuan Feng gently pulled Su Yuyao into his arms, saying, "Girl, thank you!"
Su Yuyao melted into Xuanfeng's arms again. She nestled against his chest and asked in a sweet voice, "Xuanfeng, I didn't cause any trouble or make any mistakes today. Was I a good girl?"
"good."
"Then... tonight... could we..."
"cannot."
“Xuanfeng…” Su Yuyao shook Xuanfeng’s body, “Please…”
Xuanfeng hugged the coquettish Su Yuyao and laughed, "Let's go home first! There are still people here, don't let them laugh at us!"
Su Yuyao reluctantly let go of Xuanfeng, sulking, and walked home on her own, saying, "Yesterday wasn't okay, and today isn't okay either! When will it finally be okay?"
Xuanfeng covered his face and laughed, "My silly girl!"
Su Yuyao obediently followed Xuanfeng every day, watching him deal with the troublesome Stele King and the Judge of Immortals who came to resign, and also watching him be questioned by his confidant.
"My lord! Your actions will surely cause chaos! The Immortal Mountain has always been peaceful. If your return causes disorder, Mother Goddess Yi will certainly blame us!"
"That's right!"
"My lord, we should prioritize stability!"
"What if we do this and all the branches move away?"
Xuanfeng listened quietly without offering any explanation.
Su Yuyao understood that now was not the time to explain. If others found out Xuanfeng's true intentions, the news would likely reach Qinggan's ears, and then things would become complicated...
"Gentlemen!" Qi Men stroked his beard and said, "The lord has his reasons for doing this..."
"Lord Qimen, we don't understand!"
"Girl," Xuanfeng turned to look at Su Yuyao, "can you figure this out?"
"Huh?" Su Yuyao was taken aback, tilting her head as she asked, "Why should I figure it out? As a subject, all I need to do is obey. Why do I have to guess what my lord's intentions are?"
Xuanfeng looked at Su Yuyao, nodded in satisfaction, and said, "Even a girl understands this principle, so why don't you understand it?"
Everyone finally fell silent, and Xuanfeng's plan, after overcoming numerous obstacles, quietly proceeded...
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